The Pupil of the Eye: African Americans in the World Order of Baha’u’llah

Complied by Bonnie J. Taylor

This book is a compilation of quotations about the role of African Americans in the Baha’i Faith, and includes a forward that explains the title and reference to African Americans as “the pupil of the eye”. The author also states that the writings in the compilation describe “their crucial and indispensable role in the Cause of God”. The book is well-organized and contains a wide range of quotations. The author begins with quotations pertaining directly to African Americans, then moves through race, the oneness of mankind, and unity in diversity. She then organizes writings on solutions to racism and teaching the Faith. This progression lends itself well to sequencing learning and understanding, and the order develops naturally for the reader. Ms. Taylor even has organized sections pertaining to the responsibilities of Baha’is of European descent and Baha’is of African descent in the section on racism, which is helpful reading for all.

From the book:

Thou art like unto the pupil of the eye which is dark in color, yet it is the fount of light and the revealer of the contingent world –‘Abdu’l-Baha

The most remarkable quality of the pupil is that despite its vital service, it is the embodiment of “the hollow reed from which the pith of self hath been blown”, for it is the absence of physical structure that permits it to facilitate the harmonious functioning of all the other components of the eye that makes sight possible –Dr. Mary Khadem Czerniejewski and Dr. Richard Czerniejewski

Find this book at the Bahá’í Center of Washtenaw County bookstore.