Justice
“Justice is what LOVE looks like in public.” ~ Cornel West
Banned Book READOUT
Sunday, April 21st, 2024 from 2:30 to 4:00 PM
Gainesville City Hall Plaza, 200 E University Avenue on the open-air plaza in front of City Hall
Best-selling author, Lauren Groff, UF Professor and Author Paul Ortiz, civil rights pioneer Dan Harmeling, and other local celebrities will read from banned books of their choosing.
There will be musical interludes performed by Kali Blount and acapella women’s group Resonance between readings.
Banned books will be given away by the event sponsors in the banned books tent on site. There will be a sponsor’s table where you can get to know the event’s sponsors better.
The venue is a lovely outdoor plaza facing City Hall. Please bring folding chairs, hats, water, and umbrellas. In case of light or intermittent rain, we will move onto the covered porch.
Book banning in our schools denies our children the right to access books with characters that look and act like them. It cuts them off from future opportunities in the larger world by not providing examples in stories of who they can be.
It also narrows our public discourse and is a form of censorship for everyone. By gradually removing access to information and ideas it is a step on the road to authoritarianism.
Our banned book readout is a step in the other direction. When we read banned books, we un-ban them for ourselves. When we read them aloud, we un-ban them for everyone who listens.
Contact Mary Bahr at 352-262-3857 for more information. If you would like to become a sponsor please email kmlisle.mary@gmail.com.
Serve the Community
At the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville we help one another, we help others in our community, and we work towards righting injustice in the world. Volunteering in the broader Gainesville community is an important part of our ministry, and we are active in a wide range of programs. From helping children in Alachua County schools, to working for affordable housing, there is much we do to try and make Gainesville and the larger world a better place.
Social Justice in Action at UUFG
Taking a stand as a Congregation on a social justice issue requires a vote of the membership, and we currently hold a Congregational Meeting each winter to debate and decide on such issues. These meetings have resulted in Proclamations, Statements of Conscience, and specific actions by the Congregation.
In addition, many individual UUFG members choose to make personal commitments to social justice work which they do with others in the congregation or in other groups or on their own. This year, congregation members will be asked to make personal covenants about social justice actions which we will undertake.
The several Social Justice Teams of UUFG engage in ongoing study and action all year long, and always welcome your input, support, and help.
The Social Justice Council, Action Teams and Liaisons, and the Social Justice Circle facilitate the work of the congregation. The four focus areas for 2022 are:
Environmental Justice — Alice Gridley
Democracy — Nancy Parkinson
Economic Justice — Lisa Renner and Joy Avery
Racial Justice — Zoharah Simmons
The Social Justice Circle meets most months on the third Sunday at 12:30 p.m. for anyone interested in Social Justice, to share ideas and plans, and support each other’s work. For information about Social Justice activities at our Fellowship, contact Mary Bahr, at kmlisle.mary@gmail.com.