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‘Mormon Land’: BYU’s Black Menaces talk about their mission to raise awareness and wipe out racism

The school and the LDS Church must do more, they say, to help people of color, LGBTQ individuals and other marginalized communities.

(Trent Nelson  |  The Salt Lake Tribune) Rachel Weaver reacts to responses about immigration as the Black Menaces film a TikTok video at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 8, 2022. Filming is Sebastian Stewart-Johnson and at far right is Kennethia Dorsey.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rachel Weaver reacts to responses about immigration as the Black Menaces film a TikTok video at BYU in Provo on Friday, April 8, 2022. Filming is Sebastian Stewart-Johnson and at far right is Kennethia Dorsey.

Five students at Brigham Young University who call themselves the Black Menaces are on a mission to raise awareness about racism and other challenges facing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its flagship school.

With iPhones in hand, they crisscross the campus, posing provocative questions to the mostly white students about race, LGBTQ issues and marginalized communities. They then post the two-minute clips on TikTok.

On this week’s show, two of the Menaces, Rachel Weaver, from Chicago, and Kennethia Dorsey, of Nashville, Tenn., discuss what they have learned, what they hope to accomplish, and what BYU can do to change.

Listen here:

[Get more content like this in The Salt Lake Tribune’s Mormon Land newsletter, a weekly highlight reel of developments in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To receive the free newsletter in your inbox, subscribe here. You also can support us with a donation at Patreon.com/mormonland, where you can access additional faith content and transcripts of our “Mormon Land” podcasts.]


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