Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE)

... scratching the surface of all the amazing Black climate justice heroes we have working toward a better world. Black History Month ends today, but honoring people who have had amazing impacts on the world continues forever! Thanks for continuing to learn with us.

Every Friday in February, we showcased Black climate justice advocates and shared resources to learn more about each of them. If you missed our previous posts, head to our profile to check out these awesome activists. These four posts obviously don't even come CLOSE to ...

Jacqui Patterson’s Revolutionary Approach to Climate Justice “We want to make sure that these communities aren’t continuing to be invisibilized and forgotten."

She has also worked as a researcher, program manager, coordinator, advocate, and activist working on women‘s rights, HIV/AIDS, racial justice, economic justice, and climate justice. Here is an article by Time Magazine discussing Patterson's unique approach to her work: time.com/collection/w...

Text on blue background reads "Jacqueline Patterson. Founder of The Shirley Chisholm Legacy Project. Former Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program." There is a photograph of Patterson in an illustrated gold picture frame. At the top of the graphic is the UU Ministry for Earth Logo and text that reads "Black climate justice heroes. Every Friday in February."

Jacqueline Patterson is the Founder of The Shirley Chisholm Legacy Project, which is dedicated to being "a vehicle to connect Black communities on the frontlines of climate justice with resources to traverse the path from vision to strategy to action plan to implementation to transformation".

There is a portrait of Kelly with the words "farewell, Rev. Kelly" above it. Two illustrations of vines wrap around a quote from her farewell letter, which reads, "Thank you for your trust, your partnership, and for the opportunity to be part of this incredible community." At the bottom, bolded text reads "Join us in thanking Rev. Kelly Dignan for her commitment to climate justice and UU Ministry for Earth."

UUMFE's wonderful Executive Director, the Rev. Kelly Dignan, will finish up her work with us on February 28. We have been incredibly lucky to have her leadership, her pastoral care, her education, and her authentic kindness to guide UUMFE and the UUMFE community.

The Gen Z Environmental Justice Activist Making History at the White House Jerome Foster II is looking toward the injustices of the past in order to create a more sustainable future

Here is an article by Time Magazine that highlights some of Foster's greatest contributions to climate justice in the US: time.com/collection/n...

Text on blue background reads "Jerome Foster II. The youngest White House advisor in U.S. history. President Biden’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council." There is a photograph of Foster in an illustrated gold picture frame. At the top of the graphic is the UU Ministry for Earth Logo and text that reads "Black climate justice heroes. Every Friday in February."

Jerome Foster II was a member of President Biden’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council—the youngest White House advisor in U.S. history. Foster is a leading voice for marginalized and working-class communities in spaces pushing for social, economic, and environmental justice.

For the Architect Behind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal, Policy Is Personal Thanks to bad environmental policies, Rhiana Gunn-Wright had asthma as a kid; now she leads the team charged with making the ambitious Green New Deal a reality.

She serves as the Director of Climate Policy at the Roosevelt Institute, where she leads research at the intersection of climate policy, public investment, and racial equity. Here is a Marie Claire article discussing Gunn-Wright's work on the Green New Deal: www.marieclaire.com/politics/a29...

Text on blue background reads "Rhiana Gunn-Wright. Policy Architect, Green New Deal. Director of Climate Policy at the Roosevelt Institute." There is a photograph of Gunn-Wright in an illustrated gold picture frame. At the top of the graphic is the UU Ministry for Earth Logo and text that reads "Black climate justice heroes. Every Friday in February."

Rhiana Gunn-Wright is a policy analyst and policy architect of the Green New Deal. She helped ensure environmental justice as a priority of the Green New Deal—something that was very personal to her, having grown up on the South Side of Chicago in close proximity to polluting industries.

YouTube video by UN Environment Programme Robert Bullard 2020 Champion of the Earth - Lifetime Achievement

His academic and policy efforts have furthered our understanding of environmental racism & how to see climate justice as racial justice. Here is a video of Dr. Bullard being awarded the 2020 Champion of the Earth Lifetime Achievement by the UN Environment Programme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Vj...

Text on blue background reads "Dr. Robert Bullard. Father of Environmental Justice. Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University." There is a photograph of Dr. Bullard in an illustrated gold picture frame. At the top of the graphic is the UU Ministry for Earth Logo and text that reads "Black climate justice heroes. Every Friday in February."

Dr. Robert Bullard is often called the "Father of Environmental Justice" due to his work in 1990 which found that 100% of city-operated landfills were located in communities of color and causing disproportionate environmental harms.

Celebrating the Designation of the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments Field Organizer Andrea Iniguez celebrates the establishment of the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla National Monuments

From community organizing to White House ceremony - how public voices helped protect 848,000 acres of California desert.

Read more:

We're excited to announce our upcoming Earth Day Worship! It will be online on April 22nd, with an option for congregations to receive written materials by March 1st. We will explore the power of listening in justice movements and how kindness can ease change.

Register: lnk.bio/s/uumfe/eart...

Text on a black background reads 30 days of love, week 3, water is life. The link to the Side With Love webpage for 30 days of love is at the bottom with the SWL heart logo.

Mní Wičóni. Water is life. Check out Week Three offerings for 30 Days of Love 2025, focusing on this sacred truth. Side With Love has shared ways to take action, something to watch, three activities for families, a body practice, journaling practice, and a creative practice.

Tell the Senate to OPPOSE this harmful logging bill! Tell your Senators to STOP a harmful logging bill called the "Fix Our Forests Act." Instead of actually helping forests, the bill makes it easier to log forests on public lands.

Tell your Senators to STOP a harmful logging bill, that would make it easier to log forests on public lands 🙅🪓🌲 Info at the 🔗

"Black, Brown, Indigenous, low-income families bear the brunt of the utility industry’s overreliance on fossil fuels that fail during climate disasters, smother neighborhoods with air pollution, and expose customers to volatile and expensive bills."
biologicaldiversity.org/programs/ene...

Climate justice requires racial justice E. Tendayi Achiume's final report to the United Nations General Assembly in conclusion of her five-year term as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimina...

The biggest contributors to climate change (1) stem from colonialism and (2) impact communities of color the most. UCLA Law human rights scholar E. Tendayi Achiume discusses this intersection of justice for the Earth and people of the global majority in this article: law.ucla.edu/news/climate...

Text on a blue background reads "Black History Month Climate Justice Heroes. Every Friday in February." Below is the UUMFE logo. Around the text, there are illustrated portraits in frames of famous Black heroes.

Saturday was the beginning of Black History Month in the US, a time to intentionally honor and recognize the Black history that often is pushed out of popular media and textbooks. Every Friday in February, we will showcase Black climate justice advocates and share resources to learn more.

Text on a green background reads "Inspire your heart with art. What sparks creativity in your climate justice work? Send your art and a blurb to comms@uumfe.org." Off to the side, there is a photo of a person wearing a big floppy sun hat, painting a mural.

Today is Inspire Your Heart With Art Day! Do you have a favorite painting, photograph, poem, or other creative piece that helps you feel more connected with climate justice work? If you use this prompt for creating artwork of your own, we would love to see it!