About Unity Project
Unity Project launched in the fall of 2020, amid a global pandemic, an uprising for racial justice, and a contested election. It began as a dream to build a diverse choir, de-centering both whiteness and colonized music practices, rooted in outreach and service. Rather than focusing on performance as a singing group, we wanted music to be used as a tool to foster connectedness, break down biases, and build understanding around cultural differences. Since then, we have grown in purpose and scope. We continue to create space for our membership of 25 people, now called a “collective” rather than a “choir.” We also host community-wide events to educate our community about racial equity, bias, and healing. Furthermore, our founding directors are now training individuals and organizations in our community around racial equity. We have grown into a vital hub for healing justice, leading efforts that bridge anti-racism, embodiment, and cultural organizing in a way that is both deeply personal and structurally transformative.
If you are interested in joining Unity Project, please contact us.
Watch a CBS4 story about Unity Project.
Read a recent article about Unity Project.
Here’s how our members describe the Unity Project experience:
“I appreciate everyone’s willingness to work through challenging conversations, especially when we realize that we don’t all have the exact same views. This group has pushed me out of my comfort zone in many ways, and I’m proud to be a part of it and have the opportunity to learn from each person.”
“There are times when I’m not ‘in the mood’ to dive deep into hard conversations about race and divisive political issues. When that happens, the large and small group conversations we have typically lift me up! I’m given hope by these people. It is a window into our humanity to be surrounded by differently and like-minded people. We can still love each other and respect each other, even if we don’t agree or the topic is hard to get through and grapple with.”
“I am so grateful I followed my heart and not my fear when I accepted this incredible invitation, because little did I know it would be the beginning process for some of the best work of my lifetime… I am proud and excited to be a part of Unity Project because I believe it is a springboard for change and growth, using the arts and communication as the momentum. We will change the world, starting with ourselves, but all together - evolving in unison.”
“Unity Project has been a much needed communal event during a time of great division and detachment from public living. Recording music and having conversations is a welcomed source of engagement.”
"Peace making doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice without mirroring injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither fight nor flight but the careful, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice. It is about a revolution of love that is big enough to set both the oppressed and the oppressors free.”
— Shane Claiborne