At the end of May 1921, the nation’s capital played host to a multiracial Interfaith Gathering the likes of which had rarely been seen in the segregated South. for 3 Days thousands of people assembled at the First Congregational Church of Washington DC. in the first-ever convention for Amity between the colored and white races. One of the key contributors to this history-making visionary event was an African-American son of slaves who was a man of deep Faith, a scholar, a lawyer, and Arden believer in race Unity. His name was Louis G Gregory. The Narrative that frames this documentary is taken from his diary reports of events at the 1921 National Convention of enmity between the races. He states: “Orient and occident, colored and white, mingled in a picturesque setting of five sessions over a period of 3 days. The First Congregational Church which in past years had welcomed so many liberal and Progressive groups, opened its doors for all sessions. Among the distinguished people who aided the Endeavor were Reverend Dr Jason Noble Pierce, and Honorable Moses E Clapp, a former Senator from Nebraska. Senators Samuel Shortridge of California. C Lee Cook, famous Southern businessman, Dr. Elaine Locke, Honorable Martin B Madden, congressman from Illinois. William H Randall, Professor George W Cook, Mrs Corley Franklin Cook, Roy C Wilhelm.”
Other participants commented on their experiences those days. This from M.F. Harris: “I attended every session day and night. Many times throughout the meetings, did with much effort, restrain my tears. My heart lept and throbbed, and many times almost burst within my breast. I am a colored man my race as a whole I believe is quite ready to welcome the Glad day when all will be brothers the trouble is nearly unilateral. God give us the day!”
it was a time not unlike today. 50 years had elapsed since the Civil War and the emancipation of America’s enslaved people. At the federal level reconstruction amendments passed in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War recognized the humanity of African Americans. But Jim Crow laws in the South encroached on nearly every aspect of life. America’s apartheid, Jim Crow first impinged on voting rights won after the war. Then step by step, inch by inch Jim Croce outlawed even the most superficial of cross-racial mingling. Schools, hospitals, amusement parks, train platforms, bus Depots, doctors’ waiting rooms, restrooms, post offices, and bank teller windows. At the same time, the Ku Klux Klan arose again to enforce the Jim Crow social order.
This was a cultural celebration of the denigration of a people.
This first race Amity convention then provided a stark contrast to the prevailing patterns of the era. Thousands of men and women from various racial backgrounds, hues, cultural traditions, and social classes, chose to sit shoulder-to-shoulder in church pews for three straight days. A simple but truly revolutionary act.
The video is about the first Race Amity Convention, which was held in Washington D.C. in 1921. The convention was a gathering of people from different races and religions who came together to promote racial unity. The video discusses the history of race relations in the United States, including the Jim Crow era and the Ku Klux Klan. It also discusses the role of the Baha’i faith in promoting racial unity. The video concludes by discussing the legacy of the Race Amity Convention and its impact on the civil rights movement.
