The American Bahá’í community has been working to apply the teachings of the Faith since its formation during the time of segregation.3 Bahá’ís have striven to eradicate racism from their own hearts and minds as individuals; to raise children who are free from prejudice; to build patterns of community life that are havens for all in which racism finds no place; and to promote racial amity in society at large, alongside so many others working toward the same aims. The Bahá’í community cannot claim to have all the answers, but it is learning about how to engender the transformation that is needed at the individual and collective levels.

And yet, it is not enough to assume that the current structures of society are otherwise sound and that racial prejudice can simply be removed while everything else remains unchanged. What is required is both internal and external change — the deliberate creation of a social order free not only from racism but also from every form of exclusion and oppression. Such a reality would reflect the teachings shared by all religions: that we are to love one another and manifest the light of God in both our personal lives and our collective endeavors.

As the Bahá’í community develops, it is growing in its capacity to contribute to the life of society by putting the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh into practice. It is learning to play its part in a process of social change impelled by the forces of history and the work of many like-minded groups. The Bahá’í approach is to foster constructive agency, and build new patterns of social interaction, and new ways of working together for shared well-being, amidst the crises and suffering of our current reality. Thus, the work of the Bahá’ís is directed toward building the capacity of individuals, families, neighborhoods, communities, and ultimately entire populations to promote their own and society’s material and spiritual advancement. Arising as a protagonist in such an endeavor requires a moral and spiritual vivification, at the heart of which is love, and which is expressed at both the individual and collective levels. Racism, which is so harmful to all of society, is addressed both directly and indirectly in this process.

Foundational to the work of the Bahá’í community is a grassroots movement of empowerment and community building. Through educational activities for children, youth, and adults, the community is learning about raising up a new kind of social actor, one that sees their own well-being in the spiritual and material prosperity of those around them and in society as a whole. In these activities, all are welcome and viewed as potential protagonists. Without the imposition of doctrine, these activities encourage substantive and participatory engagement with the Word of God, which inspires and informs action.

The movement inevitably gives rise to new patterns of community life and culture that encourage agency, reciprocity, justice, and bonds of genuine friendship. And it includes the building of structures that support processes of social transformation and channel individual initiative toward that end. This work is ongoing in a wide range of localities across the globe, from rural villages to urban centers. As it advances, the individual, institutional, and community capacity that is built to serve the spiritual and intellectual needs of communities can gradually be applied to address the social and economic needs and aspirations of communities. Further, the Bahá’í community is seeking to contribute to the evolution of thought in areas concerned with the well-being of society at various levels.

The generative power of this process comes from love, “love originating from the relationship with the divine, love ablaze among members of a community, love extended without restriction to every human being. This divine love, ignited by the Word of God, is disseminated by enkindled souls through intimate conversations that create new susceptibilities in human hearts, open minds to moral persuasion, and loosen the hold of biased norms and social systems so that they can gradually take on a new form in keeping with the requirements of humanity’s age of maturity.” 4

In essence, the process fosters a sense of identity in which the true self sees itself in a covenant of oneness — of a deep and abiding respect for all. This is ultimately how forces of prejudice of all kinds can be eventually overcome. The shared responsibility of addressing the disease of racism becomes paramount, even while different individuals and groups have different roles to play in its eradication. Bahá’ís remain acutely aware that overcoming the devastating effects of racism, requires conscious, deliberate, and sustained effort by all. Indeed, “nothing short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility” and “prayerful” reflection will succeed in effacing its pernicious stain from daily life. Thus, no real change will come about without close association, fellowship, and sincere friendship among diverse people. “Close your eyes to racial differences,” is Bahá’u’lláh’s counsel, “and welcome all with the light of oneness.” 5

Creating a just, united, and flourishing society in which all its members from all backgrounds and beliefs are empowered to contribute and uplift the entire social body, is the work of generations. But it is a task, fundamentally moral and spiritual in nature, that must be pursued. Bahá’u’lláh’s assurance of the transformative power of justice provides a beacon for the way forward: “Justice is a powerful force. It is, above all else, the conqueror of the citadels of the hearts and souls of men, and the revealer of the secrets of the world of being, and the standard-bearer of love and bounty.” 6

The hallmark of this work is building capacity for the application of spiritual principles to individual and collective life through processes of learning. Some elements of the foundational understanding that underlie these efforts are as follows:

Belief in a loving and all-powerful Creator, and the sense of purpose this can provide to human existence, gives us hope for the long-term fate of humanity growing toward unity and justice. We can observe a historical process through which human beings have gradually been able to function in collectivities of wider scope, from small bands to tribes to city-states to nations and international alliances. The world is faced now with both the capacity and the need to come together as one: The scientific and technological means are already there, and we face existential challenges that we can only solve if we work together as a species.

In this context, the destructive, disintegrative forces at work in the world can be seen alongside constructive and integrative forces as part of a larger process of change. Old social structures and patterns have to be dismantled to make room for new ones. This is a painful process, like birth pangs, but we can find hope in it, and we can choose to be part of movements toward integration and constructive change.

Faith in the intrinsic nobility of human beings, arising from the spiritual dimension of our reality, our souls, also gives us hope. This nobility has to be an object of education, thereby cultivating the moral capacity to overcome the kinds of promptings we also have toward othering, greed, and similar root sources of the problems we face. There is a relationship between the spiritual and moral growth of the individual and their efforts to serve and contribute to society. As we learn to cultivate our spiritual capacity, new kinds of power for change are released. Processes of education and training can awaken young and old to the spiritual principle of the oneness of humanity, and can generate knowledge, skills, attitudes, and spiritual qualities that enable us to work for the well-being of all. Cadres of social actors will need to be raised up, especially youth, for the work of rebuilding the essential structures of social life.

We are trying to create a reality that humanity has not seen before, which requires that we learn our way forward into the unknown. The process of change requires effort and learning on many fronts from intimate interactions at the grassroots to discourse on the national or international stage. To be effective, these different efforts need to be aligned within a conceptual framework that allows a shared understanding of spiritual principles, means and ends, approaches, learning objectives, and so on. Within such a shared, evolving framework, diverse experiences, understandings, and perspectives can come together and — through action, reflection, and learning over time — those involved can discern what is effective and how to move forward.

Barriers to shared well-being can be understood in terms of oppressive forms of power that are hoarded by the few and exercised on the many. There are other ways of conceiving of power, however, that offer scope for constructive agency: the power of love, the power of unity, the power of truth, the power of collective action, the power of sacrifice. Religion is a rich source of insight into these forms of power, and can inspire within the broader discourses of society the kind of moral awakening that is needed to overcome our challenges.

For examples of how these principles are being applied in practice through the widening embrace of the American and global Bahá’í community, we direct your attention to the list of resources offered at the end of this essay.

The Bahá’í Writings offer a hopeful vision of the future for America. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Founder of the Faith, stated in a message to the American Bahá’í community: “The continent of America is, in the eyes of the one true God, the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide, and the free assemble.” 7 To achieve its destiny, the nation and its inhabitants will have to purge themselves of certain attitudes and behaviors. Racism, a direct manifestation of a decidedly materialistic conception of human existence and purpose, is an illusion that has warped the nation’s sense of reality and true identity. It can only be rooted out through a profound moral change: an animated understanding of humanity as one family. This understanding must transform our inner lives and social relationships, and shape our choices in the ordering of society, a process that will require action, reflection, perseverance, and, at times, sacrifice. Through the systematic process of developing, in a variety of social spaces, moral capabilities to effect such a transformation in both individual consciousness and the structure of social institutions, we can realize our ability to disable racism and every other instrument devised in this nation for one group to oppress another.

As we reflect on the formidable moral change necessary to see the elimination of racism in the United States, it is possible to be overcome with feelings of hopelessness. Guilt is another potential feeling when dealing with the question of morality, as one becomes focused on shortcomings. However, these feelings must be overcome with a sense of courage, faith, and confidence in others, so that all people see the potential in themselves to overcome division and prejudice. Courage and confidence must go hand in hand with humility, not to be confused with subservience, so self-confidence does not become arrogance or complacency.

Ultimately, any ability to commit to social transformation requires detachment and sacrifice. Whether it be patterns of thought, behavior and action, material comforts, opinion, or social status, sacrifice is letting go of that which is lower for the sake of something higher. On this theme, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá offers the following analogy: “If you plant a seed in the ground, a tree will become manifest from that seed. The seed sacrifices itself to the tree that will come from it. The seed is outwardly lost, destroyed; but the same seed which is sacrificed will be absorbed and embodied in the tree, its blossoms, fruit and branches. If the identity of that seed had not been sacrificed to the tree which became manifest from it, no branches, blossoms or fruits would have been forthcoming.” 8

It is through this process that the dark characteristics of a society raised with racism, and still grappling with it, will generate the qualities and attributes required of social transformation, to become a society illumined by oneness.

1. Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, Arabic., no. 68.
2. The Universal House of Justice, message addressed to the Bahá’ís of the United States, dated 22 July 2020, pp. 2, 1.
3. https://bahaiworld.bahai.org/library/the-bahai-response-to-racial-injustice-and-pursuit-of-racial-unity/.
4. The Universal House of Justice, message addressed to the Bahá’ís of the United States, dated 22 July 2020.
5. Bahá’u’lláh, quoted in Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, ¶55.
6. Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 31.
7. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, no. 9.2.
8. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, no. 133.8.