The work before us
A note from the Friends House staff:
Dear Friends,
This week has brought a wave of protests across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd and continued systemic oppression and violence faced by people of color in the United States. On Sunday in Boston, these culminated in both beautiful peaceful protests, and later scary clashes between police and protestors, just a few blocks from the Friends House. We grieve, and feel renewed anger, with these reminders of the continued injustice of our society that disproportionately harms black and brown bodies.
Over the past few years, the Friends House has been proud to open our doors to a diverse group of activists, organizations, and changemakers to gather, plan activities, and find sanctuary. Leveraging our physical house as a tool for radical welcome and organizing has been one of the most powerful ways for us to support and advance justice work in Boston. The current pandemic has taken this tool from us (for now), and we are trying to figure out how best to take action in this time. What is our public work as a House when we cannot offer in-person hospitality, and when gathering is unsafe? How do we balance our responsibility to show up for the justice and safety of our broader community with our responsibility to keep each other safe from the virus?
We hold these questions but we are not waiting to fully figure out the answers before starting our work. As the staff of the Friends House we’re taking this opportunity to examine how we can better support residents, neighbors, and broader community members of color as we strive to become more of an anti-racist organization, live further into our mission, and leverage the opportunities and privilege we have as an institution.
Black Lives Matter.
With gratitude and determination,
Nils, Jen, Jeff, and Vickie (the staff of the Beacon Hill Friends House)
Resource
Our friends at Amesbury Friends Meeting have put together a list of ways to get involved in anti-racism work: take a look.
