Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Resources for Action

 

Taking Action as an Antiracist

“Talk less; do more.” Jondhi Harrell (Faith and Practice 2017, p. 194)

“All of us are enmeshed in that net of racism, whether we choose to be or not. But there is hope. Let me share an analogy with you. . .  Racism is very much like alcoholism. The alcoholic doesn’t choose or intend to be an alcoholic; neither you nor I choose or intend to be racists, or to benefit from a racist society. Both are things that happen to us, through no choice of our own, without our intent. The alcoholic is not a wicked, evil person; neither are you and I. . . . The illness of racism, like alcoholism, is not my fault; but it is my responsibility. I didn’t cause it, but I must and can control it.”

 -Alison Oldham (quoted from Plain Living: A Quaker Path to Simplicity by Catherine Whitmire, by Andrea Ayvaisian in the article below.)

In both cases—racism and alcoholism—the first step on the road to health is to acknowledge the reality, to stop making excuses, to stop denying it.   [Andrea Ayvaiasian]

 

A Reading and Queries

In 2003, the antiracist activist (and former Quaker) Andrea Ayvaisian looked at New England Yearly Meeting’s antiracism work. Read her whole article, Friends, Race, and Systemic Change.

Quote from Andrea Ayvaisian:

… Temptation to let acts of charity, good will, and acts of mercy substitute for change. Systematic change comes from brave acts that question systems that routinely give advantage to one group over another. And systems need to be challenged. Acts of charity often let the dominant group off the hook. We must serve guests in soup kitchens and work to eradicate the ongoing causes of poverty. We must give money to the United Negro College Fund and work to dismantle the system of tracking in most U.S. schools. It should not be change vs. charity, but acts of charity along with the continuing struggle for social change…

 Following are some queries to consider:       

  1. What sort of firm commitment do I see in my meeting, in quarterly meeting, in yearly meeting to work for equity, on antiracism?
  2.  As I hear stories that show White Friends acted in ways sustaining oppression for enslaved and for indigenous children–stories that often up-end Friends’ historic reputation as abolitionists, working for justice–am I growing in my ability to hear these stories with a commitment to act to bring about the Beloved Community where equity is real?
  3. How are my actions working to shift a ‘Quaker culture’ of ‘niceness’ and ‘quiet’ to one of sitting in the fire of discomfort and being ready to act with a commitment to bring the change we need?

 

Ideas of What to Do

What to do when you do not know what to do….   Afraid to do the wrong thing?  Afraid of working by yourself?  

  1. Find resources to continue learning and making connections
  2. Build confidence in discomfort and continue learning by joining others to learn and explore a focus for an action – in your community or your meeting’s community. 
  3. Encourage and enable your Meeting to use multigenerational opportunities
    • Books to learn from
    • Learning about the meeting’s history
    • Taking actions in community together 
  4. Reparations: a system of redress for egregious injustices – to learn, to act
  5. Join a Yearly Meeting Collaborative working for equity, justice
  6. Prepare for the long term challenges and be curious. Don’t be fearful of disagreement. 
    • Notice how public discourse can create confusion.  So get to know ideas that emerge.  Are you ready to stay with the anger and engage in listening/engagement
  7. Commitment to teaching our full history – including the decisions made and why – is important.
  8. Act by paying attention to local school board and issues, and by supporting  teachers in your area who are committed to use critical race thinking **  in their curricular planning, using histories that include more than traditional texts; autobiographies:
    •  Frederick Douglass; Mankiller (Wilma Mankiller);  New ones like Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You –   now in 2 versions for school age: grade school and middle school.  Hear/see an interview with authors:
  9. Decolonization! What is it about? What does it mean? There is a lot to learn, and this is an opportunity to begin to understand the importance of paying attention to the term and the discomfort of the learning.  https://www.decolonizingquakers.org/ Resources continue to be developed as we all learn more together, white people, people of color, and indigenous.
  10. Think and talk about Justice: restorative? transformative? Eastern Mennonite University explains here the differences.

**Critical Race Theory is a part of critical race thinking, and you can learn more if you wish. A Princeton professor explains the history. The American Bar Association  addresses the current misdirection of some of the rhetoric here.

 

Other voices about transformation:

What are your questions? your answers? Contact us:  Joan Broadfield at broadfieldje@gmail.com

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