Ellen G. White Encyclopedia

Trevor O'Reggio

ELLEN G. WHITE AND RACE RELATIONS

Ellen White was a staunch supporter of the rights of black people at a time in American history when it was very unpopular. She spoke out against slavery and she asserted equal rights for black people. She aggressively promoted and supported the work of Adventism among blacks by writing, preaching and counseling the church to provide means and resources for it.

The major portion of her writings on the racial issue was made between 1891 and 1908 and focused on calling attention to the need for working among Blacks. Many of these discourses were compiled into a small pamphlet called "Our Duty to the Colored People" and further developed in Testimonies 9, under the section "Among the Colored People." The Southern Work was a compilation of all Ellen White's statements on the race issue by Edson White, who issued this booklet as a means of appealing to Seventh-day Adventists for support of the work among the blacks. It set forth counsels, cautions and admonitions concerning the work for Blacks. At the heart of this publication is nine articles written in the Review and Herald between 1895 and 1896. In 1901, additional information was added along the same line as her previous counsels.

The historical context (last decade of the Nineteenth Century) in which she wrote was one of the most turbulent periods of race relations in American history. It marked the high point in lynching of Blacks, the consolidation of White Supremacy, the disenfranchisement of Black political power; the age of "scientific theories" to prove Negro inferiority. Alongside these developments was the rise of American imperial power and the birth of American overseas missionary work to "civilize and christianize" the "darkies" of the world (white man's burden). The Twentieth century, anticipated as a coming era of "progress" opened tragically with 214 lynchings in the first two years. Clashes between the races occurred almost daily, and the atmosphere and tension in which people of both races lived was conducive to little more than a struggle for mere survival with a feeble groping in the direction of progress.

Several principles about race relations emerge from her writings.

1.	Ellen White blames the ignorance of black slaves not on some inherent racial defect which was a popular idea of the time but as a result of slavery and lack of opportunity (Ellen G. White letter 80-a, 1895 to J. E. White, August 16, 1895).

2.	She affirms the equality of Blacks by comparing them to the best developed white man (See Ellen G. White Manuscript 7, 1896, The Colored People).

3.	She calls on all Christians to acknowledge and practice equality of all. (Ibid)

4.	She condemns racial prejudice as a moral evil and calls on Christians to follow and practice this principle in their relationship with Blacks (Ellen G. White Manuscript 107, 1908, The Color Line).

5.	Mrs. White views on race were based on the doctrines of creation and redemption. "Christ came to this earth with a message of mercy and forgiveness. he laid the foundation for a religion by which Jew and Gentile, black and white, free and bond are linked together in one common brotherhood recognized as equal in the sight of God." She speaks of their common relationship to us by creation and redemption and their right to the blessings of freedom. 7T. p, 223

6.	A believer cannot generation or practice any form of oppression or injustice to the least child of humanity. Ibid. p 225

Delbert Baker, Adventist Review, February 18, 1993, page 176-177 identified a number of principles in Ellen White's writings that apply to the black work. Some of these principles can also be applied to her philosophy on race relations.

1.	Moral principle: Adventist are under moral obligation to address relevant issues of blacks in their midst.

2.	Humanitarian principle: Adventists are compelled to be compassionate as Jesus was to the downtrodden.

3.	Empathetic principle: White Adventists should try to understand the situation of blacks.

4.	Restitution principle: the nation, along with the church, should restore something to Blacks for their long years of slavery.

5.	Societal principle: Strengthening the black race strengthens all of society.

Ellen White's Evolving Views on Race.

1.	In Our Duty to the Colored People, 1891, she urged white members to accept blacks within their congregations. She advocated for integration.

2.	By 1895, she backed off from that position by urging a change of method.. She advised caution in order not to infuriate the opposition and hinder the work 9T 206, 208.

3.	She eventually conceded to separate churches because of necessity but she still firmly asserted the principle of brotherhood and equality (7T 225).

4.	She conceded that this position would have been unnecessary if Chris's love dwelt in the human heart.

5.	As racial animosity increased in America, Ellen White increasingly counseled the separation of houses of worship for blacks as demanded by custom. She saw this a more efficient and left the possibility that this would be the wisest course of action until God showed a better way. 9T pp, 207-208

Summary

It cannot be said of Ellen White that she advocated any broad principles of racial separation or harbored racial prejudice. She constantly urged working towards the ideal but she showed flexibility by adapting certain changes under adverse circumstances all for the good of the work. Her later counsels on separation must be viewed as temporary measures, not life-long principles in dealing with the race issue. She must be judged in light of her overall principles of equality and brotherhood of the human race.

For further reading:

Baker, Delbert W. "The Dynamics of Communication and African-American Progress in the Seventh-day Adventist Organization: a Historical Descriptive Analysis." Ph.D. thesis, Howard University, 1993.

_______, ed. Telling the Story: an Anthology on the Development of the Black SDA Work. Loma Linda, CA: Loma Linda University Printing Services, 1996.

Graybill, Ronald D. E. G. White and Church Race Relations. Washington: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1970.

Rock, Calvin B. "Institutional Loyalty Versus Racial Freedom: the Dilemma of black Seventh-
day Adventist Leadership." Ph.D. thesis, Vanderbilt University, 1984.

White, Ellen, Our Duty to the Colored People.

The Southern Work.

Testimonies vol. 9 pp. 119-224

Testimonies vol. 1 p 202

Testimonies vol. 7 pp 220-242