Voices of the Black Experience

Deepening in Color: Voices of the Black Experience

A monthly, online dialog sponsored by UUCMC’s Racial Justice Task Force and Social Action Film Series with various guests sharing what it is like to be living as a Black person in America today.  Audience members are encouraged to ask questions and participate in the discussion.

February 20, 2022                                         Click here to view the video.

DEEP DIVE INTO REPARATIONS

This month we dove into the recent National Town Hall meeting on Reparations, organized by Institute for the Black World 21st Century (www.ibw21.org), with municipal, national and international reparations organizers, actor and activist Danny Glover, and Congress member Sheila Jackson Lee. Watch recording of the town hall: CLICK HERE

The discussion is hosted by the Social Justice Committee and moderated by Dr. Carol Penn (http://www.drcarolpenn.com) and Minister Kerwin Webb (https://www.kerwinwebb.com).

June 27, 2021                                                  Click here to view the video.

June’s program invited us to hear from a young adult embarking on a legal career at Harvard Law School this fall and to engage and address history. Tobi Omotoso will share his reflections and aspirations.
Lorraine Stone discussed the historical context of Juneteenth (June 19), which commemorates events in Texas at the end of the Civil War, where liberation was delayed for 2 years past the Emancipation Proclamation.

May 23, 2021                                                  Click here to view the video.

Inis Hennessy, Sondra Thompson, and Rev. Kerwin Webb share the history of Samuel ‘Mingo Jack’ Johnson, the victim of the only recorded lynching that took place in NJ.  They share how a memorial stone was placed for him in 2012 and the work that the New Jersey Social Justice Remembrance Coalition is doing in order to place a historical marker from the Equal Justice Initiative at the site of the lynching. They also share with us some of the history of racial terror that took place in Monmouth County and the roles that places like The Parker Family Clinic and Lunch Break had in bringing the community together.

April 25, 2021                                                  Click here to view the video.

A discussion about Bryan Stevenson’s documentary True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality with special guest Jennifer Lewinski. Jennifer shares her experience visiting The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and her work with the Asbury Park Transformative Justice Project. Dr. Carol Penn, moderator.

March 28, 2021                                               Click here to view the video.

A conversation with a young activist Amiri Tulloch and his work toward eliminating structural racism. Dr. Carol Penn, moderator.

February 21, 2021                                          Click here to view the video.

While this series is primarily about individual experiences with racism, this month we focused on Malcolm X, who has been much-maligned by the dominant (ie, white) narrative. However, his contributions to the struggle for racial justice in the US are significant. Dr. Carol Penn, moderator.

January 24, 2021                                            Click here to view the video.

While this series is primarily about individual experiences with racism, this month we focused on Malcolm X, who has been much-maligned by the dominant (ie, white) narrative. However, his contributions to the struggle for racial justice in the US are significant. Dr. Carol Penn, moderator.

December 6, 2020                                          Click here to view the video.

This month we hear further from Isis Ra and Gillian, along with actor, storyteller, and writer Lorraine Stone, all exploring the meaning of justice – through poetry, prose, music, song, and art.

Voices of Black Experience: Inspiring Us to Resist the New Jim Crow

In February 2017, UUCMC hosted a forum to learn about some of the injustices of the prison industrial complex and how we could help. Distinguished guests shared their stories with us.