FIA News Archive
UUSM the Vote 2022 Update - THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!
About Us:
We are the UUSM contingent of the “UU the Vote” – an initiative of the Unitarian Universalist Association (info at www.uuthevote.org) We are working together to address participation in our democracy in a values-driven nonpartisan way.
We are working to pass pro-democracy bills, take action to support voting and combat voter suppression, and work towards the elimination of barriers to building political power in marginalized communities.
This is a plug-and-play program. We’re providing the organizing muscle: the opportunities, the lists, the materials, even the stamps for postcard writing!
Overall Priorities:
Generally speaking, we are mobilizing to promote democratic participation. Especially in Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida. We are also responding to specific requests to support the For the People Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and DC Statehood.
Current Campaign:
We are working with UUA partner the Center for Common Ground’s Reclaim Our Vote Program (reclaimourvote.org). We are participating in their campaign to contact and get out the vote for 1.2 million registered but infrequent Black voters in St. Lucie County, Florida, in advance of their August primary. Postcards will mail August 1-8, 2022!
- We are urging early voting and bringing ID to avoid Election Day challenges and intimidation.
- Primary voting greatly increases the likelihood of voting in the General Election.
- Florida voters are at risk of being de-registered, should they miss two federal elections.
- Contacting these voters with reasons to vote and polling information helps reverse the cycle of disenfranchisement and underrepresentation.
Dollars and Cents:
There is no cost to participate in this program! We are accepting donations to cover postage, materials, and organizing efforts. Make checks payable to Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica and put UU the Vote in the memo line. You can also drop cash in a donation box at our Sunday table and you can go online to uusm.org and click on Make a Donation or text to give at 844-982-0209 with the amount you’d like to donate and the letters UTV (e.g., to give $20, text “20 UUV”).
For More Info:
- Join the UU the Vote Organizing Team or get letter writing materials – Jacki Weber (uuthevote@uusm.org)
- Host a Postcard Party – Judith Martin-Straw
- Pick up materials in your area:
- Santa Monica – JackI Weber
- Culver City – TBD
- Mar Vista – TBD
“Bans Off Our Bodies!” — May 14th in Downtown LA — Now with Photos!
1ST NATIONWIDE ACTION TO PROTEST LEAKED DRAFT OF SUPREME COURT DECISION
Photo by Roy Patience
Saturday morning, May 14th, saw the first coordinated nationwide action in support of reproductive rights since the leak of a forthcoming Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Faith In Action, UUSM members and friends, and other area UUs met up in Downtown LA for this rally and protest co-organized by Planned Parenthood, the Women’s March Foundation, and other allied groups! For more photos from the rally by James Witker and Roy Patience, see https://news.uusm.org/bans-off-our-bodies-may-14th-in-downtown-la/
Poor People’s Campaign Rally
IT HAPPENED MONDAY, MAY 16 AT LOS ANGELES CITY HALL
Four of us (2 UUSMers, Deirdre and Roberta) drove from church to Los Angeles City Hall on Monday, May 16 to join nearly 1,000 people for the western region’s mobilization tour stop of the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC). Regional rallies across the country are mobilizing for one huge convergence on Washington, D.C. on June 18, 2022. The aim is to get poor and low-income folks and their allies to vote in November and to demonstrate to policymakers the people’s need for progressive change.
Buses brought impacted people, faith leaders and moral advocates from northern California, Arizona, Oregon, Utah and Washington to demonstrate against systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality of religious nationalism. National PPC co-chairs Bishop William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis were present, leading an uplifting rally after a spirited march wound around several blocks. One of the directly impacted people who spoke was a Navajo woman from Arizona who spoke about the ravages of uranium mining and radiation poisoning on her land and people.
Our small contingent of four left the rally feeling glad we had gone. In the midst of war, racist attacks and pandemic, we agreed that being together with other enthusiastic fighters for justice was exactly what we needed to inspire us to carry on. As the PPC slogan goes, “Forward together! Not one step back!”
-- Roberta Frye
Join UUSM’s LA Pride Parade Marchers — Sun. June 12th at 10:30AM
UUSM is returning to the LA Pride Parade on June 12th for the first time since 2018 and we need YOU to join us! Members and friends of all ages are invited to help us continue a long tradition of representing our congregation and our values at this historic event, which is part of UUSM’s even longer history of standing up for LGBTQIA+ rights and equality.
The group will meet at the designated staging point near Sunset & Vine in Hollywood at 10:30AM. Bring water and sunscreen along with UUSM and/or “Side with Love” gear. Extra signs and banners will be provided. Public transportation or rideshares are strongly encouraged, please email Faith In Action at justice@uusm.org to sign up and to coordinate transportation.
“Bans Off Our Bodies!” — May 14th in Downtown LA
1ST NATIONWIDE ACTION TO PROTEST LEAKED DRAFT OF SUPREME COURT DECISION
This coming Saturday morning, May 14th, will see the first coordinated nationwide action in support of reproductive rights since the leak of a forthcoming Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Join Faith In Action, UUSM members & friends, and other area UUs as we meet up in Downtown LA for this rally and protest co-organized by Planned Parenthood, the Women’s March Foundation, and other allied groups!
This is a moment for urgent, faithful action. Legal scholars have noted that the intent behind this potential ruling reveals a radical judicial agenda that could imminently endanger other hard-won rights: privacy and intimacy, marriage equality, even contraception.
As the UUA Side with Love Team has written:
To be clear: The conservative supermajority–enabled by a majority of justices appointed by Presidents that did not win the popular vote–is suggesting they will renege on their confirmation reassurances that Roe was the settled law of the land. Should this decision be finalized, it will be an intentional choice to side with white supremacy and Christian nationalism, and it will be an attack on all people with uteruses, particularly and especially BIPOC, poor, rural, and disabled people. It will have immediate and deadly consequences for millions of people.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith affirms that all of our bodies are sacred, and that we are each endowed with the twin gifts of agency and conscience. Each of us should have the power to decide what does and doesn’t happen to our bodies at every moment of our lives because consent and bodily autonomy are holy. And when disparities in resources or freedoms make it more difficult for certain groups of people to exercise autonomy over their own bodies, our faith compels us to take liberatory action.
Let’s respond to these trying times as ever by showing up, raising our voices, and “praying with our feet.”
IMPORTANT DETAILS
The event begins at 10AM at City Hall. We will meet starting at 9:30 at the Vietnam Memorial in Grand Park: 145 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012, buddy-up and walk together to City Hall.
Do you want to carpool or meet for the train? Some of us will travel together and others will meet in DTLA. Please use the link below to sign up and connect with the group.
SIGN MAKING
Join us in the courtyard at UUSM this Wednesday, May 10th at 6PM, for a sign-making party!
Questions or concerns? Please contact justice@uusm.org.
UUSM to begin ramping up for Get Out The Vote
Get Out the Vote meeting, Sunday, May 22, 2022, 9:30 am – 10:30 am, Shade Structure.
We will convene BEFORE THE SERVICE at 9:30 am with bagels, cream cheese, and coffee for the first time as a group to plan UUSM’s collective effort to Get Out the Vote in advance of our fall elections. Let’s make our liberal religious voices heard to secure reproductive freedom and resist those who would threaten personal and religious liberty!
Mobilizing for the Midterms at UUSM
JOIN US 5/22/22 AT 9:30 FOR SHMEAR AND SCHEMING
Unitarian Universalism in America has more than a century of history of advancing our liberal religious values through the democratic process. Following in that tradition, the UUSM Board of Directors has committed that we will do all we can to #SideWithLove in November: we are fully committed to mobilizing the electorate and UUs in support of dignity and justice for all through our democratic process.
When we organize, we build power in our communities for justice, accountability, and healing. In the last two years, UU the Vote has built new networks of spiritual and political communities to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate.
With UU the Vote 2022, we’re organizing on the state and local levels to fight for fair elections, advance voting rights, protect abortion access, and resist the targeting and criminalization of Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities. And we’re working with organizations advancing voter participation across the country.
There is so much at stake in the 2022 midterm elections. Together, our communities can address the current threats to our democracy and human dignity.
Please join us on Sunday, May 29, 2022 at 9:30 at UUSM under the Shade Structure. as we gather to organize in the months before the election. (The Evite link may show May 22, but rest assured, we will be meeting on May 29!)
Already ready to sign on? Join the Santa Monica UU the Vote Team today!
You don’t need to be told about the importance of the November election, or to mail back your ballot early. But you might be wondering what else you can do to move the needle on the election, and who are the people you can do it with?
Well right now, you can plan to show up this Sunday morning and scheme to mobilize the electorate and UUs. We are unequivocally: Pro-Migrant, Pro-Democracy, Pro-Equity & Liberation Movements, Pro-Human & Civil Rights for All, Pro-Reparations, and Pro-Sustainability.
Then join UUSM as we:
- Act alongside candidates and issues that have direct and material impacts on the communities in which we have declared political solidarity with.
- Get Out the Vote through phone banks, text banks, postcards, and voter registration.
- Have values-based conversations with our UU community and networks about our values and what we are voting for in 2022.
- Participate in learning and political education to responsibly and effectively engage and organize in anti-racist and pro-democracy movements.
- Share our resources with people and communities most deeply impacted by the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decades-long campaign of voter suppression.
- Turn out with resources, time & support to fight against authoritarianism and in support of communities of Color, poor people, people with disabilities, immigrants, Trans and Queer people in our congregation and community following the election.
- Vote!
UUSMers are already phone banking, writing postcards, and working with civic and faith-based organizations like the League of Women Voters, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, and the UU Justice Ministry of California.
Now we’d like to invite you to join us as we plan to mobilize as a community in the remaining months before the midterms.Please join us Sunday, May 29 at 9:30 a.m.! Reserve your bagel and your seat here!
Lunches for Bunches is Making a Difference Again
After a pandemic-lengthened hiatus, Lunches for Bunches is back! Join us Sundays after church to make lunches for our homeless neighbors.
Every day in Santa Monica, 120 of our homeless neighbors visit The People Concern’s Access Center at 503 Olympic Blvd. There they find showers, laundry facilities, meals, and personal goods. They have access there to case/care management, medical care, mental health services, substance use services, and financial support, as well as the opportunity to participate in life skills and wellness groups.
And every Monday, many are now receiving ample sack lunches made by their neighbors at 18th and Arizona.
A part of UUSM’s Faith in Action program, Lunches for Bunches has been a tradition for many years. It’s a simple and wonderful way for church members of all ages to make an immediate difference in someone’s life.
As soon as we returned to campus for Sunday worship, we started making brown bag lunches again. And now we’re doing it every week because, frankly, people are hungry every week. We have an abundance of resources and helping hands. And our friends at The People Concern are appreciative of the support.
“What a wonderful blessing. We are so grateful for your help,” the weekend site manager Charlre-l told us recently. Her name is pronounced Charl–Re– Elle in case you get to meet her. She’s pretty great.
Charlre-l told us that a small staff makes breakfast and lunch most days and they’re pretty slight in terms of contents: a sandwich, fruit, chips, and water. The lunches we provide add a granola bar, some cookies, and often a mini chocolate bar and the clients are thrilled.
We’re currently making around 60 lunches a week. If we have more volunteers and more donations, we can make more and lighten the load for the folks at 503 Olympic Blvd.
Want to be a part? Here are a few ways to get involved:
Join us on Sundays to assemble lunches at 11:30 under the shade structure on the patio.
Support the Hunger Task Force by choosing Hunger Fund under Program Support on our Online Donation page.
Join the squad that shops, sets up, cleans up, and delivers lunches to the Access Center.
For more information, email Jacki Weber at hunger@uusm.org
Beloved Conversations informational session Thurs. Feb. 17
Two years ago, the UUSM Board of Directors authorized our congregation’s Intersectional Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Commission to begin laying the foundation for us to more effectively engage with this critical work. Our first programmatic offering is a series called Beloved Conversations. This faith-formation, anti-racism program offered by Meadville Lombard Theological School, the Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, included more than 1,200 virtual learners in the first phase in 2020. In 2021, about 30 people from our congregation participated, many for more than one session.
Rev. Jeremiah notes: “In Beloved Conversations, we work to heal the impact of racism on our lives in order to get free together. Beloved Conversations is the signature offering of The Fahs Collaborative at Meadville Lombard Theological School — an opportunity for Unitarian Universalists seeking to embody racial justice as a spiritual practice. This amazing program is a chance to connect virtually with UUs from across the continent.”
The deadline to sign up for the spring semester of Beloved Conversations is next week, Tuesday, February 22nd. This is for one of four phases, called “Within,” and the meetings are scheduled from March to May. You can learn more about the program on their website or by attending our one-hour meeting:
Beloved Conversations Informational Session (Zoom)
Thursday, February 17, 2022, 6 pm
Come and learn more about the program from participants in our congregation and have a chance to ask any burning questions. Please email the church office at admin@uusm.org to be added to the participants’ list and/or to receive a link to our informational session now so you can join in this virtual gathering.
Program participants will meet online monthly for large group worship and discussion — with lessons published every two weeks — as well as in biweekly small-group check-ins. Partial and full scholarships for the program are available from both the Beloved Conversations team and from UUSM. Please contact Beloved Conversations through their website (which is where you register) and the church office for more information.
Additional information about the sessions offered during 2021 is available on our website: last spring and last fall. And our own Cheryl Barnett’s comments about the spring program are here.
Why Participate in Beloved Conversations?
REGISTRATION CLOSES FEBRUARY 22
The registration deadline for the next semester of Beloved Conversations is fast approaching – Feb. 22nd. The name may be familiar but if you haven’t yet participated, perhaps you might wonder why this program would or should be for you?
Beloved Conversations Virtual is an online course on anti-racism and anti-oppression from Meadville-Lombard Theological School, one of two Unitarian Universalist seminaries. It is open to everyone, and self-described as:
…the signature offering of The Fahs Collaborative at Meadville Lombard Theological School, a program for Unitarian Universalists seeking to embody racial justice as a spiritual practice. In Beloved Conversations, we are here to heal the impact of racism on our lives, in order to get free together.
So far, UUSM members and friends are participating in “Within,” the first phase of the program, which focuses on individual and internal learning, reflection, and growth. There are separate tracks for white people and for black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Once more of us have completed two terms of “Within,” we will look to moving onto the next phase.
The program is a significant commitment in terms of time and energy. Each lesson features a syllabus of reading/watching/listening material — essays, blog posts, poetry, music — along with questions and exercises for personal reflection, journaling, and meetings with a dedicated “pod” of fellow church members who are also participating. There are also dedicated worship services for the larger community of UUs across the country taking the course.
There is also a cost involved, and scholarships are available for those who need them. (Please contact the church office for more information.)
Here are some thoughts from a few of us who recently completed their second term…
Why did you sign up for BC and what did you hoped to gain by participating?
Lois: I signed up for BC because I wanted to do something and this is what church leaders said was a good thing to do.
Siobhan: The “Within” program idea really resonated with me, because over time I have definitely found that when I meant to be acting in allyship… I often just recapitulated supremacy and oppression. And that is a hard thing to realize and even harder to change. I felt that the “Within” program would give me some tools to figure out what lay deep inside me and how to work at uprooting it.
James: I joined BC because wanted to grow and deepen my understanding of anti-racist and anti-oppressive thought in our UU movement and how it impacts the social justice work we do in our lives as people and as a congregation. It was a fairly big commitment of time but, as the UUSM board and our Intersectional Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Commission (IAROC) had recommended it, I felt it was something I should do.
What was the experience like, and what do you feel you learned or took away? What might have provoked personal reflection or growth?
James: It was challenging in terms of the time and energy it required — a lot of reading/watching/listening/thinking. Much of the material was eye- and heart-expanding, provocative, and inspiring. Much of it I have bookmarked or saved to refer back to in the future. Some of it I am honestly still struggling with. The biweekly sessions with my local “learning pod” group (other UUSM members taking the course) were a great way to connect with one another, build trust, and reflect more deeply as a group.
Lois: Pod meetings are far and away the best part. Incredibly supportive and helping to reflect on my own learning and what others are seeing and experiencing that I missed.
Siobhan: There were too many things! I do keep coming back to the music of The Resistance Revival Chorus and the idea of holding joy and a positive future dream in mind while doing this work. Because it is challenging, sometimes exhausting — but it is all in service of a beautiful future.
Why would you recommend Beloved Conversations to other UUSM members?
Lois: I have found BC incredibly relevant in my volunteer work — leading to (hopefully) more effective outcomes and career advancement. It’s useful daily in understanding political discourse and in personal relationships.
James: From the POV of a white (male) person: I think you will learn a lot, be stretched in new directions, and perhaps see the world in new ways. It will provide much food for thought and learning for how we can grow together in our work as a UU community committed to equity and justice.
Siobhan: It will help you be better, if you let it. For me this learning has been an act of love, for others and also myself. I am reminded often of Khalil Gibran’s work ‘On Love’, excerpt below:
For even as love crowns you so shall (it) crucify you.Even as (it) is for your growth so is (it) for your pruning.Even as (it) ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,So shall (it) descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.(…)
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.
A Holiday Wish: To Fill Pantries for People Facing Hunger in Santa Monica
Dear UU Friends,
In our ongoing quest to help keep food on the table for insecure families, the UUSM Hunger Task Force is launching a Winter Food Drive for Westside Food Bank during this year’s darkest month. Our allies at the Westside Food Bank serve 200 food-insecure families each week at the Virginia Avenue Park Mobile Food Pantry.
The average bag of various groceries is now around $50. Can you donate a bag—literally or figuratively? Can you do it once? Once a month? Once a week?
- GIVE CASH: Click here to give and specify that it’s for the Hunger Fund. Pledge one bag for the drive ($50), one bag a week ($200), or whatever amount of cash feels good to you.
Is $50 too much? Every dollar donated to Westside Food Bank helps provide four meals to our most vulnerable neighbors: children, families, seniors, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and others who urgently need help. Your gift in any amount will truly make a difference. Click here to donate.
OTHER WAYS TO GIVE: Would you rather collect food from your friends, family, and neighbors? Order online? However you want to give, we want to make it easy.
- Fill ‘er up: Fill your own bag of groceries with items from your pantry or the store and email hunger@uusm.org to arrange for pickup. Church volunteers will pick up as needed the duration of the drive.
- Shop from home: Order a bag (or box) of groceries from Instacart, Costco, or your other favorite grocer and have them delivered to Jacki Weber (address and email in the church directory).
- Be a Can ‘o Beans Chauffeur: Pick up or receive food donations in your neighborhood and deliver to Westside Food Bank.
The drive begins Tuesday, December 21 but you can give starting today. Questions? Email hunger@uusm.org. We’ll keep a running total of donations and share updates.
Thanks for joining us!
— The UUSM Hunger Task Force
Beloved Conversations: Meditations on Race and Ethnicity – Register by Sept. 14
INTERSECTIONAL ANTI-RACISM AND ANTI-OPPRESSION
Last year, the UUSM Board of Directors authorized our Intersectional Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Commission to begin laying the foundation for us to more effectively engage with this critical work. Our first programmatic offering was Beloved Conversations. This faith-formation, anti-racism program offered by the Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Meadville Lombard Theological School, included more than 1,200 virtual learners in the first phase last fall. This spring over 20 from our congregation participated with UUs from across the country!
Participants meet online monthly for large group worship and discussion — with lessons published every two weeks — as well as in biweekly small-group check-ins. In the program’s current phase, “Within,” we engage with a personal exploration of race and our work for racial justice. In Beloved Conversations, we are here to heal the impact of racism on our lives.
A new session is starting online September 21, “Meditations on Race and Ethnicity.” About the spring session, our own Cheryl Barnett commented: “… as I read, listened, sang through the lessons, I felt challenged to think about my ancestors, my growing up with white privilege/heritage, and to first reflect on my life experiences as I worked through the program.” Larry Weiner said simply, “Loved it.”
Cheryl added: “The entire program is separated into two groups: White Folks and People of Color, letting the primary message of racism percolate personally without that inner or outer critique. By offering care to ‘move at the speed of trust,’ my own stories have no less meaning, rather they allowed me to move towards increased clarity on how I got to this place of privilege with my own White Supremacy. I felt no triggers to accept personal blame from the variety of lessons, rather an ever-increased awareness of the myriad of ramifications that race now has/had on my life as well of those persons of color in America. The phrase most clearly defining this is: ‘through an awareness of intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and ground the differences among us.'”
Rev. Jeremiah is again encouraging us to participate in this experience of connection and spiritual development. Scholarship funds are available. If you are registering now, or have done so already, please email admin@uusm.org (subject line: Beloved Conversations); add a note to request funding. Folks need to register on their own at the Meadville website; we do not handle the registrations but will just keep track of those who register and notify her.
Here’s your invitation, with links for details and signing up.
Beloved Conversations: Meditations on Race and Ethnicity
Fall Registration extended to September 14th!
So much has shifted in our wider world over the last couple of months. We know this has thrown off all kinds of plans and leaves many of us in a place of uncertainty. When we set our program deadlines, we had no idea what the state of the world, our lives, or our hearts would be.
In recognition that many of us need some extra time for discernment and planning, we have extended the deadline by 2 weeks. Please join us by registering and/or applying by September 14th for our Within program. See below for more details and head to our website to learn more!
Important Dates:
Fall Term Within Registration: June 22nd- September 14, 2021 visit: www.meadville.edu/beloved
Fall Term Within Begins: September 21st, 2021
Fall Term Within Ends: Mid-December, 2021
Cost: $250 USD per person (lay folks and religious professionals). White folks and anyone with economic privileges/ample professional expenses will be encouraged to pay more. Full and partial scholarships will be generous and easily accessible.
*No one will be turned away for a lack of funds. Please email JeKaren at belovedconversations@meadville.edu to request a full or half scholarship.
*****************
If you have completed at least one term of Within, check out this ongoing learning opportunity with Beloved Conversations Virtual!
Within+: Exploration Stations Launching Fall 2021, for individuals who have completed at least one term of Within
Finished with Within and ready for more? Join one of these play stations for your soul and engage in deep and creative ways, focused on one topic, as it intersects with issues of race and racism. Each Station will:
- Serve Faith Development
- Include Fun
- Be a space for spiritual growth, deepening, and practice
- Address multiple learning/gleaning styles
- Feel flexible/ emergent
- Encourage celebration
- Be a space for the broken-hearted
- Focus on personal work
We will be adding additional Exploration Stations over time, but in the Fall of 2021, we expect to launch Stations focused on:
- Land
- Intersectionality
Registration Opens October 1, 2021 and will be ongoing. Participants will have access to the course materials for 3 months from the date of registration. See our website for more information and pricing for Within+ Exploration Stations.
If you have questions or need assistance with anything related to the program, please email JeKaren Olaoya at belovedconversations@meadville.edu
We look forward to being together in community!
In gratitude,
Jenice, Katie, Kierstin, Mark, Janine, Sarah, CB, Deanna, and Rhonda
Your Beloved Conversations Virtual, Gathering Ourselves Design Team
Beloved Conversations Review: White Supremacy and Me
Several people at our church participated in the Spring 2021 online course offered by the Fahs Collective at Meadville Lombard Theological School, a Unitarian Universalist seminary. More information can be found at www.meadville.edu/fahs-collaborative/beloved-conversations/. Registration for the Fall 2021 Program, which begins September 21 and runs through mid-December 2021, is open now. Here is one personal summary of the Spring course. The news magazine would love to offer other reviews of the program. If you participated, please submit to newsletter@uusm.org.
By Cheryl Barnett
I began writing my review of the Beloved Conversation Program discussing how it was structured, organized, the timing, etc. But looking over my notes, I recognized the essence of the program was self-examination, un/learning with essays and lessons designed to be on a personal level, smorgasbord-style, not a list. So my personal review would be that as I read, listened, sang through the lessons, I felt challenged to think about my ancestors, my growing up with white privilege/heritage, and to first reflect on my life experiences as I worked through the program.
The entire program is separated into two groups: White Folks and People of Color, letting the primary message of racism percolate personally without that inner or outer critique. By offering care to “move at the speed of trust,” my own stories have no less meaning, rather they allowed me to move towards increased clarity on how I got to this place of privilege with my own White Supremacy. I felt no triggers to accept personal blame from the variety of lessons, rather an ever-increased awareness of the myriad of ramifications that race now has/had on my life as well of those persons of color in America. The phrase most clearly defining this is: “through an awareness of intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and ground the differences among us.”
At times I was, however, overwhelmed by the multiplicity and complexity of racism, as the lessons were illuminating. Also the realization that living in the moment, without “rightness” constructs, will also bring ever more awareness that my growth is not a once-upon-a-time event but requires a lifelong stand to listen to those with different stories and remain curious, knowing that, with trust, change will happen.
Understanding that the greater legacy that intolerance, hate, and white supremacy has brought to our current society will continue to exist, I feel the weight this leaves on White People to make societal changes. Living with heightened awareness, mindfulness, and a responsibility to grow away from White Supremacy both personally and in community was the goal of the program and it resonated with me personally.
Let’s Keep Learning (and Practicing) “How to be an Antiracist”
This winter, the Peace & Social Justice Committee offers another opportunity to read and discuss Dr. Ibram X Kendi’s “How to be an Antiracist.” Last year’s acclaimed New York Times #1 Bestseller was our guide for several sessions of provocative, important learning and dialogue in early 2020. In the time since, our country has been roiled by more violence, protests, and a renewed call to confront systemic racism. This instructive volume has solidified its place as something of a “common read” to understand both racism and anti-racism today. This is a chance for more UUSM members and friends to join us as we reconvene to review Dr. Kendi’s lessons and apply them to what we have seen and experienced during this difficult year.
Ibram Kendi is a professor of history and international relations and founder of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, along with a new center at Boston University. He became the youngest winner of the National Book Award for his previous work, “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.” In “How to be an Antiracist,” he argues that a redefinition of terms — focusing on policies rather than attitudes and feelings — is in order if we are to properly confront the historical legacy and enduring oppressive systems of racism. Drawing on his personal story of struggle and awakening, he writes that “being an anti-racist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.”
The Faith In Action: Peace & Social Justice Committee undertakes this study as part of ongoing work we have been doing for many years. Study groups such as this (following texts like “The New Jim Crow,” “This Changes Everything,” “The Third Reconstruction,” “Justice on Earth,” and “White Fragility”) help us, together, to seek knowledge and grow in our understanding of how systemic racism continues to shape our society. Growing our knowledge and understanding, in turn, help us to bear witness and work for change as part of our congregation’s commitment to UU principles of love and justice.
Please join us for this important work!
Join us in virtual space Saturday, January 23 and Saturday, January 30, 3:00 – 5:00 pm, and Wednesday, February 3, 7:00 – 9:00 pm (Dates to be confirmed).
Please email justice@uusm.org for the Zoom link.
More Information from the Publisher
Ibram X. Kendi’s concept of antiracism reenergizes and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America–but even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. Instead of working with the policies and system we have in place, Kendi asks us to think about what an antiracist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it.
In his memoir, Kendi weaves together an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science–including the story of his own awakening to antiracism–bringing it all together in a cogent, accessible form. He begins by helping us rethink our most deeply held, if implicit, beliefs and our most intimate personal relationships (including beliefs about race and IQ and interracial social relations) and reexamines the policies and larger social arrangements we support. How to Be an Antiracist promises to become an essential book for anyone who wants to go beyond an awareness of racism to the next step of contributing to the formation of a truly just and equitable society.
Justice for Alex Flores 1 Year Angelversary
6 PM ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20 AT 2731 S CENTRAL AVE.
For the past year we have joined the Flores family in their fight for justice in the police murder of their son Alex Flores on November 19, 2019. During this year, the fight has expanded from just being about justice for Alex to also calling for justice for all victims of police brutality and murder.
What started as daily rosaries and then marches from the site of the killing to Newton Police Station, evolved into a weekly rallies and marches; first, just to Newton Station; later, through the neighborhood to the site of the police killing of Daniel Hernandez, and expanding to include the family of David Flores who was killed in Gardena by LAPD.
We went to former District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s house twice to call out her refusal to charge even one officer in the more than 600 cases of police killings during her tenure. We even participated in a May Day car caravan that linked the fight of tenants to the struggle against police violence as the police are the ones enforcing illegal evictions even during the pandemic.
In August, we hosted a speak-out at Newton Station featuring many families and a car caravan to South East Station where the police that killed David Flores are stationed.
Just last month, the Say Their Names art installation and rally honored the 600+ victims of police murder under DA Lacey.
Now, as we approach the one-year mark, we need all hands on deck to support the Flores family and their struggle.
The plan is to gather at 2731 S Central Ave at 6 pm on Friday, November 20 for a rosary service. The march through the neighborhood will begin around 7 pm ending with a rally at 9:30 pm at Newton Police Station. Cars are very welcome.
Healthy LA Coalition: Fighting to Keep People in their Homes During the Crisis
The UUSM Faith In Action Commission is signatory to the Healthy LA Coalition, a network of more than 330 advocacy organizations, worker centers, labor unions, congregations, community groups, affordable housing developers, public interest lawyers, public health and safety organizations, and many more uniting to address the devastating social and economic impact of the pandemic and to achieve just relief, recovery, and reconstruction.
At the Sunday, December 20th meeting of the Faith In Action: Peace & Social Justice Committee, we will hear directly about the coalition’s work and how we can do more to support it from our good friend and ally Rev. Rae Huang of Healthy LA and LA Voice.
More info on how you can help:
Since March 2020, Healthy LA has been pressuring LA city and county elected officials to ensure the response to the COVID-19 pandemic not only protects our community’s health, but also addresses the fundamental racial and economic inequities impacting vulnerable Angelenos. Together we have done so much already — see the coalition’s accomplishments here.
Healthy LA is now gearing up for our biggest fight yet, and perhaps the most crucial. Since our inception, one of Healthy LA’s priorities has been rent forgiveness and mortgage suspension. The Cancel Rent/Cancel Mortgages Platform proposes to make this priority a reality through a variety of policy mechanisms that will aid struggling renters, homeowners, and small landlords. Here is the full platform in English and Spanish.
With that statewide eviction moratorium ending in less than 7 weeks, we need to take action now and push the Los Angeles City Council and Board of Supervisors to adopt our platform. Otherwise, millions of our neighbors face risk of eviction, homelessness, infection, and death.
2020 has been one of the toughest years in memory, but it has also united us in making Los Angeles a healthier and more equitable place. Healthy LA is currently over 330 organizations strong–we can do this!
We are urging the Los Angeles City Council and the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County to sign the Housing is Health Pledge and commit to introduce and vote in support of policies that:
- Cancel Rent (Download Policy Platform in ENGLISH and SPANISH)
- Cancel Mortgage debt of homeowners and small landlords
- Codify a Right to Counsel for tenants facing eviction
- Stop the Sweeps of our unhoused neighbors’ possessions and allocate funding to guarantee permanent housing to our unhoused neighbors, starting with Project Room Key participants
To send a message to your representatives, please use THIS FORM.