"Decentering the dominant lenses in Iranian studies, Beeta Baghoolizadeh advances a new understanding of Iran by showing how its modern construction of history was built upon the erasure of Black Iranians. Rigorously argued, ethically principled, and elegantly written, The Color Black is poised to be one of the most provocative and important new books in Iranian studies and Middle East studies."–Neda Maghbouleh, author of "The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race"