Gathering Voices is a live, monthly zoom conversation series in which FOR-USA engages with activists and thought leaders. This homepage for the live conversation series will include upcoming events as well as recordings of our past live conversations. This is a continuation of the Gathering Voices conversation series that we began recording with leaders from across the United States in the height of the pandemic lockdown. All of those conversations can be found here.
Gathering Voices: Tues. September 19, 4pm ET, Guest to be announced soon!
Register now for this event here.
Past Gathering Voices Events
Gathering Voices: Ronald E. Hampton, Tuesday August 15. 4pm ET
When Rev. Graylan Hagler first began working with FOR in late 2022, our team was having conversations about the issues surrounding race and policing that have been front of mind for many Americans since the killing of George Floyd. When asked for his thoughts, he told the team “why don’t we ask black police officers themselves?” Having ministered to a number of them over the years in his church community, in DC, he knew it would be a provocative and compelling discussion. On Tuesday August 15th Rev. Graylan and executive director Ariel Gold welcomed retired Washington DC police officer, Ron Hampton into that conversation. The former head of a Black police officer association, Mr. Hampton has been a proponent of community policing long before the concept entered the public arena. He brought the much needed insight of law enforcement into the conversation around safeguarding the civil rights of the community.
Gathering Voices: Rev. Wes Granberg-Michaelson, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 4pm ET
Ariel Gold spoke with Rev. Wes Granberg-Michaelson, a global ecumenical leader dedicated to the intersections of faith and public life. Now chairperson of the board of Sojourners, the evangelical Christian movement dedicated to justice and faith, Rev. Granberg-Michaelson is the past director of church & society for the World Council of Churches, an international movement of hundreds of Christian denominations and religious communities. Previously he served as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America, a national Protestant denomination, and as a legislative staffer to U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield.
Gathering Voices: Christian Activist and Author Shane Claiborne, June 20, 4pm ET, 2023
Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living “as if Jesus meant the things he said.” Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. He and his wife, Katie Jo, turned a small workshop in the Kensington neighborhood of Philidelphia into a blacksmithing sanctuary where people can turn in their guns to be broken down and repurposed for art and garden tools.
Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, Beating Guns, and his newest book, Rethinking Life (to be released February 2023). He has been featured in a number of films including “Another World Is Possible” and “Ordinary Radicals.” His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Gathering Voices: Carolyn Karcher, A Conversation on Jewish Solidarity with the Palestinian Struggle for Freedom and Dignity May 16, 4pm ET, 2023
Professor Carolyn L. Karcher, editor of the book Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism: Stories of Personal Transformation (available for purchase in FOR-USA’s bookstore), joined us for a conversation about this powerful collection of personal narratives by forty Jewish activists and scholars of diverse backgrounds, including FOR-USA Executive Director Ariel Gold.
The stories in Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism examine the choice between Judaism as a religion and the nationalist ideology of Zionism. They share the roads they have traveled from a Zionist worldview to activism in solidarity with Palestinians and Israelis striving to build an inclusive society founded on justice, equality, and peaceful coexistence. Along with the personal stories, Carolyn will talk about the history of Zionism and the anti-Zionism movement historically and currently.
Carolyn L. Karcher is professor emerita of English, American studies, and women’s studies at Temple University, where she taught for twenty-one years and received the Great Teacher Award and the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2002. She is the author of Shadow over the Promised Land: Slavery, Race, and Violence in Melville’s America (1980); The First Woman in the Republic: A Cultural Biography of Lydia Maria Child (1994); and A Refugee from His Race: Albion W. Tourgée and His Fight against White Supremacy (2016).
Gathering Voices — Dr. Zoharah Simmons, Part 2 On Gender and Movements, April 18, 2023, 4pm ET
When we hosted Dr. Zoharah Simmons for our February 2023 event we had no idea how much her experience as a woman in movement circles would resonate with the (quite large) audience. We decided a follow up conversation was in order that would focus specifically on gender and movements. It tool place on Tuesday, April 18th at 4pm ET. The conversation also featured Dr. Simmons’ longtime friend and colleague, Rev. Dr. AnneMarie Mingo, an Associate Professor of Ethics, Culture, and Moral Leadership at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where she is also the Acting Director of the Metro-Urban Institute. Dr. Mingo’s book “Have You Got Good Religion? Black Women’s Faith, Courage, and Moral Leadership in the Civil Rights Movement” will be published by University of Illinois Press in 2024.
Dr. Simmons recently retired from the University of Florida, where she researched Islamic feminism and the impact of Sharia law on Muslim women. She was a civil rights activist, serving as a member of both the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Nation of Islam (NOI), AFSC and is a founding member of the National Council of Elders.
Dr. Simmons and her family are the subjects of a new biography “Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power Through One Family’s Journey.” That Kirkus describes as “Both personal and with a big-picture view—a welcome contribution to the literature of the civil rights movement.”
Gathering Voices — Screening and Conversation with “Boycott” film director, Julia Bacha. March 21, 2023
Our March event, Screening and conversation with the director of the film, “Boycott” will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, March. 21 at 4:00 pm ET.
Over the past six years, unbeknownst to most Americans, 34 states passed laws intending to silence boycott and other nonviolent measures aimed at pressuring Israel on its human rights record. These dangerous bills remove the legal protection that has been awarded to boycotts for generations, granting governments the power to condition jobs on political viewpoints.
With full access to the plaintiffs and in revelatory moments with elected officials, Boycott chronicles one of the most consequential First Amendment battles of the past few decades and investigates the question – how did we get here?
Cosponsored by: United for Peace & Justice; Kairos USA; Eyewitness Palestine; Middle East Crisis Response (MECR), JVP-Westchester Chapter, JVP-Hudson Valley Chapter, Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions – USA, WESPAC Foundation.
February 21st — Dr. Zoharah Simmons
Our February 2023 Gathering Voices conversation welcomed Dr. Zoharah Simmons. Dr. Simmons recently retired from the University of Florida, where she researched Islamic feminism and the impact of Sharia law on Muslim women. She was a civil rights activist, serving as a member of both the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Nation of Islam (NOI) and is a founding member of the National Council of Elders.
Dr. Simmons and her family are the subjects of a new biography “Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power Through One Family’s Journey.” That Kirkus describes as “Both personal and with a big-picture view—a welcome contribution to the literature of the civil rights movement.”
January 17th — Zoughbi AlZoughbi, IFOR Committee President
For January 2023’s Gathering Voices conversation, FOR-USA executive director, Ariel Gold hosted Zoughbi AlZoughbi live from Bethlehem, Palestine. Zoughbi is the founding director of the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Centre in Bethlehem and the new committee president of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation — the global movement of FOR branches in 50 countries.
December 20th–Medea Benjamin
FOR-USA’s executive director, Ariel Gold, hosted Medea Benjamin on Tuesday, December 20th at 4pm ET. Medea Benjamin is the co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK. She is also co-founder of the human rights group Global Exchange, the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, ACERE: The Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect, and the Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors Campaign. Medea has been an advocate for social justice for 50 years. Described as “one of America’s most committed — and most effective — fighters for human rights” by New York Newsday, and “one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement” by the Los Angeles Times.
November 15th–Pastor Tabatha Holley
FOR-USA’s executive director, Ariel Gold, hosted Pastor Tabatha Holley on Tuesday, November 15 at 4pm ET. Pastor Holley is the 2022-2023 Wink Fellow. She is a Black, Queer, feminist pastor.
October 18th–Rev. Graylan Hagler
FOR-USA’s executive director, Ariel Gold, hosted Rev. Graylan Hagler, anti-racism activist and Senior Minister at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ (Washington DC) for a live conversation on Tuesday October, 18th at 4pm ET.
September 20th–James Zogby
Our inaugural “Gathering Voices,” live event on Tuesday September, 20th was an overwhelming success with over 80 people gathered on Zoom and Facebook Live for a conversation between FOR-USA’s executive director, Ariel Gold, and her good friend, James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute. Check out our video of the event below.
(Note: due to connectivity issues during the first 30 seconds of the event there are some minor issues at the very beginning with the audio/video sync.)
