Race Amity: Justice for All? Hmmm

**Quick Note: This event is in person and on zoom. Although we would love to see you, we are providing the zoom link here for those of you can't come: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88158217522?pwd=cGxNeDR2eCthN0k2d2tlSk1sMnViQT09**

Today, we see that injustice abounds, in many forms, throughout our society. The most visible forms all have racial undercurrents. If this is surprising, it shouldn’t be. Various segments of our American society have historically been perpetrators of egregious racial attacks, upon people of color since its inception – especially Black people. Unfortunately, not enough people in our society accepted the reality of the country’s unwarranted persecution upon some of their fellow citizens as fact. Now, a wave of egregious disenfranchisement attacks are being experienced by others, in much the same way that Black people have endured for many decades. As a society, in the past, we never accepted the fact that such a thing could happen in America. As we watch this violence unfolding in our “protected” communities, are we ready, today, to believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s admonition that, “injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere”?; are we ready to cross those artificial barriers of race, to take counsel and establish true friendships with people of all races, so that we can build stronger and better communities, which promote justice and equity for all?

…. Bahá’ís are encouraged to see in the revolutionary changes taking place in every sphere of life the interaction of two fundamental processes. One is destructive… the other… integrative; both serve to carry humanity, each in its own way, along the path leading towards its full maturity. The operation of the former is everywhere apparent--in the vicissitudes that have afflicted time-honoured institutions, in the impotence of leaders at all levels to mend the fractures appearing in the structure of society, in the dismantling of social norms that have long held in check unseemly passions, and in the despondency and indifference exhibited… by individuals… also by entire societies that have lost any vital sense of purpose. Though devastating in their effects, the forces of disintegration tend to sweep away barriers that block humanity's progress, opening space for the process of integration to draw diverse groups together and disclosing new opportunities for cooperation and collaboration. Bahá’ís,.. strive to align themselves, individually and collectively, with forces associated with the process of integration, which,… will continue to gain in strength, no matter how bleak the immediate horizons.... (Universal House of Justice)

The Baha’i teachings advocate for racial amity as a fundamental aspect of humanity's unity and progress towards equality and justice: “…Racism is a profound deviation from the standard of true morality. It deprives a portion of humanity of the opportunity to cultivate and express the full range of their capability and to live a meaningful and flourishing life, while blighting the progress of the rest of humankind. It cannot be rooted out by contest and conflict. It must be supplanted by the establishment of just relationships among individuals, communities, and institutions of society that will uplift all and will not designate anyone as “other”. The change required is not merely social and economic…, above all moral and spiritual….” (Universal House of Justice, 2020, July)

Let’s explore ways that we can develop and maintain the kinds of cross-racial friendships needed to build and sustain a unified and peaceful society. Baha’is are working through-out the world to advance all of humankind toward unity and justice. This is a safe space. All respectfully shared views are welcome.