Quakers and Social Reform

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Quaker historian Susan Sachs Goldman will speak with us about Quaker involvement in social justice issues. She will be speaking in the North Room. Child care will be provided.

FRIENDS IN DEED

Susan Sachs Goldman

Friends in Deed is the story of more than three hundred years of
Quaker social reform efforts in America.  Since their settlement in
the last quarter of the 17th century, Friends have advocated
tirelessly for a peaceful world by working to bring about social
justice and equality.  In numbers highly disproportionate to their
membership, activists from this small religious minority have
participated in  and led reform efforts in all of the social
controversies of our history:  advocating for the respectful treatment
of Native Americans, for the equality and civil rights of African
Americans and women, for more enlightened and constructive treatment
of many of those who are distressed and discriminated against,
including the mentally ill, the poor, the imprisoned, and the
immigrant, and those ravaged by natural and manmade catastrophe in
America and all around the world.

Friends have pursued these reform initiatives persistently throughout
American history, without any interest in publicizing their efforts or
successes.  Their activism is an inspiring story of a group committed
to bettering the world through relentless advocacy in the public
arena, and yet most of us do not know of their significant leadership
in so many highly controversial social issues.  This tale is not the
story of perfection, but it is a remarkable narrative of
ever-increasing definitions of the needy addressed by more and more
creative methods of peaceful social action on their behalf.

The examples of so many Quaker activists, of their compassion toward
those suffering of those around them, and of their undaunted response
to inequities and injustices are not flawless.  But they do represent
an inspiring and effective template for responsible and compassionate
world citizenship.  The story of these Quaker reformers deserves
recounting as a remarkable demonstration of the imperative of
individual action to ease the sufferings of others in order to make a
fairer, more peaceful world for us all.

Susan Sachs Goldman’s long-standing interest in Quaker history
and religion grew out of her experience as a parent and trustee at
Sidwell Friends School.  A widely recognized lecturer on Quakers and
the history of Quaker social reform efforts, she holds a bachelor’s
degree from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in American
history from Brandeis University.  She lives in Washington, DC.