2011 UU Visibility: OMD Phoenix Protest Team
Rev. Colin Bossen, Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer & Jolinda Stephens
For their participation in the Standing on the Side of Love Protests in Phoenix, AZ, July 2010.
From Rev. Bossen's blog: "I did not go to jail expecting to meet a theologian. But jail was where I met Tupac Enrique Acosta. Tupac, like me, was arrested in front of one of the Maricopa County Sheriff's offices for protesting against Arizona's anti-immigrant law SB1070 on July 29, 2010. Unlike me, Tupac had an analysis of the bill's place in history that put it firmly within the context of the ongoing repression of the indigenous peoples of North America. Tupac, who would probably reject the label theologian, is the leading figure behind the Phoenix-based Nahuacalli, an organization that describes itself as "A Cultural Embassy of the Indigenous Peoples." He is also closely linked with Puente, the grassroots organization behind many protests against SB1070 in Phoenix, and Puente's leader Salvador Reza. Understanding his views on SB1070 illuminates that, for some, the struggle over immigration is about something larger." Read more at http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/archive_2011/0210.shtml
There were no other nominees for this award this year.
