Ellen G. White on “Our Duty to the Colored People.”

A Short Quote By Ellen G. White from "Our Duty"

This neglected Jewish gravestone reveals that the late Max Singer lived “A Lifetime of Devotion to the Ideals of Freedom and Equality for All Mankind.” Here is a LINK to a video about this sad place, founded in 1914.

A SELECT PASSAGE FROM AN 1891 SPEECH BY ELLEN WHITE

As part  of “Black History Month,” I will try to transcribe some relevant remarks by Ellen G, White. Below is a short extract from a famed Battle Creek speech (later released as a 16 page pamphlet) entitled “Our Duty to the Colored People.” Where applicable, I have replaced the term “colored people” with “black people.” Since practically every black person on n1891 was also a poor person, Ellen White often employs the term “poor people” as a synonym for “colored people” (or “black people,” or “African Americans,” if you prefer). There is a lot of source material on her progressive attitudes available at The Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. , but most of it is in PDF format. Ellen White only very rarely, and quite unconsciously, exhibits some now outmoded attitudes toward race relations. As an example of this, she states that intermarriage between the races is not a good idea, as it places the offspring at a disadvantage. This was assuredly true in the past, but is becoming a little less true in the Twenty-First Century. Here is a paragraph from “Our Duty:”

“While at St. Louis a year ago, as I knelt in prayer, these words were presented to me as if written with a pen of fire: ‘All ye are brethren.” The spirit of God rested on me in a wonderful manner, and matters were opened to me in regard to the church at St. Louis and other places. The spirit and words of some in regard to members of the church were an offense to God. They were closing the door of their hearts to Jesus. Among those in St. Louis that believe the truth there are the black people who are true and faithful, precious in the sight of the God of Heaven, and they should have just as much respect as any [other] of God’s children. Those who have spoken harshly to them or have despised them have despised the purchase of the blood of Christ, and they need the transforming grace of Christ in their own hearts, that they may have the pitying tenderness of Jesus toward those who love God with all the fervor of which they themselves are capable.”

Rosetta Douglass-Sprague (1839-1906), daughter of Frederick Douglass, and one of the first black female converts to Seventh-day Adventism.