Baha'i CommunityMeeting Baha’is in actionYou can be pulled in many directions at college – my Baha’i friends showed me that faith and action go together.
Racial IdentityA family’s legacyMy eighth-grade teacher taught us as if the eighth grade was going to be our last year of education.
Baha'i Community BuildingPushing forward as Baha’isWhen Emmett Till was killed, many Baha’is said it was too bad, but we did not have the experience to address it.
Baha'i FaithWinning a scholarship to BrownThe ACT was Goliath, and I was David, relying on the power of God to prevail.
Baha'i CommunityBecoming a Baha’i, 10% at a timeAt the end of my first year of university, I saw that I was doing more Baha’i things than other things and I was okay with that.
Baha'i FaithFrom Christian to Baha’i – via ChristIn the Bible we’re told to watch and pray, that Christ will come again like a thief in the night.
Baha'i CommunityLearning to pray in a diverse communityWorship is an intimate act – you’re opening your heart to encounter the divine in the presence of others.
Baha'i FaithA fountain of lightBaha’u’llah says people of African descent are the “pupil of the eye” – it has caused me to reflect on my role in this world.
Racial UnityTaking the medicineIf we had prejudice before, we’re going to have it as Baha’is. The difference is we’ve agreed to work it out.
Baha'i CommunityA variety of racesWhat attracted me was the Baha’i principle to actively work for the elimination of prejudice.
Baha'i Community BuildingThe opposite of love isn't hate - it's apathyIf truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues, what does it look like to apply that to eliminating racial prejudice?
Baha'i FaithResolving racism for the good of all humanityThe Baha’i writings say if we don’t address racism then the world will have nowhere to turn during its great turmoil.
Baha'i FaithPraying for a meaningful lifeI believed that if anybody could love me it would probably be Jesus Christ.
Baha'i CommunityVisiting the Baha’i House of WorshipThe first thing I saw was a white man hugging a black woman. And something was let loose inside me.
Racism in AmericaThe kind of man that can live in this worldI thought, oh my God, I’m going to have a black child. There was so much fear that filled my heart.
Baha'i CommunityChoosing the Baha’i Faith over angerThere was something in me that pushed me to search out answers for myself.
Baha'i Faith‘Praise the Lord, here you are’It felt like Pentecost, when the disciples went out and they began to preach the word of Jesus after his crucifixion.
Baha'i CommunityLosing then finding his religionI noticed within the Baha'i community there were African-Americans, whites, Filipinos and others all working together.
Baha'i CommunityOffering an African-American spirit to the Baha'i faithWe would sing for hours and then deepen ourselves on our responsibilities as Baha’is.
Baha'i FaithBy any means necessaryBarbara Talley: I always had this question: why are there so many religions?
Baha'i FaithGirl, you ain’t no Baha’iBarbara Talley: I had read others saying that black people are cursed, and here was a religion calling us noble.
Baha'i CommunityLove isn’t something to be scheduledBarbara Talley: I dealt with lots of racism – but I met these Baha’is that didn’t treat me like a color.
Baha'i Community BuildingSpiritual reparationsBarbara Talley: The Bible said the last shall be the first, and the meek shall inherit the Earth. This is it.
Baha'i FaithSome people pretend to be asleepBarbara Talley: Maybe we weren’t brought here. Maybe we were sent here.
Baha'i FaithThe pupil of the eyeAnthony Vance: The Baha’i writings say that black people are “like the pupil of the eye” through which the light of the spirit shines.
Baha'i CommunityYe shall know them by their fruitsMichael Penn: I started to cry, but I wasn’t sure why I was crying.
Racism in AmericaAddressing racism through constructive resilienceMichael Penn: In addition to dismantling destructive processes, we have to build what we think is right.
Baha'i CommunityStanding up for the wellbeing of allBaha’is are supposed to be champions of justice – to stand up for humanitarian issues.
Baha'i CommunityA devotional cultureAfrican-Americans know how to come together to pray – they can offer this to Baha’i communities.
Racism in AmericaThe spiritual roots of racismHopelessness comes from not knowing how to change root problems – the Baha’i writings have the power to transform our hearts.
Baha'i CommunityDiscovering diversity and spiritual solutionsMy downstairs neighbors were Baha’is. We talked for three days and then I was one too.
Racial UnityFinding and eliminating prejudicesI had no idea of the reality of what it meant to be black in the United States of America.
Baha'i CommunityReforming education in 1960s HarlemHussein Ahdieh: Harlem Prep was the most rewarding and colorful period in our lives.
Baha'i FaithPurifying character to uproot racismTavoria Kellam: I’m done with reading about the Central Park Five, or Tamir Rice, because I know already.
Baha'i CommunityRacism and constructive resilienceAfrican-Americans have always understood that it’s very hard to simply become racist in response to acts of hatred.
Baha'i CommunityA hotbed of political activityMy sense of how to be a person and a Baha’i moved me to leave a legacy behind.
Baha'i CommunityThe behaviors needed for changeThe Baha’i writings defined “implicit bias” 70 years before Harvard came up with the idea.
Racial DiscriminationTurning anger into searchMy interest in social issues and injustice was my soul searching for answers and the truth.
Racial UnityLearning then sharing the good newsBlack people were the most downtrodden in the world – I was all for anything that encouraged us.
Racial IdentityWhere are African-Americans going?The Baha’i writings compare us to the “pupil of the eye” – I find it amazing to share that with young people who are in despair.
Racial IdentityThere is something exceptional about black peopleMaya Mansour: The Baha'i writings compare black people to the “pupil of the eye”.
Baha'i CommunityGrowing up as a white Baha'i in a segregated worldKen Bowers: Growing up, everybody in our Baha’i community, black and white, was my family.
Baha'i Community BuildingBuilding community to achieve race unityKen Bowers: We're challenged to think consciously about the implications of justice and of building a united community.
Baha'i FaithMeeting white Americans and Baha'is – for the first timeVan Gilmer: I was scared to death because my first Baha'i meeting was in a white community.
Baha'i FaithFrom South Carolina to MichiganMy church was filled with Civil Rights protestors – one of them said I should explore the Baha’i faith.
Baha'i FaithLike a thief in the nightI was a fundamentalist black Baptist who believed in the return of Christ – but the Baha’i teachings blew my mind.
Baha'i CommunityGrowing up as a Civil Rights warriorThe Baha’i community taught racial unity and they also lived it – which was the goal of the Civil Rights movement.
Baha'i FaithApplying Baha’i ideas to scholarship & academiaWhite students felt guilty and didn’t know what to do, and students of color would feel extremely angry.
