How are people in Friends General Conference (FGC) creating community that is accessible, equitable, and transformational? FGC’s task force on our “Institutional Assessment on Systemic Racism within FGC” offered this summary of the ongoing work as of November of 2018:

“Two years after Friends General Conference’s governing body approved the initiation of an institutional assessment on systemic racism within FGC, a summary with recommendations and a full report are now available.

Based on these, FGC’s governing body, Central Committee, has approved a minute to commit FGC to becoming an anti-racist organization in a multi-year process. There was strong unity in the body, which gives hope to many.”

The full report notes that “This will be a multi-year process to uproot from within ourselves the on-going reality of white supremacy that spiritually harms us all.”

Last weekend, FGC’s Executive Committee approved the names for a task force charged with implementing the recommendations and moving the work forward within FGC and with FGC Friends. Stay tuned for further developments.

You can read an interview with the co‐clerks of the original Task Force from the January 2019 issue of Friends Journal.

Marvin Barnes (Birmingham) and Caroline Lejuste (Red Cedar), Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Friends, served on the Task Force. LEYM and individual LEYM meetings have contributed generously toward FGC’s Institutional Assessment. A number of LEYM Friends serve on FGC working groups, committees, Central Committee (the governing body), and Executive Committee.