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1852 20 Mar The publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling book of that century, following the Bible. It is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1850s. In recent years, the negative associations with Uncle Tom's Cabin have, to an extent, overshadowed the historical impact of the book as a "vital antislavery tool. [Wikipedia]
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe was an ancestor of Ellen "Mother" Beecher who was a grandmother of Hand of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker.
  • United States Uncle Toms Cabin: Life Among the Lowly; English literature; Literature (general); Race (general); Harriet Beecher Stowe; Ellen Beecher; Hands of the Cause; Dorothy Baker
    1899 (In the year) Miss Olive Jackson of Manhattan became the first black American woman Bahá'í. [BFA1:126–7] Manhattan; New York; United States Race (general); Firsts, Other; Olive Jackson
    1911. 26 - 29 Jul The First Universal Races Congress was held at the University of London. It was the first important conference in which the British Bahá'ís participated. It was an international symposium on the theme of the brotherhood of humankind and attracted leading politicians, theologians and scholars from the whole of the British Empire and from Europe as well as North America. During the Congress itself there were several presentations from Bahá'ís including the reading of a letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá who was in Egypt at the time. [NBAD45]
  • See 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Letter and here.
  • See SoW Vol II No 9 for a report by Wellesley Tudor-Pole, an article by Thorton Chase as well as the letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the conference. See as well Speech for the Universal Races Congress translation and comments by Senn McGlinn.
  • A translation was published in "The Christian Commonwealth" on August 2, 1911.
  • A bibliography of the presentations, papers and contributions and secondary literature by Ralph Dumain can be found here.
  • A paper by Dr W E B DuBois entitled The Negro Race in the United States of America (pp348-364)was also presented at this conference.
  • Alain Locke attended. It may have been where he first heard of the Bahá'í faith. He credits this conference as his inspiration to begin the first of five historic lectures on race relation he delivered at Howard University in 1916. [Alain Locke: Faith & Philosophy p43 by Dr Chrisopher Buck]
  • See the website of the National Centre for Race Amity.
    • The long term goal of the National Center for Race Amity is to have a reesoltuin adopted by both the House and the Senate to have the second Sunday in June declared as an annual Day of Observance in the United States, with the President issuing a Proclamation supporting the passage of the Race Amity Day Resolution.
  • London; United Kingdom Conferences, Racial amity; Race amity; Race (general); Race unity; Firsts, Other; Alain Locke; Wellesley Tudor-Pole; Thorton Chase; Abdi'l-Baha, Writings of
    1911 22 Aug - 3 Sep `Abdu'l-Bahá took up residence at Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Leman (Lake Geneva). [AB140; GPB280; SBR219]
  • While there He encountered Zillu's-Sultán, the eldest son of the Sháh of the time, Násirid-Dín Sháh. It was he who had ratified the execution of the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs and at least 100 others. The whole family was in exile in Geneva at this time. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was very courteous to this man who had been such an inveterate enemy of the Cause. [DJT172, AY19, GPB201] .
  • The Master sent for Juliet Thompson who had been waiting in London for His permission to join Him.
  • During His stay he had a visit from Annie Boylan, a member of the New York community that was experiencing disharmony. Unaware of Bahá'í election procedures, a group that was unhappy with the disunity and ineffectiveness of the Council had organized a vote to be rid of several of its Council members. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had written to the community a short time before recommending that the Council be expanded from 9 to 27 members so that all factions could be represented. He also recommended that women be included on the Council and that the name be changed to "the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New York". This apparently addressed the problem of disunity because the New York community went on to contribute significantly to the progress of the Faith on a national level. [DJT181, BFA2p338]
  • Horace Holley, who lived at Quattro Torri, Siena, Italy at the time, along with his wife Bertha Herbert and baby daughter Hertha, visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the 29th and 30th of August. Please see his Religion for Mankind p 232-237 for a pen portrait of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • He met with Elizabeth Stewart and Lillian Kappes who were on their way to Tehran. [find reference]
  • It would appear that He returned to Marseilles and travelled to London by sea. [SCU22-23]
  • Thonon-les-Bains; Lake Leman; Marseilles; France; Switzerland; Italy; London; United Kingdom; New York; United States Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, First Western tour; Board of Council; Spiritual Assemblies; Unity; Zillus-Sultan; Persecution; Mirza Muhammad-Hasan (King of Martyrs); Mirza Muhammad-Husayn (Beloved of Martyrs); King of Martyrs and Beloved of Martyrs; Juliet Thompson; Horace Holley; Elizabeth Stewart; Lillian Kappes; Ships
    1911 29 Aug Horace Holley and his wife Bertha arrived from Italy with their baby daughter Hertha. They stayed two days. He described their experience in A Pilgrimage to Thonon published in 1911 and in Religion for Mankind p232-237. [ABF49-51; BEL7.1220] Thonon-les-Bains; France Abdul-Baha, First Western tour; Horace Holley
    1911 30 Aug 'Abdu'l-Bahá spent the morning in Thonon-les-Bain and took the ferry to Geneva after dinner. He stayed at the Hôtel de la Paix located at 11, Quai du Mont-Blanc. [ABF5154, DJT208]
  • This marks the end of 'Abdu'-Bahá's second stay in France. It lasted 9 days.
  • Thonon-les-Bains; France; Geneva; Switzerland Horace Holley; Abdul-Baha, First Western tour
    1912. 22 or 27 Sep The marriage of Louis G. Gregory and Louisa (“Louise”) A. M. Mathew, the first interracial Bahá’í couple, who met while on pilgrimage and whom 'Abdul-Bahá had encouraged to marry. They exchanged Bahá’í vows after the rites performed by Rev. Everard W. Daniel, curate of St. Philip’s Protestant Episcopal Church, perhaps the most prestigious African American church in the country, in a private ceremony in his residence. In a “Tablet” (translated March 14, 1914). She was 46 and he was 8 years younger. [SYH73-75, 91]
  • `Abdu’l-Bahá lauded the Gregorys’ marriage as “an introduction to the accomplishment” of harmony between the races. [`ABDU’L-BAHÁ’ S 1912 HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPEECH: A CIVIL WAR MYTH FOR INTERRACIAL EMANCIPATION p117 by Dr Christopher Buck]
  • See The Journey West.
  • The prayer, "Verily, they are married in obedience to thy command. Cause them to become the signs of unity and harmony until the end of time..." was revealed for their wedding by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [FMH97]
  • ”Intermarriage is a good way to efface racial differences. It produces strong, beautiful offspring, clever and resourceful.” [sYH7]
  • [239D:169] reported this marriage took place on the 27th of September.
  • At this time interracial marriage was legal in Washington but not socially acceptable. It was outlawed in 25 states. It wasn't until 1967 that legislation forbidding interracial marriages was henceforth illegal. In the Washington community at this time there were white Bahá'ís who did not yet understand the principle of racial unity. [SYH80, 85-86]
  • "I made that marriage." 'Abdu'l-Bahá is reported having said to Mrs Parsons. "I wish the white and coloured races to marry"
  • New York; United States Marriage; Louis Gregory; Louisa Mathew Gregory; Firsts, Other; Race (general); Unity; Interracial marriage; Weddings; Louise Gregory
    1917. 28 Jul The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) organized a Silent Protest Parade, also known as the Silent March, on 5th Avenue in New York City. This protest was a response to violence against African Americans, including the race riots, lynching, and outrages in Texas, Tennessee, Illinois, and other states. [Black Past]

    One incident in particular, the East St. Louis Race Riot, also called the East St. Louis Massacre, was a major catalyst of the silent parade. This horrific event drove close to six thousand blacks from their own burning homes and left several hundred dead.

  • In response to the rioting, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sent W.E.B. DuBois and Martha Gruening to investigate the incident. They compiled a report entitled Massacre at East St. Louis, which was published in the NAACP’s magazine, The Crisis (Vol 14 # 5 p219-238). A year after the riot, a Special Committee formed by the United States House of Representatives launched an investigation into police actions during the East St. Louis Riot. Investigators found that the National Guard and also the East St. Louis police force had not acted adequately during the riots, revealing that the police often fled from the scenes of murder and arson. Some even fled from stationhouses and refused to answer calls for help. The investigation resulted in the indictment of several members of the East St. Louis police force.
  • New York; NY; St. Louis; MI National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); W.E.B. Du Bois; Martha Gruening; Race (general); Race inequality
    1919. (Late Winter until Early Autumn and beyond) "Red Summer" is the period from late winter through early autumn of 1919 during which white supremacist terrorism and racial riots took place in more than three dozen cities across the United States, as well as in one rural county in Arkansas.

    Some historians claim that the racial terror connected with “Red Summer” began as early as 1917 during the bloody massacre that occurred in East St. Louis, Illinois, a barbaric pogrom that would eventually set the stage for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst episodes of post-Civil War racial violence ever committed against Black Americans. The Tulsa Massacre left as many as 300 Black people dead and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of Greenwood, an all-Black community so wealthy, the philosopher Booker T. Washington called it “Negro Wall Street.” [Red Summer: When Racists Mobs Ruled]

  • See Wikipedia for a partial list of locations where such events took place in 1919 alone.

    It was against this backdrop of racial tension and hatred that the Baha'i community promoted racial amity. [SYH125-126]

  • United States Red Summer; Race; Race (general): Race amity; Race inequality; Race unity; Racism
    1919 26 Apr-1 May The 14 Tablets of the Divine Plan were unveiled in a dramatic ceremony at the Hotel McAlpin in New York, during the `Convention of the Covenant'. The Tablets had been brought to America by Ahmad Sohrab at the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [ABNYP172Note24, BBD219; PP437; SBBH1:134; SBBH2:135; SBR86; AB434; TDPXI]
  • For details of the convention programme, Tablets and talks given see SW10, 4:54-72; SW10, 5:83-94; SW10, 6:99-103, 111-12 SW10, 7:122-7, 138; SW10, 10:197-203; and SW10, 12:2279.
  • Mary Maxwell (Rúhíyyih Khánum) was among the young people who unveil the Tablets. [PP437]
  • Hyde and Clara Dunn and Martha Root responded immediately to the appeal, the Dunns went to Australia where they open 700 towns to the Faith, and Martha Root embarked on the first of her journeys which are to extend over 20 years. [GPB308; MR88]
  • See also CT138-9.
  • Agnes Parsons arrived from her pilgrimage just before the close of the convention and was able to convey the instructions from `Abdu'l-Bahá to arrange a Convention for `the unity of the coloured and white races'. [BW5:413; SBR87]
  • The book Unveiling of the Divine Plan includes nine talks given by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab to the National Convention.
  • Shoghi Effendi calls the Tablets of the Divine Plan a charter for the propagation and the establishment of the Administrative Order. It has also been called a charter for the teaching of the Faith. [MBW84; LOG1628]
  • For the significance of the Tablets of the Divine Plan see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Champion of Universal Peace by Hoda Mahmoudi and Janet Khan.
  • New York; United States Tablets of the Divine Plan; Abdul-Baha, Writings and talks of; Charters of the Bahai Faith; Conventions, National; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Agnes Parsons; Hyde Dunn; Clara Dunn; Martha Root; Race (general); Race amity; Race unity; Ahmad Sohrab
    1920. (In the year) Agnes Parsons made her second pilgrimage. It was during this visit that 'Abdu'l-Baha charged her with the responsibility to arrange a convention for amity between the the coloured and the white races in Washington. [SYH124-125; TMW136] Haifa; Akka; Bahji Agnes Parsons; pilgrimage; Race Amity
    1920 Jul Harlan and Grace Ober made a pilgrimage to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa. They returned via Germany and England where they had the privilege of meeting Shoghi Effendi, then a student at Oxford. In Germany, at the suggestion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá they went to Leipzig where they spoke about the Faith at the Theosophical Society where two persons accepted the Faith. One was future Hand of the Cause Dr Hermann Grossmann and the other was Frau Lina Benke who shared the message with her husband George Adam Benke, the first European martyr. [BW13p869] Haifa; Germany; Leipzig; Oxford Harlan Ober; Grace Ober; pilgrimage; Hermann Grossmann; Lina Benke; George Benke
    1920. 28 Jul Shoghi Effendi journeyed from Oxford to London to attend the weekly public Bahá’í meeting at Lindsay Hall in Notting Hill Gate. Ethel Rosenberg welcomed Shoghi Effendi, Dr. John Esslemont, who was visiting from Bournemouth, Helen Grand and Grace and Harlan Ober from the United States also attended. After short introductory remarks from Miss Rosenberg, both Grace and Harlan Ober spoke. Shoghi Effendi chanted a Persian prayer. [ERJ228] London; United Kingdom Shoghi Effendi; Ethel Rosenberg; John Esslemont; Helen Grand; Grace Ober; Harlan Ober
    1920 After Jul The first Argentineans to become Bahá'ís, Hermann Grossmann and his sister Elsa Grossman, accepted the Faith in Leipzig in 1920.
  • They were born in Argentina and emigrated to Germany in 1909.
  • Dr Grossman heard of the Faith at a public meeting given by Harlan and Grace Ober at the Theosophical Society. [BW13:869]
  • Leipzig; Germany Hermann Grossman; Elsa Grossmann; Harlan and Grace Ober; Theosophical Society; First Bahais by country or area
    1921 (In the year) The publication of Bahai: The Spirit of the Age by Horace Holley. It was published in New York by Brentano's Publishers. New York; United States Bahai: The Spirit of the Age; Horace Holley; Publications
    1921 19-21 May The first Race Amity Conference was held in Washington DC at the old First Congregational Church, 10th & G Streets NW. This church had a reputation for opposition to racial prejudice and had close ties with Howard University. It had a capacity of 2,000. [BW2:281; CoO197; SYH126]
  • Martha Root handled the newspaper publicity for the conference and 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent a message to it via Mountfort Mills. [SYH126]
  • Mabry and Sadie Oglesby and their daughter Bertha from Boston as well as Agnes Parsons and Louis Gregory were involved. Agnes Parsons, during her pilgrimage in 1920, was instructed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "I want you to arrange in Washington a convention for unity between the white and colored people."[SETPE1p141-145, BW2p281]
  • For details of the conference see the article by Louis Gregory entitled "Inter-racial Amity". [BW2:281-2]
  • See article The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America:Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christopher Buck [Bahá'í Studies Review, 17, pages 3-46, 2011] (includes a chronology of 29 Race Amity conferences organized in the United States between 1921 and 1935).
  • The Washington Bee (which, as part of its masthead, billed itself “Washington’s Best and Leading Negro Newspaper”) published the text of the entire speech on May 25, 1912, in an article headlined, “Abdue [ sic] Baha: Revolution in Religious Worship.”
  • Documentary: 'Abdu'l-Baha's Initiative on Race from 1921: Race Amity Conferences.
  • See the film Root of the Race Amiy Movement.
  • See the trailer for the film An American Story: Race Amity and the Other Tradition.
  • See the website for the National Centre for Race Amity.
  • Washington DC; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; First conferences; Mabry Oglesby; Sadie Oglesby; Agnes Parsons; Louis Gregory; Martha Root; Mountfort Mills
    1921 5-6 Dec The second Convention for Amity between the White and Coloured Races was held in Springfield, Massachusetts. [BW2:282; SBR92; SYH113-114, 126]
  • Over a thousand people attended. [SW13, 3:51]
  • For a report of the convention see SW13, 3:51-5, 601.
  • For a photograph see SW13, 3:50.
  • Springfield; Massachusetts; United States Race (general); Race amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race amity
    1923 12 Feb Bahai Scriptures, edited by Horace Holley, was published. [SBR231; BEL4.71-4.72]
  • It was the first comprehensive collection of Bahá'í writings made thus far in English. [SBR231]
  • New York; United States Horace Holley; Bahai Scriptures (book); Publications; First publications
    1924. 28 - 30 Mar A public conference devoted to Inter-racial Harmony and Peace, the third Race Amity Convention, was held at the public auditorium of the Community Church of NY on Park Avenue at 34th Street and at the Meeting House of the Society for Ethical Culture at 2 West 64th Street. Its organization was a collaborative effort with the NAACP, the National Urban League and the Bahá'í community participating. Presenters included Mr. Mountfort Mills, Mr. Franz Boas, Dr. Loro, Taracknath Das, Mr. Stephen S. Wise, Dr. Alain Locke, Mr. James Weldon Johnson, Ms. Ruth Morgan and Mr. John Finley. It was the third Racial Unity conference to be held. [Highlights of the First 40 Years of the Bahá’í Faith in New York, City of the Covenant, 1892-1932 by Hussein Ahdieh p23; BW2:282-3; SBR93; TMW1467; SYH126] New York Race Amity; Race Unity; Conferences
    1924 22 Sep - 3 Oct The conference `Some Living Religions within the British Empire' was held in London. [BW2:225; ER233; GPB342]
  • For details of the planning of the conference and its outcome see ER231-5.
  • For Shoghi Effendi's attitude to the conference see UD17, 19, 21-2, 245.
  • Two papers about the Bahá'í Faith were read at the conference, one by Horace Holley read by Mountfort Mills and the other by Rúhí Afnán. [BW2:225; ER232-3; SBR73]
  • For texts of the papers see BW2:227-42.
  • Note that a paper was delivered by Richard St. Barbe Baker. As a result of attending the conference he met a Bahá'í and dedicated the rest of his life in service to the Cause. [Bahá'í Chronicles]
  • London; United Kingdom Conferences, Other; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Horace Holley; Mountfort Mills; Ruhi Afnan; Afnan; Richard St. Barbe Baker; Interfaith dialogue
    1924. 22 - 23 Oct The fourth Race Amity Convention was held in Philadelphia. Because there were few Bahá'ís in the city at that time it required assistance from other communities. Roy Williams played a key role as he had in Springfield. Louis Gregory spent one month writing articles for the newspapers, speaking and serving in other ways.

    The first session was attended by some 600 people, and, thanks to the excellent press coverage, 900 were present the second day.

    The following day, on the 24th of October, the Bahá'í supported a Conference on Inter-racial Justice organized by the Quakers. Followup meetings were held on the 25th and the 26th of October. [SYD147-149]

    Philadelphia; United States Race Amity; Roy Williams; Louis Gregory
    1924 24 Dec The first Bahá'í News Letter, forerunner of Bahá'í News, was published in New York by the National Assembly of the United States and Canada with Horace Holley as the editor. [BBRSM122; BW10:180; BW13:856; SBR232]
  • For links to the publications see entry at 1990-10-00.
  • New York; United States Newsletters; Bahai News; Horace Holley; Publications; First publications; - Periodicals
    1925. 20- 22 Mar The Palace Hotel, the city's first premier luxury hotel, was the site for the first World Unity Conference in San Francisco. The three day event was organized by Leroy Ioas, Ella Goodall Cooper and Kathryn Frankland in cooperation with Rabbi Rudolph Coffee. Dr. David Starr Jordan, founding president of Stanford University, served as the honorary chairman of the conference. Those who addressed the conference were Rabbi Coffee and Dr. Jordan but also the senior priest of the Catholic Cathedral, a professor of religion, a Protestant minister of a large African-American congregation, distinguished academics, and a foreign diplomat. The last one to address the conference was the Persian Bahá’í scholar, Mírzá Asadu’llah Fádil Mázandarání, the only Bahá’í on the program.
  • Ioas provided the National Spiritual Assembly with a report, and he suggested that similar World Unity Conferences be held in other communities. The National Assembly enthusiastically agreed and established a three-person committee, including two of its officers, to assist other localities in their efforts to hold conferences. The committee members were Horace Holley, Florence Reed Morton, and Mary Rumsey Movius. World Unity Conferences were organized for Green Acre-August, Philadelphia-September, Cleveland-October and Chicago in November.

    During 1926 and into 1927, eighteen communities held World Unity Conferences using the San Francisco model. These included Worcester, Massachusetts; New York, New York Oct 10-12; Montreal, Canada; Cleveland, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; New Haven, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Buffalo, New York. [BN No 12 Jun-Jul 1926 p6-7; The Cause of Universal Peace: 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Enduring Impact by Kathryn Jewett Hogenson; LI45-49; BN No 20 Nov 1927 p5]

  • See BA117 for Shoghi Effendi's comments and recommendations.
  • San Francisco; California; United States Conferences, Race amity; Conferences, World unity; Leroy Ioas; Ella Goodall Cooper; Kathryn Frankland
    1925 4 Jul – 9 Jul The Seventeenth Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada was held at Green Acre. [GAP117; SBR94]
  • National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada was elected for the first time. The National Assembly superseded the institution of Bahá'í Temple Unity formed during `Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry. [GPB333; SETPE1p107]
  • Like the previous attempts at electing a National Assembly in 1922, 1923 and 1924, the delegates didn't fully understand the Bahá'í election procedure. Nine members were elected as well as nine alternates whose purpose was to replace absent members at meetings. Those elected as members were: Horace Holley, (sec), Montfort Mills, (Chair), Florence Morton (tres.), Siegried Schopflocher, Roy Wilhelm, Alfred Lunt, (vice and asst. treas), Elizabeth Greenleaf, May Maxwell, Agnes Parson. [BN No 4 April 1925 p2]
  • Subsequently it was announced that the following persons were members of the National Assembly: Horace Holley, (Sec'y), Mountfort Mills, (chair) Florence Morton, (Treas.), Fred Schopflocher, Roy Wilhelm,(Vice), Allen McDaniel, Carl Scheffler, Ali Kuli Khan, and Amelia Collins. [BN No 6 July-August 1925 p2, 5]
  • Another ballot was taken for alternatives to those elected and selected were: Alfred Lunt, Agnes Parsons, William Randall, May Maxwell, George Latimer, Louis Gregory, Elizabeth Greenleaf, Mariam Haney and Keith Ransom-Kehler. [BN No 6 July-August 1925 p5]
  • The offices of the National Spiritual Assembly were located in 169 Christopher Steet, New York at this time. [BN No 4 April 1925 p2]
  • Green Acre Horace Holley; Mountfort Mills; Florence Morton; Fred Schopflocher; Roy Wilhelm; Allen McDaniel; Carl Scheffler; Ali Kuli Khan; Amelia Collins; National Convention
    1926 Ridván The National Convention was held at the Hotel Whitcomb on Market Street in San Francisco. Because of the difficulty and expense of travel, only 32 of the 93 delegates attended in person. Those elected to the National Assembly were: Horace Holley, Montfort Mills, Florence Morton, Siegried Schopflocher, Roy Wilhelm, Amelia Collins, Allen McDaniels, Carl Scheffler, and Ali Kuli Khan. [BN No 12 June-July 1926 p3] San Francisco; United States National Convention; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Horace Holley; Montfort Mills; Florence Morton; Siegried Schopflocher; Roy Wilhelm; Amelia Collins; Allen McDaniel; Carl Scheffler; Ali Kuli Khan
    1927 8 Jan The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada appointed seven people to a National Race Unity Committee. [SBR94; TMW166]
  • For the functions and challenges faced by the committee see TMW165–72.
  • United States; Canada National Spiritual Assembly; Race (general); Race Unity; Race Amity
    1927. Jan (Towards end of the month) Chicago held its first Race Amity Conference. Louis Gregory spoke. [SYH147] Chicago, IL Race Amity; Louis Gregory
    1927 8 - 10 Apr The second conference for racial amity in Washington was held at the Mt Pleasant Congregational Church with the cooperation and participation of other like-minded groups and persons. [BW2p284]
  • Members of the Race Amity committee were Louis Gregory; Agnes Parsons, Sia Baghdad, Alain Locke and Pauline Hannen. [SYH146]
  • Other conferences were held inNew York state, in Portsmouth, NewHampshire, with monthly amity meetings in Boston and a second one in Washington in November. [SYH146]
  • Washington DC; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity
    1927 29 Apr - 1 May The third National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was held at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, the hotel where 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed during His visit in 1912. [Bahá'í News No. 17 April, 1927]
  • It was attended by 32 of the 95 elected delegates, others voting "by wire".
  • Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Allen McDaniel, chairman; Roy C. Wilhelm, vice-chairman; Horace Holley, secretary; Carl Scheffler, treasurer: Mesdames Florence R. Moron, May Maxwell and Amelia Collins, Messrs. Alfred E. Lunt and Louis G. Gregory. This reference contains a very complete report of the Convention including letters from the Guardian. [BN No 18 June 1927 p2-9]
  • See FMH41-42.
  • A major subject of which was race relations. Edwina Powell spoke on the subject, as she had been asked by Shoghi Effendi. In her address, Sadie Oglesby recalled her conversations with Shoghi Effendi on the subject of race. [TMW178–80]
  • Montreal; Quebec; Canada; United States Conventions, National; Allen McDaniel; Roy C. Wilhelm; Horace Holley; Carl Scheffler; Florence R. Moron; May Maxwell (Bolles); Amelia Collins; Alfred Lunt; Louis Gregory; Edwina Powell; Sadie Oglesby
    1927 May The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada drew up and published a ‘Declaration of Trust’ and ‘By-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly’. [BW2:89, BW10:180]
  • For text see BW2:90–8.
  • The Guardian described it as the Bahá’í ‘national constitution’ heralding ‘the formation of the constitution of the future Bahá’í World Community’. [GPB335; PP302–3]
  • The drafting was largely the work of Horace Holley with assistance from the lawyer Mountfort Mills. [SBR234]
  • In subsequent years the National Assemblies of India and Burma, of Egypt, Iraq, Persian and the British Isles all adopted this example almost verbatim. [UD101, BA134-5, SETPE1p145-6]
  • United States; Canada National Spiritual Assembly; Horace Holley; Mountfort Mills; Constitutions; By-laws; Recognition; Firsts, Other
    1927 (Summer) The first Race Amity Conference was held in Green Acre. It was organized by Louis Gregory, Agnes Parsons, Dr Zia Bagdadi, Alain Locke, and Pauline Hannen. [GAP118, SYH146] Green Acre Race Amity; Louis Gregory; Agnes Parsons; Dr Zia Bagdadi; Alain Locke; Pauline Hannen
    1927 Oct The first issue of the monthy called World Unity Magazine. Its editors were John Herman Randall, John Herman Randall Jr. and Horace Holley. The concluding volume of the magazine stated its unique character proceeded from the outlook of its founders, who "realized the inter-dependence of religion, science and sociology in the movements simultaneously destroying the past and forming a new era in human history." During its last years of publication, it was openly a Bahá’í journal. [The Cause of Universal Peace]
  • All subsequent issues are available at Baha'i Works.
  • In 1935 it was decided to merge World Unity with another publication, Star of the West (renamed The Bahá’í Magazine in its later volumes) to become a new entity, World Order. This magazine was published from 1935 to 1949, revived in 1966, and ran until 2007. Like World Unity, its erudite articles covered a wide range of topics aimed at the educated public, but it was unmistakably a Bahá’í organ under the auspices of the US National Spiritual Assembly and never acquired as broad a readership as World Unity. [BN No 90 Mar 1935 p8]
  • New York; United States World Unity magazine; Conferences, World unity; John Herman Randall Sr; John Herman Randall Jr; Horace Holley
    1927 10 - 11 Nov The third convention for amity in inter-racial relations in Washington was held in the Mt. Pleasant Congregational Church. [BW2p285; SYH146] Washington DC; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity
    1928. Jan (toward the end of the month) The Chicago community held its first Race Amity Conference. Louis Gregory was a speaker at that gathering. [SYH147] Chicago, IL Race Amity Conference; Louis Gregory; Race (general); Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity
    1928 11 - 12 Feb The ‘Conference for Inter-Racial Amity' was arranged by Inter-Racial Amity Committee of the Bahá’ís of Montreal’. There were three sessions in three venues: the YMCA, Channing Hall, and the Union Congregational Church. Speakers included Louis Gregory (‘International Lecturer on Race Relations’) and Agnes MacPhail, first Canadian woman Member of Parliament. [The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America: Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christopher Buck page 34, Bahá'í Studies Review, 17, pages 3-46, 2011, BW7p660]
  • See BW6p659-664 for the essay by Louis Gregory entitled "Racial Likenesses and Differences: The Scientific Evidence and the Bahá'í Teachings".
  • Date conflict: "The Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 by Will C. van den Hoonaard on page 90 says: "and on 2-4 March 1930 The Montreal Bahá'ís held Race Amity meeting." His source was the National Bahá'í Archives Canada, Notes on Montreal Bahá'í History.
  • SYH147 confirms the conference in Montréal was in "mid-February".
  • Montreal; Quebec; Canada Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; Agnes MacPhail; Louis Gregory
    1928 26–30 Apr The National Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada was held in the Foundation Hall of the House of Worship for the first time. [BW2:180; CT167; BN No 24 June 1928]
  • Elected were Allen Mc Daniel (chair), Alfred Lunt (vice-chair), Horace Holley (secretary), Carl Scheffler (treasurer), Roy Wilhelm, May Maxwell, Louis Gregory, Amelia Collins, and Nellie French. [USBN No 26 September, 1928]
  • See BW2:180 for a picture.
  • See FMH53-54]
  • Wilmette; Chicago; United States Conventions, National; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; Firsts, Other; Allen McDaniel; Alfred Lunt; Horace Holley; Carl Scheffler; Roy Wilhelm; May Maxwell (Bolles); Louis Gregory; Amelia Collins; Nellie French
    1932 27 Feb Race Amity gatherings became an effective way promote the principle of racial equality. A number pf banquets were held and at one such gathering held in Los Angeles, the circle of racial amity activities was widened to include not only white and coloured but also Native Americans, as well as Chinese and Japanese. At the banquet dinner, Nellie French represented the National Assembly and Chief Luther Standing Bear, who attended in full regalia with a number of his tribesmen, offered a prayer and spoke of peace as a covenant among all races. A Native American tribal dance followed as part of the programme. [Louis Gregory, ‘Racial Amity in America: An Historical Review’, in BW7p652-666.] Los Angeles; California; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; Native Americans; Chinese diaspora; Japanese diaspora
    1934 23 Jan Agnes S. Parsons died after an automobile accident. [BW5:410; SBR96; BN No 82 April 1934 p4]
  • She is primarily remembered for her contribution to the cause of race unity in North America. [BW5:413]
  • For her obituary see BW5:410–14.
  • See also Diary of Agnes Parsons; SBR76–96.
  • See as well FMH47-49 for the story of how she came to accept the Cause through three supernatural signs during her pilgrimage in 1910.
  • Washington DC; United States Agnes Parsons; Race (general); Unity; In Memoriam
    1936 Jul Following on the success of the initial Race Amity conferences in Washington, DC, the National Spiritual Assembly formed a racial amity committee. For a list of the committees complete with membership from 1921 until 1932 see The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America: Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christoper Buck. [Bahá'í Studies Review 17, 2011, 3–46]
  • In July, 1936 it was announced that "The National Spiritual Assembly had not appointed a Race Amity Committee that year. Its view was that race amity activities have sometimes resulted in emphasizing race differences rather than their unity and reconciliation within the Cause. Local Assemblies were requested to provide for amity meetings and regard them as a direct part of teaching." [TMW213]
  • United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; Unity; National Spiritual Assembly
    1938 1 May The National Convention was held in Chicago. Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Dorothy Baker, Allen McDaniel, Horace Holley, Roy Wilhelm, George Latimer, Seigfried Schopflocher, Amelia Collins, Harlan Ober, and Charles Ioas. [BN Issue 116 June 1938 p4]
  • Grace Roberts Ober, who had just given a report on a travel teaching trip to Louisville KY and on her work in Toronto where she had been the previous Fall, collapsed into the arms of the Convention chairman, Harlan Ober in view of the assembled delegates while ending her address. She was removed from the convention hall and passed away shortly thereafter. See TG75-76 and FMH273-274 for the background to this story.
  • Born in Thorold, ON of Sarah E. Wilson and the Rev Thomas Tempest Robarts, a cannon in the Anglican Church, Grace's life's work was that of a teacher.
  • During 'Abdu'l-Baha's tour of America she served as his household manager, going ahead to secure an apartment for him and acting as His housekeeper and hostess.
  • On July 17, 1912 she married Harlan Ober at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's suggestion. The legal marriage was conducted by Howard Colby Ives. [BW8p656-660]
  • Chicago; United States Grace Robarts Ober; In Memoriam; Dorothy Baker; Allen McDaniel; Horace Holley; Roy Wilhelm; George Latimer; Seigfried Schopflocher; Amelia Collins; Harlan Ober; Charles Ioas; National Convention; National Assembly, election of
    1939 1 Oct The national Bahá’í office of the United States was established at 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Illinois. [BW10:181]
  • Horace Holley, the full-time secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, transfered his office from New York to the Hazíratu’l-Quds in Wilmette. [SBR238]
  • Wilmette; United States Horace Holley; Haziratul-Quds
    1939. 30 Dec The passing of Grace Crossman Krug (b. 1870 Brooklyn, d. 30 December 1939 Chester, NY). [Find a Grave]
  • She had been predeceased by her husband, Dr Florian Drug in 1924. ["Abdu'l-Bahá in America 1912-1912]
  • After speaking in the Krug home ‘Abdu’l-Bahá summoned their son Carl Krug to ride home with Him. Seated in the taxicab, He instructed Carl to write what He was about to say. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “You must be very grateful to your mother—you must appreciate her greatly—you do not realize her station now or what a great honour she has bestowed on your household. She will be one of the famous women of America. You must appreciate and love her very much. All will know of her servitude.” [BW8p676]
  • Brooklyn; NY; Chester, NY In Memoriam; Grace Krug; Florian Krug; Carl Krug
    1944 Ridván Those elected to serve the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada were: George O. Latimer (Chairman), Allen B. McDaniel (Vice), Horace Holley (Secretary), Louis G. Gregory (Recording Secretary), Roy C. Wilhelm (Treasurer), Dorothy Baker. Amelia E. Collins, Philip G. Sprague, Leroy Ioas. The Assembly appointed Siegfried Schopflocher to serve as the Treasurer of the Canadian Bahá’í Fund. [ North America; United States; Canada National Convention; George Latimer; Allen McDaniel; Horace Holley; Louis Gregory; Roy Wilhelm; Dorothy Baker; Amelia Collins; Philip Sprague; Leroy Ioas; Siegfried Schopflocher
    1945 Ridván The election for the National Spiritual Assembly was held by postal ballot. The tellers completed their work in the Temple Foundation Hall. Those selected as members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada were: Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker, Philip Sprague, George Latimer, Amelia Collins, Louis Gregory, Leroy Ioas, Allen McDaniel, Roy C. Wilhelm. [BN No175 Jun 1945 p3]

    The inability, under restrictions imposed by the war, to hold Convention sessions this year challenged the National Spiritual Assembly to maintain the important functions of the annual meeting through other means. Steps were therefore taken to provide for Voting by mail, with a committee of tellers to serve in the customary way, to conduct a public meeting or Bahá’í Congress in Foundation Hall during the Riḍván Period, and to provide the delegates with subjects for written suggestions and views. [BN No 174 April-May 145 p2]

  • For the first time in the history of this Assembly, a postal by-election was held to fill a vacancy caused by the fact that Mr Wilhelm could no longer attend meetings. Elsie Austin was elected as of the 16th of March and attended one meeting before dissolution. [BN No 182 April 1946 p1]
  • Wilmette; United States National Convention; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Horace Holley; Dorothy Baker; Philip Sprague; George Latimer; Amelia Collins; Louis Gregory; Leroy Ioas; Allen McDaniel; Roy Wilhelm
    1948 Ridván The National Spiritual Assembly was elected in the United States. Those elected were: Dorothy Baker (Chair), Paul Haney (Vice·Chalr), Horace Holley (Secretary), Philip Sprague (Treasurer), Elsie Austin, Kenneth Christian, Edna True, Amelia Collins, and George Latimer. [USBN No. 207 May, 1948 p 4] United States National Spiritual Assembly of the United States; Dorothy Baker; Paul Haney; Horace Holley; Philip Sprague; Elsie Austin; Kenneth Christian; Edna True; Amelia Collins; George Latimer
    1951. 2 Apr Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of two additional terraces, a scheme initiated a quarter of a century prior, to fulfill the Master's plan to connect, through a series of nine terraces, the Shrine of the Báb with the Templar Colony at the foot of Mount Carmel. [CBN No 19 April 1951 p4] BWC Terraces project
    1951 24 Dec Shoghi Effendi appointed 12 Hands of the Cause of God, the first contingent of Hands to be appointed. BBRSM127; BW12:38–40, 374–5; BW13:333–4; MBW20; PG223-224]
  • They were Sutherland Maxwell, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins (she had been appointed in 1946, but her appointment had not been made public), Valíyu’lláh Varqá, Tarázu’lláh Samandarí, ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas, George Townshend, Hermann Grossmann and Ugo Giachery [GBF110–11; MBW20; PP253–4]
  • Haifa Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Contingents; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent; Sutherland Maxwell; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Varqa, Valiyullah; Varqa; Tarazullah Samandari; Ali Akbar Furutan; Horace Holley; Dorothy Baker; Leroy Ioas; George Townshend; Hermann Grossmann; Ugo Giachery
    1952 Ridván The National Convention of the Bahá'ís of Central America was scheduled to be held in a prestigious hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica. When a distinguish believer, Mr Matthew Bullock, was not allowed to register at the hotel because of his race, the National Assembly moved the Convention to another venue and registered guests moved to small pensions rather than staying at the hotel. [SDSC65]
  • Matthew Bullock was one of the early African-American believers in the United States. He became an enrolled believer in 1940 after 15 years of knowledge of the Faith. In 1952 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly and along with fellow NSA member Elsie Austin, represented that institution at the first Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Uganda in 1953. [LoS108, SDSC102]
  • San Jose; Costa Rica; Central America Conventions, National; NSA; Race (general); Matthew Bullock; Elsie Austin
    1953 Oct Frederick and Jean Allen and Irving and Grace Geary arrived on Cape Breton Island and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. [BW13:450] Cape Breton Island Knights of Bahaullah; Islands; Frederick Allen; Jean Allen; Irving Geary; Grace Geary
    1954 9 Jun The passing of Alain LeRoy Locke (b. September 13, 1885, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.) in New York. He was laid to rest in Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC.
  • Locke graduated from Harvard University and was the first African American to win a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Despite his intellect and clear talent, Locke faced significant barriers as an African American. Though he was selected as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, Locke was denied admission to several colleges at the University of Oxford because of his race. He finally gained entry into Hertford College, where he studied from 1907 to 1910. Locke also studied philosophy at the University of Berlin during his years abroad. He subsequently received a doctorate in philosophy from Harvard and taught at Howard University. Locke publicized the Harlem Renaissance to a wide audience.
  • Locke declared his belief in the Bahá'í Faith in 1918. He is thus among a list of some 40 known African Americans to join the religion during the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His philosophical writings promoted pluralism, cultural relativism and self-expression. Locke, the compiler of literary works and principal interpreter of the watershed Harlem Renaissance, rarely proselytized his Bahá'í views, but he did integrate them into his copious writings and lectures [Uplifting Words; Wikipedia]
  • See his article "Impressions of Haifa". [BW3p527-528]
  • See also his article "The Orientation of Hope". [BW5p527-528]
  • See Alain Locke: Bahá'í Philosopher by Christopher Buck.
  • See Alain Locke: Faith & Philosophy by Christopher Buck
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • See Bahá'í Teachings.
  • See Uplifting Words.
  • The US Postal Service issued a series of stamps entitles Great Literary Movement: The voices of the Harlem Renaissance Forever on 21 May 2020.
  • Find a grave.
  • Philadelphia; New York Alain Locke; In Memoriam; Philosophy; Race amity; Race unity; Harlem Renaissance; African Americans
    1956 (In the year) The publication of Religion for Mankind by Horace Holley. There were subsequent publications by George Ronald in 1966, 1969, and 1976 and the Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Wilmette and a printing in 1967. It was transcribed into braille in 1970. [BEL7.1222-7.1226; 8.100]
  • "A collection of cogent essays on several aspects of the Bahá'í social programme and the dynamic of community and administrative life. [BEL7.1222]
  • Horace Holley; Publications
    1957 9 Jun The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States designated the second Sunday in June as Race Unity Day. The purpose of Race Unity Day is to promote racial harmony and understanding and to focus attention on racial prejudice, which Bahá’ís believe is the most challenging moral issue facing our nation. Since then, communities throughout the country have held celebrations, open to the public, every year on the second Sunday in June. [Race Unity Day by Christopher Buck published in Religious Celebrations, pages 727-732] United States Race Unity Day
    1957 19 Nov Nine Hands of the Cause were chosen by Rúhíyyih Khánum to examine Shoghi Effendi’s apartment. [BW 13:341]
  • They were the five members of the International Bahá’í Council (Rúhíyyih Khánum, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery and Leroy Ioas), an Afnán (Hasan Balyuzi), a representative of the Hands of the Western Hemisphere (Horace Holley), a representative of the Hands of the African continent (Músá Banání) and the Trustee of the Huqúqu’lláh (‘Alí Muhammad Varqá). [BW13:341]
  • After seeing that the seals were intact, the Hands examined the contents of Shoghi Effendi’s safe and desk. [BW13:341]
  • The nine Hands signed a document testifying that no Will or Testament of any nature executed by Shoghi Effendi had been found. This was reported to the entire body of Hands assembled in the Mansion of Bahjí. [BW13:341]
  • See CB378–9 for an explanation of why Shoghi Effendi left no Will.
  • Haifa; Bahji Shoghi Effendi, Passing of; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; International Bahai Council; Charles Mason Remey; Amelia Collins; Ugo Giachery; Leroy Ioas; Hasan Balyuzi; Horace Holley; Musa Banani; Varqa, Ali-Muhammad
    1960 12 Jul Horace Hotchkiss Holley, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Haifa. (b. 7 April, 1887 in Torrington, CT) [MC226-227, BW13:849-858]
  • See FMH58-59 for the story of how he came to believe in the Faith.
  • He had served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States from 1923 until 1959 and as the secretary from 1924 to 1930 and 1932 until 1959. After the passing of the Guardian he served in the Holy Land. [UN110; BN No 347 January 1960 p1]
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
  • For his obituary see BW13:849–858.
  • For cable from the Hands of the Cause see MC217–18.
  • See also SBR214-247, LoF253-264 and Holley, Horace Hotchkiss by R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram.
      Some of his is publications: See BEL7.1197 to 7.1233]
    • The Bahá'í Religion: Papers Read at the Conference on Some Living Religions Within the British Empire Papers presented by Horace Holley and Ruhi Afnan. 1925 [BEL7.386]
    • Bahaism: The Modern Social Religion, (1913) [BEL7.1203]
    • Religion for Mankind, (1956) [BEL7.1222]
    • World Unity,
    • Bahá'í, The Spirit of the Age, (1921) [BEL7.1201]
    • Bahá'í Scriptures; Selections from the Utterances of Bahaʼuʼllah and Abdul Baha, (1923 and 1928) The first general book-length compilation of the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Many passages were early and nonauthoritative translations. The book was superseded by Bahá'í World Faith [BEL4.71]
    • Read-aloud Plays,
    • Divinations and Creation,
    • The World Economy of Baháʼuʼlláh
    • The Inner Garden; A Book of Verse
    • The Reality of Man (1931) [BEL3.103]
    • He was a man of enormous capacity. When asked about it he referred to a "zone of energy" in which he sometimes operated when more than normal strength was available to him. [FMH58]
    • See the biography Infinite Horizons - The Life and Times of Horace Holley by Kathryn Jewett Hogenson published by George Ronald 2022.
  • Haifa; Torrington; Connecticut; United States Horace Holley; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent; Bahai Scriptures (book); Drama; Plays; Arts
    1962. 20 Jul The passing of Harlan Foster Ober (b. October 6, 1881 in Beverly, Massachusetts) in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
  • He had graduated from Harvard University in 1905 with a B.A. and later obtained a law degree from Northeastern University in Boston.
  • Harlan Ober became a Bahá'í at Green Acre in 1905. Another source said it was in the spring of 1906 in a room in the Commonwealth Hotel in Boston that he overcame his doubts while using a prayer and other literature given to him by Lua Getsinger. [LDNW23; 100-101; SBR120-121]
  • Hooper Harris and Lua Getsinger's brother, Dr. William Moore, were selected to make a teaching trip to India. When Moore died suddenly Harlan Ober was chosen to replace him. As he had no funds for the trip Lua borrowed the money from Mr Hervey Lunt, the father of Alfred Lunt. [LGHC105]
  • In 1906 he made a visit to 'Abdu'l-Bahá while He was still confined to prison.
  • On the 17th of July, 1912 he married Grace Roberts (aunt of future Hand of the Cause John Robarts) in a ceremony conducted by the Reverend Howard Colby Ives at 209 West 78th Street in New York. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited America in 1912 He had suggested that Grace Robarts and Harlan marry, and they both agreed with the match, with Harlan travelling to New York from Boston and proposing in Central Park after being informed of the suggestion by Lua Getsinger. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá performed the marriage ceremony in the room he was staying in in New York on July 17, 1912, and Howard Colby Ives later performed a legal ceremony. [SoW Vol 3 No 12 p14; Bahaipedia; The Jouney West, July 2012; Mother’s Stories: Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Early Believers told by Muriel Ives Barrow Newhall to her son, p. 20]
  • They adopted three children of English, German and Russian background.
  • It was from their home in Cambridge, MA, from the office of the National Teaching Committee, that the first Teaching Bulletin was issued on November 19, 1919. This bulletin evolved to the US Baha'i News.
  • He was closely involved with Race Unity work and made many teaching trips to the southern states with his friend Louis Gregory.
  • He served on the Bahá'í Temple Unity Executive Board as president or secretary from 1918 to 1920. The work of this board was taken over by the National Spiritual Assembly when it was elected in 1922.
  • In 1938 Harlan was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada and he served on it until 1941.
  • Grace passed away in 1938, leaving Harlan widowed.
  • He married his second wife, Dr Elizabeth Kidder Ober in Beverly, MA on the 21st of June, 1941. Shoghi Effendi was pleased with the way the marriage was conducted, without having any church ceremony or minister conduct the service. [BW13p869, 871]
  • After their pilgrimage in 1956 Harlan and Elizabeth Ober travelled to South Africa where they helped form the first all-African Local Spiritual Assembly in Pretoria as had previously been request of them by the Guardian. They returned in December as pioneers. [BW13869]
  • He was appointed to the Auxiliary Board for Protection in Africa in October of 1957 and served on the National Teaching Committee of South and West Africa for two years.
  • He was buried in the Zandfontein Cemetery in Pretoria. [BW13p870; Find a grave] [Bahaipedia; BW13p869]
  • Beverly MA; United States; Pretoria; South Africa Harlan Ober; Grace Robarts Ober; In Memoriam; US Bahai News; Race Unity; Elizabeth Kidder Ober; Elizabeth Ober; Auxiliary Board Members
    1968. 10 Dec The Louis G. Gregory Award for Service to Humanity was established by the National Spiritual Assembly in 1968. The first recipients, honoured at a banquet in the Washington Hilton and sponsored by the North American Bahá’í Office for Human Rights (NABOHR, were the Xerox Corporation and Clark M. Eichelberger.

    Mr. Eichelberger, Chairman of the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, will receive the award for his accomplishments in the field of human rights over a period of many years. He was a consultant to the League of Nations Secretariat and was a member of a committee to prepare the first U.S. working draft of the United Nations Charter. He was a consultant to the U.S. delegation to the 1945 Conference in San Francisco to organize the United Nations. His most recent effort was overseeing the drafting and presentation of a special report on The United Nations and Human Rights. He is the author of four books on the U.N.

    The Xerox Corporation was selected because of its sponsorship of the television series Of Black America and its other outstanding efforts in behalf of human rights. [Bahá'í National Review Issue 12 December 1968 p3; Bahá'í National Review Issue 14 February 1969 p10]

    Washington DC Race amity; Louis G. Gregory Award for Service to Humanity; Louis Gregory
    1987 31 Aug The Universal House of Justice called for the erection of the remaining three buildings along the arc at the Bahá’í World Centre—the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts, the Seat of the International Teaching Centre and the International Bahá’í Library—as well as an expansion of the International Archives building and the creation of 19 monumental terraces from the foot of Mount Carmel to its crest. [AWH50–4, 90; BBD21; VV96; Message 31 August 1987] Mount Carmel; BWC Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts; International Teaching Centre, Seat; International Bahai Library; International Bahai Archives; Terraces; Arc project; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; - Basic timeline, Expanded
    1990 23 May The work started on the project to reinforce and extend the main terrace of the Shrine of the Báb. This was the initial step in the work to have the Terraces extend from the foot of the ridge of the mountain. [Ridván Message 1992, AWH83, 102]
  • The architect for the Terraces project was Fariburz Sahba.
  • World Centre; Akka; Haifa; Israel; BWC Terraces; Arc project; Bab, Shrine of; Fariburz Sahba
    1991 (In the year) The first major public statement of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, The Vision of Race Unity: America's Most challenging Issue, was published and disseminated widely throughout the country. United States Vision of Race Unity (statement); Race (general); Unity; Publications; Statements; National Spiritual Assembly, statements; Public discourse Find ref
    1991 17 Jun The contracts were signed for the second phase of construction for the terraces to the Shrine of the Báb. Haifa; Mount Carmel Bab, Shrine of; Terraces
    1993 21 Mar The presentation of the first Race Unity Award by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada. Canada National Spiritual Assembly; Race unity; Race (general)
    1996 Ridván The terraces below the Shrine of the Báb were completed and opened to pilgrims. World Centre; BWC Bab, Shrine of; Terraces; Arc project Find ref
    2001 23 May At dusk on the evening of the 22nd of May, the opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb, a $250M project that begun ten years earlier and transformed the ancient barren face of the mountain into 19 majestic terraced gardens cascading down the length of the mountain. [BWNS121; BW01-02p37-73]
  • See the message To the Believers Gathered for the Events Marking the Completion of the Projects on Mount Carmel.
  • The nineteen Canadian believers who had the extraordinary blessing of being present in the Holy Land for the official opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb were: Dr. Akouete Akakpo-Vida, Mr. Riel Aubichon, Mr. Garrett Brisdon, Mrs. Pearl Downie, Mrs. Nellie Ironeagle, Mrs. Aghdas Javid, Mr. Joseph Kowtow, Mrs. Joo Jong Kung, M. Fréderic Landry, Ms. Giselle Melanson, Mr. Borna Noureddin, Mr. James Patrick, Mrs. Valerie Pemberton-Piggott, Mlle. Cindy Poitras, Mrs. Janice Schlosser, Mlle. Caroline Simon, Mrs. Doris Toeg, Mrs. Linda Wilkinson, and Mme. Elizabeth Wright. In addition, several students from the Maxwell International Bahá'í School were present as members of the delegations from their home countries.
  • The event was attended by some 4,500 people, 3,300 of them Bahá'ís, as representative of more than 200 countries and territories. [One Country Vol.13 Issue 1]
  • For the statement read by Dr. Albert Lincoln, Secretary-General of the Bahá'í International Community at the official opening of the flight of terraces see Ruhi 8.3 page 93. [BWNS119]
  • See video From Darkness to Light Recalling the Events at the Official Opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel May 2001.
  • See The Opening of the Terraces (May 2001): Reflections of a Participant by Thelma Batchelor.
  • Gyr Kvalheim was the Managing Director of the Inaugural Events Office. [BWNS118]
  • BWC; Haifa; Mount Carmel Bab, Shrine of; Terraces; Dedications; Arc project; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; - Basic timeline, Expanded; BWNS
    2001 4 Jun The public opening of the terraces surrounding the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel. [BWNS134, BWNS221, BWNS123, BWNS122, BWNS121, BWNS120]

  • For statement from the Universal House of Justice see: BWNS119.
  • Other coverage: BWNS118, BWNS117, BWNS115, BWNS96, BWNS94, BWNS87, BWNS79.
  • Also see: The Bahá’í Gardens.
  • Marble for the terraces in the Bahá'í Gardens was cut and chiseled by Margraf, a firm from Chiampo, Italy formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223]
  • See YouTube video Not Even a Lamp.
  • See YouTube video Sacred Stairway: Pathway to a Book - A Talk by Michael Day where he talks about his book Sacred Stairway - The Story of the Shrine of the Bab Volume III: 1963–2001. It was published by George Ronald.
  • Mount Carmel was extolled by the prophet Isaiah almost three thousand years ago when he announce that:
    ...it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow until it.
  • BWC; Haifa; Mount Carmel; Chiampo; Italy Terraces; Dedications; Bab, Shrine of; Marble; BWNS; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; George Ronald; Sacred Stairway; Michael Day; Margraf
    2001. 31 Jul The publication of Bahá’í Shrine and Gardens on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel: A Visual Journey by the Ministry of Defence Publishing House, Israel. [Ridván Message 2001] Haifa; BWC Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; Terraces; Dedications; Bab, Shrine of; World Centre; Publications; Visuals
    2018 12 Apr The premiere of the documentary film, An American Story: Race Amity and The Other Tradition in a television broadcast on station WBGH, channel 2 in Boston, MA. [Trailer]
  • From the film website...."The primary purpose of the documentary project, An American Story: Race Amity and The Other Tradition, is to impact the public discourse on race. To move the discourse from the “blame/grievance/rejection” cycle to a view from a different lens, the lens of “amity/collaboration/access and equity.”
  • Boston; Massachusetts; United States Race (general); Unity; Race Amity; Race unity; Racism; Documentaries
    2018 30 Apr The announcement of the election of the 12th Universal House of Justice. Those elected were Paul Lample, Chuungu Malitonga, Payman Mohajer, Shahriar Razavi, Stephen Hall, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Birkland, Juan Francisco Mora, and Praveen Mallik. [BWNS1258]
  • The Twelfth International Bahá'í Convention was held from the 29th of April until the 2nd of May. In the election of the Universal House of Justice over 1,300 ballots were cast by representatives of 160 national communities. [BWNS1256, BWNS1257, BWNS1259, BWNS1261]
  • See Vimeo for a short film of the International Convention by Farideh Baki-Nasseri.
  • The film A Widening Embrace was screened at the Convention, enriching the consultations of the delegates. It is a documentary film about the community-building efforts of the Bahá'í world. Many of the themes discussed over the days of the Convention were highlighted in the practical examples presented in the documentary which tells the story of the transformation of communities unfolding throughout the world by featuring the process in 24 communities representing different realities and contexts. The 77-minute film, which was commissioned by the Universal House of Justice, was made available in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, and Persian. [BWNS1260] .
  • BWC; Haifa Paul Lample; Chuungu Malitonga; Payman Mohajer; Shahriar Razavi; Stephen Hall; Ayman Rouhani; Stephen Birkland; Juan Francisco Mora; Praveen Mallik; Universal House of Justice, Election of; Universal House of Justice, Members of; Conventions, International; BWNS; Widening Embrace, A (film); Documentaries; Documentaries, BWC; * Institute process; Social action; Social and economic development; Farideh Baki-Nasseri
    2018 21 Sep The Bahá'í World Centre announced the release of three short films that highlighted aspects of the community building endeavours of Bahá'ís and like-minded friends around the world. Totaling about 32 minutes, the new films covered three themes: nurturing younger generations, exploring the empowerment of junior youth, and communities learning to advance together. The films complement the recently produced documentary film A Widening Embrace released in April. [BWNS1286]

    The films can be downloaded using the link below:
    Nurturing younger generations
    Exploring the empowerment of junior youth
    Communities learning to advance together

    BWC Widening Embrace, A (film); * Institute process; Childrens classes; Youth empowerment program; Ruhi Institute; Films; Documentaries; Documentaries, BWC
    2020. 19 Jun The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States issued a statement entitled Forging a Path to Racial Justice in response to the death of George Floyd and the subsequent demonstrations for racial unity that followed.
  • See as well their website Race Unity Action.
  • See also The Bahá’í Response to Racial Injustice and Pursuit of Racial Unity Part 1 (1912-1996) and Part 2 (1996-2021). [BWNS1514]
  • Wilmette; United States Racial amity; Race (general); Race unity; Racism; Statements; Public discourse
    2020. 6 Dec The presentation of a webinar at the Wilmette Institute by Jan Teofil Jason entitled 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the "Other". In his presentation he discussed the newspaper coverage given 'Abdu'l-Bahá during his Western Tour, the influence of xenophobia on that coverage, and the challenges facing scholars in recovering those publications.
  • A PDF of his speaking notes was been made available.
  • Wilmette; IL Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Abdul-Baha, Talks at public places; Abdul-Baha, Talks to ethnic groups; Xenophobia; Newspapers; Race (general)

    from the chronology of Canada

    date event locations tags see also
    1925. 4 Jul - 9 Jul The Seventeenth Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada was held at Green Acre. [GAP117; SBR94]
  • National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada was elected for the first time. [GPB333, SETPE1p107]
  • Like the previous attempts at electing a National Assembly in 1922, 1923 and 1924, the delegates didn't fully understand the Bahá'í election procedure. Nine members were elected as well as nine alternates whose purpose was to replace absent members at meetings. [SETPE1p108]
  • The members were: Alfred Lunt, Harry Randall, May Maxwell, George Latimer, Louis Gregory, Elizabeth Greenleaf, Mariam Haney and Keith Ransom-Kehler with Horace Holley becomes its first full-time secretary. [BW13:852; SBR233, SETPE1p108]
  • Green Acre Alfred Lunt; William Harry Randall; May Maxwell (Bolles); George Latimer; Louis Gregory; Elizabeth Greenleaf; Mariam Haney; Keith Ransom-Kehler; Horace Holley; National Spiritual Assembly; First National Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assembly, election of
    1927. 24 - 28 Apr Just prior to the National Convention, the Bahá'í Community of Montreal organized a "World Unity Conference". It was attended by Louis Gregory. [OBCC90] Montreal, QC Race Amity; Louis Gregory
    1927 May The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada drew up and published a ‘Declaration of Trust’ and ‘By-laws of the National Spiritual Assembly’. [BW2:89, BW10:180]
  • For text see BW2:90–8.
  • The Guardian described it as the Bahá’í ‘national constitution’ heralding ‘the formation of the constitution of the future Bahá’í World Community’. [GPB335; PP302–3]
  • The drafting was largely the work of Horace Holley with assistance from the lawyer Mountfort Mills. [SBR234]
  • In subsequent years the National Assemblies of India and Burma, of Egypt, Iraq, Persian and the British Isles all adopted this example almost verbatim. [UD101, BA134-5, SETPE1p145-6]
  • Montreal, QC National Spiritual Assembly; Horace Holley; Mountfort Mills; Constitutions; By-laws; Recognition
    1930 2 Mar First Race Amity meeting held in Montreal. [OBCC90] Montreal, QC Race Amity
    1938. 30 Apr The passing of Grace Robarts Ober (b.19 February, 1869 Ontario, Canada) in Wilmette, IL). She was buried at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery South Eliot, York County, Maine,
  • She was the aunt of John Robarts and was introduced to the Cause by Lua Getzinger in 1906.
  • She met her husband Harlon Ober when she was working at Lanier Camp on River Road in Eliot, Maine. He was at Green Acre during the time of the visit of 'Abdu’l-Bahá, Grace went with Lua to prepare a place for 'Abdul-Bahá in Chicago and then, after subletting her cottage at Green Acre she made arrangements for His visit to New York City. It was the wish of 'Abdu'l-Bahá that she marry Harlan Ober. Lua came to her to give her this news. She had only met Harlon a few times and was unprepared to contact Harlan so Lua wrote to Harlan - and Harlan, radiant at the thought that he was obeying a suggestion of his beloved Master, took the next train to New York from Boston where he lived. He came at once to see Grace and together they went walking through Central Park where he proposed and Grace, still. dazed.and uncertain, accepted - because it was the will of 'Abdu’l-Bahá. Grace Robarts and Harlan Ober were married by 'Abdu’l-Bahá at the home He was staying in in New York City. Later that same day they were married again by the laws of New York when Howard Colby Ives performed the legal ceremony.
  • In 1938 Grace went on an extensive teaching trip through the Southern states. She had been very ill previous to this. The teaching trip ended in time for her to reach Wilmette and attend the Convention in the spring of 1938. It was a very radiant Convention and the report Grace gave of her teaching trip was one of the high points of it because Grace herself was so radiant and filled with the glory of the great privilege of teaching. She stood there, before the crowded hall in the Bahá'í House of Worship, filled with the great glory that shone from her and, closing her report, she uttered a tremendous clarion call for pioneers and for teachers. Then she walked down to resume her seat amongst the delegates. But on her way she paused beside Harlan, who had just been re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly. "I want to congratulate you now" she whispered, "I may not have time later", They smiled at each other with the perfect understanding that had always existed between them. Then Grace slipped into her own seat. As she sat down her head drooped slightly and those glancing at her assumed she was lost in prayer. But when she made no movement for many moments someone touched her and realized something was wrong. Edris Rice-Wray and Katherine True both moved forward - and Grace was gone - gone through her Open Door - gone on her beautiful journey to the arms of 'Abdu'l- Bahá.
  • South Eliot; Maine Grace Robarts Ober; In Memoriam; John Robarts; Lua Getsinger; Howard Colby Ives
    1943 12 Nov The Edmonton Baha’i community organized a Race Unity meeting with Muslims, Jews, Ukrainians and one Chinese in attendance. [Edmonton Bahá'í History] Edmonton, AB Race Unity; Interfaith
    1953 29 Mar The funeral for Hand of the Cause Sutherland Maxwell was chaired by John Robarts, the then chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly.
  • Mr. Eddie Elliott, member of the Spiritual Assembly of Montreal and son of a former servant in the Maxwell household sang the spiritual "Steal Away".
  • Mr Rowland Estall, the vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly read some Writings and then delivered the eulogy.
  • A cable that had just arrived from the Guardian announced that the southern door of the Tomb of the Báb would be named after him.
  • Mr. Estall read the Prayer for the Departed.
  • Mr Horace Holley, secretary of the National spiritual assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United states and Mr Fred Schopflocher, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, both distinguished Hands of the cause, had the honour to represent the Guardian at the service. Each of them read a prayer at the interment in Mount royal Cemetery. [CBN undated Memorial Issue]
  • Montreal, QC Sutherland Maxwell; John Robarts; Eddie Elliott; Rowland Estall; Horace Holley; Fred Schopflocher
    1953. 12Oct Irving and Grace Geary arrive at their pioneer post on Cape Beton Island and took up residence in Baddeck and later moved to Sydney. They stayed on the island until 1961. They learned of the Faith from Mabel Ives who made a teaching trip to Moncton, NB where they were living in 1937. [KoB280-282]
  • Frederick and Jeanne Allen arrived one day later and opened a small grocery store a few kilometers from Sydney. They remained until 1961 when they were asked to return to Charlottetown to maintain the Assembly. [KoB280-282; BW15458-459]
  • Cape Breton Island, NS; Baddeck, NS; Sydney, NS Irving Geary; Grace Geary; Frederick Allen; Jeanne Allen; Knights of Bahaullah
    1955. 3 Jul Over two hundred friends attended a memorial service at the House of Worship in Wilmette to honour the memory of Marion Jack. The service was held on the advice of the Guardian and was prepared by the National Assembly of the USA in association with the National Assembly of Canada and the European Teaching Committee. Laura Davis represented the Canadian community and read the opening prayer.
  • Hand of the Cause Paul Haney chaired the event and Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins, who was present when the Guardian heard the news of her passing, recalled how he used to say that Marion Jack was a perfect pattern for pioneers. Edna True recounted knowing her as an artist at Green Acre and Horace Holley drew attention to the fact that the Guardian identified her along with Martha Root and other distinguished teachers of the Faith. [CBN No 63 April 1955, Insert p4]
  • Wilmette, IL Marion Jack; Memorial Service; In Memoriam; Laura Davis; Paul Haney; Horace Holley; Millie Collins
    1960. 12 Jul The passing of the Hand of the Cause Horace Holley in Haifa.
  • In 1948, as the secretary of the National Assembly of the United States and Canada he assisted with the formation of the independent National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada. [UC110]
  • A tribute to him was included as in insert to the January 1961 issue of the Canadian Bahá'í News.
  • Haifa Hand of the Cause Horace Holley; In Memoriam
    1993 21 Mar The presentation of the first Race Unity Award by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada.
  • See message from the Universal House of Justice entitled Cultural Reconciliation in Canada.
  • National Spiritual Assembly; Race unity; Race (general)
    2001. 23 May At dusk on the evening of the 22nd of May, the opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb, a $250M project that begun ten years earlier and transformed the ancient barren face of the mountain into 19 majestic terraced gardens cascading down the length of the mountain. [BWNS121; BW01-02p37-73]
  • See the message To the Believers Gathered for the Events Marking the Completion of the Projects on Mount Carmel.
  • The nineteen Canadian believers who had the extraordinary blessing of being present in the Holy Land for the official opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb were: Dr. Akouete Akakpo-Vida, Mr. Riel Aubichon, Mr. Garrett Brisdon, Mrs. Pearl Downie, Mrs. Nellie Ironeagle, Mrs. Aghdas Javid, Mr. Joseph Kowtow, Mrs. Joo Jong Kung, M. Fréderic Landry, Ms. Giselle Melanson, Mr. Borna Noureddin, Mr. James Patrick, Mrs. Valerie Pemberton-Piggott, Mlle. Cindy Poitras, Mrs. Janice Schlosser, Mlle. Caroline Simon, Mrs. Doris Toeg, Mrs. Linda Wilkinson, and Mme. Elizabeth Wright. In addition, several students from the Maxwell International Bahá'í School were present as members of the delegations from their home countries.
  • The event was attended by some 4,500 people, 3,300 of them Bahá'ís, as representative of more than 200 countries and territories. [One Country Vol.13 Issue 1]
  • For the statement read by Dr. Albert Lincoln, Secretary-General of the Bahá'í International Community at the official opening of the flight of terraces see Ruhi 8.3 page 93. [BWNS119]
  • See video From Darkness to Light Recalling the Events at the Official Opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel May 2001.
  • See The Opening of the Terraces (May 2001): Reflections of a Participant by Thelma Batchelor.
  • Gyr Kvalheim was the Managing Director of the Inaugural Events Office. [BWNS118]
  • BWC; Haifa; Mount Carmel Bab, Shrine of; Terraces; Dedications; Arc project; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; World Centre; - Basic timeline, Expanded; BWNS; Gyr Kvalheim,
    2019. 26 Jul The Canadian Bahá'í News Service announced that a new edition of the Wings of Grace prayer book had been published that included several prayers in Hul'q'umi'num', a Coast Salish language spoken in several dialects along the West Coast but which is "critically endangered".
  • The cover has the image of a beaded necklace with an eagle on it. It includes prayers on courage, generosity, honour, humility, respect, thankfulness, and trust. “It is very common amongst many of the Indigenous peoples across Canada to think of their major teachings in terms of seven virtues as seven is considered to be one of the sacred numbers often used,” said Deloria Bighorn, who helped to create the prayer book.
  • To help readers of the prayers to pronounce the Hul'q'umi'num' words, videos were created of a number of elders reciting the prayers. The prayer book includes QR codes that link to YouTube videos of each prayer being recited. The prayers were originally translated by a team of the family of Robert George, a Cowichan Baha’i who comes from a family of Hul'q'umi'num' speakers.
  • Wings of Grace; Hulquminum; Deloria Bighorn; Robert George

    from the main catalogue

    1. 1970-1995: Newspaper articles archive (1970). Collection of newspaper articles from 1970-1995. [about]
    2. Abdu'l-Baha and "The Other", by Jan T. Jasion (2021). On xenophobia; Abdu'l-Bahá's response to it; his reactions to certain newspapers; the impact of xenophobia on digitized collections; some comments by Bahá'u'lláh on journalism. Text of a webinar presented to the Wilmette Institute (December, 2020). [about]
    3. Abdu'l-Bahá in America, by Robert H. Stockman, and Abdu'l-Bahá's Journey West: The Course of Human Solidarity, ed. Negar Mottahedeh: Reviews, by Firuz Kazemzadeh, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 23:1-4 (2013). [about]
    4. `Abdu'l-Bahá's 1912 Howard University Speech: A Civil War Discourse for Interracial Emancipation, by Christopher Buck and Nahzy Abadi Buck (2012). Presentation at Grand Canyon Bahá'í Conference on Abdu'l-Bahá and the Black Intelligentsia, especially W. E. B. Du Bois; his speech to the NAACP; and reproductions of many newspaper clippings covering his visit to Washington, DC. [about]
    5. Abdu'l-Baha's 1912 Howard University Speech: A Civil War Myth for Interracial Emancipation, by Christopher Buck, in Abdu'l-Bahá's Journey West: The Course of Human Solidarity, ed. Negar Mottahedeh (2013). Overview of the event, press coverage, publications of the speech, the Emancipation Proclamation "myth" and its historical influence, the role of whites, and the rhetoric of progress. [about]
    6. Advertisement for Israeli Tourism in the New Yorker magazine, in New Yorker (2000). Bahá'í World Centre photograph in advertisement in prominent magazine, featuring the terraces. [about]
    7. Affirmative Action and the Jurisprudence of Equitable Inclusion: Towards a New Consensus on Gender and Race Relations, by Steven Gonzales, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 7:2 (1995). The principle of equity and the Bahá’í emphasis on unity in diversity as a basis for considering Affirmative Action in relationship to remedying past injustices to women and minorities. [about]
    8. African American Baha'is, Race Relations and the Development of the Baha'i Community in the United States, by Richard Thomas (2005). Robert Turner, Susie Steward, Louis Gregory, and the roles played by blacks in the history of the Bahá'ís of the US. [about]
    9. African Americans in the United States, by Universal House of Justice (1996). Comments about what public role might be played by the Bahá'í Faith in America to ameliorate the difficulties faced by African-American males. [about]
    10. Africanity, Womanism, and Constructive Resilience: Some Reflections, by Layli Maparyan, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 30:3 (2020). The meanings of the metaphor "pupil of the eye;" experiences of growing up African-American in the West; overcoming cosmological negation; the African worldview on nature, humanity, and creation; gendered expressions of African culture. [about]
    11. Ahmad Sohrab and the New History Society, by Paul E. Haney and Horace Holley (1958). Overview of the defection of Ahmad Sohrab and the formation of the "New History Society" and the "Caravan of East and West." [about]
    12. Alain Locke: Baha'i Philosopher, by Christopher Buck, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 10 (2001). Biography of one of the important African American intellectuals and his impact on American thought and culture. Includes two letters written by or on behalf of Shoghi Effendi. [about]
    13. Alain Locke, by Christopher Buck, in American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, Supplement XIV (2004). The life and ideas of the leading African-American intellectual Alain Locke and his involvement with the Bahá'í Faith. [about]
    14. Alain Locke: 'Race Amity' and the Bahá'í Faith, by Christopher Buck (2007). Presentation in slide format about the "First Black Rhodes Scholar." [about]
    15. Alain Locke, by Christopher Buck, in Pop Culture Universe: Icons Idols Ideas (2013). [about]
    16. Alain Locke and Cultural Pluralism, by Christopher Buck, in Search for Values: Ethics in Bahá'í Thought (2004). The worldview of the African American thinker Alain Locke as a Bahá'í, his secular perspective as a philosopher, and the synergy between his confessional and professional essays. [about]
    17. Alain Locke materials: index to some documents online (2010). List of the various documents at the Bahá'í Library Online by or about Alain Locke, an American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts who received a Tablet from Abdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    18. Alain Locke on Race, Religion, and the Bahá'í Faith, by Christopher Buck, in The Bahá'í Faith and African American History, chapter 3 (2018). Locke was cynical about the prospect of real progress in race relations within Christianity itself, but he saw potential in Bahá'í efforts to promote race amity and making democracy more egalitarian in terms of the rights of minorities. [about]
    19. Alain Locke's "Moral Imperatives for World Order" Revisited, by Christopher Buck, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:1 (2019). In public speeches presented in 1944 Locke argues that racism, although an American problem, is not purely a domestic issue; it has bilateral and multilateral consequences; unity of races, religions, and nations is a moral imperative. [about]
    20. Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy, by Christopher Buck: Review, by Derik Smith, in World Order, 38:3 (2008). [about]
    21. Alain Locke: Race Leader, Social Philosopher, Baha'i Pluralist: includes Alain Locke in his Own Words: Three Essays and a poem, by Christopher Buck and Alain Locke, in World Order, 36:3 (2005). Article by Buck, poem "The Moon Maiden" and three essays by Locke introduced by Buck: "The Gospel for the Twentieth Century," "Peace between Black and White in the United States," and "Five Phases of Democracy: Farewell Address at Talladega College." [about]
    22. Alain Locke: Race Leader, Social Philosopher, Bahá'í Pluralist: 94th Annual Commemoration of ‘Abdu'l-Baha's 1912 Visit to Howard University, by Christopher Buck (2006). Available both as audio and PDF, and includes press release. [about]
    23. "And universal peace — in what Book is this written?": How and Why 'Abdu'l-Bahá Identified "New" and Distinctive Bahá'í Principles, by Christopher Buck (2022). Reflections on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's answer to the question "What has Bahá’u’lláh brought that we have not heard before?" [about]
    24. Arc Project: 1987 Open Letter, by Universal House of Justice (1987). Status of the Arc Project (Bahá'í World Center), 1987. [about]
    25. Arc Project: 1991 Open Letter, by Universal House of Justice (1991). Status of the Arc Project (Bahá'í World Center), 1991. [about]
    26. Arc Project: 1994 Open Letter, by Universal House of Justice (1994). Status of the Arc Project (Bahá'í World Center), 1994. [about]
    27. Ascent of Mount Carmel, The: Celebrating the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb, by John S. Hatcher, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:3 (2019). "From the Editor's Desk": Symbolism of the terraces on the shrine of the Bab; St. John's poem "Ascent of Mount Carmel"; overview of the articles in this issue of the Journal. [about]
    28. Atlanta Bahá'í Community and Race Unity, The: 1909-1950, by Mike McMullen, in World Order, 26.4 (1995). History of the Bahá'í­ faith in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, a city whose Bahá'í community dates back almost to the earliest beginnings of the Bahá'ís in the United States. [about]
    29. Bagdádi Family, by Kamran Ekbal, in Encyclopaedia Iranica (2014). Brief excerpt, with link to article offsite. [about]
    30. Bahá'í: The Spirit of the Age, by Horace Holley (1921). An early, thorough overview of Bahá'í teachings, written shortly before Holley was elected secretary of the US Spiritual Assembly. [about]
    31. Bahá'í "Pupil of the Eye" Metaphor, The: Promoting Ideal Race Relations in Jim Crow America, by Christopher Buck, in The Bahá'í Faith and African American History, chapter 1 (2018). On the notable contribution to promoting ideal race relations in Jim Crow America by the Bahá'í Faith which, though small in number, was socially significant in its concerted efforts to foster and advance harmony between the races. [about]
    32. Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America, The: Alain Locke and Robert Abbott, by Christopher Buck, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 17 (2011). W. E. B. Du Bois, Alain L. Locke and Robert S. Abbott, ranked as the 4th, 36th and 41st most influential in African American history, all expressed interest in the Baha’i ethic of world unity, from family to international relations, and social crisis. [about]
    33. Baha'i Doctrine Attracts Non-whites, by James S. Tinney, in The National Leader, 2:24 (1983). On the Bahá'í Faith's progress toward racial unity; brief bios of Glenford Mitchell, Amoz Gibson, Wilma Brady, Barbara Eaton Bond, and Alberta Deas; reflections on Black experiences of the Bahá'í community. [about]
    34. Bahá'í Faith and African American History, The: Introduction, by Loni Bramson (2018). Contents, Introduction, and Index from this book, with links to two chapters (by Christopher Buck). [about]
    35. Bahá'í History and Videos, by Hussein Ahdieh (2013). Links to Zoom videos on a variety of topics: Kahlil Gibran, the life of Varqá, Bahá'í schools for girls and Tahirih's influence, martyrs in Nayriz, Abdu'l-Bahá in New York, and Harlem Prep School. [about]
    36. Bahá'í Response to Racial Injustice and Pursuit of Racial Unity, The: Part 1 (1912-1996), by Richard Thomas, in Bahá'í World (2021). The American Bahá’í community’s historical efforts to address racial injustice which has afflicted the United States since its founding. [about]
    37. Bahá'í Scriptures: Selections from the Utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (1923). First collection of "approved" translations, largely superseded by newer translations. [about]
    38. Bahá'ís have outsized MLK presence, by Abe Levy, in My San Antonio (2013). Bahá'ís play an increasingly-active role in events celebrating the message of Martin Luther King. [about]
    39. Bahá'ís, The, by Lady Sarah Louisa Blomfield, in The Sufi Quarterly, 3 (1928). A "comprehensive account of the inspiration and ideals upon which Baha’ism is built up" — overview of the history and teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. [about]
    40. Bahá'í Faith and Peace Psychology, The: The Potential for Science and Religion to Collaborate, by Rhett Diessner, in Peace Psychology Bulletin, 3:3 (1994). On the potential for Bahá’í peace initiatives, coupled with empirical peace psychology approaches, regarding: ethnicity and peace, feminism and peace, and peace and education. [about]
    41. Centering the "Pupil of the Eye": Blackness, Modernity, and the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, by Derik Smith, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:1-2 (2019). The "pupil of the eye" metaphor is a deeply consequential, distinguishing feature of the transformative social and spiritual system laid out in Bahá’u’lláh's Revelation. [about]
    42. Challenge to Chaos: The Mission of the Bahá'í Faith, by Horace Holley (1954). Summary of the mission of Bahá'u'lláh through the lens of three essential truths: Unity of God, Unity of the Prophets, and Unity of Humankind. Published as a stand-alone pamphlet. [about]
    43. Champions of Oneness: Louis Gregory and His Shining Circle, by Janet Ruhe-Schoen: Review, by Lex Musta, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies (2016). [about]
    44. Colorblindness and Race Unity: One Bahá'í's Perspective, by Donald Osborn (1997). Reflections on race perspectives in the Bahá'í writings. [about]
    45. CommonVisions: Photography and Conflict Transformation, by Chuck Egerton, in Global Journal of Peace Research and Praxis, 1:1 (2015). How an arts-based photography project, built on the concept of the oneness of humanity, was used to overcome racism using the universal language of photography and a medical model to bring unity and resolve conflict. [about]
    46. Course on Bahá'í Symbolism, by Ernesto Fernandez (2013). Symbolic forms in the Writings and Bahá'í architectural systems, and their analogues in universal religious symbolism. Includes Spanish translation, "Curso de simbología bahá ́í." [about]
    47. Cultural Reconciliation in Canada, by Universal House of Justice, in Baha'i Canada, 13:2 (2000). The Universal House of Justice suggests to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada that their efforts at unity and reconciliation should focus on culture rather than on race. [about]
    48. Cultural Reconciliation in Canada - questions, by Universal House of Justice (2001). Reply from the House of Justice to a request for a reexamination of the assumptions on which its letter to Canada of 5 September 1999 was based. [about]
    49. Dawn over Mount Hira and Other Essays, by Marzieh Gail (1976). A collection of essays on various topics of interest to Bahá'í studies and history. Most of these were first published in Star of the West and World Order between 1929 and 1971. [about]
    50. Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation, by Jennifer Harvey: Review, by Dianne Coin, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). [about]
    51. Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Nine Year Plan, by Universal House of Justice (2022). Matters relating to the Nine Year Plan (2022-2031), ethnic and cultural diversity, the human family's crisis of identity, prejudice, Africa, and economic injustice. [about]
    52. Demographics of the United States National Spiritual Assembly, by Archives Office of the United States Bahá'í National Center (2016). Percentage of women, African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans serving on the U.S. and Canadian NSAs from 1922-2015. [about]
    53. Divinations and Creation, by Horace Holley (1916). A collection of poetry. Does not mention the Bahá'í Faith. [about]
    54. "Double Crusade" and the American Baha'i Community, The, by Universal House of Justice (2018). Comments on what the double crusade means, how it relates to the current series of Plans of the Faith, what should be done to carry it out, and the Advent of Divine Justice. [about]
    55. Early Believers in the West, Some, by Grace Shahrokh, in Windows to the Past (1992). Stories of Thornton Chase, John David Bosch, Lua Moore Getsinger, May Ellis Bolles Maxwell, William Sutherland Maxwell, Thomas Breakwell, John Ebenezer Esslemont, George Townshend, and Horace Hotchkiss Holley. [about]
    56. Experiment in Race Relations, A, by Robert P. Powers, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 11 (1946-1950) (1952). An early program in race tolerance, preceding the Civil Rights movement, as described by a prominent Chief Law Enforcement Officer in early 20th-century California. [about]
    57. Faith, Theory, and Practice: Interracial Marriage as a Symbol of the Oneness of Humanity, by Benjamin Leiker (2004). [about]
    58. Foreigner: From an Iranian Village to New York City and the Lights That Led the Way, by Hussein Ahdieh and Hillary Chapman (2019). Biography of a young boy in Nayriz, Iran in the mid 20th-century, his reflection on the sad society; his experience as a immigrant in the United States, struggle to make the American dream, and helped the innovative Harlem Prep, a Bahá'í inspired School. [about]
    59. God Passes By: A Study Guide, by Horace Holley (1970). Thematic index to the Guardian's key historical work. [about]
    60. Gregory, Louis G.: The Advancement of Racial Unity in America, by Harlan F. Ober, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954) (1993). Short biography of an early African-American Bahá'í. [about]
    61. Gregory, Louis George, by Gayle Morrison, in The Bahá'í Encyclopedia (2009). On the African American lawyer who became a leading Bahá’í speaker, writer, administrator, and proponent of race unity and equality, member of the national governing body of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, and Hand of the Cause. [about]
    62. Harlem Renaissance, by Christopher Buck, in The American Mosaic: The African American Experience (2013). [about]
    63. Hayden, Robert, by Christopher Buck and Derik Smith, in Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Literature (2019). In his poetics of history and his nuanced representations of black life, Hayden's art showed that the African American experience was quintessentially American, and that blackness was an essential aspect of heterogeneous America. [about]
    64. Holley, Horace Hotchkiss, by R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram (1995). Biography of a Hand of the Cause of God. [about]
    65. Institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, The, by Universal House of Justice and Horace Holley, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 18 (1979-1983) (1986). Five documents from Bahá'í World 18 part four section 5: Institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, its spiritual significance, the temple on the Indian sub-continent, the Lotus of Bahapur, and the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Pacific Islands. [about]
    66. Interracial "Bahá'í Movement" and the Black Intelligentsia, The: The Case of W. E. B. Du Bois, by Christopher Buck, in Journal of Religious History, 36:4 (2012). Du Bois’s encounters with the Baha’i religion from 1910 to 1953, his connection to the New York Baha’i community, and discussion of segregated Baha’i meetings in Tennessee in 1937. [about]
    67. Intimate Diversity: The Presentation of Multiculturalism and Multiracialism in a High-Boundary Religious Movement, by Kathleen Jenkins, in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42:3 (2003). On the construction and maintenance of multiracial/ethnic networks in religious movements, through a comparative analysis of International Churches of Christ, The People's Temple, and the U.S. Bahá'í community. [about]
    68. Introduction to a Statement on Race Unity, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1997). An informal letter on the "most challenging issue confronting America." [about]
    69. Keys to Harmony, by Daniel C. Jordan (n.d.). Ways of bringing harmony into the world, using musical analogies. [about]
    70. Kitáb-i-Íqán, The Book of Certitude: A Study Guide, by Horace Holley (1975). A short topical and thematic outline, with links. [about]
    71. Letter to Grace Holley, by Abdu'l-Bahá (1919). Short message of greeting and praise. [about]
    72. Letter to the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, by Shoghi Effendi and Horace Holley (1947). Shoghi Effendi's summary of the relationship of the Bahá'í Faith to Palestine, written as an introduction to the pamphlet "The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh: A World Religion." Includes Holley's letter to the UN the next year on Bahá'í shrines in Palestine. [about]
    73. Letter to the United States and Canada on racism, 1961, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1961). [about]
    74. Letters of Living, Dawn-Breakers, Quddús, Terraces, by Universal House of Justice (2000). Five unrelated questions: Identity of the Letters of the Living; "List of Illustrations" in the Dawn-Breakers; Status of the Writings of Quddus; Naming of the Terraces at the Arc; and The Bab's Tablets in the Dawn-Breakers. [about]
    75. List of Articles on BahaiTeachings.org, by Christopher Buck (2020). List of online essays and articles by Christopher Buck since 2014. [about]
    76. Modern Social Religion, The, by Horace Holley (1913). Early introduction to the Bahá'í Faith, its history, and its social teachings. [about]
    77. Monologues on the Bicentenary of the Birth of Baha'u'llah and Howard University Visit Commemoration, by Vasu Mohan and Donna Denize (2017). Five biographical monologues delivered in the fictionalized voices of Harriett Gibbs Marshall, Laura Dreyfus Barney, Louis Gregory, Alain Locke, and Pocahontas Pope. [about]
    78. "Most Great Reconstruction": The Bahá'í Faith in Jim Crow South Carolina, 1898-1965, by Louis E. Venters (2010). The Faith enjoyed a period of growth from the 1960s-1980s that was largely inspired by interracial teaching campaigns in the South. The Bahá'í movement in South Carolina was a significant, sustained response to racist ideologies. Link to thesis (offsite). [about]
    79. New Creation, A: The Power of the Covenant in the Life of Louis Gregory, by Gayle Morrison, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 9:4 (1999). Louis Gregory's achievements, focussing on his promotion of the oneness of humankind, teaching the Bahá’í Faith, and administering its affairs. Gregory became both a herald of the Covenant and an enduring example of its transforming power. [about]
    80. New Cycle of Human Power, A: Abdu'l-Bahá's Encounters with Modernist Writers and Artists, by Robert Weinberg, in Bahá'í World (2021). On the impact of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on a number of individuals who were at the cultural vanguard of a society undergoing rapid, radical change. [about]
    81. New Race of Men and the meaning of "Tread Under", A, by Universal House of Justice (2013). The meaning of the phrase "A race of men ... will tread under all who are in heaven." Includes compilation on the topic. [about]
    82. No Jim Crow Church: The Origins of South Carolina's Bahá'í Community, by Louis Venters: Review, by Richard Thomas, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies (2016). [about]
    83. Oneness of Mankind, The: Basic Principle of the Bahá'í Faith, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, in Bahá'í News, 303 (1956). Statement of Bahá'í teachings prepared in order to clarify the position of members of the Faith throughout the United States at this critical hour, published as an insert in the U.S. Bahá'í newsletter. [about]
    84. Opening of the Terraces (May 2001), The: Reflections of a Participant, by Thelma Batchelor (2001). Contemporary pilgrim's note from May 20-26, 2001, witnessing the historic completion of the Arc project. [about]
    85. Outpost of a World Religion: The Bahá'í Faith in Australia 1920-1947, by Graham Hassall, in Journal of Religious History, 16:3 (1991). An updated version of a paper published in two places. [about]
    86. Power of Unity, The: Beyond Prejudice and Racism [excerpts], by Báb, The and Bahá'u'lláh (1986). [about]
    87. Prejudice and Discrimination, by Will C. van den Hoonaard (1993). Prejudice is cultural. History shows no society is immune. U.S. Bahá'ís facilitated Racial Amity groups in the 20s and 30s, and found ignorance plus apathy are key factors in prejudice. Reducing it requires a universal commitment to the unity of humanity. [about]
    88. Public Discourse on Race: Abdu'l-Bahá's 1912 Howard University Speech, by Christopher Buck (2012). Presentation at Louhelen Bahá’í School on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the black intelligentsia, his views of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, and his message to African Americans and the "Whites." [about]
    89. Pupil of the Eye, The: African Americans in the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, by Báb, The and Bahá'u'lláh, 2nd edition (1998). A compilation of references in the Bahá'í writings to African-Americans and those of African descent. [about]
    90. Race and Man: A Compilation, by Maye Harvey Gift and Alice Simmons Cox (1943). A collection of words of scientists, sociologists and educators, arranged to present the problem of race relations in this modern world and the solutions as great thinkers envision them, followed by Bahá'í teachings on the same topics. [about]
    91. Race and Racism: Perspectives from Bahá'í Theology and Critical Sociology, by Matthew Hughey, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). Review of the concepts of race and racism based on social scientific understanding, in order to better understand their definition and to delineate their relation to one another, and correlate them with the Bahá'í Writings. [about]
    92. Race Unity Day, by Christopher Buck, in Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations (2011). [about]
    93. Race, Place, and Clusters: Current Vision and Possible Strategies, by June Manning Thomas, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). Division by place affects the possibilities for racial unity, especially in fragmented U.S. metropolitan areas. The "institute process” as a strategy could overcome challenges that place-based action poses for racial unity. [about]
    94. Racial Identity and the Patterns of Consolation in the Poetry of Robert Hayden, by John S. Hatcher, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 3:2 (1990). The dramatic tension in Robert Hayden’s poetry has often been mistaken for personal ambivalence and confusion with regard to both his ethnic identity and his beliefs as a Bahá’í — rather than the clear pattern of consolation that unites them. [about]
    95. Read-Aloud Plays, by Horace Holley (1916). Nine short plays. Contains no mention of the Bahá'í Faith. [about]
    96. Reading Reality in Times of Crisis: 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Great War, by Amin Egea, in Bahá'í World (2021). How ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s analysis of the crises of His time was profoundly distinct from contemporaneous “progressive” movements and thinkers. [about]
    97. Road Less Travelled By, The, by John S. Hatcher, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). "From the Editor's Desk": Overview of this issue's articles regarding racism and proper responses to it, both among the general population and within the Bahá'í community itself. [about]
    98. Robert Hayden and Being Politically Correct, by Duane L. Herrmann (1993). Robert Hayden did not bow to or rebel against expectations of political correctness, and regarded his race as "human" rather than "black." He embraced his African-American identity, but did not want to be defined by it. [about]
    99. Robert Hayden's Epic of Community, by Benjamin Friedlander, in Melus (1998). A study of Hayden's poetry in the context of the American experience. [about]
    100. Same Yet Different, The: Bahá'í Perspectives on Achieving Unity out of Difference, by Deborah Clark Vance (2002). Based on in-depth interviews with members of the Bahá’í Faith [in the USA] to uncover a description of how they believe they can bring together diverse people; development of a linear model of multicultural communication. [about]
    101. Same Yet Different, The: Creating Unity Among the Diverse Members of the Bahá'í Faith, by Deborah Clark Vance, in Journal of Intergroup Relations (a publication of the National Association of Human Rights Workers), Volume 29:4 (2002). A study of the process by which people form a unified community from diverse cultures based on interviews with a small group of American Bahá’ís; the importance of foundational beliefs in this process; learning intercultural communication. [about]
    102. Seeking Light in the Darkness of "Race", by Jamar M. Wheeler, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). A historical sketch of how race concepts evolved, with analysis at macro and micro levels of society. Oneness of mankind is an enlightening force that, through individual agency and collective social action, can transform society. [about]
    103. Settling the Score With Mr. Ogden Nash for the Seven Spiritual Ages of Mrs. Marmaduke Moore and Thereby Achieving if Not a Better Verse at Least a Longer Title, by Roger White, in Another Song, Another Season (1979). A dialogue for two readers, adapted from a poem. [about]
    104. Shoghi Effendi and Social Justice, by Jack McLean, in Berkshire Encyclopedia of Religion and Social Justice (2007). The term "social justice” has been used by many engaged groups as a rhetorical tool to obtain more equitable transformations of the social order. To the Guardian and the later Bahá'í Administration, it is a Divine justice at heart. [about]
    105. Social Action, Public Discourse, and Non-involvement in Political Affairs, by Universal House of Justice (2017). Alternative courses of action to civil disobedience, circumscribed roles for protest, and the freedom that Bahá’ís have to engage in social action and public discourse, particularly in relation to the principle of non-involvement in political affairs. [about]
    106. Spatial Strategies for Racial Unity, by June Manning Thomas, in Bahá'í World (2020). On the nature and approaches of Bahá’í educational programs and community building efforts which seek, in the context of neighborhoods and villages, to raise capacity for service to humanity. [about]
    107. Still the Most Challenging Issue, by John S. Hatcher, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:1-2 (2019). "From the Editor's Desk": On race, racism, and the American Bahá'í community. [about]
    108. Stories of Muriel Ives Newhall Barrow: Grace Robarts Ober, by Muriel Ives Barrow Newhall (1998). Brief account of Grace Ober's interactions with 'Abdu'l-Bahá during his visit to the USA. [about]
    109. Storytelling and Once Upon a Time, The: Youtube Playlists, by Fariborz Sahba (2020). Zoom videos of some historical events witnessed by the manager for the Arc Project during 10 years of the development of the Bahá'í Temple in India and 15 years of the development of the Mount Carmel Bahá'í Project in Haifa, and other stories. [about]
    110. Summon Up Remembrance, by Marzieh Gail (1987). Memoir left by Ali-Kuli Khan, one of the first translators of Bahá'í Writings; writings of his wife Florence; other family papers and memories. [about]
    111. Symbols of Transformation: The Gardens and Terraces on Mount Carmel, by Elham Afnan, in Bahá'í World (2002). Article, with photo gallery, about the development, design, and philosophy of the terraces surrounding the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa. [about]
    112. The Cause of Universal Peace: 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Enduring Impact, by Kathryn Jewett-Hogenson, in Bahá'í World (2021). On Abdu'l-Bahá's interest in the Lake Mohonk Conferences on International Arbitration in New York, 1912, and the Quaker founders Albert and Alfred Smiley; Leroy Ioas and the World Unity Conferences; World Unity magazine (later World Order). [about]
    113. The Pursuit of Social Justice, by Michael Karlberg, in Bahá'í World (2022). An interdisciplinary examination of prevailing conceptions of human nature, power, social organization, and social change, and their implications for the pursuit of peace and justice. [about]
    114. Third Bahá'í Intercontinental Conference, Chicago: Notes, by Emma Maxie Jones and Anonymous (1958). Notes, with comments by Borah Kavelin, Rúhíyyih Khánum, Leroy Ioas, Horace Holley, John Robarts, Ugo Giachery, et al., on topics such as raising funds for Temples, pioneering, Native Americans, reflections on Shoghi Effendi, and Mt. Carmel. [about]
    115. Three Talks in Africa, by Ali Nakhjavani and Violette Nakhjavani (2001). Three talks given in East London, South Africa circa August-September 2001, on personal reminiscences of Ruhiyyih Khanum and Enoch Olinga, some history of the Faith in Africa, and stages of spiritual growth and teaching. [about]
    116. Three Teaching Methods Used During North America's First Seven-Year Plan, by Roger M. Dahl, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 5:3 (1993). Teaching methods used by American Bahá’ís to spread the Faith; firesides and teaching campaigns evolved during the 1930s; pioneer settlements were not used systematically until the Seven-Year Plan; difficulties caused by the race question in the South. [about]
    117. Trial and Triumph: The Origins of the Bahá'í Faith in Black America, by Jerome Green (2004). Focusing on a period between 1890 and 1940, this work addresses how Black America first encountered the Bahá’í Faith and demonstrates the Faith’s social and religious appeal within the black community. [about]
    118. Usage of the Word "Negro" in Writings of Shoghi Effendi, by Universal House of Justice (2021). Brief letter about the historically evolving use of racial terminology, and avoiding offense. [about]
    119. Vision of Race Unity: America's Most Challenging Issue, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1991). A formal statement from the US NSA on "the most challenging issue confronting America." [about]
    120. White Bahá'í Men as a sub-group combatting racism, by Universal House of Justice, in American Bahá'í, 31:6 (2000). Use of the phrase "white Bahá'í men" in an anti-racism project in North Carolina. [about]
    121. World Vision of a Savant, The, by Auguste Henri Forel, in Star of the West, 18:11 (1928). Ruminations on the nature of the human brain, causes of racism, how to stop wars, the meaning of "God," and Bahá'í principles. [about]
    122. Ziba Khanum of Yazd: An Enslaved African Woman in Nineteenth-Century Iran, by Anthony Lee (2017). Issues of race, gender, slavery, and religion as experienced by an Afro-Iranian family in the 19th and 20th centuries; historiography of African women in Iran; the Herati-Khorasani family tree. [about]
     
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