2010 Soulforce Equality Ride is comming to Lincoln in April
Hey folks in Lincoln Nebraska!!! My name is Colin and I am 2010 Soulforce Equality Rider(mad props to this site for referencing the soulforce website in their resources page!) and I am looking for community members and organizations to link up with in lincoln. I am the stop coordinator for Union College. what am I looking for community outreach to do you ask? I am glad you asked that!!!
1.) I need to get a better grasp on the overall attitiude in reguards to us queer folks in Lincoln. it is going to help give me a good jumping off point.
2.) Community support am looking to get the community involved in a couple ways. something that is very helpful and means a lot to the Riders is if people are willing to put meals together for us, participate in community service projects with us, something that we are really wanting to emphasize on this years ride is learning from the community by putting together diversity education trainings for us and members of the community, if you are a person of faith we would love to have you pray for/send good energy/goodwill/ pray to the gods and goddesses for us on our journey talking to schools and to soften the heart of Union College's President David Smith. He has been very unresponsive to the idea of us comming. he has not said one way or the other that he will or will not let us on campus as of now. (I will let keep you all posted) but we are hopeful that he will. Also if you know of any cool community service organizations and opportunities that are LGBTQAI friendly and have some connections there is you would connect them to me that would be really cool. right now everything is in the early planning stages seeing as how I just got assigned this stop last week at training.
3.) community leaders! something we are really looking for this year is well is people of all ages willing to keep up the conversations/education/outreach to this school and provide them with the resources to be successful and feel supported by their community after we leave. also I will do my best to lend my support to the school and you.
4.) contact if you know someone who is LGBTQAI and attends Union College I would love to talk to them first and foremost seeing as we are going to their school I feel it important to get to them and give them the opportunity first. If you would like to maybe send them my way. they can e-mail me at colin_daniels@equalityride.org together I know that we can do this and I am so excited and humbled to have this stop. I have very special ties to this school. my mom was an alumnist. I want to do this school justice and I cannot do this without you!
In justice,
-Colin
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tyler Richard on -
Hi Colin! Thanks so much for posting this and for the amazing work you are doing. In addition to serving as Communications Coordinator for OUTLinc, I work with 49Voices, a statewide campaign to make Nebraska a better place for LGBT people starting with expanding employment protections.
A link about the project has been sent to several individuals who have connections to various faith communities - I think they would be very excited to try and help with this, from arranging housing to getting the word out.
Another idea - maybe we can arrange a conference call/skype chat with various community leaders and you to try and come up with some concrete ideas about how to get the community engaged in advance and provide support for the students at Union College.
Feel free to post on here or email me: tyler@49voices.org
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Permalink Reply by Karl Skinner on -
Colin and Tyler,
I am part of a three-person leadership team for a group called RUMOLA (Reconciling United Methodists of the Lincoln Area). Several members of the group are former clergy members and we are advocating for change in the official policies of the UM church to be more inclusive. So this group seems to me to be a perfect fit to help with the equality ride stop in Lincoln. Most if not all of the folks in RUMOLA are familiar with Mel White and the work of Soulforce. I can communicate with the group via email to see who would be willing to provide meals and lodging. Just please let me know how many people need accommodations and the dates. Many of these folks are retired, so I think they would appreciate the opportunity to be involved in multiple ways with this event. I don't know any students at Union College, but I do know a PFLAG mom who is very active and a former Seventh Day Adventist who left the church in support of her lesbian daughter. Both live in Lincoln and I know the mother has also written letters to the church's leadership, so I'd think this is something they would want to be involved with since the Adventist church is connected to Union College. I look forward to learning more. Please let me know what RUMOLA can do to help and I'll check with the PFLAG mom to see if she wants to be involved. Tyler and I both know her well.
Karl Skinner
ks53959@windstream.net
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Permalink Reply by Karen Bratton Cranford on -
Colin,
I am the Vice President for Star City Pride. We are the organization that helps plan and produce the PRIDE festival each year for Lincoln and the surrounding communities. If there are ways we can help please don't hesitate to contact me.
karen_bratton@hotmail.com
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Permalink Reply by Tyler Richard on
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Karen:
A conference call is planned for Tuesday, February 2nd. I'll forward you the info!
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Permalink Reply by Robin Whisman on -
Hey Colin,
It was great talking with you tonight. I'm really looking forward to the Equality Ride stop in Lincoln!
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