Reparations Study Advocacy at General Assembly
Submitted by: Tom Hempfling
Our Reparations Study Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) did not get enough votes to be one of the three approved AIWs at the 2016 UUA General Assembly. (The three approved AIWs were: expressing solidarity with Muslims, advocating gun reform, and affirming support for transgender people). We were encouraged that the Counsel for Social Witness staff chose to include the Reparations Study AIW as one of the six that were voted on by all delegates, and our team collected the most nominating signatures of any of the AIWs. For some delegates, the Reparations Study proposal did not meet the test of immediacy as well as the three adopted AIWs.
We believe circulating the petition was a good experience for our delegation — it got us in touch with the Black UU and the Allies groups and honed our understanding of the bill. We are determined to continue with a long-term sustainable approach for this effort–one that is focused, yet recognizes valid opportunities for synergies.
UUs for a Just Economic Community chose Reparations as one of the issues to continue work on, including holding a lobby day / conference in Washington, DC in April, 2017. We have engaged with a trustee of UUJEC with the intention of seeing how Reparations Study Advocacy might be folded into its work and how we can further support it. The New Orleans GA in June of 2017 will be a “Justice GA” like the GA in Phoenix two years ago with opportunities for greater follow-up.
Sunday, July 17, 2016, 10:00am
“Freedom and Obligation”
Freedom is a cherished ideal in our country and in our Unitarian Universalist movement. Our fourth principle calls us to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning, but while we champion freedom, our obligation to one another may be more challenging to embrace. How do we hold the pursuit of real freedom for each in tension with our obligation to the good of all? Eileen Wiviott speaking.
Sunday, July 10, 2016, 10:00am
“Emerson on Life and Death”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, frequently portrayed as both an enthusiastic optimist and a rebel, was born on May 25, 1803. His father, a Unitarian minister in Boston, died when Ralph was only seven. At the tender age of fourteen, he entered Harvard to follow in the footsteps of his father, but demonstrated what his professors called an average academic ability and uninventive thinking. Emerson cultivated his creativity over time and developed a theological perspective called Transcendentalism. We’ll explore Emerson’s approach to life and death. Rev. Dr. Nicole C. Kirk, Professor of Unitarian Universalist History at Meadville Lombard Theological School, speaking.