Beloved UUs,
This plea is a lengthy one, and it comes from my heart at a crucial moment, as the administration’s first 100 days near completion. In Texas, a ground zero in the fight against injustice, we are now past the halfway mark in our state legislative session.
Summary: Marginalized communities are doing the heavy lifting—again. If you’re an ally, now is the time to step up and show up. The fight against anti-immigrant and anti-trans bills in Texas and other places across the U.S. needs all of us, because our liberation is bound together.
Even if you can’t do everything, you can do something. What will you do?
The whole story: I wasn’t able to be at the Texas Capitol in person recently, at an essential juncture due to illness, but I was supporting from behind the scenes and watching the live broadcasts of multiple House committee hearings. I witnessed something that deeply moved me. One of the hearings was on HB 5580—a bill that, like its companion SB 8, would allow local sheriffs across Texas to act as ICE agents, stopping anyone they choose, demanding proof of citizenship, and detaining them at will. In Texas, we are a Beta Test for what the federal government is looking to do elsewhere; what happens in Texas does not stay in Texas.
What I saw, as testimony unfolded, was powerful: BIPOC leaders, immigrant organizers, and community members once again showing up with courage, truth, and love for their people. Some had waited all day to testify. Many spoke with determination and fire in their voices. These are the folks who are on the front lines—again and again—carrying the burden not only of surviving these policies but also of resisting them. Did you see the article UUSJ circulated last month? They’re coming for immigrants first, “And the Trump administration is signaling that no one else might be safe, either.”
I saw similar courage and heartbreak in hearings affecting our trans community. Bill after bill, designed to erase, endanger, or silence trans lives, has been met with testimony from those most impacted—trans folks, their families, and the advocates who love them. Over and over, they showed up, despite the cost. Despite the exhaustion. Despite the trauma. They spoke with raw honesty and radical love, defending their right to exist and to thrive. What about the other article UUSJ circulated, The Attack on Trans Rights Won’t End There. Once legal rights begin to fall, they fall for everyone.
In both of these spaces, I was left in awe—and also grieving. The communities under attack are doing the heavy lifting, bearing the emotional and physical toll of advocacy and pushing back against systems that refuse to see their full humanity.
To those who are showing up, thank you. Thank you! We love you!
Whether you are directly impacted or an ally, whether you’re at the Capitol or organizing from home, whether you’re calling, writing, donating, or praying—you matter. Your efforts make a difference.
At the same time, I want to share a deep longing from my heart: [Continue Reading]
- I want to look around those hearing rooms and see just as many white folks as BIPOC folks.
- Just as many cis folks as trans folks and their families.
- I want our trans and immigrant siblings to feel surrounded, uplifted, and carried—not just by those fighting for their own survival, but by allies who say: “This matters to me too.”
Because being real, our trans and immigrant communities are tired.
Exhausted, actually.
- Exhausted from constantly having to prove their humanity.
- Exhausted from being the ones always expected to speak up, show up, and fight back.
- Exhausted from carrying the burden of survival while also trying to protect their families, their dignity, and their dreams.
Let’s be clear: this moment matters. It matters in Texas, it matters in Wisconsin. It matters from New York to New Mexico, from Oregon to Ohio, from California to Connecticut.
Trans people in Texas, and elsewhere, are being persecuted by policy and erased in rhetoric.
ICE is, apparently, kidnapping immigrants off our streets across the United States in what is referred to as “unidentifiable arrests.”
And those in power are laughing—laughing—about sending residents and citizens to prison camps with no hope of return.
We are facing political cruelty that feels unimaginable, and yet it is here.
When only those most impacted speak up, it becomes easier to dismiss their voices.
But when allies show up—we shift the power in the room.
We show that our liberation is bound together.
We need you in this fight.
Not just for charity.
Not just for optics.
But for collective liberation.
You may not be trans. You may not be an immigrant.
But the erosion of rights, the criminalization of compassion, the attacks on bodily autonomy and dignity—these are warning bells for us all.
As the Director of Policy at Texas Civil Rights Project said in a recent email:
“This fight is personal, and it demands all of us.”
Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry is showing up BIG with calls from across our state, dropping cards, testimony, and love– covering hearings on multiple issues.
We’re SO PROUD of everyone who’s taken action—and we’re here to support our Texas activists and advocates when they are ready to take their first actions.
And the same applies to UU folks living in other states. You can connect with your UU State Action Network or local organizations if you do not have a State Action Network.
We can all connect with UUSJ.
If you haven’t yet gotten involved, know this: You don’t have to do everything. But you can do something. (And you won’t be doing it alone.)
Pick an issue close to your heart—and then pick another that doesn’t directly affect you, but where your voice is needed as an ally.
- Show up in whatever way you can.
- Make a call. Send a letter. Sit beside someone testifying. Offer encouragement. Be present.
- You like the backend stuff? No problem! Provide childcare. Fill out spreadsheets. Track legislation. Train others. Write emails!
We all have a role in this movement. And together, we are stronger, braver, and more powerful than we know.
Bending Texas Toward Justice TOGETHER, sending love and courage beyond our state borders.
Michelle Venegas-Matula, she/ella,
Congregational Justice Organizer
Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry (TXUUJM)
Michelle Venegas-Matula (she/ella) is a native of Borinken(Puerto Rico) who has dedicated her life to community organizing and anti-racism work in Texas for over a decade. She is deeply passionate about justice and believes that building a radically inclusive world is a spiritual and important part of her life’s purpose. Michelle is a member of Wildflower Church (UU) in Austin and serves on the steering committee of Diverse, Revolutionary, UU, Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM) as Secretary. When she is not out making good trouble, she enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, and spending time with her family. Michelle is excited to work with TXUUJM and continue to fight for justice in Texas.