Race Unity Day
One of the most fundamental principles of the Bahá'í Faith is the unity of humanity. Many of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings support this principle, such as the elimination of all forms of prejudice, the equality of women, and the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty. A peaceful global society cannot develop unless these matters are attended to. Each region of the globe faces its own unique challenges in fostering unity, of course. For Bahá'ís in the United States, the problem of racial prejudice is deemed "the most challenging issue."

The designation of racial prejudice as "the most challenging issue" comes from a book-length letter written by Shoghi Effendi to the U.S and Canadian Bahá'í communities in 1938. First published in 1939 under the title The Advent of Divine Justice, this work remains one of the Guardian's most significant writings. In it, he set forth the challenges faced by the North American Bahá'í community, identified the ills afflicting the society of which they were a part, and detailed the spiritual prerequisites for success in their mission to promulgate the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. The phrase in question comes from the first paragraph in a detailed section on racial prejudice:

"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 Bahá'í community at the present stage of its evolution. The ceaseless exertions which this issue of paramount importance calls for, the sacrifices it must impose, the care and vigilance it demands, the moral courage and fortitude it requires, the tact and sympathy it necessitates, invest this problem, which the American believers are still far from having satisfactorily resolved, with an urgency and importance that cannot be overestimated." (p33-4)

Ever since, the Bahá'ís of North America have regarded race unity as their top social priority. One of their efforts, Race Unity Day, was inaugurated in 1957 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States to promote racial harmony and understanding. Observed annually on the second Sunday in June (June 11 this year), Bahá'í communities throughout the nation organize a wide variety of celebrations to call attention to the issue and to bring together all the diverse racial elements of the society. Race Unity Day is increasingly being adopted and observed by organizations outside the Faith as well, for if any issue cuts across all boundaries in our society, it is this one. Towns and cities have even sponsored resolutions marking the second Sunday in June (or sometimes the Saturday before it) as Race Unity Day. The idea is clearly gaining momentum.

In his examination of the problem of racial prejudice, Shoghi Effendi noted the complexity and difficulty of the task at hand, but also took a strong line on our obligation to address it:

"White and Negro, high and low, young and old, whether newly converted to the Faith or not, all who stand identified with it must participate in, and lend their assistance, each according to his or her capacity, experience, and opportunities, to the common task of fulfilling the instructions, realizing the hopes, and following the example, of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Whether colored or noncolored, neither race has the right, or can conscientiously claim, to be regarded as absolved from such an obligation, as having realized such hopes, or having faithfully followed such an example. A long and thorny road, beset with pitfalls, still remains untraveled, both by the white and the Negro exponents of the redeeming Faith of Bahá'u'lláh." (p34)

(It should be noted that while Shoghi Effendi primarily mentioned the racial tensions between black and white, this does not imply any less concern with prejudice between other races. Bahá'u'lláh called for the elimination of all forms of prejudice, including racial, ethnic, national, gender and economic prejudice. Race Unity Day seeks to unite peoples of all races.)

"To discriminate against any race, on the ground of its being socially backward, politically immature, and numerically in a minority, is a flagrant violation of the spirit that animates the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. ... If any discrimination is at all to be tolerated, it should be a discrimination not against, but rather in favor of the minority, be it racial or otherwise. Unlike the nations and peoples of the earth ... who either ignore, trample upon, or extirpate, the racial, religious, or political minorities within the sphere of their jurisdiction, every organized community enlisted under the banner of Bahá'u'lláh should feel it to be its first and inescapable obligation to nurture, encourage, and safeguard every minority belonging to any faith, race, class, or nation within it. So great and vital is this principle that in such circumstances, as when an equal number of ballots have been cast in an election, or where the qualifications for any office are balanced as between the various races, faiths or nationalities within the community, priority should unhesitatingly be accorded the party representing the minority, and this for no other reason except to stimulate and encourage it, and afford it an opportunity to further the interests of the community." (p35)

"Freedom from racial prejudice, in any of its forms, should, at such a time as this when an increasingly large section of the human race is falling a victim to its devastating ferocity, be adopted as the watchword of the entire body of the American believers, in whichever state they reside, in whatever circles they move, whatever their age, traditions, tastes, and habits. It should be consistently demonstrated in every phase of their activity and life, whether in the Bahá'í community or outside it, in public or in private, formally as well as informally, individually as well as in their official capacity as organized groups, committees and Assemblies." (p)

"Let the white make a supreme effort in their resolve to contribute their share to the solution of this problem, to abandon once for all their usually inherent and at times subconscious sense of superiority, to correct their tendency towards revealing a patronizing attitude towards the members of the other race, to persuade them through their intimate, spontaneous and informal association with them of the genuineness of their friendship and the sincerity of their intentions, and to master their impatience of any lack of responsiveness on the part of a people who have received, for so long a period, such grievous and slow-healing wounds. Let the Negroes, through a corresponding effort on their part, show by every means in their power the warmth of their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their ability to wipe out every trace of suspicion that may still linger in their hearts and minds. Let neither think that the solution of so vast a problem is a matter that exclusively concerns the other. Let neither think that such a problem can either easily or immediately be resolved. Let neither think that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their Faith. Let neither think that anything short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country." (p40)

Race Unity Day is just one of many ways that Bahá'ís work to promote the elimination of prejudice and the establishment of unity in this country. It also provides a time for us to reflect deeply on the underlying issues and to recommit ourselves to the course outline in such powerful language by the Guardian. For those of you who are not Bahá'ís, please join us in this crusade! Racial unity may be a religious principle for Bahá'ís, but it is no less a vital and challenging social issue for the whole of humanity.