Spring 2025
Deconstructing Mythologies of Unitarian Anti-Racism
Rehearsal for Reconstruction
Rev. Dr. Wayne Arnason
Date: April 30, 2025
Location: Unity Church-Unitarian, St. Paul, MN
Respondents: Dr. Jim Oberly
Since merger Unitarian Universalism has struggled with constructing a white anti-racist identity. Recent scholarship centering black lives and revealing the depths of white supremacy culture has challenged the usual pre-merger historical narrative, which centered heroic Unitarian abolitionists and 20th century political leaders. The three Minns Lectures for 2025 seek to demythologize this common narrative.
The series begins with the significant Unitarian presence at the Port Royal, S.C., “rehearsal for reconstruction” during and after the Civil War. Moving to the turn of the century, the second lecture will show how Unitarians remained comfortably situated in their privileged caste, supporting industrial education to "uplift the race" while remaining silent as Reconstruction crumbled and the Lost Cause movement resurrected the dominance of white supremacist culture. The final lecture explores how a few Unitarians in the early 20th century defined an anti-racist identity beyond abolitionism and paternalism, which led to their leadership in the founding of the National Association of Colored Women and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.