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George Romney Was A Strong Proponent Of Civil Rights And Created Michigan’s First Civil Rights Commission. “The governor’s record was one of supporting civil rights. He helped create the state’s first civil rights commission and marched at the head of a protest parade in Detroit days after violence against civil rights marchers in Selma, Ala., in 1965.” (Todd Sprangler, “Romney Fields Questions On King,” Detroit Free Press, 12/20/07)

In 1967, George Romney Was Praised At A National Civil Rights Rally For His Leadership. “Michigan Gov. George Romney walked into a Negro Civil Rights rally in the heart of Atlanta to the chants of ‘We Want Romney’ and to hear protests from Negroes about city schools. ‘They had invited me to come and I was interested in hearing things that would give me an insight into Atlanta,’ the Michigan Republican said. Led by Hosea Williams, a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the all-Negro rally broke into shouts and song when Romney arrived. ‘We’re tired of Lyndon Baines Johnson,’ Williams said from a pulpit in the Flipper Temple AME Church as Romney sat in a front row pew. ‘Johnson is sending black boys to Vietnam to die for a freedom that never existed,’ Williams said. Pointing to Romney, Williams brought the crowd of 200 to its feet when he said, ‘He may be the fella with a little backbone.’ Williams said Romney could be ‘the next President if he acts right.’ The potential GOP presidential nominee left the rally before it ended.” (”Romney Praised At Civil Rights Rally In Atlanta,” The Chicago Defender, 9/30/67)
Photograph: “Dr. Martin Luther King speaking to graduate student Laura L. Leichliter (center) and Michigan’s First Lady Mrs. Lenore Romney in February 1965.” (Instructional Media Center Collection At Michigan State University Archives And Historical Collections)

George Romney Fought Discrimination In Housing. “President Nixon tapped then Governor of Michigan, George Romney, for the post of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. While serving as Governor, Secretary Romney had successfully campaigned for ratification of a state constitutional provision that prohibited discrimination in housing.” (U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development Official Web Site, www.hud.gov, Accessed 12/19/07)

Photograph: “More than 100 angry white protesters balked at efforts by then-Housing Secretary George Romney, in car, to open their new neighborhoods to blacks.” (Gordon Trowbridge and Oralandar Brand-Williams, “A Policy Of Exclusion,” Detroit News, 1/14/02)

FACT: In 1965, George Romney Led A March In Michigan To Protest Selma.

In 1965, George Romney Led A Protest Parade Of Some 10,000 People In Detroit. “Rarely has public opinion reacted so spontaneously and with such fury. In Detroit, Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh and Michigan’s Governor George Romney led a protest parade of 10,000 people.” (”Civil Rights – The Central Point,” Time Magazine, www.time.com, 10/5/83)

· The Days Of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “In Detroit, Governor George Romney and Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh called for a march to protest what had happened in Selma.” (Jim Bishop, The Days Of Martin Luther King, Jr., 1971, p. 385)

FACT: Martin Luther King Jr. “Spoke Positively” About The Possible Presidential Candidacy Of George Romney.

In His Pulitzer-Prize Winning Biography Of Dr. King, David Garrow Notes That King “Spoke Positively” About The Possible Presidential Candidacy Of George Romney. “King spoke positively about the possible candidacies of republicans George Romney, Charles Percy, and Nelson Rockefeller. He also stressed the need for greater Afro-American unity, including reaching out to segments of the black community that were not committed to nonviolence.” (David J. Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 2006, p. 575)
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmEyOTMzNWQzOTNmZDhlNThjMjUyOWZkODZlNGE5NTM

This is another example of dragging out the race card, this time against Mitt Romney. There are few black Mormons primarily Becca's the religion developed in the Great Lakes region in the early 1800s, then migrated to the West after persecution in Illinois and Missouri. There were few blacks in these areas at the time. For historical reasons, there are also few black Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox believers, yet no one accuses these churches of racial bias. There are also few black Presbyterians, in either the liberal (PCUSA) or conservative (PCA and smaller groups) denominations, even though that church has a considerable presence in the South, unlike the Lutherans or Eastern Orthodox churches. The proportion of black Catholics to the African American population is far smaller than that of white Catholics among European Americans, again for historical reasons and in spite of the relative lack of racism and the egalitarian ethos in the Catholic Church.

I do not support Mitt Romney because he lacks a seasoned track record as a conservative and he still does not get conservative philosophy in some respects, e.g., his belief that human activity cause global warming. However, everything in the man's career points to his belief in racial equality and his support of civil rights for all Americans. I am more than tired of ad hominem attacks and smear tactics in this campaign. The fact is that Republicans viciously attack their opponents, yet cower like whipped puppies when the MSM and the liberal Democrats attack.

President Gordon B. Hinckley - April 2006

Racial strife still lifts its ugly head. I am advised that even right here among us there is some of this. I cannot understand how it can be. It seemed to me that we all rejoiced in the 1978 revelation given President Kimball. I was there in the temple at the time that that happened. There was no doubt in my mind or in the minds of my associates that what was revealed was the mind and the will of the Lord.

Now I am told that racial slurs and denigrating remarks are sometimes heard among us. I remind you that no man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church of Christ. How can any man holding the Melchizedek Priesthood arrogantly assume that he is eligible for the priesthood whereas another who lives a righteous life but whose skin is of a different color is ineligible?

Throughout my service as a member of the First Presidency, I have recognized and spoken a number of times on the diversity we see in our society. It is all about us, and we must make an effort to accommodate that diversity.

Let us all recognize that each of us is a son or daughter of our Father in Heaven, who loves all of His children.

Brethren, there is no basis for racial hatred among the priesthood of this Church. If any within the sound of my voice is inclined to indulge in this, then let him go before the Lord and ask for forgiveness and be no more involved in such.

Most of the WASP churches made the change in the 1960s. "The split between the Northern and Southern Baptist organizations was over slavery and education of slaves, and by the 18th century, about 40 percent of Southern Baptist preachers in South Carolina owned slaves. At the time of the split, the Southern Baptist group used the curse of Cain as justification of the practice. In fact, most 19th and early 20th century Southern Baptist congregations in the southern United States taught that there were two separate heavens; one for blacks, and one for whites. "

"The doctrine was used to support a ban on ordaining blacks to most Protestant clergies until the 1960s in the U.S. and Europe. The Coptic, Ethiopian, Orthodox, Thomasite and the Catholic church did not recognize these interpretations and did not participate in the religious movement to support them. Certain Catholic Diocese in the Southern United States did adopt a policy of not ordaining blacks to oversee, administer sacraments to, or accept confessions from white parishioners. This policy was not based on a Curse of Cain teaching, but was justified by any possible perceptions of having slaves rule over their masters. (Dictionary of African-American Slavery) "

"Baptists and other denominations including Pentecostals officially taught or practiced various forms of racial segregation well into the mid-to-late-20th century, though all races were accepted to worship services after the 1970s and 1980s when many official policies were changed. In fact, it wasn't until 1995, that the Southern Baptist Convention officially renounced its "racist roots." Nearly all Protestant groups in America had supported the notion that black slavery, oppression, and African colonization was the result of God's curse on people with black skin or of African descent through Cain or through the curse of Ham, and some churches practiced racial segregation as late as the 1990s, including Pentecostalism. Today, however, official acceptance and practice of the doctrine among Protestant ogranizations is limited almost exclusively to churches connected to white supremacy, such as the Aryan World Church and the New Christian Crusade Church."

As for the "theological" side of this, the LDS doctrine of how an alleged "pre-existence" effects people in this world hasn't just been aimed at blacks. (For Mormon expositions on blacks 50+ years ago, see the last 2 graphs...but first notice how LDS theology addressed Asians).

Consider this address by Elder Mark E. Petersen at the convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level at BYU (Aug. 27, 1954):

"Let us consider the great mercy of God for a moment. A Chinese, born in China with a dark skin, and with all the hadicaps [sic] of that race seems to have little opportunity. But think of the mercy of God to Chinese people who are willing to accept the gospel. In spite of whatever they might have done in the pre-existence to justify being born over there as Chinamen, if they now, in this life, accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lvies they can can the Priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation. Isn't the mercy of God marvelous?"

"exaltation" in LDSese=become a god.

Petersen went on to say: "Now what is our policy in regard to inter-marriage? As to the Negre [sic], of course, there is only one possible answer. We must not intermarry with the Negro. Why? If I were to marry a Negro woman and have children by her, my children would all be cursed as to the priesthood. Do I want my children cursed as to the priesthood? If there is one drop of Negro blood in my children, as I have read to you, they receive the curse. There isn't any argument, therefore, as to inter-marriage with the Negro, is there? There are 50 million Negroes in the United States. If they were to achieve complete absorbtion [sic] with the white race, think what that would do. With 50 million negroes inter-married with us, where would the priesthood be? Who could hold it, in all America? Think what that would do to the work of the Church!"

Petersen went on in his patronizing, segregating way: "Now we are generous with the negro. We are willing that the Negro have the highest kind of education. I would be willing to let every Negro drive a cadillac if they could afford it. I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out of life in the world. But let them enjoy these things among themselves. I think the Lord segregated the Negro and who is man to change that segregation?"

All this racism argument is such a red herring & frankly a bogus one at that. Most “Christian” churches didn’t have or allow blacks to hold positions in the priesthood for decades if not centuries in some cases.

The LDS church never precluded blacks from joining the church, they just couldn’t hold the priesthood until ‘79. Missionary work was taken to the blacks & to Africa for that matter long before the ‘79 revelation.

Many “Christian” churches still don’t allow women to hold the priesthood, does that mean their sexist?

Lastly, the church has had much success amongst the African nations & has sent missionaries there for decades. Does that sound like the “racist” church Colorcountry describes? I have/have had many black members of the church in my ward. I consider them brothers & amongst my close friends. There is no delineation of race. Nobody cares or even talks about it.

It would seem Colorcountry’s hatred has not only clouded her judgment but her credibility as well. Talk to me about the church’s racism in Africa CC. The scriptures talk about the hatred that would come from the apostates. They were always far worse than the Lamanites. I think we’re having a better understanding now of what that meant. Carry on CC, you’re fulfilling prophecy, although I sincerely wish you weren't.

This is really a wretched excuse for an article.

I don't solid evidence in it that Mormons still preach racial inequality and segregation.

Much of the article is simply bellyaching about the fact that they didn't get around to changing things until 1978.

Well, they had to start sometime. Just as the rest of the country had to start in 1954 or 1965 or whenever.

And if they did start as late as 1978, the changes probably haven't had time to fully take effect.

There would naturally be books around that reflected older views and people who still subscribe to those opinions.

Blacks who became eligible for the priesthood thirty years ago probably haven't risen very high in the church. It takes a while for top-down changes to be realized in practice.

If this were a call to Mormons to change their church there wouldn't be anything wrong with it. But as an outsider's slam of that religion it's pretty low.

The last throwaway line about being able to imagine things worse than polygamy is also a cheap shot.

If Romney "parses" phrases too much it's understandable, after getting "parsed" himself in such an underhanded way.