Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesBuilding a Just Future with Spirit, Book by Book
The Revolution Will Not be Televised? Make it Happen by Reading – TOGETHER Skinner House Books and Beacon Press announce Justice and Spirit: The Unitarian Universalist Book Club on Goodreads. If you are interested in spirituality, religion, and social justice, whether Unitarian Universalist or not, join the discussion on books that seek to answer one (or all) of the following essential questions. How do we, as individuals and communities: search for truth and meaning? strive for justice and action? navigate our spiritual journeys? live out our values? Every month, the Justice and Spirit book club will host discussion about a new book that explore the themes of justice, spiritual search, identity and social change with…
Houston UUs vs Westboro: Love Wins
Because That is What We Do Members of the Westboro Baptist Church came to Houston, Texas protesting – as quoted on the KHOU-TV website,“‘This Mayor Annise Parker, whatever her name is, is an out of the closet lesbian. She is a spectacle and she has attention all over the country. So we are gonna say our part, said Marc Hill of Westboro.” KHOU reported the Westboro protesters were met by members of First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, who answered Westboro’s message of hate in force, reporting, “‘We are singing in the light of love!’ sang another group about twice the size of the Westboro group. A Progressive Voice in the Public Square And when…
Economic Inequality – It’s Worse Than We Think
How Far Would You Go To Fix this Picture? Recent studies reveal that most Americans underestimate the cleavage between the best-and-worst paid workers in America. Most people believe the difference is $30 earned by the best-paid workers for every $1 received by the worst paid workers, while – in fact – for every $1 the worst paid workers earn, the best-paid receive $354. Interestingly, studies also reveal that while one’s political identification determines her or his discourse on increasing economic fairness – or how much of an increase there should be – people from across the political spectrum basically agree on what is fair, and the reforms they’d like to see – or not to…
Economic Justice Is Not a Gift
Tipped-Minimum Wage is $2.13 hour. Some think that’s enough. Watch “The National Restaurant Association: Hard to Stomach” video, produced by Restaurant Opportunities United (ROC United), re-posted on Upworthy, with links to information on the tipped minimum wage and a video explaining what it is like to live on tipped-minimum wage to learn more about income and wage disparity in the restaurant industry. Learn how the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) promotes Economic Justice Participate in the UUA Common Read focused on Economic Justice
Economic Discrimination Starts at Home
Mass Incarceration, Housing Discrimination and Poverty are Linked Jamelle Bouie explains how systematic economic discrimination designed to deprive minorities the possibility of creating wealth through home ownership in the United States creates neighborhoods mired in poverty and unemployment. The Unitarian Universalist Association fights for Economic Justice The Unitarian Universalist Association rejects Racial Injustice The Unitarian Universalist Association believes in Social Justice Better understand the roots of Mass Incarceration and the racial dynamics of poverty by reading “How We Built the Ghettos” on The Daily Beast.
Mass Incarceration: Systemic Bias
There are Reasons Some People Won’t Get a Break Mass Incarceration is an aspect of the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), in which the goal of incarceration has moved from rehabilitation (penology) to punishment, and financial consequences – negative for those arrested or imprisoned and, funded by taxpayers, beneficial to private interests – are a systemic objective. The PIC is considered to have begun in 1973 with the signing of the “Rockefeller Drug Laws“, and has broadened over the past 20 years to take advantage of immigration policy in the United States. What is the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) doing to end Mass Incarceration? Learn more about the effects of Mass Incarceration – This video does…
The Fight for a Fair Wage Goes On
The Math Adds Up – the Politics Still Don’t The Federal Minimum Wage has not risen since 2009 although the Cost of Living (COL) in the United States has increased by 10% over the same period. Studies show that in real terms the purchasing power of the Middle Class has decreased since 1970 (Read this post by Karin Kamp on BillMoyers.com to understand how.) The people who are most hurt by the divergence between wages and COL are those who work for minimum wage. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) believes in Economic Justice – don’t you? Together we transform belief into reality. Raising the minimum wage may lift some people out of poverty, but…
Level the Paying Field
Some labor for too little, others labor too little for too much Gender-based income disparity (the “Gender Pay-gap”) and a minimum wage lower than a living wage are antithetical to the Principles and sources of Unitarian Universalism. The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) works to create economic justice for everyone. Join the UUA fight for Economic Justice. Learn more about the issue from the 2013-2014 UUA Common Read, “Behind the Kitchen Door“. Watch this video to better understand the issue of wealth inequality: Watch other videos on inequality on inequality.org
Solitary Confinement is Inhumane
The Head of the Colorado Prison System was locked up in solitary confinement to know the experience of thousands of inmates (the exact number is unknown). We re-post excerpts from the article of his experience from the New York Times. Learn what the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is doing to combat Mass Incarceration and other social injustice below.-Ed. Solitary Confinement is Inhumane After 20 hours in solitary confinement, the head of the Colorado prison system, Rick Raemisch stated what Unitarian Universalists and many others have said for years, “You don’t have to spend much time in a prison talking to someone in a segregation cell to realize that something is inherently wrong with that… Everything…
Mass Incarceration Identifies Us
Set against a backdrop of institutional and societal discrimination, the story of Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice initiative (EJI) encapsulates what is right about family, faith and mission, pointing the way forward. – Ed. Reaching Out To End Injustice Bryan Stevenson, winner of the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in social justice argues that the policy of Mass Incarceration has its roots in the practice of slavery, and is part of the continuum of the history of racial injustice in the United States. From his career advocating for death-row inmates (study this resource about the unequal application of the death penalty on the basis of race, this resource of death-penalty inmates who have been exonerated [and…
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