Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights was just life When I was 14, I got all dressed up to see the national NAACP leader speak at the YWCA.
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.
Racial Unity Showing the way to survive Once you deal with people who are persecuted you never really stop.
Racism in America A lack of diversity The national conversation on race wasn't on my radar when I was growing up.
Bahai Community A choice for the ages My grandparents could have passed for white – but they were proud of being African-Americans and were active in Civil Rights.
Bahai Community Finding hope in a hopeless time Growing 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 America Kennedy, Medgar Evers, Biafra, Vietnam, MLK and Kennedy again The difficulty for me was believing someone could hate someone else because of the color of their skin.
Segregation in America Growing up at a golden moment Desegregation of school districts was remarkably successfully – especially in the South.
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.
Civil Rights Movement An act of God Black 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 America A few white men on the other side Barbara Talley: The second time I ran into the Ku Klux Klan was at a wedding outside a firehouse.
Bahai Community A hotbed of political activity My sense of how to be a person and a Baha’i moved me to leave a legacy behind.
Bahai Religion From South Carolina to Michigan My church was filled with Civil Rights protestors – one of them said I should explore the Baha’i faith.
Civil Rights Movement Three years of harassment and ostracism I 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 America The Orangeburg massacre It was so close – if I’d been standing on the front steps of my church at that moment I would’ve seen everything.
Bahai Community Growing up as a Civil Rights warrior The Baha’i community taught racial unity and they also lived it – which was the goal of the Civil Rights movement.
Racial Identity Hollow options in the 1960s We had friends who were Black Panthers – there was a lot of fronting with bullets and guns.
