Racial Justice
Our majority white congregation is in the process of making intentional commitments and changes to more fully live into our commitment to racial justice. We have a long history of supporting efforts for desegregation, and multiculturalism. Currently, there are several UUCT groups actively focused on racial justice work or in nurturing anti-racist, anti-oppressive ways of promoting dignity and interdependence.
Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) Meetup
Members, friends, and visitors who are people of color at UUCT are welcome to our monthly meetup, a supportive group for exploring the intersections of our faith, racial identities, and liberation.
Allies for Racial Equity
Allies for Racial Equity (ARE@UUCT) is a group of people who hold white privilege, actively learning how the social constructs of race and racism distort authentic beloved community. This group is currently working to implement the 8th principle of Unitarian Universalism, a pledge to dismantle systemic racism and oppressions.
Capital Area Justice Ministry
UUCT is a congregational member of the Capital Area Justice Ministry (CAJM). This coalition of diverse religious congregations works to build a powerful movement to end segregation and poverty, and advance justice and opportunity for all.
Member congregations collaborate to choose which community problems to tackle. Individuals from the congregations participate in research teams to identify what initiatives are working and what needs to change. The process culminates with a large assembly, where CAJM presents specific proposals to local officials and asks for their support.
If you’d like to get involved, please contact CAJM@uutallahassee.org.
Recent Posts on Racial Justice issues
Dismantling My Implicit Racial Bias
The proposed 8th Principle calls on us to “dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” Does this imply that we are racists? That’s not how I see it. Ibram Kendi, in his book How to be an Antiracist, argues that it is not useful to label people as “racist” or “not racist.”…
Capital Area Justice Ministry: Research in Action
UUCT CAJM Network Members are working with CAJM research committees developing policy proposals for Affordable Housing and Gun Violence/Policing. The two committees will meet with Team Leaders from all the congregations on February 22 to share their work. At the full CAJM network Pep Rally on March 8th, the committees will reveal the action proposals to be presented to…
Remembrance Program
The Tallahassee Community Remembrance Project (TCRP) hosts the first annual remembrance program for Leon County’s lynching victims on the afternoon of Saturday, February 12. The TCRP is a coalition of forty-six partner organizations and faith communities, including UUCT. The remembrance begins at 2:00 pm in Cascades Park, at the historical marker near the corner of…
8th Principle Article: History of Our Principles
My last Meridian Article introduced the Principles as adopted in the 1960s. 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…
Beloved Community and Radical Welcome
For me, Beloved Community means creating the space where everyone can be their whole selves, not just those who are already here; where no one feels the need to hide a part of their identity, or who they really are, to be accepted into our church community. A first step can be practicing the radical…
Beloved Community
Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations are the ends that we affirm and promote in the second UU principle. The end we covenant to affirm in the 8th Principle is more expansive and all-encompassing: “diverse, multicultural Beloved Community.” What might that look like? The phrase “beloved community” was coined by philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce and…
Will the Eighth Principle be Sustainable in Our Church?
Hopefully before the 8th principle is adopted by UUCT, all members of the congregation will have become familiar with what the principle means. If it is well known to everyone, discussed within the congregation, and talked about in church services, then it can become owned by every member of the church. That’s why the Allies…
Why Is the 8th Principle So Long?
I first heard about the proposed 8th Principle almost two years ago. My initial reaction was: “Wow, that’s a lot to say and remember!” “We covenant to affirm and promote journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves…