Be Seen Standing on the Side of Love and Justice

By Ted Resnikoff

Calling All Yellow Shirts of Love, Tolerance and Justice

The Grand Jury investigation of the killing of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson is likely to announce its findings anytime now. On the day of and after the Grand Jury announcement, people will gather at events around the country calling for an end to racist policing, police brutality and the culture of Mass Incarceration. Make this a moment of public witness, and speaking out in the spirit of love and justice – and plan on sharing the Unitarian Universalist message of love and justice far and wide by documenting the event you attend and sharing your images or tweets - here is how:

1. Find and attend an event near you here. Make your peaceful, justice-affirming presence known. 2. Wear your yellow shirt and follow the appeal of Ian Evison of the MidAmerica Region:
If I might be so bold here, you all can do something very important by responding where you are, taking photos of it, and documenting that online. This is a new age in activism in which “showing up” does not necessarily mean going across the country to the demonstration, and might not even mean going to a physical event in your home town. The young people of Ferguson are feeling very alone. They are on social media. You are on social media. You know what to do. Susan Leslie is right—go to your local event. UU congregations in Chicago area and in the Minneapolis/St Paul are organizing to turn up at their local rallies (and St Louis, of course). I myself plan to go to an event at the Minnesota State Capital building. But even if you go to an event, do not wait for the TV cameras to take your picture and the newspaper to write your story. Take your own picture. Write your own story. And then do with it what you do—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever it is that you do. That is crucial here. Don’t wait to see if the newspaper gets it right in the story in the morning. Don’t wait to see if the TV news catches a few yellow t-shifts (We need, by the way, Standing on the Side of Love polar gear….). Take your own picture. Write your own story. - Ian

 Tweet or post far and wide, including to @BlueBoatBlog.

Discover resources from Standing on the Side of Love to Stand on the Side of Love with Ferguson. Read the MidAmerica Region Board Statement and Resources on Ferguson. Read "As Ferguson Grand Jury Report Looms, Police Say They Don’t Fear Protests" on the New York Times.
Ian Evison serves as Congregational Life Consultant, Staff Lead of the MidAmerica Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
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