Guiding Principles

The mission of the Racial Justice Ministry is to:
raise awareness and understanding of an engagement with race and racism. This includes our individual and collective opportunities to achieve racial justice.

We are also guided by the UU 8th Principle, which asks us to:
affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

Click HERE to view 6 slides with a summary of our mission, vision, goals for 2022-2023 goals, activities, and proposed programs.

Coming programs

October 2022: Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Title: HISTORY, HEALING, AND RESTORATION
Speaker: Darren Parry, former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and author of The Bear River Massacre: A Shoshone History.
Date: Monday, October 10, 2022
Time: 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Virtual Event: Click here to join the program:  https://bit.ly/3rhRWOm

This program is sponsored by the Racial Justice Ministry of the Boise UU Fellowship and co-sponsored by the Idaho Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Current events

This information is abstracted from an opinion piece written by US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and published in the September 28, 2022 edition of The Washington Post.

In November, 2021, US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued Secretary’s Order 3404, which declared sq*** (Secretary Haaland refuses to use the word) to be a derogatory term and created a task force to identify its use in names of geographic features on federal lands and find replacements, with implementation to be carried out by the federal Board on Geographic Names (BGN). This month, the
BGN voted on final replacements for 643 offensive names, effective immediately. Many of these locations are in Idaho, shown in THIS TABLE.

People

Each of the following names is a link to a short biography, with additional resources, of someone who has made important contributions to the history and progress of the US.

• MEDGAR EVERS
• CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON
• BARBARA JORDAN
• MADAM C. J. WALKER

Events in US history

Each of the following items is a link to information about an event that is both relatively unknown and noteworthy because of its impact, then and now, on the history of the US.

• TULSA 1921

Words and phrases

Each of the following terms is a link to information about a word or phrase about race and racial justice that is common in print materials, videos, and discussions.

• BELOVED COMMUNITY
• CRITICAL RACE THEORY
• GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY
• INTERSECTIONALITY
• REPARATIONS

What can you do?

As a person concerned about racial justice, you may be asking what you can do. Click here IMPORTANT ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE NOW for a short list of things you can do, beginning now, to work toward racial justice.

Learn more about …

This list is a “table of contents” for information that can be found on other website pages. It is periodically updated with new topics, information, and resources. We invite you to visit frequently and explore the available information.

• DEFUNDING THE POLICE. Click HERE for this page.
• INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. Click HERE for this page.
• INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF IDAHO. Click for HERE this page.
• MOVIES AND BOOKS ABOUT RACE AND RACISM. Click HERE for this page.
• ORGANIZATIONS WORKING FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN THE US. Click HERE for this page.
• SHORT LIST OF PRINT AND VIDEO RESOURCES. Click HERE for this list.
• SYSTEMIC RACISM: DEFINITION AND HISTORY. Click HERE this page.
• SYSTEMIC RACISM: EFFECTS. Click HERE for this page.

Racial Justice Ministry Programs

The Racial Justice Ministry offers a variety of programs intended to help anyone learn more about racism and become more engaged with racial justice activities. These programs are briefly described below.

Racial Justice Education

During the fall of 2019 and winter of 2020, the RJM held monthly in-person programs using videos and group discussions to increase awareness and understanding of topics related to race and racism. The programs were discontinued during March of 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic but will resume during the fall of 2020 using Zoom. Handout materials from each of the past programs can be found at Monthly program materials. RJ Education also posts links to short suggested videos with suggested questions or activities. Posted videos can be found at Suggested videos of the month

Wake Up Coffee Circle

Every Wednesday, 9:00-10:30 AM Wednesdays via Zoom. These unstructured conversations are open to all interested individuals and offer opportunities to talk about recent events or whatever else might be on our minds, related to racial justice, and to support one another. Drop in any time, stay as long as you want. Information about the Coffee Circle, including the Zoom link can be found in each week’s BUUF “Weekly Gazette.”

Racial Justice Community Google Group

The Racial Justice Community is a group of BUUF and community members who share information, announcements, resources and support as we work toward racial justice. To join the group simply send your name and email address to racialjustice@boiseuu.org and ask to join.

RJM Archive

• Monthly program materials
• Race in Focus
• Meeting Notes

The purpose of this website is to provide a variety of resources on race and racism. We invite you to be a regular visitor to the website. If we can make this website more useful, please let us know. You can contact us at  racialjustice@boiseuu.org.