These definitions are adapted from the work of Louise Derman-Sparks and Carol Brunson Phillips, published in Teaching/Learning Anti-Racism: A Developmental Approach (New York: Teachers College Press, 1997). Racism An institutionalized system of economic, political, social, and cultural relations…

I was born White and have been that way for more than 60 years. The first 18 of those years can best be described as a period of “cultural encapsulation.” (J. A. Banks, 1994) Since I had never met a person who wasn’t White, I had never experienced the “other”; race for me was a nonrelevant concept.

Steps for Dismantling Privilege NAME IT!—Grapple with understanding what privilege is and how it works in everyday life. DEAL WITH IT!—When you identify privilege, address it, and take some personal responsibility for not allowing it to continue. REFRAME IT!—Build new roles, practices, shared…

During your community walk, observe and gather information. If the group chooses to go to a restaurant or a coffee shop, make sure the establishment you select is wheelchair accessible. What explicit and implicit values are conveyed by how the neighborhood is designed? What is important? Who is…

Which activities, experiences, models, and methods in Building the World We Dream About helped you stretch or deepened your understanding of race and equity? Please describe a particular activity that was successful in helping you learn….

These suggestions are intended to slow down the flurry of assumptions that can come into play when we talk about the stories and truths that shape our lives. Following these guidelines together can help every participant fully engage with others and grow from our interactions….

Definitions POWER is the ability to achieve purpose. — from a 1967 sermon by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. AUTHORITY is conferred power to perform a service. This definition is a reminder of two facts. First, authority is given and can be taken away. Second, authority is conferred as…

The definition is by Pope-Davis, Reynolds, Dings, and Ottavi (1994). Modifications for the UUA made by Paula Cole Jones to include multicultural competence in institutional change….

Participate in Cross-Cultural or Multicultural Conversations Create opportunities to learn about and engage others in conversations across differences. Live Multiculturally Be aware and competent in talking about racial, ethnic, or cultural differences. Create policies and practices to guide your…

I. Background The question of cultural appropriation (sometimes called misappropriation) is a hot topic among ministers and other worship leaders in our time. I first remember hearing about it couched in a story of worship leaders who had adapted certain First Nations rituals for use in Unitarian…

Plan a worship service that invites your guests to join you in the work of building an antiracist/multicultural faith community. Use these questions and template as a guide. I. Questions for Reflection What stories do you wish to tell as individuals? As a group?…

At the next and final workshop, you will consider actions to integrate learning from Building the World We Dream About into the life of the congregation….

This sermon was delivered at the Unitarian Universalist Society: East (Manchester, Connecticut) on January 15, 2006. Used with permission. When you were born—if you were born in the United States—and if someone filled out a birth certificate on your behalf, in order to fill out that birth…

Select a facilitator from the group to read questions and monitor time. Use the Serial Testimony Protocol (Workshop 2, Leader Resource 2) to talk about as many of these questions as possible. Note that there are more questions below than your group will have time to fully explore. The facilitator…

Use these questions to help you reflect on your experiences, insights, and observations following the panel presentation and/or the community walk. What energizes you most about what you heard or experienced? How do you think the broader community “sees” you? What kind of relationship do you have…

The Scenario The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Anytown has been growing by leaps and bounds for several years. This growth has resulted from new ministerial leadership as well as the congregation’s well-publicized stances on behalf of equal marriage and in support of immigrant families.

Category Statement Policies and Practices Congregants in the dominant racial group are comfortable talking about issues of race with persons from non-dominant racial groups….

Excerpted from an essay, originally published in Soul Work: Anti-racist Theologies in Dialogue, Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and Nancy Palmer Jones, editors (Boston, Skinner House, 2003). Used with permission. Race. Class. Culture. [Unitarian Universalist minister] Marta Valentin called these the…

Originally published in A People So Bold: Theology and Ministry for Unitarian Universalists, edited by John Gibb Millspaugh (Boston: Skinner House, 2010). I first learned about Unitarian Universalism in college from friends planning to get married. They were unenthused about being married by a…

Adapted from a piece originally published in Weaving the Fabric of Diversity (Boston: UUA, 1996). If I am a White person in America: I can turn on my television or watch a movie and see many images of people of my race in a wide variety of roles, including many positive and heroic ones….

Preppy nerd Sophisticated teacher/professor A promiscuous girl Member of a hip-hop group A lazy student A construction worker A caring grandparent Mother of six children Gay Republican Day laborer…

From a 2008 dissertation, “An Educational Model of Pastoral Care to Support Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Unitarian Universalist Congregations,” by Rev. Dr. Monica Cummings. It was adapted from P. A….

From a Birmingham Lecture, delivered March 8, 2002 in Birmingham, Alabama at the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association Convocation. Used courtesy of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association. When I was younger, in my community, it was popular to end a conversation with: “Keep the…

Excerpted from an essay originally published in Soul Work: Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue, eds. Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and Nancy Palmer Jones, 171-98. Boston: Skinner House Books, 2003. Used with permission….

Joseph Santos-Lyons from The Arc of the Universe is Long (Boston: Skinner House, 2009). This was broadcast on KBOO 90.7 in Portland, Oregon, on July 19, 2006. Santos-Lyons was a founding member of DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) and a young adult…

Choose a timekeeper to keep the group on task. You will have 20 minutes to create your skit Invite each person in your small reflection group to share a personal experience where the multicultural skill or practice was absent or well done. Limit yourselves to a brief, one-minute story. Choose the…

The experience of racially or ethnically marginalized groups in the United States context is nothing short of tragic: the loss of identity, dignity, property and cultural communities, assignment to second-class citizenship… not to mention the violent crimes against the (brown) body over time….

The Minister Rev. Christopher Emerson is a 43-year-old, single White male who is a third-generation Unitarian Universalist minister. He is known for his enthusiasm, charisma, and considerable oratorical skills. He spends an extraordinary amount of time doing the work of the congregation and has…

“Report examines racism, youth at 2005 General Assembly,” by Tom Stites and Christopher L. Walton. Reprinted with permission from UU World online, February 6, 2006. Copyright 2006 Unitarian Universalist Association. After conducting more than 80 interviews to probe events distressing to Unitarian…

By Dr. Gregory Jay, Professor of English, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. March 17, 2005. Read this piece online. “Whiteness… ” is not an attack on people, whatever their skin color. Instead, [it] is an attempt to think critically about how white skin preference has operated systematically,…

Competency Comments Can listen and behave without imposing your own values and assumptions on others. Carries an attitude of respect when approaching people of different cultures, which entails engagement in a process of self-reflection and self-critique; has the ability to move beyond own biases.

Participants in the Biracial/Multiracial Reflection Group will work to explore, affirm, and heal their spirit by first naming the landscape of their experience. They will also consider how to create healthy relationships alongside White people and People of Color and from racially or ethnically…

Mandy Patel, 38, a White female, is a stay-at-home mom with four children. She is very interested in environmental issues and chairs the 7th Principle Committee for the congregation. She has a perky personality, but often takes on too much and is seen by many as disorganized. Mike Freeman, 17, a…

From the forthcoming Tapestry of Faith program, A History of Unitarian Universalist Resistance and Transformation. The involvement of Unitarian Universalist clergy and laypeople in the series of civil rights marches in and between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 is often regarded as a…

Originally published in A People So Bold: Theology and Ministry for Unitarian Universalists, edited by John Gibb Millspaugh (Boston: Skinner House, 2010). Used with permission. The hilly countryside of Chiapas is dotted everywhere with milpas, patches of corn….

By Taquiena Boston, originally published in A People So Bold: Theology and Ministry for Unitarian Universalists, edited by John Gibb Millspaugh (Boston: Skinner House, 2010). Used with permission….

George Horowitz, 45, a White male, is an artist and interior designer born in the former Soviet Union. After moving to the area, he met and married a Korean woman who later died from Parkinson’s Disease. The power of that experience has led him to be a crusader against social injustice towards…

General Assembly 2009 web coverage Presented by the Council for Cross-Cultural Engagement: Rev. Danielle DiBona, President of Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM); Rev. David Takahashi Morris; Linda Friedman, General Assembly (GA) Planning Committee;…

Clarence Ochoa, 41, grew up in Southern California in a Filipino home. He is a dentist who joined the congregation with his wife and two daughters. He and his wife, who is White and American-born, really appreciate the liberating theology of Unitarian Universalism, yet, they are still quite…

As a group, brainstorm a list of personalities to weave into the simulation. Work together to develop character profiles, choosing gender, age, ethnic identity, interests, occupation, family status, and personality attributes. Once your group has created the character profiles, decide who will…

Your group has two choices: Craft your own case study—based on lessons learned during the community field trip, presentations by the community panel, or a controversy with racial/ethnic overtones that has flared up in your congregation. Develop one of the case studies in Handout 8, Case Study…

A congregation in search of a new minister schedules a Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop for the congregation….