Lecture: "The Quaker Civilian Readjustment Committee: The first social service organization for gay people in the United States" (Hybrid)
About this lecture
Did you know that Quakers helped protect gay people from cruel punishment by law enforcement and the judicial system in the late 1940s? This talk will describe a one-of-a-kind experiment conducted by the Quaker Emergency Service in New York City that saved thousands of gay men from criminalization for their sexuality.
Event Accessibility
Beacon Hill Friends House is working on making our historic space accessible to everyone. (Covid policies for onsite attendees are below).
Automated Closed Captions will be available for all participants (on Zoom and in-person).
Physical space: This event will take place in our Parlor, which does not have a ground-level entrance. Our primary entrance is up a flight of stairs. If you would like to attend this event but need it to be held in a different space, please indicate so on your registration. On the basement level, we have a single-user, all-gender bathroom with wall-mounted handrails and ample space for chairs and/or aides. We are not a scent-free space but tend to be low-scent.
Attending onsite at BHFH (Covid policy and directions)
Covid policies: All in-person attendees are required to wear a mask while inside. Masks will be available for those who forget them.
Getting to BHFH: Use the address "8 Chestnut St., Boston, MA, 02108" for navigation. We recommend taking public transit to get here: We are a short walk from every transit line in Boston. If you choose to drive in, paid street parking is available on Charles Street (and on Beacon Street before 6 pm). We also have parking passes available for $9 to the Boston Common Garage.
About the lecturer
Brian Blackmore holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Temple University, with extensive academic research and published writings examining the role that Quakers played in gay rights movements and the inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the Quaker tradition during the mid-twentieth century. He is a Quaker educator and community builder whose career has focused on religion, social justice, and peacemaking.
About Beacon Hill Friends House
Beacon Hill Friends House is a Quaker Center for Learning and Action in downtown Boston, MA. Founded in 1957, its mission is "to embody the Quaker principles of faith, simplicity, integrity, community, and social responsibility in order to nurture and call forth the Light in all of us." BHFH lives into its mission by:
Providing a center where Friends and others can meet, worship, and learn
Advancing and fostering the principles of the Religious Society of Friends
Offering opportunities for leadership development, personal deepening, and collective action
Maintaining a diverse, intentional, residential community guided by Friends principles