Week 1: January 19–26
Honoring Legacy
We begin our Thirty Days of Love with a commitment to sustained action and service, anchored in our commemoration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This is a time to lift up those who paved the trail ahead of us—the change-makers whose leadership and inspiration inform our own worldviews and transformed our society into a more loving place. Join us in redoubling our commitment to honor these heroic legacies through our own justice-making.
The Month Ahead
Monday, January 21
“There are all too many people who, in some great period of social change, fail to achieve the new mental outlooks that the new situation demands. There is nothing more tragic than to sleep through a revolution.”
—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution,” Commencement Address for Oberlin College, June 1965
In honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we will hear from Dr. Michelle Alexander on the advent of a new racial caste system in the United States through a system of mass incarceration–the New Jim Crow.
Daily Action:
We cannot effectively dismantle the system of mass incarceration if it remains hidden in the shadows. Today, start a conversation with a friend or colleague about what you’ve learned and share information on social media. Click here to share a fact about the New Jim Crow.
Action for Kids & Youth:
Find out if there are veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, or the LGBTQ Movement in your own community or congregation. Interview them about their experiences and even present them with a Courageous Love Award!
Resources:
- Addressing Mass Incarceration: What Can We Do?
- Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) New Jim Crow Resources
- Michelle Alexander’s presentation from the 2012 UUA General Assembly
- NAACP Reentry Toolkit for Faith Leaders
- Ella Baker Center “Books Not Bars” Program
- Find an MLK Day of Service event near you: http://mlkday.gov/serve/find.php.
Is your congregation bringing the Standing on the Side of Love message to a local MLK Day of Service event? Email love@uua.org to let us know!
