February is Black history month and today’s service will focus on a key part of our own UU history that so often goes untold: the Black Empowerment Controversy. This was a crucial moment in our denomination as we grappled with what it meant to engage in the Civil Rights movement and what to do when our actions fall short of our ideals.

Referenced in this sermon:

Rev. Dr. Rebekah Savage’s reflection on the Jefferson Ball:

https://www.uua.org/worship/words/homily/promise-and-practice-healing-not-done-reflection

“The Arc of the Universe is Long: Unitarian Universalists, Anti-Racism, and the Journey from Calgary” by Rev. Leslie Takahashi, Rev. Chip Roush, and Dr. Leon Spencer

“Black Pioneers in a White Denomination” by the Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed

“Resistance and Transformation: The Empowerment Controversy” by Rev. Colin Bossen and Rev. Julia Hamilton

https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/resistance/workshop12/182676.shtml

Written by: Rev. Laurel Gray

Music by: Kala Farnham

Hosted and Edited by: Amanda Hall