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POWER
STRUGGLE
John T. Crestwell, Jr.
May 4th 2003
Good morning friends.
It was my attempt to make you feel as if you were back in the sixties in
this service. I know many of you were very active in the struggles of that
time and I hope this service thus far has provided you time to reflect on
the highs and lows of that period in history—a very exciting and challenging
time.
I want to go back to the sixties now, during a very difficult time in our
UU history. It was 1965. Well, I wasn’t born yet so I might be making
this up! No, I have utilized the UUA’s archives to make sure the story
is accurate.
Okay. 1965. The Civil Rights movement was reaching its apex. Many had lived
and died for the cause of justice, so that Black people—all people
could have the rights that we are all entitled to. Many of you marched and
protested and wrote letters arguing to the powers that be why all humanity
deserves the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This same year a man named James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist, would go
to Selma to fight for the rights of African-Americans only to be killed
by a group of White men who hated the idea of integration. The call went
out and many of our ministers were inspired to get active in the struggle.
The Reeb tragedy was also the impetus for another idea that very nearly
tore our young Association apart.
By 1967, there was a new grassroots movement growing called the “Black
Power Movement”. It was supported by mostly Blacks along with many
liberal Caucasian Americans. What was this “Black Power Movement”?
It was essentially the antithesis to what many called “White Supremacy”
or “White Power”. The thought was African Americans lacked political
and economic power and as a result there was vast miseducation, misrepresentation
and oppression, which accounted for a 40% poverty rate in the Black community
at that time. Ignorance bred ignorance. And so, many like Stokley Carmichael
sought to create a nation within a nation of independent, self-governing
African Americans who could be separate but equal to White Americans. They
felt integration came too soon; that Blacks needed time to heal their historical
wounds.
In many ways, the Black Power Movement clashed with what Dr. King was attempting
to do with the nonviolent Civil Rights movement. I guess it was inevitable
that the idea of “Black Power” would reach our very liberal, open-minded
UU doors.
The UUA’s Commission on Religion and Race called a meeting in New York,
City to discuss issues relating to the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.
Many Blacks attended but because of the racial climate in America they were
not trusting of many of the White UU’s in the meeting. They grew disgruntled,
left the meeting and formed another group—The BUUC, Black Unitarian
Universalist Caucus. They developed a list of quote “non-negotiable
demands” to be submitted to the UUA Board of Trustees. They asked the
board to form the B.A.C., the Black Affairs Council, a group made up of
mostly Blacks, some were UU’s, most were community activists. They
created a list of demands that basically asked the UUA to give them $1-million
dollars over four years, $250,000 per year, to be used at their discretion
to change the financial and political scope of African Americans.
By the next General Assembly in 1968 in Cleveland, Ohio, it was time for
B.A.C. to state their case in full. But they met opposition by another group
bent on integration and not separation called the Black and White Alternative,
later change to Black and White Action (BAWA). The UUA faced many rough
days. Do we support a group of mostly African Americans who are right regarding
their economic and social oppression, or do we support this other group
who are preaching the “beloved community”?
B.A.C., I assume, was first in the door and so they left the GA having had
their proposal accepted. The vote was 836 to 326. During the course of the
year protests continued by the opposition who felt the UUA was breaking
their own principles by supporting a separatist group. Letters were written,
phone calls made, threats given. Many left the church. Add to this internal
financial problems by the UUA, and alleged accounting irregularities by
BAC, and by 1969, at the GA in Boston, the UUA could not continue its original
agreement with the Black Affairs Council. They revised the proposal to $1-million-dollars
over five years or $200,000 each year. They also gave $50,000 to the Black
and White Action organization. B.A.C decided to protest this move by asking
for a new agenda to be adopted at the GA, which excluded BAWA. They were
also extremely aggressive, protecting microphones not allowing others to
speak, and eventually by walking out of the General Assembly, some 200 to
300 African Americans, among others. Can you imagine the sight? Maybe some
of you were there?
This power struggle lasted another year and that is about it... By 1970,
the UU church was still in turmoil over this issue. You have some who were
sympathetic, even guilty over the plight of African Americans, while others
were equally sympathetic but wanting a synthesis to the “White Power”
and “Black Power” ideas. There were people who believed in the
utopian “beloved community”. But the B.A.C. folk felt that the
Black and White Action group attempted to nullify their power and thus B.A.C.
saw them as just another group organized to oppress Black people. BAWA saw
the dream of King where we could judge people by the content of their character
and not the color of their skin. One group said, “Here is life as it
is.” The other said, “Here is life as it should be.” Oh,
you can see the virtues and vices on both sides.
The UUA, formed in 1961, an infant among denominations, made a life decision.
They decided not to choose sides thus they pulled all funding for both groups.
Supposedly, after 1969, more than 1,000 African Americans left the UU Church.
Many Whites left too. All were disenfranchised and confused. All thought
they were doing the right thing. All were victims of time, place, and circumstance.
The question is, are there any lessons here? I’ll get to that. But
I am thinking right now that we, as an Association, are still reeling from
these events over 35 years ago. We have not reconciled this issue of race
in our denomination. African Americans make up just 1% of our numbers. In
the clergy there are only two active fellowshipped Black ministers. I have
been told that in the last ten years we have lost over fifteen African American
preachers. Some were let go, most left on their own. One might see this
and call us a racist church. I don’t believe that. Some may say that
we are “particular” and just may not fit the African American
religious psychology. I don’t know about that. Some may say we are
elitist and are a special interest group. Remember, we call ourselves the
“Free Church” as if everyone else is enslaved. I don’t know…
I think we, as UU’s, are like America. We are as wonderful as the promises
made in our constitution but our hidden fears have dimmed the lights that
we had hoped would illumine the minds of the world. And so, we still have
a ways to go—miles to go until we sleep.
So, what can we learn from this history lesson? First, there should not
be any such thing as race. For me, it is illusion made reality. It is overrated
and given too much credence. We are culturally different but biologically
we are 99.9% homoousios “of the same substance”. Now, I am not
naive. I know many judge others based on skin color, class, and culture.
We are all different in many ways from our complexion to personality but
when we say or act as if our skin color or something else gives us special
privileges or rights as individuals and a church, this is when we create
a false assumption. Many of you know my background is in advertising. We
would call this line of reasoning a “constructed mediated reality.”
Oppression is real. Miseducation and poverty are real too. Special attention
should continue to be given to minority groups who have been historically
underrepresented. Call it affirmative action if you will or call it something
else, but the breach must be repaired if we are to be truly equal and truly
free human beings.
Second, after dealing with the race issue, we can see clearly that people
are people. There are some who are like us, as UU’s, and others who
are not. But, if I am here in this church [Davies Memorial Unitarian Universalist
Church in Prince George's County, Camp Springs, Maryland], there are others
out there like me. And if you are here, there are others out there like
you. The problem with the Black Power Movement is that it focused on color
exclusively because it felt society was focused on color and therefore they
should be too. The Black and White Action group tried to show them an alternative
but they came off as arrogant and elitist. By seeking funding, the same
thing B.A.C. was doing, by going after money, the purity in their idea was
lost and could never be reconciled.
This UU history is telling us to move beyond race. The great martial artist
Bruce Lee, using Taoist principles, pointed to the sky saying to one of
his young students, “Don’t look at the finger or you will miss
all the heavenly glory.” If we focus on White or Black and not on the
WE, we miss the glory!
When you reach out to a community, you reach out to people, no matter the
color. Of course, we’re in Prince George’s County, so we have
a large melting pot of mostly African Americans, we all know that. So if
we reach out, we know we will reach many Blacks but also Hispanics, Asians,
Pacific Islanders, Caucasian Americans, this should not rattle us. The goal
is to reach out to people. That is keeping in line with UU principles. If
our faith is about recognizing and understanding people, then we must seek
diversity; we must seek pluralism. We learn more, we grow more when we fellowship
together. This is the beloved community. One of the major issues I have
with the Black Affairs Council and Black and White Action, is they ignored
the fact that Asians existed, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, and others.
Life was just Black and White. This is a fallacy, as we all know! This will
never allow the beloved community to become real in our midst. As King said
well, “There is little hope for us until we become tough-minded enough
to break loose from the shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and downright
ignorance."
When you decide to altruistically assist others, you do so in love not because
of a persons skin color. When you feed the hungry and clothe the naked,
you share with anyone who is in need! This is what I have learned from the
story. If I get too caught up in special interests, I lose the very essence
of what Unitarian Universalism stands for.
So, why am I here? Yes, I am an African American candidate for UU ministry,
but above that, I am a human being who seeks to live out his UU principles.
I am not here to be the voice of the Black race for Unitarian Universalism,
nor am I here to fill anybody’s quota. I chose to be UU because, quite
simply, I agreed with what we stand for. And that’s why you’re
here too. Correct?
We are here to promote justice and equity; we are here to be an advocate
for compassion in human relations; we are here to respect the worth and
dignity of all humanity; we are here to encourage free thinkers; we are
here to develop our own creed for life; we are here to create a sanctuary
for others and ourselves…
This is why we’re here. This is why you’re here. This is why I
am here.
“If I can help somebody as I pass along; if I can cheer somebody
with a word or song; if I can show somebody they’re traveling wrong—then
my living shall not be in vain!
If I can do my duty as a servant of humanity ought; and bring a message
of truth to world once wrought; and spread love's message like the Sages
taught—then my living—OUR LIVING, shall not be in vain!”
Thank you for your time this morning. Let it be so!
See John Crestwell's
review of the book "BLACK PIONEERS IN A
WHITE DENOMINATION"
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