Equality Ride

The Equality Ride is an annual civil rights bus journey across the United States led by young adults. It primarily fosters dialogue -- or, failing that, confronts colleges and universities that it believes discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. As a part of the faith-based organization Soulforce, the activism focuses on religious colleges, while occasionally including military academies and secular universities.

Prior to visiting any campus, the Equality Ride contacts the college about their impending visit; however, they do not give the colleges a choice. The Equality Ride comes on the promised date, wanted or not. In the interests of creating dialogue, a majority of colleges work with the Equality Ride to create a productive day of presentations and dialogue with students. Campuses that do not choose this route get protested by the Riders and the community, often with former students coming forward to the media.

Background: The First Ride Throughout March and April 2006, thirty-three young adults from the ages of 17-28 rode together on a bus creating the first Equality Ride. [ [http://www.equalityride.com The Equality Ride ] ] Inspired by the Freedom Rides of the 1960s, the first Equality Ride traveled to 19 colleges and universities throughout the United States where they confronted discriminatory policies. College policies confronted by the Equality Ride either specifically banned lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from attending or contain clauses in their lifestyle agreements prohibiting non-heterosexual relationships. Some policies require the expulsion of gay students, while others discourage heterosexual students from supporting a viewpoint other than the school's. Sixteen colleges targeted were faith-based institutions in the Christian tradition. Two were military academies. One was a secular university with an ROTC program. The Riders voted on these schools out of a list of over 200 colleges with similar policies. The first Equality Ride was the idea of Jacob Reitan, a 23-year-old Christian activist from Minnesota who conducted trial runs prior to the launch. (Spring 2005: Liberty University, Fall 2005: the US Naval Academy. [ [http://www.washblade.com/2005/10-28/news/national/naval-protest.cfm Gays protest outside U.S. Naval Academy - Washington Blade ] ] The Beginning of the Ride Before officially launching the journey, the Equality Riders met with Congressman John Lewis—a member of the original Freedom Ride in 1961 and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He gave the Equality Riders his blessing and told them, “My mother told me growing up, ‘don’t get in the way; don’t get in trouble.’ I’m so glad I got in the way and got in trouble.” He urged the Equality Riders to “make good trouble.” Under the umbrella of Soulforce based out of Lynchburg, Virginia, the Equality Ride launched its journey right at home. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, also based in Lynchburg, was the Ride’s first stop. Liberty University arrested 14 Equality Riders and 10 community members who crossed onto campus hoping to speak with students. The university cited protection of students as well as trespassing as the reason for the arrests. From there, the Equality Ride traveled from coast to coast confronting schools they had been in contact with about their impending-- and usually uninvited-- arrival. The Equality Riders also rallied outside a conference held once every five years by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. After the first several stops, most schools allowed official forums in large group settings and in classrooms. One presentation by the Equality Riders entitled “A History of Violence” portrayed the modern violence against LGBT people in American society in a deeply emotional way, and then encouraged people to stand up against that violence as people of faith. Responses from Colleges and Universities While most schools chose to allow the Equality Riders onto campus, four arrested Equality Riders for trespassing as they crossed onto campus property. These schools were Liberty University, Regent University, Oral Roberts University, and the United States Military Academy. Brigham Young University allowed the Equality Riders to come onto campus property and speak to students individually, but prohibited public forums or displays on campus property. The University stated that this was general procedure for any group visiting the campus. At one point the Riders were asked to leave campus for holding what was deemed a public forum and several were later arrested for holding a protest on campus property and refusing to leave. The protesters at the United States Air Force Academy were allowed on base with the same freedoms of the general public. They were allowed access the public areas, but were not permitted into the private housing or the secured Cadet area. All lawful demonstrators were allowed to protest unharassed, while those who violated the rules (for example, handing out literature or speaking with a portable sound system) were arrested for disorderly conduct. It is important to note that all the service academies are considered "military bases" which means (especially since September 11, 2001 attacks) the security has been increased to protect the military personnel. The military institutions cited their position as enforcement of federal law. Military institutions must comply with "Don't ask, don't tell", a federal policy signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Through this policy, gay service members are unable to be open about their sexual orientation; the Equality Ride maintained this was government-sanctioned discrimination, claiming that over 10,000 gay and lesbian soldiers were discharged between 1993-2005 at a cost of $364 million. The military states this is an issue of “unit cohesion.” Faith-based institutions largely used their interpretations of the Bible as a reason to bar the Equality Riders. For many of the schools, correct exegesis lends itself to a clearly anti-gay interpretation of seven Biblical passages condemning homosexual conduct. These institutions tend to believe in conversion therapy as a solution for students struggling with their sexual identity and orientation, considering acceptance therein damaging to spiritual well-being. Colleges and Universities Visited by the 2006 Ride Stop Date School Location 1 March 10, 2006 Liberty University Lynchburg, VA 2 March 13-14, 2006 Regent University Virginia Beach, VA 3 March 16-17, 2006 Lee University Cleveland, TN 4 March 18, 2006 Union University Jackson, TN 5 March 20-21, 2006 Oral Roberts University Tulsa, OK 6 March 23-24, 2006 Oklahoma Baptist University Shawnee, OK 7 March 27, 2006 Abilene Christian University Abilene, TX 8 March 29, 2006 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 9 March 31, 2006 CCCU Conference Dallas, TX 10 April 4, 2006 Biola University La Mirada, CA 11 April 4, 2006 California Baptist University Riverside, CA 12 April 5, 2006 Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA 13 April 10, 2006 Brigham Young University Provo, UT 14 April 13, 2006 Colorado Christian University Lakewood, CO 15 April 14, 2006 United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, CO 16 April 17, 2006 North Central University Minneapolis, MN 17 April 18, 2006 Bethel University Arden Hills, MN 18 April 20-21, 2006 Wheaton College Wheaton, IL 19 April 24, 2006 Eastern University St. Davids, PA 20 April 26, 2006 U.S. Military Academy West Point, NY

The first Equality Ride bus showing part of its slogan, "Learn from History: End Religion-Based Oppression."---- Soulforce Equality Riders with Rev. Phil Lawson and Congressman John Lewis---- Equality Riders rally outside Regent University---- In Cleveland, TN, "Fags-Mobile" was spraypainted onto the bus.---- Equality Riders pray on the outskirts of Union University ---- "Note: Photos from equalityride.com"

Equality U Documentary

Throughout the Equality Ride, a small film crew documented the journey. Director Dave O'Brien [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1121706/ Dave O'Brien (II) ] ] and his team rode with the Riders, filmed important meetings, and watched while the activists made presentations to college groups. The documentary called "Equality U" [ [http://www.equalityu.com Equality U ] ] is by Eyethink Pictures [http://www.eyethinkpictures.com/] and is currently in post-production. The documentary will be feature-length.

2007 Rides

Another Equality Ride was launched in 2007. The 2007 Equality Ride lasted from March 1 to April 30. For this Ride, two buses visited 33 schools. One toured the Eastern side of the United States, and the other toured the Western.

The Eastern Bus visited the following 18 colleges:Note: Links following college names are to Soulforce's description of that school's anti-LGBT policy.

Stop	Date	School	Location
1	March 8-9, 2007	Dordt College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/976]	Sioux Center, IA
2	March 12, 2007	Central Bible College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/979]	Springfield, MO
3	March 14-15, 2007	Oklahoma Baptist University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/942]	Shawnee, OK
4	March 19, 2007	Baylor University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/980]	Waco, TX
5	March 22, 2007	Mississippi College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/940]	Clinton, MS
6	March 26, 2007	Union University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/956]	Jackson, TN
7	March 28, 2007	University of the Cumberlands [http://www.soulforce.org/article/987]	Williamsburg, KY
8	March 30, 2007	Samford University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/993]	Birmingham, AL
9	April 2, 2007	Covenant College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/921]	Lookout Mountain, GA
10	April 4, 2007	Bob Jones University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/982]	Greenville, SC
11	April 10, 2007	Montreat College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/984]	Montreat, NC
12	April 12, 2007	Patrick Henry College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/960]	Purcellville, VA
13	April 13, 2007	Messiah College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/938]	Grantham, PA
14	April 16-17, 2007	Gordon College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/962]	Wenham, MA
15	April 19-20, 2007	Cedarville University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/990]	Cedarville, OH
16	April 23, 2007	Cornerstone University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/920]	Grand Rapids, MI
17	April 24, 2007	Calvin College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/985]	Grand Rapids, MI
18	April 26, 2007	Bethany Lutheran College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/997]	Mankato, MN

The 2007 Western bus visited 3 fewer colleges than the Eastern Bus, due to a greater average distance between the schools. It stopped at 15 different schools.

Stop	Date	School	Location
1	March 8-9, 2007	University of Notre Dame [http://www.soulforce.org/article/988]	Notre Dame, IN
2	March 12-13, 2007	Wisconsin Lutheran College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/995]	Milwaukee, WI
3	March 15-16, 2007	MidAmerica Nazarene University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/939]	Olathe, KS
4	March 21-22, 2007	Brigham Young University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/936]	Provo, UT
5	March 26-27, 2007	Pepperdine University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/969]	Malibu, CA
6	April 1-2, 2007	Fresno Pacific University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/926]	Fresno, CA
7	April 5, 2007	George Fox University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/927]	Newberg, OR
8	April 11, 2007	Seattle Pacific University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/949]	Seattle, WA
9	April 11, 2007	Northwest University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/941]	Kirkland, WA
10	April 13, 2007	Northwest Nazarene University [http://www.soulforce.org/article/967]	Nampa, ID
11	April 16-17, 2007	Brigham Young University-Idaho [http://www.soulforce.org/article/936]	Rexburg, ID
12	April 19-20, 2007	Yellowstone Baptist College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/964]	Billings, MT
13	April 23, 2007	Trinity Bible College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/975]	Ellendale, ND
14	April 25, 2007	Northwestern College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/977]	St. Paul, MN
15	April 26, 2007	Bethany Lutheran College [http://www.soulforce.org/article/997]	Mankato, MN

References

External links

* [http://www.equalityride.com Equality Ride]
* [http://www.soulforce.org SoulForce]