1961Handbook

1961 Civil Rights Training Manual Released !

Brenda decided to reprint Organizing for Nonviolent Direct Action after her father's death, as an important piece of his legacy. It was the first training manual of its kind written on preparing for and carrying out peaceful protest in the U.S. Civil Rights movement. In the turbulent time of sit-ins and marches, many people wanted action and change. Seeking to keep the movement peaceful, Walker drew on his experience with the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the principles of Gandhi to lay out a basic how-to for nonviolent action in the struggle for civil rights. She hopes people will use these timeless principles in this new century as they were used in the 1960s, with constructive programs that exemplify “nonviolent attitudes in action.”

Quaker World Conference Delegate

In April, 2012 I had the honor to represent Philadelphia Yearly Meeting at the Sixth World Conference of Friends in Kenya, a gathering of Yearly Meetings from all over the world. I not only attended the World Conference, sponsored by the Friends World Committee for Consultation, but I also stayed about a week each with a rural family in the Rift Valley and an urban family in Nairobi. Additionally, I co-led a workshop on American Quakers and Human Rights at the eight-day conference.

After returning, at the end of July as speaker for Concord Quarterly Meeting and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, I told of my adventures (such as being roughed up by a baboon who wanted my lunch!) and things I learned about the African religious and political climate.