Rev James Reeb — Blog — Side With Love

Forward Together! Voting Rights Webinar July 22nd 8pm ET

Thousands of people from across North Carolina and the country came to Winston-Salem on Monday, July 13th, to march for the full restoration of voting rights in the state that is home to what has been described as the worst voter suppression law in the country. Hundreds of those people were Unitarian Universalists from NC, eighteen other states, and Washington, DC.

Our UU planning team for the Mass Moral Voting Rights March extends our deepest thanks to all of you who showed up to support the movement in North Carolina! We feel enormous gratitude to those who took the time and took on the expense of travelling here. The UUs in Winston-Salem and across North Carolina who have been sustaining and building this movement felt so supported by your presence. In our debrief phone call yesterday, the lead organizer from the NAACP NC, Roz Pelles, called in to tell us that Rev. William Barber wanted us to know how much they appreciate the partnership with Unitarian Universalists and that they see that we have helped build the movement to be broad, inclusive and deeply moral. Roz also expressed appreciation for the UUs who have shown up at the Mass Moral Marches in Raleigh, committed civil disobedience at the state legislature, and are spreading the moral movement across the U.S.

Whether you were able to be in Winston-Salem or not, please join us for a "North Carolina Is Our Selma: Debrief of July 13 Rally and Next Steps" Voting Rights Webinar, next Wednesday, July 22nd at 8 p.m. ET.

Side With LoveJuly 17, 2015Voting Rights, Rev James Reeb, Moral Movement

Strength and Beauty in Baltimore

I'm just returning to Boston from the second city uprising I've visited this year. Baltimore, like Ferguson, is still a community where people eat and sleep and chat and work. But they do all these things with police helicopters buzzing overhead and National Guards watching with their machine guns gripped hard.

I know that in my white privilege I can come and go, smile at the officers and not have to worry about my relatives night and day. That's why I show up for these protests wherever I can, to march in solidarity and to learn from the leadership of those who are trying to assert their basic rights to freedom and safety.

Side With LoveMay 6, 2015Racial Justice, Rev James Reeb, Black Lives Matter

Be With Selma-In Whatever Way You Can

Fifty years ago, as Unitarian Universalist ministers in our thirties, we each answered Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to come to Selma to join the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery that had been viciously repressed by local and state law enforcement officers. As many of you know, the Rev. James Reeb and both of us were attacked by white supremacists after we had marched across the bridge; Jim Reeb died from his injuries. His family will be in Selma on March 7th to be with us and to honor him. They are deeply proud of his legacy.

Our lives were transformed forever and we have remained eager defenders of civil rights. As we gather in Selma for the 50th Anniversary events it is enormously gratifying to us to see that a new movement for racial justice is rising. As we remember Selma, we know that Black Lives Matter and that we need to nurture, support and grow a new generation of freedom fighters. We hope that you will join us in this mission.

Side With LoveMarch 3, 2015Racial Justice, Selma, Rev James Reeb, Black Lives Matter

Honor Selma Sunday anywhere you live!

I don’t know about you, but I have been so moved by the legacy of Selma. Watching the power of this singular moment in American history unfold through the film Selma (even the trailer will give you chills), I was moved by the story of Jimmie Lee Jackson and proud to see UU’s Rev. James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo find their place in the struggle, even when they all paid the ultimate price. I’m halfway through Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison Reed’s new Skinner House book Selma Awakening. I was inspired by the bold message shared by five of my colleagues who are Women of Color, noting how the Sankofa message of “reach back and get it” applies to today. And I find myself wondering – if it were 50 years ago, would I have answered the call to justice?

Side With LoveFebruary 21, 2015Selma, Selma Sunday, Racial Justice, Rev James Reeb, Black Lives Matter