AFSC ALUMNI Stories of Courage and Action

SPRING 2019 • VOLUME 100, NUMBER 1

AFSC ALUMNI Stories of courage and action

afsc.org Quaker Action LETTER FROM OUR GENERAL SECRETARY

Published by the American Friends Service Committee Contents afsc.org FE ATURES DEPARTMENTS WHO WE ARE The American Friends Service 8 AFSC alumni: courage and action 3 Letter from our general secretary Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker Here are just some of the people organization that promotes lasting 4 Alumni news + notes peace with justice as a practical who have shaped—and continue to expression of faith in action. influence—AFSC today. Drawing on continuing spiritual 5 News from around AFSC insights and working with people 14 Inspired in service of many backgrounds, we nurture 7 Q+A: Sonia Tuma, regional director, the seeds of change and respect We look at organizations that AFSC U.S. West region for human life that transform social helped to start. relations and systems. 17 Where I stand: opening doors MANAGING EDITOR and hearts Ronna Bolante 19 Snapshot EDITORS Mark Graham Theresa Kirby Melissa Lee Ralph Medley Layne Mullett Jos Truitt

DESIGN Mariana Martinez, AFSC intern and Aija Suuta Photo: Douglas Yarrow immigrant rights activist in Florida. Carl Roose Photo: Irit Reinheimer/AFSC

COVER PHOTO AFSC alumni from the past several decades. For alumni stories, see page 8 or visit peaceworks.afsc.org.

E-MAIL ADDRESS hen I think of AFSC’s reputations on the line for social justice rich history and determining what we are [email protected] history and the wonder- and peace—energizes me. So it’s only fit- called to do in today’s world. I look for- AMERICAN FRIENDS ful people who made it ting that we devote this issue of our Quak- ward to sharing our planning as it devel- SERVICE COMMITTEE happen, one word comes er Action magazine to telling a few stories ops. 1501 Cherry Street to mind: courage. It of our alumni. For now, I hope you enjoy these sto- Philadelphia, PA 19102 takes courage to stand This is a perfect time for an alumni is- ries of courage, heart, and conscience— Tel: 215-241-7000 W up for peace when a country is gripped in sue. First, we want to make sure that every- the story of AFSC’s alumni in action. Toll-free: 888-588-2372 war-fever. It takes courage to stand up for one who has been involved with AFSC—in the rights of people who are being blamed any way—can sign up to be a part of our In peace, for society’s ills. And it takes courage to Alumni Network. We already have nearly Today we work for a more just and peaceful world. meet face to face with people who others 1,500 people on our email list and over 360 call enemies—and find ways to make the people on Facebook. Tomorrow, with your help, we will continue to do the same. world a better place. Also, AFSC is reflecting on our past Joyce Ajlouny One delight of being general secretary accomplishments and planning our or- General Secretary Leave a legacy of peace. Name AFSC in your will, trust, or as a beneficiary of the Service Committee is that I hear the ganization’s future. Many community of your retirement plan, and sustain movements for stories of those who came before me, our members, Quakers, Board members, out- social change for generations to come. esteemed alumni, wherever I go. Meet- side experts, and staff have been meet- FPO: FSC SEAL ing and hearing about these courageous ing to develop AFSC’s next strategic plan. Call Tim Cravens at 1-888-588-2372, email [email protected], IF APPLICABLE souls—people who put their lives and These conversations are building on our or visit us online at afsc.org/wills to learn more.

QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 3 IN BRIEF ALUMNI NEWS News from around AFSC Join AFSC’s Do you have news to share? & NOTES Email us at [email protected]! Alumni Network! Former AFSC Western Massachusetts Of- Frances Crowe ran AFSC’s Western fice Director Jo Comerford made history Massachusetts office in the basement of Have you worked with the American on Nov. 6, 2018 when she was elected as her home for 32 years before retiring in Friends Service Committee as a staff the first woman to serve her district in the 2006. She recently published her memoirs, member, volunteer, intern, or fellow? Massachusetts State Senate. “Finding My Radical Soul.” Stay connected with the AFSC family by joining our Alumni Network at afsc.org/alumni.

Lifetime activist and educator Patricia Hundreds of faith leaders took part in AFSC’s Love Knows No Borders action in December. Visit afsc.org/alumni to: Rumer volunteered with AFSC in Gua- Photo: Steve Pavey temala in 1969. She recently published • Join AFSC’s Alumni Network. “Choices: Death, Life and Migration,” a • Reconnect with former colleagues. book that describes her own life journey. From 1966 to 1968, Ann Mullin and Shel Love knows no borders • Stay up to date on alumni events, Stromquist volunteered in Tanzania with news, and more. AFSC’s Voluntary International Service In the fall of 2018, migrants from Central America walked north, fleeing violence • Share your news and life updates. In September, Hayes Mizell, Terry Peter- Assignment program. They worked in and poverty and seeking safety and peace in the U.S. While the Trump admin- son, Janet Wells, John Norton, and Bettye small, rural “ujamaa” (African socialist) istration sent thousands of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, deployed tear gas We look forward to hearing from you! Boone met for a reunion of AFSC’s South- villages, Ann in the south and Shel in the on children, and made it harder for people to apply for asylum, AFSC partnered eastern Public Education Program. Hayes north. They were married in Tanzania and with nine shelters in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico to help meet basic needs says, “Those were great days, and we are returned this past summer to celebrate for items such as food, water, and children’s supplies. We also helped staff a new Lanica Angpak, AFSC’s first Robert An- thankful for AFSC and other colleagues their 50th wedding anniversary and visit human rights brigade at the Guatemala-Mexico border and continued to monitor drew Stuart Fellow in Philadelphia, uses who provided great opportunities for our the villages they had lived in. They had human rights abuses at the U.S.-Mexico border. traditional Cambodian dance to create a learning, supported our experimentation, deeply moving encounters with several In addition, on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, we launched Love space where Cambodian-Americans feel and forgave our mistakes.” people with whom they had worked, Ann Knows No Borders, a week of action that kicked off with a nonviolent action at the safe to explore their shared identity, cul- in Liweta and Shel in Mnkonde. San Diego border by more than 400 faith leaders representing many traditions. ture, and history. In 2018, Lanica was ap- The leaders were met by Border Patrol agents wearing riot gear and armed with pointed to the Pennsylvania governor’s tear gas, batons, and rubber bullets. Thirty protesters were arrested for crossing a Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific line in the sand in an act of civil disobedience. This action—and more than 70 oth- American Affairs. ers organized across the U.S. by AFSC community members and partners—drew national attention to the need for more humane U.S. immigration policies and demilitarization of border communities, prompting The Nation to name it Most Valuable Protest of 2018 (see AFSC in the Media, page 6). Photos: (Clockwise from left) Don Davis/AFSC, Courtesy Ann Mullin and Shel Stromquist —THERESA KIRBY

More: afsc.org/migrantcaravan Bryan Vana/AFSC Photo:

4 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 5

Caption. Photo: Photo Credit IN BRIEF IN THE NEWS PEOPLE AFSC in the media

AFSC staff are working hard to make change on the ground—and in the news. Here are some of the highlights:

On the Love Knows No Borders action “AFSC supported a powerful ‘Love Knows No Borders’ week of action in Sonia Tuma December, which saw more than 100 Regional director of AFSC’s U.S. West region faith leaders from across the country Courtesy Tuma/AFSC Sonia Photo: participate in nonviolent direct action in the border region near San Diego. The campaign’s purpose: ‘demanding an end to border militarization and call- Sonia has worked at AFSC since 1993. elementary students, public speaking and violations. We also teach people how to ing for humane immigration policies She shares some of her experiences media work, interfaith coalition build- use those tools to influence corporations, that respect the rights and dignity of all from the past 25 years. ing, advocacy in Washington and at the which are actors in global conflict in a way people.’” U.N., collecting material aids, and, even- they didn’t use to be. —The Nation Magazine, which named the Q: How did you get involved in working for tually the Campaign of Conscience, an AFSC’s Roots for Peace Program in Los Angeles. Photo: Crystal Gonzalez/AFSC action “Most Valuable Protest” of 2018 social change? AFSC campaign to break the sanctions Q: What would you say are AFSC’s A: I grew up in a multicultural and multi- by importing water purification devices strengths? faith family; my mom was Russian Jewish, into Iraq. Over time, we really did change A: AFSC can make connections in ways On criminal justice reform and my dad was Iraqi Muslim. There were people’s perceptions and eventually, policy. that other organizations are less able to. “It’s about time Arizona’s elected a lot of assumptions about how my extend- Because we’re a multi-issue, international officials got the message: Arizonans ed family got along and my parents’ po- Q: What are some of the changes you’ve organization, we can see connections be- Community transformation, are ready for change. The fear-based litical perspectives. Most of those assump- seen in AFSC’s work over the years? tween issues and potential partners in a narrative that has held back reforms tions were wrong, and I learned early on A: The dialogue around Palestine has deeper, more interconnected way than or- from the ground up for so long has lost traction with the the value of not assuming what someone changed a lot. When I first came, AFSC ganizations who work with one constitu- public.” believed based on their religious or ethnic was seen as radical for talking about a ency or on one issue. —Caroline Isaacs, Arizona program director, in backgrounds. My mom was an education “two-state” solution. Over time, and with We’re a values-based organization, For nearly a decade, AFSC’s Roots for Peace Program has trained young people in the Arizona Daily Star Los Angeles on urban farming to increase community access to healthy foods, im- activist, and she set an example of how to the decreased likelihood of a just two- which means we’re not just looking for prove neighborhood wellness, and address racial injustice. This spring, they will work for change. I was an activist in high state solution, we’ve focused more on the expediency, but rather how we center the celebrate the completion of one of their most labor-intensive projects – transform- On ending felony disenfranchisement school on several issues, and in college, I principle of self-determination. We’re also needs and experience of the people who ing a vacant asphalt lot into a community garden and meeting space for social “What is at stake is not just the rights focused on Palestine issues, especially the supporting the use of strategies that un- are most impacted by the problem. justice organizing. of those entangled in the criminal Palestinian feminist movement. dermine the profit motive in a continued Q: Over the past two years, Roots for Peace youth have worked alongside com- legal system, but the very future of our occupation. What motivates you to continue the work Q: munity members of all ages to envision the project, prepare the land, develop an democracy. For democracy can only You joined AFSC as an intern in L.A. The way we support youth has also that you’re doing amid so many challenges? A: outdoor classroom and kitchen area for workshops, plant and harvest, and paint truly function when those who are working for the Middle East Peace Program, changed. When I came to AFSC, we often I truly believe that people can change, and murals. These young people are working from the ground up to transform their impacted by systems have access to the which you later directed for eight years. worked with young people who were in- that together, our work can change systems. community and build the future they want to see. vote.” What’s one of the most memorable cam- terested in learning about problems in the And I have the experience of seeing positive paigns you supported in that time? world and some who wanted to do service change result from our work. Even if it’s hard “With Roots for Peace, AFSC’s role is one of accompaniment,” says Crystal —Lewis Webb, New York Healing Justice A: In the mid-’90s, it was becoming in- projects. Now our work focuses on helping and takes a long time, I know it’s possible be- Gonzales, Roots for Peace director. “It’s really walking with youth, community program coordinator, in Newsweek leaders, and people of all ages to really dream about what their community could creasingly clear that U.S.-led sanctions young leaders become active social change cause I’ve seen it work. look like and help them make that a reality.” against Iraq were harming the country’s agents in their own communities. Finally, the people at AFSC continue to civilian population, causing the deaths of AFSC also continues to add tools inspire me—our staff, volunteers, and part- —RONNA BOLANTE children and many of the most vulner- to the social change tool chest. One ex- ners are creative, committed, and do amaz- More: rootsforpeace.blog able in Iraq. AFSC developed campaigns ample is our economic activism work. It ing work. ■ to teach people about what was happen- includes the use of Investigate, a database ing in Iraq, and to end the sanctions. The that helps people screen their investments campaigns included a curriculum for for companies involved in human rights

6 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 7 AFSC International Programs staff in Philadelphia circa 2004. Photo: Terry Foss

MICHAEL AFSC MCCONNELL Photo: Jon Krieg/AFSC Visionary antiwar activist

n 2004, the death toll from the Iraq War kept rising. But be- I cause returning coffins were banned from being filmed, the “You have to show the human ALUMNI real human cost of the war was hidden. Michael McConnell, AF- SC’s regional director in the Midwest, believed that making these face of an issue to people to both losses visible would change opinions about the war. engage them and to help them Michael was the visionary behind AFSC’s widely acclaimed understand the big picture.” Courage exhibit “Eyes Wide Open.” The exhibit started when AFSC staff and volunteers placed 504 pairs of empty combat boots on the Federal Plaza in Chicago, each pair representing a U.S. life lost. and action “Eyes Wide Open” attracted national attention—and, by 2006, he supported programs dealing with the criminal justice system, would grow to include deaths among Iraqis and tour nearly every immigrant rights, and economic justice across the region and state in the country. throughout AFSC, mentoring staff and championing opportuni- Michael once told an interviewer: “This is a public memorial ties for young people to develop their skills in working for peace that allows all of us to have some sense of public grief and mourn- BY RONNA BOLANTE with justice. ing. And the public grief leads to political questions—why this Michael, who passed away in 2013, said: “I love reading about war. You have to show the human face of an issue to people to people who have overcome incredible situations to sometimes both engage them and to help them understand the big picture.” win—sometimes maybe not win but to make a statement that So many courageous individuals have been part of AFSC over Michael’s antiwar activism began in college, when he was then lives on and inspires other people. Our victories are always the past century—driving our work for a world that respects exposed to the realities of the devastation—and role of the U.S.— going to be episodic, partial, temporary maybe. But it seems at the rights and dignity of all people. in the Vietnam War. He was ordained a minister in the United each step of the way, we have advanced the world a bit and made Church of Christ and became a key leader in the Central America it more fair, more equitable, more peaceful.” Here are just some of the people who have shaped—and sanctuary movement of the 1980s. continue to influence—AFSC today In 1990, Michael joined AFSC, serving for more than two decades as one of our chief strategists for work on ending war and violent response to conflict —from developing “Eyes Wide Open” to campaigns on military spending. As a regional director,

8 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 9 “Since AFSC, I have spent a lot of my life focused on ANNA leadership development and GALLAND building up the leaders for the movement.” Executive director of MoveOn Civic Action

“One thing I value about AFSC is that it has been doing the patient work of Photo: Louie Ortiz-Fonseca building community and advancing a ERIKA vision of how the world can be.” Photo: Courtesy Anna Galland

ALMIRÓN s the head of MoveOn Civic Action, Anna Galland oversees Immigrant rights leader A an organization that has helped millions of people across the U.S. create social change and, through its sister organization MoveOn Political Action, helps elect progressive candidates. In hen Erika Almirón was in high school, she organized a “To experience what I had 2002, she was a community organizer with AFSC, mobilizing W student walkout to protest the closing of her school. In communities in Rhode Island to protest the U.S.’s growing “war college, she was active with the Latino Student Organization. But experienced led me to a commitment on terror” and call for nonviolent alternatives. she never thought of herself as a social justice activist until she to spend the rest of my life laboring Anna had just graduated from Brown University, where she began working at AFSC in 2003. had some experience organizing and campaigning, but AFSC “The term ‘social justice’ wasn’t even in my vocabulary until I in the vineyard of peace.” represented her first “proper job as a community organizer.” Her got to AFSC,” says Erika. “Being a woman of color, working-class, nearly three years with AFSC taught her a lot. Photo: AFSC Archives and the child of immigrants, I just wanted to figure out ways to “I learned on the fly how to build coalitions, how to speak support my community.” from a moral perspective, and how to mobilize,” she says. “Some At AFSC, Erika worked as a program assistant, providing ad- of the first rallies I organized were through AFSC against the Iraq that wrote “Speak Truth to Power,” the influential document that ministrative support to staff advocating for immigrant rights and STEPHEN War. I remember looking around a church in downtown Provi- called for nonviolent alternatives to end the Cold War. ending mass incarceration. She was also part of the Third World dence one day, seeing the rafters packed, and feeling so grateful He was active in the Civil Rights Movement, marching with Coalition (TWC), formed by AFSC staff and committee members CARY for AFSC’s investment in community organizing.” Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama (where colleague of color to guide the organization’s work from the perspective of In 2007, Anna joined MoveOn, where she has led issue ad- AFSC leader and Board clerk James Reeb died after an attack by white segregationists). When people of color. She took part in her first immigration protest with vocacy and electoral campaigns—including working to end the King was assassinated in 1968—just weeks before the start of the AFSC in Philadelphia in 2006—it was just one of the many mas- Iraq War, helping to pass the Affordable Care Act, defending the Poor People’s Campaign—Steve implored faith leaders to move sive demonstrations that happened across the country that spring. U.S.’s diplomatic agreement with Iran, and supporting presiden- orn to a Quaker family in Philadelphia, Stephen Cary led forward, writing “It is our conviction that one million must “To this day, I appreciate all of the TWC folks who saw some- tial campaigns. She also built MoveOn’s open petition platform, B a life of courage, conviction, and action—helping to shape replace the one who has been shot down.” thing in me and made sure I had these opportunities,” Erika says. AFSC’s work for nearly 50 years. which has become a critical tool for tens of thousands of grass- Steve would later spend 15 days in jail for civil disobedience “I learned enough to start the work that I do today.” Steve came to AFSC as a conscientious objector during roots-led campaigns across the country—especially as communi- at the Washington, D.C. demonstration. It wouldn’t be his last For the past seven years, Erika has served as the executive World War II, doing manual labor in Civilian Public Service ties continue to resist Trump administration policies. time in jail. In 1972, he was arrested for protesting the shipment director of Juntos, a Latinx, immigrant-led organization in Phil- camps in the Northeast as an alternative way to serve the country In January, Anna announced that she and co-director Ilya of weapons to Vietnam by lying down on train tracks as a loco- adelphia. The group was a key leader in a successful grassroots during war. In 1946, he oversaw our American Quaker relief Sheyman will transition out of their leadership after six years of motive carrying bombs approached. campaign that led the city to pass one of the most progressive work in Europe, operating feeding programs for children and building and transforming MoveOn—quadrupling its budget, Steve left AFSC in 1969 to work at Haverford College, where “sanctuary city” laws in the country. This year, she is running for helping cities rebuild after the war. Quakers were awarded the tripling its staff, and driving innovative and effective campaigns. he retired as vice president in 1981. He returned to AFSC as a vol- Philadelphia City Council, where she hopes to spur even more Nobel Peace Prize for these humanitarian efforts in 1947. She plans to write and reflect on lessons from her time at MoveOn unteer in 1979, serving as clerk of the AFSC Board and Corpora- change. “Those years gave my life new direction,” Steve later wrote. once she steps down. tion for nearly 12 years. He died in 2002. “Since AFSC, I have spent a lot of my life focused on leader- “To experience what I had experienced led me to a commitment “We are living in a political crisis, but it’s layered on top of a As Jack Coleman, editor of Steve’s memoirs “The Intrepid ship development and building up the leaders for the movement,” to spend the rest of my life laboring in the vineyard of peace.” moral crisis,” Anna says. “In this moment, AFSC has an impor- Quaker,” wrote: “To know his story is to become aware that you Erika says. “I think about how important it was for me to be seen Steve was a guiding voice for AFSC through the conflicts and tant role to play in doing the work and having a clear vision for the have lost the right to ever ask again, ‘What difference can one life and for somebody to see something in me. I want to make sure the social movements that defined the following decades. In 1955, he kinds of values we need to live into. One thing I value about AFSC make?’ This man, part of a small group of peace-pursuing people, people who walk through my doors today have as many resources traveled through Russia as part of an AFSC delegation to pro- is that it has been doing the patient work of building community put a check on some of the worst abuses that stem from love of as possible, so that when we’re gone, there are still people here to mote understanding between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. And and advancing a vision of how the world can be—day in and day arms rather than arms of love.” lead the fight.” he chaired the AFSC committee, which included Bayard Rustin, out—for a long time.”

10 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 11 JOSÉ TRINIDAD SANCHEZ and MARY MCCANN SANCHEZ

Peacebuilders in Central America BERNARD LAFAYETTE uring the heaviest periods of the Central American civil wars D and into the period of post-peace accords, José Trinidad San- chez and Mary McCann Sanchez oversaw AFSC’s work in Hondu- Nonviolent activist and civil right leader Photo: Howard Dyckoff ras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Photo: Courtesy José Trinidad Sanchez and Mary McCann Sanchez The couple met in 1984, when Mary—who had grown up in Wisconsin—traveled to Honduras with AFSC as a volunteer trans- lator. At the time, Trinidad—who had grown up farming in the or more than half a century, civil rights leader Bernard La- “The goal of nonviolence is to Honduran countryside—worked for Catholic Relief Services, an “Of all the work we’ve done, we’re Ffayette has courageously spread his message about the power AFSC partner, assisting Salvadoran refugees. of nonviolence to overcome injustice—from putting his body on win people over by showing most committed to AFSC because of Mary says: “AFSC played an integral role to uphold the rights the line as a Freedom Rider to leading voter registration efforts in them love.” of refugees and denounce human rights violations in the region. It its strong anti-militarism position. Alabama to training countless individuals in strategies for non- was a natural place for me to express my concern about U.S. inter- violent social change. vention in Central America.” In the late 1950s, Bernard was a student activist in Nashville, For several years, Mary traveled between Honduras and AFSC’s Nonviolence is the source of strength where he and future leaders in the Civil Rights Movement—in- Chicago office, where she coordinated efforts to assist refugees and joy in our lives.” cluding John Lewis and Diane Nash—were trained in nonviolent Bernard continued to promote his message of nonviolence and organized dozens of speaking tours and events to build resis- action by James Lawson of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. In in the decades that followed, teaching and holding positions at tance to U.S. involvement in Central America. In 1990, she became the early 1960s, Bernard joined the newly formed Student Non- several universities where he established curricula and programs AFSC’s Central American representative, and was later joined by violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), serving as director of they envision for each other and what they want for the future.” focused on nonviolence and peace education. Trinidad as co-representative. its Alabama Voter Registration Project and running voter regis- Today COMAL is an independent organization that trains “The goal of nonviolence is to win people over by showing Over the next decade, Trinidad and Mary administered AFSC tration clinics in Selma. farmers, facilitates access to credit and markets, and helps thou- them love,” Bernard once said in a speech. “We don’t feel there are funding to local Central American organizations, including more AFSC recruited Bernard in the summer of 1963 to bring his sands of Hondurans develop a just alternative rural economy. people who are evil. There are people who do a lot of evil things. … than $1 million in aid distributed after Hurricane Mitch. They also work north to Chicago. He conducted nonviolent workshops for Trinidad and Mary now live in Chicago, where both work in They are conditioned by their environment, so therefore they also supported the training of thousands of community members as groups throughout the city—tenants struggling with deplorable social services that support immigrant children seeking family re- can be unconditioned in that sense. They can change, and we have “barefoot doctors,” midwives, and mental health counselors to im- housing conditions, youth facing violence on the West Side, par- unification. to believe that people can change.” prove access to health care in the region. ents trying to integrate a swimming pool on the South Shore, and “The social scars of the wars are long lasting,” says Mary. “Of One of the most lasting impacts of their work stemmed from Quaker meetings. all the work we’ve done, we’re most committed to AFSC because AFSC’s Dialogue and Exchange Program (DEP), which initiated a Bernard was a critical part of AFSC’s groundbreaking work of its strong anti-militarism position. Nonviolence is the source of regional discussion of the devastating impacts of trade agreements. to organize tenants—which laid the foundation for Martin Lu- strength and joy in our lives.” The talks led to the creation of COMAL (Alternative Community ther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Marketing Network), a network of Honduran farmers and small (SCLC) to bring their own work to Chicago. In 1966, King hired cooperatives. Bernard to oversee the SCLC’s nonviolent direct action program “COMAL is an example of people discovering how powerful in the city. Two years later, Bernard became national coordinator they can be when they are united,” Trinidad says. “As a united force of the Poor People’s Campaign—work that he and others contin- for small co-ops throughout the country, they could discuss what ued after King’s assassination that year.

12 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 13 CARE

“I thought you would be interested to know that last Wednesday I presided at the setting up of the organization called Cooperative America for Remittances to Europe, called CARE for short,” wrote AFSC Executive Secretary Clarence Pickett in 1945. AFSC was one of 22 organizations involved in founding CARE to send food parcels to Europeans in the wake of World War II, when many were at risk of starvation. Decades later, CARE Inspired is still working to end poverty. in service

We look at organizations that Photos: AFSC Archives AFSC helped to start.

BY THERESA KIRBY

Self-help housing

AFSC’s first self-help housing program, Mittelhof Center The American Friends Service Committee was founded in 1917 by Penn-Craft, was launched in the coal-min- In 1947, AFSC helped found an organiza- Hopley conscientious objectors seeking to establish alternatives to military ing country of Western Pennsylvania in tion called Nachbarschaftsheim Mittelh service. Volunteers serving with AFSC met critical needs during and 1937. Involving communities in building in Berlin, Germany to help people re- In 2012, AFSC began working with a com- after the two world wars, from feeding starving children to assisting their own affordable housing was powerful cover from hardships and participate in munity of internally displaced people liv- in Europe’s reconstruction. In 1947, AFSC and the British Friends Ser- —and highly replicable. In the decades that democracy. Today, the organization has ing in Hopley, on the outskirts of Harare, Jerusalem Legal Aid followed, AFSC started several more self- more than 270 employees and volunteers Zimbabwe, supporting them in learning vice Council were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Quak- In 1974, AFSC established the Quaker Ser- help housing initiatives as well as other working in 25 locations and has projects trades and developing sustainable incomes. ers everywhere for their efforts. AFSC’s experiment in non-military vice Information and Legal Aid Center in kinds of housing work. As the Black Pow- ranging from providing daycare to teach- In 2018, the community built a center for service was a success. Jerusalem to assist families whose loved er movement gained prominence in the ing courses, offering family counseling, business and livelihoods training with In the years after World War II, AFSC established a program called ones had been detained under Israel’s “pre- 1960s, AFSC handed off housing work and putting on cultural events, and promoting funding from AFSC. The building was Quaker International Voluntary Service, which later became the Volun- ventative detention and selective deporta- funds in support of the newly established good citizenship. completed and officially handed over to tary International Service Assignment (VISA). Thousands of young ide- tion” policies, particularly in cases involv- Roxbury Action Program in Roxbury, the community in November and includes alists made two-year commitments to serve in communities across ing violations of civil rights. In 1997, the Massachusetts, whose impact can still facilities for an internet café, provisions the U.S. as well as in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Central America, Morodok Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights be seen today. And in the 1960s and ’70s, for people with disabilities, meeting and and Cuba. The program was life changing for participants and helped Center became an independent organiza- our programs for farmworkers in Florida In 1997, AFSC started a program to help training rooms, and six workspaces to inspire President Kennedy’s Peace Corps, established in 1961. tion, continuing to provide pro bono legal and California became Florida Non-Profit people living in rural communities around be shared on a rotating basis with up to For more than a century, AFSC has supported a wide range of aid and advocacy in defense of human Housing, Inc. and Self-Help Enterprises, Kompong Som Bay, Cambodia, develop 600 people. One community member re- efforts to address injustices and promote lasting peace. And like rights. the VISA program, many of those efforts have helped launch others— which have continued to grow and serve as sustainable livelihoods. Over time, Cam- marked, “This facility is a centre of com- whether by starting a new nonprofit or by sharing a successful model models for others. bodian staff established a vision and struc- munity life. Within these walls, unity can with others. Here are a few more examples. ture for localizing the work, registering be created, solutions can be found, and Morodok as a local nongovernmental or- conversations can be held that will change ganization in 2011. The organization con- many lives.” tinues to work with community groups to assert their rights, manage natural resources, and improve livelihoods. 14 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 15 QUIZ WHERE WE STAND

Guess who? RESEARCH BY Opening doors Don Davis, Name the prominent figure who AFSC Archivist and hearts worked or volunteered with AFSC. An interview with Morena Mendoza, Lis-Marie Alvarado, and Kathy Hersh

Thirty years after founding This Grammy-award winner 1 Hull House, this pioneer social 5 blues singer volunteered with (Left to right) Lis-Marie Alvarado, Morena Mendoza, and Kathy Hersh. worker traveled to Germany in 1919 AFSC in Indiana for a high school com- Photo: Bryan Vana/AFSC under the auspices of AFSC to as- munity service project in 1967. Project sess the needs of the country and its volunteers went door-to-door, In the spring of 2018, Morena Mendoza and her 11-year-old son, as they await the outcomes of their immigration cases. Like children after World War I. surveying residents in lower-income Antonio, fled El Salvador, fearing gang violence in their native many migrants, they want to stay in the U.S.—and find the safety neighborhoods to inform country. They joined other families and many other migrants and peace that we all deserve. decisions around integrated housing. who were part of a caravan that walked hundreds of miles They are not alone in their struggle. They are being -ac through Central America to seek asylum in the United States. companied by AFSC, which provides them with legal support; This U.S. senator from Vermont But when Morena and Antonio arrived in the U.S. on April Miami Friends Meeting, which hosts them in a house on their 2 was a University of Chicago stu- Author of “The Berlin Stories,” 6 27, they were detained—and separated—as part of the Trump property; and other community members who believe that all dent when he joined an AFSC sum- he served in 1942 as an as- administration’s inhumane “zero tolerance” policy. Morena migrants should be welcomed with compassion. mer work camp that placed volun- sistant director in AFSC’s Cooperat- was locked up in an immigration detention center in San Diego. In this interview, Morena shares her story. She was joined teers as attendants in mental health ing College Workshop at Haverford Antonio was sent more than 2,700 miles away to a shelter in New by AFSC community organizer Lis-Marie Alvarado and Kathy facilities and other state institutions. College, which trained foreign scholars York. It would be three months before they were reunited. Hersh, clerk of Miami Friends Meeting. and teachers on American teaching As of this writing, Morena and Antonio are living in Miami methods and helped orient them to life in the U.S. From 1953 to 1954, he 3 worked as a community Morena, why did you leave El Salvador for the U.S.? We relied on donations of food, water, and clothing when we organizer with AFSC in San Fran- This political activist’s relation- passed through different cities. The children took priority when cisco, helping to register Mexican- 7 ship with AFSC began in high Morena: I come from a very rural poor area of El Salvador. It’s it came to food. Americans to vote and speaking out school. When her Alabama school very difficult to live there with children because of gang violence. Although it was hard, there was a sense of solidarity among about workers’ rights. He would go closed in response to efforts to inte- That’s what caused us to leave. We were directly impacted. us. Sometimes we’d dance, sometimes we’d protest. on to head the United Farm Workers, grate schools after Brown v. Board of which AFSC also supported. Education, AFSC provided her scholar- Why did you join the caravan to get to the U.S.? What happened when you reached the U.S.-Mexico ship money to attend the integrated border? Elizabeth Irwin School in New York City Morena: We didn’t have funds to hire a coyote to guide us, and Before becoming the first and found a family to host her. the caravan provided a safer environment than traveling alone. Morena: When we arrived, I turned myself in at the entry point African-American woman 4 It was a community. People needed to abide by certain rules – to at San Ysidro. Border Patrol agents put us in a facility we call elected to the Pennsylvania House of prevent violence against women, to respect the LGBTQ people in "hieleras" because it’s cold like a freezer. Then an official came and Representatives, she worked for the caravan, particularly trans women. took Antonio away, and they put me in detention. AFSC’s Interracial Section in the They handcuffed me and told me they were going to charge

1920s. She gave numerous speech- Answers:

. 6) Christopher Isherwood, 7) Angela Davis Angela 7) Isherwood, Christopher 6) What was the journey like? me as a criminal because crossing into the U.S. was illegal. They

es to primarily white audiences Chavez, 4) Crystal Bird Fauset, 5) Bonnie Raitt, Raitt, Bonnie 5) Fauset, Bird Crystal 4) Chavez, told me my child was going to be sent somewhere else. I started

across the U.S., hoping to “lift the 1) Jane Addams, 2) Bernie Sanders, 3) Cesar Cesar 3) Sanders, Bernie 2) Addams, Jane 1) Morena: It took us a month and five days. The walking was hard, crying. I couldn’t even say bye to him or giving him a kiss. curtain that separates the white particularly for Antonio. He was tired all the time and sad. We people and the colored people, to lift had to cross through difficult terrain, sometimes through water. the curtain of misunderstanding that

is so dividing us.” Continued on page 18

16 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 17 What was your experience in the How were you able to reunite More- restaurant, and dozens of people were detention center? na with Antonio? there. I have no doubt that she feels loved.

Morena: For two months, I had no idea Lis-Marie: It was complicated. It took Morena, what do you want people where my child was. I kept asking the offi- about a month after Morena arrived in to know about the experiences cials in the detention center. I thought they Miami. Antonio had been put in a foster you’ve had? could have killed him. I was also scared home, and the agency was impossible to because I heard rumors about children be- get in touch with and hostile towards me Morena: I am immensely grateful for the ing given to other people for adoption. and Morena. I kept calling, sending emails. support I have received, particularly from I cried all the time. I was forcibly med- As a last resort, I told them I was going to people like Lis-Marie and Mariana Mar- icated with pills that made me fall asleep, pick him up myself and bring the media tinez from AFSC, Kathy, Jane Westberg and I didn’t eat. with me. Someone from the center finally from Friends Sanctuary Committee, and They also made us work. We were sup- brought him here to Miami. so many others. I thank God for putting posed to get paid two quarters a day, but these people in my way. sometimes we didn’t get paid. They told Kathy, why did Miami Friends Meet- I want President Trump and other me if I didn’t work, they were going to give ing decide to host Morena and An- elected officials to open their hearts, wel- me a bad mark and not allow me to get [my tonio? come immigrants, and give people a immigration] papers. I was hopeless. I only chance to have a new life. Separating fami- wanted to die at that point. Kathy: Our meeting has always had a lies is wrong, and migrants shouldn’t be consciousness about refugee and immi- attacked or discriminated against. When did you find out where Anto- grant rights. When AFSC started the cam- For the public, please continue sup- nio was? paign Sanctuary Everywhere, we really felt porting immigrants. That has made a huge we needed to give accompaniment to help. difference for me. Morena: I was lucky. Different organiza- We already had a room prepared in a tions had access to the detention center. house across the street from the meeting What’s next for Morena and Anto- SNAPSHOT One of them gave me a lawyer who helped house. And we were all united behind the nio’s efforts to stay in the U.S.? AFSC’s Love Knows No Borders action in San Diego in December. me through the hearings. The lawyer was idea of having a room in case anyone need- A look at AFSC around the world Photo: Naaz Modan/CAIR able to locate my child. I was so relieved ed it—no questions asked. Two churches Lis-Marie: Morena’s next court hearing and happy to know where he was and that nearby are also providing support. is yet to be determined. It’s been a collec- Left to right, top to bottom: he was relatively OK. tive effort to provide them with legal, emo- I talked to him twice by phone during What does that accompaniment tional, and other forms of support so they 1. Africa leadership team meeting; Burundi the three months I was in detention. look like? can be independent and as happy as they 2. AFSC migrant caravan deserve. delegation; Mexico City, Mexico Lis-Marie, how did you help Morena Kathy: People at the meeting go above Trump talks about a crisis at our bor- 3. AFSC’s Peace by Piece program; get out of the detention center? and beyond to help Morena and Antonio. der, but people like Morena and Antonio New Orleans, Louisiana In addition to accommodations, we ar- are not the crisis. The crisis is our govern- 4. AFSC’s South Region retreat Lis-Marie: I had learned from [immi- ranged for them to get medical care, dental ment failing to respond to people in need. 5. Agricultural work; North Korea grant rights organization] Mijente that I care, and therapy. Members drive them to It’s been wonderful for AFSC to ac- 6. We Are Not at Risk campaign; could sponsor someone from the caravan. those appointments and provide support company them with Miami Friends Meet- Latin America and Caribbean When she was allowed out on bond, I got for immigration appointments. ing—and it’s a representation of what’s region the money to bail her out. Lucio Perez- Antonio had only finished the fourth happening around the country. People 7. Women’s International League Reynozo, program coordinator in our grade. We helped him enroll in a school are opening the doors of their houses and for Peace and Freedom; Des Moines, Iowa AFSC office in Miami, agreed to help with equipped to work with students who come hearts to welcome people like Morena and 8. 10th anniversary celebration of her legal case. in older and don’t speak English, and he’s Antonio. Theirs is a powerful story that Washington D.C. as a human I paid for a plane ticket to get her from also in an afterschool program and being captures the difficulty of navigating our rights city San Diego to Miami. When I was waiting tutored. One member of our meeting has asylum system and the inhumanity of the 9. Love Knows No Borders for her at Miami Airport, I had a sign with a son who is fluent in Spanish, and he and current administration, while reminding solidarity walk; Philadelphia her name on it, but I knew it was her as Antonio have become buddies. us all what love and solidarity can do. ■ 10. Shelters for migrant caravan soon as I saw her. It was shocking to see Accompaniment is also being with members; Mexico how destroyed she looked. She was wear- them socially, so they have friends and 11. Bystander intervention training; Frederick, Maryland ing an ankle monitor and carrying a little support. When Morena celebrated her 31st 12. TPS caravan in Little Haiti; trash bag. birthday, we had a party at a Salvadoran Miami, Florida Ronna Bolante/AFSC, Nathaniel Doubleday/AFSC, Nathaniel Doubleday/AFSC, Bryan Vana/AFSC, AFSC/Asia AFSC/Latin America and Caribbean, Jon Krieg/AFSC, Bryan Vana/AFSC, Don Davis/AFSC, Jacob Flowers/AFSC Bryan Vana/AFSC, TGimmy Photography

18 AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE ▪ AFSC.ORG QUAKER ACTION ▪ SPRING 2019 19 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID American Friends Service Committee

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AFSC’s Love Knows No Borders action. Photo: Naaz Modan/CAIR

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