The following is a Vitality email sent February 13, 2026. To sign up for Vitality, click here.

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When we read a book in community with others, we turn it into a conversation. This month, as we celebrate Black history, you are invited to begin a community read and conversation that will offer a powerful exploration of Black and Quaker history. 

In Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice, authors Vanessa Julye and Donna McDaniel invite Friends to examine our past as we work toward genuine racial justice. This book might already be in your Monthly Meeting’s library. If not, you can find it at QuakerBooks.org, along with a downloadable study guide that includes quotes, queries and suggested activities for individual or group use.

Hosted by FGC’s Ministry on Racism in honor of Vanessa’s recent retirement from FGC, this community read will offer opportunities for individual reflection and shared discussion throughout 2026. On Tuesday, February 24 at 8:30 p.m. EST, we will launch our journey together on a one-hour Zoom call. Please register to receive the link. Additional one-hour calls will be held in July, October and December — including a hybrid call in July with Friends attending the in-person Gathering in Vermont. In between these calls, Friends are encouraged to find smaller groups to explore this book with, drawing on connections from Quaker affinity groups or from Monthly or Yearly Meetings.

This community read is supported by donations to the Vanessa Julye Fund, which is focused on sustaining the Ministry on Racism’s vital programming for Friends of Color and antiracism education. Over 80 Friends have already raised $20,000 for this fund since it was created last October! Please consider donating to the Vanessa Julye Fund today!

We look forward to seeing you on the call on 2/24, and hearing about the ways this important book shapes your conversations this year.

alicia nance

Ministry on Racism Coordinator

Shaina Robinson

Ministry on Racism Program Associate

Jen Ambrose

Development Manager