Social Justice Committee, HUUC

Libby Earle, delegate, June 2023

Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly is where we all come together to do the business of the UUA and for community and renewal. There may be two GA experiences. One is like attending our Hopedale: community, nourishment, restorative.  The other is more like a contentious staff meeting: dearly held opinions, pressure to get work done and not much time for community building (although they try).  Unitarian Universalists have slogged through merger, expanding women’s place in UU, acknowledging in-house systemic racism, ableism, gender identity support and a lot of other issues and we keep on getting better at building Beloved Community… but golly it is work.  The Article II Commission was charged with some heavy work, as were the moderators and all the supporting staff and volunteers. We lift them up, for they were weary from the effort.

Actions of Immediate Witness
Please refer to the copies of the three accepted actions: Protect the Dreamers, Rise Up to Stop Cop City, and Organize for Health Equity. 

AIW: Protect the Dreamers, the Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) with a Pathway to Permanent Residence
Online reference, https://www.uua.org/files/2023-06/UUSJ%20AIW%20on%20DACA.pdf

This AIW calls us to continue to advocate for real Congregational action. We must not let opponents wear us down.

AIW: Rise Up to Stop Cop City
Online reference, https://www.uua.org/files/2023-06/Stop%20Cop%20City%20AIW.pdf

This proposed training facility in Atlanta is to occupy about 85 acres of forested land with extensive tree canopy on land that was originally planned to connect green spaces and is adjacent to and for the benefit of marginalized communities. The city has said the plan was a “nonbinding agreement” and is leasing the land to the Atlanta Police Foundation, an independent nonprofit which National Public Radio reports as being uniquely large and connected to influence and corporate money.

Activists have occupied the site and damaged equipment. A protestor was shot and killed by police who they say wounded an officer. The handgun used was linked to the protestor and “was in his possession” (how was not specified). Some protestors are being charged with domestic terrorism; a tactic intended to intimidate other protestors.

In addition to the environmental impacts and the social impacts on marginalized persons, this venue provides training to militarize police and promotes the acquisition of equipment designed for war which may explain the militant title of this AIW.

AIW: Organizing for Health Equity
Online reference, https://www.uua.org/files/2023-06/Health Equity AIW 2023.pdf

This AIW is best viewed as an approach to address intersectional issues and a call to form collaborative community (also national and international) interventions.  Our current health care system is a capitalist (in the most exploitative sense) for profit system.  One congregation cannot fix the system. What this AIW calls us to do is to commit to learning about the intersections and organizing to support initiatives that address building health equity. There are LOTS of issues and we must be aware that those who hold power will seek to divide us if we succumb to the “Oppression Olympics.”

Here’s a short list of health equity issues:

• Reproductive Justice (been an issue for black women forever)
• Rural health access
• Power of the pharmaceutical industry
• Erosion of Medicare by for profit middlemen… Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Medicare Advantage, ACO REACH Programs.
• States cutting Medicaid eligibility and other COVID related support programs.

Recommendations:

Please think about these AIWs. What is important to you? What do you want to do? Bring ideas to the Social Justice Committee that you are prepared to participate in implementing. 

Coming soon: The Business of the UUA General Assembly 2023 (Part 2)

On June 3, Libby, Liz and Hillary helped out at the Pride booth at Hamilton Pride. Libby had a wall-hanging at the Oxford Community Arts Center’s Pride Celebration. On June 24, UUs marched in the Cincinnati’s Pride Parade and the UU Council of Greater Cincinnati Festival, had a booth that welcomed everyone!

THANKS, THANKS and THANKS! to the Amazing Watering Crew!  As a result of these intrepid volunteers, I have been able to spend more time on other gardening activities and the vegetable and herb gardens are in great shape this year!  The pollinator gardens are also improving due to the volunteers on workdays!  The north side of the building landscaping is nearly finished.
 
Vegetables that are growing nicely include tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, okra, beets, salad greens, carrots, radishes, zucchini and yellow summer squash.  Let me know if you are interested in anything and I will let you know when things are ready. 
 
Sage, dill and oregano can be picked any time and garlic will be ready to dig soon.  We will have LOTS of garlic to give away*!  The basil and rosemary are coming along nicely, and small quantities can be picked. 
 
*Note: I have started to peel my garlic when it is first picked and put it (loose) in small bags in the freezer.  Then when I need some, I just grab as many cloves as I need and to put into what I am cooking. Easier than drying and saving it.
 
Hopedale Birdhouses
Hopedale has been popular with the birds this summer.  The birdhouse in the upper parking lot fledges 5 bluebirds in late May. As soon as they left a pair of tree swallows took over that site and laid eggs. We are not sure how many, as the mother bird does not fly off when we open the birdhouse so we can’t see what is under her. I can’t get my hand in to lift her up and look. But we have enjoyed watching the pair fly around the parking lot catching insects! They are very beautiful birds! The babies have surely hatched by now and during our June 24 workday it looked like the parents were trying to get them to come out, so they will probably be gone by the time this newsletter comes out. 
 
The other birdhouse is the upper parking lot has a nest but no eggs. There was a bluebird hanging around there a few weeks ago, but maybe they changed their mind and built somewhere else. The birdhouse in the vegetable garden has a bluebird nest, and the babies hatched about June 22. They are growing fast and will fledge in about 3 weeks.
 
A pair of Phoebes tried to nest over a window on the north side of the building, but the ledge was too narrow, and they gave up! We added a small shelf in case they want to try again. They like to nest around people. You can recognize them by the way they flip their tail when sitting on a branch. Otherwise, they are just smallish brown birds without any special markings!
 
ENVIRONMENTAL NOTES:  Lots of environmental issues and related legislation and lawsuits going on. Check on-line for updates. Two good places to learn about issues are:
 
GEO = Green Energy Ohio. They have a list of solar companies that signed an ethics pledge.  They have a monthly book club that meets via Zoom.
 
OEC = Oho Environmental Council.  Current projects include Ohio River restoration, HB507 Issue #1 and the August election, and reducing logging in Ohio forests.  The Ohio River was recently in the news as one of the most impaired rivers in the U.S.
 
Our friends at Interfaith Power & Light said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new federal limits on climate pollution from power plants. This means we will have yet another tool to help address the climate crisis! To find out more follow this link, https://tinyurl.com/3au6rfav. Show your support, as a person of faith and conscience, to cut climate pollution to protect our communities, our Earth, and our future.”

-Peggy B.

There will be a chance to vote for “one person=one vote” during the upcoming special election of August 8, 2023. The last-minute passage of HJR1/SJR2(Now Issue 1) by state legislators was a set-back for the principle of “one person = one vote! But there is another chance! It still has to be passed at the August Special Election. So it’s REALLY important that people vote then!

In addition to changing the passage requirement from 50% to 60%, Issue 1 will increase the signature requirement for citizen-initiated ballot initiatives from 44 counties to all 88 counties. Requiring signatures from all 88 counties allows one county to prevent the rest of the state from having an opportunity to vote on an issue. Citizen initiatives to stop gerrymandering in Ohio, support responsible environmental policies or fix public school funding etc., will be nearly impossible to put on the ballot if Issue 1 passes in August. An article in the Oxford Press of May 14 by the League of Women voters gave a good description of this proposal from the General Assembly.

Save the date of August 8 to vote. Or better yet, vote early starting July 11 ! You can request a mail in-ballot now.

Hopedale’s Second Sunday Collection in May for Reproductive Rights in Ohio brought in over $500!  The money will be split between Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights. Thank you so much for your part in helping to defeat the efforts of Statehouse extremists.

The Social Justice Committee, HUUC, works to promote the values of the Green Sanctuary and the Welcoming Congregation. Our interests include, but are not limited to:

• Climate and Environmental Justice         
• Democracy and Electoral Justice
• Decriminalization                                           
• Economic Justice
• Ethical Eating                                                  
• Immigration
• LGBTIQ+ & Gender Justice                           
• Reproductive Justice

The Social Justice Committee, HUUC, meets monthly on the 2nd Thursdays, 7:00 pm usually via Zoom. Contact Liz Woedl, Chair, for the Zoom link if you’d like to attend, liz.woedl@gmail.com. We welcome new participants! You can find more information about our activities at https://huucsj.org/.

Upcoming Dates:

•Sat, June 3- Hamilton Pride. We’ll be helping at the PFLAG booth, 1 – 3:30pm.
• Fri, June 9- Pride Celebration. Oxford Community Arts Center. PFLAG will have a table at the 2nd Friday event. Artists’ reception inside the OCAC at 6:00 pm. Then, PanVibe Jazz Quartet concert outside at the Pavilion, 7:30 pm. 
• Wed-Sun, Jun 21-25 – UUA General Assembly, Pittsburgh or Zoom.
• Sat, Jun 24- Pride Parade and Festival, UU Council of Greater Cincinnati will have a booth.

Our Second Sunday Collection on May 14: Reproduction Rights
Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights are the organizations planning a ballot issue in 2023 that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Now the anti-choice majority in the Ohio legislature is planning to replace the 50% + votes needed to pass a ballot issue with a 60% + requirement! Let’s help these organizations beat the extremists in the Statehouse. For more information go to:
https://ohioansforreproductivefreedom.org/about-us/ & https://ohioreprorights.org/about-us.

To donate for the Second Sunday collection, make checks payable to “HUUC” and put “Freedom” in the memo space. Donations can be placed in the rainbow basket on May 14^th or sent to the Hopedale Treasurers.

Issues on the Ballot at the Ohio Legislature
The Ohio Representatives and Senators may have a gerrymandered advantage to bully higher education, but college students, university faculty and staff, and advocates ae turning out to voice concern over how SB 83 will force authoritative state laws that threaten freedom and diversity on college campuses. Go to: https://tinyurl.com/2bbmvsuu.

There is so much going on. To better keep an eye on what’s going on in the Legislature, set up notifications of your favorite issue at: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/authentication/create-account.

Upcoming Social Justice Dates (denominational events in bold)

Thursday, May 11 HUUC Social Justice Zoom meeting 7:00 (contact Liz Woedl for link)

Saturday, May 13 UU Council of Greater Cincinnati Meeting, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Thursday, May 17 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia.

Thursday, May 17 PFLAG Community Meeting, 6:00 pm at Lane Library (Legal Takes with Scott Knox, attorney)

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia is observed on May 17. It aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations, and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. Phobia refers to fear of something. People tend to be more fearful when they lack knowledge, experience or a relationship with someone or something. Thus, raising awareness of the humanity of all people, and the importance of acknowledging everyone’s dignity as someone who is straight, homosexual, gay, lesbian, pansexual, asexual, bisexual, cisgender, nonbinary, or transgender is important.

Commemorations have taken place in over 130 countries. Observance is necessary because, as of 2019, 69 countries criminalized same-sex relationships. Also, in 26 countries, transgender individuals are subjected to punishments, and they are disproportionately at risk of violence across the globe. In 2021, United States president Joe Biden used IDAHOBIT to highlight efforts to alleviate LGBTQIA+ discrimination and to call on Congress to pass the Equality Act.

The founders of the International Day Against Homophobia, as it was originally known, established the IDAHO Committee to coordinate grass-roots actions in different countries, to promote the day and to lobby for official recognition on May 17. That date was chosen to commemorate the decision to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1990. -A. Fuehrer

Each March 31 for the last 15 years, we have recognized International Transgender Day of Visibility. The day is dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as a celebration of their contributions to societies. The day was founded by transgender activist Rachel Crandall of Michigan as a reaction to the lack of LGBTQ+ recognition of transgender people, citing the frustration that the only well-known transgender-centered day was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, observed on November 20 each year. That day mourns the murders of transgender people, but does not acknowledge and celebrate living members of the community. Day of Visibility isspearheaded by the U.S.-based youth advocacy organization Trans Student Educational Resources.

​Our local chapter of PFLAG, Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays, is putting together directories of local resources for parents of transgender youth, who are particularly targeted, and who need affirming medical, mental health, and educational services.  Transgender youth are overrepresented among youth who cannot live at home, who are living independently and, unfortunately, overrepresented among people who are homeless.  We who believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people have responsibility for communicating our desires to national representatives.  A Transgender Bill of Rights resolution will be introduced next week by Rep. Pramila Jayapal from the state of Washington, who is Co-Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus’s Transgender Equality Task Force. You can make a positive statement ahead of Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) on Friday.  Thank you.

-A. Fuehrer

Reducing Carbon Emissions

Several newer federal laws (especially the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA) include programs to help homeowners and others reduce their own carbon dioxide emissions in response to the climate crisis. If you are considering even smaller household changes, such as getting new appliances, new windows, insulation, as well as my favorite, rooftop solar, it is worth your time to look at these. Some of the tax rebates are for 30% of the purchase price  –  a significant amount of money. In addition to rebates for individuals, there are also block grants to states and local governments and non-profits.  Some of these are still in the process of being rolled out. 
 
Here are some resources to help get you started:
From the New York Times, an interactive guide to the IRA
From Rewiring America, a downloadable guide to everything IRA
From Natural Resources Defense Council, a Consumer Guide to the IRA
https://www.energystar.gov/about/federal_tax_credits

The House Bill 6 Trial
 
There have been very interesting reports in some local papers about the ongoing trial in Cincinnati of Larry Householder, former speaker of the Ohio House, who is charged with racketeering involving a $60 million bribe for pushing through House Bill 6 in 2018. HB 6 is the law that collects $80,000 every day in electric surcharges on consumers’ bills to subsidize two obsolete coal-fired power plants left over from the 1950s.  The nuclear bail-out portion was repealed, but the rest is still in effect. 
 
Apparently one of the ways that bribery money was used was to buy those sinister ads in the summer of 2019 warning people that China was trying to take over the Ohio Electric grid by circulating ballot petitions. It worked, because the effort to put HB6 on the ballot for voters to decide did not get enough signatures. Signature collectors were also harassed and paid to stop work. So you never got a chance to vote on HB 6.
 
For more information, Common Cause has a YouTube video. It is worth watching if you have any interest in legislative shenanigans!  The recording of the program,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9L2jL96D_I&t=8s.
 
If you are part of the Oxford Electric Aggregation program (as most of us in Oxford are!) it is worth noting that our electricity provider is Energy Harbor. After the bad publicity surrounding the HB 6 scandal, First Energy reorganized and became Energy Harbor! So all this hits very close to home! The contract is up for renewal in the near future.

-P. Branstrator

Our Second Sunday collection on March 12:  Oxford Area PFLAG – Liz Woedl The Oxford Area PFLAG serves the community through education, support and advocacy for families, allies, and people LGBTQ+. Visit: https://oxfordareapflag.org/ for more information. To donate, please make checks payable to “HUUC” (with “PFLAG” in the memo line), and place contributions in the “rainbow basket” on March 12 or send them to the Hopedale Treasurers.   Update on Issues Relating to Actions of Immediate Witness  -Libby Earle   We Do Not Consent:  Rejecting Legal Challenges to Abortion Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights recently announced that they are putting final touches on a ballot issue in 2023 that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. They have described it as similar to the abortion rights measure voters approved in Michigan last November. There will be opposition, and the threat of the legislature adopting the 60-percent-in-every-county rule for citizen ballot initiatives. Get your clip boards ready! For more information about the proposed amendment go to https://tinyurl.com/256d82ah.   Stop the Privatization of Medicare  Previously we have written of the threat to traditional Medicare posed by the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (REACH) program, acting as administrators of Medicare funds. Physicians for a National Health Plan announced that REACH is capping the number of participating entities. But organizations with histories of dubious insurance practices already have been accepted as intermediaries.  For more information go to:  https://tinyurl.com/3cp2ask5.