- 1912-04-23 — Harriet Gibbs Marshall (1868-1941) became a Bahá'í while 'Abdu'l Bahá was visiting the US. It is possible that she heard Him speak on this day as He spoke at both Howard University and in a Black church later that same evening. This was the first occasion since His arrival in America that 'Abdul-Bahá addressed the race issue.
She was an extremely educated woman for the time, she studied piano, pipe organ, and voice culture at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and in 1889. Marshall was the first African American to complete the program and earn a Mus.B. degree (Bachelor of Music degree). In 1903 she founded the Washington Conservatory of Music. According to blackpast.org "Marshall's conservatory was a landmark in the history of black education. The Centre sponsored regular concerts for the black community, trained many prominent musical professionals and attracted the nation's most talented musicians as teachers. It remained in operation until 1960." [blackpast.org; Bahá'í Chronicles]
- 1912-04-23 —
Talk at Howard University, Washington, D.C. Howard University had been founded in 1867 to educate the newly freed slaves and by 1912 it was one of the foremost black universities in the country. It is reported that well over a thousand students, faculty members, administrators and guests jammed into the Rankin Chapel as 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke with Louis Gregory standing beside Him. The Howard University Journal, 26 April 1912, published His entire address. [PUP44, APD29, 239Dp40; Mahmúd's Diary p50-54; SoW Vol 3 No 3 April 28, 1912 p14]
- To recapitulate His talk, `Abdu'l-Bahá emphasized the personal sacrifice of Northern whites for southern blacks in the
course of the Civil War, and that African Americans (as the descendants
of emancipated slaves) should therefore be grateful to whites in kind. In
so saying, `Abdu'l-Bahá invoked history (or a certain view of it) in order to
make history—by completing the unfinished work of the Emancipation
Proclamation. ['Abdu'l-Bahá's 1912 Howard University Speech: A Civil War Myth for Interracial Emancipation by Dr Christopher Buck p134]
- See as well TMTW51.
- Coralie and George Cook arranged for 'Abdu'l-Bahá to speak at Howard University. Both were professors at Howard,, she the Chair of Oratory and he was professor of Commercial and International Law and later the Dean of the School of Commerce and Finance. [AWD70, 165]
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá attended a reception at the Khan residence in the Persian embassy where He met Admiral Robert Peary. In the words of Juliet Thompson `Abdu'l-Bahá had told the Admiral, "That `for a very long time the world had been much concerned about the North Pole, where it was and what was to found there. Now he, Admiral Peary, had discovered it and that nothing was to [be] found there; and so, in forever relieving the public mind, he had rendered a great service." [DJT272-273]
- It was on this occasion, at a dinner for the elite of Washington, that 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked, "Where is Mr Gregory? Bring me Mr Gregory!" when He saw that a place had not been set for him at the dinner table. Khan fetched Mr Gregory and 'Abdu'l-Bahá made a place for him on His right. 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk on the oneness of humankind and Agnes Parsons, who was seated on His left, asked a question about spiritual healing. [SYH59]
-
Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Parsons,
1700 Eighteenth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. about the Titanic disaster.
[PUP46; SoW Vol 3 No 3 April 28, 1912 p12; YouTube 'Abdu'l-Bahá - Life After Death]
-
Talk to Bethel Literary Society,
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church,
M Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
[PUP49; SoW Vol 3 No 3 pg5]
|
Site Map
