Casey & The Equality Ride

March 26th - Baptist Theological Seminary (louieville, kentucky)

2007-03-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

albert mohler basically said that if a biological hormonal factor were found to cause homosexuality, that it is every "christian parent's duty" to change that in-utero EUGENICS.
scary that this man is at the forefront of the evangelical academic community. he is also the president of the baptist theological seminary, and so we staged a sit-in on monday outside of his office demanding that he retract his statement publicly.

12 of us were arrested on monday. as we were driving away in the booking van robyn began to sing....then we all began to sing....and we were singing as we stepped off the van into the garage of the police station too...and while we were waiting to be brought in. it was beautiful---though two people made fun of us by singing "kum bi ya" over the loudspeaker and laughing.

12 hours later, we were out...most of us at least, angel was in there for about 4 hours after us--we were worried about him, but he was ok. this was a different jail experience than oklahoma. the booking/processing process was handled differently--better i think, though we were moved to a holding cell/dorm afterwards and kept there for several more hours. everyone we encountered within the jail, both workers and inmates stated that they would have been sitting in front of his office right along with us, believing our arrests to be ridiculous.

he wants to eliminate an entire community...commUNITY
kind of interesting ehh?

March 22 - Mississippi College (clinton, mississippi)

2007-03-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

another crazy day to add to the intense events that have occur ed over the past few days. as we pulled into the vicinity of campus crowds of students and faculty, police and media were vi sable. we stepped off the bus to a group of about 6 students holding hands, waiting to join our vigil line....that was wonderful....and then we attempted to give yet another gift to the college administration, a poster with all of our childhood photos on it with a caption that read "we are all god's children" vince and enku walked on holding the poster and they were arrested within their first two steps. students were outraged, tears rolling down their faces that their school was treating us with such little respect and hospitality. within the next 20 minutes 3 more riders, amy, katie and kyle attempted to walk onto campus headed towards students who looked eager for conversations....again 2 steps and they were in handcuffs.

the rest of the day we split up into smaller groups so as to look more approachable for students---and we succeeded in having hundreds and hundreds of conversations, both positive and negative opinions, but opinions that were shared none the least. a group of students actually made bagged lunches for each of us, making sure to have both vegie and vegan options! they were honestly an amazing group of students. even those people who approached us with their bibles in their hands with "a man shall not lie with another man..." on their tongue shared with us their feelings of regret for their campus administration not allowing us on.

later on in the day, after numerous student interactions outside of campus and in a really fun little coffee shop....our arrested members were released....
2 were sentenced with 10 days of jail, suspended granted they stay out of trouble for the next 2 years.
the other 3 had prior arrests and were sentenced with 20 days in jail, suspended granted they stay out of trouble for the next 2 years, plus 4 days (weekdays) of community service----we will have to go on to kentucky without them....meeting back up in alabama for my stop at Samford University.
it has just hit me how serious this ride is, not that i wasnt aware of how serious/dangerous it was before, but all of a sudden i am witnessing my friends struggling through situations that seem absurd for the actions they have taken towards creating a safer world.

as we were leaving clinton last night our bus was pulled over twice within 5 minutes! the police saying "get out of our town"
they dont want us there.
but the students do.
and so we remain.
i am scared, definitely not denying that emotion, but i have surrounded myself with good people who embrace me when ever they sense a tear about to fall from my eye. and i in turn embrace them whenever i sense that they are in pain.

i miss all of you.
and love all of you.
week 3......and 5 more to go.

March 19-21 Baylor University (waco, texas)

2007-03-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

i am finding it harder and harder to find words to describe what exactly it is i have experienced over the last 2 days. we were not invited onto baylor's campus on monday, but it is a large campus and we walked on without much trouble. there was such a great student interest, crowds of people wanting to know what they could do to help bring change to their campus. students, young and old, coming out to us for the first time----words freeing themselves from lips that have been taped shut their entire lives because of a fear of complete rejection. the conversations we had were great, all things considered, it was a wonderful first day.

2003 was the last year an unofficial campus group called "baylor freedom" was in practice. this was an underground group for LGBTQ students and their allies, that deteriorated after its members graduated. LGBTQ students were left without a voice, and even when they were still a group, their messages were erased once they were written. student groups on baylor's campus "chalk" advertisements for their group meetings and what not, but when baylor freedom attempted to join in, their markings were quickely washed away by the power hoses waiting behind them. our second day at baylor university was a revival of this chalking tradition. a remembrance of baylor freedom, and a new start for the LGBTQ students on the campus now. the 26 of us plus about 10 baylor students walked in a straight line towards the campus chapel yesterday at about 2pm. about a 5 minute walk and by the time we reached the chapel steps our line of 36 had grown to over 50....students wanted to take a stand. a few words were said in honor of baylor freedom and then we began to chalk.
"i am gay"
"we are all god's children"
"live and let live"
"do justice, love mercy, walk humbly"
"rainbows are meant to be seen"
and on and on and on.....
5 of our riders were arrested for this, and 1 baylor student.
the judge never showed up yesterday so the people who have grown to become my family away from home were in jail....are still in jail.....over night. this has never happened before, equality riders spending the night in jail and i have been having a really difficult time grasping it all. i truly feel like a portion of my heart is missing, and they still have yet to be released.
usually bail is around $100, but theirs is set for $2,000 each.
we are going to get them out today, absolutely but that is a $12,000 dent in our equality ride budget. we are hoping to raise more funds so that we can complete our ride.
5 more riders, including myself, have stayed behind in waco, texas while everyone else has gone off on the bus to jackson, mississippi, our next stop. once they are released from jail we will drive to mississippi in rented cars and meet up with the rest of our group.
our love for each other is strong.
and i find so much strength in knowing that their is a huge number of students on baylor's campus that are currently besides themselves because of how their school's administration has treated us.

****pictures to come****
for now you can go to this link : www.adambritt.net
and view my fellow rider's photographs....they are truly powerful images.

March 15th - Day Two at Oklahoma Baptist University (oklahoma)

2007-03-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

the prison system
i entered for a cause i felt i needed to stand up for
and was released with yet another cause
i am a white, upper middle class, twenty something
and though female, my class supersedes my birth sex
from 10 am
till
3 pm
she was locked up, hair a mess, crying uncontrollably, alcohol on her breath
but a person she was and is
six of us came just about 3 pm
and we were processed before her
because she did not fit the part

all of us bare foot
walking around on a germ filled cement floor
a stainless steel toilet behind one wall
though stainless-not so sure that is the right word

hands behind my back
metal cuffs in their place
i ducked my had as i took my seat

carrying a gift
of beautiful colors, words, and songs
an offering for those whose minds remain shut down
and as my feet stand down on the lawn
my comrades behind me sing us a song
"walk, walk"
"walk, walk"
i hear them say
staring straight ahead i hear them say
holding one corner in my hand

they had us let go
and our tablet fell to the ground
scavengers of hope come up behind
raising our voice once more

we created this beautiful quilt, working all morning, riders, community members, and students. the colors represented those found on the original gay pride flag (the rainbow plus pink and turquoise) and written on these fabric pieces were bible verses of love, quotations of affirmation, and the names of students around the country and on their campus who were forced into the closet or already expelled for coming out. 6 of us, myself included, and 2 community members began to walk onto campus as the rest of the riders say "om shanti" and "stay'n on equality" about 20 feet onto campus we were stopped by the police, the two community members turned around and walked back to our singing friends, and we 6 remained standing, the quilt dropping to the ground as we were each placed into handcuffs. as we drove away in the police car i saw two oklahoma baptist students pick up the quilt and bring it into the school's student union--though we were stopped halfway, our message made it into the student union. we were in jail for about six hours, i am proud of what my friends and i did that day, and so proud of what the students at obu did with our message of hope.

March 14th - Day One at Oklahoma Baptist University (oklahoma)

2007-03-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

"jesus is not religion"
what is that supposed to mean?
you would not even look me in the eye
you are not cowering behind glass walls at least
though the boxes surrounding you have few doors
eye contact the only peep hole--though this seems to be cloudy.

day one at oklahmoa baptist university began with 26 equality riders attempting to join in prayer at the campus chapel. as each one of us took the step to join the other students in their worship service we were each asked to step back, turned away from a house of god. 5 of our riders took one more step and they were arrested as the rest of us stood in a line behind them singing songs of love, songs from the days of the freedom rides, songs of survival. many of the riders are southern baptists themselves and it was especially hard for them, as they were being denied a chance to worship in a house of their own faith. i myself, though not connected with any church found such sorrow in the eyes of my friends, and this brought me into a state of pure justice---meaning i realized how important this movement really is, that no one should be told that their god does not love them and i feel justified in saying this even if i myself am not sure if there is a god---the fact remains that love is what sustains humanity. and with love comes acceptance and support for people in their entirety.

a reflection of an experience
of a song of a hope of a cause of a belief of a love
i say we are one
independent though standing strong
not insignificant
not a thorn in the side of a humanity that refuses to love, affirm, accept
but this has been my experience
and as i reflect
i see my friends
my family
hurting from a wound that was unjustly given
bleeding from a cut that though cannot be seen
can be felt
can be heard.

March 12th - Reflecting on Our Day at Central Bible College (Missouri)

2007-03-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

we stood outside the campus lines waiting for a single student to approach us
no one came
they were all too afraid, administration having threatened expulsion to anyone who even attempted to speak with us.
the campus was deserted
eyes seen only through glass walls
police peering over walls and a top buildings
our backs to the street, i never felt such an intense fear
a fear i am sure the students on this campus who are queer feel everyday
i kept looking over my shoulder, tried to stare straight ahead
though no one was waiting behind me to hurt me, the idea still remained, and the fear was very true.
community members joined us on the vigil line, students from other colleges
the support we felt was great, but with no support from central bible college i felt somewhat stumped......that is until i woke up the next morning to hear that two central bible college students had gone out of their way to seek us out the night before, looking all over the town for our bus, in search of conversations that their campus had denied them access to.
i could not ask for anything more
we reached two students on that campus
and their words can carry our message to the remainder of their campus
and their words
and their words...

om shanti

2007-03-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

peace inside of my mind
love and only love is moving me
peace inside of my mind
love and only love is moving me

om shanti
om shanti
om shanti, shanti om
om shanti
om shanti
om shanti, shanti om

love inside of my heart
love and only love is moving me
love inside of my heart
love and only love is moving me

om shanti
om shanti
om shanti, shanti om
om shanti
om shanti
om shanti, shanti om

joy inside of our world
love and only love is moving me
joy inside of our world
love and only love is moving me

om shanti
om shanti
om shanti, shanti om
om shanti
om shanti
om shanti, shanti om

the morning of

2007-03-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

the morning of our first college campus stop i woke up to "did you see the bus?"
i ran out the front door of the econo-lodge hotel and looked at the bus that is supposed to be my home for the next two months.
"GAY FUCKS"
"GOD DOESN'T LOVE GAY FEARY FUCKS"
(notice that they didn't spell "fairy" / "faery" right)
i am twenty one years old....twenty two in two weeks, and i have never been the target of a gay slur.
this was a first.
when i joined the equality ride i wanted to spread the love and support i have received without reservation from the people in my life who mean the most to me.
and now i have experienced first hand the hate that is out there.
no one was physically hurt.
but this was a hate crime none the less.
an act rooted in a hatred built from fear and ignorance.
we stepped of the bus onto the dordt college campus, snow banks twelve feet high.
a beautiful day with snow laying on the branches on trees growing in peace.
and we were welcomed, students and faculty alike, they were honest and wanted a day of conversation.
apologizing profusely for the act of vandalism that we awoke to.
the students were eager for dialogue.
asked thoughtful questions.
and were genuinely interested in what i had to say and what my fellow riders had to say.
our stories were told, they listened.
their stories were told, we listened.
my fears about our day were comforted by the words that surprisingly came out of my mouth.
i learned so much about myself through the conversations i had today.
seventeen more schools to go.
xoxo.

the days have blended together

2007-03-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

on the eve of my departure from minneapolis, i find myself reflecting on what exactly has happened over the past three days.
each day brought with it a beauty i am sure i have never seen before.
and along with that beauty came an understanding of myself that i had not been aware of.
the parallels i have drawn between my own life and the lives of my fellow riders are great, even though we are all so different and have come from such different backgrounds and levels of acceptance.
throughout each day i find myself surrounded by passionate people who have hearts wider than any ocean.
tears flowing, arms embracing, laughter and smiles, everyday.

a speaker came to talk to our group the other day, honestly they have all blended together and i don't remember if it was yesterday or the day before, but this man, peterson, spent seventeen years of his life trying to become straight. the scariest part for me was the fact that each group he joined and each residence he lived in was a conscious choice of his own, made purely because he felt that his god could not love him if he were gay. now, my own beliefs about god are not definite, if there at all, but i do know that if there were a god, they would not create a human being just so that that person can spend the majority of their life suffering because of an identity they are so scared to stay true to.

following that presentation came a workshop in non-violence.
a role-playing activity where we were asked to scream, degrade, and hurt the others on our ride.
face to face one person screamed/spoke/stared while the other looked straight ahead, taking it in, trying not to cry--only to break down afterward when each pair stopped their hurtful, hateful words to embrace.
all of this to prepare us for what we may or may not be walking into as we begin conversations with those people who need to hear our voices most.

tomorrow is a new day, as each day ultimately is.
i wonder what it will bring.

day one

2007-03-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

day one.
stranded at the Philadelphia international airport.
declared an entire row of seats to be my bed.
all is well.
should finally arrive in Minneapolis at some point tomorrow after having flown their only to turn right back around and end up sleeping over night at the Philly airport.
super duper guys.
im having a ball--an absolute ball.
7 of us here, we have taken over an entire gate C-17 to be exact, it is our own...
till tomorrow.
later gaters.

one week

2007-02-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

one week left till i leave NY for Minneapolis, and though i am so excited i can hardly breath...i also just had one of my wisdom teeth pulled about 1 hour ago and so i am quite scared about the eminent pain i will be in once the numbness wears off....
anyway....
one week to go, i'll start packing this weekend, i can't believe this is actually happening.
one week till the next two months of my life begin.

two weeks

2007-02-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

two weeks to go and i am barely able to sit still.

two weeks till i step onto a plane that will lead me to a bus.

two weeks till i begin the next two months of my life.

two weeks till i open one mind, heart, life to the possibility of something different.

two weeks...