To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America

Rating:
Summary: Son of Slaves Overcomes Racial Barriers
Review: "To Move The World" is the fascinating story of the life of Louis Gregory, the son of slaves and one of the first African-American Baha'is. Gayle Morrison places the life of Louis Gregory within the context of the struggle of Black Americans to achieve racial equality and the growth of the Baha'i Faith as an interracial community in North America in the first half of the twentieth century. Gregory, a lawyer, was an eloquent advocate of racial unity and bravely demonstrated that belief in his own life by marrying a white woman at a time when such cohabitation was illegal in many U.S. states. He helped to organize some of the earliest racial unity gatherings held in the U.S. Although Gregory is well known by Baha'is (for example, a Baha'i radio station - WLGI - in Hemingway, S.C. is named for him), his achievements deserve to be recognized more widely. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the struggle for civil rights or Baha'i history.

Rating:
Summary: Good and Objective analysis of an underrated figure
Review: First of all, this book is a good look at an African-American activist for peace who preached racial unity long before Martin Luther King was born. Secondly, although this book is about a prominent member of the Bahai Faith and the author (whom I met recently) is a Bahai, the book benefits by being objective about the Bahai Faith as it does not propagandize, but matter-of-factly discusses some of the internal problems within the faith during Mr. Gregory's lifetime. So it's a good read as you see Mr. Gregory's efforts to preach a good message of unity to a country and world that had (and still has) a way to go in accepting. People who are objective about religion will be inspired by Mr. Gregory's story through Ms. Morrison's telling.