Opening statement:
The Land and Labor Acknowledgement Task Force helped our congregation live our Unitarian Universalist principles by researching our land’s history and finding appropriate ways to honor that past. The LLATF educated congregants through an exhibit, meetings with small groups, eWeekly notices, and this blog. The Task Force also worked with the Board of Trustees to produce a Land and Labor Acknowledgement and Pledge bronze plaque and a wayside. The plaque is on the front of the original building by the entrance, and the wayside is at the bottom of the pathway near the sidewalk.
Establishment of the Task Force:
The River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation (RRUUC) Board established the Land Acknowledgement Task Force (LATF)—later called the Land and Labor Acknowledgement Task Force (LLATF) in the fall of 2021. The Board tasked the LLATF with helping the congregation address its history and current relationships with descendants of enslaved people who may have worked RRUUC’s land and also the descendants of the Indigenous Peoples who had traveled through this region.
RRUUC member Joe Saliunas, with assistance from fellow RRUUC member Joan Zenzen and the Montgomery County Historical Association, conducted online research that determined the slaveholding past of a previous owner of RRUUC’s land. This information prompted a summer 2021 Sunday service and development of a draft land acknowledgment statement.
The Board directed the LATF in its charter to: “work with the ministers and the congregation to discern how to acknowledge the previous occupants of the land where River Road is located. Previous occupants may include Indigenous Peoples, enslaved African Americans, and African Americans forced off the land during the mid-20th century.”
Action Plan and results:
The LATF submitted an action plan to the Board with the following four goals:
Goal 1: Establish meaningful engagement with Indigenous and African American descendant communities. LLATF reached out to the Piscataway Conoy tribe, the active group representing the historic Piscataway, to see what they needed—a step important in establishing relationships with Indigenous Peoples. They responded by asking for RRUUC to advocate for a name change of Indian Head Highway, a name that they identified as demeaning. RRUUC met this need.
The LLATF determined that Indigenous Peoples needed to see a sustained commitment from groups wanting to establish ties. Working with the RRUUC Board of Trustees, RRUUC has committed to five years of financial donations to the Piscataway Conoy tribe. LLATF and the Board hope that such action will help further our goal to deepen our relationship with this tribe.
RRUUC senior minister Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd had helped to establish a relationship with the Scotland AME Church at the beginning of her tenure. This relationship has grown significantly in recent years with RRUUC hosting Scotland AME congregants to worship without cost in our building during the renovation of their historic church building. This building had been flooded and severely damaged. This flooding had been the result of historic actions by Montgomery County and area developers who did not take into account of—or ignored—the effects of water run-off from development around Seven Locks Road, where the church stands. The LLATF supported further cross-congregational actions, such as shared Sunday services.
Goal 2: Educate RRUUC community on the history of our land to inform our land and labor acknowledgment. LLATF shared information about our land’s history by:
- Reaching out to RRUUC congregants through an exhibit in the Lounge that shared our Indigenous Peoples’ history.
- Meeting with groups associated with Pathways to Racial Justice to inform them about our land’s history and further build relationships with Indigenous Peoples and African American descendant communities. This action supported Educating4Change in initiating a brunch with members of Scotland AME Church.
- Posting in the RRUUC eWeekly about our land’s history.
- Producing a blog.
Goal 3: Provide the opportunity for RRUUC to aid descendant communities to best meet their current needs, through action and/or financial resources (reparations). LLATF worked with the RRUUC Board of Trustees to make the decision to donate to (make reparations to) the Piscataway Conoy tribe and to African American organizations in Montgomery County that support this community. The Board voted to make annual contributions for five years to the Piscataway Conoy tribe and for the first year to Scotland AME congregation. The Board will determine other African American organizations to support for the following four years.
Goal 4: Memorialize our land history. The LLATF made the important decision to memorialize our land and labor history through two means:
- A bronze Land and Labor Acknowledgement and Pledge plaque, placed at the entrance of our original building. The text reads:
- “We acknowledge that the land on which we worship is the traditional land of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway people and the land through which other Indigenous Peoples traveled. We acknowledge that enslaved African people and their descendants likely labored and lived on this land. We recognize these and other people displaced, enslaved, or harmed by past injustices.
We pledge that we will follow our faith in love and work to make our congregation and our larger community more accessible, inclusive, and equitable. We pledge that we will be good stewards of the land by encouraging healthy ecosystems. We pledge to remember the past while building a more just and welcoming future for all.”
- “We acknowledge that the land on which we worship is the traditional land of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway people and the land through which other Indigenous Peoples traveled. We acknowledge that enslaved African people and their descendants likely labored and lived on this land. We recognize these and other people displaced, enslaved, or harmed by past injustices.
- A wayside at the bottom of the pathway near the sidewalk. The wayside includes short narrative and images about four major aspects of our land’s history: Indigenous People in Our Area, Slavery in Our Area, People Enslaved by Nailor, and Land Ownership.
These two additions to the RRUUC landscape are permanent and visible means to remind anyone entering our land that River Roaders are committed to acknowledging our past and acting to right the wrongs of past racist actions.
With the accomplishment of the four goals, the Task Force has met its initial objectives and has ended its service. Future actions addressing land and labor acknowledgement will be met by other social justice committees.
LLATF members: Josh Mohr, Charlotte Moser, Barb Nooter, Lisa Rubenstein, Joe Saliunas, Joan Zenzen, and Rev. Amanda Weatherspoon, with editorial assistance from Ann Thompson Cook.