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Compiled By GayToday
First convened in 1998, the National Religious Leadership Roundtable works in partnership with other justice-seeking groups to amplify the voice of pro-gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) religious organizations and to promote equality, spirituality, and justice. "Tonight, we clearly gather at the crossroads of injustice," NGLTF Executive Director Elizabeth Toledo said at the event. "The struggle for GLBT people with the larger religious community for recognition, respect, and to fully participate in our own religious institutions is part of a much bigger, historical struggle for the rights of people of color and women within these same institutions." The forum, which was hosted by Miami's Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church, featured a diverse group of speakers who pointed to recent events as further evidence that racism, sexism, and homophobia intersect in frightening and often violent ways in our society.
The NRLR is co-convened by the NGLTF and Equal Partners in Faith. The Roundtable's Miami event was its fifth. Previous Roundtables were convened in Washington, D.C., Colorado Springs, and Orange County, California. Joining Toledo as a keynote speaker was Rev. John F. White, Senior Pastor at Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church in Miami. Greater Bethel A.M.E church is the oldest Black church in Miami and has established innovative ministries and community outreach programs, including to gay men and lesbians, linking the church with the community. Other speakers included: Mandy Carter of Floridians Representing Equality and Equity (F.R.E.E.); Rev. Frank Munoz of Clergy Coalition for Social Justice; Nadine Smith of Equality Florida, and Jorge Mursuli of SAVEDade. "For someone like me who is a woman, a person of color and a lesbian, every time I wake in the morning, I wonder, 'What's it going to be today?' Sometimes, this very fear comes every hour," said Carter of Floridians Representing Equality and Equity |
NGLTF's Executive Director Elizabeth Toledo 