What Quakers (and others) can do to address the racial justice crisis

I serve on the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Orange Grove Friends (Quaker) 

Meeting. Yesterday (June 8) this committee approved circulating the following statement recommending what Friends and others can do to address the racial injustice in our country and in our personal lives. 

RESPONDING TO THE CALL OF PACIFIC YEARLY MEETING CLERK REGARDING RACIAL JUSTICE

As Quakers are we hearing the call from God to witness racism, feeling the injustice in our 

bodies and then discerning ways to live into mending the harm?  We cannot be silent or complacent.  By virtue of our faith we are called to witness to white supremacy, domination, and disregard for humanity.   We are called to discern how we will live and speak so that all people have the space and air and choices that we all have been given by God.  

We must look consciously for and weed out the ways within the Religious Society of Friends of the Truth that constrict us in patterns of oppression or silencing of other human beings.  I ask that we reflect deeply, ask for guidance, and follow that guidance.

Sandy Kewman
Presiding Clerk of Pacific Yearly Meeting

In light of this call from Clerk of PYM, Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Orange Grove Meeting recommends that Friends follow her request and seek ways to witness to racial justice as led by Spirit. Here are some specific actions and resources for you to consider prayerfully, many of which are recommended by our Quaker organizations. Others are recommended by local activist groups.

1)       Invite for Adult Study a leader from your community who is a person of color concerned with issues such as police accountability. (Please feel free to make a recommendation.)

2)       Read and discuss  Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice. By Donna McDaniel and Vanessa This book documents the spiritual and practical impacts of discrimination in the Religious Society of Friends in the belief that understanding the truth of our past is vital to achieving a diverse, inclusive community in the future. There is a common misconception that most Quakers assisted fugitive slaves and involved themselves in civil rights activism because of their belief in equality. While there were Friends committed to ending enslavement and post-enslavement injustices, Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship reveals that racism has been as insidious, complex, and pervasive among Friends as it has been generally among people of European descent.

3)       Support AFSC recommendation that we contact our Governor and tell him:  Invest in communities, not policing! This link makes it easy: https://www.afsc.org/action/tell-your-governor-invest-communities-not-policing

4)       Take time and read the excellent resources on the Friends General Conference (FGC) website: WAYS THAT WHITE PEOPLE CAN TAKE ACTION TO OPPOSE RACISM (Fundraisers listed below have no affiliation with FGC or OGMM.)

 ·   The Movement for Black Lives    https://m4bl.org/ 

·   List of Bail Funds for Protestors across the Country:   https://bailfunds.github.io/

·   Anti-Racism Resources for White People and Parents to Deepen our Anti-Racism Work:    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/edit 

·   Justice for Breonna Taylor;    https://justiceforbreonna.org/ 

·   Official George Floyd Memorial Fund:    https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd 

·   75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice:    https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234 

·   Floyd Murder by Police Officer Is an Outrage, Says National Council of Churches USA:    https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/floyd-murder/ 

·   38 Community Bail Funds to Support Right Now:    https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd 

5)       Go to https://fcnl.quorum.us/ and write your member of Congress asking them to take swift action in response to ongoing fatal and racist police killings and other violence against Black people across our country. Urge them to co-sponsor :

·     The End Racial and Religious Profiling Act (S. 2355): Bans federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies from using race or religion to influence police stops, searches, and immigration proceedings.

·     The PEACE Act (H.R. 4359): Establishes a national “necessary” use of force standard to prevent police officers from using lethal force unless all non-lethal methods have been exhausted.·     The Eric Garner Excessive Force Prevention Act (H.R. 4408): Makes it illegal for police to use any hold or grip that blocks the throat or windpipe. The sort of choke holds that police used to kill Eric Garner and George Floyd.·     The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 1714): Would stop military hardware from flowing into the hands of civilian law enforcement agencies by ending the 1033 program that provide such things as helicopters, armored vehicles and military guns.·     Urge your members of congress to cosponsor these bills and be a champion for racial justice and equitable policing.

5) Support the efforts of the Friends Committee on Legislation of California to address the needs of minority and low-income communities during the Covid 19 crisis. People of color have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic. Go to fclca.org to take action.

·        Tell your Assemblymember you support job protected paid family leave for all!

·        Add your name in support of a #SafetyNet4All - provide immediate support to undocumented workers in California

·        Tell Gov. Newsom to include all California Seniors in Medi-Cal regardless of immigration status

·        Tell legislators and the governor to include all income eligible tax-filers in the CA Earned Income Tax Credit and Young Child Tax Credit, including immigrants who work with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers

·        Register for the Work and Family Coalition's Virtual Advocacy Day on June 11- Sign up to advocate for paid sick leave and paid family leave - join virtual legislative visits and more.  FCLCA is part of the Work and Family Coalition -The COVID-19 crisis highlights the importance of Paid Sick Days and Paid Family Leave protections—no one should lose their job or face economic insecurity because they are sick, caring for an ill family member or complying with public health directives.

6)     Write to our local Pasadena officials urging them to reduce funding for police so there is more funding available to address crime prevention crime and disparity. For example, affordable housing is listed on the national crime prevention website as a deterrent to crime. We spend approximately $80 million on the police and $1.3 million to run our housing department. There is no dedicated funding source for affordable housing in Pasadena. Pasadena was once 25% African American, but today less than 8% yet a very high percent of the 527 counted this year as homeless are Black. Most Black have left due to gentrification, they have either been priced out or cashed out. Very little of Pasadena’s funding is spent on improving historically Black neighborhoods and density is kept low, preventing economic and housing development. Here are the email addresses of our City Council members: ttornek@cityofpasadena.net, thampton@cityofpasadena.net, mmcaustin@cityofpasadena.net, gmasuda@cityofpasadena.net, smadison@cityofpasadena.net, vgordo@cityofpasadena.net, awilson@cityofpasadena.net

7)       Urge our City Council to seriously a motion authored by LA County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Mark Ridley-Thomas calling for police departments in the county to include the following eight policies outlined by Campaign Zero:

·        Requiring officers to intervene to stop another officer from using excessive force

·        Restricting, or prohibiting, the use of chokeholds, strangleholds, and carotid restraints

·        Requiring officers to de-escalate situations, when possible, before using force

·        Using a Force Continuum or Matrix that defines and limits the types of force that can be used to respond to specific types of resistance

·        Requiring officers to give a verbal warning before using deadly force

·        Prohibiting officers from shooting at people in moving vehicles unless the person poses a deadly threat by means other than the vehicle

·        Requiring officers to exhaust all other reasonable alternatives before resorting to using deadly force

·        Requiring comprehensive reporting that includes both uses of force and threats of force

8)       Support the recommendations by Coalitions for Increased Civilian Oversight of Pasadena Police (CICOPP) that the Pasadena City Council:

·        create a civilian oversight commission, with the power to investigate police violence and abuse, as happened with unarmed Kendrec McDade,19 (shot 7 times by the police), Reginald Thomas and Christopher Ballew.  

·        revise its policy on the use of deadly force to reflect the legal language of police reform bill AB392 passed in 2019. 

CANDLELIGHT PROTEST REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD AND RACIAL INJUSTICE SUNDAY, MAY 31st @ 7PM PASADENA CITY HALL

Dear Friends, Like you, I am outraged and saddened by what happened to George Floyd this week, but not surprised. This kind of racial violence by police is all too prevalent in our nation, and here in our city. Many of you have probably seen the shocking video of a young Black man named Christopher Ballew who was savagely beaten by Pasadena police and his leg broken, for a routine traffic stop. If you haven't, here's the link. Fair warning. It's very graphic and disturbing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcNaAH5VSHw

Since moving to Northwest Pasadena nine years ago, I have become increasingly aware of the racial profiling that takes place in our city, and the way that racism impacts people of color. Jill and I have taken part in vigils for African Americans who have killed and beaten, and stood in solidarity with their families and friends. This is a time for prayer and reflection, and action.

Take a moment and remember people of color who who have been killed and beaten here in our city and around the nation. Hold their families and friends in your prayers. And say their names, beginning with:

Kendrec McDade, 19-year-old son of Anya Slaughter, killed in 2012 by Pasadena police for allegedly stealing a laptop.

Reginald Thomas, nicknamed “Daddy Daycare,” father of eight children (with another on the way), killed by Pasadena police in 2016.

Christopher Ballew, beaten by Pasadena police for a routine traffic stop in 2018.

As I write this, protests are taking place and violence erupting across our nation.

Tomorrow here in Pasadena, people of faith will be gathering at 7 pm across from City Hall for a candlelight protest. It will be peaceful but not silent. Please take part if you can. And if you can't make it, please light a candle and pray, or go outside and make some noise, for 8 minutes.

Let this be a time to rededicate ourselves to racial justice and equality for all. Please spread the word of this protest with your friends.

CANDLELIGHT PROTEST REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD AND RACIAL INJUSTICE
SUNDAY, MAY 31st @ 7PM
PASADENA CITY HALL (Meet near the Mack and Jackie Robinson statue)
Parking with validation is available at the Holly Street Parking Garage located directly behind First Baptist Church. We invite you to join us Sunday evening for a night of nonviolent action at Pasadena City Hall. We will be wearing masks and observing physical distancing because this action is about the protection of life as sacred. We invite you to bring a candle (real or electric) to light.

Part of this action will be eight minutes of sustained noise to represent the eight minutes officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on George Floyd's neck, lynching him while his cries were ignored. Please bring something (bells, noisemakers, pots to bang, your voice to wail) to fill the air with sound during that time.

Warning: Contains violent content and adult language. Bystander footage from the arrest of Christopher Ballew by Pasadena Police on Nov. 9, 2017.

What we can do to help get out the vote and defeat Trump

I received this in the mail. I plan to take part in this campaign to get out the vote and defeat Trump and invite you to do likewise. If you need some motivation, check out this documentary. It shows how Kemp stole the election from Stacy Abrams with voter suppression, and how this has become the Republican strategy for winning despite being a minority party. 

https://www.bravenewfilms.org/suppressed

 Hi.  Here’s a question to consider:

      Do you ever feel frustrated that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell keep doing harmful things and you feel unable to stop them and their enablers?

      Well, there’s some potentially good news!   There’s a guy named Scott Forman, a Democrat who went to Harvard and then he worked for a software company, where he learned how to measure the impact of hand-written personalized letters in hand-written personalized envelopes to motivate difficult-to-motivate people on important issues.   He first utilized this letter-writing method with a power company energy-saving campaign that used personalized letters to help consumers be motivated not to waste power.    They found the personalized letters to individual customers caused far more behavior change than other methods.   

     Then Forman tried out the personalized letter method in the Alabama Senate race of 2017 where he scientifically measured and discovered that an additional 3.9% of the “Registered Democrats Who Rarely Vote” did in fact vote in 2017 because they received a personal letter reminding them to vote.

     Then Forman tested out the personal letter method again in swing districts in the 2018 Congressional elections and found it once again significantly boosted the actual number of “Registered Democrats Who Sometimes Don’t Vote” who in fact did remember to vote in 2018 in those House districts, many of which flipped from red to blue as a result of that mid-term election of 2018.  

    Forman reasoned that most voters today hate unsolicited phone calls and they don’t want some stranger coming to the door (especially during the Covid-19 this year).   Yes, people are on their phones and Facebook a lot where they get bombarded by election year calls that they tend to ignore, but when a personalized sensible letter with a hand-written envelope arrives in the US mail, it more likely gets opened, it gets read thoroughly, and it leads to the person being more likely to vote.   (See the article in The Atlantic, “A Throwback Way to Win a Pandemic Election” from April 30, 2020 for a description of the letter-writing method and its effectiveness).    

     Now here’s the potential good news:   Scott Forman has put together a non-profit called Vote Forward or VoteFwd.org where they are ready to have us volunteers write personalized letters to “Registered Democrats Who Rarely Vote” or “Registered Democrats Who Sometimes Vote” in numerous battleground states, including Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, and others.   

     Just getting an extra 2% or 4% of these voters in battleground states to vote for a Democrat for President and Senate would restore sanity and decency to our nation.   

     VoteFwd.org is ready with a pile of targeted mailing addresses for 10,000 or 100,000 volunteers to write 50 or 500 letters each that will reach 10 million or more Democratic voters in crucial swing states for November 2020.  They’re calling it “The Big Send” and they’ve partnered with Swing Left, Indivisible, Daily Kos, the Women’s March, and the League of Conservation Voters to urge volunteers to do this old-school, newly-relevant way of Getting Out the Vote.    

      All you need to do to be part of making a huge difference in 2020 is to sign up at VoteFwd.org with your email and create a password.  They will ask you a couple of security questions to make sure you aren’t a robot or a Putin.   Then they let you download the half-typed, half-handwritten letter and the voter mailing addresses that you personally send (with Vote Forward’s p.o. box as the return address from that particular state on the envelope) along with your hand-written envelopes and stamp.  I recommend using colorful paper, a colorful envelope,  or a fun color of ink on the envelope,  along with a stamp that is engaging (Mr. Rogers, Marvin Gaye, “Honoring First Responders,” Gwen Ifill of PBS, Cesar Chavez, National Parks, or gorgeous rivers that are endangered by the current administration).   

       You can start today and save your stamped, addressed envelopes in a box in your home until you mail them during the final week of October to the “Democrats Who Sometimes Don’t Vote” in these key battleground states.   VoteFwd.org has already gotten 1.25 million of these letters written and saved up (“stockpiled like face masks”) by volunteers like you and me.   That means they are already 1/8 the way toward their initial goal of reaching 10 million swing voters during October.   

Making Affordable Housing Happen on Excess Congregational Land

You are invited to a Monthly Housing Justice Educational Forum sponsored by Making Housing and  Community Happen (MHCH). Learn what MHCH is doing to help change the zoning in Pasadena so congregations feeling led to have affordable housing built on their land can do so.

When: Tues. May 26, 2020, 7:00-8:30 PM  Pacific Time.

Presenters: Phil Burns, Andre White and Jill Shook.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpd--rrTIsGdagYZL3zE8NYsRHgrRdHLWf
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

For more info contact Jill@makinghousinghappen.com

PRESENTERS

As the leader of The Arroyo Group, a 40-year-old planning and urban design firm, Philip Burns brings the firm’s resources to the Church Land Committee to analyze and write zoning, secure entitlements, build consensus with community leaders and neighbors, and facilitate dialogues within churches. Philip has prepared transit-oriented development plans, zoning ordinances and transportation plans for Metro and the cities of Pasadena and Inglewood, among others. Having served in the Peace Corps in Guatemala, Philip is bilingual in English and Spanish, and he leads children and youth ministry at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. 

 Andre White serves as a development advisor/owner’s representative to local churches through the Church Land Committee. He has spent the last fourteen years working on the development of and investment in affordable and market-rate housing in California and four other states. In 2019 Andre started his firm, Mitchelville Real Estate Group, due to his realization that often non-profit and institutional organizations do not have a representative to advise and help them navigate through all of the nuances and particulars of a complicated real estate development and investment partnership.

Help us to address the housing crisis during this time of pandemic

Pasadena has become an epicenter of the Covid 19 outbreak, with over 50 fatalities–more than the city of Long Beach and more than Orange County! Hardest hit in our city has been

the North Fair Oaks area, where nursing homes have been so badly hit that National Guard medics were sent in. Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH) has a North Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative, comprised largely of African American pastors, who are reaching out to this stricken community and just gathered 250 face masks to give to these nursing homes. More importantly, we are planning ahead to address a housing crisis that will almost certainly worsen as a result of this pandemic and its economic fallout. We have 26 willing to offer their land for urgently needed affordable and homeless housing. Our Congregational Land Committee is helping to make this a reality. See: https://www.makinghousinghappen.org/church-land

During this Covid 19 crisis, our homeless neighbors need housing more than ever. Last

week we had 55 people join us for our event: "Addressing Homelessness in a Time of Pandemic: Immediate Needs and Longer Term Solutions." 

On Monday, May 11, the Pasadena City Council will consider two proposals for permanent supportive housing that could house up to 135 of our homeless neighbors. This week we are mobilizing churches and people of conscience to support these proposals. Please help us by writing to our city council. See https://laquaker.blogspot.com/2020/05/action-alert-may-11.html

People experiencing homelessness are the most at risk during this crisis because they can’t “shelter in place” and congregate shelters have become breeding grounds for infection. For this reason, we are supporting Project Room Key, the governor’s initiative that will house 15,000 homeless people in motels (many of which have less than 10% occupancy due to this crisis). We are urging our city not only to house homeless people in motels through this program, but to partner with affordable housing developers to purchase motels for permanent supportive housing. This is a model will help our homeless neighbors in the short and long term. The Covid 19 pandemic will have long-lasting effects on housing as well as other aspects of our lives. Making Housing and Community Happen  is working to make sure that everyone is safely housed. This is not only our mission and our vision, it is also God’s vision, according to the prophet Micah, who said: “Everyone beneath their own vine and fig tree will live in peace and unafraid” (Micah 4:4). Please contribute to our work so that we can work to ensure that everyone will be safely housed both during and after this Covid 19 pandemic.  Pasadena has become an epicenter of the Covid 19 outbreak, with over 50 fatalities–more than the city of Long Beach and more than Orange County! Hardest hit in our city has been the North Fair Oaks area, where nursing homes have been so badly hit that National Guard medics were sent in. Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH) has a North Fair Oaks Empowerment Initiative, comprised largely of African American pastors, who are reaching out to this stricken community and just gathered 250 face masks to give to these nursing homes. More importantly, we are planning ahead to address a housing crisis that will almost certainly worsen as a result of this pandemic and its economic fallout. We have 26 willing to offer their land for urgently needed affordable and homeless housing. Our Congregational Land Committee is helping to make this a reality. See: https://www.makinghousinghappen.org/church-land During this Covid 19 crisis, our homeless neighbors need housing more than ever. Last week we had 55 people join us for our event: "Addressing Homelessness in a Time of Pandemic: Immediate Needs and Longer Term Solutions."  On Monday, May 11, the Pasadena City Council will consider two proposals for permanent supportive housing that could house up to 135 of our homeless neighbors. This week we are mobilizing churches and people of conscience to support these proposals. Please help us by writing to our city council. See https://laquaker.blogspot.com/2020/05/action-alert-may-11.html People experiencing homelessness are the most at risk during this crisis because they can’t “shelter in place” and congregate shelters have become breeding grounds for infection. For this reason, we are supporting Project Room Key, the governor’s initiative that will house 15,000 homeless people in motels (many of which have less than 10% occupancy due to this crisis). We are urging our city not only to house homeless people in motels through this program, but to partner with affordable housing developers to purchase motels for permanent supportive housing. This is a model will help our homeless neighbors in the short and long term. The Covid 19 pandemic will have long-lasting effects on housing as well as other aspects of our lives. Making Housing and Community Happen  is working to make sure that everyone is safely housed. This is not only our mission and our vision, it is also God’s vision, according to the prophet Micah, who said: “Everyone beneath their own vine and fig tree will live in peace and unafraid” (Micah 4:4). Please contribute to our work so that we can work to ensure that everyone will be safely housed both during and after this Covid 19 pandemic. Click here to donate Click here to learn more about Making Housing and Community Happen (MHCH)

Please donate to help us address the housing crisis