Blake and Bonville to speak on 'Black Lives Matter' at UUSD Feb. 14

Fay Blake, chair of Sussex Unity, and Diaz Bonville, educator and program director of Westside New Beginnings Community Center, will deliver the sermon at the Share the Love Sunday Service Sunday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware church located at 30486 Lewes-Georgetown Highway, Lewes.

They will share their personal perspectives on the racism they have experienced and seen in their lives, and why the Black Lives Matter movement is so important to the continuing dialogue on racism in this country.

The Feb. 14 service will wrap up a special 30 Days of Love initiative launched Jan. 17 by UUSD’s Social & Environmental Justice Committee in which the Rev. Paula Maiorano, UUSD’s interim minister, gave a sermon describing mass incarceration as a “cancer eating away at the fabric of our society some 50 years after the legacy of the advances of the Civil Rights movement of the sixties.” She called for a restoration and realization of the dream of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The public is also invited to attend additional events as part of UUSD’s “30 Days of Love” initiative. All events will be held at UUSD, are open to the public, and are free.

• Monday,Feb. 1, 7 p.m.: The UUSD Book Club will discuss "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson, a native of Milton. In his book, Stevenson shares the true story of his fight to release innocent people from death row.

• Friday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m. (potluck at 6 p.m.):  First Friday Film, “Broken On All Sides” about the racial inequities of the criminal justice system. Maiorano will facilitate a Q&A discussion after the film.

• Sunday, Feb. 7, 3 p.m.: Darwin Day Celebration with presentations on the work of Charles Darwin from two University of Delaware scholars, Professor John R. Jungck, who will discuss how Charles Darwin’s "Origin of Species" was written as an attack on racism and slavery; and Professor Karen Rosenberg, who will address new findings in the study of human evolution.

• Sunday, Feb. 21, 3 p.m.:  Video of Dr. Cornel West, the author of "Race Matters," who delivered the Ware Lecture at the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in 2015. A discussion will follow.

The Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware are a vibrant and welcoming progressive spiritual community with a faith rooted in love and justice. UUSD is dedicated to nurturing spiritual growth, embracing diversity, working for justice, and striving for a loving world. Their new facility is located at 30486 Lewes Georgetown Highway, Lewes. Sunday services are held at 10 a.m.

For more information, contact Don Peterson at donpetersonde@gmail.com or go to www.uussd.org.