Part II – 2020 Justice Summit
December 4-6, 2020
Part II of the Summit is upon us! We will re-convene and put the information we received in the October panels and armed with the hope from the November elections to good use in developing strategic plans to address the many issues for the upcoming year. Join us and help get us back on track by repairing what’s been damaged and moving forward into the future. Look for updates at our Summit pages.
Take Action
We urge you to engage in a variety of actions to move justice forward. Visit this page to discover general and specific things to take action on.
Events Calendar
Check out our Calendars! There are lots of things happening in your area or around the state – educational events, meetings, demonstrations, vigils & more. We have a master calendar where you can check on what’s going on in all justice spheres, or you can check each issue action page for their specific issue calendars.
Commitment to EDI
We are committed to incorporating and promoting equity, diversity & inclusion in all that we do & represent. Definitions, Our position and other guiding principles here.
Unitarian Universalists Denounce Complicity with Extremists,
Call for Courageous Action by National Leaders
The Unitarian Universalist Association joins leaders across this country in calling for the immediate removal of Donald Trump as U.S. President. We call on the Vice President and every Cabinet member to invoke the 25th Amendment and that Congress pursue articles of impeachment for the protection, safety and stability of our country. President Trump has violated his oath to defend the Constitution, engaged in illegal and seditious acts, undermined a peaceful transition of power—and put the country, its leaders and people in danger.
As a religious institution, we live faithfully our role as a part of the critical fabric of our country’s moral conscience. And as Unitarian Universalists, we hold democracy as a central principle for our faith. We are compelled by the events of this week to call these actions what they were—attempts by insurrection to overthrow our duly elected government. This is a time for true accountability and courageous action in pursuit of a more just, equitable, multiracial and pluralistic democracy.
President Trump and other national leaders, including members of Congress, must be held accountable for inciting insurrectionist violence by spreading lies and false claims of election fraud and attempting to usurp the will of the American people. We condemn these treasonous attempts to subvert our democracy and prevent certification of the Electoral College vote. The inevitable result was the unlawful storming of the U.S. Capitol, the endangerment of Congressional leaders, staff, law enforcement, and multiple deaths.
We call on every member of Congress to act on their sworn Constitutional allegiance and tell the American people the truth—that the presidential election represented a free and fair election. Despite Donald Trump’s attempts to dress up false claims of fraud in a spurious legal cloak, the 2020 election was the largest and most transparent election in history. The outcome of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States represents the will of the American people.
The events witnessed at the Capitol are the predictable outcome of the racism and white supremacy that has been emboldened and given license by the President throughout his term, and without consequence. We call on our government to take this attack on our democracy seriously. White supremacist violence is the greatest threat to public safety and our democracy.From the daily news, to the warnings of federal intelligence experts, we know that the greatest ongoing domestic threats are from these extremists.
The President and his enablers sought to undermine the 2020 election and focused their efforts to delegitimize and throw out votes of Black, Indigenous and Latinx people across the country, especially in contested states. These efforts were a targeted attack, rooted in our country’s long practice of voter suppression and denying citizenship rights to people of color. An attack on voting rights and citizenship rights for any citizen is an attack on the rights of every citizen.
Black movement leaders have been warning us for years that this is the frightening impact of white supremacy culture, which was evident in our founding documents and throughout our country’s history. It was on clear display in the stark contrast of law enforcement’s minimal response to the white supremacist insurrectionists that breached the Capitol. Protests by the Movement for Black Lives, by comparison, were met with tanks, tear gas and bullets. From Charlottesville to Kenosha, Minneapolis to Michigan, we have seen this pattern repeated.
The disparity of police treatment is yet another example of the fundamental need to divest from a punitive and racist system of policing—and the need to invest instead in the health and well-being of our communities and civic life. The response to this attempted coup should not be more policing. The failure is not in a lack of policing but the pattern of complicity with these dangerous extremists. We must uphold our democratic values and lawful civic engagement even at the most difficult of times; it is the measure of our national character.
We must use this moment as an opportunity for profound reflection and awakening, not just in a momentary outcry, but as a basis for significant and lasting change.
Our Unitarian Universalist tradition is rooted in the values of human dignity, justice, compassion and democratic principles. We will remain vigilant in our commitment to protecting our democracy and the integrity of its principles and the rights of all its people.
or send a check to:
JUUstice Washington
17250 NE 156th Court
Woodinville, WA 98072
Action Teams
The focal point for the strength and interconnection of our justice work at JUUstice Washington are these six action teams. These action teams will offer a variety of information on what work has been and is being done, and resources for education and activism, event notices and calendars and direct one-on-one contact with an action team leader.
Participants in the action teams come from a broad spectrum of faith communities, social justice organizations, environmental organizations, other NGOs, governmental bodies and Tribes and Nations.
We recognise intersectionality and that these issues interweave and are inextricably linked. The current action teams are identified below.
First/American Indian Nations Solidarity Seeks to provide culturally appropriate and current information on the background of various Nations and the myriad issues faced by indigenous communities. We work diligently to assist in establishing meaningful relationships with First and American Indian communities. Engagement is predominantly centred in the Pacific Northwest. However, we have also become engaged with Nations and issues throughout the United States and Canada. We have an extensive network of Indian and non-Indian individuals, groups and organizations engaged in social, political, environmental and cultural activities.
Climate Justice Action Team We envision a world that approaches energy use in a sustainable manner for generations to come. We cannot continue our current patterns of consumption and production with reliance on fossil fuels for energy. We have a duty to raise our voices for the moral commitment to human survival.
Communities of color and low-income populations are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change. Recognition of our common humanity is a necessary premise to all of our actions.
Criminal Justice Reform Action Team is based upon our Unitarian Universalist principles where we are called to work to make “Equal Justice for All” a reality in our country, our state, and our communities. We work with Northwest Unitarian Universalists and others in our communities to provide humane, science driven solutions to the criminal justice system. Criminal Justice Reform issues include abolishing the death penalty, eliminating cash bail, establishing restorative justice, challenging private prisons and more.
Racial Justice Action Team asks the hard questions and seeks the expose the truth of white privilege and its role in institutional and interpersonal racism. Asking critical questions, seeking answers, and taking action. What do we do in the face of systemic racism? What do we do as people of color oppressed by these systems? What do we do as white folk who are privileged by these same systems? Join us if this is your calling. We aspire to be people of all colors, all faiths and all non-faiths.
Economic Justice Action Team This area focus on economic inequality. It encompasses privation – some people’s lack of necessities for human life & well-being — food, shelter, health care. Examining alternative ways of ordering our society and economy, and looking for specific policies to support and actions to take.
This goes beyond poverty and the obvious grinding problems of the poor — to the struggles, insecurities and frustrations of the middle class — and the alienation and false consciousness of the rich. Beyond economy to the corrosive effects of extreme income and wealth disparities on the health of our entire society, our country’s political life, and our individual interpersonal relations.
Immigrant, Refugee and Migrant Solidarity Action Team From the opening words of the Declaration of Conscience, joint statement of the UUA and the UUSC “We affirm our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We will oppose any and all unjust government actions to deport, register, discriminate, or despoil. As people of conscience, we declare our commitment to translate our values into action as we stand on the side of love with the most vulnerable among us.”
Don’t see your action area of interest? We honor and acknowledge the other issues of oppression not listed in the action teams above.
Do you have a passion in an issue that is not listed? There are many justice issues out there that need action and we have the resources to help guide you. Let us know and we can connect you with other individuals who may have the same or a similar justice passion. If we can get you connected to enough people, you could ask us about creating an action team for your issue area of interest.
Coalition of UU State Action Networks
