01/31/2026
I’ve been sitting with posts shared by many of my neighbors around the phrase "Pennsylvania Civil Resistance," and I feel moved to add my own voice.
I work at a Quaker school, where I teach civil rights, social justice, and resistance not as abstract history, but as lived responsibility. I do this because I believe, deeply, that it is the right thing to do.
Pennsylvania’s history of civil resistance is deeply shaped by Quaker values. Quakers here organized against slavery, religious persecution, and violence, often at great personal cost. Grounded in the belief that every person has inherent worth, they practiced resistance through refusal. Refusing to participate in harm. Refusing to stay silent. Refusing to accept injustice as inevitable.
That history matters right now.
I want to be clear about where I stand. I am pro-science. I believe in love, empathy, and collective care. I believe everyone deserves clean air and water, accessible healthcare, bodily autonomy, and the freedom to live without fear because of who they are or where they come from. I believe in women’s rights, immigrants’ rights, and the strength of community over division.
I also believe this deeply: most people share these values. The majority cares. But caring quietly is no longer enough.
There is real harm and real failure of accountability within our systems of government. Naming that is honest. What feels urgent now is remembering our collective power and choosing to use it.
If civil resistance has always been part of Pennsylvania’s story - neighbors acting from conscience when institutions fall short - then maybe this is our moment to step into that lineage again. With courage. With care. And with the belief that another way is possible.
Artwork by local artist Jen Rand
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