Baha'i CommunityMeeting Baha’is in actionYou can be pulled in many directions at college – my Baha’i friends showed me that faith and action go together.
Baha'i Community BuildingBridging communities of color through serviceFirst Nations Baha’is offered community-building activities to their friends and neighbors – even the prayers were in Navajo.
Baha'i Community BuildingThe intersection of race, class and young peopleThe Baha’i junior youth program helps develop powers of expression – so that young people become aware of injustice and how to address them.
Baha'i Community BuildingPushing forward as Baha’isWhen Emmett Till was killed, many Baha’is said it was too bad, but we did not have the experience to address it.
Baha'i Community BuildingTeaching math and spiritual empowermentI met a student and his mom at their home, and as soon as I walked in I knew they couldn’t afford $25 an hour for tutorials.
Baha'i Community BuildingRace and the twofold moral purposeI didn’t feel racism growing up in Memphis. But at university I learnt why – the racism in Memphis is invisible racism.
Racial UnityHungry for unityNew relationships are being built – forcing people to see each other as equals.
Baha'i FaithFrom Christian to Baha’i – via ChristIn the Bible we’re told to watch and pray, that Christ will come again like a thief in the night.
Baha'i CommunityFilling institutions with the spirit of onenessThe Baha’i teachings say it’s mandatory for our spirits and hearts to eradicate racism.
Baha'i CommunityA variety of racesWhat attracted me was the Baha’i principle to actively work for the elimination of prejudice.
Baha'i Community BuildingThe opposite of love isn't hate - it's apathyIf truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues, what does it look like to apply that to eliminating racial prejudice?
Baha'i CommunityFinding hope in a hopeless timeGrowing up in a Baha’i family in the 1960s gave me hope – otherwise I wouldn’t believe there could be justice for people of color.
Baha'i CommunityLiving the integrated lifeThe Baha’i community in Nashville was a third black, a third white and a third Iranian. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
Baha'i CommunityHow Baha’i institutions can address raceA high number of African-Americans get elected to our Local Spiritual Assembly – and the majority of voters are Iranians.
Baha'i Community BuildingBeing the changeWe saw that more of our African-American brothers and sisters engaged as we educated ourselves about race in America.
Racial UnityCulture shock – in AmericaMy mother-in-law held up her arms and said 'my daughter' and I just broke down in tears.
Baha'i CommunityThe challenge of learning unity in diversityFarzaneh Guillebeaux: Learning about unity in diversity is a challenge, not just for America, but for the Baha’i community as well.
Racial UnityLove is an action verbFar too often we have squandered so much human capital and potential because of racism.
Baha'i Faith‘Praise the Lord, here you are’It felt like Pentecost, when the disciples went out and they began to preach the word of Jesus after his crucifixion.
Baha'i CommunityA handful, a roomful and then a great gatheringIn the 1920s and later, had black Southerners been given the chance they would have responded to the Baha’i Faith in large numbers.
Baha'i CommunityLosing then finding his religionI noticed within the Baha'i community there were African-Americans, whites, Filipinos and others all working together.
Baha'i CommunityOffering an African-American spirit to the Baha'i faithWe would sing for hours and then deepen ourselves on our responsibilities as Baha’is.
Racial UnityRace unity from Texas to TennesseeBarbara Talley: There was a perception that if you talk about race, it creates the issue. We’re just sharing our stories.
Baha'i Community BuildingSpiritual reparationsBarbara Talley: The Bible said the last shall be the first, and the meek shall inherit the Earth. This is it.
Baha'i FaithSome people pretend to be asleepBarbara Talley: Maybe we weren’t brought here. Maybe we were sent here.
Baha'i Community BuildingLove and Faith Community CafeA white woman complained to me about the African-American kids we’d invited to have free ice cream.
Baha'i Community BuildingSincere friendships and boots on the groundWe must have sincere friendships if we want to include everyone in our community.
Baha'i CommunityEmbracing diversity to overcome residential segregationAnthony Vance: 7 out of 10 white Americans have no close black friends, and 4 out of 10 African-Americans have no close white friends.
Baha'i CommunityA spiritual assemblyMichael Penn: I was moved by the sweetness, the humility, the frankness and the love that they had for me.
Baha'i Community BuildingCreating the world – or destroying itMichael Penn: Embodying spiritual qualities is part of the process of creating racial unity.
Baha'i Community BuildingMaking communities betterMichael Penn: The junior youth said they were concerned about the way their mothers were being treated.
Baha'i Community BuildingLearning to readMichael Penn: If we’re going to overcome prejudice, we have to become the kinds of people who are prejudice-free.
Baha'i Community BuildingBelieving in race unity demands workToday’s world influences our thinking in terms of race and class – even if we already believe in unity in diversity.
Baha'i CommunityStanding up for the wellbeing of allBaha’is are supposed to be champions of justice – to stand up for humanitarian issues.
Baha'i CommunityA devotional cultureAfrican-Americans know how to come together to pray – they can offer this to Baha’i communities.
Baha'i Community BuildingMeaningful conversations that address racismBaha’i activities in gentrifying Brooklyn help us to build friendships with people from different backgrounds.
Baha'i CommunityLearning to pray from African-AmericansThe Harlem Baha’i teaching institute didn’t do anything until they had properly prayed up the room.
Racial IdentityPutting African-Americans in the centerWe had a race unity workshop where white people surrounded African-Americans and listened to their truth.
Baha'i CommunityA new Harlem generationI was horrified that so many Baha’is in Harlem were white – but then I saw they were reaching out to their neighborhoods of color.
Baha'i Community BuildingTeaching kids to serve their communitiesTavoria Kellam: People I’d have never imagined are engaged in doing the work of addressing racism in America.
Baha'i CommunityCreating the Black Men’s GatheringI didn’t see enough African-American men active in the Baha’i community and I began to ask why.
Racial IdentityHomelands of the ancestorsPeople of African descent were asked to be a source of encouragement to Baha’i communities in Africa – so we went.
Baha'i CommunityA Liberian reunion in GhanaWe walked in and there was an uproar at the back – a group of young men said “We know him!”
Baha'i Community BuildingOvercoming injustice through service not contentionThe Baha’i writings forbid conflict – we must oppose oppression by falling in love with people of other backgrounds.
Baha'i CommunityUnity in diversityNature understands it – there’s so much diversity just in plant life but it all works together.
Baha'i Community BuildingA realization at Wounded KneeRace unity dances weren’t enough – I saw that we have to help communities deal with the problems they’re facing.
Baha'i Community BuildingMaywood, near ChicagoFour young people recently took their lives in our community – these are spiritual problems that need spiritual solutions.
Racism in AmericaRacism and how to overcome itI’ve gone through hardships but I wouldn’t do it any other way – people like to feel that you’re passionate.
Baha'i CommunityGrowing up as a white Baha'i in a segregated worldKen Bowers: Growing up, everybody in our Baha’i community, black and white, was my family.
Baha'i Community BuildingBuilding community to achieve race unityKen Bowers: We're challenged to think consciously about the implications of justice and of building a united community.
Racism in AmericaHow to talk about race in AmericaVan Gilmer: There were five of us, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Baha’i, who walked through a museum to see the history of slaves in America.
Racism in AmericaThe only way to eliminate racismVan Gilmer: My granddaughter went outside and saw a white noose hanging from a tree in her yard.
Baha'i CommunityGrowing up as a Civil Rights warriorThe Baha’i community taught racial unity and they also lived it – which was the goal of the Civil Rights movement.
Baha'i CommunityAbdu’l-Baha in AmericaThe head of the Baha’i faith visited the United States in 1912 and described blacks and whites as sapphires and pearls.
Baha'i Community BuildingBuilding new communities in the inner citiesWhat’s facing us now in achieving race unity is that some people are privileged – many others are severely disadvantaged.
