Morehouse Faces Backlash Over Joseph Smith Portrait
by Ann Brown
February 21, 2026
Smith founded Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement.
By Robert Hill
An ongoing debate is taking place on the campus of Morehouse College as the Joseph Smith portrait is set to be displayed in the coming months.
Smith founded Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. He published the “Book of Mormon” at age 24 and, within 14 years, had attracted tens of thousands of followers by the time of his death. Some in the Latter Day Saints had ties to slavery. While Smith himself was not a slaveholder, some early church members owned slaves.
On Feb. 1, an oil painting of Smith was unveiled and is scheduled to be placed on display in April inside the Chapel’s International Hall of Honor. Students and alums have raised concerns regarding this decision, pointing to Smith’s stance on slavery and the broader history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The portrait is set to be displayed in the chapel’s International Hall of Honor, a space that honors global leaders and influential figures.
As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, “On Feb. 1, Morehouse College unveiled a portrait of Joseph Smith to be displayed in its International Hall of Honor as part of the college’s effort to diversify the chapel’s representation of international religious figures. During the unveiling, Smith was praised as being “Lincoln before Lincoln.””
However, the decision to implement the portrait has been met with criticism.
Students and alums are pushing back against honoring Smith, arguing that it contradicts the mission and legacy of a historically Black college. They have raised concerns about how Smith supported slavery at different points in his life, and the history of the Church, which restricted Black members from full participation for many years.
Students like Alonzo Brinson, president of the Chapel Assistants Program, said he was surprised by the unveiling and questioned its message.
As reported by 11Alive, ““I thought it was very weird that he did not stop his church from owning slaves. And then if you talk to Brigham Young, Brigham Young said he got the ideas from Joseph Smith. So I, I just thought that was very weird. I thought it was very disrespectful, not only to Morehouse College, but to Atlanta, to the whole AUC of Black History Month, the first day of it, that that’s how we started,” Brinson said.”
The portrait will be placed alongside prominent figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela.
Supporters of Smith’s portrait have pointed to his 1844 presidential campaign platform, during which he advocated for the abolition of slavery and proposed federal compensation to enslavers.
Currently, Morehouse has not announced any plans to remove or relocate the portrait.
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