SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2025

Weekend Reading

Participants in one of AFSC's West Virginia women's sewing groups. Photo: AFSC Archives

Hi Friend,

As a Quaker organization, AFSC believes that economies should foster equality and thriving for all. This Labor Day weekend, we reflect on our decades of work for economic justice. We have stood with coal miners’ families during the Great Depression. We have supported farm workers organizing for fair treatment. And we advocated with civil rights leaders demanding an end to workplace discrimination. Today, we are as committed as ever in working for dignity, safety, and equality. Read more about our history. 

IN THE MEDIA

A win for Apartheid-Free Communities in Canada

This week, the city council of Burnaby in Canada unanimously voted to declare the city apartheid-free. It is the first city in Canada to join our Apartheid-Free network of nearly 800 faith groups, organizations, businesses, cities, and more. Council members also voted to call for a full and immediate arms embargo on Israel. As the genocide continues in Gaza, “there are thousands of concerned Burnaby residents who are horrified as they watch these crimes against humanity unfold in real time,” said Council Member Alison Gu.  

IMMIGRANT RIGHTS

Explainer: The Trump administration’s actions on immigration  

Last week, a federal court ruled that the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. The decision places more than 60,000 people at risk for deportation as early as September. Ending TPS is one part of the Trump administration’s expansion of detention and deportation in the U.S. Here’s what you need to know. You can speak out today. Sign our petition: Immigrants make our communities stronger!   

HEALING JUSTICE

Commutation Project changes lives in Michigan  

By Jon Krieg  

Everyone deserves a second chance. For many in prison, that opportunity never comes. Instead, the U.S. criminal legal system overly relies on life or long sentences. AFSC’s Michigan Criminal Justice Program is working to change that. Our Commutation Project pairs women serving life and long-term sentences with volunteers on the outside. Through visits, phone calls, and letters, they learn from each other and work toward applying for commutation and release.  

Special thanks to our monthly donors, our Partners for Peace, for their ongoing support to make all our work possible.

American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
United States | Donate

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