(Cleveland, OH – June 19, 2001) In a conference room at the same hotel where, in 1968, race relations and aspirations for equality for African Americans within Unitarian Universalism erupted and caused wounds that have healed with painful slowness, a group of fifty ministers gathered to discuss issues of racism and oppression in the ministry at the beginning of the UUA's forty-first year.
Facilitated by the Rev. Jose Ballester and sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, this conversation was offered as a result of a resolution passed by the UUMA membership in 1999 and continued during 2000. Today's meeting was held at downtown Cleveland's elegant Renaissance Hotel, one of the three anchor hotels of the 2001 General Assembly.
The UUMA has been grappling with the impact of racism and oppression on the professional ministry for many years. At the 1999 Salt Lake City UUMA meeting, the UUMA entertained two resolutions in its meeting that proposed:
- To guarantee that DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) be represented with one position on the UUMA Exec (Executive Committee) and one position on the CENTER (UUMA Continuing Education) committee, to be appointed by DRUUMM to represent ministers of color, with changes in the bylaws to permanently establish the positions.
- To sponsor a consultation on ministry and anti racism, the purpose of which is to begin a dialogue on race between UUMA white ministers and professionals of color.
The first resolution, incoming UUMA President Kendyl Gibbons explained, was withdrawn pending action by the UUMA Exec; the second passed. The Exec asked DRUUMM to appoint someone to fill the position for a year. The Rev. Peter Morales, minister of the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado was appointed to fill that position and, said Ballester, "set the groundwork for what the conversation was to be about." Last year there was a consultation on race and racism and, said Ballester, "the end result was that we realized we knew a lot, but we knew a lot less than we thought we did. There were areas we had not even approached that were vital for our mission." And so the UUMA exec decided to extend the DRUUMM seat for another year and Ballester took over, again selected by DRUUMM for the position.
On Thursday (June 21), Ballester explained, there will be an election to designate a permanent member of the UUMA Exec to deal with issues of anti racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism, and a second person will be appointed from DRUUMM, because the UUMA has recognized that the issues are "exceedingly complex, and can not be handled by one person." The Rev. John Gilmore has been nominated to an elected position, and the Rev. Patricia Jimenez will be appointed to the second position. Both will serve for three years.
In addition, the UUMA has created a committee on the ministry to deal with antiracism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism. This committee will meet with the regional UUMA representatives, and together they will address issues, find out what ministers and congregations need, and attempt to address needs in the larger UU movement as well. This group will report at each meeting of the UUMA. Thus far, in addition to Jimenez and Gilmore, the Revs. Suzelle Lynch and Dianne Arakawa have agreed to serve, and two more slots are yet to be filled.
Commenting on the importance of furthering this dialogue, Jimenez said, "I see [this endeavor] as work that helps us all to become whole human beings… this is important for us because all of us have culture and ethnicity and identities that we need to be able to embrace."
Ballester reflected, "We are here to discuss ministry, and what we as colleagues need to do among ourselves, in our profession, in our congregations, and in our religious movement. I would hope that we remember one thing – that we are drawn here by our faith, and because we are colleagues." He then asked Jimenez, religious educator Andrea Lerner, Morales, and Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley to join him in discussing who they are, and why the work of antiracism and anti-oppression is important for them.
Jimenez said, "I am from New Mexico, my first Spanish ancestor came there in 1598… I have lived in that part of the country a long time. When I think of how I identify myself, it's as a New Mexican. I was a Presbyterian, went to church, and to Catholic mass. I work as a hospital chaplain and a hospice chaplain. And in times of crisis, it is important to be a whole human being…one's ethnic and cultural identity has to be a part of it. That's what I always keep in mind when I am working with my patients. [We need to recognize] what is unique about all of us…much is the same, but we also need to see what is unique."
Peter Morales spoke about his background growing up in San Antonio, Texas and being "on the edge in the culture with Mexican Americans, influenced by his own heritage of growing up in the Missouri Lutheran Synod of San Antonio. Andrea Lerner, a member of the LREDA (Liberal Religious Educators Association) board, serves as a Director of Religious Education in Austin, TX. She observed, "Even the tiniest bit that I know about anti-Semitism stops me in my tracks, so I can't imagine what it is like for people who have to confront this every day… I want to stand for equality for every person."
Ballester said, "I have seen racism, oppression, hatred. And I have dedicated more of my life, more and more, to fighting oppression, realizing that if we do this work well, we can go to sleep at night knowing we have done something good in the world… I dedicate my life to continuing that struggle, knowing full well that there are other people who struggle, and that we can struggle as colleagues."
Finally, Bowens Wheatley, serving as Adult Programs Director in the Religious Education department of the UUA, shared her own personal experiences as a new minister in a historically white denomination. "When I was fellowshipped in 1994," she said, "I remember walking in the processional at the SLT (Service of the Living Tradition) feeling very proud of being there, and by the end of the service, I was in tears. I looked out at the audience, and didn't see anyone who looked like me, and thought, 'Oh my God, I don't see anyone who looks like me -- what have I done?' Some people rescued me that day…but it was hard."
Ballester proceeded to ask all the participants to start a conversation by introducing themselves, and describing their own racial/cultural background and the person most important in each individual participant's life. He said, as people shared their identities and those closest to them, "It is important for us to realize that people have identities, cultures, and also that people are connected to one another, and to oppressions. We are all connected in one way or another, through oppressions…none of us have a clean history in our ancestry. In one way or another, we have oppressed others in our lives. But we have important people in our lives. And the way to get around oppressions, and the problems we face, is to try and find out who is the most important person in your life... try and see what would happen if the oppression you see was inflicted on them; if they felt the hatred we often find. If we can treat others the way you want the most important people in your life treated, that may help us.
"Be aware," he continued, "that we as a movement have a history, and a history of not dealing with racism and oppressions…we are in Cleveland, in the Renaissance hotel. Come Ministry Day, we will be in the Renaissance ballroom (where the BUC/BAWA black empowerment schism of 1968 occurred). We are going back, but not really... We need to figure out what our fears are in this process… what will the UUMA uncover, what will we lose, what will we discover that we don't want to know? But also, what can we gain, what does the future look like? What are the issues you want to address, now and in the future?"
Following this exchange, Ballester asked participants to break into groups of three to seven people, and talk more about each individual's identity. He also asked each person to "ask these questions of yourselves: write down on paper what your greatest fear is (about pursuing anti-racism and anti-oppressive, multicultural behaviors); what is a hope for this work; what is an issue that needs to be faced?"
Observing the process, incoming UUMA President Kendyl Gibbons reflected, "Some of [the people in this room] have been part of this dialogue for three years. The shape that it has taken this year has been partly due to Jose and the (UUMA) Exec wanting to give space. My hope is that it may be that we have provided enough … there is anxiety of being here in Cleveland, in the same hotel, as in 1968…people are nervous, especially ministers…there were lifelong friendships broken at that time, things were said that were so damaging to the spirit of collegiality, that they are still remembered. Some of us who weren't here then, have heard about it as a defining moment in the UUA's history. We were an immature organization at that time, the UUA being less than ten years old. We are much more stable, institutionally savvy…But the emotional content is there for a lot of people.
"We are in a different place culturally…at least in our awareness of trying to be inclusive," Gibbons continued. "I don't think the UUMA could have had this kind of portfolio forty years ago. But hopefully one of the things we've learned is how much you have to listen…especially the dominant group…shut up and let people tell you the way things are. Part of the definition of being a member of the dominant culture is you don't know. So if we allow enough time for that to happen among us as colleagues, and enough space, like the representation on the Exec, I have hope that we can make progress without as much trauma as we have had in the past. Whatever it is that you need -- time, presence, voice -- make more of it – don't restrict it."
Reported for the web by Deborah Weiner; formatted for the web by Kasey Melski.
General Assembly 2001 · Program Grid
