[JTWNews] Anti-Oppressive Social Justice Work

Fri Oct 27 09:54:26 EDT 2006

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

We are having some real success in raising our liberal religious perspective for accountable anti-oppressive social justice!  

In this issue you will find:

1) A statement from UUA President Rev. William Sinkford commending yesterday's NJ Court Ruling on Marriage along with resources for challenging anti-marriage ballot initiatives and a report from the UUs opposing a constitutional amendment in South Carolina.

2) Information about a campaign by the Oneida Tribe Trust Committee (one of our partners in Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility)  has initiated to stop the sale of Indian costumes for Halloween. 

3) News from the Social Action Committee of the UU Church of Bowling Green Kentucky on their participation in the Declaration of Peace Campaign (they organized a vigil and received front page coverage in the local paper); a UUA Statement on the mounting death toll in Iraq and resources for congregational advocacy and witness on the Iraq war.

4) Follow-up on Rev. Kathleen McTigue's (Senior Minister of the Unitarian Society of New Haven, CT) appearance on the O'Reilly Factor addressing torture.  Including links to view the show! This 5 min. clip is useful for learning how to speak from a faith perspective on political issues.

5) Electoral resources for congregations to put our faith into action: IRS Rules, State Ballot Initiatives (Raising the Minimum Wage, Opposing Constitutional Amendments Banning Same Sex Marriage), GOTV, and Poll Watching.

6) Next UUA Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Teleconference on Shareholder Advocacy this Saturday, Oct. 28, 1 pm EDT.  Learn how to hold corporations accountable, change their behavior, and promote ethical business models.

Thanks for all that you do to promote justice.  Keep your stories coming!

In faith, Susan

**Note:  JTW-News Readers may also want to read the UUA Washington Office Advocacy News.

Oct. 20th Issue: Poll Parties & What to Wear to Them http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/article.php?id=884

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
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Updates: News & Resources from UUA and UU Congregations on:

1) Marriage Equality
2) Opposing the Sale of Indian Costumes for Halloween
3) Iraq War
4) Speaking Out Against Torture
5) Mid-Term Elections
6) SRI Teleconference on Shareholder Advocacy, Oct. 28th

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1) UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST PRESIDENT COMMENDS COURT RULING IN NJ MARRIAGE CASE
STATEMENT BY THE REV. WILLIAM G. SINKFORD, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ASSOCIATION OF CONGREGATIONS

(October 25, 2006) I welcome today's ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court in which it was decided that "the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated" under that state's constitution. The Unitarian Universalist Association has a long-standing and deeply held religious commitment to support
civil equality for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people, and today's ruling ensures that the legal protections enjoyed by married heterosexual couples in New Jersey will also be available to committed same-sex couples.

For full statement and resources for congregations working for marriage equality see http://www.uua.org/president/061025_ftm.html.

***CONGREGATIONS ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA ARE UNITING TO FIGHT A PROPOSED STATE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WOULD BAN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Laura Morris, Social Action Chair,[LSM21643 at aol.com] Unitarian Church in Charleston reports that several UU congregations have passed resolutions opposing the amendment, and many congregations are raising public awareness about the issue.  UU churches in Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Hilton Head, Spartanburg have joined a coalition fighting against thisamendment that includes NOW, ACLU, PFLAG, League of  Women Voters, Hadassah, Beaufort Republicans, SC AFL-CIO, National Assoc. of Social Workers, People for the American Way, and the SC Democratic Party.
Ahead of the vote, Unitarian Church in Charleston will be showing "The Color of Fear 3"  (http://www.stirfryseminars.com/pages/coloroffear3.htm), a documentary exploring the fears, stereotypes, and moral issues that are dividing our country, facilitated by a former County Council Chairman.  The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia was featured in an article on www.thestate.com for their resolution against the amendment, saying it
"will jeopardize the physical, emotional, legal and financial well being of same-sex couples and their children."

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2) STOP THE SALE OF INDIAN COSTUMES FOR HALLOWEEN -- IT DEHUMANIZES INDIANS & APPROPRIATES SPIRITUAL RITUALS

>From Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility on Behalf of Oneida Tribe Trust Committee.  (Contact Gary Brouse at ICCR at gbrouse at iccr.org).

Halloween Express, a franchised retailer is refusing to remove offensive Indian Costumes, upon repeated requests from the Oneida Tribe's Trust Committee.  The Oneida Tribe has written and called the store asking them to do the right thing, to stop dehumanizing a race of people.

Their letter reads in part: 

We work to eliminate the negative images portrayed by stereotypes of Native Americans, such as your company's "Indian" Halloween costumes.

We request that you remove the costumes from your Halloween Express store in Green Bay this week. We will be dialoguing with the company's headquarters located in Owenton, KY. 

The offense in selling "Indian" costumes is that the action dehumanizes a race of people.  Although, Native Americans make up only 2% of the USA population, we are real people, who deserve equal treatment as other races. The concern with the costumes extends to a larger issue involving stereotyping of any ethnic group (or any protected class) by retailers,
sports teams, and public schools. Since 1991, 26 school districts have eliminated an Indian logo in our state. The positive change is due to the good work of local advocates and friends. There are still 35-37 schools with a logo, team name or some residual stereotypical "Indian" imagery.

There are groups across the country who have elevated the awareness of the continued proliferation of the negative stereotypes. The National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media confronts misconceptions of American Indians in the form of sports team identities resulting in racial, cultural, and spiritual stereotyping.  The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility has been a leader of the corporate social responsibility movement. ICCR, with which the Oneida Trust Committee is affiliated, has worked on improving human dignity and other indigenous issues, such as stereotyping. These groups are trying to right wrongs.

Last month, Anheuser-Busch, discontinued a multi-million dollar advertising campaign which offensively portrayed Zagar, a "primitive indigenous character." Indigenous leaders were in contact with the corporation and Anheuser-Busch responded respectfully. There are many more examples of where indigenous people and their friends have elevated
awareness. Where the treatment has not been equal, the indigenous have sought justice, and in many cases have been successful.

TO TAKE ACTION:

Contact:

Halloween  Express
1660  W.  Mason  St.
Green Bay, WI 54303
920-499-4226

Halloween Express
Corporate Offices:   859.282.5555 *
Operations Center:  859.282.5550 *

Accounting Business Office
Halloween Express
1860 Georgetown Road
Owenton, KY 40459

Media Inquiries
Diana Krohn
diana.krohn at halloweenexpress.com
859.282.5555 ext 2110

****Please speak to managers at stores in your area selling Indian
costumes for Halloween.

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3) DEATH TOLL MOUNTS IN IRAQ: HOW CAN WE RESPOND?

On October 11, 2006, a study released by The Johns Hopkins University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths due to the US invasion of Iraq three years ago to be more than 650,000. Since the release of the report, the exact number has been debated, but the headlines from Iraq have been clear: people
are dying every day. A Washington Post headline from October 23, 2006, told the story of fifteen Iraqi police recruits shot dead, twenty-five Iraqis injured, and twenty kidnapped as they traveled by bus to Baghdad. Four US troops were also killed, and October has become the deadliest month for US troops in over two years.

For full statement and resources for congregations working to raise awareness about the situation in Iraq see
http://www.uua.org/news/2006/061025_deathtoll.html

***INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE VIGIL -- REPORT FROM UU CHURCH OF BOWLING GREEN KENTUCKY
Jan Garrett, Member, Social Action Committee [jan.garrett at insightbb.com]

The Social Action Committee at the UU Church of Bowling Green KY organized a Peace Vigil  of about 35 people held on Sept. 21 in connection with the international day of peace and the Declaration of Peace campaign (endorsed by the UUA - see http://declarationofpeace.org/.)   A favorable article, with photo, was on the front page of the Bowling Green Daily News the next day. A few well-selected remarks were cited, quite accurately, including:

"Not only has this war put the lives, bodies, and sanity of U.S. servicemen and women in jeopardy for three and a half years, it has produced so-called collateral damage to the lives, bodies, and sanity of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis-real human beings who rarely show up in U.S. statistics about the costs of the war. If the U.S. does not pull its troops out quickly--more deaths of Iraqis as well as American combatants can be predicted, along with more destruction of Iraqi infrastructure making future rebuilding even more arduous, and more Abu Ghraibs as hard-pressed troops try to carry out an ill-conceived if not impossible assignment."

About 20 of the participants were from the church, close to a third of our small congregation.  The rest were church friends and students from the nearby campus of Western Kentucky University. Our communications committee had produced an announcement that was picked up in the local media. We placed an ad in the university newspaper and we invited people
on the Womens' Studies email list serve and the Amnesty International campus group list serve. At least two of our church friends who were at the vigil joined the church shortly thereafter and another couple who both work at the University came to the vigil and we expect them to join in the not too distant future.

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4) SPEAKING OUT AGAINST TORTURE & THE MILITARY COMMISSION ACT FROM OUR
UU FAITH

Last Thursday The Rev. Kathleen McTigue, Senior Minister of the Unitarian Society of New Haven, CT and a founding member of the non-profit group "Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice," appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" on FOX News speaking out against the recently signed Military Commissions Act.  You can view the show at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dHkh4wMpq0.  The Hartford Courant also published an Op Ed by Rev. McTigue and a coalition partner Rabbi Donna
Berman entitled "Torture and the Nation's Soul" - see http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-humphries1024.artoct24,0,2262984.story?coll=hc-headlines-oped.

Faith in Public Life has a feature on their website at http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2006/10/rev_mctigue_takes_on_oreilly_o.html.

See their excellent resources for congregational witness and media
advocacy at http://www.faithinpubliclife.org/.

Last week I incorrectly reported that the interfaith clergy group hadraised funds to post two billboards ("The Vote to Allow Torture") on the heavily-traveled highways I-95 and I-84 to make sure Connecticut residents know which members of the state's congressional delegation voted for the recently-signed Military Commissions Act.  In fact Rev. McTigue tells me that two Christian businessmen who own the billboards, and are deeply concerned about this issue, approached the group about using the billboards and they donated the cost!

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5) MID TERM ELECTIONS ARE TWO WEEKS AWAY

Religious individuals and groups have played a prophetic role in public life throughout history by calling attention to oppression, demanding change, and holding leaders and institutions accountable for their actions and policies. While this is still true in the United States today, too many people are under the false impression that religious organizations cannot have a voice in the public policy arena, fearing that such activities would violate either the Constitutional separation
of church and state or Internal Revenue Service regulations. In reality, there is a great deal of public policy and election-related work that any religious group can do without jeopardizing its nonprofit tax-exempt status.

We have resources for congregations and information on grassroots initiatives to put our faith into action.  See
http://www.uua.org/news/2006/061005_voting.html

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6) SRI TELECONFERENCE ON SHAREHOLDER ADVOCACY, OCT. 28TH

Please join the Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (CSRI) this Saturday, Oct 28th at 1pm EDT for a FREE teleconference on Shareholder Advocacy.

Shareholder activism has caused major corporations to change their behavior. For instance, as a result of a carefully orchestrated dialogue with management and finally the CEO of Home Depot, that company changed its policy to include sexual orientation as one of the prohibited discriminations. See the story on UUA.org: http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/justice/homedepot/casestudy.html. Join this call to learn how you can take part in this vital movement and demonstrate that our faith can make mountains move.

To participate:
USA Toll-Free Access #: (866) 868-1054
Conference Code: 1571617

Please RSVP with Audra Friend at afriend at uua.org with your name, congregation, position, and phone number.  

The PowerPoint/PDF presentation is available for download at:
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/.

For more information on the series, please see:
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/SRI-TeleConference-FlyerFall06.pdf.

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
Subscribe to SAC-News, Advocacy-News, JTW-News & SRI-News at
www.uua.org/mailman/listinfo

Susan Leslie
Director for Congregational Advocacy & Witness
UUA, 25 Beacon St., Boston MA 02108
617-948-4607; sleslie at uua.org
Visit www.uua.org/justice
Subscribe to SAC-News, SRI-News & Advocacy-News at
www.uua.org/mailman/listinfo