National Day of Racial Healing Devotional
Little Rock, Arkansas
January 22, 2023

Within the context of the framework governing your activities, it is necessary to carefully examine the forces unfolding around you to determine where your energies might reinforce the most promising initiatives, what you should avoid, and how you might lend a distinctive contribution. (Universal House of Justice Letter to the Baha’is of the United States, 22 July 2020)
     When the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Little Rock read this quote from the Universal House of Justice, they decided to identify “promising initiatives” that they might reinforce within the context of the community-building framework. They discovered the Arkansas Peace and Justice Memorial Movement (AJPMM.org) founded by Clarice and Kwami Abdu’l-Bey. This entity, among a host of initiatives, has organized a coalition to celebrate the National Day of Racial Healing in Arkansas. This annual observance was created by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to be honored on the day after Martin Luther King Day. Over the last three years, in Arkansas, this coalition has expanded to include multiple municipalities, university campuses and faith communities. Our Governor became the first to issue a formal proclamation designating the National Day of Racial Healing in Arkansas.
     The Assembly asked a representative to meet with the founders to explore how the Baha’is might lend a distinctive contribution. The outcome was a virtual devotional to explore the spiritual nature of racial healing that was first offered in 2022 and promoted through the coalition as part of the calendar of events for the week-long celebration. Clarice and Kwami Abdu’l-Bey attended the devotional and invited several friends to attend as well.
    Through subsequent conversations, Kwami became aware of the National Race Amity Day and attended the workshop sponsored by this Baha’i-inspired initiative. He offered to collaborate with the Spiritual Assembly to plan the event and to assist in obtaining a proclamation from the Governor. Following the guidance from the National Center for Race Amity, he suggested that the Governor would be more likely to issue the proclamation if it were requested by a state-wide entity rather than a local faith community. Because the Baha’is have a seat on the Board of Interfaith Arkansas, that organization agreed to be a co-sponsor for the occasion and to be the applicant for the proclamation. The Governor’s office provided a letter of support since they had already issued the proclamation for the National Day of Racial Healing, but the Mayors of Little Rock and North Little Rock both issued proclamations, which were read at the Interfaith Devotional that was held on Race Amity Day on June 12, 2022, with representatives from the Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Baha’i Communities presenting.
      Clarice and Kwami Abdu’l-Bey asked the Baha’is again to participate in the National Day of Racial Healing for 2023. This involved a virtual devotional with writings from  Baha’i Faith focused on equality, unity and racial justice in combination with elevated musical pieces. In addition, the Baha’i Club at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith was recruited to participate in the week-long activities dedicated to this theme. They showed the Baha’i-inspired film from the National Center for Race Amity, An American Story, Race Amity and the Other Tradition.
     Four friends of the Faith attended the first devotional, three attended the second and five participated in the Race Amity Devotional in June. While the attendance was not high, because these events were publicized through the partners’ networks, the exposure and credibility factors were much higher due to the Assembly collaborating with others on these celebrations.