Our declaration
Racism is pervasive in British society and we have plenty of work to do to ensure that we as Quakers are part of the solution and not part of the problem. We are engaged in that work.
All Quakers vehemently declare that we are opposed to racism but Black, white, Asian and mixed-heritage Friends have told us that the Society of Friends is often blind to the gifts and richness of other traditions, that the unequal power dynamics of wider society can be reflected in our meetings and people of colour can be discouraged from fully participating in worship. Racism within Quakers is perhaps more damaging because it is unconscious and springs from stereotyped assumptions: no harm may be intended, but harm may be done. (see Quaker Faith & Practice 10.13)
Background
The Quaker testimony to equality bears witness that all people are equal. There is something sacred in all of us, each person is unique, precious, a child of God. So we are fundamentally opposed to anything which violates the respect for every human being and racism in any form does just that.
We understand that religion is about the whole of life, that what matters is not what we say but rather what we do, therefore we are obliged to fight racism and to stand alongside people who have to endure it.
In historical times Quakers were at the forefront of the campaign to end slavery. Quakers set up the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and because they were banned from being in Parliament or other public roles they printed and hand-delivered abolitionist literature. Quaker women promoted a consumer boycott of slave-produced sugar. Together with others they made a significant contribution to the campaign to end the British slave trade in 1807. It is a history that we celebrate. But we know that Quakers in the past sometimes failed: some of the early Quakers were involved in the slave trade, as ship owners, ship masters and investors; William Penn, who founded the Quaker state of Pennsylvania, was a slave owner. We are now grappling with this history.
In the present day many Quakers are actively involved in combatting racism and the suffering it causes. Quakers founded Anti-Slavery International and campaign against modern slavery. Over a hundred local Quaker meetings, including Forest Hill, have made a commitment to become 'sanctuary meetings', which are engaged in practical work to build a culture of welcome towards newcomers to Britain, challenge racism in all its forms, and campaign to change the laws on destitution, detention and deportation. But we know that we do sometimes still fail in our own attitudes and behaviour, and we need to make changes. We are getting on with doing that.