Soulforce is a U.S.-based social justice organization that works to end the religious and political oppression of

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, transgender,

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

, and intersex ( LGBTQI) people. The organization's co-executive directors are Alba Onofrio and Yaz Mendez Nuñez.

History

It was founded in 1998 by Gary Nixon and his husband Mel White, who was a ghostwriter for

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...

, Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and others until he came out as a gay man.

Programs

Equality Ride

Since 2006, Soulforce has supported a project called the Equality Ride. Led by young adults, it targets Christian colleges. In 2007 it was divided into two different trips (eastern and western), each leg visiting 15-20 different colleges. Other rides were launched in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016.

GiveBackIX

Right to Serve Campaign

In 2006 Soulforce organized the Right to Serve Campaign, the first nationally organized youth effort to bring attention to the " don't ask, don't tell" policy of the United States Armed Forces. Youth in 30 cities across the country were recruited to organize events in which openly lesbian, gay and bisexual youth attempted to enlist in the United States Armed Forces while stating their sexual orientation. Headed by Jacob Reitan and Haven Herrin, it took place in 30 cities from late summer and fall of 2006.MTV News
"Equality Ride: The Right To Serve"
accessed March 9, 2012 In May, in Roseville, a suburb of Minneapolis, two men and a woman tried to enlist in the Minnesota National Guard. One application was rejected immediately and the others put on hold. On August 30, in Madison, Wisconsin, an Army recruiter turned away three men, one a college graduate and the others college students.''New York Times''

accessed March 9, 2012 One of them said: "We're not here as a publicity stunt. I want to serve alongside my fellow Americans. That's why we're here." Two men turned away by recruiters in Chicago on September 12, 2006, returned the next day and staged a sit-in. A University of Maryland sophomore was turned away when she tried to enlist on September 26. Other events, some including arrests, occurred in New York; Austin, Texas; and Greensboro, North Carolina.North Carolina Public Radio
WUNC and National Public Radio, Greensboro, NC (.mp3 audio news file)
accessed March 9, 2012 In New York City, the recruitment center was closed, but the Right to Serve protesters staged a seven-hour sit-in.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soulforce (Organization) Nonviolence organizations based in the United States LGBT political advocacy groups in the United States Don't ask, don't tell