[JTWNews] Middle East Peace, Voting Rights & More!

[Susan Leslie]

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JOURNEY TOWARD WHOLENESS (JTW) NEWS
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Dear JTW-News Readers:

This issue of JTW-News brings you news of the UUA's participation in
interfaith efforts to end the fighting in the Middle East. We have also
endorsed the National Council of Churches Season of Prayer for Peace in
the Middle East that includes congregational resources. See
http://www.uua.org/news/2006/060728_peace.html for statements and
resources that can be used in your Sunday service. 

We also want to draw your attention to our work to help secure renewal
of the voting rights act and to read President William Sinkford's on how
institutional racism continues to deny many their basic democratic
rights in this country. See
http://www.uua.org/president/060720_vra.html. 

Lastly, you will find information about an excellent film, "Slave
Reparations:  The Final Passage," that the UUA helped fund that makes
the case for reparations.

Please let us know what your congregation is doing.  All Souls Unitarian
in New York City reports that they are collecting donations for Mercy
Corps. See http://www.mercycorps.org/.

In faith, Susan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1) Witnessing for Peace in the Middle East
2) Voting Rights Act Renewed
3) Slave Reparations: The Final Passage

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1) WITNESSING FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

In response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Unitarian
Universalist Association of Congregations and President William
G.Sinkford have joined several interfaith efforts aimed at stopping the
violence and calling religious people to action.

In joining with these efforts, Rev. Sinkford expressed the sense of
urgency shared by many Unitarian Universalists.  "The widening conflict
in the Middle East is a call to all people of conscience to witness for
a just and lasting peace," Sinkford said.  "As we work to end the
violence, may we also find the courage to examine our own role in
shaping the conditions that allow violence to flourish."

The UUA has officially endorsed a statement from Dr. William F. Vendley,
the Secretary General of Religions for Peace, calling for an end to
fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israel and Hamas
in Palestine (http://www.uua.org/news/2006/060728_vendley.pdf). The
statement also urges religious leaders to "reject the grotesque misuse
of religion in support of violence." Religions for Peace, (the largest
coalition of international religious communities, is a long-standing
partner of the UUA.

Rev. Sinkford, along with senior Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders,
including religious leaders from Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and
Iran, will participate in the Eighth World Assembly of Religions for
Peace, a conference to be held in Kyoto, Japan, at the end of August
(http://www.religionsforpeace-2006-kyoto.net/). Religions for Peace
supports religious leaders in the Middle East who are working together
to end the violence and build a lasting peace.  

To help gather domestic support for these peace-making efforts, the UUA
has joined a broad interfaith initiative organized by religious leaders
from groups including the National Council of Churches USA, Islamic
Society of North America, and The Shalom Center. The campaign, called
"Season of Prayer for Peace in the Middle East," will officially be
launched later this week, and will include a collection of online
worship and advocacy resources.

Rev. Sinkford has signed two letters authored by another US interfaith
group, Churches for Middle East Peace (http://www.cmep.org/), a
religious coalition of twenty-one church groups including the UUA.  The
first letter addresses the recent crisis in Gaza, and the second calls
for a broader cease-fire. 

For UUs committed to long-term action, "Peacemaking" is the issue that
was selected by General Assembly for congregational study and action
over the next four years.   Sustained attention to this critical
question presents an opportunity for Unitarian Universalists to engage
with some of the most profound issues of our time.

The purpose of the Congregational Study/Action Process, according to the
UUA by-laws, is "to provide the member congregations of the Association
with an opportunity to mobilize energy, ideas, and resources around a
common issue.  The end result will be a deeper understanding of our
religious position on the issue, a clear statement of Association policy
as expressed in a Statement of Conscience, and a greater capacity for
the congregations to take effective action." 

The text of the "Peacemaking" Congregational Study/Action Issue can be
found online at http://www.uua.org/csw/. A resource guide for
congregations will be available by November 1st.

For complete coverage on "Witnessing for Peace" plus additional
resources, please visit http://www.uua.org/news/2006/060728_peace.html

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2) VOTING RIGHTS ACT RENEWED

(July 21, 2006) The United States Senate acted yesterday to renew the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. By a unanimous vote of 98-0, the Senate
extended key provisions of the VRA, which was created to protect
minority voting rights, and which has been called one of the most
effective pieces of civil rights legislation in history. An identical
version of the bill has already been approved by the House, and
President Bush supported the legislation, so the Senate's vote marked
the final hurdle. Reacting to the decision, UUA President William G.
Sinkford wrote:

"I applaud the United States Senate's unanimous decision to reauthorize
the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As we rejoice in this victory for
democracy, let us also take a moment to honor the courage and sacrifice
of those who first fought for the passage of the Voting Rights Act forty
years ago. We remember those women and men, including James Reeb, Viola
Liuzzo, and Jimmie Lee Jackson, who gave their lives so that America
could live up to its most sacred promise, and we honor those among us
who still work to guarantee the right to vote. 

We must not turn away from the realities that make the Voting Rights Act
more necessary today than ever-the deeply entrenched problems of racism
and economic inequality in America. While we gathered in St. Louis for
our General Assembly a few weeks ago, members of the House of
Representatives tried to derail the Voting Rights Act, claiming that
racial discrimination was a thing of the past, that it was "burdensome"
to Southern states to comply with the Voting Rights Act. But when we
look at our society today, we see longer lines and fewer services at the
polls in predominantly Black neighborhoods; we see that Asian-American
and Latino voters are disproportionately challenged at the polls in all
parts of the country; we see gerrymandering that packs people of color
into segregated voting districts in order to reduce their impact on
state and local elections; we see that residents of Washington DC, a
city with a predominantly Black population, still have no voting
representation in Congress.

1965 was a time of great courage and sacrifice, but also a time of great
hope. We must keep that hope alive as we continue the work of building a
society that truly embraces all of 'we the people.' As we approach
another election cycle, I urge Unitarian Universalists to once again
answer the call to protect the voting rights of all citizens. Please
join me in honoring our spiritual legacy as we work together to realize
the most sacred promise of our democracy."

See http://www.uua.org/news/2006/060721_vra.html for full story.

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3) SLAVE REPARATIONS: THE FINAL PASSAGE

The Unitarian Universalist Association partly funded a program which
resulted in the making of a documentary entitled "Slave Reparations:
The Final Passage."  This program, featuring, Rev. Herbert Daughtry,
Prof. Manning Marable, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, and other leading
reparations proponents, was chosen to appear in major film festivals
including, two screenings at the largest African-American festival which
takes place in Los Angeles this February.  This documentary presents
historical information about the African-American struggle to overcome
the legacy of slavery and makes a case for reparations by explaining how
the uneven distribution of education, wealth, power, privilege, and
prestige, as well as psychological damage and racist beliefs in America
today, are products of slavery that have been handed down generation to
generation.

Since 2004, the Racial & Social Justice team of the Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of the Palisades in Teaneck, New Jersey has
used this documentary to facilitate video/discussion groups in the New
York Metropolitan area. This one-half hour program is quite
comprehensive, therefore an expert on reparations is not needed to lead
a successful session. (There is also a companion guide available, which
has added information, resources, and questions for discussion.)

If you are a member of, or in contact with, any organization that might
be interested in spreading the word about reparations, please call
Arlene Corsano at 201-387-8143, or send an e-mail to: 

videos at USslaveReparations.org. To learn more about this video & its
companion guide visit: http://www.usslavereparations.org/




Susan Leslie
Director for Congregational Advocacy and Witness
Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon Street, Boston MA  02108
(617) 948-4607; sleslie at uua.org
www.uua.org/justice
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