Black History Month

 This month there have been many options to learn more about the history of Black Americans here in the United States and around the world; PBS, Blogs, Professional Journal featured stories, local Museums, Churches, libraries, Community events etc all have a rich selection. Each year there is more history revealed to a larger numbers of Americans both young and old. The questions before us after the yearly striving by educators to teach us is ; Are we learning from the history, the good and the bad?

More important than listening to a history program are the conversations we are having as we come together, Black and White Americans during our community work together in peace and social justice (ACCOMO, CAARSEA, TLC, Reuniting Families, HIAS, Habitat, Food Pantry and other opportunities ……)*  What is it that we learned together?

* ACCOMO: Accion Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County
* CAARSEA: Colonial Area Anti-Racism and Social Equity Alliance
* TLC: TLC for the People

This month is a good time to reflect on the openings that have occurred within us this past year. Have these openings illuminated where we have had the courage to listen to another person’s life experience? Have we been enriched by hearing and learning and beginning to understand a reality beyond our own? Have we felt the prick of falling short of being a motion of God’s love in our interactions? What have we done about that?

This month is also a month to celebrate and learn from some of the Quakers of Color who have shaped our past and who are currently shaping our present. Below is a very small sampling of remarkable Friends who we have much to learn from. Actively seek out others for it is a rich quilt of knowledge and ministry that is unknown to so many and we are the poorer for that.

Paul Cuffe(e) (1759-1817)
Describing Paul: "Overwhelming his industry, his religion and education stands his optimism. He believed in the victory of righteousness; therefore, he worked for it. He believed in the triumph of truth; therefore, he dedicated himself to it. - Henry Noble Sherwood

Entrepreneur, sea captain, social activist, philanthropist, colonizationist and leader who fought for the empowerment of African Americans.  Son of a father who was enslaved in Affrica and sold to a Quaker in New England. His mother was a native Wampanoag of coastal Turtle Island (New England). Cuffe became an important and well-respected member of the Religious Society of Friends. His home meeting was  Westport Monthly Meetings in Massachusetts. In the January 1813 business meeting Cuffe was one of six members appointed to rebuild the old meetinghouse of which he put up half of the required money. Use this link to read a fuller description of Paul. There are several books at the bottom of the link that will provide an in-depth account of the remarkable person navigating very difficult times in the United States, Africa and England.
https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcresources/practical/paul-cuffe-2/
 
Bayard Rustin (1912–1987)
Bayard was born and raised in Chester County. He was an American political activist, a prominent leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin was the principal organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 Raised by a Quaker grandmother and African Methodist Episcopal Father, he was raised in “good Christian manners and civic activism. In his later work in NY he became a member of Fifteenth Street Meeting. Although not an active Friend during his later years, Rustin maintained ties with the Quaker community, speaking at Friends schools and monthly meetings. Bayard life is wide ranging in his activism and influence on people and historic events of the 1940-80’s. There are several good books and movies at the bottom of the link that will provide a in depth account of Bayard. https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcresources/practical/bayard-rustin-3/

James Varner
James Varner, President and CEO of the Maine Human Rights Coalition, and a long-time member of the Orono Monthly Meeting, Maine. He received the Bernard Lown ’42 Alumni Humanitarian Award, which recognizes outstanding service and impact through saving lives, relieving suffering, and promoting human dignity.  His long career included work in education, anti-poverty programs, and community planning. As a young man, he attended the March on Washington, where he heard Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak. He became involved in civil rights work, pushing the barriers of racism. After returning to Maine from his native New Jersey, he taught and worked at his alma mater as a minority recruiter in the Admissions office. He founded and served as president of the Maine Human Rights Coalition, and was instrumental in bringing the region’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration to the UMaine campus.

Three videos
Why James is a Quaker: https://www.theblackquakerproject.org/qcia

Undoing Racism Within and Without: A Black Quaker Pledge
https://quakerpodcast.com/undoing-racism-within-and-without-a-black-quakers-pledge/

University of Maine alumni remembrance – Challenge of being one of first person of color at the University
https://www.umainealumni.com/varner/