Racial Justice Ministry

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.

Announcements

For the 2021 BUUF Silent Auction, the Racial Justice Ministry proposed a Special Appeal that would raise $10,000 for the multi-year Idaho Libraries Welcome All, sponsored by the Idaho Commission for Libraries. The goal of the library project was to provide targeted training opportunities that would enable librarians and library staff throughout Idaho to create a library environment that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive; that is, welcoming to ALL patrons.

Thanks to the generosity of BUUFers, the Special Appeal raised $15,000, which was given to the ICfL in June of 2021. Over the next 18 months, until its December 2022 conclusion, the training opportunities offered by the ICfL included:

  • Paying for 21 library staff from both public and private libraries to attend a 3-week online course titled “Evaluating, Auditing, Diversifying Your Collection.”
  • Creating a 3-session online course titled “Indigenous Idaho: Future, Past, & Present” that was attended by 31 library staff members from 27 libraries. In addition, 324 newly published books by Indigenous authors were added to 27 different library collections.

Thank you to all who contributed to the Special Appeal. It is an excellent example of both a community collaboration and a practical application of the 8th Principle.

The following documents provide complete information about this collaborative project (add links):

Quick reads

Each item is a link to a short, interesting article.

People to know

Each of the following names is a link to a short biography, with additional resources, of someone who has made our world a better place.

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.

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.

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 Archives

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.