History of Anti-Racism Work Within the UU Faith

Part of Mosaic Lifespan Curriculum

Open

“To be free, you must embrace

the breadth of your own existence

without apology, even if they try to take

it from you.* You must know, not that you

can do whatever you want; you are not

a kudzu vine, eating entire hillsides for

the purpose of feeding your own lush life. You

must know instead, that inside you are entire

Universes- milky blue, magenta, and gold-

expanding.* But to actually be fee, you must

know and you must fight for the entire

universe inside of everyone else.*

being free is not a license, but

A promise.*

To the people who have mistaken freedom for liberation
-Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto

From spilling the light: Meditations on Hope and Resistance. Skinner House Books.

Open the meeting by reading the passage and lighting a chalice.

Read

DRUUMM:The Stories We Tell: A Living Timeline of UU People of Color Stories. Version 7

The timeline is a living document that has been circulated around the country at GA’s, conferences, as well as regional and local gatherings. It is always in the process of revision as our stories are still being recovered.

The timeline may be read in its entirety and/or it can be chunked into sections. Discussion can be whole group if small enough, or can be divided into small groups to summarize sections and then present to the whole.

Some questions to consider are

  • How do we find intellectual and spiritual ancestors in the struggle for the work of anti-racism?
  • Does the timeline support a more “moral arc of justice” or circular model to time?

Watch

Our Anti-Racism Work: Creating Accountability in our UU world — The VUU #207 (YouTube) (minutes 6:00-12:00)

Explore more episodes of The VUU from the CLF.

Do

Journaling in Letter or Zine form

How to make a zine from 1 sheet of paper resource (YouTube)

Use this time to reflect on the readings and especially the responses of the group. Remind participants that the goal is not to memorize actions of the past but find hope and direction from the work of others.

The journal could take the form of:

  • A zine to one who will come after us
  • A letter to an ancestor who has gone behind us
  • A letter or zine for a contemporary

Close

Only Begun

Spirit of work Life and Love, dear God of all nations:

There is so much work to do.

We have only begun to imagine justice and mercy.

Help us hold fast to our vision of what can be.

May we see the hope in our history

and find the courage and the voice

to work for that constant rebirth

of freedom and justice.

That is our dream.

Amen -By The Rev. William G. Sinkford

From BLUU Notes: An Anthology of Love, Justice, and Liberation. Skinner House Books.

Check out Questions (Choose one):

  • Identify one word that encompasses your understanding of UU work on Anti-racism
  • Say the name of one person, place, or event that inspires you to continue in this work

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