rights now: summer/fall 2013

7/30/2019 Rights Now: Summer/Fall 2013

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UUSC envisions a world ree rominjustice. It works with grassrootspartners every day to make that vision

a reality. Troughout the world, UUSC

joins with others to organize empoweredcommunities, dismantle regressive

policies, and advance human rights and

social justice. As a UUSC member, you

play a vital role in that work.

Support rom UUSC members not

only makes it nancially possible to

do this work, but it also helps create

an amenable environment or policy

change. UUSC members are powerullegislative advocates, consumers,

shareholders, community liaisons, and

leaders or social justice.

When you raise awareness, speak

up, and take action, you make sure the

From Individual to Collective ActionBy Kara Smith

Rights NowThe newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

Summer/Fall 2013

uusc.org

Continued on page 3

A Boston protest, joined by participants in the UU College o Social Justices Youth Justice raining,ollowing George Zimmermans acquittal in the killing o rayvon Martin.
http://www.uusc.org/http://www.uusc.org/


2/24

Summer/Fall 2013

Editor

Jessica L. Atcheson

Design and Production

Reid Haithcock

UUSC bargaining unit employees

are represented by Human

Rights Workers Local 2661,

UNITE HERE!

We Welcome Letters

Rights Nowis grateful to readers

for their interest and support.

We invite you to share your

questions and comments by

submitting a letter to the editor:

[email protected]

Rights NowEditor, UUSC

689 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02139

UUSC is supported by individual

members, Unitarian Universalist

congregations, and foundations

that share our commitment to

building a more just world.

2013 All Rights Reserved

Get Rights NowonlineWould you prefer to receive

Rights Nowby e-mail instead of

in your mailbox? Sign up today

by sending an e-mail to

[email protected].

[email protected]/fax

The Unitarian Universalist

Service Committee advances

human rights and social justice

around the world, partneringwith those who confront unjust

power structures and mobilizing

to challenge oppressive policies.

Rights Now

CoverFrom Individual to Collective Action

Page 4UUSC Action Calendar

Page 6Ending Food Insecurity, One UrbanTire Garden at a Time

Page 9In Their Own WordsAn interview with Kenel Antoine

Page 10Deepening the Journey

Page 12Order Up: Living Wages

Page 15

Stewardship Circle RetreattPage 16Human Rights at Home and in YourCongregation

Page 18Vivienn Fosman Fund or the

Fulfllment o Girls

Page 19Democracy vs. Drones

Page 20Blue Lining and the Human Right

to Water

Rights Now

In this edition of
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.uusc.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.uusc.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/24

UUSC brings many resources to our struggleor human rights a proud history,enormous credibility, a devoted sta, and

innovative partners in 21 countries, including

the United States. But one o the most

important resources we bring is you.Most social change organizations would

give their proverbial eye teeth to have a natural

constituency made up o something like 160,000

people spread across the country manyo them experienced activists, most o them

organized into groups called congregations. Its

a dream come true or doing the work o justice.

But the truth is that UUSC has not always done well at making it easy or our

constituents to gure out how they can help. Its simple enough to give moneyo course, and we cant do without that! But many o you would like to do more,

to help us with direct action o one kind or another.

Tats what much o this issue oRights Now is all about. One way you can

do justice work with us is through a service-learning trip with the UU College oSocial Justice (uucsj.org). Another is through online activism (uusc.org/action).

And there are many more.Martin Luther King Jr. was once asked how the civil rights movement had

managed to prevail against so much power aligned against it, and he replied,

We never let them rest. Tats UUSCs inormal motto too. Tese pagesillustrate some o the many ways you can help disturb the sleep o the mighty.

Bill Schulz

1

A message rom UUSCs president
http://www.uucsj.org/http://www.uusc.org/actionhttp://www.uusc.org/actionhttp://www.uucsj.org/


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2

Consignment ProgramSell UUSC goods at your congregations annual holiday air or throughits bookstore and earn 510 percent commission on all sales! Newconsigners can sign up by calling 800-766-5236, ext. 342, or [email protected].

Afliate ProgramRaise unds or UUSC and your congregation through online sales madethrough your website, e-mail, social media, and other networks. Aliatesare approved to promote UUSCs store and products by being given aunique URL, and they receive commission on sales made via that link.Get started by visiting uusc.org/aliate.

wo years ago, UUSC put out the call or its members to usetheir purchasing power to make a dierence or workers rightsand environmental justice. You responded overwhelmingly bypledging to choose compassionate consumption, and UUSChas redesigned its online store to eature hundreds o ethicallysourced and eco-riendly products. All proceeds romshop.uusc.org support UUSCs human rights work. And nowthere are two new opportunities or you to get involved!

Merchandise that Makes a Dierence

Prosperity Candle
mailto:[email protected]://www.uusc.org/affiliatehttp://www.shop.uusc.org/http://www.shop.uusc.org/http://www.uusc.org/affiliatemailto:[email protected]


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3

voices o UUSC partners are heard by

policy makers. You create pressureor corporate and legislative policy

changes that will have an eect on

peoples daily lives. As individuals,

you speak up when you eat out, teachothers about what a just recovery inHaiti looks like, promote the human

right to water, and advocate or

asylum seekers.

And you also come together

to take action collectively withyour amilies, your riends, your

communities, your congregations.Tis commitment to collective action

or social justice is critical or social

change. In the words o Aesop, Inunion there is strength. When you

engage others, incite their excitement,

entice them to take action, and

empower their leadership, you areactively making positive change and

bringing the world closer to a shared

vision o justice.

UUSC aims to provide you with theinormation, resources, and support todo this work and to engage others in

your community to be the change

agent you want to be.

Check out UUSCs new action calendar,previewed on the ollowing pages and

available online at uusc.org/calendar.

Kara Smith is UUSCs associate orgrassroots mobilization.

A group o UU participants traveled to anzania and Burundi with the UU College o Social Justice.

Tey returned to their communities ready to engage in action or the human right to water.
http://www.uusc.org/calendarhttp://www.uusc.org/calendar


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4

UUSC Action CalendarYou are critical to social change! So how can you make a

dierence? Start planning how to integrate UUSCs social justice

work into your congregational and community activities using

this calendar.

August

Start planning or Guest at Your able details at uusc.org/planguest

Check out the upcoming year o service-learning trips with the UU College

o Social Justice at uucsj.org

September

Speak up or a air minimum wage on Labor Day (September 2) better

wages, better world!

Include the human right to water in your Water Communion service

Schedule aBehind the Kitchen Doorbook group

October Order UUSC holiday cards

Publicize your Guest at Your able program

November

Launch Guest at Your able with a worship service on Sunday, November 24

I you have an alternative git air, consign ethically sourced goods romUUSC

December

Celebrate International Human Rights Day on December 10

Choose compassionate consumption or your holiday shopping atshop.uusc.org

Sign up or 2014 UUCSJ service-learning trips

January

Commemorate the 2010 earthquake in Haiti by promoting relie modelsthat work

Refect on workers rights on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Start planning or Justice Sunday at uusc.org/justicesunday
http://www.uusc.org/planguesthttp://www.uucsj.org/http://www.shop.uusc.org/http://www.uusc.org/justicesundayhttp://www.uusc.org/justicesundayhttp://www.shop.uusc.org/http://www.uucsj.org/http://www.uusc.org/planguest


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5

This years major projects

February

Join others nationwide or live discussion with noted author (to be

announced) during UUSCs annual Get-ogether

Celebrate the World Day o Social Justice on February 20

Explore ethical eating and workers rights by signing up or UUCSJs Food

or Tought service-learning trip to Chicago

March

Bid or justice check out UUSCs online auction at uusc.org/auction

Celebrate women leaders on International Womens Day (March 8)

Learn about discrimination in water access in the United States on World

Water Day (March 22) Order Coming o Age jewelry gits or youth in your congregation

April

Conclude your Justice Sunday program with a worship service on April 6

Help UUSC ensure that Congress is supporting a just recovery in Haiti; visit

uusc.org/action

Celebrate Earth Day with products or sustainable living at shop.uusc.org

May

Celebrate your mom by supporting working mothers

Nominate someone you know or a UUSC social justice award

June

Visit UUSC at the UUA General Assembly in Providence, R.I.

Honor International Day in Support o Survivors and Victims o orture

(June 26)

July

Celebrate what a great year it has been putting your values into action with

UUSC!

Note: Tis calendar oers highlights o activities that UUSC is asking you to

engage in. All activities are subject to change.

ChooseCompassionateConsumption

Haiti JustRecovery

The HumanRight to Water
http://www.uusc.org/auctionhttp://www.uusc.org/actionhttp://www.shop.uusc.org/http://www.shop.uusc.org/http://www.uusc.org/actionhttp://www.uusc.org/auction


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6

Ending Food Insecurity, One Urban Tire Gardenat a Time

By Jessica L. Atcheson

I its not impossible, we will be able

to do it. Tat was the responseo our youths to Chavannes Jean-

Baptiste, ounder and leader o Haitis

Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP),

when he told them that it would be

dicult to bring tire gardens romthe countryside into Port-au-Prince.

Tey were right that they could do

it. Tey ormed the Bright Educators

o Delmas (known by its Haitianacronym, GEAD), and with UUSC

support, the our young leaders

embarked on an urban agriculture

pilot project that has had great success

and is poised or its next phase ogrowth.

Rural tire gardens created by the Papaye Peasant Movement, a UUSC partner.


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7

Tire gardens: the what and

the why

ire gardens, which GEAD discoveredat MPP headquarters during a

community organizing training, useold tires recycled into ecient home

garden planters. Te tires are turned

inside out; tted with a solid base;lled with a mixture o dirt, compost,

and sand; and raised up on stilts to

keep them out o reach o animals

(and to allow greater light exposure in

the city).People grow tomatoes, cabbage,

bell peppers, carrots, onions,

eggplant, and more; they harvest

seeds or uture planting and rotate

crops among the tire planters toensure greater soil productivity. Te

process uses organic arming methods,

avoiding the expense, potential

dangers, and environmental toll o

ertilizers and pesticides. And just vetire gardens can eed a amily o our

or a year.

Te concept o personal home

gardens in the city and in

the countryside carries greatsignicance in a country where ood

security is hard to nd. According to

the U.N. Oce or the Coordination

o Humanitarian Aairs, 6.7 o the

10 million people in Haiti donthave enough to eat or have access

to adequate nutrition. Its in this

context that MPP developed the tiregarden model to enable its members

to successully cultivate vegetables ortheir own consumption and to sell at

market.

Success in the city

GEAD was determined to introducethe concept in Port-au-Prince.

Ater MPP trained them in garden

construction and growing methods,GEAD worked with UUSC to bring

the gardens to 48 amilies in theDelmas neighborhood o Port-au-

Prince. Tey oered more than just

the raw materials, though. As Danielle

Neus, GEAD spokesperson, says, Its

not about just making the gardens,

its about training [the amilies] tounderstand how to eed themselves.

GEAD worked with the amilies to

plant the rst vegetables o the pilot

project in August 2012. Wendy Flick,manager o UUSCs Haiti Program,

reports, Tey have had unbelievable

success so ar. Families are growing

vegetables with enthusiasm, enjoyingready access to healthy ood, andspreading the word to their neighbors,

who are eager to join the movement.

Tis ts right into GEADs

vision, as explained by Coordinator

Emmanuel Exuma: GEADs dreamis to see the majority o people in

Port-au-Prince have the possibility onot buying vegetables in the market

anymore. Tey could just go pick the

vegetables in their garden.

Urban training center in

development

Tat vision means the rst 48 amilies

are just the beginning and it also

means that GEAD needs space togrow. On the horizon: construction

o a tire-garden training center in

the city. Neus breaks it down: Te

next step or GEAD is to have its own


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8

Te Bright Educators o Delmas introduced tire gardens

in the Delmas neighborhood o Port-au-Prince.

center so that we can train young

people not just train them so thatthey can go out and earn a living, but

put the ideas deep inside o them

so that they understand that they

have their part to play and that itsimportant.GEAD is currently identiying a

suitable piece o land or the center.

Te site will include a training

acility, model garden, storage or

tools and materials, and an area ormanuacturing their own compost,

which is currently being importedrom rural Papaye. One o the

groups GEAD plans to train once

the center opens is another UUSCpartner, Zanmi imoun, which works

with survivors o child slavery and

tracking to reintegrate them into

society.

Into the uture

Te connections that people ormmay be one o the greatest products o

this process aside rom the much-

needed ood. Tis is not lost on GEAD;in act, its key to their approach.

GEAD Secretary Guerna Salomonsays, Unity is everything. With union,

we can go urther. And they are

already on their way.

Neus refects on the uture: Te

dream is becoming a reality, but we

have much to do. Well need thesupport o a lot o people. Not just

to help us realize the center or even

to help us realize other tire gardens.

We need the support o all the youth worldwide because this is

something that concerns not just us

but everyone in the world.

Jessica L. Atcheson is UUSCs writer and

editor.


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9

In Their Own Words: Feeling the Energy oSupportAn interview with Kenel Antoine

Conducted by Jessica L. Atcheson

Kenel Antoine is a member o the May

Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society

in Syracuse, N.Y. He took part in a

February congregational service-learning

trip to Haiti with the UU College o Social

Justice (UUCSJ) and advocated or policy

change in Washington, D.C., during

UUSCs Haiti Lobby Day in April. UUSC

conducted this interview in June.

What motivated you to take part in a

UUCSJ service-learning trip to Haiti?

I have always been interested in Haiti,since I grew up there. I let Haiti just

ater I turned 20 to go to college.

My parents already lived outside o

the country. My amily had sueredunder the Duvalier dictatorship. One

o my uncles, who was a senator, was

arrested and disappeared. My goal

always was to go back to Haiti andwork, but I went to Mexico to studyand then transerred to the United

States. I landed in Syracuse, which is

where Ive been living or a long time.

But Ive always been interested in

progress in Haiti and helping.

What were the benefts o embarking

on the trip with ellow congregation

members?

It was a wonderul thing. Memberso my congregation showed so much

interest and enthusiasm. Its amazing

what we did as a group, and we have togive credit to a lot o olks or making

the trip possible. We had several car

washes, a bake sale, a undraising

luncheon eaturing Haitian dishes.

. . . Someone at the church came upwith a concept o doing a sort o

stock buy-in option or the trip to

Haiti: people put money in, and ater

the trip to Haiti, we hosted a dinner

or the donors so we could bring theexperience back to them. First UU in

Syracuse and May Memorial combined

our orces, and members rom both

churches went on that trip.

What did you learn on the ground

that you took back with you?

Many, many things. . . . Tis interview

continues online at uusc.org/kenel.

For more on UUCSJ congregational

service-learning trips, see page 10 and

visituucsj.org/congregations. For more

on UUSCs work in Haiti, visit

uusc.org/haiti.


editor.
http://www.uusc.org/kenelhttp://www.uucsj.org/congregationshttp://www.uusc.org/haitihttp://www.uusc.org/haitihttp://www.uucsj.org/congregationshttp://www.uusc.org/kenel


12/24

Deepening the JourneyCongregational service learning with UUCSJ

By Kathleen Mcigue

10

Service-learning journeys oeredby the UU College o SocialJustice (UUCSJ) are transormative

experiences, designed to help youdeepen your social justice work, no

matter where you live. But why not

consider bringing a whole group rom

your congregation along with you? Ia UUCSJ journey can transorm anindividual, imagine what it can do or

a congregation!

When a group travels together

rom a single congregation, members

have the benet o returning homewith others who have all shared in the

same powerul experience. Te processdeepens learning, spiritual refection,

and solidarity with partners. Te

collective experience also makes it

easier to share the journey with the

rest o the congregation and creates astrong oundation or discerning the

next steps or engagement.

A congregational grounding also

encourages a wider circle o peopleto join the journey by engagingwith the preparation materials,

holding the travelers in prayer

or mindul attention during the

journey, and receiving them back

into the community on their return.Tis process can help the entire

congregation gain clarity on newdirections or social justice work.

BorderLinks Immigration Justice in MexicoChiapas: December 411, 2013 (register by September 22, 2013)

Seminarian Program: March 2229, 2014 (register by January 5, 2014)

Sustainable Futures: May 2430, 2014 (register by March 16, 2014)

Haiti Just RecoveryJanuary 25February 1, 2014 (register by November 17, 2013)March 1522, 2014 (register by January 5, 2014)

May 1017, 2014 (register by March 2, 2014)

Register today at uucsj.org.

Upcoming Journeys
http://www.uucsj.org/http://www.uucsj.org/


13/24

11

Beginning this all, all UUCSJ

service-learning trips will be groundedin the new UUCSJ Curriculum or

Cross-Cultural Engagement. Tis

curriculum helps participants

understand the powerul, rsthandexperience o their journey within thebroader context o racial and economic

justice. It is designed or use not only

by those traveling with UUCSJ but

also by learning circles within their

home communities. Congregations,dedicated as they are to living the

values o UU aith in the work ojustice, are an ideal setting or these

circles.

I your congregation is alreadyengaged in issues like immigration

rights, economic justice, and

compassionate consumption, taking

a journey together will bring you new

insights and commitment to thiswork. Likewise, i you are seeking new

directions or your congregations

social justice program, joining aUUCSJ journey as a congregational

delegation can provide exactly the

guidance and inspiration youre

looking or.o encourage congregationalgroups to take part, UUCSJ oers

a ve percent discount or all

participants when three or more

people rom one congregation travel

together on a journey. UUCSJ stronglyencourages congregations to support

those traveling on their behal byholding undraisers, donating the

Sunday plate oering, and inviting

members to sponsor a traveler.

Kathleen Mcigue is the director o the

UU College o Social Justice. For more

inormation on UUCSJ congregational

journeys, visit uucsj.org/congregations.

BorderLinks in Mexico

Haiti Just Recovery

UU Holdeen India
http://www.uucsj.org/congregationshttp://www.uucsj.org/congregations


14/24

12

Order Up: Living WagesTime to raise the minimum wage

By Ariel Jacobson

he U.S. wage gap has turnedinto o-the-chart inequality literally. A recent report by the U.N.International Labor Organization

noted that U.S. income inequality is

so high that it could not t on thesame chart as 25 other industrialized

nations. While the U.S. ederal

minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25per hour, the average chie executive

at one o the 500 biggest companiesmakes $28,767per day.

As the Let Justice Roll (LJR) living

wage coalition, o which UUSC is a

part, puts it, A job should keep you

out o poverty, not keep you in it. Yet,

a ull-time worker making minimumwage earns an annual salary thats

just $15,080 $3,000 lower than the

poverty level or a amily o three. And

dont orget that the current ederalminimum wage or tipped employees

71 percent o them women has

been stuck at just $2.13 per hour since

1991. Bottom line: its time to raise theminimum wage; its a moral imperative.

Origins o minimum wage

Te Commonwealth o Massachusetts

established the rst minimum wagelaw 101 years ago as more women

and children entered the workorce.Te 1912 report o the Massachusetts

Commission on Minimum Wage

Boards stated that it was parasitic tocompensate workers at a level less than

the cost o living. Tis law set the stage

or additional state minimum wage

laws.

wo years later, Henry Ford morethan doubled the pay o autoworkers

in his actories. Te increase to

ve dollars per day gave them the

highest wages in the industry. While

other industrialists scoed at Fordor raising his production costs, he


15/24

13

believed that his policy would reduce

turnover and associated costs. Whenit did just that, other companies

ollowed suit.

Ultimately, it took the eorts o

Secretary o Labor Frances Perkinsto institute a ederal minimum wageas part o the Fair Labor Standards

Act in 1938. All o this began the

solidication o a strong middle class.

Worker productivity increased, and

amilies could not only aord thebasics but also realize the American

dream o home ownership and a goodeducation. Tat sadly hasnt lasted.

Declining purchasing power

As ar back as 1956, the minimum

wage had more buying power than it

has today. Its peak value in 1968 would

be worth $10.69 in todays dollars. AsHolly Sklar, LJR director, notes, I thevalue o the minimum wage had not

allen since 1968, Walmarts wages, or

example, would be closer to Costco,

which pays starting wages o $11 and

has the lowest employee turnover inretail, doesnt need to spend money

on advertising, and outperorms

Walmart.

In 1968, Rev. Martin Luther

King Jr. told sanitation workers inMemphis, It is criminal to have

people working on a ull-time basis

and a ull-time job getting part-time

income. He said, We are tired o

working our hands o and laboringevery day and not even making a wage

adequate with daily basic necessities

o lie. Te real value o the minimum

wage is less now than it was when

King spoke those prophetic words.

Raising the wage in hard

economic times

One o the most common objections toincreasing the minimum wage is that

it will cause unemployment. Rigorousempirical studies o actual minimum

wage increases show they do not cause

job losses, whether during periods oeconomic growth or recession.

Opponents o the minimum

wage also cite small businesses as

the potential victims o an increase.

However, a poll by the Small BusinessMajority ound that 67 percent o small

business owners support increasing the

ederal minimum wage and adjusting it

yearly to keep up with the cost o living.

Moreover, the majority o Americaslowest-paid workers are employed by

large corporations with more than 100

employees, not small businesses.

Consider, too, that 70 percent o

the economy is made up o consumerspending. Low-wage workers recycle

their dollars back into the local

economy. As Sklar points out, When

the minimum wage is too low, it

not only impoverishes workers, itundermines the consumer purchasing

power needed or a vibrant economy.

Making a dierence or

amilies

Each dollar increase per hour means

about $2,000 more a year or workersstruggling to support themselves and

their amilies. Te Fair Minimum Wage

Act o 2013 would generate a raise or

more than 30 million workers plusmore than $32 billion in new economic

activity by 2015.


16/24

14

Poverty and wage inequality are

the moral economic issues o our time.

A Pew Research Center opinion poll

ound that 71 percent o Americans

support an increase in the minimumwage but this wont happen unless

we raise our voices.

Ariel Jacobson is manager o UUSCs

Economic Justice Program. Tis article

is dedicated to the late Dick Campbell,

ormer UUSC senior associate or media

and public aairs, who was a championor economic justice and the minimum

wage.

Read the ull statement by UUSC President BillSchulz and UUA President Peter Morales andadd your signature at uusc.org/minwage.

It is time to insist that everyone share

in corporate success, not just a handulo executives. As people o aith, we

believe in the inherent worth and

dignity o every person, and raising the

minimum wage is vital in ensuring that

dignity.

Take a Stand on Minimum Wage
http://www.uusc.org/minwagehttp://www.uusc.org/minwage


17/24

Stewardship Circle Celebrates Growth atAnnual Retreat

By Maxine Neil

15

UUSCs Stewardship Circle (SC)is relatively young just ouryears old but is growing by leaps

and bounds. Tis was evident in the

attendance o 70 people at this years

retreat, held in San Francisco in May up rom six at the retreat three years

ago.SC members, who make annual

contributions o $5,000 or more, joined

together with UUSC sta to connectwith one another, engage with our

partners, and provide eedback and

guidance on UUCS intiatives.

Participants discussed UUSC

branding with CommunicationsDirector Paul witchell and

constituent engagement plans

with Rev. Brock Leach, UUSCs vicepresident o mission, strategy, and

innovation. Tey also heard rom

partners Ana Aguayo o Northwest

Arkansas Workers Justice Center,

Simon Sangale Ole Nasieku o theKenya National Alliance o Street

Vendors and Inormal raders, andrepresentatives o the Community

Water Center o Caliornia.

Maxine Neil is UUSCs director o

institutional advancement. o learn

more about the Stewardship Circle,

please contact her at 617-301-4313 or

[email protected].

Stewardship Circle members meet in the Bay Area.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


18/24

16

Human Rights at Home and in YourCongregation

By Lauralyn Smith

Suggested date for Guest at Your Table opening service:

November 24

Mark Your Calendars

Have you met George Friday,Malya Villard-Appolon, DanielleNeus, and Nelson Escobar? Get ready

to welcome these UUSC partners

through their personal stories o hope

into your homes, congregations,

and hearts this all as part o Guest at

Your able.An important annual tradition

in many UU congregations, Guest at

Your able is an intergenerational

program to raise awareness o andsupport or UUSCs human rights

work. In addition to its perennial

ocus on how UUSC and its members

empower UUSC partners to achievetheir goals, this years Guest at Yourable program oers some exciting

new eatures.

Starting in September, Guest

at Your able will oer dynamicnew tools or you to engage with

the program online and help raise

essential unds to advance human

rights with UUSC. Youll have access

to a personalized web page or

your congregations program wheremembers and amilies can pledge,

track team pages, and watch the

program unold together.

Organized by UUSC localrepresentatives and volunteer

coordinators, Guest at Your able

provides a rich opportunity or

amilies and congregations tointegrate deeper discussions aboutsocial justice into congregational

lie. Each year, Guest at Your able

Guestat

Your Table


19/24

17

empowers participants, connects

shared principles to action andeducation, and helps people join hands

with UUSC partners to challenge

injustice throughout the world. o

support the program, UUSC providesa host o resources including reeposters and Stories o Hope booklets

or worship, religious education, and

related congregational activities.

Guest at Your able has been an

important part o UUSC and UUculture since 1975. And this year,

leading up to the 40th anniversary oGuest at Your able in 2015, UUSC

is conducting a special contest. You

wont want to miss it the winningcongregation will receive a sermon

written and delivered in person by

Rev. Bill Schulz, UUSCs president

and CEO! Watch uusc.org/guest or

more inormation about this excitingcommemorative event.

Not sure i your congregation is

taking part in Guest at Your able?Contact your UUSC local rep to

nd out, and learn how you can

participate and support the program.

Local reps there are more than600 o them throughout the country are part o the UUSC National

Volunteer Network, and they serve as

congregational liaisons with UUSC.

Consider getting involved and helping

coordinate Guest at Your able at yourcongregation this year!

Lauralyn Smith is UUSCs senior

associate or member development. Formore on Guest at Your able, visit

uusc.org/guest, e-mail

[email protected], or call

617-301-4366.

Guests at your table (clockwise rom upper let): Danielle Neus, Bright Educators o Delmas; George Friday, Bill o RightsDeense Committee; Nelson Escobar, Northwest Arkansas Workers Justice Center; Malya Villard-Appolon, Commission o

Women Victims or Victims
http://www.uusc.org/guesthttp://www.uusc.org/guestmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.uusc.org/guesthttp://www.uusc.org/guest


20/24

Announcing the Vivienn Fosman Fund orthe Fulfllment o Girls

By Rita Butterfeld

18

Arequent visitor to the UUcongregation in Marin, Cali.,Vivienn Fosman was Jewish but was

inspired by Unitarian Universalism,

especially UUs social activism. When

she passed away, her daughter BarbaraMeislin known aectionately as the

Purple Lady o iburon was looking

or a way to honor her. Meislins

philanthropy, activism, love o lie,

and commitment to peace and justice

were shaped by her much belovedmother, so she chose a named und

at UUSC as the perect way to honor

Fosmans memory.

Te Vivienn Fosman Fund orthe Fulllment o Girls will support

UUSCs work against human

tracking. For example, UUSC

partners with Rock Women Group(RWG), a coalition o teachersthat works to stop child labor and

human tracking in disadvantaged

neighborhoods o Nairobi, Kenya.

RWG addresses the underlying causes

o these problems by providing skillstraining or women and at-risk youth

so they can secure jobs or establishtheir own businesses. Additionally,

RWG organizes community

discussions, promotes lie skills,

provides legal training, and advocates

or policy change.Te Vivienn Fosman Fund or the

Fulllment o Girls will help RWG and

other UUSC partners continue and

expand this work to keep girls sae so

that they can ulll their potential and

live their lives with dignity. Te PurpleLady invites others to join this work

by making a contribution to the und.

Creating a named und to support the

work o UUSC is a unique way or riends

and amily to honor the contributions and

lives o loved ones who have passed away.

o learn more, please contact MaxineNeil, UUSCs director o institutional

advancement, at 617-301-4313 or

[email protected].

Rita Butterfeld is UUSCs senior

associate or major gits on the West

Coast.

Rock Women Group
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


21/24

19

Drones are used or many things military strikes, disasterresponse, measurement o crop

growth, poacher tracking. But manyAmericans dont know that drones are

increasingly being used in domesticsurveillance. Te Bill o Rights

Deense Committee (BORDC), a UUSC

partner, is bringing that to light,though, and giving activists the tools

to protect their communities.

Te use o drones in domestic

surveillance is still so new and

rapidly growing that regulation andprotection lag ar behind. According

to Shahid Buttar, BORDCs executive

director, Because the legal landscape

governing drones is essentially barren,

law enorcement agencies around thecountry are currently making policy to

suit their interests.

Democracy vs. DronesBy Martha Tompson

Shahid Buttar

Drones are set up in such a way

that limited surveillance is impossible

all inormation registered romtakeo to touchdown is recorded, and

there are no restrictions on how that

inormation might be used in court.

Currently law enorcement can use

inormation obtained rom droneswithout a warrant.

BORDC has created tools,

including two model pieces o local

legislation, or activists to limit the

use o drones in domestic surveillanceo their communities. One model

ordinance creates a drone-ree zone,

and the other lays out rigorousrequirements that limit their use bylaw enorcement agencies.

Buttar emphasizes the importance

o grassroots involvement on this

issue: We live in a constitutional

republic, meaning that We thePeople hold the opportunity and

responsibility to petition our localrepresentatives or legal protections.

BORDCs new legislation is the rst o

its kind, and it oers people a uniquechance to use grassroots democracy to

uphold civil rights.

Martha Tompson is manager o UUSCs

Rights in Humanitarian Crises Program.For more inormation on UUSCs work

with BORDC, visit uusc.org/bordc.
http://www.uusc.org/bordchttp://www.uusc.org/bordc


22/24

One o UUSCs most valuableassets comes in the ormo people power: the National

Volunteer Network. Engaging ellow

congregation members in UUSCs

work, these volunteers gain personal

growth and development whilehelping UUSC thrive.

Te mainstay o the Volunteer

Network is the local representative,

20

Blue Lining and the Human Right to WaterBy Jessica L. Atcheson

Youve probably heard o redlining:discrimination in housing,nancial services, and insurance that

historically excluded people o color

rom certain neighborhoods. But

have you heard o blue lining? As

Patricia Jones, manager o UUSCsEnvironmental Justice Program,

explains: similar discrimination,

dierent basic need. Tis time its

the human right to water that people

are being denied based on their classbackground or the color o their skin.

And its happening in the United

States.While this has been true or years,

the problem received internationalattention in 2011 when Catarina de

Albuquerque, the U.N. independent

expert on the human right to sae

drinking water and sanitation,

delivered a report to the U.N. Human

Rights Council. Her ndings: despite

widespread access to water andsanitation in the United States,

discrimination in services leaves too

many marginalized communities

without. As the report states, Te

people with whom the independentexpert met and who are acing

obstacles in their enjoyment o the

rights to water and sanitation were

disproportionately Black, Latino,

American Indian, homeless, orotherwise disadvantaged.

Te independent experts report

cites a study done by MassachusettsGlobal Action (MGA), with support

rom UUSC, that revealed thediscriminatory impact o Boston

water shuto policies. In Te Color o

Water: Getting Boston to Recognize the

Human Right to Water, MGA ound

that there is considerable inequality

Patricia Jones (right), UUSCs expert on the human right to water.


23/24

21

across neighborhoods that refects

long running patterns based on colorand income. For every one percent

increase in the population o people

o color in a ward, there is a ourold

increase in threatened water shutos.Tis is not an isolated occurrence.Related examples can be ound

throughout the country in a variety

o settings inner cities, rural areas,

agricultural hubs, Native American

reservations. In Zanesville, Ohio,public and private utilities excluded

low-income communities o colorrom water services or more than 50

years. In Caliornias ulare County,

the Community Water Center, a UUSCpartner, will tell you that Seville

residents devote approximately 20

percent o their income (in a place

where median household income

is $14,000 a year) to water andsanitation. Why? Because their water

is contaminated with nitrates so

they pay not only or the unsae water

that comes out o their taps, but also

or the bottled water they must buyor clean drinking water and cooking.

UUSC is getting ready to dig deeper

into this issue by embarking on anambitious research project. As Jones

states, Te research will provide

an important expos into historic

discrimination in the sector at a timewhen decisions can potentially addressthis injustice. Te Georgetown Law

Human Rights Institute report apped

Out: Treats to the Human Right to

Water in the Urban United States puts it

well: Every person deserves access towater regardless o income, location,

or race. With a little eort, this rightis realizable in the United States.

For more on UUSCs work on the human

right to water, visituusc.org/righttowater.


editor.

Water rights activists in Caliornia
http://www.uusc.org/righttowaterhttp://www.uusc.org/righttowater


24/24

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