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I hope you and your loved ones are doing well. These remain challenging times, yet we continue to see gains in our ongoing struggles for justice. Over the past weeks, the Supreme Court announced groundbreaking decisions to protect LGBTQ people from employment discrimination and uphold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the U.S., and the Minneapolis City Council announced that it would dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department, pledging to create a new system of public safety—all while people across the country continue to march in support of Black Lives Matter and demand systemic change.
In this issue of the AFSC Alumni Newsletter, we’ll honor some of those who have gone before us in the struggle for systemic change, like Arnie Alpert who retired last month after almost four decades at AFSC. In his home state of New Hampshire, Arnie led movements for economic justice and affordable housing, civil rights and worker rights, peace and disarmament, abolition of the death penalty, and an end to racism and homophobia.
With deep appreciation,
Tonya Histand
Alumni Director
Alumni news & notes
In 1964, Connie Curry began working for the AFSC as the Southern field representative in Mississippi and Alabama advocating for school desegregation. After a lifetime of activism, Connie died on June 20 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Share your memories of Connie here.
In this op-ed for the Indianapolis Recover, Tatjana Rebelle, who worked with AFSC and the No Way to Treat a Child campaign in Indianapolis, writes that people are the true symbols and power of revolutionary change.
Don Gann served in various roles with AFSC but is most remembered for clerking the Board of Directors twice. Don died in February.
Bonnyeclaire Smith-Stewart, who participated in AFSC’s Southern Student Project, is making a documentary of the project titled, “Beyond the Mason”.
Elle.com featured Shirien Damra, who worked for AFSC in Chicago as the Middle East Program associate. Her powerful art—created in solidarity with Black communities—has been featured and shared by many on Instagram and other social media.
In the 1980s, Evans Young was the International Affairs Representatives for Southeast Asia, based in Hong Kong. Evans passed away earlier this year.
Former AFSC staffer Mica Root now works on pandemic outreach for the health department of Philadelphia, where she’s translating official government communications into more accessible materials to help community members better protect themselves from COVID-19.
Jerome Nathaniel was the Healing & Transformative Justice intern in New York City in 2011. Now the associate director of Policy and Government Relations at City Harvest in New York City, Jerome details what his organization has been doing during COVID-19.
Do you have news to share? Email us today!
Archive dive
Listen to this podcast about Mary Elmes, who worked with AFSC to aid refugees in France during World War II. As the Vichy regime began deporting Jewish people from refugee concentration camps to Auschwitz, Mary put her life on the line to rescue as many children as she could, sometimes driving them to safety in her own car.
AFSC today
AFSC honored the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and vision by supporting the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival last month. Just days before his assassination in 1968, Dr. King sent a letter soliciting funds for the Poor People’s Campaign that read, in part, “[The Southern Christian Leadership Conference] cannot wait; it cannot watch as the only systematic response to riots are feverish military preparations for repression. It cannot sit in appalled silence and then deplore the holocaust when tragedy strikes. We cannot condone either violence or the equivalent evil of passivity.”
As a Quaker organization, AFSC is committed to working in solidarity with communities to end white supremacy and uphold the human dignity in of every person. Read AFSC’s statement on why we won’t stop until we dismantle the whole racist system and find resources on defunding the police here.
In New Mexico, AFSC started the Farm to Food Bank project to support local farmers and provide food to community members in this public health crisis. “Farmers have food, but few markets are buying fresh produce. Food banks are experiencing unprecedented need. AFSC is bridging that gap.” says director Sayrah Namaste.
More ways to take action and connect with AFSC
- Join our upcoming Skill Up webinar on how to tell compelling stories, Wednesday, August 12 at 9 p.m. ET.
- Tell your governor: Invest in communities, not policing!
- While staying home to help minimize health risks, many are also putting their affairs in order. If you are thinking about tackling this important task, AFSC can help. Visit our website to access a complimentary estate planning kit.
- Join us every Thursday at 4pm ET for our weekly Facebook Live series where a staff member gives a brief update on our work. Click this link to join the livestream at 4 p.m. ET.
Thank you for reading our AFSC Alumni Newsletter! To learn more about our Alumni Network and connect with former friends and colleagues, visit our webpage and Facebook group. You can also email me questions and suggestions.