NAACP president: All Christians ‘should be taken aback’ by today’s ‘toxic environment’

In the 1960s, the NAACP was among the loudest critics of the then-policy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excluding Black members from its all-male priesthood and its temples.

In 2018 — 40 years after the church had eliminated the policy — national leaders of the country’s oldest civil rights organization met with top Latter-day Saint officials.

From it emerged a groundbreaking alliance of the two organizations that produced donations, scholarships and humanitarian initiatives. It was directed by then-church President Russell Nelson, who died in September.

Now the church has a new president, Dallin Oaks, who has urged members to “root out” racism and famously called “Black lives matter” an “eternal truth all reasonable people should support.”

So what has the partnership accomplished? What is its current state? And what are the expectations for the future?

Here are lightly edited excerpts from a recent episode of The Salt Lake Tribune’s “Mormon Land” podcast in which NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson responded to those questions and more:

When did you first learn about Mormonism?

I was actually on a trip in Tanzania, Africa, in 2008 or 2009, and I was introduced to two individuals who were members of the church. One of the individuals was Steve Hill. We built a relationship and a friendship from there. …I like to study and understand different religions and organizations, but I had never really had a chance to get to know someone [from the church] and befriend them.

[Read more about the Latter-day Saint president before Russell Nelson who broke barriers with the NAACP.]

So how did you get involved with the church?

After that first trip, I was invited to be a guest lecturer for the Orrin Hatch Lecture Series at Brigham Young University. From there, I had the opportunity to meet other members of the church and families, and had come back once or twice since then.

What did you think of President Nelson’s effort to form a partnership?

I took this position [with the NAACP] in 2017, and Steve and I hadn’t spoken in probably a couple of years. He had seen [the “Be One”] celebration [commemorating the end of the priesthood/temple ban] mentioned in the paper and reached out immediately. He said, “Hey, I would love for you to build a relationship with the leadership of the church.” I recognized that besides the association [with Hill], we had not built any type of relationship with the church. Steve was a great representative for the church. He said he wanted to facilitate that process, and he began to work on it. As a result, we ended up having our May board meeting in 2018 in Salt Lake City, which really began the journey

Did you get out of the partnership what you had hoped?

What I had hoped is an open dialogue and ongoing relationship, and we have that. [The Rev.] Amos Brown, one of our longest-serving board members and a really true confidant for me, maintained an ongoing, open [connection to] President Nelson and with the church leadership. Just recently, [Brown] led a delegation to Salt Lake to be a part of your annual Christmas activities. There was nothing specific that we were pursuing other than building out a relationship. That’s what we have achieved.

Have you had any interactions with President Oaks, either before he became president or since he became the church’s president?

Fortunately, yes. I had the opportunity to meet President Oaks prior to the death of President Nelson. I have not spoken with him since. I do plan to schedule time and hopefully get an audience with him.

What were your impressions of Oaks?

A very pleasant guy. I’ve yet to run across a leader of the church who wasn’t pleasant, and he’s no different.

Besides joint programs to Ghana and some scholarships to historic Black colleges, are there any other plans on the table?

It’s important for me to sit down and figure out what are the mutually beneficial things that we can accelerate together. We are in a different climate than just a few years ago. …We, as human beings, should identify something that creates common bonds. I’ve always believed that if individuals from two different worldviews can zero in on the things that they agree on, they can solve the problems of the things they disagree about. But you have to appreciate and respect one another’s humanity.

Do you see your work as connected to your faith?

It’s ingrained. The reason why I do this work is because of my faith. I grew up in a household where Black Baptist religion and church were central to everything — the dreams, hopes and aspirations we had. I’m of the generation of individuals who had to migrate from the South because of the harshness of the policies and the lack of job opportunities. That migratory pattern was full of faith, belief and all of the traditions that drove my family. I watched my great-aunt, who’s like my grandmother, care for other households, making sure people who lacked [resources] received help. Many Saturdays, she would have a big spread outside of the house, and whoever lived in the neighborhood could come and eat. My great-uncle, who fought in World War II, had to leave the South because he realized that the freedoms he was fighting for abroad were not allowed for him once he got back home. … What I’m doing now is an extension of that. Self-reliance is important, but we all need a leg up.

Where do you think the country is these days on racism — after George Floyd’s killing and the Black Lives Matter movement?

This has been the most difficult year I’ve ever witnessed in terms of “othering.” It’s not just race. It is punching down on people because they are not like what people believe should be the norm. When I grew up, we celebrated the fact that we were a melting pot and “from many, come one.” This year we’ve witnessed many of those things being rolled back, and it’s unfortunate.

Given that environment, could an alliance between the NAACP and Latter-day Saints be even more important?

Any religious organization, institution or individual who [proclaims] to be a believer should all be taking note that the Bible says there are only two great commandments: “love thy neighbor and love thy God.” So, absolutely, not only the Mormon church but all of the denominations under the Christian faith should be taken aback about what’s taking place. If someone is in this country and lacks what people consider legal status, we should not be treating them inhumanely. If a child needs food, it’s not the fault of that child. We should not be starving that child. If you have individuals who have a disability, we shouldn’t push down on them. That’s not the teachings of Jesus. We all should be looking at how we can repair the huge gap that we are witnessing.

What are your organization’s biggest challenges?

It is moving people away from this toxic environment, understanding that public policy does, in fact, have an impact on people’s real lives. You can have public policy to support and build up based on Jesus teachings, or you can have public policy that is violent, that strips away the basic necessities of individuals who are seeking simply to exist and be treated with human dignity. That is the work of the NAACP, and that’s why we’re still as relevant today as when we were founded 117 years ago.

Are you optimistic about the future?

I’m realistic that we get out of this what we put into it. And so my realism says I have to work even harder to get something better out of it. And so that’s what I’m focused on.

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