Anti-Racism Update 3.18.26

AR QUIZ

• Which famous Quaker was an anthropologist, a Black woman, and a Black belt?

EDUCATION

• In this episode of Quaker Speak, learn about Smedley Butler. “The Pacifist who Toppled a Democracy” this examines the complicated life of a Quaker who supported colonialism and forced work conditions. https://quakerspeak.com/video/the-pacifist-who-toppled-a-democracy-a-history-of-smedley-butler/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=button
• ICE expansion has outpaced accountability. What are the remedies? This brief piece from The Brookings Institute examines similarities between current circumstances and the civil rights movement. They outline a five-point plan to reduce violence immediately. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/ice-expansion-has-outpaced-accountability-what-are-the-remedies/

AR QUIZ ANSWER

• Vera Mae Green. Vera Green was an anthropologist at Rutgers University and, earlier, an active member of the 57th Street Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Her study, “Blacks and Quakers: A Preliminary Report,” shed light on the relatively unexplored relations between African Americans and the Religious Society of Friends. Through interviews, she found that African Americans were attracted to the Society due to the relaxed, welcoming, and unceremonious nature of worship; the casual dress of its members; and the more understanding view of humanity Quakers held. Conversely, her study revealed that some African Americans were turned off by Quakers due to a perception of their values of patience and non-violence as being too passive and submissive at a time when radical, anti-racist action was required to confront white supremacy. Furthermore, Green found that the predominantly White composition of the Religious Society of Friends was another reason for African Americans to potentially reject Quakerism in favor of seeking Black spaces of worship for self expression and empowerment. Green concluded that clarification of the Peace Testimony was needed to emphasize non-violent forms of resistance as being different from simply being non-violent. Learn more here: https://www.krakteet.org/vera-mae-green-a-black-woman-black-belt-quaker-and-anthropologist/

YOUR PEACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EARTH CONCERNS COMMITTEE; ANTI RACISM GROUP