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| Side With Love | |
|---|---|
| Name | Side With Love |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Unitarian Universalist Association |
| Type | Advocacy campaign |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Region served | United States, Canada |
| Focus | Civil rights, LGBTQ rights, Racial justice |
Side With Love
Side With Love is a long-running advocacy campaign initiated by the Unitarian Universalist Association to advance civil rights, social justice, and interfaith solidarity across North America. The campaign has mobilized congregations, grassroots activists, and allied organizations through events, media outreach, and direct-action tactics. Side With Love's activities intersect with national movements, legal cases, and electoral politics, drawing support from religious, civic, and human-rights networks.
Side With Love originated as a public witness initiative of the Unitarian Universalist Association in 2008, expanding in response to the civil-rights debates of the late 2000s and 2010s. Its stated mission emphasizes love-rooted resistance to discrimination, support for LGBTQ communities such as Human Rights Campaign allies, solidarity with movements like Black Lives Matter, and advocacy for immigrant rights connected to organizations including American Civil Liberties Union affiliates. The campaign frames its objectives in relation to landmark events and institutions including responses to rulings by the United States Supreme Court, resolutions from the United Nations Human Rights Council, and legislative battles in statehouses such as those in Massachusetts and California.
Side With Love operates as a campaign arm within the governance structures of the Unitarian Universalist Association and coordinates with regional entities like the UU Ministers Association and local congregations in cities such as Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. Leadership typically includes designated campaign directors, regional coordinators, and volunteer organizers who liaise with leaders from organizations like the National LGBTQ Task Force, GLAAD, and denominational councils. Advisory input has come from faith leaders associated with institutions such as Harvard Divinity School and activists linked to networks like the Center for American Progress and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund-funded initiatives. The campaign has collaborated with elected officials from legislative bodies including members of the United States Congress and state legislatures to shape advocacy priorities.
Programs under Side With Love have ranged from annual observances and multifaith worship resources to direct-action trainings and digital campaigns. Major efforts included mass mobilizations in response to policy debates over marriage equality and non-discrimination ordinances in municipalities such as New York City, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The campaign ran voter-engagement drives aligned with election cycles involving the Presidential election and midterms, partnered with coalitions like the Democratic National Committee allied groups, and coordinated public-education efforts featuring partnerships with media outlets like NPR and The New York Times. Other initiatives addressed immigrant-rights campaigns in collaboration with groups such as United We Dream and criminal-justice reforms alongside groups linked to the Sentencing Project.
Side With Love has engaged in political advocacy through lobbying, coalition-building, and public testimony before legislative committees at city and state levels, often joining amicus efforts around precedents from the United States Supreme Court on issues affecting LGBTQ rights and religious liberty. The campaign has supported litigation strategies used by organizations like the ACLU and Lambda Legal by amplifying friend-of-the-court perspectives and mobilizing congregational briefs in key cases. It has also participated in ballot-measure campaigns, coalition endorsements, and nonpartisan voter-protection work coordinated with election protection groups such as Common Cause and Brennan Center for Justice.
Public reception of Side With Love has been mixed, receiving praise from faith-based allies including members of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and humanitarian organizations like Amnesty International for its solidarity framing. Supporters in cities including Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon credited the campaign with increasing congregational engagement on civil-rights issues. Critics have accused the initiative of partisan alignment with progressive causes, drawing rebuke from conservative religious organizations such as the Family Research Council and from commentators in outlets like Fox News and The Wall Street Journal. Debates have centered on the campaign’s theological interpretations, political endorsements, and methods of digital and on-the-ground protest.
Side With Love has partnered with a broad array of civil-rights, faith-based, and advocacy organizations, including the National Council of Churches, PFLAG, Equality Federation, and campus networks at institutions like Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley. Funding has come from denominational budgets, philanthropic grants linked to foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations, and individual donations facilitated by networks like Network for Good. The campaign has also received in-kind support from media partners and collaborating unions and civic groups, while adhering to transparency practices expected by watchdogs like Charity Navigator and GuideStar.
Category:Unitarian Universalist organizations Category:Civil rights organizations in the United States