Racial Justice

Join other UUs, and others that share our values, in taking action.

Current issues:

Article II: Principles, Values, 8th Principle...

Call for Volunteers to Support Our New Afghan Neighbors!

A new initiative, ALL Iowa, a partnership between the University of Iowa, Drake University, Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services, is providing and facilitating immigration legal services to Afghans in Iowa evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021. (see website below for more information). Transportation is a huge barrier to successful claims as the immigration court for our area is located in Omaha, NE. There is an immediate need for help with transport to the immigration court in Omaha for Afghans residing in Iowa with asylum hearings before the court. We anticipate there will be multiple individuals residing in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Sioux City and potentially other areas of the state needing such transportation help in the coming months. This service would make a world of difference to these newly resettled members of our communities. If interested, please contact Amy Weismann at amy-weismann@uiowa.edu .

‘We need help and we’re not getting it’: what a surge in murders means for Black women in Iowa

More than six times as many Black women were killed in Iowa in 2020 than the year before. What is driving the gun violence?

A New Play: Squatters on Red Earth

Squatters on Red Earth, by Mary Swanders, is a drama about a peaceful encounter in the midst of the U.S. white settler land grab. Friday June 9 (8 PM at the Amana Performing Arts Center in Amana), and Saturday June 10 (2 PM and 7 PM at the Wieting Theatre in Toledo).

Transforming Policing In the 21st Century

Harvey Harrison of the Des Moines UU congregation helped found an organization called Just Voices which has worked to address racially biased policing in Des Moines. This video will be available to view on Zoom for those registered for the 2023 GA. The workshop should be available online sometime after June 1. A meeting room…

Reducing Poverty through Sentencing Reform

Jared Trujillo, JD Thursday, April 27, 5 PM Pacific, 6 PM Mountain, 7 PM Central & 8 PM Eastern To view the recorded video, click here The relationship between incarceration and poverty is circular, cyclical, and symbiotic – poverty is a cause of incarceration, and incarceration causes poverty. Shortly after culture shifting civil rights victories…

Six Iowa UU Congregations Have Adopted the 8th Principle

Six of Iowa’s UU congregations have joined with more than 200 nationwide that have adopted an 8th Principle, committing to dismantling racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

A Possibility: Evolving from Principles to Values

At this year’s UUA General Assembly delegates from your congregation and others across the country will vote on whether or not to adopt revisions to UUA Bylaws that emphasize love and justice, anti-racism and anti-oppression language, and explicit statements of our Values rather than our Principles.