Biography

Dr. Anthony Lee speaks on the history of Juneteenth during a ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park in Manhattan Beach on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG, Daily Breeze)

Anthony A. Lee, Ph.D. (History, UCLA), is a historian, poet, publisher, and independent scholar whose work has focused on African and African American history, the African Diaspora, and the history of the Bahá’í Faith in Africa and Iran.

A retired lecturer who taught history at UCLA and West Los Angeles College, he has published numerous books and scholarly articles, including The Bahá’í Faith in Africa: Establishing a New Religious Movement, 1952–1962 and research on the lives of enslaved Africans in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Iran.

He is the general editor of the long-running Studies in the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions series and co-owner of Kalimát Press, an independent publishing house he co-founded in 1978.

His literary work includes original poetry, as well as collaborations translating poetry from Arabic, Persian, and Urdu into English, including works by Rumi and Táhirih. He continues his historical research as an independent scholar, with a particular focus on recovering the individual life stories of enslaved Africans in Iran.

He remains active in his local community through work with MB United, the South Coast Interfaith Council, and other organizations, pursuing initiatives related to racial justice and reconciliation.