In my Black History in Unitarian Universalism sermon two Sundays ago, I said that in my next column, I would share some reading recommendations for those of you who want to dig deeper into the history. I forgot in that moment that Shelly was on vacation and there would be no Weekly Update last week—so here is the list, just fitting in before the end of Black History Month! Of course, these books are worth reading at any time of year.

These books are all by Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed, a Black Unitarian Universalist minister, historian, and author. I find his work engaging, easy to read, and impactful. His books are available at the UUA Bookstore and elsewhere.

• Black Pioneers in a White Denomination
• Darkening the Doorways: Black Trailblazers and Missed Opportunities in Unitarian Universalism
• In Between: Memoir of an Integration Baby
• Revisiting the Empowerment Controversy: Black Power and Unitarian Universalism
• The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism

He also co-edited (with Jacqui James) the book from which I drew many of the quotes in that sermon: Voices from the Margins: An Anthology of Meditations.

Here is the link to the UUA Bookstore page for all of his books: https://www.uuabookstore.org/Search.aspx?k=Mark+morrison+reed

There are other books if you want to go even deeper into your learning, but these are the ones I would start with. I’d love to hear your thoughts after reading any of these!

Happy reading,

Rev. Diana