Dear UUCUC:

This new administration puts a harsh spotlight on the challenges we will face over the next four years. Racial justice, immigration justice, and LGBTQ+ rights are all under threat. DEI programs are being canceled and staff are laid off. The Racial Justice team thinks this is a key time to keep active programming for our church and community. However, we need new leadership and new energy in our church to help determine how we can promote justice and the values of inclusivity, fairness, and equity.  

We have ideas but need help from new members willing to join us in planning events. Are you interested in advancing racial justice issues in our church and community? We would like to hear from you! Please bring your ideas and energy to a discussion meeting after church on Sunday, February 2, in the Children’s Chapel (11:45am-12:45pm). Or, if you can’t come, send your thoughts to racialjustice@uucuc.org.

The UUCUC Racial Justice team has been in operation for more than 20 years. In that time we have: taught classes in implicit bias and white privilege; hosted educational workshops and forums on institutional racism, reparations issues, Critical Race Theory, Native American injustices, and school disciplinary biases; led book study groups on multiple racially themed books (note: the Racial Justice Book Group continues); promoted a pulpit invitation with Rev. Thomas from Bethel AME Church in Urbana; supported community groups actively addressing racial problems; helped pass the UU Eighth Principle here at UUCUC and promoted posting the “Black Lives Matter” banner on the Green Street side of the church.  

We have funding for this spring and hope to plan some events like the following, if some of you are willing to help organize:

A movie and post-movie discussion with a racial theme as part of the Popcorn Theology (e.g., “Rustin” which will be shown on Friday 2/7/2025 Check out the IMDB page here!  Can you help us with this event as a discussion leader or respondent?

A movie and post-movie discussion about local efforts to address reparations for slavery and systemic racial bias (such as Jim Crow era laws). We could probably invite (and pay) a speaker from CU Reparations to come facilitate a discussion of local reparations efforts and show one of the many PBS documentaries about past and current reparations efforts. 

Information and discussion of the Illinois Potawatomi tribe’s efforts to reclaim tribal land in DeKalb County, Illinois that was illegally taken from them in the 1850’s. Could one of us write an article for enUUws about this effort? Could we donate some of our budget to this cause?

Contribution of funds to community groups doing racial justice work in C-U and Illinois. We have more than $3000 of our RJT budget yet unspent. It’s not doing much good sitting in the church’s bank account. We should decide soon how to spend it for the greater good.

We know there are energetic folks out there who are ready to take action! Please join us!

On the downside, if we are unable to find new volunteers, we will propose the Racial Justice Team become officially inactive at the end of this fiscal year (June 2025). Letting the Racial Justice Team go inactive would not end our church's or individual's commitment or participation in community justice events. These opportunities could be promoted on an event by event basis, perhaps through the Social Action Council.