At the 7/24 meeting for learning, Blake led Memphis Friends through a conversation about our identities as Southern Quakers and our understanding of Southern Quaker history.

We began by welcoming the stories of 8 Quakers who lived in or passed through the Mid-South in previous generations  You can read their bios in the slideshow:

• Slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MrRVAhrz_PIT21bAiaAU_xqD37lW_kg4...

We then settled into silence with these 8 stories and explored two queries:

• Are there those among us who have been Quakers in other parts of the country or world? How has being a Quaker in the South been different for you?
• How do you explain Quakerism to other Southerners?

Next, Blake shared two resources:

• Timeline of Southern Quaker History (a work in progress that focuses on SAYMA states): https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2796638
• Historical Markers under the "Quakerism" tag: https://www.hmdb.org/results.asp?Search=Series&SeriesID=505

In breakout groups of 3, Friends then shared their thoughts, drawing in some cases on additional queries:

• What surprises you about Southern Quaker history?
• What resonates with you about Southern Quaker history, based on your experience as a Quaker in the South?

Gathering together again as a whole group, Friends shared other resources they know about, for example, one Friend's recollection that his mother used to attend Quaker worship at the "Quintard House" in Memphis, at Jefferson and Mannassas, possibly in the era prior to our knowledge of Quaker worship in Memphis.

Blake ended the hour by recommending that Friends listen to Coretta Scott King's memories of her friend and former teacher, Fran Smith Thomas. Friends listened to a Montgomery Bus Boycott song that Fran Smith Thomas wrote and Coretta Scott King made famous:

• https://www.manchester.edu/oaa/library/Archives_new/DigitalCollections/T...
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPaULohQfaM