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Baha’i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson – Episode 56: William H. “Smitty” Smith
September 28, 2020, in Audio > Podcasts, by Naysan NaraqiHello and welcome to the Baha’i Blogcast with me your host, Rainn Wilson.
In this series of podcasts I interview members of the Baha’i Faith and friends from all over the world about their hearts, and minds, and souls, their spiritual journeys, what they’re interested in, and what makes them tick.
In this episode, I’m joined via zoom by Dr. William H. Smith, or “Smitty” as he’s affectionately known. Smitty is the Founding Executive Director of the National Center for Race Amity, and he’s truly lived an exceptional life. He talks to me about growing up during segregation, and shares how he became a Baha’i. We talk about the challenges of balancing social activism while trying to obey the law, and he stresses the importance and serious impact genuine friendships can have on creating justice and lasting social change. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!
To find out more about some of the things we covered in this episode, check out the following links:
– Glenford Mitchel
– Agnes Parson
– Louis Gregory
– Alain Locke
– Nat Rudstein
“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 Baha’u’llah’s Revelation. There can be no rest until the destined outcome is achieved.”
-Universal House of Justice
You can find all of our episodes here on the Baha’i Blogcast page, and be sure to ‘subscribe’ to the Baha’i Blogcast for more upcoming episodes on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Soundcloud.
Thanks for listening!
-Rainn Wilson
Posted by
Naysan Naraqi
Naysan is passionate about using the arts and media to explore the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Back in 2011, Naysan started up the Baha’i Blog project, channeling his experiences in both media and technology companies to help create a hub for Baha’i-inspired content online.
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I love this interview and Smitty’s stories and approach!
Thanks so much for the wonderful work you do!
Karim (September 9, 2020 at 10:47 PM)
Greetings, Rainn and Naysan. I’m really enjoying these! Thank you so much. Quite a variety of individuals. But what I would be particularly interested in hearing is Rainn interviewing some of the Baha’i doing environmental work, like Arthur Dahl or Peter Adriance on an international level, and I imagine there are those doing this at a national or local level, as well. It’s the intersection of faith and mission that I’m most keen to hear. Thanks again!
Tara (October 10, 2020 at 3:17 PM)
Hi Tara, thanks for your kind words and so glad to hear you’re enjoying the Baha’i Blogcast! 🙂
We have a long list of people we’re trying to get through, and some of them are definitely involved with environmental work. In case you missed it, be sure to check out our interview with Halldor Thorgeirsson, the Chair of Iceland’s Climate Council, and retired Senior Director of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC): https://www.bahaiblog.net/2020/01/bahai-blogcast-with-rainn-wilson-episode-41-halldor-thorgeirsson/
Hope this helps!
Naysan Naraqi (October 10, 2020 at 10:05 PM)
Inspiring interview. Thank you. Recently moved to Georgia and can’t wait for the new Race Amity center in Atlanta. Sorry to point out one thing that engenders disunity in my estimation, and that is the inclusive description of folks called “rednecks”
Frank Welsh (October 10, 2020 at 1:15 PM)