Ellen White was strongly **against slavery**. Her writings demonstrate an unequivocal condemnation of slavery as a sin and a system of oppression that was contrary to God's will. ## Ellen White's Clear Opposition to Slavery Ellen White viewed slavery as fundamentally sinful and contrary to God's design for humanity. She wrote: **Slavery as Sin Against God:** "God is punishing this nation for the high crime of slavery" (1T 264). She described slavery as "a foul blot of slavery upon this land" and stated that "God saw the foul blot of slavery upon this land, He marked the sufferings that were endured by the colored people" (SWk 41.3). **Slavery Compared to Other Evils:** "In this land of light a system is cherished which allows one portion of the human family to enslave another portion, degrading millions of human beings to the level of the brute creation. The equal of this sin is not to be found in heathen lands" (1T 258.2). **God's Ownership of All People:** "The colored race are God's property. Their Maker alone is their master, and those who have dared chain down the body and the soul of the slave, to keep him in degradation like the brutes, will have their retribution" (1T 358.1). ## Her Support for Abolition Ellen White clearly supported the abolition of slavery and saw God's hand in the Civil War as divine judgment: **Divine Intervention for Freedom:** "The Lord wrought in freeing the Southern slaves; but He designed to work still further for them as He did for the children of Israel, whom He took forth to educate, to refine, and ennoble" (SWk 41.3). **Comparison to Biblical Liberation:** "The land of Egypt was nearly desolated to bring freedom to the children of Israel; the Southern States were nearly ruined to bring freedom to the colored race" (SWk 44.2). ## Her Criticism of Pro-Slavery Christians Ellen White was particularly critical of those who claimed to be Christians while supporting slavery: **Condemnation of Pro-Slavery Sentiment:** "There are a few in the ranks of Sabbathkeepers who sympathize with the slaveholder. When they embraced the truth, they did not leave behind them all the errors they should have left" (1T 358.1). **Rejection of Property Claims:** "They maintain that the slave is the property of the master, and should not be taken from him... I was shown that it mattered not how much the master had paid for human flesh and the souls of men; God gives him no title to human souls, and he has no right to hold them as his property" (1T 358.1). ## Her Call for Post-War Ministry After emancipation, Ellen White advocated strongly for Christian work among the freed slaves: "After their deliverance from captivity how earnestly should every Christian have cooperated with heavenly intelligences who were working for the deliverance of the downtrodden race. We should have sent missionaries into this field to teach the ignorant" (SWk 44.2). Ellen White's position was unambiguously anti-slavery. She viewed slavery as a sin against God, supported its abolition, and called for extensive Christian ministry to help the freed slaves. Her writings show no sympathy for the institution of slavery and consistently condemned it as contrary to God's will and Christian principles.

Ellen White's position on segregation was **complex and contextual**, reflecting both her strong opposition to racial prejudice as sin while also advocating for practical approaches that would allow ministry to continue in the hostile racial climate of the post-Civil War South. ## Ellen White's Fundamental Opposition to Racial Prejudice Ellen White viewed racial prejudice as fundamentally sinful and contrary to God's will: **Prejudice as Sin:** "What should be done for the colored race has long been a vexed question, because professed Christians have not had the Spirit of Christ... Men have thought it necessary to plan in such a way as to meet the prejudice of the white people; and a wall of separation in religious worship has been built up between the colored people and the white people" (SWk 19.2). **Comparison to Jewish-Gentile Prejudice:** "Is not this prejudice against the colored people on the part of the white people similar to that which was cherished by the Jews against the Gentiles?... Christ worked throughout His life to break down this prejudice" (SWk 19.2). **Spiritual Equality:** "All are one in Christ. Birth, station, nationality, or color cannot elevate or degrade men. The character makes the man" (SWk 12.2). ## Her Pragmatic Approach to Segregation Despite her theological opposition to racial prejudice, Ellen White advocated for **practical segregation** in certain contexts, particularly in the South, as a strategic necessity: **Separate Churches:** "In regard to white and colored people worshiping in the same building, this cannot be followed as a general custom with profit to either party—especially in the South. The best thing will be to provide the colored people who accept the truth, with places of worship of their own" (9T 206.3). **Rationale for Separation:** "Let the colored believers be provided with neat, tasteful houses of worship. Let them be shown that this is done not to exclude them from worshiping with white people, because they are black, but in order that the progress of the truth may be advanced" (9T 206.4). **Educational Segregation:** "There is a work to be done in opening schools to teach the colored people alone, unmixed with whites, and there will be a successful work done in this way" (SWk 92.3). ## Her Reasoning for Practical Segregation Ellen White's advocacy for segregation was **strategic rather than ideological**: **Protecting the Work:** "The colored people should not urge that they be placed on an equality with white people... So far as possible, everything that would stir up the race prejudice of the white people should be avoided. There is danger of closing the door so that our white laborers will not be able to work in some places in the South" (9T 214.3). **Avoiding Violence:** "Any mingling of the white people with the colored people, as sleeping in their houses, or showing them friendship as would be shown by the whites to those of their own color, is exasperating to the white people of the South" (SWk 83.2). **Practical Ministry Concerns:** "Let as little as possible be said about the color line, and let the colored people work chiefly for those of their own race" (9T 206.2). ## Her Vision for the Future Ellen White believed segregation was a **temporary necessity**, not God's ultimate will: **Future Integration:** "When the Holy Spirit is poured out, there will be a triumph of humanity over prejudice in seeking the salvation of the souls of human beings. God will control minds. Human hearts will love as Christ loved. And the color line will be regarded by many very differently from the way in which it is now regarded" (9T 209.1). **Conversion Changes Hearts:** "As the truth is brought to bear upon the minds of both colored and white people, as souls are thoroughly converted, they will become new men and women in Christ Jesus... Those who are converted among the white people will experience a change in their sentiments. The prejudice which they have inherited and cultivated toward the colored race will die away" (SWk 22.1). ## Her Criticism of Exclusion Ellen White strongly opposed **complete exclusion** of Black people from white religious gatherings: **Against Total Exclusion:** "Let not the colored people be excluded from the religious assemblies of the white people. They have no chance to exchange their superstitious exercises for a worship that is more sacred and elevating if they are shut out from association with intelligent white people" (SWk 33.1). **Church Membership:** "You have no license from God to exclude the colored people from your places of worship. Treat them as Christ's property, which they are, just as much as yourselves. They should hold membership in the church with the white brethren" (SWk 15.2). ## Summary Ellen White was **against segregation as a principle** but **advocated for it as a temporary strategy** in the hostile racial climate of the post-Civil War South. She viewed racial prejudice as sin and believed in the spiritual equality of all races, but she also recognized that immediate integration would provoke violent opposition that would destroy the possibility of ministry to both races. Her position was pragmatic rather than ideological - she saw segregation as a necessary evil to preserve the opportunity for gospel work, while looking forward to a time when converted hearts would overcome racial prejudice.