By: Peter Hightower, Assistant Media Relations Specialist
Recently, much ado was made over a meeting that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah between the national leadership of the NAACP and the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The meeting was unprecedented for the two groups, but both discovered that they actually have much common ground and many shared values. Most importantly, the meeting in Salt Lake City was not an end to itself but the beginning of what both hope to be a long, fruitful and productive relationship of cooperation.
The first fruits of the new relationship were on full display in the opening session of the NAACP National Convention Sunday evening in San Antonio, Texas. First, Elder Jack N. Gerard of the Quorum of the Seventy addressed the session as one of several introductory speakers. He quoted statements from LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson and NAACP President Derrick Johnson made during their joint press conference following the May meeting.
Elder Gerard then went on to announce a new joint education and employment initiative based on the Church’s Self-Reliance curriculum which 
will be implemented nationally through the NAACP’s local chapter offices. The new program will retain focus on the existing four core principles of the Self-Reliance Program: starting and running a small business; managing personal finances; pursuing education for better employment; and finding better work opportunities. The new initiative will begin immediately with pilot programs in Camden, New Jersey; Baltimore, Maryland; and Atlanta, Georgia. Following the announcement, Elder Gerard declared “We envision joint NAACP and LDS activities and projects all over this nation. We do not intend to be a flash in the pan. That’s not our style and we know it’s not yours! We will work in harmony and we will learn from each other.”
Later in the session, Vice Chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors, Karen Boykins-Towns, addressed the gathering and recounted her experience meeting with the First Presidency in Salt Lake City. When Chairman Russell announced the anticipated meeting in February, many board members, including Boykins-Towns, expressed their concerns. “However In the days following that decision, I realized that we were going to Utah because change cannot happen in a vacuum. We were going to Utah because inclusivity is important in this next-level fight and I learned that there was common ground to be had in partnering with the Mormons in social justice issues.”
She described the meeting as an “eye-opening experience” but that more importantly, “for the approximately 500,000 black members in their church, our visit and our meeting was surprising, impactful, and groundbreaking” she said, pausing to emphasize each point. Despite their reservations, she says they left the historic meeting with a better understanding of each others’ history and the desire to acknowledge the past and move forward while working together for the common good.
Then one of the highlights of the evening came with the performance of the Debra Bonner Unity Gospel Choir International who travelled all the way from 
Salt Lake City at the invitation of Chairman Russell. The choir performed at a luncheon following the May meeting and Russell came away so impressed that he insisted they come to San Antonio to perform for the convention going so far as to state to his board “I. Want. That. Choir!” The Unity Gospel Choir is a non-profit, all-volunteer choir that had only ever performed in and around Utah, once travelling to Rexburg, Idaho. So, the trip to San Antonio represented a great step forward for the group.
After Vice-Chairman Boykins-Towns’ introductory remarks, they took the stage draped in colorful robes hand-tailored by the same team that handles the clothing for the famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Silencing the crowd with spine-chilling solos and absolute perfect harmonization, this writer can’t begin to do justice to the spirit and power that Debra and her choir commanded during their single number, Calvary. Many of the choir members shared how music is their preferred way of connecting to God personally and that through their performances, their primary goal is to bring audiences closer to Him as well.
One young member of the group shared how she found the choir during an extremely difficult time in her life and how working with Debra had inspired her to set new goals and gave her a new purpose in life. “I have a quote on my wall at home and I always make sure to keep it inscribed on my shoes wherever I go, ‘When words fail, music speaks.’ This has been key to overcoming personal challenges for me and I believe that our music will help us bridge our differences and come together in Unity, and as we all come closer to God, inevitably, we come closer to each other.”