I just started writing my memoirs in case they are of interest to my grandchildren. An author advised me to examine my life by decade to see if there was a running theme.Indeed, there is: a desire to counter racism – it seems I have always tried to do this, both consciously and otherwise. I mistakenly thought this was the dominant theme of the latter, more-activist part of my white life. However, during a recent reunion with a childhood friend, I was reminded of how as a kid I always invited ALL the girls to my birthday parties and of how I intentionally sat at the back of the bus.
As I continue to walk among white circles, I am not always forthright about my private mission.
However, in recent years, there is much talk about being one’s “authentic self.” Even my job invited me to do so. Boy, were they sorry. So was I. Not everyone is ready to talk about deconstructing our dominant culture. This is one of the key attractions of UUSJ for me. It is a group of passionate, like-minded, action-minded UUs who mean business when they say they want to change our world.
My authentic self feels welcomed here, nurtured here, challenged here with UUSJ. I’ll be sharing this leg of my journey with my grandchildren as well.
For now, I ask you to please support our mission and the work ahead of us. We are bringing home our labors to mobilize and educate voters, we will engage during the post-election for a healthy democracy, and we will stay true to our UU values regardless of who is President and which party controls Congress.
Please join me in supporting UUSJ with a financial gift.
Kim Rebecca-Murray,
Prairie UU Church, Parker, Colorado