BIPOC UU History and Culture Black, Indigenous and People of Color

Part of BIPOC UU Connections

Browse this curated list of books and other publications about BIPOC UU History and Culture, or about BIPOC Culture by UU authors.

The title are listed by date published, newest first. If you know of a resource that is not listed, please send an email to the address at the bottom of the page with your suggestion.

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The Rough Side of the Mountain

The Ministries of Black Unitarian Universalist Women edited by Qiyamah Rahman (2022)

Editor and scholar Qiyamah Rahman collects and explores the unique journeys of Black Unitarian Universalist clergywomen, celebrating their wisdom, resilience, and contributions within and beyond Unitarian Universalism.

Ecowomanism at the Panama Canal

Black Women, Labor, and Environmental Ethics by Sofía Betancourt (2022)

A transnational ecowomanist ethic that reclaims inherited environmental cultures across multiple sites of displacement. Betancourt argues that women in the African diaspora have a unique understanding of how a moral refusal to compromise their humanity provides the very understanding needed to survive what was once an inconceivable level of environmental devastation.

Funny Gyal

My Fight Against Homophobia in Jamaica by Angeline C. Jackson (2022)

The inspiring story of Angeline Jackson, who stood up to Jamaica’s oppression of queer youth to demand recognition and justice.When Angeline Jackson was a child, she wondered if there was something wrong with her for wanting to kiss the other girls. But as her sexuality blossomed in her teens, she knew she wouldn’t “grow out of it” and that her attraction to girls wasn’t against God.

Race, Politics and Religion

Toward Human Rights in the United States by Stephanie Mitchem (2022)

This book examines race, religion, and politics in the United States, illuminating their intersections and what they reveal about power and privilege. Drawing on both historic and recent examples, Stephanie Mitchem introduces readers to the ways race has been constructed in the United States, discusses how race and religion influence each other, and assesses how they shape political influence. Mitchem concludes with a chapter looking toward possibilities for increased rights and justice for all.

The Black UU Survival Guide

Ten Steps for Surviving as a Black UU and How Allies Can Keep it 100 by Xolani Kacela (2021)

Have you decided to become a Unitarian Universalist and can help feeling a little lost? Or maybe you have been a member for a while but don’t know how to navigate sensitive issues when interacting with those who have racial or cultural differences? Do you want to discover not only how to survive, but how to thrive in your faith? Read this survival guide and begin incorporating its lessons into your life and watch the difficulties you were facing while navigating your faith melt away.

Widening the Circle of Concern: Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change, June 2020 (cover)

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Widening the Circle of Concern

by The Commission on Institutional Change (2020)

The Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change analyzes structural and systemic racism and white supremacy culture within Unitarian Universalism and makes recommendations to advance long-term change.

The Journey to Jubilee

Stories of Anti-Racism Efforts at the UUA (online training) (2020)

After the the pain, anger and hurt of the Black Empowerment Controversy in the late 1960s, it was over a decade before the Unitarian Universalist Association restarted any efforts toward anti-racism. The story is complicated, and has been well-documented in the 2009 bookThe Arc of the Universe is Long: Unitarian Universalists, Anti-Racism and the Journey from Calgary by Leslie Takahashi, Chip Roush and Leon Spencer. The book–parts of which are companion reading for this training– includes over 600 pages of stories, interviews and other details of the history.

In February of 2020,Rev. Mel Hoover,Dr. Leon Spencer, andLutricia Callair, LCSW gathered for a series of conversations about their anti-racism work in Unitarian Universalism. Their stories give voice to their faith in UU theology, the desire to build beloved community, and the depth of commitment toward collective liberation.

Cover of Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism

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Mistakes and Miracles

Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism by Karin Lin and Nancy Palmer Jones (2019)

What calls Unitarian Universalists to create multicultural, antiracist Beloved Community? What do congregations need when they embark on this journey? What common threads run through their stories? Nancy Palmer Jones and Karin Lin—a white minister and a lay person of color—share how five diverse congregations encounter frustrations and disappointments, as well as hope and wonder, once they commit to the journey. Mistakes abound. Miracles of transformation and joy emerge too. Extensively researched and thoughtfully written—with reflection questions at the end of each chapter—Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism will guide readers to apply these stories to their own communities, develop next steps, and renew their commitment to this hard but meaningful work.

Justice on Earth

People of Faith Working at the Intersection of Race, Class & the Environment by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Jennifer Kelleher (2018)

This anthology presents a powerful and penetrating look at environmental justice from some of the key thinkers and activists in Unitarian Universalism today. Fourteen activist ministers and lay leaders apply a keen intersectional analysis to the environmental crisis, revealing ways that capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression intersect with and contribute to ecological devastation. They also explore how spiritual practices, congregational organizing, and progressive theology can inform faith-based justice work in the twenty-first century. These prophetic voices, from a wide range of perspectives, reveal new approaches and opportunities for more holistic, accountable, and connected justice efforts. Each essay is accompanied by suggested ways to take the next steps for further learning and action.

Black Power and Unitarian Universalism

Revisiting the Empowerment Controversy by Mark Morrison-Reed (2018)

A chronicle and analysis of the events of the Empowerment Controversy, which rocked Unitarian Universalism in the late sixties and continues to reverberate. It was a time of revolution, of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. Like the country, the young Unitarian Universalist Association was forced to reckon with demands for change and found itself fractured by conflict about the implications of a commitment to racial justice. Morrison-Reed synthesizes decades of research and extensive interviews to present a nuanced and suspense-filled drama about Unitarian Universalism’s great crisis of faith. As he writes, “Perhaps wisdom can be gleaned from the pain and upheaval of those years, a wisdom that will be of use today in a new era.” Revisiting the Empowerment Controversy is the last book in a historical arc Morrison-Reed has traced since the publication of Black Pioneers in a White Denomination.

Cover of Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry

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Centering

Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry edited by Mitra Rahnema (2017)

A joint project of the Committee for Antiracism, Anti-oppression, and Multiculturalism of the UUMA and Skinner House Books, Centering is the first book to center the stories, analysis, and insight of Unitarian Universalists of color offering their religious leadership.

Unitarian Universalists of Color

Stories of Struggle, Courage, Love and Faith Edited by Yuri Yamamoto, Chandra Snell, and Tim Hanami (2017)

Contains original stories by fifteen Unitarian Universalists of color and a transcript of panel workshop at the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly in 2015, featuring Revs. Jonipher Kwong, Carlton Elliot Smith and Sunshine Wolfe as the panelists.

The Selma Awakening

How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism by Mark Morrison-Reed (2014)

The foremost scholar of African-American Unitarian Universalist history presents this long-awaited analysis of the denomination's civil rights activism in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Selma represented a turning point for Unitarian Universalists. In answering Martin Luther King Jr.'s call to action, they shifted from passing earnest resolutions about racial justice to putting their lives on the line for the cause. Morrison-Reed traces the long history of race relations among the Unitarians and the Universalists leading up to 1965, exploring events and practices of the late nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth century. He reveals the disparity between their espoused values on race and their values in practice. And yet, in 1965 their activism in Selma—involving hundreds of ministers and the violent deaths of Rev. James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo—at last put them in authentic relationship with their proclaimed beliefs. With rigorous scholarship and unflinching frankness, The Selma Awakening provides a new way of understanding Unitarian Universalist engagement with race and offers an indispensable new resource for anyone interested in UU history.

Darkening the Doorways

Black Trailblazers and Missed Opportunities in Unitarian Universalism by Mark Morrison-Reed (2011)

On one hand, Darkening the Doorways is a tale of systemic paternalism and a prejudicial failure of vision, of squandered opportunities and good intentions turned into tragedy more often than triumph. On the other hand, it is a tale of idealism, courage, intrepid allies, dogged determination and steadfast loyalty in the face of rejection. The life stories and achievements of the African Americans you will discover in these pages are remarkable. Mark Morrison-Reed's collection of profiles and essays, supplemented by archival documents, revives their memory while pointing toward the evolving multicultural future.

Sister Citizen

Shame, Stereotypes & Black Women in America by Melissa Harris-Perry (2011)

Jezebel's sexual lasciviousness, Mammy's devotion, and Sapphire's outspoken anger--these are among the most persistent stereotypes that black women encounter in contemporary American life. Hurtful and dishonest, such representations force African American women to navigate a virtual crooked room that shames them and shapes their experiences as citizens. Many respond by assuming a mantle of strength that may convince others, and even themselves, that they do not need help. But as a result, the unique political issues of black women are often ignored and marginalized.

Barbershops, Bibles & BET

Everyday Talk & Black Political Thought by Melissa Harris-Perry (2010)

What is the best way to understand black political ideology? Just listen to the everyday talk that emerges in public spaces, suggests Melissa Harris-Lacewell. And listen this author has--to black college students talking about the Million Man March and welfare, to Southern, black Baptists discussing homosexuality in the church, to black men in a barbershop early on a Saturday morning, to the voices of hip-hop music and Black Entertainment Television.

The Arc of the Universe is Long

Unitarian Universalists, Anti-Racism and the Journey from Calgary by Leslie Takahashi, Chip Roush and Leon Spencer(2009)

A history of the UUA journey toward becoming an anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural movement. The Arc of the Universe is Long covers the fourteen years that begin with the passage of the racial and cultural diversity resolution at Calgary, in Canada, in 1992 and traces developments through General Assembly 2006. Using interviews and written records, the authors bring to life the voices and stories that represent many perspectives, all addressing issues of race and ethnicity in our congregations and our association.

In Between

Memoir of an Integration Baby by Mark Morrison-Reed (2008)

Frank personal account of growing up black during the era of the civil rights movement. The author wrestles with racism, the death of Martin Luther King, black radicalism, his interracial family, and his experience as one of the first black Unitarian Universalist ministers.

In Between: Memoir of an Integration Baby gives voice to the unspoken story of those Afro Americans who were among the first to bring racial diversity to their neighborhood, school, church or workplace, to the increasing number of partners in interracial relationships and to those blessed with and yet struggling to raise multiracial children in a polarized world.

Unafraid of the Dark

A Memoir by Rosemary Bray McNatt (1998)

In her deeply affecting, vividly written memoir, Rosemary L. Bray describes with remarkable frankness growing up poor in Chicago in the 1960s, and her childhood shaped by welfare, the Roman Catholic Church, and the civil rights movement.
Bray writes poignantly of her lasting dread of the cold and the dark that characterized her years of poverty; of her mother's extraordinary strength and resourcefulness; and of the system that miraculously enabled her mother to scrape together enough to keep the children fed and clothed. Bray's parents, held together by their ambitions for their children and painfully divided by their poverty, punctuate young Rosemary's nights with their violent fights and define her days with their struggles.

The Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed

Mark Morrison-Reed

Black Pioneers in a White Denomination

by Mark Morrison-Reed (1992)

Portraits of racism in liberal religion tells the stories of two pioneering black ministers. Includes accounts of some of today's more integrated UU congregations and biographical notes on past and present black Unitarian, Universalist and UU ministers.