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COVID-19 and Quakers Note: This page (l ast updated on June 29th, 2020) remains on our website for archival purposes only. The BlackQuaker Project hopes this collection of resources from the early era of the COVID-19 pandemic may still be of use to F/friends and others. Quaker Resources ​ Updates from Friends United Meeting- https://www.friendsunitedmeeting.org AFSC- https://www.afsc.org FCNL- https://www.fcnl.org Friends Journal- https://www.friendsjournal.org Quaker Speaks- https://www.youtube.com/user/Quakerspeak FGC Resources- https://www.fgcquaker.org/resources/friends-and-covid-19-pandemic-updates-how-guides-and-resources FWCC-Americas Section Covid-19 Resources- https://fwccamericas.org/_wp/covid-19-resources/ FWCC-EMES Section updates- https://www.fwccemes.org/news/ FWCC-AWPS Section, press “Find Out More” at bottom of page- http://fwccawps.org FWCC-Africa Section has not been active in posting COVID-19 resources- https://www.fwccafrica.org FWCC World Office 3/30/20 statement- http://fwcc.world/uncategorized/continuing-but-changing-work-during-covid-19-outbreak Current Contexts of Global Quaker Communities AFRICA ​ For daily updates on Africa from the African CDC click here . Updates on Kenya For daily updates on Kenya click here . Sep 18 - Why is Kenya’s death rate so low? Read/listen here . Coronavirus and police brutality are intermixing in Kenya’s second largest slum, Mathare. Watch and read about the issues. Read the Monday June 29th update from the US Embassy in Kenya here . Watch a video about how the locusts are affecting pastoralist communities and creating potential for conflict here . ​ Updates on Burundi June 24 - Read about endangered health workers and prisoners in Burundi here . Read about President Nkurunziza’s death here . Read HRW’s report on the grave situation of the virus in Burundi here . Updates on Rwanda July 15 - Read about how Rwanda is using many tactics, including previous HIV infrastructure, to keep COVID-19 cases low here . Read about economic relief funding in Rwanda here . Read updates on Rwanda and other parts of East Africa from BBC News here . ​ Updates on South Africa Sep 19 - Read about how the initial shock of COVID-19 resulted in surprisingly low deaths here . Read updates from the South African government on COVID-19 here . Read about COVID-19 and racial tensions in South Africa here . Learn about South Africa’s 8 stage response here . South Africa started a trial for a vaccine developed at Oxford, watch here . ​ THE AMERICAS ​ Updates on Cuba Sep 30 - Read about the lifting of partial lockdown regulations in Havana here . Cuba has declared the virus under control as of June 9th, watch how they did it here Updates on Bolivia As Bolivia struggles through political turmoil and record deaths from the coronavirus, the promotion of a toxic “cure” by politicians is exacerbating tensions. Read about it. in the NYTimes (Aug 22), Washington Post (July 17), and Polygraph (Aug 11) . Updates on Jamaica Find daily updates on Jamaica here . Sep 3 - Jamaica is managing a spike in COVID-19 cases that could be detrimental to the economy, read about it here . ​ Updates on the Canada Sep 29- Canada is experiencing a spike in cases as small gatherings flout precautions and school re-open, read about it here . Get daily updates about Canada here . ​ Updates on the United States The US is beginning its fourth large-scale vaccine testing, read about it here . Read about racial inequalities in COVID-19 deaths and the collapse of the social safety net due to structural racism here . ​ ​ ​ MIDDLE EAST/ASIA ​ Updates on Palestine/Israel Sep 1 - Some restrictions are limiting access to healthcare for those in Gaza, but there is hope for increased access. Read about it here . ​ Updates on India Oct 13 - As COVID forces families into poverty, child labor is rising quickly. Read about it here . ​ Updates on Taiwan Sep 22 - Taiwan handled the virus well, and drew off of their 2003 experience with SARS to control the pandemic. Read about their effective response here . Updates on Hong Kong Sep 15 - Testing in Hong Kong increases with a third wave of infections, read about it here . Follow three recent graduates living in Hong Kong, and how the virus is affecting their futures by watching this video .

Moscow | October 2017 From Manchester, we flew to Moscow, which Hal had first visited in 1959 as a member of the official USA-USSR youth exchange program, for an international African Studies conference. Hal was participating as presenter and panel co-organizer with his friend Dmitri Bondarenko, Deputy Director of Moscow’s Institute for African Research. Hal has been communicating with Russian scholars in African Studies since 1961 when the pioneering African American scholar, W.E.B Du Bois, gave him a letter of introduction to the Institute’s founding Director, I. I. Potekhin. Update on a significant change in the financing of research on Africa in Russia: the business sector has begun to assume some financing as the Russian government pulls back its funding support. Anne, on her first visit to Russia, was able to visit the Kremlin and Red Square and other historical sights while Hal focused mostly on the conference that drew scholars from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the USA. We visited the campus of Friendship University (see photo above), established in 1960 to aid the decolonization process in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This university has provided students with training in natural, physical, and health sciences, as well as agriculture and other technical areas that were not available to them in their home countries and elsewhere in most of the world. Our visits to the State Central Museum of the Contemporary History of Russia and a large art gallery provided us with some glimpses into the rich history of Russia. We witnessed what seemed like a popular Putin and a busy Russian economy despite Western sanctions. Perhaps, our biggest surprise was at the iconic Bolshoi Theater, attending the theatrically innovative Hayden opera, ALMIDA (1783). We did not expect two things: (1) to see gay and straight couples and groups simulating sex on stage in a country well known in the USA for its puritanism, homophobia, and anti-gay laws and (2) to learn later that ALMIDA--or for that matter, no Hayden opera--has ever been staged by a major USA opera house, including the Met.

WHAT WE DO The BlackQuaker Project (1) celebrates the lives and contributions of Quakers of Color worldwide and (2) documents and addresses their concerns. It is an outreach and inreach ministry of Wellesley Friends Meeting , guided by the Quaker testimonies of Truth, Peace, Equality, Community and Justice. TRUTH "Do we need a reminder that our name was first the 'Religious Society of Friends of Truth'?" "Non-violence and truth are inseparable and presuppose one another." (Gandhi quoted in Facing Unbearable Truths , 2008) PEACE "We must expand our peace testimony, making it more inclusive, more comprehensive. It is much too narrow, ordinarily encompassing only 'direct violence,' that observable, intentional physical or mental violence unwanted by the victim, whether an individual or a collective (e.g., a nation). The major prevailing violence is 'systemic or institutional violence,' which in reality appears to lead to or to cause or to facilitate 'direct violence,' which is usually what we mean when we use the term 'violence.' However, that is only one minor meaning. Hence, we cannot afford to be merely nonviolent but must be 'anti-violent,' as we are 'anti-war.'" (Weaver, Facing Unbearable Truths , 2008) JUSTICE "Without justice there is no peace; even in the absence of open strife there is no peace, only a manipulated lull in hostilities. Justice has two connotations. One is fairness, righteous dealing, integrity; necessary, but not sufficient conditions for lasting peace. The other, to quote the Oxford English Dictionary, is observance of the divine law; righteousness; the state of being just before God. When the bonding force of love unifies the two dimensions, the temporal and the spiritual, the task of the peacemaker is fulfilled. Truth has been established: true justice reigns." (Adam Curle, True Justice: Quaker peace makers and peace making , quoted in Facing Unbearable Truths , 2008). EQUALITY "Our equality testimony flows inevitably from our belief that there is that of God in every person. If we believe in Equality, we must work for Justice. British Friends remind us: 'Are you alert to the practices throughout the world which discriminates against people on the basis of who or what they are, or because of their beliefs? Bear witness to the humanity of all people, including those who break society's conventions or its laws. Try to discern new growing points in social and economic life. Seek to understand the causes of injustice, social unrest, and fear. Are you working to bring about a just and compassionate society which allows everyone to develop their capacities and fosters the desire to serve?'" (Facing Unbearable Truths , 2008) Why The BlackQuaker Project? Why is The BlackQuaker Project needed at this time in history? ​ While Quakers of Color comprise over half the world's Quaker population, little is known about the lives and achievements of Quakers of Color little is known about the contributions of Quakers of Color to Quakerism and to Quakers Quakers of Color are under-represented in leadership roles and grass-root levels in Quaker organizations worldwide, giving little opportunity to impact decision-making and to express and implement their unique perspectives Quakers of Color and their perspectives seldom represent Quakers and Quaker organizations at meetings and conferences of religious bodies, peacemakers and peace builders, academic societies, and ethnic and racial groups worldwide Quakers--and the world--need constant reminders and evolving 21st century interpretations of Quaker testimonies, values, and principles, including Truth/Integrity, Peace, Equality, Community , and Justice, and their application in witness

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

Preston, UK | October 2017 In Preston, at the University of Central Lancashire, where Hal participated in a conference, “The Red and the Black: the Russian Revolution and the Black Atlantic, ” commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution and its profound impact on Africans in Africa and the Diaspora. He presented a promo of an important documentary film by Yelena Deminovsky, BLACK RUSSIANS: THE RED EXPERIENCE, now in post-production, on the experiences of African Americans who left a violent, lynch-ridden USA in search of a dream of equality in the new Soviet Union. He also presented a paper, using the title of his book-in-process, “Mental Decolonization and the Cold War: African Student Elites in the USSR in the Khrushchev Era.”

CONTACT Oaxaca Quaker Friends Wellesley Friends Meeting has established a fund to support the work of The BlackQuaker Project. Funds are needed for clerical and research assistance; office materials and procedures, including printing, faxing, telephoning; transportation for presentations and research; promoting; and collecting materials from libraries, private collections, and archives. ​ Please mail contributions to: Treasurer Wellesley Friends Meeting 26 Benvenue Street Wellesley, MA 02482 ​ Please write "For The BlackQuaker Project Fund" on your check. ​ For additional information about this fund, please contact Hal Weaver (weaverhal@yahoo.com ) For more information about The BlackQuaker Project, please contact Hal Weaver: weaverhal@yahoo.com ​ Hal Weaver hosts the initial meeting of Oaxaca Quaker Friends worship group February 18, 2012 Oaxaca Quaker Friends hold Meeting for Worship on Saturdays at 10am. Los amigos cuáqueros de Oaxaca realizan una reunión no programado para rendir culto los sábados a las 10am. Protección a la Joven ('La Protec') Tinoco y Palacios 217 ​ Contact us at: quakersinoaxaca@gmail.com

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