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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, Justice, and Community. The BlackQuaker Project Hal Weaver lectures on Paul Robeson, whose Quaker ancestors date back more than 300 years. Nordic Art School | Kokkola, Finland September 2008 WHO WE ARE Meet our team! QUAKERS OF COLOR SPEAK Learn about the Quakers of Color International Archive! JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER Join our mailing list to receive monthly e-newsletters! SOCIAL MEDIA Follow our work on Facebook and Instagram!

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Istanbul | November 2017 Hal went on to eye-opening Istanbul for lectures on “Black Fire: An African American Scholar-Activist in a White-Supremacist Society,” part of a popular series of English-language “Farabi Talks” at Medipol University, and, later, “Ousmane Sembene and the African Cinema of Contestation” at the Istanbul Design Center, a specialized institute in the arts where important political events had taken place. Of course, the people, the architecture, and the preservation of history were as beautiful as imagined before arriving. What was surprising was the keen interest in his topics, allowing him to engage with Turkish scholars, for example, who had written Masters theses in African and African American Studies on author James Baldwin and on African author-cineaste, Ousmane Sembene. While there is no organized academic program in African or African American Studies in Turkey, it seems that there is expanding interest in that field of academic study. Hal continues to mentor a couple of Ph.D. candidates in African and African American Studies. It appears that this will not be his last sojourn there. Also, surprising to Hal were the political and ideological tensions in Turkey between those who wish to continue close relations and identification with the West, including Turkey’s current membership in NATO, and those wishing closer ties with the East, including the Islamic world, Russia, and the former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus Mountains. The decolonization movement seems very much alive. It is difficult to predict what steps the passion for change will take. It is even more difficult to predict what future Turkish-American relations will be like. "A Stance Against Colonialism: African Cinema" at the Istanbul Design Center 4 November 2017 Hal and former Turkish President Abdullah Gül in 2017 Hal and former Turkish President Abdullah Gül in 2017 Hal and former Turkish President Abdullah Gül in 2017 Hal and former Turkish President Abdullah Gül in 2017 1/5

United Nations | September 2014 4 Sep 2014 - Roundtable Discussion on the Representation of Slavery in Film. Participants: Ambassador Rattray, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations and Chair, Permanent Memorial Committee, Vibeke Jensen, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York And other guests, including: • Roy Anderson, Director of Akwantu: The Journey (2012) and Queen Nanny: Legendary Maroon Chieftainess (2015) • Mahen Bonetti, Executive Director, New York African Film Festival Inc. • Professor Mamadou Diouf, Columbia University • Haile Gerima, Director of Sankofa (1993) • Louis Gossett Jr., Academy-Award winning actor, Roots (1977) and The Book of Negroes (2015) • Damon D'Oliveira, Executive Producer of The Book of Negroes (2015) • Clement Virgo, Director of The Book of Negroes (2015) • Dr. Harold Weaver, The BlackFilm Project

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.

Kings Point Visit In August 2021 Harold D. Weaver Visited the Evans family in Kings Point, Long Island. Jon Evans (pictured second to right) was a former Clerk of the Board at Haverford Friends Meeting and is a current member of the Haverford Corporation along with his son Jeremy (pictured on right).

Haverford Alumni Award | May 2022 New England Yearly Meeting | August 2020 Judith Weller Harvey Quaker Scholar at Guilford College | October 2019 Workshop/Roundtable Discussion at New England Yearly Meeting | August 2018 Moscow | October 2017 Havana, Cuba | March 2017 Paris | Musee Quai Branly | Spring 2016 Jordan Center at NYU | November 2020 Wellesley Friends Meeting | July 2020 Pendle Hill Quaker Center | May 2018 Istanbul | November 2017 Preston, UK | October 2017 United Nations | September 2014 Finland | September 2008

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.

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 .

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

COLLABORATION AND ADVOCACY Promoting greater USA Quaker cooperation and collaboration with African and Cuban Quakers, including a major effort to collaborate with Kenyan Quakers in dealing with systemic economic violence and other manifestations of systemic violence often not recognized as violence: poverty, youth unemployment, racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, and classism. Participating in the governance of a variety of regional, national, and international Quaker organizations and facilitating the participation of people of color in Quaker governance and staff.

Pendle Hill | May 2018 After spending six weeks at Pendle Hill working on his memoirs, Hal presented a talk entitled: "Black Fire: An African American Quaker Seeker-Activist in a White Supremacist Nation." The talk encompassed aspects of Hal's life that will be discussed in his upcoming memoirs, such as his transnational diplomacy, Quaker ministry, academic pursuits and accomplishments, and activism. A recording of his talk is available above, along with the Powerpoint that accompanied his talk. You are encouraged to listen to the quartet of Paul Robeson songs before viewing the presentation. Paul Robeson Song Quartet - 00:00 / 00:00 Slide02 Slide36 1/36