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Summarized by Kent Larsen
LDS Church Supports National Anti-Racism Effort
(The Faith Communities Leadership Summit Report)
Kent Larsen 21Mar00 N6
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The LDS Church supported a recent effort by the
National Conference for Community and Justice to improve the race
climate in the United States and fight racism in the United States.
As part of the effort, Elder W. Don Ladd of the Second Quorum of the
Seventy, participated in a meeting planning the NCCJ's recent Faith
Communities Leadership Summit and represented the Church at the
summit. The effort urges Churches and religions to take new steps to
fight racism and classism in the United States.
As part of U.S. President Bill Clinton's Initiative on Race, launched
in the summer of 1997, the NCCJ, formerly known as the National
Conference of Christians and Jews, planned a Faith Summit, held
October 22-23 at the White House Conference Center. Elder Ladd also
attended the summit as a representative of the LDS Church.
Participants included the 43 Church and religious leaders
representing 38 faiths that planned the summit, as well as many
others.
The Summit adopted specific initiatives it hopes will lead to
eliminating discrimination, bias, bigotry and racism in America.
These include requesting that Church leaders identify racism as a
sin, and an evil that must be addressed. It also includes urging
Churches to engage in anti-racist activities both within and outside
their communities. The initiatives also urge Churches to address
racism at three different levels, the personal, group and systemic
levels.
The link above includes a detailed list of the proposals agreed on by
the summit.
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