Our Mission
Our mission is to play a leadership role in the work of resisting and dismantling racism and the policies and practices that flow from it and sustain it, within and beyond our congregation.
We will help our congregation recognize and set aside a culture of white supremacy and truly realize its aspiration of being a welcoming, equitable, and inclusive community. We realize that the dominant culture of white supremacy harms all our community members, but most particularly those who are Black, Indigenous, and other people of color as well as those impacted by the intersectional effects of gender oppression, heterosexism, ableism, and classism.
In pursuing these ends, we will…
- work to dismantle white supremacy culture;
- maintain an antiracist focus that promotes equity, justice, and inclusion;
- continue to educate ourselves and others about all aspects of white supremacy culture, and how we might dismantle it;
- work to maintain cultural diversity within our action group;
- take direction from, support the efforts of, and collaborate with communities of color;
- support and collaborate with other marginalized communities;
- join hands with the Portland faith community and with local and national advocacy and activist groups to help build a city, state, and nation committed to justice, equity, and personal wellbeing; and
- be mindful that mistakes will be made, that we will seek to rectify them and humbly begin again in love.
Advancing Racial Justice Action Group Celebrates Juneteenth
On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country, awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free.
But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later.
Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth” by the newly freed people in Texas.
Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day. Although it has long been celebrated in the African American community, Juneteenth has been a federal holiday only since 2021.
Source: the National Museum of African American History and Culture, whose website offers a rich selection of resources related to Juneteenth, including an extensive reading list.
Honoring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is an annual celebration honoring the historical and cultural contributions of Americans of Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander descent. (Learn more about AANHPI Heritage Month and the history and contributions of AANHPI Americans.)
Celebrating Black History Month
In celebration of Black History Month, ARJAG has shared stories about the ways in which Black people have helped to shape our city, state, and nation — as well as our religious tradition.
Read our post about local organizations here.
Read our post about Unsung Black Heroes here.
Read our post about Black Unitarian Universalists here.
Read our post about Black History in Oregon here.
Anti-Racism Learning Circles
One of our most important programs are the Anti-Racism Learning Circles. The Antiracism Learning Circles are small discussion cohorts that go through a book or podcast. These Circles were formed in the Fall of 2020 as an educational response to the unrest due to the murder of George Floyd.
Recent ARJAG Programs
Justice Delayed, Finally Gained: How Portland Families Displaced by Urban Renewal Won Restitution
Whatever happened with EDPA2?
Find out on Sunday, February 22, 2026
12:00-1:30 pm, Eliot Chapel, First Unitarian Church
Very light refreshments provided before the event. Please BYO if you need more sustenance.
Childcare is available with advance notice. Please email Rev Leah with your request: longiri@firstunitarianportland.org.
Ms. Byrd (pictured above, speaking to the reporter), the founder of Emanuel Displaced Persons Association 2 (EDPA2), with whom our congregation has been long connected, returns to recap and update the efforts that led to their remarkable settlement with the City of Portland last year. Under Byrd’s determined and creative leadership, EDPA2 persisted for many years as an ad hoc, community-based social justice organization made up of people whose family homes and businesses had been demolished in the 1970s to make way for a hospital expansion that never happened. Byrd dedicated almost ten years of her life to advocating and agitating for justice, for restitution. It was Byrd’s scholarship, study, research, and persistence that led to the filing of a lawsuit that
resulted in an unprecedented settlement. Don’t miss this uplifting story about a successful struggle to achieve redress that took more than 50 years.
To contact Ms. Byrd: Contactedpa2@gmail.com