We are excited to announce that the 2021-2022 Unitarian Universalist #CommonRead has been selected:The UUA has chosen Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment by Zach Norris(Beacon Press, 2021).
We are in need of a national change with the repressive and racist policing systems. These systems have caused harm and failed to protect marginalized communities. It matters that we support the need for change in public safety, moving away from fear and punishment and toward growth and support systems for our families and communities.
As Unitarian Universalists, the matters raised in Defund Fear invite us to respond to public safety in the U.S. today through a lens of faith. Our values call us to approach this book with humility toward these stories and appreciation of the tellersβ generosity and purpose. Everyone has a place in the stories Norris offers. Bring self-awareness of your place in your community and the world to seek your role in the stories and in the challenges they call forth.
For your care, for your growth, and for the care and growth of others in your community with whom you will discuss Defund Fear, it is strongly recommended that you enter this book with these questions by your side:
What is my connection to the stories told and the harms named? Where am I in these stories? In what ways have punishing first responses either benefited or harmed my community?
What is my story of public safety? In what ways has fear shaped my assumptions and experiences about public safety?
What is my complicity? What shape does, or could, my accountability take?
What support do I have and what do I need, in bringing my raw self to this book and the faith questions it asks me?
https://www.uua.org/read
"Defund Fear" by Zach Norris is the new UUA Common Read.
(Feed generated with FetchRSS)