Race Unity and Racial Justice, searching for coherence

There are two separate discourses on race in this country. The discourse of racial justice, of equality, addresses equal access to resources, health, education and employment opportunities; however, without setting our sights any higher, this discourse may end in a world that is basically “separate but equal.” There is another discourse of racial unity — of coming together, of loving each other, of respect. This second discourse frequently does not take into account structural factors underlying racial disparity, without which, it becomes the simple and ineffective plea, “Can’t we all just get along?”

A Baha’i discourse on race must be unified – it must see racial justice/equality and racial
unity/harmony as two elements of an integrated transformation in the life of society. With this goal in mind, a number of friends gathered at Green Acre Baha’i School in June 2009 to study quotations from the Baha’i Writings and selections from the social sciences. The material from this seminar is made available on this page:

Race Unity and Racial Justice: Searching for Coherence

You are welcome to use this material in your own communities. Please let us know if you do, so that we can learn from each other.