Recognizing that white supremacy is an institutionalized cultural pattern reaching far beyond any single incident or person, WorshipWeb offers this collection of #BlackLivesMatter worship resources.

Black Lives Matter (or #BlackLivesMatter) is a movement and a stance in response to this reality: the United States was built on a legacy of slavery, racism, and oppression that continues to take new, ever-changing forms. As this quote illustrates, to say that "black lives matter" doesn't mean that black lives are more important than other lives, or that all lives don't matter. The systemic devaluing of Black lives calls us to bear witness, even as we acknowledge that oppression takes many intersecting forms.

Reflections by Black Authors

• An entire collection of worship materials by UU religious professionals of color is available in the online packet (PDF) for The Promise & the Practice.
• White Fear of Black Freedom, a reading by Leslie Alexander and Michelle Alexander
• Embodied, Connected Pleasure, a reading by adrienne maree brown
• The Call of Our Faith, a homily by Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin

• Do You Believe in Justice and Equality?, a reading by Ijeoma Oluo

• The Insidiousness of White Supremacy, an excerpt from Clint Smith's How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America.

• A quote about White Body Supremacy by Resmaa Menakem
• The Unseen Skeleton, an excerpt from Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
• You Are Not a Problem, an excerpt from Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry
• Human Beauty and Resilience, a quote from Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry
• Every Place Is a Battleground, an excerpt from Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry
• A Gospel of Living, an excerpt from Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry
• In Honor and Praise to Black Rage, a prayer (including video) by Tyler Coles
• Racist or Anti-Racist (a reading) by Ibram X. Kendi
• Whiteness and "Power Over," a reading by Austin Channing Brown
• Your Life Matters by Kenny Wiley
• A Story Inherited by Jabari S. Jones
• The Offensiveness of My Pain by Shane Paul Neil
• Everybody Else by Jabari S. Jones
• The Nod by Rev. Adam Lawrence Dyer
• Healing by Rev. Adam Lawrence Dyer
• The Invisibility of Whiteness and The Privileges of a Racist System by james a. powell
• Visitors in the Struggle for Racial Justice by Rev. Aisha Ansano
• Reflections on "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by Rev. Aisha Ansano
• The Flawed Understanding of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Rev. Aisha Ansano
• Black Women Worry More by Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt
• a quote on whiteness by Michael Eric Dyson
• There Is More Love Somewhere by Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout
• Time to Tune In, an excerpt from Brittany Packnett's 2018 Ware Lecture
• The Unitarian Universalism That Does Not Yet Exist, a quote by Rev. Natalie Maxwell Fenimore
• The Deep Well of Black Lives, by Rev. Kristen Harper
• This Essential Work of Justice and Liberation for All, by Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt
• Getting Through This Day by Rev. Theresa Hardy
• Decolonizing My Desire by adrienne maree brown

Braver/Wiser Reflections by Black Authors

• Coalescing around Whiteness by Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin
• Radicalizing Myself by Jabari Jones
• Naming the Truth by Rev. Aisha Ansano
• Saving Democracy by Rev. Carol Thomas Cissel
• The Journey to Self-Love by Ndidi Achebe
• My Ancestors' Dreams by Rev. Daniel Gregoire
• An Awful, Magnificent Truth by Rev. Carol Thomas Cissel
• Bruh, a reflection by DeReau Farrar
• Centering Myself by Rayla Mattson
• Everyone for Everyone by Rayla Mattson
• The Strength That Defines Us by Rayla Mattson
• Unafraid by Adrian Graham

Other Worship Resources

• Holy Interruption by Julica Hermann de la Fuente
• Embodied Learning by Julica Hermann de la Fuente
• All of Us Need All of Us to Make It by Revs. Theresa Soto and Megan Foley
• To the Death of Michael Brown: We Bear Witness by Rev. Theresa Soto
• On White Supremacy Culture and Why I Use These Words by Carolina Krawarik-Graham
• Something on My Face, a time for all ages by Rev. Karen Johnston
• a quote on why Black lives matter by Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd
• To All Get Free Together by Chris Crass
• To the people who have mistaken freedom for liberation by Rev. Theresa I. Soto
• In This Delicate Turning, a sermon excerpt by Rev. Marta Valentín
• Bearing Witness, a homily by Heide Cottam
• The Story of Whiteness by Rev. Sarah Stewart
• Our Faith's Complacency in Racism by Rev. Nathan Ryan
• Questioning Our Assumptions by Rev. Matthew Johnson
• Stay With Us by Rev. Krista Taves
• We Bear the Weight of What They Could Not See, a pastoral prayer (September 2016) by Rev. Jay Leach
• Sister Goose and the Foxes, an allegory by Faye Mogensen
• In Real Time by Jeannie Shero
• Prayer for St. Louis After Ferguson by Rev. Krista Taves
• Prayer for the Morning by Rev. Audette Fulbright Fulson
• We Are Not Done by Rev. Audette Fulbright Fulson
• Wait Like the World is About to Turn by Rev. Annie Gonzalez Milliken
• A Prayer for Hard Times by Rev. Christian Schmidt
• On Being Asked to Change “Black Lives Matter” to “All Lives Matter” by Rev. Dan Schatz
• Wake Up! by Rev. Christian Schmidt

Sermons

These sermons are aimed primarily at white listeners/readers:

• Black Lives Matter More Than a Slogan by Rev. Nathan Ryan
• Black Lives Matter by Rev. Seth Carrier-Ladd
• Prepare Him Room by Rev. Robin Bartlett
• The Promise of All Lives Mattering by Amanda Udis-Kessler
• White Supremacy and Beloved Community by Amanda Udis-Kessler

Share your original #BlackLivesMatter worship resources with WorshipWeb.

Related Content

• Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) UUA Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministries
• Spiritual Reflections on Ferguson gathered by Standing on the Side of Love