Fit For Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans and the Myth of Racial Justice

There is a common misconception that, because of their belief in equality, most Quakers assisted fugitive slaves and involved themselves in civil rights activism. While there were Friends committed to ending enslavement and post-enslavement injustices, this study of Quaker history reveals that racism has been as insidious, complex, and pervasive among Friends as it has been generally among people of European descent. The book documents the spiritual and practical impacts of discrimination in the Religious Society of Friends in the expectation that understanding the truth of our past is vital to achieving a diverse, inclusive community in the future.