When the congregation voted on Sunday, April 17, to move forward the proposed Public Witness Statement, it was a move that took this church further toward a commitment to address racial injustice, both in the community at large and in the life of the church. Among priorities the statement addresses a commitment to organization to recognize the interconnected nature of racism with all systems of oppression that impact people based on class, gender identify, sexual orientation, ability and language.

This Public Witness Statement, originating from the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly meeting of June 2015, in appreciation of and resonant with the work of the Black Lives Matter Movement, was brought to the congregational meeting after a year of hard work by the current Racial Justice Steering Committee and its subcommittee for Public Witness. However, this initiative also represents the cumulative effect of the work of many people, over many years at TJMC.