Albuquerque Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
1600 5th St., NW (PO Box 25462) , Albuquerque, NM 87125-5462
UPHOLDING RACIAL JUSTICE & EQUITY (URJE)
Who We Are and What We Do!
We have a new name!
Upholding Racial Justice & Equity Group (URJE)
URJE is a self-created group of AMM members/ attenders with a dedication to understanding racism in ourselves, our Meeting, community, country and world.
Formerly the Whiteness Study Group, we have facilitated AMM's participation in this process since 2018. Examples include: A monthly self-study group; movie nights; monthly and intermittent workshops on such topics as: whiteness, white supremacy, racism, implicit bias, microaggressions, and more.
We invite AMM members, attenders and friends to join us. Contact us at: info@abqfriends.org
Toward Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Faith Community
At the January 2020 Meeting for Worship for Business we reminded Meeting of the AMM minute passed in 2017 in support of the Friends General Conference Institutional Assessment on Structural Racism. We also reviewed AMM's work on whiteness & racism over the past two years.
The following Minute was approved at the Monthly Meeting for Worship for Business on February 2, 2020:
Albuquerque Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, acknowledging that we are affected by structural racism within a historical framework of white supremacy in the United States, commit to a period of self-reflection and discernment toward becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Faith Community. The process will be guided by an anti racism assessment team made up of volunteers, with a report back to AMM by September 2020, or sooner.
The COVID 19 pandemic made the above goal impossible to meet. However, URJE, in conjunction with the Sanctuary Working Group, has proposed to AMM that the Meeting undertake a more serious study of structural racism/whiteness. No decision on this prompting has been reached as of December 2022.
Questions? Contact: Richard Knottenbelt, (313-5263) Miriam Bennett (440-8919) or Sara Keeney (379-3392) with questions.
LEARN MORE - AND MORE - AND MORE!!
DOWNLOAD BELOW a copy of the Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Faith Community to be used as a guide in our own work.
Scroll down further for a larger library of articles/videos on these subjects.
We welcome your favorite articles, too. Send them to: info@abqfriends.org attention WSG.
If you missed reviewing the FGC Institutional Assessment, links are provided below:
FGC Institutional Assessment Full Report
FGC Institutional Assessment Executive Summary
Our Next WSG Meetings - Join Us! 2nd Thursdays
April 13, May 11, and June 8 (Second Thursday) 6:30-8:00 p.m. on ZOOM.
We welcome new members. To obtain a link and to RSVP contact: sarahmalone1949@gmail.com
fgc VIRTUAL WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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WEEKLY ONLINE WORSHIP FOR FRIENDS OF COLOR & FOR WHITE FRIENDS CONFRONTING RACISM
Friends General Conference (FGC) offers weekly worship opportunities online for both Friends of Color and for White Friends Confronting Racism. Learn more, including how to register, on the News/Events page.
Here's what an AMM member who regularly attends this gathering shared:
"I mark my calendar now by the weekly Worship for White Friends Confronting Racism group. It is a space in which I feel utterly safe in considering issues of internalized racism, experiences as a white person in bringing anti-racism consciousness and work to my meeting, and growing in my understanding of the spiritual aspects of this work. Breakout groups add to the opportunities for fellowship and mutual support. I find it discouraging that the number of attendees is small -- with this offering extending to Quakers across the country. It begs the question as to where is everyone else? As one participant said, "We have to find ways to talk with other white people about race!" Join us!"
NEW LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES!
National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian Institution) Talking About Race
The National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has produced extensive learning modules for any level or type of interest in anti-racist training. This website is another very rich resource for self-guided learning.
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race?referringSource=articleShare
Fabulous Self-Study Module - The Stages of Becoming an Anti-Racist
The Whiteness Study Group will soon begin a monthly online discussion based on the stages of becoming an Anti-Racist as identified in the following link. Open it - explore - go at your own pace. Watch for updated information on this new AMM series!