What is the Equality Testimony?

Quakers have been proponents of equality for centuries. As we see “that of God in everyone” we can only see all as equal.

Social justice is important to us because it is equality in action.

And, like the other testimonies, each Friend may have a different interpretation and a different way of honoring equality in their life.

This page will attempt to feature all the aspects of equality that Quakers feel strongly about.

The Road to Ending Racism

The abolition of slavery did not eliminate racism, even among Quakers. Writing in the 1840s, Sarah Mapps Douglass, a Quaker abolitionist from a free black family in Philadelphia, argued publicly that many more blacks would attend Quaker meeting if they were not asked to sit on the segregated back bench and treated with coldness. Today we cringe hearing about this kind of treatment, but as we continue struggling to understand white privilege and the deep roots of racism, we know that raising consciousness takes time. It wasn’t until 1947 that all Quaker schools in the US admitted black pupils.

The Civil Rights Movement

Friends were active in the civil rights movement. Quaker Bayard Rustin, a Black Civil Rights activist, was a close associate of Martin Luther King, Jr., and an advocate for gay and lesbian rights. Rustin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania and raised by his Quaker grandmother. He became a Quaker in 1936, shortly before moving to New York where he lived most of his adult life.

A pacifist, Rustin was instrumental in bringing non-violent resistance into the American Civil Rights Movement.

What is White Privilege?

The term was coined by a white person (not really but her essay brought attention to it)

In 1988, Academic and Feminist, Peggy McIntosh wrote a 50-point essay, identifying and noting down some of the daily effects of privilege in her life as a white person living in the U.S. Although the underlying concepts date back at least as far as to the work of W.E.B Du Bois in the 1930s, it was McIntosh’s essay in the 1980s that made ‘white privilege’ gain popularity in social discourse.

(It is well worth noting, and with no small amount of irony, that it took the work of a white person to gain notoriety for a concept that many prominent black academics and intellectuals had been identifying and ‘unpacking’ for decades already.)

Watch this video to see a thought-provoking visual representation of general Privilege:

“Privilege is complex…”

Watch this video to hear thought-provoking questions and see a visual representation:

“Privilege is complex…”

Questions asked of the people in the video:

• If your parents worked nights and weekends to support your family, take one step back.

• If you are able to move through the world without fear of sexual assault, take one step forward.

• If you can show affection for your romantic partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, take one step forward.

• If you have ever been diagnosed as having a physical or mental illness/disability, take one step back.

• If the primary language spoken in your household growing up was not English, take one step back.

• If you came from a supportive family environment take one step forward.

• If you have ever tried to change your speech or mannerisms to gain credibility, take one step back.

• If one of your parents was ever laid off or unemployed not by choice, take one step back.

• If you can go anywhere in the U.S., and find hair products you need and cosmetics that match your skin color, take one step forward.

• If you can make mistakes and not have people attribute your behavior to flaws in your racial/gender group, take one step forward.

• If you have ever traveled outside the United States, take one step forward.

• And Many More Questions…watch the video above to hear them all.

Take the Quiz on BuzzFeed to find out.

Take the Quiz on BuzzFeed to find out.

Take the Quiz on BuzzFeed to find out.

Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person
by Gina Crosley-Corcoran

Intersectionality

“Crenshaw wrote that traditional feminist ideas and anti-racist policies exclude black women because they face overlapping discrimination unique to them. “Because the intersectional experience is greater than the sum of racism and sexism, any analysis that does not take intersectionality into account cannot sufficiently address the particular manner in which Black women are subordinated.” – The Origin of the Term Intersectionality

Even though the term Intersectionality was coined by Black feminist scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989, it’s still new to some Quakers. And while the condition existed during the time of Early Quakers from what we know, there was not a strong understanding or inclination to take that approach.  

Intersectionality

Even though the term Intersectionality was coined by Black feminist scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989, it’s still new to some Quakers. And while the condition existed during the time of Early Quakers from what we know, there was not a strong understanding or at least not inclined to take that approach.  

“Crenshaw wrote that traditional feminist ideas and anti-racist policies exclude black women because they face overlapping discrimination unique to them. “Because the intersectional experience is greater than the sum of racism and sexism, any analysis that does not take intersectionality into account cannot sufficiently address the particular manner in which Black women are subordinated.” – The Origin of the Term Intersectionality

Gender Equality 

Friends were one of the first religious groups with both women and men in the role of spiritual ministers. Elizabeth Hooton was possibly the first person to be convinced by George Fox (founder of Quakerism) and was an outspoken and daring preacher during the earliest days of the Quaker movement.

Diane Randall, Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation with Christine Green from Amesbury Friends Meeting.

Perhaps Not as Equal as We Thought:

“Respected Friend? Women and Equality in the Society of Friends”

“Quaker women in history have a reputation for being bolder and more publicly visible than their contemporaries, being involved with preaching and publishing from the very beginning of the movement.

 

Until the end of the 19th century, however, the members of the main Quaker decision-making groups were men.   Female Friends were considered spiritually equal, but there was vocal opposition to giving them any earthly authority.”

 

Read the full article…

Those Institutionalized for Mental Illness

Those Institutionalized for Mental Illness

A 21st century form of equality was birthed during the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020.

With the country in a health crisis state of emergency, it was heartbreaking but necessary to close our Meetinghouses.

For some Friends, online worship doesn’t align with their spiritual practice. But others find it has “leveled the worshipping field.”

Quakers who have no meetings nearby are now able to join other Friends for this new kind of worship.