By Dr. Darron Smith Its generally dangerous territory to criticize powerful people especially the nations first black President, as Tavis Smiley and Cornel West learned in 2011 during their highly visible poverty tour. Cornell West, who supported the President in 2008, has been the most...

  By Angelo Baca It is time for minority voices to be heard especially when the possibility of a new Mormon president can happen. As a Native American scholar, I examined the effects of the Mormon Church upon indigenous peoples in the documentary film, “In Laman’s Terms: Looking at...

By Dr. Darron Smith   There are reportedly some 2 billion self-identified Christians in the world—followers of the life, ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ—with two of the largest denominations here in the United States being of the Catholic and Protestant traditions. Early...

I joined the Mormon Church when I was a youth growing up in Nashville. At the time, I didn’t know about the racist teachings by the Church that persisted until 1978. Nor did I realize that the Church had never apologized for those teachings. All I knew is that these were kind and giving...

By Dr. Brenda Juárez, Lerone Bennett Jr. once asked, “Who is freedom’s friend?” For many in the US, this question is obtuse because the answer is blatantly, even embarrassingly (for you) obvious—we are! The “we” here refers to we, White people—a point underscored by the idea...

By Dr. Darron T. Smith   With the fast approaching 2012 elections on the horizon, there is one question left unanswered. As a widely circulated Associated Press article asked, “Will Obama’s Blackness Prevail Over Romney’s Mormonism in 2012?,” it went on to point out the unique...

A look at the Mormon faith’s history of belief on African-Americans and their role in the church, with Darron Smith. His research focus is Blacks and The Church of Latter Day Saints, and he is the co-editor of the essay collection “Black and Mormon.” He’s also an...

By Dr. Darron T. Smith What does it mean to be Black in America? Many Americans caught a glimpse of it on national television during the first of three presidential debates. The President look disinterested, annoyed, preoccupied, not on his “A” game as some analyst remarked. Other pundits...

By Dr. Darron Smith How do white parents manage to teach their black adoptive children to negotiate white spaces when many white Americans remain skeptical and unconvinced that race actually matters, according to recent survey data? The nation is “colorblind,” many white folks reason,...

Check out Darron on a recent NPR show, “Tell Me More” click here to listen Tweet