Injustice Anywhere

Is a Threat to Justice Everywhere

Keeping the Flame of Justice Alive!


Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte
234 N. Sharon Amity Charlotte, NC 28211

 

Conference Themes:


Anti-Racism


Peace & Civil Liberties


Death Penalty


Contact Us

 

 

 

4th Annual

Social Justice Conference

Saturday, March 15, 2003

Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte
234 N. Sharon Amity Rd.
Charlotte, North Carolina

Sponsored by:
The Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte
The Social Justice Committee of St. Peter's Catholic Church
The Charlotte Chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Charlotte Coalition for a Moratorium Now
The Charlotte Coalition for Peace and Justice

North Carolina Socialist Party
Charlotte Area Greens
Charlotte NOW

The 2003 Social Justice Conference has four main sessions:

  • Anti-Racism
  • Peace
  • Civil Liberties
  • Death Penalty

The Conference will open with a service led by the Rev. Dr. William G. Sinkford, the first African American president of the UUA, followed by the morning break out sessions. The morning sessions will end at 11:30 when everyone will assemble in the Sanctuary for the Conference Award Presentation to and Keynote Speech by Rev. William G. Sinkford. After a lunch break from 12 to 1:30, there will follow the afternoon break out sessions. An award ceremony will begin at 3PM followed by an Interfaith Celebration Service on the theme of "Building Bridges."

9:00 AM to 10:00AM
Opening Service

Rev. William G. Sinkford

10:00 AM to 11:30AM
Anti-Racism Session

Panel: "Views on Anti-Racism, Affirmative Action and Reparations"
Rev. Bill Sinkford,
Rev. Claude Alexander, Rev. Steve Shoemaker, Rev. Andy Baxter, Rev. Amy Brooks, Ahmad Daniels
Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Doug Reisner

Peace Session
Workshop: Nonviolence Training and Conscientious Objector workshop
Chuck Fager

Civil Liberties Session
Workshop: "The Patriot Act and Other Attacks on our Civil Liberties"
Jim Gronquist, Mark Ortiz
Facilitator: Doug Sea

11:30 PM to 12:00PM
Plenary Session: Social Justice Conference Award Presentation to Rev. Sinkford
Award presented by Qiyamah Rahman
Keynote Speech
Rev. Dr. William Sinkford

12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
LUNCH

Conference Keynote Speaker:

Rev. William G. Sinkford, UUA President. Rev. Sinkford is the first president of the UUA who is African American. His election in June 2001 also distinguished him as the first African American head of a majority white denomination in

the United States. He became a Unitarian Universalist as an adolescent and was called to the ministry after an illustrious career in business. A strong opponent of the militarism that has been sweeping over the country since 9/11, he and leaders of many different faiths sent a joint letter in November 2002 to President Bush urging peace, patience and diplomacy in dealing with Iraq.

Session Award Recepients

The Stephen J. Dear Anti-Death Penalty Award:

Ted Frazer is the convenor of Charlotte Coalition for a Moratorium Now. He is also co-chair of the Social Justice Committee at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Charlotte.

The Peace Award


Patrick O'Neill

Patrick O'Neill and Mary Rider are long-time nonviolent peace activists. Patrick O'Neill has been a peace and justice advocate in North Carolina for over twenty year. He and his wife, Mary Rider, are cofounders of St. Martin House, a Catholic community that provides hospitality to

women and children in crisis and works in numerous peace and justice arenas. He has spent more than two years in jail and federal prison for nonviolent acts of civil disobedience in opposition to U.S. militarism. Mary Rider is on the Board of Advisor of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty

The Martin Luther King Jr. Award

Rev. Claude Alexander is the senior paster of University Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, where the regional office for H.E.L.P (Helping Empower Local People) is located. Rev. Alexander has also served on the N.A.A.C.P. Educational Committee and is on the board of directors of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Urban League, the United Way and the Arts and Science Council.

The Henry David Thoreau Award

Ahmad Daniels M.Ed, has championed the cause of African liberation both continental and Diasporan, for over a quarter of a century. He is an educator and facilitator with Creative Interchange, an organization whose purpose is to encourage and facilitate non-blaming experiential workshops for persons of different ethnicities on matters relating to race.

1:30 PM to 3:00PM
Peace Session

Panel: "The War on Terrorism: a 'Just' War or 'Just War'?"

Anne Wolfley, Catherine Stratton Treadway, Mary Rider, Patrick O'Neill, Wally Kleucker
Facilitator: Dr. Reisner

Video and Discussion: "Jerusalem: Occupation Set In Stone"
Marty Rosenbluth

Workshop: "Come Together: Sing a Song, Make a Sign"
Donna Fisher, J. Charles Jones
Facilitator: Maggie Davis

Anti-Racism Session
"Can Racism Ever Be Uprooted From Our Society?"
Panel and Q&A:
Qiyamah Rahman, Barbara Wade, Chuck Fager, Congressman Mel Watt
Facilitator: Rev. Janet Newman

Death Penalty Moratorium Session
Henderson Hill, Julie Fosbinder, Steve Dear, Ted Frazer
Facilitator: Jeannette Manning

3:00 to 4:00 PM
Session Awards Presentations and Acceptance Speeches

The Martin Luther King Jr. Award:
Rev. Claude Alexander
Award presented by Dr. Reisner

The Stephen J. Dear Award:
Ted Frazer

Award presented by Stephen Dear

The Peace Award
Patrick O'Neil and Mary Rider
Award presented by Wally Kleucker

The Henry David Thoreau Award
Ahmad Daniels

Award presented by the Hon. Mel Watt

4:00-5:00 PM
Interfaith Celebration Service:
"Building Bridges"

Andy Baxter graduated from West Charlotte High School, before completing an undergraduate degree in public policy and a master?s degree in divinity from Duke University. After serving as an associate pastor at Davidson United Methodist Church, Andy came to Mecklenburg Ministries in Jan. 2001 as its executive director. He attends Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Suggested donation is $10 ($5 for seniors/students). Childcare is available throughout the day.

Speakers and Panelists:

Rev. Andy Baxter graduated from West Charlotte High School, before completing an undergraduate degree in public policy and a master?s degree in divinity from Duke University. After serving as an associate pastor at Davidson United Methodist Church, Andy came to Mecklenburg Ministries in Jan. 2001 as its executive director. He attends Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Dale Brook a.k.a the Magikal Minstrel is a multi-talented musician and all-around entertainer whose creative professional performances actively involve his enthusiastic audiences. He is the music director of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte.
Rev. Amy Brooks is the Community Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte and works at RAIN, Regional AIDS Interfaith Network.
Maggie Davis is a Charlotte peace activist and member of the Charlotte Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Coalition for Peace and Justice.
Chuck Fager is a peace activist and Director of the Quaker House in Fayetteville which has been a front-line Friends peace witness project there since 1969. He worked on the staff of the SCLC, led by Martin Luther King Jr. for two years in the 1960's and has written two books about King including "Selma 1965: The March that Changed the South." In 1965 he applied for classification as a Conscientious Objector to the draft. He is also author of a published book "Without Apology: The Heroes, the Heritage and the Hope of Liberal Quakerism".
Donna Fisher is the director of the UUCC Children's Choir.
Julie Fosbinder is a Charlotte attorneyspecilizing in labor and employment law, employment discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. She is a member of the New York and the North Carolina State Bar Associations,The Association of Trial Lawyers of America and NC Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Ted Frazer is a member of the Charlotte Coalition for a Moratorium Now, an organization which meets twice a month working for a statewide moratorium on executions. He is also CO-chair of St. Peter's (Catholic) Social Justice Committee.
Jim Gronquist is a Charlotte defense attorney and a member of the ACLU.
J. Charles Jones is a civil rights leader of the Charlotte sit-down demonstrations in the '60s.
Rose Hamid grew up a Catholic in Cleveland, Ohio with her father, a Palestinian, and her mother, a South American. She graduated from Cleveland State. In 1987 she moved to Charlotte and converted to the Muslim faith the same year. She is a flight attendent instructor with a local airline.
Henderson Hill joined the law firm of Ferguson, Stein, Wallas, Adkins Gresham& Sumpter in 1996 and received the Paul Green Award from the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union in 1999, the Lawyer of the Year Award from the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers in 1999, and was named Lawyer of the Year by the George W. White Bar Association, Durham in 1996.
Wally Kleucker, Chair of the Social Action Committee, a founding member of the Charlotte Coalition for Peace and Justice, coordinator of the Social Justice Conference, webmaster of the conference website and for the past ten years church organist at UUCC.
Jeannette Manning is the president of the board of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte and director of Financial Affairs at Queens University.
Janet Newman is the interim minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte.
Mark Ortiz
is the treasurer of the Charlotte Area Green Party.
Qiyamah Rahman is the Executive Director of the Thomas Jefferson District of the UUA.
Rev. Dr. Doug Reisner is Minister Emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte. His interest in social action concerns in Arizona led him to seminary in mid-life. Social action was a continuing theme of his ministry in Texas and North Carolina. He has worked actively among migrant farm workers and participated in organized labor efforts. His work has included environmental protection, women?s rights, prison reform, minority civil rights, and struggles for lesbian and gay equality.
Marty Rosenbluth is an independent videographer based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. His company, Insightment Video Productions, focuses on producing videos for non-profit groups. He directs, shoots and edits these documentaries and educational videos. Marty has also worked for PBS Frontline as senior researcher for "Journey to the Occupied Lands", a 90-minute Frontline special. Winner of the Lindheim Award for his documentary "Jerusalem" at the Judah L. Magnes Museum's Jewish Video Festival,he has also won Honarable Mention at the Columbus Film and Video Festival in Ohio.
Doug Sea is a social activist Charlotte attorney and the president-elect of the board of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte.
Rev. Stephen Shoemaker is the senior pastor at Myers Park Baptist Church.
Catherine Treadway lives in New York and is a member of the national Quaker organization Friends Committed to National Legislation.
Barbara Wade
is a California native and 2nd language instructor at CPCC. She received her master’s in education from Antioch and is the author of an unpublished novel “Reaching for Grace“about the Underground Railroad.
Congressman Mel Watt,
12th Congressional District of North Carolina, is the recipient of the Social Justice Conference's 2002 Henry David Thoreau Award for taking courageous stands on important issues throughout his career in the House of Representatives.
Anne Wolfley
is a social activist and the chair of the Animal Rights Commission of SPUSA.

Back to top