Ending Racism and Other Oppressions

Proposed 8th Principle:

“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

The text above is the proposed 8th Principle of the Unitarian Universalist Association that serves to refocus us on the 1997 UUA Resolution on Anti-racism, Anti-oppression, and Multiculturalism. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements to advance equality for all, many UUs believe that the current Seven Principles do not directly address issues of racism or oppression. The idea for the 8th Principle “came from a feeling that we need something to renew our commitment to this work, to hold ourselves accountable, and to fulfill the potential of our existing principles.” Although the 8th Principle has not been officially adopted by the UUA (it is still actively being considered by the project committee), some congregations and UUA-affiliated organizations have already adopted it.

People who advocate on behalf of animals generally understand that removing systematic discrimination against groups of people in our society is an important goal in itself, and is not in conflict with work to end abuse and neglect of animals. For rich discussions of how social issues like racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and speciesism combine and overlap, see the resources we list below, and please send your own recommended resources to us at info@uuam.org.

The UUAM board believes that we must remove oppression in all of its forms and unanimously agreed to support the proposed 8th Principle.

Selected Bibliography:

Carol J. Adams, The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory.

Steven Best, The Politics of Total Liberation: Revolution for the 21st Century.

Aph Ko, Syl Ko, Aphro-ism: Essays on Pop Culture, Feminism, and Black Veganism from Two Sisters.

David A. Nibert, Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict.

Sunaura Taylor, Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation.