Anti-racism, Social Justice and Good Food : Baltimore Yearly Meeting

Welcome to Baltimore Yearly Meeting!

Baltimore Yearly Meeting nurtures a vibrant Quaker community across the Mid-Atlantic. BYM unites Friends from 50 Quaker meetings and worship groups throughout Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Together at BYM Friends we

Strengthen Local Meetings

The monthly meeting is the beating heart of everything we do. At its core, the yearly meeting is an association of Quaker monthly meetings and other local worshipping communities coming together to support one another. We share a common Faith & Practice - and we share our skills, gifts, spiritual leadings, and resources across local worshipping communities.

Grow in Spirit & Community

Quakers believe that there is “that of God” in every person—an Inner Light that is loving and honest and can lead us to truth and justice. As BYM Friends we gather for Meetings for Worship four times each year to discern the Leadings of the Spirit and to conduct our community business and three more times throughout the year for spiritual formation retreats.

Nurture Youth

BYM has a special commitment to the spiritual, social, and emotional thriving of all young people. Our camps and youth retreats are vibrant, diverse, youth-centered communities. BYM scholarships and grants provide material support to children, families, and child-serving organizations, and the Religious Education Committee connects meetings to resources for nurturing youth.

Connect & Serve as Friends

Working together is an extension of our worship into the practical life of Quakerism. Working together benefits both the wider community and those Friends who participate. We serve together on Committtes, gather for service projects and social witness, and are part of the worldwide body of Quakers - connected to 14 organizations and hundreds of thousands of Friends around the world.

Please join us on a Zoom event at 7 pm on Sunday, January 24. We will be joined by Naijha Wright-Brown and Crystal Forman from the Black Vegetarian Society of Maryland who will give us a presentation followed by discussion. The themes for the evening will include
• The interconnectedness between social justice movements, including resisting food colonialism
• The vegan movement in African-American culture
• Adopting a plant-based diet is easy and cool!

Naijha Wright-Brown is a successful serial entrepreneur with an MBA in Business. Naijha co-owns, along with her husband Gregory Brown, the award-winning vegan soul bistro, The Land of Kush, located in Baltimore, MD. She co-created Vegan Soulfest, Baltimore’s premier vegan festival and Maryland Vegan Restaurant Week, the first of its kind in the country. She is the Executive Director of the Black Vegetarian Society of Maryland, has her own video podcast, Naijha Speaks, and is an anchor for Jane Unchained News, a digital animal rights news network!

Crystal L. Forman is the owner and educator of Holistic Wellness and Health. As a passionate health and wellness educator, she helps you use a plant-based approach to focus on disease prevention and on living a healthier and more vibrant life. She uses a whole person approach focused on mind, body, soul and spirit to improve the quality of life for all beings. Holistic Wellness and Health offers healthy plant-based cooking classes, wellness workshops, health coaching, gardening consultation, and mindfulness meditation. Crystal also works to improve food justice, food sovereignty and sustainable food access.

Sponsors:
• Working Group on Right Relationship with Animals
• Working Group on Racism