Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville

Fifty years ago, invoking a metaphor first expressed by Unitarian minister Theodore Parker, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

Tonight, because of you, our little corner of the universe is a step closer to justice. And not just justice for some. Each of us here tonight, we know in our hearts that justice for some is not true justice. True justice must be justice for all, from the greatness through the least.

Because of you, one of the poorest sectors of jacksonville is a step closer to building sustainable wealth among its residents.

Because of you, our mayor understands that we are going to continue to demand justice for our homeless population whether a pension plan passes or not. Because whether a pension plan passes or not, homeless families will still be homeless, and our moral responsibility to care for the most vulnerable people in our community is not contingent upon the results of any vote.

Because of you, young people in our city who make a youthful indiscretion will have more opportunities to learn from their mistakes and make things right without being arrested, without being placed into that school-to prison-pipeline that has already devoured far too many of our young people.

And because of you, our sheriff has heard loud and clear that we are tired of revolving-door prisons. He has heard that we will continue to demand real solutions to make our neighborhood safer and bring an end to the sprawling prison industrial complex.

Long ago, Frederick Douglass reminded us that power concedes nothing without a demand, and together we have made our demands known to our elected officials tonight. Standing here tonight. Showing up here tonight and making those demands known was an expression of your faith. Showing up here tonight and making those demands known was an example of our American democracy in action.

And as a result of your faith and your patriotism we have moved significantly closer to our ultimate goal of making Jacksonville a place where there truly is justice for all, of making Jacksonville an example for every other city in America to follow. New York. Chicago. Atlanta. We want them to look at Jacksonville with envy in their eyes. We want those cities to look at us and ask, “What on earth is going on in Jacksonville, Florida? How did Jacksonville end poverty? How did Jacksonville end homelessness? How did Jacksonville get the lowest youth crime rate in the nation? How did Jacksonville get the lowest recidivism rates for ex-offenders in the whole country?”

I wanna live in that Jacksonville. Do you want to live in that Jacksonville? I believe that we have the potential to become that city, but to make that vision a reality it will require great dedication. It will require great leadership. It will require great courage. But remember, when we work together great things happen!