UUA AR Timeline 1981-2003

1981 - The UUA Board adopted the Institutional Racism Audit Report. This report dealt with
the issue of racism in the UUA and at its continental headquarters.
1982 - The General Assembly approved the Commission on Appraisal report dealing with the
black empowerment controversy of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The title of the report was
Empowerment: One Denomination’s Quest for Racial Justice, 1967- 1982.
1983 – Board-appointed Task Force on Racism reported to the GA in 1984 and recommended a
body to work on eradicating racism in our movement and in society at large.
1984 - Racism Monitoring and Assessment Team appointed. - Board members were to review
and work with our association to eradicate racism.
1985 - Black Concerns Working Group, established by vote of 1985 General Assembly, was
responsible to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Racism. The Black Concerns
Working Group became the Jubilee Working Group and the committee ended in 2000. The
Congregational Services Staff Group now administers the Jubilee Programs.
1983 and onward - The Committee on Urban Concerns and Ministry continued to address
issues of oppression and racism specifically as related to urban areas and large churches. The Urban
Church Coalition and the Society for the Larger Ministry were two of the many groups that helped
author the 1992 Resolution to present as a report to the 1993 General Assembly on how to realize a
vision of a racially and culturally diverse UUA.
1990 - Born out of requests from several sectors of the UUA community: Urban Concerns and
Ministry, Black Concerns Working Group, African American UU Ministers, and other grassroots
groups, the UUA Board directed administration to develop a feasibility plan for Racial and Cultural
Diversity.
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April 1991 - A basic plan is presented to the UUA Board outlining changes needed to achieve
the goal of diversity with-in a ten-year period.
January 1992 – The UUA Administration recommended the staff position - Advocate for
Racial Inclusiveness. The Reverend Melvin Hoover was appointed to this position. Also it was
recommended to prepare a Business Resolution for the 1992 General Assembly affirming this as the
direction of the UUA and to set up a process for periodic review and evaluation of the plan.
April 1992 - Decision was made to not present a resolution but instead to present a report to
General Assembly.
June 1993 - Report “Long Term Initiative for Racial and Cultural Diversity” presented during
General Assembly in Calgary, Canada. Outgoing President William Schulz and Moderator Natalie
Gulbrandsen, presidential candidates John Buehrens and Carolyn Owen-Towle, and Denny Davidoff
stood with them in show of support for the initiative. In response to the report a group of UUA affiliate
organizations presented a resolution to the General Assembly called “Racial and Cultural Diversity in
Unitarian Universalism”. The delegates adopted the resolution.
October 1993 to 1996 - The UUA Board appointed the Racial and Cultural Diversity Task
Force. This task force planned racial cultural days for the 1993 through1996 General Assemblies,
gathered congregational and ministerial information, developed a congregational assessment tool,
conducted research, reported back to General Assemblies from 1993-1996, and began the process to
build institutional change with affiliates, ministers, congregations and UUA staff and Board. The
Racial Cultural Diversity Task Force called for congregations to come to the 1997 prepared to discuss,
debate and take action on specific recommendation for dismantling racism in our association and
working for racial justice in our communities.
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June 1997 - The Racial and Cultural Diversity Task Force at General Assembly recommended
that the UUA Board of Trustees establish a committee to monitor and assess our transformation as an
anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural institution. The Board of Trustees appointed the Journey
Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee in October 1997.
January 1998 - the Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee attended the UUA
Board meeting and received approval for the committee’s name, charge and committee members,
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including the addition of a representative from the Jubilee Working Group (formerly the Black
Concerns Working Group). Group). Original members were: Rev. Susan Suchocki Brown (Chair),
Rev. Galen Guengerich, Robette Diaz, Ruth Alatorre, Ivan Cotman, Leon Spencer (UUA board
liaison), Rev. Melvin Hoover (UUA staff liaison) and Jacqui James (UUA support staff). After the
January 1998 board meeting, the Rev. Kurt Kuhwald was chosen by the Jubilee Working Group as
their representative and joined the committee.
1998 - JTWTC meets with UT Saunders and sets strategy to establish Stakeholder meetings and
liaison relationships with these stakeholders. A stakeholder is any individual or groups who have a
stake in a major initiative; an example would be the General Assembly Planning Committee, the
Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association. Stakeholder is a neutral term and does not denote either
support or non-support of an initiative.
January 1998 - first Journey Toward Wholeness Stakeholder meeting held in Boston,
preliminary strategic plans drawn up by attendees, which include staff departments of ministry,
congregation and district services, communications, and BOT, UUMA, DRUUMM, GA Planning
Committee, and others.
Spring 1998 - Kansas City Journey Toward Wholeness Summit on Racism gathering of
Stakeholders held. Included members of LUUNA, President’s Council, Development Department,
MFC, DRUUMM, BOT A/R committee, Youth and Young Adults, etc.
June 2000 - The Rev. Bill Sinkford elected as first African American president of the UUA,
and Diane Olson elected as Moderator. JTWTC published Report and Recommendations to the 2001
General Assembly: Continuing the Journey. The report recommends, among other things, that in the
fall of 2001 the UUA President’s office become the liaison for the JTWTC.
2002 - Major UUA staff restructuring eliminated departmental organizational structure and the
Faith In Action Department, and instead established staff groups, this shifted anti-oppression, anti-
racism, multicultural work throughout all work of the staff and institution. Ms. Taquiena Boston, a
member of the UUA staff begins to attend the committee as the President’s Representative.
2001-2003 - Four Common Ground meetings are held at the suggestion and invitation of
President Bill Sinkford. They were held in the San Francisco Bay and Washington D.C. area in
January 2002. In 2003 they were held in Dallas Texas (January) and Evanston Illinois (February).
June 2002 - Rev. James Hobart named as Chair of the JTWTC.
2003 - JTWTC establishes a five-year strategic design for continuing transformation and
continues with charge to strategically plan, coordinate, guide, monitor, and assess the transformation of the UUA into an anti-oppression, anti-racist, multicultural faith community.