Monthly Liaison Conference Call Minutes
July 13, 2016, 7 PM
In Attendance:
Kim Mitchell (Plainfield)
Al Stawsky (Palisades)
Laurice Grae-Hauck, Administrator
Rev. Rob Gregson, Exec. Dir.
AGENDA:
Congregations Check-in:
- Kim Mitchell (Plainfield): 6 murders this year. The mayor has started a public safety initiative. FUSP has signed on to provide meeting space, per recommendation of BLofUU, and healing space for Black Lives organizations. (Kim is interested in database research.) Admin has taken on social justice work, Sharon Maguire. New minister beginning August 1.
- Laurice (Montclair): June 12 solitary confinement event with Senator Lesniak. Standing room only. The solitary cell remained on the church yard and has gotten a lot of attention.
- Al Stawsky (Palisades): Social justice groups form 3 Bergen Co congregations are working closer together. BLM rally/demonstration at Hackensack courthouse on Tuesday, July 12, first BLM event in Bergen Co. Carol Loscalzo, RJ task force chair, and Ilene Gilbert were there as well. 150 black youth from the area helped to make the event possible. Police brought water to the demonstrators. See link. 6th Juneteenth celebration on the 19th all 3 Bergen Co. congregations sponsored a booth and shared a lot of educational materials, BLM buttons, and wristbands.
News:
- Moment of Silence Rob took 30 seconds at the beginning of the meeting to remember and honor all of the victims of last week’s shootings in LA, MN, and TX.
- Issues Conference- Saturday, October 15, 2016 in Morristown from 3-9. Chris Crass will be our keynote speaker! Get it on your congregational calendars now! Registration will open in September.
- 6th UU Black Lives Matter Summit: “Debriefing General Assembly – Where Do We Go From Here?” on Sunday, July 24th from 2:00 – 6:30 pm at Paint Branch UU Church in Adelphi (Prince George’s County, Maryland).
- UU Congregations & Local Police Gregson sees any outreach to be clearly linked to our Dismantling Racism work–we reach out in order to “widen the circle” to both groups with special attention to the historic power of structural racism.
- Trenton Rally Possibility Are considering coordinating a rally in Trenton to push legislators to consider and pass legislation pending that would force systemic change. Stay tuned.
- Congregations Struggling to Make Sense of BLM Many congregations are struggling with their support of the Black Lives Matter movement. How can we help? Is there a way to provide a place for UUs statewide to talk? Al suggesting making available “11 Misconceptions About the BLM Movement”. How do we create a safe space for open conversation?
Task Force:
- Criminal Justice: Lots of activity recently. Parole reform bill is before the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow. Rob will be presenting testimony. Solitary confinement bill S51/A547 passed senate and is in committee in the Assembly. Racial impact statement bill S677 passed the senate 36-0. Now in Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee. Phone rate bill S1880/A1419 passed both houses.
Reminders
- Email Signup page is available on the website. Bookmark this and your new supporters go right into our system. If you have taken information on paper and did not capture mailing addresses, type NA in required fields. As we do major fundraising the information on the new user signup page is all important. Thank you in advance. http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51510/c/301/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=9501
- ACTION ALERTS! If you are printing UULMNJ drafted letters to representatives and mailing them from your congregation, it is important that we have the sender information. As we expand our organization we need to have the full breadth of supporter info and engagement for fundraising purposes and efficacy analysis. Please send names and addresses (either street or email) for any of these mailings.
Adjourned at 8:12
Minutes submitted by Laurice Grae-Hauck, UULMNJ Administrator