"Undoing Racism in our
Lives and Our Communities: Does Language Matter?"
A sermon by The Undoing Racism Committee
April 18, 2010
READINGS ANCIENT AND MODERN:
Our First Reading is by American politician, Adlai Stevenson:
Adlai Stevenson once said that as Unitarian Universalists, "I
think that one of our most important tasks is to convince others
that there's nothing to fear in difference; that difference, in
face, is one of the healthiest and most invigorating of human characteristics
without which life would become meaningless. Here lies the power
of liberal way: not in making the whole world Unitarian (Universalist),
but in helping ourselves and others to see some of the possibilities
inherent in viewpoints other than one's own in encouraging the free
interchange of ideas; in welcoming fresh approaches to the problems
of life in urging the fullest, most vigorous use of critical self-examination."
Our Second Reading is from Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paolo
Friere:
Because love is an act of courage-not fear-love is a commitment
to other people. No matter where the oppressed are found, the act
of love is a commitment to their cause-the cause of liberation.
And this commitment, because it is loving, is dialogical… Only
by abolishing the situation of oppression is it possible to restore
the love which that situation made impossible. If I do not love
the world, if I do not love life, if I do not love people, I cannot
enter the dialogue.
SERMON:
The Undoing Racism Committee is a longstanding part of this congregation.
Among our goals are to work within the congregation and our larger
community to understand and challenge racism through education,
outreach, and activism.
Right now, we're a pretty small group, but we always have something
happening. We maintain a resource center stocked with books, and
now audiobooks, that you can borrow from our book cart during coffee
hour in Fletcher Hall. (And we always welcome book donations.) Next
month, we will be hosting a daylong workshop for high school age
youth to help participants to examine and challenge racial and gender
stereotypes. And in June we'll be encouraging you to join us in
the Montclair African American Heritage Parade. And every year,
we look forward to this opportunity to conduct a worship service.
We've been thinking about this service for a while. As a committee:
we meet once a month, we have the book cart, and we know that diversity
is important to the congregation. And as part of the congregation's
peace and justice coalition, we know that so many others are engaged
in the same kind of work, so we wanted a way to use this service
to help us think about all of our social justice work. At the same
time, as a committee, we often lament that race is not something
we really talk about. So we also wanted to build 'talking to each
other' into this service also.
We've heard a lot of talk lately about living in a post-racial
America. But are we post-racial? How can we think about race, privilege,
and oppression in a way that is productive for our times? While
I don't personally believe we are in a post racial world - let alone
a post racial America, I do believe that the way we talk about and
think about race may need to shift, if we are to really be able
to work together to address the persistent inequalities and injustices
we see around us. Last month, we heard a sermon from guest minister
Reverend Darrell Berger, of the First Unitarian Universalist Church
of Essex County, in Orange. Reverend Berger challenged us to consider
the limits of charity and the possibilities of solidarity. Charity,
he preached, is giving to others; solidarity is standing with each
other. How do we think about diversity, solidarity, and inclusion
in the context of our UU principals?
In your order of service, you have a printed copy of our UU Principles.
We'd like you to think about these principles in relation to our
work on undoing racism. While our principles mention nothing about
race, where we do find deliberate language about race and discrimination
is in our bylaws. Specifically, our bylaws on non-discrimination
call for us to promote the full participation of persons without
regard to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, affectional or sexual
orientation, age, language, citizenship status, economic status,
or national origin. At General Assembly this past summer, the Commission
on Appraisal (COA) presented a proposal for changes to the section
of our bylaws currently entitled "Non-Discrimination;"
the COA proposed a new language, entitled "Inclusion."
This new language would replace the current language with the following.
Systems of power, privilege, and oppression have traditionally created
barriers for persons and groups with particular identities, ages,
abilities, and histories. We pledge to do all we can to replace
such barriers with ever-widening circles of solidarity and mutual
respect. We strive to be a congregation that truly welcomes all
persons and commits to structuring congregational life in ways that
empower and enhance everyone's participation.
What was immediately striking to me about the proposed language
is that there is no mention of race (or ethnicity, or gender, or
sexual orientation, or citizenship status, or economic status, or
national origin). What are we to make of this language?
" What do we lose by a removing a particular reference to race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship status, economic
status, or national origin?
" What might we gain from this new language?
" How do we use our principles and our bylaws as a foundation
for undoing racism?
As an insert in your order of service, you should have the text
of our uu principles as well as the two passages on non-discrimination
and inclusion. We'd like for you to take the next 10 minutes at
your tables to talk with each other about these three questions.
Afterwards, we're going to ask you to share with the full room.
Section C-2.1. Principles.
We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association,
covenant to affirm and promote
* The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
* Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
* Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth
in our congregations;
* A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
* The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process
within our congregations and in society at large;
* The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for
all;
* Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we
are a part
The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:
* Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed
in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an
openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
* Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us
to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion
and the transforming power of love;
* Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical
and spiritual life;
* Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's
love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
* Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason
and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the
mind and spirit;
* Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate
the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with
the rhythms of nature.
Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles
our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand
our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising
to one another our mutual trust and support.
Last updated on Friday, September 18, 2009.
Section C-2.3. Non-discrimination.
The Association declares and affirms its special responsibility,
and that of its member congregations and organizations, to promote
the full participation of persons in all of its and their activities
and in the full range of human endeavor without regard to race,
ethnicity, gender, disability, affectional or sexual orientation,
age, language, citizenship status, economic status, or national
origin and without requiring adherence to any particular interpretation
of religion or to any particular religious belief or creed.
Last updated on Friday, September 18, 2009.
Include Proposed Language
Systems of power, privilege, and oppression have traditionally created
barriers for persons and groups with particular identities, ages,
abilities, and histories. We pledge to do all we can to replace
such barriers with ever-widening circles of solidarity and mutual
respect. We strive to be a congregation that truly welcomes all
persons and commits to structuring congregational life in ways that
empower and enhance everyone's participation.
When I first read the language, I had a negative immediate reaction
to this change. Without a particular attention to race and racism
how do guarantee that this focus is not lost?
But when I read the language again and think about it in the context
of our UU principals I find it both powerful and promising because
it shifts the core foundation of our activism away from the things
that separate us from each other - the things that distinguish us
from each other - and turns our focus to the things that hold and
connect us.
Let me be more concrete. When I'm called to fight against racism
here, and sexism there; heterosexism, classism, nationalism, …
I'm pulled in so many different directions. Focus, effort, resources,
are stretched and divided. But what if we stop. What if instead,
we take seriously this idea of solidarity? In our principles, we
affirm
" The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
" Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
" Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which
we are a part
When we move forward with these principles as a starting point,
we can see how these forms of oppression (racism, sexism, heterosexism,
nationalism, classism) are all the same thing - they all stem from
a common motivation to deny ones inherent worth and dignity - to
deny justice and equality. When we embrace and respect the interdependent
web of existence, we recognize that one form of oppression is as
bad as any other. If we are all connected, oppression in one arena
- to deny the worth and dignity of one of us - has an effect that
resounds through all of us. To address one kind of oppression and
not imagine that we need to recognize others is like attempting
to plug a leak that just keeps springing somewhere else. It's a
losing proposition that always keeps us at least one step behind.
How do we fight to undo racism and not at the same time stand in
the fight for fair and just treatment of immigrants and their families?
How do we imagine ourselves in the fight to undo racism and not
also see ourselves at the same time in the fight for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people? And do we really imagine there
are people of color over here - and lgbt people over here and that
these two areas don't overlap? This week, as we recognize and celebrate
Earth Day, it's not enough to talk about conservation if we don't
also talk about the stark racial disparity in the placement of hazardous
waste facilities.
To embrace inclusion is not to say that we don't need to fight
against racism - or even that we don't need to recognize and understand
race and how it works in society. But we should go further. To use
as a foundation for our activism, not just identity, but love and
connection, is to take a step back out of this singular fight -
and to get in touch with a vision for the world that is just and
fair and inclusive. To connect to a vision that acknowledges all
the parts of ourselves and all the ways that we are connected -
can do more to dismantle racism than any singular attention to race.
To say that these are difficult times is an understatement. When
I watch the news and read the papers, the level or hate, callousness,
and general mean-spiritedness sets me back and leaves me reeling.
But as hurtful as that ugliness is I'm hopeful - always hopeful
- that we have a stronger counterforce. People say love conquers
all. I know, it's corny, but there's some truth there. Love is not
just this romantic feeling. Love is, as Paolo Freire writes, an
act. An act of courage and commitment to other people. No matter
where the oppressed are found, the act of love is a commitment to
their cause-the cause of liberation.
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