Racial Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Team
“Beloved community is formed not by the eradication of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identies and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world.” – bell hooks
The REAL Team members support and engage in anti-racist and anti-oppression work. All UCE folks are welcome to join us at the REAL Team monthly meetings to share ideas and collaborate on education and action programming. REAL Team meetings are 7 – 8:30 pm on the fourth Tuesday of the month except during holiday months. See the newsletter for more details. Your voice is needed!
The REAL Planning Group is small and meets monthly or more often and we encourage you to contact us if you have questions or an initiative to propose : Becky Crawford, Alison Issen and Cheryl Mounts. Contact REAL via any of its Planning Group members at email addresses in REALM.
Click on the button below for ideas on how to fight racism.
Contact REAL at ucerealteam@gmail.com or contact any of its Planning Group members listed above.
What has been your experience of oppression and equity at UCE? The Anti-Oppression Task Force would like to know. We have worked with the YWCA Equity Institute to create a survey. We hope that the survey results can be used to help make UCE a place of radical welcome. Click here to participate in this 20 min survey. Members of the Anti-Oppression Task Force will be available during kinship hour to answer questions and provide paper copies of the survey for those who prefer the paper and pen format. Feel free to send a message to uceantioppressionsurvey@gmail.com with questions or if you would like a paper survey mailed to you. If you have already completed the survey, stop by the table Sunday to get an “I Completed the Equity Survey!” sticker to wear.
Bettina Love explains what a co-conspirator is in this video. We think it better describes what we are trying to be than the term “allies.”
Our congregation is reading Widening the Circle…
Our Unitarian Universalist Association, through the Commission on Institutional Change has issued a powerful report which names the way white supremacy culture lives within our systems, just as it does throughout our larger society. The good news is that it also provides tools for dismantling systemic racism within, among, and beyond us. We can use these tools to build a more loving, anti-racist, anti-oppressive world. We can use these resources to practice building the Beloved Community. You may choose to buy a copy of the Widening the Circle book ($16) here.
Actions with REAL
Join the REAL Team History Group for continuing discussions about the Netflix series “AMEND: The Fight for America.” Meetings starts at 8:00pm. Contact Dana Deanne for more information.
- January 26: We will discuss Episode 3, WAIT: Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.
- February 2: We will discuss Episode 6, PROMISE: Immigration to the United States, hope, xenophobia and systemic discrimination faced
Black Lives Matter signs and buttons are available – text Martha Holman (number in the directory and Realm). Signs are $10 each and come with a stand. Buttons are $1 each.
Important Links:
REAL Lending Library Annotated Book List
The UCE Racial Equity Action and Leadership (REAL) team has often been asked to give suggestions for books to read to further our understanding of race in America. Many books about race in America, both fiction and non-fiction, are published every day. The UCE REAL Lending Library volunteers try to continually update our collection of current and time-honored books that have been recommended by members of our congregation, but as you can imagine, it is not feasible to have all books on oppression and racism available in our library. If we don’t have a particular book, we may be able to provide information about other that may interest you and that may be available at local libraries.
The attached annotated listing is an almost up-to-date compilation of some wonderful books you might explore. Some are on the UCE Racial Justice book cart (at the back of the sanctuary) and are noted as such. The listing categorizes books by author, title, genre, date of publication, and numbers of pages. It also provides a short description to further help you choose what to read.
Because so many in our congregation are voracious readers and participate in book clubs, the Lending Library volunteers ask that you send us your recommendations for books that can be annotated and placed on our book list. If you would send us the title, author, and date of publication, we will complete the remainder of the annotation.
You may contact Joan Retzloff, Jackie Seaman, or Cheryl Mounts through Realm or via admin@ucevanston.org.
Thanks to Sarah Vanderwicken, Joan Retzloff, Jackie Seaman and Carolyn Laughlin for putting together this resource. Thanks in advance to future volunteers who will help keep the listing and the cart up-to-date.
News & Updates from the REAL Team
WE OWN THIS NOW by Alison Brooks
You are invited to learn more about the Doctrine of Discovery through a 90-minute play about love of land, loss of land, and what it means to “own” something.
What: We Own This Now
When: Friday, March 17, 2023 at 7:00pm and Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 3:00pm
Where: Reba Place Church, 620 Madison St, Evanston, IL 60202
Tickets: Free admission. No reservations required. $10 Donation suggested.
The play, We Own This Now, speaks to an interfaith and racially diverse group. It looks at the history of the Doctrine of Discovery, and some of the ways that doctrine has influenced the way US culture is set up, what “ownership” means, how we came to be on the land we live/work/exist upon… which affects all of us. The show does stay focused on the Doctrine of Discovery and the impact and implications for Indigenous people – it does not get into related material around slavery and forced labor history.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO INDIGENOUS ATTENDEES: You may have a variety of experiences in watching. The producers want to be clear that this play is written towards educating a settler audience. Some Indigenous attendees have been moved by the performance and thanked the producers for doing the work of bring awareness to this history, others have been triggered by some scenes (esp. around boarding schools) and wished they had known ahead of time so they could have chosen not to attend, and a variety of additional responses in between.
The Anti-Oppression Task Force Needs You!
As you may recall, 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 UUA through the Commission on Institutional Change, and Black Lives of UU “to engage in the struggle to dismantle white supremacy as it collectively exists” and “to become more inclusive, equitable, and diverse while… work[ing]…to be accountable to those most affected by injustice.” The purpose of the UCE Anti-Oppression Task Force is to determine the ways in which we might answer this call, making justice a reality both in our congregation and beyond.
For the last year, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has been working with our consultants at the YWCA Equity Institute. The AOTF has pinpointed three goals for its work:
- expanding the congregation’s ownership of anti-racism, anti-oppression work;
- increasing power sharing at UCE; and
- encouraging radical inclusion and hospitality.
With the assistance of the YWCA, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has determined that the first step in realizing these goals is to communicate with the congregation. We need to understand and discern where we are and what we might do as a congregation to continue our anti-racism, anti-oppression journey and to build our Beloved Community.
For this reason, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has created three similar, but not identical surveys: one that has been given to members of the Board of Trustees, one that will be given to the Staff, and one that will be given to the congregation. These surveys are the result of months of discussion among task force members. The information from the surveys will be collected and summarized by the YWCA Equity Institute. All of the surveys will be done individually and anonymously.
Board members are completing their surveys now and will be discussing next steps in collaboration with the YWCA at the Board retreat in August. The Staff will be working through their survey at their annual retreat in September. The congregation can expect to see the survey in their email boxes in August. After the survey is released to the congregation, members of the Anti-Oppression Task Force will also be available after the service on Sunday mornings to assist in completing the survey and to answer questions. We need you, all of you, to complete the survey!
The Anti-Oppression Task Force is an important part of our congregation’s anti-racism, anti-oppression efforts and an integral part of our Eighth Principle work. The survey is the next step in diving deeply into this work. We appreciate your willingness to join us on this journey! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rev. Eileen Wiviott at ewiviott@ucevanston.org or Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances@ucevanston.org.