Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Richmond, VA

As part of our commitment to racial justice, RFM volunteers contribute to student learning at
Richmond’s Elizabeth Redd Elementary School. The student population is 96% economically
disadvantaged and 94% minority (56.6% of the students are African American, and 34.2%
Hispanic/Latino).

• Currently, eight RFM volunteers are involved at Redd. Our Spanish-speakers work with
  students in that language and all volunteers meet weekly with students, supporting
  them in math and other subjects as well as emotionally. RFM volunteers also pitch in
  during special events such as field days.
• Recently RFM had the opportunity to advocate for student and faculty health. When the
  local newspaper reported longstanding neglect of the condition of Redd Elementary
  School leading to possible asbestos and black mold exposure, we wrote to the
  superintendent of Richmond schools, the city’s mayor, and the House and Senate
  members of the Virginia General Assembly charged with appropriations to schools.

The working group attached to the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy is supporting that group’s mission to influence public policy on racial equity, justice reform, economic justice and
health equity.

• Currently, the working group is striving to make RFM a 100 percent voting community in the 2025 and 2026 elections. We remain a non-partisan community, but we strongly encourage civic participation through registering and voting, as well as advocating in favor of policies aligned with Quaker values. In addition to supplying information on voter registration, voting and on gubernatorial candidates, the working group is
  encouraging voter participation through announcements and other forms of
  communication to the RFM community.
• The group is also preparing to participate in General Assembly lobbying with the VICPP,
  hoping to influence racial, social and environmental justice legislation in the 2026
  General Assembly. A program expanding educational opportunities for incarcerated
  individuals is of particular interest, given Quakers’ long history of advocating for penal
  reform.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Reparations to Indigenous Peoples was formed in February 2025 and charged with recommending a financial contribution of no less than $5,000 as a form of reparations to one or more indigenous tribes. The charge listed multiple items to be considered in the discernment process, among them: RFM’s historic and current connections to Virginia’s tribes, as well as any past harms caused by Quakers to those tribes. Later, RFM added the goal of determining how to live in ongoing, right relationship with Native tribes.

• The committee has reached out to multiple tribes including the Monacan, Chickahominy (eastern division), and the Rappahannock to better understand and learn about any historic relationships between Quakers/RFM and their tribe and about how we might form and/or build upon relationships with these local tribes. 
• Some of what the committee has learned:
  • The tribes are eager for non-indigenous people to know that they have survived destructive policies perpetrated over centuries by those in power. They are still fighting for their sovereignty, for their treaty rights, to defend their lands and other natural resources (water, minerals, timber, wild game), to educate and provide housing and healthcare for their tribal members, and for governmental acknowledgment of their continuing tribal existence.  
  • Virginia tribes seek non-Indians to partner with them in building a resilient future. They have told the committee about several projects for which they seek volunteer labor and, in some cases, financial assistance.  The tribes are open to financial assistance on projects as varied as the cataloguing and mapping of indigenous plants, teaching and promoting the use of traditional medicine among tribal members, creating a tribal apothecary, indigenous language restoration, and protecting their tribal land base from intrusion and pollution by non-Indian individuals and companies.  
• The Committee is evaluating ways to better educate Meeting members and attenders on these topics as it finalizes a recommendation on the distribution of Meeting funds. 

The Racial Justice Team promotes participation in various activities of Coming Together Virginia, an organization whose mission is to open hearts and minds to the ongoing presence of systemic racism through education and constructive, facilitated dialogue among people of diverse backgrounds. A stated purpose is to inspire individuals “to enter into new relationships and engage together in actions that lead to a healed world of thriving, equitable and just communities.”  

• CTV programs include: 
• regular suppers bringing together racially diverse groups for facilitated conversation 
• book and movie groups 
• many special events