***

68. O CHILDREN OF MEN!

Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory.

—Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, circa 1858

***

“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, but above all moral and spiritual…

“Ultimately, the power to transform the world is effected by 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.  You are channels for this divine love; let it flow through you to all who cross your path.  Infuse it into every neighborhood and social space in which you move to build capacity to canalize the society-building power of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation.  There can be no rest until the destined outcome is achieved.

—Excerpts from the 22 July 2020 Letter of the Universal House of Justice to the Baha’is of the United States

Bahá'u'lláh says: "Let not a man glory in that he loves his country, but that he loves his kind." All are of one family, one race; all are human beings…One of the great reasons of separation is colour. Look how this prejudice has power in America, for instance. See how they hate one another! Animals do not quarrel because of their colour! Surely man who is so much higher in creation, should not be lower than the animals. Think over this. What ignorance exists! White doves do not quarrel with blue doves because of their colour, but white men fight with dark-coloured men. This racial prejudice is the worst of all. The Old Testament says that God created man like unto His own image; in the Qur'án it says: "There is no difference in the Creation of God!" Think well, God has created all, cares for all, and all are under His protection. The policy of God is better than our policy. We are not as wise as God!  

—Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, Sept. 1911, p. 55

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Contrasting with, and irreconcilably opposed to, these war-engendering, world-convulsing doctrines are the healing, the saving, the pregnant truths proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh, the Divine Organizer and Savior of the whole human race -- truths which should be regarded as the animating force and the hallmark of His Revelation: "The world is but one country, and mankind its citizens." "Let not a man glory in that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind." And again: "Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch." "Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply ... all mankind may become the upholders of one order, and the inhabitants of one city.... Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will." "Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you. Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body." And yet again: "All the saplings of the world have appeared from one Tree, and all the drops from one Ocean, and all beings owe their existence to one Being." And furthermore: "That one indeed is a man who today dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race."

—Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, March, 1941, p. 114

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-Baha'is believe that religion is progressive, that God speaks to mankind in every age. -Baha'is believe in one God, even though men have called Him by different names. God has revealed His Word in each period of history through a chosen Individual Whom Baha'is call "the Manifestation of God." He restates in every age God's purpose and will. His teachings are a revelation from God. -Baha’is believe that: God is One -All humankind has worshipped and said prayers to the same one God for as long as we have existed, Religion is One- all [non-manmade] religions are chapters in the same one ‘Book’, and Mankind is One - we are all one human family.

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***SEE OUR ‘ACTION ON RACISM RESOURCES’ PAGE UNDER ‘ACTIVITIES’

***READ a LETTER to HC Public School Officials from Current and Former HCPSS Students and Teachers about Racism in the HCPSS. Found under ‘ACTIVITIES’

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