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Did Mitt Romney Lie About Father Marching With MLK?

Written by Casey Gane-McCalla, Lead Blogger on January 18, 2012 11:07 am

In December 2007, Mitt Romney was asked by “Meet The Press” host Tim Russert about the history of racism in the Mormon church, which excluded African Americans from participation until 1978. Romney claimed that his father marched with Martin Luther King. Romney would also claim that he “saw his father march with Martin Luther King” in a speech about his Mormon faith earlier that month. In 1978, Mitt Romney would tell the Boston Globe that he and his father both marched with Martin Luther King.

The problem is, Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, the former governor of Michigan, never marched with Martin Luther King. Mitt Romney would concede that fact to the Boston Globe in 2007. The Boston Phoenix could find no record of Mitt’s father, George marching with Martin Luther King at all.

Still Politfact reports that while George Romney never marched with Martin Luther King, he was supportive of King’s goals and of the Civil Rights movement,

But it’s also clear that George Romney, who served as governor from 1963 to 1969 and died in 1995, supported King’s goals at a time when few politicians did. When King visited Detroit and led a rally of 125,000 people in 1963, Romney issued a proclamation and sent personal representatives. (The Times report noted that Romney was Mormon and did not make public appearances on Sundays.) Two years later, Romney led a march of 10,000 people in Detroit to protest events in Selma, Ala. (King wasn’t there.) When King died in 1968, George Romney attended the funeral.

George Romney’s support of the civil rights movement put him at odds with the Mormon Church, whose Apostle, Delpert Stabley wrote him a letter criticizing him for helping “the negro cause” which went against the Prophet, Joseph Smith and God, who had cursed the Negro. So while Mitt Romney’s father was not a racist, Mitt Romney’s “prophet” Joseph Smith, who believed that the Black people were cursed, was.

Tags: Martin Luther King, Mitt Romney
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  • Dan Brown

    Ignorant Blogger: It is incredibly disgusting and disingenuous of you to insinuate that Joseph Smith was a “racist.” He was an abolitionist who led a presidential campaign off of abolitionist platform. He made freed slaves ministers in his church. He raised a freed slave as a daughter in his home. Mormons were such abolitionists that Missouri passed a Mormon extermination order to kill all of them because they wanted to turn Missouri into a free state. Many Mormons died brutal deaths because of their views on slavery. The mob that killed Joseph Smith in Illinois was filled with those that supported slavery.

    You should wikipedia some of this and then publish a contraction for criticizing a group of people who gave their lives for African Americans.

    One more thing– it was never a teaching of Joseph Smith that African Americans were “cursed,” rather it was taught that a mark of “darkness” accompanied some who God had cursed (ie spiritual darkness, or physical marks per the story of Cain in the bible). Later, confused Mormon followers in the early 20th century hijacked this message and turned into a statement on African Americans. This has since been corrected by church leadership as being a false interpretation of scripture and a disgusting mistake itself.

  • Anonymous

    Mitt Romney lied. Period.

  • Jennifer Bingham

    Jospeh Smith was an abolitionist as were all the Mormons at that time. That is the reason they were forced out of Missouri! Jospeph ordained two black men to the priesthood and even gave away his wife Emma’s favorite horse to a black man so that his family could be set free

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/jazzwatch/ jazzwatch

    Just look at his NOSE, and that will tell it ALL right there……

  • Anonymous

    I miss Tim Russert.

  • http://www.facebook.com/kristina.tabacco Kris Tabacco

    did he say “that African Americans and blacks GENERALLY” would have every right and benefit in the hereafter? what the hell does that mean?

  • Anonymous

    You should do a search forElijah Abel and Green Flake.

  • http://www.facebook.com/hevansspeedy Speedy Evans

    marching behind the casket don’t count Mitt

  • Dan Brown

    Seriously. I’m just going to say it again. Why would you write a piece like this without doing simple research and realizing that many Mormons died for their abolitionist views, were the one of the best organized groups of abolitionists, that Joseph Smith freed many slaves and gave them positions of leadership within his organization, adopted one, and that elements of racism within Mormonism were introduced, much, much later and were ideologically-introduced by Dixie DEMOCRATS, meaning Mitt’s father and other REPUBLICAN Mormons were NOT racists.

  • Dan Brown

    Also, where is the article that states that the state with the most desegregated, and highest income for African Americans is UTAH. Maybe the NAACP should study how African Americans are so rich and well educated in Utah and copy the model

  • http://twitter.com/Mr_P_Sacramento Mr.P

    Not true facts are facts! You can’t erase negative history and try to sugar coat it… Mormons believed black people were a curse and thats fact! As far as income is concerned 1% of the population is black , out of about 2.5 million people, thats 25,000 black people your judging compared to 50 million, so once again your facts are fallacious. Stop the bulls**t, John Smith was on some racist bulls**t and it was written.

  • http://twitter.com/Mr_P_Sacramento Mr.P

    Stop the bulls**t! We don’t believe you, You need more people!! ” even gave away his wife Emma’s favorite horse to a black man so that his family could be set free”.. hahahahaha… You think black folks gonna believe some sucka s**t like that.. GTFOH, its 2012!

  • Anonymous

    That’s pretty good for the 1960s. Let’s face it if Mormons are Christians as they claim how come they excluded “Negroes” for so long. Look into the sons of Ham from the Bible. Blacks have been outcasts of Christianity and Judaism since the beginning of time. Slavery simply enhanced it. And isn’t it ironic, indeed that black people turned out to be the first people on the planet Earth. Do I have to repeat the valley of the Rift discovery in Ethiopia? It’s only abt 30 years old as an anthropological fact. Color is an accident of environment & you can run with it from there. ALL our facial features are environmentally determined. Check out Darwin while you’re at it, esp. the bird beaks from the different islands of the Galapagos.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for reminding us. “Whites” have long noses because they originated in cold climates and the cold air had to warm its way to the lungs–distance traveled—so as not to damage the lungs.
    On the other hand, “blacks” had flat noses so that the air wud not have to travel. It’s the same thing abt fat lips and narrow lips. I dont have to explain the color. But we breath normally through our noses. Blacks “double breathe” in a way whereas whites “single breathe.” Is that the reason Y real Africans win the marathons all the time and Y they are such fantastic runners?

  • Anonymous

    Well, then how U explain the black exclusion from the Mormons?

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/lovethemseasoned/ lovethemseasoned

    Most of the African Americans in the state of Utah are former military who after serving decided to stay for the opportunities the found there

  • Anonymous

    The whole point is he lied.
    Not the first one.
    Not the last and a draft dodger to boot who has no problem putting citizens in harms way. (from the security of his desk)

  • Anonymous

    It means the same thing as “Perhaps” and “Probably” “Generally” speaking

  • Jennifer Bingham

    All missionaries from all Faiths are exempt from the Draft…calm down…breathe…

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/ASKARI/ ASKARI

    Seriously, Dan….we are the 2012 version; not 1912 version of Black Folks….

    Your argument is Mormons believed Blacks were cursed but did not discrimate against Blacks (the difference between racism and bigotry to me is scale; racists have the ability and power to discriminate against a person solely because of their membership in a race; bigots can hold discriminatory views but not necessarily hold the ability or power to act on them)…

    The Mormon church acted as racists by excluding Blacks from being active or accepted members of their congregations (why you would want to be one is another matter)…

    Because of their exclusion up until 1978, Mormons were racists….It appears based on the evidence to me that Mitt Romney’s father may not have held the views of his Church personally but by being associated with the Religion, he is being brushed with the broad stroke …..

    I believe you can argue that the Romney’s may not be racists but your argument (despite their abolitionist and other efforts notwithstanding) that the Mormons were not is illogical….

  • Anonymous

    Joseph Smith was an abolitionist. He freely baptized blacks into the church and ordained them to priesthood offices. Seems the author got his wires crossed with Brigham Young who certainly was a product of his time, and was not nearly as progressive as Smith was in the cause for freedom and equality.

  • Anonymous

    Actually, that is a true story. And Joseph Smith did ordain blacks to priesthood. The church never barred blacks from membership, but when they moved to Utah, the did restrict them from holding leadership positions.

  • Anonymous

    How so? Because his father marched three days later because he would not march on Sunday? How is that a lie. The fact is George Romney was very PRO CIVIL RIGHTS. Period.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/jazzwatch/ jazzwatch

    Nope, it’s because we TRAIN…and that’s the SECRET……..

  • Anonymous

    I served my country during the time Mitt enjoyed his deferal and prostested in favor of the draft, Which is no doubt a double standard. Some mission i.e. bask in religion while trying to send others to an undeclared war.

    Lies are Lies and draft dodging is draft dodging no matter how you try to soap it
    I forgot to use “Perhaps” and “Probably” in my statement so I coudl flip flop either way.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/pwj58/ pwj58

    Did his kentucky coal minning daddy and j eagar hoover march with the
    smartest man of his time such as DR. M. L. king?
    Hell the NO!!!!!!!!.

  • http://twitter.com/Mr_P_Sacramento Mr.P

    We don’t believe you! You need more people! Mormonism was on some racist bulls**t, and thats fact.. All the other s**t your saying, is a story, just like Pocahontas. As far as Mitt, maybe he personally is not racist, but he was part of a group of people who practice racism and follows bulls**t scriptures saying that black people were cursed by God. Its 2012, WE DON’T BELIEVE YOU!!

  • Anonymous

    the mormons are not christians. but that particular fact doesnt really matter.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/About-Dat/ About-Dat

    I won’t even jump in the Mormon church thing, I question his father’s response to the Detroit “riots” in ’67 where police and Nat’l guardsmen shot black men first and asked questions later and had LBJ scared to death his actions would be a national embarassment. I respect his view on Vietnam which cost him the ’68 nomination race but Romney Sr. was a man of his time. Looking at his son, he must have let him hang around Nixon for far too long for he acts more like Nixon than his own father.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/CobaltBlu/ CobaltBlu

    Cassius Clay was not exempt from the draft. He was a then field Minister to the Nation of Islam.
    Guess it was a melanin thing.

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