Hundreds of Baha'i communities throughout the United States observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day by helping to organize public events to commemorate the great, slain civil rights leader.

The Ageless Northshore website editors, Don and Peg Shearn, interviewed the Baha'i House of Worship Music Director, Van Gilmer, for a story on their site this week -- Van Gilmer: the Harmonious Voice of Diversity.

Throughout the country, Baha’is led their local communities in celebrating Race Unity Day on Sunday, June 14.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States inaugurated Race Unity Day in 1957 to promote racial harmony and understanding. Since then, communities have held celebrations, open to the public, on the second Sunday in June.

Hundreds of Baha'i communities throughout the United States observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day by helping to organize public events to commemorate the great, slain civil rights leader.

Gwen Clayborne, a Baha'i from Glencoe, Ill., was featured recently on the Chicago-based public television program, "30 Good Minutes."

Bob Rosenfeld’s idea of an ideal world isn’t the traditional melting pot. Rather, it’s a mosaic, allowing people to retain what makes them unique while being part of a greater whole.

When it comes to race, Bahá'ís have their work cut out for them -- working to eliminate what is described by the National Spiritual Assembly in its 1991 statement on the topic as “the most challenging issue confronting America.”

Louis Gregory reached more people than any other advocate of racial harmony in the first half of the 20th century, says Gayle Morrison, a Baha'i who has researched the life and contributions of Mr. Gregory, an early U.S. Baha'i.

© Bahá’í International Community

Baha'is view racism as America's most vital and challenging issue. Baha'u'llah, the prophet-founder of the Baha'i Faith, taught that the world's peace, prosperity and well being ultimately depend on the recognition of the oneness of humanity.

If you’re a member of a minority, and you’re not involved in decision-making at an administrative level, then society is still far from realizing the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., says Phillipe Copeland, a Baha'i in Boston who examines social issues from an African-American perspective on his blog, Baha'i Thought.