ALLAN W. AUSTIN Quaker Brotherhood Interracial Activism and the American Friends Service Committee, 1917–1950 Quaker Brotherhood Quaker Brotherhood Interracial Activism and the American Friends Service Committee, 1917–1950 Allan W. Austin University of Illinois Press Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield © 2012 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America c 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Austin, Allan W. Quaker brotherhood : interracial activism and the American Friends Service Committee, 1917–1950 / Allan W. Austin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-252-03704-7 (cloth) 1. American Friends Service Committee—History. 2. Race relations—Religious aspects— Society of Friends—History. I. Title. bx7747.a97 2012 267'.189673—dc23 2012022675 For Bobby and Hope Contents Acknowledgments ix introduction The “Friendly Principle of Brotherhood” 1 1. “Let’s Do Away with Walls!”: The AFSC’s Interracial Section and Race Work in the United States, 1924–1929 19 2. Bridging Race and Peace: The AFSC in Good Times and Bad, 1927–1931 49 3. “Intelligent Leadership in the Cause of Racial Brotherhood”: Quakers, Social Science, and the AFSC’s Interracial Activism in the 1930s 81 4. Refugees from Abroad and at Home: The Hostel Method and Victims of War 112 5. From Race Relations to Community Relations 144 conclusion Race and Reconciliation at Mid-Century 177 Notes 197 Bibliography 243 Index 249 Acknowledgments A monograph is the product of many people, even when the book jacket reflects a single author, and I am hard pressed to thank appropriately the many who have played important roles in shaping this book. First, I must thank all of those at the University of Illinois Press who have played a role in this process, especially Laurie Matheson, who has guided another book to publication, and Kate Babbitt, who skillfully edited the manuscript. A number of scholars have read and commented on sections of what follows, offering useful suggestions that have improved the final product. While any such listing will, I’m sure, miss too many along the way, I must thank Quaker historians Stephen Angell, Jerry Frost, and Thomas Hamm (as well as an anonymous outside reader) for helping to shape a more well- rounded manuscript. I have also relied (perhaps too) heavily on local scholars and friends, including Justin Nordstrom, who bravely read the entirety of my earliest draft and offered formative feedback; Patrick Ham- ilton, whose comments and good humor picked me up repeatedly along the way; and Becky Steinberger, who continues to read whatever I offer, no matter how far afield. Attendees at past meetings of the Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists have also gone out of their way to provide help and support, with Emma Lapsansky-Werner and David Hostetter, among others, providing especially helpful suggestions and leads. In addi- tion, Tom Davis and attendees at an Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis seminar that examined religious philanthropies helped shape the final version of my work on the AFSC in the 1930s. Finally, Charles Cherry, anonymous outside readers at Quaker History, Jill Ogline