10forTen-4
Day 4 – A Community Choosing Courage Together
Dear friends,
A few years ago, the UUSJ Board faced a difficult moment: we initially did not endorse the 8th Principle. It was painful to many, vexing to others. It challenged us internally and externally.
What followed was a process designed to help us grow and better align with our values:
- listening
- discomfort
- reflection
- shared discernment
Pablo and our Executive Committee facilitated a slowly unfolding conversation about the import and implications, and the Board did the work — with volunteers and partners helping us see more clearly. Together, we reached agreement and endorsed the 8th Principle on [date].
This was not a story of one leader. It was a story of a community reflecting, growing, and then choosing accountability and change.
What Is the 8th Principle?
The 8th Principle is a commitment embraced by many Unitarian Universalist congregations and organizations to explicitly name and confront racism and other forms of oppression. It calls us to build beloved community through active, accountable anti-racist work.
The principle reads, in part:
“We covenant to dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
Across the denomination, endorsing the 8th Principle has been a journey, not a single decision. Many UU congregations — large and small, urban and rural — wrestled with the same questions UUSJ faced:
- How do we name racism clearly?
- What does accountability look like?
- How do we honor discomfort without avoiding it?
- How do we ensure this work is ongoing, not performative or symbolic?
The UUSJ Board’s initial lack of consensus was not unusual — it mirrored the experience of many, many UU congregations. What followed was a deeply UU process of listening, reflection, and shared discernment, supported by volunteers, partners, and staff.
We reached agreement together.