Unitarian Universalists: July 2008 Archives

Jim Adkisson, filled with hatred against "liberals," and  armed with a shotgun entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., yesterday morning and opened fire as congregants were watching a youth performance, killing two people and leaving at least seven others wounded before he was subdued by church members.  He was a stranger to the church.

Amira Parkey, 16, had just uttered her first lines as Miss Hannigan in "Annie, Jr." when she heard a loud pop.  "We were just, 'Oh, my God, that's not part of the play,' " Amira said, adding that she saw a man standing near the door of the sanctuary and firing into the room.

"The music director realized what was going on and she yelled, 'Get the hell out of here, everybody,' " said Sheila Bowen, 70, a church member.  The cast of young actors, some of them as young as 6, was quickly herded out of the sanctuary.  The nearby Presbyterian church found children wandering around on their grounds, and gave them hospitality until they could be reunited with their parents.

Gregory McKendry Jr., 60, a church board member and usher. was killed when he tried to shield his fellow congregants from the assailant.  The other person killed was Linda Kraeger, 61, who died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center a few hours after the shooting.  

Systemic violence arises in societies based on class, gender, and ethnic inequality in order to maintain the power of the privileged.  This violence is organized and continuously encouraged so that the people will be ready to fight wars.   There is no random violence,  what we see here is the violence at the root of our society gone awry.  Jim Adkisson had been prepared by this society for his whole life for this attack.

William Sinkford,  the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association responded:

A tragedy such as this makes us acutely conscious of the beauty and fragility of our lives and those of our loved ones. I am especially saddened by this intrusion of violence into a worship service involving children and youth. I know that many people, both in Knoxville and around the country, are struggling with shock and grief right now. I pray that those so affected will find strength and comfort.

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry are on their way to Knoxville to offer additional ministry to the congregation as it grieves. And Unitarian Universalists around the world are sending love and prayers to the Tennessee Valley congregation to tell them they are not alone on this dark day.

This is a rewrite of a Journey Toward Wholeness statement on our work from several years ago, adapted for the present stage of our work. 

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Among Unitarian Universalists the soul work of anti-racism has been  based of the premise that racism and its effects are embedded in all social institutions as well as in us and won't change without deliberate engagement in both analysis and action.

In our community of faith there have been advocates for three different ways of overcoming racism.

1. Anti-bias or prejudice reduction

2. Diversity or multiculturalism

3. Anti-racism based on a power analysis of systemic oppression

Those who diagnose racism as personal prejudice would have us create programs to reduce prejudice. If we think that racism continues because whites don't understand or appreciate people of color, then we develop programs to foster diversity and promote interaction between different races and cultures.  We promote multiculturalism as a means to overcoming racism And if we perceive that racism is caused by the systemic misuse of power then we must become aware of who that power privileges and who that power oppresses, and work to create both awareness and change in the relations of power.

It is good that many Unitarian Universalists have been working to reduce their  personal prejudices and develop multicultural competency.  We need to be aware of our prejudices and we need to learn to appreciate other cultures, both are essential efforts but because they do not address the systemic misuse of power and the  imbalances of power in our institutions they do address the structures that give rise to racism in generation after generation. 

To deal more effectively with systemic racism it is important to have an accurate diagnosis of racism and to use terms that have clearly understood meanings in our common analysis. The Unitarian Universalist anti racism effort has been premised on the following analysis: 

The definition: Racism is prejudice in the context of the systemic misuse of power. 

That racism operates at the personal, institutional, and cultural levels.

That we need to understand our history so that we may understand the historical context of race and racism in our nation, in our denomination, in the local church, and community.

We must extend the work to include a power analysis of the dynamics of racism so that we realize that racism not only has devastating consequences for people of color but it also provides undue privilege and power for white people in our society.

We must seek to understand the power of racism to shape our personal, social, and spiritual identities.

This is hard work, it is "soul work" -- because when we engaged in it with our whole being we find ourselves transformed at the most basic level.   Agreeing on a common language concerning racism is a challenging task. People need time to struggle with core concepts in order for that to happen. This process can be especially challenging for those of us who are white.  It calls us to again and again do the work of reflection.

As Marjorie Bowens Wheatley wrote:

"Once one acknowledges white privilege, it is both easier and more difficult to be intentional and committed to taking a proactive stance against racism. It is easier because white people are more informed and aware of what racism is, how it works, and its insidious nature. 

It is more difficult for the same reason because whites now have to face their own demons, and their own struggles about what it means to be a racist."