At Ballot, Black Mormon Couple Weighs Faith, Race

[rug]

October 28, 2011

With two African-American candidates and two Mormon candidates vying for the presidency, black Mormons find themselves at the political intersection of race and religion. Host Michel Martin speaks with two black members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Don Harwell and his wife, Jerri, who have different political viewpoints.

Transcript:

MICHEL MARTIN, host: And now we turn to Faith Matters. That's the part of the program where we talk about matters of faith and spirituality, including, at times, how faith and politics collide.

And if you've been following the presidential campaign so far, then you've probably noticed that the candidates' religious beliefs are already a part of the conversation. Religion, like race, remains a sensitive issue in public life, so we decided to call upon two guests who themselves live at the intersection of this debate. They are Don and Jerri Harwell.

We came across Don Harwell in an article by TheGrio.com about the political abuse of black Mormons. This year, for the first time, there happen to be two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints running for president: Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney. There also happen to be two African-Americans, the incumbent, President Barack Obama, and on the GOP side, Herman Cain.

Don Harwell is the president of the Genesis Group. That's a network within the church for African-American Mormons. Jerri Harwell is an assistant professor at Salt Lake Community College, and they're with us now from Salt Lake City.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/28/141794524/at-ballot-black-mormon-couple-weighs-faith-race?ft=1&f=1016

8:04 audio at link.