Black Lives Matter Banner Stolen From Reading Church Multiple Times

READING, MA — The Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading has had a Black Lives Matter banner stolen three times in recent months, according to a Facebook post from the church. The church has displayed the banner at the corner of Summer Avenue and Woburn Street since 2020.

The banner was first stolen the weekend of Reading’s Juneteenth celebration, according to the post. The banner was quickly replaced but was stolen again on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend.

Over the following weeks, the congregation hung a homemade banner reading, “Our sign was stolen. Black Lives Matter.” This banner was stolen Feb. 10.

Rev. Laura Solomon began conversations with the Board of Trustees and sent a letter to the congregation following the first time the banner was stolen. “Our faith calls us to live our values out loud,” Solomon wrote. “When actions like this occur, we are called into dialogue with one another and with our community: what does it mean that this happened here? How do we respond?”

Solomon called the congregation to action after the second time the banner was stolen: “It is clear that this timing is intentional, and stealing our banner on these dates intensifies these acts of hate… As a faith community, we are called to engage our larger community in the work of love, justice, and liberation.”

Solomon said that “when it comes down to it, a banner is just a banner,” according to the post, and that the real work and commitment is in “the promises we make to each other…[t]hat we might answer the call of dismantling white supremacy culture within ourselves, our organizations, and our society.”

The incidents have not been reported to Reading police thus far, according to police.

"The chief is going to have the department's civil rights officer reach out to the church to see if Reading Police can be of assistance," according to a statement.

Solomon and church leaders met with Albert Pless, the director for Equity and Social Justice in Reading, and with Aymon Langlois, who works with Pless. They discussed next steps for the church and for ongoing antiracism work in Reading.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading is hosting "Black Lives Matter: A Multifaith Gathering for Commitment." The church is working with the Reading Clergy Association and the Office of Equity and Social Justice to plan a multifaith service of learning and commitment "as we expand our vision of equity, justice, and liberation in Reading."

The event will be from 1 to 3 p.m. March 9 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading, 239 Woburn St. The service will be "followed by opportunities for fellowship, discussion, and planning further engagement with anti-racism work in Reading."