White Quaker singer-songwriter Sandy Robson reflects on fear and how it operates to maintain segregation and racial oppression in this moving piece about growing up in Baltimore and learning about the vulnerability and lack of safety her Black friends feel. This piece was originally published on Sandy's website (her singer-songwriter name is Letitia VanSant) in May. - Lucy

Sandy Robson is a Quaker singer-songwriter from Baltimore, Maryland. Until recently she worked for the Friends Committee on National Legislation. She performs under the name Letitia VanSant.

On September 1st an historic settlement was reached in California on the use of long-term isolation or solitary confinement. This win came after years of organizing in which AFSC staff were actively participating. This is a summary of the agreement reached and of all the work and actions that went into making the agreement possible by incarcerated men, their families, and other allies working together persistently and faithfully for change. - Lucy

Below is a response to Mike Merryman-Lotze's guest blog post Palestine Activism in an Anti-Racist Framework from members of the Palestine Israel Action Group (PIAG) of Ann Arbor Friends Meeting. The original blog post, though written in Mike's personal voice, does reflect AFSC's position and Mike replies to this open letter below.

"At this place, in this moment of time, all mankind is us. Let us do something while we have the chance." – Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

I’ve been struggling with despair.

A white person attending the Bernie Sanders' rally in Seattle last week probably understood what was happening as an unwelcome, uninvited interruption of Bernie’s attempts to speak on social programs. But in the world of Marissa Johnson and Mara Jacqueline Willaford, the two Black Lives Matter activists who took the stage, they weren’t just interrupting Bernie Sanders—they were interrupting white supremacy.

Sara Z.E.Hughes works as AFSC's social media specialist. Sara is an artist, filmmaker and cultural worker who uses art for social change, a tool AFSC uses in our program work in many places including two recent traveling exhibits, Boycott: The Art of Economic Activism and All of Us or None: Responses and Resistance to Militarism. This piece explores several artists who effectively use different media to work for social justice.

Sara Zia is a curator of film, visual art and new media and for over a decade has produced film screenings and exhibits in the Philadelphia area. She has worked as a consultant with Independent Television Service (ITVS) and with individual independent filmmakers on their engagement and outreach campaigns.