The summaries below describe work around race, racism, and diversity currently being undertaken by Friends at the yearly meeting level in yearly meetings and Friends associations affiliated with Friends General Conference. In some instances we have included the work of individual monthly meetings, and all entries include contact information for Friends involved in the work.
This information is presented here in hopes that Friends can learn from and find support in the work of others. It is by no means a complete and exhaustive list and does not included every yearly meeting. Much of the work is ongoing, and this page will be updated as needed.
If you know of or are involved in work around race, racism and diversity in your monthly and yearly meeting and think it should be included here, please e-mail Vanessa Julye, coordinator for the Committee for Ministry on Racism, at vanessaj[at]fgcquaker.org. Similarly, we rely on monthly and yearly meetings to keep us updated on developments in the work, and changes in contact people.
Alaska Friends Conference
The racial justice work of Alaska Friends Conference has recently focused on dialogue between Native Americans and Alaskans of European decent. AFC recently concluded the Subsistence Project in conjunction with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The project was intended to help address the ongoing tensions between rural residents in Alaska, mostly Native Americans, who hunt and fish for their subsistence, and urban sport hunters and commercial fishermen, who are mostly non-Native American. Many of the interviews were recorded and compiled onto audio CDS.
Contact: Doug Mertz, Clerk of Alaska Friends Conference, dkmertz(at)ak.net
Baltimore Yearly Meeting
Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s Working Group on Racism Among Friends has been meeting since the spring of 2002. They report to the BYM Ministry and Pastoral Care (M&PC) Committee. They requested this relationship recently because they consider racism to be a spiritual issue. Members of the Working Group are currently working on a mission statement at the request of M&PC Committee. A member of M&PC attends meetings of the Working Group on Racism Among Friends as a liaison.
Major activities of the Working Group to date have included a Listening Project among BYM members on a number of outreach issues, including how to be welcoming to people of color. They have offered quite a number of workshops at annual sessions, monthly and quarterly meetings. Themes of race, racism and diversity have been incorporated into readings for business sessions, themes of annual sessions, and questions for daily worship.
Langley Hill and Annapolis are two monthly meetings in Baltimore Yearly Meeting actively working with race and racism. Annapolis has had a series of workshops on diversity called Deconstructing Racism, led by a member who is a professional diversity trainer, and followed up with meetings held quarterly to share times when Friends have colluded with racism in their personal lives and dilemmas have faced related to race.
Contact: Pat Schenk, Clerk of BYM Working Group on Racism Among Friends, pschenck[at]toadmail.com
New England Yearly Meeting
Since 1965, NEYM has had various bodies within the yearly meeting addressing race and racism. The current incarnation is the Committee on Racial, Social and Economic Justice (CRSEJ, pronounced “CR Sej”) and the Working Group on Racism, which falls under the yearly meeting’s Ministry & Counsel committee. CRSEJ publishes the The Freedom and Justice Crier newsletter.
A comprehensive history of New England Yearly Meeting’s work around race and racism, compiled by Skip Schiel, is available here.
Contact: Skip Schiel, schiel (at) ccae.org.
New York Yearly Meeting
Friends in New York Yearly Meeting have been very engaged in work around race and racism. The mission of the Black Concerns Committee (formerly the Race Relations Committee) is to “broaden and deepen communication among all ethnic groups and to develop among Friends a keener awareness of the violence of racism both within and outside the Religious Society of Friends.” They have pursued this work via the publication of letters and other documents in The Spark, the newsletter of NYYM, as well as through FGC, a conference weekend for Friends of Color in New York City focused on “Healing Ourselves,” attendance at various summits and trainings, the support and sponsorship of workshops at yearly meeting sessions focused on raising children in multiracial families, and “Race, Love, and Justice,” and ongoing support of Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship, among other activities.
White Friends Working to End Racism (WFWTER), is an informal, spirit lead group within NYYM for Friends of European descent. The group has three goals: to offer Friends in the group emotional and practical support as they work on their racism; to seek to be a catalyst for change in NYYM; and to act as allies both to people of color and to white people outside of WFWTER.
Contact: Helen Garay Toppins, YM Staff and clerk of Black Concerns Committe, at office[at]nyym.org and Bowen Alpern at bowenalpern[at]gmail.com. Elizabeth Gordon, WFWTER contact, at elizag[@]epix.net
Northern Yearly Meeting
About two years ago Northern Yearly Meeting asked all committees to keep in mind how their actions as a committee decrease or increase racism. In May 2006 Ernie and Vince Buscemi gave a plenary talk on the topic of racism titled “Moving Toward a Blessed Community” as well as a workshop for the clerk’s team and committee clerks on eliminating racism within the yearly meeting.
A brainstorm on possible activities around race and racism produced the following ideas: Creating a curriculum on the civil rights movement for First Day School; Attendance by a young Friend at an Alternatives to Violence Workshop; Consider a workshop on “entitlement and cultural appropriation”; Writing article for NYM newsletter on privilege; Draft a minute similar to NEYM’S minute on racism; One Friend promised to have his local meeting advertise MfW times in community newspapers that reach more diverse neighborhoods; One Friend will sit in meetings with marginalized friends who may be sitting alone; Presenting a workshop on the life of Bayard Rustin; Seek clearness of whether to bring MfW outdoors in urban neighborhoods; A radio host will do interviews with Friends on racism; Review local meeting’s FDS materials to make sure they are inclusive, e.g., dolls, posters, books, curriculum; Two Friends want to include “local people of color” at the Gathering in River Falls, in particular Rev. Don Samuels, founder of Peace Foundation in Minneapolis
It was noted that it remains to be seen what ideas will come to fruition, and that there has been a variety of energy from Friends who initially signed on to projects.
Contact: Doug Kirk, YM Clerk at clerk[at]northernyearlymeeting.org
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
PYM’s Ministry for Racial Justice and Equality in the Religious Society of Friends Working Group, clerked currently by Joan Broadfield and Gail Newbold, is in the early stages of visioning and planning their work. They helped to host a conference on race and racism in the Society of Friends last year and have contributed to other yearly meeting work around race and racism. Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting also has an active committee on race and racism, of which Barry Scott is the clerk.
Contact: Joan Broadfield (broadfieldje[at]gmail.com), Gail Newbold (gnew...@kennett.net, and Barry Scott (bravebarry[at]msn.com).
Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association (SAYMA)
Much of the work around race and racism in SAYMA has centered in and around Atlanta Friends Meeting. There are three groups within the meeting that meet regularly to address different aspects of racism. The group Our Role as Individuals in
America’s Racial History (ORAIIARH) meets weekly and is a support group focused on helping whites become more aware of how they participate in racism, and how to make personal changes to end that complicity. It also serves as a support group for anyone who has individual leadings to act against racism. The Committee on Undoing Racism in the Atlanta Friends Meeting (AFM) focuses on ending racism within the meeting. It develops learning opportunities such as films, speakers, and forums and staffs a “Listening Ear” twice a month to provide space for people to seek clearness or ask for help about racism. Raising Non-Racist Children is a group of parents and others who meet once a month or more infrequently to have discussions and do educational events to help with raising non-racist children. To learn more, read the FGConnections article,
Reflections on Recent Anti-Racism Work in Atlanta Friends Meeting.
Contact Kristi Estes, YM Clerk, at QuakerKristi[at]aol.com
