Committee for Black Concerns

People of African descent have made outstanding contributions to the development of societies and nations throughout history, and continue to do so today. Yet there has been very limited recognition and appreciation of their heritage and cultures. The International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) is a chance to redress this prejudice. 

The challenges faced by people of African descent are in part the legacy of the shameful, centuries-long practice of slavery, discrimination and segregation. Racism, structural discrimination, marginalization, hate speech and hate crimes remain virulent and widespread, despite all we have experienced and learned over the years. Migrants and refugees from Africa are among today’s most vulnerable people, at the intersection of discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, social and economic status, and citizenship. It is all the more impressive that in spite of this adversity, people of African descent are leaders in all walks of life, from art to business, politics to philanthropy, sport to statesmanship, music, literature and the sciences,

About the Committee

• Description of the Committee
• The Committee for Black Concerns's page in the NYYM Handbook

Resources on Black Concerns

• Fellowship of Friends of African Descent (FoFAD)
  • Minute on state violence
  • Epistle from 2016 gathering
• Bayard Rustin, African American Quaker activist
  • Resources on Bayard Rustin
  • Bayard Rustin biography
• Resources on racism
  • College Behind Bars—PBS documentary series
  • Christian Slavery — Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, by Katharine Gerbner
  • NYYM's Apology to Afro-Descendants
  • Resources for addressing racism in our meetings and in society
  • Quaker resources on equality—books and pamphlets
  • Quaker resources on racial equality—books and pamphlets
  • Baltimore Yearly Meeting's addition to its Vision Statement
    • Introduction to the addition
    • BYM's Vision Statement
  • UN International Decade for People of African Descent

The Committee for Black Concerns

The Committee for Black Concerns used to be called the Race Relations Committee and we are still trying to meet the challenges of improving race relations within and without the Religious Society of Friends.

We seek to:

• broaden and deepen communication among all ethnic groups,
• develop among Friends a keener awareness of the violence of racism, and
• increase awareness among Friends of the history and contributions of Blacks and other ethnic groups both within and outside the Religious Society of Friends.

We work in collaboration with two other NYYM groups, the Task Group on Racism and the European American Friends Working to End Racism (EAQWER).