Phebe Thorne was a plain Quaker who envisioned the Penington as a safe home for youth moving to the city. She left money in her estate to set up a free residency at the house. Mariana Wright Chapman was another early board member. She and her husband were vigorous advocates for the rights of slaves and women. During the Civil War they were both active in the Underground Railroad. She led Suffragette organizations at the state and national level and was called many times to speak in Albany before the legislatures by Governor Theodore Roosevelt.

Anna Rice Powell and her husband were also both members of the first board at the Penington , were antislavery advocates and fought for prison reform, the rights of women, and Native Americans. Her husband, Aaron Powell, was “consecrated by Sojourner Truth” and lectured in the American AntiSlavery Society. Anna also promoted health care for prostitutes and other women in prison.

In the spirit of our founders, the current PFH board has created a residency named after Bayard Rustin, a Quaker attender at 15th Street Meeting, and close friends of current board member Elizabeth Gilmore. Bayard organized the Civil Rights March on Washington and introduced nonviolent residence to Martin Luther King, Jr. This residency was born out of house discussions around how to do more to support the Black Lives Movement beyond our mural. Funding, thus far, is coming from the PFH board, New York Yearly Meeting, New York Quarterly Meeting, and Brooklyn Monthly Meeting.

The Bayard Rustin Residency is envisioned as an ongoing ladder to empowerment for Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) working to end Systemic Racism and to create a culture of anti-Racism and intersectional equality in the United States of America. It is also intended to extend and strengthen the wider Quaker witness to equality.

This Bayard Rustin residency will provide room and board to a person who demonstrates a strong project that addresses ending Systemic Racism and who has a necessity to be in New York City for up to one year. Their rent at the PFH will be covered by the residency.

Areas of focus of the resident’s work can include activism in the arts, policy change, human rights, community organizing, and other areas of activism focusing on ending racism and strengthening equality.

Residents will be expected to share their progress with the New York City Quaker community in the form of a presentation or invitation to an event they have organized during their residency. The resident does not have to be Quaker but their work should be shaped and in harmony with the Quaker tenants of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, or Stewardship. They will be expected to be a full-time resident and participating member of the PFH intentional community.

Please consider supporting the residency with a donation. Phebe, Anna, and Mariana would approve! See our donate button below.