Edited Volume Read Along: Global Systems Built on Unequal Foundations

We have reached Part III, which is titled “Structural Inequalities.” This is a very broad and significant topic, and the essays featured in this section cover a wide range of problems and solutions. The section begins with an introduction by Dr. Kate Seaman called “Acknowledging and Addressing the Inequalities in the International System.”

In this chapter, Dr. Seaman points out the ways that the fundamental structure of our international systems plays a direct role in the possibilities and limitations of responding to global problems and building peace. Institutions like the UN were created in a period that is very different than our current moment. In 1945 there were only 74 recognized sovereign nations, while today, there are 195. Additionally, colonialism, imperialism, and racist social science, heavily influenced past conceptions of global governance. While conscious values and terminology have changed, the power and influence of that systemic inequality remain. 

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Echoes of the Past: Invisibility and Racism

This is an insight written by Stella Hudson on the recent Bahá’í Chair for World Peace Lecture by Professor Yohuru Williams on “Simply Because People Refuse to See Me: Black Lives Matter in Historical Context” held on February 8, 2022.

In many ways, this contemporary moment feels unique. The after-effects of 2020 and the ongoing pandemic, the January 6th insurrection, Trump’s presidency, our reckoning with police violence against people of color, anti-Asian sentiments; so many tensions seem to be boiling to the surface. However, Dr. Yohuru Williams’s talk “Simply Because People Refuse to See Me: Black Lives Matter in Historical Context” points out a very significant aspect of our current moment: none of this is new at all. Our contemporary phenomena are echoes of history and reflect the issues, questions, violence, prejudice, and activism of the past. 

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A Window Opened – Values, coherence and caring – Dr. Tiffani Betts Razavi

If you are not a young black man and you listened to the recent lecture for the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace given by Professor Joseph Richardson Jr., you may have felt, like I did, that a window was opened to another world. It was a moving and deeply thought-provoking experience, both difficult and heart-warming. I realized each time one of the young men interviewed for the digital storytelling project said, “you know what I’m saying?” that I really don’t. Continue reading

Why are Blacks dying at higher rates from COVID-19? – Professor Rashawn Ray

This is a reflection written by Professor Rashawn Ray, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, and Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR) at the University of Maryland, College Park. The blogpost is included in the series from The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace on Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic and was originally published on the Fixgov blog of Brookings. 

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Upcoming Event: Life After the Gunshot: A Digital Storytelling Project on the Impact of Structural and Interpersonal Violence and the Healing Process for Young Black Men

Baha’i Chair for World Peace 

Professor Joseph Richardson Jr.

Life After the Gunshot: A Digital Storytelling Project on the Impact of Structural and Interpersonal Violence and the Healing Process for Young Black Men

Monday, April 6th, 2020

2:00pm-3:30pm

Prince George’s Room, Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park Continue reading

Insights: Racism as a Barrier to Justice

This is a reflection written by Esther Kaufman on the lecture given by Dr. Rashawn Ray as part of the Bahá’ì Chair for World Peace series on Structural Racism. 

Racism as a Barrier to Justice 

Dr. Rashawn Ray’s emotional presentation on “Why Police Compliance Does Not Save Black Lives” left me feeling a deep sense of disappointment in our society’s failure to recognize and deal with racism.  He began his lecture with the juxtaposition of videos and statistics that emphasized the differences between races in police compliance and non-compliance. Continue reading

Interview: Dr. Rashawn Ray on Why Police Compliance Does Not Save Black Lives

Interview with Dr. Rashawn Ray, interview conducted by Brandie Reeder Williams.

Dr. Ray will be giving a lecture on the 25th of October in Hoff Theatre, Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland. To find out more and to RSVP visit the website of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace.

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About ‘In-Depth’

“The faculty to think objectively is reason; the emotional attitude behind reason is that of humility. To be objective, to use one’s reason, is possible only if one has achieved an attitude of humility, if one has emerged from the dreams of omniscience and omnipotence which one has as a child. Love, being dependent on the relative absence of narcissism, requires the development of humility, objectivity and reason.” – Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving

The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland is an endowed academic program that advances interdisciplinary examination and discourse on global peace. Viewing humanity as a collective and organic whole, the Chair’s incumbent, Professor Hoda Mahmoudi, explores the role that social actors and structures play in removing obstacles and creating paths to peace. The Chair’s explanation focuses on a number of thematic issues including, structural racism, climate change, human nature, women’s inequality, and leadership and global governance. Continue reading