In the 1960s, Mormon Apostle Hugh B. Brown made significant efforts to lift the priesthood and temple ban for Black members of the church, even speaking with the media about the possibility of change. President Harold B. Lee, however, demanded that Brown stop speaking to the press and removed him from the First Presidency. Lee also forced Brown to sign a statement reaffirming the church’s racist doctrines. Join us with historian Matthew Harris as we explore the impact of Brown’s release, his faith journey, and insights from Harris’s book Second Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality.

We are thrilled to announce that we have reached our donation goal to compensate Dr. Matt Harris for his contributions to this series. We sincerely thank everyone who supported this effort. While the goal to pay Matt has been met, producing this series incurred significant costs for the Open Stories Foundation. If you find value in this content and want to help cover these expenses and support future productions, we encourage you to donate at mormonstories.org/donate. Your generosity makes a difference—thank you!

Purchase Matt Harris’ book, Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality