American Friends Service Committee's Podcast

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities.In this episode, AFSC New Mexico team members Sayrah Namaste and Patrick Jaramillo discuss how accompaniment of indigenous peoples and land-based agricultural traditions can be a force for building community resilience in the face of climate change and extractive economic exploitation.To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities.In this episode, AFSC West Virginia team members Liz Brunello, Lida Shepherd, Joanna Vance, and Rick Wilson discuss real-world stories of how provisions in the Build Back Better plan, such as the expanded child tax credit, can bring about life-changing reductions in poverty for millions of people.To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities.In this episode, join Jacob Flowers, AFSC Regional Director, and Sophia Burns, Robert Andrew Stuart Fellow, as they share tips and insight into community safety and de-escalation practices to help create safer spaces.To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities.In this episode, AFSC Youth Director Nia Eubanks-Dixon discussed the importance of self and community care during the pandemic and uprisings against racial injustice.To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities.In this episode, AFSC staff discuss our petition to Abolish ICE that went viral throughout 2020, and why  the movement to eliminate this abusive immigration enforcement agency gaining so much momentum. Hear from our program staff about the impacts ICE has on our communities, and what we can do in 2021 to move the #AbolishICE campaign forward!To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities.In this episode, AFSC staff members discuss initiatives across the US and internationally that work to support local agricultural communities as ways to address food insecurity, sustainability, poverty, and more. To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities.In this episode, AFSC staff members Shanene Herbert and Lucy Duncan reflect on the prevalence of white supremacy in society, as highlighted by historic protests and the deadly events of the January 6 violent insurrection at the Capitol. Together they discuss "Radical Acting in Faith for White People," a free e-course designed to help white people of faith to learn how to grapple with the concepts of white supremacy, and how to catalyze themselves as active participants in the creation of a more just society.To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media. Learn more about Radical Acting in Faith for White People here. 

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities. In this episode, AFSC staff members Tori Bateman, Dov Baum, and Pedro Rios are joined by the Transnational Institute’s Nick Buxton to discuss a report released by AFSC, TNI, and Mijente explores the financial campaign contributions of the leading US border security contractors and how they have shaped a bipartisan approach in favor of border militarization for more than three decades. What does this industry influence means for the future of US immigration policy and the prospects for change under President Biden? To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities. In this episode, AFSC's Peniel Ibe, Newark Staff Serges Demefack, and Aisa Diallo reflect on Immigration as a Black issue and the need to amplify the stories and experiences of Black immigrants. This conversation took place as part of a Black Immigrant Advocacy Action week hosted by multiple Black led immigration organizations and partners. To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Since April of 2020, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has been bringing in-the-moment updates of our work responding to community needs and addressing issues around the world through our weekly series of Facebook Live conversations. AFSC On the Issues revisits those conversations in podcast form to help you stay informed and stay engaged with our work to build peaceful and just communities. In this first episode, Ewuare Osayande shares a powerful and poignant reflection on the protests and calls for justice that spread across the US and worldwide in the wake of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd and the overexposed racial disparities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more, visit AFSC online at www.afsc.org, and connect with us on social media.

Seattle area high school students gathered over the winter holidays to learn about the history of racism in the United States during a Tyree Scott Freedom School. Madeline went to visit that Freedom School, and witnessed a grassroots movement for social change built on the passion of a diverse network of young people in the Seattle region. Listen to the voices of some of these young men and women who attended the workshop, and hear how they are using their new understanding to undo racist structures in American society.

Listen to an interview with Dustin Washington, the program director of AFSC's Tyree Scott Freedom School in Seattle, Washington, an intensive seminar program for young men and women that unpacks the structures of racism and oppression in the United States. During the interview, Dustin describes the vision and curriculum of the program, as well as how this training inspires young men and women from the local community to get involved with local social justice efforts to end mass incarceration.

An interview with AFSC staff Ricardo Hernández and Fabiola Flores Muñoz on their recent trip down to the US/Mexico border to asses the human security issues facing those living in the region. Fabiola, AFSC's Regional Director of Latin American and the Caribbean, and Integration and Impact's Ricardo Hernandez, discuss their observations of how governmental policies of increased national security and militarization from both nations are negatively impacting life for those on the border, as well as what local civic organizations are doing to support those most directly impacted. For more information on the American Friends Service Committee's seven principles for humane immigration reform, "A New Path," go to our website at www.afsc.org/newpath. Stay tuned for future stories and interviews on our podcast by subscribing through iTunes.

On November 15th, Quaker schools from around New England gathered at Moses Brown Friends school in Providence, Rhode Island, for a day long conference on peace education. Madeline Schaefer, Friends Relations Associate at the American Friends Service Committee, was invited to present and share AFSC's resources for teaching peace to young people. Along with giving her presentation, which she co-presented with Friends Council on Education's Deborra Sines Pancoe, Madeline spoke with other presenters and organizers to try and answer the question of what peace education looks like, and how the American Friends Service Committee might help Quaker schools live out the peace testimony in and outside of the classroom.

On October 13th, Friends Meeting of Washington hosted an event for Quakers and the general public to learn more about a new joint working paper recently published by the American Friends Service Commitee and Friends Committee on National Legislation, titled "Shared Security: Reimagining US foreign policy." The document, published in April 2013, lays out new ways that the U.S. can engage with the global community, based on principles of cooperation and human security. Listen to this short audio story to hear more about the document, as well as how audience members responded to the presentation and discussion on how Quakers and their allies can work together to create a world that prioritizes human rights and the peaceful resolution to conflict.

Hear AFSC's General Secretary, Shan Cretin, along with Diane Randall, the General Secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), on the new joint working paper, Shared Security, created by the two Quaker organizations to "reimagine foreign policy." AFSC and FCNL have teamed up to envision a set of principles for the U.S. to approach its foreign policy from place of cooperation rather than militarization.  To learn more about the document, visit www.sharedsecurity.org, and join the conversation about the future of America on the world stage. Produced by Madeline Schaefer Music by Cosmic Analog Ensemble www.afsc.org

William DiCanzio's new play on Bayard Rustin and his important role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington is being performed in open readings in and around the city of Philadelphia this year. Madeline Schaefer attended one of these readings and spoke with playwright William DiCanzio, the play's future director, Benjamin Lloyd, and the play's leading actor, Frank X, about the power and legacy of Bayard Rustin's message of nonviolence. White Pines Productions, located in Elkin's Park, is hoping to stage the play in the coming year. To find out more about how you can help this play make it to the stage, visit www.whitepinesproductions.org.

At this year's Friends General Conference gathering in Greeley, Colorado, Lucy Duncan and Madeline Schaefer sat down with renowned civil rights activist Vincent Harding, to discuss the legacy of MLK and the March on Washington, Trayvon Martin and the future of democracy in America.

"Calling forth the goodness" is a podcast series of the AFSC blog, Acting in Faith, that features the voices and communities that work together to create change. In this episode, "From the inside, out," Madeline sits down with participants in AFSC's mentoring program that works in Baltimore prisons. The program, "Friend of a Friend," teaches skills in nonviolent communication and conflict resolution, while empowering men to advocate for change both inside and outside of the prison walls. Produced by Madeline Schaefer. Music by Quakers.

In the middle of May, 2013, Kofi (whose name was changed for this story) was detained and deported to his home country in Africa. The family he left behind--including a girlfriend, and two children--are struggling with his absence, unsure of their future or the fate of their boyfriend and father. Hear the story of this family, and hear how the AFSC in Newark is speaking out against his case and others that tear families apart.

"Calling forth the goodness" is a podcast series that features the voices and communities that work together to create change. The third episode, "To Heal the World," tells the story of how AFSC in Denver is bringing together immigrants and immigrant allies to ensure the equal treatment of all of its residents. Listen and hear the voices of community members in and around Denver, Colorado, working to oppose anti-immigrant legislation and create communities where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. Produced by Madeline Schaefer. Intro music by Jon Watts. Other featured music includes Ana Tijoux, Boards of Canada and Chancha via Circuito.

"Calling forth the goodness" is a podcast series that features the voices and communities that work together to create change. This first episode, "Working at the Root," tells the story of how AFSC partnered with communities in and around Albuquerque, N.M., to help local people keep their water rights while providing fresh, organic vegetables to area public schools. Listen and hear the voices of community members in the South Valley of New Mexico working together for change. Produced by Madeline Schaefer. Intro music by Jon Watts.

Learn more about AFSC's growing involvement in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Hear the voices of activists, students and Quakers as they work together to hold large corporations accountable for the violation of human rights and listen to the power of nonviolence to bring change to both hearts and minds. This podcast is part of a series, "Calling forth the goodness," which will share the stories of how AFSC works in communities around the world. Produced by Madeline Schaefer. Intro music by Jon Watts.