The Bah' Faith and African American History by Loni Bramson;

Author:Loni Bramson;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781498570039
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing

Figure 4.1  Sarah Martin Pereria Speaking at a Bahá’í Conference. Source: Photo Courtesy of U.S. National Bahá’í Archives.

Mary Martin’s activism contrasted sharply with her mother’s desire for her daughter to live up to the genteel southern woman image so important to black women in this early generation newly freed from slavery. According to Patton, “A proper lady of the period was expected to remain in the home,”25 and emulate the attributes of true womanhood, “piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity.”26 Of course, these qualities were denied to black women who struggled to restore the damaged reputation conferred upon them by the institution of slavery. As Willis and Williams pointed out: “they [black women] had no class status; even after the abolition of slavery, the black female was the perpetual ‘working girl,’ in that she could never possess a status in European culture that was unrelated to her labor, whether forced or paid.”27 Mary unapologetically rejected the prescribed subordinate roles expected of black women. Her unconventional way of thinking led her to a lifestyle unencumbered by tradition. A generation later, Sarah recalled that her mother’s dedication to service was inspirational, but costly. After serving two terms on the school board, Mary took a few years off, but that respite was short lived:

After being freed from that service . . . we had said to mother, “Now don’t run again because it’s really too severe a trial and you become so emotionally upset when things are unjust.” But while we were away at college, she let some of these people [school board committee] persuade her to let them run her name again. And she was elected a third term [1939]. But shortly after the election, she had a heart attack and passed away. She was only 62. . . . Her creed: to love humanity and to try to serve it.28

Undoubtedly, Mary Brown Martin was a woman with extraordinary drive. In fact, some would be tempted to label her as a strong black woman, relentless in her commitment to take care of everyone and everything. Nevertheless, to be marked as a strong black woman is not necessarily a compliment. As bell hooks argues: “Racist stereotypes of the strong, superhuman black woman are operative myths.” that disguise “the extent to which black women are likely to be victimized in this society.”29 In other words, this kind of labeling has the potential to camouflage the pain and anguish black women may experience in trying to accomplish sometimes competing or conflicting goals of their own choice, or imposed from outside. This issue does not in any way diminish the significance of Mary Brown Martin’s contributions, but it casts a sober perspective on the covert ramifications of black women’s activism.

Attorney H. Elsie Austin (1908–2004) was another black Bahá’í influenced by her parents’ activism (see figure 4.2). Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, she grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. After finishing Walnut Hills High school, Austin became the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Cincinnati College

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