In the era of what many were calling a “post-racial” America with the election of Barack Obama, there was an illusion of progress in race relations in the United States. However, with high-profile local and national police shootings of black men, abysmal racial gaps in wealth and education in Minnesota, and a collective congregational desire to act justly as a spiritual imperative, First Universalist Church embarked on a holistic, sustained, and intentional racial justice journey. The congregation and its leaders recognized that environmental justice, housing justice, and immigrant justice, education justice, etc. are racial justice at their roots. ;xNLx;;xNLx;In that mindset, ministers, lay leaders, and congregants alike have reflected, listened, discussed, organized, partnered, planned, cooked, preached, and formed relationships with the express goal to further the racial justice journey- not to “achieve” racial justice, or to ever be “done” creating the beloved community, but to live an explicitly Racially Just life with black and brown communities within our church itself, in Minneapolis, and beyond. ;xNLx;;xNLx;This work continues in 2019, and will continue for our lifetimes. We remain grounded in the mission and vision to be “a faith community that acts with humility, bravery, and compassion to create a racially just and sustainable world.”;xNLx;;xNLx;The purpose of this timeline is to document the diverse efforts thus far, to educate newcomers about what we've been up to, and to remind longtime friends and members of the myriad ways we have been (and will continue to be) working for racial justice, and collectively living a racially just life.;xNLx;;xNLx;Please note: In no way is this an exhaustive list. Dozens of staff-related RJ efforts, programming efforts, and much more, are not listed here. However, this gives timeline a sense of the depth and breadth of our racial justice ministry over the past seven years. This timeline does not outline in detail all of the efforts of the RJLT, the Change Team, or the RJET. It is a living, breathing document.;xNLx;
Our Senior Ministers preached many sermons on race, racial identity, white supremacy, and white privilege, which informally launched our racial justice work.
Staff met with Deep Equity Consultant, Heather Hackman, to map out a multi-year plan to bring the staff and leadership of the church into a new paradigm with racial justice at the center of our faith.
The multi-racial “Racial Justice Leadership Team” was created to help organize and lead the effort to institutionalize an anti-racist framework within the leadership culture of First Universalist.
We launched the first 24 hour training with Heather Hackman.
In April, 2013, the Racial Justice Leadership Team screened "Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible," and " Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity." See p.5 of the Liberal, linked below.
Rev. Justin writes in his Liberal article:
A mostly-white congregation, First U is invited to read, reflect, and learn together.
We are called into our Racial Justice work as a spiritual imperative and practice.
As we began our racial justice work, this Practice Circle offered an opportunity for families of color to reflect on their experiences.
Deb Rogers, Racial Justice Leadership Team member, shares her personal stories after the first year of intentional racial justice work at First Universalist.
In circles of 8-10 individuals, we considered where we are personally and institutionally on our journey toward racial equity and a deeper understanding of race, racism, and whiteness.
Jayne Miller writes, "Racial justice is not a choice, but a responsibility."
We began to apply a racial justice lens to all program and age group areas.
We launched the first of two Train the Trainer workshop led by Heather Hackman (a 24 hour training designed to equip our people to lead workshops internally, to advance our efforts).
Going forward, our Worship Associate Program intentionally invites youth and adults of color to be worship associates.
In “The Difference Between Us,” the first hour of the series, we see that, despite what we’ve always believed, the world’s people simply don’t come bundled in distinct biological groups.
An opportunity to engage with the racial justice work that is central to this church’s social justice focus.
In May, 2014, we screened part two of “Race: The Power of an Illusion, The Story We Tell.” It traces the origins of race to the European conquest of the New World and to the American slave system -the first ever where all the slaves shared similar physical traits and a common ancestry.
Screening the last of this 3-part series.
A sermon by Rev. Ruth MacKenie
Those trained by Heather Hackman's "train the trainer" workshops facilitated sessions for fellow UUs on the intersection of faith and racial justice work.
Drop-In Film series continue as a way to educate ourselves and raise awareness.
Responding to the Grandy jury decision to not indict Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson for any crimes related to the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in August, 2014, we became active with Black Lives Matter Minneapolis and held an interfaith Black Lives Matter Vigil at First Universalist.
While adults worship in the sanctuary each week, children and youth fill our Religious Education wing.
The Board of Trustees start to apply a racial justice lens to meetings, discussions, and decisions.
Members of First Universalist joined BLM and others in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. parade in St. Paul.
First Universalist offers a special circle for parents and Religious Education teachers.
We explore: what structures uphold white supremacy in our congregation?
On the 50th Anniversary of the Selma-Montgomery March, Rev. Justin and Rev. Ruth, in addition to members of First Universalist Church and thousands of other Unitarian Universalists, joined a crowd of marchers in Selma, Alabama.
This was a chance to talk about the ways our faith moves us to stand up for justice.
A book discussion lead at First Universalist.
Dr. Hackman returns with a workshop on the intersections of climate justice and racial justice.
Heather Hackman preaches a sermon for our annual Earth Day service.
The Board presented and the congregation approved a “Racial Justice Resolution.”
We placed a Black Lives Matter banner on the front of our building.
In RE, program director Lauren Wyeth worked with a team to weave racial justice into all aspects of our ministry with children, youth, and families.
Members of the church partnered with Indigenous members of the community (Dakota), as we created cross cultural community gatherings to listen, to learn, and worked to restore the name of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska (White Earth Lake.) This work continues in 2019.
In August, staff and Board members of First U met with staff and Board members of Shir Tikvah to get to know one one another and see what possible synergies might exist between our two communities.
After a year of discernment, deliberation, and dedication, the Faithful Action Council is launched in the fall of 2015, with guiding principles that include using a Racial Justice Lens.
Our environmental justice team begins to transform its ministry to include a racial analysis in its efforts and preaching team regularly weaves reflections on race, racism, and whiteness in Sunday sermons.
Members of First Universalist Church were invited to participate in the next 24 hour racial justice training led by Dr. Heather Hackman.
"The Abolitionists" is from the acclaimed PBS series "American Experience."
Rev. Justin Schroeder preached about “choice points” on October 18, 2015
Board Member Cindy Marsh writes, "As a faith community, we passed a powerful racial justice resolution brought forward by the First Universalist Board of Trustees at our annual meeting in June."
"Waking Up White" is Debby Irving's powerful memoir about her journey in understanding what it means to be "White" and her struggle to understand racism and racial tensions.
Members of the People of Color (POC) Circle and Community at First Universalist planned and presented the Sunday Service on November 8.
Invited by BLM Minneapolis, we continued to stand together.
Again with Dr. Heather Hackman, this training was an interactive workshop exploring a framework and tools for understanding race, racism, and whiteness and the spiritual imperative that drives our racial justice work.
Members of First Universalist again participated in the Mall of America Protests led by BLM.
Using Choice Points, and our RJ lens, the Annual Giving Team decides to eliminate the annual Top Donor Appreciation Event, and focus instead on a ‘Gathering in Gratitude’ meal and event that the whole congregation is invited to.
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