OUR || PROGRAMS Social Justice
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2010 Portland Pride Parade
The goal of this emerging movement is two-fold: 1) to stop this anti-immigration bill in Arizona before it spreads throughout the country; and 2) to put pressure on the federal government to create more humane immigration reforms. The current system is broken: it denies students the chance for college and to follow their dreams, it is breaking up families--ripping parents away from their children--and it is fostering racism.
The May 29th protest was an historic day for Unitarian Universalists but now the hard work begins. We must work all over the country to stand up against racial profiling, discrimination, and the laws that are encouraging these immoral acts. We must organize for Comprehensive Immigration Reform that includes a path to legalization and balances safety and humanitarianism. ---Rev. Kate Lore Why I Must Go to Arizona -- by Rev. Kate Lore A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by colleagues from several states if I would please come to Phoenix to participate in protest against the new anti-immigration legislation in Arizona, Senate Bill 1070. The most compelling call came from Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, the UU minister in Phoenix: "We in Arizona need you. In Phoenix, I am ministering to a wounded community that needs more love than I alone can give." I said "yes" to my colleagues without hesitation, knowing my own sense of wholeness was contingent upon my being there. You see, I had been anxiously following the progress of this bill, fearing that it would indeed pass. Not only was I worried that my brown-skinned friends and family members in Arizona might be harrassed by the police, I suspected that if it passed, versions of the bill would creep up in other states--which has already happened.Immigration Reform is Needed--but not this version.SB1070 covers four areas. The most notable is that it criminalizes being present in this country without documentation and requires that people carry papers at all times. Secondly, it requires police to determine a person’s residency status should the officer have a “reasonable suspicion” that an individual is an undocumented alien (racial profiling is legal in Arizona). The third area allows civil complaints against governmental agencies with policies that impede these laws, and the fourth area involves restrictions on the process of seeking day labor in Arizona. You can read the actual law here.I have discussed this matter with a number of people who are frankly unsympathetic with the plight of the undocumented. Their response seems to be summarized in the statement “They’re illegal.” And apparently with that simple statement folks are willing to not only wash their hands about the plight of the undocumented among us, but also to be comfortable with pretty much anything that forces them to leave. And that’s certainly what we’re getting with SB 1070.As a person of faith, I cannot let it sit there.I accept that there are national boundaries, and that people have a right to control those boundaries. Yet our actions addressing these issues must be consonant with human dignity and worth. I hope those who have a sense of faith in our ultimate connections, who see worth and dignity of every person, agree.And this legislation does not take these things into account. It ignores how the vastly larger numbers of people who come here without documentation wanting nothing more than a chance to work. They admire this country. They wish they could be citizens. And so while it may be necessary to limit the number of people who can come here, to make their desperate attempt to come here among us a crime is heartless.Similarly, no matter how finely nuanced it is made to charge the police to look at people and to wonder if they’re here illegally, passage of this law can only lead to racial profiling. This isn’t about the nuances of looking for terrorists, this is looking for people who work our gardens and kitchens and little sweatshop factories around the country. Again this is heartless and unnecessary.Our charge as people of faith is to find the generous heart. We also need a cool head. But they need not be incompatible. We need to be willing to listen to reasonable reforms to immigration, to acknowledge the needs of secure borders, and when reasonable to support those calls. And we need to challenge, loudly, with great vigor, anything that serves to hurt the most vulnerable among us.For these reasons I must go to Arizona. Building A Multicultural Community Something is in the air, I can feel it. Like many social movements, it is hard to pinpoint just when it all began. But something has shifted in our church. Despite decades of concern, study, and (largely) failed attempts to eradicate racism in our midst, there is a renewed sense of urgency. “We need to understand the complexities of racism,” you are telling me. We need to develop new skills on building a multicultural community.” The white people among you are asking, “How can we get training to be effective White Allies?” And this all happened BEFORE you know that Rev. Bill Sinkford would be our ministerial candidate. When I think about it, there have been many factors leading us in this holy direction: •Those horrific images and stories of earthquake victims in Haiti; •The multiplicity of examples of institutional racism we encountered on our service trip to New Orleans; •The police shooting death of Aaron Campbell, another unarmed black man; •Leisa’s stirring sermon on racism; •Our recent inter-racial dialogs; and •The focus on multiculturalism in the Spring issue of UU World (www. uuworld.org/issues/spring2010. shtml). Clearly—and suddenly—there are growing numbers of you asking me to form some sort of on-going group where we can share our stories, build stronger bonds of compassion and empathy, and work together to make change. I couldn’t be happier. I want to help form such a group—especially now that we know Rev. Sinkford is coming. He is an in-spiring African-American leader who has great passion and vision; I couldn’t have imagined a better minister for us at this time. Not that I think it will be easy. After all, we are each members of a society that operates on racial oppression, and many of us come from the more privileged segments of that society. Nurturing racial equity and multi-culturalism will take time, courage, and a willingness to change. If, however, you think you might be interested in becoming involved in this sacred work—and are willing to work on it for at least a year—I want to hear from you. You can reach me at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 503-228-6389, ext. 44. Cuba AyUUda Notes: Independent and Group Travel Continues Did you know that First Unitarian Church has had a license to legally travel to Cuba since 2003? Such licenses are rare these days so we consider ourselves to be quite lucky. Up until recently, we’ve been able to send delegations to Cuban without any hassle. That changed last December, however, when Cuban immigration officials turned back a group from our church last year. (See Cuba AyUUda Statement below) Does that mean that our license has been revoked? Not at all. In fact, two people from our church went to Cuba in March--just to make sure—and they encountered no problems. Since being denied entry last December, Cuba AyUUda trip leaders have met numerous times in private and public forums to create more stringent guidelines for successful entry into Cuba. Require-ments, application processes, size of group and entry points have all been taken into consideration with the utmost care for people’s safety and the integrity of the Social Justice program, respecting the laws of both countries. Therefore, we have decided to resume travels to Cuba. If you are interested in traveling to Cuba with us, please talk to a volunteer on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays in Fuller Hall at the Cuba AyUUda table. There are a variety of opportunities for travel including groups accompanied by a leader as well as unescorted trips of individuals or small groups. For all travelers, experienced English-speaking Cuban partners will escort you on your journey and provide access to Cuba AyUUda’s unique network of people, places, projects, and ideas. All travelers are required to participate in extensive orientation and training prior to going to Cuba. People who have returned from group trips or independent travel found their journey was enriched by Cuba AyUUda’s exceptional network. For more information on Social Justice Programs click here. |
The joy was palpable on Sunday, June 20th when approximately 50 congregants braved the soggy weather to participate in the the 40-year celebration of Portland's Pride Parade. This year's entry drew members of all ages, physical abilities and sexual orientations, thanks to the organization talents of Kevin Lawson, Scott Winters and our UU Pride group. The festive t-shirts, streamers, a decorated truck w/ trailer and banners with important messages such as "Standing on the Side of Love" and "Unitarian Universalists SUPPORT the Freedom to Marry," made our group a real crowd-pleaser!
Over 500 Unitarian Universalists from around the country went to Phoenix on Memorial Day weekend to protest Arizona's new anti-immigration law, SB 1070. This included UUA President Peter Morales, UUA Moderator Gini Courter, and over 50 UU ministers. As one non-UU at the march noted, the only religious group to have a presence at the march were the Unitarian Universalists. Although this is not technically true, we came out in such force, such unity, that we were prominent--our gold "Standing on the Side of Love" t-shirts, posters and banners dotting the crowd of over 50,000 marchers. It was a festive and joyous weekend, despite the six mile walk and the near 100 degree heat!
I believe this is one of the great the moral issues of our day. We are in a moment of tremendous change as a country. We are changing demographically and culturally. The question that we must ask ourselves is will we react to these changes out of fear and scarcity, or will be respond out of the moral call of our faith to affirm the worth and dignity of every person by loving our neighbor as ourselves?
