Through political advocacy and education, the Social Justice Team seeks to engage church members in meaningful actions to promote social, economic, environmental justice; and equality before the law.

Social Justice Campaign (SJC), 2022

Vision: Over the next church year UUBN will commit to engage in social justice on a congregation-wide basis by acting and speaking on behalf of racial justice in our community. As partners, we will show up in support of racial justice events sponsored by organizations such as NAACP, Not in Our Town, and the YWCA.

UUBN Sunday services and educational programs (LRE, book discussions, Writers for Justice) will continue exploring racial justice issues that inform our advocacy work.

We will commit to engage in service activities such as volunteering to help the West Bloomington Revitalization Project, the Salvation Army, the UU prison Ministry at Logan, the Immigration Project, and other local organizations.

We will commit to advocacy actions, such as attendance at rallies and vigils; petition and letter campaigns; and meetings with our elected local, state, and national representatives to urge action on criminal justice reform, voter suppression, and environmental justice. Partners in such actions include the UU Advocacy Network of Illinois, the UU Prison Ministry, and Illinois People’s Action.

[Note: other ongoing UUBN volunteer or social actions that might not be related to this proposal will continue.]

Goals:

1. To increase awareness and enthusiasm across the congregation for justice work and enhance the sense of UUBN’s connection to the wider community.

2. To get every member of UUBN to engage in some aspect of this campaign.

3. To get fifty members of UUBN to advocate for criminal justice reform, environmental justice or other racial justice issues in meetings with their elected representatives; or with online advocacy through groups such as UUANI Actions of the Week, Illinois People’s Action, or UU Prison Ministry.

4. Accountability: there will be pledge cards for people to say what they intended to do, as well as a way for people to report their activities not pledged in advance, so that progress in meeting these goals can be presented quarterly to the Board of Directors and at the appropriate Annual Meeting. Click HERE for the online Social Justice Activity Record

Stand Up for Social Justice

Stand Up for Social Justice is a community group steered by UUBN members. Vigils are held once a month on topics trending in the news, such as voting rights, gun safety, immigration, LGBT rights. Speakers often address pending legislation and give participants avenues for advocacy. For information on upcoming vigils, go to https://www.facebook.com/StandUpforJusticeBloNo

Social Justice Survey Link

UUBN Social Justice Grant Applications

Applications for the UUBN Social Justice Grant are reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis. The criteria include service, education, advocacy and/or public witness connected to a social justice area, significant involvement of UUBN members/friends, and participation/interaction components to engage community. The full submission criteria can be found here and the submission form here.

UUBN’s Social Justice Team works with and contributes to the following community organizations:

Black Lives Matter: The goals are anti-racism education, policy, racial food justice, and collective liberation through intersectional actions. Since February of 2019, BLM B-Town has consisted of many progressive black activist leaders supported by progressive activist non-black identifying people of color, and white members. The local chapter of #BLM is committed to bringing the group in line with the Guiding Principles outlined by the national Black Lives Matter organization. Click on the blue link to reach more information on BLM BLono.

The Immigration Project

The Immigration Project is a nonprofit organization that provides immigration legal assistance to the 100,000 immigrants residing in Central and Southern Illinois. Volunteers are vital to the success of the Immigration Project! Though some assignments require fluency in Spanish; others have no foreign language requirements. Flexible hours accommodate busy schedules. Volunteers often work in small teams of two or three to complete assigned tasks related to citizenship; help with web development, media, and graphics is also needed. Click on the link above to go to The Immigration Project website.

Illinois People’s Action

Our church is a member of Illinois People’s Action – IPA – which is an ecumenical, multi-issue, faith-based community organization with partners in several other counties in our state. IPA is an advocacy group that addresses such social issues as affordable housing, immigrant rights, hydraulic fracturing, predatory lending, and living wages. IPA empowers congregations and organizations to become full partners in the decision-making process on justice issues. Get involved by adding your name to the mailing list for chapter meetings or specific demonstrations or lobbying efforts (call the IPA office at 827-9627 or the Community Concerns Committee Chair.) Click on the link above to go to the Illinois People’s Action website.

UUANI – Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois

UUANI (Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois) was founded in 2013 and organized to build power among UU congregations in Illinois, in order to put our UU values into meaningful, concrete far-reaching action toward social justice. We work collectively with each other and collaboratively with effective partner organizations to influence the creation of meaningful social change toward justice, beloved community, and a healthy planet. Click on the blue link above to go to the UUANI website.

UUPMI – Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois

Our Mission: UUPMI will equip UU’s in IL to transform institutions and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex.

Our Unitarian Universalist principles call us to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person and to engage in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We want to engage those most in need of affirmation – the people locked up, often for very minor offenses, in Illinois prisons, who look to worship services for badly needed peace and solace. The UU Church of the Larger Fellowship serves 700 people in prison who deeply value our shared faith, and 260 people in Illinois prisons have pen pals through the GLBTQ group Black & Pink. The need is clear. Our UU presence and support in prisons can save sanity, spirit, and even lives. Click on the link to go to UUPMI’s website.

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates. Click on the link above to go to UUSC’s website.

UUSC advances human rights and social justice around the world, partnering with those who confront unjust power structures and mobilizing to challenge oppressive policies. Our work is grounded in the belief that all people have inherent power and dignity. Strategic Priorities: Crisis Response, Climate Forced Displacement, Central American Migrant Justice For current campaigns, click on: https://www.uusc.org/initiatives/

Click HERE to learn more about other national and international Social Justice organizations UUA works with.