Anti-Racism Work

Living the Pledge to End Racism

Graphic with the text "Living the Pledge. Will you... ?" and "PLEDGE TO END RACISM" with a red 'X' over "PLEDGE".

Want to know more about Living the Pledge to End Racism? Want to refresh your knowledge about systemic racism and other oppressions? Please plan to attend the workshop on Saturdays, November 8 & 15. Learn more about Living the Pledge and register here. Invite a friend to register, too!

We take our anti-racism work very seriously at 1st UU.

Resources on Mental Health Issues Facing  the Black Community

BIPOC Therapists: Empowering the Community through Education and Awareness

back to top

We take anti-racism work very seriously, and in 2018, the congregation adopted an 8th Principle about that:

"We, the members and friends of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond covenant to affirm and promote journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse, multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions."

back to top

BLM Ann Anita
BLM poster

Anti-Racism Group

  • Living the Pledge Workshop: http://richmondpledge.org/
  • Maintains Social Justice table on Sunday between services to provide resources to the church community
  • Works with the Black Lives Matter Group
  • Provides a space for communication and processing for members of our church and community
  • For more information, please contact Deborah Coleman and Sheryl Johnson

Living the Pledge

  • Educates members about systemic racism and encourages participants to become active in fighting racism evident in our systems throughout the city.
  • Class curriculum includes American and Richmond history, personal biases and microaggressions. The goal of Living the Pledge is to transform understanding into action.
  • For more information, please contact: Anita Lee at La_toute@principle2.org

Black Lives Matter

  • Vigils
  • Protests
  • Solidarity
  • According to Black Lives Matter, the movement "is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.  It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression."

You can find more resources here:  https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

DRUUMM
(Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) is a growing network of over 500 UU People of Color. We are primarily a volunteer and member-led organization without any regular staff. The primary governance and workgroup is the DRUUMM Steering Committee. We invite you and members of your UU POC group to stay connected to receive periodic email announcements, our DRUUMM Beat Newsletter (back issues here and on FB), and engage in dialogue through The DRUUMM Gathering Place on Facebook. There is a regular monthly drop-in session on 4th Tuesdays at 8 pm ET. You can learn more, and sign up for those through any of the links in this paragraph.
DRUUMM is offering a Worship and Fundraising event on May 19 - read more about it here
There is a range of upcoming activities including culturally-specific and UU POC specific programs during the UUA General Assembly, youth and young adults of color gatherings, and other events for DRUUMM members. You can join at www.druumm.org or contact info@druumm.org.