Civil Rights MovementCivil Rights was just lifeWhen I was 14, I got all dressed up to see the national NAACP leader speak at the YWCA.
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.
Racial UnityShowing the way to surviveOnce you deal with people who are persecuted you never really stop.
Racism in AmericaA lack of diversityThe national conversation on race wasn't on my radar when I was growing up.
Baha'i CommunityA choice for the agesMy grandparents could have passed for white – but they were proud of being African-Americans and were active in Civil Rights.
Baha'i CommunityFinding hope in a hopeless timeGrowing up in a Baha’i family in the 1960s gave me hope – otherwise I wouldn’t believe there could be justice for people of color.
Racism in AmericaKennedy, Medgar Evers, Biafra, Vietnam, MLK and Kennedy againThe difficulty for me was believing someone could hate someone else because of the color of their skin.
Segregation in AmericaGrowing up at a golden momentDesegregation of school districts was remarkably successfully – especially in the South.
Baha'i CommunityA brilliant stroke of parentingThe Baha’is in my town collaborated on Martin Luther King Day, they put on a Black History Month program. They were impressive.
Civil Rights MovementAn act of GodBlack people in the South never forgot the promise of Reconstruction. The Baha’i Faith arrived in the US just as it was being stamped out.
Racism in AmericaA few white men on the other sideBarbara Talley: The second time I ran into the Ku Klux Klan was at a wedding outside a firehouse.
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 FaithFrom South Carolina to MichiganMy church was filled with Civil Rights protestors – one of them said I should explore the Baha’i faith.
Civil Rights MovementThree years of harassment and ostracismI was part of the vanguard of black students who integrated my high school – I rode in a police car to go to class.
Racism in AmericaThe Orangeburg massacreIt was so close – if I’d been standing on the front steps of my church at that moment I would’ve seen everything.
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.
Racial IdentityHollow options in the 1960sWe had friends who were Black Panthers – there was a lot of fronting with bullets and guns.
