Utah Centennial County History Series - Salt Lake County 1996

A l t h o u g h the 1960s retained a reputation for both idealism and social unrest, in Salt Lake County the 1970s more vividly illustrated the stresses of societal change and political activism. Social maturity became apparent, as well, as new leadership and development visibly altered business and commercial patterns and beautiful showcases enhanced the enjoyment of the performing arts. Below the surface of the changing metropolis, the Salt Lake Valley reacted to significant shifts in racial relations, to the demand for equal rights for women, to changing family patterns, and to a spate of unusual and violent crimes.

Although Salt Lake County had remained relatively aloof from the civil rights movement, both laws and attitudes now enabled individuals and groups with minority status to expand their roles and rights within the valley. A change in LDS priesthood policy late in 1978 acknowledged and perpetuated the changing mindset. Yet allowing African-American men equal opportunity within the lay priesthood also prompted a rash of ugly episodes with the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan in Salt Lake County. Toward the decade's