{"id":96,"date":"2013-02-11T17:20:26","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T00:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/?p=96"},"modified":"2013-02-11T19:49:04","modified_gmt":"2013-02-12T02:49:04","slug":"white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/","title":{"rendered":"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn\u2019t get it: This is one of those risky posts\u2013a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is real, however (like Colbert\u2019s).\u00a0 The truth is, Mormons<\/a> in Utah (particularly older ones) are often\u00a0uncomfortable with Blacks and overly eager to prove that they\u2019re not.\u00a0 The question \u201cWhat should I call you?\u201d pops up over and over again, and the conflation with African nationals and African Americans is\u00a0common.<\/p>\n

The LDS Genesis group<\/a>, organized in 1971 when all church members of African lineage were denied the most significant privileges of church membership, was intended to be a support to black Mormons.\u00a0 There was only a handful in 1971, but they were there.\u00a0\u00a0 Genesis meetings still take place monthly in Salt Lake City, with other Genesis groups established elsewhere in the United States.\u00a0 There is still a need for them.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, I attended a Genesis meeting in which an elderly white woman invited<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Genesis group is established, Oct. 19, 1971<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Genesis members to a family history conference to be held at the church.\u00a0 I could sense her nervousness, even her fear.\u00a0 She seemed scared to death that she\u2019d say something wrong<\/em>.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t resist a quiet satire. I would dedicate this to Stephen Colbert, but of course he is completely colorblind.<\/p>\n

White Lady Speaks to Genesis<\/em><\/p>\n

Hello, brothers and sisters.\u00a0 I just found out today from my stake president that I was supposed to give a talk to you.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry, but do I call you African Americans or Blacks?\u00a0 I was raised with Colored\u2013not that I was raised with them\u2013not that there would have been anything wrong with that\u2013but I was raised saying \u201ccolored\u201d when the subject came up, which was not often.\u00a0 Not that there would have been anything wrong with the subject coming up often, but my parents were very tolerant people, so the subject didn\u2019t come up often.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve always been grateful for that.\u00a0 Anyway, we want to invite you Black Afro-Americans to our Family History Fair.\u00a0 Let me describe it to you.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

We are depicting the history of this great nation, so we will be doing things a little differently.\u00a0 There will be two entrances.\u00a0 For this particular event, we\u2019d ask that you enter from the back of the building, where a fine Negro will stand as usher.\u00a0 (I hope I can still say \u201cNegro.\u201d) The first room will depict the slave ships, and that is one reason I\u2019m here to talk with you.\u00a0 We need a few married couples to portray the slaves on the ships.\u00a0 Our stake president has requested that these couples be married because we need to arrange things in a certain way.\u00a0 Oh my, if you knew the troubles we\u2019ve had in deciding how this room should look!\u00a0 We thought of making it realistic and putting you\u2013meaning the Negroes, or Afro-Colored people\u2013in stacks facing the ceiling, since that\u2019s how it was really done, but the fact that\u2013well, just let me say that there were implications which were not appropriate.\u00a0 So we\u2019ve decided to just have you stand.\u00a0 If you choose to help us in this room, you will not need to memorize any script.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Then we will have the Civil War room, which will depict both sides of the conflict.\u00a0 We don\u2019t want to ignore the confederacy and those brave Amafricans who fought for the south, so we\u2019d like a few of you to be flag bearers for that room.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be able to carry actual muskets, though of course they won\u2019t be loaded.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Then we will have the World War I room.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have the white soldiers in one room where we\u2019ll be serving corned beef and lemonade, and the Afro-Nig-um-niggardlies in another room, where we\u2019ll serve greens and other food you people enjoy, like pigs\u2019 feet.\u00a0 I might even try some myself!\u00a0 It just sounds so good and so interesting! <\/em><\/p>\n

We need volunteers for the World War II room also, and once again, true to history, we\u2019ll have one room for the American soldiers and one room for the African American soldiers.\u00a0 Did I say that right?\u00a0 We also wanted a few of you to act as waiters in the white room.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, we will indeed portray the Communist threat, and would ask a few of you to be part of the Civil Rights Movement room.\u00a0 Not that I think anything less of Martin Luther King just because he was an adulterer, but we\u2019re trying to really capture history here.\u00a0 We want you to know that we are taking you people into great consideration for this display, and we will actually have a Ku Klux Klan room.\u00a0 However, we will not condone the Ku Klux Klan.\u00a0 We will have our stake president himself just outside that door explaining that it is never a good thing to burn a cross on anyone\u2019s lawn, and that lynching was just terrible\u2013just terrible.\u00a0 In fact, if you want to dress up in the robes of the Klansmen as a sort of statement, we\u2019d like to invite you to do that.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Lastly, we will talk about the Lord\u2019s great plan of Happiness.\u00a0 We\u2019d like a few of you Negroes and Negresses to portray exalted Afro-Americans.\u00a0 We were told that a few of you are involved in inter-racial relationships, and we talked about whether or not we should depict this.\u00a0 We are perfectly respectful of your marriages, but just as we would not show a gay couple, we feel we shouldn\u2019t show a mixed couple.\u00a0 Not that there\u2019s anything wrong with it\u2013I mean the mixed couple; of course there\u2019s something wrong with the gay couple.\u00a0 But our challenge is to maintain the faith of our white members.\u00a0 Some of them\u2013and I personally am not in this group\u2013but some of them would be challenged if we were to suggest that we approved of miscegenation.\u00a0 We want this fair to be uplifting and faith-promoting, and as the scriptures tell us, it\u2019s best to give the majority what they believe in, or words to that effect.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019ve forgotten to mention that we will have prizes.\u00a0 Actually, we\u2019re looking for one of you to be a prize.\u00a0 And please consider that we are doing this in the most respectful way.\u00a0 It is blessed to serve.\u00a0 Jesus himself said service was the true path to exaltation.\u00a0 The grand prize for this fair will be a day of service for one lucky family.\u00a0 We would like one of you to pay tribute to your ancestors by portraying them in past years.\u00a0 We will even provide the costumes, which will be beautiful.\u00a0 We have hats and coveralls for the men and beautiful\u2013what do you people call those turbans the mammies used to wear?\u00a0 Well, we\u2019ll have those turbans for the women, and very nice skirts too. You might be asked to do laundry, drive a car, cook the family\u2019s meals for a day, or weed a garden.\u00a0 But whatever you are asked to do, be assured it will be consecrated to your good, and to the family\u2019s good.\u00a0 And don\u2019t forget the prizes we\u2019ve set aside just for you.\u00a0 We are so grateful for your help in this endeavor that we have arranged to have chitterlings for every Afro-Colored Negro who attends.\u00a0 We will also have little whistles for the children, though we\u2019d ask that they not use them until they get home.\u00a0 For those of you who are interested or want the blessings for helping us truly talk about our wonderful history, please see me after the meeting.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0I hope I haven\u2019t taken too much time.\u00a0 What a joy to see all of you in our chapel!\u00a0 It reminds me of the great work happening in Nigeria, where my sister served a mission.\u00a0 She came to love you people dearly, and I know I will too.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn\u2019t get it: This is one of those risky posts\u2013a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is real, however (like Colbert\u2019s).\u00a0 The truth is, Mormons in Utah (particularly older ones) are often\u00a0uncomfortable with Blacks and overly eager to prove that they\u2019re not.\u00a0 The question \u201cWhat should I call you?\u201d pops […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1301,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[28,27,18,26,5,25,30,19,29],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-black-mormons","tag-genesis-group","tag-history","tag-mormonism","tag-politics","tag-race","tag-satire","tag-slavery","tag-stephen-colbert"],"yoast_head":"\nWhite Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn't get it: This is one of those risky posts--a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn't get it: This is one of those risky posts--a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Welcome Table\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-12T00:20:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-12T02:49:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/files\/2013\/02\/Hinc-Bridg-Cast-FULL--300x219.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Margaret Blair Young\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Margaret Blair Young\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/\",\"name\":\"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-12T00:20:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-12T02:49:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#\/schema\/person\/d37d1777600358796768346d57ed0d47\"},\"description\":\"Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn't get it: This is one of those risky posts--a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/\",\"name\":\"The Welcome Table\",\"description\":\"Love Bade Me Welcome\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#\/schema\/person\/d37d1777600358796768346d57ed0d47\",\"name\":\"Margaret Blair Young\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a77e29fd335afdccad6abc2851d372e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a77e29fd335afdccad6abc2851d372e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Margaret Blair Young\"},\"description\":\"Margaret Blair Young taught literature and creative writing at Brigham Young University from 1984-2018. From 1998-2015,, she specialized in the history of blacks in the west, particularly black Mormons. She has written six novels and two short story collections, but has lately become interested in filmmaking in the DR-Congo, with the objective of helping Congolese people establish their cinema industry. She works with Tshoper Kabambi and Rufin Kalala in these ongoing endeavors.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/congorising.org\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Margaret_Blair_Young\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/author\/welcometable\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group","description":"Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn't get it: This is one of those risky posts--a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group","og_description":"Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn't get it: This is one of those risky posts--a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/","og_site_name":"The Welcome Table","article_published_time":"2013-02-12T00:20:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-02-12T02:49:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/files\/2013\/02\/Hinc-Bridg-Cast-FULL--300x219.jpg"}],"author":"Margaret Blair Young","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Margaret Blair Young","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/","name":"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-02-12T00:20:26+00:00","dateModified":"2013-02-12T02:49:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#\/schema\/person\/d37d1777600358796768346d57ed0d47"},"description":"Preliminary explanation, because inevitably somebody doesn't get it: This is one of those risky posts--a satire.\u00a0 Think Stephen Colbert.\u00a0 The subtext is","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/2013\/02\/white-lady-speaks-to-the-genesis-group\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"White Lady Speaks to the Genesis Group"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/","name":"The Welcome Table","description":"Love Bade Me Welcome","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#\/schema\/person\/d37d1777600358796768346d57ed0d47","name":"Margaret Blair Young","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a77e29fd335afdccad6abc2851d372e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a77e29fd335afdccad6abc2851d372e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Margaret Blair Young"},"description":"Margaret Blair Young taught literature and creative writing at Brigham Young University from 1984-2018. From 1998-2015,, she specialized in the history of blacks in the west, particularly black Mormons. She has written six novels and two short story collections, but has lately become interested in filmmaking in the DR-Congo, with the objective of helping Congolese people establish their cinema industry. She works with Tshoper Kabambi and Rufin Kalala in these ongoing endeavors.","sameAs":["https:\/\/congorising.org","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Margaret_Blair_Young"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/author\/welcometable\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/welcometable\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}