.png) | |
| Founded | April 30, 1917 |
|---|---|
| Founder | 17 members of theReligious Society of Friends |
| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
| 23-1352010 | |
| Location | |
| Origins | Haverford, Pennsylvania, US |
Area served | Worldwide with U.S. emphasis |
Key people | Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary |
| Revenue | US$40.9 million |
| Employees | 350 |
| Volunteers | thousands |
| Award | Nobel Peace Prize (1947) |
| Website | afsc |
| Designations | |
|---|---|
| Official name | American Friends Service Committee |
| Type | City |
| Criteria | Religion |
| Designated | November 6, 1999 |
| Location | 1501 Cherry St., at Friends Ctr., Philadelphia 39°57′20″N75°09′53″W / 39.95559°N 75.16477°W /39.95559; -75.16477 |
TheAmerican Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is aQuaker-founded organization working for peace andsocial justice in theUnited States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by American members of the Religious Society of Friends to assistcivilian victims ofWorld War I. It continued to engage in relief action inEurope and theSoviet Union after the Armistice of 1918. By the mid-1920s, AFSC focused on improving racial relations, immigration policy, and labor conditions in the U.S., as well as exploring ways to prevent the outbreak of another conflict before and afterWorld War II.
As theCold War developed, the organization began to employ more professionals rather than Quaker volunteers. Over time, it broadened its appeal and began to respond more forcefully toracial injustice, internationalpeacebuilding,migration andrefugee issues, women's issues, and the demands of sexual minorities for equal treatment. Currently, the organization's three priorities include work on peacebuilding, a focus on just economies, and humane responses to the global migration crisis.
Quakers traditionally opposeviolence in all of its forms and therefore many refuse to serve in themilitary, even whendrafted. AFSC's original mission arose from the need to provideconscientious objectors (COs) with a constructive alternative to military service. In 1947, AFSC, along with its British counterpart, the Friends Service Council (now known asQuaker Peace and Social Witness), received theNobel Peace Prize on behalf of all Quakers worldwide.[1]
Established in 1917 byFriends from different branches of American Quakerism, AFSC is connected to the Religious Society of Friends through its official Corporation, which is established in the organization's bylaws: "The members of the Corporation shall be those persons, being members of the Religious Society of Friends, as may from time to time be appointed to membership in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws." The members are a combination of "Yearly Meeting appointees" and "at-large members."[2]
In April 1917, just days after the United States enteredWorld War I by declaring war on Germany and its allies, a group of Quakers met inPhiladelphia to discuss the impendingmilitary draft and its impact on members ofpeace churches such as Quakers,Mennonites,Brethren, and theAmish. They developed ideas foralternative services that could be performed directly in the battle zones of northern France.[3]
They also developed plans for dealing with theUnited States Army, since it had been inconsistent in its dealing with religious objectors to previous wars. Although legally members ofpacifistchurches were exempt from the draft, individual state draft boards interpreted the law in a variety of ways. Many Quakers and other COs were ordered to report to army camps for military service. Some COs, unaware of the significance of reporting for duty, found that this was interpreted by the military as a willingness to fight. One of the AFSC's first tasks was to identify COs, find the camps where they were located, and then visit them to provide spiritual guidance and moral support. In areas where the pacifist churches were more well known (such asPennsylvania), a number of draft boards were willing to assign COs to AFSC for alternative service.[4]
In addition to organizing alternative service programs for COs, AFSC collected relief in the form of food, clothing, and other supplies fordisplaced persons inFrance. Quakers were encouraged to donate old and make new garments; grow fruits and vegetables, can them, and send them to AFSC headquarters inPhiladelphia. The AFSC then shipped these materials to France for distribution. Young men and women were sent to work in France alongside British Quakers, providing relief and medical care to refugees, repairing and rebuilding homes, assisting farmers in replanting fields damaged by the war, and founding amaternity hospital.[5]
After World War I ended in 1918, AFSC expanded its work toRussia,Serbia, andPoland, assisting orphans and victims of famine and disease. InGermany andAustria, they established kitchens to feed hungry children.[5] Eventually, AFSC was chartered by PresidentHerbert Hoover to provide United States-sponsored relief to Germans.[6]
In the 1920s, the American Friends Service Committee branched out to more domestic work in the United States. The Interracial Section was formed to improve race relations and civil rights. AFSC advocated for more inclusive immigration laws and opposedracial quotas. The organization also supported striking mine workers and helped unemployed individuals develop new skills, such as crafting furniture and other goods.[7]
During the 1930s and throughWorld War II, AFSC helped refugees escapeNazi Germany, focusing on those who were not being assisted by other organizations, primarilynon-religious Jews and Jews married to non-Jews.[8] AFSC also provided relief for children on both sides of theSpanish Civil War[9] and supported refugees inVichy France.[10] Simultaneously, AFSC operated severalCivilian Public Service camps for a new generation of COs. WhenJapanese Americans were forcibly relocated from the West Coast to inland concentration camps, AFSC led efforts to help college students transfer to schools in the Midwest and East Coast to avoid internment, and assisted Japanese Americans in resettling in various cities during and after the war.[11] Following the war, AFSC engaged in relief and reconstruction work inEurope,Japan,India, andChina.
In 1947, AFSC worked to resettle refugees during thepartition of India.[12] Between 1937 and 1943, the organization built thePenn-Craft community for unemployed coal miners inFayette County, Pennsylvania.[13]
Additionally in 1947, AFSC was awarded theNobel Peace Prize in recognition of its war relief efforts.[5] Shortly afterward, AFSC became one of the firstnon-governmental organizations to be givenConsultative Status at theUnited Nations, leading to the establishment of theQuaker United Nations Office.
On December 7, 1948,UN Secretary-GeneralTrygve Lie officially invited AFSC to participate in a one-year emergency relief program forPalestinians displaced by the creation of the state ofIsrael. The program had a budget of $32 million, with $16 million provided by theUS. AFSC was given responsibility for theGaza Strip, while displaced persons inLebanon,Syria, andJordan were allocated to theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and those in theWest Bank and Israel came under the care of theInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).[14]
In theGaza Strip, theEgyptian Army had established eight improvised refugee camps containing at least 200,000 people, mostly living in tents. Of these, 56% had come fromGaza District, and 42% fromLydda District. AFSC's responsibilities included food distribution, public health, and education. The program was managed by 50 volunteers, many from pacifist or CO backgrounds, and eventually employed over 1,000 Palestinians. One of the initial tasks was registering the refugees by their village of origin and establishing a rationing system, including a baby milk program. The goal was to provide each person with 2000 calories per day.[15] Following this, AFSC established clinics for distributing medicines, conductedmalaria control efforts, and organized water distribution.
By March 30, 1949, rudimentary schools had been established for 16,000 children.[16] However, due to the absence of political progress on repatriation and limited resources, AFSC decided not to commit to a long-term aid program. In April 1950, they transferred their entire program to the newly created theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).[17]
As theCold War intensified, AFSC continued its relief and service efforts, often supporting civilians on both sides of conflicts around the world, including theKorean War, theHungarian Revolution of 1956, theAlgerian War, and theNigerian-Biafran War.
During theVietnam War, AFSC collaborated with U.S. scholars of China to organize conferences that sought to raise awareness about the U.S.'s non-recognition of the People's Republic of China.[18] In 1966, AFSC developed programs to aid children and provided medical supplies andartificial limbs to civilians in bothNorth andSouth Vietnam. When U.S. State Department approval to send medical supplies to North Vietnam was denied, the committee routed goods throughCanada. AFSC also supported draft counseling for young American men throughout the conflict.[19]
In 1955, AFSC publishedSpeak Truth to Power: A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence, authored by a group including Stephen G. Cary,A. J. Muste,Robert Pickus, andBayard Rustin.[20] Focused on the Cold War, the 71-page pamphlet aimed to demonstrate "the effectiveness of love in human relations"[21] and became a significant statement ofChristian pacifism, receiving widespread commentary in both secular and religious press.
In the United States, AFSC supported theAmerican Civil Rights Movement and advocated for the rights ofAfrican-Americans,Native Americans,Mexican Americans, andAsian Americans. Since the 1970s, AFSC has been heavily involved in the peace movement, particularly efforts to halt the production and deployment of nuclear weapons.
In fiscal year 2022, AFSC had revenues of US$40.9 million and expenses of US$37.8 million.[22] AFSC had net assets of US$166 million.[23]
Today AFSC programs address a wide range of issues, countries, and communities. AFSC describes the programs as united by "the unfaltering belief in the essential worth of every human being, non-violence as the way to resolve conflict, and the power of love to overcome oppression, discrimination, and violence".[24]
AFSC employs more than 350 staff working in dozens of programs throughout the United States and works in thirteen other nations.[25] AFSC has divided the organization's programs between eight geographic regions, each of which runs programs related to peace,immigrant rights,restorative justice, economic justice, and climate justice.[26] AFSC's international programs often work in conjunction withQuaker Peace and Social Witness (formerly the British Friends Service Council) and other partners.
AFSC also provides administrative support to theQuaker United Nations Office (QUNO) inNew York City. This office is the official voice of Quakerism in theUnited Nations headquarters. There is a second QUNO office inGeneva, Switzerland; support for that office is provided by European Quakers. QUNO is overseen by theFriends World Committee for Consultation.
AFSC carries out many programs around the world. The organization's 2010 annual report[27] describes work in several African countries, Haiti, Indonesia, and the United States. Recently AFSC opened a traveling art exhibit calledWindows & Mirrors, examining the impact ofthe war in Afghanistan on civilians.[28]
In 2004, AFSC started the projectEyes Wide Open inChicago.Eyes Wide Open is an exhibition on the human cost of the wars inIraq andAfghanistan. The exhibit featured boots in a military array representing US deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and shoes representing Iraqi and Afghan civilians. It was exhibited in 48 states and the District of Columbia, drawing national coverage[29][30]
The American Friends Service Committee's strategic plan for 2020-2030 lists three interconnected strategic goals.[31]
Throughout much of the group's history theUS Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies have monitored the work of this and many other similar organizations.[32][33][34]
Since the 1970s, some criticism of the AFSC has come from liberals within the Society of Friends, who charge that the organization has drifted from its Quaker roots and has become indistinguishable from otherpolitical pressure groups. Quakers expressed concern with AFSC's abolition of their youth work camps during the 1960s and what some saw as a decline of Quaker participation in the organization.[citation needed]
In June 1979, a cover article inThe New Republic attacked AFSC for abandoning the tradition ofpacifism.[35] The criticisms became prominent after a gathering ofFriends General Conference (FGC) in Richmond, Indiana, in the summer of 1979 when many Friends joined with prominent leaders, such asKenneth Boulding, to call for a firmer Quaker orientation toward public issues.[36] After the FGC Gathering, a letter listing the points of criticism was signed by 130 Friends and sent to the AFSC Board. In 1988, the bookPeace and Revolution[37] by conservative scholarGuenter Lewy repeated charges that AFSC had abandoned pacifism and religion.[35] In response to Lewy's book,Chuck Fager publishedQuaker Service at the Crossroads[36] in 1988.[38]
In 2010, Fager described that AFSC was "divorced" from Quakers' life as a faith community due to "an increasingly pronounced drift toward a leftysecularism" since the 1970s.[35] It was reported that the Committee in 1975 adopted "a formal decision to make the Middle East its major issue".[39][40]
Some Jewish supporters of Israeli government policies have accused AFSC of having ananti-Jewish bias.[41] In 1993,Jacob Neusner called the Committee "the most militant and aggressive of Christian anti-Israel groups".[42]
The AFSC's position on its website is that it "supports the use of boycott and divestment campaigns targeting only companies that support the occupation, settlements, militarism, or any other violations of international humanitarian or human rights law. Our position does not call for a full boycott of Israel or of companies because they are either Israeli or doing business in Israel. Our actions also never focus on individuals."[43]
