Mount Toby
Friends Meeting approved the following statement on July 14, 2019:
Mount Toby
Friends Meeting supports current legislative efforts (HD2776 and SD1877) to
change the
State
Flag and Seal of the
commission for the
purpose of examining the seal and motto of the Commonwealth to determine that
they accurately
reflect the historic and contemporary commitments of the Commonwealth to peace,
justice, liberty and
equality, and to spreading the opportunities and advantages of education.” In
particular, we support
the inclusion of significant numbers of Native people on the commission,
including its chair.
In recent
years, the Massachusetts State Flag and Seal has come under increasing
criticism as an
official state symbol
because to many people it symbolizes white supremacy. A current campaign to
change the flag and
seal follows decades of similar bills introduced and allowed to languish in the
state
legislature. John Peters
Jr., Mashpee Wampanoag and director of the Massachusetts Commission on
Indian
Affairs, told legislators in 2017 it is long past time for
history and be
cognizant of the genocidal accuracy of the symbolism that the seal in part
portrays.” The
current image,
adopted in 1898, depicts a “pacified” Native American man over whom hangs a
sword.
The Latin
motto scrolled beneath translates: “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only
under
liberty.
We are called
upon as Quakers (the Religious Society of Friends) to reject the current State
Flag and
Seal
of
supremacy and
subjugation of Native People inherent within this imagery are contrary to the
spirit of
the Quaker
testimonies of peace and equality. Whatever the intent may have been, this
symbol is
experienced as hurtful
today by the Native people among us. It is time to affirm our commitments as
Quakers, and
as a Commonwealth, to healing, peace, justice, and recognizing the sacred
wholeness of
every human being.