First Parish in Waltham, Unitarian Universalist supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

With the horrific murder of George Floyd, as well as the murders of so many others of our Black siblings at the hands of police, we were awakened to the evidence of calculated and systemic oppression, brutality, unjust imprisonment and racist policies against Black people in America.

The late Civil Rights activist and Congressman John Lewis said: “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” To honor his memory we strive to live up to our Unitarian Universalist principles by joining with the voices that call out injustice and by working together to build a country we can be proud of.

To this end:

• We are dedicated to exposing our racist patterns.
• We acknowledge it is our job to educate ourselves and to devote ourselves to action.
• We will bear witness against the evils of our society.
• We pledge to challenge the embedded white supremacist world view which has gone unquestioned.
• We recognize our material abundance & privileges come at a cost to people of color.
• We commit our support, resources, compassion, openness & love to the Black community.
• We realize no matter how good our intentions are, only the impact of what we do matters.
• We welcome feedback from the Black community, whatever form it takes.