Unitarian Universalist Society: East Affirms Black Lives Matter

The congregation of Unitarian Universalist Society: East (UUS:E) in Manchester placed a Black Lives Matter road sign along its property on Sunday, October 9. The congregation voted earlier this year to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Unitarian Universalists have a strong tradition of social justice engagement and a commitment to civil rights for oppressed peoples. The national Unitarian Universalist Association has also committed numerous times to supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

#BlackLivesMatter is a liberation movement responding to black peoples’ collective experience of oppression in the United States today. Founder Alicia Garza says, “when we say Black Lives Matter, we are talking about [all] the ways in which black people are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity. It is an acknowledgement [that] black poverty and genocide is state violence. It is an acknowledgment that one million black people … locked in cages in this country—one half of all people in prisons or jails—is an act of state violence. It is an acknowledgment that black women continue to bear the burden of a relentless assault on our children and our families and that assault is an act of state violence.”

As people of faith, members of UUS:E honor the unique experience of Black Americans and acknowledge and seek to dismantle white society’s role in perpetuating racism.

“As liberal, majority, white Unitarian Universalists, we can at the very least understand that far too many black people and other people of color feel unheard, disrespected, forgotten, marginalized, penalized, wounded and, far too often, killed by our systems,” said Rev. Joshua Pawelek in a sermon earlier this year.

UUS:E members will continue to be active participants in racial justice efforts in Connecticut. We proclaim clearly, proudly and courageously—not only in word but also in deed— that Black Lives Matter.

Unitarian Universalist Society: East is located at 153 Vernon Street West, Manchester, CT. It is a welcoming, open-minded, spiritual community seeking truth and meaning in its many forms. For more information, visit www.uuse.org.