| |  | Supreme Court Decisions Remind Us, We Should Side With Love The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has handed down some important decisions this week. We are pleased with the result in Moore v. Harper, rejecting the Independent State Legislature Theory, even as we are mindful of the further work required to achieve a healthy democracy. Nevertheless, UUs for Social Justice is disappointed by the decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, among others. (AP summarizes the cases on student loans, gay rights, affirmative action, religious rights, and voting.) The ruling on affirmative action is troubling. It means racial injustice and inequity will be perpetuated in the access to higher education. We can only imagine the effects that may flow into other aspects of our educational systems. We believe most Unitarian Universalists would agree with Justice Sotomayor that the decision has rolled “back decades of precedent and momentous progress.” Similarly, the ruling against Colorado’s ability to enforce the provision of services to LGBTQIA patrons among businesses in the state is problematic. What other assaults on the liberty of LGBTQIA in our economy and society will gain the support of our highest court? Here again, Justice Sotomayor expresses a sentiment we share: "a sad day in the American constitutional law and the lives of LGBTQ people.” The background they emerge from adds to the concern over these two decisions. They come at a time when the ethics of SCOTUS have been called into question with controversies around financial relationship reporting and concern for the potential of large corporate actors to influence decisions through such relationships. As Unitarian Universalists, we hold that love is the answer. At UUs for Social Justice, we know that achieving our vision of a just, compassionate, and sustainable world community depends on our collective work to build a multiracial, inclusive, and welcoming economy and democracy. All Unitarian Universalists should heed the words of former President Barack Obama, on the affirmative action case, via Medium – “In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, it’s time to redouble our efforts." We add that we must apply that thinking and commitment to Side With Love across the board on these issues. |
|
|
Summary Coverage: Affirmative action Voting LGBTQ rights |
|
|
|
|
| | Immense Appreciation to Charlotte Jones-Carroll
UUSJ Board Chair (2021-2023), Board Secretary (2018-2021), Immigration Action Team Convener (2017-2021)
Charlotte manages with gracious confidence. She successfully moved UUSJ forward into a new organizational structure on a national stage. Hopefully, there is a place for a past Board President to assist and advise the new Board President. ~John Gubbings, Former Board Chair “It has been a personal and professional pleasure to serve UUSJ with Charlotte as Board Chair. Charlotte has been a blessing to UUSJ. Charlotte has been a transformational Board Chair. Her commitment to justice has been unwavering, in the best tradition of those Board Chairs that preceded her. Her leadership set a strong foundation for those to come.” ~Pablo DeJesus, Executive Director, UUSJ
Many in the UUSJ community have worked with Charlotte over the years; please share your memories and experiences here. UUSJ will compile these and share them with Charlotte. |
|
|
| | Gratitude for our 2023 Nominating Committee  Michael Lennon is a member of All Souls Church (ASC), Unitarian, Washington D.C., a Senior Fellow at George Washington University’s Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (CEPL), a social entrepreneur, and a community “happtivist.” He is a former IBM, PwCC, and World Bank technologist and economist with deep experience assisting organizations and communities to innovate and transform their systems, management practices, and people. Michael has diverse experience supporting the operation of the ASC congregation (e.g., Board Nominating Committee, Governance team of the Transformation Team, etc.). Patricia Marr is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach, CA (UUCLB), and has been for 31 years. Pat began her Social Justice journey in the early 1990s with the Social Concerns Committee of UUCLB. She helped to establish and worked for many years on PICO National Network (now Faith In Action). Pat sits on the board of LA Voice, representing Long Beach. She is UUCLB’s contact for community organizing at the congregation and community, along with Rev. Lissa Gundlach. Pat is a member of UUCLB’s Social Justice Council. When not organizing, she enjoys time with her delightful spouse, her magnificent children and their wonderful partners, and her two amazing grandchildren. Rita Parks is a long-standing member of River Road Unitarian Universalists in Bethesda, MD, where she currently co-chairs several racial justice initiatives via Racial Justice Pathways. The Supporting Educational Access Racial Justice Pathway (SEAP) raises money for River Road’s College Access Fund. For over 25 years, Rita was a Board member, Board secretary then Board Chair of Northwest Settlement House, which served the children and families in the Shaw community in D.C. Rev. Joan VanBecelaere is a retired Unitarian Universalist community minister living in Columbus, OH. Before retirement, she was the Executive Director of Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio, she and her co-leader, the Rev. Dr. Susan K. Smith, have trained over 200 clergy and social workers to act as PeaceKeepers for the Polls and conducted Community Conversations for voter engagement throughout the state. She is a North Unitarian Universalist Congregation member in Lewis Center, OH. Rev. Joan is helping start a new Social Justice Team, preaches occasionally, and loves to serve homemade goodies at coffee hour. She lives in Columbus with her spouse, Jerry, and four rambunctious felines. |
| Introducing UUSJ 2023-24 Incoming Trustees (Full Biographies)  Dale Anderson - Dale Anderson is a retired physician executive and healthcare consultant who served as the President of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota (Florida) from 2019 to 2022. He was instrumental in instituting a Racial Justice Reading Program for the UU Church of Sarasota in 2018 and created the church Racial Justice Coordinating Team. He lives with his wife, Mary Montgomery, in Sarasota. He has three grown children and grandchildren. Rev. Latifah Griffin - Rev. Latifah Griffin was raised in Chester, PA, and works as a therapist and minister. She is a graduate of Lancaster Theological Seminary with a Master’s Degree in Divinity, adding to her Master’s Degree from Neumann University in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Her personal mission is to enlighten others about our interconnectedness as humans. Rev. Latifah will begin serving the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches, Florida, for the 2023 - 2024 church year. Jean Pierce - Jean Pierce has been active in Social Justice in various capacities. As Social Justice chair of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, Illinois, for over 15 years, she helped coordinate programs focused on Education, Direct Action, and Monetary Support for local, national, and international causes. Jean served as chair of the League of Women Voters of Illinois for ten years. She recently moved to Portland, Oregon, where she anticipates making new connections with fellow UUs and League members. Dan Schneider - Dan Schneider grew up on a small farm in West Central Ohio and was the first person in his family to attend college. He graduated from Wittenberg University and received a Master of Science in Teaching from Drake University. Dan and his wife have attended the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati since 2006. He was Co-Chair of the Social Justice Committee and served on the church Board of Trustees, he served as Board Co-Chair of Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio and was a board member of the Amos Project. Sandra Wilmore - Sandra Mitchell Wilmore grew up in the segregated South. Those years inform her sense of justice, the need for change, and her commitment to constant evolution toward a better society. Her youth also informed her deep respect for the power of the law–Sandra’s profession. Sandra was an attorney with a civil rights firm, advising creditors and other businesses of their compliance obligations under fair lending, consumer credit, and privacy laws; before that, she was an attorney in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission for thirty-two years. Sandra lives in Springfield, Virginia. |
|
|
| | Our Action of Immediate Witness Passed – For The Dreamers Our AIW at General Assembly 2023 passed and received 98% of the votes. As a denomination, we resolved to “Protect the Dreamers, the Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), with a Pathway to Permanent Residence.” We called on Congress to give them a pathway to permanent residence. The UUSJ AIW also calls on UUs and the UUA to support the Dreamers in their communities and contact their members of Congress to advocate for their protection. In addition, it resolves that the UUA will be vocal and forward-leaning in its work to encourage members to deepen our theological grounding, collaborate with local partners to combat anti-immigrant narratives, including those by state legislatures, and work with grassroots organizations/ campaigns centering on those most directly affected by anti-immigration policies and other failures of the U.S. immigration system. See the full AIW proposal here. Take our new Action Alert to support Dreamers and DACA here or download the poster. Proposed by: Steve Eckstrand, co-convener of the UUSJ Immigration Action Team, partnering with Pablo DeJesus, Executive Director of UUSJ, and Terry Grogan, co-convener of the UUSJ Immigration Action Team. |
| |
|
| Join the Interfaith Farm Bill Petition We want a Farm Bill to help end hunger, expand food access, and address climate resilience. You can help advocate for that by signing the petition to Congress: help remind them these are moral choices. Farm Bill negotiations present a critical opportunity to advocate for a moral approach to the public good we, as taxpayers, underwrite in federal policy and programs. - Far too many people experience hunger in our wealthy nation—including 12 million food-insecure children. And worldwide, the number of severely hungry people has increased by 33 percent.
- Climate change threatens to increase these numbers–as global temperatures and extreme weather events rise, the conditions make it more difficult for farmers to grow food and for those facing hunger to get it.
- "soil scientist Dr. Rattan Lal of Ohio State University calculates that improved soil management can sequester 178 billion tons of atmospheric carbon by 2100 and that, when combined with increases in biomass, can drop atmospheric CO2 concentrations by 157 parts per million (ppm)." (Climate & Capital Media)
Our current U.S. agricultural system contributes to these joint crises—prioritizing corporations’ profits over people and our planet. For these reasons, the 2023 Farm Bill provides an important opportunity to improve food security and nutrition for people and promote climate resilience in the U.S. and worldwide. |
|
|
| Help Your Congregation Resume The Advocacy Habit – With UUSJ Posters UUSJ now offers posters and calls to action for our pressure campaigns and advocacy projects to help congregations engage. Spreading the word and taking action are essential. The posters are in PDF format and can be downloaded, used in publications, and printed. The eye-catching posters include summary information about the action and a link (plus QR code) to write legislators. See the full group of current policy UUSJ/Posters. |
|
|
|
|
| | Unitarian Universalists elect first woman of color, openly queer president A womanist theologian, ethicist, and minister, the Rev. Sofía Betancourt previously served as interim co-president of the UUA in 2017. June 25, 2023, article by Kathryn Post, Religion News |
| |
|
| Unitarian Universalism revisits identity and values at 2023 gathering Intense discussions at this year’s General Assembly took place as the UUA navigated how to continue implementing its commitment to anti-racism. June 26, 2023, article by Kathryn Post, Religion News. 2023 Actions of Immediate Witness (click to read the full proposed resolution) The following proposals were approved: The following proposals did not receive enough votes to be approved: Business Resolution For Divestment Fails
The proponents of the business resolution "Complete Divestment from the Fossil Fuel Industry and Subsequent Reparations" reminded UUs that the work of fossil fuel divestment has not yet been completed within our denomination. The resolution cited amounts of money from the UU Common Endowment Fund that were still as of July 2022 invested in companies in the fossil fuel sector, as well as shares in financial institutions that supported fossil fuel companies. On the one hand, this petition-driven proposed resolution was a victory in raising our awareness that a young, queer, multiracial collective--reflecting an influx of younger and non-white members--feels called to demand that the UUA fully divest from fossil fuels immediately. On the other, while affirming support for actions on climate change, human rights, and values-based investing, the UUA Board did oppose the business resolution. The UUA Board claimed it would undermine conversations underway about UU Values and investment, reparations, and ongoing work on climate change and human rights issues, as well as directly cut the UUA budget by a significant amount (UUA position). The resolution was voted down by around 68% of delegates after strong statements of opposition from the UUA After the vote, the UUA made pledges to work on the matter diligently. |
| |
|
| Combating Fascisms Without & Within: An Organized UU Response
Side With Love joins Rev. Kingman in a two-session interactive opportunity for UUs to engage with this essay and the kinds of faithful responses it demands on behalf of our UU faith. Join SWL! PRE-REQUISITE: Watch or read the 2023 Berry Street essay, “My Little Pony Was Right: Reflections on Fascism Without & Within,” by the Rev. Cecilia Kingman. |
|
|
|
|
| | Defending Our Democracy Fred Van Deusen, Democracy Action Team Convener (Democracy@uusj.org) |
| Concern About American Autocracy And Fascism The Democracy Action Team’s overarching goal is to help save democracy from the powerful U.S. forces attacking it. The first step in achieving that goal is educating the public about what is happening. Concern about the slide into American autocracy, oligarchy, and now fascism has been a consistent discussion thread for the team. What could it mean to live in an authoritarian or fascist country, and what do we need to do to save our democracy? Fortunately, we have much help to achieve this objective, including from the Side with Love team. We encourage all UUs to take these matters seriously. Attend and communicate information about the SWL offerings within your congregation: Session 1: July 17, and Session 2: August 14, detailed above. Amending the Constitution to Overturn the Citizens United
For those interested in the decision, please read this article by Lawrence Lessig. |
|
|
| Our Supreme Court and Democracy The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) plays a powerful role in supporting our Constitution and democracy. It now leans strongly conservative and threatens our democracy, as a consequence of former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s past strategy and efforts on judicial vacancies and nominations (PBS)(Roll Call). There are now several bills and potential bills being discussed in the House and Senate focused on the Supreme Court to put in place a code of ethics, add members to the Court, and put in place term limits. Congress appears to have momentum on requiring the Supreme Court to have a Code of Ethics as other courts and government officials have. The Democracy Action Team strongly supports this effort and is assessing how to engage. Strong Comments On Supreme Court Ethics After scandals, Congress must act on Supreme Court ethics reform, says Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and highlights that “Justice Clarence Thomas’s recently uncovered personal and financial relationship with billionaire political donor Harlan Crow is an egregious ethics scandal that may even be criminal.” Donald K. Sherman, Executive Vice President, and Chief Counsel of CREW, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and urged them “to address the glaring problems in the Supreme Court’s ethics regime by passing the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (“SCERT Act”). It is far past time that the highest court in our constitutional system is held to the highest ethical standards.” (written testimony) (blog and video) CREW participates in Faithful Democracy, of which UUSJ is a member, and previously presented a workshop on “Using Ethics to Build Social Justice Power.” |
|
|
| Celebrating Moore v. Harper Last year our Democracy Action Team organized an event to raise awareness of the Moore v. Harper Supreme Court case. And we joined an Amicus Brief prepared and submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on the matter. North Carolina state legislators argued they should be able to run elections without oversight from state courts, governors, or state constitutions. Fortunately, the Supreme Court recently ruled on this case against these legislators by a 6-3 margin. |
|  | The full More v. Harper U.S. Supreme Court decision can be read here and other opinions from the 2022 Term Year can be found here. |
| |
|
|
|
| | Immigration Justice Steve Eckstrand & Terry Grogan, Immigration Action Team Conveners (Immigration@uusj.org) |
| Advocacy for Afghan Adjustment During June, the Immigration Action Team (IAT) continued to meet with members of Congress seeking to educate about the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) and the Afghan Allies Protection Act and the desire for bi-partisan support. The IAT organized meetings with the offices of Representatives Issa (CA-48), Joyce (OH-14), Roy (TX-2), Turner (OH-10), and Wenstrup (OH-2). Constituents joined each call. The IAT also played an accompanier role with Evacuate Our Allies for their AAA advocacy week by leading or participating in calls with the offices of Representatives Graves (MO-6) and Wagner (MO-2) as well as Senators Blackburn (TN), Hagerty (TN), Hawley (MO), Kaine (VA), McConnell (KY), Peters (MI), and Stabenow (MI). Immigration Action At GA The IAT submitted an Action of Immediate Witness entitled “Protect the Dreamers, the Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA), with a Pathway to Permanent Residence” to this year’s General Assembly. Since the U.S. district court heard oral arguments on the legality of the current DACA policy on June 1, 2023, DACA may soon be ruled unlawful. This AIW calls on the UUA to urge Congress to provide permanent protection for Dreamers. We are pleased that 2043 of those delegates voting, or 98%, approved our Action of Immediate Witness in the final round, with similarly strong showings in the prior rounds. Take our new Action Alert to support Dreamers and DACA here or download the poster. |
| |
|
| Webinar Series – Root Causes of Migration
Immigration and migration policy issues are increasingly recognized as intertwined and intersectional. Seeking to help advocates and activists understand this dynamic, our Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) friends, Migration and Refugee Service, are offering the third and final session grounded in the Catholic experience that can help faith advocates more fully appreciate how these issues are connected. Why Migrate? The Underlying Economic Pushes and Pulls that Drive Migration
Wednesday, July 26
2:00pm ET • 1:00pm CT • 12:00n MT • 11:00am PT
Register Here Why aren’t more immigrants currently coming from Norway? From the last quarter of the 19th century to just a handful of years before WWI, almost 1 million people from Norway immigrated abroad, mainly to the U.S. These Norwegian immigrants were not only the least educated but also among the poorest in their country. Upon arriving in the U.S., most unskilled Norwegian immigrants took the lowest-paying jobs, mostly manual labor. This reality has repeated throughout American history; economically ambitious migrants who want to provide more opportunities for themselves and their families leave a country with limited opportunities. |
|
|
|
|
| | Environmental and Climate Justice To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org) |
| Center for Biological Diversity, Harms From Environmental Law Rollbacks
Watch Video The Center for Biological Diversity, 501(c)(3), has produced a nice explanatory video articulating the harms of the recent rollbacks to cornerstone environmental laws such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Center is a 501c3 nonprofit headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. At the Center, they believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value and its loss impoverishes society, they work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on extinction. These rollbacks are all the more impactful with the recent news that the EPA closes civil rights investigation into Louisiana pollution - WaPo |
| |
|
| Ahead Of The Climate Ambition Summit Of 2023, UUSJ Renews Its Commitment To End The Era Of Fossil Fuels In December 2022, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that he would convene a first-of-its-kind Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023 to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (IISD). Reports suggest thousands will march and rally on September 17th (RSVP), urging President Biden to take bold action to end the use of fossil fuels. Summer Bridge To September Ahead of the September Summit, UUSJ joins an effort with People Versus Fossil Fuels to underscore support by ordinary American constituents for a global phase-out of fossil fuel use and production. The effort looks to urge President Biden to act in the ways that frontline, impacted, and sacrifice zone constituents have asked of him since he began to run as an environmental candidate and was then elected with solid support from green grassroots constituencies. UUSJ supports urging President Biden to: - Declare a climate emergency to reinstate the crude oil export ban;
- Phase out fossil fuel production on public lands and waters;
- Deny all permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure;
- Shut down projects like Willow, the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Line 5; and
- Uphold and strengthen bedrock environmental protections in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA), refuse to undermine them further.
We agree it’s never too late to change course to address the root cause of climate change. President Biden should guarantee a seat at the table of global leaders dedicated to protecting our futures by taking these actions. Stay tuned for materials and actions leading into the September Summit. Review the Policy Brief: Pursuing a Just and Renewable Energy System: A Positive & Progressive Permitting Vision to Unlock Resilient Renewable Energy and Empower Impacted Communities. |
|
|
| Earth Bill Introduced By Representative Espaillat Many Unitarian Universalists have been involved with the comprehensive idea generation behind the Earth Bill. Regarded by many as a big idea marker bill, it has been introduced by Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) (Press Release)(H.R.598). UUJEC, UUMFE, and UUSJ have shown support for the Earth Bill. |
|
|
|
|
| | Economic Justice To connect with UUSJ about our activities (info@uusj.org) |
| Milestone Achieved By The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival As the Poor People's Campaign: Moral Poverty Action Congress (MPAC) convened in June, concurrent with the UU General Assembly, it brought to bear two significant achievements by The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival (PPC: NCMR). First, the MPAC hosted impacted people, faith leaders, and advocates from over 30 states in Washington, DC (Livestream here) (PPC: NCMR Press Release). According to UU participants, when the MPAC participants went to Capitol Hill to advocate for anti-poverty policies and programs, it represented the biggest federal advocacy outing in U.S. history for and by poor Americans on the issue of poverty. The UUA’s PPC Leadership Council was proud to be a part of the mobilization for June 2023 and the MPAC. Second, Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-12) and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced H.Res.532, a resolution that seeks to eradicate poverty throughout the United States fully. Entitled “The Third Reconstruction: Fully Addressing Poverty and Low Wages from the Bottom Up Resolution.” (Lee Press Release, and Jayapal Press Release) The resolution offers a legislative vehicle for the demands articulated under the PPC: NCMR’s Third Reconstruction Agenda. Facts About Poverty In Your State In preparation for the PPC: NCMR effort in Washington DC, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a partner of the campaign, offered a detailed look at poverty, racism, militarism, and ecological devastation in all 50 states plus D.C. - Poor and low-income people comprise more than 40 percent of the population in 13 states.
- As pandemic protections wind down, millions of Americans risk losing their health care.
- With rising inflation, average household debt rose in every state between the last quarter of 2021 and 2022, with a third of all states now having average debt burdens of $50,000 or more.
Click here to learn about these challenges on a state-by-state basis. “What does it say about the greatest country on earth, the land of the greatest opportunities, if we know what we need to do to address the problem but only do it periodically for limited amounts of time, the entire idea of what it means to be America is at stake,” said Valerie Wilson from EPI. |
| |
|
| Reshaping The Taxing Powers Congress The United States Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a Trump-era tax law provision aimed at wealth held in foreign corporations, likely in the next term starting in October 2023. The case has significant implications regarding the scope of the 16th Amendment and the power it grants to Congress to tax incomes. Supreme Court to decide the case on congressional taxing power - Roll Call Starving Government Services, Strangling Democratic Process The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) reports that “18 state legislatures have considered roughly 50 proposals to create or tighten arbitrary limits on state and local revenues and budgets” this year. These proposals constrain future state-level policymakers' ability to respond to constituent needs. Tax analysts and proponents of moral budgeting note the move also constrains the democratic process. State Limits on Revenues and Budgets Stifle Democracy - CBPP |
| |
|
|
|
| | UUSJ is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible
as allowed by law. |
| |
|
| | |
|
|
