Dear Friend,
Our GivingTuesday campaign is well underway, with every gift up to our $2,500 goal between now and November 30, the National Day of Giving, matched 2 to 1. To give you an idea of how your gift to UU FaithAction NJ will make a difference, this week we spotlight the work of our Reparations Task Force.
Unitarian Universalists have long been on the front lines in the fight for racial justice and equality, from advocating for the abolition of slavery, to supporting the Civil Rights movement, to participating in the Black Lives Matter movement. This long history of combining hands-on work for social justice with the free search for truth and meaning continues in the work of our Reparations Task Force.
While the concept of reparations is not new, it has never been the subject of formal systematic study in the United States. Given the role of slavery from the birth of our nation to its emergence as a world democracy and financial super power, that we as a country have never studied the effects of the emotional, social, financial, and societal trauma on its victims is shocking. A bill called HR 40, the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African American’s Act, has been languishing in Congress for over two decades. In response to this stagnation, many states and localities have taken to introducing legislation that would form their own task forces to study the issue as well.
UU FaithAction NJ’s Reparations Task Force, along with its coalition partners, advocates for the passage of A711/S322 which would create a New Jersey Reparations Task Force that would examine the issue in depth and make recommendations based on its findings.
In addition, this December 2 is Legislative Day in Trenton. Before meeting with legislators, the UUFANJ Reparations Task Force will participate in a public rally on the steps of the Capitol at 9:30 am. Please be on the lookout for an Action Alert on this event and consider lending your voice and presence to advocate for the passage of A711/S322.
Finally, this January the task force will announce its Common Read: The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation After the Genome, by Alondra Nelson. The Social Life of DNA details how DNA testing is being used to grapple with the unfinished business of slavery: “to foster reconciliation, to establish ties with African ancestral homelands, to rethink and sometimes alter citizenship, and to make legal claims for slavery reparations.” In her deep dive into the intersection of genetic ancestry and racial politics, Nelson gives an overview of US reparations projects over the past century including one in our back yard – the African Burial Ground in New York City. Now a national monument and the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America for both free and enslaved Africans, the African Burial Ground was a major factor in the development of consumer DNA testing, a multi-billion dollar industry.
Thanks to individuals like you we can continue to support the work of our task forces and volunteers, advocate for a more just New Jersey, and make a difference in the lives of all in our state. Remember, all GivingTuesday gifts up until November 30 will be matched 2 to 1, tripling their impact. Thank you, as always, for your support and encouragement.
In faith, with love, and for justice,
Charles Loflin
Executive Director