UUFP actively joins the voices of the Moral Mondays movement! We gather in peaceful protest on Monday mornings, in front of the UUFP office building to witness for Black Lives Matter. Join us in the work to dismantle systemic racism and white supremacy!
Our thanks to Joanne Dingus for these testimonials of the impact of Moral Mondays participation!
July
For the past few weeks, I’ve made a point of going to the Moral Mondays Witness events at the Fellowship. They have become a spiritual practice for me. I show up early to water the community garden and pick anything that’s ripe. Without our Sunday morning services in person, Monday night becomes a time when I can distribute fresh veggies to our congregants.
Then, I open up the office building and get the signs out for people to hold up during the event.
It has been well attended. We’ve had 12 – 15 people spaced out along the sidewalk on Warwick. Some go across the street so cars can see us in both directions. All are wearing masks, holding signs like "Black Lives Matter," "Honk for Justice," "Stop Police Brutality," and "I Can’t Breathe."
We hear honks of appreciation and cheers of thanks. We see thumbs up, peace signs and raised fists pumping in solidarity. We hear folks shout, “We love you!” Of course, there are also people who shake their heads in disapproval and the occasional display of the middle finger, generally less than three per hour.
It has been hot, and standing out there with your mask on with cars rushing past is not the most comfortable thing to be doing, but seeing the smiles on people’s faces makes it worth it. This little act of standing by the side of the road with a sign is so meaningful for the people who pass by, and in turn, it is so meaningful for all of us.
Will it make a big difference? Will we change people’s understanding of the words Black Lives Matter (BLM)? We don’t know, but what we do know is that it changes us a little bit each week. And for that I am grateful.
A couple of weeks ago something happened that reminded me of what this is really about.
Two men pulled into our parking lot. They got out of their cars with big smiles on their faces, and the younger one wanted to give us all a hug. “Thank you so much,” the older one said, “this is great. We really appreciate you.” One of our white male members, happened to be heading to the parking lot just as the two were heading to the sidewalk to greet us. The younger man reached his arms out to embrace the congregant when the congregant instinctively held is hand out. “Stay back!” he said. The young man’s face fell, obviously confused to receive this kind of reception from people sporting Black Lives Matter signs.
The reason the white man held his hand up to stop the two men had nothing to do with them being black. Instead, it was because of the pandemic and their lack of masks. The congregant was looking out for everyone’s safety and quickly explained that we were social distancing. With the long history of racial division in our country, these times make communication and understanding even more difficult. I wonder how or if it’s even possible to build new relationships during a pandemic. What does trust-building look like when you’re masked, afraid and six feet apart?