Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:58 — 49.4MB)

Subscribe: More

Lena K. Gardner and Leslie Mac join The VUU to talk about the 2017 UUA General Assembly and the needs for Unitarian Universalists of color around safety/security, worship, and community.

Show notes:

• Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) organizing collective
• 2017 UUA General Assembly, June 21-25 in New Orleans
• BLUU’s programs at General Assembly:
  • “Black Power Challenges Liberal Religion: Fifty Years Later” on Thurs., June 22 from 5:00-6:15 pm — A retrospective conversation led by Dr. Mtangulizi Sanyika (aka Hayward Henry Jr.), founding chair of the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus (BUUC) and Black Affairs Council (BAC), 1967-1973, highlighting the challenges and outcomes of the Black empowerment movement of the 1960s and its relevance to the movement for Black Lives today.
  • “BLUU Organizing Collective: An Introduction to Anti-Blackness” on Fri., June 23 from 3:15-4:30 pm — Anti-blackness is a global phenomenon that affects people in every cultural and ethnic group. Within larger systems of structural oppression, it translates to higher rates of social ills, including poverty, unemployment, poor health outcomes, and substandard housing. We will also discuss the impact of anti-blackness in our congregations and beyond.
• The Wilderness Journey: first-hand accounts of the historical struggle for black empowerment and racial justice within the UUA in the late 1960s
• Bystander intervention training by Jess Banks

The VUU is hosted by Meg Riley (currently on sabbatical), Michael Tino, Joanna Fontaine Crawford, Aisha Hauser, Hank Peirce, and Alicia Forde, with production support provided by Terri Burnor. The VUU streams live on Thursdays at 11 am ET.

Note: This audio has been slightly edited for a better listening experience. View the live original recording on YouTube.