Hilary Otey joins Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) as the Development and Administrative Coordinator. She will focus on supporting BLUU’s fundraising efforts, specifically connecting BLUU with UU congregations committed to ongoing financial support.
Hilary Otey is BLUU’s newest team member.
Hilary Otey brings years of leadership experience and administrative coordination to her new role as BLUU’s Development and Administrative Coordinator. Before joining BLUU, she worked in organizations focusing on affordable and transitional housing, food justice, and economic development.
“I’m grateful I’ve had a wide variety of work experiences and opportunities to learn,” Hilary said.
Hilary will use her experience in justice-oriented work to support BLUU building fundraising and administrative infrastructure.
“I enjoy collaborating to build innovative approaches to mission-driven work,” Hilary said. “I’m excited to join BLUU to support the team in manifesting our shared values and strengthening BLUU’s capacity. I’m eager to learn and appreciate the opportunity to work with such a dedicated group.”
Hilary lives in St. Paul, Minnesota where BLUU headquarters is located. She will work closely with BLUU’s Executive Director, Lena K. Gardner, to process donations and other communications that come to BLUU’s office. Hilary will also work to build relationships with congregations who want to help sustain BLUU with pass-the-plate donations, multi-year giving commitments, and other forms of ongoing support.
“We’re grateful to have Hilary joining our team part time,” said Lena. “She is experienced, thorough, and committed, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build BLUU together.”
When she is not spending time with her three children, she is crafting, doing home repair projects, and playing dodgeball. Hilary also loves to learn and is currently learning American Sign Language (ASL).
Sixty-three people responded to the survey and gave us in-depth feedback about their experiences with and hopes for BLUU. Those who responded represented many ages, sexual orientations, regions, and genders.
While we released this survey last year, we still believe these survey results can teach us about the current state of what our community needs. We took a programmatic pause shortly after the survey was released to do organizational restructure work. (Most of BLUU’s programming is still on hiatus.)
Here is a summary of our survey results and how they impact our current restructure process.
Why does our community need BLUU?
Based on survey results, there are three main reasons Black folks are a part of BLUU’s community. BLUU community members are seeking community, worship, and connection to social justice/activism.
It is important to BLUU community members that BLUU offers Black sacred space, or space specifically for and centering the voices of Black people. People who had an interest in BLUU social justice/activism had a particular interest in making Unitarian Universalism more inclusive.
More than 50% of respondents reported that they had no unmet needs from BLUU. For those who would like additional offerings from BLUU, the requests spanned across three main categories: Spirituality, Localization, and Additional Programming.
What is BLUU doing well?
People enjoy how we gather. BLUU virtual worship continues to be a meaningful resource of spiritual sustenance for our community. Our community lives in many regions, so many of our community members would value having worship available to watch later if they can’t make a live, virtual service.
“There has been this beautiful sense of community and love in every service I’ve been able to attend,” one survey respondent said. “I have attended a number of faith communities over the years and this has been the only one that felt real.”
Another survey respondent said, “It really aligns with my current beliefs and where I am in life and it leaves room and supports growth. I love that it centers Black voices and our Black experiences in all its various forms. I do not have to dismiss my religious upbringings to grow in my spirituality and adopt new practices.”
While worship is a core part of BLUU’s offerings, our community wants us to expand our programming so folks can also gather in other ways.
BLUU Convenings and the Harper-Jordan Symposium were powerful experiences for people to embrace the liberating power of Unitarian Universalism through a Black-centered experience. Although we’ve understandably not been gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic, people miss our in-person gatherings.
What are BLUU’s opportunities for growth?
The survey makes it clear that we have work to do to make sure our community members know how to engage with us and know how to give us feedback. People in our community expressed not knowing how to get involved with BLUU and feeling frustrated they can’t get a response to their questions about our work or our programming. Folks also said they experience a lack of engagement with their ideas when they share them with BLUU leadership.
Others named positive interactions with individual leaders in BLUU that keep them engaged with BLUU despite dissatisfaction with overall community engagement.
“All these experiences, but especially the website content and application questions, put me under the impression that I am not welcome… like BLUU is a restrictive and exclusive club,” one survey respondent said. “And that is absolutely bizarre because everyone is so nice via Zoom and email. l decided to just be content participating in the online worship gatherings for as long they are offered.”
Community members also shared confusion about BLUU’s mission and vision. People were confused about both our organizational structure and what it means to be a BLUU member, or “BLUU Beloved.”
What’s next?
We have been working with AORTA, a movement-based organizational change organization, to do a deep dive into our organizational culture and how that culture contributes to some of the opportunities for growth named in our survey. We know that how we work and communicate together impacts how we show up for the wider BLUU community.
Our new Developmental Board Chair, Natasha Walker, is doing an organizational diagnostic. This will help us consider what structural changes need to be made so that our work is clearer internally and therefore easier to explain and engage people in more broadly.
After our organizational pause is complete, we will have a new structure and refined mission for our organization that we can share with our community. This clarity of our structure will create the container for expanded capacity, which will help us expand our programming.
After our structure and workflows are clear, we will design and implement a communications strategy that prioritizes community engagement. This includes finishing work on a simplified, streamlined website that includes password-protected recordings of worship for Black folks.
We plan to engage our community members soon in our restructure conversations. There is no BLUU without community! We’re taking time to be discerning about the containers we create for community engagement and will share opportunities to connect with the Organizing Collective Board soon.
Thank You to Everyone Who Responded to Our Survey
We are so grateful to everyone who filled out the survey. We don’t take you for granted–the survey wasn’t short and the questions asked respondents to be vulnerable.
We are learning from your feedback and integrating it into our restructure work. Thank you for your continued support and trust in us.
Natasha Walker joins Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) as the Developmental Board Chair of BLUU’s Organizing Collective Board of Directors. She will focus on OCB recruitment, project management, and training during the strategizing for and implementation of BLUU’s restructure process.
St. Paul, Minnesota —
(L-R): The BLUU Organizing Collective Board welcomes Natasha Walker as its new Developmental Board Chair. Natasha is pictured with her children.
After a competitive search, BLUU is excited to welcome Natasha Walker as its new Developmental Board Chair.
“We took our time and were very intentional about finding the right person to help lead BLUU onward in our journey,” said Executive Director Lena K. Gardner.
The Organizing Collective Board of Directors (OCB) is a working board that serves as the governing body of BLUU. Natasha will lead project management for the OCB, support OCB skill development, and serve as the OCB’s primary liaison betwen BLUU and community members and partners.
“I’m excited at the prospect of amplifying the impact and continuing the strong legacy of the BLUU Collective,” Natasha said. “I believe you can’t complain if you’re not in the fight, trying to make things better. We all have something to contribute to building a new way. Get engaged, share your voice, and creative solutions will appear.”
Natasha brings key experience as a Black Unitarian Universalist and project manager. She attends services at Unity Temple (Oak Park) and the First Unitarian Church of Chicago (Hyde Park). Natasha is also a Project Manager at Google, with deep expertise in efficiency, process improvement, and organizational design. Prior to Google, she worked at Disney, McKinsey & Company, Pepperidge Farm, and General Motors. She is also active on the Board of Free Spirit Media, an organization focused on helping underrepresented youth in Chicago tell their stories.
“We feel honored and thrilled that Natasha brings not only high-level project management and leadership skills and experience, but also a deep understanding of BLUU, connection to our BLUUBerries programming and attended the historic Convening in 2017 which truly birthed our community,” Lena said. “We couldn’t have dreamed of a better candidate and are thrilled to be bringing her aboard!”
About BLUU:
Formed in the wake of several conversations among Black UUs at the July 2015 Movement for Black Lives Convening in Cleveland, OH, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith.
If you’re wondering how to help people who are being hit by Hurricane Ida, we’re here to help!
It can be hard to know who and what organizations to donate to because you obviously want financial resources to get to where it can be most useful. For those purposes, we’ve reached out to a few New Orleans community members that members of the BLUU OCB have long standing relationships with and asked which organizations or groups would they recommend contributing to. These are trusted sources that are distributing money on the ground currently or will be in the coming months. The recovery from Hurricane Ida is going to be a very long one.
BLUU will be continuing to vett and add to this list of groups and organizations.
A few notes about the listed groups and organizations:
*If you are able to and want to donate to mutual aid funds, these are a powerful way to quickly get money into the hands of individuals and families who need support immediately. They often don’t have arduous or complicated application and disbursement processes. These are also not tax-deductible donations.
*If you are wanting to support an organization, we will list a few options that are tax-deductible donations.
Please choose the organizations and groups that speak to you and your heart. We’ll be sharing these groups through posts on social media in the days ahead and hopefully giving a little bit of context or info for each one. Please share and invite others to support in this time of need.
Also please be aware that most organizations are being run right now by staffers or volunteers who have left the city. The city has no power and water is on a boil warning. So their websites may not reflect what has happened however their longstanding methods by which to donate are functioning and they will get the money. For many orgs you can follow on Instagram or elsewhere to be able to get updates.
BLUU has started an individual fund for students at George Washington Carver High School. Through a contact at the school we’ll be distributing funds raised to individual students through PayPal and Cash App. You can give to this specific effort by clicking here.
The House of Tulip is co-founded and led by trans folks and offers support services for trans and gender nonconforming communities, including some mutual aid. Please follow them on Instagram at @houseoftulipno and they have listed other ways to give (the usernames must be exact, sadly some people are trying to scam people by imitating and coming up with usernames that are close — but these are the correct ones AND if you want to be certain you can always give through their website):
CashApp: $HouseOfTulip
Venmo: @HouseofTulip
Paypal: Paypal.me/HouseOfTulip
Broad Community Connections is a community-led and community-based organization that is working on the revitalization of a historically Black neighborhood. They are gearing up to support those in need in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Including support of businesses.
The United Houma Nation There are many small and rural tribal nations that have been hit hard by the hurricane and will need support. Some tribal nations are offering mutual aid disbursements.
For more specific mutual aid giving opportunities please visit the following links displayed below from the Instagram account @mutualaiddisasterrelief
If you want to volunteer remotely, need assistance, or send supplies to Louisiana:
Please donate and help. The power is out across many areas of Louisiana. And people need help. You can also visit https://www.disasterassistance.gov/for federal government assistance. On this site, you can look up a city and state or zip code to see if the area is currently declared a disaster due to flooding, wild fires, and hurricanes and apply for assistance.
Rev. Mykal Slack, BLUU’s Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care, sings at the Harper-Jordan Symposium in 2019.
When a group of Black UUs first met in Cleveland at the Movement for Black Lives Convening in 2015, what would become BLUU was just a dream. BLUU’s co-founders wanted to support Black people with both a desire for spiritual community and a heart for collective liberation. BLUU’s founders had no way of knowing that this dream would blossom into an organization creating virtual worship experiences for Black people, sustaining regular programming for children and youth, and organizing to fundamentally change material conditions for Black people impacted by systemic anti-Blackness.
Because our work fulfills significant needs in our community, we’ve been doing this work at a rapid pace without any substantial pause in our work since BLUU’s founding.
Our leadership team, the Organizing Collective Board, have decided it’s time for us to take that collective pause this year. BLUU turns six this July, and we have so much to celebrate about that six years. We must also do some reflection — about what we’ve learned, where we’ve succeeded, and where there’s an opportunity for us to change and evolve.
On July 1, 2021, we will be slowing down or pausing most BLUU programming so we can reflect on our work this past six years and focus on organizational strategy for the future.
To our Black UU family and all those who hold us close, it’s important to us that you know that we are not dissolving BLUU. We are not folding, and we are not stopping this vitally important ministry we have been called to bring forth into this broken world. We have always taken the future of BLUU seriously — even as we’ve wrestled with what it means to be both a spiritual community and an organizing force for Black and collective liberation in the world. We have always been about building with intention, forethought and purpose. BLUU has been called to urgently address the injustices impacting Black people, and we’ve been able to answer that call.
We are now called into a moment of evaluation and reflection so that we may be able to learn from our earliest beginnings and fashion a future that is even better. We are living most deeply in this moment into our principles of thriving and experimentation. Thriving requires and necessitates moments of reflection, especially after periods of intense productivity. Experimentation also requires us to look back on our work and think carefully about things we want to carry into the future and things we want to put to rest, with our gratitude for the lessons they’ve taught us.
“The BLUU leadership team is being wise to take a pause at this point,” said Rev. Bill Sinkford, former UUA president and BLUU Advisory Team member. “New organizations, especially those with a record of such great success, often need a space for leadership to breathe, dropping back a bit from the urgency of delivering week after week, in order to clarify the way forward. The Financial Advisory Team (a working group within the Advisory Team) is entirely supportive of this decision.”
We want to move forward and continue building in a way that is more sustainable for the people moving the work of the organization — the staff, the OCB and our dedicated volunteers. We can’t continue our work at the current level and complete an entire restructuring effort. It is in this spirit of building a bright and bold future, where we can continue working to be the best we can be, that we endeavor to pause some of our outward programming so that we may focus inward for a bit. We pledge to give updates as we make progress, and to bring you all along with us on the journey. As part of this restructuring process, we will be imagining ways to communicate even more effectively with our Beloveds. For now, make sure you’re subscribed to our email list where we share the most important BLUU news monthly. It is the best way to stay in the loop with BLUU!
During this time, we will focus on BLUU’s organizational structure, restructuring to build clear lines of power and authority, while maintaining the intention and spirit of collaborative governance. While we’ve been having preliminary discussions about this work for years, this is the first time we’re intentionally slowing down programming to focus on restructure work.
We want our BLUU community to know what this pause means for the upcoming year. Here are some ways this pause will impact our ongoing work:
Worship:
Every year, BLUU takes a break from worship in July, and we will take this July offfrom worship as usual. Starting in August, BLUU will have virtual worship once a month on the first Thursday of the month at 9 p.m. Eastern until further notice. (Those who regularly attend worship are used to having worship twice a month.)
BLUUBerry and Berry Youth:
The BLUUBerry and Berry Youth Saturday jams will continue on Saturdays through June 19. After June 19, BLUUBerry and Berry Youth programming will be on hold until 2022. A relaunch date for our youth ministry will be announced at a later date.
Havens and Harbors:
Existing BLUU Havens will continue to build opportunities for local connection, and we will still be accepting Havens applications.
BLUU Harbor applications are on hold because we need the time and capacity it will take to hold the extensiveness of the Harbor application process, and we don’t have that capacity right now.
Community Care:
Our BLUU community will still receive Daily Affirmations and receive as-needed pastoral care. We will also continue to send email updates on an as-needed basis, including monthly reminders about worship.
BLUU at General Assembly:
We are excited to offer a week of BLUU programming during the week of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly. Come worship with us, take a writing workshop, meet Black seminarians, or learn about our housing initiative or Havens and Harbors communities. Registration for BLUU GA programming is free and open now. Our workshops about the Havens and Harbors and Housing Initiative are open to all. All other programming is Black sacred space.
This chart shows the ways BLUU community spaces will be impacted by the upcoming organizational pause. For an audio version of this chart, visit bit.ly/BLUUPauseAudio
Although we are pressing pause on much of our programming for this restructure work, we are still moving forward into a bright and bold BLUU future. Here are some additional updates about BLUU’s infrastructure and ongoing work we want you to know as we head into this programming pause:
Our endowment is holding steady:
A bright future requires capital! And it is towards this end that we share with you that our endowment grew last year by about $855,000 dollars. We are proud to have established the BLUU Endowment within the UU Common Endowment Fund. BLUU currently holds $4.5 million in our endowment. This is a good position for us to be in financially. We’re hopeful that on the other end of our structuring process, we’ll be able to have more regular financial updates for our community. Transparency has always been a value of BLUU. Please sign up for leadership updates to find out when you can apply to be on the Financial Transparency Group.
BLUU Housing Initiative:
We launched The BLUU Northside Cooperative Housing Initiative in 2019 to help build permanently affordable housing for Black and Indigenous families in North Minneapolis. Through a hybrid land trust and cooperative housing model, we’ll be constructing about 30 new townhomes for families to live in and build long-term wealth. We’re excited to be partnering with the City of Lakes Community Land Trust and Urban Homeworks and for forthcoming partnerships with two other organizations to be able to make this plan a reality. In January of 2021 we applied for financing assistance from the City of Minneapolis to be able to build on one of our sites. We are still awaiting the decision of that assistance, but if we receive it, it is likely that we could break ground this year. Stay tuned to BlackLivesUU.org for our most recent updates about this project.
New Website:
We enlisted the help of The Black Tech Guy to help us with a website project that was delayed during 2020. The Black Tech Guy partnered with our Communications Director, Marchaé Grair, to get us to the finish line with that project. The website will launch this summer. We hope you’ll enjoy the streamlined information and improved accessibility of this new website when it launches!
Forthcoming publications:
Committed to the healing and spiritual growth of our people, and to a Unitarian Universalism that centers Blackness, we are thrilled to be under contract with Skinner House Books to publish a book of meditations, poems, songs, and reflections by Black folks in our movement. We’re in the process of finalizing the list of contributors with the hope that it will be published and ready for distribution by the end of 2021! A second work, an edited volume for the Voices series, has been approved for publication in the near future. We are grateful for the dedication of OCB members Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin and Rev. Mykal Slack who are serving as co-editors for both of these projects.
Team Sankofa:
During this time of rebuilding and restructuring, the OCB and Team Sankofa are exploring ways to dream together about the possibilities for change-making and engaging in supported and sustainable base building organizing trajectories. We are grateful to Team Sankofa for the dedication, commitment and hard work in the BLUU community and we are excited about what is yet to come.
We are taking time to engage in this critical strategic work because we want BLUU to exist for a long time. We’re excited to come back from this pause with clarity about our work together and a renewed dream about what BLUU will be in the years to come.
If you have questions about this time of pausing and planning, please feel free to contact us. Please send us an email at blacklivesofuu@gmail.com.
To our BLUU Beloveds and to our Black kindred across the diaspora:
Beautiful Black people on this day, remember the evergreen and always relevant words of Toni Morrison from her novel “Beloved” about loving ourselves. If you can, in ways big and small, find ways to love on yourself, your children — all your living family both chosen and otherwise. Nap and rest, if you can — and if you can’t rest, pause and take a deep breath whenever and wherever you can. If that doesn’t feel right go scream into a pillow or up to the heavens. The point is to feel, to care for and to love on yourself in kind ways to yourself — however that looks for you.
Know that whatever else we are a part of, we are part of a legacy of love. Despite the trauma, despite the challenge, we can always choose to come back to love.
Toni Morrison wrote:
In this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Yonder they do not love your flesh. They despise it. They don’t love your eyes; they’d just as soon pick em out. No more do they love the skin on your back. Yonder they flay it. And O my people they do not love your hands. Those they only use, tie, bind, chop off and leave empty. Love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them. Touch others with them, pat them together, stroke them on your face ’cause they don’t love that either. You got to love it, you! And no, they ain’t in love with your mouth. Yonder, out there, they will see it broken and break it again. What you say out of it they will not heed. What you scream from it they do not hear. What you put into it to nourish your body they will snatch away and give you leavins instead. No, they don’t love your mouth. You got to love it. This is flesh I’m talking about here. Flesh that needs to be loved. Feet that need to rest and to dance; backs that need support; shoulders that need arms, strong arms I’m telling you. And O my people, out yonder, hear me, they do not love your neck unnoosed and straight. So love your neck; put a hand on it, grace it, stroke it and hold it up. and all your inside parts that they’d just as soon slop for hogs, you got to love them. The dark, dark liver — love it, love it and the beat and beating heart, love that too. More than eyes or feet. More than lungs that have yet to draw free air. More than your life-holding womb and your life-giving private parts, hear me now, love your heart. For this is the prize.
The conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of Geroge Floyd was important. The settlement George Floyd’s family was awarded was important. Minneapolis City Councillors pledging to defund the police and the people’s petition to change the city charter to allow for the full divestment from policing are important.
We cannot pretend that these things don’t matter. They do. And the fight for justice must continue because the systems that created the conditions for George Floyd’s murder remain fundamentally unchanged.
We must continue to work to create a system of public safety so deeply honoring of each and every person’s inherent worth and dignity that the possibility of murder by the police no longer exists.
This is especially necessary work for the liberation of Black and Indigenous people in particular, who have been disproportionately impacted by state and police violence.
The system of policing that holds police officers as super human, above the law and above consequences, must come to an end. We know that true justice doesn’t come from incarceration. True liberation won’t come without completely transforming our understanding of policing and public safety.
We can honor George Floyd’s memory best by not forgetting the immensity of what we felt last year and by continuing to give to Black organizations fighting for abolition. (If you aren’t ready to call yourself an abolitionist quite yet, you can pick up a book and start reading. There are many to choose from. I suggest Mariame Kaba’s “We Do This ’Til We Free Us”.)
Whatever you do, don’t go back to complacency or frozen inaction because “you don’t know what to do”.
Be brave, find your courage to confront your own oppressive beliefs and start the unraveling. When we become unraveled, we can choose with intention, purpose and love how we re-ravel — how we rebuild our corner of the world.
There are thousands and more paths to liberation. Get started on one if you haven’t, continue on yours if you have, and know that we can and must create a more loving world. The other options are there, but they are destroying us and the world around us. Each day we can choose a new, different, and more loving way. From that path we will understand more clearly what a just world can be. And the best news is, we can go about making it.
We know your hearts are tender. We know you’re holding so many complex feelings in this moment. You are not alone.
In a just world, George Floyd would still be alive. While the Chauvin verdict brings so many of us collective relief, we can’t say it is justice. We know that a carceral system can’t truly hold accountability in transformative ways. And yet, we also know that in a country that so often treats Black people as disposable, it is meaningful to witness consequences for police brutality. We hold all these complexities and contradictions with care.
Shortly after many of us learned of the Chauvin verdict, we also learned of the police killing of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio after she called the police for help. There is no justice when police kill our children.
So in these times, we remember that our hope is not in the judicial system but in the strength and love of our communities. Through it all, we’ve held each other tenderly, and we will continue to do that in the days and weeks to come.
In this moment, know you are not alone. We are thinking of you and praying for all that you are holding.
Remember, Black folks, UU or otherwise, requesting pastoral and/or spiritual care can reach our Community Minister and folks from the Black Lives of UU Ministerial Network by calling or texting 984–219–8711. This is a Google Voice number that we check daily. We will respond to any calls or text messages within 24 hours.
May this prayer be a balm for your spirit in the days to come.
A Prayer in Real Time
by Rev. Mykal Slack, BLUU Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care
Dear Ones. Ancestors, gods and goddesses of many names and of no name. Sources of Love known and unknowable…
I come before you weary with grief and disgust, teetering somewhere between about done and well past it.
Hold me.
I don’t know if I can hold what has been passed down to me and mine, much less what lies ahead. No body, no mind, no heart, no spirit should have to carry this much.
Help me.
And yet… “Here I am.
Send me.”
I do what I can to show up as my whole self with full-bodied questions about community accountability, commitment, and care.
Show me.
My deepest hopes and prayers lie in justice and liberation for our people, of which we’ve only just caught a fleeting glimpse of this week.
Direct me.
May I move with love, clarity, vision, and commitment, share what I know, and listen with intention.
Embolden me.
We deserve so much more life and love and beauty and fullness than there is right now.
Please. Please fill me up with a Holy Breath that will live on, shine on, and thrive on.
…until it is time for that Breath to live on, shine on, and thrive on in the ones who are to be Held, Helped, Sent, Shown, Directed, Emboldened, and Filled after me.
May it be so in real time and for all time.
Amen. Ashe. Blessed Be.
Community Connection
Please join us for either of these events below for connection in the coming days if you need a place to be held in community.
How is your heart and how is your spirit? How are you processing the trauma we’re experiencing in our communities and in our news feed? How is the racist police violence against Black people (and the constant discussion about it) impacting you and how can we keep showing up for each other without burning out?
Feel free to bring a snack or meal as we share how we’re doing in these times.
(Please note: This is Black sacred space.)
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
Lately, many people are discussing what it means to “get back to normal.”
And we get it. For the past year, many of us have been in survival mode. We’ve navigated immense fatigue, worry, and stress.
We also know that a hyperfocus on returning back to normal ignores that what was normal before the pandemic was still difficult for so many, including Black communities.
As Black people, we know seeking liberation is an embodied practice of remembering the past while dreaming of more expansive, freer futures.
The sixth principle of our “7 Principles of Black Lives” is “Thriving Instead of Surviving.” It says: “Our vision is based on the world we want, and not the world we are currently in. We seek to transform, not simply to react. We want our people to thrive, not just exist — and to think beyond the possible.”
We know that BLUU thriving in the future requires us making an intentional shift right now — away from doing business as usual because it’s always been that way, away from imagining a “return to normal,” and toward imagining who we can be in the future and what this moment can teach us about what’s possible.
If you are not Black but want to support this effort, please make sure that Black UUs or Black folks in alignment with UU values in your community know about the survey.
The survey is open nowand will close June 1, 2021. If you have any questions about the survey, please email BlackLivesofUU@gmail.com
We’re so grateful that you’re on this journey with us. We look forward to dreaming with you.
In hopes of a thriving future,
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board
Lena K. Gardner- Executive Director
Rev. Mykal Slack- Community Minister for Worship and Spiritual Care
Marchaé Grair- Communications Director
Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin- Board Member
Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson- Board Member
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
Our commitment to decolonized and liberatory organizational leadership means putting relationships at the center of everything we do. As a leadership team, we care about each other’s struggles, celebrate each other’s successes, and genuinely want each other to win. Our work for BLUU is grounded both in our love for Black people and in the ways we’ve committed to show up for each other as leaders in this important ministry.
We are writing to share an announcement about a leadership transition within our Organizing Collective Board (OCB). We share this announcement after much collective conversation and discernment. While transitions are an inevitable part of any organization, we’re a small but mighty team, and we feel this so deeply.
We think it’s important that you learn more about this from the person making the transition. Below, you will find a letter from our Community Organizer Paige Ingram about her leadership transition.
We’ll share more about this transition at a later date, but for now, we want to honor Paige’s voice as she shares some changes on her horizon.
I am thinking of all of us often as so many of us are taking stock of the last year and the impact it has had on us individually, our families, our congregations, and our broader Black community.
I wanted to share a personal life update with you all. I will be transitioning away from BLUU staff and the Organizing Collective board on March 14.
I became BLUU’s Community Organizer because I wanted to do everything I could to support our community to feel empowered, connected, and moved towards this new iteration of the Black liberation movement. I also needed support to understand my own organizing takeaways from the broader movement and uplift what I felt was missing in so many spaces: spiritual safety, ritual, long-term leadership development, and a true commitment to multi-generational organizing.
I wanted to share that I’m really grateful for all the ways you all have helped me do that — by digging into the hard questions and being willing to listen to our mistakes and our insights. Team Sankofa was a massive part of that learning. My leadership was transformed and it has been awe inspiring to see the massive transformation of the many beautiful humans who demonstrated what bottom up, leaderful communities are capable of. Aja, Atena, Mathew, QuianaDenae, and Whryne continue to demonstrate what relentless commitment to community and self really means.
In terms of what my transition means for the community, I am still most certainly a part of this community so I am not going too far away! I really wanted to highlight my gratitude for BLUU’s leadership as they support me in this process.
Feel free to reach out individually at the BLUU general email (BlackLivesofUU@gmail.com) if you have any questions! And you can always continue to reach out to me via social media.
“All that you touch you Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God Is Change.” — Octavia Butler
Our commitment to decolonized and liberatory organizational leadership means putting relationships at the center of everything we do. As a leadership team, we care about each other’s struggles, celebrate each other’s successes, and genuinely want each other to win. Our work for BLUU is grounded both in our love for Black people and in the ways we’ve committed to show up for each other as leaders in this important ministry.
We are writing to share an announcement about a leadership transition within our Organizing Collective Board (OCB). We share this announcement after much collective conversation and discernment. While transitions are an inevitable part of any organization, we’re a small but mighty team, and we feel this so deeply.
We think it’s important that you learn more about this from the person making the transition. Below, you will find a letter from our Community Organizer Paige Ingram about her leadership transition.
We’ll share more about this transition at a later date, but for now, we want to honor Paige’s voice as she shares some changes on her horizon.
I am thinking of all of us often as so many of us are taking stock of the last year and the impact it has had on us individually, our families, our congregations, and our broader Black community.
I wanted to share a personal life update with you all. I will be transitioning away from BLUU staff and the Organizing Collective board on March 14.
I became BLUU’s Community Organizer because I wanted to do everything I could to support our community to feel empowered, connected, and moved towards this new iteration of the Black liberation movement. I also needed support to understand my own organizing takeaways from the broader movement and uplift what I felt was missing in so many spaces: spiritual safety, ritual, long-term leadership development, and a true commitment to multi-generational organizing.
I wanted to share that I’m really grateful for all the ways you all have helped me do that — by digging into the hard questions and being willing to listen to our mistakes and our insights. Team Sankofa was a massive part of that learning. My leadership was transformed and it has been awe inspiring to see the massive transformation of the many beautiful humans who demonstrated what bottom up, leaderful communities are capable of. Aja, Atena, Mathew, QuianaDenae, and Whryne continue to demonstrate what relentless commitment to community and self really means.
In terms of what my transition means for the community, I am still most certainly a part of this community so I am not going too far away! I really wanted to highlight my gratitude for BLUU’s leadership as they support me in this process.
Feel free to reach out individually at the BLUU general email (BlackLivesofUU@gmail.com) if you have any questions! And you can always continue to reach out to me via social media.
“All that you touch you Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God Is Change.” — Octavia Butler
BLUU Announces Departures from Organizing Collective Board
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Rev. Margalie Belizaire and Samuel Prince have transitioned off of Black Lives of Unitarian Univeralism’s (BLUU’s) Organizing Collective Board (OCB).
During her time on the board, Margalie assisted with BLUU’s administrative work. Samuel was the OCB’s liaison for the 360 Council, the BLUU elders advisory board.
“Cultivating our collective relationships in BLUU and doing the incredible work that we get to do is nothing short of remarkable,” says Rev. Mykal Slack, BLUU’s Community Minister, about being a member of the OCB. “And so we all feel it when someone transitions off the team.”
Margalie is currently serving as the Assistant Minister of Pastoral Care and Adult Spiritual Development at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester in New York. Samuel is an IT professional based in Ohio, who continues to be active in Unitarian Universalism. Both remain connected to BLUU as Beloveds.
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board of Directors is grateful for the years of service that both Margalie and Samuel dedicated to BLUU’s Ministry. We send them blessings and love in their respective lives and ministries.
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
BLUU Announces Departures from Organizing Collective Board
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Rev. Margalie Belizaire and Samuel Prince have transitioned off of Black Lives of Unitarian Univeralism’s (BLUU’s) Organizing Collective Board (OCB).
During her time on the board, Margalie assisted with BLUU’s administrative work. Samuel was the OCB’s liaison for the 360 Council, the BLUU elders advisory board.
“Cultivating our collective relationships in BLUU and doing the incredible work that we get to do is nothing short of remarkable,” says Rev. Mykal Slack, BLUU’s Community Minister, about being a member of the OCB. “And so we all feel it when someone transitions off the team.”
Margalie is currently serving as the Assistant Minister of Pastoral Care and Adult Spiritual Development at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester in New York. Samuel is an IT professional based in Ohio, who continues to be active in Unitarian Universalism. Both remain connected to BLUU as Beloveds.
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board of Directors is grateful for the years of service that both Margalie and Samuel dedicated to BLUU’s Ministry. We send them blessings and love in their respective lives and ministries.
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
At the end of this project, 32 Black and Indigenous families will be empowered as homeowners in Minneapolis, something that will fundamentally transform access to resources and wealth for generations.
This draft rendering shows a multi-family unit from BLUU’s Housing Initiative. The initiative will make 32 Black and Indigenous families homeowners in North Minneapolis.
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) is excited to announce The BLUU Northside Housing Cooperative Initiative, a BLUU initiative that embodies our commitment to improve the material conditions of Black lives as an act of our faith.
BLUU purchased eight vacant lots in North Minneapolis and will transform those lots into multi-unit housing that will create generational wealth for Black and Indigenous families in the area.
At the end of this project, 32 Black and Indigenous families will be empowered as homeowners.
BLUU believes in building power through connection. BLUU will help the homeowners form cooperative entities so each homeowner has connection with and support from their neighbors. BLUU will also support families who move into the units we build with resources and training related to finance, land ownership, and cooperative decision-making.
Creating truly affordable housing in North Minneapolis will have real impacts in a rapidly gentrifying area. By selling the developed units to a land trust entity, BLUU will ensure that the cost of the units stays truly affordable.
BLUU is accepting donations for the Housing Initiative. Every dollar helps support the creation of truly affordable housing for Black and Indigenous.
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
At the end of this project, 32 Black and Indigenous families will be empowered as homeowners in Minneapolis, something that will fundamentally transform access to resources and wealth for generations.
This draft rendering shows a multi-family unit from BLUU’s Housing Initiative. The initiative will make 32 Black and Indigenous families homeowners in North Minneapolis.
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) is excited to announce The BLUU Northside Housing Cooperative Initiative, a BLUU initiative that embodies our commitment to improve the material conditions of Black lives as an act of our faith.
BLUU purchased eight vacant lots in North Minneapolis and will transform those lots into multi-unit housing that will create generational wealth for Black and Indigenous families in the area.
At the end of this project, 32 Black and Indigenous families will be empowered as homeowners.
BLUU believes in building power through connection. BLUU will help the homeowners form cooperative entities so each homeowner has connection with and support from their neighbors. BLUU will also support families who move into the units we build with resources and training related to finance, land ownership, and cooperative decision-making.
Creating truly affordable housing in North Minneapolis will have real impacts in a rapidly gentrifying area. By selling the developed units to a land trust entity, BLUU will ensure that the cost of the units stays truly affordable.
BLUU is accepting donations for the Housing Initiative. Every dollar helps support the creation of truly affordable housing for Black and Indigenous.
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
As Black people, we have endured immense loss in 2020. We want our community to know we’re in this with you and more resilient than ever.
Black people have survived generations of violent oppression. And yet, our responses to that violence are not what make us resilient. Gauging Black resilience by our response to violent whiteness is racist.
You’re not talking about Black resilience if you’re only talking about how Black people respond to trauma. On an episode of the La Cura podcast, somatics practitioner Prentis Hemphill says,“Resilience is not an acclimation to conditions but a commitment to life.”
That’s why our invitation to Black folks going into election day is to join us in reclaiming the meaning of Black resilience. One of our 7 Principles of Black Lives says spiritual growth is directly tied to our ability to embrace our whole selves. Today, we proclaim that Black Lives Matter separate from the dangers of whiteness that threaten them. We are resilient just because we exist. Living while Black is rigorous on its own terms.
When we talked about what we wanted to say to Black folks leading up to the election, we agreed that we’re tired of being told that we are resilient without that resilience being located outside of our trauma responses. And we guessed other Black folks might be feeling that way too.
We are resilient because our ancestors believed in our lives when there was no reason to even believe they’d survive. They dreamed us into existence. They prayed us into being. They organized for themselves so that we could carry the mantle. And they didn’t just believe we’d survive. They believed we could thrive.
We are resilient going into this election because we believe there will be Black people in the future, and their lives will be better than we could ever imagine.
We believe in centering community care and self-care after the election because a commitment to Black life demands that we rest and demands that we make sure we all have enough. We are more than our labor and productivity, and no one among us is disposable. We must commit to anti-capitalism and abolition like never before to ground ourselves in the imaginations of our ancestors and the futures of our descendants.
There is much work to do no matter who wins the election, and we will do that work together as we always have. With joy, with determination, and with each other. And with a belief in Black resilience.
BLUU creates and amplifies spaces and work that center Black life, and in doing so, we are performing a radical act. We will continue to support Black people by organizing for our liberation and worshipping in our wholeness. If you’re a Black person not connected with BLUU, this is a great week to get connected. Find out how to join us in the events below.
In faith, solidarity, and Black love,
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board
— — — —
BLUU Sacred Space for Black Folks During Election Week:
(These events are explicitly Black space. We invite folks who aren’t Black to share these connection opportunities with Black loved ones, colleagues, and congregants in solidarity with our work for Black liberation and healing.)
Team Sankofa, BLUU’s community organizing team, is offering an opportunity for Black people to spend the evening in shared, virtual space. All Black folks who share our values of radical inclusivity are welcome. BLUU’s Election Night Gathering will include entertainment in the form of community-building games, offerings from our esteemed Elders, and an after-hours Lunch + Vibe discussion! (Registration required)
We are in a collective time of grieving and experiencing a considerable amount of loss. The Root Work- Navigating Troubled Waters Herbalism workshop session will focus on strengthening your relationship with your body to hold space for grief. Herbalist India Harris will guide us as we engage in somatic centering practices and discuss plant medicine for heart healing. (Registration required)
In one of the most consequential elections of our time, we may struggle to find the certainty and grounding to know what’s next. How do we move through a time of deep rupture, but also one of deep possibility? We are grateful to welcome Nicole Pressley, National Organizer for UU the Vote, who will be reflecting with us on our ancestors’ (and our own) ability to find purpose and claim victory in times of trouble. (Registration required)
Keep Organizing After the Election:
We will continue to share information from trusted sources about how you can support and organize for Black liberation after the election ends because the work continues. If you don’t know what to do after the election, we suggest connecting with The Frontline as a starting place. The Frontline is a new powerful campaign by The Movement for Black Lives, Working Families Party, and United We Dream. The Frontline will be leading work *after* the election.
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
As Black people, we have endured immense loss in 2020. We want our community to know we’re in this with you and more resilient than ever.
Black people have survived generations of violent oppression. And yet, our responses to that violence are not what make us resilient. Gauging Black resilience by our response to violent whiteness is racist.
You’re not talking about Black resilience if you’re only talking about how Black people respond to trauma. On an episode of the La Cura podcast, somatics practitioner Prentis Hemphill says,“Resilience is not an acclimation to conditions but a commitment to life.”
That’s why our invitation to Black folks going into election day is to join us in reclaiming the meaning of Black resilience. One of our 7 Principles of Black Lives says spiritual growth is directly tied to our ability to embrace our whole selves. Today, we proclaim that Black Lives Matter separate from the dangers of whiteness that threaten them. We are resilient just because we exist. Living while Black is rigorous on its own terms.
When we talked about what we wanted to say to Black folks leading up to the election, we agreed that we’re tired of being told that we are resilient without that resilience being located outside of our trauma responses. And we guessed other Black folks might be feeling that way too.
We are resilient because our ancestors believed in our lives when there was no reason to even believe they’d survive. They dreamed us into existence. They prayed us into being. They organized for themselves so that we could carry the mantle. And they didn’t just believe we’d survive. They believed we could thrive.
We are resilient going into this election because we believe there will be Black people in the future, and their lives will be better than we could ever imagine.
We believe in centering community care and self-care after the election because a commitment to Black life demands that we rest and demands that we make sure we all have enough. We are more than our labor and productivity, and no one among us is disposable. We must commit to anti-capitalism and abolition like never before to ground ourselves in the imaginations of our ancestors and the futures of our descendants.
There is much work to do no matter who wins the election, and we will do that work together as we always have. With joy, with determination, and with each other. And with a belief in Black resilience.
BLUU creates and amplifies spaces and work that center Black life, and in doing so, we are performing a radical act. We will continue to support Black people by organizing for our liberation and worshipping in our wholeness. If you’re a Black person not connected with BLUU, this is a great week to get connected. Find out how to join us in the events below.
In faith, solidarity, and Black love,
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board
— — — —
BLUU Sacred Space for Black Folks During Election Week:
(These events are explicitly Black space. We invite folks who aren’t Black to share these connection opportunities with Black loved ones, colleagues, and congregants in solidarity with our work for Black liberation and healing.)
Team Sankofa, BLUU’s community organizing team, is offering an opportunity for Black people to spend the evening in shared, virtual space. All Black folks who share our values of radical inclusivity are welcome. BLUU’s Election Night Gathering will include entertainment in the form of community-building games, offerings from our esteemed Elders, and an after-hours Lunch + Vibe discussion! (Registration required)
We are in a collective time of grieving and experiencing a considerable amount of loss. The Root Work- Navigating Troubled Waters Herbalism workshop session will focus on strengthening your relationship with your body to hold space for grief. Herbalist India Harris will guide us as we engage in somatic centering practices and discuss plant medicine for heart healing. (Registration required)
In one of the most consequential elections of our time, we may struggle to find the certainty and grounding to know what’s next. How do we move through a time of deep rupture, but also one of deep possibility? We are grateful to welcome Nicole Pressley, National Organizer for UU the Vote, who will be reflecting with us on our ancestors’ (and our own) ability to find purpose and claim victory in times of trouble. (Registration required)
Keep Organizing After the Election:
We will continue to share information from trusted sources about how you can support and organize for Black liberation after the election ends because the work continues. If you don’t know what to do after the election, we suggest connecting with The Frontline as a starting place. The Frontline is a new powerful campaign by The Movement for Black Lives, Working Families Party, and United We Dream. The Frontline will be leading work *after* the election.
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
Elandria Williams (she/they/E), a powerful organizer, a passionate Unitarian Universalist faith leader, and co-founder of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, joined the ancestors on Sept. 23, 2020. While we are still processing E’s transition, we wanted to share some reflections about Elandria to honor who they were to us.
The diverse groups of people from movement spaces and faith communities mourning E is a testament to the tenacity of E’s leadership and the depth of their spirit. Many people are still sharing memories of E using the hashtag #ElandriaTaughtUs. This is unsurprising because one couldn’t be in a room with Elandria without learning how to be a better human.
One video that folks have shared shows people gathered around E as they teach a call and response song:
“Solid as a rock.
Rooted like a tree.
I am here.
Standing strong.
In my rightful place.”
In a world where so many systems and people aim to create disarray and disconnection, it is a deeply spiritual challenge to stay rooted. Yet, that’s exactly what Elandria did. They kept their organizing unapologetically rooted in their commitments to Black liberation and disability justice. They brought this same rootedness into their leadership within Unitarian Universalism, always saying hard things in love and never forgetting to center their work in Black freedom and Black joy.
“I worked with Elandria in the very beginning of forming BLUU,” said BLUU’s Executive Director Lena K. Gardner. “I didn’t know her very well before then. We had our disagreements, but I always felt her love and we always left things in a good place. She was never afraid to feel her feelings or express them, and was welcoming with a warmth I have rarely experienced in movement spaces. I have long admired the way she loves and moves ever since those early days and will miss her. I hope to honor her legacy by continuing to build and strengthen BLUU as an organization — and to always move in love and truth.”
The fabric of who Elandria was will remain in BLUU’s DNA forever. We are so grateful that Elandria taught us how to take up space and to do so with moral clarity. No one ever had to figure out what E’s values were because they spoke them boldly and then lived them fiercely.
“When BLUU was formed in 2015, what I remember Elandria saying over and over again was, ‘we have to say it plain,’” said BLUU co-founder and BLUU Advisory Team member Leslie Mac. “E offered that same advice to me so often in all the work we did together. I watched E, with the support of 1500 Black organizers, negotiate the immediate release of a young man from the custody of what seemed like a battalion of police officers in Cleveland, OH. I watched E navigate the misogynoir thrown at her as she led our UUA as Co-Moderator with ease and grace. I watched E pull me close and talk earnestly and effectively about the need for us to have a strong inside AND outside game. She would say, ‘Leslie I do not care what people think our relationship is like on the outside. We know the truth and that is enough.’ I take that lesson with me always. Elandria taught me that organizing is a journey and one that requires the application of so many different skills and tactics. E taught me above all else to love our people, speak truth to power, and care for yourself, even when it’s hard. In her absence I hear her voice singing to me: ‘Solid as a rock. Rooted like a tree. We are here. Standing strong… in our rightful place.’”
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board is committed to meaningfully and tangibly honoring Elandria’s legacy in the long term. This commitment requires discerning, deep listening and community partnership. E taught us to take care in our work, and to move only when we are collectively ready to move. We will share updates about this work as this promise takes more concrete shape.
Please consider donating to the GoFundMe that E’s community started for their niece and nephews. They were very active in their lives and helped support them financially. #ElandriaTaughtUs to take care of each other, and we ask that our community help support E’s family in that spirit.
Elandria Williams (she/they/E), a powerful organizer, a passionate Unitarian Universalist faith leader, and co-founder of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, joined the ancestors on Sept. 23, 2020. While we are still processing E’s transition, we wanted to share some reflections about Elandria to honor who they were to us.
The diverse groups of people from movement spaces and faith communities mourning E is a testament to the tenacity of E’s leadership and the depth of their spirit. Many people are still sharing memories of E using the hashtag #ElandriaTaughtUs. This is unsurprising because one couldn’t be in a room with Elandria without learning how to be a better human.
One video that folks have shared shows people gathered around E as they teach a call and response song:
“Solid as a rock.
Rooted like a tree.
I am here.
Standing strong.
In my rightful place.”
In a world where so many systems and people aim to create disarray and disconnection, it is a deeply spiritual challenge to stay rooted. Yet, that’s exactly what Elandria did. They kept their organizing unapologetically rooted in their commitments to Black liberation and disability justice. They brought this same rootedness into their leadership within Unitarian Universalism, always saying hard things in love and never forgetting to center their work in Black freedom and Black joy.
“I worked with Elandria in the very beginning of forming BLUU,” said BLUU’s Executive Director Lena K. Gardner. “I didn’t know her very well before then. We had our disagreements, but I always felt her love and we always left things in a good place. She was never afraid to feel her feelings or express them, and was welcoming with a warmth I have rarely experienced in movement spaces. I have long admired the way she loves and moves ever since those early days and will miss her. I hope to honor her legacy by continuing to build and strengthen BLUU as an organization — and to always move in love and truth.”
The fabric of who Elandria was will remain in BLUU’s DNA forever. We are so grateful that Elandria taught us how to take up space and to do so with moral clarity. No one ever had to figure out what E’s values were because they spoke them boldly and then lived them fiercely.
“When BLUU was formed in 2015, what I remember Elandria saying over and over again was, ‘we have to say it plain,’” said BLUU co-founder and BLUU Advisory Team member Leslie Mac. “E offered that same advice to me so often in all the work we did together. I watched E, with the support of 1500 Black organizers, negotiate the immediate release of a young man from the custody of what seemed like a battalion of police officers in Cleveland, OH. I watched E navigate the misogynoir thrown at her as she led our UUA as Co-Moderator with ease and grace. I watched E pull me close and talk earnestly and effectively about the need for us to have a strong inside AND outside game. She would say, ‘Leslie I do not care what people think our relationship is like on the outside. We know the truth and that is enough.’ I take that lesson with me always. Elandria taught me that organizing is a journey and one that requires the application of so many different skills and tactics. E taught me above all else to love our people, speak truth to power, and care for yourself, even when it’s hard. In her absence I hear her voice singing to me: ‘Solid as a rock. Rooted like a tree. We are here. Standing strong… in our rightful place.’”
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board is committed to meaningfully and tangibly honoring Elandria’s legacy in the long term. This commitment requires discerning, deep listening and community partnership. E taught us to take care in our work, and to move only when we are collectively ready to move. We will share updates about this work as this promise takes more concrete shape.
Please consider donating to the GoFundMe that E’s community started for their niece and nephews. They were very active in their lives and helped support them financially. #ElandriaTaughtUs to take care of each other, and we ask that our community help support E’s family in that spirit.
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism joins other Unitarian Universalist groups dedicated to social justice to name the importance of this election and to affirm our commitment to ending voter suppression.
We are Unitarian Universalist social justice activists and are deeply concerned about the next election. The outcome of the election could profoundly impact both the democracy within which we work and the opportunities that we have for progress toward social justice.
The outcome of the election will impact all of our work for racial, economic, environmental, reproductive, immigrant, disability and LGBTQI justice as well as for peace in our world.
Multiple forms of voter suppression that disproportionately impact marginalized communities now threaten our democracy. We must not allow such suppression to determine the outcome of the election. Nothing less than a massive turnout of voters who believe in democracy and social justice will ensure the outcome that we desire.
We as Unitarian Universalist activists for social justice groups therefore call on our supporters and like-minded people to do all they can to maximize voter turnout, to defend democratic processes, and to defend the right to vote. UU the Vote (uuthevote.org) shows many ways to get involved.
Signed,
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism
Leadership Circle of EqUUal Access
Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East
Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth
Unitarian Universalist Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism joins other Unitarian Universalist groups dedicated to social justice to name the importance of this election and to affirm our commitment to ending voter suppression.
We are Unitarian Universalist social justice activists and are deeply concerned about the next election. The outcome of the election could profoundly impact both the democracy within which we work and the opportunities that we have for progress toward social justice.
The outcome of the election will impact all of our work for racial, economic, environmental, reproductive, immigrant, disability and LGBTQI justice as well as for peace in our world.
Multiple forms of voter suppression that disproportionately impact marginalized communities now threaten our democracy. We must not allow such suppression to determine the outcome of the election. Nothing less than a massive turnout of voters who believe in democracy and social justice will ensure the outcome that we desire.
We as Unitarian Universalist activists for social justice groups therefore call on our supporters and like-minded people to do all they can to maximize voter turnout, to defend democratic processes, and to defend the right to vote. UU the Vote (uuthevote.org) shows many ways to get involved.
Signed,
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism
Leadership Circle of EqUUal Access
Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community
Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East
Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth
Unitarian Universalist Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education
Marchaé Grair joins Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) as its Communications Director. She will focus on amplifying the organization’s commitment to supporting the spiritual and material lives of all Black people, including Black Unitarian Universalists.
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Marchaé Grair believes all storytelling is political. Since journalism school, she has rejected the idea that creating narratives is ever objective. Marchaé is committed to using her writing skills to encourage people into places of self-reflection and to activate people into pursuing justice in the world. She honed her reporting and communications skills as a freelance writer and public speaker. Marchaé also created meaningful spiritual resources and organizing communications as the Digital Content Manager for the United Church of Christ, a member of the StillSpeaking Writers’ Group, and most recently, as the Director of Public Relations and Outreach at the Unitarian Universalist Association.
“I am honored to join an organization that is unapologetic in its Blackness, spirituality, and commitment to collective liberation,” Marchaé said. “I think it’s more important than ever for people to do work that feels aligned with their values and commitments. I know BLUU is creating containers of joy and community for Black people, and I’m honored to tell the stories that emerge from that life-giving work.”
The Communications Director position is a new position for BLUU. Within the role, Marchaé will manage press relations, email marketing, social media, and BLUU’s website. Marchaé is also the newest member of BLUU’s Organizing Collective Board, which consists of BLUU staff and other BLUU leaders focused on making strategic decisions for the organization.
“Marchaé is as committed to excellence as she is Black and collective liberation,” said BLUU Executive Director Lena K. Gardner. “We are thrilled to have Marchaé’s outstanding leadership on the team.”
About BLUU:
Formed in the wake of several conversations among Black UUs at the July 2015 Movement for Black Lives Convening in Cleveland, OH, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith.
Marchaé Grair joins Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) as its Communications Director. She will focus on amplifying the organization’s commitment to supporting the spiritual and material lives of all Black people, including Black Unitarian Universalists.
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Marchaé Grair believes all storytelling is political. Since journalism school, she has rejected the idea that creating narratives is ever objective. Marchaé is committed to using her writing skills to encourage people into places of self-reflection and to activate people into pursuing justice in the world. She honed her reporting and communications skills as a freelance writer and public speaker. Marchaé also created meaningful spiritual resources and organizing communications as the Digital Content Manager for the United Church of Christ, a member of the StillSpeaking Writers’ Group, and most recently, as the Director of Public Relations and Outreach at the Unitarian Universalist Association.
“I am honored to join an organization that is unapologetic in its Blackness, spirituality, and commitment to collective liberation,” Marchaé said. “I think it’s more important than ever for people to do work that feels aligned with their values and commitments. I know BLUU is creating containers of joy and community for Black people, and I’m honored to tell the stories that emerge from that life-giving work.”
The Communications Director position is a new position for BLUU. Within the role, Marchaé will manage press relations, email marketing, social media, and BLUU’s website. Marchaé is also the newest member of BLUU’s Organizing Collective Board, which consists of BLUU staff and other BLUU leaders focused on making strategic decisions for the organization.
“Marchaé is as committed to excellence as she is Black and collective liberation,” said BLUU Executive Director Lena K. Gardner. “We are thrilled to have Marchaé’s outstanding leadership on the team.”
About BLUU:
Formed in the wake of several conversations among Black UUs at the July 2015 Movement for Black Lives Convening in Cleveland, OH, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith.
Almost two years ago, Black Lives of UU held its first revival in Kansas City, MO. During one of our worship services, and in keeping with our emerging Black UU worldview, we honored and recognized the elders in our midst. That ceremony began as follows:
Elders…this is a term and a responsibility we carry with us in Diaspora from the Motherland. It is not just a word or a duty but it is the literal and physical bond that carries the life-blood and the life force of a people from generation to generation to generation and to generation. One piece of writing describes the responsibility of Elders as the ones who correct imbalances, who maintain peace and those who revitalize community life in a direction toward truth and justice. As you can see, this goes far beyond simply retaining the history of the ages that many would try to take from us. By relaying the stories, lives and ways of our ancestors, our elders teach us what it means to be human. [1]
We value deeply and hold in high esteem our elders. They offer us love and life that has been handed down across the ages. And so it compounds a million fold the horrors of this moment in time to know that it is our elders who are being impacted most by the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. And worse yet, Black communities are being disproportionately impacted by this disease, which means more of our Black elders are at greater risk of infection and certain death. This is unacceptable.
While in some ways we are more connected than ever, we must continue to center those who are in the margins. For some, physical distancing has translated to social isolation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that communities create “buddy systems” to make sure vulnerable and hard-to-reach people stay connected, particularly to news about COVID-19. And for those of us who are not elderly — why not make it a point to check in on our older friends and relatives? Here are some suggestions for ways to connect:
Pick up the phone and give an elder a call
Really ask how they’re doing. Like many of us they may be facing COVID exhaustion and want to discuss other aspects of their life. This isn’t a fact-finding mission, but an opportunity to connect.
Reach out to a neighbor (while maintaining physical distancing) and see if there are things that they need such as medication, groceries, games, a good book.
Consider organizing neighbors to take turns looking out for vulnerable folks.
Consider offering to help folks with internet access and helping folks learn how to navigate FaceTime, Zoom and other applications that help us get the face to face time that is needed.
We encourage everyone in the BLUU community to endeavor to preserve your health and stay connected in the ways you can. If you are in need of pastoral care or spiritual support, please reach out to the BLUU Ministerial Network here.
[1] This ceremony was written by the Rev. Dr. Derrick McQueen, Pastor of the historic St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, New York and Associate Director of the Center on African American Religion, Sexual Politics, and Social Justice.
Almost two years ago, Black Lives of UU held its first revival in Kansas City, MO. During one of our worship services, and in keeping with our emerging Black UU worldview, we honored and recognized the elders in our midst. That ceremony began as follows:
Elders…this is a term and a responsibility we carry with us in Diaspora from the Motherland. It is not just a word or a duty but it is the literal and physical bond that carries the life-blood and the life force of a people from generation to generation to generation and to generation. One piece of writing describes the responsibility of Elders as the ones who correct imbalances, who maintain peace and those who revitalize community life in a direction toward truth and justice. As you can see, this goes far beyond simply retaining the history of the ages that many would try to take from us. By relaying the stories, lives and ways of our ancestors, our elders teach us what it means to be human. [1]
We value deeply and hold in high esteem our elders. They offer us love and life that has been handed down across the ages. And so it compounds a million fold the horrors of this moment in time to know that it is our elders who are being impacted most by the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. And worse yet, Black communities are being disproportionately impacted by this disease, which means more of our Black elders are at greater risk of infection and certain death. This is unacceptable.
While in some ways we are more connected than ever, we must continue to center those who are in the margins. For some, physical distancing has translated to social isolation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that communities create “buddy systems” to make sure vulnerable and hard-to-reach people stay connected, particularly to news about COVID-19. And for those of us who are not elderly — why not make it a point to check in on our older friends and relatives? Here are some suggestions for ways to connect:
Pick up the phone and give an elder a call
Really ask how they’re doing. Like many of us they may be facing COVID exhaustion and want to discuss other aspects of their life. This isn’t a fact-finding mission, but an opportunity to connect.
Reach out to a neighbor (while maintaining physical distancing) and see if there are things that they need such as medication, groceries, games, a good book.
Consider organizing neighbors to take turns looking out for vulnerable folks.
Consider offering to help folks with internet access and helping folks learn how to navigate FaceTime, Zoom and other applications that help us get the face to face time that is needed.
We encourage everyone in the BLUU community to endeavor to preserve your health and stay connected in the ways you can. If you are in need of pastoral care or spiritual support, please reach out to the BLUU Ministerial Network here.
[1] This ceremony was written by the Rev. Dr. Derrick McQueen, Pastor of the historic St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, New York and Associate Director of the Center on African American Religion, Sexual Politics, and Social Justice.
Help us get our Business Resolution adopted at General Assembly 2020!
“Embodying Human Rights in Our Investment Decisions” is a business resolution that will be up for consideration at this year’s General Assembly (GA,) the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The resolution is an intersectional effort sponsored by Black Lives of UU (BLUU), UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME), UU Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education (UURISE), UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) and UU Peace Ministry Network (UUPMN). Notably the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Investment Committees of the UUA were closely involved in the writing of this resolution and are in full support of it.
The resolution has a good chance of being adopted by the 2020 General Assembly, especially if we can achieve widespread awareness and support for it. In addition, widespread awareness of the resolution will be of great help in ensuring effective future use of our investment power in pursuit of our social justice goals.
We therefore ask you to assist us in promoting this Business Resolution to assure its adoption by the 2020 General Assembly:
Inform yourself, your fellow congregants and delegates to GA from your congregation about the resolution. Share copies of the resolution and this FAQ sheet about it at coffee hour, share on social media and write about it for your congregation’s newsletter. Here, for example, is a short article about the resolution by Curtis Bell (UUJME) that was printed in the newsletter of his church in Portland, Oregon.
If you can, become an online delegate yourself through whatever mechanism your congregation has established so you can speak and vote in support of the resolution. The cost is $150 and the General Assembly is entirely virtual this year, including the plenary sessions where the Business Resolution will be debated and voted on by delegates. Only official delegates from UU congregations can speak and vote on the resolution. Each congregation determines who will be the delegates from that congregation. More details on this year’s General Assembly are available here.
The overarching purpose of this proposed Business Resolution is to enhance the work of Unitarian Universalists for social justice by strengthening the use of corporate investment/divestment, shareholder advocacy and community investing in support of human rights, including the human rights of immigrants, people of color and Palestinians, as well as the human rights of all people to live in healthy environments free from the horrors of war. The proposed resolution would enhance the effective use of corporate investment/divestment and shareholder advocacy by Unitarian Universalists in the achievement of their social justice goals in two main ways:
by calling on the UUA to cease purchasing of securities by the UU Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF) of corporations that are directly complicit in egregious human rights violations and violations of international law, to divest from such companies, and to maintain explicit guidelines for incorporating human rights considerations in their investment decisions and shareholder advocacy; and
by developing formal mechanisms for communication between the UUA Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) and Investment Committees and the larger UU community of UU social justice organizations, congregations and individual UUs.
Help us get our Business Resolution adopted at General Assembly 2020!
“Embodying Human Rights in Our Investment Decisions” is a business resolution that will be up for consideration at this year’s General Assembly (GA,) the annual meeting of our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The resolution is an intersectional effort sponsored by Black Lives of UU (BLUU), UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME), UU Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education (UURISE), UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) and UU Peace Ministry Network (UUPMN). Notably the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Investment Committees of the UUA were closely involved in the writing of this resolution and are in full support of it.
The resolution has a good chance of being adopted by the 2020 General Assembly, especially if we can achieve widespread awareness and support for it. In addition, widespread awareness of the resolution will be of great help in ensuring effective future use of our investment power in pursuit of our social justice goals.
We therefore ask you to assist us in promoting this Business Resolution to assure its adoption by the 2020 General Assembly:
Inform yourself, your fellow congregants and delegates to GA from your congregation about the resolution. Share copies of the resolution and this FAQ sheet about it at coffee hour, share on social media and write about it for your congregation’s newsletter. Here, for example, is a short article about the resolution by Curtis Bell (UUJME) that was printed in the newsletter of his church in Portland, Oregon.
If you can, become an online delegate yourself through whatever mechanism your congregation has established so you can speak and vote in support of the resolution. The cost is $150 and the General Assembly is entirely virtual this year, including the plenary sessions where the Business Resolution will be debated and voted on by delegates. Only official delegates from UU congregations can speak and vote on the resolution. Each congregation determines who will be the delegates from that congregation. More details on this year’s General Assembly are available here.
The overarching purpose of this proposed Business Resolution is to enhance the work of Unitarian Universalists for social justice by strengthening the use of corporate investment/divestment, shareholder advocacy and community investing in support of human rights, including the human rights of immigrants, people of color and Palestinians, as well as the human rights of all people to live in healthy environments free from the horrors of war. The proposed resolution would enhance the effective use of corporate investment/divestment and shareholder advocacy by Unitarian Universalists in the achievement of their social justice goals in two main ways:
by calling on the UUA to cease purchasing of securities by the UU Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF) of corporations that are directly complicit in egregious human rights violations and violations of international law, to divest from such companies, and to maintain explicit guidelines for incorporating human rights considerations in their investment decisions and shareholder advocacy; and
by developing formal mechanisms for communication between the UUA Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) and Investment Committees and the larger UU community of UU social justice organizations, congregations and individual UUs.
“I believe in the power of our callings. I believe in saving the soul of our nation and that we cannot show up authentically for that struggle if we ignore the one right here, right in this community of faith.” — Rev. Sofia Bentacourt’s “The Missing Remant”
Comrades in the project of liberation -
May we invite you to rest and reset with us for a moment. We know your email inboxes are full, text messages have been left unread, notifications continue to “ding,” on your phone, and you’ve probably had to upgrade your Zoom account. We see you. And we invite you to be here, now.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Breathe in peace. Breathe out anxiety.
Breathe in love. Breathe out fear.
Breathe in freedom. Breathe out oppression.
Breathe in liberation. Breathe out cages.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Friends connecting by the Great Breath, welcome to this project of liberation. Continue to breathe in liberation and breathe out all that is not life giving, life-affirming, and life-nourishing.
Comrades, we have been called. The Great Breath of Life has called us, has compelled us in the answer of our call, to be active in the liberation of our Black Mamas and Caregivers. We have been called to help break the chains and shackles of oppression. We have been called to be active in the processes of decarceration and abolition. We must be active in the dismantling of money-bail. We have been called to this moment, right now. adrienne maree brown says “not only are we the ones we have been waiting for, but this is the exact moment we have been shaped for.” Ase.
BLUU has been engaged in a Week of Action for #BabiesAndBailouts 2020. We want to invite you, our clergy colleagues, to get involved in justice-making. We are inviting you, and your communities, to “drop a flag” for liberation and abolition. We are inviting you to the project of liberation.
Below, please find some suggestions for year-round and targeted #BabiesAndBailouts 2020 actions. You are invited to meet our clergy challenge of $100 per clergy member. Please give here (bit.ly/faithinnbo).
Comrades, thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for being active. Thank you for taking time to share space with us. Remember: breathe in, breathe out.
Yours in this Project,
Team Sankofa
P.S. — As people who are called to justice-making and proclaiming the prophetic word of liberation, we have a responsibility to be active in freeing Black Mamas and caregivers from cages.
Whether you’re clergy or not, here are some things you can do right now!
Let BLUU take over your social media!
Invite guests to share content on your profile (curated list from Team Sankofa, etc.)
Use your discretionary and/or personal funds to match your congregational donations for the bailout
Play one of the #BabiesAndBailouts videos during your Sunday service.
Highlight the story of a Black family that you will be working with this year.
Create liturgy around #BabiesAndBailouts, abolition, and participating in the project of liberation
Host a Watch Party of a video addressing decarceration, abolition, transformative justice, etc.
Host a “Liberation Hour” on your favorite social platform answering questions about abolition, providing some context, and using our talking points and stats
Let us know how you’re participating and participate in our “Black Flags for Abolition” campaign. We’ll drop a flag on your congregation’s location to show all the folks participating in this year’s #BabiesAndBailouts.
Contact 5 folx for a 15-minute conversation on how this work can look in your congregation
Ask your mentor and mentees to get involved and adopt a Bailout
Ask your ministry colleagues to post on their walls and adopt a Bailout
Tag 5 of your friends in a preaching contest for #BabiesAndBailouts
“I believe in the power of our callings. I believe in saving the soul of our nation and that we cannot show up authentically for that struggle if we ignore the one right here, right in this community of faith.” — Rev. Sofia Bentacourt’s “The Missing Remant”
Comrades in the project of liberation -
May we invite you to rest and reset with us for a moment. We know your email inboxes are full, text messages have been left unread, notifications continue to “ding,” on your phone, and you’ve probably had to upgrade your Zoom account. We see you. And we invite you to be here, now.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Breathe in peace. Breathe out anxiety.
Breathe in love. Breathe out fear.
Breathe in freedom. Breathe out oppression.
Breathe in liberation. Breathe out cages.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Friends connecting by the Great Breath, welcome to this project of liberation. Continue to breathe in liberation and breathe out all that is not life giving, life-affirming, and life-nourishing.
Comrades, we have been called. The Great Breath of Life has called us, has compelled us in the answer of our call, to be active in the liberation of our Black Mamas and Caregivers. We have been called to help break the chains and shackles of oppression. We have been called to be active in the processes of decarceration and abolition. We must be active in the dismantling of money-bail. We have been called to this moment, right now. adrienne maree brown says “not only are we the ones we have been waiting for, but this is the exact moment we have been shaped for.” Ase.
BLUU has been engaged in a Week of Action for #BabiesAndBailouts 2020. We want to invite you, our clergy colleagues, to get involved in justice-making. We are inviting you, and your communities, to “drop a flag” for liberation and abolition. We are inviting you to the project of liberation.
Below, please find some suggestions for year-round and targeted #BabiesAndBailouts 2020 actions. You are invited to meet our clergy challenge of $100 per clergy member. Please give here (bit.ly/faithinnbo).
Comrades, thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for being active. Thank you for taking time to share space with us. Remember: breathe in, breathe out.
Yours in this Project,
Team Sankofa
P.S. — As people who are called to justice-making and proclaiming the prophetic word of liberation, we have a responsibility to be active in freeing Black Mamas and caregivers from cages.
Whether you’re clergy or not, here are some things you can do right now!
Let BLUU take over your social media!
Invite guests to share content on your profile (curated list from Team Sankofa, etc.)
Use your discretionary and/or personal funds to match your congregational donations for the bailout
Play one of the #BabiesAndBailouts videos during your Sunday service.
Highlight the story of a Black family that you will be working with this year.
Create liturgy around #BabiesAndBailouts, abolition, and participating in the project of liberation
Host a Watch Party of a video addressing decarceration, abolition, transformative justice, etc.
Host a “Liberation Hour” on your favorite social platform answering questions about abolition, providing some context, and using our talking points and stats
Let us know how you’re participating and participate in our “Black Flags for Abolition” campaign. We’ll drop a flag on your congregation’s location to show all the folks participating in this year’s #BabiesAndBailouts.
Contact 5 folx for a 15-minute conversation on how this work can look in your congregation
Ask your mentor and mentees to get involved and adopt a Bailout
Ask your ministry colleagues to post on their walls and adopt a Bailout
Tag 5 of your friends in a preaching contest for #BabiesAndBailouts
Rev. Mykal Slack, Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care
Enter into this moment with us breathing deeply…calling upon all the Sources of Love and Light that are within ourselves and outside ourselves as we pray…
Spirit of Life, Sources of many names and of no name, allow us, in this moment, to be aware of the beating of our own hearts. We enter grateful. Grateful for the people all around us — in our neighborhoods, cities, and states — who are doing the good work of making sure we’re fed, healing, smiling, adequately medicated, connected, comforted and loved on. Grateful for friends and family, chosen and given, who are picking up groceries and prescriptions, checking in by phone, writing letters, and going on physically distanced outings. Grateful for local officials who are heeding the call to flatten the curve by asking us (sometimes requiring us, if we can), to stay home.
Help us in this time of uncertainty, fear, grief and anger to know that it’s okay to feel all of these things. Remind us that connection and care are the keys to our strength in times like these. Give us what we need to hold one another in the sadness that may creep up when we least expect it and support one another in the distress and anger over what is happening and all the folks who are sick or dying.
In this space, we can surrender all — all our greatest hopes for ways we can care for one another now and all our deep sadness and pain at the ways people and systems can do unfathomable harm. We may not know how to capture the essence of our prayers. We may not know what happens to them. We may not even be sure about who or what may be listening when we pray or direct our energies in particular ways. All that we ask today is that we be surrounded and held, both in our clarity and in our uncertainty, in our hopefulness and in our distress, with love and compassion.
Help Gather Signatures for Proposed UUA Business Resolution — “Embodying Human Rights in Our Investment Decisions”
In partnership with UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME,) Black Lives of UU and other UU social justice groups have joined forces in preparing a Business Resolution to strengthen the use of corporate investment/divestment and shareholder advocacy in support of human rights. Our UUJME friends note:
Placing this resolution on the GA 2020 agenda for a vote requires that 250 members of UU congregations sign a petition calling for such placement with no more than 10 signatures from any one congregation being counted toward the required 250. We need your help in getting the signatures. We hope to get far more than 250 signatures because the signature gathering process is itself a way to bring attention to the issue and the more signatures we have the more momentum we create. The signature pages must be delivered to the UUA by February 1, 2020, but we want to have them sent to UUJME by January 20, if possible, or the 24th if a little more time is needed. The UUJME treasurer is going to print and copy each signature page and deliver one set of pages in person to the UUA, and at least a week will be needed to accomplish these tasks before the deadline.
In our efforts to advance justice-making and liberation through our faith and dismantle white supremacy culture within our faith institutions, BLUU is asking Black UUs in particular and any UUs willing to help to join us in securing the needed signatures to advance this proposed Business Resolution. If you are willing to help by gathering signatures in your congregation, please complete this online form— it will guide you to a newsletter from UUJME with links to a copy of the resolution, a copy of a sheet with answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the resolution, and a copy of the official UUA form that must be used for the signature gathering.
Thank you for your assistance and support with this time-sensitive request!
from the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective Board
Change is hard. We all know this, and we all have a particular relationship to change when it washes over all that we are and all that we do. In those moments when a shift is afoot, we have choices. And often those choices revolve around some measure of either staying the course and doing the emotional, physical, and spiritual work needed to move through the shift, or fighting tooth and nail to get around, reframe, or ignore that shift altogether. For those of us driven by a Unitarian Universalism that is transformative not static, relational and not individualistic, the invitation is always to do the hard work, not to ignore and evade.
So driven, we are called to speak truth in this moment in our faith. Because historically marginalized folks are no longer accepting a position as invited guests in the house of Unitarian Universalism, and are insisting upon recognition as architects of this faith, there is a coordinated effort on the part of those who discern this shift in power dynamics to hinder our movement and shift attention away from all the good that is being done to dismantle white supremacy in our midst. Black people are being harmed by it. All of us in our faith are being harmed by it. There are Black folks, Indigenous folks, and other People of Color in hostile congregational situations right now because of the continued circulation of white nationalist values masquerading as faithful witness in Unitarian Universalism. This harm persists, despite the countless times we have, in no uncertain terms, articulated the injurious and damaging nature of these efforts. White people in our supposedly shared faith still seem to have trouble believing our people, all the while touting achievements in anti-racism and hanging Black Lives Matter banners. This incongruity has got to stop!
Part of what’s happening is a failure of consistent and persistent work around faith and formation. That anyone can see the racist rhetoric promoted in some of our congregations as independent thinking and rigorous scholarship speaks to folks not really knowing what this faith is. The sources and contours of our faith decry allegiance to white nationalism and harmful rhetoric and behaviors meant to undermine the full humanity of all people. What we are experiencing in Unitarian Universalism is a microcosm of what’s happening in our larger world. When the current occupant of the White House came to power, it opened the floodgates of a certain kind of racist behavior because, if the person at the “top” could behave so badly, others have permission to do the same. When ministers, in particular, behave in ways that do a disservice to our faith, it is especially pernicious because folks believe they are living their faith by leaning into damaging rhetoric and behavior.
While we are called to acknowledge this truth, we also have a responsibility to keep it moving, despite these efforts, because our Unitarian Universalist faith remains a mighty river that continues to flow in a world where all of us are not yet free. There are amazing things happening in this faith, including the Get Out The Vote initiative, the Promise and the Practice campaign, which was recently successfully completed, the Actions of Immediate Witness, and the work of the Commission on Institutional Change. There is even a new People of Color Chapter of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and deeper institutional support of Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM). These are the initiatives that are actually in deep alignment with a faithful witness in Unitarian Universalism; these are the efforts that deserve our attention, elevation and celebration. The people engaged in this work are the people we should be talking about and building relationships with as we move toward a deeper commitment to living our faith in a challenging world.
To be clear, we knew this was coming. Coordinated White violence — both rhetorical and physical — always shows itself in response to Black and Brown self-determination. Its presence at this time in Unitarian Universalism actually confirms the criticisms and concerns of folks of color and white folks of conscience who have pointed to the current of white supremacy culture running through our institutions and attendant practices.
Even with all of that, we are still here! For too long being Black and UU has been measured by how much trauma and negativity we’ve experienced, and we are not here for that narrative anymore. Next up for us is the Harper-Jordan Memorial Symposium in St Paul, MN next month where we will Proclaim a Black UU Theology together with UUs of all colors from around the country.
We have work to do, lives to live, and a Unitarian Universalist faith that is strong enough to hold and sustain us, regardless of how much white noise may work to mask the hope and joy that emanate from justice-making and liberation THROUGH our faith. As the Rev. William G. Sinkford, one of our elders and newly appointed member of BLUU’s Advisory Team, once offered in a prayer:
We have only begun to imagine justice and mercy. … 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.
The Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) Organizing Collective Board is excited to announce the members of the inaugural BLUU Advisory Team.
The Advisory Team serves in a guidance capacity to the Black Lives Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective Board. Members of the Advisory Team share their gifts in service to BLUU’s mission by providing our organization with their professional expertise; their diverse knowledge of constituent perspectives; their connections to local, national and international resources including but not limited to financial and fundraising networks, colleagues or peers; their philanthropic support or other forms of needed assistance.
The Advisory Team has two main roles within the organization, the first is to provide guidance to the BLUU Organizing Collective Board. The second is to serve as a fundraising entity for BLUU. The BLUU Organizing Collective Board is the ultimate decision-making body of BLUU. However, the BLUU OC Board is required to consult with the Advisory Team in helping to lead, grow, and develop our growing spiritual community.
Black Lives of UU Advisory Team:
Angela Peoples
Political Strategist
Co-Founder, the south
Rev Bill Sinkford
Senior Minister First Unitarian Portland
Former President Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
Christina Rivera
Religious Educator
Founder — Called to Justice Consulting
Secretary — Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) Board of Trustees
Former Secretary Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees
DeReau K Farrar
Director of Music, First Unitarian Portland
President-Elect Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM)
Hakima Payne
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Uzazi Village
Leslie Mac
Organizer, Trainer
Founder — Resist Univ
Member — Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Board of Trustees
Tim Brennan
Former UUA CFO & Treasurer
“We are overjoyed at the individuals who have agreed to serve on our inaugural Advisory Team. This slate of volunteers includes multiple Organizers, a Religious Educator, a Minister, a Director of Music, several Entrepreneurs, a Maternal Health Expert & a Political Strategist. Their varied talents and areas of expertise will help support the BLUU OC Board over the next two years.” — Lena K Gardner, BLUU Executive Director
The Advisory Team will have it’s first meeting together with the BLUU OC Board in Minneapolis later this summer. To learn more about the BLUU Advisory Team visit: https://www.blacklivesuu.com/advisory-team
By Rev. Mykal Slack — Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care, Black Lives of UU
Hey Fam,
Summer is squarely upon us, and I don’t know about you, but it feels like such a busy time! It’s Pride season (with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising right around the corner), so there are an abundance of opportunities to honor our same gender-loving and trans ancestors, be present with the joys and sorrows of community, and renew commitments to fight for Black futures. I’m preparing for a move, and my kiddo is starting preschool in a little over two months. And ministry keeps calling me to do and be in ways I could never have imagined even three years ago! I am grateful.
As I prepare to be in Spokane, Washington for the UUA’s General Assembly this week, I can’t help but think about what it will be like for us to get ourselves ready for BLUU’s upcoming Harper-Jordan Memorial Symposium in St. Paul, MN from Wednesday, October 30th through Saturday, November 2nd. This is going to be an unprecedented gathering of Black people, many UUs and some not, and all equally invested in the care for, consciousness-raising around, and commitment to Unitarian Universalism that centers and celebrates Blackness! Of course, BLUU’s Organizing Collective Board of Directors and staff will be there! But organizers, chaplains, and historians will also be there! Elders and folks new to our shared faith will be there! Musicians, academics, and theologians will be there! Folks who love being UU and folks who aren’t always sure how to feel about being UU will be there! And most importantly, it is my deep hope that YOU will decide to be there, too!! Because proclaiming a Black UU theology cannot happen without all our lived experiences being in the mix.
All that said, though, I know folks have had questions and concerns about our time in St. Paul. For the first time ever, BLUU is hosting a gathering that is open to all. Black folks, Indigenous people and People of Color, and white folks. Together. We know full well now (if any of us were unclear before) about the beauty and power of gathering when we are in Black sacred space in its entirety, when everything we do and share is by and for Black folks, and where we don’t have to hide or be questioned about what is most true about ourselves. And so we can also imagine the anxiety that being with folks who aren’t Black may bring.
But please try to keep in mind one thing: this will still be BLUU space! BLUU spaces are deeply relational, culturally rich, and mindful of all the ways spirit can and does move. We are not going to show up differently because folks who aren’t Black will be there. Black life and Black voices will be prioritized, and the vision and work of the symposium is coming and will continue to come from Black people. We will also be setting up a BLUU Lounge onsite at the InterContinental Hotel: St. Paul Riverfront, where the vast majority of the programming will take place. This will be a space for Black folks to gather, breathe, and rest in a room akin to Healing Spaces we have set up at GA in the past. And with all of this being true, we are excited to bring home the fact that a Black UU theology doesn’t just benefit Black people. Just as our history isn’t isolated in its impact and relevance, the ways in which we think about and live out our faith are useful to anyone committed to lives of spiritual resonance and justice making.
We also know that folks may be wondering what will make our symposium different from any other conference that you may attend and how you’re supposed to show up for it. First, a symposium is a formal gathering for people to exchange ideas about and to discuss a particular topic. It’s not a conference in that there are not going to be various offerings going on at the same time for folks to choose from in the programming. We will all be in a room together, learning and growing together, and articulating and clarifying a vision for a Black Unitarian Universalism together! Can you imagine what this can mean?? A few people can’t sit in a room and decide what Black UU theology is. The invitation here is for all of us to bring everything that we know about being Black and being UU (how we live, what we care about and need, what we sing, how our faith shows up, what the Principles mean to us, etc.) to bear on this transformational moment. So we can all imagine and dream and live into a Black Unitarian Universalism together! I can’t tell you how exciting this is!!
And finally, we know that finances will be a barrier to folks coming, and we hate this just as much as you do. As many of you may know, BLUU is shifting this year into being an independent organization (which is a HUGE feat for being less than four years old!) and, with that, comes the necessity of being particularly mindful of the costs of putting on a large gathering like this. It’s precisely why we aren’t at GA as an organization this year; it’s just too costly to be financially responsible at this time. But we are making it possible for you to register for symposium at no cost to you, if that will help you get there; just click “Registration Scholarship” when you get to that option on the page. Registration covers dinner on Wednesday, as well as breakfast and lunch on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We are also asking folks, if you are affiliated with a congregation, organization, college/university, seminary or similar institution, to please first ask for support from these entities to defray costs associated with your travel and accommodations. That said, your participation is vital to this spiritual and theological moment, so please let us know what kind of support you may need in this regard, and we will do what we can.
We gon’ be alright, y’all, because we got this, and we’ve got each other! If we are opening ourselves up to an articulation of Unitarian Universalism that is unapologetically Black and proceeds from our co-creation and co-development, we not only want you there with us; we need you there. We don’t always know what will happen, but we know it will always enliven our faith as Black UUs. Please come. Be. Learn. Grow. Get refreshed and renewed. Register now! And in the meantime, let us know how you’re feeling about symposium moving forward. I’d love to hear from you.
Peace and blessings, and I can’t wait to be with you in St. Paul!
Black Mamas Bailout — A Call to Action to all People of Faith
from the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective
2019 marks the third year that the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective (BLUU) has participated in amplifying and calling our own Unitarian Universalist faith to show up to support the annual Black Mamas Bailout (#FreeBlackMamas) organized by the National Bail Out collective. Our BLUU Principles call us deeply to the work of ending money bail and freeing our people from the chains of incarceration.
For many, the idea of “religious folks” or “people of faith” being partners in justice work gives them pause. Concerns about fundamentalism, judgment, marginalizing others and themes of religious superiority can be at the root of their skepticism and with good reason: faith communities haven’t always had the best ethics or practices when engaging in justice-making with community partners.
In our recently released vision statement, we declare boldly: “BLUU harnesses love’s power to combat oppression and foster healing as a spiritual and political imperative. We know the power of love to be life-changing, inclusive, relational, uncomfortable, unconditional and without end.” Our faith as Black Unitarian Universalists is radically inclusive, grounded and informed by our religious heritage and various wisdom traditions, and demonstrated by our practice of love and justice-making.
This vision includes work like our upcoming Babies & Bailouts Panels, Watch Parties, and Donation Drives all in support of the 2019 #FreeBlackMamas campaign both in local communities and at the national level. This unique event will feature a live online panel of organizers, experts, and mothers who have needed support while incarcerated, with almost 50 watch parties scheduled around the country filled with people who will be hosting donation drives to support local bailout efforts along with supplies for recently incarcerated mothers. We welcome and encourage you to host a watch party as well, either on April 28th or shortly thereafter, with a recording of the panel.
After a weekend of major religious holidays that recognize the miracle of faith, today we specifically feel called to extend a direct invitation to all other people of faith to join us in lifting up the work to end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration and more specifically to take up a special collection between now and Mother’s Day to benefit the 2019 Black Mamas Bailout donating directly to the National Bail Out collective.
It is imperative for us as people of faith, to dismantle systems of oppression and work to build contexts for thriving, not just surviving, for all people. For us, it’s all about justice-making and liberation THROUGH our faith.
If your answer to our call is yes, add your name to this letter and include your organization, congregation, synagogue, temple, mosque or other religious community to the growing list of people of faith taking action via special collections in the coming weeks. Complete the form to add your voice: bit.ly/peopleoffaithbailout.
Our organizing centers our commitment to creating authentic links between faith held resources and Black Liberation Movement spaces. We hope you’ll join us in the work — there is plenty to do.
Make payable to: Highlander Research and Education Center with National Bail Out in the memo line.
Mail to: Highlander Research and Education Center, 1959 Highlander Way, New Market, TN 37820
We join the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective’s Call to Action in support of the 2019 Free Black Mama’s campaign and the work to end systems of pretrial detention and mass incarceration.
from the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective Board
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) began in 2015 out of both the love for and the unmet needs of Black Unitarian Universalists across the country. We are on an everlasting journey of transformation. As we launch into the next phase of our growth and development as a spiritual community we have been working to develop an infrastructure to support the organizational independence of BLUU, away from our fiscal sponsorship with the UUA. We are grateful for all of their support.
We began this formal move to independence in January 2019 — one year earlier than what we’d planned. On January 1, 2019 BLUU began taking over administrative tasks from the UUA, including establishing our own payroll, hiring an accountant, bookkeeper and Chief Financial Officer, as well as doing our own benefits administration for staff. Notably, this shift came after our BLUU Organizing Collective Board (OCB) retreat in December 2018 when we filed for our tax status.
Nonetheless, BLUU established a Financial Transparency Group (FTG) that is preparing to manage the incoming monies that will fulfill the UUA’s funding commitment to BLUU. The FTG is working closely with the Executive Director and the OCB to establish internal fiscal control policies that are in alignment with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and to develop the FY20 organizational budget. Additionally, BLUU has established bylaws and developed a comprehensive organizational chart to give our Black UU community, our broader UU community and movement family more complete understanding of what we are doing and how BLUU plans to operate. You might recall that, in December of 2018, the BLUU OCB created BLUU’s vision statement, available here. As we continue to build, it’s vitally important that our Black UU community, our broader UU faith comrades, and our movement family understand what it is that drives us at BLUU and that everything we do is grounded in the vision statement.
In many ways, BLUU seeks to transform spaces and structures away from white supremacist ways of operating and into more communally — based structures. This endeavor requires immense creativity, a willingness to make mistakes, trust, trust, and more trust, and an understanding that even as we are somewhat forced into structures of hierarchy and white supremacy — for example, the requirement for 501c3 status from the federal government — we can still find multitudes of ways to confront and challenge these systems.
Consider: even though our Board of Directors is the Organizing Collective, we have created three other Guidance Groups to help essentially break up the functions of a typical and conventionally structured board. Those groups are: our Elders 360 Council, our Financial Transparency Group and our Advisory Team. These teams, in consultation with the BLUU OCB, will (and already do) help collectively and collaboratively run the organization.
This is our first iteration and attempt at looking at a centralized power model of organizational development vs. a hierarchical power model. The hierarchal type is the one more people are familiar with and most people revert back to when thinking about BLUU’s structural formation. We encourage you to challenge the tendency to invoke that type of thinking when thinking about BLUU, to embrace the spirit of BLUU Principle #4 and BLUU Principle #6, to seek out our Organizational Chart and our Bylaws to understand the transformational culture we are developing. Our fourth principle tells us that ‘Experimentation and Innovation must be built into our work.’ And our sixth principle implores us to ground our work in vision, and in ‘Thriving instead of Surviving.’ It is from this place that we begin our visioning, planning and working; it is from this dreaming place that we have been able to build BLUU and to continue growing and developing our community both online and in the physical world.
Now that we’ve given a high-level overview of our organizational structure and formation, we’d like to shift here to what it means to be a “member” of BLUU. Since the very beginning, people have been asking us how to become a member. Part of why we didn’t rush into a membership structure, was because we wanted to have some of these other organizational structures in place first, and we wanted the possibility of BLUU membership to be deeply meaningful and resonant. After careful thinking, thoughtful and strategic planning, we are excited to provide a response to that recurring query!
For BLUU the prospect of “membership” was challenging, starting with language. The BLUU OCB is clear that the word “member” is not really fitting for what BLUU is becoming and how we seek to be in relationship with people. To us, the word “member” seemed transactional and rooted in the types of conventional systems — that we are intentionally striving to not be, in many ways. The word that did feel right and that felt like it more accurately captured BLUU’s relational culture is “Beloved;” — it is our fellow Black UUs, our Beloveds, who we seek to support, offer pastoral care for, and offer a way to join transformational movements for justice and liberation of our people. Not members. Beloveds.
How do you become a BLUU Beloved? To be a BLUU Beloved (or for those who need to think about it this way, a member of the organization), a person needs to have done at least four of the following things, and one from each category. The categories are Support, Participation and Service.
Service
Sign up, be part of and actively contribute to a BLUUMicro30 regional team.
Be a member of Team Sankofa
Have applied, signed up to join or have served in any variety of capacities: on the BLUU Ministerial Network on the BLUU Financial Transparency Group on the BLUU Advisory Board on the Worship Team
Have served on any pastoral care, worship, or organizing team for in-person gatherings.
Fundraise at your church for BLUU, if you are affiliated with a congregation (commitment of 1 fundraiser per year).
Participation
Attend at least three online worship services each year.
Be signed up to receive BLUU Daily Affirmations.
Have attended in person (or have plans to attend) at least one BLUU gathering (this includes large gatherings like The Revival, Convening, GA Healing Space or smaller ones like the BLUUBlackPanther events).
Be a part of the closed FB group. Introduce yourself, actively contribute and engage and support other members in the group.
Have signed up for the BLUU mailing list.
Commit to attending the annual meeting in person or through online virtual access.
Attend one New2BLUU Session (held monthly online).
If you have done at least four of the things from the list (at least one from each category), then you can complete the form on our membership webpage. You’ll receive a confirmation email that we have received your BLUU Beloved form. After review of your form, we’ll notify you of your BLUU Beloved status. Once confirmed, each BLUU Beloved will receive a Welcome Packet in the mail which will include:
Welcome Letter
A customized BLUU Beloved PIN (only available to BLUU Beloveds)
Voting rights at the Annual Meeting
Beloved Exclusive merchandise
A Spiritual Message
We have shifted away from conventional membership, because to us, membership is a service-oriented model that is more one-way and it’s about an ‘org’ that produces something for the consumption of its members. It’s an idea that is rooted fundamentally in hierarchy and is inaccessible in many ways — but mainly economically. While we recognize technological access challenges with our BLUU community in this current iteration and are seeking to ameliorate it, becoming a BLUU Beloved is about co-creation and community building together, with centralized guidance and focus but not with a top-down approach.
In a more informal way, we established our BLUU Beloved community when we held our convening in 2017, when we put forth our BLUU Survey, had our Revival, each time we gather for worship, through our Team Sankofa, BLUU Ministerial Network, in our closed FB group and in so many ways each day. While these ways have been informal, we have taken seriously the charge to build with our community. To build a spiritual home where we understand love as both a moral and political imperative, and to do so in structure, in relationship, and amidst a broader movement for Black liberation.
When it comes down to it, becoming a BLUU Beloved is not a “pay to play” endeavor. We’re building a cohesive community that is in relationship with each other in a real way. Relationship is at the center of building a sustainable community. We are becoming a faith community on its own terms and we want to invite more people into our community who want to be here. The structure of BLUU Beloveds is a first step in this endeavor.
Notably, Becoming a BLUU Beloved is only open to those who identify as Black and/or of African descent. For our white supporters and non-Black Indigenous and other people of color, we are building out more ways to engage with our organization. At this time, we encourage you to offer support through our Patreon account, watch our online panels and attend events that are open to everyone that we host such as our BLUU Symposium taking place Oct 30 — Nov 12 in St. Paul, MN.
It is in a spirit of love and liberation that we are proud to announce the launch of our BLUU Beloveds and share with you all of the hard work we’ve done to establish our independence in a way that is true to our constant striving to be a collective Black-led organization in the face of a world built and destructively thriving on and in white supremacy. But we are reminded that we are not of this world, and thus we seek to build a community that is more reflective of where we came from rather than that of the broken world to which we were birthed into.
Our first annual meeting for BLUU Beloveds to attend will be held in St. Paul, MN as part of the Harper-Jordan Theological Symposium Oct. 30 — Nov. 2, 2019. We hope to see you there!
from the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective Board
The Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective (BLUU OC) Board has been disappointed, dismayed and frankly angered by the recently published UU World article that has harmed so many of our Trans & GNC UU Family. The article in question is in direct opposition of our 5th Principle of Black Lives which states, “those most directly affected are experts at their own lives”. In the spirit of ensuring we do not speak over those most harmed by this article and a myriad of other offenses that our Trans siblings continue to endure in our shared faith, below we share a letter written by BLUU OC Board Member & Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care, Rev. Mykal Slack which was sent to UUA and UU World leadership today.
To all those concerned:
It is a tool of white supremacy that my Black Trans Queer self has learned to refrain from saying the hard things and to keep the boat from rocking too much when other folks (read: white, cis, het, monied, etc.) can apparently say and do whatever they want with no concern for the consequences and no interest in accountability. So please know that it is a big deal that I am doing the emotional labor that it has taken to write this letter. I am traumatized, beyond fatigued, and still in dismay over the decision to publish Kimberly French’s most recent contribution to the UU World (I decided that I would not call the piece by name anymore because of the harm that even the title manages to inflict), so I’m going to say some things I don’t ordinarily say and pray that you’re able, not only to receive them, but also to do something with them.
First, let me say unequivocally what so many others have already said (thank you!) — that article is an utter travesty. Not only is it completely disrespectful of trans bodies and lives, but its focus on the comfortability of cis folks relative to trans peoples’ lived experiences is deeply harmful and uncaring. Far too many of us trans and nonbinary folks (all of us, perhaps?) have spent far too much energy and time catering to the needs of cis people to need or want yet ANOTHER cis person talking about us like we’re not here to exist on our own terms and tell our own stories. Also, the unexamined use of language that has done so much damage in queer and trans communities alike was entirely unacceptable in 2009; it shouldn’t have even been considered in 2019. And finally, it was factually inaccurate throughout. How did this happen?
The title alone rendered me invisible before I even started to read the first paragraph. I knew it was going to be wrong before I even got started. It is yet another example of how little cis folks know and are willing to learn about the persistent silencing of trans lives, needs, hopes, and dreams, and just how unimportant trans and nonbinary folks actually are in the grand scheme of what mainstream UUs (and far too many other faith-rooted folks) proclaim as welcoming.
I am also disinclined to ponder the goodness of the intentions of the editor or the author. We UUs spend far too much time tripping over ourselves to be nice and make sure white, cis, straight and temporarily able-bodied people feel as good as they can possibly feel. It matters most, in a world that was not built for people like me to survive, that we actually take more time inviting people into a space of accountability for their impact on others when they do (or do not, as it were) live into our Principles. Valuing the worth and dignity of every person means listening when people on the margins take the time and energy it takes to tell you what is needed — listening and following through as directed. A responsible search for truth and meaning must also be responsive. It’s the responsiveness — doing something with what you’ve learned that may not benefit you, but that will hold with care the people you say you care most about — that makes that search sacred. Both Walton and French received a clear message from a brilliant trans person whose gifts in writing, community-building, and radical welcome work are well-respected — do not write this piece this way and, in fact, here are some ways to offer a piece that will uplift our lives and works as trans folks — and they CHOSE to ignore the gift they were given. These acts are not the articulation of the bold and robust Unitarian Universalism that makes my heart sing. These acts were immature, unprofessional, spiritually violent, and entirely avoidable.
And because of that, I, as a trans spiritual leader in this faith, need far more than public apologies. Don’t get me wrong; they were well written, and the energy used to craft them are evident. But, in addition to the three mistakes Walton points out and the content of President Frederick-Gray’s apology and update, there are numerous other issues that were not addressed that are at the heart of this particular matter. They are as follows:
A lack of ongoing assessment around and interrogation of the kind of positionality and entitlement it takes to ignore people on the margins when they implore you not to do a thing. I know that you heard Zr. Alex Kapitan when ze said not to publish that piece; I know you heard per because you offer up in the UU World apology a suggestion of what you should have done, a suggestion that came from Kapitan that, not surprisingly, was not even attributed to per in the apology. What made anyone at the UU World (where there are NO trans people on staff, to my knowledge) believe that they knew better than the trans person who made clear the harm that would be done? That’s a real question that I need somebody to dig deep and provide an answer to.
A lack of investment in a Unitarian Universalism that is truly relational. Not only did a cis person do harm to trans folks everywhere (and not just UUs), but it was also clear, relative to the fact of the piece’s publication, that certain relationships are valued over others. Recognizing the numbers of trans folks who are active in religious leadership and engaged on various levels of congregational life in our UU churches, how is it that only one trans person was contacted about this article and only contacted originally to find out if there are trans artists willing to illustrate for the piece? Had UU World not wanted a trans artist to illustrate this, it would have gone to print without ANY input from a trans person. And in the midst of the harm caused, the choice to circle up to craft public apologies on the front end and write personal emails or pick up a phone on the back end hurts almost more. How can you be who you say you are and make these kinds of choices? Again, these are real questions that I need somebody to provide answers to.
A lack of focus here on the whole truth. Being honest means not telling lies. Being truthful means actively making known the whole truth of the matter. I believe the UU World staff did as honest an assessment of the issues and resolutions as they could, given what they have. A list of commitments, on their face, seem hopeful. But the underlying truth of them is that there are still not solid enough relationships between the publication’s staff and trans people in our movement for them not to have developed those commitments in isolation of the very community they’ve harmed. And because those relationships had not been built on the front end, how could any of us feel safe enough to engage now? I don’t want to know about your action plan until I know how you are going to repair the harm done.
Also, suggesting that the UUA will do everything to return to right relationship and rebuild trust presumes that the UUA was ever in right relationship with trans and nonbinary people and that there was ever trust to begin with. You haven’t been and there hasn’t been, over far too many years to count and up until right now. I would take way more seriously a statement that tells the truth about how many trans religious professionals of every age and stage have been chewed up and spit out by the MFC and the UUA national office, not to mention individual congregations, regions, chapters, and other UU groups, and don’t have sustainable incomes or households because of it. Tell all the people that far too many of us get mistreated in unconscionable ways in our congregations, whether we spend most of our time in pews or pulpits, and that Welcoming Congregations commitments are up on the walls in congregations all over the association that none of us would dare send other trans people to. What are the actual plans to change all of this — not just general statements and commitments, but actual strategies and goals? To what extent are you prepared to build solid enough relationships with trans and nonbinary communities in Unitarian Universalism to 1) repair and heal ALL the harm done and 2) ensure that we are in all the places and spaces we can be to make sure this work is happening to benefit us as trans and nonbinary folks, first and foremost? Again, these are real questions that somebody needs to answer.
I write recognizing the intensity of emotion this mess has welled up inside me and so many others, how trauma-inducing it is, and just how much more I don’t trust you. I want to be able to. I know that, as angry and disgusted as I am, I would not be writing this if I believed all was lost. I am, after all, a person of faith. Akaya Winwood, former president of the Rockwood Leadership Institute, recently shared what I am considering a prayer and, in it, she writes:
Sometimes we’ll get angry and disheartened. That’s fine. But let us not build any permanent structures in the land of despair. That’s not where we live. It’s important to remember and remind each other about this.
It’s certainly not where I endeavor to live, and I am more grateful today than I have ever been of my Black Lives of UU and TRUUsT spiritual families for reminding me of this daily. But here’s the thing — those of us who are marginalized (and especially multiply marginalized) in our UU faith know full well that some structures have been built in a despairing and disparaging land, regardless of who is contributing to holding those structures up. If that’s where you are and if you’re in this with me and with us, I, at least, need to know and believe that you aren’t willing to remain there. If you have been actively building these structures or buttressing already built ones, it is time to tear them down — actively and effectively — in a way that benefits those most impacted by them.
You have much work to do. Are you going to? Let all the people know…please.
Rev. Mykal O’Neal Slack Durham, North Carolina Pronouns: He/Him/His
Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care — Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU)
from the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective Board
In the weeks leading up to January 15th, the Co-Editors of the #BlackTransPrayerBook, J Mase III and Dane Figueroa Edidi, hit the internet to invite anyone who was paying attention to take part in a social media campaign that would 1) reframe the conversation about trans people in faith spaces and 2) offer up solidarity with and support of trans people who long for spiritually grounded and uplifting spaces to call home.
The ask seemed simple enough: take out your pens, markers and paper to make signs with powerful statements; take a photo of yourself holding said sign; and post your photo all over social media for all to see. So that trans people might know that they are loved and held, even in the reality of those spaces being so hard to come by, and so that people who would choose transphobia over radical welcome might know that their view is not in alignment with the call of love
At the core of our work and ministry, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism understands what it means, as Black folks, and as people who may also be trans, or queer, or disabled, or poor (or any other identity that’s been pushed out to the margins) to be unwelcomed in faith spaces as our whole, unapologetic selves. This ask made sense, and we knew we had a responsibility to support the effort and participate. So we extended the invitation to anyone who follows us on social media, and, on January 15th, people showed up for it. Folks from all over BLUU’s virtual community were posting pics of themselves with signs that said any one of the statements suggested:
Transphobia Is a Sin
Transphobia is Haram
Trans People are Divine
Trans People Exist Because Our Ancestors Existed
It didn’t take long for us to discover that some UUs questioned the campaign itself, were more than a little tepid about their condemnation of transphobia as a moral imperative, and did what too often happens in our UU spaces: reduced the significance and meaningfulness of collective, broad-based action from a narrow, individualistic viewpoint.
This is a problem.
The spiritual violence inflicted upon trans people in faith spaces and the impact that has on trans bodies, minds, and spirits should be no secret in 2019 to anyone committed to justice and liberation for all people. And even if this reality has gone below your radar, the responsibility you carry is to stop and listen when a Black queer/trans person makes an appeal to us to speak out against that violence and rise up in the face of that injustice to simply reframe the conversation and show some love. You also have a responsibility to do your homework and understand both the intent behind the request and the impact it will have on the people most affected by the injustice. Anything less — from denigrating the request to remaining silent — would do nothing to change the conditions of those of us most affected and harmed.
Also, it’s not actually theologically sound or deep to withhold speaking out against injustice and not “call a thing a thing.” We are allowed in our theology — even a Universalist theology — to say: THIS IS WRONG. One way of saying this is wrong is to say, #TransphobiaIsASin. Notice how in this condemnation we aren’t passing judgment on people with whole ass complicated lives. We are talking about transphobic behavior. We aren’t suggesting that PEOPLE who are transphobic ought to be cast aside in shame. We are stating, unequivocally, that transphobia is a sin.
We need to be able to embrace the language of sin.
What is sin? Sin can be understood in a multitude of ways. One theology of sin to consider is about being disconnected, isolated, and being born into a broken world. Sin is about the pursuit of your own individual well being or just that of your nuclear family alone at the expense of the collective well being or even the exploitation of others. To put it another way, this is known as participating in the systems and structures of oppression and society in the ways we have all been conditioned to do so — these are systems we cannot escape. Rather, we negotiate our existence within and ideally, seek to do as little harm as possible.
Yes, this means we all sin everyday because it is impossible to live in this modern life without participating in systems of oppression — from our food system and how we make money and forsake the environment and the workers who harvest our food — to the fact that most of the clothes we wear on our bodies are made by women and children in developing countries for meager wages in mostly unfair, dangerous working conditions. We drive too many cars in many places because there isn’t adequate public transportation. All of this and more, yes, is sin. And as many Black Unitarian Universalists believe, “White supremacy is the original sin,” as Donte Hilliard, in the most recent Whose Faith? Panel details theologically for us.
White supremacy is a sin because it separates us from each other, from those who are experiencing harm because of our actions and because of these systems noted above. We are disconnected and isolated, and in disconnection, we are more willing to harm ourselves and each other than do the collective work to disrupt and dismantle those systems. We were born into these systems; we were born into sin.
This doesn’t mean we aren’t worthy of love. This doesn’t mean we can’t envision and attempt to build new and different ways that create deeper, closer connections. When we do that — when we create deeper and closer connections — we are turning away from sin and closer into Beloved Community. We are better able to mitigate harm and honor the full human dignity and worth of everyone when we turn away from the sin of disconnection and divest from the systems of oppression that are the cause of so much brokenness in the world.
If you are unwilling to proclaim and name specifically that #TransPhobiaIsASin, you are turning away from honoring the inherent worth and dignity of our trans family. You are casting trans people outside of Beloved Community and saying you are unwilling to fight for them the same as you would fight for yourself or your own family. And this too is sin.
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board believes our human family is big; we believe no one should be cast out. That doesn’t mean that any and all behavior is welcome or acceptable — it means just the opposite: behaviors that cast people out or aside are not welcome. If you are willing to begin to interrogate what transphobia and cissexism mean, to go on a journey of self-discovery and think about the ways society has programmed us to think about gender (including your own gender), you are turning away from sin, embracing deeper connection, living into our UU faith values and embracing our orientation toward love and justice.
Our trans siblings face discrimination and disparities in staggering amounts. Our Black and undocumented trans siblings even moreso. As a faith community, if we are unwilling to say #TransPhobiaIsASin, we are turning our backs on those who need us most. We are needed to wield our privilege in ways that help make the world more inclusive for them and ultimately all of us.
Without reservation and unequivocally we proclaim that #TransPhobiaIsSin and #TransPeopleAreDivine.
We invite you to continue to proclaim this with us and to do so as a person of faith. The campaign was only one day, but it doesn’t mean you can’t still add your voice and in doing so widen the circle, and welcome more people — specifically trans people — into our Beloved Community.
from Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism Organizing Collective
We get it. You want to feed your faith and grow spiritually without being shamed or shunned. Maybe you miss attending regular religious services and the community it can provide, but you just can’t stomach the nastiness that some faith leaders espouse. You’re just out here, trying to make your way in the world and contribute to the larger society without being demonized for your commitments to justice — making or marginalized for your identity.
We’ve gotcha covered! Here are some cool, accessible and mostly free resources to deepen, grow and fortify your faith without the damaging and harmful rhetoric that can often come along with it:
The Churched Feminist: This increasingly popular blog by Kimberly Peeler-Ringer is a must for those looking for insightful, accessible commentary on contemporary topics through a Biblically-sound, decidedly inclusive lens. Peeler-Ringer is a licensed minister with graduate degrees in biblical and religious studies and over 20 years of preaching and teaching experience. Check her out on social media under #AlignYourselfWednesday and read her most recent blog post about *that* eulogy at Aretha Franklin’s funeral here.
2. Our Bible App: With a mission to “support the belief that we are each trying to understand our place in this grand universe,” Our Bible App is quickly becoming a favorite resource to find “devotionals highlighting pro LGBT, pro-women” and “interfaith inclusivity.” You can download Our Bible App for free and begin using this wonderful resource today to support your meditation and prayer needs!
3. The Millennial Womanism Project: Just passing their first anniversary, The Millennial Womanism Project “is an enterprise committed to enhancing the wellbeing of Black millennial women of faith and justice.” Follow their work on social media under #MillennialWomanism and check out their website for profiles showcasing folks “doing incredible work in ministry, the academy and in social justice.”
4. Rev. Wil Gafney + #BriteBible: Speaking of womanists, we are smitten with the work of Rev. Wil Gafney, an Episcopal priest and Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth Texas. You can follow her “Intro to Interpreting the Hebrew Bible” course on twitter under #BriteBible, check out her brilliant blog here and deepen your knowledge of women in the Hebrew Bible and related topics by purchasing her books here.
5. Father Lenny Duncan + Jehu’s Table/ Rev. Leslie D. Callahan + St. Paul’s Baptist Church: These faves bless folks regularly across the country thanks to the magic of technology! If you need weekly worship but distance is an issue, check out Father Lenny Duncan + Jehu’s Table on FaceBook Live! Jehu’s Table is a Brooklyn-based mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, rooted in the worship styles and cultural traditions of people of African-descent and living out their faith as a community for all marginalized people. We are also grateful to Rev. Leslie D. Callahan + St. Paul’s Baptist Church for their regular livestream and archive of past worship services that you can access on-demand at anytime! St. Paul’s Baptist Church is a historic fellowship in Philadelphia, PA that “strives to be a progressive Christian congregation proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through vibrant worship, committed discipleship, and active community ministry.”
6. Tripp Fuller + Transform Network: Tripp Fuller has been in these streets for over a decade with the very dope and insightful Homebrewed Christianity podcast. Now, Fuller and others are droppin’ blessings through the Transform Network, whose mission is “to be a resource for people and communities of faith seeking to express their love through justice and ministry that heals, restores and innovates.” You can sign up for the “pay what you can” ($20 is suggested) 4-week Theologies of Resistance course, cosponsored by Transform Network and Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza here.
7. Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza Activist Theology Project: Dr. Espinoza is a badass Queer Activist, Latinx Scholar and Public Theologian. They are a part of the Activist Theology Project, “a collaborative team of public theologians, practitioners of restorative practices, and strategy-minded people situated in the hybrid space of church, academy, and movements.” Check out Dr. Robyn’s soundcloud page for sermons and other recordings, follow them on twiiter @iRobyn and learn more about the Activist Theology Network here.
8. Vahisha Hasan + Movement in Faith: Vahisha Hasan is the architect of Movement in Faith which provides “training, organizing, infrastructure, resources, and long-term support for faith community-led efforts in justice work.” Through Movement in Faith, Vahisha “supports communities of faith to identify their intersection in social justice as well as be a positive faith presence in justice movement.” Support and learn more about Movement in Faith’s goals and holla at Vahisha for speaking engagements here.
9. Bishop Yvette Flunder + The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries: Committed to “creating, sustaining and celebrating community on the margin,” The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries is a “multi-denominational group of primarily African American Christian leaders and laity representing churches and faith-based organizations from the USA, Africa, and Mexico.” Lead by Presiding Bishop Yvette Flunder, TFAM supports religious leaders and laity in moving toward a theology of radical inclusivity. You can find TFAM affiliated-congregations here and learn more about Bishop Flunder’s church, City of Refuge, here.
10. Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) Organizing Collective + #BLUUBox: If you’ve read this far, allow us to include a *shamless plug* for our work! Established in 2015, the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) Organizing Collective works to provide support, information & resources for Black Unitarian Universalists and to expand the role and visibility of Black UUs within our faith community. We’ve recently launched the BLUU Spiritual Subscription Box (#BLUUBox,) a one-of-a kind, innovative way for individuals, small group ministries and congregations to inform, grow and deepen their faith. You don’t have to be a UU to subscribe to #BLUUBox — We are proud to say that #BLUUBox is for everyone! Learn more about BLUU, download free sample content and subscribe to #BLUUBox here.
We know our list isn’t exhaustive and doesn’t wrap around every religious identity. Our hope is that you’ll be inspired by these inclusive, multifaith and interfaith resources and encouraged to find ways to feed your faith beyond the boundaries sometimes imposed by religion or even consider building your own dope resources!
Reading: X by Wendell Berry Sermon: Making Space for Grace How am I going to live through this? This is the question people ask when they are in the middle of a crisis, a trauma, or in grief that won’t … Continue reading → Reading: X by Wendell Berry Sermon: Making Space for Grace How am I going to live through this? This is the question people ask when they are in the middle of a crisis, a trauma, or in grief that won’t … Continue reading →
Our reading from this Sunday was titled “You Reading This, Be Ready,” by the poet William Stafford. This sermon also drew heavily on “10 Ways to Build Resilience” from the American Psychological Association. I remember my first evening as a chaplain – it feels like it was a very long time ago. There is no way […] Our reading from this Sunday was titled “You Reading This, Be Ready,” by the poet William Stafford. This sermon also drew heavily on “10 Ways to Build Resilience” from the American Psychological Association. I remember my first evening as a chaplain – it feels like it was a very long time ago. There is no way […]
This sermon was preached on 1/29/17 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Huntington. It calls out the immoral actions of our government for banning refugees and Muslims. I grew up in Central Jersey in the 70s and 80s. The family stories get told a little differently every time, as family stories often do, but each […] This sermon was preached on 1/29/17 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Huntington. It calls out the immoral actions of our government for banning refugees and Muslims. I grew up in Central Jersey in the 70s and 80s. The family stories get told a little differently every time, as family stories often do, but each […]
A SONG OF JONAH Or, What Happens When the Prophet is a Jerk James Ishmael Ford A Sermon Delivered at Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church Canoga Park, California 29 January 2017 A Story Now God said to Jonah, “Arise, go to Los Angeles, that great city, and cry against their wickedness.” But instead Jonah rose up [Read More...] A SONG OF JONAH Or, What Happens When the Prophet is a Jerk James Ishmael Ford A Sermon Delivered at Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church Canoga Park, California 29 January 2017 A Story Now God said to Jonah, “Arise, go to Los Angeles, that great city, and cry against their wickedness.” But instead Jonah rose up [Read More...]
There are four primary directions of protest that I see enacted in American Society. For purposes of this article, I am separating them so that they can be seen, knowing that in the real world they are often bound up together in any discrete action or moment. Several of these …</span> Read more → There are four primary directions of protest that I see enacted in American Society. For purposes of this article, I am separating them so that they can be seen, knowing that in the real world they are often bound up together in any discrete action or moment. Several of these …</span> Read more →
What does it mean to be a community of prophecy? Rebecca Parker says: “Our times ask us to exercise our capacity for prophetic witness. By prophetic witness I mean our capacity to see what is happening, to say what is happening and to act in accordance with what we know.” These are capacities that each […] What does it mean to be a community of prophecy? Rebecca Parker says: “Our times ask us to exercise our capacity for prophetic witness. By prophetic witness I mean our capacity to see what is happening, to say what is happening and to act in accordance with what we know.” These are capacities that each […]
This is not what I planned to be reading this week. For starters, I just didn’t plan to read this many, because for quite awhile there I was having trouble finding time to read. Doing all these challenges and making a habit of reading every day has re-awakened my love of reading and made it… Read More Check These Out – PTSD Superhero Comics This is not what I planned to be reading this week. For starters, I just didn’t plan to read this many, because for quite awhile there I was having trouble finding time to read. Doing all these challenges and making a habit of reading every day has re-awakened my love of reading and made it… Read More Check These Out – PTSD Superhero Comics
For fun, I’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of the times The Buffalo News and other outlets used the idea of “renaissance” as applied to Buffalo as a thing happening or a belief to be contended with. In some cases it was in … Continue reading → For fun, I’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of the times The Buffalo News and other outlets used the idea of “renaissance” as applied to Buffalo as a thing happening or a belief to be contended with. In some cases it was in … Continue reading →
I wrote a book back in 2004 called The 100 Most Dangerous Things in Life and What You Can Do About Them. With a view to humor, I looked at statistics on hospital admissions and so on, and contrasted the danger from every day items to the more exotic dangers that pique our imaginations. You’re […] I wrote a book back in 2004 called The 100 Most Dangerous Things in Life and What You Can Do About Them. With a view to humor, I looked at statistics on hospital admissions and so on, and contrasted the danger from every day items to the more exotic dangers that pique our imaginations. You’re […]
This is traditionally a cheery piece – one of the few songs Unitarian Universalists feel comfortable clapping to. Everybody knows it and harmonizes to it and it feels sweet and simple and fun. This morning, after a Saturday full of the unreasonable ban against some of our Muslim neighbors – which, despite a stay from ... More → This is traditionally a cheery piece – one of the few songs Unitarian Universalists feel comfortable clapping to. Everybody knows it and harmonizes to it and it feels sweet and simple and fun. This morning, after a Saturday full of the unreasonable ban against some of our Muslim neighbors – which, despite a stay from ... More →
Politicians are known for playing fast and loose with the truth. But blatantly denying facts, making serious accusations supported by no facts, and promoting untruths as facts cross a dangerous line, even by the low standards of politicians. Politicians are known for playing fast and loose with the truth. But blatantly denying facts, making serious accusations supported by no facts, and promoting untruths as facts cross a dangerous line, even by the low standards of politicians.
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” —Frederick Douglass What are you willing to struggle for? The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no … Continue reading → The post Struggle appeared first on Daily Compass. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” —Frederick Douglass What are you willing to struggle for? The Daily Compass offers words and images to inspire spiritual reflection and encourage the creation of a more loving, inclusive and just world. Produced by The Church of the Larger Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation with no … Continue reading → The post Struggle appeared first on Daily Compass.
So when I first mentioned this series awhile ago, I called it an ethereal fairy tale for adults. That was based on the first episode. It gets dark real quick. So if you’re not into that, you should probably not watch. But it’s good though. Really good. It has flaws, but it’s captivating and occasionally… Read More Thoughts on “The OA” So when I first mentioned this series awhile ago, I called it an ethereal fairy tale for adults. That was based on the first episode. It gets dark real quick. So if you’re not into that, you should probably not watch. But it’s good though. Really good. It has flaws, but it’s captivating and occasionally… Read More Thoughts on “The OA”
Tonight, a lawsuit by the ACLU stayed the executive order that aims to ban immigrants and refugees from an arbitrary collection of nations for varying amounts of time, from a few months to indefinitely. The ban was expected. That it was extended to green card holders (permanent residents) was surprising. Thus in addition to new refugees and … Continue reading The #MuslimBan, broken promises, and the Great Default Tonight, a lawsuit by the ACLU stayed the executive order that aims to ban immigrants and refugees from an arbitrary collection of nations for varying amounts of time, from a few months to indefinitely. The ban was expected. That it was extended to green card holders (permanent residents) was surprising. Thus in addition to new refugees and … Continue reading The #MuslimBan, broken promises, and the Great Default
Who is my neighbor? Read Luke 10:25-37 The person we greet at the post office. The person we have over for coffee. The one we share a wall or a fence with or a seat on the bus to work. The family our kids attend school with and see at weekend games. Yes, that’s true. But our neighbor, Biblically and morally, is much bigger than that. Those people I named and so many more in our daily lives are nearly family, folks we recognize as being part of those we love, cherish, and protect. But we’re called to be neighbors to absolute strangers and even people we’ve learned to disparage and to fear. That is the point of the parable of the Good Samaritan. The one person everyone knew could not be considered a neighbor, the one person everyon... Who is my neighbor? Read Luke 10:25-37 The person we greet at the post office. The person we have over for coffee. The one we share a wall or a fence with or a seat on the bus to work. The family our kids attend school with and see at weekend games. Yes, that’s true. But our neighbor, Biblically and morally, is much bigger than that. Those people I named and so many more in our daily lives are nearly family, folks we recognize as being part of those we love, cherish, and protect. But we’re called to be neighbors to absolute strangers and even people we’ve learned to disparage and to fear. That is the point of the parable of the Good Samaritan. The one person everyone knew could not be considered a neighbor, the one person everyon...
Since the election of Donald Trump this past November, the term “resistance” has been everywhere. His policies must be disrupted and a new, stronger opposition must coalesce. While Democratic political leadership pledge resistance, the facts state otherwise. When an oppressive force takes over a country, the opposition gravitates towards two ends of a continuum. On … Continue reading Resistance v. Collaboration in the Trump Era Since the election of Donald Trump this past November, the term “resistance” has been everywhere. His policies must be disrupted and a new, stronger opposition must coalesce. While Democratic political leadership pledge resistance, the facts state otherwise. When an oppressive force takes over a country, the opposition gravitates towards two ends of a continuum. On … Continue reading Resistance v. Collaboration in the Trump Era
The Bible says Jesus had a core group of twelve followers who were called apostles, a name that comes from the Greek word for messenger. The Gospels disagree on their names. The number twelve may not be meant literally—it may simply be meant to evoke the belief there were once twelve tribes of Israel—or some apostles may have been known by two names. Where "brother" is used below, it may The Bible says Jesus had a core group of twelve followers who were called apostles, a name that comes from the Greek word for messenger. The Gospels disagree on their names. The number twelve may not be meant literally—it may simply be meant to evoke the belief there were once twelve tribes of Israel—or some apostles may have been known by two names. Where "brother" is used below, it may
If you’re wondering how to help people who are being hit by Hurricane Ida, we’re here to help!
It can be hard to know who and what organizations to donate to because you obviously want financial resources to get to where it can be most useful. For those purposes, we’ve reached out to a few New Orleans community members that members of the BLUU OCB have long standing relationships with and asked which organizations or groups would they recommend contributing to. These are trusted sources that are distributing money on the ground currently or will be in the coming months. The recovery from Hurricane Ida is going to be a very long one.
BLUU will be continuing to vett and add to this list of groups and organizations.
A few notes about the listed groups and organizations:
*If you are able to and want to donate to mutual aid funds, these are a powerful way to quickly get money into the hands of individuals and families who need support immediately. They often don’t have arduous or complicated application and disbursement processes. These are also not tax-deductible donations.
*If you are wanting to support an organization, we will list a few options that are tax-deductible donations.
Please choose the organizations and groups that speak to you and your heart. We’ll be sharing these groups through posts on social media in the days ahead and hopefully giving a little bit of context or info for each one. Please share and invite others to support in this time of need.
Also please be aware that most organizations are being run right now by staffers or volunteers who have left the city. The city has no power and water is on a boil warning. So their websites may not reflect what has happened however their longstanding methods by which to donate are functioning and they will get the money. For many orgs you can follow on Instagram or elsewhere to be able to get updates.
BLUU has started an individual fund for students at George Washington Carver High School. Through a contact at the school we’ll be distributing funds raised to individual students through PayPal and Cash App. You can give to this specific effort by clicking here.
The House of Tulip is co-founded and led by trans folks and offers support services for trans and gender nonconforming communities, including some mutual aid. Please follow them on Instagram at @houseoftulipno and they have listed other ways to give (the usernames must be exact, sadly some people are trying to scam people by imitating and coming up with usernames that are close — but these are the correct ones AND if you want to be certain you can always give through their website):
CashApp: $HouseOfTulip
Venmo: @HouseofTulip
Paypal: Paypal.me/HouseOfTulip
Broad Community Connections is a community-led and community-based organization that is working on the revitalization of a historically Black neighborhood. They are gearing up to support those in need in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Including support of businesses.
The United Houma Nation There are many small and rural tribal nations that have been hit hard by the hurricane and will need support. Some tribal nations are offering mutual aid disbursements.
For more specific mutual aid giving opportunities please visit the following links displayed below from the Instagram account @mutualaiddisasterrelief
If you want to volunteer remotely, need assistance, or send supplies to Louisiana:
Please donate and help. The power is out across many areas of Louisiana. And people need help. You can also visit https://www.disasterassistance.gov/for federal government assistance. On this site, you can look up a city and state or zip code to see if the area is currently declared a disaster due to flooding, wild fires, and hurricanes and apply for assistance.
Rev. Mykal Slack, BLUU’s Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care, sings at the Harper-Jordan Symposium in 2019.
When a group of Black UUs first met in Cleveland at the Movement for Black Lives Convening in 2015, what would become BLUU was just a dream. BLUU’s co-founders wanted to support Black people with both a desire for spiritual community and a heart for collective liberation. BLUU’s founders had no way of knowing that this dream would blossom into an organization creating virtual worship experiences for Black people, sustaining regular programming for children and youth, and organizing to fundamentally change material conditions for Black people impacted by systemic anti-Blackness.
Because our work fulfills significant needs in our community, we’ve been doing this work at a rapid pace without any substantial pause in our work since BLUU’s founding.
Our leadership team, the Organizing Collective Board, have decided it’s time for us to take that collective pause this year. BLUU turns six this July, and we have so much to celebrate about that six years. We must also do some reflection — about what we’ve learned, where we’ve succeeded, and where there’s an opportunity for us to change and evolve.
On July 1, 2021, we will be slowing down or pausing most BLUU programming so we can reflect on our work this past six years and focus on organizational strategy for the future.
To our Black UU family and all those who hold us close, it’s important to us that you know that we are not dissolving BLUU. We are not folding, and we are not stopping this vitally important ministry we have been called to bring forth into this broken world. We have always taken the future of BLUU seriously — even as we’ve wrestled with what it means to be both a spiritual community and an organizing force for Black and collective liberation in the world. We have always been about building with intention, forethought and purpose. BLUU has been called to urgently address the injustices impacting Black people, and we’ve been able to answer that call.
We are now called into a moment of evaluation and reflection so that we may be able to learn from our earliest beginnings and fashion a future that is even better. We are living most deeply in this moment into our principles of thriving and experimentation. Thriving requires and necessitates moments of reflection, especially after periods of intense productivity. Experimentation also requires us to look back on our work and think carefully about things we want to carry into the future and things we want to put to rest, with our gratitude for the lessons they’ve taught us.
“The BLUU leadership team is being wise to take a pause at this point,” said Rev. Bill Sinkford, former UUA president and BLUU Advisory Team member. “New organizations, especially those with a record of such great success, often need a space for leadership to breathe, dropping back a bit from the urgency of delivering week after week, in order to clarify the way forward. The Financial Advisory Team (a working group within the Advisory Team) is entirely supportive of this decision.”
We want to move forward and continue building in a way that is more sustainable for the people moving the work of the organization — the staff, the OCB and our dedicated volunteers. We can’t continue our work at the current level and complete an entire restructuring effort. It is in this spirit of building a bright and bold future, where we can continue working to be the best we can be, that we endeavor to pause some of our outward programming so that we may focus inward for a bit. We pledge to give updates as we make progress, and to bring you all along with us on the journey. As part of this restructuring process, we will be imagining ways to communicate even more effectively with our Beloveds. For now, make sure you’re subscribed to our email list where we share the most important BLUU news monthly. It is the best way to stay in the loop with BLUU!
During this time, we will focus on BLUU’s organizational structure, restructuring to build clear lines of power and authority, while maintaining the intention and spirit of collaborative governance. While we’ve been having preliminary discussions about this work for years, this is the first time we’re intentionally slowing down programming to focus on restructure work.
We want our BLUU community to know what this pause means for the upcoming year. Here are some ways this pause will impact our ongoing work:
Worship:
Every year, BLUU takes a break from worship in July, and we will take this July offfrom worship as usual. Starting in August, BLUU will have virtual worship once a month on the first Thursday of the month at 9 p.m. Eastern until further notice. (Those who regularly attend worship are used to having worship twice a month.)
BLUUBerry and Berry Youth:
The BLUUBerry and Berry Youth Saturday jams will continue on Saturdays through June 19. After June 19, BLUUBerry and Berry Youth programming will be on hold until 2022. A relaunch date for our youth ministry will be announced at a later date.
Havens and Harbors:
Existing BLUU Havens will continue to build opportunities for local connection, and we will still be accepting Havens applications.
BLUU Harbor applications are on hold because we need the time and capacity it will take to hold the extensiveness of the Harbor application process, and we don’t have that capacity right now.
Community Care:
Our BLUU community will still receive Daily Affirmations and receive as-needed pastoral care. We will also continue to send email updates on an as-needed basis, including monthly reminders about worship.
BLUU at General Assembly:
We are excited to offer a week of BLUU programming during the week of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly. Come worship with us, take a writing workshop, meet Black seminarians, or learn about our housing initiative or Havens and Harbors communities. Registration for BLUU GA programming is free and open now. Our workshops about the Havens and Harbors and Housing Initiative are open to all. All other programming is Black sacred space.
This chart shows the ways BLUU community spaces will be impacted by the upcoming organizational pause. For an audio version of this chart, visit bit.ly/BLUUPauseAudio
Although we are pressing pause on much of our programming for this restructure work, we are still moving forward into a bright and bold BLUU future. Here are some additional updates about BLUU’s infrastructure and ongoing work we want you to know as we head into this programming pause:
Our endowment is holding steady:
A bright future requires capital! And it is towards this end that we share with you that our endowment grew last year by about $855,000 dollars. We are proud to have established the BLUU Endowment within the UU Common Endowment Fund. BLUU currently holds $4.5 million in our endowment. This is a good position for us to be in financially. We’re hopeful that on the other end of our structuring process, we’ll be able to have more regular financial updates for our community. Transparency has always been a value of BLUU. Please sign up for leadership updates to find out when you can apply to be on the Financial Transparency Group.
BLUU Housing Initiative:
We launched The BLUU Northside Cooperative Housing Initiative in 2019 to help build permanently affordable housing for Black and Indigenous families in North Minneapolis. Through a hybrid land trust and cooperative housing model, we’ll be constructing about 30 new townhomes for families to live in and build long-term wealth. We’re excited to be partnering with the City of Lakes Community Land Trust and Urban Homeworks and for forthcoming partnerships with two other organizations to be able to make this plan a reality. In January of 2021 we applied for financing assistance from the City of Minneapolis to be able to build on one of our sites. We are still awaiting the decision of that assistance, but if we receive it, it is likely that we could break ground this year. Stay tuned to BlackLivesUU.org for our most recent updates about this project.
New Website:
We enlisted the help of The Black Tech Guy to help us with a website project that was delayed during 2020. The Black Tech Guy partnered with our Communications Director, Marchaé Grair, to get us to the finish line with that project. The website will launch this summer. We hope you’ll enjoy the streamlined information and improved accessibility of this new website when it launches!
Forthcoming publications:
Committed to the healing and spiritual growth of our people, and to a Unitarian Universalism that centers Blackness, we are thrilled to be under contract with Skinner House Books to publish a book of meditations, poems, songs, and reflections by Black folks in our movement. We’re in the process of finalizing the list of contributors with the hope that it will be published and ready for distribution by the end of 2021! A second work, an edited volume for the Voices series, has been approved for publication in the near future. We are grateful for the dedication of OCB members Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin and Rev. Mykal Slack who are serving as co-editors for both of these projects.
Team Sankofa:
During this time of rebuilding and restructuring, the OCB and Team Sankofa are exploring ways to dream together about the possibilities for change-making and engaging in supported and sustainable base building organizing trajectories. We are grateful to Team Sankofa for the dedication, commitment and hard work in the BLUU community and we are excited about what is yet to come.
BLUU Box:
Publication of the BLUU Box is currently on hold. If you have a question about an existing subscription, please contact info@BlackLivesUU.org.
We are taking time to engage in this critical strategic work because we want BLUU to exist for a long time. We’re excited to come back from this pause with clarity about our work together and a renewed dream about what BLUU will be in the years to come.
If you have questions about this time of pausing and planning, please feel free to contact us. Please send us an email at blacklivesofuu@gmail.com.
To our BLUU Beloveds and to our Black kindred across the diaspora:
Beautiful Black people on this day, remember the evergreen and always relevant words of Toni Morrison from her novel “Beloved” about loving ourselves. If you can, in ways big and small, find ways to love on yourself, your children — all your living family both chosen and otherwise. Nap and rest, if you can — and if you can’t rest, pause and take a deep breath whenever and wherever you can. If that doesn’t feel right go scream into a pillow or up to the heavens. The point is to feel, to care for and to love on yourself in kind ways to yourself — however that looks for you.
Know that whatever else we are a part of, we are part of a legacy of love. Despite the trauma, despite the challenge, we can always choose to come back to love.
Toni Morrison wrote:
In this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Yonder they do not love your flesh. They despise it. They don’t love your eyes; they’d just as soon pick em out. No more do they love the skin on your back. Yonder they flay it. And O my people they do not love your hands. Those they only use, tie, bind, chop off and leave empty. Love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them. Touch others with them, pat them together, stroke them on your face ’cause they don’t love that either. You got to love it, you! And no, they ain’t in love with your mouth. Yonder, out there, they will see it broken and break it again. What you say out of it they will not heed. What you scream from it they do not hear. What you put into it to nourish your body they will snatch away and give you leavins instead. No, they don’t love your mouth. You got to love it. This is flesh I’m talking about here. Flesh that needs to be loved. Feet that need to rest and to dance; backs that need support; shoulders that need arms, strong arms I’m telling you. And O my people, out yonder, hear me, they do not love your neck unnoosed and straight. So love your neck; put a hand on it, grace it, stroke it and hold it up. and all your inside parts that they’d just as soon slop for hogs, you got to love them. The dark, dark liver — love it, love it and the beat and beating heart, love that too. More than eyes or feet. More than lungs that have yet to draw free air. More than your life-holding womb and your life-giving private parts, hear me now, love your heart. For this is the prize.
The conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of Geroge Floyd was important. The settlement George Floyd’s family was awarded was important. Minneapolis City Councillors pledging to defund the police and the people’s petition to change the city charter to allow for the full divestment from policing are important.
We cannot pretend that these things don’t matter. They do. And the fight for justice must continue because the systems that created the conditions for George Floyd’s murder remain fundamentally unchanged.
We must continue to work to create a system of public safety so deeply honoring of each and every person’s inherent worth and dignity that the possibility of murder by the police no longer exists.
This is especially necessary work for the liberation of Black and Indigenous people in particular, who have been disproportionately impacted by state and police violence.
The system of policing that holds police officers as super human, above the law and above consequences, must come to an end. We know that true justice doesn’t come from incarceration. True liberation won’t come without completely transforming our understanding of policing and public safety.
We can honor George Floyd’s memory best by not forgetting the immensity of what we felt last year and by continuing to give to Black organizations fighting for abolition. (If you aren’t ready to call yourself an abolitionist quite yet, you can pick up a book and start reading. There are many to choose from. I suggest Mariame Kaba’s “We Do This ’Til We Free Us”.)
Whatever you do, don’t go back to complacency or frozen inaction because “you don’t know what to do”.
Be brave, find your courage to confront your own oppressive beliefs and start the unraveling. When we become unraveled, we can choose with intention, purpose and love how we re-ravel — how we rebuild our corner of the world.
There are thousands and more paths to liberation. Get started on one if you haven’t, continue on yours if you have, and know that we can and must create a more loving world. The other options are there, but they are destroying us and the world around us. Each day we can choose a new, different, and more loving way. From that path we will understand more clearly what a just world can be. And the best news is, we can go about making it.
We know your hearts are tender. We know you’re holding so many complex feelings in this moment. You are not alone.
In a just world, George Floyd would still be alive. While the Chauvin verdict brings so many of us collective relief, we can’t say it is justice. We know that a carceral system can’t truly hold accountability in transformative ways. And yet, we also know that in a country that so often treats Black people as disposable, it is meaningful to witness consequences for police brutality. We hold all these complexities and contradictions with care.
Shortly after many of us learned of the Chauvin verdict, we also learned of the police killing of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio after she called the police for help. There is no justice when police kill our children.
So in these times, we remember that our hope is not in the judicial system but in the strength and love of our communities. Through it all, we’ve held each other tenderly, and we will continue to do that in the days and weeks to come.
In this moment, know you are not alone. We are thinking of you and praying for all that you are holding.
Remember, Black folks, UU or otherwise, requesting pastoral and/or spiritual care can reach our Community Minister and folks from the Black Lives of UU Ministerial Network by calling or texting 984–219–8711. This is a Google Voice number that we check daily. We will respond to any calls or text messages within 24 hours.
May this prayer be a balm for your spirit in the days to come.
A Prayer in Real Time
by Rev. Mykal Slack, BLUU Community Minister for Worship & Spiritual Care
Dear Ones. Ancestors, gods and goddesses of many names and of no name. Sources of Love known and unknowable…
I come before you weary with grief and disgust, teetering somewhere between about done and well past it.
Hold me.
I don’t know if I can hold what has been passed down to me and mine, much less what lies ahead. No body, no mind, no heart, no spirit should have to carry this much.
Help me.
And yet… “Here I am.
Send me.”
I do what I can to show up as my whole self with full-bodied questions about community accountability, commitment, and care.
Show me.
My deepest hopes and prayers lie in justice and liberation for our people, of which we’ve only just caught a fleeting glimpse of this week.
Direct me.
May I move with love, clarity, vision, and commitment, share what I know, and listen with intention.
Embolden me.
We deserve so much more life and love and beauty and fullness than there is right now.
Please. Please fill me up with a Holy Breath that will live on, shine on, and thrive on.
…until it is time for that Breath to live on, shine on, and thrive on in the ones who are to be Held, Helped, Sent, Shown, Directed, Emboldened, and Filled after me.
May it be so in real time and for all time.
Amen. Ashe. Blessed Be.
Community Connection
Please join us for either of these events below for connection in the coming days if you need a place to be held in community.
How is your heart and how is your spirit? How are you processing the trauma we’re experiencing in our communities and in our news feed? How is the racist police violence against Black people (and the constant discussion about it) impacting you and how can we keep showing up for each other without burning out?
Feel free to bring a snack or meal as we share how we’re doing in these times.
(Please note: This is Black sacred space.)
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
Lately, many people are discussing what it means to “get back to normal.”
And we get it. For the past year, many of us have been in survival mode. We’ve navigated immense fatigue, worry, and stress.
We also know that a hyperfocus on returning back to normal ignores that what was normal before the pandemic was still difficult for so many, including Black communities.
As Black people, we know seeking liberation is an embodied practice of remembering the past while dreaming of more expansive, freer futures.
The sixth principle of our “7 Principles of Black Lives” is “Thriving Instead of Surviving.” It says: “Our vision is based on the world we want, and not the world we are currently in. We seek to transform, not simply to react. We want our people to thrive, not just exist — and to think beyond the possible.”
We know that BLUU thriving in the future requires us making an intentional shift right now — away from doing business as usual because it’s always been that way, away from imagining a “return to normal,” and toward imagining who we can be in the future and what this moment can teach us about what’s possible.
If you are not Black but want to support this effort, please make sure that Black UUs or Black folks in alignment with UU values in your community know about the survey.
The survey is open nowand will close June 1, 2021. If you have any questions about the survey, please email BlackLivesofUU@gmail.com
We’re so grateful that you’re on this journey with us. We look forward to dreaming with you.
In hopes of a thriving future,
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board
Lena K. Gardner- Executive Director
Rev. Mykal Slack- Community Minister for Worship and Spiritual Care
Marchaé Grair- Communications Director
Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin- Board Member
Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson- Board Member
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
Our commitment to decolonized and liberatory organizational leadership means putting relationships at the center of everything we do. As a leadership team, we care about each other’s struggles, celebrate each other’s successes, and genuinely want each other to win. Our work for BLUU is grounded both in our love for Black people and in the ways we’ve committed to show up for each other as leaders in this important ministry.
We are writing to share an announcement about a leadership transition within our Organizing Collective Board (OCB). We share this announcement after much collective conversation and discernment. While transitions are an inevitable part of any organization, we’re a small but mighty team, and we feel this so deeply.
We think it’s important that you learn more about this from the person making the transition. Below, you will find a letter from our Community Organizer Paige Ingram about her leadership transition.
We’ll share more about this transition at a later date, but for now, we want to honor Paige’s voice as she shares some changes on her horizon.
In love and faith,
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board
Hello my dear community,
I am thinking of all of us often as so many of us are taking stock of the last year and the impact it has had on us individually, our families, our congregations, and our broader Black community.
I wanted to share a personal life update with you all. I will be transitioning away from BLUU staff and the Organizing Collective board on March 14.
I became BLUU’s Community Organizer because I wanted to do everything I could to support our community to feel empowered, connected, and moved towards this new iteration of the Black liberation movement. I also needed support to understand my own organizing takeaways from the broader movement and uplift what I felt was missing in so many spaces: spiritual safety, ritual, long-term leadership development, and a true commitment to multi-generational organizing.
I wanted to share that I’m really grateful for all the ways you all have helped me do that — by digging into the hard questions and being willing to listen to our mistakes and our insights. Team Sankofa was a massive part of that learning. My leadership was transformed and it has been awe inspiring to see the massive transformation of the many beautiful humans who demonstrated what bottom up, leaderful communities are capable of. Aja, Atena, Mathew, QuianaDenae, and Whryne continue to demonstrate what relentless commitment to community and self really means.
In terms of what my transition means for the community, I am still most certainly a part of this community so I am not going too far away! I really wanted to highlight my gratitude for BLUU’s leadership as they support me in this process.
Feel free to reach out individually at the BLUU general email (BlackLivesofUU@gmail.com) if you have any questions! And you can always continue to reach out to me via social media.
“All that you touch you Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God Is Change.” — Octavia Butler
BLUU Announces Departures from Organizing Collective Board
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Rev. Margalie Belizaire and Samuel Prince have transitioned off of Black Lives of Unitarian Univeralism’s (BLUU’s) Organizing Collective Board (OCB).
During her time on the board, Margalie assisted with BLUU’s administrative work. Samuel was the OCB’s liaison for the 360 Council, the BLUU elders advisory board.
“Cultivating our collective relationships in BLUU and doing the incredible work that we get to do is nothing short of remarkable,” says Rev. Mykal Slack, BLUU’s Community Minister, about being a member of the OCB. “And so we all feel it when someone transitions off the team.”
Margalie is currently serving as the Assistant Minister of Pastoral Care and Adult Spiritual Development at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester in New York. Samuel is an IT professional based in Ohio, who continues to be active in Unitarian Universalism. Both remain connected to BLUU as Beloveds.
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board of Directors is grateful for the years of service that both Margalie and Samuel dedicated to BLUU’s Ministry. We send them blessings and love in their respective lives and ministries.
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
At the end of this project, 32 Black and Indigenous families will be empowered as homeowners in Minneapolis, something that will fundamentally transform access to resources and wealth for generations.
This draft rendering shows a multi-family unit from BLUU’s Housing Initiative. The initiative will make 32 Black and Indigenous families homeowners in North Minneapolis.
St. Paul, Minnesota —
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) is excited to announce The BLUU Northside Housing Cooperative Initiative, a BLUU initiative that embodies our commitment to improve the material conditions of Black lives as an act of our faith.
BLUU purchased eight vacant lots in North Minneapolis and will transform those lots into multi-unit housing that will create generational wealth for Black and Indigenous families in the area.
At the end of this project, 32 Black and Indigenous families will be empowered as homeowners.
BLUU believes in building power through connection. BLUU will help the homeowners form cooperative entities so each homeowner has connection with and support from their neighbors. BLUU will also support families who move into the units we build with resources and training related to finance, land ownership, and cooperative decision-making.
Creating truly affordable housing in North Minneapolis will have real impacts in a rapidly gentrifying area. By selling the developed units to a land trust entity, BLUU will ensure that the cost of the units stays truly affordable.
BLUU is accepting donations for the Housing Initiative. Every dollar helps support the creation of truly affordable housing for Black and Indigenous.
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
As Black people, we have endured immense loss in 2020. We want our community to know we’re in this with you and more resilient than ever.
Black people have survived generations of violent oppression. And yet, our responses to that violence are not what make us resilient. Gauging Black resilience by our response to violent whiteness is racist.
You’re not talking about Black resilience if you’re only talking about how Black people respond to trauma. On an episode of the La Cura podcast, somatics practitioner Prentis Hemphill says,“Resilience is not an acclimation to conditions but a commitment to life.”
That’s why our invitation to Black folks going into election day is to join us in reclaiming the meaning of Black resilience. One of our 7 Principles of Black Lives says spiritual growth is directly tied to our ability to embrace our whole selves. Today, we proclaim that Black Lives Matter separate from the dangers of whiteness that threaten them. We are resilient just because we exist. Living while Black is rigorous on its own terms.
When we talked about what we wanted to say to Black folks leading up to the election, we agreed that we’re tired of being told that we are resilient without that resilience being located outside of our trauma responses. And we guessed other Black folks might be feeling that way too.
We are resilient because our ancestors believed in our lives when there was no reason to even believe they’d survive. They dreamed us into existence. They prayed us into being. They organized for themselves so that we could carry the mantle. And they didn’t just believe we’d survive. They believed we could thrive.
We are resilient going into this election because we believe there will be Black people in the future, and their lives will be better than we could ever imagine.
We believe in centering community care and self-care after the election because a commitment to Black life demands that we rest and demands that we make sure we all have enough. We are more than our labor and productivity, and no one among us is disposable. We must commit to anti-capitalism and abolition like never before to ground ourselves in the imaginations of our ancestors and the futures of our descendants.
There is much work to do no matter who wins the election, and we will do that work together as we always have. With joy, with determination, and with each other. And with a belief in Black resilience.
BLUU creates and amplifies spaces and work that center Black life, and in doing so, we are performing a radical act. We will continue to support Black people by organizing for our liberation and worshipping in our wholeness. If you’re a Black person not connected with BLUU, this is a great week to get connected. Find out how to join us in the events below.
In faith, solidarity, and Black love,
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board
— — — —
BLUU Sacred Space for Black Folks During Election Week:
(These events are explicitly Black space. We invite folks who aren’t Black to share these connection opportunities with Black loved ones, colleagues, and congregants in solidarity with our work for Black liberation and healing.)
Team Sankofa, BLUU’s community organizing team, is offering an opportunity for Black people to spend the evening in shared, virtual space. All Black folks who share our values of radical inclusivity are welcome. BLUU’s Election Night Gathering will include entertainment in the form of community-building games, offerings from our esteemed Elders, and an after-hours Lunch + Vibe discussion! (Registration required)
We are in a collective time of grieving and experiencing a considerable amount of loss. The Root Work- Navigating Troubled Waters Herbalism workshop session will focus on strengthening your relationship with your body to hold space for grief. Herbalist India Harris will guide us as we engage in somatic centering practices and discuss plant medicine for heart healing. (Registration required)
In one of the most consequential elections of our time, we may struggle to find the certainty and grounding to know what’s next. How do we move through a time of deep rupture, but also one of deep possibility? We are grateful to welcome Nicole Pressley, National Organizer for UU the Vote, who will be reflecting with us on our ancestors’ (and our own) ability to find purpose and claim victory in times of trouble. (Registration required)
Keep Organizing After the Election:
We will continue to share information from trusted sources about how you can support and organize for Black liberation after the election ends because the work continues. If you don’t know what to do after the election, we suggest connecting with The Frontline as a starting place. The Frontline is a new powerful campaign by The Movement for Black Lives, Working Families Party, and United We Dream. The Frontline will be leading work *after* the election.
About BLUU:
Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism is committed to expanding the power and capacity of Black UUs within Unitarian Universalism; providing support, information, and resources for Black Unitarian Universalists; and justice-making and liberation for Black people through our faith. Subscribe to our email list to learn more about our worship events, organizing opportunities, and youth ministry.
Elandria Williams (she/they/E), a powerful organizer, a passionate Unitarian Universalist faith leader, and co-founder of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, joined the ancestors on Sept. 23, 2020. While we are still processing E’s transition, we wanted to share some reflections about Elandria to honor who they were to us.
The diverse groups of people from movement spaces and faith communities mourning E is a testament to the tenacity of E’s leadership and the depth of their spirit. Many people are still sharing memories of E using the hashtag #ElandriaTaughtUs. This is unsurprising because one couldn’t be in a room with Elandria without learning how to be a better human.
One video that folks have shared shows people gathered around E as they teach a call and response song:
“Solid as a rock.
Rooted like a tree.
I am here.
Standing strong.
In my rightful place.”
In a world where so many systems and people aim to create disarray and disconnection, it is a deeply spiritual challenge to stay rooted. Yet, that’s exactly what Elandria did. They kept their organizing unapologetically rooted in their commitments to Black liberation and disability justice. They brought this same rootedness into their leadership within Unitarian Universalism, always saying hard things in love and never forgetting to center their work in Black freedom and Black joy.
“I worked with Elandria in the very beginning of forming BLUU,” said BLUU’s Executive Director Lena K. Gardner. “I didn’t know her very well before then. We had our disagreements, but I always felt her love and we always left things in a good place. She was never afraid to feel her feelings or express them, and was welcoming with a warmth I have rarely experienced in movement spaces. I have long admired the way she loves and moves ever since those early days and will miss her. I hope to honor her legacy by continuing to build and strengthen BLUU as an organization — and to always move in love and truth.”
The fabric of who Elandria was will remain in BLUU’s DNA forever. We are so grateful that Elandria taught us how to take up space and to do so with moral clarity. No one ever had to figure out what E’s values were because they spoke them boldly and then lived them fiercely.
“When BLUU was formed in 2015, what I remember Elandria saying over and over again was, ‘we have to say it plain,’” said BLUU co-founder and BLUU Advisory Team member Leslie Mac. “E offered that same advice to me so often in all the work we did together. I watched E, with the support of 1500 Black organizers, negotiate the immediate release of a young man from the custody of what seemed like a battalion of police officers in Cleveland, OH. I watched E navigate the misogynoir thrown at her as she led our UUA as Co-Moderator with ease and grace. I watched E pull me close and talk earnestly and effectively about the need for us to have a strong inside AND outside game. She would say, ‘Leslie I do not care what people think our relationship is like on the outside. We know the truth and that is enough.’ I take that lesson with me always. Elandria taught me that organizing is a journey and one that requires the application of so many different skills and tactics. E taught me above all else to love our people, speak truth to power, and care for yourself, even when it’s hard. In her absence I hear her voice singing to me: ‘Solid as a rock. Rooted like a tree. We are here. Standing strong… in our rightful place.’”
The BLUU Organizing Collective Board is committed to meaningfully and tangibly honoring Elandria’s legacy in the long term. This commitment requires discerning, deep listening and community partnership. E taught us to take care in our work, and to move only when we are collectively ready to move. We will share updates about this work as this promise takes more concrete shape.
Please consider donating to the GoFundMe that E’s community started for their niece and nephews. They were very active in their lives and helped support them financially. #ElandriaTaughtUs to take care of each other, and we ask that our community help support E’s family in that spirit.
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