Recordings of Our 2023 Fora: 4 February 2023 - An Interview with Bill Sutherland (1999) Our inaugural event honoring Bill Sutherland (1918-2010): nonviolence advocate, veteran AFSC employee, imprisoned conscientious objector, friend and active supporter of African liberation and freedom fighters. Featuring a discussion between Joyce Ajlouny (AFSC), Keith Harvey (AFSC), and Dr. Matt Meyer. An Interview with Bill Sutherland (1999) is available on the University of Washington in St. Louis website . (please note that this is the full 88 minute interview and not our 30-minute cut with added visuals). 18 February 2023 - Joan Countryman | The Prep School Negro Our second event honoring Joan Countryman, first African American graduate of Germantown Friends School, longtime teacher and administrator in Friends’ schools, former head of Lincoln School and co-founder of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership School for Girls in South Africa. Featuring a discussion between the honoree, Joan Countryman, Emma Bracker, and director André Robert Lee. The Prep School Negro can be purchased on the film’s official website . 4 March 2023 - Sarah Mapps Douglass | Sisters In Freedom Our third event honoring Sarah Mapps Douglass (1806-1882): prolific educator, author, committed abolitionist, and ancestor of Paul Robeson. Featuring a discussion between eminent historian Dr. Emma Lapsansky-Werner and author Joyce Mosley, a Moray-Bustill descendant. Sisters In Freedom is unavailable to screen at this time. 18 March 2023 - Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Loved The Stars Our fourth event honoring Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806): almanac publisher, astronomer, petitioner to Thomas Jefferson for African American abolition, and faithful Attender of Quaker Meeting. Featuring a discussion with Banneker descendant-researchers of African and European descent: Gwen Marable, Dr. Rachel Webster, and Pamela Williams. Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Loved The Stars is available on Youtube . 8 April 2023 - Paul Robeson 125th Birthday Celebration Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist and The Proud Valley Our final event celebrating the 125th birthday of the renaissance man, Paul Robeson (1898-1976): scholar and star athlete; screen, stage, and recording star; and linguist and orator and human rights leader. Featuring a discussion with eminent Robeson scholars featuring Dr. Gerald Horne, Dr. Charles Musser, and Dr. Harold D. Weaver. Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist is currently available to watch on HBO Max and The Proud Valley can be purchased from the Criterion Collection .

PUBLICATIONS Black Fire: African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights Black Fire: African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights (2011), edited by Harold D. Weaver, Jr., Paul Kriese, Stephen W. Angell, and Anne Steere Nash. Philadelphia: Quaker Press of FGC, 2011. "Black Fire is a landmark book that reframes our understanding of Quakerism, for it highlights the degree to which American Quakers were interracial almost from the outset, with black leaders shaping Friends' spiritual and reform visions. Brilliantly conceived and beautifully edited, it should be required reading for anyone interested in American religion and reform." -- John Stauffer (Chair of History of American Civilization at Harvard University) "'No country can tell its history truthfully until all its scrolls are unrolled.' ... In Black Fire , as these narratives unfurl, the reader gets a close look at the broad diversity within the black Quaker experience.... For nearly a century, historians and philosophers... have struggled to understand and interpret the many moving parts of face relations, religion, and social justice. Black Fire presents some of those moving parts of the history relating to the Religious Society of Friends, unrolling some new scrolls and offering us new foundations from which to continue to explore African American stories, Quaker stories, and the intersections between the two." -- Emma Lapsansky-Werner (Emeritus Professor of History of the Quaker Collection at Haverford College) "Black Fire is a unique, much-needed contribution to the continuing conversation about religion and race in the United States, and the place of Quakers in it. The editors have created what may well be the definitive anthology." -- Thomas Hamm (Quaker historian and Professor of History at Earlham College) Black Fire Book Launch , March 6th, 2011 Facing Unbearable Truths "Facing Unbearable Truths," (2008) presented 4th month, 2008, by Dr. Harold Weaver, with an introduction by Ann Cook-Frantz. Beacon Hill Friends House Weed Lecture. Race, Systemic Violence, and Retrospective Justice: An African American Quaker Scholar-Activist Challenges Conventional Narratives Dr. Harold Weaver of the BlackQuaker Project asks Friends to look at societal problems through new lenses: confronting systemic violence with antiviolence; acknowledging institutional and systemic racism, rather than merely individual racism; considering a retrospective justice program that compensates for and helps remove the historical inequities related to the transatlantic slave trade, chattel slavery, and their legacies – Jim Crowism, other forms of dehumanization and exploitation, police brutality, and the school-to-prison pipeline. This unjust world is maintained by misinformation and disinformation in the media, formal education, scholarship, and political discourse. Hal Weaver lays out steps and queries in this pamphlet to guide Friends and others to begin addressing these concerns in the wider world. Pendle Hill Pamphlet #465 October 2020 Purchase The Red and the Black: The Russian Revolution and the Black Atlantic (2021) Read Dr. Weaver's chapter here! ONLINE ARTICLES FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS "A Proposed Plan of Action for Friends: Education & Justice, " by Dr. Harold (Hal) Weaver for The Freedom & Justice Crier (Issue #21, Summer 2009). Article begins on page 3. Read here. "Working Draft from the Ad Hoc Committee for a Justice Testimony," by Dr. Harold (Hal) Weaver for The Freedom & Justice Crier (Issue #20, Winter-Spring 2009). Article begins on page 10. Read here. Hal is currently working on his memoirs, Black Fire: An African American Quaker Seeker-Activist in a White-Supremacist Nation, which will become Volume 2 of the trilogy. Planning has begun on Volume 3 of the anthology Black Fire , which will include writings by contemporary Quakers of color worldwide. "A Proposed Plan for Retrospective Justice," by Dr. Harold (Hal) Weaver for Friends Journal (Published January 3, 2021). Read here.

Paris, France | Musee Quai Branly | Dakar 66 Exhibition | Spring 2016 My relationship with friends, colleagues, and institutions in Paris continues to this day, including, later on, with the 2016 exhibition of “Dakar 66: Chronicles d’un festival panafricains” at the Musee Quai Branly. Because I participated in the original festival in April 1966, the Panafest Project of scholars in Paris selected me for interviewing. In addition, I was invited to participate in an international conference in Dakar in November 2016, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ‘66 event. My paper, to be published this year in a volume of conference papers, draws upon the 2013 interview. The festival of ’66 had a dramatic impact on my life, nurturing the budding African American scholar within me to continue on in my academic work.

The 2024 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum "The Bayard Rustin Legacy Forum"

Current Activities 01 Retrospective Justice in Healing Historical Injustice and Ills: Reparations Defined as “an attempt to administer justice years after the commission of a severe injustice or series of injustices,” we advocate that Quakerism adopt Retrospective Justice as a model for healing historical injustice. Our ministry is providing education on this call to action through e-newsletters, publications, and collaborative lecture-presentations with Friend Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, a leader in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, the African National Congress, and transnational organizations. 02 Collaborating with the United Nations, Quakers, and human-rights activists in activities commemorating the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) and the UN International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. 03 PAUL ROBESON AND BAYARD RUSTIN ADVOCACY: Restoring Paul Robeson and Bayard Rustin to their rightful places in history, including the presentation given at 2019 Friends Association on Higher Education conference, titled Truth and An African American Quaker Activist Scholar: Africana Studies, Paul Robeson, and Bayard Rustin. 04 MEMOIRS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS: Writing and lecturing on memoirs, "Black Fire: An African American Quaker Seeker-Activist in a White-Supremacist Culture." Vol. II of projected 3-part BLACK FIRE trilogy, with a focus on confronting white supremacy. Updating Cold War historiography manuscript, "Soviet Training and Research Programs for Africa" for publication as MENTAL DECOLONIZATION AND THE COLD WAR: AFRICAN STUDENT ELITES IN THE USSR, in keeping with Quaker testimonies. Revising and updating 2008 Weed Lecture publication, "Facing Unbearable Truths." 05 HONORS: Judith Weller Harvey Quaker Scholar, Guilford College, and Cadbury Scholar, Pendle Hill, 2019. Associate, Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research at Harvard University. Associate, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. 06 ADVOCACY AND COLLABORATIONS: Continuing advocacy and collaborations with domestic and international Quaker and non-Quaker units and individuals working for Truth, Community, Equality, Peace, and Justice. Specifically includes Friends in East Africa, Latin America, Palestine/Israel, and Asia; the Third World Coalition of the American Friends Service Committee; Alaskan Friends Conference; Friends World Committee for Consultation; the Cuban Quaker Peace Institute; et al. 07 TRANSLATION INTO SPANISH: Postponed: Translating into Spanish, “Black Fire: African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights,” 2011, the first publication in the Black Fire trilogy.

New England Yearly Meeting: Sessions 2020 A Dialogue on Survival Dr. Amanda Kemp and Dr. Harold D. Weaver, Jr. LEARN MORE

Our Distinguished Honorees Our honorees range from 20th century trailblazing Friends of African Descent back to early Quakers of Color who are too often forgotten. Some of their stories will challenge Friends to consider what defines a Quaker, as we examine the lives of extraordinary people of color who were Friends in all but name, and ask ourselves what may have prevented or deterred them from joining the Religious Society of Friends. We will conclude with a special celebration of the momentous 125th birthday of beleaguered leader Paul Robeson, a descendant of over 200 years of USA and British Quakers. Click on the images below to learn about the lives and achievements of this year’s distinguished honorees. The Proud Valley Honoring Quaker descendant Paul Robeson, the “beleaguered leader” and “artist as revolutionary,” groundbreaking recording, film, theatrical, and music star. Featuring a discussion between Robeson scholars Dr. Gerald Horne, Dr. Charles Musser, and Dr. Harold D. Weaver. Saturday, 8 April 2023: Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist (1978) and The Proud Valley (1940) – Celebrating Paul Robeson’s 125th Birthday Honoring Quaker descendant Paul Robeson, the “beleaguered leader” and “artist as revolutionary,” groundbreaking recording, film, theatrical, and music star. Featuring a discussion between Robeson scholars Dr. Gerald Horne, Dr. Charles Musser, and Dr. Harold D. Weaver. Register for our remaining events BELOW Our SPECIAL Guest Experts We will reflect on each film with a post-screening dialogue and audience Q & A with eminent scholar-activists, writers, & historians, some of whom are descendants of our honorees. Learn more about our guest experts by clicking on their photos below. Bill Sutherland (1918 - 2 Jan 2010) Bill Sutherland (1918 - 2 Jan 2010), a long term AFSC leader, was important in the African and African American liberation movements. As a non-violence leader, he aided Ghanaian Founding PM Kwame Nkrumah and political leader Komla Gbedemah. He served Tanzanian founding President Julius Nyerere & liberation movement/leaders in southern Africa. With co-author Dr. Matthew Meyer, he wrote Guns & Gandhi in Africa: Pan-African Insights on Nonviolence, Armed Struggle, & Liberation In Africa (2001). Joan Countryman (b. 6 Mar 1940) Joan Countryman (b. 6 Mar 1940) grew up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and was the first African-American graduate of Germantown Friends School in 1958. Her career in education included serving as a teacher and administrator in Friends schools, as the Head of Lincoln School in Providence, RI, as the Interim Head of The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa, and as the Interim Head of the Atlanta Girls’ School. She has been a member of Germantown Monthly Meeting since 1958. Sarah Mapps Douglas Sarah Mapps Douglass (9 Sept 1806 - 8 Sept 1882) was a prolific abolitionist, educator, and author featured in numerous anti-slavery journals. She was especially interested in educating young Black women about their bodies. She endured lifelong racial prejudice and was forced to sit on the segregated back bench in the Arch Street Meeting. She confronted racism wherever she encountered it, even in the Society of Friends. Benjamin Banneker (9 Nov 1731 - 19 Oct 1806) Benjamin Banneker (9 Nov 1731 - 19 Oct 1806) was a peerless astronomer, author, surveyor, and farmer. Born a free man of Senegalese descent, he helped establish the boundaries of Washington D.C. and even petitioned Thomas Jefferson on behalf of enslaved African Americans. He attended Quaker meetings for much of his life. Paul Robeson (9 Apr 1898 - 23 Jan 1976) Paul Robeson (9 Apr 1898 - 23 Jan 1976), the “beleaguered leader,” legendary scholar-activist, athlete, and “artist as revolutionary:” groundbreaking recording, film, theatrical, and musical star. He was a descendant of over 200 years of USA and UK Quakers by way of the Bustill family, including fellow honoree Sarah Mapps Douglass. We will close our festival with a celebration of his 125th birthday. Joyce Ajlouny AFSC General Secretary Joyce Ajlouny has served as the executive head of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) since September 2017, overseeing the organization’s worldwide efforts for peace and justice. As a Palestinian-American Quaker leader, Joyce has been a seeker of refugee rights, gender equality, and economic aid throughout a long career in international development. She is a member of Ramallah Monthly Meeting and attends several monthly meetings in the USA. Keith B. Harvey Keith B. Harvey is the Director of the Northeast Region of the AFSC since 1992. He has led workshops on non-violence training, Criminal Justice history, and International Debt, sat on the Philadelphia Planning committee for the U.S. Social Forum; and served as both member and chair of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute Board of Directors. Keith currently sits on the Massachusetts Peace Action Board and works with the MA Poor People's Campaign coordinating committee. Dr. Matt Meyer Dr. Matt Meyer is an internationally noted author, historian, and organizer of over 30 years. His publications include Guns & Gandhi in Africa: Pan-African Insights on Nonviolence, Armed Struggle, & Liberation In Africa (co-authored in 2000 with honoree Bill Sutherland). He is the Senior Research Scholar of UMass Amherst’s Resistance Studies Initiative and currently serves leadership roles with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and the War Resisters’ International (WRI). Joan Countryman Joan Countryman grew up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and, in 1958, was the first African-American graduate of Germantown Friends School. Her career in education included serving as a teacher and administrator in Friends schools, as the Head of Lincoln School in Providence, RI, as the Interim Head of The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa, and as the Interim Head of the Atlanta Girls’ School. She has been a member of Germantown Monthly Meeting since 1958. André Robert Lee André Robert Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, keynote speaker, consultant, writer, and educator. André has served as a professor of writing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and teaches Filmmaking at the Germantown Friends School, where he worked to develop a film program for their students. His most recent award-winning film, Virtually Free (2021), tells the story of incarcerated youth in Richmond, Virginia, and is still on the festival route. Dr. Emma Lapsansky Werner Dr. Emma Jones Lapsansky-Werner is an Emerita Professor of History and the Emerita Curator of the Quaker Collection at Haverford College. With Gary Nash and Clayborne Carson, she authored Struggle for Freedom, a college text on African American History. Her current work includes: a history of a Bryn Mawr Quaker family; a study of a Philadelphia multi-cultural intentional community; and a biography of contemporary Quaker Chuck Fager. She is a member of Lansdowne Monthly Meeting in Lansdowne, PA. Joyce Mosley Joyce Mosley, author of Graham’s Gift (2020) has documented her family history of African American and European American Quakers, including the first mayor of Philadelphia. Joyce has presented her family research at genealogy conferences, including the African American Historical and Genealogical Society and the African American Genealogy Group. In 2019, Joyce’s important family research was featured in a WHYY-TV/PBS episode of “Movers and Makers.” Dr. Rachel Webster Dr. Rachel Jamison Webster is the author of the March 2023 book, Benjamin Banneker & Us: Eleven Generations of an American Family, creative nonfiction that explores ancestry, race, gender, & justice in American history as Webster and her DNA cousins discuss racial justice, genealogy, & stories of their ancestors. Rachel is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Northwestern University, where she has received multiple awards for her design and implementation of anti-racist curricula. Pamela Williams Pamela Williams is an educator in the Burlington School District (VT) with a background in clinical social work & research, including instructional support, counseling, Restorative Practice, mindfulness in education, & coordination of service learning projects at local and international levels. Former faculty at Westtown School, Packer Collegiate Institute, & Stone Ridge School, she has also been an instructor at Bryn Mawr College School of Social Work and the Community College of Vermont. Gwen Marable Gwen Marable, is a retired educator. Her family discovered their relationship to the man known as the country’s first African- American scientist, Benjamin Banneker. Jemima Banneker, Benjamin’s sister, was Marable’s fifth grandmother. Dr. Gerald Horne Dr. Gerald Horne holds the Moores Professorship of History & African American Studies at the University of Houston. He is the author of Paul Robeson: The Artist As Revolutionary (2016) and has researched issues of racism in a variety of relations involving labor, politics, civil rights, international relations, & war. He has written about the film industry. His courses include the Civil Rights Movement, U.S. History through Film, Labor History, & 20th Century African American History. Dr. Charles Musser Dr. Charles Musser teaches Film & Media Studies and American Studies at Yale University. Charlie co-curated a series of Robeson film retrospectives for the Paul Robeson centennial in 1998. He also co-curated the DVD set, Pioneers of African American Cinema, with Jackie Stewart and the catalog, Oscar Micheaux and His Circle, with Pearl Bowser and Jane Gaines. He has published extensively on American early cinema, Robeson, Micheaux, Bill Greaves, and Spike Lee. our director, curator, & HOST Dr. Harold D. Weaver, Alumni Fellow at Harvard University's Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, is the Founding Director of the BlackQuaker Project (BQP). A pioneer in Africana Studies in the early 1970s, Hal founded and chaired the Africana Studies Department at Rutgers University, through which he was able to focus attention on the neglected legacy of the great Rutgers alumnus: Paul Robeson. At Rutgers, Hal taught the first course in the world on Robeson, made an instructional film on Robeson’s life and accomplishments, and, most importantly, initiated the successful action to award Robeson an honorary doctorate in 1973. In celebration of Robeson’s 75th birthday in 1973, Hal organized the first Robeson symposium and the first Robeson film retrospective in the United States. For the past 50 years, Hal has worked to restore Robeson’s legacy to its rightful place in world history, through publications, lectures, films and film retrospectives, and symposia. Changed for life by his exposure to Quakerism at Westtown School and Haverford College, Hal combined his faith and activism into the BQP. He has produced several publications important to Quakers, including Black Fire: African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights (with Paul Kriese and Steve Angell, 2011) through FGC Press and the Pendle Hill pamphlet, Race, Systemic Violence, and Retrospective Justice: An African American Quaker Scholar-Activist Challenges Conventional Narratives (2020). He has served in various Quaker governance roles with QUNO-New York, AFSC Board and International Programs Executive Committee, Pendle Hill, Cambridge Friends School, Friends General Council, and the Friends World Committee for Consultation. In 2022, he was awarded an alumni Lifetime Achievement Award from Haverford College. He is an active member of the Wellesley Friends Meeting, which sponsors his ministry.

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