Ben Guaraldi

George Fox was a real person who lived from 1624-1691 and was one of the main figures in the founding of the Quaker movement. The Wikipedia page on him is great—check it out.

While the film attempts to be true to his insights and theology, not all of the quotations are verbatim. Some were edited to modernize the language; some were edited to for length. For the scholars out there, below are the full quotations in some context, with links to the source material. I invite you to read Fox's Journal and letters and the writings of other Friends.

"I saw, also, that there was an ocean of darkness and death; but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness. In that also I saw the infinite love of God, and I had great openings."
— Journal of George Fox, Chapter 1

"Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you go, so that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them. Then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one. Thereby you can be a blessing in them and make the witness of God in them bless you. Then you will be a sweet savor and a blessing to the Lord God."
— To Friends in the Ministry

"Be still and cool in your own mind and spirit from your own thoughts, and then you will feel the principle of God to turn your mind to the Lord God, from whom life comes; whereby you may receive his strength and power to allay all blusterings, storms, and tempests."
— Letter written in 1658

"But as I had forsaken the priests, so I left the separate preachers also, and those esteemed the most experienced people; for I saw there was none among them all that could speak to my condition. When all my hopes in them and in all men were gone, so that I had nothing outwardly to help me, nor could I tell what to do, then, oh, then, I heard a voice which said, "There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition"; and when I heard it, my heart did leap for joy."
— Journal of George Fox, Chapter 1

"At another time it was opened in me that God, who made the world, did not dwell in temples made with hands. This at first seemed a strange word, because both priests and people used to call their temples, or churches, dreadful places, holy ground, and the temples of God. But the Lord showed me clearly that He did not dwell in these temples which men had commanded and set up, but in people's hearts; for both Stephen and the apostle Paul bore testimony that He did not dwell in temples made with hands, not even in that which He had once commanded to be built, since He put an end to it; but that His people were His temple, and He dwelt in them."
— Journal of George Fox, Chapter 1

"Christ says this, and the Apostles say this but what can thou say? Are thou a child of Light, and have walked in the Light, and that thou speaks, is it inwardly from God?"
— Margaret Fell (Fox), quoting George Fox, in her testimony after his death

"(silence)"
— It was common practice in early Friends meetings, as with some Friends today, to wait in silence until moved by the Spirit.

"I was moved, also, to cry against all sorts of music, and against the mountebanks playing tricks on their stages; for they burthened the pure life, and stirred up people's minds to vanity."
— Journal of George Fox, Chapter 2

(As you can see, George Fox probably would not have approved of popular music, music videos, or internet memes, even as a way of telling people about his realizations about God. Clearly I don't agree with him on this one.)

Quakers are all over the place!

If you're in the United States or Canada, check out FGC's Quaker Finder and FWCC's map of Quaker Meetings. (It's probably a good idea to look at both—there might be meetings listed on one but not the other.)

If you're in Britain, check out Britain Yearly Meeting's Find a Meeting page.

Over half of the Quaker Meetings in the world are not in the Britain, Canada, or the United States. Friends World Committee for Consultation keeps a directory of them. And if you cannot find Quaker worship near you, contact their offices—they're very friendly and can also tell you about other ways to be involved with the Quaker movement.

"Quaker Off" ends with this message:

We reject the racial stereotypes, objectification of women of color, and cultural appropriation in Swift’s Shake It Off video.

We ask our viewers to look at how seemingly innocent music videos are connected to wider systems of racism, because Black Lives Matter.

We love the song Shake It Off and Taylor Swift. Well, at least most of us do. Ask 5 Quakers their opinion on a pop music artist and you could get 10 answers.

However, the video for Shake It Off contains disturbing messages about race as well as objectification of people of color.

For further reading, check out:
- Jenn M. Jackson's piece on how the Shake It Off video represents white women and black women differently
- Mikael Chuks Owunna's piece on how Swift is appropriating black culture and blackness to draw attention to herself and her music
- Celeste Montaño's piece on Swift's lens of white privelege

Mark Romanek, the director of the Shake It Off video, claimed that the video is color-blind and implies that it is therefore not racist. That may have been his and Swift's intention, but color-blind art is still racist, as Monnica T. Williams' article in Psychology Today explains.

The racial messages in the Shake It Off video are offensive, but the timing of its release was insensitive as well, given the anti-racism organizing that has gained momentum since Michael Brown was murdered by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. For more resources on what's happening in Ferguson and around the movement to stop racism in the United States, please head over to Black Lives Matter.

Quakers' work on racial justice started in the 1600s and continues today. For some Quaker racial justice resources, check out:
- Greg Elliott's description of racial justice activities in the Quaker world today
- Vanessa Julye's article about her journey as a Friend of color
- American Friends Service Committee's South Organizing Against Racism program
- other racial justice resources from AFSC
- Atlanta Friend's Meeting's journey to become less racist and more anti-racist

Quakers have a reputation for working on racial justice in the past, but Quaker history with this particular issue has been mixed indeed. Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship by Donna McDaniel and Vanessa Julye goes into further detail on Quakers and racial justice through history.

Quakers are all over the place!

If you're in the United States or Canada, check out FGC's Quaker Finder and FWCC's map of Quaker Meetings. (It's probably a good idea to look at both—there might be meetings listed on one but not the other.)

If you're in Britain, check out Britain Yearly Meeting's Find a Meeting page.

Over half of the Quaker Meetings in the world are not in the Britain, Canada, or the United States. Friends World Committee for Consultation keeps a directory of them. And if you cannot find Quaker worship near you, contact their offices—they're very friendly and can also tell you about other ways to be involved with the Quaker movement.