Thank you for noticing the “Black Lives Matter” banner hanging in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua.  Part of the stated mission of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua is to create a “liberal religious community that encourages personal and spiritual growth, embraces diversity, and promotes social justice.”  Most of us define “social justice” as a vision of society in which the distribution of resources is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure.  Many of us in our church feel strongly that for the entire history of the United States, African Americans have not shared equitably in the resources of our nation nor been physically and psychologically safe and secure.

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Your email indicated that you perceive the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States to be a terrorist organization.  You implored us to “do our research” about the group.  We have done research and what we’ve found is that, contrary to your assertions, Black Lives Matter does not use unlawful violence against civilians in the pursuit of political gains.  Rather Black Lives Matter protests are public demonstrations petitioning the government for a redress of grievances – a right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution.  We also found that the Black Lives Matter Movement is not one group funded by one individual, but a group with many chapters, each self-supporting and dedicated to thirteen principles, many in line with the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism (e.g. the Black Lives Matter principle of “Globalism,” is congruent with the sixth UU Principle “a goal of world community,” and our seventh principle, “an interdependent web of life.”)

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Black Lives Matter is committed to ending white supremacy in the United States and to addressing the many ways institutionalized and systemic racism continues to affect the lives of African Americans every day.  We are proud to support that work and will continue to work inside our church, within our wider denomination, and in our community for liberty and justice for all.

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You were kind enough to share some of the resources which informed your point of view with us.  We’d like to share some with you.

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More about the history of Black Lives Matter – https://www.theguardian.com/ world/2015/jul/19/ blacklivesmatter-birth-civil- rights-movement

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More about Unitarian Universalism – http://www.uua.org/beliefs

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