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Name: Colin Daniels
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Age: 21
Statement:
I grew up in the Seventh Day Adventist church, and decided to attend an Adventist boarding academy for high school. It came out that I was gay there and my Dean and principal cornered me one day and asked me about my sexual orientation over and over. Finally, I looked them in the eyes and said the hardest words I have ever said in my life: "no, I am not gay." I followed that by asking what would happen to a student who was gay and open about it on campus. I found out that their protocol was similar to that of the campuses that we will be visiting on the Ride. I vowed to myself that night that I would never sit idly by and watch my sisters and brothers who are LGBTQAI suffer in the closet by themselves, that instead I would blast those doors off and bring them a message of love.
I advocate fearless faith, and testing mine and that of others. I constantly tell people, to borrow a line from Hanisch, to "match my lightening with your own light." This is why I joined the Ride–I want to show people that you can be harmoniously gay and Christian, that you need not choose one over the other. I want to empower people to talk about the intersections of oppression, and to plant and cultivate seeds of change. Lastly, I am a person who is physically disabled and I want to empower those who are disabled LGBTQAI people of faith to get involved in these conversations. Oftentimes, our bodies are censored by queer and straight people alike because they feel uncomfortable looking at us. But people need to see and hear us because we are valid members of this community. To be the first disabled person selected in the history of the Ride is such a privilege, and throughout this journey I keep thinking of a quote by Ben Harper: "I am blessed, I am blessed, I am blessed to be a witness."
Sponsors:
Colin has been sponsored a total amount of $.
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