The Residue of Memory & the Clarion Call of Truth: Healing Through Reclamation and Art – A Talk by Masud Olufani

In this talk and performance arts piece, Masud Olufani explores his responsibility as an artist and as a Baha’i to bear witness to what has been erased. Masud is an multidisciplinary artist and activist, and in this video from the 2018 Association for Baha’i Studies conference that was held in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), he shares aspects of his piece, Blocked at Five Points, a site-specific installation created to memorialize the enslaved Africans bought and sold at the Crawford Frazier Auction House, which once stood on the grounds of Atlanta’s Five Points MARTA station. He then deconstructs the piece and discusses his obligations and responsibilities to remind us of the truth and to create a touchstone for reconciliation and healing. 

This talk, along with others, was captured at the Association for Baha’i Studies conference in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) in August 2018.

The Association for Baha’i Studies (ABS) promotes the advanced study of the Baha’i Faith and its application to the needs of humanity, it holds an annual conference and sponsors seminars and symposia, engaging participants from all over North America. It publishes a peer-reviewed journal, ‘The Journal of Baha’i Studies,’ occasional books and monographs, as well as other publications. It is also engaged in a number of initiatives to advance Baha’i studies among students and young adults and to stimulate broader interest in Baha’i studies.

You may also enjoy this Baha’i Blog video about the ABS conference: Baha’i Blog Attends the Association for Baha’i Studies Conference

For more Baha’i-inspired talks you can check out our Soundcloud playlist, and our Youtube channel.

Posted by

Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.