So, just wanted to say hey and to let everyone know who is following the blog that I am still alive. lol. The ride has been busy and crazy but with this weekend off and relaxing in Oklahoma City I will have all the up dates from every school and even some things in between. Thanks for following and sorry I have been slacking!
From The Road
Zak
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Prayer As A Wepon
“I pray that you exercise the demons in this man and take him out of his homosexual lifestyle.” A man from Louisiana College said has he laid his hand on my back during our candlelight vigil out side LC. It was in that moment I lost all my silent reserve and started to cry. Let me rewind.
We pulled into the Pineville LA area that afternoon and spent the packing boxes for he CENLA Food Bank. For me it was awesome to work for the community for a little while. Pineville and Alexandria LA were hit by Hurricane Gustav so we as Riders decided to go to campus which was also effected we would do community service and invite students out. The President of the university told Katie that “They were not interested in that kind of work.” The President of a Christan university was not interested in helping out his own community. We worked anyway and put together so many boxes. Over 250 boxes of food in 4 hours.
We then decided after the President's remarks we would hold a candlelight vigil that night and bring attention to what he had said. When we got there there students lined up, behind police officers, watching. Laughing. Slowly the vigil line got larger and larger due the community members there. We even had a faculty member there. We had students walking up and down the line behind us, praying for us, our souls, our so called 'demons'. After they were done and we had collected ourselves we invited the students to come speak with us. When they would not we started to tell about us and the similarities between us. No one came to speak. The silence was louder than any vigil song ever could have been.
To have prayer, something that is so sacred and meaningful used as a weapon was the hardest thing for me as a Christan to handle. It's something I will never understand.
From The Road And Shaken,
Zak Rittenhouse
We pulled into the Pineville LA area that afternoon and spent the packing boxes for he CENLA Food Bank. For me it was awesome to work for the community for a little while. Pineville and Alexandria LA were hit by Hurricane Gustav so we as Riders decided to go to campus which was also effected we would do community service and invite students out. The President of the university told Katie that “They were not interested in that kind of work.” The President of a Christan university was not interested in helping out his own community. We worked anyway and put together so many boxes. Over 250 boxes of food in 4 hours.
We then decided after the President's remarks we would hold a candlelight vigil that night and bring attention to what he had said. When we got there there students lined up, behind police officers, watching. Laughing. Slowly the vigil line got larger and larger due the community members there. We even had a faculty member there. We had students walking up and down the line behind us, praying for us, our souls, our so called 'demons'. After they were done and we had collected ourselves we invited the students to come speak with us. When they would not we started to tell about us and the similarities between us. No one came to speak. The silence was louder than any vigil song ever could have been.
To have prayer, something that is so sacred and meaningful used as a weapon was the hardest thing for me as a Christan to handle. It's something I will never understand.
From The Road And Shaken,
Zak Rittenhouse
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Mississippi Closet
We rolled into the Clinton MS on Saturday the 18th and I feel like as we are leaving there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in this town. This is the one stop on the Ride that I have been planning and working on since July and now that its come and gone I feel like there is much more that needs to be done.
We held our meeting about the stop on Saturday the 18th and I gave everyone a run down of how I wanted the days to look and go and a general schedule. Planning seems to be in my blood. After answering some questions we broke for the night and I met up with Mary Sue, the student I had been communicating with all summer and just to see the smile on her face when she saw me and the bus was amazing. We went out to eat and I told her what the next few days would look like. After dinner we went back to the hotel and I met a few other students and alum who I had been working with. It was so great to finally see them.
Sunday we were invited to go to church at Northside Baptist with a local man by the name of Cliff Johnson. Cliff and his family are probably some of the most amazing people I have met in my life time. I have never felt so welcomed at a church in my life. Some of the Riders went with me and as we were leaving I looked at the pastor, and told him that it was the first time in years I had left a church happy and closer to God. He just smiled and said “Your Welcome.”
We when got back to the hotel we had a feast provided for us by the amazing people at Safe Harbor Community Church in Jackson. We ate and hung out with them and it was truly awesome. Safe Harbor is a predominantly LGBT church in Jackson MS. They invited us to a revival that night and I was definitely gonna take them up on that offer and some riders and I did. You have never been to a revival till you have been to a revival at a Queer Church. So much love and compassion and joy just flowed from everyone. They invited us to speak a little about who we were and what were about. I invited them all to our candlelight vigil that night. We had to leave the revival early because justice called and it was time to get ready for our candlelight vigil at MC.
We got there and lined up and light our candles off the a main pillar candle. I spoke at the about the importance of candlelight, and how every time a candle is lit, there is a purpose and how that night the candles were lit in remembrance of people and stories who had been thrown in to the darkness to be forgotten. We stood silent and solemn and it was a beautiful scene we had students watching us from afar and a few even came out and joined us. We had two students who bought us hot chocolate just because they wanted to. We ended the night with people sharing why they lit their candle. It was a beautiful moment. We packed up and headed back to the hotel for tomorrow we would be on campus.
We pulled up the next morning and it was a totally different scene than last year. No SWAT vans, no crazy amounts of police. Just campus security watching from a distance. We stood silently for a while then I decided to keep up with what had been going on campus in the months before our arrival, chalking. I broke the vigil line and told the riders it was time to “chalk the block” and we did. It was the most powerful thing to watch all the riders break line and start chalking messages such as “John 3:16 says WHOSOEVER, that includes LGBT people” and “I am YOUR sister.” all up and down the block and even in front of the steps of the main entertain. By this point in the day we had students starting to watch us and engage us and faculty and administration come out. They however refused to acknowledge our presence and humanity. The lady who does the PR for the school actually turned her nose up at me.
At about 1pm that after noon we gathered all the Riders together and read a letter that an MC student wrote and sent to me. It talked about what it was like to be gay at MC, how he is harassed and can't come out. How if he would tell the school he was being harassed he would be in trouble. After we finished reading it Cait, Alex, Mary Sue and a student by the name of Johnathon walked on to campus together. Cait and Alex were arrested as Mary Sue and Johnathon stayed behind.
After the girls walked on many students came down and talked to us. Asked us why? Why was it important that we have this conversation on campus? Why did we walk on knowing what might happen? My answer was the letter. The letter we read was a clear example about how LGBT students feel on campus everyday. It was important to walk to show that the administration would go so far to arrest two young women who hold a different view to keep that view off campus.
The rest of the day was spent talking about the chalk, the messages behind it and so on. When I went to lunch I got a phone call from Mary Sue that said “They trying to power wash the sidewalk what do you want us all to do?” The sidewalk we chalked on was public sidewalk, the 'they' was Mississippi College. I told her pick a square and sit on it and to tell the other riders to do the same. I ran back down to the College and they had just driven off, without spraying down the sidewalk.
Our last day in Clinton we had a community picnic and a few students showed up as well as random passerby stopped by to say Hi and see what we were about. She sat and listened as an MC student poured her heart out us and told her story. As we were leaving she asked to board the bus and speak with us. She told us that we were loved not only by her but by God and that she admired what we were doing. She gave us a sending prayer and wished us luck and safe travels. We ended the night with dinner at Cliff's house with his family and members from the community. We had students and faculty there. It was a great way to end our time in Clinton, MS.
A student referred to Mississippi College as Mississippi Closet. Now I see why. The LGBT students on that campus are forced into silence everyday. This was my stop on the ride and I can truly say that my work in this community is far from over.
From the Road,
Zak Rittenhouse
We held our meeting about the stop on Saturday the 18th and I gave everyone a run down of how I wanted the days to look and go and a general schedule. Planning seems to be in my blood. After answering some questions we broke for the night and I met up with Mary Sue, the student I had been communicating with all summer and just to see the smile on her face when she saw me and the bus was amazing. We went out to eat and I told her what the next few days would look like. After dinner we went back to the hotel and I met a few other students and alum who I had been working with. It was so great to finally see them.
Sunday we were invited to go to church at Northside Baptist with a local man by the name of Cliff Johnson. Cliff and his family are probably some of the most amazing people I have met in my life time. I have never felt so welcomed at a church in my life. Some of the Riders went with me and as we were leaving I looked at the pastor, and told him that it was the first time in years I had left a church happy and closer to God. He just smiled and said “Your Welcome.”
We when got back to the hotel we had a feast provided for us by the amazing people at Safe Harbor Community Church in Jackson. We ate and hung out with them and it was truly awesome. Safe Harbor is a predominantly LGBT church in Jackson MS. They invited us to a revival that night and I was definitely gonna take them up on that offer and some riders and I did. You have never been to a revival till you have been to a revival at a Queer Church. So much love and compassion and joy just flowed from everyone. They invited us to speak a little about who we were and what were about. I invited them all to our candlelight vigil that night. We had to leave the revival early because justice called and it was time to get ready for our candlelight vigil at MC.
We got there and lined up and light our candles off the a main pillar candle. I spoke at the about the importance of candlelight, and how every time a candle is lit, there is a purpose and how that night the candles were lit in remembrance of people and stories who had been thrown in to the darkness to be forgotten. We stood silent and solemn and it was a beautiful scene we had students watching us from afar and a few even came out and joined us. We had two students who bought us hot chocolate just because they wanted to. We ended the night with people sharing why they lit their candle. It was a beautiful moment. We packed up and headed back to the hotel for tomorrow we would be on campus.
We pulled up the next morning and it was a totally different scene than last year. No SWAT vans, no crazy amounts of police. Just campus security watching from a distance. We stood silently for a while then I decided to keep up with what had been going on campus in the months before our arrival, chalking. I broke the vigil line and told the riders it was time to “chalk the block” and we did. It was the most powerful thing to watch all the riders break line and start chalking messages such as “John 3:16 says WHOSOEVER, that includes LGBT people” and “I am YOUR sister.” all up and down the block and even in front of the steps of the main entertain. By this point in the day we had students starting to watch us and engage us and faculty and administration come out. They however refused to acknowledge our presence and humanity. The lady who does the PR for the school actually turned her nose up at me.
At about 1pm that after noon we gathered all the Riders together and read a letter that an MC student wrote and sent to me. It talked about what it was like to be gay at MC, how he is harassed and can't come out. How if he would tell the school he was being harassed he would be in trouble. After we finished reading it Cait, Alex, Mary Sue and a student by the name of Johnathon walked on to campus together. Cait and Alex were arrested as Mary Sue and Johnathon stayed behind.
After the girls walked on many students came down and talked to us. Asked us why? Why was it important that we have this conversation on campus? Why did we walk on knowing what might happen? My answer was the letter. The letter we read was a clear example about how LGBT students feel on campus everyday. It was important to walk to show that the administration would go so far to arrest two young women who hold a different view to keep that view off campus.
The rest of the day was spent talking about the chalk, the messages behind it and so on. When I went to lunch I got a phone call from Mary Sue that said “They trying to power wash the sidewalk what do you want us all to do?” The sidewalk we chalked on was public sidewalk, the 'they' was Mississippi College. I told her pick a square and sit on it and to tell the other riders to do the same. I ran back down to the College and they had just driven off, without spraying down the sidewalk.
Our last day in Clinton we had a community picnic and a few students showed up as well as random passerby stopped by to say Hi and see what we were about. She sat and listened as an MC student poured her heart out us and told her story. As we were leaving she asked to board the bus and speak with us. She told us that we were loved not only by her but by God and that she admired what we were doing. She gave us a sending prayer and wished us luck and safe travels. We ended the night with dinner at Cliff's house with his family and members from the community. We had students and faculty there. It was a great way to end our time in Clinton, MS.
A student referred to Mississippi College as Mississippi Closet. Now I see why. The LGBT students on that campus are forced into silence everyday. This was my stop on the ride and I can truly say that my work in this community is far from over.
From the Road,
Zak Rittenhouse
Saturday, October 18, 2008
A Heritage Of Silence
The drive from Palm Beach to Florence AL was ,well, long. After the six of us that were arrested were released we hoped on the bus and drove till about 9 that night and stopped in south Georgia at a motel just long enough enough to sleep and get back up. The next we morning we dragged ourselves out to the bus and rode for another day to a small town in AL where we were offered true southern hospitality by a couple by the name of Fran and Apple. These ladies were a real treat. Hanging out, relaxing eating food and sharing stories with them was awesome. They even had us use markers to sign their garage with our names and messages from us. It was awesome to the the white walls transformed by us. By our words, our favorite quotes, the things that drive us to do this work.
We the headed into Florence AL where we were greeted and taken out to dinner by a couple who is involved in PFLAG and they told us their story of their son coming out and how they dealt with it. How they embraced him with open arms. In that moment I knew that while my own family was not as supportive it gave me hope that not all family's are like that.
We spent the next day at a local coffeehouse working and hoping for students to show up. One did. Against all the administrator told him, he showed up. Some of us sat and talked with him and heard his story and others worked on the things that we do that make the ride run just a little smoothly.
We got up and got ready the next morning and headed to Heritage Christian University. We stood by the roadside all day with not one student coming to speak to us. Katie, Taurett and Cait walked on to campus to deliver letters to the President and were arrested. We later found out that the campus had been put under lock down. So we stood as a silent force, to show the silence they people face day in and day out. We stood and had vile things shouted at us from passersby. We stood strong and silent.
As human beings we respond two ways, out of love and out of fear. I wonder how many more schools will respond out of fear to our message of hope and love?
We the headed into Florence AL where we were greeted and taken out to dinner by a couple who is involved in PFLAG and they told us their story of their son coming out and how they dealt with it. How they embraced him with open arms. In that moment I knew that while my own family was not as supportive it gave me hope that not all family's are like that.
We spent the next day at a local coffeehouse working and hoping for students to show up. One did. Against all the administrator told him, he showed up. Some of us sat and talked with him and heard his story and others worked on the things that we do that make the ride run just a little smoothly.
We got up and got ready the next morning and headed to Heritage Christian University. We stood by the roadside all day with not one student coming to speak to us. Katie, Taurett and Cait walked on to campus to deliver letters to the President and were arrested. We later found out that the campus had been put under lock down. So we stood as a silent force, to show the silence they people face day in and day out. We stood and had vile things shouted at us from passersby. We stood strong and silent.
As human beings we respond two ways, out of love and out of fear. I wonder how many more schools will respond out of fear to our message of hope and love?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I'm A Jailbird Now
At 3PM today I was released from Palm Beach County lockup. I was arrested at about 11:30 yesterday morning. Why? For trying to attend chapel on the campus at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Let me start from the begging.
We got to Palm Beach FL Saturday afternoon after a long 10 hour drive from Atlanta. We settled into our hotel and had a meeting about the coming days. PBA had offered us a meeting with a “select group of students at an undisclosed location.” This was only after our stop at Columbia International University. We rejected that offer because it did not further our mission to speak to as many students as possible. We held a picnic in a local park where some PBA students showed up. We got to talk to them as well as some community members. A few students assured us that we would be able to got chapel with them. That evening we talked about our day on campus and what that would like. Nicholas, Jarrett, Enzi, Lauren, Danielle and I decided we would attempt to go to chapel. I thought you know, its chapel. Its the house of God. Everyone is welcome.
When we pulled up to chapel police were already on stand by. We waited outside and talked to students until chapel began. When we heard the bells signaling it was time for chapel to start, I still held out hope that PBA would not arrest us for trying to go to chapel. As we approached, we read a warning by a PBA official that stated that we were “unwanted guests.” Unwanted? In God's house? It was true. I looked at Jarrett for direction who stepped forward and said “I am going to chapel.” I repeated what he said and took a step forward. The others followed suit and we were arrested for trespassing. We were arrested for trying to worship, with students in Gods house.
As the six of us were put into the back of police van I head the songs of my fellow Riders echoing out. Just As I Am and Om Shanit. I watched students tear up at the sight of the six of us getting arrested. I locked eyes with my fellow Rider Cait and in the moment I knew she was with me. I also saw the look of hurt and pain in her eyes.
We were taking to a local precinct and processed and then hauled off to county where we were placed into a holding cell with about 15 other guys. Jarrett, Nicholas and I were split up from the female bodied folk. We were asked “So why are guys here?” We were dressed in our polos, dress pants and nice shoes. We told the guys we were in holding with what had happened and they had same reaction, confusion and anger, that we were locked up for trying to go to chapel.
After holding we were then taken to shower and given a change of clothes. We were spending the night and were taken up to a block. Each block held 40 guys and ours was nearly full. When I walked in they were watching the news of us, and the rest of the guys in the block looked us and looked at the TV and quickly made the correlation. Some asked us questions about it, others just nodded and said “Good work.”
For me it was a sleepless night. I kept waking up and panicking because I forgot where I was. It was an early morning at 4:30 they woke us all up for chow. We then waited till they called us out to go to court which was held in the same building. At court was the first time we had seen the female bodied folk in while. We looked at each other and nodded. When we went in we were given a court date later in in November because no representative from PBA was present. We were released on our own recognizance with no money owed to the county.
We then had to go back up to our block and wait to be released. At around 2:15 we started the release process. Handing back our bed sheets, getting out belongings, and changing back to the clothes we were in when we came in. When I walked out the the final room of paperwork I saw Cait, Nick and Manny waiting for me. To see them waiting on me and giving me big hugs made me feel all the better when I walk outside the sky was blue, the sun was and there were more riders, Danielle and Lauren and Nicholas too. Hugs were given and after taking in the moment I headed down a long overpass and saw Bill make his way up the stairs. Again, hugs and words of encouragement ensued. When I reached the bottom the stairs there stood Katie and Taurett. Giving me hugs. I could not stop smiling and neither could they. The smiles were saying, we love you, we missed you and we are glad you are okay. I hoped on the bus, changed clothes and then waited for Enzi to be released. When I got to the bus, My fellow riders had decorated my seat with letters, notes and streamers. Welcome back. We missed you. Thank you for being brave for all of us.
I was curious to know what the PBA students said about us getting arrested for going to chapel. My fellow riders said that one student who I was talking to, John, said he hated to watch me get arrested for going to church. Another student, who told me he was gay, told the other riders that he wished he could have been with us.
So many things went through my mind the entire time I was in jail. Two things stood out. The first, is that God puts exactly where you need to be, even if it is in a cell block. The conversations I had with a few guys really reminded me of that. The second is that no matter what, when I get arrested I am following in the footsteps of Equality Riders before me, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi all who stood their ground for what they believed in as well.
I am proud and humbled,mostly humbled, to say that I, Zak Rittenhouse, know what its like to go to jail for justice.
Yours From The Road (And Now A Former Jailbird),
Zak Rittenhouse
We got to Palm Beach FL Saturday afternoon after a long 10 hour drive from Atlanta. We settled into our hotel and had a meeting about the coming days. PBA had offered us a meeting with a “select group of students at an undisclosed location.” This was only after our stop at Columbia International University. We rejected that offer because it did not further our mission to speak to as many students as possible. We held a picnic in a local park where some PBA students showed up. We got to talk to them as well as some community members. A few students assured us that we would be able to got chapel with them. That evening we talked about our day on campus and what that would like. Nicholas, Jarrett, Enzi, Lauren, Danielle and I decided we would attempt to go to chapel. I thought you know, its chapel. Its the house of God. Everyone is welcome.
When we pulled up to chapel police were already on stand by. We waited outside and talked to students until chapel began. When we heard the bells signaling it was time for chapel to start, I still held out hope that PBA would not arrest us for trying to go to chapel. As we approached, we read a warning by a PBA official that stated that we were “unwanted guests.” Unwanted? In God's house? It was true. I looked at Jarrett for direction who stepped forward and said “I am going to chapel.” I repeated what he said and took a step forward. The others followed suit and we were arrested for trespassing. We were arrested for trying to worship, with students in Gods house.
As the six of us were put into the back of police van I head the songs of my fellow Riders echoing out. Just As I Am and Om Shanit. I watched students tear up at the sight of the six of us getting arrested. I locked eyes with my fellow Rider Cait and in the moment I knew she was with me. I also saw the look of hurt and pain in her eyes.
We were taking to a local precinct and processed and then hauled off to county where we were placed into a holding cell with about 15 other guys. Jarrett, Nicholas and I were split up from the female bodied folk. We were asked “So why are guys here?” We were dressed in our polos, dress pants and nice shoes. We told the guys we were in holding with what had happened and they had same reaction, confusion and anger, that we were locked up for trying to go to chapel.
After holding we were then taken to shower and given a change of clothes. We were spending the night and were taken up to a block. Each block held 40 guys and ours was nearly full. When I walked in they were watching the news of us, and the rest of the guys in the block looked us and looked at the TV and quickly made the correlation. Some asked us questions about it, others just nodded and said “Good work.”
For me it was a sleepless night. I kept waking up and panicking because I forgot where I was. It was an early morning at 4:30 they woke us all up for chow. We then waited till they called us out to go to court which was held in the same building. At court was the first time we had seen the female bodied folk in while. We looked at each other and nodded. When we went in we were given a court date later in in November because no representative from PBA was present. We were released on our own recognizance with no money owed to the county.
We then had to go back up to our block and wait to be released. At around 2:15 we started the release process. Handing back our bed sheets, getting out belongings, and changing back to the clothes we were in when we came in. When I walked out the the final room of paperwork I saw Cait, Nick and Manny waiting for me. To see them waiting on me and giving me big hugs made me feel all the better when I walk outside the sky was blue, the sun was and there were more riders, Danielle and Lauren and Nicholas too. Hugs were given and after taking in the moment I headed down a long overpass and saw Bill make his way up the stairs. Again, hugs and words of encouragement ensued. When I reached the bottom the stairs there stood Katie and Taurett. Giving me hugs. I could not stop smiling and neither could they. The smiles were saying, we love you, we missed you and we are glad you are okay. I hoped on the bus, changed clothes and then waited for Enzi to be released. When I got to the bus, My fellow riders had decorated my seat with letters, notes and streamers. Welcome back. We missed you. Thank you for being brave for all of us.
I was curious to know what the PBA students said about us getting arrested for going to chapel. My fellow riders said that one student who I was talking to, John, said he hated to watch me get arrested for going to church. Another student, who told me he was gay, told the other riders that he wished he could have been with us.
So many things went through my mind the entire time I was in jail. Two things stood out. The first, is that God puts exactly where you need to be, even if it is in a cell block. The conversations I had with a few guys really reminded me of that. The second is that no matter what, when I get arrested I am following in the footsteps of Equality Riders before me, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi all who stood their ground for what they believed in as well.
I am proud and humbled,mostly humbled, to say that I, Zak Rittenhouse, know what its like to go to jail for justice.
Yours From The Road (And Now A Former Jailbird),
Zak Rittenhouse
Saturday, October 11, 2008
My HBCU Experenice
Our days in Atlanta came to a close and I left ATL with renewed sense of purpose and engery and drive. For me, it seems like when I feel really low I meet someone at stop that just lifts my spirits about all that we do.
Our fist day in Atlanta we went to Spelman college for a meet and greet with Afrakette and Safe Space, the Spelman and Morehouse LGBT student groups. It was refreshing to walk onto a campus and be welcomed with open arms. The students really wanted to know about us, our stories and and our journey thus far and beyond. We then went to dinner with some students. It was good to relax and just hang out. The next day we hit our first campus in Atlanta, Morehouse. Morehouse is an all men historically black college. Like Spelman, they do not have explicit polices that discriminate against LGBT students however both schools still have deep southern baptist roots as both were founded as seminaries for men and women. We were there to support the student groups on campus as well as aid them in working towards a better campus for all students.
When we got Morehouse we had breakfast with students, faculty and staff. We made introductions and and talked and shared our stories. We were then given a tour of the Morehouse campus. After our tour we set up a table on Kilgore Plaza and handed out flyer's for that nights event, an open Mic night at a local coffee house, and talked to students. After we were done hanging out on the plaza we headed to a meeting with the Chapel assistants on campus. I have never see a room so full. When he discussion started it was very intense. It was a good, intense though. Both groups you could tell we were trying and wanting to know where the other group was coming from. Someone described as an intellectual buffet, and I could not have agreed more. That evening we headed back campus and participated in a queer themed open Mic. Members from both student groups and even a few Equality Riders preformed. It was awesome.
We woke up the next morning and it was off to Spelman college to set up a table at their Friday Market. Students and staff came up to us and wanted to know who we were and what we were about. That afternoon we had a panel discussion around Gender and watched a student directed and produced film called “No Homo.” It was a documentary on what it's like to be LGBT at Morehouse and Spelman. It was really good and gave me a better understanding of what that experience is like. We then headed back to our hotel to get ready for our last event in Atlanta, a house party. A Morehouse student opened his home up to us the last night to give us some time off from the work we do, however the work that we do was the hot topic of the night. We really got the chance to connect with the students we had interacted with the past few days.
h
Our fist day in Atlanta we went to Spelman college for a meet and greet with Afrakette and Safe Space, the Spelman and Morehouse LGBT student groups. It was refreshing to walk onto a campus and be welcomed with open arms. The students really wanted to know about us, our stories and and our journey thus far and beyond. We then went to dinner with some students. It was good to relax and just hang out. The next day we hit our first campus in Atlanta, Morehouse. Morehouse is an all men historically black college. Like Spelman, they do not have explicit polices that discriminate against LGBT students however both schools still have deep southern baptist roots as both were founded as seminaries for men and women. We were there to support the student groups on campus as well as aid them in working towards a better campus for all students.
When we got Morehouse we had breakfast with students, faculty and staff. We made introductions and and talked and shared our stories. We were then given a tour of the Morehouse campus. After our tour we set up a table on Kilgore Plaza and handed out flyer's for that nights event, an open Mic night at a local coffee house, and talked to students. After we were done hanging out on the plaza we headed to a meeting with the Chapel assistants on campus. I have never see a room so full. When he discussion started it was very intense. It was a good, intense though. Both groups you could tell we were trying and wanting to know where the other group was coming from. Someone described as an intellectual buffet, and I could not have agreed more. That evening we headed back campus and participated in a queer themed open Mic. Members from both student groups and even a few Equality Riders preformed. It was awesome.
We woke up the next morning and it was off to Spelman college to set up a table at their Friday Market. Students and staff came up to us and wanted to know who we were and what we were about. That afternoon we had a panel discussion around Gender and watched a student directed and produced film called “No Homo.” It was a documentary on what it's like to be LGBT at Morehouse and Spelman. It was really good and gave me a better understanding of what that experience is like. We then headed back to our hotel to get ready for our last event in Atlanta, a house party. A Morehouse student opened his home up to us the last night to give us some time off from the work we do, however the work that we do was the hot topic of the night. We really got the chance to connect with the students we had interacted with the past few days.
h
Friday, October 10, 2008
Reflections Of Columbia SC From Atlanta GA
Sitting here in Atlanta watching the traffic wiz by in the highway I can't help but think of our most recent stop in Columbia SC at Colombia International University. This stop will remain important to me because a reality was really made clear, no matter how much students want to talk to us, the administration is afraid.
When we got Columbia SC we were welcomed at a a local LGBT center for a backyard BBQ. We met many amazing people. There was one to me who stood out, here name was Elke. Her son Sean was beaten and killed in SC because he was gay. She has now made it her mission to educate people on the lack of hate crime laws in SC. She told us a story about how her church kicked her out at a time when the should have held her close. She is truly an amazing woman and has started a foundation to help educate other by telling her story. As we left the center my mind was full and I was ready to get settled into the hotel and relax for the next day we hit campus.
We when pulled up to CIU the administration had blocked off with a section at the very edge of campus. It was blocked off with yellow police tape and road barricades. The campus was at least a mile down the road. We we asked on administrator why the barricade he said it was for our safety from the road. The road was behind us at least 40 feet and there no barricades on that side. As were setting up for the day we watched a group of about 30 students walk towards us. They had to walk a mile to get to us and cross police tape with words do not enter on it. What kind of message is that sending? Standing vigil and gathering my thoughts at the barricade I counted at least 8 identifiable police cars. What were they so afraid of? I placed my Bible on the barricade and watched as two police officers took a few steps toward me, once they realized I was just placing my Bible there they stepped back.
We had some great conversations with students. The administration however was out in full force and roved around the entire. Almost as if to monitor what the students were saying. While I feel we had some genuine conversations I feel the students held back because of the administration.
Towards the end of the day we abruptly told we had to leave campus because the administration had a staff meeting. We asked if we could continue to speak with students and the faculty said “No.” The faculty would not let these young men and women speak to us with out them in ear shot. We were then asked to remove ourselves to very edge of campus, right next to the same busy road we were told eariler in the day they wanted to protect us from. It was disappointing that the administration reacted the way they did. We watched as the students looked confused as were put by the side of the road.
The next day we were asked to go to the University Of South Carolina to support them in the National Coming Out Day celebrations. We pulled on to campus and parked the bus on campus all day while talking to students and supporting the USC community. It was a great day for the riders and I to kinda relax and hang out and talk to students about what it means to come out. The USC community was amazing.
Now we are in Atlanta GA visiting Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. Our visits here are a little different. While Morehouse and Spelman do not have polices that discriminate against LGBT students, both schools were founded with deep Baptist roots. Currently both colleges have student groups that support LGBT people on their respective campuses. While here in Atlanta we are here to show our support of the progress these schools have made and to have peaceful dialogue with students.
The ride has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster thus far and I can only imagine what coming weeks will bring.
From The Road,
Zak Rittenhouse
When we got Columbia SC we were welcomed at a a local LGBT center for a backyard BBQ. We met many amazing people. There was one to me who stood out, here name was Elke. Her son Sean was beaten and killed in SC because he was gay. She has now made it her mission to educate people on the lack of hate crime laws in SC. She told us a story about how her church kicked her out at a time when the should have held her close. She is truly an amazing woman and has started a foundation to help educate other by telling her story. As we left the center my mind was full and I was ready to get settled into the hotel and relax for the next day we hit campus.
We when pulled up to CIU the administration had blocked off with a section at the very edge of campus. It was blocked off with yellow police tape and road barricades. The campus was at least a mile down the road. We we asked on administrator why the barricade he said it was for our safety from the road. The road was behind us at least 40 feet and there no barricades on that side. As were setting up for the day we watched a group of about 30 students walk towards us. They had to walk a mile to get to us and cross police tape with words do not enter on it. What kind of message is that sending? Standing vigil and gathering my thoughts at the barricade I counted at least 8 identifiable police cars. What were they so afraid of? I placed my Bible on the barricade and watched as two police officers took a few steps toward me, once they realized I was just placing my Bible there they stepped back.
We had some great conversations with students. The administration however was out in full force and roved around the entire. Almost as if to monitor what the students were saying. While I feel we had some genuine conversations I feel the students held back because of the administration.
Towards the end of the day we abruptly told we had to leave campus because the administration had a staff meeting. We asked if we could continue to speak with students and the faculty said “No.” The faculty would not let these young men and women speak to us with out them in ear shot. We were then asked to remove ourselves to very edge of campus, right next to the same busy road we were told eariler in the day they wanted to protect us from. It was disappointing that the administration reacted the way they did. We watched as the students looked confused as were put by the side of the road.
The next day we were asked to go to the University Of South Carolina to support them in the National Coming Out Day celebrations. We pulled on to campus and parked the bus on campus all day while talking to students and supporting the USC community. It was a great day for the riders and I to kinda relax and hang out and talk to students about what it means to come out. The USC community was amazing.
Now we are in Atlanta GA visiting Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. Our visits here are a little different. While Morehouse and Spelman do not have polices that discriminate against LGBT students, both schools were founded with deep Baptist roots. Currently both colleges have student groups that support LGBT people on their respective campuses. While here in Atlanta we are here to show our support of the progress these schools have made and to have peaceful dialogue with students.
The ride has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster thus far and I can only imagine what coming weeks will bring.
From The Road,
Zak Rittenhouse
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Walking On To Liberty
I woke up this morning very reflective. It had been a week since the other riders and I got to Baltimore. Our last bit of training under our belts and ready to have the dialog we have been wanting for so long.
I will remember what Peterson Toscano said to us about people not remembering what we said, but how we made them feel. Peterson talked to us about the ex-gay movement and his experiences in it. It really struck a cord with me on just one of the many experiences we will encounter on campus.
I will remember what Phil Lawson said about speaking with nothing but love in out hearts, even when we feel that that love is not being returned. I will remember what it means to full grace, compassion and faith like only Phil can describe.
I will remember what my fellow Riders have said at different points that really have made me realize how important it is to be on this journey. While for many this a journey for our selves, its also about each other and the LGBT students on campus we are there for.
I will remember what one Mississippi College student said about what is means to the LGBT students on campus when we get arrested. I will remember that every time I get arrested that the message I am sending the student who in the closet is one of hope, faith and love. That I love them so much that I would go that far for them.
This week as has been tough. Emotions have run the course of high highs and low lows, but in the end. Its all worth it and I would not change it for anything.
Today was the day we saw our bus for the first time. “I am really doing this.” I thought. The bus looks amazing, and I hope to post a picture soon. We hit the road early, our hearts firm yet loving and our minds really taking it in what it means to be on this journey. We are heading to Liberty today. We have been told that they will allow 5 of us on campus. We also know what they are telling the media. That we are not coming and if we do we are not allowed on campus. It really made me wonder what will happen.
As I rolled on to campus with the other riders I felt a an overwhelming sense of peace and calm wash over me and a voice saying “Your doing the right thing.” That gave me a lot of comfort. After filling off the bus and standing vigil with the rest of the riders Katie, Danielle, Nicholas, Cait and myslef gathered the books that we were going to donate to Liberty. We had a police escort to the spot where Liberty begins. After that we were on our own. We walked on to campus. No police. We entered the Liberty library. No police. We walked to the courtyard to have dialog with students. No police.
We walked on to campus had amazing dialog with students. Students who really wanted to talk us. To be there and to be a part of that experience was an amazing thing. To command the attention of 50 or more of peers, just by your mere presence is a powerful thing.
We then went to an affirming church in the Lynchburg area. They were so welcoming and wanted to know us, our stories, and who we were. We then had amazing time of fellowship with the church as well as Liberty students.
What it boils down to is this, my journey with these amazing people has just begun. There will be many times where things will be hard. We will rely on each other as much as we rely on our home base for support. I feel for the first time in a long time that this is where I am supposed to be and I could not be any happier.
From The Road
Zak Rittenhouse
zak@equalityride.com
I will remember what Peterson Toscano said to us about people not remembering what we said, but how we made them feel. Peterson talked to us about the ex-gay movement and his experiences in it. It really struck a cord with me on just one of the many experiences we will encounter on campus.
I will remember what Phil Lawson said about speaking with nothing but love in out hearts, even when we feel that that love is not being returned. I will remember what it means to full grace, compassion and faith like only Phil can describe.
I will remember what my fellow Riders have said at different points that really have made me realize how important it is to be on this journey. While for many this a journey for our selves, its also about each other and the LGBT students on campus we are there for.
I will remember what one Mississippi College student said about what is means to the LGBT students on campus when we get arrested. I will remember that every time I get arrested that the message I am sending the student who in the closet is one of hope, faith and love. That I love them so much that I would go that far for them.
This week as has been tough. Emotions have run the course of high highs and low lows, but in the end. Its all worth it and I would not change it for anything.
Today was the day we saw our bus for the first time. “I am really doing this.” I thought. The bus looks amazing, and I hope to post a picture soon. We hit the road early, our hearts firm yet loving and our minds really taking it in what it means to be on this journey. We are heading to Liberty today. We have been told that they will allow 5 of us on campus. We also know what they are telling the media. That we are not coming and if we do we are not allowed on campus. It really made me wonder what will happen.
As I rolled on to campus with the other riders I felt a an overwhelming sense of peace and calm wash over me and a voice saying “Your doing the right thing.” That gave me a lot of comfort. After filling off the bus and standing vigil with the rest of the riders Katie, Danielle, Nicholas, Cait and myslef gathered the books that we were going to donate to Liberty. We had a police escort to the spot where Liberty begins. After that we were on our own. We walked on to campus. No police. We entered the Liberty library. No police. We walked to the courtyard to have dialog with students. No police.
We walked on to campus had amazing dialog with students. Students who really wanted to talk us. To be there and to be a part of that experience was an amazing thing. To command the attention of 50 or more of peers, just by your mere presence is a powerful thing.
We then went to an affirming church in the Lynchburg area. They were so welcoming and wanted to know us, our stories, and who we were. We then had amazing time of fellowship with the church as well as Liberty students.
What it boils down to is this, my journey with these amazing people has just begun. There will be many times where things will be hard. We will rely on each other as much as we rely on our home base for support. I feel for the first time in a long time that this is where I am supposed to be and I could not be any happier.
From The Road
Zak Rittenhouse
zak@equalityride.com
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Ride That Almost Never Was
When you pour your heart and soul into something you want it to work out okay. One thing you don't expect is to be told there is a possibility that it may not happen.
“So Zak we just had a really big grant fall though. We will know by 4pm today if we are going on the ride.” That was phone call I got yesterday. For the next few hours I prayed, called, emailed, prayed and wondered what would happen to me if the Ride did not happen. At 5:30 I got a phone call saying that the Equality Ride was still on.
In that time I realized something that I never thought of before. If we did not do this work who would? I thought to myself that the Equality Ride not happening is not an option. I realized that as much as I am passionate about this work that it is not longer about me and how I feel about the ride. Its about the students on the campus who are struggling with who they are the faith they have known all their lives. If anything I am much more gracious to be here and humbled to be a part of this work.
We made it to Baltimore today and started into our first day of training this evening. We shared our feelings about what I call Black Tuesday, caught up with each other, ate dinner and settled in. We are making home here in the city for a week. One more week of training and workshops. There will not be a dull moment. I can guarantee you this!
I know some of you are wondering if we still need to raise money. The answer is yes. We still need money. You can donate at www.equalityride.com/donate or www.soulforce.org/zak_rittenhouse. Our work is not possiblie without your support.
From The Road
Zak Rittenhouse
Zak@equalityride.com
www.soulforce.org/zak_rittenhouse
For more information on the Equality Ride and where we are going check out www.equalityride.com!
“So Zak we just had a really big grant fall though. We will know by 4pm today if we are going on the ride.” That was phone call I got yesterday. For the next few hours I prayed, called, emailed, prayed and wondered what would happen to me if the Ride did not happen. At 5:30 I got a phone call saying that the Equality Ride was still on.
In that time I realized something that I never thought of before. If we did not do this work who would? I thought to myself that the Equality Ride not happening is not an option. I realized that as much as I am passionate about this work that it is not longer about me and how I feel about the ride. Its about the students on the campus who are struggling with who they are the faith they have known all their lives. If anything I am much more gracious to be here and humbled to be a part of this work.
We made it to Baltimore today and started into our first day of training this evening. We shared our feelings about what I call Black Tuesday, caught up with each other, ate dinner and settled in. We are making home here in the city for a week. One more week of training and workshops. There will not be a dull moment. I can guarantee you this!
I know some of you are wondering if we still need to raise money. The answer is yes. We still need money. You can donate at www.equalityride.com/donate or www.soulforce.org/zak_rittenhouse. Our work is not possiblie without your support.
From The Road
Zak Rittenhouse
Zak@equalityride.com
www.soulforce.org/zak_rittenhouse
For more information on the Equality Ride and where we are going check out www.equalityride.com!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
It's Time To Hit The Road, Almost!
I can't believe its almost here. The 2008 Soulforce Q Equality Ride which I am a part of this year. 18 people. 15 college campuses. 2 months. 1 bus. In a few days I will be hoping on a plane and traveling to Baltimore to reunite with the rest of the Riders. It has been since the middle of July that I last saw any of them but if I know anything, distance means nothing between friends. Once we all arrive in Baltimore it will be one week of continued training, finalizing presentations, and continued hard work to make sure that each one of the school stops each rider planned is ready to go when we get to that community.
Since this is my first blog I guess I should tell you a little about who I am. My name is Zak Rittenhouse, 21 years old and I come from a small, rural, southern Ohio town called Frankfort, about 20 miles east of Chillicothe. My hometown is very conservative and there is a church on every block, needless to say growing up, being a part of the church and a Christian was a big a part of my life. I was your typical active member in my church youth group. Summer mission trips, Friday night football gatherings after the game, and youth choir were all part of my life. I also have been gay for as long as I can remember. When I could first put a name to my feelings I did what any good Christian man would do, I prayed. Hard. I wanted to be straight, I heard what my pastor said about gay people. Then I thought, “If my church can see me doing all this awesome things for Christ, maybe that will change how they see gay people. If they knew that they were talking about they would change their minds.” I told my youth pastor I was gay, and he echoed the same sentiments that my pastor had stated. I never set foot in that church again.
Though I never set foot in that particular church again I knew that God loved me just the way he made me. So I continued to believe and pray that God would send me a message of hope. And boy, did he deliver!
I was sitting at home watching TV and the UCC “Bouncer” add came on. I watched with so much interest and immediately went on the Internet to check it all out. Needless to say, this was the sign I was praying for.
Since then I have been spreading the message that God loves all people, even LGBT people. One of my friends turned me on to Soulforce and the Equality Ride. After a multitude of phone interviews and essays, I found out I landed a seat on the bus this year.
This ride is going to be nothing short of amazing. I am looking forward to so many things! Running with Nick and Nicholas, talking music with Azariah and Manny, learning Russian from Anna, finding cool little vegetarian friendly spots on the road with Lauren, laughing at the thing us country kids do with Rachel, curling up and watching movies on the bus with Alex, Taueret and Cait, learning all I can from Katie, Haven, Jarrett and Bill who are on their third Equality Ride, sharing Americorps stories with Enzi, and laughing and telling jokes with Abby and Danielle, and so many more. These people will become my family while I am on the road, and I could not have picked a better one myself.
Well I am looking forward to many good experiences while on the road, I know it wont all be cupcakes and puppys, however I am ready for the challenge and to spread a message of unconditional, unwavering, love to places where LGBT rarely, if ever, hear that message. Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I am ready to be that change. Keep track of me all the riders here and check out out rider pages at http://www.soulforce.org/2008riders to learn more about us. If you have not had the chance please take sometime and donate to one of the amazing riders. We each have a goal of 3500 and without the support of people like you there is no way we would make it! Well folks, I am out of here to go study, read and start packing!
From The Road(Almost)
Zak Rittenhouse
Zak@equalityride.com
www.soulforce.org/zak_rittenhouse
For more information on the Equality Ride and where we are going check out www.equalityride.com!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Ten Equality Riders Arrested at Bethany Lutheran College
(Mankato, Minnesota) April 26, 2007 -- Fifty-two Equality Riders, representing diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and faith backgrounds, were met by campus security and Mankato police when they walked onto Bethany Lutheran College campus seeking dialogue with students, faculty, and administrators to address the school's anti-gay policy. Over twenty supportive community members, including students from Minnesota State University, Mankato, joined the Riders in this peaceful action. Crowds of students gathered to watch as ten Equality Riders were arrested, while the remaining Riders, community members, and MSU students lined the curb and quietly sang a benediction: "Go now in peace; may the love of God surround you everywhere you go."
Prior to arrest, the Equality Riders spent two-and-a-half hours in silent vigil outside the campus gates. Bethany Lutheran students stopped by to shake hands, thank the Riders for being there, and ask questions. "I support what you are doing 100%," said one Bethany Lutheran senior. An MSU student reiterated that support and added that, coming from a school that welcomed him as a gay man, he felt that it was especially important to stand in solidarity with those who were not welcomed in the same way.
Following the arrest, as many as fifty Bethany Lutheran students joined the Riders for conversations lasting up to two hours.
The Equality Ride visit to Bethany Lutheran College marks the end of a two-month journey across the United States. The eastbound and westbound buses came together for the first and only time to pose the question to Bethany Lutheran: "Will you choose hospitality or rejection?" Riders held photographs from schools that they had visited across the United States, depicting welcoming receptions in which Riders and students worked toward reconciliation, and unwelcoming receptions, many of them ending in arrest.
Despite months spent reaching out to Bethany Lutheran College and the evident interest of students, campus administrators chose the path of rejection in an effort to silence the conversation about faith and identity. The necessity of this conversation was apparent as Bethany Lutheran students flocked to the outskirts of campus to meet with Equality Riders, and later joined Riders and community members for presentations and dialogue at MSU and First Congregational Church UCC, where pastors representing five different denominations voiced their support for the 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. For
Prior to arrest, the Equality Riders spent two-and-a-half hours in silent vigil outside the campus gates. Bethany Lutheran students stopped by to shake hands, thank the Riders for being there, and ask questions. "I support what you are doing 100%," said one Bethany Lutheran senior. An MSU student reiterated that support and added that, coming from a school that welcomed him as a gay man, he felt that it was especially important to stand in solidarity with those who were not welcomed in the same way.
Following the arrest, as many as fifty Bethany Lutheran students joined the Riders for conversations lasting up to two hours.
The Equality Ride visit to Bethany Lutheran College marks the end of a two-month journey across the United States. The eastbound and westbound buses came together for the first and only time to pose the question to Bethany Lutheran: "Will you choose hospitality or rejection?" Riders held photographs from schools that they had visited across the United States, depicting welcoming receptions in which Riders and students worked toward reconciliation, and unwelcoming receptions, many of them ending in arrest.
Despite months spent reaching out to Bethany Lutheran College and the evident interest of students, campus administrators chose the path of rejection in an effort to silence the conversation about faith and identity. The necessity of this conversation was apparent as Bethany Lutheran students flocked to the outskirts of campus to meet with Equality Riders, and later joined Riders and community members for presentations and dialogue at MSU and First Congregational Church UCC, where pastors representing five different denominations voiced their support for the 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. For
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Soulforce Pics and Rainbow Radio show
The pictures I took at the Bob Jones University Soulforce Equality Ride visit are now posted here.
In addition, Rainbow Radio, the show I co-host here in South Carolina, has put together a show using much of my tape that didn't make it on the podcast. So, check it out here along with all the other shows we've done !
For the latest updates on the Equality Ride, visit Soulforce.
In addition, Rainbow Radio, the show I co-host here in South Carolina, has put together a show using much of my tape that didn't make it on the podcast. So, check it out here along with all the other shows we've done !
For the latest updates on the Equality Ride, visit Soulforce.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
New Whosoever Podcast Featuring Soulforce
Whosoever's newest podcast features the Soulforce Equality Ride stop at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, along with an essay by myself entitled, "I Don't Understand Fundamentalists."
Please go to this page to listen and to subscribe to our podcasts:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/WhosoeverPodcasts
Go to equalityride.com to support the Soulforce Equality Riders
Please go to this page to listen and to subscribe to our podcasts:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/WhosoeverPodcasts
Go to equalityride.com to support the Soulforce Equality Riders
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Protestors Greet Equality Riders at Bob Jones University
I went to the Soulforce Equality Ride stop in Greenville, SC today at Bob Jones University. It was quite an experience and I'll have photos and a podcast up soon so everyone can experience what the day was like.
Uh huh, gotcha, full of love ... well, full of something anyway.
I'll write more on this but for now here is a press release from Soulforce on what happened during the day, and a picture or two.
Greenville, SC, WEDNESDAY April 4, 2007 - Three young women were arrested today, on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., for walking onto the campus of Bob Jones University to engage students in dialogue. These individuals, part of the 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride Eastbound Bus, came to speak with students at the university about its discriminatory policy towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students and the doctrine that sustains it.
Those arrested were Katie Higgins, 24, from Charleston, SC; Amanda Harris, 22, from Little
Rock, AR (pictured being taken into custody); and Bronwen Tomb, 23 , from New London, CT. These students were arrested as they attempted to walk on to campus to deliver artwork and a call for change to the campus.
Harris and Tomb both walked on campus carrying pieces of art, that they themselves created, which represented the affects of homophobia within their lives. Higgins walked on after reading a document inspired by and formatted after Luther's 95 theses, in which he brought to light the injustices of the church and called for change. After Higgins' arrest, Mandy Matthias, author of the document and coordinator for the visit to Bob Jones, finished the oration of the theses at the front gate of campus.
Upon arrival to Bob Jones, Equality Riders were met with groups protesting their visit and message of inclusion for God's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children. Operation Save America, Truth Ministry, and Americans for Truth were three of the anti-gay groups present. Through bullhorns and homophobic signs, they loudly and forcefully spoke against the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Bob Jones students were unable to speak with Equality Riders, but riders believe that they made an impact on the student body. "As I was being arrested I could see hundreds of students looking over at us from the chapel, interested in what was happening. It is unfortunate that BJU administration was so quick to restrict the academic freedom on their campus that should be an integral part of the college experience," said Katie Higgins, co-director for the 2007 Soulforce
Equality Ride, east bus.
Bob Jones University is one of 32 Christian colleges and universities that Soulforce will visit as part of its second annual Soulforce Equality Ride, and the ninth visit on the Eastbound route. The 2007 Equality Ride is a 2-month journey by bus that is taking 50 young adults on 2 distinct routes to schools that actively discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Bob Jones is a private Christian college located in Greenville, SC. In letters to individual Equality Riders dated April 4, president Stephen Jones reiterated that "the institution believes the Bible is clear about God's view of homosexual practice" and that there is "no room for dialogue".
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people.
The street preaching protesters 
were very loud and rude. They said they loved us, but I don't believe people who shout at me that they love me, sorry. It reminds me of the scene in "Saved" where the fundamentalist girl nails someone with a Bible and yells, "I am FULL of the love of God."
were very loud and rude. They said they loved us, but I don't believe people who shout at me that they love me, sorry. It reminds me of the scene in "Saved" where the fundamentalist girl nails someone with a Bible and yells, "I am FULL of the love of God."Uh huh, gotcha, full of love ... well, full of something anyway.
I'll write more on this but for now here is a press release from Soulforce on what happened during the day, and a picture or two.
Greenville, SC, WEDNESDAY April 4, 2007 - Three young women were arrested today, on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., for walking onto the campus of Bob Jones University to engage students in dialogue. These individuals, part of the 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride Eastbound Bus, came to speak with students at the university about its discriminatory policy towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students and the doctrine that sustains it.
Those arrested were Katie Higgins, 24, from Charleston, SC; Amanda Harris, 22, from Little
Rock, AR (pictured being taken into custody); and Bronwen Tomb, 23 , from New London, CT. These students were arrested as they attempted to walk on to campus to deliver artwork and a call for change to the campus.Harris and Tomb both walked on campus carrying pieces of art, that they themselves created, which represented the affects of homophobia within their lives. Higgins walked on after reading a document inspired by and formatted after Luther's 95 theses, in which he brought to light the injustices of the church and called for change. After Higgins' arrest, Mandy Matthias, author of the document and coordinator for the visit to Bob Jones, finished the oration of the theses at the front gate of campus.
Upon arrival to Bob Jones, Equality Riders were met with groups protesting their visit and message of inclusion for God's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children. Operation Save America, Truth Ministry, and Americans for Truth were three of the anti-gay groups present. Through bullhorns and homophobic signs, they loudly and forcefully spoke against the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Bob Jones students were unable to speak with Equality Riders, but riders believe that they made an impact on the student body. "As I was being arrested I could see hundreds of students looking over at us from the chapel, interested in what was happening. It is unfortunate that BJU administration was so quick to restrict the academic freedom on their campus that should be an integral part of the college experience," said Katie Higgins, co-director for the 2007 Soulforce
Equality Ride, east bus.
Bob Jones University is one of 32 Christian colleges and universities that Soulforce will visit as part of its second annual Soulforce Equality Ride, and the ninth visit on the Eastbound route. The 2007 Equality Ride is a 2-month journey by bus that is taking 50 young adults on 2 distinct routes to schools that actively discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Bob Jones is a private Christian college located in Greenville, SC. In letters to individual Equality Riders dated April 4, president Stephen Jones reiterated that "the institution believes the Bible is clear about God's view of homosexual practice" and that there is "no room for dialogue".
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people.
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.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
12 Arrested at Southern Baptist Seminary
(Louisville, KY) -- Monday, 12 young adults were arrested for conducting a sit-in outside of the office of Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS). In light of recent inflammatory comments by Albert Mohler, leaders of the Equality Ride eastbound bus decided to reroute temporarily in order to demand an apology for his remarks. Earlier this year, Mohler encouraged the intentional prevention of homosexuality. In an article on his website, Mohler wrote, "If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin."
Twenty-two Equality Riders sat in Norton Hall at SBTS awaiting a response from Mohler. After about 75 minutes, the Vice President of Communications listened to a statement read by Jarrett Lucas, Co-Director of the Equality Ride. Afterwards, the administrator informed the group that Mohler was unwilling to meet with them or speak with them via telephone.
An excerpt from the statement reads, "We are gathered here as straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to demand that Albert Mohler openly recognize our right to life, love, and liberty. As it stands, his voice is terribly misguided in believing that God does not affirm the identities of gay and transgender people. So, we call on him to take responsibility for his bigotry and the hurtful effects of his statements, and ask that he issue a public apology for having said them. We have a moral obligation to speak out in the name of truth and justice."
After the statement was read, Louisville Police were called in and informed the group that their peaceful assembly would result in arrest. At that point, a delegation left to stand vigil outside of the Seminary. Twelve Equality Riders, determined to stay until Mohler apologized, remained seated outside of the President's Office. Eventually, they were taken into custody under criminal trespassing charges.
The 2007 Equality Ride is a 2-month journey that is taking 50 young adults on 2 distinct bus routes to schools that actively discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. For more information go to www.soulforce.org or www.equalityride.com.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Mandy Arrested as Soulforce Equality Ride Continues
Thi
s has been the most eventful week on the road for me personally so far. Our week began with a journey from Oklahoma to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the U. S., and their strategy for interacting with us was to try to ignore our presence.
We had two days of conversations with students planned. The administration had sent out an email earlier in the day to the student body saying that we were not invited guests because they did not want the conversation about sexual orientation to be controlled by anyone else but themselves, but the first day was productive in that we found a good mixture of students to talk to. I spoke with some students who were respectful but confused about why we were there, and others who had not heard about our arrival at all. I also spoke with a group of students who were ecstatic that we were there, and who wanted to help in whatever way they could.
Our second day at Baylor will remain in my memory forever. A few years ago, an underground Gay-Straight Alliance called Baylor Freedom organized and held meetings off campus. In 2003, the group dissipated, primarily because of fear and lack of support on campus. Student groups at Baylor are allowed to advertise information about their meetings on campus with sidewalk chalk, but whenever Baylor Freedom attempted to do so, the administration instructed that their messages be washed away with hoses as soon as possible.
Since I took a similar stand at my own university when I was a student there, and started a GSA there with my friends, the stories of Baylor Freedom resonated with me. So with the memory of Baylor Freedom in mind, and with the knowledge of the forced silence of current LGBT students at Baylor, we walked to the chapel building that second day and began to chalk the messages of hope and affirmation on the sidewalk that Baylor Freedom was never allowed to say. As I looked around, I realized that there were almost as many students chalking with us as there were Equality Riders.
After only a few moments, I was personally arrested with the chalk I was using still in my hands. This began an unexpected 26 hour ordeal within the Waco justice system. At first, we were taken to the Waco jail, and they began to process us, patting us down, emptying our pockets, and asking questions about our identity and history. Then things took an unexpected turn.
They divided us up into perceived females and perceived males. My friend Shawn, who is transgender and identifies as male, was forced to join the females in the group. They then took us to a room and made us strip down and performed a cavity search. Then they handed us black and white striped jumpsuits and plastic sandals, and ushered us to a holding cell. After 11 hours of being systematically ignored, they finally pulled us out of the holding cell to finish processing us at 2 AM.
When they had taken our fingerprints and gotten more detailed information from us, they split us up into smaller holding cells--each one a room about 5 by 9 feet in length, with a small seat and a toilet. We were given wool blankets, but nowhere else to sleep but the concrete floor. Shawn was moved into a cell with me. At this point, having been separated from the perceived males in our group, and having no contact with anyone on the outside of the jail, we were really
beginning to worry. We were told nothing but that we would be there at least until morning. All we could do was wait.
Finally, at 10 AM, after 19 hours, a guard came and opened our cell door, and we sat with other perceived females to watch a video that told us our Miranda Rights. Then we were individually rushed before a judge who asked us briefly if we understood our rights and then set our bond at $2,000 per person.
Our hearts froze. This was much more than we had ever anticipated. Unsure of what was going to happen next, I used my one phone call to contact my girlfriend. This was my first contact with anyone outside the building, and she promised she would call the co-directors and let them know exactly what was going on.
We waited. Six more hours passed with no acknowledgment or interaction from anyone. Then, at four o'clock, 26 hours after being brought to the Waco jail, a guard came to our doors and we were led to the changing room again to put on our clothes.
When we stumbled out of the building into the sun, we were greeted by four Equality Riders who had stayed behind as the rest of the group had moved on in order to drive with us to meet them in Mississippi. We ran to meet one another.
Our next stop was at Mississippi College in Clinton, a town who had previously told us that within the town limits of Clinton, if any groups of Equality Riders exceeded more than three persons at a time, we would be arrested. After being sent a hasty reminder from the ACLU of our First Amendment rights, they rescinded that warning, but watched us very closely from the first moment we rolled into town with a police escort.
When we pulled in to the college, there were literally hundreds of students waiting. We held hands to cross the street as we got off the bus, and students who had planned to join us in our vigil also held hands to walk down the hill and meet us. We explained that we had made a collage of childhood photos of Equality Riders to present to the college as a statement that we are all God's children.
After a few more words from the people who had coordinated that stop, students were welcomed to come down to the property line and speak to us. Literally hundreds of conversations were had in the few hours that we were there. Five Equality Riders were arrested for simply stepping across that line to engage in conversation. They were sentenced to 10 days in jail suspended for those who had no prior convictions, but for the three Riders who had gone to jail before for justice, their sentence was 20 days in jail suspended with the stipulation that they do not get into legal trouble within the next 2 years. The other part of their sentence was that they must do four weekdays of community service. And as we were leaving Clinton, we were pulled over multiple times and told by the police to "go on and get out of town."
So our group has been divided again. The rest of us have had to move on while those three stay in Mississippi. This week has me examining the concept of voluntary redemptive suffering. In spite of everything we have gone through, I have to come to the conclusion that every pain that I must endure, every bail that we must pay is worth it for the life of one student who
is given the hope and encouragement to carry on.
This message is one that can no longer be silenced. The cost to stay as we are is much greater than the cost to continue.
s has been the most eventful week on the road for me personally so far. Our week began with a journey from Oklahoma to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the U. S., and their strategy for interacting with us was to try to ignore our presence.We had two days of conversations with students planned. The administration had sent out an email earlier in the day to the student body saying that we were not invited guests because they did not want the conversation about sexual orientation to be controlled by anyone else but themselves, but the first day was productive in that we found a good mixture of students to talk to. I spoke with some students who were respectful but confused about why we were there, and others who had not heard about our arrival at all. I also spoke with a group of students who were ecstatic that we were there, and who wanted to help in whatever way they could.
Our second day at Baylor will remain in my memory forever. A few years ago, an underground Gay-Straight Alliance called Baylor Freedom organized and held meetings off campus. In 2003, the group dissipated, primarily because of fear and lack of support on campus. Student groups at Baylor are allowed to advertise information about their meetings on campus with sidewalk chalk, but whenever Baylor Freedom attempted to do so, the administration instructed that their messages be washed away with hoses as soon as possible.
Since I took a similar stand at my own university when I was a student there, and started a GSA there with my friends, the stories of Baylor Freedom resonated with me. So with the memory of Baylor Freedom in mind, and with the knowledge of the forced silence of current LGBT students at Baylor, we walked to the chapel building that second day and began to chalk the messages of hope and affirmation on the sidewalk that Baylor Freedom was never allowed to say. As I looked around, I realized that there were almost as many students chalking with us as there were Equality Riders.
After only a few moments, I was personally arrested with the chalk I was using still in my hands. This began an unexpected 26 hour ordeal within the Waco justice system. At first, we were taken to the Waco jail, and they began to process us, patting us down, emptying our pockets, and asking questions about our identity and history. Then things took an unexpected turn.
They divided us up into perceived females and perceived males. My friend Shawn, who is transgender and identifies as male, was forced to join the females in the group. They then took us to a room and made us strip down and performed a cavity search. Then they handed us black and white striped jumpsuits and plastic sandals, and ushered us to a holding cell. After 11 hours of being systematically ignored, they finally pulled us out of the holding cell to finish processing us at 2 AM.
When they had taken our fingerprints and gotten more detailed information from us, they split us up into smaller holding cells--each one a room about 5 by 9 feet in length, with a small seat and a toilet. We were given wool blankets, but nowhere else to sleep but the concrete floor. Shawn was moved into a cell with me. At this point, having been separated from the perceived males in our group, and having no contact with anyone on the outside of the jail, we were really
beginning to worry. We were told nothing but that we would be there at least until morning. All we could do was wait.
Finally, at 10 AM, after 19 hours, a guard came and opened our cell door, and we sat with other perceived females to watch a video that told us our Miranda Rights. Then we were individually rushed before a judge who asked us briefly if we understood our rights and then set our bond at $2,000 per person.
Our hearts froze. This was much more than we had ever anticipated. Unsure of what was going to happen next, I used my one phone call to contact my girlfriend. This was my first contact with anyone outside the building, and she promised she would call the co-directors and let them know exactly what was going on.
We waited. Six more hours passed with no acknowledgment or interaction from anyone. Then, at four o'clock, 26 hours after being brought to the Waco jail, a guard came to our doors and we were led to the changing room again to put on our clothes.
When we stumbled out of the building into the sun, we were greeted by four Equality Riders who had stayed behind as the rest of the group had moved on in order to drive with us to meet them in Mississippi. We ran to meet one another.
Our next stop was at Mississippi College in Clinton, a town who had previously told us that within the town limits of Clinton, if any groups of Equality Riders exceeded more than three persons at a time, we would be arrested. After being sent a hasty reminder from the ACLU of our First Amendment rights, they rescinded that warning, but watched us very closely from the first moment we rolled into town with a police escort.
When we pulled in to the college, there were literally hundreds of students waiting. We held hands to cross the street as we got off the bus, and students who had planned to join us in our vigil also held hands to walk down the hill and meet us. We explained that we had made a collage of childhood photos of Equality Riders to present to the college as a statement that we are all God's children.
After a few more words from the people who had coordinated that stop, students were welcomed to come down to the property line and speak to us. Literally hundreds of conversations were had in the few hours that we were there. Five Equality Riders were arrested for simply stepping across that line to engage in conversation. They were sentenced to 10 days in jail suspended for those who had no prior convictions, but for the three Riders who had gone to jail before for justice, their sentence was 20 days in jail suspended with the stipulation that they do not get into legal trouble within the next 2 years. The other part of their sentence was that they must do four weekdays of community service. And as we were leaving Clinton, we were pulled over multiple times and told by the police to "go on and get out of town."
So our group has been divided again. The rest of us have had to move on while those three stay in Mississippi. This week has me examining the concept of voluntary redemptive suffering. In spite of everything we have gone through, I have to come to the conclusion that every pain that I must endure, every bail that we must pay is worth it for the life of one student who
is given the hope and encouragement to carry on.
This message is one that can no longer be silenced. The cost to stay as we are is much greater than the cost to continue.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
East Route Riders Harassed by Police
(Clinton, MS) -- As a traveling group of young adults attempted to recollect and depart Clinton, Mississippi, they were stopped three times by police vehicles within less than ten minutes. Their driver was subjected to threatening demands to "get out of town."
In response to this clear act of harassment, the Co-Directors of the tour wrote a letter to the Attorney General of Mississippi that voiced their concerns regarding this maltreatment and stated their intentions to return today.
The young adults are participants of the Soulforce Equality Ride, a 2-month journey to Christian schools to address the suffering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. As their goal is social justice and loving inclusion, they are committed to and trained in the principles of nonviolence as taught by Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.
Please see the letter below.
Also available: Letter from leaders of major LGBT rights organizations to the Mayor of Clinton [pdf]
March 23, 2007
Attorney General Jim Hood
MS Attorney General's Office
Carroll Gartin Justice Building
450 High Street
Jackson, MS 39201
Sent Via: Facsimile
Re: "Get out of town"
Dear Attorney General Hood,
We write today out of deep concern for the actions of the Clinton Mississippi Police Department. We are the Co-Directors of the Soulforce Equality Ride, a bus tour of college students who are crossing the country to advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality. As a group we are committed to and trained in the principles of nonviolence, and have a history of peaceful dialogue and respectful interaction with college students and administrations across the country. Soulforce has an outstanding relationship with many police departments and honors the hard work that law enforcement officials put into their lives everyday.
Last night, while in the town of Clinton, Mississippi, we experienced a distressing form of police intimidation. After a day of dialogue at nearby Mississippi College, we parked our bus in downtown Clinton. We were waiting for the return of some of the members of our tour from area coffee shops. While waiting, a police vehicle approached the bus with its lights flashing, signaling us to move. Our bus driver immediately turned down the nearest road and into a church parking lot to await the Equality Riders. The same officer once again followed us into the parking lot, with his lights on and asked our driver to speak with him. The officer was quite aggressive in demanding that we "go on and get out of town." Our driver explained that we were still waiting on the remainder of our group, but was still forced to move the bus. At that time, we drove and parked the bus in a lot that was previously designated by the city of Clinton. For the third time, a police vehicle approached us with flashing lights. The officer who approached us was extremely indignant and asked us "what is your problem? We have already given you breaks today." Our driver explained that we were in the space the City provided for us. In response, the officer asserted that our driver would be arrested if he were to take us anywhere else and not leave the city of Clinton immediately. Soon after, a community member arrived with the rest of the Equality Riders and we left promptly. We are prepared to provide sworn affidavits from ten people who can attest to the above series of events.
This behavior on the part of a Clinton police officer is unacceptable and we consider it a violation of our civil rights. Law abiding citizens should be allowed to safely assemble in any town in America. Such actions on the part of a law enforcement agent serve to make gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people feel unsafe in the city of Clinton. The role of a police officer is to protect members of the public, not threaten or intimidate them.
These concerns are augmented by the fact that several days prior to our arrival in Clinton, we received a document from the Clinton Police Department that set restrictions on our First Amendment right to assemble. After being contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union, the city rescinded the unconstitutional restrictions and shamefully applauded Soulforce for "playing the game well."
We are planning on returning to the city of Clinton today for a preplanned community picnic and we will not tolerate a repeat of this sort of behavior from the Clinton Police Department. If threatened with arrest for lawful assembly today members of the Soulforce Equality Ride are prepared and willing to submit to such an arrest. Any arrests for lawful assembly would be challenged by us in court and followed up with a lawsuit on our behalf against the city of Clinton for violation of our civil rights.
We hope that you will take swift action by informing the city of Clinton that such behavior by the Clinton Police is unlawful and will not be tolerated in the State of Mississippi.
Jarrett Lucas & Katie Higgins
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. For more information go to www.soulforce.org or www.equalityride.com.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Soulforce Equality Ride Update
(Provo, UT and Clinton, MI) -- Two weeks ago, 50 young men and women boarded two buses and set out on a remarkable journey. Their mission: to initiate conversations about faith and sexuality at 32 Christian colleges with policies that silence or exclude lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. This week, the Riders face their toughest challenges yet as the westbound bus travels to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah and the eastbound bus travels to Mississippi College in Mississippi.
Thus far, the Riders have shared moments of reconciliation, prayer, and connection with conservative Christian students at colleges on two separate routes across the nation, but they have also faced harassment and intimidation. Their bus was defaced with anti-gay slurs in Sioux Center, Iowa and they were met by armed police on the rooftops at Central Bible College in Missouri.
Currently, 5 Equality Riders and 1 Baylor University student are being held in the McClennan County Jail in Waco, Texas. The Riders were arrested Tuesday on criminal trespassing charges after they wrote messages affirming LGBT students in chalk on Baylor sidewalks. The Riders' bail has been set at $2,000 each, which is equivalent to the maximum fine under Texas law.
Riders are also facing organized, official resistance as they prepare to visit BYU, where Mormon Riders have been banned from their own church, and Clinton, Miss., where police officials attempted to abridge the Riders' constitutional rights.
Clinton, Mississippi: Echoes of Past Civil Rights Struggles
Police Officials Attempt to Deny the Right to Assemble
On Tuesday, police officials in Clinton, Miss., informed the eastbound Equality Riders that members of their group would be cited if they "attempt to gather or travel in a group of four or more" near the campus of Mississippi College.
In an addendum to an assembly permit, Lt. Thomas R. Ruffin acknowledged that the department's actions "could be construed as conflicting with constitutional allowances," but suggested that the young people's presence in the city presented "valid public safety concerns."
Equality Riders immediately contacted the ACLU of Mississippi, who intervened on the group's behalf. In a letter to Ruffin, ACLU-Mississippi Staff Attorney John Williams cited Supreme Court precedents establishing prior restraints on the right to assemble as "the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment Rights."
Williams continued, "it is unconstitutional and unlawful for your office to deny citizens the right to peacefully assemble on public property without the above mentioned safeguards and restraints. From a legal standpoint your licensing requirement is wrought with constitutional violations and restrictions on First Amendment grounds."
Clinton police officials immediately withdrew the unconstitutional restrictions.
Mississippi College Administrator Likens Equality Ride Visit to 9/11
Officials at Mississippi College, the second oldest Baptist college in the nation, have made it clear that the Equality Riders' loving perspective on LGBT students is not welcome on campus.
In negotiations prior to the visit, one administrator likened the Riders to terrorists, vowing that the campus would deal with the Equality Riders "just like America dealt with 9/11."
In reality, the Soulforce Equality Ride is rooted in a philosophy of non-violent social change as reflected in the teachings of Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Thursday, March 22, the Riders plan a peaceful vigil on a public sidewalk adjacent to the campus at 10 am. During the vigil, Equality Riders will make themselves available to students who are interested in speaking with them. The vigil will take place on College Street, between Capitol and Jefferson.
"While fear plays a strong role on this campus and in this town, the truth of our message is stronger: God loves all of His children, regardless of their sexual orientation," says Stephen Krebs, one of the organizers of the Equality Ride visit to Mississippi College.
Brigham Young University: Mormon Equality Riders Barred From all Church Property
Last week, Soulforce Equality Riders on the westbound bus received a letter from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints asking that Equality Riders "not enter church property for any purpose." The Riders had planned to volunteer at the church-affiliated Welfare Square Cannery and to visit Temple Square to learn more about the LDS faith in preparation for a stop at Brigham Young University on Thursday, March 22.
The BYU Student Honor Code states that "no one known to be guilty of overt and active homosexual conduct is to be enrolled or permitted to remain at Church Educational System (CES) campuses as students." It also identifies "advocacy of a homosexual lifestyle (whether implied or explicit) or any behaviors that indicate homosexual conduct, including those not sexual in nature," as violations of the Honor Code.
The Equality Riders' goal at is to expose the suffering that this policy creates and to provide resources for hope and reconciliation.
"Many LGBT students in our community suffer in silence," says Kourt Osborn, one of the organizers of the BYU stop. "They feel lonely, without friends or avenues for support. They feel threatened by BYU or by their own feelings inside, without affirming and correct information to give them a sense of identity."
Tomorrow, Equality Riders and Provo community members will begin a six-hour "Walls of Jericho" walk around the outskirts campus in order to draw attention to the issues that LGBT students face at BYU.
During the march, Riders will hold a press conference for community members, students, and former students to present grievances, letters, and concerns to the BYU community. This List of Concerns represents contributions directly from the BYU community to the school administration. The press conference will be held at the corner of Bulldog and North Canyon at 11 a.m.
Immediately after the press conference, Riders, community members, and BYU students will attempt to deliver the List of Concerns to Vice President Jan Scharman. The Equality Riders have already received an official notice of trespassing and proclamation of arrest if they enter Church or University property.
Looking Back: Moments of Reconciliation and Witness
In spite of the resistance that the Ride has encountered, the Riders have also participated in moments of genuine dialogue and reconciliation. At Wisconsin Lutheran, Riders were not allowed on campus, but the did manage an off-campus meeting with administrators and select students.
"Many of the students bowed their heads, cried, and shifted uncomfortably as the school officials repeatedly condemned us. One brave young woman stepped forward and joined our closing prayer, despite the school officials' outright refusal to do so," said Alexey Bulokhov, Co-director of the Ride.
At Oklahoma Baptist University, the Equality Riders walked on to campus with a banner filled with Bible verses and affirmations of LGBT students. When the Riders were arrested, 2 OBU students, who asked to remain anonymous, picked up the banner and brought it the rest of the way to the Student Center.
"We just wanted to finish what they started," said one of the participating students. "People should know that what they're doing isn't wrong, that our lives aren't wrong."
Looking Ahead
The Soulforce Equality Riders will continue their journey through April 26. A complete list of stops is available online at the links below.
East Bus Route
West Bus Route
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. For more information go to http://www.soulforce.org/ or http://www.equalityride.com/.
Thus far, the Riders have shared moments of reconciliation, prayer, and connection with conservative Christian students at colleges on two separate routes across the nation, but they have also faced harassment and intimidation. Their bus was defaced with anti-gay slurs in Sioux Center, Iowa and they were met by armed police on the rooftops at Central Bible College in Missouri.
Currently, 5 Equality Riders and 1 Baylor University student are being held in the McClennan County Jail in Waco, Texas. The Riders were arrested Tuesday on criminal trespassing charges after they wrote messages affirming LGBT students in chalk on Baylor sidewalks. The Riders' bail has been set at $2,000 each, which is equivalent to the maximum fine under Texas law.
Riders are also facing organized, official resistance as they prepare to visit BYU, where Mormon Riders have been banned from their own church, and Clinton, Miss., where police officials attempted to abridge the Riders' constitutional rights.
Clinton, Mississippi: Echoes of Past Civil Rights Struggles
Police Officials Attempt to Deny the Right to Assemble
On Tuesday, police officials in Clinton, Miss., informed the eastbound Equality Riders that members of their group would be cited if they "attempt to gather or travel in a group of four or more" near the campus of Mississippi College.
In an addendum to an assembly permit, Lt. Thomas R. Ruffin acknowledged that the department's actions "could be construed as conflicting with constitutional allowances," but suggested that the young people's presence in the city presented "valid public safety concerns."
Equality Riders immediately contacted the ACLU of Mississippi, who intervened on the group's behalf. In a letter to Ruffin, ACLU-Mississippi Staff Attorney John Williams cited Supreme Court precedents establishing prior restraints on the right to assemble as "the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment Rights."
Williams continued, "it is unconstitutional and unlawful for your office to deny citizens the right to peacefully assemble on public property without the above mentioned safeguards and restraints. From a legal standpoint your licensing requirement is wrought with constitutional violations and restrictions on First Amendment grounds."
Clinton police officials immediately withdrew the unconstitutional restrictions.
Mississippi College Administrator Likens Equality Ride Visit to 9/11
Officials at Mississippi College, the second oldest Baptist college in the nation, have made it clear that the Equality Riders' loving perspective on LGBT students is not welcome on campus.
In negotiations prior to the visit, one administrator likened the Riders to terrorists, vowing that the campus would deal with the Equality Riders "just like America dealt with 9/11."
In reality, the Soulforce Equality Ride is rooted in a philosophy of non-violent social change as reflected in the teachings of Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
On Thursday, March 22, the Riders plan a peaceful vigil on a public sidewalk adjacent to the campus at 10 am. During the vigil, Equality Riders will make themselves available to students who are interested in speaking with them. The vigil will take place on College Street, between Capitol and Jefferson.
"While fear plays a strong role on this campus and in this town, the truth of our message is stronger: God loves all of His children, regardless of their sexual orientation," says Stephen Krebs, one of the organizers of the Equality Ride visit to Mississippi College.
Brigham Young University: Mormon Equality Riders Barred From all Church Property
Last week, Soulforce Equality Riders on the westbound bus received a letter from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints asking that Equality Riders "not enter church property for any purpose." The Riders had planned to volunteer at the church-affiliated Welfare Square Cannery and to visit Temple Square to learn more about the LDS faith in preparation for a stop at Brigham Young University on Thursday, March 22.
The BYU Student Honor Code states that "no one known to be guilty of overt and active homosexual conduct is to be enrolled or permitted to remain at Church Educational System (CES) campuses as students." It also identifies "advocacy of a homosexual lifestyle (whether implied or explicit) or any behaviors that indicate homosexual conduct, including those not sexual in nature," as violations of the Honor Code.
The Equality Riders' goal at is to expose the suffering that this policy creates and to provide resources for hope and reconciliation.
"Many LGBT students in our community suffer in silence," says Kourt Osborn, one of the organizers of the BYU stop. "They feel lonely, without friends or avenues for support. They feel threatened by BYU or by their own feelings inside, without affirming and correct information to give them a sense of identity."
Tomorrow, Equality Riders and Provo community members will begin a six-hour "Walls of Jericho" walk around the outskirts campus in order to draw attention to the issues that LGBT students face at BYU.
During the march, Riders will hold a press conference for community members, students, and former students to present grievances, letters, and concerns to the BYU community. This List of Concerns represents contributions directly from the BYU community to the school administration. The press conference will be held at the corner of Bulldog and North Canyon at 11 a.m.
Immediately after the press conference, Riders, community members, and BYU students will attempt to deliver the List of Concerns to Vice President Jan Scharman. The Equality Riders have already received an official notice of trespassing and proclamation of arrest if they enter Church or University property.
Looking Back: Moments of Reconciliation and Witness
In spite of the resistance that the Ride has encountered, the Riders have also participated in moments of genuine dialogue and reconciliation. At Wisconsin Lutheran, Riders were not allowed on campus, but the did manage an off-campus meeting with administrators and select students.
"Many of the students bowed their heads, cried, and shifted uncomfortably as the school officials repeatedly condemned us. One brave young woman stepped forward and joined our closing prayer, despite the school officials' outright refusal to do so," said Alexey Bulokhov, Co-director of the Ride.
At Oklahoma Baptist University, the Equality Riders walked on to campus with a banner filled with Bible verses and affirmations of LGBT students. When the Riders were arrested, 2 OBU students, who asked to remain anonymous, picked up the banner and brought it the rest of the way to the Student Center.
"We just wanted to finish what they started," said one of the participating students. "People should know that what they're doing isn't wrong, that our lives aren't wrong."
Looking Ahead
The Soulforce Equality Riders will continue their journey through April 26. A complete list of stops is available online at the links below.
East Bus Route
West Bus Route
Soulforce Q is the young adult division of Soulforce, a social justice organization that works to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. For more information go to http://www.soulforce.org/ or http://www.equalityride.com/.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
