Queer youth to America: get on the equality bus!We join the Equality Ride The Equality Ride is an annual civil-rights bus journey across the United States led by young adults. It primarily fosters dialogue -- or, failing that, confronts colleges and universities that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. in progress ... Inspired by the '60s' Freedom Riders freedom rider n. One of an interracial group of civil rights activists in the early 1960s who rode buses through parts of the southern United States for the purpose of challenging racial segregation. , 33 young LGBT LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender activists on a bus are invading the nation's antigay colleges. Here riders tell their stories of inspiration, hope, and getting arrested in their quest to change America In high school, when Jake Reitan first learned of the 1960s' Freedom Riders, he was in awe. "It was an incredible era of youth activism Youth activism is best summarized as youth voice engaged in community organizing for social change. Around the world young people are engaged as activism planners, researchers, teachers, evaluators, social workers, decision-makers, advocates and leading actors in the environmental ," he says of the young black and white activists who traveled by bus through the South in 1961 protesting segregation. "A small group of youth came together and said, 'We're going to change the world'--and they did. I wanted to do that today with gay and lesbian youth." Now 24, Reitan has realized that dream. He is codirector of the Soulforce Equality Ride, which began March 9. With codirector Haven Herrin and 31 other young, queer, and mostly Christian activists, the riders have been traveling to 18 Christian universities and military academies that bar openly gay students--plus Texas A&M University, home to the largest Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at any state school. They arrive not to confront and condemn but to open dialogue to show that being Christian and queer are not mutually exclusive Adj. 1. mutually exclusive - unable to be both true at the same time contradictory incompatible - not compatible; "incompatible personalities"; "incompatible colors" . Resistance from administrators has been considerable--and arrests for trespassing frequent--but they've also had countless productive meetings with students, professors, and others about religion-based oppression of gay people. "I don't want to see social prejudice wrapped in the sanctification sanc·ti·fy tr.v. sanc·ti·fied, sanc·ti·fy·ing, sanc·ti·fies 1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate. 2. To make holy; purify. 3. of the Bible," says Herrin, 24. "I want to say, 'We can question things without destroying your religion as you know it--that choice and information and science and exploration and thought have always been a part of defining what your religion is, and that faith is always evolving.'" Though many riders were arrested at the first two stops in Virginia--Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg and Regent University Notable faculty Name Position Known For John Ashcroft Distinguished Professor of Law and Government Former Attorney General of the United States and Politician Admiral Vern Clark Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies Former Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. in Virginia Beach--other schools on the seven-week trip have been more welcoming, including Abilene Christian University, two hours west of Dallas, where an Advocate photographer caught up with the riders. At Abilene riders were able to mix freely with students and give presentations, leading to some surprising personal encounters. "We see individual acts of youth heroism across the country, but what is lacking is an interconnectivity, where we're all on the same page moving as a common force. That's what creates a movement," says Reitan, who will attend Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's purpose is to train graduate students—either in the academic study of religion, or in the practice of a religious ministry. in the fall. "The first day, I said to the riders, 'When I had the dream for the Soulforce Equality Ride, one person dreaming it is a beautiful idea, but that's all it is, an idea.' Now that we have 33 people dreaming the same idea, it's the beginning of a movement." As the Equality Ride culminates April 26 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, The Advocate asked some of the riders and those who support them to relate their experiences in their own words. Jake Reitan, 24, Equality Ride founder and codirector I met this kid in a gay bar in Chicago, a student at Wheaton [College, an evangelical Christian school Evangelical Christian School, also known as ECS, is a Christ-centered, Biblically directed, private school in Cordova, Tennessee. It was founded in 1965 and joined Association of Christian Schools International in 1984. ]. I said, "What is it like to be a student at Wheaton?" He said, "No one knows. If I came out, I could be kicked out of the school." I said, "That's horrible; something should be done," and he said, "Actually, I think it's a good policy. I think it's a sin to be gay." It was really the anger and frustration [that I felt] that fueled the Equality Ride, because it was clear to me that the gay rights movement had failed this young man. He had grown up in a fundamentalist fundamentalist An investor who selects securities to buy and sell on the basis of fundamental analysis. Compare technician. home in a fundamentalist community, and now he was at a fundamentalist college--his whole life he's been taught that being gay is sick and sinful. We, as a gay rights movement, had not stepped into his home, his community, or his school to tell him the very basic message that God loves him as he is. So this ride, for me, is about sending that important message to that student and to gay students at all of these colleges. The Revolution Mel White, Soulforce director Revolution is always carried out by young people. I'm an old fart old fart - Tribal elder. A title self-assumed with remarkable frequency by (especially) Usenetters who have been programming for more than about 25 years; often appears in sig blocks attached to Jargon File contributions of great archaeological significance. , and for six or seven years we've been mobilizing all the old farts we could. Occasionally a young gay man or lesbian comes along like Jake and says, "I want to do something my way." So I said to Jake, "If you can raise $100,000 and get 33 qualified young activists like yourself, I'll raise the other money." Lo and behold, he raised $100,001 by January 1, and we interviewed these kids by phone--unbelievable quality, kids who would go out and take this risk. The Gandhi and [Martin Luther] King stuff gives them guidelines for relentless nonviolent resistance nonviolent resistance: see passive resistence. that we've not tried before as a community, at least not consistently. Jake bought into that so quickly. He said, "That means we don't stop until it's done. Gandhi said don't start a direct action that you're going to bail out of." U.S. representation John Lewis, an original Freedom Rider, who met with the Equality Riders before their trip Sometimes when you see something that is not right and you want to change it, you want to educate, inform, and sensitize sen·si·tize v. To make hypersensitive or reactive to an antigen, such as pollen, especially by repeated exposure. people, and you have to be prepared to do what I call "get in the way." That's what the Equality Ride is doing: It's confronting the issue of discrimination against people of different sexual orientations sexual orientation n. The direction of one's sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces. , whether gay or lesbian or transgender transgender or transgendered adj. Transsexual. , and people have to confront it. They're going to some of the most conservative places and saying, "Were here, we exist, we're not going any place." That's what we were saying during the Freedom Rides, that we're black and white and we want to end racial discrimination. Dawn Davridge, 23, Equality Rider, kicked out of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., for falling in love with her female best friend in 2004 I heard about the Equality Ride at my church, the Metropolitan Community Church in Knoxville. Jake had sent an e-mail to all the MCC (The Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation, Austin, TX) The first high-tech research and development consortium in the U.S., created in 1982 by leading companies within the electronics industry. pastors, and one Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
Pam Disel, 26, Equality Rider, gay-bashed in Waikiki, Hawaii, in 2004 I consider myself more agnostic ag·nos·tic n. 1. a. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. b. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism. 2. , but I see my LGBT brothers and sisters who go to these schools suffering. I feel compelled to support them. I've personally been impacted by the message sent out that we are sick and sinful--I was beaten in Hawaii for being gay. The people at these schools are encouraging violence toward us, saying that we're wrong, we need to be helped, we need to be healed, and that's the same kind of message that makes someone like the guy who hit me be physically violent with us. Not to mention spiritual violence--that's definitely encouraged at these campuses. The message that these schools send out is definitely far-reaching. Jake Reitan Our first stop was Liberty University, where 24 people were arrested, including me, for not only trespassing but also inciting others to trespass trespass, in law, any physical injury to the person or to property. In English common law the action of trespass first developed (13th cent.) to afford a remedy for injuries to property. . I had a three-page speech that I wanted to read about fostering understanding and who Jesus was. I got through about a paragraph and a half of the speech before I was placed under arrest. Then the next person behind me, Kevin [Mumaugh] from Laramie, Wyo., walked forward and began reading where I left off. When he was arrested the next person came forward and began reading where he had left off. When it was all said and done, the speech was read through almost two times. We were able to deliver the speech about gay rights on Jerry Falwell's property, and it really was a meaningful moment for us. Even though we weren't able to enter the campus and enter into in-depth discussions, the students felt our presence. We left an indelible impression. The Reverend Rebecca Voekel, program director of the Institute for Welcoming Resources, a national umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or of seven LGBT-affirming programs that now involve 1,300 churches in eight major Protestant denominations Noun 1. Protestant denomination - group of Protestant congregations Protestant Church, Protestant - the Protestant churches and denominations collectively A lot of the work that gets publicity oftentimes happens in more mainline mainline Drug slang verb To inject a drug Protestant and liberal Catholic circles, and one of the things that is so important about the Equality Ride is that these folks are really claiming their presence as conservative Christians. Most of the universities they're going to come from more conservative traditions, and there's very much a power in claiming one's identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual bisexual /bi·sex·u·al/ (-sek´shoo-al) 1. pertaining to or characterized by bisexuality. 2. an individual exhibiting bisexuality. 3. pertaining to or characterized by hermaphroditism. 4. , transgender, and a conservative Christian--to speak in that language of faith and claim that we are beloved children of God, that you cannot deny my existence even though we may disagree. Jake Reitan I created a solid connection with this one young man [at Regent University] who, as he says, is trying to overcome being gay. He was bawling from the moment he met me. I ate dinner next to him, and we developed a friendship. I said, "You have to know that there are gay Christians like me who have come to the conclusion that you can be both, that it's not an irreconcilable difference," and he nodded his head as if he understood. Regent is a very charismatic Pentecostal campus, and he told stories of one pastor that he was in counseling with for two years, trying to cast the demons Demons See also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism. ademonist one who denies the existence of the devil or demons. bogyism, bogeyism recognition of the existence of demons and goblins. out of him. He had to retell re·tell tr.v. re·told , re·tell·ing, re·tells 1. To relate or tell again or in a different form. 2. To count again. Verb 1. in detail every sexual encounter he had ever had, and how horrible that was. It's clear he has a lot of baggage that he carries around, but he's a sweet, smart guy, a psychology grad student. I think he just wanted to be around me and experience what that's like because I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. that he's been around a whole lot of affirming gay Christians. Dawn Davridge A student I talked to at Liberty, whom I spent probably about an hour or two with, walked away and said, "I'd better go back and re-research what I think. Because of what you said, I have some holes in my argument. I've got to go back and think things over." That, to me, was a huge step. David Coleman This page is about David Coleman the sportsman, for the academic visit David Coleman (academic) David Coleman, OBE (born 26 April 1926) is a former British sports commentator and TV presenter. , 23, Equality Rider, kicked out of North Central University in Minneapolis in May 2005 for being gay I'm learning what the Christian community looks like and the beauty of that because we're visiting all these different religious communities, and I get to see the beauty of their worship styles. I get to learn about who they are even in how they interact with us, because whether they accept us on a limited basis or accept us with open arms or completely reject us, it tells so much about who they are. I get to see the entirety of America, for better and for worse. Dawn Davridge We got to [Union University in Jackson, Tenn.] and found out we were not allowed on campus. We were in a buffer zone--literally in a field. Where we were supposed to hold our press conference and vigil was on top of a dirt pile. So we all got up there, prayed, and sang songs. I told my story and talked to the media and to the students who were there. The local media picked up the story and actually printed it. I didn't even know if they would do that--Union graduates pretty much control the town--and they printed it in a nonpartisan way. That, to me, was a huge success. Finally, the people of Jackson really got an idea of what Union is all about. Matthew James, 22, kicked out of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., in 2005 for saying he was gay on MySpace.com Initially, I was going to stay in the background [when the riders came to Lee], until I told my story to the media. Then I just said, "Everybody knows," and so I went full on and went on the bus with them. I found out the residential life director wasn't aware the school could kick people out for little things like being out on MySpace. In the handbook it says you can only be kicked out for homosexual activity, which I wasn't [involved in]. What she's saying now is that they're not going to kick people out [who simply acknowledge that they are gay]. If they don't make any changes at any other school, at least they made changes at Lee. People are still talking about it. I think our school was the only school that took the riders bowling and out to eat. The riders made a lot of friends here. Lauren Topliffe, 21, student who met the riders at Oklahoma Baptist University OBU Mission Statement
Oklahoma Baptist University was ranked in the top five by U.S. in Shawnee I came out publicly during the Equality Ride [visit] in the interviews that I did. So OBU OBU Oklahoma Baptist University OBU Ouachita Baptist University OBU Offshore Banking Unit OBU Onboard Unit OBU One Big Union OBU Old Boys Union OBU OSIS Baseline Upgrade OBU Outside Broadcast Unit OBU Overseas Business Unit OBU OSIS Baseline Group is definitely aware that I speak openly about my sexual orientation. It's very likely that Ill be asked to leave the university. But this is a big thing to happen at OBU, and I want to stay involved in pushing for the protections and rights for students on this campus. I've been quiet for way too long, and I'm tired of being quiet so that some people can feel comfortable. I refuse to bow down Verb 1. bow down - get into a prostrate position, as in submission prostrate lie down, lie - assume a reclining position; "lie down on the bed until you feel better" 2. to the administration anymore. I won't do it. Pam Disel I'm from Oklahoma, so Ill be seeing more of Lauren. When I get back we're going to do some LGBT rights work. We formed a coalition of local LGBT support, and they are taking action as we speak. We're still supportive of the students at OBU. If they need anything, they know they can get hold of us and well be right there. Dawn Davridge Abilene [Christian University] was incredible. We had a dinner where we talked to different students at the table, and then several of us went over to meet with the biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures. professors. It was amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. to hear these people in Texas at a Christian college For the university in Oregon formerly called Christian College, see . Christian College, is a school established by the Anglican Church in 1822 in Kotte, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest school in Sri Lanka. One of its masters, Rev. say, 'We believe homosexuality is a sin," but at the same time say, "That's my personal belief, and I don't think that should infringe on you as a human being or on your civil rights at all." Somebody said, "I disagree with Verb 1. disagree with - not be very easily digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people" hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back" you on homosexuality being a sin, but when the marriage amendment came up in Texas, I voted against it. I believe you should be able to marry and adopt." That was a total eye-opener because rd never met anyone like that before. Megan Kay Pruitt, 19, freshman who met the riders at Abilene Christian University I had the chance to meet with some of the Equality Riders, and one in particular, Jonathan Awtrey. I asked him different questions, like, "Do you believe you're born like this?" Because we've heard that it's a decision. I asked him about his experience coming out of the closet: Did God put this on his heart to do that? It is such a controversial topic in the Church of Christ [the denomination Denomination The stated value found on financial instruments. Notes: This term applies to most financial instruments with monetary values. The denomination for bonds and securities would be face value or par value. Abilene Christian is Christian I (krĭs`chən), 1426–81, king of Denmark (1448–81), Norway (1450–81), and Sweden (1457–64), count of Oldenburg, and founder of the Oldenburg dynasty of Danish kings. affiliated with]. [I could] talk openly and for once say my thoughts instead of having to feel like I had to keep them inside, like, "I've been taught this, but I don't know if I agree." Dawn Davridge Yesterday I talked to a marriage and family counseling class [at Abilene], and it was really interesting to be able to allow them to see that, being a married lesbian, my marriage is just the same as any other marriage. A lot of people in that class got this look, like, Oh, wow! When I started talking about the issues that we deal with, they were like, "OK, those are the same issues that I deal with." So it was awesome to make that connection. And then in the afternoon, we presented Letters to Mel, where we read 12 poignant letters [by gay people] that had been written to Mel [White] concerning different issues, from hate to love to acceptance. To see the responses in the audience, they couldn't believe that other people would respond like that. It gave them a real mirror on how they treat us. We had a lot of good dialogue and discussion over that. Pam Disel At Abilene I was personally followed by a couple of girls from their newspaper, who at the end of the day said they had been exposed to all sorts of stories, [like] you can be gay, and find Jesus, and then become heterosexual. They said, "Sitting next to you really makes us question whether that's possible," which is wonderful. We've talked to a lot of students who were dead set against any type of independent thought on the matter, and then they found that we're human. I'm Pam; I'm not just this lesbian with everything that they've been taught about homosexuality. Now they know Pam. Now they know all of the riders. They've got a face to put with the label, and that label is a little bit different to them now. Haven Herrin, 24, Equality Ride codirector At Abilene Christian University, I had a student start a conversation with me. He's like, "Well, I love you, but it's absolutely a sin, the scripture makes it so obvious." And we started talking about the scripture and, well, how do we use scripture, and what about this element of choice that's so essential to faith? He was a messianic mes·si·an·ic also Mes·si·an·ic adj. 1. Of or relating to a messiah: messianic hopes. 2. Of or characterized by messianism: messianic nationalism. Jew, and he's like, "You know what? This is a lot like me and how I've been persecuted, how my family and my culture has been persecuted." Yes, and scripture was used. He was having these epiphanies with me and starting to see that LGBT discrimination is right in line with all forms of past oppression and discrimination. He really got to a point like, "Well, I don't believe it's a sin, Haven, and I believe that it's not something you need to repent re·pent 1 v. re·pent·ed, re·pent·ing, re·pents v.intr. 1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite. 2. for. If I want to believe in equality and in extending the kingdom of God, that all people are welcome in the faith, then I really have to believe that you are too." That was pretty incredible seeing that transformation happen right there. --Additional reporting by Neal Broverman |
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