In search of common ground the the Black Civil Rights Movement, Truth In Progress will offer an event on Sunday, July 21 at Broadway United Methodist to encourage conversations between LGBT Equality and Black Civil Rights Movements.
Truth in Progress, a multi-media project exploring intersections of race, sexual orientation/gender identity, and religion, will host a film screening and public talk at the Broadway United Methodist Church (3338 N. Broadway St.) at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, July 21.
Rev. Gil Caldwell, a straight African American prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement and co-founder of Truth in Progress, will also preach at the church's 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. services.
Truth in Progress asks how to bring race and sexual orientation/gender identity into the same conversation in "mixed company." Their examination of two historic movements is a springboard for discussion: the Civil Rights Movement and the LGBT Equality Movement, their histories and makeup, not to find equivalencies, but to seek common ground. They especially look at the role of religion in both movements and experiences of discrimination. Founders Caldwell, 79, and white lesbian writer/activist Marilyn Bennett, 51, have been filming a documentary as they travel the country engaging in conversation with activists, religious leaders, artists, "people on the street," and scholars. They've covered Selma (where Caldwell marched with King) and Stonewall, Montana and Texas. In Chicago, they will be working with noted filmmaker Ky Dickens. Jim Bennett (not related to Marilyn), Midwest Regional Director for Lambda Legal, supports the work of Caldwell and Bennett.
"In Illinois we know how important it is to build broad coalitions to work for justice and equality," Jim Bennett said. "I've known Marilyn and Gil for over a decade when we were working to change United Methodist exclusionary policies. They are visionaries with a keen sense of storytelling. Their documentary Truth in Progress captures the challenges and promise of diverse communities working together for change."
The two chose Chicago for this event because it was where their shared LGBT equality work began as well as with retired United Methodist pastor Greg Dell and the Broadway UMC community in 1999. While the United Methodist Church has not changed their exclusionary policies, the American legal system is making strides.
"We have so much to celebrate right now with the Supreme Court rulings and the tidal wave effect for the rights of lesbian and gay couples. Yet other issues on the national table —voting rights, immigration, equal protection, and the war on women's health—all effect the LGBT community as we have multiple identities embodied in gender, race, and nationality.
While we have advances in civil rights in one area, other issues can flame up in another area," Marilyn Bennett said. "We have so much to learn from each other and no better time than now to do so."
"We are looking at very different histories, different experiences, and quite different struggles," Caldwell said about the two movements. "But the fight for equal rights is always the same fight.
More about the Truth in Progress project, including short videos, a blog, and ways to participate, can be found at www.TruthInProgress.com . The July 21 event is free and open to the public.
Film and talk on gay rights, civil rights, and religion
Sunday, July 21 — 9:45 a.m.
Broadway United Methodist Church (3338 N. Broadway St.)
What's happening:
Two members of Truth in Progress, a group creating conversations about race, sexual orientation/gender identity, and religion, will host a film screening and public talk at the Broadway United Methodist Church (3338 N. Broadway St.) at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, July 21.
ALSO: Rev. Gil Caldwell, a straight African American prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement and co-founder of Truth in Progress, will also preach at the church's 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. services. Everybody is welcome.
What will happen:
Truth in Progress founders Marilyn Bennett and Gil Caldwell will show portions of their documentary film, Truth in Progress, followed by a discussion by the audience. The film follows Caldwell, a 79-year-old Black straight minister, and Bennett, a 51-year-old lesbian writer, as they visit historic sites in the gay rights and Civil Rights movements and walk with activists, religious leaders, artists, scholars, and "people on the street." Their documentary has taken them to Selma (where Caldwell marched with Dr. Martin Luther King) and Stonewall in New York, where some say the gay rights movement began, as well as to communities in Montana and Texas.
Caldwell and Bennett are especially looking at the powerful and varied ways that religion has figured in both movements—both as an organizing force and a venue for discrimination.
Why this is important:
The recent Supreme Court rulings and the tidal wave of support for same-sex marriage have given gay rights activists much to celebrate. Yet other issues on the national table—voting rights, immigration, equal protection, and the war on women's health—all affect both the LGBT community and different racial groups. The recent acquittal of George Zimmerman in the slaying of Trayvon Martin also brings racial issues to the fore. The Truth in Progress folks say that there is no better time to learn from each other than this moment.
More information:
More about the Truth in Progress project, including short videos, a blog, and ways to participate, can be found at www.TruthInProgress.com . The July 21 event is free and open to the public.
Marilyn Bennett — Writer, video biographer, professional development director with a long career in social justice working with LGBT equality and the church. She was Executive Director of Reconciling Ministries Network (Chicago), a national organization working for sex and gender equality in the United Methodist Church. She was also in charge of media, alumni relations, and fund-raising for Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology. She has written widely on issues of sexuality and spirituality, and is co-author of We Were Baptized Too: Claiming God's Grace for Lesbians and Gays. She currently produces video biography/oral history films for elders and people with cancer nationwide, and is a co-founder of Truth in Progress.
Gilbert Caldwell — Retired United Methodist minister, and a lifelong activist in the Civil Rights Movement from the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer to the Million-Man March of 1996. Gil is author of numerous books and blogs on social justice, including his latest collection, Something Within. Gil served several historic Black churches in the Northeast, including Union Methodist in Boston and St. Mark's in Harlem. He also served as Associated General Secretary to the General Commission on Religion and Race in Washington, D.C., and as Executive Director of the Ministerial Interfaith Association of Harlem. Gil helped found several significant organizations on the forefront of erasing bigotry within the church, including the Black Methodists for Church Renewal, the National Conference of Black Churchmen, and United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church, which works toward equality in ordaining Methodist ministers who are gay or lesbian. He is a national board member of PFLAG, and is a co-founder of Truth in Progress
Truth In Progress
www.TruthInProgress.com
Marilyn Bennett
406-459-4142
