Race Unity Day at the YMCA

Friday, May 30, 2003

By the Free Lance staff

Residents from all religious faiths and denominations are invited to the fourth Annual Race Unity Day in Hollister on Sunday. The celebration, sponsored by the Baha'is of Hollister, will be held at the YMCA of San Benito County at 339 Fifth St.

The theme of this year’s celebration, which will include refreshments and music, is praying for peace and unity for mankind. The event is free and open to the public.

Race Unity Day was inaugurated in 1957 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States (the national governing body for the U.S. Baha'i community) to promote racial harmony and understanding. It is sponsored annually, on the first Sunday in June, by members of the Baha'i Faith throughout the nation.

Originally called "Race Amity Day," the name was changed to Race Unity Day in 1965.

The purpose of the day is to focus attention on what Baha'is believe is the most challenging moral issue facing this country - racial prejudice. Baha'u'llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, made the oneness of humanity under God, and thus the elimination of all forms of prejudice the central point of his teachings.

They cite racism as one of the most baneful and persistent evils and a major barrier to peace. Its practice perpetrates too outrageous a violation of the dignity of human beings to be countenanced under any pretext.

For more information, call 636-6761

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