Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
A UU voice for justice, equity and compassion in NJ
Our major, most important, super big fundraiser of the year!
Please join us for UUFANJ’s UU Justice Gala 2021. We’ll gather in fellowship at this virtual event to celebrate what we have accomplished through Faith Action. Racial Justice has been chosen as the theme to highlight the overarching goal of the dismantling racism work across all our Task Forces.
Thrive NJ, a coalition of advocates across the state, calls on lawmakers to pass the Reproductive Freedom Act (S3030/A4848). It has been one year since Governor Murphy declared in his 2020 State of the State address that New Jersey must protect the ”fundamental and constitutional right to full reproductive freedom.” We call upon our leaders in the State Senate and Assembly to join the Governor and take a stand against these injustices by advancing the Reproductive Freedom Act. The first step is hearing the bill in committee, which they must do in a timely manner.
Rev. Rob Gregson is quoted in a press release from Thrive NJ:
“We at UU FaithAction NJ are proud to stand in a long line of religious individuals and groups who across generations and faiths support initiatives like the Reproductive Freedom Act. We call for the RFA to be debated and then passed into law swiftly in New Jersey, ensuring that the fundamental right to decide for oneself and one’s family the most intimate and delicate decisions about health, dignity and one’s own body remain the prerogative of each New Jerseyan–not shackled by a philosophy foreign to one’s own conscience.”
You can read the full text of the press release here.
We call on our representatives to recognize the urgency of need, and commit to enacting the Reproductive Freedom Act expediently.
Please help ensure that New Jersey’s communities of color are included in the move to renewable energy. Governor Murphy’s New Jersey Clean Energy Act is a first step toward a renewable energy future in New Jersey, but we must be explicit and deliberate in ensuring that all New Jerseyans benefit from a clean energy future and are not burdened by health-harming pollution.
New Jerseyans voted overwhelmingly to legalize cannabis for adult use. Now comes the all-important task of passing legislation which will implement this decision. Given the disproportionate harm experienced by communities of color under cannabis prohibition, it’s essential that the state’s response prioritizes ending arrests and the collateral consequences that stem from them.
Time: Nov 7, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Special invitation for UU High School Students and Friends.
Many Unitarian Universalists, along with other Americans of good faith and conscience, have struggled for years with the searing legacy of 450 years of legalized slavery, Jim Crow laws and other policies of institutionalized racism North, South, East and West across the United States up to the present day. Many of our congregations in New Jersey are supporting or studying the adoption of an 8th Principle, one that would directly address the spiritual and ethical demands of this shameful legacy on our faith movement today.
A711/S322, to create a “New Jersey Reparations Task Force,” is expressly designed to help advance work for racial justice here in the Garden State. The bill would study reparations proposals for African-Americans in New Jersey.*
The task force would consist of 11 members, comprised of four legislators and seven citizens. This bill, among other things, requires the task force to: (1) examine the institution of slavery within the State of New 43 Jersey; (2) examine the extent to which the State of New Jersey and the federal government prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of former enslaved persons and their descendants who are considered United States’ citizens to economically thrive upon the ending of slavery, and examine the lingering negative effects of slavery on living African-Americans and on society in New Jersey and the United States.
The Task force will make recommendations for what remedies should be awarded, through what instrumentalities, and to whom those remedies should be awarded; and address how said recommendations comport with national and international standards of remedy for wrongs and injuries caused by the State. An interim report is required within 12 months with a final report for action to be delivered within 24 months.
The Assembly bill has been sent to the Assembly State and Local Government Committee chaired by Asm. Vincent Mazzeo. The NJ Senate version goes before the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee chaired by Sen. James Beach.
The Assembly bill is sponsored by Assemblypeople Shavonda Sumter, Britnee Timberlake, and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson.
The Senate bill is sponsored by Senators Ron Rice, Sandra Cunningham, Troy Singleton, Leona Weinberg, Shirley Turner, and Nina Gill.
Please give your “yes” request to the committee chairs and members by clicking the button above or below.
In faith, with love, and for justice,
The Board and Staff at UU FaithAction NJ
*With thanks to Rohn Hein, UU Cherry Hill and other UU organizers for bringing this bill to our attention
The Fall Issues Conference is at the heart of our ministry together as UU social justice advocates in the state of NJ. Come help us choose the key issues for 2020-21!
This year we’ve chosen to highlight our Gun Violence Prevention Task Force with two amazing keynote speakers, as well as making a special outreach effort to youth and campus activists. If you know youth/young adults who might be interested, please invite them to check us out.
The NJ Senate passed a landmark Environmental Justice bill (S232/A2212, Singleton/McKeon) in June. Governor Murphy made a public announcement of support on Juneteenth. However, Speaker Coughlin canceled a final vote on July 30th just hours before it was to occur.
Now it is past time for the Assembly to act.
A2212 will:
The NJ Assembly must pass NJ’s Cumulative Impacts Bill (S232 /
A2212) without any weakening amendments by the end of August.