Jan 4

Jan 4 Uncertainty and Solidarity: Reflections on Shutting it Down with Black Lives Matter

This reflection was initially shared at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis as part of the assembly on Sunday, December 27th, 2015 and published on the Quest for Meaning website here.

I was there last Wednesday, at the Black Lives Matter protests at the Mall of America, at the airport, and on the light rail.

I was there last Wednesday with my 12 and 7-year-old daughters.

I was there because we were there a year ago—our first visit to the mall with 3,000 of our closest friends. As my older daughter pointed out when I was wavering on my decision to go, “It’s our holiday tradition, Dad! On Thanksgiving we protest Walmart. At Christmas, we go to the mall with Black Lives Matter!”

And, I was there because in this season of Christmas, I believe that there is almost nothing that is more in the spirit of the man whose birth Christmas celebrates, than standing for justice with people at the margins who are fighting for their freedom.

Dec 22

Dec 22 Learning about Islam and Organizing to Combat Anti-Muslim Bigotry

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UUA and Beacon Press Resources

For Children and Multigenerational Groups

Muhammad: The Story of a Prophet and Reformer, a book by Sarah Conover. Discussion and Reflection Guide by Pat Kahn. Multigenerational workshops and religious education classes can use the book and discussion guide to explore the real Muhammad, discuss Islam today, stereotypes, and interfaith relationships.
Ayat Jamilah: Beautiful Signs: A Treasury of Islamic Wisdom for Children and Parents, collected and adapted by Sarah Conover and Freda Crane. Stories drawing on the core of Islamic spirituality and ethics, the Qur’an, and folklore could be used in religious education classes, workshops, and multigenerational worship.
Muhammad, a session from Creating Home (Tapestry of Faith). Intended for Kindergarten and Grade 1, but could be used with a wider age range of children. Workshop introduces Muhammad, and can be used with children in RE classes or as a basis for a children’s chapel service. Included stories might be used in Time for All Ages.

Dec 18

Dec 18 Welcome our new Campaign Director: Caitlin Breedlove

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The Unitarian Universalist Association is excited to announce Caitlin Breedlove as our new Campaign Director for Standing on the Side of Love.

Since 2003, Caitlin has been organizing and doing movement building work in the South with communities across race, class, culture, gender and sexuality. Caitlin began her work in the South doing popular education and organizer training at the historic Highlander Center in Tennessee. For the past nine years, Caitlin has been the Co-Director of Southerners On New Ground (SONG), where she has co-led some of the most innovative intersectional movement building work in the LGBTQ sector. Under Caitlin’s co-leadership, SONG Caitlin has led campaigns, built new alliances, trained a large cohort of new LGBTQ organizers in the South, built a membership of over 3,000, and led countless political education processes for SONG’s constituency. Caitlin is known across social justice movements as a leader, strategist, and writer connecting LGBTQ, racial and economic justice.

As we move Standing on the Side of Love to its next level of work during these historic times in our fights for justice, the UUA is proud to welcome Caitlin’s skills and experience into the newly created Campaign Director position. We look forward to welcoming Caitlin to the Campaign in January 2016.

Dec 3

Dec 3 Justice4Jamar: Congregating for Black Lives in Minneapolis

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Editor's Note: Actions in Minneapolis have evolved rapidly over the past few days. Please read through to the postscript for the latest news regarding the 4th Precinct.

Having just returned from a weekend on the ground with Black Lives Matter-Minneapolis, I reaffirm my own expanded understanding of the term “Congregational Life”. In the two weeks since 24-year-old Jamar Clark was shot down by the police in the north part of the city, members of the surrounding community and activists of Black Lives Matter organized to shut down at least the front side of the Fourth Police Precinct and maintain an occupation. Like the kinds of congregations where Unitarian Universalists gather from week to week, this one deals with its share of opportunities and challenges along the way.

As I walked toward the barricade in front of the police precinct last Friday evening, I choked a bit from all the smoke in the air. The temperature had dropped, so several fire pits burned in that block of the four-lane street. Small bunches of people gathered around them, a criss-cross mix of college students, activists, neighbors, bystanders and clergy. Some people were looking to make donations, and others were asking for money. On Nov. 23, a small group of white supremacists began shooting at the gathered protesters, wounding five. The following night shots were also fired though fortunately no one was hit.

Nov 25

Nov 25 Are you ready for revolutionary love? 30 Days of Racial Justice Coming Soon

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During this time of organizing and resistance, may we strengthen our resolve to work for racial justice and build beloved community. And Kicking off in the New Year on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend and concluding with a Valentine’s Day transformation, we will be honoring and observing Thirty Days of Love---a time for love, community, and prophetic action.

From Saturday, January 16 through Sunday, February 14, 2016 people of faith and conscience will show up for Black Lives Matter and racial justice throughout the country as part of Thirty Days of Love.

Nov 25

Nov 25 Fight Like Hell for the Living

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I am well aware of the notion of, “Breathing While Black.” It’s code language that I have internalized. It’s code language that I have taught my daughter. It’s code language that I will teach my granddaughter. It means that the very color of our skin can get us in deep trouble. It can get us killed.

The other day I heard a new expression, “Walking While Trans.” That gave me pause. I know that my Black siblings are in danger of police brutality when walking while black. In addition to worrying about police brutality, our trans siblings are in danger of physical violence when they walk while trans.

Nov 25

Nov 25 A Call to Action from Minneapolis

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Last Sunday morning, November 14, Minneapolis police officers arrested #JamarClark, a young Black man from North Minneapolis. While there are many versions of what happened during the few minutes after his arrest, we have heard over and over again during the past week that Clark was unarmed, handcuffed, and on the ground when police officers shot him in the head. He died a few days later at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

Since last Sunday, we have witnessed a powerful swelling of action and resistance that has become known as the #Justice4Jamar #4thPrecinctShutdown. Protesters, following the leadership of groups like Black Lives Matter - Minneapolis, the Minneapolis NAACP, and the Black Liberation Project, have been camped out on the lawn of the 4th Precinct. Hundreds and hundreds of people have gathered for peaceful demonstrations, protests, marches, and community healing rituals. Community members have shown up in a steady stream, bringing donations of food and warm clothing and firewood to the protesters and offering one another moments of solidarity, tenderness, and shared struggle. While the media reports about “agitators,” those of us on the ground have witnessed a beautiful blossoming of community support, accountability, and building power.

Nov 20

Nov 20 No More Lists

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After spending three internet and cell phone-free days being spiritually, emotionally and physically fed by my Soulforce family in the mountains of Faber, Virginia, I returned on Sunday and was thrust into the madness of terrorism, death, and real, albeit often misguided, fear. Racism and white supremacy masquerading as safety and security made my soul cry every time my heart beat. I was reminded, once again, of all the ways human beings have misunderstood and mistreated one another and how lifetimes of anguish can take their toll on us in the here and now. Since my return, I’ve been reflecting on a podcast I listened to last year about the onslaught of mass shootings over the last several years. “Too many people have died,” one speaker said. “NO MORE LISTS,” another speaker shouted into the microphone!

Nov 19

Nov 19 Showing up For Our Siblings in Burundi

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Within the context of extreme civil unrest in Burundi, recently the Unitarian Church of Burundi (the Assemble Unitarien Chretian de Burundi) was attacked and ransacked, withbullets fired into walls and doors and money stolen. Members of the church were questioned by government officials who visited on a Sunday. Two days ago the minister of the church, the Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana, was arrested from the church at gunpoint, taken into police custody and interrogated severely, regarding the activities of his church. He was threatened with physical harm and death. At the moment he remains in custody, with other members of the church also being questioned. The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, along with our member groups and partners around the world, is calling upon the Burundian government to cease these activities immediately, which we interpret as persecution for reasons of faith.

Nov 17

Nov 17 Showing Up to End Trans Detention

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Today, organizations around the country are participating in the End Trans Detention National Day of Action. The Day is part of the #Not1More Deportation Week of Action. The targeted criminalization and violence trans people face is only exacerbated when they are detained. Transgender detainees make up 1 in 500 of the detention population but 1 in 5 of those who experience sexual abuse.

On this day of action, we ask you to take a moment to support Christina Lopez, a 35 year-old trans woman in urgent need of medical care. She has been in immigration detention for over a year and a half and has Hepatitis C, but the Santa Ana City Detention Center refuses to get her medical attention. Add your name here to demand that ICE use prosecutorial discretion to immediately release Christina from detention. Christina’s story is an example of how ICE cannot guarantee the human rights, safety and dignity for immigrants in detention, in particular of a transgender immigrant with specific health care needs.