The American Friends Service Committee & The BlackQuaker Project Present: The 2023 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum
Screening & Discussion Every Other Saturday / 4 February 2023 to 8 April 2023, 1 PM Eastern Time.
The BlackQuaker Project (BQP) is proud to announce the 2023 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum, a groundbreaking exploration of Black Friends who made a difference throughout both USA and world history. This year’s festival-forum features themes of importance to African American Quakers and others concerned with truth and justice: abolition, retrospective justice/reparations, freedom, education, Black-White relations, non-violence, and anti-violence in response to systemic violence. Our honorees range from 20th century trailblazing Friends of African Descent back to early Quakers of Color who are too often forgotten. Some of their stories will challenge Friends to consider what defines a Quaker, as we examine the lives of extraordinary people of color who were Friends in all but name, and ask ourselves what may have prevented or deterred them from joining the Religious Society of Friends. Our festival-forum begins on 4 February, in recognition of Black History Month, continues through Women’s History Month in March, and ends on 8 April with a special celebration of the momentous 125th birthday of prolific artist and human rights activist Paul Robeson, a descendant of over 200 years of Quakers.
Screenings will be held over Zoom every other Saturday at 1:00 PM Eastern Time and will feature post-screening dialogues between invited guest experts, hosted by festival-forum director and curator Dr. Harold D. Weaver. We are honored to have eminent scholar-activists, writers, and historians, some of whom are descendants of our honorees, participating in this year’s dialogues, which will conclude with Q & A sessions open to our audience.
How to Register
Free registration is open for EACH screening on our website here! Please note that you must register for EACH screening separately. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email and, 24 hours before the screening, you will receive a Zoom link for the event you chose to attend. You can view our full program schedule and descriptions on our website.
• Saturday, 4 February 2023: Interview with Bill Sutherland (1999) –Liberation and Non-Violence in Africa & USA
• Saturday, 18 February 2023: The Prep School Negro (2012) –Joan Countryman: African Americans in Quaker Schools.
• Saturday, 4 March 2023: Sisters in Freedom (2018) –Sarah Mapps Douglass: Women in the Abolition Struggle Against Slavery.
• Saturday, 18 March 2023: Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Loved The Stars (1981) – Early African American Scholar-Activist.
• Saturday, 8 April 2023: Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist (1978) and The Proud Valley (1940) – Celebrating Paul Robeson’s 125th Birthday
To learn more about the 2023 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum, please visit our official page for the festival-forum here on our BQP website.
Write to us at the [email protected] with any questions or comments about the festival-forum. Please feel free to forward this e-newsletter on to other organizations and individuals who you feel might be interested.
Peace and blessings,
Dr. Harold D. Weaver
Festival-Forum Founding Director, Curator, and Host
Note: Gertrude encourages people to register soon as there is a limit to how many (about 500 – across the country) may attend.