Time to Take It to the Streets

A national call for nonviolent direct action in the struggle for marriage equality
Jeff Lutes, Executive Director, Soulforce

Last week thousands of lesbian and gay people and their friends filled the streets of California in peaceful protest. Outraged, these upright Californians chose to take action and publicly march against Proposition 8 and the LDS Church for financing the deceptive ads that helped it pass.

First, bravo to our California friends — their moral indignation is healthy and just. Second, hooray for those in other parts of the country who have begun to follow suit — let us not stop until every community has mounted sustained campaigns of resistance.

Despite our substantial legislative efforts, thirty states have now passed bans on same-gender marriage. That should serve as a wake-up call to our movement — one that forces us to consider what we might be doing wrong.

Discrimination does not begin in our courts or in our government — it ends up there. The fear and misinformation that drives unjust legislation gets its start within society, and the primary source of the problem is the sanctuaries, wealthy mega-churches, and powerful religious institutions of this country. With gigantic and captive national audiences, both Protestant and Catholic churches teach falsehoods that cause voters to cast their ballot against the constitutional promise of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for their gay and lesbian neighbors.

In this election, like so many others before it, the call from the pulpit was clear: We must stop the gays. As millions of gays and lesbians had their hearts broken, some religious leaders rejoiced in that suffering. The Rev. James Garlow, senior pastor of Skyline Church in San Diego County, told the New York Times “It was a great victory. We just saw the people rise up.”

It’s time for all of us to rise up like thousands are doing now in the Golden State and elsewhere.

We are tired of defeat, token change, defending ourselves against charges of moral inferiority, and being told to “wait” in the land we love while liberation occurs in other countries.

Martin Luther King, Jr. acknowledged that real change takes time; yet he also warned against the “tranquilizing drug of gradualism” and instructed the oppressed to demand equality now — not on the convenient time schedule of those doing the oppressing.

Nonviolent direct action strategies such as marches, vigils, demonstrations, boycotts, public protests, and civil disobedience, seek to create what Dr. King called “healthy tension.” This constructive nonviolent tension forces those who perpetuate injustice, and society as a whole, to pause, reflect, and consider the ugliness of their prejudices and the indecency embodied in their discrimination. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King wrote: “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.” Public protests empower us and educate those who are still the victims of fear and division.

It’s imperative that we remain nonviolent in our approach. Although it may provide short term emotional release, it’s ultimately counterproductive to scream expletives at those who have harmed us. We must refrain from damaging property or trying to destroy the character of others and instead approach those who promote discrimination in a spirit of nonviolence. As both Gandhi and King taught, we must avoid violence of the fist, tongue, and heart and remember that in truth we are challenging unjust systems, not people. In due course, we seek to be in community with those from whom we currently find ourselves divided.

So, start organizing now. Don’t wait on a LGBT rights group to take the lead. Most of the protests in California were organized by just a handful of people. You can do it too. Imagine the productive conversations around America’s dinner tables if the evening news was flooded with coverage of peaceful marches in the other 29 states that ban marriage equality.

In the wake of our recent losses, let’s rededicate our lives to speaking out with integrity and let’s reclaim nonviolent direct action as part of that process. Let’s understand that the vision of equality belongs to all of us and we are each responsible for taking direct action in pursuit of that dream. We all have the faculty to be powerful, influential, and prevailing. Let’s reinvest in our movement for social change, believe in our own capacity to affect that change, and allow the boldness and hunger for justice to grow and contagiously spread to others.

LET’S TAKE IT TO THE STREETS!

Six from Soulforce Q Arrest in Florida

Update: Soulforce to Visit to Liberty University

As recently reported:

Despite ending up in handcuffs back in 2006, gay rights activists with the group Soulforce are planning another visit to Liberty University (web) . Their goal is to promote acceptance and inclusion at several faith-based campuses, but plans for this year’s Equality Ride stop at LU are still in the works. Soulforce leaders say police arrested a total of 24 people after going on campus unwelcome.

This week, they’re hoping leaders at Liberty change their mind. Katie Higgins, Soulforce - “We have been told by Liberty Police that we are not welcome on campus and that’s a message from the Chancellor. But we still go with the faith that his mind will change.” After all, Liberty allowed them on campus back in 2005. Higgins - “There was an entire day of productive dialogue and that’s what we are hoping for again.”

Chancellor Jerry Falwell junior says he’s not commenting about the visit. LU students we spoke with say they are open to talking with the activists. LU Student - “I don’t agree with homosexuality and I think it’s a reprehensible act in itself, but I try my best to let people know I care about them.” LU Student - “We don’t accept being gay, that’s a sin. But we also need to show them love and kindness.”

Read more of this article at gay-religion.blogspot.com, and read more on Jerry Fawell and how he managed to make millions on his advocacy of hate by clicking here.

UDATE ACCORDING TO USATODAY:

The Soulforce 2008 Equality Ride, a nationwide bus tour that promotes acceptance for gays and lesbians on Christian college campuses, will start this year’s tour with a Wednesday visit to Liberty University — the first time the group will be allowed on campus.

In 2006, more than 20 Equality Ride activists were arrested for attempting to enter Liberty’s campus to donate gay-affirming Christian books to the library.

Soulforce Equality Bus Gets Ready to Ride

According to Soulforce Q, there are over 200 colleges and universities in the United States that have explicit policies that discriminate against GLBT students. Since 2006, Souforce Q, a division of Soulforce, has applied efforts to change this through a program called Equality Ride. Equality ride is a bus trip taken by a group of young adults (ages of 18 to 28) who are GLBT and straight. During the bus trip they visit some of the institutions with the hopes of improving GLBT policies and perceptions.

According to co-director Katie Higgins, “I would hope that we are able to stand on a campus and maybe for the first time be an affirming voice.” On previous Equality Rides, Higgins has heard from several students that she is the first open lesbian they have ever met. Higgins added, “Conversations are happening on these campuses that have never happened before. Our goal is to talk to our peers and try to find a way where … GLBT students can go to school without fear of retribution.”

The group has witnessed changes in perceptions and attitudes towards GLBT students. However, only a few schools have actually changed some of their anti-GLBT policies. One school in particular, Samford University, used to have specific written policies and condemnations of homosexuals, but after the groups visit, the policies have been changed and are the same for GLBT and straight students.

This year’s ride is taking 17 carefully chosen participants, to 15 schools throughout the South from Oct. 2 to Nov. 13. Details of the Equality Ride and it’s mission can be found here.

Phoenix Lesbian to Walk for Human Rights

Remember that song from “Benny and June” that went “I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more . . .” Well, how do you feel about 96 miles?

While most locals are surviving the Dog Days of summer by moving from one air-conditioned space to the next, Meg Sneed–a 25-year-old graduate of North High School–plans to spend August 8-16 outdoors, traversing the Valley by foot. Sneed and five other young adults will walk 96 miles to raise awareness about Proposition 102, a constitutional amendment on this November’s ballot that attempts to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Meg is a member of Soulforce Q, the young adult division of Soulforce, a national social justice organization, and the local organizer of their Right to Marry Campaign.

“As a young adult, I would like to be able to marry the person I choose one day, but I need the same rights and protections as previous generations of Arizonans in order to do that,” says Sneed, who identifies as a lesbian.

Read the rest at bilerico.com.

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