Justice Work in Our Movement
We are stronger together. Our combined efforts to make the world more fair and humane can accomplish more than any one of us working alone. As Unitarian Universalists, we set priorities for our social justice efforts by investing in key issues that exemplify our commitments to justice, equity and compassion.
Click here to see the latest justice and inclusion activities of our national organization.
How do we decide what to do next?
The delegates of the annual General Assembly (GA) of UU Congregations approve two kinds of resolutions. Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAIs) are issues selected for four years of study, reflection and action. In the third year of this process, delegates at GA can vote to approve a Statement of Conscience (SOC) resulting from three years of congregational feedback on the CSAI. A fourth year is devoted to implementation. A CSAI is an invitation for congregations to take a topic of concern and engage it, reflect on it, learn about it, respond to it, comment on it, and take action—each in their own way. Learn more about current and past issues here.
In addition, delegates at each annual General Assembly have the opportunity to take positions on issues that require immediate witness through the Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) process. An AIW expresses the conscience and carries the authority of the delegates at the GA at which it is passed. AIWs are initiated by individual delegates and move through their entire creation and adoption process during a single GA. Learn more about current AIW projects here.
Current Congregational Study/Action Issue:
2018-2022 CSAI: Undoing Intersectional White Supremacy
Racism is fundamental to U.S. social systems. White supremacy culture operates economically, institutionally, politically, and culturally, shaping everyone’s chances to live healthy, fulfilling lives. It is also the nation’s most toxic export, shaping policies and practices that do profound harm to the Earth and all living things.
Grounding in Unitarian Universalism
White supremacy culture shaped everything we consider norms, which recent experience has pushed us to analyze. Sociologist Robert Bellah challenged us to make “the interdependent web of all existence the first of your principles and not the last.” Decentering whiteness calls us to decenter individual dignity for our collective liberation.
See the full text of this CSAI, including a link to a study guide, here: https://www.uua.org/action/process/csais/undoing-intersectional-white-supremacy