The Quaker Youth Leadership Conference is an annual event bringing students from Quaker schools in the United States (and one in Toronto) together. Each year has a different theme, with this year’s being, “Reconnecting with Our Roots: Quakerism and the Environment.”
The conference is held at a different Quaker school each year, with this year being held at Carolina Friends School (CFS) in Durham, North Carolina. CFS’ campus is surrounded by forest and nature, making it the perfect place to discuss the environment as we were fully immersed.
After our arrival on the first night, we attended a Brazilian Drumming concert led by CFS music teacher Caique Vidal, along with his group of drummers. Vidal and his group specifically performed Batuque drumming, an Afro-Brazilian practice dating back to the early nineteenth century. As well as the drumming, Vidal sang some songs of his own, singing about his experiences in Brazil as a child and the United States as an adult.
Day two was packed full of trips throughout Durham and Chapel Hill, speakers from the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a talent show, and more. Our cohort—Leila Cohen ‘26, Maya Gest ‘26, Piper Konz ‘26, Luca Wood ‘26, Jeremy Wang ‘27, and teachers Erin Bengston and Ashley Cleary—first visited the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is a non-profit organization focused on environmental justice. The environmental justice movement originated in 1980s North Carolina, roughly an hour away from CFS in Warren County. SELC operates in seven locations in the south, including in Washington D.C. We spoke with four attorneys about some of the work they have been doing and learned about how environmental inequality and inequity affects marginalized communities.
One example that we learned about was in the Hayti District in Durham, North Carolina. Hayti is a historically African-American community which in 1958 had a highway built through it, splitting the residents apart and damaging the lively community that had been forming since the Reconstruction era. An article from Bull City 150 shows the before and after of Hayti with the addition of the highway through it.
After hearing about the Hayti community, our group went to visit there next. We got the chance to explore some of the exhibits in the lobby, and later had meeting for worship in their church and got to learn about the history behind it.
Soon after all of the schools traveled in groups to different farms in the area. We went to SEEDS (Southeastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces), a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching in their garden kitchen and growing food for everyone in their gardens.
We helped to de-weed their gardens and clean up any dead plants, as it had snowed the week before. While the weather may have been bad the week before, it was beautiful when we went—70º F and sunny. We spent an hour working outside in the lovely weather before we went back to CFS to hear from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL).
FCNL spoke to us about environmental legislation, and what we can do to help. They encouraged us (and showed us how) to write a letter to our representatives, encouraging them to support different bills and plans that would invest $270 million for Adaptation, $260 million for Renewable Energy, and $185 million for Sustainable landscapes, minimum. After speaking with them and eating dinner, students began to prepare for the talent show.
The two hour talent show gives all students the opportunity to sing, read poetry, dance, or anything else that you could think of. One student from Moorestown Friends taught the entire audience how to do the Merengue, while another taught us all the Macarena. Some joined on stage to dance while others danced in the audience.
During some singing performances, students in the audience turned on their phone flashlights, waving them back and forth to the tune of the song. The talent show was a great end to the conference as it allowed for students to shine and be celebrated.
This was my first year going to QYLC, and I cannot wait to go back next year given the opportunity. Going to North Carolina with this specific group of students is something that I will never get to do again, and I feel closer to everyone that I went with. This shared experience will last with me forever, and I cannot wait to make more memories next time.
