One Woman’s View Of Racism In Utah

A sad commentary for a good state

Racism is everywhere

Many changes have taken place in Utah over the years. Since I was gone from the state of my birth for thirteen years while working in Washington, D.C. and moved back two years ago, I have noticed a lot of changes. That is normal and natural. Life moves on, and changes are part of life. Some of the changes, however, are disturbing. One is the issue of racism.

When I was growing up in Utah, I did experience some racism from time to time as an Asian American. There were not a lot of racial minorities where I was raised or even in the entire state. However, racism did not seem to be a major issue in Utah. Most people seemed to get along without huge problems of racial injustice and discrimination.

President Russell M. Nelson, prophet and leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently spoke in the General Conference of the Church about racism. He started out by saying that he wanted everyone to listen carefully to his words. He said that racism is wrong and that God does not favor one race above another.

Some people thought that racism was not such an important topic for Church members as he made it out to be. Since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a worldwide church as well as the predominant religion in Utah, it shows that the leaders feel that racism is a problem which needed to be addressed.

Joy Lane is a woman of color who was interviewed by Ginna Roe of KUTV News on June 3, 2020. Lane is a former educator and entertainer. The title of the piece was “Racism in Utah Through One Woman’s Eyes.”

Lane said, “Racism is in every aspect of what you do, who you are, what you deal with, where you shop, where you eat…It’s very, very blatant.”

Although Lane has lived in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Virginia, and North Carolina and has been to Italy and Spain, she said her worst experiences with racism came in Utah.

Lane said she was asked in a 7-Eleven store to open her purse because the cashier thought she was stealing.

She said that some of the worst experiences of people she knew came while she was a teacher of math and science. Her students were mostly Hispanic or Latin American. She said the boys in particular were regularly treated like criminals by the police and the general public.

Lane suggested to Utahns that they need to dismantle racism. She said, “Stop brushing it under a rug. Admit that it’s real. Put a plan in place to educate people.”

I was surprised to hear of Lane’s experiences. I had no idea that the racism was that bad in Utah for Black people. Obviously, there is a racial problem in Utah although most people I have encountered have been kind and accepting.

Racism is an injustice with which we all need to be concerned. We can each do our part to be more loving, accepting, and tolerant of others.

[Source: KUTV News, Ginna Roe, KSL TV News]