The Washington Post
The Reverend James Forbes is the Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church, an interdenominational (American Baptist and United Church of Christ) church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. He was the first African American minister to lead this multicultural congregation, and served it for 18 years. On June 1, 2007, after 18 years of service, Forbes officially retired from this position to become president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, a national ministry of healing and spiritual revitalization. Forbes hosts the radio program The Time Is Now, which airs weekends on the Air America Radio network. Learn more here.Because marriage is a basic human right and an individual choice, RESOLVED, the State should not interfere with same-gender couples who choose to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities, and commitment of civil marriage.Visit the Marriage Resolution page on our website and sign the Marriage Resolution today!
Metro Weekly February 3, 2010
Patrik-Ian Polk is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, singer, and actor. Polk, who is gay, is noted for his films that explore the LGBT experience and relationships. He made his feature film directorial debut with Punks, an independent feature that he also wrote and produced. Often described as a male Waiting to Exhale, Punks had its world premiere in January 2000 at the Sundance Film Festival, as part of its American Spectrum series. The film won several awards at festivals around the world and was released theatrically in November 2001. Mr. Polk is also the creator of the TV series Noah's Arc, which made its debut on the Logo television network in October 2005. He directed a feature film version of Noah's Arc, titled Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, which had a limited release in October 2008. Mr. Polk was honored by the LOGO network as part of its Legacy Campaign for his ground-breaking work on Noah's Arc, and as Michael Jensen wrote on AfterElton.com, "When it comes to thinking of gay men who have had a genuine impact on gay visibility, especially for gay men of color, it's pretty hard to think of someone who's had a bigger impact than Noah's Arc creator Patrik-Ian Polk." Learn more here.See video of Mr. Polk discussing making Noah's Arc and making LGBT people of color more visible below:
Mr. Polk posed for the NoH8 (No Hate) campaign to demonstrate his support for the freedom to marry. NoH8’s Adam Bouska has photographed thousands of subjects since California passed Proposition 8 in 2008. Subjects are photographed with duct tape over their mouths to symbolize their voices not being heard on the subject of the freedom to marry. [Link] 
Freedom to Marry salutes Patrik-Ian Polk as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.
If Mr. Polk's support inspires you, get involved!
**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!
The Baltimore Sun 
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is an American writer, political scientist and an Associate Professor of Politics and African American studies at Princeton University. She grew up in the Virginia cities of Charlottesville and Chester with a black father, the dean of Afro-American affairs at the University of Virginia; and a white mother, who taught at a community college and worked for nonprofits that helped poor communities. “I’ve never thought of myself as biracial,” Harris-Lacewell says. “I’m black.” She is the author of Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought on the methods African Americans use to develop political ideas through ordinary conversations in places like barbershops, churches, and popular culture. Harris-Lacewell's writings have been published in The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Crain's Chicago Business and Newsday. She regularly provides commentary for NBC News and MSNBC, and has contributed to other television and print sources. Learn more here.Today, many same-sex couples in the United States live in a fraught, contingent space of loving attachment, unprotected by state recognition. My fierce commitment to marriage equality derives, in part, from my personal biography as an interracial child, descended from American slaves, and raised in Virginia, beginning less than a decade after the Loving decision. Even though I am heterosexual, marriage equality is personal. I learn from the history of racial and interracial marriage exclusion that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples is wrong. [Link]Freedom to Marry salutes Melissa Harris-Lacewell as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.
I was there this morning as Indiana State Senator Greg Taylor (D)--unlike the Republican majority--battled against enshrining discrimination in the state's constitution. Even after this 6-4 loss for the freedom to marry in committee, my heart still pounds with pride as I recall one African American after another, including Taylor, speaking boldy against this discrimination. [Link]
The Rev. Geoffrey Black is the general minister and president of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Prior to his current appointment which began in October 2009, Rev. Black led the UCC's New York Conference for nearly a decade. Black was previously a program staff member in the UCC's Office for Church Life and Leadership. During his career he has served as assistant chaplain at Brown University, associate minister at St. Albans (N.Y.) Congregational UCC, pastor of Congregational UCC of South Hempstead (N.Y.), lecturer in the Field Education Department of Union Theological Seminary in New York and protestant chaplain at Adelphi University. Black is also currently a member of the board of trustees of Lancaster Theological Seminary. Ecumenical commitment, concern for equal justice, African-American empowerment and community improvement have shaped Black's ministry in the church and the communities in which he has lived. Learn more here.We have come to understand that the rights of gay and lesbian couples are being violated as equal citizens. This is the civil rights issue of the moment. Sexual orientation is being used, just as color was used, as a reason to differentiate them from the rest of the population and treat them unequally. As a church person and church leader, I defend their [opposing religious groups] right to articulate their feelings and beliefs in the public square, but in the end, the government has the responsibility to treat all people equally. [Link]Freedom to Marry salutes the Rev. Geoffrey Black as a Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.
Last week, two black D.C. Council members voted against the freedom to marry bill. But five black council members voted for it. Our black mayor signed it on Friday, and our black congressional representative has promised to defend it on Capitol Hill. Although the bill faces the possibility of intervention by Congress, something revolutionary is happening in this city to debunk the notion that homophobia is entrenched in the black community. [Link]
The New York TimesPretending that all moral questions can be boiled down to two hot button issues profoundly misrepresents the moral questions Christians encounter in America today. Seeing that every American has the health care they deserve and access to a quality education are not peripheral to our struggle for justice and righteousness—they are absolutely central to it. Many Christians of every denomination support health coverage for all people, high quality public education in every community, and, yes, reproductive choice for women and marriage equality for all.
Perhaps even more importantly, I am deeply disappointed that the signers of this document would use scare tactics and mistruths to generate a wholly synthetic threat to religious liberty. Our First Amendment protections remain intact and protect the right of every American to worship and preach in accordance to his or her own faith. No church will ever be forced to bless any marriage it disapproves of. No minister will ever be compelled to take a particular stance on the morality of abortion or birth control.
Americans of all faiths and no faith at all are engaged in serious issues that affect all of our lives. That debate requires honesty, mutual respect, and an understanding of the complexities that surround us. This document serves none of those virtues. [Link]
The Huffington Post
Maryland Black Family AllianceFor comments about the site or to report problems: editor1[AT]freedomtomarry.org
ASK EVAN WOLFSON: Why Marriage Matters -- Short Answers for Big Questions
Freedom to Marry, Main Office | 116 West 23rd St, Ste 500 | New York, NY 10011 | ph: 212.851.8418 | fax: 646.375.2069
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