#LoveResists at General Assembly!

A protester holds a #BlackLivesMatter bandana at a rally in Portland, Oregon, June 28, 2015.

UUA General Assembly: June 21-25, 2017

You have joined Love Resists to translate our values into action to resist the criminalization of our neighbors and communities and create a safer, more just, welcoming, and sustainable world. As we continue in this work together, we’re excited to connect with many of you next week in New Orleans at the UUA General Assembly!

Meet Love Resists!

Find us in the Exhibit Hall at both the UUA Expressway (Booth #219) and the UUSC (Booth #433). Take your #LoveResists selfie at the UUSC booth and show the world how your #LoveResists!

Check in on the UUA Mobile App at the Love Resists booth locations or at the Friday public witness event to earn the Love Resists virtual badge!

1-ON-1 CONNECTIONS

Register for Love Resists Organizing, Coaching, and Strategy Sessions at GA

Are you and your congregation organizing locally around sanctuary and solidarity, or want to start? Register for a 40-minute conversation (as an individual or group) to meet with a member of the Love Resists campaign team during General Assembly.

Share your successes, troubleshoot challenges, or talk through possible plans within the context of your congregation or community. Please sign up early for a meeting time at the UUSC booth in the exhibit hall.

Thursday, June 22

1:30 PM — 2:45 PM

#223 Love Resists! Declaring Conscience & Taking Action
New Orleans Convention Center - R02-R03

UUA, Standing on the Side of Love, UUSC, UU College of Social Justice and Mijente UUs are part of the movement defending people targeted, excluded, and criminalized under the current administration. Hear from grassroots organizers and partner congregations on how we are living out our Declaration of Conscience through non-compliance and action and are part of realigning the political landscape toward justice in our communities.

3:15 PM — 4:30 PM

#241 GROW Racial Justice for People of Color
New Orleans Convention Center - R214

Guided by songs and stories, join in this distilled version of the Grow Racial Justice summer program! In this first of three sessions, we’ll explore our identities as people of color, the power of our ancestors, the internalized oppression we’ve learned, and strengthen our spiritual muscles.

#242 GROW Racial Justice for White Folks
New Orleans Convention Center - R209

Guided by songs and stories, join in this distilled version of the Grow Racial Justice summer program! In this first of three sessions, we’ll explore our identities as white people, impact of whiteness on our spiritual lives, the internalized superiority we’ve learned, and strengthen our spiritual muscles.

#244 Organizing for Transformative Justice in Dangerous Times Part 1
New Orleans Convention Center - R02-R03

Transformative, intersectional justice is possible, if we shift how we organize. This multi-faith We Say Enough! Campaign training exposes dominant narratives that allow destructive, divisive systems to prosper. This lens is crucial for organizing around what people believe-- faith and worldviews, challenging notions that power simply equals organized money or organized people.

5:00 PM — 6:15 PM

#245 Organizing for Transformative Justice in Dangerous Times Part 2
New Orleans Convention Center - R02-R03

Working from understanding that power equals fraud (false worldviews) plus force (state power over life and death), part 2 of this training helps organizers see how organizing can unintentionally reinforce dominant narratives. Traditional organizing starts with solving problems; here participants are given space to work from a collective strategic vision.

#259 Collaborating to address the Refugee Crisis Part I
New Orleans Convention Center - R06

We define important terms like who is a refugee and who is an asylum seeker. We examine interventions in the global refugee crisis and breakout groups explore in-depth issues and best practices.

Friday, June 23

1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m

#321 Collaborating to address the Refugee Crisis Part II
New Orleans Convention Center - 206-207

We explore the global challenges of forced displacement due to war, persecution, and climate change. The issues that refugees face are context-dependent and complex: right to work, access to protection, trafficking, and trauma. We examine intersections in the global refugee crisis using a mural drawing process.

3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m

#337 Activate Joyful Witness: Art & Activism
New Orleans Convention Center 217-219 (Youth Caucus Room)

How can we make our activism more joyful, creative, and engaging? What’s the connection between art and social change? How can we renew our spirits while confronting injustice? With guest artists and activists, we’ll explore some inspiring examples, get crafty together, and prepare to bring spirited presence to Public Witness.

#341 The Rise of “Crimmigration”: Rhetoric and Real Talk
New Orleans Convention Center - R02-R03

This workshop explores increasing criminalization of migrants, including incarceration, and provides organizing strategies to protect vulnerable community members.

#342 GROW Racial Justice for People of Color 2
New Orleans Convention Center - 214

Guided by songs and stories, join in this distilled version of the Grow Racial Justice summer program! In this second of three sessions, we’ll share about our diversity as people of color, what we need from each other as POC and how to have each others backs.

#343 GROW Racial Justice for White Folks 2
New Orleans Convention Center - 209

Guided by songs and stories, join in this distilled version of the Grow Racial Justice summer program! In this second of three sessions, we’ll share about our diversity as white folks, what we need from each other as white folks and how to call each other in.

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m

#LoveResists Rejoicing for Sanctuary & Solidarity

Get ready for a faithful and festive call to action! Across the country, people of faith and conscience are engaging through the Love Resists campaign to resist hate and fear and respond to today’s justice movement moment. In New Orleans, Unitarian Universalists will celebrate expanding the notion of sanctuary to help create safe spaces for all people under threat, and rejoice in the solidarity of working with community partners. Come for a distinctly New Orleans take on sanctuary infused with art and imagination, and get connected to the Love Resists campaign’s resources to bring home to your congregation. Learn more.

Meet at 5 pm the northern plaza entrance to the convention center, at the corner of Julia St. and Convention Center Blvd., to join the "second line" procession. Or meet the band at 5:30 in the Mississippi River Heritage Park when it arrives to begin the program portion of the event.

Not in New Orleans? Stream the witness online!

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m

UUSC Awards Gala
St. Charles Ballroom, Hilton Riverside, 2 Poydras Street, New Orleans, La.

Come hear UUSC President & CEO Tom Andrews in conversation with Linda Sarsour, recipient of the 2017 Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights Leadership. Sarsour is the National Co-Chair of the Women's March on Washington and co-founder of MPower Change.

Saturday, June 24

3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m

#430: NOW: GROW Racial Justice 3
New Orleans Convention Center - 214

Guided by songs and stories, join in this distilled version of the Grow Racial Justice summer program! In this final of three sessions, we’ll talk about this movement moment, the skills of community organizing and facilitation that we need for this urgent now.

#431 Bringing It Home: Powerful Organizing
New Orleans Convention Center - R02-R03 

This highly interactive final workshop will provide a space for you (or your team) to strategize next steps in order to bring the Love Resists campaign to life at home. With UU leaders from national and state organizations, we will explore ways to resist together in small groups and help you leave with a plan.

#436 Activate Sustained Resistance: Taking It Home
New Orleans Convention Center 217-219 (Youth Caucus Room)

As GA comes to a close, how can we stay engaged with the justice issues we’ve explored? What commitments will you make to continue Resisting & Rejoicing when you return home? Youth leaders will share ways to stay sustained while we create action plans to bring back to our communities.