Download White Supremacy Teach In RA 2017 FINAL w/o Video

White Supremacy Teach In
MidAmerica Regional Assembly
Saturday, April 29, 2017
http://www.blacklivesuu.com/teachin/
Critics see white supremacy in UUA
hiring practices
Latest senior hire, of a white man, highlights staff
leadership that remains mostly white.
“White supremacy” is a provocative phrase, as it
conjures up images of hoods and mobs. Yet in
2017, actual “white supremacists” are not required
in order to uphold white supremacist culture.
Building a faith full of people who understand that
key distinction is essential as we work toward a
more just society in difficult political times.
What does it mean?
White supremacy is a system or social
order that keeps power and resources
consolidated among white elites, using
an ideology (or way of understanding
the world) that upholds whiteness—
including white people, white cultural
values, and white institutions—as being
best or most “normal.”
What It Is Not
It’s not necessarily active hatred of
people who are not white or active belief
that white people should rule over
everyone else. It’s not limited to the
most overtly racist fringe elements of
society. It’s not a slur or an insult. It’s not
an historical artifact.
What It Is
It’s the water most white people swim
through without realizing they are wet.
It’s a basic fact of U.S. culture and
everyday life and a foundational truth of
this country.
– Alex Kapitan, “What’s in a Word: White Supremacy”
White Supremacy
•
Conservatives use the phrase in the service of
a…“colorblind” agenda, evoking extreme images
of KKK members and Nazis as the exclusive and
only examples of white racism in American life
and politics.
•
Liberals, progressives and anti-racists use the
phrase “white supremacy” to describe [both]
overt and subtle racist practices [of an] American
society…still structured around maintaining and
protecting white privilege.
That all member congregations of the UUA be
charged to declare and practice their faith in
the dignity and worth of every person and that
all member congregations of our
denominations are hereby strongly urged to
welcome into their membership and full
participation persons without regard to race,
color, or national origin.
–1963 General Resolution, “Commission on Religion and Race”
That in accordance with the purposes and
objectives of the UUA, this Association and its
members hereby declare and affirm their
special responsibility to promote the full
participation of persons, without regard to
race, color, sex, or national origin, in the
Association, in member churches and
fellowships, in associate members, in the
ministry and in society.
–1964 Business Resolution, “Commission on Religion and Race”
Unitarian Universalists Pledge Themselves to:
Work to eliminate all vestiges of discrimination
and segregation in their churches and
fellowships and to encourage the integration
of congregations and of the Unitarian
Universalist ministry….
–1966 Business Resolution, Consensus on Racial Justice
The empowerment tragedy
Recognizing the fact that institutional racism
is still embedded in American society in 1981,
the Unitarian Universalist Association shall
seek to eliminate racism in all its institutional
structures, policies, practices, and patterns of
behavior, so that it will become a racially
equitable institution and can make an
effective contribution toward achieving a
similarly equitable society.
– 1981 Business Resolution, “Racism Imperative”
[T]he 1992 General Assembly urges the Board
of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist
Association to develop and implement a
process involving a broad representation of
congregations, organizations, and staff to
realize this vision of a racially and culturally
diverse Unitarian Universalist Association.
–1992 Resolution of Immediate Witness, “Racial and Cultural
Diversity in Unitarian Universalism”
Urges Unitarian Universalists to examine
carefully their own conscious and
unconscious racism as participants in a racist
society, and the effect that racism has on all
our lives, regardless of color.
–1997 Business Resolution, Toward an Anti-Racist Unitarian Universalist
Association
Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist
Association, in their 2016 report to the
Assembly, called upon the Association to “find
the will and the way to do a better job” in the
fight for racial justice; [that we]
we hold ourselves accountable to less witness
and more action
–2016 Responsive Resolution, “Reaffirmation of Commitment to Racial
Justice”
A Conversation on Race
•
Turn to face one another and share your thoughts
on race in groups of 3-4.
•
Everyone gets five minutes to speak.
•
Listen from a place of curiosity and respect.
We will make a commitment to:
•
Stay engaged
•
Speak our truth as much as possible
•
Experience discomfort
•
Expect/accept non-closure and difference
•
Active listening without interruption of one another
Group Sharing
•
Everyone gets a chance to speak once before
someone speaks a second time
•
Comments are limited a minute and a half to
ensure maximum sharing of participants
•
Share something you heard someone else say
that was new, inspirational, troubling, informative,
etc.
Use the questions below as needed:
•
Is it uncomfortable to talk about race?
Why or why not?
•
Did you relate to any of the speakers or what was
said? If so, how and why?
•
How does racism or white supremacy affect you?
How does it hurt and/or help you?
•
Others thoughts on race and white supremacy
that you may wish to share.
Rev. Dr. Cornel West
Ware Lecture at General Assembly 2015
http://www.uua.org/multiculturalism/ga/ware-west
Questions for Consideration
•
How do I feel about the phrase “Institutional
White Supremacy?”
•
What does Institutional White Supremacy cost
me?
•
Cornel West says that white people have “have
got some work to do.” What is my work? What is
our work as UUs?
•
Where are your opportunities to resist?
Our history in regard to racial justice is brave
enough to make you proud, tragic enough to
make you cry, and inept enough to make you
laugh, once the anger passes. We also have a
future. Today’s task is to learn from what was
and move on. To move on will mean creating a
vision for the future. May concern for our faith
and love for one another guide our efforts.
—Mark Morrison-Reed