Faith In America Founder Receives Visionary Award
Mitchell Gold, founder of Faith In America and CEO of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, was honored in New York on Wednesday for his work in educating the public about the harm caused by religion-based bigotry and prejudice toward gay Americans.
Gold was presented the Stonewall Community Foundation's distinguished Visionary Award at the 40th Anniversary gala dinner at the United Nations Delegates’ Dining Room on Wednesday The event celebrated the great strides made by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community of New York and recognize Stonewall’s vital role in nurturing and strengthening the LGBT movement over the past 20 years.
Gold was recognized for his many years of advocacy work and for his efforts to better the well-being of LGBT individuals. Gold in 2005 founded Faith in America, an organization working to end the advance of religion-based bigotry toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Last fall, he edited and published the book, "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America."
The dinner also honored Dustin Lance Black, the 2008 Academy Award® and Writers Guild of America Award winning screenwriter of Milk, the Gus Van Sant-directed biopic of the late gay rights activist Harvey Milk that also earned an Academy Award® for Best Actor for Sean Penn in the title role.
Faith In America: Silence is a vote against equality and dignity
Faith In America would like to remind Miss California Tami Farrell that in her refusal to voice her support for marriage equality for gay Americans she is allowing religion-based bigotry and prejudice to advance against them.
In a Larry King Live segment on June 10, Farrell was asked if she thought gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry. She said she thought it was a civil rights issue and that individual states should decide the issue.
King in a follow-up question suggested California was in the process of deciding and that Ms. Farrell was a voter and then asked her how she would vote.
Ms. Farrell again refused to answer.
Continue reading the review...
Evangelical leader says Christians should
apologize for treatment of gay Americans
The following book review by Dr. David Gushee, a Christian ethicist at Mercer University in Atlanta, author and well-respected member of the evangelical community, has written a very favorable review of CRISIS.
It is our hope you'll share this review with the any people who can gain understanding from Dr. Gushee's words.
His words at this point in 2009 are monumental.
When Mitchell Gold began developing CRISIS in 2007, it was his hope that it could be used to show Americans – particular communities of faith – the harm that is caused when religious teaching is misused to promote a societal climate of condemnation, discrimination and violence toward our community. Our work at Faith In America shows that when people understand that harm, their hearts and minds change.
Over the last several months, we have observed important victories in judiciaries and legislatures.
But those victories will pale compared to the victories we are seeing in the hearts and minds of more and more Americans.
Dr. Gushee was made aware of harm – and he was moved.
His words are yet another signal that the religion-based bigotry and prejudice that for so long has used against us is today being rejected just as it has in the past when used against other minorities
When that happens – just as it did in those past instances – the wall of discrimination before us will disappear and it will never again return.
Brent Childers, executive director
Continue reading the review...
How You Can Be An Agent Of Change
Helping those like Rev. Rick Warren understand
CRISIS...Transformining hearts and minds
Mildred Loving’s statement...Connecting the dots of history
The question we’re asking Americans today
Faith In America's mission is to educate the public about the harm caused when religious beliefs are used to promote and justify prejudice, discrimination and violence toward gay Americans with emphasis on the negative impact on youth. The goal of this education process is to end the advance of religion-based bigotry and prejudice toward gay citizens and to marginalize those groups or individuals who bring that harm to bear on good, decent and law-abiding Americans simply because of sexual orientation.
Faith In America's work over the previous two years, has helped lay the foundation for a powerful and history-changing conversation and one which will take on profound significance in 2009.
We have injected a new voice into the national dialogue on full and equal rights for gay Americans. No longer will the Tony Perkins, James Dobsons or Frank Tureks of the world be allowed to justify and promote attitudes of rejection, condemnation and violence with impunity.
Our educational initiatives have resulted in:
- A marriage equality statement from one of the Civil Rights Movement's icons, Mildred Loving - a statement that the New York Times rightfully described as indeed rare.
- Our core message being placed in front of the California Supreme Court in May 2008.
- Directly challenging then presidential candidate Barack Obama and then other Democratic presidential primary candidates in July 2007 with the question that was heard by them and millions of others around the world. (Why is it still OK to use religion to justify discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans?)
- Challenging those who espouse religion-based bigotry and prejudice toward gay Americans.
- Educational campaigns and other events in 16 states across America.
- Working with a broad array of organizations, including PFLAG, GLAAD, GLSEN, Trevor Project, HRC , MCC and other organizations working on various initiatives to address religion-based bigotry and prejudice.
- During the last three years, our organization has generated more than 250 news articles, newscast segments, news radio segments and countless internet posts about religion-based bigotry and prejudice and the harm it causes. The audience to that combined media exposure exceeds 25 million people.
But our work involves a much more important goal than the media exposure by which we bring awareness and understanding to the issue of religion-based bigotry and prejudice – which is the mortar that holds the wall of condemnation, violence and discrimination in place.
No longer should gay and lesbian individuals have to hear themselves called sinners and unworthy by media spokespersons, elected officials, religious leaders, or any advertisements stemming from pro-LGBT initiatives.
It simply no longer can be acceptable or tolerated because of the immense emotional, psychological and spiritual violence it brings to bear on our families and communities, gay and straight.
We will not agree to disagree when it comes to young lives being wrecked.
Making people aware of that harm and helping them understand the pain is of course the reason Mitchell Gold, our founder, in Sept. 08 published the book "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America" Crisis." It is changing a heart and a mind of someone in America. CRISIS is perhaps the single, most effective educational tool that exists in the public discourse today when it comes to our message.
Almost daily, we receive a personal story from someone who has been impacted by Mitchell Gold's book. It is allowing parents, teachers, counselors, pastors and others to see the true face of the harm caused by religion-based bigotry and in doing so gives them the reason to move away from a position that promotes such harm.
We hope you'll join us in ensuring that more and more Americans in 2009 will come to see that the harm caused by religion-based bigotry and prejudice toward gay and lesbian Americans is indeed one of the greatest moral failures of our day.
Together, we can make history.
Join the conversation at our new blog www.EndTheHarm.com