Acknowledgment of Racism in America and Lack of UU Racial Diversity

I acknowledge the sordid and devastating history of racism in the United States. This history includes not just the brutal enslavement of black people, but also racially exclusive and demeaning laws and policies against Asian Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and others. It is essential that all Americans understand this awful history and weigh with gravity the history of inhumanity in America’s past. Portions and perspectives on this dark history are still being uncovered and it is important that we all continue to hear these emerging voices.

 

I acknowledge that racism is a force still in effect in our society today, with significant harms. Social science and our own direct observation teaches us that racism still exists in institutions such as the criminal justice system, in education, and in employment. I acknowledge that racism exists not just as personal animus, but through policies and institutions that have been shown to negatively impact racial minorities. At the same time, many American institutions have shown the ability to become more inclusive and more equitable over time through the persistent efforts of protesters and reformers. Just as I find the history of racism in America truly shameful, so I also find that the history of greater equality achieved by our forebears is a reason for pride. “Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.”* 

 

I argue that the Seven Principles provide ample basis for the justification of fighting racist institutions and creating more just ones, by acknowledging the inherent worth and dignity of all persons; by calling for justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; and by the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.
 

I acknowledge that Unitarian Universalism has been a predominantly white religion in its history and up to the present day. However, I do not see this as evidence in itself of racist practices within Unitarian Universalism, any more than a Korean Christian church is racist or a Black Baptist church is racist. It is a fact of social life that it is difficult to be the first few of any minority entering a situation dominated by a different social group, no matter how receptive the environment is. The added pressure of stereotype threat, or the pressure to have to represent an entire social group as an individual, makes it inherently more difficult to be one of the first few to diversify any existing social structure. I aspire to an Unitarian Universalism where all feel welcome within our walls, and I acknowledge that our Fellowship can improve its practices on becoming more welcoming of racial and other types of diversity. I do not claim that Unitarian Universalists are perfect with regard to welcoming historically oppressed groups, but it is my general experience that Unitarian Universalists exude good will towards the diversity of people who enter our doors. I do not believe it is our values that are lacking, but rather our cross cultural understanding. This is a matter for reform not revolution.

I also argue that there is more than one way to oppose racism and other oppressions. I do not agree that one has to adopt anti-racist or critical race theory beliefs to oppose racism. I do not agree that the diversity of belief and practice concerning racial justice can be simplified into a binary of one side that is right and another side that is wrong. There are as many perspectives on how racial justice should be achieved as there are on the nature of the divine. I am very concerned that without a solid grounding in universalism, the idea that people are fundamentally more alike in their souls than different, that the prospect of attaining greater justice and mutual understanding across the boundaries of identity will founder and create unintentional harm by fostering our inborn tribal instincts. Tribalism is an inherent genetic tendency of all humans and an overemphasis on our identity categories will ultimately lead to greater misunderstanding and anger rather than unity and mutuality. I place my trust in universalism, freedom of conscience, and equality as the principles that have historically proven their value in attaining greater levels of mutual understanding and justice over time. These same principles are the solid ground for attaining greater justice into our shared future.

* From the unofficial Black national anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing.