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News that Matters

from Social Justice

News thatMattersfrom Social Justice

November 6, 2024

Welcoming Congregation

Replacement Shoelaces (and more!) are Needed

Jean Woodmansee asks UCN members and friends to bring new or used shoelaces to UCN help migrants asking for asylum in Arizona. The Border Patrol agents require migrants to remove shoelaces and belts when they are picked up in the desert and returned to Mexico. Migrants have no other source of replacement shoelaces for boots or shoes except through the efforts of the nearby UU church and other volunteers.


Jean has been active with that UU church near Tucson for many years and has participated by providing food, clothing and bedding for those returned to Mexico. Her inspiration for those efforts was learning that approximately 200 migrants per year in the Tucson sector were dying of dehydration in the desert while the locals and vacationers lounged in pools.

Dedicated UU members and others drive in the Arizona desert looking for migrants needing help and calling out in Spanish in case people are hiding from their trucks in the scrub and cactus. It is forbidden for volunteers to transport people in need of services, so the volunteers will call for help from the Border Patrol or emergency services.


Volunteers from the UU church and other local people cross the border into Nogales, Mexico, joining the returnees to provide food, clothing, blankets and other needed items. Collecting shoelaces is one easy way for us to participate in helping the migrants. A collection box is in the west lobby near the food and pet food collections through November. Thanks!


Tour America’s Black Holocaust Museum with UCN

America’s Black Holocaust Museum is a one-of-a-kind historical and memorial museum about the Black Holocaust in America.

History museums study, exhibit, and interpret history. Memorial museums explain and commemorate past events of mass suffering.


Over the last 40 years, people around the world have created memorial museums to help their countries and communities make sense of and draw redemptive lessons from terrible periods of man’s inhumanity to man.


Dr. James Cameron was inspired to create ABHM when he visited the Yad VaShem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel in 1979. Despite surviving a 1930 lynching in which two other teenagers were killed, Dr. Cameron steadfastly maintained his faith in the moral framework of liberty and justice for all embodied in the USA’s founding documents.


More information about the museum may be found here: https://www.abhmuseum.org/

Adults and middle school (and older) students are invited to join the Social Justice Committee on a guided tour of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, 401 W North Ave., Milwaukee, on Saturday, November 23. We have scheduled a museum docent (griot) to conduct a guided tour of the museum, and if needed we will request an additional docent. The cost is $10 per person. If you would like to carpool, meet at UCN by 10:15 a.m. The museum opens at 10:00 but our tour will begin at 11:00 a.m. and last 45 minutes to an hour. Please sign up at UCN or by contacting Leigh Hoftiezer, Social Justice Chairperson. The SIGN-UP DEADLINE is November 16.

If students attend without a parent or legal guardian, a signed permission slip will be required.


The Differences Between Appreciating and Appropriating Culture

Often we consider the question about whether something we do or want to do is considered cultural appropriation. The article linked here discusses the points that come into play and is well worth your time to read. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-cultural-appropriation-5070458


News from MICAH, Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope

During UCN’s 20-year membership with MICAH, we have participated in innumerable educational programs and supported the crucial anti-racism work they are dedicated to. Thirty-seven member congregations represent several different faiths – Unitarian Universalists, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Jews, Muslims, Methodists, Quakers, UCC, Episcopalians, and non-denominational Christians. Together we find the richness of community and the opportunity to work together to improve the lives of those who have suffered generational hardships due to racism in our country.

Last year, MICAH launched the We All Belong (WAB) campaign. UCN hosted a WAB workshop which was open to the public, and welcomed members of Friendship Baptist Church of Milwaukee to join in the discussion. Growing from the momentum of WAB, this year the focus is “Building Beloved Community – For Such a Time as This.” Specific programs MICAH members are engaged in under this umbrella are Health Equity, Education, Jobs and Economics, Transportation, and Transformational Justice. There are established task forces assigned to each of these programs. Help is always welcome, no matter your race, religion, or background – and it is needed to achieve success in every step. Besides task force work, MICAH often holds rallies in support of a variety of issues, where all are welcome to participate. More information can be found at MICAHMKE.ORG.

Lyn Gust
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