Author and activist Kimberly Jones went viral with a YouTube interview in which she asks, “How can we win?” Moorestown Friends Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee recommends the interview highly; we’ll host a discussion of Jones’s perspective on race, protest, violence and economics for this Let’s Talk session on Thursday 22 July. Watch Jones’s seven-minute interview on YouTube – and maybe her 12-minute appearance on The Daily Show – then join us to discuss Jones’s ideas and our own perspectives; click here or phone 646-558-8656 and use meeting ID 815 8781 6369.
BLM
Let’s Talk About How the Word is Passed
Join Moorestown Friends Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee for a discussion of Clint Smith’s new exploration of the roots and present-day impact of the U.S.A.’s slave economy of the 17th-19th centuries. An ‘instant #1 New York Times bestseller,’ the book is widely available. If you’re not able to read or listen to it before the meeting, Little, Brown’s website has some excerpts; and The Atlantic has a short, valuable adaption. Please join us to help support the important work our meeting is doing in witness to our testament of equality; click here or phone 646-558-8656 and use meeting ID 873 3565 8140.
Let’s Talk About Songs We Love
Take a listen to a few of these great songs: Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit,’ Janis Ian’s ‘Society’s Child,’ Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,’ Bruce Springsteen’s ‘American Skin,’ Solomon Burke’s ‘None of Us Are Free,’ Adia Victoria’s ‘South Gotta Change,’ Tyler Childers’s ‘Long Violent History,’ and Amethyst Kiah’s ‘Black Myself’ – or all of them. (These are free YouTube videos; all the songs should be available on streaming services as well.) Then bring your thoughts, and your recommendations, and join our Anti-Racism Committee to help support the important work our meeting is doing in witness to our testament of equality; click here or phone 646-558-8656 and use meeting ID 815 8781 6369.
Let’s Talk About Our Favorite Reads (and Listens and Watches)
On Thursday, June 24 at 7:30pm, Moorestown Friends Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee members will offer a range of ideas for books, articles, movies, videos, podcasts – and maybe more – that brought them new insights into racism and racial justice. We’ll share a few quick takes as well as longer works, and welcome your ideas as well. Please join us to help support the important work F/friends are doing in support of our testament of equality; click here or phone 646-558-8656 and use meeting ID 873 3565 8140.
Let’s Talk About Juneteenth
Burlington County college students and activists Ashlynn Conley and Jasmine Cartwright-Atkins join Moorestown F/friends to discuss Juneteenth, a celebration of emancipation in the U.S. Jasmine and Ashlynn will tell us something about the beginnings of this holiday, when many enslaved people in Texas first learned, on June 19, 1865, of the Emancipation Proclamation, almost three years after it officially ended legal enslavement. They will also discuss their plans for a second annual Juneteenth celebration at the Perkins Center in Moorestown on Saturday, June 19. All are welcome to join the conversation at 7:30pm on Thursday 10 June; click here or phone 646-558-8656 and use meeting ID 815 8781 6369.
Let’s Talk About Inclusion in Education
Moorestown Friends Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee member Michelle Maikis, a teacher with experience in both Quaker and public schools, and Nikki Tatum, Michelle’s vice principal at Franklin Park School in Somerset, New Jersey, will join F/friends to discuss their public school district’s commitment to providing diversity training and anti-racism awareness to staff. Together, we’ll explore one district’s approach to making lasting change in the face of some negative history. All are welcome to join the conversation; click here or phone 646-558-8656 and use meeting ID 873 3565 8140.
Let’s Talk with Matthew van Meter
Following on our April 22 ‘Let’s Talk About Deep Delta Justice’ session, Moorestown Friends Meeting’s Anti-Racism Committee welcomes our member Matthew van Meter to continue the conversation of his compelling book, the historic Supreme Court case Duncan v. Louisiana, and its implications for anti-racism efforts today. The book is available through Pendle Hill and numerous other outlets. Click here to join the discussion, or phone 646-558-8656 and use meeting ID 815 8781 6369.
Black Lives Matter: Quaker Schools Share Powerful Messages and Resources
Over the past week, people have been assembling in peace to express grief and voice concern over police brutality and racism in the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky; and Ahmaud Arbery in Southeastern Georgia.
Like many monthly meetings, Friends School communities were deeply affected by these issues. As a result, school administrations and trustees at schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware published powerful messages on their websites that were centered in the Quaker belief that there is that of God in everyone and Friends’ testimony of Equality. These have been basic tenets of the faith since the time of Margaret Fell and George Fox.
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