Richard W. Thomas - Anchor of Faith: The Enduring Spirit of the Black Mens Gathering

Bah Publishing, Wilmette, Illinois

401 Greenleaf Ave, Wilmette, Illinois 60091

Copyright 2022 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahs of the United States

All rights reserved. Published 2022

Printed in the United States of America

252423221234

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Landry, Frederick, author. | Thomas, Richard, 1939author.

Title: Anchor of faith : the enduring spirit of the Black Mens Gathering / written and compiled by Frederick Landry and Richard Thomas.

Description: Wilmette, IL : Bah Publishing, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021051754 (print) | LCCN 2021051755 (ebook) | ISBN 9781618512093 (paperback) | ISBN 9781618512109 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: African American Bahais. | African American menReligion. | Bahai Black Mens Gathering. | Bahai FaithUnited StatesHistory20th century.

Classification: LCC BP388.A35 L36 2022 (print) | LCC BP388. A35 (ebook) | DDC 297.9/30811dc23/eng/20211213

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051754

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021051755

Cover design by Carlos Esparza

Book design by Patrick Falso

Dedicated to the loving memory of the participants and supporters of the Black Mens Gathering who have passed on from this world.

A debt of gratitude is owed to the participants of the Black Mens Gathering who, over the years, were instrumental forces of change and transformation in their own lives, in the lives of their families, and in their communities. In addition, a great deal of thanks is owed to those brothers, their family members, and the friends who assisted in the creation of this book by recounting their own transformational moments from the Gathering. Having access to these memories provided precious and reflective insights into the participants unique spiritual experiences, without which this book would not have been possible. Especially helpful and illuminating were the heartfelt testimonies from wives, daughters, and mothers who witnessed the transformative influence of the Black Mens Gathering on their husbands, fathers, and sons.

The cover image of Anchor of Faith was illustrated by Jihmye Collins (19392011). Titled Men of the Gathering, this illustration was contributed from the collection of Jihmyes wife, Susan Collins.

Jihmye was well known as an elder of the Black Mens Gathering, and his humble artistic contributions became a recurring tradition embraced by participants each year. His work demonstrated the uplifting properties of art at the Gathering, and many of the other participants drew inspiration from his example and added to the beauty of the Gathering with their own creations.

A prolific poet and artist from San Diego, California, Jihmye was honored as a City Heights community hero, and his image is displayed in the public square along with other significant community advocates. His influence lives on through programs of support for underserved youth in the San Diego community, such as the Jihmye Collins Memorial Tutoring Program of the Malcom X Library.

Among many dedications and tributes to Jihmye is a serene, colorful garden created and named in his honor by the San Diego Bah Community. The garden surrounds the San Diego Bah Center, symbolizes the oneness of humanity, and reflects the personal virtues and artistic beauty for which Jihmye will always be remembered.

Different sources were used to document the major events and communications during the history of the Black Mens Gathering between 1987 and 2012. Among them were letters between the institutions of the Bah Faith and the participants of the Black Mens Gathering (BMG). These documents reflected both the love and devotion of the BMG toward various Bah institutions and the constant love and guidance provided by these institutions to the BMG. The correspondence included letters both to and from local, regional, national, and international institutions of the Faith.

The personal narratives contained in this book have been adapted from written statements, journal entries, phone conversations, virtual and in-person interviews, and past correspondence, typically in the form of letters or emails.

Other sources include written testimonies from BMG participants, family members, friends, and observers of various BMG activities and experiences. These accounts were obtained from online survey responses. Because the responses from these are personal in nature, the names and references to individuals have been omitted.

2012 marked the formal conclusion of the Black Mens Gathering. But prior to the formal conclusion, during the previous year the first book on the BMG, The Story of the Bah Black Mens Gathering, was published. That book attempted to share the history and personal stories of the Black men who participated in the Gathering during the twenty-five years of its existence. While The Story of the Bah Black Mens Gathering covered key historical events during that period, it was far from an exhaustive account of the complex forces and threads that contributed to the spiritual transformation of the individual participants and the Gatherings influence on the culture of local Bah communities. More time would need to pass before a more complete account of the BMG could be written.

The format of this book is different from the 2011 publication. While this book covers major events in the history of the Gathering, it is largely structured around chronological moments recounted by participants and those individuals who were spiritually connected with the Gathering. The purpose of this format, which captures the intimate spirit that the BMG offered, is to place the reader in the position, to the fullest extent possible, of a participant in the Gathering. While it is not possible to include every participants recollection of the Gathering, those that are included attempt to illustrate the variety of treasured moments and personal exchanges that made the Gathering such a transformative experience over its twenty-five-year history.

This book also expands and builds on some of the undeveloped themes of the first book by including more voices of BMG participants and supporters of the Gathering. For example, the post-BMG section of the book is based on responses to survey questionswritten several years after the conclusion of the BMGfrom BMG participants, their friends, and their relatives. While personal transformation is a major focus of this book, the responses gathered from these surveys produced a rich harvest of information related to the influence of the BMG on the greater community. For example, the responses indicate that BMG-style devotional gatherings, with drumming and singing, have become more prevalent in the Bah community. The answers given to survey questions regarding the impressions of first-time participants of the Gathering, their friends, and relatives also reveal unique insights into the dynamics of race within Bah community life. Finally, other responses show that the Gathering helped increase participants involvement in their local communities.

You got a right, I got a right,

We all got a right to the tree of life;

Yes, you got a right, I got a right,

We all got a right to the tree of life.

The very time I thought I was los