Riders arrested and harassed in Kentucky, welcomed in Alabama

This week began with a schedule change. We had originally planned to be at Union University on Monday, but in light of statements made by Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, we reexamined our route. Dr. Mohler has made public statements claiming that if a biological root for homosexuality is ever found, it would be a parent's duty to attempt to change their child's orientation from the womb.

These statements are not only outrageous, but immoral. He is calling for the eradication of a people group through the use of eugenics. Soulforce, along with other major LGBT rights groups, had repeatedly asked Dr. Mohler to rescind these statements, but they remain on his website with no apology. As a group, we made the decision that we could not stand idly by to let a Christian leader demean the beautiful diversity that God has created in humanity, and we headed to Louisville.

We walked into the president's building, and before we could reach the offices, the doors were closed and locked before us. So we had a sit-in right there in the foyer. We came with the intention to speak to Dr. Mohler and ask him to publicly rescind his harmful statements, as well as issue a public apology. However, rather than even let us speak to Dr. Mohler on the phone, the administration promptly called the police, and after about two hours of sitting on the foyer floor, 12 Riders were arrested, including myself.

With the memory of the past few stops, we did not know what to expect as we were being taken away. As we were loaded onto the paddy wagon, the plastic handcuffs were digging sharply into my wrists, and we sang Amazing Grace. Throughout the process, I was thinking back to my own realizations about voluntary redemptive suffering from last week, and as we spent our hours in jail that night I felt better prepared for what we were going through. We were released after 11 hours and told that our arraignment would be on the 29th, the day we would be traveling to Birmingham. Our attorney represented us and we now have a court date set in April. We do not know what the outcome of the trial will be--there may still be fines or jail time
for us to serve.

Our next stop was at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. When our bus pulled up, the first thing we noticed was that there were 32 police cars--a ratio of more than one car for every Rider. The bus stopped, and when the first Rider stepped down, they were met by an administrator. He told them to get back on the bus, and then he used the bus PA system to tell the Riders that we were not going to be allowed to get off.

A representative from the police then entered the bus and also gave us an unofficial warning over the PA system. We then got off the bus and stood in a vigil line. We could see a group of students sitting and watching us from a stairwell, but no one came across the street to speak to us yet. As we stood, the police came to tell us that we could not stand still on the public sidewalk, ignoring our right to assembly. They forced us to walk up and down the sidewalk and to keep
moving for the entire time we were there. Then students came down and walked with us, and when two students stopped walking, they were placed under arrest.

This hung heavily on our hearts as we moved on to Birmingham, Alabama. On Friday we went to Samford University to be welcomed on campus for the second time on our trip. We had a wonderful day of dialogue, which we needed so desperately after our experiences from the past weeks. There was a forum, two presentations, a prayer service, and countless conversations all day long. As I was there on campus speaking with students, I had the realization that it felt very different from being at our very first stop at Dordt. The words came naturally, and I spoke from
my heart without feeling awkward or concerned. It hit me that I really feel like an Equality Rider.

We ended our week with a visit to the Civil Rights Institute in downtown Birmingham. We stood on holy ground next to the 16th Street Baptist Church, and saw a bus from the original Freedom Ride, gutted and charred. As I walked through silently, I was reminded that we take our roots from these heroes who were willing to take a stand for their humanity. They suffered so much, and one quote that really hit home for me in light of my recent thoughts was from one of the youths who was in jail. I don't remember it verbatim, but they said something like, "We are willing to stand being in jail for as long as people are willing to stand the way that things are out there."

I have known all along the reasons we are going to these schools, but that reminder to focus on our purpose rather than on the punishment was just what I needed. I feel better equipped to move into this next week.