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.
History
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.
Racial Justice & Superheroes Webinar
“Racial Justice and Superheroes” a free webinar taking place on July 22 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
This webinar is part of North Branch Society of Friends Meeting “Quakers for Peace and Justice Series.”
Today’s Superfriends look like an all-inclusive group of heroes, but was it always so?
How did our heroes’ attitudes change toward racial justice since Superman first bounded to the rescue in 1938?
Join Allan Austin, Ph.D. for this “graphic” exploration of evolving American conversations about race through superhero comic books, cartoons, and film.
Abraham Lincoln, The Quakers, and Civil War
William Kashatus will discuss the influence of Quaker belief and practice on President Lincoln’s decision-making during the Civil War.
Distinguishing between the reality of Lincoln’s relationship with the Quakers and the mythology that has emerged over time, Kashatus will show how Lincoln skillfully navigated a relationship with one of the most vocal and politically active religious groups of the 19th century and the practical ways in which a shared belief in the “Doctrine of Necessity” affected the president’s decisions on emancipation, conscientious objection and aid to former slaves.
William C. Kashatus is a historian, educator, and author. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Earlham College, he earned an MA in history at Brown University and a Ph.D. in history at the University of Pennsylvania. A product of Friends education, Kashatus has taught at the Episcopal Academy, the William Penn Charter School, Penn’s Graduate School of Education, and at West Chester University. A prolific writer, he has written and published more than 200 essays in such periodicals as American History Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, Pennsylvania Heritage, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Quaker History. He is also the author of more than two dozen books on biography, baseball, and American history including A Trial of Principle and Faith: Abraham Lincoln, the Quakers, and the Civil War, published by Praeger in 2014.
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 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.
Quakers in Education: Nitobe Inazo, Elizabeth Gray Vining, and Joseph Wharton
This is the second in a series of articles about Quakers who’ve impacted the fields of education and contributed to global scientific, medical, political, or economic leadership. The first article was published on September 23 and covered Elise Goulding, Ezra Cornell, and Johns Hopkins.
Nitobe Inazo (1862-1933) was a Japanese Quaker who became the first Under Secretary General for the League of Nations. Nitobe was born into a samurai family on Honshu, the main island of Japan. While in college, he became a Christian and later a Friend. In 1884, He moved to the US for post-graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. There he began attending Quaker meetings, telling friends, “I very much like their simplicity and earnestness.”
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Quaker Farms – Then and Now
Not long ago, a typed narrative from a transcribed letter written by a Quaker farmer in “Chester Township” Pennsylvania showed up in some files. It was dated 10th month, 1725, and began “Dear Sister Mary Valentine, this goes with a salutation of love to thee, brother Thomas, and the children…”