Dear Editor: I was saddened to see your decision to publish in your weekly newsletter (Extra Extra Western Friend, 1/27/2024) an email written by a Friend who does not have firsthand knowledge of the process the College Park Friends Educational Association (CPFEA) is currently undertaking to sell the property that was Woolman School. Much of what he writes has no factual basis.
The details of the contract between CPFEA and California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project (CHIRP) are not public, as is true for any real estate agreement. Our decision to sell this amazing land has been painful to us and to the many who have worked, camped, retreated, and learned here over the years. However, I can’t imagine the pain of those who illegally lost this sacred homeland due to the racist laws and practices spurred by the greed of the goldrush.
We ask our wider Quaker community to hold us in the Light as we continue to steward the process of an ethical land transition.
– Heidi Pidcoke, College Park Friends Educational Association