“Thinking about How Lives Matter”

We claim universality in our faith community. We talk about the worth and dignity of every person. It doesn’t matter whether one is black or white, gay or straight. That’s true but it’s also not true. If we ignore an identity that is important to a person, we ignore part of them. We know that “Black Lives Matter” and that “All Lives Matter,” but if we can’t say the former, we don’t mean the latter. We need to recognize both specificity and universality, that “all” contains multitudes.

Michael S. Franch is an Ethical Culture Leader and an active member of the National Leaders Council of the American Ethical Union. He served as Leader of the Baltimore Ethical Society from 1975-1984 and is currently affiliate minister at the First Unitarian Church, Baltimore. Mike is a historian by training but spent most of his career working in health policy at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He enjoys English country dance, folk music, playing his concertina, and riding his bike around town. He’s on the board of the Baltimore City Historical Society and the Green Burial Association of Maryland.