A Place at the Table for Fujita
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When in Bahá'í history
Glenwood Springs (today: Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA)
On 27 September 1912, at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá walked back to the hotel and said how nice it would be to eat in the gardens. The hotel manager, who recognized ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from the Denver newspapers, immediately brought out a large table and chairs. Saichiro Fujita, the young Japanese believer traveling with the party, remembered that there were only five chairs at the table. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked why there was no chair for Fujita, the waiter said, "Well, he is your servant." ‘Abdu’l-Bahá then said, "That doesn't matter. Make another place. It doesn't make any difference whether servant, or different color. We are all one. He should sit there, and Fujita come here."
"It was so beautiful. And all the Persians, five of them, around. And so, then the waiter was very much surprised," remembered Fujita later.
Source: Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 207; the lunch in the hotel garden is also recorded in Mahmúd’s Diary, 27 September 1912.
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: race-unity).
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