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Amanda Schuber, a member of the UU Church of Huntsville, Alabama, speaking at an event organized to protest the death of George Floyd, said, “We need more voices out here. We need to be out here every day if we have to—to continue to say this is not our America. This is not the country we want to live in where Black and Brown bodies are not valued as much as other bodies.” (Rocket City Now, May 30)
Amaryllis Charles, a recent high school graduate, was among those who joined a protest at Universalist-Unitarian Church in Waterville, Maine. “I am angry and I am hurt,” she said. “These are Black people that look like me being killed in the streets, and the people who are doing it aren’t being held accountable.” (Central Maine, June 1)
Speaking at a public witness event outside All Souls UU Congregation in New London, Connecticut, the Rev. Carolyn Patierno said members of her congregation have been holding witness events for the Black Lives Matter movement for five years and were “out there to raise their voices in solidarity for those who are victims to systems of violence. We understand this to be a moment where we are compelled to speak up.” (The Day, May 29)
UU Charlie Woods helped organize Foxboro Stand-Out for George Floyd and Social Justice this past Sunday afternoon in Foxboro, Massachusetts. “Some people have the perception that in suburbs we are not going to come out and sit quiet in our homes, so it’s really nice to see people willing to come out and stand-out for the cause against racial injustice,” Woods said. (The Sun Chronicle, June 1)
Michigan church’s new minister is first woman and person of color to fill role
UU minister the Rev. Mariela Pérez-Simons will serve as the new senior minister of Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pérez-Simons is the first woman, and the first person of color to serve in that role since the church’s founding in 1869. “There is a place for the liberal church in America—churches that provide a place to ask questions,” Pérez-Simons said in a statement. (MLive, June 1)