From all of us at UCC Media Justice, Happy Easter. Today is a reminder that the stories we tell each other can change everything. If you celebrate, we hope your day is filled with reflection, renewal, and rest. Enjoy this message from @unitedchurch.bsky.social's Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson:

ICYMI—mark your calendar for the 44th Annual Parker Lecture and Awards Luncheon on Thursday, September 10, 2026! More details:

Wishing our Jewish friends and colleagues a meaningful and joyous Passover. Chag Pesach Sameach!

Please take a moment to join us in taking action on this #TransDayOfVisibility ⬇️

To close out #WomensHistoryMonth, today we honor Martha Wright-Reed. Martha was a retired nurse, a grandmother, and blind. The phone was her only way to stay connected to her grandson, Ulandis Forte, after he went to prison in 1994. 🧵 #phonejustice (photo via @mediajustice.bsky.social)

Palm Sunday wasn’t a parade. It was a protest. Two processions, two visions of power. This weekend, people gathered for “No Kings” protests across the country. Public witness is how we practice faith. Good read from @convergenceus.bsky.social connecting Palm Sunday to this moment.

🚨 BLOCKED (for now): A federal judge in California halted the Nexstar/TEGNA merger last night — no layoffs, no newsroom consolidations pending an April 7 hearing. A win for local journalism workers everywhere. 📺⚖️ 🔗 buff.ly/4zLUe6r

Process victory! The National Sheriffs' Association tried to hide its survey data from public review at the FCC while using it to argue for massive phone rate increases on incarcerated people. We challenged the confidentiality claim, and they withdrew it. The data now goes public. #phonejustice 🧵

🚨 We joined @freepress.bsky.social, @cwaunion.bsky.social, and @uccmediajustice.org in filing an appeal to the US District Court of Appeals to stop the illegal merger between Nexstar and TEGNA. Read our joint statement with @democracyforward.org at the link below:

We’re going to federal court to stop the FCC’s unlawful approval of the Nexstar/TEGNA merger. Together with our partners, all represented by Democracy Forward, we filed an emergency petition seeking an immediate stay and legal review. 🧵

UCC Media Justice banded together with public interest allies & media companies to file emergency petitions challenging the FCC's approval of the Nexstar merger. Deadline: 3:00 PM 3/21/26, otherwise, court. Read the filings: buff.ly/xVxgXqQ & buff.ly/3WSa1dV

UCC Media Justice had a great time last week visiting the national setting of @unitedchurch.bsky.social, briefing the national board and meeting with national staff. Our policy advisor was joined by board members Rev. Freeman Palmer and Charles Jefferson, Jr.!

Great news! After UCC Media Justice @CWAUnion and @FreePress filed at the FCC, eight states sued to block the Nexstar/TEGNA merger! buff.ly/f9LTur7 Check out our analysis and filings at the FCC here: buff.ly/59tcCGY

In celebration of #WomensHistoryMonth, we’re honoring our favorite trailblazers in media justice! Our 2025 Newton N. Minow Award recipient @agomezfcc.bsky.social is fighting tooth and nail for the First Amendment at a time when it has been under threat like never before.

ICYMI—The 44th Annual Parker Lecture & Awards Luncheon will be held on September 10 in Washington, D.C.! At a time when the times we face are scary and difficult, this is a chance to come together for community and reflection. We hope to see you there: uccmediajustice.org/save-the-dat...

We are proud to join this letter warning Congress to block White House efforts to extend government surveillance powers without new safeguards.

19 million older Americans lack broadband at home. Only 48% of seniors with incomes below $25K have a wired connection. A new AARP report says the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program made things worse, and states and community groups now have to fill the gap: buff.ly/bOTTJR1

In celebration of #WomensHistoryMonth, we’re honoring our favorite trailblazers in media justice! Brandi Collins-Dexter was recognized posthumously with the 2025 Parker Award for a lifetime of work dedicated to pursuing justice and the public interest in media.

Save the date: The 44th Annual Parker Lecture and Awards Luncheon will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2026, in Washington, D.C.! We hope you'll join us: buff.ly/k3GUzoN

💜 March is Women's History Month. 💜 Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, General Minister & President/CEO, invites us to celebrate the work of women who came before us and continue to work toward collective liberation and a #JustWorldForAll #WomensHistoryMonth

UCC Media Justice, as a co-chair of @civilrightsorg.bsky.social Media Telcom TF proudly joins in this statement decrying the Department of Defense’s power grab for AI surveillance tech.

Black history is not a month. It's every day. UCC Racial Justice Ministries has resources to close out February and a year-round Black History 365 guide covering human migration from Africa, the Sankofa principle, and more. Start now. Keep going all year:

Important thread from our Policy Advisor @cleanza.bsky.social:

🙌🏾 Turn off biometric unlocking on your phone (facial recognition, fingerprint unlock, etc.) 🫶🏾 Those who seek to harm will look for ways to get information however they can. Practicing security culture, is one way to keep each other safe. ⬇️ Daily Lenten Practices: https://ow.ly/KsGb50Yl3oM

The FCC just voted to tighten eligibility for Lifeline, the last federal broadband subsidy for low-income households. @agomezfcc.bsky.social called it "a war on the poor." With ACP gone, Lifeline is all that's left.

Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim neighbors and partners in justice. May this month of prayer, fasting, and generosity bring peace to you and your families. 🌙

ICYMI: The Supreme Court is weighing whether the President can fire commissioners at agencies like the FCC whenever he wants. If that happens, the agencies that regulate the internet and oversee media mergers become political tools. We lose our seat at the table.

The FCC deletes rules for corporations but buries low-income families in paperwork to keep their phone and internet service. Our faith calls us to stand with the least of these. We joined 10 organizations in opposing these changes to the agency's essential Lifeline program:

📅 Join us virtually TOMORROW at 8pm ET for a "Call to Christians in a Crisis of Faith and Democracy" This virtual vigil will feature Christian leaders from across the country gathering together in prayer, lament, and moral clarity. ▷Register here: ow.ly/HeG650YhaRF

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. has passed at 84. Rev. Jackson delivered the 30th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture in 2012, where he paid tribute to our founder and lifted up the fight for affordable communication for incarcerated people.

Researcher Raelyn Roberson on Grok: "We're just seeing these tech oligarchs say whatever they want about our elections and it's taking off like wildfire because they're in control of these algorithms." We talk a lot about why AI accountability matters. This is why.

The checks and balances meant to protect our civil and human rights are disappearing. @unitedchurch.bsky.social's General Minister and President / Chief Executive Officer Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson writes about what this moment during Black History Month demands of us:

UCC Media Justice joined @civilrightsorg.bsky.social and 25+ civil rights orgs in an urgent letter to the Senate Homeland Security Committee: DHS has built exactly the surveillance state Congress tried to prevent. 🧵

"All I want for Valentine's Day is for you, dear reader, to hold your biometric data close." Dating apps are becoming surveillance tools. Dr. Reagan Nicole explains the connections between Match Group, facial recognition, and government surveillance @revivallab.bsky.social:

🧠 This week, in her "On My Mind Today" blog, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, GMP/CEO of UCC, responds to the overtly racist images of President Barack & Michelle Obama publicly shared by President Trump on official government social media channels. 👉🏾 Full post: https://ow.ly/zRPz50Ycwop

The Washington Post cut a third of its staff. Newsrooms are shrinking everywhere — and at the same time, massive mergers like Nexstar/TEGNA are consolidating what's left. When newsrooms shrink, communities lose the reporting that holds power accountable when we need it most.

Local media ownership is a democracy issue. The proposed Nexstar/TEGNA merger would reach 80% of US homes — far beyond the 39% congressional cap — and violate FCC rules in 23 markets. 🧵 buff.ly/rpH5zpd

Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested for documenting a protest. Black journalists have always been targeted for bearing witness. That's not new. But the federal government doing it so openly should alarm everyone who cares about a free press.

We asked the FCC to reject the Nexstar-Tegna merger. 28 organizations have joined us. 265 TV stations under one company isn't local news. It's media consolidation. The FCC should say no.

AI systems can discriminate at scale. A new report from @civilrightsorg.bsky.social's Center for Civil Rights and Technology explains why "disparate impact" law is critical: it lets us challenge systems that appear neutral but produce discriminatory outcomes. This protection is under attack.

The Supreme Court could allow the President to fire agency leaders simply for disagreeing with him. If the FCC loses its independence, we lose our voice. Bhawna Motwoni, J.D. candidate and Technology Law and Policy Scholar @georgetownlaw.bsky.social, breaks it down on our blog:

Far-right propaganda is spreading through social media. AI-generated disinfo floods our feeds. @waccglobal.bsky.social calls for a "whole-of-society approach": media literacy, civic engagement, platform accountability, shared responsibility. Democracy requires it.

Big Tech is experimenting on our children. As people of faith, we are deeply concerned that technology could treat the loss of a child's life as merely the cost of doing business. Important new report from @publiccitizen.bsky.social:

After the FCC reversed price caps on prison phone and video calls last year, incarcerated people in Missouri are now choosing between staying connected to family and buying toothpaste. Communication is a fundamental human need. #PhoneJustice

Today Rev. Michael Neuroth (Director of the UCC Office of Public Policy & Advocacy) was arrested alongside dozens of faith leaders demanding the Senate stop additional funding for ICE. Thank you, Rev. Neuroth, and all the clergy who chose to #PrayWithYourFeet today!

"Now is the time to go back out into the world and resume rewriting the script." Our 2025 Parker Award recipient Brandi Collins-Dexter spent her life fighting for media that serves all of us. @revivallab.bsky.social — her final project — will carry that work forward.

Palantir built ICE a tool called "ELITE" that maps neighborhoods to raid. When technology is weaponized to track, target, and tear apart families, we must speak out. Digital rights are civil rights.

Tomorrow, January 29th, at 9:00 AM ET, people of faith from across the country are gathering in Washington D.C. to pray with our feet and take bold, moral action. ▷ RSVP here: ow.ly/KsNp50Y4RY9

Minneapolis is under siege. Our clergy are on the ground. And we will not be silent. Read Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson's statement and prayer for @unitedchurch.bsky.social:

We stand with Commissioner Gomez in decrying this attack on low-income people by the FCC. After the Affordable Connectivity Program ran out of money, only Lifeline is there to pick up the slack.