And now onto the work . . .
Thank you! Thank you!
You’ve made this year’s NW Annual Justice Summit a huge success! Let’s keep the momentum going. While this page may go static, please keep following the “panel” pages for updates in each of the areas that was covered in both the October and December sessions. If you missed out, contact us and let us know and we’ll get you up to date. If you’re interested in signing on for work in one of the Summit’s focus groups, let us know that too and we’ll get you connected. It may take us a bit to get the information up to date, just keep checking back. If you have some experience in Word Press and want to help us out, we’d be happy to accept your services! Follow below for Summit activity and resources and check out our existing webpages for additional information and resources.
First/American Indian Nations Solidarity (FAIN)
JUUstWA website for FAIN issues and information
Racial Justice
Justice Summit 2020 Program – Part 2 December 4-6
First/American Indian Nations (FAIN) – Friday, December 4, 6:00-9:00 pm PST
- Structures of Support and Moral Repair: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically working towards Truth and Reconciliation, centering spiritual wellness, and collecting stories of harm, resilience, oppression and liberation.
- Doctrine of Discovery: In this workgroup, we will focus on the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, which set the precedent for the legal justification of theft of the lands of Indiginous Tribes and Nations. Workgroup participants will work with stakeholders to help identify the impacts on Indigenous Tribes and Nations, as well as legal processes to overturn related case law.
- Rebuild and Maintain the Beauty of the Earth: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically working towards preservation of the species and traditional ceremonial subsistence, water protection of the Salish Sea, the Snake River and other watersheds, and work toward consensus by Indiginous stakeholders on adhering to environmental protection laws.
Racial Justice – Saturday, December 5, 8:30- 11:30 am PST
- Anti-racism and the 8th principle: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically what it means to be an anti-racist. Work group participants will work towards strategies of welcoming Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) into congregational space, building relationships with BIPOC-led communities and networks, and moving from being an ally in racial equality to an accomplice in racial equity.
- Institutional violence: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically current initiatives and reforms to Institutional Violence, to which BIPOC communities are subject, including but not limited to redlining, gerrymandering, police accountability, and the criminal justice, prison, educational, healthcare, and social services systems. Participants will work to create actionable steps of reform within local, state and federal spaces.
Environmental Justice – Saturday, December 5 from 12:30-3:30 pm PST
Building people power and momentum toward direct action and policy/advocacy regulations
- Climate Refugees: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically supporting refugees of the climate crisis, including those displaced or threatened by rising sea levels, wildfires and famine. Participants will work to identify and promote legislation that supports government responsibility in housing the displaced; identify and partner with at-risk communities, including migrant laborers, Indigenous Tribes and Nations and other communities of color; and vision towards short-term and long-term solutions.
- Green New Deal: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically legislation and advocacy measures in support of the Green New Deal. Participants will work to create strategies of individual and collective action, policy making, stakeholder partnerships and lobbying of legislation including the Growth Management Act; building electrification; clean fuel; envisioning a new system beyond industrialization, capitalism and consumerism; and the impact on workers in shifting to a green economy.
- Fossil Fuel and Extractive Industry: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically disrupting and visioning away from extractive industries. Participants will work to develop effective methods of collaboration from local to international; vision towards what a non-extractive civilization could look like; identify current research on negative impacts; and collaborate with overlooked stakeholders for corporate and governmental accountability.
Refugee, Immigrant and Migrant Solidarity (RIMS) – Sunday, December 6 from 8:30-11:30 am PST
- Basic Human Rights: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically basic human rights for refugees, immigrants and migrant laborers. Participants will learn about and become advocates for the Dignity Campaign’s proposal for comprehensive immigration reform; humane labor standards; protections from deportation, including sanctuary spaces; and detention center reform.
- Citizenship pathways and Asylum Seeking: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically support for refugees, immigrants and migrant laborers to gain legal protected statuses. Participants will work to advocate for overturning legislature implemented under the Trump administration, such as reinstating Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); take steps toward legal help and due process, including the opportunity to start the process of becoming an accredited representative, accompanying asylum seekers who are going through the immigration court process; and to plan direct action and legislative advocacy campaigns related to immigration and family separation.
Intersectional and Legislative, Sunday, December 6 from 12:30-3:30 pm PST
We understand that justice work often overlaps and does not fit neatly into one category. During our Sunday afternoon session, participants will have the opportunity to return to re-engage discussion from their workgroups with further co-pollination from other workgroups. Topics may emerge organically throughout the weekend, or include discussion around:
- Food Sovereignty: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically food sovereignty from the perspective of Racial and Environmental justice, ceremonial and traditional subsistence for Indigenous Tribes and Nations, farmer boycotts and migrant labor union support, and growing our own food, among other potential topics.
- The right to abode: In this workgroup, we will explore broadly or specifically the right to abode, including the right to housing, housing the unsheltered, Sanctuary models for congregations and cities, legislation that holds state or federal government officials accountable for people relocating due to environmental injustices, detention center issues, and improving living conditions for migrant workers.
Legal Drop in Session: In addition to our intersectional workgroups, we will also hold a Legal Drop in Session for intersectional discussion, training, and time to work on legislative objectives of all other topics with support from analysts, legislators and lobbyists.
Justice Summit 2020 Program – Part I
*Subject to change-check back for updates*
Register for the Summit Now!
Attend any or attend all!
The panels have been designed so that you can choose which panels you would like to attend. Attend one, two, three or all of them using the same link which you will receive later, after registering. Each panel will consists of speaker presentations and Q&A sessions. Download the Summit 2020 Brochure here.
October 9th @ 6:30 pm: First/American Indian Nations Panel
Jewell James, Lummi Nation, Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office- Elliot Moffett, Nez Perce, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment
- JoDe Goudy, Yakama Nation, Redthought.org
- Deborah Parker, Tulalip Tribes, National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
October 10, 2020 @ 8 am
“The Weaving We Are Called to Do” (8:00 am)
with Rev. Dennis Reynolds. Opening Acknowledgments and Worship
Racial Justice and Equity Panel (8:30 – 10:30 am)
- Michael Crumpler, Director of LGBTQA+ and Multicultural Programs, Unitarian Universalist Association of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
- Carlton Smith, (our new) Congregational Life Staff Lead for the Pacific Western Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)
- Aisha Hauser, Church of the Larger Fellowship, (new) Lead Ministry Team
Environmental Justice Panel (10:45 am – 12:45 pm)
Aly Tharp, Program Director, Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE)- Ana Marie de la Rosa, Senior Grassroots Organizer, Climate-Forced Displacement, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
- Xolotl Edgar Franx, Familias Unidas de la Justicia
Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant Solidarity Panel (1:45 – 3:45 pm)
Josh Leach, Policy Analyst, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)- Rosalinda Guillen, Executive Director, Community to Community for Development (C2C)
- Ray Garrido, Legal Services Director, Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center
Legislative Advocacy Panel (4:00 – 6:00 pm)
- Lavona Grow, Advocacy Oversight Chair, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (DC metro)
- Rep. Beth Doglio, Washington State Legislature (withdrew in favor of Rep. Lekanoff)
- Rep. Debra Lekanoff, Washington State Legislature
Justice Summit 2020 Program – Part II December 4-6 (TBA)
Photo credits: Native Voices, Tumisu (Pixabay), NOAA, Xolotl Edgar Franx, JenPic/9bilder (Pixabay)