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Alan Cherry

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Alan Gerald Cherry[1] (born 1946 - died July 4, 2024) was one of the few African American converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) prior to the 1978 revelation allowing Black Mormon men to become priests.[2] From 1985-1989, he was director of Brigham Young University's African-American Oral History Project, and recorded interviews with over 200 African-Americans converts to Mormonism across the United States.[3][4][5]

Biography

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Born and raised in New York City,[6][1] Cherry as a teenager was in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom during which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.[1] In 1966, he enlisted with the US Air Force, and was posted to Abilene, Texas.[7] While there, he met a Mormon serviceman, and joined the LDS Church in 1968.[8][3][1][9] In the early 1970s Cherry played and provided comedy routines in the Mormon rock bands Sons of Mosiah, which had Orrin Hatch as their manager, and The Free Agency.[9][10][11][12] Cherry studied at Brigham Young University (BYU),[8] graduating with a BA in sociology and an MA in organizational behavior,[1] and was an original member of the Young Ambassadors, a touring performing group.[7] In June 1978 he received the priesthood, shortly after LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball received divine revelation allowing black Mormon men to become priests.[7][13] In 1979, Cherry sought and was called on a Mormon mission to Oakland, California.[7][1][14] He later served in high local church callings,[1] and was often invited to speak about his experience as a pre-1978 convert.[2]

In 1985, Cherry was appointed project director of BYU's LDS African-American Oral History Project, and over the next few years, interviewed over 200 African-Americans in Utah and across the United States.[3][4][6] Doing this, Cherry met Janice Barkum, whom he married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1987, and with whom he has had three children.[1][9][15] He spoke about his findings in 1988 at a symposium on the tenth anniversary of the revelation of the priesthood,[6][3][16][17] and at other presentations in subsequent years.[18] The interviews were edited into a video entitled Black Legacy: The history of Blacks in Utah.[4][18] Cherry co-authored an entry on "Blacks" in the 1992 Encyclopedia of Mormonism.[19][20]

Cherry appeared in Mormon Kieth Merrill's 1981 film Harry's War as an IRS agent.[7] He was also cast as a freed slave in the Mormon inspirational film Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.[1]

Bibliography

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  • 1970 - It's You and Me, Lord! My Experience as a Black Mormon (Trilogy Arts)[7][11][8][21]
  • 1992 - with Jessie Embry: "Blacks", in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., Daniel H. Ludlow et al., eds., (New York: Macmillan), Volume 1, page 125.[19][20]

Discography

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  • 1970: The Sons Of Mosiah : Live In Washington D.C. (Y' Man's Music)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Farmer, Molly (May 21, 2008). "Having priesthood 'is my better means to serve'". Deseret News. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  2. ^ a b Embry, Jessie L. (2004). "Chapter 4. Spanning the Priesthood revelation (1978): Two Multigenerational Case Studies". In Smith, Darron T.; Bringhurst, Newell G. (eds.). Black and Mormon. University of Illinois Press. pp. 60–81. ISBN 9780252090608. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Evans, Margaret H. (June 5, 1988). "Cherry studies LDS blacks' history". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. p. 20. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Thayne, Jeanne (January 25, 1989). "Black contributions revealed during Human Rights activity". Orem-Geneva Times. Orem, Utah. p. 8. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  5. ^ Jacobson, C.K.; Heaton, T.B.; LeBaron, E.D.; Hope, T.L. (2001). "Black Converts". In Cornwall, Marie; Heaton, Tim B.; Young, Lawrence A. (eds.). Contemporary Mormonism: Social Science Perspectives. University of Illinois Press. p. 327. ISBN 9780252069598. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "LDS Convert Traces Black Mormon History". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. June 10, 1988. p. 19. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Brief Biographies of Latter-day Saint and/or Utah Film Personalities: C: Alan Cherry". LDSFilm.com. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  8. ^ a b c Luptak, Gene (April 28, 1973). "Black Mormon says church aids personal needs". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. p. 21. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Stack, Peggy Fletcher (June 3, 2018). "One Sunday, they received the sacrament; the next, they blessed it — how life changed for black Mormons after the priesthood ban". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Two Santa Ynez Valley youths featured in new musical group". The Lompoc Record. Lompoc, California. July 1, 1970. p. 4. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  11. ^ a b Pearson, Carol Lynn (January 7, 1971). "Belting It Out For Christ. Unique Rock Group To Perform in Provo". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. p. 4. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  12. ^ Ron Simpson, "Utah's Songwriting Senator: Orrin Hatch Blends Politics and Music", Meridian Magazine, April 2009.
  13. ^ Oyler, Sheena (January 10, 1986). "Alan Cherry: God favors righteousness, not race". The Daily Spectrum. Saint George, Utah. p. 23. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  14. ^ "Alan Cherry to perform". The Daily Spectrum. Saint George, Utah. December 2, 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  15. ^ Darrick T., Evenson (2001), "Question 25: Does racism exist among Mormons?", The Mormon Faith & Black Folks, archived from the original on 2012-11-10, retrieved 2013-01-29
  16. ^ Ensign article on 10th anniversary meeting
  17. ^ Coleman, Ronald G.; Gray, Darius A. (2004). "Chapter 3. Two Perspectives: The Religious Hopes of "Worthy" African-American Latter-Day Saints before the 1978 Revelation". In Smith, Darron T.; Bringhurst, Newell G. (eds.). Black and Mormon. University of Illinois Press. pp. 50–59. ISBN 9780252090608. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  18. ^ a b Fillmore, Rosann (January 16, 1989). "Orem City kicks off week for Rights". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. p. 4. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  19. ^ a b Harris, Matthew L; Bringhurst, Newell G., eds. (2015). The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History. University of Illinois Press. pp. 119–122. ISBN 9780252097843. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  20. ^ a b Norman, Keith E. (Spring 1999). "The Mark of the Curse: Lingering Racism in Mormon Doctrine?". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 32 (1): 124. doi:10.2307/45228364.
  21. ^ Bennion, Lowell L. (December 1970). "A black Mormon perspective. Book review of It's you and me, Lord by Alan Gerald Cherry". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon. 5: 93–94. doi:10.2307/45227708. ISSN 0012-2157. OCLC 8536775105.
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