CAR, Community Against Racism, started as an ad-hoc committee in the spring of 1992, when Louise Smith said, "Shouldn't we form a committee to address Racism?" I was around when she said that, and agreed with her. So, we called a meeting to start such a committee. 40 people showed up. We decided the first order of business should be to develop a mission statement. After meeting weekly during the summer, consensus on the draft of the Mission Statement was reached by September.
When the Fall Season of church activities began, the membership in the Committee Against Racism, dropped to about 10 active members. Most of the people involved in forging the Mission Statement already had responsibilities in other areas of the church, or in other Task Forces, and couldn't stretch themselves to be active in both. What I find encouraging is that 40 people were concerned enough about Racism that they agreed to meet throughout the summer. That's remarkable, when we consider that we back off from church activities for the summer. It left me with the feeling that the congregation strongly supports efforts toward reducing racism.
In October, we applied for and received Task Force status. Since we liked the CAR acronym we changed the name from "Committee Against Racism" to "Community Against Racism."
When we started CAR, we tried to think of a name that stated we are For something, instead of Against something. We haven't found a different set of words - yet.
Almost 10 years have passed since we started CAR. Soon, we'll review this statement, to see if it should reflect new understandings and insights we've gained during this period. Our Short Mission Statement states that:
The First Unitarian Church of Rochester, New York's Community Against Racism, is dedicated to the concept that all racism is abhorrent. To this end, we commit to: Identify racism. Work Toward, and Advocate For the end to racist acts, practices, policies and attitudes in our public, professional, social and private lives.
The Full Mission Statement elaborates on this statement,
As you can see, we crafted a tall order for ourselves. Most of us know that Racism still exists, in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Most of us have heard that Racism is Prejudice Plus Power. I think one of the biggest obstacles to reducing Racism is our ignorance, (or innocence, as one of my professors said) of the Power we have to continue the status quo. By remaining "innocent," (or ignorant) we contribute to the continuation of Racism. This concept applies equally to sexism, homophobia, ageism, and other "isms" that still exist in our society. It will take all of us, individually, and collectively, to dismantle racism and all the other "isms" we face today.
As you might correctly infer from the cover of today's order of service, this congregation has a long and illustrious history of working against racism and for human rights. While our community against racism is a decade old, I became involved with it about five years ago. Some time before that I heard, and vividly remember a statement made from this very lectern by Reverend Mark Morrison-Reed - he is a UU minister of color and was then at the Universalist Church downtown - he said that it was improper for us, a group of white people, to ask him, a black man, what to do about racism since, as he put it, "it's your problem, not mine." I believe there was much truth to that, and that what he said is as timely today as it was then. It remains "our" problem to face and to resolve.
How to do that? We have tried in this task force to continue to clarify issues, to develop understanding, and to take actions consistent with our perceived mission to identify racism and to work toward and advocate for an end to racist acts, attitudes, and policies. Here are a few of the things we've done:
Are we closer to realizing our goals? I ask myself, am I less "racist" than I was? Do I confront my own position of privilege given me through accident of birth more appropriately than I once did? What about living in an ethnically divided community and what am I doing to try to help? I believe I've learned humility, at least, and that there are no pat answers. Each of us can and should take action on our own - such as volunteering, mixing, etc., AND EACH OF US MUST DECIDE WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO BE MORE SENSITIVE. AND there is much that needs to be done on an institutional level. I hope OUR Community Against Racism survives, and that we can continue to work.
This morning, I offer another perspective: an Asian American UU perspective. First I want to tell you about another UU. Our Unitarian Universalist Association's newly elected president, Bill Sinkford, is an African American man. I saw a recent profile of Sinkford in an online ezine called africana.com. The article was entitled "Black Minister, White Flock?" The profile recounted Sinkford's conversion to Unitarian Universalism at age 14. He is quoted as saying: "I was the only child raised by a single mother and she exposed me to various denominations. I had early experiences in the Episcopal Church and in Black churches. At the First Unitarian Church in Cincinnati, I found a place where I could bring all of myself in the door. This was still an era of legal segregation. The religious educator at First Unitarian was an African American woman."
Four decades after Sinkford found a UU church as his spiritual home in the Jim Crow South, I walked into the First Unitarian Church of Rochester. This sanctuary was decorated with Ikebana floral arrangements, I heard peaceful-sounding, oriental chimes, Zen koans were the spoken meditations that morning, and Dick Gilbert spoke from the pulpit about how his recent pilgrimage to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan had informed his faith as a Unitarian Universalist. Wow, I thought, this is my kind of church! As a recovering Southern Baptist who had been unchurched for nearly a decade, I was delighted to find this oasis of religious and cultural pluralism in Rochester. Like Bill Sinkford, I believed I had finally found a place where I could bring all of myself in the door.
In the eight years since my UU conversion, I have immersed myself in our movement, first an active member and RE teacher here, then moving back to Los Angeles, where I joined a UU church and of course, several committees and task forces. Inside of four years, I found myself president of my congregation, and a leader at the district level as well as a Journey Toward Wholeness anti-racism facilitator for the UUA on a continental level. But the more immersed I became, the more uncomfortable I became. Over the years, I developed nagging doubts about the pluralism so touted by Unitarian Universalists. Yes, UUs have a long history of fighting for civil and human rights of people of color around the world. Yes, UUs celebrate Kwanzaa and Black History Month and boast a hymnal that draws music from throughout the world. Yes, UU activists regularly speak out on behalf of oppressed groups and through the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, we support many wonderful causes. Here at First Unitarian, we are proud of the long partnership we have had supporting troubled urban schools like School 22 and School 15 in the poor, minority neighborhoods.
Knowing all that, why do I nevertheless, feel awkward upon finding myself the sole person of color at district UU leadership events? Why do I search in vain for names and images of UU leaders, past or present, who look like me? Why, when I look around in this auditorium do I wonder, where are all the people of color? I've often heard it said, black people aren't attracted to our services because they're not soulful enough.... Or Latinos are all Catholic or Asians are all Buddhists. Let me tell you, these are gross exaggerations and deny the individuality and pluralistic belief systems in every community of color. It may surprise you to know that according to the US Census there are fifteen thousand Asian Americans living in the greater Rochester area.... Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans, Filipinos, Japanese and Asian Indians. This population has grown nearly 50 percent in ten years. Why then did I have to answer, with some shame, when just the other day, a lapsed UU asked me whether his new life partner, a gay Korean man, would find many others like him in our congregation. I assure you, there are plenty of people of color who, like you and I, seek a liberal religious faith that welcomes difficult questions, rather than imposes pat answers.
The question is, why have they not found their way in these doors? Or if they come once or twice, why do they not stay?
I have heard it said more than once that we want a more diverse congregation, indeed UUs in general want a more diverse denomination. But, clearly, all the social justice, all the good works, all the talk of tolerating differences, have, sadly, not been effective in reaching this goal.
I say to you, the way to become a more diverse congregation is not to seek out people of color to invite to church. It is not to go hear gospel choirs perform. It is not to become a member of the urban league. I'm not saying these things aren't all good and right-they are things that we can and should do to educate ourselves and develop personal relationships with people different from outselves. But these in themselves will not bring people of color into our congregation. There is, I believe, only one thing that will. That is for us to become an intentionally anti-racist institution. As you've heard this morning, the Community Against Racism Task Force is seeking to work within the congregation to do exactly that. But it's a tall order, and we need the entire congregation, the leadership, the ministers, the staff, young people, not so young people. Yes. We need you. We need each and every one of you and each and every person in our movement to work together to create a pluralistic, anti-racist community. This gets to the heart of what Unitarian Universalism is all about.
What does it mean to be intentionally anti-racist? It goes beyond not uttering racist remarks. It goes beyond working to fight the symptoms of racism, like racial profiling and inequities in the judicial process. It goes beyond pretending that we are colorblind in a color-conscious society. Becoming intentionally anti-racist means we must first face the fact that we live in a society that has institutionalized racism. By maintaining the status quo, by not examining our institutional attitudes, practices, and policies, we are unwittingly perpetuating the system of American apartheid - a system where whites and people of color are segregated, a system that demands assimilation, rather than celebrates diversity.
But we can change that. And we can start right here in our own beloved community. As a flagship congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, as a standard bearer for the denomination, we here at First Unitarian have a special responsibility to take leadership in creating this change. Dick Gilbert reminded us last week, that for more than one hundred and seventy years First Unitarian has been Rochester's alert conscience and hospitable roof. Now we have the opportunity to also become a catalyst for change, a fulcrum for dismantling racism in our institution. We can start here in our own church by examinng our institutional attitudes, policies and practices. We can also influence the larger church by voicing concerns at the district and denominational levels. One of the most visible and powerful ways we can act is to consider how we might attract, retain, and support ministers of color, both here and throughout the UUA.
That is not to say white ministers can't help us become anti-racist; indeed many are working very effectively to do so. But ministers of color, might in addition to all the other qualities and qualifications desirable in any minister, also have a special sensitivity and distinct understanding of the ways marginalized people are oppressed, minimized, and dehumanized. By virtue of the fact that they are ministers of color in a white denomination, they have the potential to help us see ourselves through a different colored lens.
Just as Bill Sinkford, a black president in a white denomination, hopes to bring new perspectives to our movement, more professional and lay leaders of color in our congregation could be catalysts for the diversity we seek.
I believe that the First Unitarian Church of Rochester is at a critical crossroads in our history. With Dick Gilbert retiring after 32 years, we have an opportunity to chart a new future course. At this critical juncture, we have a choice to remain in our comfort zone and do exactly what we have always done - or, we could build on the foundation that Dick and many others here have laid - to create a church for all those who thirst for the nurturing waters of our liberal faith.
I invite you to join in what Martin Luther King, Jr. called an inescpable network of mutuality, tied by a single garment of destiny. He said, "whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow provincial outside agitator idea. Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere in this country."
To these immortal words, I add, never again can we afford to worship in a segregated congregation. Anyone, of any color, who seeks a liberal religious community, can never be considered an outsider in this church. ..... Amen.
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