Pam and Ron Ferguson were invited to lead programmed worship at AFSC's Annual Corporation meeting on March 5, 2016.

Colonization requires constant action. By definition, a process is implied. Initially, colonization is simply acquiring dominion over the people, land, and all therein the land. As a result, as Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic once said, “countries under foreign command quickly forget their history, their past, their tradition, their national symbols, their way of living, often their own literary language.”

In opposition to regressive policies pushed by the governor and state legislature including draconian cuts to Medicaid, unemployment benefits, and public education funding, Dr. Barber has mobilized the Forward Together Moral Monday Movement, a multi-racial, multi-generational movement of thousands for protests at the NC General Assembly the people’s house, and around the state. Hundreds, including Dr. Barber himself, have also engaged in non-violent civil disobedience to expose what the politicians in North Carolina are trying to do in the dark.

Rev. Dr. William Barber, II addressed the AFSC Corporation Meeting on March 3rd, 2016. He spoke about the legacy of Quaker history, the Forward Together Moral Mondays movement, and how to create deep change through moral fusion politics, bringing people together to overcome the forces of resistance to build the Third Reconstruction. Watch the full talk here. Videography by Alex Wiles. - Lucy

Tabitha Mustafa is a native New Orleanian who is grounded in the city’s social justice community. She currently serves as Program Associate for AFSC’s New Orleans office, and is an organizer for Peace by Piece (PxP). With PxP, she is committed to supporting and mobilizing Black youth and young adults to establish sustainable, autonomous, and equitable communities. More. 

Kerri Kennedy serves as the International Associate General Secretary for AFSC. She is a global peacebuilder and international executive with twenty years of experience leading international peace and justice organizations. She has an M.S. from American University and has worked in 50+ countries including war zones, post conflict countries, and in the U.S.

It's time for us to invest seriously in peace instead of war in the name of the security.

One week ago, I was in New York City at Quaker House, meeting with with heads of European organizations to discuss the future of global peace building. Yesterday morning, I awoke to the horror of yet another atrocious violent crime.

In California's diverse Central Valley, culture and art are tools for strengthening immigrant leadership and for building a sense of place and belonging.

Twelve years ago, Genoveva Vivar came to California’s Central Valley when she was 8 years old. Extreme poverty had forced her family to leave Copanatoyac, their hometown in the mountains of the Mexican state of Guerrero.

169 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October. The U.S. has a responsibility to find out why. 

By Lawrence Fleming, Olga Banaszkiewicz, and Carly Campbell 

On Feb. 26, 16-year-old Palestinian-American Mahmoud Shaalan was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near the Beit El settlement in the West Bank. The Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint shot Mahmoud several times, and later reported that he had tried to stab them.