Bahai Community Meeting Baha’is in action You can be pulled in many directions at college – my Baha’i friends showed me that faith and action go together.
Racial Identity A family’s legacy My eighth-grade teacher taught us as if the eighth grade was going to be our last year of education.
Bahai Community Building Pushing forward as Baha’is When Emmett Till was killed, many Baha’is said it was too bad, but we did not have the experience to address it.
Bahai Religion Winning a scholarship to Brown The ACT was Goliath, and I was David, relying on the power of God to prevail.
Bahai Community Becoming a Baha’i, 10% at a time At 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.
Bahai Religion From Christian to Baha’i – via Christ In the Bible we’re told to watch and pray, that Christ will come again like a thief in the night.
Bahai Community Learning to pray in a diverse community Worship is an intimate act – you’re opening your heart to encounter the divine in the presence of others.
Bahai Religion A fountain of light Baha’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 Unity Taking the medicine If we had prejudice before, we’re going to have it as Baha’is. The difference is we’ve agreed to work it out.
Bahai Community A variety of races What attracted me was the Baha’i principle to actively work for the elimination of prejudice.
Bahai Community Building The opposite of love isn't hate - it's apathy If truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues, what does it look like to apply that to eliminating racial prejudice?
Bahai Religion Resolving racism for the good of all humanity The Baha’i writings say if we don’t address racism then the world will have nowhere to turn during its great turmoil.
Bahai Religion Praying for a meaningful life I believed that if anybody could love me it would probably be Jesus Christ.
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.
Racism in America The kind of man that can live in this world I thought, oh my God, I’m going to have a black child. There was so much fear that filled my heart.
Bahai Community Choosing the Baha’i Faith over anger There was something in me that pushed me to search out answers for myself.
Bahai Religion ‘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.
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 Religion By any means necessary Barbara Talley: I always had this question: why are there so many religions?
Bahai Religion Girl, you ain’t no Baha’i Barbara Talley: I had read others saying that black people are cursed, and here was a religion calling us noble.
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 Building Spiritual reparations Barbara Talley: The Bible said the last shall be the first, and the meek shall inherit the Earth. This is it.
Bahai Religion Some people pretend to be asleep Barbara Talley: Maybe we weren’t brought here. Maybe we were sent here.
Bahai Religion The pupil of the eye Anthony Vance: The Baha’i writings say that black people are “like the pupil of the eye” through which the light of the spirit shines.
