Darron T. Smith | |
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Occupation(s) | Scholar, clinician, educator, author and blogger |
Academic background | |
Education | Brigham Young University–Idaho Brigham Young University (MEd) University of Utah (PhD) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Healthcare,sociology,race-based trauma,neurosociology,psychedelic healing |
Sub-discipline | neurosociology,applied neurosciencee |
Notable works | Black and Mormon White Parents,Black Children When Race,Religion,and Sports Collide |
Darron Smith is an African-American scholar,author and blogger. His research and scholarly writing focuses on social injustices impacting African Americans and other marginalized groups in the US. His work includes the study and impact of race on US health care,the practice of white parents adopting black and biracial children, [1] religion,sports,politics and other pertinent subject matters of present time. [2] [3]
Smith's most known work is the 2004 book,Black and Mormon, a book-length anthology exploring black Mormons and their place in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since the 1978 priesthood revelation that lifted the ban on blacks holding priesthood in the church. His most recent book,When Race,Religion and Sport Collide:Black athletes at BYU and Beyond, explores African American male student-athletes through the medium of sport in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement. [4]
Smith was born in Nashville,Tennessee,but his formative years were split between Los Angeles and Nashville. As a child,he followed the Baptist faith along with his family. As a teenager,however,Smith began to question his faith. When he was 15,he met a black member of the LDS Church who briefly introduced him to Mormonism. A short time later,Smith had an unrelated encounter when two Mormon missionaries came to the Smith residence and further broadened his understanding of the religion. He felt that his questions about religion were better answered through Mormonism. Smith converted from the Baptist faith to Mormonism in 1981. He later went on to serve a mission for the LDS Church in Lansing,Michigan. [4]
After graduating from Antioch High School in Nashville,he began his collegiate studies at the LDS Church-owned BYU-Idaho (formerly known as Ricks College). During his time at Ricks,Smith served one year in the regular Army,training as an Army photographer. He later transferred his undergraduate training to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where he completed his bachelor's degree in Behavioral Science and Health in 1994. [4]
Smith completed the physician assistant training program from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1996. [4] In the late 1990s,he started teaching college students. While continuing to practice as a certified PA,Smith taught courses at universities in and around the Salt Lake valley,including Brigham Young University,Utah Valley University and the University of Utah. It was while working as a PA student at the BYU Sports Medicine facility in Provo,Utah,that he enrolled in the Masters of Educational Leadership at the BYU. He completed his M.Ed. in 2000. [5] Two years later,he enrolled in the University of Utah's Education,Culture,and Society doctoral program. Smith continued to teach at BYU until 2006,when his contract was not renewed allegedly over his manuscript,Black and Mormon. [5] [6]
In May 2010,Smith received his Ph.D. from University of Utah. The winter,he joined the faculty at Wichita State University as an assistant professor in the Physician Assistant Program. He left Wichita State University in mid 2012 and pursued his work on When Race,Religion and Sport Collide. By April 2013,he relocated to Memphis,Tennessee to join the staff at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center as an assistant professor and later taught in the Department of Sociology at the University of Memphis. [5] Smith is currently teaching at the University of Washington in the Department of Family Medicine where he teaches future generations of healthcare providers.
Smith's research focus includes issues of social inequality,stress,racism,discrimination,income inequality,disparities in higher education and health-related inequalities that African Americans endure. He studies and writes about the emotional toll of being a racialized minority in a white supremacist nation and the impact it has on physical and mental well-being. This work also focuses on psychedelic assisted facilitation for BIPOC suffering from race-based trauma and stress. His articles have been featured in numerous academic journals. Additionally,his work has appeared in Adoption Today,Religion Dispatches,Deadspin, [7] and Your Black World,and he also published op-ed pieces in The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. [8] He is a regular blogger for Huffington Post, [9] where he uses social media as a platform to advocate for social change. He has written widely from urban street culture to pop culture. Smith's most successful post explored the appropriation of black music by Justin Bieber's rise to stardom. [10] Smith has also written about the Ferguson Riots,which began shortly after the death of Michael Brown that sparked a national outcry against police brutality against young unarmed black men and woman. [11]
Smith co-edited the book, Black and Mormon, a book-length anthology exploring black Mormons and their place in the LDS Church since the 1978 priesthood revelation. It was published in 2004. [12] The book received positive reviews. Publishers Weekly wrote that it is "one of the most far-reaching studies of black Mormons to date" and that it is "an outstanding series of essays on the problems of racism among the Mormons and the exclusion of African American men from the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." [13]
He co-authored the 2011 book, White Parents,Black Children:Experiencing Transracial Adoption [14] [15] that explains the issue of race in transracial adoptions—particularly the adoption of black and biracial children by white adopting parents. The book argues that racism remains a significant problem for transracial adoptees. Choice Magazine recommended the book and called it "an important read for all parents,practitioners,and pundits in the field [of adoption]." [16] Social Forces wrote that "... the book will surely serve as a valuable resource for parents to help them understand that when forming a family across the color line,love is not enough." [17]
In 2016,he wrote When Race,Religion,and Sports Collide:Black Athletes at BYU and Beyond to critical acclaim. The book tells the story of Brandon Davies' dismissal from Brigham Young University's NCAA playoff basketball team. It illustrates the intersection of sport,race and religion at BYU. Smith also examines athlete's dismissed through honor code violations at BYU,indicating that they are mostly African American. [18] While reviewing the book on Mormon Stories,John Dehlin wrote that "I want to highlight this amazing book . . . [It] is a really fascinating read . . . I can't plug this book enough and tell everybody they need to read it." [19] Choice Magazine reviewed the book and wrote that "Arguing that the close and complex relationship between race and religion can be uncovered through sports,Smith does a masterful job of weaving together critical race theory,US religious history,and sports to examine institutionalized racism in intercollegiate athletics." [4]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is the largest Latter Day Saint denomination, tracing its roots to its founding by Joseph Smith during the Second Great Awakening. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, as of 2023, it has over 17.2 million members of which over 6.8 million live in the U.S. The church also reports over 99,000 volunteer missionaries and 350 temples.
Elijah Abel, or Able or Ables was one of the earliest African-American members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was the church's first African-American elder and Seventy. Abel was predominantly of Scottish and English descent and appears to have been the first, and one of the few, black members in the early history of the church to have received Priesthood ordination, later becoming the faith's first black missionary. Abel did not have his ordination revoked when the LDS Church officially announced its now-obsolete restrictions on Priesthood ordination, but was denied a chance to receive his temple endowment by third church president John Taylor. As a skilled carpenter, Abel often committed his services to the building of LDS temples and chapels. He died in 1884 after serving a mission to Cincinnati, Ohio, his last of three total missions for the church.
During the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, the relationship between Black people and Mormonism has included enslavement, exclusion and inclusion, and official and unofficial discrimination. Black people have been involved with the Latter Day Saint movement since its inception in the 1830s. Their experiences have varied widely, depending on the denomination within Mormonism and the time of their involvement. From the mid-1800s to 1978, Mormonism's largest denomination – the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – barred Black women and men from participating in the ordinances of its temples necessary for the highest level of salvation, prevented most men of Black African descent from being ordained into the church's lay, all-male priesthood, supported racial segregation in its communities and schools, taught that righteous Black people would be made white after death, and opposed interracial marriage. The temple and priesthood racial restrictions were lifted by church leaders in 1978. In 2013, the church disavowed its previous teachings on race for the first time.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been subject to criticism and sometimes discrimination since its inception.
The 1978 Revelation on Priesthood was an announcement by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that reversed a long-standing policy excluding men of Black African descent from ordination to the denomination's priesthood and both Black men and women from priesthood ordinances in the temple. Leaders stated it was a revelation from God.
Marcus Helvécio Martins is the former dean and department chair for religious education at Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii), and also the author of Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood. Martins was the first black member to serve as a missionary after the revelation extending the priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to all male members regardless of race or color. Martins is the son of Helvécio Martins, the first Latter-day Saint of African descent to serve as an LDS Church general authority.
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.
From 1852 to 1978, temple and priesthood policies in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prohibited both Black women and men from temple ordinances and ordination in the all-male priesthood. In 1978, the church's highest governing body, the First Presidency, declared in the "Official Declaration 2" statement, that the restriction had been lifted. Between 1830 and 1852, a few Black men had been ordained to the Mormon priesthood in the Latter Day Saint movement, under Joseph Smith.
Since Mormonism's foundation, Black people have been members; however, the church placed restrictions on proselytization efforts among Black people. Before 1978, Black membership was small. It has since grown, and in 1997, there were approximately 500,000 Black members of the church, mostly in Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean. Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built. By 2018, an estimated 6% of members were Black worldwide. In the United States, approximately 1% of members are Black.
Three missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started proselyting to white English-speaking people in Cape Town in 1853. Most converts from this time emigrated to the United States. The mission was closed in 1865, but reopened in 1903.The South African government limited the amount of missionaries allowed to enter the country in 1921 and in 1955. Starting around 1930, a man had to trace his genealogy out of Africa to be eligible for the priesthood, since black people were not permitted to be ordained. In 1954 when church president David O. McKay visited South Africa, he removed the requirement for genealogical research for a man to be ordained, stipulating only that "there is no evidence of his having Negro blood in his veins".
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marriage between a man and a woman is considered to be "ordained of God". Marriage is thought to consist of a covenant between the man, the woman, and God. The church teaches that in addition to civil marriage, which ends at death, a man and woman can enter into a celestial marriage, performed in a temple by priesthood authority, whereby the marriage and parent–child relationships resulting from the marriage will last forever in the afterlife.
Pacific Islanders have a particular place in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its first non-English-speaking mission was in the region in 1844, less than twenty years after the church's founding, and there are currently six temples among the Pacific Island regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. In 2015 the Latter-day Saint population in the area was increasing in percentage and absolute numbers.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Black and Mormon is a 2004 book edited, with an introduction, by Newell G. Bringhurst and Darron T. Smith. It is a collection of articles about Black people and Mormonism, race and the LDS priesthood, and the experience of Black Mormons.
In the past, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have consistently opposed marriages between members of different ethnicities, though interracial marriage is no longer considered a sin. In 1977, apostle Boyd K. Packer publicly stated that "[w]e've always counseled in the Church for our Mexican members to marry Mexicans, our Japanese members to marry Japanese, our Caucasians to marry Caucasians, our Polynesian members to marry Polynesians. ... The counsel has been wise." Nearly every decade for over a century—beginning with the church's formation in the 1830s until the 1970s—has seen some denunciations of interracial marriages (miscegenation), with most statements focusing on Black–White marriages. Church president Brigham Young taught on multiple occasions that Black–White marriage merited death for the couple and their children.
This is a bibliography of works on the Latter Day Saint movement.
Civil rights and Mormonism have been intertwined since the religion's start, with founder Joseph Smith writing on slavery in 1836. Initial Mormon converts were from the north of the United States and opposed slavery. This caused contention in the slave state of Missouri, and the church began distancing itself from abolitionism and justifying slavery based on the Bible. During this time, several slave owners joined the church, and brought their enslaved people with them when they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. The church adopted scriptures which teach against influencing slaves to be "dissatisfied with their condition" as well as scriptures which teach that "all are alike unto God." As mayor of Nauvoo, Smith prohibited Black people from holding office, joining the Nauvoo Legion, voting or marrying whites; but, as president of the church Black people became members and several Black men were ordained to the priesthood. Also during this time, Smith began his presidential campaign on a platform for the government to buy slaves into freedom over several years. He was killed during his presidential campaign.
Over the past two centuries, the relationship between Native American people and Mormonism has included friendly ties, displacement, battles, slavery, education placement programs, and official and unofficial discrimination. Native American people were historically considered a special group by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormons) since they were believed to be the descendants of the Lamanite people described in The Book of Mormon. There is no support from genetic studies and archaeology for the historicity of the Book of Mormon or Middle Eastern origins for any Native American peoples. Today there are many Native American members of Mormon denominations as well as many people who are critical of Mormonism and its teachings and actions around Native American people.
Black segregation in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a part of the religion for over a century. The LDS church discouraged social interaction or marriage with Black people and encouraged racial segregation. The practice began with church founder Joseph Smith who stated, "I would confine them [Black people] by strict law to their own species". Until 1963, many church leaders supported legalized racial segregation. David O. McKay, J. Reuben Clark, Henry D. Moyle, Ezra Taft Benson, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, and Mark E. Peterson were leading proponents of segregation. In the late 1940s First Presidency members publicly and privately condemned white-Black marriage calling it "repugnant", "forbidden", and a "wicked virus".