Category: Article

Share the Plate with the Educated Choices Program

The mission of the Educated Choices Program (ECP) is to educate middle school, high school, college students, and community members at large about the impact of their food choices in relation to human, and ecosystem health. By providing information from highly respected scientific sources and promoting respectful dialogue, participants are encouraged to think critically about […]

Exhale – A Pro-voice Network for those who have had an Abortion

Exhale is the Pro-voice outlier to the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life groups, which are often at odds in the media and at protests. Exhale supports the women who made an abortion decision by providing them with an outlet to express their feelings. Exhale also supports those whose partners or friends made the decision about having an […]

What is the 1619 Project?

Fights over how we tell our nation’s story go back more than a century and have a great deal to teach us about our current divisions. Learning more about our nation’s history, through the New York Times links in this article, is a great way for adults to understand the realities of systemic racism and […]

Development of the 7 Principles and 6 Sources

The first major revision was in the mid 1980s. It is striking to read the original 6. They reflect their time. The language is male-centered and Judeo-Christian is the only religious tradition. The members of the UU Women’s Federation [UUWF] took issue. There was a multi-year/meeting/draft effort that culminated in the 7 which had ‘religious […]

Intentions & Impacts

A recent mention of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend reminded me that a neutral policy can have a racist impact. I worked at a non-profit that sold an annual family pass; free entry for a household and any out-of-town guests. After a decade or so, family was re-defined: only household members. After […]

The 8th Principle and Black Women

After the Civil War Black women like Ida B. Wells adopted “respectability” centered in clothing, coiffures and careers. They gladly shed the attire and pursuits foisted on their mothers when held in slavery. But, being a lady didn’t truly change their status, as Ida learned when she was forcibly ejected from the “Ladies Car” and […]

Why Does the 8th Principle Evoke a Journey?

The 8th Principle begins with the words: We covenant to affirm and promote journeying toward spiritual wholeness… Why evoke a journey? Doing what the 8th principle commits us to doing, working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community, is something that will take time and many steps to accomplish. As with any journey, there may be bumps in […]

An Honest Education is Democracy in Action

The first step to dismantling systemic racism is to guarantee that every American child is taught the authentic history of this country and not some white-centered version that selectively eliminates facts to avoid having the honest discussion that is sorely needed to bring about equity to American society. Engaging students in a factual discourse of […]

The History of our Principles

For the past year and a half I have been catching up on UU history and using that information as a guide or platform to learn about contemporary America. I grew up in a Universalist Church and remember the merger of the Universalists with the Unitarians. I don’t remember the initial Six Principles that were […]

Living into the 8th Principle

White as the norm, the default, permeates our society. Movie reviews never note “an all-white cast with a white-centered narrative.” The store’s selection of makeup has no special section for white skin. I’ve yet to hear a song introduction acknowledging a “Euro-American” composer. Joyful white people in wintry scenes are standard on holiday cards and […]