Black Lives Matter

A Statement and Commitment from the MMHA Board of Directors

The MMHA Board joins its membership and the collective nationwide and worldwide community in grief, mourning, and outrage over the senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and a long list of other black men, women, and children killed by the violence of police officers in the US.

According to our mission and purpose we are listening to the words of black Mormons, black clinicians, black people, and black leaders in their calls to action with the protests and uprisings now spanning worldwide. We passionately support Black Lives Matter and the messages and coalescing demands of the current uprisings and protests.

Coming out of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint tradition and culture, we acknowledge our Board and membership is predominantly white. We non-black board members recognize our lives, identities, and experiences were nurtured and rooted in the white supremacy and anti-racism of the LDS Church and Mormon culture. We recognize and validate that black Mormons across the belief spectrum have suffered and continue to suffer tremendously due to systemic anti-black racism in the US broadly, and in the LDS Church specifically. Black Mormon Lives Matter.

Non-black members of the Board are turning the focus on ourselves and our organization. We commit to doing the hard word of critically addressing and dismantling anti-black racism in ourselves and systemic anti-black racism in our organization.

Here are core current initiatives, readings, training, and podcasts from black organizations, black Mormons, and anti-racism scholars we want to promote wholeheartedly as an organization: