Soulforce** has announced a major event for next summer, a traveling protest called Equality Ride.
At military and religious colleges around the nation, bans on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender enrollment force students into closets of fear and self-hate. These bans devalue the life of GLBT people and they slam the door on academic freedom. The Equality Ride empowers young adults to challenge these college bans.
Scheduled to take place in the spring of 2006, the Equality Ride will take 25–30 young adults on a seven-week bus tour to confront seven religious and/or military colleges that ban the enrollment of GLBT students. At each stop along the journey the members of the Equality Ride will present a powerful case for GLBT equality.
Where are they getting participants? They don’t have any yet, anyone can fill out an application here.
How much does it cost if you’re selected as an applicant? Nothing.
**A fringe group. A list of fringy activities Soulforce may or may not engage in on said bus trip can be found here. The bus may or may not have fringe on top causing participants to break into song.
Tres cool. Wish I could do something like that.
Yep, that sounds very cool. OF course, the 18-28 age limit leaves me out. Which is fine. Someone my age going on something like that would be, well, creepy.
On the other hand, does anyone under 28 know the words to “Surry with the Fringe On Top”?
Watch that fringe and see how it flutters / when I drive them high stepping strutters. / Nosey pokes will peek through their shutters / and their eyes will pop!
I wrote this post so yes, I do, and I’m 25. I was in my high school’s production of OKLAHOMA!
This blog has far too few show tunes references.
And here I thought show tunes weren’t “hip”. Or “phat”. Or whatever the kids say these days. 😉
On the other hand, does anyone under 28 know the words to “Surry with the Fringe On Top”?
I don’t, and I am well over 28. But it’s easy to find links to web sites that have song lyrics merely by doing a google search.
I found https://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/oklahoma/thesurreywiththefringeontop.htm in about a minute
BTW, I saw Oklahoma! and found it extremely trite and very boring. Both Rodgers and Hammerstein were much better under their previous partnerships.
Also, if you like Richard Rodgers, you might be interested in the CD “Mary Martin Sings, Richard Rodgers Plays,” which was originally issued on vinyl in the 1950s and was re-released on CD about a decade ago. It is fantastic.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000003F23/qid=1134037734/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl15/103-7908972-3156617?n=507846&s=music&v=glance
Jim wrote On the other hand, does anyone under 28 know the words to “Surry with the Fringe On Top”?
Dan wrote I wrote this post so yes, I do
Thanks a lot, guys. I think you’ve just proven that Soulforce is in fact a “fringe” organization.
Nevertheless, I think the Equality Ride is a great idea, not because it’s likely to effect changes in these school’s policies regarding gay people but because I think it’s helpful for people living in an atmosphere of gay apartheid to meet happy, well-adjusted gay people.
If the only “same-sex-attracted” people you ever meet in your life are the folks at the “Love Won Out” conference telling you about their addictions and other self-destructive behaviors, you’re going to think that all gay people are self-destructive drug addicts.
Harvey Milk used to say the most important thing you can do to advance the cause of gay liberation is to come out. Just be yourself. Let everybody see what gay people really look like.
How can you meet a busload of young, show-tune-singing LGBT people and continue to think of gay people as sexually broken, demonically possessed, drug crazed child molesters?
Now, if you saw me doing my Ethel Merman impersonation, you might have some questions, but I’m way over the age limit, so not to worry.