Isabel Ellis Case Study
Isabel Ellis in her later years.
Trudy attended public schools in Salt Lake City. What was it like for African American families living in Salt Lake City? Trudy often said it was hard being black and in the minority in Salt Lake City when she was coming up. She would on occasion relate that if Baha’u’llah could change her enough to serve the Faith after her experiences growing up, He could change anyone.
It is not surprising that some black pioneers settled in Utah during the pioneer era. I was surprised to learn that African slaves were bought and sold in Utah. And white Southerners who were members of the LDS church brought their slaves with them. In the 1850’s this meant the majority of African Americans in Utah were slaves.
African …show more content…
Both Trinity African Methodist Episcopal and Calvary Missionary Baptist churches have continued to maintain their historical roles in addressing the secular as well as the spiritual needs of the states’ black communities. Employment opportunities for blacks were generally limited. This influenced the decision of many blacks to relocate outside of the state including Trudy and her family. Access to housing was limited by restrictive covenants. If they were permitted to enter privately owned venues, blacks had to sit in the balcony section of theaters. Or stand outside of the ballrooms where black entertainers were …show more content…
Some of my relatives settled in California and some other people may have selected Utah as their new place of residence. They would have found employment on the railroads or at government arms manufacturing shops and defense installations. Some could have found employment at the local hotels and the American Smelter Refining Company. After World War II, African Americans across the nation, including Utah, began to focus their attention on issues of racial injustice on both the community and the national levels. An NAACP branch was established in Ogden, Utah in 1943. The Salt Lake City NAACP branch was reinvigorated and both branches actively supported the quest for civil rights. The Baha’i community was made aware of this challenge at least as early as 1939 by Shoghi Effendi: “As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Bahá'í community at the present stage of its evolution.” (From The Advent of Divine Justice, p
Trudy attended public schools in Salt Lake City. What was it like for African American families living in Salt Lake City? Trudy often said it was hard being black and in the minority in Salt Lake City when she was coming up. She would on occasion relate that if Baha’u’llah could change her enough to serve the Faith after her experiences growing up, He could change anyone.
It is not surprising that some black pioneers settled in Utah during the pioneer era. I was surprised to learn that African slaves were bought and sold in Utah. And white Southerners who were members of the LDS church brought their slaves with them. In the 1850’s this meant the majority of African Americans in Utah were slaves.
African …show more content…
Both Trinity African Methodist Episcopal and Calvary Missionary Baptist churches have continued to maintain their historical roles in addressing the secular as well as the spiritual needs of the states’ black communities. Employment opportunities for blacks were generally limited. This influenced the decision of many blacks to relocate outside of the state including Trudy and her family. Access to housing was limited by restrictive covenants. If they were permitted to enter privately owned venues, blacks had to sit in the balcony section of theaters. Or stand outside of the ballrooms where black entertainers were …show more content…
Some of my relatives settled in California and some other people may have selected Utah as their new place of residence. They would have found employment on the railroads or at government arms manufacturing shops and defense installations. Some could have found employment at the local hotels and the American Smelter Refining Company. After World War II, African Americans across the nation, including Utah, began to focus their attention on issues of racial injustice on both the community and the national levels. An NAACP branch was established in Ogden, Utah in 1943. The Salt Lake City NAACP branch was reinvigorated and both branches actively supported the quest for civil rights. The Baha’i community was made aware of this challenge at least as early as 1939 by Shoghi Effendi: “As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Bahá'í community at the present stage of its evolution.” (From The Advent of Divine Justice, p