JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

Reclaiming Native Truth – Lessons Learned from Standing Rock

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The movement at Standing Rock significantly undermined the systemic erasure of Native peoples from the dominant American narrative. At a time when most Americans continued to believe that Native Americans and Nations no longer exist in the United States, Americans were presented with a movement that forced a new conversation around values, identity, and our collective connection to the Earth around us and the lands we live on.

Suddenly, Native Americans were no longer simply characters from the past that occasionally pop out of oblivion and into a Western movie or a museum. Instead, Americans watched as contemporary Native Americans populated the daily news diet with articulate, powerful narratives concerning the sovereignty of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe—and all Tribal Nations—as well the collective threat that climate change and losing our drinking water poses to us all.

Read more here:  RNT – Standing Rock Report

CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS REACH PEAK IN 4 MILLION YEARS, WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth’s atmosphere reached 419 parts per million in May. These are the highest carbon dioxide levels in over four million years.

The last time that the atmosphere held comparable levels of CO2 was during the Pliocene period, when the Earth looked completely different from what it does today. Sea levels were 78 feet higher, temperatures were 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer and large forests covered parts of the Arctic tundra.

What do these record CO2 emissions mean for climate change? The atmosphere acts as a heat-trapping blanket. Greenhouse gases, like CO2, keep temperatures on Earth comfortable for human survival.

Read more here.

In Tulsa, Faith Leaders Call for Massacre Reparations

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UU World

This year, on its centennial, the Tulsa Race Massacre is drawing enormous attention in national and international media. The eyes of the world are on Tulsa, and as the city questions how to atone for the horror—indeed, how to give it proper recognition—local churches, including All Souls Unitarian Church, have a deeply committed answer: Reparations.

Reparations remains a very controversial issue in the United States, even among some progressives. But for the Rev. Dr. Robert Turner, pastor of the Historic Vernon A.M.E. Church in Tulsa, reparations is a clear-cut issue of morality. Unlike white families, the descendants of Greenwood have been unable to reap the benefits of the wealth their families created. “There is no expiration date on morality,” he says.

Read more here.

Diversity training on WA college campuses will soon be mandatory

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Crosscut
by Hannah Krieg / May 31, 2021

On May 12, the Gov. Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5227, which mandates that Washington’s 40 public colleges and universities conduct training sessions and assessments for both faculty and staff around diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism starting in the 2022-23 academic year.

According to the bill’s prime sponsor, state Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, the first draft of this legislation did not include student input, but when the idea came up in her meetings with student lobbyists, they wanted in.

The bill does not prescribe a specific curriculum or programs. Randall, who admits to attending her share of “bad” diversity training sessions, hopes administrators, staff and students will collaborate on an approach that works for their institution. Students from across Washingston state who work on diversity issues have some ideas.

Read more here.

Governor Signs Climate Bills

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Governor Inslee signed several of the big environmental bills
of the 2021 session on Monday, May 18 in Seattle at various locations.  
Bills included SB 5126 (the Climate Commitment Act),  HB 1091 (Clean Fuels); 
and SB 5141 (HEAL Act). He vetoed provisions in 5126 and 1091 that would have made them contingent on passing a 5 cent per gallon gas tax.