Robert Hayden’s life was a testament to the power of art to transcend adversity. Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1913, Hayden’s childhood was marked by trauma. His parents separated before his birth, and he was raised by foster parents in the vibrant, yet often challenging, neighborhood of Paradise Valley. His home life was fraught with…
Robert Turner’s life story is a remarkable journey of transformation, from his humble beginnings on a Virginia farm to his pivotal role in the early days of the Bahá’í Faith in the West. Born in the mid-1850s, Turner’s path took him to California, where he worked at the prestigious Palace Hotel. His life took a…
Dizzy Gillespie is remembered not only for his genius as a trumpeter who broke new ground in jazz but also for his deep dedication to the teachings of Baha’u’llah. Reflecting on his life and accomplishments decades after his passing would be incomplete without acknowledging the Baha’i belief that most inspired and drove his work—that all…
David Kellum understood the importance of race unity. Around 1917, when he was about 14, a group of white kids attacked him in his hometown in Mississippi. That very night, David’s grandmother put him on a train to Chicago, so he could live with an aunt in the north. While in high school, David joined…
At the end of May 1921, the nation’s capital played host to a multiracial Interfaith Gathering the likes of which had rarely been seen in the segregated South. for 3 Days thousands of people assembled at the First Congregational Church of Washington DC. in the first-ever convention for Amity between the colored and white races….
Editor’s note: The historical inquiry into African Americans in the early U.S. Baha’i community is still unfolding. Here is a profile of Olive Jackson, who very well may be the first African American woman to embrace the Faith. In the early summer of 2020, people around the world grappled with the social unrest and distress…
The Nicholas Brothers were a duo of dancing brothers, Fayard and Harold, who excelled in a variety of techniques, including a highly acrobatic technique known as “flash dancing”. With a high level of artistry and daring innovations, they were considered by many to be the greatest tap dancers of their day. Their performance in the…
In 1905, Robert S. Abbott founded The Chicago Defender, which became the most widely circulated black newspaper in the country, came to be known as “America’s Black Newspaper” and made Abbott one of the first self-made millionaires of African-American descent. Abbott met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah, in…
The plight of Iran’s Baha’i community is well-documented. And there is a way for you to help. Facing systematic persecution in their homeland, many have sought refuge in neighboring countries like Turkey. However, for the approximately 2,000 Iranian Baha’is currently living there, the situation has become increasingly precarious. Years in Limbo Many of these Baha’is…
Mahvash Shahriari Sabet, a 70-year-old Baha’i teacher and poet, mother and grandmother, is perhaps even more renowned among people outside Iran than in her own country. She spent 10 years of her life in Iranian prisons, from 2008 to 2017, solely based on her religious beliefs, before her latest arrest on July 31, 2022. Most…
