There are so many things that Wakanda could tell Unitarian Universalism. This post will talk about one.
For those of you who've seen "Black Panther", you will know that the title of this post comes from a conversation between T'Challa and Zuri. "Don't tell me what's possible. Tell me the truth."
I've been thinking about denial in Unitarian Universalism lately; both active denial and passive denial.
Since the latest iteration of the racial justice problems in Unitarian Universalism became public almost a year ago, many UUs of color have been telling their stories of how white supremacy shows itself in UU congregations and other UU institutions. Yet, when presented with these stories, many white UUs have flatly denied or tried to rationalize what UUs of color experience.
UU religious professionals of color are STILL being pushed out of jobs and white parishioners are covering their eyes and saying that they "need to speak with one voice".
UUs of color are getting told they are "too confrontational" when reading a piece of a work written by a person of color during a worship service.
******
White UUs want badly to believe certain things about their congregations. They want to believe in the "what's possible."
UUs of color are telling the truth of what is actually going on in UU congregations.
When the Commission on Institutional Change issues a more detailed report, how are white UUs going to handle it? Are they going to keep being in denial (the "what's possible")? Or will they listen to the truth?
I may write more on what I think Wakanda has to tell Unitarian Universalism, but I need to see it again before I make up my mind.
#WakandaForever
