Darius Gray and a Wish List for BYU

Last updated on: June 17, 2020 at 11:44 am by Margaret Blair Young

Darius Gray and a Wish List for BYU 2020-06-17T11:44:38-07:00 Margaret Blair Young

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Darius Gray, Margaret Young, and Mel Hamilton–one of the “Black Fourteen”.

I wrote some of this in 2013, but it has additional relevance today, so I have brought it up again and revised it. Not much revision.

I retired from BYU two years ago. I don’t know if there’s an African American Studies major, though I know African Studies exists. I would love more information.

DARIUS:

In 1965 when Darius Gray came to BYU, he was called in to the Dean of Students’ office. “We’ve had complaints,” the dean said. “We’ve had parents call us concerned that you’re talking to their daughters. You need to stay away from the white girls.” Darius did as he was told. Thirty-five years later, when he and I were speaking to an alumni association, the dean who had given this mandate was present. He approached Darius. “I don’t suppose you remember me,” he said. Darius assured him that he did indeed remember. The man’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry,” he said. As I recall, they embraced.

These are just a couple of the notes I’ve gotten from African American students at BYU:

“I just want to be myself and not represent all black people. I’m tired of being the poster child for blacks. I wish I could be me without everyone staring at me.”

“My fiance’s mother forbade him to marry me because, she said, our children would have ‘cursed blood.’”

I am hopeful that BYU will become a university with diverse faculty and a fully realized vision of service.

So, here’s my BYU wish list:

1) Drop half of the required religion classes (fourteen credit hours–six classes–are required) and substitute those hours with “true religion and undefiled.” In other words, give service wherever it’s needed. Semesters abroad for service opportunities would cover these hours, as would mentoring in inner-city schools or even in local schools.

2) Take one tenth of the budget for athletics and give it to the multi-cultural center. With this, we would re-instate programs which were recently cut, notably:

“Foundations” (a program to prepare multicultural HS students for BYU). Foothold” for the multicultural freshman–to prepare them for BYU life and to introduce them to others who will face similar challenges.

Eagle’s Eye magazine, which gave students an opportunity to practice journalism and to address multicultural issues.

3) Black History Month would be taken seriously, with programs to match what other Utah universities do–including bringing well-regarded Black speakers and Civil Rights activists, some of whom could well be LDS. Plays and films discussing racial issues would be showcased, and a forum headed by a significant leader would discuss why race still matters and how we can build needed bridges to heal our past.

4) There would be a major in African American or Black studies, and faculty hired to support it–at least fifty African American faculty members and a few more African nationals.

As we prepare more African American and African students to come to BYU, we must dramatically increase the number of Black students.

I know that if we marshal the good forces which energize the BYU campus and let our students discover issues greater than their LSAT scores or the perpetual “how do I get an A in this class?” question, their hearts can swell beyond the reaches of this little paradise and set some lights beyond our indulgent skylines.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 16, 2020

Dear Anonymous Mormon: There is no comparison.

Next Post

June 19, 2020 Greenwood--from The Last Mile of the Way (Young and Gray)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ancestors family conflict in the scriptures race and religion Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 November 2024 May 2024 April 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 June 2023 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 October 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 June 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 September 2018 August 2018 May 2018 March 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 August 2015 July 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is the "friend at midnight" in one of Jesus' parables?

Select your answer to see how you score.

An angel A fisherman A soldier A neighbor seeking bread