Mission

The Racial Equity Team (RET) is a diverse group of First Parish members charged with leading efforts to promote racial justice throughout congregational life. We work with the Governing Board and ministry team leaders to examine institutional processes and provide opportunities for education and conversation. Some of our activities in the last several years have included:

• Film, book, and article discussions on race, racism, and racial equity
• Participating in denomination-wide activities for people of color and white allies
• Offering (twice) the Beloved Conversations curriculum for congregational leaders
• Leading the congregation through its adoption of the 8th Principle
• Creating Sunday worship services and leading Sunday post-worship discussions
• Building relationships through pastoral outreach calls (winter 2021/2022)

History

In 2010, Rev. Fred Small initiated the Transformation Team to facilitate the congregation’s journey toward becoming a multiracial, multicultural, justice-making congregation. In 2015 the Transformation Team created and adopted a charter which was affirmed by the FPC Standing Committee in the same year. In December 2018 the Transformation Team was renamed the Racial Equity Team.

Selected Resources

• May 2020 Letter to the Congregation from the Racial Equity Team & Social Justice Council
• Widening the Circle of Concern, a report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change
• Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism, by Nancy Palmer Jones and Karin Lin
• “(divorcing) White Supremacy Culture” by Tema Okun et al.
• DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries), for UUs of color
• ARE (Allies for Racial Equity), for UU white allies
• UU Mass Action – organize and mobilize UUs in Massachusetts to confront oppression.
• UU Common Reads
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
  • Breathe
  • An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States / An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People
  • Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment

Contact: racialequity@firstparishcambridge.org

People of Color Caucus

If you are a person of color at First Parish and searching for support and community, our People of Color caucus meets Sundays every two weeks at 12:30 p.m. in person and over Zoom. Anyone who identifies as a person of color is welcome, even if you have not joined us before. We recognize that we are all individuals with different backgrounds and experiences, and yet we share the reality of living in a polarized society where we are targeted based on our racial identities. For more information or to join us contact poc-caucus@firstparishcambridge.org.

Last updated: September 26, 2023