[Editor’s Note: Donna Scheidt is a member of UUSJ’s  Democracy Action Team. This is adapted from her introduction at last month’s UUSJ webinar on the Moore v. Harper case that included  Becky Harper, Common Cause NC, and a named party in the pivotal redistricting case concerning the balance of powers, and Chris Shenton, attorney, Southern Coalition for Social Justice.]

In a world increasingly divided by partisanship, by who plays for blue and what issues are thought of as red, I think of UUs as striving to work in the space of yellow. Yellow is the color of the flame at the center of the chalice and the yellow t-shirts that proclaim “Side with Love.”

There are principles and values that have guided us, that should guide us beyond who “wins.” These are more than just the rules of the “game.” They are rules of relationship, of how we choose to be in relationship with one another, not just interpersonally but as a people, as a body politic. These rules are fundamentally ethical; some might say they are even matters of faith. They include dignity, justice, equity, freedom, conscience, and dismantling racism and oppression.

Yet these values are mere talking points but for those in our faith who enact them by walking the walk. Those who organize, those who serve, those who protest, those who advocate, and those who witness. Those who are willing to side with what they believe in, to commit their time, their resources, and their private lives made public. One of these is Becky Harper.  In addition to her role, in this case, Becky is a long-time member of the UU Fellowship of Raleigh, NC. 

As I understand it, serving as a party to a legal case of the magnitude of Moore v. Harper is an exceptional act of witness and advocacy.

• It is an act of witness to this startling fact: Every election in North Carolina in the last decade was based on gerrymandered maps, maps drawn by the state legislature that were later ruled unconstitutional (either based on race or partisanship).
• • Computer-aided line drawing is the precision instrument of our age of redistricting that makes it like no other, even in recent history. In other words, not only are the foxes in charge of the hen house, they have algorithms that can ensure they remain perpetually in charge of the hen house.
• Furthermore, in North Carolina, the people cannot pursue state-level referendums, and the governor has no power to veto the legislature-drawn map. What does this mean? The courts are a singular recourse, an essential check in protecting the right of the people to choose who represents them meaningfully.
• Becky’s role in this case (and that of her lawyers) is also an act of advocacy. They insist that in our United States, people should matter over politics. They insist that that fundamental system of checks and balances that our founders devised to protect our essential rights and liberties–including our right to choose who represents us–should endure.

Make no mistake: this case will make history and our political future as it either confirms or erodes the fundamentals of our political relationships. It is because of these stakes that UUSJ is pleased to have signed on as an amicus to Moore v. Harper and to welcome those here tonight who are so central to its outcome.