As We Enter Our Last Year: Last Call to Share Your Experience with the Commission

CoIC Last Call

Over the last two years, the Commission on Institutional Change has held an open call for personal stories and testimonies. As we enter the last year of the commission's work, we submit one last call for submissions of stories, documents, and requests for interviews, through the month of September. This call seeks stories and examples of best practices in the service of anti-racism in UU congregations and communities. As well as, testimonies related to how systems of institutional racism and white supremacy culture impacts the lives and participation on Unitarian Universalist within our institutions. Within this context, the Commission asks you to respond to the following questions with specific examples:

Testimonies:

  • In what ways have you or your group or community been hurt by current racist and culturally biased attitudes and practices within Unitarian Universalism?

  • In what ways have we, as a faith community, been living outside of our values and commitments?

Examples of Innovation:

  • Justice work grounded in accountable relationships with organizations led by and serving people of color;

  • Providing space, childcare or logistical support to movements led by and serving people of color;

  • Partnering on grassroots local organizing campaigns;

  • Multi-racial staff teams serving congregations effectively for more than 3 years;

  • Family ministries and/or religious education programming especially targeted to and serving congregants of color, adults and children/youth;

  • Multiculturally sensitive pastoral care programs;

  • A proven track record of financial partnership and fundraising for movements led by or serving people of color.

Ask yourself:

  • What has been the new learning to emerge as far as diversity, equity, and inclusion?

  • How do you measure success?

  • What has been the struggle? For what were you unprepared and what did you learn?

Please note that no information provided in these testimonials will be shared with attribution without the prior consent of the author. The Commission is mindful that certain details in submissions can be revealing and commits to treating all submissions with full trust and confidence.

How to Submit Your Testimony

Submissions—written, audio, or video format—in response to this set of questions will be accepted, now through September 2019. Anyone is welcome to submit testimony.

Audio Submissions: MP3 format is best.

Video Submissions: MP4 format is best.

Written Submissions: Please use this convenient Testimonies form (Word) or Examples of Innovation form (Word) which contains the questions listed above.

To submit your testimony, save the file to your computer, and then upload it via the Examples of Innovation Dropbox or Personal Testimonies Dropbox

Please direct any questions about this process or requests for an interview to ChangeManager@uua.org