Subject: SOULFORCE - CIVIL RIGHTS HEROES FROM THE '60S TO ASK CHURCH LEADERS TO END THEIR
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 13:34:18 EDT

A Soulforce News Release, May 3, 2000

CIVIL RIGHTS HEROES FROM THE '60S TO ASK CHURCH LEADERS TO END THEIR "HOLY 
WAR" AGAINST SEXUAL MINORITIES.

Historic Press Conference Set for Tuesday May 9, 7-9 p.m. 
Cleveland State University Auditorium, 2121 Euclid, Cleveland, Ohio.

FAMOUS ACTIVISTS TO BE ARRESTED WITH HUNDREDS OF GAYS AND THEIR ALLIES IN 
PROTEST OF METHODIST POLICIES NEXT DAY

Nonviolent Protest Scheduled for Wednesday May 10, 7-9 a.m. 
Cleveland Convention Center, Mall B.

 CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 3, 2000) - Gandhi's grandson, Arun Gandhi; Dr. Martin 
Luther King's eldest daughter, Yolanda King; and notable civil rights leaders 
of the '50s and '60s will announce their opposition to the war against 
homosexuals being waged by the United Methodist Church and other Protestant 
and Catholic denominations at an historic press conference, Tuesday May 9 at 
7 p.m. in the Cleveland State University Auditorium, 2121 Euclid Ave.

"The United Methodist Church has a history of social concern," explains Dr. 
Mel White, Co-Founder of Soulforce, the sponsoring organization, "and yet 
they begin this Conference in Cleveland just like most Christian 
denominations with anti-homosexual policies in place that lead to 
discrimination, suffering, and even death.  We've waited patiently for more 
than three decades for truth to prevail. It's time to take a more powerful 
stand against injustice and our
heroes and sheroes from the past are showing us the nonviolent way."
 
Civil rights leaders speaking at the press conference on Tuesday, May 9, and 
leading the civil disobedience on May 10, include the Rev. Dr. James Lawson, 
a United Methodist pastor and a close friend and co-worker of Rev. Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr; the Rev. Dr. Robert Graetz, the Lutheran pastor whose home 
was bombed because he was the only white minister who stood with King during 
the Montgomery bus boycott; and Congressman John Lewis, the young black 
activist wounded on the March to Selma.  Dr. Rodney Powell and Dr. Gloria 
Johnson-Powell, leaders of the nonviolent student movement of the '50s and 
'60s, will also speak at the Tuesday night press conference and face arrest 
at the Wednesday morning protest.
     
Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi 
Institute for Nonviolence in Memphis, and Yolanda King, Dr. King's eldest 
daughter, will also be present to address the media on behalf of equal rights 
for sexual minorities and to launch Wednesday's civil disobedience.
 
The May 10 civil disobedience will coincide with the appearance of the 
Archbishop of Canterbury and other heads of denominations with 
anti-homosexual policies in place.  "We are not in Cleveland to protest the 
presence of these Christian leaders," White explains. "They are our sisters 
and brothers.  We are marching on the Convention Center to protest their 
policies against God's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered children and 
to help them understand the tragic consequences of those policies."
  
Press do not need accreditation to be seated at the Tuesday, May 9, 7-9 p.m., 
Press Conference and Training in Nonviolence at the Cleveland State 
University Auditorium, 2121 Euclid.  The Civil Rights leaders will be 
available for interviews and photo ops on Wednesday morning May 10, 7-9 a.m. 
at Cleveland Convention Center Mall B before and during the civil 
disobedience and arrest.

ABOUT SOULFORCE:
 
Soulforce (www.soulforce.org) is a coalition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, 
transgender and heterosexual people of faith who are dedicated to bringing 
about justice for sexual minorities.  Founded in 1998, Soulforce teaches and 
applies the nonviolent principles of
Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.  The historic meeting of Soulforce 
with Jerry Falwell in October, 1999, was widely covered by the nation's media.

                                    ###
 
Media contacts:
The Rev. Dr. Mel White, Soulforce Co-Founder
(949) 933-3592 [cell]
(216) 861-0001 (May 1-12, in Cleveland)
 
   or  
 
Diana G. Westbrook, Media Coordinator
(804) 837-1568 [cell] (May 5-12 only, in Cleveland)
 
Web site has further details: www.soulforce.org
Virtual Press Kit Available on Web by May 5