White as the norm, the default, permeates our society. Movie reviews never note “an all-white cast with a white-centered narrative.” The store’s selection of makeup has no special section for white skin. I’ve yet to hear a song introduction acknowledging a “Euro-American” composer. Joyful white people in wintry scenes are standard on holiday cards and […]
In “The Fire Next Time” James Baldwin warned his nephew: “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason.” Today’s headlines reverberate with that observation. Because you are Black and for no other reason…you will be incarcerated in greater numbers…you will […]
I first heard about the proposed 8th Principle almost two years ago. My first impression was that it seemed long and complicated compared to the other seven principles! But as I continued the journey to understand more about my own white privilege and complicity in upholding systemic racism and other oppressions, I came to see that […]
As UUCT engages in the process of adopting an 8th Principle it is important to understand what the mission really is. Rather than thinking about dismantling racism and other oppressions, as stated in the 8th Principle, we can think about it in positive terms like the ACLU does and think of it as building systemic […]
It’s not easy being a Unitarian Universalist. We don’t pledge to believe a set of beliefs. We affirm and promote ‘a free and responsible search for truth and meaning’. And we do it for all of our lives. Years ago, I grew up in the Universalist Church of North Attleboro, MA. The Universalists had freed […]
Are you feeling as if adopting the proposed 8th Principle is like adding an 11th Commandment? Some UUs have that reaction. Our seven principles express our covenant with other congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). A vital aspect of our living tradition is that our covenants are not set in stone. We can decide, […]
Many of the books we’ve read for the book group Centering Black, Indigenous and People of Color Voices have helped to expand my thinking about the 8th Principle. The first that comes to mind, however, is a book we read together many months ago, “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. The book […]
Washington, D.C., is the only national capital in the democratic world whose citizens do not have equal voting and representation rights. The denial of representation is and overt act of voter suppression with racist roots in the Reconstruction. The district’s more than 700,000 residents – the majority of whom are Black and Brown – are […]
Excerpted from the Fall 2021 ACLU Magazine – Jay Fernandez There’s a new documentary out that has yet to be released. It’s title is “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America”. It’s written by and features former ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jeffery Robinson. Jeffery Robinson has spent 10 years delivering a powerful, deeply […]
In the wake of record turnout in the 2020 general election, state legislators around the country have pushed more than 380 bills to create new voting barriers that disproportionately disenfranchise Black, Latinx, and Native American voters. Amplifying the threat is a disappointing Supreme Court decision in Brnovich v Democratic National Committee that upheld voting restrictions […]
