Unitarian Universalist Association. Black Affairs Council. Records, 1958-1983
Overview
This collection consists largely of the records of the Black Affairs Council (BAC), and the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus (BUUC). All of these records are related to the black empowerment controversy in the UUA in the late 1960s. There is also substantial amount of materal related to a legal case, the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus, Inc. et al v. Richard L. Traylor, et al. The records span 1958-1983.
Dates
- Creation: 1958-1983
Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Extent
12 boxesThis collection consists largely of the records of the Black Affairs Council (BAC), and the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus (BUUC). All of these records are related to the black empowerment controversy in the UUA in the late 1960s. There is also substantial amount of materal related to a legal case, the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus, Inc. et al v. Richard L. Traylor, et al. The thrust of this suit was to challenge the validity of the actions taken at a meeting held in Philadelphia in February, 1973, which purported to change the name of the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus to Black Humanist Fellowship; to eliminate the reference to Unitarian Universalism in the constitution, and in general to change the character of the organization from one which was distinctly Unitarian Universalist to one which appeared to be a new and separate black denomination.
Biographical / Historical
Immediately after the racial violence in Newark and Detroit in the summer of 1967, the Unitarian Universalist Commission on Religion and Race convened an emergency conference on "the Unitarian Universalist Response to the Black Rebellion." This conference was held in New York in October, 1967. The chief event of the 1967 conference was the formation of the Black Unitarian Universalist Caucus (BUUC), which was an attempt on the part of the black participants in the conference to set their own priorities and goals. This Caucus led to the formation of the Black Affairs Council (BAC), a committee which served as a coordinating agency for Unitarian Universalist efforts in the fields of race relations and black empowerment. FULLBAC (Full Recognition and Funding of the Black Affairs Council) was a white support group formed in 1968 which supported the full funding of the Black Affairs Council. Some Unitarian Universalists felt that the direction of the Black Affairs Council was too separatist, and a group called Black and White Action (BAWA) was formed in 1968 to provide a channel for the efforts of some Unitarian Universalists to achieve racial justice through more integrated means.
Through a mismanagement of funding by the UUA administration, the dispersal of funds promised to BAC was changed from a one million dollar payout over four years to one over five years, requiring reaffirmation every year. In 1970, BAC disaffiliated from the UUA and in the following two years, through the sale of BAC bonds and a grant from the Veatch program, they raised the funding they required. A year later, in 1973, BAC and BUUC split and two organizations claiming to be BAC emerged, leading to a lawsuit. As UUA membership declined in general during this period, so did black membership. BAC was officially disbanded in 1979.
Note: See film made about this controversy entitled "Wilderness Journey, The Struggle for Black Empowerment and Racial Justice within the Unitarian Universalist Association, 1967-1970," VHS created by Ron Cordes, 2003, in bMS 15027.
General note
The number after the slash in each entry in the following list indicates the box number, and the number in parentheses is the folder number.
- Title
- Unitarian Universalist Association. Black Affairs Council. Records, 1958-1983: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div01144
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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