If you’re a member of a minority, and you’re not involved in decision-making at an administrative level, then society is still far from realizing the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., says Phillipe Copeland, a Baha'i in Boston who examines social issues from an African-American perspective on his blog, Baha'i Thought.

Reflecting on the Jan. 21 observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mr. Copeland says Dr. King envisioned “a multiracial democratic community, which means more than people of different races simply being in the same physical space at the same time.”

Mr. Copeland says it’s “rare in our society to see communities in which racial diversity is reflected in administrative structure and governance.”

Rare, but not non-existent. Mr. Copeland points to the administrative structure of the Baha'i Faith as an example of what Dr. King had in mind: Members elected by other members to serve on councils at the local, national and international level.

And because of the Baha'i Faith core beliefs in the oneness of humanity and the elimination of prejudice, among others, Baha'i communities tend to be made up of an unusually diverse population.

Indeed, the Faith not only approves of interracial marriage, it encourages and supports it.


Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.“Baha'is in the United States and other countries are raising multiracial families in intentionally diverse communities. That’s a “significant contribution in helping to erase prejudice,” Mr. Copeland says. “Maybe I’m just really proud of the Baha'i Faith, but I challenge people to find other institutions where this happens regularly.”

Mr. Copeland, who became a Baha'i 11 years ago, is married to Maura, a Caucasian woman whose family of origin includes Russian Jews, German Lutherans, a sister adopted from India and a sister-in law from China. As a lifelong Baha'i, she fully expected to marry a man of another “race.”

Although the Copelands and other Baha’is take interracial unions for granted, society doesn’t, Mr. Copeland says.

“There’s still a big gap in what Dr. King hoped for and what is. He’s still way ahead of his time. Segregation is everywhere. The oneness of humanity is still considered optional,” says Mr. Copeland, who has a Master’s degree in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. “A lot of people subscribe to it, but don’t feel morally compelled to act on it. They don’t measure themselves on it in their daily life.”

Mr. Copeland says he believes the idealism of Dr. King can be put into action by following the precepts revealed by Baha’u’llah, Founder of the Faith.

“The Baha'i Faith addresses the needs of all people,” he says. “We all just need to build the system that Baha’u’llah has created and the rest takes care of itself