Anti-Black Racism in the U.S. and Building a Unified Society
This course will examine anti-Black racism and racial prejudice in North American society in some of its most serious manifestations, explore the content and significance of relevant Bahá'í authoritative texts, and consider how Bahá'ís can initiate meaningful conversations and public discourse in a variety of contexts. It will begin with an exploration of definitions of race, racism, and prejudice. It will then turn to such subjects as understanding colonialism and slavery; the prison/industrial complex; Black Lives Matter and policing issues; white privilege and bias/stereotyping; housing and education segregation; violence against black women; Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement; and "one human family"—the experience of the Bahá'í community.
Note: This course features weekly, 90-minute Zoom sessions on Sundays at 4:00 pm Eastern Time (1:00 pm Pacific, 3:00 pm Central Time), starting the first weekend of the course.
Saturday, March 11 (Time TBC) Upstander Workshop (2 hours)
Saturday, March 25 (11 am and 5 pm Pacific/2 pm and 8 pm Eastern): Showing of "Stokely and Martin" a 1-hour play by Najee Brown, followed by a discussion led by a faculty member.
Optional, Saturday, April 1 (4 pm Pacific/7 pm Eastern): Showing of "The Bus Stop" a 2-hour play by Najee Brown.
I am a native New Yorker, raised in Bedford–Stuyvesant, (a.k.a. Bed–Stuy) Brooklyn and the South Bronx. I have lived a significant number of years in New England and various parts of California.
My undergraduate degree focused on Ed Philosophy & Theory, and Multicultural Education. Graduate studies were in Public Administration and Leadership; and Adult Education with focuses on Program Planning & Development.
My professional career as an administrator and instructor was primarily spent in colleges and universities, both public and private, on both the east and west coast, ending in Arizona, where I am currently retired. I continue to use my professional skills as a consultant providing coaching and mentoring. My community activities have been geared towards programming in Race Unity and Racism Awareness, youth leadership and empowerment, affordable housing, and early childhood education. I am active in my Bahá’í community serving on my Local Spiritual Assembly.
Pre-COVID-19, I enjoyed traveling and sharing home-cooked meals with extended family and friends. Favorite places, anywhere with large bodies of water, New England autumn foliage, and awe-inspiring scenery!
Born and raised in South Carolina, June Manning Thomas attended Furman University for one year but then left SC to finish college at Michigan State University (MSU). She earned her doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan. She has taught at MSU, Cleveland State University, and... See Faculty Bio
Carol Mansour learned about the Bahá’í Faith while working as a reporter and anchor in local television news. Having grown up in a Pentecostal congregation that was all Black, she was intrigued that a religion considered the elimination of racial prejudice as a spiritual imperative. She has taken to heart... See Faculty Bio
I was born and raised in Port-Gentil Gabon and attended middle school at New Era High School in Panchgani India. I have a Bachelor’s in Mathematics Education, Master’s in Special Education and have taught in higher education (KU and UNC-CH) and in various K-12 settings, my last being the International... See Faculty Bio
I have been a professional educator since 2000. Currently, I teach at an elementary school in the public school system in Portland, Oregon. In addition to the curriculum, I focus on empowering the students to be stewards of social justice and to be aware of their own nobility. I have a... See Faculty Bio
Renee Depew graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs in 1989 and has worked in the field of electrical engineering and computer science since that time. Renee’s passion for learning about racism and its effects on humanity led her to study with... See Faculty Bio
I was born in Kingston, Jamaica. My interest in music, theatre, and the literary arts led me to abandon my academic degrees and a career in the Forensic Sciences, to take up a position with the British Council Caribbean as Arts & Education Officer. I worked for several years as... See Faculty Bio
