I had originally planned to use my column this month to talk about the transition to your new interim minister, Rev. Kate Landis. Rev. Kate and I have already spoken by phone and I am delighted the UU Church of Akron will be served by such a talented minister. I look forward to helping Rev. Kate and all of you make a seamless transition when she begins her ministry on August 1.
But, sadly, events in the world have once again intervened and I feel compelled to share some thoughts about those events.
Let me begin by saying that the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police is part of a legacy of brutality against African Americans and people of color that goes back to be-fore the founding of this nation. Police violence is an instrument of white supremacy and seeks to keep African Americans and other people of color “in their place.” Black and brown bodies are deemed to be expendable and police across this nation know they will not be held accountable by a criminal justice system that also perpetuates white supremacy through mass incarceration and other instruments aimed at keeping black lives down and under control.
I also want to say a word about the way the police and so many white Americans are reacting to the resistance in the streets. Why are white Americans carrying automatic weapons allowed to storm a state capitol and scream in the faces of the police in the name of their First Amendment rights while protesters carrying signs proclaiming Black Lives Matter are met with clubs, tear gas, and rubber bullets? The simple truth is our nation is facing two pandemics – COVID-19 and a pan-demic of white supremacy and police violence.
Our congregation grieves with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arberry, and black and brown families across our nation who have experienced and are still experiencing the horrors of police violence. But grief is not enough. The UU Church of Akron recently adopted the 8th principle of Unitarian Universalism which calls us to “accountably dismantle racism in ourselves and in our institutions.” I think recent events have once again revealed that one of the most im-portant institutions in which racism must be dismantled is the police. My hope is that as the UU Church of “Action” writes the next chapters in its wonderful journey that you will continue finding ways to be an ally and agent of change for a nation and a world that are so broken, so hurting, and so in need of love and justice.

Rev Tim