Church Women United (CWU) was formed to advance a petition in support of the formation of the United Nations (UN). It consists of 1,200 units spread across the United States and its members represent at least 70 Christian denominations. ¹

CWU advocates the consideration of a person’s race to promote diversity. It supports gun control, equal outcomes in health care, food security, reducing incarceration, and taking into account the negative impacts of weather events. The organization supports the United Nations goals of net-zero carbon emissions and sustainable cities. ^{2 3 4 5}

The organization is a member of the Declaration for American Democracy coalition, whose other members include left-wing Demos and the National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM), which has expressed its solidarity with Black Lives Matter (BLM). ^{6 7 8 9}

History

Church Women United (CWU) was founded in 1941 as the United Council of Church Women consisting of Christian women from 70 denominations to circulate a petition that garnered over 84,000 signatures to encourage the signing of the United Nations charter. ¹⁰

Organization

Church Women United has over 1,200 units organized into regions of cities, counties and states throughout the United States headed by the national organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It has formed the Young Church Women United (YCMU) as an added outreach to women between the ages of 21 and 35. ^{11 12 13}

Activities

Church Women United educates and advocates for actions intended to reduce food insecurity and provide greater access to health care. CWU recommends that members read Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health, a document that ascribes the gap in outcomes to the racism of insurance companies and health care providers. ¹⁴

The group educates members about the concept of “environmental equity” by asking its members to organize meetings, providing expert speakers, and develop partnerships with other groups. ¹⁵

It encourages members to read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness, which condemns the belief that the color of one’s skin should not be considered and that incarceration of those committing crimes should be balanced among racial groups. CWU asks members to conduct events that would pressure government to end “systemic racism.” ^{16 17 18}

The organization features articles published by the United Nations including “50 million people in modern slavery; No justification for ‘fundamental’ human rights abuse” written about the abuse of domestic laborers and “17 Sustainable Development Goals” that include affordable clean energy, zero hunger, sustainable cities, net zero carbon, and decent work. ^{19 20 21}

The most recent National President’s letter addressed “gun violence” concerns by proposing stricter gun control and improving mental health. ²²

CWU supports the Boycott Wendy’s campaign designed to force Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program backed by left-leaning worker centers. ^{23 24 25}

Related Organizations

Church Women United is one of over 250 member organizations of the Declaration for American Democracy coalition, a left-of-center project of Public Citizen Foundation founded by Ralph Nader. Other coalition partners include the left-of-center organizations Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), Indivisible, Demos, and Alliance for Youth Action (AFYA), a left-wing voter registration and mobilization organization. ²⁶

The group’s partners include the left-leaning Bread For The World, the National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM) which seeks to dismantle supposed white privilege and supremacy, the Ecumenical Women at the United Nations, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in advocacy for eliminating racism and support of social equal outcomes, and Church World Services (CWS), which advocates for immigrant rights and operates the Platform for Racial Justice. ^{27 28 29 30}

Funding

Ploughshares Fund, an anti-nuclear proliferation organization that pools and directs donations from wealthy individuals and philanthropies, has funded Church Women United. ³¹

People

Mira J. Washington is national president of Church Women United, a human resources business partner at Paychex, and a former board member at Cameron Ministries. ³²

1. ^[1] “CWU History.” Church Women United. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/history.
2. “About.” The New Jim Crow. Accessed March 3, 2023. https://newjimcrow.com/about.
3. “Letter From Our President.” Square Space. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5efabdfb49883455cb3ada14/t/63233574b16c932d3014bb26/1663251828763/letter-from-president-aug-22.pdf.
4. AR;, Smedley BD;Stith AY;Nelson. “Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Accessed March 3, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25032386/.
5. “Goal 1: End Poverty in All Its Forms Everywhere – United Nations Sustainable Development.” United Nations. United Nations. Accessed February 10, 2023. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/.
6. Admin. “A Coalition of 240+ Member Organizations Working Together to Make the Promise of Democracy Real for All of Us.” Declaration for American Democracy, February 4, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
7. Admin. “A Coalition of 240+ Member Organizations Working Together to Make the Promise of Democracy Real for All of Us.” Declaration for American Democracy, February 4, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
8. “Home.” NFWM, February 18, 2022. https://nfwm.org/
9. Taylor, Julie. “A Statement in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter.” NFWM, July 6, 2020. https://nfwm.org/news/a-statement-in-solidarity-with-black-lives-matter/.
10. “CWU History.” Church Women United. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/history.
11. “Findaunit.” Church Women United. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/findaunit.
12. “Our Story.” Church Women United. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20160418230251/http://www.churchwomen.org/?page_id=45.
13. “Young Church Women United.” Church Women United. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/young-church-women-united.
14.  Church Women United. “Health and Wellness.” Church Women United. Church Women United, May 18, 2021. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/blog/health-and-wellness.
15. Church Women United. “Climate Stewardship.” Church Women United. Church Women United, May 18, 2021. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/blog/climate-stewardship.
16. Church Women United. “Social Justice.” Church Women United. Church Women United, May 18, 2021. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/blog/social-justice.
17. “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colo…” Goodreads. Goodreads. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6792458-the-new-jim-crow.
18. “About.” The New Jim Crow. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://newjimcrow.com/about.
19. “Church Women United.” Church Women United. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/.
20. “Ending Violence against Women and Girls – United Nations Sustainable Development.” United Nations. United Nations. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ending-violence-against-women-and-girls/.
21. “Goal 1: End Poverty in All Its Forms Everywhere – United Nations Sustainable Development.” United Nations. United Nations. Accessed February 10, 2023. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/.
22. “Letter From Our President.” Square Space. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5efabdfb49883455cb3ada14/t/63233574b16c932d3014bb26/1663251828763/letter-from-president-aug-22.pdf.
23. “Action – Global Concern — Church Women United.” Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/actions.
24. “Why Boycott Wendy’s?” BOYCOTT WENDY’S. Accessed February 10, 2023. http://www.boycott-wendys.org/why-boycott-wendys.
25. “Church Women United.” Facebook. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/churchwomenunited/.
26. Admin. “A Coalition of 240+ Member Organizations Working Together to Make the Promise of Democracy Real for All of Us.” Declaration for American Democracy, February 4, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
27. “Church Women United.” Church Women United. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.churchwomenunited.net/.
28. “Home.” CWS, December 9, 2022. https://cwsglobal.org/.
29. “Home.” NFWM, February 18, 2022. https://nfwm.org/.
30. “Our Mission and Core Values.” NFWM, January 13, 2023. https://nfwm.org/about/mission-statement-core-values/.
31.  “Ploughshares Fund (PF).” Discover The Networks. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/ploughshares-fund-pf/.
32. “Mira Washington, MSL – Human Resources Business Partner – Paychex …” Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mira-washington-753a20a2.