8th Principle Q&A

"Journeying towards spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountabily dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions."

8th Principle Adopted at River of Grass!!
We did it! The 165th Congregation to adopt the 8th Principle! Thank you to the 8th Principle Team for your hard work and passion and the congregation who agreed by vote at our Annual Meeting, May 15, 2022.
Over many months the Team provided opportunities for group discussions over lunch and dinner in Members' homes, film and book discussions, as well as written and spoken testimonials weekly identifying the issues and examples of harm toward of black and brown people and other marginalized groups. We will transition over the Summer to set action goals our congregation will pursue in the next congregational year to fulfill our ongoing commitment to dismantle racism and other oppressions.

Lou

Tanya

You will find a helpful Q&A below to help you understand what the new principle is all about!

Question 1 : Where did this come from originally?

Paula Cole Jones, Director of Racial & Social Justice for the Central East Regional Group, after working with congregations on ideas of multiculturalism for over 15 years, realized that a person can believe they are being a “good UU” and following the 7 Principles without thinking about or dealing with racism and other oppressions at the systemic level. She along with Bruce Pollack-Johnson, a member of the UU Church of the Restoration in Philadelphia, developed an 8th principle to address this. Bruce’s congregation incorporated it into their Covenant at that time, then in May 2017 formally adopted it for themselves and recommended that the UUA adopt it.

The 8th Principle came from a feeling that we need something to renew our commitment to this anti-racism work, to hold ourselves accountable, and to fulfill the potential of our existing principles.

This 8th Principle with just three words ‘and other oppressions’, adds an action dimension to all the other principles. Giving an explicit commitment to continue our struggle with both those oppressions we are still fighting and those we became complacent about and are now under fresh attack.

Question 2: Why now?

The UUA went through a crisis in 2017 related to inclusive hiring practices, especially related to whites being hired over highly qualified Latinx candidates, resulting in the resignation of the UUA President.

In response to this crisis, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) and Diverse Revolutionary UU Ministries (DRUUMM) endorsed the 8th Principle. The UUA voted in 1997 at GA to commit to intentionally becoming an ARAOMC (Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression Multiculturalism) institution. Initially good progress was made, but in the early 2000s, funding and support for much of this work began to decline. BLUU is holding all of the UUA accountable to that commitment. Allies for Racial Equity (ARE - the UU white ally group) support BLUU in BLUU’s endorsement of the 8th Principle.

The New Jim Crow (mass incarceration and the criminal justice system replacing the older systems of slavery and Jim Crow laws), police violence against people of color, recent Supreme Court decisions on Voting Rights and Affirmative Action, and the election of Donald Trump with advisors and followers openly supporting white supremacists show that the country is moving quickly and dangerously in the wrong direction. UUs need to take strong leadership to reverse these trends.

Question 3: Why the UUA (USA)?

Whiteness, and chattel slavery (structural racism) were invented in the US, at the same time that modern Unitarianism and Universalism were being created.

Unitarians originally were largely from the New England European-American elite – often did not treat Native American peoples well, benefitted from slavery, and some were leaders in the Eugenics movement (promoting birth control for people of color because they were seen as inferior).

Some Unitarian and Universalist ministers (more Universalists, since Universalism was more of a working class movement) spoke out against slavery, but we did little as a denomination. After the Trayvon Martin verdict, many UU ministers said nothing in church.

UU’s did a very good job during the Civil Rights Movement, largely at the request of Dr. King, and we should be very proud of that.

In the late 60’s a promising movement (the Black Affairs Counsel [BAC] and the Black UU Caucus [BUUC]) was supported by the UUA, then de-funded because of a financial crisis, leading to a terrible conflict, after which many African-Americans left the UUA.

Question 4: Why single out racism?

At a global level, this would not necessarily make sense (for instance, the oppression of women is fundamental to poverty and lack of development in many areas), but in the USA, racism stands out. The two worst crises of the UUA (late 1960’s and now) were both related to race. Racism in the US stems from chattel slavery, where people were uniquely legally treated as property that could be inherited, for something (skin color) they had no control over.

The LGBTQIA+ community is well represented as members, ministers, RE staff, and other leadership in individual congregations and the UUA, and the Welcoming Congregation program has been very effective (we could use something similar for racism). Some congregations have done a good job of making sure they are accessible to people with disabilities, although many UU spaces are still not fully accessible.

The UUA, the US, and the world also have a lot of problems deeply based in economic class oppression (as MLK realized, in addition to militarism and materialism); this Principle includes that, but is not highlighting it.

Question 5: What does it mean to be accountable?

White UUs hold themselves accountable to communities of color, to make sure whites do what they say they will do. In practice, that can mean having a People of Color Caucus within congregations, districts, etc., to discern and express needs and concerns to the rest of the community.

Black UUs hold each other accountable and help each other see and dismantle signs of internalized racism. We need an effective mechanism or structure to ensure this. Similarly for other oppressions.

Question 6: Can we change the wording of the 8th Principle?

We are being asked to adopt the proposed wording of the principle as it stands, and many other UU congregations are also adopting it with the same wording. This is intended to show a groundswell of support for the 8th Principle from many congregations. It would not show unified support if individual congregations change the wording at this point.

The wording will probably change as it moves through the UUA process before it is voted on at a General Assembly (GA). There will likely be opportunities for GA delegates to change the wording as well. Because questions about the wording of the final principle will be deferred to the GA, we can focus on what the principle asks of us to do.

Question 7: Isn't the First Principle enough?

Although the first principle affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every person, it does not call us to action specifically to address white supremacy, racism, or other oppressions that are destructive of human worth and dignity. In addition, the first principle has existed for many years, and yet racism persists within our minds, within our congregations, and within our denomination.

Question 8: Why should we adopt the 8th Principle?

The most compelling reason is that members of color have asked the association to adopt the principle to commit us to take action in dismantling racism and other oppressions. Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) and Diverse Revolutionary UU Ministries (DRUUM) have urged the UUA to adopt the 8th Principle.

Adopting the 8th Principle makes it clear that all UUs strongly support the long-term work of ending white supremacy.

Question 9: Should we really add to the 7 Principles?

The UU principles were always intended as a dynamic and flexible covenant instead of a fixed creed. Unitarian Universalism is the only religion that intentionally builds in the flexibility to adjust to ongoing revealed truth; much as the 7th principle was added to respond to our interconnection with each other and the earth in response to environmental awareness, adopting and practicing this 8th principle reflects the current urgency and awareness of the need to do the personal and institutional work of acknowledging and eradicating systemic racism.

​Exploring the 8th Principle