Albert James
Albert James | |
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| ABM | Americas 1963 - 1986 |
Albert James (? - November, 2000) was an American Bahá’í who served as an Auxiliary Board member.
Background[edit]
James was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith by Louis Gregory while he was living in Tennessee,[1] and he declared in 1934. He was reportedly the first youth to become a Bahá’í in the state of Tennessee, and the first Bahá’í youth in Nashville.[2][3]
James met Ruth Stuart while a student at Tennessee A & I College (now Tennessee State University) in the 1930s. They married after college. Albert served in the U.S. Army during World War II, stationed at the Army base in Tuskegee, Alabama, with non-combatant status, where he taught semi-literate soldiers—marking the beginning of his career in education. After the war, in 1945, he and Ruth moved with their young daughter Anita to Baltimore, where Albert’s uncle was working in the shipyard.[3] Albert was the only African-American Bahá’í there until the late 1940's. Fellow Bahá’í Roland Mann helped him secure work,[4] and he continued to work as a high school English teacher in Baltimore for over 20 years.[5] He also studied at Johns Hopkins University, where he earned a master’s degree in education.[3]
As of 1953 James had been appointed as a member of the United States Africa Teaching Committee responsible for managing expanding the Faith in several countries on the continent,[6] and in 1957 he facilitated a three day workshop related to the work of the Committee at the Davison Bahá’í Summer School.[7] In 1958 he taught a course on The Advent of Divine Justice at the first Summer School of the Southern States in North Carolina.[8]
By 1963 James had moved to Jessup, Maryland, and that year he was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member for Protection.[9] He served in this capacity until 1986, with responsibilities that eventually included Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. After his retirement from the Auxiliary Board, he continued to serve on the Dayspring Bahá’í Summer School committee for several years.[10][11]
In addition to his Bahá’í service, James remained active in education and civil rights. He served as president of the Howard County Parent-Teacher Association for the Black schools, where Ruth also participated. They were involved in local efforts to desegregate the school system and collaborated with community leaders such as Silas Craft, Morris Woodson, and Elhart Flurry. In recognition of his contributions, Albert received a Certificate of Appreciation in 1983 from the Howard County Public Schools and Howard Community College.[3]
In January 1982, Albert and Ruth James were honored by the Bahá’í community for their dedication to the Faith and their long-standing service to civil rights and education. Albert passed away in November 2000.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ https://bahaiteachings.org/interracial-marriage-stories-integration-activism/
- ↑ https://www.newgenerationfh.com/obituary/1889698
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Albert and Ruth James History". Baha'is of Howard County, Maryland. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ↑ Deb Clark, The Baha'is of Baltimore, 1898-1990, p 138
- ↑ Baha'i News (1960). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 349, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1953). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 271, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1957). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 318, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1958). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 333, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
- ↑ U.S. Supplement, No. 67, p 1
- ↑ The American Bahá’í (1980). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 11, Issue 6, pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
- ↑ The American Bahá’í (1986). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 17, Issue 12, pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
