The following is excerpted from the Pamphlet "The Black Men's Baha'i Gathering A Spiritual Transformation" by James A. Williams and Ted Jefferson, Published by Wayfarer Publications Copyright © 1995
 

"Every year for the past eight years, usually during the last week of July, a group of Baha'i men who are Black have been convening in an isolated spot in South Carolina. The place is the Louis G. Gregory Baha'i Institute, a small compound of aging buildings surrounded by a forest of scrub pines. The Institute hosts a wide range of Baha'i activities year-round by primarily serves as one the area's most recognized community service agencies. For these men, however, some of whom have traveled from as far away as British Columbia, California, and the Caribbean Islands, this has become a sacred spot, a holy place, a spiritual home.

These men come to the Black Men's Baha'i Gathering. The Gathering is not open to the general public. It is not even open to all Baha'i men who are Black. Attendees are Black Baha'i men who have talked with Continental Counselor William Roberts and received an invitation from him to attend.

How could the Baha'i Faith, the only universal religion that promotes "the oneness of mankind," sanction what can be viewed only as a "segregated" gathering? Its activities are not secret: they consist of prayer, singing, fellowship, and consultation-things which are familiar to everyone. What, then, makes it so special? Whatever happens within the sanctity of that main meeting room, sheltered from the eyes of an unpredictable world, can only be described as "wonderful" each time these men come together.

We who attend are no longer surprised at how this event has evolved into much more than just a spiritual reunion and a time of fellowship. When we depart from that spot on Sunday afternoon, after the last prayer is given and the last song is sung, we are the same men who arrived earlier in the week, but we are also different. A spiritual transformation occurs in that hallowed place, a transformation that some people will say that God, as well as the world, awaits.

...The first Black Men's Bahá'í Gathering was held at the Residence Inn in Greensboro, North Carolina, in October 1987. Only twelve men were there because it was a 'test" Gathering, according to Counselor Roberts, its shaper and convener, a psychologist by profession. For years he had wondered why Black men had not made more significant contribution to the Faith as envisioned by 'Abdu'l-Baha'. He questioned why there were so few older Baha'i Black men. He also noticed in Baha'i meetings something that puzzled and then saddened him: Black men appeared to avoid each other deliberately in order to seek the company of White Baha'is. In other words, and with a high degree of predictability, Black Baha'is were trying very hard to become invisible to each other, especially if non-Black Baha'is were around. Dr. Roberts used this telling behavior as sufficient reason for convening the first Black Men's Gathering.

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Imagine that you are standing in the middle of an overcrowded room of Black men. The men are seated in concentric circles around you, attentive, listening with their ears to your every word, spoken and unspoken, reading with their eyes the language your body speaks, while embracing you with their hearts. You have never been to a Gathering before, and at the request of Dr. Roberts, you are attempting to tell who you are and why you wanted to come. At first this seems easy enough, but you can not finish your explanation. Tears flow. You can not talk and cry at the same time. You could be a teen, a retired, gray-haired gentleman, or someone in-between. ..No, we won't ask you personal questions. You may want to share the pain in your life, but more often than not, we already know it. Aren't we all Black men? Though living in different cities and towns, don't we all share a common heritage? The details of your story will be different but what really matters is that you're now here...with us...together...Yes, we know you have never been able to trust other Black Men. We didn't either, at first. But, that's OK. You'll learn. Welcome home.