As the Minneapolis City Council Vice President, Andrea Jenkins,\u00a0 <\/span>stated\u2026 \u201cracism [is] a public health emergency.\u201d Mental health research corroborates this. As a white-privileged led church\u2026 we can no longer pretend racism doesn\u2019t exist. Nor can we pretend we don\u2019t have a role in the ongoing racism that pervades our culture. I hope to see our white church leaders to take much stronger stances in renouncing our racist history. I hope to see our white church leaders to apologize directly and repeatedly for the racist doctrines we have incorrectly espoused and justified by no less than God himself. I hope to see our white church leaders to strike the current racist language in our scripture and manuals. I hope to see our white church leaders to be innovative and revolutionary leaders in this fight to end racism\u2026 not to lag behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n May we, the white members of the church that directly carries Christ\u2019s name, actively take a role in healing the wounds of people of color both within and out of our communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This guest\u00a0 <\/span>post is being shared with the author\u2019s permission. \u00a0 <\/span>It has been written by Anthony D. Miller<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i>Opinions shared on this post may or may not completely reflect the positions of The Mormon Therapist Blog or Natasha Helfer Parker.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n I wanted to share that the George Floyd tragedy is sickening to me.<\/span><\/p>\n I hope that justice will be served.<\/span><\/p>\n I mourn with my friends who experience grief and who themselves have experienced discrimination.<\/span><\/p>\n I wanted to share something I found helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n This Sunstone lecture (sermon) in audio on the linked page is from Dr. Fatimah S. Salleh<\/a>, and she includes one of the best explanations of the role of an ally that I have ever heard.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Salleh primarily deals here with people who experience marginalization in theological realms, and she uses an example from the New Testament.<\/span><\/p>\n Even if you aren\u2019t interested in a speech (sermon) that uses a New Testament story and talks about theology and faith, I believe her thoughts apply to how marginalized persons experience discrimination beyond just a practice of faith.<\/span><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to believe what or how she believes with regard to faith and God to benefit from listening to her experience and observations.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d ask you to listen, at least starting at 29 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n At around 33 minutes, she explains:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes privilege is to be able to say, \u201cI\u2019ll go first.\u201d And then you fly. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Sometimes, when you are an ally, you say, \u201cI\u2019ll use the privileges I\u2019ve got to make sure you get yours!\u201d And then, you don\u2019t try and co-opt it. You don\u2019t try to stay in front and say, \u201cNo, that was me! That was me!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Step aside! Step\u2026it is real nice, a nice step. Almost like\u2026just go ahead, and try it a little.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Step aside! Because sometimes when you get out in front to help people, you want to stay in front. It\u2019s natural\u2026a natural thing. Like when you are walking your kids, and you still want to keep walking, and they are like, \u201cI can do it. Let go! You helped me this far. I can do it!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n So I\u2019m going to tell you, if you are going to be allies, help where you have privileges and opportunities where others don\u2019t. You stand in front and you break down barriers, and then you move aside and watch as they continue do hard work.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n But that you\u2019ve used yourself to say, \u201cI\u2019ve got this opportunity, and I am going to make sure you get it, and then I am going to step aside and watch you fly!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s the hard part. It\u2019s always hard when my kids don\u2019t need my help sometimes. Because we like being the ones who help.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Get over it! Because you can help for a time, but the problem is that you want to stay there. You want to be the one who gets the glory for it. And in the end, you end up stealing what\u2019s not yours in the beginning.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Rev. Dr. Fatimah S. Salleh is co-author of The Book of Mormon For the Least of These. She was born in Brooklyn, NY to a Puerto-Rican and Malaysian mother and an African American father. At 15, she joined the LDS Church<\/a>, later served a mission in Campinas, Brazil and has taught LDS Institute.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Salleh received her PhD in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also earned a Master\u2019s degree from Syracuse University in Public Communication and a second Master\u2019s in Divinity from Duke University. She is an ordained Baptist minister. She is married to Eric Sorensen and they have four children.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.sunstonemagazine.com\/2015-theology-from-the-margins-conference-keynote-speech-by-fatimah-salleh\/?fbclid=IwAR26kF_VtSfLlr5FKeRiF84YnbSjvSq6CmAFtPSKCVrR3ILT-w9GrufAc_A<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n I hope that I can be a better ally, contribute to making space for those who have experienced marginalization, and then stand aside and cheer them on as I strive to amplify their voices.<\/span><\/p>\n And, I highly recommend you search out podcast interviews, presentations, and other works from Dr. Salleh. She has a powerful voice.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Due to the current climate in our country and due to the racist history we have in our Mormon collective\u2026 not to mention the continued racist narrative and language in our current curriculum\u2026 I am planning on posting a series of thoughtful posts written primarily by those who come from a Mormon upbringing.\u00a0 As the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":766,"featured_media":6626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,83,45,12,48,138,156,25,43,1],"tags":[46,139,344,157,133],"class_list":["post-6619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anger","category-civil-rights","category-gospel-teachings","category-grief-2","category-mental-health","category-mindfulness","category-race-relations","category-righteousness","category-temple-issues","category-uncategorized","tag-lds","tag-mindfulness","tag-race","tag-race-relations","tag-racism"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/153\/2019\/11\/42c76f_c52e0cf43b7b492e919aad90297a5272mv2_d_1536_1684_s_2.jpeg\")
<\/i>Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST, CSTS\u00a0<\/i><\/i>can be reached at\u00a0<\/i>natashaparker.org<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0and runs an online practice,\u00a0<\/i>Symmetry Solutions<\/i><\/b><\/a>, which focuses on helping families and individuals with faith concerns, sexuality and mental health. She hosts the\u00a0<\/i>Mormon Mental Health<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0and Mormon Sex Info<\/a><\/strong>Podcasts, is the current past president of the\u00a0<\/i>Mormon Mental Health Association<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0and runs a sex education program,\u00a0<\/i>Sex Talk with Natasha<\/i><\/b><\/a>. She has over 20 years of experience working with primarily an LDS\/Mormon clientele.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"