Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Part Two
NB: This journal is PART TWO of a two-part blog on our Sit-in at SBTS. The first half of the day is recounted by a Rider who was jailed. Sorry for any confusion, and I’ll post the first day as soon as I can. – Ed.
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Ten of the 22 Equality Riders who had participated in the sit-in left the office of Dr. Mohler voluntarily and were not arrested, while 12 of the riders stayed in an act of peaceful civil disobedience. Those who left voluntarily walked to the edge of campus and stood on the public sidewalk in support of the riders who stayed. Once we were off campus and standing on public property, we sang songs and spoke with members of the media who had gathered to cover the story.
The 12 Riders who stayed were arrested for trespassing and driven away in police vehicles, including: Rachel, Bronwen, Angel, Robin, Abby, Casey, Mandy, Curt, Josh, Bram, Brandy, and Amanda.
After they were driven away, we walked to a nearby Starbucks to regroup and use the internet. Jarrett Lucas spoke with Phoenix from the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, who was able to round up supporters to meet us back at the school for a vigil. Around 5 pm, we gathered on the edge of campus holding signs that said “God made me gay on purpose”, “honk for fairness” and other similar messages. We received a lot of supportive honks and waves. We received a lot more honks of support than I expected; it was encouraging.
Later we went to downtown Louisville and had dinner while we waited for the Riders who had been arrested to be released. Several people at the restaurants we were at recognized us from the local media coverage and came up to thank us for our efforts. By 11pm, all of the Riders who had been arrested had been released, except for Angel Collie. The bus took everyone back to the hotel, but Jarrett Lucas and I waited at the jail for Angel‘s release. For some reason it took several more hours and he wasn’t released until 3:30 AM, even though he had been charged with the same offense and brought in with the rest of the group. The explanation that was given was that it had taken longer to verify his address. We took a cab back to the hotel and went to bed.
It was a long and exhausting day, but I’m glad we were able to take a stand against Mohler’s comments. I went to bed content with our efforts and thankful for the support we received from the local community members. Moehler’s comments were so out of line and immoral that I believe they required a dramatic response. Our sit-in helped to bring more attention to how dangerous his remarks were and it was clear that many people in Louisville agreed.
