Anthology – Presence of Black Clergy Women in Unitarian Universalism (UU)
In 2018 Unitarian Universalist Association president, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, announced that presently 60% of UU clergy are female. This amazing progress reflects the largest percentage of female clergy in any denomination or faith community to our knowledge. While Unitarian Universalist clergy women in general have made tremendous progress, no publication previously existed that captures the history and presence of Black UU clergywomen. This anthology fills that void. The research and development of the anthology was a non-funded initiative. We are hopeful that other anthologies will follow.
The book was officially published January 25, 2023. Click the title below to visit Skinner House Books where you may now purchase this book:
The Rough Side of the Mountain
Black Women’s Ministries in Unitarian Universalism
Editor and scholar Qiyamah Rahman collects and explores the unique journeys of Black Unitarian Universalist clergywomen, celebrating their wisdom, resilience, and contributions within and beyond Unitarian Universalism.
Education – Excellence in Teaching: A New Course Preparation Project on Unitarian Universalist Women
This research grant, awarded to Rev. Dr. Qiyamah A. Rahman from the Fund for Theological Education, begins September 1, 2021 and ends January, 2023. The research project seeks to produce a syllabus to correct the marginalization and erasure of Black Unitarian Universalist Women in academia and congregational settings. Using these restricted funds, Rev. Dr. Rahman will produce the following deliverables: a semester syllabus designed and available to professors to teach the course; a ten-week, two-hour course for adult education learning to be used in UU congregations; a facilitators guide, and a forty-five-minute workshop designed for a UUA General Assembly 2023 workshop.
Research – Congregational Research & Archival Project
This Congregational Research & Archival Project, funded by the Fund for Unitarian Universalism, proposes to teach basic research skills to lay persons to explore and document their congregational history of Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) with an emphasis on Black UU women and girls. Biographies that emerge from the research will be vetted and submitted to the Dictionary of UU Biographies (DUUB) for publication. Electronic portfolios and slide presentations will be developed for use in congregational faith development for Directors of Religious Education. The congregation acting as pilot project, UU Congregation of Atlanta, will develop a Sunday service based on their research findings. A short video will be produced to be used for a train-the-trainer for other congregations. A small registration fee will be charged for future workshops and technical assistance to provide a source of revenue for Sister Souurce, Inc. A proposed UUA General Assembly workshop will feature the project and the research process.
Website – Black Unitarian Universalist Women & Girls (SisterSouurce.org)
The website project provides a vehicle to feature Black UU women and girls. This website consolidates relevant information and research on Black UU women and girls. It provides an interactive site to direct UUs into the world of Black UU women and girls. It is the first attempt to address the glaring gap that renders Black UU women and girls invisible in the UU narrative. A grant was obtained from the UU Women’s Federation to build the website. The website sistersouurce.org (also reachable at sistersouurce.com) soft launched in September, 2021. We officially introduced ourselves (virtually) by becoming a sponsor of UUA General Assembly 2022. This website continues to be a work in progress.