Racial Equality

At 14, Richard (Ricky) Abercrombie was besieged by prejudice because of his multi-racial background and angered by unsatisfactory answers to his heartfelt questions about religious truth. The time was 1960, and the place was Greenville, South Carolina. Ricky began carrying a gun, skipping school, and numbing his painful emotions with alcohol. His parents were worried and his future looked bleak. What happened next – an invitation to a birthday party at the home of a Bahá’í family – changed his life forever. Ricky became intrigued by Bahá’í teachings on racial equality, peaceful strategies for social justice, and the fundamental unity of religion. As he investigated these teachings, Ricky experienced a profound spiritual awakening that led him to give up the gun, stop drinking, and engage in life with hope and joy. His friends and family initially opposed his dangerous new association with racially integrated groups, but Ricky’s steadfastness drew them into investigating his new beliefs themselves. This true story of how a rebellious teenager transformed his own character and affected the lives of dozens of friends and family members is a cover-to-cover delight.

This book serves as an excellent reference guide or research tool for anyone looking to deepen on the history of American Indians role and involvement in the Bahá’í Faith and community.

A compilation of stories by American Indians who are members of the Bahá’í Faith, written in their own words. Being free to write and share in their own words and formats, seven American Indian Bahá’ís tell the story of their backgrounds, how they became Bahá’ís, their life adventures, and how this Faith works for them. These stories are meant to show the unique personal stories of Bahá’ís coming from American Indian backgrounds, including the many challenges and joys they’ve faced when accepting and integrating a new religion into their traditional cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices.