OUR GROWING UNDERSTANDING EMERGED AS OUR PURPOSE.
“When race can no longer be used to predict life outcomes and outcomes for all groups are improved.” –“Racial equity” as defined by Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)
Our Purpose
The purpose of the UCG Racial Justice Committee is to educate ourselves and others about white privilege and systemic racism, to become anti-racist in beliefs, attitudes, and actions, to build community partnerships to dismantle systemic racism, and to advocate for racial justice in our community.
- Educating means that we recognize the dominant cultural (white) narrative and confront negative stereotypes and myths about race; we educate ourselves and others through study, research, and by acknowledging and promoting local community and regional histories. Our primary focus is on dismantling structural inequities and going beyond individualism in addressing racist ideologies.
- Becoming anti-racist means that we learn how to tolerate discomfort; are willing to give up “being an expert;” acknowledge/respect the wisdom of “the other;” analyze and name power dynamics; demonstrate radical resistance to the status quo; and work to dismantle the evil of white supremacy. We recognize that there is “inter-sectionality” of diverse identities and oppressions that impact folks differently. Still, our primary purpose is to oppose racism in order to serve and empower a common good that truly includes all.
- Building partnerships means collaboration and relationship-building with community groups that share our purpose, especially those led by people of color; by forming relationships that are reciprocal, on-going and mutual; being willing to engage in difficult dialogues; to join with others (not lead). Finally, we offer our presence as well as our activism to build stronger, more inclusive communities of mutual support and solidarity.
- Advocating means that through educated awareness of racism and its effects, we are able to see the long-term perspective and our place in a larger movement; we develop strategies for social change, solidarity, and networking. We follow and commit to the principle of “Doing with, not for.”
We cultivate a spiritual source from which actions are determined by engaging in centering, discernment, and self-care.
A Brief History
On June 17, 2015, stunned and heartbroken at the news of the massacre of nine members of the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in South Carolina, several members of UCG felt compelled as a spiritual community to act. Our response was to create the Racial Justice Committee of United Church of Gainesville.
Our first year we worked to educate ourselves about racism, white privilege, and our own internal biases. We hosted seminars, and an “all-church read” and discussions of Ta Nehisi Coates’s book “Between the World and Me.”
We continue to have book discussions and seminars including book groups on Ibram Kendi’s books “Stamped from the Beginning” and “How to be Antiracist” and UCC White Privilege Curriculum. We proudly march together every January in the Martin Luther King march, wearing our “Black Lives Matter” t-shirts.
We have supported start-ups groups by offering office space and support, including The Florida Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, directed by Jhody Polk, and Read to Win, directed by Razia Ali Hamm.
We Work in Partnership with Local Groups
October/November 2016: Race The Power of an Illusion – Film and discussion series at the Hippodrome Theatre co-sponsored by NAACP, the Racial Justice Committee of the United Church of Gainesville, and the Hippodrome Theatre.
March 6, 2017: “Creating Excellence in Education: A Town Hall on Ending Racial Disparities in our School”, cosponsored by Education Task Force and Racial Justice Committee.
November 2018: Bus trip to Montgomery to see National Memorial to Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum, co-sponsored by NAACP and Racial Justice Committee of UCG.
September through December 2018: Voices of Gainesville, cosponsored by NAACP, Racial Justice Committee of UCG, and the Hippodrome Theatre, a storytelling event telling the stories behind the statistics in the Racial Inequity report.
April 24, 2019: Town Hall Meeting – Understanding Racial Inequities in Alachua County; Where are We Now? co-sponsored by NAACP and Racial Justice Task Force of UCG.
February 2020: Bus trip to Montgomery to see National Memorial to Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum, co-sponsored by NAACP and the Visionaries.
May 2020: Computers for Kids campaign – cosponsored by Cultural Arts Coalition, NAACP, Racial Justice Committee, and Women for Wise Growth.
We welcome you in our continuing efforts to create Martin Luther King’s “beloved Community.”
