Society builders pave the way, to a better world, to a better day. A united approach to building a new society.
Join the conversation, for Social Transformation. Society Builders.
Society Builders with your host, Duane Varan.
Welcome back to Society Builders, and thanks for joining the conversation
for social transformation.
In our last episode, we laid out the historical context of the America
that was, as Abdul-Baha arrived here.
As part of that, we explored some of the forces driving racism in America
and the different approaches to promoting racial justice that evolved.
Today we're gonna go a little bit deeper in understanding this
amazing chapter in our history.
Today we're gonna dive deep in discovering why there was so much interest in
hearing Abdul-Baha and His message.
And we'll learn more about what that Message really was.
And then in our next episode, the third and final episode in this
sequence, we'll explore the impact this all had on Black America and on
that generation of Baha'i believers.
So fast on your seat belts.
It's gonna be a great ride.
Abdul-Baha's Message on race
almost immediately captured the attention and imagination of Black America.
I mean, Abdul-Baha's travels in America, got a lot of media attention, but
it's nothing like the attention He got from America's Black Press where
the coverage was truly extensive.
Now before we discuss what Abdul-Baha's message was that got such attention, I
think we need to first set the stage.
Why was there interest in hearing from a Man, the Persian
Prophet, as He was dubbed?
I mean, we know He wasn't a Prophet, but that's how the press referred to Him.
Why was there such interest in hearing His views in the first place?
Now, there are a number of dimensions to this fascination
with Abdul-Baha. For one thing,
abdul-Baha's timing was picture perfect.
Abdul-Baha arrived in America when fascination with Persia
was at an all time peak. In 1911,
just a year before Abdul-Baha's arrival, an American named William
Morgan Schuster had gone to Iran to serve as the National Treasurer at the
invitation of Iran's first Parliament.
It's Majlis.
Schuster quickly emerged as a Persian hero, stamping out corruption and
bringing order to Iran's finances for the first time in over a century.
But this antagonized, both Russia and England, who were both manipulating
and controlling the Persian nation and benefiting from this corruption.
In fact, Schuster, so antagonized the foreign powers that Russia
literally went to war with
iran, demanding his removal as a condition for removing their troops.
And so it was that Schuster, this Persian hero, was forcibly removed from
his office in Iran only months after it had taken up this role in 1911.
Well, Schuster returns to America, a hero - a man who stood up to the Russians and the
English - an American who single-handedly caused the outbreak of a whole war.
And he began going on a national lecture tour exposing the immoral tactics
used by both the Russians and the English superpowers to control Iran.
His exposé is detailed and riveting.
And eventually it led to the publication of his bestselling
book, 'The Strangling of Persia'.
But the book itself didn't come out until the summer of 1912, in the middle
of Abdul-Baha's travels in America.
But the lecture tours he gave were extensively covered, and this gave rise to
a new fascination with all things Persian.
In fact, the fad of the day became hosting Persian parties where guests
arrived, dressed in Persian attire.
So Abdul-Baha arrived literally at the peak of this new fascination
with all things Persian.
So when the papers announced a talk by the Persian prophet, well, that
immediately got people's attention.
That was page one news.
His talks to predominantly Black audiences also had another dimension
which gave them credibility.
Because Abdul-Baha Himself had spent almost His entire life as a Prisoner.
So here was someone who could empathize with the plight of the oppressed.
This added a certain credibility to His message.
But perhaps the most important reason why His talks captured Black
attention, and we know this because the Black press coverage tells us -
so the most important reason was because it was almost the
only religious engagement on questions of race at that time.
Again, remember, America's churches had largely gone silent on the
issue of race for Black America.
It was a deafening silence.
And here was a religious leader from the other side of the
world, from the East, preaching a Message of taking a stand on race.
The contrast was stark.
It exposed the American church's silence, and in fact, there are editorials that
appear that make this specific point.
'Why is it that America's churches are silent and that the only
religious voice to take a stand is from this Persian Prophet?'
So you can imagine that there was an interest, a fascination, a hunger to
hear what this Persian Prophet had to say even before he delivered His speeches.
In fact, just speaking to some of these audiences was itself taking a stand.
It was a radical thing to do.
So there was an appetite, a hunger to hear what the Persian Prophet had to say.
So what was Abdul-Baha's message to Black America?
What's perhaps most important here is to appreciate that in His talks,
Abdul-Baha introduces a new dimension to the race discourse in America.
At the time, Black America is seeking acceptance that diversity be tolerated,
but Abdul-Baha brings a Message that truly transcends all of this.
He brings a Message of race unity.
In Abdul-Baha's talks, He explains how racism is unnatural.
That in the realm of nature you don't see animals discriminating
on the basis of their color.
You don't see black and white pigeons, for example, segregating.
Now think about it.
Framing racism as unnatural represents a powerful and direct challenge
to the kind of scientific racism that is so prevalent at the time.
And not only is racism unnatural, but Abdul- Baha positions diversity as attractive.
A lack of diversity is dull and boring. Here
he draws on that example that all Baha'is know so well that
were like flowers in a garden.
That a garden with only flowers of one color is dull.
That it's the diversity of color that brings the garden to life.
And He draws on similar analogies with gems of different colors.
Now, this is such a contrast to the discourse of the day.
Abdul-Baha not only positions racism as unnatural, but he also
positions diversity as attractive.
Wow!
So far from being something we tolerate, diversity is
something we should appreciate.
We become stronger as a result of our diversity.
Now, this was an entirely new perspective for the audience.
It elevated the race discourse to an entirely different level.
It articulated a vision that transcended what people thought was even possible.
Again, the predominant discourse at the time was accommodationist.
Don't make waves. Live with small gains.
Now there was another strand that advocated for Black Americans to return
to Africa, a Black nationalist stand.
But this got little traction and there was a new social justice strand
seen as somewhat radical at the time that advocated for justice, and this
particular strand was very nascent at the time. But now you have a
fourth paradigm, an entirely fresh perspective that Abdul-Baha introduces.
Now to draw a modern parallel,
this is much more akin to the type of speech that Martin Luther King delivered
in his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.
It's a speech that articulates a vision of what is possible.
It's a vision elevating race unity.
It has an appeal for both White and Black America.
Now, I'm not saying that Abdul- Baha's speech had the same
impact as Martin Luther King's
'I Have a Dream' speech, but it served a similar function acting to help His
audience look beyond the horizon, look beyond their limitations, to see a future
that transcended the past and present.
It was a message of hope and it was inspiring.
Now, what's particularly interesting, I think, is that Abdul-Baha's speeches to
Black audiences didn't appease them.
Yes, it articulated a vision.
It upheld their rights and dignity.
It demanded social justice.
It inspired them to imagine new possibilities, but it also
challenged its Black audience.
I say challenged because Abdul-Baha's goal is not just social justice per
se, it's something even greater.
It's race unity.
It's a step beyond justice. So it doesn't focus on punishing the white aggressor.
Instead, it forges a bridge, and there are challenges for White
America, but there are also challenges for Black America in that call.
So for example, Abdu Baja calls on African-Americans to not demonize all
White America, but to also appreciate the sacrifices that so many White Americans
made in the cause of freeing them from their bonds of slavery. To also appreciate
the sacrifices of their White brothers.
This is a challenging idea, right?
It speaks to a higher goal race unity.
You can see in this guidance how Abdul- Baha's focus was on race unity, bringing
the races together, and there are ideas that Abdul-Baha advocates in the
cause of race unity that were truly radical by the standards of the time,
including, for example, His promotion of the virtues of interracial marriage.
Now, this was truly controversial.
I mean, people were literally hanged for advocating this idea.
In fact, in the majority of US states, 30 states, in fact, interracial
marriage was actually outright illegal.
So Abdul-Baha's talks were not just inspiring platitudes, they were
substantive, they were inspiring, they were challenging, and they
introduced an entirely new dimension to the race discourse in America.
And most important, it was a message which got noticed.
The Black press covered these talks extensively, and it
got Black America talking.
It captured the attention and the imagination of Black America.
Okay, now I think we've set the stage.
Our last episode gave us the historical context
PRIOR to Abdul-Baha's arrival. In this episode, we explored what happened
DURING Abdul-Baha's visit, and particularly what his message was.
So we're now ready for our next chapter here, and this
is really the heart and soul
of my entire theme here, the focus of our discussion, which is on how
it was that Abdul-Baha's message transformed the American Baha'i
community, and trust me, it did.
And how that Baha'i community went on to interact with and helped shape
the emergence of the nascent modern Civil Rights movement in America.
How's that for society building?
Now you have to remember that the entire Western Baha'i community at the time, and
I'm talking across both Europe and the United States, was about the size of what
we currently think of as a Baha'i region.
I mean, there was only 3000 Baha'is in the entire Western world.
So this is about the size of your regional Baha'i community.
And what you'll discover in our next episode is just how incredibly
influential this community became in their society building endeavors,
particularly in engaging with the race discourse in America.
It's probably the best example of society building in the Western Baha'i world.
It's just such a remarkable story.
And we're going to focus on this impact in our next episode. And just
to whet your appetite a bit more, our next episode includes interviews with
leading Baha'i scholars, including
robert Stockman,
Dr. Chris Buck,
Dr. Guy Emerson Mount.
So you're in for a real treat.
So you really won't wanna miss our next episode where we continue to
explore the early Baha'i engagement with the race discourse in America.
That's next time on Society Builders.
Society Builders pave the way, to a better world, to a better day. A united approach to
building a new society.
There's a crisis facing inhumanity.
People suffer from a lack of
unity, it's time for a brand new path to new society.
Join the conversation, for Social transformation. Society Builders.
So engage with your local communities and explore all the exciting possibilities.
We can elevate the atmosphere in which we move. The paradigm is shifting.
It's so very uplifting.
It's a new beat, a new song, a brand groove.
Join the conversation, for
Social Transformation. Society builder,
The Baha'i Faith has a lot to say, helping people discover a better way with discourse
and social action framed by unity.
Now the time has come to lift our
game and apply the teachings of the Greatest Name. And rise to meet the glory of our destiny.