My process, in addition to developing curricula and content, is to create the space for reflection and learning to occur.
Most of my social justice work has been through my Unitarian Universalist connections. I serve as a co-organizer with the Building Freedom Alliance, a group of people organizing to build allyship for returning citizens and their families. As allies, we take the lead from those most impacted by the criminal justice system, offering support, voice when asked, and connections when needed. The partner group with Building Freedom Alliance is Building Freedom Ohio, a community organizing group made up of returning citizens. Both of these projects operate under the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. Contact me if you want more information!
I also serve on the LEAD (Leaders for Equality and Action in Dayton) Board as Treasurer. LEAD has focused on justice in Dayton for over 25 years. Current initiatives include early childhood development equity and immigration equity.
Most recently I co-facilitated the Miami Valley Votes collaborative. We were a loose collaboration among people who cared about registering voters, educating voters, and getting out the vote. Partners included the NAACP, League of Women Voters, UUJO (UU Justice Ohio), Ohio Votes, Common Cause and others. The Miami Valley collaborative brought the statewide work to a local level.
Part of social justice work includes education. I have facilitated many educational efforts on justice issues, including anti-racism, white supremacy culture, criminal justice, immigration, poverty, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and more. My process, in addition to developing curricula and content, is to create the space for reflection and learning to occur.
I was lucky enough to be in Chicago for the 2017 Women’s March. The power of a march that connected all that I cared about through women’s rights and actions that was not a beginning for me, but it was certainly a resurrection. I have been aware of gender disparities from an early age, and for too long thought the change had to come from me doing as well as men in everything I did. I have since learned that the different pay structures, employment positions, and opportunities women have experienced is systemic, not because of individual women’s abilities. That said, women have unique needs and face traumas in our lives that require healing and attention. Women’s issues range from domestic violence to environmental justice. Let me know if you would like me to speak about women’s rights, gender equity, or reproductive justice.
I have lived a life with many privileges because of my race and class. I know how privileged I am and how unfair that is. Oppression based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, class, ethnicity is clearer to me all the time. I see it everywhere, and personally feel gender and age discrimination sometimes. One way to combat these oppressions is to unlearn the prejudices that those of us who are in the dominant groups hold: white, middle class, heterosexual, cisgender, or temporarily able-bodied. We must also work to dismantle the systems that perpetuate these oppressions. I have worked with white groups to understand white privilege, middle-class groups to understand class privilege, and cisgender or heterosexual groups to understand gender and attraction privilege. It all comes down to creating what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called the Beloved Community, namely a world in which we can share wealth and replace prejudice and injustice with love and trust. It is a tall order, one that I work on every day. Care to work on it with me?
I have a good friend who had been incarcerated. I knew them as a friend for several years before I learned about their background. That relationship enabled me to see a person, a friend, not someone who had a felony record. Anyone might have a felony record, but they are more than the worst thing they’ve done, to quote civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson. Bryan Stevenson asks us to see the whole of the person and to find ways to take actions on injustices in the world, especially in the criminal legal system. The challenges faced by my friend struck me. Having done time, they struggled to live a full and open life. The barriers, or collateral sanctions, were many. I decided to throw myself into work to reform these structures. If you are interested in joining me, please reach out. There are many, many ways to get involved from direct service through reforms in our systems.
Circles of Spirit will co-create a community of peer and mentor support for creative spiritual practice on life, self, relationship and community. Circles build a sense of resilience and wholeness in the face of barriers to reentry.