We are using the thoughts and reflections from those who have participated in intensive reading and self-reflection to move forward. In one workshop, participants were asked to identify the most meaningful things they have learned through their anti-racism work so far. Below are some of the things that came up:
In addition to the experiences of those who have been engaged in anti-racism study, we also designed and administered a brief survey to our congregation to help us more fully understand the congregation’s interest, questions, and commitment to racial justice. Over 90% of respondents strongly agreed that it was important for our congregation to work toward a more racially just country and the responses were evenly split between those who were more drawn to mobilizing individuals for a single event or action and those who were interested in organizing a prolonged campaign focused on changing a policy. It is also clear from the survey data that voting rights is the most critical topic and thus a great avenue for focusing our anti-racism efforts in a meaningful way. We will continue to work with the UU the Vote team to accomplish this. It was also suggested that we should learn more about the 8th Principle, and possibly move forward on formally supporting it as a UU Congregation. In the coming months, we will also explore opportunities to address some of the key actions/events requested via the survey including:
- Learning how to talk about race with others
- Exploring and addressing personal bias
- Bystander Intervention Training (learning how to intervene when witnessing an instance of racism)