Speakers Series

History and Context

After a summer of civil unrest, and in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Elijah McClain, the BIPoC Leadership of the Colorado UUs United for Racial Justice developed this Speaker Series in order to address the calls for safe space of the UU BIPoC community in the Colorado Front Range.  When we first conceived this space we never imagined the response we received from across the US, Canada and the UK. These lectures were delivered live via videoconferencing from October through December of 2020. 

The intent behind this series was to provide a platform for prominent Unitarian Universalist religious professionals of color to speak specifically to other UUs of color about their experiences, and their dreams for a more diverse, inclusive Unitarian Universalism. Although white allies accomplices were permitted to attend and bear witness to the stories of BIPoC in our congregations, only attendees who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color, mixed race/multi-racial of white immediate family of the same who were present with their BIPoC family member were permitted to speak, ask questions and actively participate in the conversation. White attendees had their ability to chat and to unmute their camera and microphone disabled to ensure the conversation remained centered on BIPoC voices. 

These lectures were prefaced by music featuring UUs of color, a Chalice Lighting and a check-in time for BIPoC attendees to introduce themselves and talk about their lives. After each lecture, a question and answer session was provided, which included time to ask questions and respond to the message with the white allies bearing witness, followed by further discussion time which was closed to white allies entirely, to ensure that sensitive topics could be addressed in confidence.