Today I was thinking about the profound affect Soulforce has had on my life.  What if the Equality Ride hadn’t come to Calvin College in 2007?  The impact of the 33 Riders who came to my school is so much bigger then this article I found in the Chimes would lead anyone to believe.  In some ways, I think I’m an incredibly different person because of this. I found my voice.  I started speaking up about queer issues.  I was inspired by the Riders boldness and courage to do what I had always been afraid to do.  Then I met a seven Calvin students who wanted to make things better at Calvin.  Somewhere between the Riders and my new friends at Calvin I finally made sense of myself.  I realized I am queer.  It turns out, straight women do not find women attractive (as in date worthy) in addition to finding men attractive.  I started getting involved with activism and there was an interesting switch in the straight to queer friend ratio.  I now have some of my best friends in the world because of the Equality Ride coming to Calvin.  The summer after my final year at Calvin, I was accepted into Q Camp with Soulforce.  I learned a ton about intersectional social justice, it changed my frame work for doing justice. I also met my amazing woman at Q Camp and now we’re dating and I’m in love and ended up here in Kansas City. Aside from Yantezia, I’m also grateful for the other Q Campers who are amazing activist that I can go to for friendship and activism advice.

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I’ve formatted our West bus Equality Ride videos for iPod. You can download them using the links below and then all you have to do is add them to your iTunes Library. They’re all ready to go. Thanks to Adam Britt for hosting the files.

University of Notre Dame
Wisconsin Lutheran University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University – Idaho

West Bus Photo Slideshow

I will add videos from other stops as soon as they’re available.

Enjoy!

First of all, I apologize for the severe delay in bringing you this video. It was completed while I was still on the ride but a series of unfortunate events delayed the release. Thanks for sticking with us and continuing to be interested in the Equality Ride.

As a note, Soulforce will be co-sponsoring a New York Marriage Ride this summer from July 14-27. You can visit the site for more information. Soulforce also has an important Ex-Gay Survivors conference coming from June 29 – July 1. Many Soulforce participants have experienced the pain caused by so-called ex-gay therapy. Hopefully this conference can be a place to start the healing process for the many people who have been victims of anti-gay rhetoric.

And here our video from BYU-I

How does a journey like the Equality Ride end?

Maybe with a colon introducing a list of things to do: “get your evaluations in, write in everyone’s affirmation book, get in that one last smoker caucus, pack, and say ‘good-byes’.”

Or maybe with a dash that completely disrupts our lives and inputs a thought where no thoughts outside of exegesis and vigils have been since February—a plane trip away from a life on the road and schedules that now seem calm comparatively.

It may end with a period that finalizes one moment in time and introduces the next moment. Yes, I can’t wait to see my friends back home.

It seems that it could end with a question mark. What did I learn from the Equality Ride? Whose hearts were changed? What do I/we do now?

I can see how the journey might end with a semi-colon; let’s continue to be Equality Riders wherever we go.

Maybe the Ride ends with a comma, because this is all a work in progress, and God is still speaking.

An exclamation point seems conclusive enough. WE DID IT!

All of these seem appropriate, but, to me, it seems like, although seeds must be planted, progress simply happens. Fears subside as knowledge is gained. And if we were to look at the big paragraph of our experience and turn it into a quote we would need to end with ellipses. “Equality Riders arrested at Brigham Young University and Patrick Henry…city proclamations in Seattle and New York City honor Equality Riders…Equality Ride 2007 ends…Equality Riders continue on to seek equality everywhere they go…”

Yes, that seems about right. Goodbye for now.

Coming to the end of the road has been quite the experience. It is so nice that our co-directors have given us free time on Saturday and Sunday because we all really needed a break! It has been so nice to meet up with the East Bus and hear about their experiences and to just hang out with them on our days off.

On our second day back in Minneapolis, the West Bus sat in a circle and talked about the experiences we had on the Ride. We talked about what we learned and what we will miss most about the Ride. When it came around to me I really had to think. I ended up explaining to everyone that it will probably take about two months for everything to really hit me. It took about two months on the Ride to figure out how much I missed my friends and family at home. I think it will take about the same amount of time for me to figure out how much I miss my friends and family on the Equality Ride.

We have been through the ups and the downs of two months on the road. We know each other so much better than we could have ever imagined at the beginning of January in Austin. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, life stories, and hygiene rituals. Most importantly, I know that each person on this Ride has a deep passion for seeing equality for all people. My family on the Equality Ride has shown me that the fight for justice is not an easy one, but together we can make it happen. I really don’t know what else to say. Call me in two months and I’ll tell you.