First Unitarian Church of Dallas Welcomes Jerry Hawkins as Director of Equity Initiatives
First Unitarian Church of Dallas is proud to announce the hiring of Jerry Hawkins as our new Director of Equity Initiatives, a role central to our future and to our enduring commitment to justice, compassion, and truth-seeking.
The Director of Equity Initiatives will guide the church through a two-year process of building a racial equity pillar within our new strategic plan, while preserving, interpreting, and activating local Dallas history as a pathway to understanding, collective memory, truth-telling, and repair. Rooted in Unitarian Universalist values, this work bridges institutional transformation with community narrative change, connecting faith, history, and justice.
Introducing Jerry to the congregation at our Parish Meeting, Senior Minister Rev. Daniel Kanter said:
“Right now is the time to double down on this effort. While everyone around us is going the opposite direction, we go in this direction. That’s who we are. We don’t fold under the pressure to erase DEI.”
The position is funded through resources the church intentionally set aside for racial equity work.
About the Role
As Director of Equity Initiatives, Jerry will:
- Support the church’s strategic planning process through a racial equity lens
- Create community-based programming grounded in history, dialogue, and imagination
- Preserve and activate Dallas history to deepen understanding of race, place, and faith
- Strengthen the church’s role as a hub for racial healing and local history engagement
- Help develop a model for a future First Unitarian Racial Justice Center
Jerry will also serve as a resource to the congregation for learning, conversation, and exploration of racial equity and Dallas history.
About Jerry Hawkins
Jerry Hawkins is an artist, educator, historian, and storyteller dedicated to uncovering and amplifying untold narratives. He is the Executive Producer, Researcher, and Narrator of the Emmy Award–winning 2024 PBS/KERA documentary Recovering the Stories: Exploring the History and Resilience in Dallas Communities.
A Presidential Leadership Scholar (2020–22) and co-founder of The Imagining Freedom Institute, Jerry previously served as the Founding Executive Director of Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation, where he helped lead transformative equity initiatives across the city.
In his remarks to the congregation the Parish Meeting, Jerry invited members to take the long view:
“Imagine it is a hundred years from now. What will the community say about First Unitarian? Will they say this is the church that followed love, protected people, and pursued justice or that we ran away from the pressures of society?”
He emphasized the importance of internal and community work, youth leadership, and collective learning, adding:
“The work of racial equity is generative. It is meant to bring us together and move us closer to what we want as a society.”
Grounded in Our History
This role continues First Unitarian Church of Dallas’s longstanding commitment to racial justice, including:
- Early racial integration in Texas in the 1940s
- Active participation in the Civil Rights Movement
- Ongoing congregational work through the Racial Equity Task Force, convened in 2018
We are honored to welcome Jerry Hawkins into our community and look forward to the work ahead.
The congregation is invited to get to know Jerry and learn about the work to come at this introductory event:
January 25, 2026, 12:30 pm – Racial Equity 101
Jerry Hawkins, Director of Equity Initiatives, will lead a time of engagement and learning around what the work for racial equity means in our area, in our church, and in our lives. This program will be offered throughout the year if you can’t make this one.
