arthra
Baha'i
‘I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.'
-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
For more than a century, American Baha’is have worked for social justice and racial harmony, in keeping with the faith’s beliefs in the oneness of humanity and the elimination of prejudice. So it’s fitting that Baha’is throughout the United States have been involved in Martin Luther King Day activities since the holiday was established in 1986.
"Dr. King", says one Baha'i, "still represents the idea of racial unity," a cause near and dear to the hearts of American Baha’is, who take their inspiration from the faith and its main figures. As early as 1912, Abdul-Baha, while on His historic journey across North America, made race unity a key feature of public addresses, for example at Howard University and before the Fourth Annual Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
He encouraged loving interaction between blacks and whites, including interracial marriage. As a result of his vision, the American Baha'i community hosted its first racial amity conference in Washington D.C. in 1921 and later formed race unity committees.
In the late 1930s, Abdul-Baha’s successor, Shoghi Effendi, wrote:
"As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Baha'i community at the present stage of its evolution."
This year, in hundreds of communities around the country, Baha'is are helping to organize or host fitting commemorations of Dr. King’s life and legacy.
-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
For more than a century, American Baha’is have worked for social justice and racial harmony, in keeping with the faith’s beliefs in the oneness of humanity and the elimination of prejudice. So it’s fitting that Baha’is throughout the United States have been involved in Martin Luther King Day activities since the holiday was established in 1986.
"Dr. King", says one Baha'i, "still represents the idea of racial unity," a cause near and dear to the hearts of American Baha’is, who take their inspiration from the faith and its main figures. As early as 1912, Abdul-Baha, while on His historic journey across North America, made race unity a key feature of public addresses, for example at Howard University and before the Fourth Annual Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
He encouraged loving interaction between blacks and whites, including interracial marriage. As a result of his vision, the American Baha'i community hosted its first racial amity conference in Washington D.C. in 1921 and later formed race unity committees.
In the late 1930s, Abdul-Baha’s successor, Shoghi Effendi, wrote:
"As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Baha'i community at the present stage of its evolution."
This year, in hundreds of communities around the country, Baha'is are helping to organize or host fitting commemorations of Dr. King’s life and legacy.
