The Bahá’í Faith and African American History : Creating Racial and Religious Diversity

Since the early twentieth century, the Baha’í religion has worked to establish racially and ethnically diverse communities. During Jim Crow, it was a leader in breaking norms of racial segregation. Each chapter of this book presents an aspect of Baha’i history that intersects with African American history in novel and socially significant ways. Cover The Bahá’í Faith and African American History The Bahá’í Faith and African American History: Creating Racial and Religious Diversity Copyright page Contents List of Figures Introduction Chapter 1 The Bahá’í “Pupil of the Eye” Metaphor Origin of the Bahá’í Pupil of the Eye Metaphor; Bahá’u’lláh’s Statements (pre-1893) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to Sarah Farmer (1902) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to Alma S. Knobloch (1906) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to Pocahontas Pope (1906) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to Robert Turner (1909 or before) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to Ali-Kuli Khan (1909) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to Louise Washington (1910) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet to George A. Anderson (1914) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Remarks to Louis G. Gregory (1911) Historical Context for the Tablets in the Bahá’í Faith: Bahá’u’lláh on Emancipation and Abolition ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Public Statements on Race Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 2 “The Most Vital and Challenging Issue” Race Amity Work: 1920–1923 Race Amity Work: 1924–1928 Race Amity Work: Financial Stress Increases Local and Individual Work Race Amity: National Efforts from 1932–1936 Race Amity: Local Means to Implement National Administrative Policy Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 3 Alain Locke on Race, Religion, and the Bahá’í Faith Alain Locke on Race and Religion Race and Religion: The National Interracial Conference, 1928 Race and Religion: Relevance of Religious Values Race and Religion: Original Sins Race and Religion: Salvific Solutions Race and Religion: Retrospect and Prospect Notes Bibliography Chapter 4 The Most Challenging Issue Revisited “Knowledge of Resistance”: Overview A Legacy of Activism Multiple Overlapping Identities Black Women, Race, and Resistance Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 5 Hand in Hand A “Completely New Phase” Introducing the Five-Year Plan Administrative Arrangements Approaches to Training The Folly Grove Community and Opposition to the Bahá’í Faith Approaches to Teaching the Bahá’í Faith South Carolina and the National Plan Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 6 Race Unity Efforts among American Bahá’ís Race and Religion in the United States Prejudice and Contact Theory in Religious Organizations The Dearth and Importance of Multiracial Congregations Structural and Ideological Barriers to Multiracial Congregations Efforts to Integrate Segregated Churches How Do Churches Attempt to Overcome Racial Divisions? The Case of the Bahá’í Faith The Example of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Louis Gregory The Guidance of Shoghi Effendi Iranian Persecution and Cultural Changes for American Bahá’ís The Vision of Race Unity The Bahá’í Calendar and Nineteen-Day Feasts FACT Data on Bahá’í Multiracial Efforts Local Governance: The LSA Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 7 Race, Place, and Clusters Place-Based Planning Strategies Place, Race, and Division Searching For Guidance Thinking about Detroit Concluding Thoughts Notes Bibliography Conclusion Index About the Contributors This book examines the intersection of African American history with that of the Bahá'í Faith in the United States. Since the turn of the twentieth century, Bahá'ís in America have actively worked to establish interracial harmony within its own ranks and to contribute to social justice in the wider community, becoming in the process one of the country's most diverse religious bodies. Spanning from the start of the twentieth century to the early twenty-first, the essays in this volume examine aspects of the phenomenon of this religion confronting America's original sin of racism and the significant roles African Americans came to play in the development of the Bahá'í Faith's culture, identity, administrative structures, and aspirations. "Since the early twentieth century, the Bahá'í religion has worked to establish racially and ethnically diverse communities. During Jim Crow, it was a leader in breaking norms of racial segregation. Each chapter of this book presents an aspect of Bahá'í history that intersects with African American history in novel and socially significant ways"-- Provided by publisher "Since the early twentieth century, the Baha'í religion has worked to establish racially and ethnically diverse communities. During Jim Crow, it was a leader in breaking norms of racial segregation. Each chapter of this book presents an aspect of Baha'i history that intersects with African American history in novel and socially significant ways"-- Provided by publisher Since the early twentieth century, the Baha'i religion has worked to establish racially and ethnically diverse communities. During Jim Crow, it was a leader in breaking norms of racial segregation. Each chapter of this book presents an aspect of Baha'i history that intersects with African American history in novel and socially significant ways.