Seminary to Host Transgender Conference
By Shona Crabtree - Religion News Service Friday, January 19, 2007 - Web Link
January 19th, 2007
BERKELEY, Calif. (RNS) The first Transgender Religious Summit to be held at a Christian seminary will bring together 50 activists, transgender members of faith communities, academics and religious leaders this weekend (Jan. 19-21) at the Pacific School of Religion here.
"Transgender people are emerging from the spiritual closet," said Justin Tanis, program manager for the National Center for Transgender Equality, a Washington-based advocacy group that is co-sponsoring the summit with the seminary's Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry.
The summit is designed to create dialogue among transgender people and their allies in faith communities who are concerned with human rights and social justice issues. Tanis said the program will empower people to speak about transgender matters in churches and the public sphere. Participants come from Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and pagan faith communities.
"Something like this conference would have been unheard of 12 years ago," said the Rev. Erin Swenson, a transgender Presbyterian pastoral counselor.
Organizers said the transgender community is gaining momentum and is organizing itself as a movement. In addition, more religious communities are realizing that transgender people are part of their congregations, Swenson said.
Response, however, has been mixed. In 2003, the Catholic Church banned transgender people from religious orders while Unitarian Universalists and the United Church of Christ have begun ordaining transgender ministers. Swenson said transgender people have many gifts to offer to their congregations and society at large. She said these gifts include having a deep sense of personal integrity and an ability to be honest about who they are.
Transgender people also can help faith communities emphasize love, self-respect and human dignity as "central core values."
While conservative religious groups have opposed steps to protect against gender discrimination, none were invited to the summit. Tanis, however, said dialogue between transgender people of faith and conservative groups is a "worthy goal."
Friday, January 19, 2007
Truth And Justice
by Libby Post
I was ten years old when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.I remember the sadness that permeated my house. My parents weren’t well off but they gave money to King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
I remember writing a poem about King which made the rounds in my elementary school eventually making it to a display in the library. I remember thinking that it was now up to each of us to carry on the fight against injustice.
There has been no single leader quite like King in any social justice movement. However, for those of us who do speak out against injustice of any kind King’s legacy, whether we recognize it or not, is part of the work we do.
As the nation paused this past Monday to remember the man, it was also a time for us to remember the woman—Coretta Scott King—who, in her own right, was a force for civil rights for all human beings. Outliving her husband close to four decades, Mrs. King certainly carried on his work but as her own person, in her own way.
Mrs. King was an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, including marriage equality. She took the Radical Christian Right to task for their on-going attacks on our humanity. She made the connection between the on-going struggles for racial equality and LGBT civil rights. The 30th anniversary of her husband’s assassination found Mrs. King in the news. Reuters quoted her as saying “I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr. said ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brother and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”
Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, Mrs. King reaffirmed her commitment to LGBT rights by again using her husband’s words who said “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny . . . I can never be what I ought to be until you are allow to be what you ought to be.” Mrs. King went on to say “I’ve always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all American who believe in democracy.”
At that event, Mrs. King also pointed out that gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, in Albany, Georgia, in St. Augustine, Florida and many other civil rights campaigns of the 1960s. She said “Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own and I salute their contributions.”
In fact, Bayard Rustin, one of Dr. King’s closest advisors and the architect of the 1963 March on Washington, was an openly gay man who was the object of derision by many of the others who surrounded King. But King stood his ground and didn’t distance himself from Rustin—a political decision called for by many including President Kennedy and New York City Congressman Adam Clayton Powell.
Mrs. King endured the wrath of conservative African-American clergy for making the connection between racism and homophobia. The clergy were swayed by Karl Rove’s political tactics to drive a wedge between two communities who share a common burden—hateful discrimination. Rove used the same-sex marriage issue to bolster President Bush’s support in the African-American community—it was only after Hurricane Katrina did many of those same supporters realize they had been taken for an electoral ride.
But as far as Mrs. King was concerned marriage equality was a basic civil right. She was quoted in USA saying “Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriage.”
The likelihood of naming a national holiday for Mrs. King is slim to none. But since she and Dr. King were married in June, perhaps the creative forces in the LGBT community can come up with a way to celebrate their lives together and the love we want to legally share. After all, their struggle for justice is the truth that is the foundation of our work for full equality.
©365Gay.com 2007
by Libby Post
I was ten years old when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.I remember the sadness that permeated my house. My parents weren’t well off but they gave money to King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
I remember writing a poem about King which made the rounds in my elementary school eventually making it to a display in the library. I remember thinking that it was now up to each of us to carry on the fight against injustice.
There has been no single leader quite like King in any social justice movement. However, for those of us who do speak out against injustice of any kind King’s legacy, whether we recognize it or not, is part of the work we do.
As the nation paused this past Monday to remember the man, it was also a time for us to remember the woman—Coretta Scott King—who, in her own right, was a force for civil rights for all human beings. Outliving her husband close to four decades, Mrs. King certainly carried on his work but as her own person, in her own way.
Mrs. King was an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, including marriage equality. She took the Radical Christian Right to task for their on-going attacks on our humanity. She made the connection between the on-going struggles for racial equality and LGBT civil rights. The 30th anniversary of her husband’s assassination found Mrs. King in the news. Reuters quoted her as saying “I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr. said ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brother and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”
Speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, Mrs. King reaffirmed her commitment to LGBT rights by again using her husband’s words who said “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny . . . I can never be what I ought to be until you are allow to be what you ought to be.” Mrs. King went on to say “I’ve always felt that homophobic attitudes and policies were unjust and unworthy of a free society and must be opposed by all American who believe in democracy.”
At that event, Mrs. King also pointed out that gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, in Albany, Georgia, in St. Augustine, Florida and many other civil rights campaigns of the 1960s. She said “Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own and I salute their contributions.”
In fact, Bayard Rustin, one of Dr. King’s closest advisors and the architect of the 1963 March on Washington, was an openly gay man who was the object of derision by many of the others who surrounded King. But King stood his ground and didn’t distance himself from Rustin—a political decision called for by many including President Kennedy and New York City Congressman Adam Clayton Powell.
Mrs. King endured the wrath of conservative African-American clergy for making the connection between racism and homophobia. The clergy were swayed by Karl Rove’s political tactics to drive a wedge between two communities who share a common burden—hateful discrimination. Rove used the same-sex marriage issue to bolster President Bush’s support in the African-American community—it was only after Hurricane Katrina did many of those same supporters realize they had been taken for an electoral ride.
But as far as Mrs. King was concerned marriage equality was a basic civil right. She was quoted in USA saying “Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriage.”
The likelihood of naming a national holiday for Mrs. King is slim to none. But since she and Dr. King were married in June, perhaps the creative forces in the LGBT community can come up with a way to celebrate their lives together and the love we want to legally share. After all, their struggle for justice is the truth that is the foundation of our work for full equality.
©365Gay.com 2007
Group Expands To Provide Legal Aid To Low-Income LGBT Families
Nationwideby 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: January 18, 2007 - 9:00 pm ET
(San Francisco, California) The National Center for Lesbian Rights is launching a new project to provide access to family law services for low-income same-sex parent families.
NCLR already has a track record representing same-sex couples in legal battles for marriage rights.
Existing legal services for poor and low-income families generally lack the specialized knowledge and expertise to effectively serve clients the San Francisco-based organization said in a statement.
Called the Family Protection Project, NCLR said it intends to fill this gap by providing specialized training and materials to legal services programs in selected states, beginning with California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
"Every day, NCLR receives calls from LGBT people across the country who are desperate because they cannot afford an attorney," said NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell.
"This is a huge unmet need. By training attorneys who work specifically with low income and poor communities about the unique legal issues facing the lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender community, we will be giving them the tools to assure that their LGBT clients get meaningful help and representation."
Nationally, experts estimate that at least six million children in the U.S. have LGBT parents.
On average, according to recent studies by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA School of Law, same-sex parents with children earn $10,000 less than married couples with children. Despite the need for free or low-cost legal services for these families, however, they are virtually non-existent in most states, Kendell said.
The Family Protection Project will help low-income LGBT parents protect their relationships with their children by increasing and improving the capacity of legal services organizations and by educating families about their rights.
The organization said that the Project will train and assist attorneys who provide free and low-cost family law representation. NCLR said it is working with community groups to educate families about their rights and reach out specifically to communities of color with relevant, culturally competent information.
"Children with LGBT parents often don’t have a legal relationship with at least one of their parents, which leaves them and their families vulnerable,” said NCLR attorney Cathy Sakimura, who will manage the project.
"If a child’s biological parent dies or is incarcerated and her other parent isn’t a legal parent, she can end up in foster care, even though she has another parent who is able to take care of her. Also, low-income families are ineligible for many government benefits if their parent-child relationships aren’t recognized."
Sakimura said that in each state, NCLR will collaborate with organizations serving low-income families, LGBT people, and communities of color.
NCLR’s first partnership is in Pennsylvania with Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, one of the few organizations providing free representation specifically for low-income LGBT families.
©365Gay.com 2007
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