Gays Against Gun Violence BN Opens Dialogue on Community Safety

The epidemic of nationwide violence, including but not limited to last month's Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando, has mobilized Gays Against Gun Violence in Bloomington-Normal, which meets initially at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday) at The Bistro, 316 North Main Street, Bloomington.

The event is described as an "inaugural meet-up to brainstorm about how we can help make our community safer for one and all."

"Whether you are gay because you are LGBT or you are gay because you are part of the rainbow of love that we all share, you are most welcome," event sponsors stated. "We will begin by honoring the victims of gun violence at Pulse in Orlando and also the alarming number of victims of gun violence here in Bloomington-Normal."

As a member of Central Illinois' Prairie Pride Coalition, an LGBT advocacy group, Gary Gletty cites PPC's mission "to bring awareness and to reach out to people in our community who could use some help in dealing with issues." PPC was one of several local groups and agencies that appeared June 28 for Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal's 20th anniversary on the Old Courthouse square.

Gletty was gratified by the nearly 325-person turnout at the recent downtown Bloomington candlelight vigil for the Orlando nightclub shooting victims, and believes the LGBT community especially of late has "enjoyed quite a bit of support." Leaders of the local faith community participated in the vigil to demonstrate their support.

In mid-June, The Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. LGBT-rights organization, called for several measures to curb gun violence in the aftermath of the Florida attack that killed 49 Pulse patrons.

The HRC endorsed steps to limit access to assault-style rifles, expand background checks, and limit access to firearms for suspected terrorists and people with a history of domestic abuse.

A resolution on the gun measures was approved Thursday evening at a special meeting of the HRC's board of directors. The organization said it was the first time in its 36-year history that it had called such a meeting to address a policy matter that extended far beyond the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

The HRC's president, Chad Griffin, blamed the massacre on "a toxic combination of two things: a deranged, unstable individual who had been conditioned to hate (LGBT) people, and easy access to military-style guns."

Camille: Full and Free Lives An American Principle

By Camille Taylor

WJBC Forum

During the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress drafted a final copy of the Declaration of Independence which declared the original Thirteen Colonies independent from the mother country of England. It was voted on, and all Thirteen Colonies adopted it on July 4, 1776. The war was still going on, but there were muted celebrations of July 4th each year until the war ended in 1783.

The July 4th holiday was established which included speeches, military events, parades, and fireworks. It’s odd isn’t it, that as we celebrate Independence Day, Great Britain has declared its independence from the European Union. The result has already caused economic and political fallout.

THE FOUNDERS AND FAITH

When the American Constitution was ratified in 1787, the founding fathers also put into practice that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise therefore,” which suggests that by law no particular group is to be treated as superior to another group in the United States.
In 1783, George Washington wrote that “the bosom of America is open to receive… the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions, whom [Americans] shall welcome to a participation of all [their] rights and privileges… They may be [Muslims], Jews, or Christians of any sect.”
Likewise, Thomas Jefferson, who authored the Declaration of Independence, wrote in a document for the Virginian colonial legislature that “the Jew, the Gentile, the Christian, and the [Muslim], the [Hindu], and infidel of every decimation” are accepted as equal citizens in the United States.

The US Constitution was ratified in 1788, which included the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The first amendment is freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. America has been the envy of many throughout the world as we enjoy these freedoms.

On Tuesday, Not In Our Town celebrated its 20th anniversary with a rally and march on the square in downtown Bloomington. Its mission is to stop hate, address bullying, and to make a safe, more inclusive community. The freedoms listed in the first amendment are exactly the things Not In Our Town works to maintain. As people attack others for their religion, race, and sexual orientation, Not In Our Town has worked to inoculate our community against hate. NIOT has been proactive in initiating dialogue, working with local schools and government, and being a presence in all facets of community life in an effort to fulfill its mission.

The founding fathers of our nation and the founders of NIOT had at least one important thing in common. They wanted to see their country and their communities live their lives fully and to be free to be whom they were created to be. This is the American ideal, and this is the essence of Not In Our Town. There is no room for hatred, bigotry, racism, isolationism, xenophobia, homophobia, antisemitism, or any of the other “isms” when people are trying to live, work, and raise their families not only in Bloomington/Normal, but in communities across this country.

So, while we celebrate our independence this weekend with parades, cookouts, and family, let us remember that “freedom is never free,” and blood was shed so that America could be a beacon of light around the world.

Twin Cities Islamic Leaders Hail Interfaith Communication

Knowledge, communication, and understanding is key to countering extremism and “the essence of a very healthy, very dynamic community,” a Normal psychiatrist and Islamic community leader argues.

Faisal Ahmed, interim president with the Islamic Center of Bloomington-Normal, hails Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal in helping lead the way to interfaith, intercultural understanding. In December, reacting to Islamophobia sentiments in the wake of the San Bernardino shootings and inflammatory presidential campaign rhetoric, Twin Cities Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders united in a NIOTBN-sponsored vigil aimed at building solidarity and furthering the effort “to protect us from extremism,” said Ahmed, a pediatric psychiatrist with Advocate Children’s Medical Group.

Bloomington’s Masjid Ibrahim mosque recently held a public open house along with Moses Montefiore synagogue and the Hindu Temple of Bloomington-Normal – Ahmed stressed the need “to let people know actually who we are.” Ahmed argued “this community has been blessed.”

“As we’ve seen all around the world, extremism has been widespread,” Ahmed acknowledged at Tuesday’s NIOTBN’s “beautiful, wonderful” 20th anniversary celebration downtown in downtown Bloomington. “I think these events and these efforts offer a ray of hope that we can actually fight this. Better communication, better integration among us will lead to better results. We can fight this extremism at any level with more coordination and more interfaith effort.”

Mohammed Zaman, president of the mosque that has served local Muslims since 2007, agreed NIOTBN amd local spiritual leaders are “doing a really, really excellent job in bringing the communities together.” Tuesday night, Masjid Ibrahim Imam Abu Emad helped lead an opening blessing with Jewish, Christian, and Hindu community representatives.

“Basically, it’s about a dialogue between the communities,” Zaman held. “We need to come out of our isolation, get together, and have frequent dialogue between the communities.”

Watch Zaman and Ahmed’s complete interviews for more on communication between communities.

Kelley: A Safe Place For All in an Unsafe World

The Rev. Kelley Becker

Bloomington First Christian Church

While attending the NIOT 20th anniversary celebration Tuesday night, I shared with a friend that I was thinking about the community events I have been part of in the last two days and how they are all connected. My friend reminded me that writing about these experiences might be a great way to process them. So, here are some thoughts as I initially process the last couple of days.

The Rev. John Libert and Imam Abu Emad were among Twin Cities spiritual leaders who dedicated Tuesday's NIOTBN 20th anniversary celebration.

The Rev. John Libert and Imam Abu Emad were among Twin Cities spiritual leaders who dedicated Tuesday's NIOTBN 20th anniversary celebration.

On Monday night, I attended the 2016 LGBTQ Spirituality Forum, sponsored by the Prairie Pride Coalition. It was a moving experience to hear ministry colleagues speak words of welcome to members of the LGBTQ community gathered there. The faith communities represented were First Christian Church, New Covenant Community Church, Hope Church, Unitarian Universalist, Moses Montefiore Temple, and Illinois Wesleyan’s Evelyn Chapel. These communities have stated publicly that they are safe, welcoming, inclusive places for members of the LGBTQ community…and all of God’s people.

A block off the Old Courthouse square, The Bistro -- a social center of activity for the Twin Cities' LGBT community -- offers a message of strength in the wake of the Orlando tragedy.

A block off the Old Courthouse square, The Bistro -- a social center of activity for the Twin Cities' LGBT community -- offers a message of strength in the wake of the Orlando tragedy.

One of the questions asked of the panel was, “Are there other faith communities in Bloomington-Normal that are welcoming of the LGBTQ community and if so, who are they?” That question opened the door for a conversation about the differences between welcoming people to attend versus welcoming people to be who they were created to be by participating fully in the life of the faith community. The Reverend Elyse Nelson Winger from IWU challenged us, as clergy, to encourage our colleagues to publicly support and fully welcome everyone, specifically the LGBTQ community. She said, “Now is the time…actually, it has been time for a long while, but now is really the time.” She is right. It is time. If you represent God, welcome and embrace all of God’s people. Now.

Following that event, on Tuesday I participated in Beyond the Rainbow: Build Your Strength as an Ally for LGBTQ Youth training event, sponsored by Project Oz. Gathered there were teachers, social workers, crisis team members, and even a few ministers. We heard stories of people who have been deeply hurt because they have been designated the “other” by pockets of our community, one pocket being some faith communities. We learned new language, new ways to listen, and new ways to be allies to the young people in the LGBTQ community.

I was struck again by the importance of Elyse’s words. After hearing, again, the damage religion and other aspects of our culture are doing to the young people of the LGBTQ community and being reminded, again, of my own privilege, I am more committed than ever to leading in ways that breathe life and hope into my brothers and sisters of all faith traditions, gender identities, sexual orientations, skin colors, and abilities. When we, as leaders, are silent, we send a powerful message of apathy and exclusion. When we exclude anyone from our community, the community is less than it could be. We are better when we include and welcome. God created diversity on purpose. It is time we fully embrace this gift from God.

Finally, I had the privilege of welcoming my colleagues from Moses Montefiore Temple, the United Church of Christ, Masjid Ibrahim mosque and the Hindu Temple as they blessed the NIOT anniversary event last night. I was moved, first of all, that they said, “Yes,” when I asked them to participate in this event. And second, their words of welcome and community resonated deep in my soul. I thought to myself…we all want the same things. We want to experience sacredness in our community, and in each other, every day. We all want a place to belong…a place of safety.

And then Tuesday night, after a long day, I learned of the act of terrorism in Istanbul. I remembered anew that the glimmers of hope I have experienced in our community the last couple of days need to be more than glimmers. They need to be sparks that ignite a passion for justice and peace, not just in Bloomington-Normal, but all over the world.

Friends, the world is not as it was intended to be. We must continue our work toward wholeness in a world that is, in many places and ways, so broken. Let us do this work together, healing the pieces one heart at a time. Shalom.

Blackness: A Beauty Screens Sunday at Normal Library

The anti-racist short film, Blackness: A Beauty, premieres at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Normal Public Library.

Inspired by #BlackLivesMatter, this short film follows the story of a local Indian-American Bloomington teenager as he goes to Africa to explore the power of black culture but instead is confronted by his own emotional insecurities about growing up brown in America, as well as his own inner racist qualities.

This comedic, yet thoughtful short film explores the ago-old spiritual question of "who am I?" in our modern day, racially divided world. Racist qualities live in our society, but have they been transferred to us?

Snack on hot double chocolate brownies and watch the short film followed by a workshop and group conversation on confronting racism.

LGBT Unitarian Member Urges Church to Preach 'Love They Neighbor.'

Lin Hinds was horrified in the wake of last weekend’s Orlando nightclub massacre to read the comments of a California Baptist minister who celebrated the shooter eliminating “Sodomites.”  “Where does that man even think he’s representing God or even has a connection to God?” Hinds, a member of Bloomington’s LGBT community, demands.

The Orlando shootings, which left 50 dead and more wounded, has raised questions about gun violence, gender bigotry in America, and the stance of religious doctrine and practice toward LGBT individuals. Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal, McLean County YWCA, and Prairie Pride Coalition will sponsor a June 27 LGBT Spirituality Forum -- a discussion with local religious leaders about finding safe places for LGBTQ people to worship -- at 7 p.m. in the Heartland Bank Community Room at 200 West College Ave. in Normal.

For the lesbian, mother, and member of the LGBT-friendly Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington-Normal who serves as office manager with Moses Montefiore Congregation Jewish synagogue, the issue breaks down to basic spiritual principles.

“It’s simple,” she maintained. “Love your neighbor. Don’t peek into their bedroom window; it shouldn’t matter. People are people. As a gay mother of a son, I raised my son to believe that people are people, you love people, and it doesn’t matter who they love.

“We need to get back to basics. A person’s character isn’t based on who the love or who they decide to spend their life with. It’s built on what they do and how they act.”

A native of Chicago’s northwest suburbs, Hinds moved to the Twin Cities in 1993, when LGBT residents still frequently felt pressured not to reveal their gender identity for fear or personal or even professional reprisal. She’d grown up essentially “unchurched” until high school, when she became involved with a local Lutheran church “because my best friend was Lutheran,” but Hinds’ parents taught her the Ten Commandments and other Judeo-Christian principles.

The Unitarian church traditionally has been one of the more inclusive Protestant denominations, and indeed, the overarching Unitarian Universalist Association has designated individual “Welcoming Congregation” churches. The church emphasizes “free thinking,” the concept of “salvation for all,” and a membership that includes Christian Unitarians Universalists as well as religious humanists, secular humanists, theists, Buddhists, “pagans,” and others.

In the case of Hinds’ Bloomington Church, the addition of rainbow flags signals that it has “done work to be specifically welcoming to LGBT people.”

“It has taken us four years to get that designation,” she nonetheless stressed. “Unitarian Universalists tend to come from different faith traditions, a lot of times, so your older members from about 20 years ago came from a time where they either didn’t understand or weren’t welcoming, so it took some time. We did it, but it took some time. I equate that today, unfortunately, to some of the racial issues that exists.

“I went to a very white school (in the Chicago suburbs), and I went to that school for all 12 years – never had a black kid in a class, only had one Jewish kid in town. It was SO stereotypical middle-class, and my father was a truck driver. I wasn’t raised in a racist house, but I certainly had friends who were. My father believed a jerk was a jerk – didn’t matter what color he was. To the point where, when I was a freshman in college, my folks actually fostered two black twins for a few months. It was amazing the backlash they got.”

As Hinds examines LGBT issues in modern society, she also continues her faith journey. Her employment with Moses Montefiore, a progressive Reform Jewish temple that also welcomes LGBT members and guests, “certainly has strengthened my own spirituality, my own connections.”

“I’m connected to God every day, in one way or another,” Hinds noted.

Local Muslim, Jewish Leaders Decry Orlando Violence

Twin Cities Muslim and Jewish leaders joined in condemning last weekend’s mass murders at an Orlando night club frequented by LGBT individuals and cautioned against blaming the Islamic religion for the actions of a few.

In a letter to the Prairie Pride Coalition, the Islamic Center of Bloomington-Normal this week repudiated the Orlando shootings:

“The entire Muslim community of Bloomington-Normal, including Masjid Ibrahim and Islamic Center of Bloomington-Normal, condemns the gruesome and barbaric attack in Orlando and we offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured,” it stated. “We join our fellow Americans in repudiating anyone or any group that would claim to justify or excuse such an appalling act of violence and terror.”

Meanwhile, talking with WGLT Radio, the Islamic Center’s Sheheryar Muftee maintained attacks like the mass shooting at the Pulse night club might be less likely to happen here. Muftee held local Muslims are a tight-knit community that rejects violence, and “all of us know each other pretty well.”

“If people are not attending the mosque, we check on them,” he related. “We have contacts with the joint terrorism task force of the FBI and local law enforcement, so I think it's very, very unlikely something like this could happen, but no one can definitely say."

Muftee said leaders at Bloomington-Normal's three mosques often preach against the use of violence. "The three mosques are very proactive in preaching against hate of any kind, preaching against strong views on religion. We have lots of programs for kids and youth and we try to show them positive things in their religion and keep them away from minority hate groups that are out there," he said.

Muftee said ISIS and other terrorist groups, as well as the San Bernardino and Orlando attackers, "call themselves Muslim but they are not practicing Muslims. They are taking the name of Islam and dragging it through the mud."

He called the phrase "radical Islamic terrorist" an unfair characterization ofthe vast majority of the world's 1.1 billion Muslims.

Muftee believes the Orlando attack was a hate crime directed at gays rather than a politically motivated act of terror. He said he also believes shooter Omar Mateen, who was killed by police, suffered from severe mental illness that was influenced by jihadist propaganda.

He said homosexuals would be welcome to join Muslims in prayer at the Islamic Center.

Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe of Bloomington’s Moses Montefiore Congregation admonished against targeting the Muslim community as “scapegoats” for the Orlando shootings or other acts committed by extremists.   

“There are more good Jews and more good Muslims and good Christians that we do know about,” Dubowe argued. “We tend to be drawn to those individuals who claim that they represent us. We are all God’s children, and I was pleased to see what the Muslim community wrote – it was a very powerful statement, and it really said a lot about the Bloomington-Normal community.”

Dubowe participated in a December vigil with local Christian and Islamic leaders in response to concerns about growing Islamophobia. Rather than pointing cultural fingers, she believes Americans should focus after tragedies such as the Pulse killings on “what we should do,” whether it’s re-examining enforcement of gun regulations, fostering mental health resources, or generating dialogue on broader social attitudes.

As Dubowe along with spiritual leaders nationwide mourn the Orlando victims, emphasized that her temple embraces the LGBT communities and that while some within those communities may feel pressure to suppress their gender identity at church,  “our ‘closets’ are WIDE open.” Because of the Holocaust, earlier Russian pogroms against the Jews, and other assaults on her own community, Dubowe sees strong Jewish empathy with communities that also have been “pushed down.”

Moses Montefiore is a Reform Jewish congregation, “the most liberal of the whole Jewish community,” Dubowe notes. She stresses the need for the church to reach out to all those “on the fringes of society,” including LGBT individuals and those with disabilities, and the temple is working to connect with African-American members of the Jewish community.

“We have been very supportive in recognizing the LGBT members of our community,” the rabbi stressed. “We recognize that each one of us is a child of God – no one less than others. We’ve always wanted to create a safer space for them – not only in God’s eyes, but in our eyes. Everyone has the right to celebrate their life, their love, and who they are. Moses Montefiore Congregation welcomes all.”

Recently, the Reform National Federation Temple Youth movement issued what Dubowe deemed a “very powerful statement” recognizing that transgendered and other members of the LGBT community merit full rights and respect, and the federation is offering transgender training to help members better serve that community.

Wednesday Vigil For Orlando Victims Follow-Up to Downtown Observance

NIOTBN/The Pantagraph

In a follow-up to Monday's United in Love and Solidarity Vigil in downtown Bloomington, St. John’s Lutheran Church will host a peace vigil on behalf of the victims of the Orlando mass shooting from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.  

Bloomington First Christian Church Associate Minister Kelley Becker (center) and Prairie Pride Coalition Director Dave Bentlin offer thoughts at Monday's downtown Bloomington vigil for Orlando shooting victims. Below, Becker, a Not In Our Town: Bloo…

Bloomington First Christian Church Associate Minister Kelley Becker (center) and Prairie Pride Coalition Director Dave Bentlin offer thoughts at Monday's downtown Bloomington vigil for Orlando shooting victims. Below, Becker, a Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal leader, and Moses Montefiore Congregation Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe embrace as a rainbow appears over the downtown area. (Photos by Michael Gizzi and Rebecca Dubowe).

“We’d like to express our profound sorrow about the hate crime in Orlando and about violence around the world today,” said the Rev. Christine McNeal, associate pastor for member care and connections. “This will give the Bloomington-Normal community the opportunity to grieve together.”

Fifty people were killed and 53 others injured in Sunday morning's gay nightclub shooting. Twin Citians gathered at the Bistro and marched downtown before holding a vigil on Washington Ave. In an unusual occurrence, a rainbow appeared over the area as the vigil geared up.

 "There is indeed hope that light and love will carry us forward," said Bloomington Moses Montefiore Congregation Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe, who participated in the Prairie Pride Coalition-supported downtown event.

People of all faith traditions are encouraged and invited to participate at the St. John's vigil at the church,  1617 E. Emerson St., Bloomington.  

"As people of faith we have an opportunity to gather together in unity to lift up in prayer those who are hurting and to witness to the truth that love is stronger than hate," said the Rev. Julia Rademacher, associate pastor for family ministry and missions.

Participants will be able to light candles, pray silently, and gather together in community.

St. John’s Lutheran Church is a 144-year-old community congregation with more than 2,000 members. It is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

For more information, contact McNeal at 309-827-6121, ext. 251.

Sunday, in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting, Prairie Pride Coalition and the group PFLAG held a "family reunion" picnic for local LGBT individuals and families.

Vigil, June 27 Forum to Address LGBT Concerns

In light of this weekend's tragedy in Orlando, a vigil will be held at 7 p.m. tonight in front of the Bistro in downtown Bloomington.

Meanwhile, Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal, McLean County YWCA, and Prairie Pride Colaition will sponsor a June 27 LGBT Spirituality Forum -- a discussion with local religious leaders about finding safe places for LGBTQ people to worship -- at 7 p.m. in the Heartland Bank Community Room at 200 West College Ave. in Normal.

LGBT residents have struggled in some cases to find acceptance among local churches, and recent events and attitudes have spurred some denominations to alter traditional positions on LGBT marriage, rights, and worship.

The forum will include a question-and-answer period and refreshments.

NIOTBN's 20-Year Anniversary Commemorated June 28

Maria Nagel

The Pantagraph

In July 1996, more than 400 people gathered at the old courthouse square in downtown Bloomington to march against racism and to support black churches that had been burned in the South.

Inspired by a PBS documentary that explored how Billings, Mont., responded to a series of hate crimes, the Not In Our Town movement formed in Bloomington in 1995, making it the first city in the country to adopt the NIOT program. 

But it was the 10-block march to Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, one of Bloomington's predominantly black churches, that helped the organization's anti-racism campaign gain a footing in the Twin Cities.

NIOTBN charter member Mike Matejka leads a news conference announcing the organization's 20th anniversary celebration June 28 on the Old Courthouse square in downtown Bloomington. (WJBC)

NIOTBN charter member Mike Matejka leads a news conference announcing the organization's 20th anniversary celebration June 28 on the Old Courthouse square in downtown Bloomington. (WJBC)

March organizers Marc Miller, Charles Halbert and his wife, Willie Holton Halbert, and other NIOT members announced Tuesday that Not In Our Town Bloomington-Normal plans to celebrate its 20th anniversary from 6-9 p.m. June 28 at the downtown square, from where the walkers stepped off in 1996.

A commemorative march is planned.

"We're not going to try and do a long march, but just do something to try and mark the event," said Mike Matejka, a NIOT member and Great Plains Laborers District Council's governmental affairs director. "We'll probably just circle the blocks here (around the square)."

"Come back, those who were there with us 20 years ago," said Barb Adkins, who helped organize the original march when she was serving as Bloomington's community affairs manager. "And those who just moved to this community and those who are here for vacation, come see how a community embraces and respects and celebrates the diversity of its citizens."

The event also plans to focus on youth.

"We want to honor the folks who were part of initiating this, but we want to share continuity, so much of what is going to be on the stage and celebrated that night will be our young people who have been part of Not In Our Schools," said Matejka.

Performances are planned by youth dance groups. McLean County Diversity Project scholars Kristin Koe, 18, and Ethan Clay, 13, both of Bloomington, composed a classical musical piece in connection with a mural other diversity project scholars are painting on a retaining wall across Olive Street from the Bloomington Public Library to honor NIOT.

Since the 1996 march, 10,000 people have signed anti-hate pledge cards in the Twin Cities, said Miller.

"Our purpose is to stand up and say, 'We will not tolerate racism and discrimination in our community,'" said Miller. "If we talk about it, if we make this a public discussion more people are aware and more people won't just sit back and say we can't do anything about it."

"I've been really struck by how many times Not In Our Town has come to speak to issues that we all value right ahead of the curve," said NIOT member and Bloomington Ward 6 Alderman Karen Schmidt.

NIOT sponsored anti-hate initiatives in 2000 to counter East Peorian Matt Hale's white supremacist message, and in 2004 when members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., came to town with anti-gay messages.

When GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump visited Bloomington in March, NIOT held a silent vigil.

"Basically, what we were trying to say is: Let's maintain a civil attitude toward one another," said Matejka. "People can disagree on many different things, but I think one of the gifts of this community, maybe it's our Midwestern values, is mutual respect."

Picnic Offers Reunion, Communion for LGBTQ Communities

Local residents will feast on chicken, "commonalities and differences" during a Sunday picnic in Normal.

The Prairie Pride Coalition (PPC)/Bloomington-Normal PFLAG chapter's 19th annual Family Reunion Picnic is scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. at the Underwood Park Pavilion in Normal.

The picnic is designed to provide entertainment and dialogue for local LGBTQ individuals and their families. Participants are asked to bring a food item to accompany the fried chicken lunch.

"For the last 19 years, we have gathered annually to celebrate our community and LGBTQ pride," PPC's Dave Bentlin related. "The original intent was to have a 'family reunion'-type picnic for those who could not be openly LGBTQ at their own family picnics.

"Over the years the picnic has evolved into an opportunity to network and enjoy the company not only of our LGBTQ community members but also our allies. In addition, we hope the picnic helps bring together the many diverse sub-communities within our LGBTQ community so that we can learn more and appreciate our commonalities and differences."
 

Listening to Our Ancestors Explores Tragic Hidden History

An Illinois State University professor hopes to raise racial sensitivity by raising awareness of the “missing link in the history of slavery” that began before imprisoned Africans even arrived on American shores and has affected African-Americans many generations later.

Ghana's Elmina Castle, where Africans languished while awaiting shipment to the Americas.

Ghana's Elmina Castle, where Africans languished while awaiting shipment to the Americas.

The slave dungeon.

The slave dungeon.

According to Ama Oforiwaa Aduonum, the upcoming local presentation Why Do Black Lives Matter? Listening to Our Ancestors explores “the journey that people of African descent took to get here,” focusing on the African “slave dungeons” where men and women were held following their capture and sale to American “owners.” Aduonum extensively researched the experiences of African women who were enslaved at Elmina Castle on the coast of Ghana, and her program reportedly will attempt “to connect the dots from pre-slavery to Black Lives Matter Movement.”

The evening program will include a historical powerpoint, a musical dance drama featuring Bloomington-Normal community members, and a community “talk back and civic dialogue.” Aduonum will present the program from 7 to 8:45 p.m. June 29 and 30 in the Normal Public Library Community Room and July 5 and 12 in the Bloomington Public Library Community Room, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Often, individuals were kept in cages for months until slave ships could be filled for passage from Ghana across the Atlantic, and African women faced the same kind of sexual victimization they would experience with U.S. slave owners, Aduonum said.

She believes many of those who fail to understand or appreciate the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement fail to grasp the true depth of “the historical violation of black bodies.” As horrifying as some film treatments of slavery have been, Hollywood has effectively “whitewashed” its tragic, deep-rooted human dimensions, the ethnomusicologist and doctor of philosophy argues.

“What we hear about or see on TV is slaves working on the plantation,” Aduonum related. “We never talk about how they got here. My argument is that once they were captured and sold, it was in these places where they became slaves. It was there where they were controlled and starved or left to die in isolation cells. This was where their psyche was shaped – where they lost their community, their collective identity. Once you are branded, you are a commodity – your identity, your name, everything was stripped away.

“What this also shows us is that the violation of black bodies didn’t just start with the Black Lives Matter movement – it started a long time ago. I’m trying to make a connection between what is going on now and what was going on before. This racism actually started in these dungeons, because it was here where the idea of white superiority and black inferiority started – the objectification of black bodies started here.”

She characterizes the trauma and “anguish” slavery has inflicted on many modern African-Americans as “post-slavery traumatic syndrome,” comparable to general post-traumatic stress disorder but on a genetically ingrained “cell memory” level. Except, however, that “people who have gone through a traumatic situation often get counseling” – an option unavailable to those abruptly freed in the 1860s, some after nearly a lifetime of slavery.

Aduonum began researching the slave dungeons in 2009, during a university sabbatical, developing the script for the play Walking With My Ancestors in 2014 based on her interviews and journey to slave “spaces.” “I stood in this cell and tried to imagine what life must have been for these people who had no voice,” she recalled. “In my script, the spaces are also talking.”

Following its debut in November 2014, the program traveled to Washington last June and was presented last fall as part of ISU Homecoming. Aduonum cited “really intense dialogue” particularly in D.C., and noted ISU students were “outraged” by the lack of public attention given the slave dungeons – a historical aspect they felt was necessary for individuals to truly shape “informed decisions about racism.”

“We always assume that black people are complaining about nothing,” she suggested. “We just don’t know.”

History Makers Gala to Salute Champions of Rights, Reform

Mike Matejka

WJBC Forum

In two weeks, the McLean County Museum of History is hosting its fifth History Makers Gala, June 16 at Illinois State University’s Bone Student Center.  This is always a great event and a homage to outstanding individuals who have enriched our community.  This year’s honorees include famed ISU basketball coach Jill Hutchinson, recently retired pastor from St. Mary’s Church, Father Rick Schneider, former State Representative Gordon Ropp and lawyer, Presbyterian minister and activist Jack Porter.

Of the four, the two I’ve spent the most time with are perhaps the most opposite politically, Gordon Ropp and Jack Porter.   Gordon is a strong Republican, Jack is a very liberal Democrat.   When Gordon was in the State House, even though he voted against many issues I supported, I knew he would always carefully listen and ask strong questions, but he never cut off a reply.  We also worked together on vocational education issues and when a series of our Bloomington union Laborers were killed in construction work zones in the late 1970s, Gordon helped open doors with Laborers 362’s John Penn to establish the Work Zone Safety committee at the Illinois Department of Transportation.  This on-going effort has led to legislation and had a positive impact on motorists and workers in highway construction zones.

I’ve known Jack Porter since I was an ISU student in the early 1970s.    In my first acquaintance, we worked together to help support Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union.   Jack has far-reaching interests, but always grounded himself locally.   When local housing was still discriminatory, Jack worked to break those barriers; later, as an attorney at Prairie State Legal Services, fair and safe housing was a prime concern.   Jack can be very serious and thoughtful, but he also takes an impish delight in rattling local politics, particularly over issues of civil rights. Jack first came to Bloomington as a Presbyterian minister to serve Western Avenue Community Center in the early 1960s.   The daily lives and challenges of west-side working and low-income families always found welcome support from him.    Treating all people, no matter their status, with dignity and compassion has been his life-long motivation.

Although Gordon and Jack might differ significantly in their politics, one thing they share is a passion for their community.   And there’s a lesson here – we can agree or disagree on many issues, but we always need to remember we are dealing with another human being, who also has deep feelings and concerns.   That basic mutual recognition is what makes a community livable, and both Jack Porter and Gordon Ropp have helped make this a better place.  I hope you’ll join me on June 16 to honor them, along with Jill Hutchinson and Fr. Rick.

Mike Matejka is the Governmental Affairs director for the Great Plains Laborers District Council, covering 11,000 union Laborers in northern Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. He lives in Normal. He served on the Bloomington City Council for 18 years, is a past president of the McLean County Historical Society and Vice-President of the Illinois Labor History Society.