2. Racial Equality

World Scripture

Have you not seen how that God sends down water from the sky, and therewith We bring forth with it fruits of diverse hues? And in the mountains are streaks white and red, of diverse hues, and pitch black. Men too, and beasts and cattle are of diverse colors. Even so only those of His servants who have understanding fear God.
Qur’an 35.27-28

Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
Psalm 68.31

“Are you not like the Ethiopians to me, O people of Israel?” says the Lord. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?”²²
Amos 9.7

The Prophet said to Abu Thur, “Look Abu Thur, you are not favored over a black man or a red man unless you are more righteous than they.” Algama’
Alsaghair 3.2740 (Islam)

Lord God of glory is He to whom both the Aryans and the outcastes belong.²³
Rig Veda 8.51.9 (Hinduism)

Among four-footed animals, whatever the size, you can see that they are of different kinds and species. Now look at the creatures that crawl on their bellies… at the fish and water life, the birds and the breeds that fly—you can see they are of different kinds and species. Yet there is not among men differences in kind or species in the manner that they are found among other species.
Unlike in other species there is not among men differences with regard to their eyes, ears, mouths, noses, lips, eyebrows and even their hair—all are the same type. From the neck to the groin, from the shoulder to the hip, from the back to the chest—is it all of one kind with men. Hands, feet, fingers, nails, calves and thighs are all standard… they do not have the variety of inherited features that other creatures have. Differences among human beings are differences only by convention.
Sutta Nipata 603-611 (Buddhism)

They approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, “How does it feel to be a problem?” they say, “I know an excellent colored man in my town”; or, “I fought at Mechanicsville”; or, “Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil?” At these I smile, or am interested, or reduce the boiling to a simmer, as the occasion may require. To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.
And yet, being a problem is a strange experience, —peculiar even for one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in Europe. It is in the early days of rollicking boyhood that the revelation first bursts upon one, all in a day, as it were. I remember well when the shadow swept across me… In a wee wooden schoolhouse, something put it into the boys’ and girls’ heads to buy gorgeous visiting-cards—ten cents a package—and exchange. The exchange was merry, till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused my card,—refused it peremptorily, with a glance. Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil.
W. E. B. Du Bois²⁴

I dream of the day when all Americans will be judged, not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Christianity)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

What is the color of true love? Does true love have a color? In love there is no color. Anyone who is color-conscious can never attain true love. Anyone who sees color is not a person of true love.
(161:22, January 1, 1987)

In the sight of God, there is no difference between black people, white people and yellow people. Love makes God color-blind. He does not see the color of people’s skin. The color of the heart is much more intense and vibrant than skin color.
(258:122, March 17, 1994)

What would be God’s ideal art project? You answer, “People,” but how could people become God’s masterpiece when blacks and whites fight? A world of only white people would be like God painting a picture all in white. You try drawing a picture all in white. Why doesn’t it work? Hence, God needs black and other colors as well. White does not show up against a white background. No artist paints on a white background; he needs to use various colors. Likewise, God needs people of diverse colors to create His masterpiece. It should be a three-dimensional masterpiece in which every part is harmonious and united.
(96:220, January 22, 1978)

I wish that you mothers could bear twins—one black and one yellow. Especially, if a white mother could do it, how amazing it would be! All three races would come together at one time. Do you think God would be displeased and say, “How insane”? When He sees a white mother nursing a black child and a yellow child, would He say, “How disgusting”? No. He would say, “Wow, it is marvelous! Amen!” Listen. If yellow butterflies were to fly only to yellow flowers, it would be dull. When white and black ones also come, that is beautiful.
(130:102-03, January 1, 1984)

When Jesus stumbled while carrying his cross to Calvary, a black person, Simon of Cyrene, took up Jesus’ burden. That act signifies that in the Last Days, God will raise up black people.
(91:219, February 20, 1977)

When a white person takes a black person’s hand, it is a much greater thing than simply the meeting of two individuals. In holding that hand, he is holding the hand of all black people and their history of tears. In hearing him, he is listening to the black race’s woeful stories. Their clasped hands represent the reunion of heaven and earth, which had been separated for so long.
(95:140, November 6, 1977)

Differences in skin color are nothing more than the result of our ancestors having had to adapt to different climates and environments in different parts of the globe. In areas with large amounts of snowfall, we find mainly white people living. In places such as Africa where the rays of the sun are particularly bright, we find mainly black people. Fundamentally, though, people are the same. The color of our blood is the same. Our flesh and bones look the same. We all have the capacity to love. Thus, there should be no discrimination based on race.
This is why… in accordance with the natural principles, more and more people will marry interracially. When a black person and a white person marry, it is like the North Pole and the South Pole coming together. When a yellow person and a black person marry and have children, both parents contribute their good attributes and their descendants are better as a result.
(315:212, February 2, 2000)

The universe is built to be in natural balance… God gave white people blue or light-colored eyes, as a charming complement to their white skin. See how the blue of the iris blurs the white of the eye. This is as it should be, emphasizing the pupil and de-emphasizing the white of the eye.
On the other hand, in black and Oriental people, who have very dark or black irises, the contrast with the white of the eye is an attractive feature. For people with dark complexions, the black iris makes the whites of their eyes stand out beautifully. If their pupils were blue, it would blur the whites of the eyes and make their eyes weak-looking.
Also, when black people smile, their teeth are sensational. You black people, smile and see. Your tongue is very red, to show better against your white teeth. This is why you have thicker lips, too—to better show your teeth. Everything about black person’s face is fascinating!
Today this civilization is mostly trying to destroy or downplay certain original qualities in people instead of trying to enhance them. But I foresee the time when white people will be crazy about blacks. White women in particular will prefer the dramatic appearance of black men.
Blacks are identified mostly with ghettos such as Harlem, which seem to accumulate the trash of humanity. They are like the valley that collects all the soil and debris that wash down from the hills; there they decay and smell, like rotting manure. But this is not bad; it makes for the most fertile soil, where life can germinate most abundantly. In America, black people shed their sweat and blood, becoming the fertilizer to create a new society for white people. You must know that American civilization was built on the backs of black people.
Yet life germinates powerfully in that manure. It is no accident that black people are passionate and strong, and have an explosive sense of love. Also, they tend to trust people, as they represent the valley, accepting everything that washes down.
White people, on the other hand, are like the high mountain top. Nothing accumulates on its rocky surface, and it is very cold. Hence, white people and not very trusting, and they tend to be cold-hearted. In the past, when white people traveled on horses, if a horse broke a leg they would kill the animal and move on. That is not right; it is not in accord with nature. Oriental people would not do that, and neither would black people. White people have a tradition of dueling for love, in which one man dies and the woman goes with the winner. Love cannot come through destruction of life; life must be protected so that it can give love. This is how we search out the principle to understand and correct all customs and cultural values to be in accord with the original form.
(107:308-09, June 8, 1980)