The 8th Principle was originally proposed by Paula Cole Jones who worked with congregations on issues of race and multiculturalism for over 15 years as Director of Racial and Social Justice for the Joseph Priestley district—the mid-Atlantic district of the UUA, which has since been subsumed into the Central East Regional Group (CERG). After working with congregations on these issues for over 15 years, she realized that a person can believe they are being a “good UU” and following the 7 Principles without thinking about or dealing with racism and other oppressions at the systemic level.
Paula reached out to Bruce Pollack-Johnson, of the UU Church of the Restoration in Philadelphia, who drafted a statement in 2013 that was refined by a group of anti-racist activists in the UU district. The statement was adopted as part of the covenant of Bruce’s congregation. In May 2017 they recommended that the UUA adopt it.
This proposed 8th Principle reads as follows:
“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
The 8th Principle was adopted by the UU Congregation of Cleveland at the annual meeting in June, 2022.