Slave labor was the economic foundation of the early United States, and yet, Daquanna Harrison reminds us, Quakers took up the cause of abolition—a stance we continue to take pride in to this day. “We stand on our radical past,” she says, but Friends like Benjamin Lay and John Woolman were often not embraced by their peers because of their testimonies.
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Transcript:
During the time of slavery, it was in our fabric it was everything that America was made to be made of, made by. And we stood our, Quaker ancestors, stood up and said no and helped. Where are we now? Where is our great stand now.
I’m Daquanna Harrison. I am an attender at Aelphi friends meeting in Maryland, where I also reside in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and I use she/her pronouns. We stand on our radical past. We are extremely proud, right, of having been an abolitionist, standing up for peace and against the Vietnam War and things of that nature. But when we really look at our history — particularly if we can just like look, for instance, at what it took for us to become abolitionists. The radicals were shunned within Quaker spaces originally. Benjamin Lay and John Woolman — two fanaticals, radicals — we uphold those folks now. But at that time, they were not upheld.
There’s two thoughts that I want people to consider. First, where would you have been at that time? Would you have been in the snow with Benjamin Lay without your shoes on, to acknowledge that that’s the life that slaves were having at that time? Would you have also been paying the enslaved people who waited on you the same way that John Woolman did? We hope we would. Then the second question is who are our radicals right now, and what can you be doing to be beside them in the snow, to be tipping along with them in whatever way that looks. That might look like really standing with our trans siblings beyond marches. That might mean opening up our meeting houses for people to be able to recover after surgeries. That might mean paying for people’s therapy who need support in understanding what’s going on with their bodies on their minds. that might mean going up against people and politicians that you would regularly vote for., believe in, and align with.
So much of what’s happening today happened in our past, and it’s just a new group that’s being harmed. We have to like, put ourselves on the line, right? The Underground Railroad was Quakers putting themselves on the line. And there was much more to lose than now. We are much more powerful, as in foundationaly. We know that we won’t get just struck down either violently or politically. And yet there’s still meeting houses that are worried about putting up a pride flag because what it might say to the community. Well, I ask you to consider the amount of people that you’re worried about, that it might say something negative, consider the amount of people that it might say something positive to. And who needs you? Who needs you to say, “I care”?
We should be known for our work. We once were known for our work. And here we are. Fighting about flags. I really think that if we are not doing big work, hard work, then we’re failing our Quaker ancestors. We can no longer stand just in that history of abolitionism, in that history of peacekeeping, while people are enslaved here and now, while there is no peace for many groups of people living day in and day out. And not just talking about those in war, but even those who are in our neighborhoods who are feeling as if there is war at their doorstep because of their identity.
Discussion Question:
- As we look at the world today, who are our radical Friends, and what can we do to show solidarity with them?
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
Let’s share this prophetic message with all our meetings!
The information was very well presented. What Daquenna says rings true. We absolutely need to step up.
Thank you to Daquanna Harrison for asking such provocative questions and providing such powerful examples. Hers is an important message and particularly timely, given what is happening in the United States at this time in history.
How do we as Quakers stand up for what is just in the face of injustice and the stripping away of democractic principles and institutions? Do we stand with our radical Quaker ancestors or do we just rest on our Quaker laurels? Each of us needs to answer those questions for ourselves. I hope that I’m courageous enough to say, “Yes! I stand with Lay and Woolman and all the other Quaker ancestors who made such a difference during their lifetimes!”
Yes, thank you, thank you Daquanna Harrison for all you said and all that your queries ask of us.
This message is critically important. We need more courage, I need more courage.