Archive: Racial Justice Team News

  • What Are the Origins of Critical Race Theory? October 12, 2021 - Critical Race Theory argues that laws and legal reasoning are not value-free and are affected by the political and economic climate in which they are created.
  • What Is Critical Race Theory and Why Is It in the News October 5, 2021 - The Racial Justice Project has decided to explore CRT over the next 4-5 weeks.  We will share e-news commentary, YouTube videos, TED talks, and links to other written materials; we hope to host a discussion hour. 
  • Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois We Do This ‘Til We Free Us Abolitionist Praxis Series August 17, 2021 - Mariame Kaba’s whip smart book, and real-time actions we can take that bring us closer to a world of reimagined safety and a world without cages and police.
  • Thank You From Education Justice Project June 22, 2021 -
  • Celebrating Juneteenth June 15, 2021 - In June, 1865, Federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control and ensure that all the former slaves were emancipated. In the years after this event, freedmen in Texas began to celebrate their emancipation as “Jubilee Day” on June 19, and this celebration spread to other states as Black people migrated. Today, many states … Continue reading Celebrating Juneteenth
  • Thank You from Books to Prisoners, CU at Home, and BLUU! April 21, 2021 - Click on each image of the letters below to see their full resolution attachment pages.
  • Randolph Street Community Gardens April 20, 2021 - The Randolph Street Community Gardens is a place for residents to grow their own food in North Champaign. The gardens are on the grounds of Stratton School, but are organized and maintained by Dawn Blackman of the Church of the Brethren. The gardens promote healthy eating and connecting people to the sources of food we … Continue reading Randolph Street Community Gardens
  • Expanding on The 8th Principle April 12, 2021 - A strength of Unitarian Universalism is that our Principles are dynamic rather than fixed. The 8th Principle is intimately connected to the existing seven principles, but it also differs from them in several important ways. First, while the 7 Principles may imply the 8th Principle, they do not explicitly hold us accountable for addressing racial oppression in ourselves and our society.
  • My Grandmother’s Hands Adult Religious Education Study March 29, 2021 - Resmaa Menakem is a trauma therapist and author who explores themes of race and trauma in black, brown, white and blue (police) bodies. Menakem takes the reader of My Grandmother’s Hands through an understanding of this trauma using meditation as a primary tool for exploring the themes in ourselves and community.
  • The 8th Principle: Why Now? March 24, 2021 - The UUA recently went through a crisis in accountability, having not carried out the promise to address racial inequality in meaningful ways. The focus of funding has shifted from “shallow diversity” to truly addressing multiculturalism and structural change. Over the past decade the New Jim Crow (racism in criminal justice, mass incarceration, police violence against indigenous, black, and people of color, political and court decisions to decrease voting rights, and more) has highlighted the increasing power of white supremacy and institutional racism. As the country has moved in the wrong direction, it is essential to address the problems with strong leadership from UUs and others.