Aiming for Justice: Race Reparations and Right Paths

This year’s reparations workshop honors the collective wisdom of Black farmers, who are often the first to recognize intersectional crises that are social, ecological, and political. All money committed by this year’s participants will go to the Mutual Aid, Resource & Capacity Fund of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA). Designed by Black feminist scholar-activist K. Melchor Quick Hall, the month-long workshop will be facilitated by and offered for US-based, white inheritors of wealth. Too often, stories of the African American experience in the US focus on Southern, white-owned plantations without sufficient attention to the important labor of Black farmers, who fed freedom riders and pioneered cooperatives. This workshop both examines what is owed to Black farmers and makes an offering to one of the most respected networks of Black farmers in the US, NBFJA.

In order for the workshop to take place, a total threshold of $30,000 must be collectively committed by workshop registrants.

From the very beginning, this reparations workshop was designed as a popular education experience that would not pay homage to the knowledge of any single expert. Past participants will be taking lead by facilitating all synchronous workshop sessions. Videos, readings, and workshop design will continue to be managed by K. Melchor Quick Hall, who has designed and modified the workshop for the past three iterations. She sees the current design change as an important maturation of the workshop, shifting the responsibility for facilitating repair to white people. Melchor rejects the idea of “an exceptional Negro,” who would be well-suited for the perpetual service of facilitating white repair. Also, she values this opportunity to transition this labor and legacy to its rightful owners, who must navigate the value and weight of all they have inherited.

To read an interview with Melchor, click here.

To read a history of this workshop, click here.

This program will be online will follow this schedule – all sessions are Eastern Time (US & Canada).

Participants will choose at time of registration whether they intend to join the Monday/Wednesday Cohort or the Tuesday/Thursday Cohort. Each Cohort will review the same information, the purpose of the two cohorts is to accommodate different schedules and create a more intimate group experience.

Leader(s)

K. Melchor Quick Hall the author of Naming a Transnational Black Feminist Framework: Writing in Darkness and the co-editor, with Gwyn Kirk, of  Mapping Gendered Ecologies: Engaging With and Beyond Ecowomanism and Ecofeminism. She is a popular educator who works with students of all ages. Melchor is also the Interim Executive Director of African American Education & Research Organization (AAERO) and Melchor-Quick Meeting House (MQMH), both organizations founded by her mother. As a gardener committed to collective land stewardship, she is an alumna of Soul Fire Farm’s Farmers Immersion and Builders Immersion programs for people of color, and a member of the Northeast Farmers of Color (NEFOC) network.

Additional Facilitators (more coming soon!)

John Meyer (he/him) is a former lawyer and Pendle Hill education staffer for many years, and is currently engaged with Decolonizing Quakers, AVP, and reparative justice.  John will support the Saturday quiet meditations.

Lotte Lieb Dula (she/her)  is the founder of www.Reparations4slavery.com, a portal for white families walking the path of repair. Lotte co-convenes “Uncovering History: Walking The Path of Repair,” an online reparations workshop series.  Lotte will support some of the asynchronous work as well as the Monday/Wednesday sessions and post-workshop optional follow-up.

Melanie Gifford (she/her) is a Quaker. She has facilitated groups exploring racial justice at her Friends meeting and her workplace. A past participant in the workshop, she is committed to individual reparations as well as advocating for institutional responsibility. Melanie will support the Monday/Wednesday sessions.

Dave Morris (he/him) is Quaker raised (and still one in spirit), a ‘60s social justice work dropout, an introverted artist, a relationship & life coach, and a gentle male seeking corrective paths for systemic, masculine abuses. He will support some post-workshop optional follow-up.

Linds Roberts (they/them) is an educator and strong supporter of reparations.  Their mindfulness practice roots them in interconnectedness and justice work. Linds believes that facing our shared history of enslavement and indigenous genocide can bring awareness, truth, and healing to white folks and reduce future harm to minoritized communities.

Lina Blount (she/her) is the Education Coordinator at Pendle Hill and has organized with the Earth Quaker Action Team since 2010. Lina will support the facilitation team and tech support for the synchronous sessions.

Melissa Bennett (she/her) is the Registrar at Pendle Hill and ordained clergy in the Church of the Brethren. Melissa participated in the 2021 cohort of Aiming for Justice and will support the facilitation team as well as provide tech support for the synchronous sessions.

Financial aid may be available. If you are seeking funds to participate in this program, click to review and complete our Financial Assistance Application and a Pendle Hill staff member will follow-up with you shortly (please do NOT register online). Thank you for your interest.

Travel directions to Pendle Hill.