Quakers have the right idea

My first face-to-face with Quaker ‘theology’ (for lack of a better term) came in the early aughts. A Black Baptist group in Philadelphia put together an evening of psalm-reading. The group invited all Main Line ministers, priests, imams, rabbis, clerics, along with their congregations, to attend.

Our tiny synagogue gladly RSVP’d. We sang a psalm or two in Hebrew, letting the group know in advance which psalms we were singing, so they could follow along in English.

Besides us and the Black ministers — A.M.E., Methodist, Baptist — the only participants were one Episcopal priest, a shy, quiet woman. And a Quaker or two or three. Otherwise, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, and Seventh Day Adventists were no-shows. Their loss.

The Quaker representatives from the nearby meeting house more than made up for the missing clergy and congregants from other “Christian” denominations.

In the weeks following, I mentioned this to friends in Phoenixville. My appreciation for Quaker life and my respect for their ideology took on a whole new dimension after that conversation. Didn’t you know, they said, the Quakers in Phoenixville were part of the underground railroad? And they did far more than just help slaves escape; they also gave them an education, taught them how to read and write…

My friend further explained that the difference between Blacks educated by Quakers in the 1860s and those who settled in Phoenixville during the so-called “Great Northern Migration” between 1916-1970 is still evident in contemporary Phoenixville. Those in the first group went on to become jurists, accountants, teachers, successful businessmen and -women. Those in the second group continue to struggle financially, as they received no financial or educational support when they escaped the misery of the post-civil-war South.

There are exceptions to that rule, to be sure, but overall, freed slaves who received a proper education quickly moved up in the world. (Education matters.)

I was reminded of the psalm-reading event and my subsequent conversation this week. Quakers — the Religious Society of Friends — are once again taking the lead in our common fight for justice. As reported by The Guardian:

Quakers have demonstrated for the abolition of slavery, in favor of the suffrage movement, against both world wars, and the US role in the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan, said Ross Brubeck, 38, one of the Quaker march organizers.

They also joined protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle and the Black Lives Matter protests after the 2020 killing of George Floyd.

“Quakers have had a central role in opposition to repression within the United States since its founding,” said Brubeck.

When I first read about the “Quaker Walk to Washington,” I searched for its route and schedule. The group is walking from Queens, New York City, to the National Mall in Washington, DC. Their protest on the Mall is scheduled for May 22, in case you wish to join them. Sign up sheet is here, but read the linked “Quaker Walk to Washington” before signing up. Some segments are at capacity.

What strikes me about Quaker protests: They do it right. They are not protesting the president, or his cabinet. They are not demonstrating against the Republican Party or specific candidates. Rather, they are marching FOR justice. And they would march for justice if it were a Democratic President, or a Libertarian Secretary.

Justice is justice is justice.

For Quakers, the notion of standing up for justice on a nonpartisan basis dates back at least to 1657. In that year, non-Quakers in Vlishing, New Netherland [Flushing, New York], stood up for them.

In the mid-seventeenth century, New Netherland was a hotbed of antisemitism and religious intolerance. Initially it had not been so. When New Netherland was founded, people of many faiths settled there with the blessing of then-governor Willem Kieft. Kieft replicated in New Netherland what Dutch settlers knew in their homeland, namely freedom of religion and tolerance for all.

When Kieft was replaced by Peter Stuyvesant, everything changed. Stuyvesant decreed that the only permitted religion was the Dutch Reformed Church. His edict tracked to events in the Netherlands at the time, when that church took on the form of a state religion. Stuyvesant coupled his religious prohibitions with strict laws against Jewish settlement in New Netherland. In one of those moments of cognitive dissonance, Stuyvesant approved of freeing slaves — as long as they were first baptized into the Dutch Reformed faith.

But: Only Dutch Reformed could worship freely. And in Flushing, he especially went after the Quakers who had formed a small meeting house.

In a radical show of solidarity, thirty non-Quaker citizens of Flushing signed a document referred to as Remonstrance Of the Inhabitants of the Town of Flushing to Governor Stuyvesant. Penned by the cleric Edward Hart, these thirty men argued that it was their Christian duty to oppose Stuyvesant’s “prohibition or command.” They feared God more than they feared the governor, and because of that fear, they were obliged to defend their neighbors, the Quakers.

The law of love, peace and liberty in the states extending to Jews, Turks and Egyptians, as they are considered sons of Adam, which is the glory of the outward state of Holland, soe love, peace and liberty, extending to all in Christ Jesus, condemns hatred, war and bondage. And because our Saviour sayeth it is impossible but that offences will come, but woe unto him by whom they cometh, our desire is not to offend one of his little ones, in whatsoever form, name or title hee appears in, whether Presbyterian, Independent, Baptist or Quaker, but shall be glad to see anything of God in any of them, desiring to doe unto all men as we desire all men should doe unto us, which is the true law both of Church and State; for our Saviour sayeth this is the law and the prophets. Therefore if any of these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them, but give them free egresse and regresse unto our Town, and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences, for we are bounde by the law of God and man to doe good unto all men and evil to noe man. And this is according to the patent and charter of our Towne, given unto us in the name of the States General, which we are not willing to infringe, and violate, but shall houlde to our patent and shall remaine, your humble subjects, the inhabitants of Vlishing.

All thirty men, less two who recanted upon threat of punishment, suffered greatly at the hands of Peter Stuyvesant for taking this principled stand. Penalties were swift and harsh. Edward Hart became Stuyvesant’s special target. Hart — apparently an older gentleman — spent over a month in prison, in isolation, being given only bread and water.

But Flushing gained a new settler in 1661, four years after the Remonstrance. John Bowne — a Quaker — left Massachusetts to live in Flushing. Bowne granted Flushing Quakers use of his home for their meetings.

In 1662, Stuyvesant deported Bowne to The Netherlands to stand trial before the Dutch West India Company, although Bowne was an Englishman granted the right to settle in New Netherland.

This proved to be a fatal error for Stuyvesant. Although Bowne could speak no Dutch, he was acquitted at trial. And — he used his time in The Netherlands to advise the Dutch West India Company of Stuyvesant’s doings. It only took the directors of that company one year to see the error of Stuyvesant’s ways. In 1663, they demanded that Stuyvesant cease and desist with his religious intolerance and persecution.

Ironically, in 1664 the British conquered New Netherland and took it away from the Dutch. The matter then became moot. The renamed colony of New York maintained and preserved religious freedom as granted by the orders of the Dutch West India Company.

The 1657 Remonstrance and Bowne’s victory became the foundation for our subsequent “freedom of religion” and incorporated into our priceless (and precious) Bill of Rights. For readers who love the historical aspect of genealogy research: Bowne’s descendants include Kyra Sedgwick and Julia Thorne.

The latter was first wife of John Kerry, whose wedding to Kerry made the news because she wore the wedding dress of her ancestor, Catherine Peartree-Smith, who was wed to Elias Boudinot in 1768. Boudinot was the fourth president of the Continental Congress. His best man was Alexander Hamilton.

Quakers in our modern-day USA have likewise worn their almost four-hundred-year-old “wedding dress” as they practice their faith with action.

The secret to their success? They are not protesting President Trump, or Secretary Noem, or the Republican Party. They are not demonstrating against MAGA. Rather, they are marching FOR justice. And they would march for justice if it were a Democratic President, or a Libertarian Secretary.

Justice is justice is justice.

This is the sort of dissent practiced as well by “our” White Rose students. For the most part, they were moved to action by witnessing mass executions (Willi Graf). Or disrespect of the bodies of enemy soldiers killed in battle (Alexander Schmorell, Otl Aicher, Hans Scholl). Or persecution of Jewish friends, family, and neighbors (Eugen Grimminger, Christoph Probst, Traute Lafrenz). Or the trampling of human rights in plain sight (Willi Graf, Hans Hirzel, Heinz Brenner, Alexander Schmorell, Lilo Ramdohr). Or fraudulent use of public funds and charity (Sophie Scholl, Käthe Schüddekopf, Traute Lafrenz).

Their resistance may have eventually directed itself at Hitler’s regime. But it began as protest against injustice. As taking steps to assist forced laborers they encountered. As giving food to POWs. As burying bodies of Russian soldiers left to rot in the field. As working with the Munich underground to identify and help Eastern Europeans (so-called “subhumans”) captured and mistreated in their city. As ensuring that Jewish families within their sphere of influence could escape — Traute Lafrenz and Eugen Grimminger should be in Yad Vashem’s Righteous Among the Nations for their efforts.

So to my Quaker friends: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are once again showing us the way. You are standing up for those who are defenseless, who have no protector, who have been abandoned.

Justice is justice is justice.

COMMENT WORTH KEEPING

I’m inspired by the Quaker tradition of fighting “for justice” rather than “against injustice”. Great post!

--Gwen Miertschin, May 18, 2025.

Questions? Comments? Speak your mind below. Before doing so, please log in using the email address that corresponds to your orders or newsletter subscription. Note: MARKDOWN is the app's label for formatting shortcuts.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to leave me a tip, I would be grateful! Buy Me A Coffee!

Excerpted from White Rose History, Volume I. See below for copyright information. Please contact us for permission to quote.

Image credits: Top photograph--Quaker meeting house in Darlington, Maryland. Photo © 2024 Denise Elaine Heap. Middle photograph--Quaker meeting house in Darlington, Maryland. Photo © 2024 Denise Elaine Heap. Bottom photograph--The Little Free Pantry outside the Deer Creek Meeting House in Darlington, Maryland. Photo © 2024 Denise Elaine Heap. Please contact us for permission to use.

The above information is fully footnoted in our White Rose histories. Please purchase them for access to that material! To order digital version of White Rose History, Volume I: Coming Together (January 1933-April 30, 1942), click here. To order digital version of White Rose History, Volume II, click here. WRH1 is © 2002, 2003, 2007 by Denise Elaine Heap. WRH2 is © 2002, 2007 by Denise Elaine Heap.

No part of this post, Web site, or translations contained herein may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the copyright holder, except for the “fair use” of quotations that are properly cited and credited, including identification of the translator if applicable. No part of this post, Web site, or translations contained herein may be included in any Large Language Model without proper licensing from the copyright holder, Denise Elaine Heap.