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In The Advent of Divine Justice, Shoghi Effendi laid out a path for the U.S. and Canadian Baha’i communities to contribute to the transformation of their societies, as summarized in introduction to the Advent of Divine Justice. Addressing the United States in particular, he identified “racial prejudice” as “the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Baha’i community,” for this issue permeated the entire nation, which he called “a prey to one of the most virulent and long-standing forms of racial prejudice.”
Though this message was penned in 1938, I believe it remains highly relevant today because the “cancerous growth of racial prejudice” continues to eat into the body politic. “Black Lives Matter”: this basic assertion of human value, proclaimed by the protestors who are filling the streets of U.S. cities, responds to the routine, systematic treatment of People of Color* as disposable. Racism remains “the most vital and challenging issue.” I wish to share with you Shoghi Effendi’s guidance on deconstructing it, along with my reflections as a white person living in the United States.
Baha’is widely understand that racism is, as Shoghi Effendi puts it, “a flagrant violation of the spirit that animates the Faith of Baha’u’llah.” Yet, we are not immune to it. As a white person, every day I receive implicit messages about People of Color from media representations, the (almost exclusively white) people I study and work with, and so on. Every day, I receive benefits from my whiteness that are largely invisible to me. It’s impossible to not absorb some bias in favor of people who look like me and against People of Color. And that is in spite of me knowing, as the Baha’i teachings make clear, that race is socially constructed, that we’re stronger when integrated, and that People of Color, especially Black people, have a preeminent spiritual destiny.
It is not enough to know all this. We all have an obligation to act: this is Shoghi Effendi’s paramount message about racism. As he exhorts white and Black Baha’is alike:
Let neither think that the solution of so vast a problem is a matter that exclusively concerns the other. Let neither think that such a problem can either easily or immediately be resolved. Let neither think that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their Faith. Let neither think that anything short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country.
Standing on the sidelines of the struggle for racial justice is not an option for Baha’is, according to Shoghi Effendi.
Moreover, white people in particular need to step up. I am especially struck by Shoghi Effendi’s call to white Baha’is:
Let the white make a supreme effort in their resolve to contribute their share to the solution of this problem, to abandon once for all their usually inherent and at times subconscious sense of superiority, to correct their tendency towards revealing a patronizing attitude towards the members of the other race, to persuade them through their intimate, spontaneous and informal association with them of the genuineness of their friendship and the sincerity of their intentions, and to master their impatience of any lack of responsiveness on the part of a people who have received, for so long a period, such grievous and slow-healing wounds.
To carry out this task of self-reform leading to social reform, we must resolve to grow our “genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort.” We must channel these qualities into constructive action. So, what kinds of action should we take?
Especially for the majority of us, who do not occupy positions of leadership, we might feel that we have no power to address a gargantuan social malady. But anti-racist efforts can be made in the most mundane of circumstances—they should occur “in every phase of their activity and life, whether in the Baha’i community or outside it, in public or in private, formally as well as informally.” Freedom from racial prejudice should be “deliberately cultivated through the various and everyday opportunities, no matter how insignificant, that present themselves, whether in their homes, their business offices, their schools and colleges, their social parties and recreation grounds, their Baha’i meetings, conferences, conventions, summer schools and Assemblies.”
Freedom from racial prejudice should be “deliberately cultivated”: I see deliberately as a key word here. To be deliberate means to be conscious and intentional. It certainly doesn’t allow for us to merely pay lip service to diversity and inclusion while keeping the status quo intact. When it comes to deliberately breaking down racial barriers, this means, in my perspective, to first devote concerted energy to becoming conscious of one’s standpoint and blind spots. For example, as a white person, I may take for granted the whiteness of the circles I move in; to grow my consciousness, I need to start asking why my workplace, my school, my friend group, my neighborhood, and yes, even my Baha’i community, are populated by people who look like me. Then, I need to address this disparity with intention. What can I do to make sure People of Color are included and heeded? How can I, as a member of the majority, work so that the interests of the majority do not steamroll those of the minority? How can I use my white privilege to dismantle white supremacy?
Shoghi Effendi provides Baha’is with one clear way to do so: to put members of minority groups at the center of our communities, rather than relegating them to the fringes, as so often happens in society at large. “If any discrimination is at all to be tolerated, it should be a discrimination not against, but rather in favor of the minority, be it racial or otherwise,” he writes. Every Baha’i community “should feel it to be its first and inescapable obligation to nurture, encourage, and safeguard every minority belonging to any faith, race, class, or nation within it.” Minority members should be favored for leadership roles:
So great and vital is this principle that in such circumstances, as when an equal number of ballots have been cast in an election, or where the qualifications for any office are balanced as between the various races, faiths or nationalities within the community, priority should unhesitatingly be accorded the party representing the minority, and this for no other reason except to stimulate and encourage it, and afford it an opportunity to further the interests of the community.
This policy of diversification applies to all “representative institutions” of the Baha’i community, including “Assemblies, conventions, conferences, or committees.” Imagine—Shoghi Effendi wrote this guidance in 1938. Today, more than eighty years later, we are just now seeing acknowledgment among corporate and political leaders that the whiteness of the highest echelons of power might be a problem. Shoghi Effendi was, I believe, ahead of his time in recognizing that only a diversity of leadership can make policies that advance the cause of social justice.
In closing, let me end with Shoghi Effendi’s rousing exhortation to dismantle white supremacy:
Casting away once and for all the fallacious doctrine of racial superiority, with all its attendant evils, confusion, and miseries, and welcoming and encouraging the intermixture of races, and tearing down the barriers that now divide them, they should each endeavor, day and night, to fulfill their particular responsibilities in the common task which so urgently faces them.
You can read more of Shoghi Effendi’s guidance on fighting racism in the section of The Advent of Divine Justice on “Freedom from Prejudice.” The whole book is available online.
*Editor’s note: We have chosen to capitalize the terms “People of Color” and “Black,” but not “white,” as a way of grammatically expressing an acknowledgement and dismantling of white privilege.
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Surprisingly the issue of capitalizing words is a rather sensitive issue.
The reason it becomes sensitive is capitalization is normally associated with a noun: a person,place or Thing.
Thus, when capitalizing the term Black some people may subconsciously associate Black person with a thing and white person as a normal person presumably for many that has a soul.
As mentioned this is a sensitive issue and am grateful that you allow comments to be written about this topic.
peace
Dean Hedges (June 6, 2020 at 12:43 PM)
I understand if moderators do not want to publish the remark. It is a little harsh and maybe not very well thought out. It’s just something that I feel when noticing capitalization of the word Black. Peace
Dean Hedges (June 6, 2020 at 12:51 PM)
Dean, thank you for reading the article and sharing your thoughts on the Editor’s Note.
It is worth noting that the National Association of Black Journalists and the Associated Press have recently updated their style guides to recommend that “Black” be capitalized: https://www.channel3000.com/why-were-capitalizing-the-b-in-black/
Layli Miron (June 6, 2020 at 9:31 PM)
Great article and much needed in these days!
The paragraph you highlighted is from the 3rd paragraph on page 19 of the Guardian’s ‘Advent of Divine Justice’.
The 1st sentence speaks to the European-American community; the 2nd to the African-American community; and Shoghi Effendi finishes by highlighting the coessential nature of each other’s efforts.
“Let the white make a supreme effort in their resolve to contribute their share to the solution of this problem, to abandon once for all their usually inherent and at times subconscious sense of superiority, to correct their tendency towards revealing a patronizing attitude towards the members of the other race, to persuade them through their intimate, spontaneous and informal association with them of the genuineness of their friendship and the sincerity of their intentions, and to master their impatience of any lack of responsiveness on the part of a people who have received, for so long a period, such grievous and slow-healing wounds.
Let the Negroes, through a corresponding effort on their part, show by every means in their power the warmth of their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their ability to wipe out every trace of suspicion that may still linger in their hearts and minds.
Let neither think that the solution of so vast a problem is a matter that exclusively concerns the other. Let neither think that such a problem can either easily or immediately be resolved. Let neither think that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their Faith. Let neither think that anything short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country. Let them rather believe, and be firmly convinced, that on their mutual understanding, their amity, and sustained cooperation, must depend, more than on any other force or organization operating outside the circle of their Faith, the deflection of that dangerous course so greatly feared by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá, and the materialization of the hopes He cherished for their joint contribution to the fulfillment of that country’s glorious destiny.”
Shoghi Effendi, Advent of Divine Justice, pg. 19
Charlie D (June 6, 2020 at 11:07 PM)
Thank you for posting that passage of The Advent of Divine Justice, Charlie. In the online version, it starts at the following paragraph location: http://www.bahai.org/r/376777192
Layli Miron (June 6, 2020 at 9:34 PM)
Thank you Layli, this is a matter very close to my heart…do you know any Writings that speak about how to use wisdom and tact while still standing up for truth and justice, when working within a govt organisation which has as its official mandate promoting social justice for a minority group, but in reality has many people from the majority who are unaware of their unconscious bias running the show and accidentally perpetuating injustice? And who frame speaking up against this bias as ‘political’ (even though it is not from or directed to a particular political party or personality)?
Andria (June 6, 2021 at 11:52 AM)
Whatever the particular abecedarian matter being addressed regarding this challenging matter, there is a tendency to become polemical. Thus it is not surprising but unfortunately expected that we might stumble over the use of “capitalization of words”. Previous stumbles have been witnessed over people proclaiming, “I don’t see color” and whether it is acceptable to muse over the meaning of, “the pupil of the eye” and even concerning whether particular portions of Shoghi Effendis directions on this matter are antiquate. Perhaps, there is a more fundamental element that we should focus our efforts on before the use of words, one which will ultimately advance toward understanding and agreement.
It might be considered that the words we use are confused (for overt and covert reasons) in addressing this systemic problem and what is essential is that: “Each one should endeavor to develop and assist the other toward mutual advancement,” ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá explained. “Love and unity will be fostered between you, thereby bringing about the oneness of mankind.”
The relationship between all peoples involved in these discussions must be “effected by love”. “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.”
With the development of the “divine love” in the community, this most vital issue will not only create the imperative to dissolve racism at it’s core but also transform the community and create the institutions with a power that will lead in dissemination of peace to the earth.
All quotations are from the House of Justice, 22 July 2020 to the Baha’is of the US.
Albert (December 12, 2022 at 2:42 AM)