Star Smith and Shannon Roberts Smith, both of Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association (SAYMA) recently shared on an opportunity for all Friends, no matter what yearly meeting
The SAYMA Racial Conflict Transformation Program is happening again this fall and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) Friends who choose to take part will be part of small monthly affinity groups of Friends working collectively on identifying and eliminating racial oppression in Quaker spaces. The program will offer training modules in systemic racial analysis that include historical context, racial power dynamics, and practical tools for addressing racial conflict.
“I’m a birthright Friend of color,” said Star, who attends Paul Cuffee Worship Group, a worship group created by Friends of color for people of color who wish to worship in the manner of Friends in fellowship with other Friends of color. She spoke about her Quaker upbringing. “My mother raised me according to her Quaker values, ‘That of God within’ and ‘continuing revelations’, etc., but I didn’t start interacting with Quakers until I was an adult. Since I began my sojourn among Friends, I have experienced a lot of racism, which I felt was as a call to ministry, to challenge Quakers on their racism. I’ve been doing that work for approximately 20 years.”
Shannon, who started being a Friend in the UK and now attends Berea Friends Meeting in Kentucky, said she saw “that we Friends had a lot of work to do in terms of understanding from a white perspective.”
The SAYMA Racial Conflict Transformation program grew out of a collaboration between Star and Shannon to address racism within SAYMA. Now SAYMA has Racial Conflict Transformation Team, that is creating a process for addressing racial conflicts within SAYMA.
“Undoing Racism is essentially about empowering friends of color and decentering whiteness,” Star said. “So, Shannon is doing her work with white Friends, and I’m doing the empowerment piece with Friends of Color in a Friends of Color affinity group.”
The program runs as a year-long commitment with monthly small groups and three larger training sessions all held virtually over Zoom, making it possible for PYM Friends to take part.
“We have a system of affinity groups set up, that are facilitated, by teams,” Shannon shared that each month follows a plan and has an agenda and resources to connect with the different online connections.
“I would call it an interactive program,” Star said, as the small groups meet once a month and have goals to accomplish. These small groups focus on what is happening now among Friends, so the program covers both anti-racist theory and praxis.
“We look at how racism works among friends, in a here and now sense,” Star said.
The larger sessions during the cohort is an opportunity to bring and receive additional resources and tools.
“Modules are mostly theory,” Star said. “Lots of people don’t even know what the working definition of racism is.” She added, “Participants learn that race is about power, not about feelings. And how power is wielded in the room.”
“We make some historical connections,” Shannon said, and “really dig into some of the deeper analysis.”
Resources are also shared so that Friends can continue learning on their own.
“I always share sources,” Star said.
The number of participants changes each year based on how many facilitators are ready to lead.
“We can build it for however many Friends register,” In the first year, she said, “We had almost 100 people participating.”
Some Friends return each year. They enjoy connecting with other Friends in their small groups.
“The people who have participated in the cohorts keep coming back, because they love it,” Star said.
“We’ve had people who’ve participated every year,” Shannon said.
“I think every year after that, we’ve been open to having people from other yearly meetings,” Shannon continued. “The more people who engage in these conversations… the more progress we’ll make as Friends.”
“In 3 modules, in 3 cohorts, we’ve gotten it so in our yearly meeting, there’s nobody in a leadership position that hasn’t had some training in systemic racial analysis,” Star said.
For Friends considering participation Shannon shared some advice.
“Keeping an open mind is important,” Shannon added, “preparing oneself to be uncomfortable is very important.”
PYM Friends who are interested in participating in the SAYMA Racial Conflict Transformation Program Cohort can fill out an interest form.
