In October 2016, the governing body of Friends General Conference approved an institutional assessment on systemic racism to identify and address structural oppression within FGC as an institution and among FGC-affiliated Monthly Meetings and Yearly Meetings. This page was created to assemble all of the resources, updates, reports about the Institutional Assessment and the Anti-Racism Implementation Group that have been distributed to Friends and meetings united in the important work of confronting racism and white supremacy.
Friends are also encouraged to explore FGC’s Help Your Meeting Challenge Racism webpage, which houses resources and event opportunities for Friends of Color and Friends engaged in anti-racism work.
The items below are organized in chronological order.
FGC Gathering 2016 and the beginning of the assessment – August 2016 to February 2017
- Vital Friends August 2016 eNewsletter – Introduction and Program Spotlight about the 2016 FGC Gathering
- Central Committee 2016 Highlights (Published November 2016)
- A Message from the General Secretary: Learnings from the 2016 FGC Gathering (Published February 2017)
- FGC’s Institutional Assessment 2017-2018 Home Page (Published February 2017)
Updates about the Institutional Assessment on Systemic Racism – February 2017 to April 2019
- Update in Among Friends column for Vital Friends eNewsletter (Published February 2017)
- Vital Friends eNewsletter Update on the Institutional Assessment March 2017
- Vital Friends eNewsletter Update on the Institutional Assessment August 2017
- Vital Friends eNewsletter Update on the Institutional Assessment December 2017
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update January 2018
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update March 2018
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update April 2018
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update and Survey Launch: May 2018
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update: June 2018
- Vital Friends eNewsletter Update on the Institutional Assessment June/July 2018 (Published June 2018)
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update: August 2018
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update: September 2018
- Institutional Assessment on Racism Update: October 2018
- October Report from the Institutional Assessment on Systemic Racism Task Force: Recommendations & FGC Central Committee 2018 Discernment (Published October 2018)*
- FGC’s Institutional Assessment on Systemic Racism: Next Steps (Published December 2018)
- Vital Friends eNewsletter Update on the Institutional Assessment February 2019
- Institutional Assessment on Systemic Racism Update: March 2019
- Institutional Assessment on Systemic Racism Update: April 2019
Updates and Resources by the Institutional Assessment Implementation Committee – May 2019 to Present
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: May 2019
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: June/July 2019 (Published June 2019)
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: August 2019
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: September 2019
- Vital Friends Article: What is White Supremacy?
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: October 2019
- Vital Friends Article: Why do we need to keep talking about the Institutional Assessment on Racism?
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: November 2019
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: December 2019
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: January/February 2020
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: March 2020
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: April 2020
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: May 2020
- Vita Friends: Responding to Systemic Racism with Systemic Love (Newsletter and web resource created June 2020)
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: August 2020
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: September 2020
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: October 2020
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: November/December 2020
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: January 2021
- Anti-Racism Ministry Update in Vital Friends: February 2021
*Update (12/6/2019): In the original report, Cape May was incorrectly identified as a “sundowner town.” We were recently made aware by a Friend that Cape May was not a sundowner town, but did support and enforce racist policies while the Gathering was held there betwwen 1916 and 1968. We are in the process of updating the report and executive summary with this corrected paragraph:
1916-1968: Between 1916 and 1968, the Gathering returned to Cape May, New Jersey a total of 23 times. As in many communities in the northern United States, the town of Cape May engaged in both de facto and overt racism. During much of this time Cape May supported segregation in housing, in schools (1928 – 1948) and until, at least, 1956 with “white only” and “colored” beaches.