500 Unitarian Universalists march to Kick Off “Freedom Summer” in Phoenix
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray is minister at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix.
It brought tears to my eyes as Unitarian Universalist ministers, UUA staff and lay people from all over the country began arriving at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix on Friday night. The next day, May 29th, we would join with tens of thousands of people in a march to demand that SB 1070 be stopped from becoming law and to call on President Obama and the federal government to move on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The May 29th National Day of Action was a kick-off to “Freedom Summer” in Phoenix. Organizers from around the country, in the tradition of the freedom riders, are coming to Phoenix this summer to organize people against SB 1070, to build a movement to push for Comprehensive reform, and to register voters to make real sustained change in Arizona.
500 Unitarian Universalists from congregations in Arizona and around the country came to Phoenix to mark this historic moment. One non-UU at the march, noted that the only religious group to have a presence at the march were the Unitarian Universalists! This was not entirely true, but we came out in such force, such unity, that we were prominent–our gold Standing on the Side of Love t-shirts, posters and banners dotting the crowd of over 50,000 marchers.
A prominent African American pastor in Phoenix, the Rev. Dr. Warren Stewart, Pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church, said two days after SB 1070 was signed by Arizona’s Governor, “Thank you Governor Brewer, for signing SB 1070, and bringing on the Civil Rights Movement of the 21st Century!”
The goal of this movement that doubled in strength as soon as the bill was signed, is to stop the bill here before it spreads throughout the country. Second, this fight against SB 1070 needs to created the pressure to force the federal government to get real immigration done–to fix the broken system that is denying students the chance for college and to follow their dreams, and which is breaking up families, and ripping parents away from their children.
Arizona is where we need to battle against fear. This is the moral issue of our day. This is the civil rights movement for today. We are in a moment of tremendous change as a country. We are changing demographically and culturally. The question that we must ask ourselves is will we react to these changes out of fear and scarcity, or will be respond out of the moral call of our faith to love our neighbor as ourself? May 29th was an historic day for Unitarian Universalists, because on that day the UUA President, Peter Morales, the Moderator of the Association, Gini Courter, and the over 50 ministers and over 400 lay people who marched in Phoenix–along with all those who held solidarity rallies around the country–stood up together to say, “We Stand on the Side of Love.”
Now the hard work begins, to work all over the country, and especially in Arizona to stand up against racial profiling, discrimination, and the laws that are encouraging these immoral acts and to organize for Comprehensive Immigration Reform that includes a path to legalization and balances safety and humanitarianism.
I thank everyone who came and rallied and marched and stood up to lead our faith on this issue. Your presence brought strength to our Association and strength to our work in Arizona.
