Press

On Sunday, July 23, the National Religious Leadership Roundtable (NRLR), an interfaith network of more than forty religious leaders from faith-based organizations, including mainline denominations, convened a public forum that examined the intersections of racism, sexism, and homophobia. First convened in 1998, the National Religious Leadership Roundtable works in partnership with other justice-seeking groups to amplify the voice of pro-gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) religious organizations and to promote equality, spirituality, and justice.

"Tonight, we clearly gather at the crossroads of injustice," NGLTF Executive Director Elizabeth Toledo said at the event. "The struggle for GLBT people with the larger religious community for recognition, respect, and to fully participate in our own religious institutions is part of a much bigger, historical struggle for the rights of people of color and women within these same institutions."

The forum, which was hosted by the Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church in Miami, Florida, featured a diverse group of speakers who pointed to recent events as further evidence that racism, sexism, and homophobia intersect in frightening and often violent ways in our society. The murder earlier this month of 26-year-old Arthur Carl "J.R." Warren, an African-American gay man in West Virginia, for example, personifies the shared violence experienced by people of color and those in GLBT communities. Likewise, in Florida, the roll back of affirmative action in education and persistent efforts to repeal Dade County's civil rights ordinance that includes GLBT people, are related attempts by conservatives to deny recourse for discrimination.

The NRLR is co-convened by the NGLTF and Equal Partners in Faith. The Roundtable’s Miami event was its fifth. Previous Roundtables were convened in Washington, D.C., Colorado Springs, and Orange County, CA. For more information on the Roundtable, visit http://www.ngltf.org/pi/nrlr.

Joining Toledo as a keynote speaker was Rev. John F. White, Senior Pastor at Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church in Miami. Greater Bethel A.M.E church is the oldest Black church in Miami and has established innovative ministries and community outreach programs, including to gay men and lesbians, linking the church with the community. Other speakers included: Mandy Carter of Floridians Representing Equality and Equity (F.R.E.E.); Rev. Frank Munoz of Clergy Coalition for Social Justice; Nadine Smith of Equality Florida, and Jorge Mursuli of SAVEDade.

"For someone like me who is a woman, a person of color and a lesbian, every time I wake in the morning, I wonder, ‘What’s it going to be today?’ Sometimes, this very fear comes every hour," said Carter of Floridians Representing Equality and Equity.

–30–

The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.