“Juneteenth” with the Allies for Racial Equity Committee

Juneteenth is Sunday June 19, 2022. While Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 freeing the slaves, the news did not reach Texas for 2 years in 1865. Juneteenth recognizes the date all slaves were free.
The UUSMV Allies for Racial Equity have chosen this Sunday to share with our congregation an 8th Principle that Unitarian Universalist congregations across the country are discussing.
This 8th Principle would call upon congregations to: “journey toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
The Unitarian Universalist Association has had other times in its history that congregations voted to work to eradicate racism; each time the work lost steam and/or funding and failed. African American UU’s have left the denomination in the past. We hope this time the broader “we” of UU’s will not fail them. Black Lives of UU Organizing Collective is urging our collective commitment to dismantle white supremacy. “If not us, who? If now now, when?”
We will offer two opportunities for our congregation to talk more about this proposed 8th Principle on Tuesday June 21. 1pm-2pm at the Chapel (outside if pleasant weather) or 5:30-6:30 pm on Zoom. Our congregation will have an opportunity to vote on our support for the 8th Principle. 201 congregations in the United States (out of approximately 1,000) have voted for the 8th Principle to date.
In May 2021, our UUSMV Mission statement was amended to include our support of racial equity in our shared values. Our Vision 2025 states clearly our commitment to work to accountably dismantle white supremacy, racism, and intersecting oppressions in ourselves, our community, our institutions, and our democracy.