Bahai Community Visiting the Baha’i House of Worship The first thing I saw was a white man hugging a black woman. And something was let loose inside me.
Bahai Community South and North Even though I avoided lunch with some white Baha’is, my family was my Baha'i community.
Racial Unity Culture shock – in America My mother-in-law held up her arms and said 'my daughter' and I just broke down in tears.
Bahai Community Arbury Jack Guillebeaux & Farzaneh Guillebeaux Jack Guillebeaux, born in North Carolina in 1936, and Farzaneh Rabani Guillebeaux, born in Iran in 1942, were married in 1965 at the height of American Segregation.
Bahai Community The liberation of meeting the Baha’is Jack Guillebeaux: The separation was entrenched and it was violent.
Interracial Relationships Dreaming of the future Farzaneh Guillebeaux: The news of our marriage was like a bomb in Tehran because it was just so rare.
Bahai Community The challenge of learning unity in diversity Farzaneh Guillebeaux: Learning about unity in diversity is a challenge, not just for America, but for the Baha’i community as well.
Bahai Community Masud Olufani Masud Olufani was born in 1969 in Los Angeles, California, and raised in New York City. He became a Baha'i at university. Masud lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is an actor and artist.
Bahai Community Choosing the Baha’i Faith over anger There was something in me that pushed me to search out answers for myself.
Racial Unity Love is an action verb Far too often we have squandered so much human capital and potential because of racism.
Bahai Community Notes on meeting the Baha’i community We have to be conscious of the message we send through what we say and what we do.
Bahai Community Louis Venters Louis Venters was born in eastern South Carolina. He is an associate professor of history at Francis Marion University and the author of several books on Baha'i history in South Carolina.
Bahai Community A brilliant stroke of parenting The Baha’is in my town collaborated on Martin Luther King Day, they put on a Black History Month program. They were impressive.
Bahai Community Abdu’l-Baha and Louis Gregory Louis Gregory, an African-American lawyer, tried to slip out the back door as a gathering of white guests arrived to see Abdu’l-Baha.
Bahai Community A handful, a roomful and then a great gathering In the 1920s and later, had black Southerners been given the chance they would have responded to the Baha’i Faith in large numbers.
Bahai Community Leaving the comfort zone The size of the American Baha'i community grew faster than anybody could predict.
Bahai Community Living through the century of light The 1960s and 1970s were the richest period that the Baha'i world community has ever experienced.
Bahai Community The most distinctive aspect of Persian culture Iranians fleeing trauma in their own country came to the US unprepared for the nuances of the racial situation.
Bahai Community Bill Tucker Bill Tucker, an optometrist, was born in Greenville, North Carolina, and became a Baha'i as a young man after watching newsreels from the Second World War.
Bahai Community Bob James Bob James, a licensed psychologist with a PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was born in 1949 in Nashville, TN. Bob's uncle became a Baha'i in 1934 – leading to more than 40 other members of the family also joining the Faith.
Bahai Community Losing then finding his religion I noticed within the Baha'i community there were African-Americans, whites, Filipinos and others all working together.
Bahai Community Offering an African-American spirit to the Baha'i faith We would sing for hours and then deepen ourselves on our responsibilities as Baha’is.
Bahai Community Barbara Talley Barbara Talley became a Baha'i as a young woman. She is a mother of six is and is the author of six books; today she lives in the Washington, DC area, where she hosts monthly gatherings to promote race amity.
Bahai Community Love isn’t something to be scheduled Barbara Talley: I dealt with lots of racism – but I met these Baha’is that didn’t treat me like a color.
Bahai Community Faith Holmes Faith Holmes was born in California, in 1972, and grew up in Florida. Her mother became a Baha'i when Faith was three years old. Faith's coffee shop in Washington, DC was a venue for race unity discussions and sold nitrogen ice cream.
