Deseret News looks at Lester Bush's famous article

In “LDS blacks, scholars cheer church’s essay on priesthood” at the Deseret News, Lester Bush’s famous Dialogue piece is referenced:

In 1852, President Smith’s successor, President Brigham Young, “publicly announced that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood.” He also said that year that in the future black church members would “have (all) the privilege and more” enjoyed by other members.
Those statements were made in speeches President Young gave before the Utah Territorial Legislature, a key finding in a 1973 article by historian Lester E. Bush.
Rees was the editor of Bush’s article. He knew friends and associates who left the church over the issue in the ’60s and ’70s.
“I also had the greatest admiration for the black brothers and sisters who continued to be faithful without the priesthood and without the blessings of the temple,” Rees said. “In some ways, that’s the most amazing story, people like Darius Gray and so many others who against all odds, in a sense, stayed faithful.

Many friends of Dialogue, including board members and writers, are also quoted, including Patrick Mason, Paul Reeve, Armand Mauss, Robert Rees and more.
For more Dialogue articles like Lester Bush’s article, please see the “Race Issues” topic page.