Helpful Resources

Resources from the UU White Supremacy Teach In

Definitions

From the Teach In leaders:

“White supremacy [is] a set of institutional assumptions and practices, often operating unconsciously, that tend to benefit white people and exclude people of color.” In 2017, actual “white supremacists” are not required in order to uphold white supremacist culture. Building a faith full of people who understand that key distinction is essential as we work toward a more just society..."

From Rev. Sofia Betancourt

“Whatever your reaction was to the words White Supremacy, it’s a fair reaction. It’s real. It’s part of the journey... We are not saying there is an inherent evil in Unitarian Universalism, at all. We are saying there is a desperate need for the the kind of beloved community work that we offer in the world and we want to do that work better.”

More

What's in a Word: White Supremacy

White Supremacy Culture: from Dismantling Racism: A workbook for social change groups, by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, ChangeWork, 2001

Tools for White People

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism (article)

What Does it Mean to Be White? Developing White Racial Literacy, book by Robin DiAngelo

Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, book by Debby Irving

SafetyPinBox - a monthly subscription (pay) service

Spiritual Practice

Spiritual Practices for White Discomfort

For children

Check out the Pinterest boards listed below for lists of picture books

Sometimes You're the Caterpillar (parents will need to figure out whether this is age appropriate for your children)

Marley Dias and representation in books

Being 12: 'People Think I'm Supposed to Talk Ghetto, Whatever That Is.'

In RE

Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education

Our Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression Multicultural (AR AO MC) Pinterest board

Our Reconciliation Pinterest board

Reading While White

Teaching While White

What if All the Kids are White? Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families, book by Louise Derman-Sparks and Patricia G. Ramsey

Diverse Books & Gifts

Pronouns

9/22/19

Note from DRE:

This Sunday we will be exploring how we as a community who can honor the full worth and dignity of every person.

I am changing my email signature and will be updating my nametag to include my pronouns (she and her). An organization in which many people habitually share pronouns is a more gender-inclusive space, and also signals to transgender people, or nonbinary people (who might use they/them/theirs pronouns or ze/zir/zirs), that they are welcome.

Sharing pronouns is a practice that many who promote a gender-inclusive and welcoming environment have been doing for a while, that is gaining traction all the time. Perhaps you already do this. For me, as a cisgender person (being of a gender that is the same as the sex assigned to me at birth), almost everyone sees me, thinks “she,” and uses my pronouns correctly—so I haven’t needed to share my she/her/hers pronouns so far. However, that’s not the case for everyone, and being misgendered can be really painful. So even though I don’t usually need to explain my pronouns, I want to normalize the practice of sharing them, so that others who sometimes need to correct other people’s assumptions about their gender don’t have to explain what sharing pronouns means at the same time as they share how they should be called. More information about all of this is available here: https://www.mypronouns.org/sharing

An email signature is an easy way to share pronouns. My email signature now includes my pronouns and a link to a website with an explanation of those pronouns. If you want to use that link in your signature to help people understand the sharing, below are options. Here is how to change or create an email signature in Outlook.

• http://mypronouns.org/she
• http://mypronouns.org/he
• http://mypronouns.org/they
• http://mypronouns.org/ze

Some Reflections the UUA has Shared

Affirming the Promise: Full Dignity of Queer & Non-Binary Folx in Unitarian Universalism by Carey McDonald (shared in worship 9/22/19)

Welcome is in Our Bones: Moving Beyond the Binary to Answer the Call of Love by Jennifer Hamlin-Navias

Some Children's Picture Book Resources

Families are children's primary faith educators. We see your kid(s) and teen(s) in RE for one to two hours out of the 168 hours in a week. I hope these books provide a way to support your at home discussions.

Red, a Crayon's Story - (shared in worship Summer 2018) This book is about being true to your inner self and following your own path despite obstacles that may come your way

Introducing Teddy - (shared in worship 9/22/19) One sunny day, Errol finds that Thomas is sad, even when they are playing in their favorite ways. Errol can't figure out why, until Thomas finally tells Errol what the teddy has been afraid to say: "In my heart, I've always known that I'm a girl teddy, not a boy teddy. I wish my name was Tilly, not Thomas." And Errol says, "I don't care if you're a girl teddy or a boy teddy! What matters is that you are my friend."

They, she, he as easy as ABC - This book shows that including everyone is all part of the dance. It’s easy. It’s fundamental. As the dance begins the kids proclaim, “No one left out and everyone free,” in a sing-song rhyme about inclusion. This sets the stage for readers to meet 26 kids showing us their dance moves.

They call me Mix/ Me Llaman Maestre - This book is a bilingual (English and Spanish) Children's book geared towards Kinder-2nd grade age students about what it means to be a transgender person of color.

The Name Jar - This book shares what it's like not to fit in and how we create and affirm identity.