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An Evening With Darius Gray and the Genesis Group and A History of African Americans In the Church, from 1832-2002
KENSINGTON, MARYLAND -- On Saturday, February 2, 2002 at 7:00 p.m.,
The Washington, DC Temple Visitors' Center of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints will host a fireside--an evening of music
and the spoken word--with Darius Gray, who is the President of the
Genesis Branch, the official organization of African American members
of the Church--and their friends.
President Gray, who will be speaking earlier that day at our African
American Family History Conference, has been a member of the Church
for thirty years and served in the presidency of Genesis for most of
those years, having been set apart by President Gordon B. Hinckley as
its president in 1997. He is the author of a historic-fiction
trilogy on African Americans in the Church entitled, "Standing On The
Promises." Joining him in the fireside will be Margaret Blair Young,
Ph.D., who is a professor of English literature and languages from
Brigham Young University and his co-author on the trilogy. Sister
Young is also a member of the Genesis Branch.
President Gray and Sister Young will discuss the Genesis Branch at
the beginning of the fireside and will then open up the meeting for
testimonies.
Then on Sunday, February 3, 2002 at 7:00 p.m., President Gray and
Sister Margaret Young will host a fireside--an evening of music and
the spoken word--at The Washington, DC Temple Visitors' Center,
entitled "A History of African American members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from 1832-2002".
As with all Visitors' Center activities, it is free and open to the
public and all are welcome.
President Gray and Sister Young have recently completed the first two
books in a historic-fiction trilogy on the subject, called "Standing
On The Promises," which is published by Deseret Book and is available
in Church-oriented bookstores.
Some highlights of the fireside include the following:
* A mug of Green Flake, an African American who led Brigham Young and
the vanguard part into the Great Salt Lake valley;
* A letter and other writings from Jane Manning James, an African
American convert from Connecticut who was befriended by Joseph and
Emma Smith in Nauvoo and who lived with them:
* Documents pertaining to Elijah Abel, an African American member of
the Church from Nauvoo, whom Joseph Smith ordained to the Priesthood
and who served as a missionary for the Church.
Other artifacts will also be on display and will be discussed in this
multi-media presentation of President Gray and Sister Young.
These firesides are held in conjunction with the unveiling of an
exhibit on African Americans in the Church, which is provided by
President Gray and Sister Young and the Church Museum of Art and
History as well as the unveiling of the Mark E. Mitchell Collection
of African American History, which has been proposed as the core
collection for the upcoming National Museum of African American
History. All events are free and are open to the public. To learn
more about the other activities, please call us at the Visitors'
Center at 301-587-0144.
Sources:
An Evening With Darius Gray and the Genesis Group
Washington DC Visitors Center News Release 31Jan02 D1
A History of African Americans In the Church, from 1832-2002
Washington DC Visitors Center News Release 31Jan02 D1
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