Since the service that the Racial Justice Group led last fall (2020), the Racial Justice Group contributed to the Martin Luther King Day service in January, and we have been reading and discussing “Widening the Circle of Concern,” which is a June 2020 report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change.
“Widening the Circle of Concern,” a 187-page report, is the result of a 3-year “deep dive” into the current state of racism that is alive and thriving within the Unitarian Universalist community. It “represents the culmination of the Commission’s work analyzing structural and systemic racism and white supremacy culture within Unitarian Universalism and makes recommendations to advance long-term cultural and institutional change that redeems the essential promise and ideals of Unitarian Universalism.” We are carefully taking in the content and are up to the Chapter titled, “Living Our Values in the World.”
In addition, several of us have registered to attend the full-day UU Racial Justice Workshop on Feb 27, and some in the Group are participating in the IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services) New Haven 5K virtual event. And, as we related during the service in the fall, we continue to educate ourselves and share resources with one another.
As always, the Racial Justice Group welcomes SUUS members to join our conversations. Please see the SUUS calendar for planned meetings. The Racial Justice Group also shares media recommendations, which are available on the SUUS website, under the “Justice” tab.
For those interested, “Widening the Circle of Concern” is available to read, listen to, or order through the UUA at the link below.
Warmly,
Laura Martino, Soule Golden, Dave Merrill, and Linda Dalterio
https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/cic/widening