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Crossing the Line

A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Change

At 14, Richard (Ricky) Abercrombie was besieged by prejudice because of his multi-racial background and angered by unsatisfactory answers to his heartfelt questions about religious truth. The time was 1960, and the place was Greenville, South Carolina.

Ricky began carrying a gun, skipping school, and numbing his painful emotions with alcohol. His parents were worried and his future looked bleak. What happened next – an invitation to a birthday party at the home of a Bahá’í family – changed his life forever.

Ricky became intrigued by Bahá’í teachings on racial equality, peaceful strategies for social justice, and the fundamental unity of religion. As he investigated these teachings, Ricky experienced a profound spiritual awakening that led him to give up the gun, stop drinking, and engage in life with hope and joy. His friends and family initially opposed his dangerous new association with racially integrated groups,...Show More

At 14, Richard (Ricky) Abercrombie was besieged by prejudice because of his multi-racial background and angered by unsatisfactory answers to his heartfelt questions about religious truth. The time was 1960, and the place was Greenville, South Carolina.

Ricky began carrying a gun, skipping school, and numbing his painful emotions with alcohol. His parents were worried and his future looked bleak. What happened next – an invitation to a birthday party at the home of a Bahá’í family – changed his life forever.

Ricky became intrigued by Bahá’í teachings on racial equality, peaceful strategies for social justice, and the fundamental unity of religion. As he investigated these teachings, Ricky experienced a profound spiritual awakening that led him to give up the gun, stop drinking, and engage in life with hope and joy. His friends and family initially opposed his dangerous new association with racially integrated groups, but Ricky’s steadfastness drew them into investigating his new beliefs themselves. This true story of how a rebellious teenager transformed his own character and affected the lives of dozens of friends and family members is a cover-to-cover delight.

  • Contributors:
    Richard Abercrombie (Author) | 
    JoAnn Borovicka 
  • Format: Softcover book | 192 pages
  • Dimensions: 155 x 229 x 13 mm | 227 g
  • Publisher: Bahá'í Publishing (USA), 2020
  • ISBN: 9781618511522
  • SKU: ABERC_CROSS
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  • Contributors:
    Richard Abercrombie (Author) | 
    JoAnn Borovicka 
  • Format: Softcover book | 192 pages
  • Dimensions: 155 x 229 x 13 mm | 227 g
  • Publisher: Bahá'í Publishing (USA), 2020
  • ISBN: 9781618511522
  • SKU: ABERC_CROSS

About Richard Abercrombie

As a teenager, Richard Abercrombie was the worrisome “bad boy” of a large and conservative African-American family. As he describes, “I was headed to jail or to an early grave” when, to his and everyone’s surprise, he experienced a transformation that not only saved his life but also radically changed and enriched the lives of all of his family members. As an adult, he has traveled in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East in the pursuit of knowledge as well as in service to the Bahá’í Faith, and he has served in a number of elected and appointed positions in the Bahá’í community. Richard currently resides in South Carolina where delights everyone with his down-home humour.

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