Greg Williams brings a spiritual presence into activist circles. We talked with him about Black Lives Matter and the Quaker legacy of nonviolent activism.
Resources:
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Discussion Questions:
- Greg says, “Quakers live that Spirit in their meetings, and so when people come into Quaker meeting and you sit down for your first meeting, you might feel this power touching you.” Do you experience that?
- Have you ever experienced that spirit and power “out on the street,” as Greg puts it?
Transcript:
Part of our role as Quakers is also to hold the peace, and we have a special link to nonviolence. We need to bring that into the community. Not to sort of say, “Here we arrrrre, the QUA-kers!” But more to do, you know? Here we are out in the street, living this way of being nonviolent. And people will say, “Oh! I’m feeling that power. I’m feeling that sense of movement of Spirit, and I want to walk with you guys.”
Holding the Peace: Quaker Nonviolence in the Time of Black Lives Matter
My name is Greg Williams. I am from Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, by way of New York City, and I am a member of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting in Boston.
I have a ministry called “Stone of Hope.” The line relates to a line out of the “I have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. “With faith, we will hew out of a mountain of despair a stone of hope.” And that ministry is trying to outreach into communities of color. It’s not just going out and saying, “Here we are, the Quakers! We have the answers!” Because we don’t have the answers. But we do have a presence. We do have a history, and we do have a way of dealing with violence that I think we can bring to a larger community.
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter started out as a group of people that were basically doing demonstrations to say, “We matter as people. So you can’t take our lives, and we’re here to be witness to that.”
I spent a couple of years working with Black Lives Matter groups, and when I went out into the community and met with these groups, I basically said, “I’m a Quaker. And I’m here as an activist, but I’m also here because there’s a Spirit of God that’s within that’s also calling me to be here. So I’m here to do spiritual work. I’m not here to convert anybody to anything, but I’m here to be part of that positive spiritual sense that can empower all of us.”
The Quaker Legacy of Nonviolence
Bayard Rustin certainly was able to teach Martin Luther King Jr. “Martin, you’ve got guns. Um, you really can’t have a nonviolent message and be carrying guns.”
“Yeah but there are people out there who are trying to kill me and shoot my family and you know, I need the gun.…”
And I can envision Bayard Rustin—who was a Quaker—saying, “You can wear your sword as long as you can. You’re out there every day in the street talking about nonviolence. You can’t have a gun.” And Martin gave up the gun.
Over the last several years, with a lot of the police shootings that are happening, there’s been a lot of movement of young black men and women into the circle of nonviolence. But a lot of that is just homegrown, the Spirit leading these young people to go out into the community and be a nonviolent witness to what’s happening.
Offering a Quaker Presence
And we as Quakers have to be aware that we have that presence. And again, it’s not, “I have to do this,” or, “What black people want, I have to follow.” No. We have to follow where the spirit is calling us.
It’s like, if you go to a monastery and you’re blindfolded, when you’re in that monastery, you’re going to feel the Spirit. I’ve had that going to Buddhist monasteries. As a brother in the Catholic order, people would come to our community and they’d be like, “Oh, I feel the Spirit!” It’s because we’re living that spirit. And I think that Quakers live that Spirit in their meetings and so when people come into Quaker meeting and you sit down for your first meeting, you might feel this power touching you. And we can have that same power just on the street.
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
I love this interview, love the way Greg Williams describes how it is the Spirit that he listens to and how it is in the Spirit that we as Quakers seek to be grounded, when we join in the Black Lives Matter movement or enter into any social justice work. The image he creates of Bayard Rustin exhorting Dr. King to refuse to take up or carry guns is powerful. Thank you, Quakerspeak. Thank you, Greg Williams.
Wonderful to see and hear Greg Williams speak his truth so simply and clearly. Blessings on his good works and thanks for representing Friends so very well. And thanks to Quaker Speak and the fabulous director for making such good product.
Greg’s approach to black lives matter is a valuable message for PYM about a constructive way forward. Quakers can make a significant contribution by our deeds and our spiritual grounding as we partner with like-minded social justice activists.
Yes, we must speak, not to show we’re there but because we’re drawn. And, when we’re small in numbers, that’s hard.