Antelope Valley, CA, February 2, 2004- The Baha’is of Antelope Valley invite the public to a special presentation marking African-American History Month. Lenice Gaertner, national lecturer, author and the founder and CEO of Mothers for Race Unity and Equality, will present a talk on the theme of contributions of people of color to the world community and to the reality of the oneness of mankind. The event will be held at 2 PM on Sunday, February 15, 2004 at Palmdale City Youth Library (38510 N. Sierra Highway). The event is free and open the public.

Bahá'u'lláh the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, made the oneness of humanity under God, and thus the elimination of all forms of prejudice the central point of His teachings. The Bahá’ís therefore, since their beginning in the United States in late 1800s, have been at the forefront of national and local race unity efforts designed to eradicate racism.

The African-American Baha'is have made great contributions to the establishment and growth of the Baha'i community and to the cause of unity and justice in the United States. Here are some notable African Americans Baha'is:

Louis G. Gregory
Was one of the most beloved figures in the history of the Bahá’í Faith and a pre-eminent champion of its pivotal principle of the oneness of humanity. Louis Gregory, embraced the Baha'i Faith in 1909 and soon after gave up a successful law practice to devote his whole attention to the work of race unity in the United States through his extensive travels, the many talks he gave before religious and secular groups of all kinds, as a member and Chairman of the Bahá'í National Committe for Race Unity and as the organizer of Unity Conferences. He became the first black member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada. Louis Gregory was conferred with the spiritual distinction of “Hand of the Cause” with which only 47 people in the history of the Bahá’í Faith have been honored.

Alain Locke
Called the father of multiculturalism, Alain Locke was among the most promient black Bahá'ís in the United States. A Rhodes Scholar and key mover behind the Harlem renaissance, Locke's ideas on race and unity in diversity influenced many. He became a Bahá'í in 1918, and contributed much to the community until he died 36 years later. Locke presided as session chair of first racial amity conference in 1921. According to The Black 100 he is the 36th most influential African American ever.

Amoz Gibson
An outstanding Bahá'í with a history of service to the Baha'i Faith and to humanity. He served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of United States. He was elected to the first Universal House of Justice, the international governing body, in 1963.

African American Baha'is have made very important contributions to American culture, such as Dizzy Gillespie’s contributions to the development of jazz, and Robert Hayden’s contributions to poetry.

The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion with adherents in virtually every country. More than 2000 ethnic groups and tribes are represented in Bahá’í membership. There are about 5 million Bahá’ís worldwide and approximately 142,000 in the United States.

# # # # #