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Affirmation Salt Lake www.affirmation.org/saltlake Chapter co-directors: Duane Jennings and Brian Benington 801-486-6977 Upcoming Events Sunday, January 18, 2009. 5:00 pm. Metropolitan Community Church: Sacred Light of Christ 823 South 600 East Salt Lake City, UT 84102 Martin Luther King Weekend Event, showing of the new documentary, “NOBODY KNOWS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BLACK MORMONS,” followed by a Q & A discussion with Darius Gray and Margaret Young. Darius Gray is a founding member of the Genesis group for black Mormons (1971) and Margaret Young is a BYU professor of creative writing. NOBODY KNOWS is a documentary about African American Latter-day Saints, now in post-production. The project is headed by Margaret Young and Darius Gray, authors of several award-winning books and articles about Black Mormons and by Danor Gerald, a promising new filmmaker. Few people, Mormon and non-Mormon, are aware that there has been an African American presence in the LDS Church from its earliest days, that the vanguard company of Mormon pioneers included three “colored servants” who were baptized Mormons, and whose descendants remained active in the Church for several generations. This documentary talks about that little-known legacy, and confronts the hard issues which surfaced in the most turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement, when the Church restricted its priesthood from those of African descent. It discusses how that restriction was lifted and what the lives and challenges of the modern Black Mormon pioneers are. Besides never-released footage shot in 1968 and many rare archival photographs, the documentary includes interviews with renowned scholars, historians, Black Mormons, with Martin Luther King III, and with Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray, retired pastor of the First AME Church of Los Angeles, which was founded by a former slave of Mormon pioneers. For a short preview, go to www.untoldstoryofblackmormons.com. Affirmation Salt Lake Chapter (SLC) Affirmation seeks to meet the needs of persons experiencing frustration or alienation from family, friends, and the Church because of their sexual orientation. When the journey of self-discovery, particularly the process of reconciling our gay selves within the context of our Mormon spiritual and cultural heritage, seems almost more than we can handle, Affirmation offers the opportunity of understanding and support by friends who travel the same path. Also included among the membership of Affirmation are many friends and family, Mormon and non-Mormon, gay and straight. Associating with them, and feeling of their love and support, is one of the greatest blessings to be obtained by joining and actively participating in Affirmation. Contact Information: Affirmation Salt Lake Chapter, P.O. Box 521106, SLC UT 84152 Email us AffirmationSLC  aol.com 801-486-6977
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www.affirmation.org