Jun. 2, 2020
“Racism and white supremacy culture is killing our bodies, killing our spirits and killing our humanity.”
– Rev. Jen Crow, First Universalist Church of Minneapolis
After the tragic murders by police of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others, we are filled with rage and grief. As Unitarian Universalists, we are called to act and speak against the seemingly endless violence targeting Black, Brown and Indigenous people arising from the national diseases of racism and white supremacy.
This statement from UUCF’s Racial Justice Steering Committee (RJSC), which was affirmed by the UUCF Board of Directors, clarifies UUCF’s commitment to ending violence against Communities of Color and dismantling systems of white supremacy, racism and oppression.
Here are ways to engage in this mission:
Act for Racial Justice
Please consider taking part in the following actions and educational opportunities.
| Date/Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tue. Apr 11 at 7:00 PM | Accotink UU Church Banned Book Club | Via Zoom Only |
| Sat. Apr 15 at 10:00 AM | Racial Justice Steering Committee | Via Zoom Only |
Ways to Give
The following Black-led organizations are working for liberation. Financial support is always welcome:
- Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs; providing support, information and resources for Black UUs, and justice-making and liberation through our faith.
- The Movement for Black Lives: An ecosystem of individuals and organizations creating a shared vision and policy agenda to win rights, recognition and resources for Black people.
- NAACP: The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to secure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
- Black Lives Matter‘s mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
- CPD Action, along with its sister organization Center for Popular Democracy, works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances and progressive unions. CPD Action works on campaigns that expand the voice and power of workers, communities of color and immigrants on issues of economic and racial justice.
- Black Visions Collective envisions a world in which ALL Black Lives Matter. It uses the guidance and brilliance of ancestors and teachings from experiences to pursue its commitment to dismantling systems of oppression and violence.
- Reclaim the Block organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.
- Beacon House provides children in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast Washington with a safe, nurturing and life-expanding community in which to increase their academic achievement, discover their talents and to grow into healthy adults who achieve their greatest potential.
Resources
- Showing Up for Racial Justice in Northern Virginia. Activates white people to work for racial justice in Northern Virginia. SURJ NoVA also developed these great alternative resources to calling the police for mental health issues, mediation, domestic/sexual abuse, substance abuse, etc. They also offer tips on making the decision about whether to involve police.
- The Community Justice Exchange is a national hub for developing, sharing and experimenting with tactical interventions, strategic organizing practices and innovative organizing tools to end mass incarceration. They provide support to community-based organizations that are building a new vision of community justice through bottom-up interventions in the criminal legal and immigration detention systems.
- Color of Change designs campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champions solutions that move us all forward.
- ACLU “Know Your Rights at Demonstrations and Protests” information to help you plan to attend a demonstration or protest.
- ACLU criminal justice reform campaign information.
- NPR article “To Reduce Gun Violence, Potential Offenders Offered Support and Cash” about Operation Peacemaker Fellowship in Richmond, CA, and other “violence interruption programs.”
- Cure Violence Global stops the spread of violence using the methods and strategies associated with disease control: detecting and interrupting conflicts, identifying and treating the highest risk individuals, and changing social norms. The organization was founded in Chicago 20 years ago but more recently has been heavily defunded.
- Stop Police Terror Project-DC (SPTDC) in the Washington, DC, area is committed to changing the system of racist, militarized policing in the nation’s capital. The organization works to not only oppose police abuses, but to advocate for alternatives to policing and help build community-led peacekeeping efforts designed to place the power over public safety squarely in the hands of Black and oppressed communities. SPTDC and others are working to create a violence interruption program through the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act of 2016, the product of a District-wide conversation around policing and public safety. The law, which passed the D.C. Council unanimously, seeks to establish a framework to ensure residents safety while also addressing police abuses.
- Impact Justice is a national innovation and research center advancing new ideas and solutions for justice reform. It was founded in 2015 on an idea: to create an organization that would imagine, innovate and accept absolutely nothing about the status quo of our current justice system.
- Systemic Racism Explained. Video clearly and succinctly helps explain systemic racism.
- Black-Owned Bookstores listed by state.
- DMV-Specific Resources.
- Anti-Racist Resource Guide created by Victoria Alexander, M.Ed.
- Talking About Race from the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
- Black-Owned Businesses list from the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce.
- Mental Health Issues Facing the Black Community from Sunshine Behavioral Health.