AOTF History

In the fall of 2020, the Board of Trustees commissioned an Anti-Oppression Task Force (AOTF) at UCE in response to a call from the Congregation, Evanston Interfaith leaders, the Unitarian Universalist Association through the Commission on Institutional Change, and Black Lives of UU (BLUU), “to engage in the struggle to dismantle white supremacy as it collectively exists” 1. and “to become more inclusive, equitable, and diverse while… work[ing]…to be accountable to those most affected by injustice.” 2 The purpose of AOTF was to find ways the Congregation might answer this call, making justice a reality both in our Congregation and beyond.

Realizing that we needed the assistance of consultants, the AOTF began working with the YWCA Equity Institute in July of 2021. With the aid of the YWCA, the AOTF surveyed the Congregation, Board of Trustees, and Staff, in order to understand where we are and what we might do as a Congregation to continue our anti-racism, anti- oppression (AR/AO) journey, and to build our multicultural Beloved Community. We shared with the Congregation the information from these surveys, at a summit in January 2023.

The YWCA provided written recommendations to the AOTF in February 2023. The AOTF met in March 2023 to determine our top three priorities for each aim. Then, in April 2023, we created three working groups, one for each aim. We are now looking to expand the membership of the AOTF, to work on implementing the YWCA’s recommendations. Look for information about on Aim 2 and Aim 3 in the newsletter over the next two newsletters.

1 “https://ucevanston.org/evanston-interfaith-juneteenth-letter/”

2 “https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/cic/widening”