By Jane Collins

What do the values of Unitarian Universalists have in common with the values of anarchists, communists, and socialists? Many of ersus have noticed that the young adults coming to our church are active for social justice. It has been inspiring for me to participate in some of their meetings.

The social justice organization that has been most active at All Peoples Church has been DFW Support Committee for the Prairieland Defendants. Many of them consider themselves to be anarchists. Working with them, I have noticed that one of their main activities is mutual aid. Some work in community gardens and have prepared and shared food on Wednesdays with people from the community. Some of them worked with Anna Maria Thorne cleaning the kitchen for more than 10 hours. One person has spent time working with Joel trimming trees around the church.

The main activity of the DFW Support Committee has been seeking justice for those people who had a noise demonstration outside the Alvarado Detention Center last July 4, to let the detained immigrants know that people care about them. On June 23, nine of the people were sentenced from 30 to 100 years, a harsher sentence than the people who forced their way into the Capitol building to prevent the elected President from taking office. On July 1, seven more people were sentenced. Those who pled guilty but refused to testify against other defendants got sentenced to 15 years. Those who pled guilty and testified against other defendants got sentenced to 7 years. The only person who vandalized cars and cameras and testified against the other defendants got sentenced to less than 2 years. Everyone I have met from DFW Support Committee organizes for social justice and they love our church because we support LGBTQ+ and because we oppose the way that immigrants are being rounded up and held in inhumane conditions.

Communists and socialists who occasionally hold meetings at our church appreciate our support for the Voting Rights Act that was passed to guarantee that black and brown voters get represented. They also appreciate UU’s support for Reproductive Rights, the right to public education, affordable housing, health care, universal childcare, and public transportation. We can all probably agree that stopping endless wars could help pay for those things that all humans need such a higher minimum wage, increased Social Security payments, and better coverage from Medicare, and Medicaid. I think most of us believe in taxing millionaires and billionaires to help redistribute wealth.

All of us have probably noticed that certain politicians are buying warehouses for detaining people. I believe that many of us could be at risk, so I want to conclude with the famous poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller.

First, they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews (Muslims and immigrants)
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew (Muslim or immigrant)
Then they came for me (UU)
And there was no one left
To speak out for me