by Eleanor Mitten
This is consecrated to the Blessed Beauty Bahá’u’lláh.
Devotions begin each of the nine Sunday Zoom sessions for Anti-Black Racism in the U.S. and Building a Unified Society, a course the Wilmette Institute has offered in evolving iterations since 2018. The course centers on the expansive and extensive sacred Bahá’í Writings and guidance regarding the oneness of humankind and race unity as the spiritual prescription for individual and social transformation. It also analyzes the legacy of structures—mental, institutional, legal, and social—created to perpetuate racism and division since the founding of the U.S., throughout its history, and continued racist mutations within these structures of our culture and communities. Each week, participants explore a theme through Bahá’í Writings and guidance and through articles and videos by journalists, scholars, and artists.
Individuals, friends from the wider community, and those serving together in Bahá’í institutions commit to collaborative learning to understand, apply, and consider the implications of Bahá’u’lláh’s healing teachings regarding “the most vital and challenging issue” of our nation.
The Sunday Zoom sessions, when the collaborators gather to discuss their learning and its application to their lives and community building, begin by focusing on Shoghi Effendi’s guidance in the Advent of Divine Justice to proceed with “deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort” in striving to be free from racial prejudice.
For the theme of Black Women in the U.S., prayers were offered for Black Bahá’í women who consecrated their lives to the service of the oneness of humankind within their communities and around the globe. The images and information about their lives were drawn from the research of Dr. Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, Radiance Talley, Geneva Walker, Dr. Christopher Buck, the artwork of Claudia Maturell and Arya Badiyan, and the Bahá’ís of the United States and Green Acre Bahá’í Center of Learning websites. The devotions for that week are shared here for those who may wish to include in gatherings and personal reflection these Black Bahá’í women who illumined the path of unity.
Link to Slide Show (PDF)
