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MARCH 2026

 

Carrying the Work Forward: A Personal Story of Rev. Jesse Jackson, Financial Literacy, and the Call for Wealth Equity 

With all that has been going on in Minneapolis, with ICE, and the attendant discussions, I, like many, have been thinking about my own connection to these matters. 

I’ve been sensitive to the attention deficit in national media for the lethal behavior of federal agents, until Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed, and therefore, I’ve been thinking about my own work for racial justice. For me, that story has a key inflection with a conversation about financial literacy.

Nearly thirty years ago, I found myself in a long elevator ride in a Chicago skyscraper—the same building where I worked for an African American–owned investment firm. My boss had just spoken with a visitor and, unbeknownst to me, told him that I might be able to help with a project he had in mind.

A moment later, the elevator doors opened, and in stepped a tall, commanding Black man whose presence filled the space. His voice—deep, resonant, inviting, unmistakable—echoed off the steel walls as he began talking about the racial wealth gap in America. In the mid-1990s, the typical white family held roughly 7–8 times the wealth of the typical Black family. He spoke of this not as an abstract statistic, but as a moral crisis.

He told me he wanted to work with Chicago Public Schools to create a financial literacy curriculum—something almost unheard of at the time—because he believed early financial education was essential to closing that gap. Then he looked at me and said, “I hear you can help.”

It took me a moment to fully register who I was speaking to.

It was Rev. Jesse Jackson. [Follow the button to read more.]

 

Kim Rebecca-Murray
Trustee

Prairie Unitarian Universalist Church
Parker, Colorado

 
 

Events

Solidarity Session, Connections

Friday, March 6
2:00 pm ET • 1:00 pm CT • 12:00 pm MT • 11:00 am PT
RSVP 

Solidarity Sessions are an opportunity for folks working for immigrant justice to connect with one another and learn about the most recent changes in immigration laws and policies that impact the types of immigration relief available and who is eligible for that relief. 

We gather on the first and third Fridays of each month. 

  • First Fridays (i.e., March 6th) – our connections session – will include top-level updates and time for fellowship in the work and shared learning.
  • Third Fridays (i.e., March 20th) – our updates session – will be deeper dives into administrative activities and the impact of any changes on folks seeking immigration relief. (Ex: Naturalization, DACA, asylum, TPS, victims' services, etc.)
 

The Gathering, by Side With Love

Monday, March 9
8:00 p.m. ET • 7:00 p.m. CT • 6:00 p.m. MT • 5:00 p.m. PT
RSVP (via Every Action)

The Gathering is a monthly virtual event from Side With Love, designed to offer:

  • Spiritual Grounding – Strengthen your heart and spirit for the work ahead.
  • Political Analysis – Understand the threats to democracy and justice.
  • Collective Action – Organize with others to block anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world.

Protect Immigrant Rights Webinar Series

Our friends at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) are offering a four-part policy webinar series. These sessions will provide the essential tools and knowledge to help protect immigrant rights. Communities are counting on allies to have clear, accurate information.

Empower Communities: Education & K-12 School Settings
Wednesday, March 11
2:00 p.m. ET • 1:00 p.m. CT • 12:00 p.m. MT • 11:00 a.m. PT
RSVP
How enhanced immigration enforcement is undermining the rights of immigrant families by creating barriers to health services and fear around accessing public benefits programs.

Empower Communities: Enforcement & Detention 
March 25
2:00 p.m. ET • 1:00 p.m. CT • 12:00 p.m. MT • 11:00 a.m. PT
RSVP
How increased immigration enforcement and other attacks on immigrant workers are undermining all workers’ rights. 

 

No-frills Action Hour

Wednesday, March 18
7:30 p.m. ET • 6:30 p.m. CT • 5:30 p.m. MT • 4:30 p.m. PT
RSVP (virtual)

Join our next UUSJ action hour.  Topics and issues will be determined closer to the date.

Democracy Leaders Coalition

Wednesday, March 25
7:00 p.m. ET • 6:00 p.m. CT • 5:00 p.m. MT • 4:00 p.m. PT
Details upon application (Online)

If you or someone in your congregation leads a democracy team and wants to connect with similar individuals to discuss dynamics, learn, and expand your local outreach and impact, consider applying to the coalition. Sessions are on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

 

No Kings Day is coming on March 28

Outrage at the corruption, brutality, and lawlessness of Trump and his billionaire enablers is bubbling up everywhere. The courage to openly defy this regime is surfacing everywhere. And protests to stop the rise of fascism in its tracks are coming together everywhere. 

Join the movement on March 28:

News

 

Noteworthy new activity aimed at ecumenical Christians

This declaration and presentation, "The Call," is a letter written by Christian faith leaders in the United States from diverse, ecumenical traditions. Review the text and a short video.

This call names the breakdown of democracy in the U.S. as a spiritual and moral failure and calls on all Christians to take risks for the sake of the Gospel and American democratic rights and freedoms. The goal is to encourage Christians across the U.S. to commit to taking courageous action to protect and stand with vulnerable people, love their neighbors, and speak truth to power. 

Christian-oriented or Christian-friendly UUs — both clergy and lay — may join the call. With our UU roots in the progressive Radical Reformation, those UUs willing to join and to accept the fully Christian context are welcome to opt in and add their name.

ICE Out Mobilization Success

In February, we participated in the ICE OUT Week(s) of Action led by the Coalition of State Action Networks (CUUSAN) and the UU Solidarity Initiative, of which we are a founding member.  During those two weeks, over 1,000 of you came to an action hour, and nearly 2,000 of you participated in our Phone Blitz.  Together, we made over 7,000 phone calls demanding justice for immigrants in our communities! These numbers matter, but more than that, we demonstrate our power when we come together for collective action.

We will have more to do, but we had a meaningful impact and need to celebrate that. We will need to recall this tactical lesson in the future.

 

Featured Actions

 

No to war with Iran. Stop the Air Strikes!

President Trump has once again moved with speed toward violent regime change, now in Iran, without proper authorization from Congress. This is immoral and unlawful. 

The United States must prioritize de-escalation and diplomacy. The people of the U.S. do not want endless war and have been rejecting the President's domestic agenda. This is as much about distraction as it is about executive overreach. 

While Unitarian Universalists are not a peace church, our tradition has long opposed any intervention into Iran by the U.S. military. See the UUA statement and the UUSJ statement,

 

Oppose the SAVE Act 2.0 Bills

The Majority have launched a renewed effort to advance the SAVE Act. We and others are calling it SAVE Act 2.0 to help the public and Congress understand that it is more of the same, not substantively different. In fact, the new SAVE Act 2.0 iterations are worse.

These bills do many bad things, but in our opinion, they have two main purposes: To make it harder to vote (The Hill) and to make it harder to administer elections. The pretext of non-citizen voting is rare. Evidence-based research suggests, “just 0.04% of voter verification cases are returned as non-citizens” (Forbes).

Defending Our Democracy
Fred Van Deusen, Democracy Action Team Convener (Democracy@uusj.org)

 

Democracy Leaders Coalition, Ramping Up

You asked for it, so we are doing it! We are working to help more explicitly gather and facilitate networking among UUs leading teams in the democracy space.

If you or someone in your congregation leads a democracy team and wants to connect with similar people, complete this form. Meetings are on the fourth Wednesday of each month (next March 25) at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT. Join to discuss, learn, and improve impact.

 
 

Very importantly, the SAVE Act 2.0

During the State of the Union (text), the President claimed the U.S. is thriving, but a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows six in 10 disagree, feeling the country is worse off. 

In a rare, key, policy-focused moment, the President pushed the Save America Act. It's one of the new SAVE Act 2.0 bills, criticized for advancing legalized voter suppression. We agree with democracy and civil rights advocates that these bills attack democracy under a false claim of non-citizen voting. Forbes reports such cases are extremely rare, about 0.04%. The Brennan Center for Justice has also said these bills solve nothing and points to administration data (NYT) to make the case. They explain: “States that have combed through their voter rolls looking for illegally cast votes — like Louisiana and Utah did recently — have repeatedly confirmed that fact.”

Rather than "secure our elections," we believe the SAVE Act 2.0 bills aim to access state data and deter voter participation in future elections.

Data is the New Oil! The Backbone of the Reprisal Ethos

In the digital age, data is the new oil, making consumers commodities to be harvested. The SAVE Act 2.0 aims to get this data, affecting both citizens and migrants. Key sections of the SAVE Act (HR 22) text involve deploying a data system, sharing information, and investigating for removal. With few non-citizen voters participating in elections, the state-level data mostly concerns citizens. 

For our volunteers, this suggests the act's true aim is to facilitate state-sponsored reprisals on advocates, activists, and voters. In our opinion, the SAVE Act 2.0 bills seek to identify dissenting voices and cross-reference digital data. The aim here seems to be suppressing opposition while chilling voter participation. It’s about the Reprisal Ethos, the “Daddy State.”

They Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

The SAVE Act 2.0 could make individuals targets for unchecked federal agents, with ICE potentially continuing to act like a militarized secret police: ICE teaches cadets to 'violate the Constitution,' ex-DHS attorney testifies, USA Today.

After all, these are justified concerns based on the news:

Two leading regime figures have been vocal on related matters of strategy:

 

Historical Context and Precedent

We recall Pastor Martin Niemöller's "First They Came," and also recognize the power of students, labor, and faith communities to withdraw consent from authoritarian regimes (Horizons Project). We perceive a new awakening now unfolding in the U.S.

We recall the previous major faith statements on such matters: (1) THE THEOLOGICAL DECLARATION OF BARMEN (1933); (2) ALABAMA CLERGYMEN'S LETTER TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. & Letter From Birmingham City Jail - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. April 16, 1963; and, (3) The South Africa Kairos Document 1985.

We hear and see the contemporary concerns being raised by the faith community:

Immigration Justice
Steve Eckstrand, Immigration Action Team Convener (Immigration@uusj.org)

 

Hundreds of DACA Recipients Detained, Dozens Deported

From January to November 2025 Immigration agents detained 261 DACA recipients and deported 86. Statement from Home is Here Campaign: 

“We have known the stories of the DACA recipients who have been targets of detention and deportation by this administration, but this latest revelation from DHS is deeply troubling. It’s clear that the full breadth of their refusal to follow the law as it pertains to the DACA program and the deportation protections it enshrines wasn’t known until now. In less than one year, this administration has detained 261 DACA recipients and deported 86 DACA recipients, acting with reckless abandon, and ignoring what has for more than a decade been sacred, the right of DACA recipients to be protected from detention and deportation. This  revelation must be a brutal wake-up call to Congress that they must act now to protect DACA recipients by delivering permanent protections and long-overdue stability to the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients contributing to our economy and country.”

 

The Largest and Most Overcrowded

The U.S. runs the world's largest immigration detention system, with facilities like private centers, local jails, juvenile centers, field offices, and family residential centers across 200 locations. It has also backed migrant and asylum seeker detention in nearby countries and led -- or pioneered -- offshoring detention capacity. See: GlobalDetentionProject.org

U.S. immigrant detention facilities face severe issues, failing to uphold dignity, due process, and rights. Both federal and private operations suffer from overcrowding, poor medical care, unsanitary conditions, and a lack of transparency or accountability. See: ACLU.org

Take Action: You can use Detention Watch Network (DWN) materials to engage locally:

Public Witness and Advocacy for Immigrant Justice

UUSJ joined a February 25th event on Capitol Hill led by the United Methodist Church, Church World Service, and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition to oppose ICE and CBP actions. Our team shared its expertise and helped volunteer advocates. The event featured a worship service, a witness procession, and hundreds of advocacy meetings.

About 2,000 people attended the events, with 1,000 meeting over 70 Congressional delegations. We urged ICE, CBP, and DHS to act as identifiable officers, de-escalate violence, focus on criminals, use judicial warrants, respect immigrant rights, halt racial or language sweeps, and avoid sensitive or protected areas. 

Participants also argued against the necessity of the $150B funding from the previous year's bill, if legitimate operations were adhered to.

On point, ‘directo al grano’

In public remarks, during the Hill event, United Methodist Bishop Minerva Garza Carcaño said of President Trump: “Shame on you for scapegoating immigrants in this country, blaming them for every single brokenness we have. Immigrants are essential workers in this country.” She continued, “They are members of our congregations. They are our friends. Above all, they are beloved by God.”

 

UUSJ Carried Water in the Advocacy

As part of the major interfaith advocacy outing, UUSJ volunteers organized and accompanied North Carolinians to meetings with Republican Congressmen Harrigan and McDowell to discuss immigration from a faith perspective. They have conservative records on immigration, but also use a faith-based approach in serving their constituents. Those meetings ended with prayers for the Congressmen to embody Gospel values. 

Our volunteers also facilitated a meeting with Marylanders and the House Judiciary Committee staff, appreciating Rep. Raskin's support for immigrant justice. 

It was a rewarding day on the Hill.

 

Articles shared by the team

Environmental and Climate Justice
To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org)

 

The Endangerment Finding

Years of evidence and analysis have been thrown out in the Trump administration’s push for rampant deregulation. See: Rescinding the EPA endangerment finding hurts our health and welfare, Invading Sea, and EPA’s Endangerment Finding: The Legal and Scientific Foundation for Cutting Climate-Changing Pollution, NDRC.

At the core of the new push is the EPA's 2009 declaration, or “finding,” that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. That includes emissions from vehicles and industry, among other sources, woven into our economy and ways of being. That is, such emissions are not just an inconvenience or hazard but instead a pervasive strategic challenge to both people and the planet.

The finding has served as the impetus for major policy change and shifts in industry practice, and the EPA's action faces court challenges: EPA Sued Over Illegal Repeal of Climate Protection, EDF and Trump’s plan to wipe out US climate rules relies on EPA rescinding its 2009 endangerment finding – but will it survive court challenges? Conversation.

This most recent, coordinated, and pervasive attack on the finding is prompting a deeply concerned reaction among climate advocates, including UUs: UUA President Sofía Betancourt's statement. Also see:

Simultaneously, the attack on the endangerment finding is opening a broader conversation about the attendant intersectionalities implied by the EPA’s work: 

 

The New Hucksterism - A.I. and Data Centers

Community activists report that Native Leadership is voting for A.I. Data Centers without understanding the implications. Jordan Harmon from the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) discusses how corporations are subverting Tribal Sovereignty and consent to develop AI Data Centers on her homelands.  "Consent of elected officials does not always mean consent of the people..." Review the short YouTube video.

For more on related issues, see:

 

Green Issue Coverage

 

Economic Justice
To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org)

 

The President’s “Fraud Frame”

The State of the Union hinted at further use of the "fraud frame" to potentially target Medicaid and disability services, a tactic already used against these services. See a right-leaning post telegraphing the argument: Beyond Minnesota: Four Medicaid Services Vulnerable to Fraud and the Case for Stronger CMS Enforcement, Paragon Health Institute.

Out of concern for this new attack and framing of fraud, Kids Can’t Wait offers a piece on its implications: When Government Sells Fear, Kids Lose Medicaid.

 

Black Communities Hit Hard

A report by Protect Our Care (Trump and Republican Health Care Cuts Are Deepening Racial Health Inequities) highlights how more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, the ACA, and public health funding are severely impacting Black communities, leading to hospital closures, reduced coverage, and increased illness and death. Also see: 

The Children’s Defense Fund issued a similar statement, The State of America’s Children is Precarious, underscoring the disproportionate impact on Black and brown youth. Also, see:

 

Dream Military, Nightmare for Non-Defense Spending

The President is proposing a $500 billion increase for the Pentagon as part of $1.5 trillion in defense spending. In response, U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has already signaled endorsement for a $450 billion increase to be included in a future budget reconciliation bill as a step towards the President’s goal.

 

Econimic and Tax Policy Clippings

UUSJ is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
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