MLK + UU

Over the break, I've made time to read for pleasure, but mostly to learn more of the history of the UU faith and the church's relationship with African-American's.

I bought a book on Kindle called Darkening the Doorways: Black Trailblazers and Missed Opportunities in Unitarian Universalism by Mark Morrison-Reed. It's interesting to read about early Black UUs (Unitarians, prior to becoming UU) and how this liberal religion has consistently missed the mark in creating a truly multicultural community. However, I do have hope for a more inclusive future. I think as we close the achievement gap, we'll see more diversity within the UU church.

I read this article that examined the possibility of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a UU. In fact, Dr. King and Coretta Scott King both thought of becoming UU, but noted that, it would not help to build the Civil Rights Movement. "What surprised and saddened me most was what she said next. Though I am paraphrasing, the gist of it was this: 'We gave a lot of thought to becoming Unitarian at one time, but Martin and I realized we could never build a mass movement of black people if we were Unitarian.'"

As I mentioned before, UU intrigued me because of its open support of Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ rights. However, as I learn more about the church, I realize that it is full of issues that mirror any other church or house of worship. I do think that the more we look to the past in our search for truth, we'll be able to make the church a diverse place. Murad and I are starting the path to membership for our current church. We are excited for our family to officially become UU members. 

Anyways, here's a link to the article about MLK + UU.

What it means to be UU

As many of you know, Murad and I attend a UU church. Most people are not quite sure what to make of UU, but for us it makes perfect sense. Murad was raised Muslim and I was raised Protestant (Lutheran). Neither one of those faiths worked for us, and for Murad it was important that remained Muslim. I maintained my Lutheran identity and even had my children baptized as Lutheran. However, as I became a mother, I didn't feel comfortable raising them Lutheran or Muslim. My car accident really changed my perception of religion, and so I visited a UU church periodically. I typically attended alone, but I started bringing Murad and the children. When Abi moved in with us in March, I knew that we had to be part of the UU church. We are now going through the membership process and our children are actively involved in Religious Education. I'm so happy my children will be 1st generation UUs, and I hope that if they have children, they will raise them as UUs.

Murad and I recently became involved with a growing organization called BLUU (Black Lives of UU). We completed a living history project in which we detailed our journey into UU. I won't share the project here, but I am so proud of how it turned out. Through it all, it helped me to solidify my beliefs and my hopes for my little family.

• We desire for our family members to be loving, accepting, compassionate individuals who seek truth and light.
• We desire to develop, maintain, and share our pride in our Blackness and our UU faith.
• We desire to connect with other Black UUs.
  

I'm including a link to a great article on visiting a UU church.

Looking for more: Why visiting a Unitarian Universalist church matters