Soulforce "Focus on the Facts" Campaign Pursues Dialogue and Reconciliation
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SOULFORCE PRESS RELEASE: November 12, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact(s): James Roy, Blue Disco Records, Ltd
Phone: 303-906-4603
james@bluediscorecords.com
Christopher Hubble, Soulforce Colorado State Organizer
Phone: 303-241-3225
cahubble05@yahoo.com
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(Colorado Springs, CO) — In a low-key visit, Denver-based musician James Roy and a group of friends toured the Welcome Center of Dobson’s mega-organization Saturday in order to learn more about the operations of his ministry first-hand. The visit was intended to remind the partisan evangelical leader and his associates that Soulforce continues to observe the harmful rhetoric that emanates from America’s leading source of misinformation about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
In a personal letter to Dobson, James Roy wrote about his own commitment to being a positive impact in the lives of others. "I think it benefits us to reflect on what we have in common….I am here today to take a tour to better understand you and invite you to the possibility of dialogue."
In the spirit of the nonviolent teachings of Gandhi and King, each participant left a single yellow rose for Dobson to symbolize their desire for dialogue. Gandhi and King were the preeminent advocates of nonviolent conflict resolution in the twentieth century. They are best remembered not only for their desire to achieve justice for their respective constituencies but also to attain reconciliation with their adversaries.
Two of Saturday’s participants were a lesbian couple from Denver who have adopted children together. During the tour, they asked whether they would be welcome to bring their own children during a future visit to the campus, "I was surprised and gratified when our tour guide encouraged my partnered friends to return as a family so that their children may also enjoy the many recreational resources available on the lower level of the welcome center," Lead Focus on the Facts Organizer Christopher Hubble observed.
This quiet, unannounced visit was part of FOCUS ON THE FACTS, an ongoing campaign of nonviolent direct action which Soulforce launched at the beginning of 2007. Beginning in 1994, Soulforce has repeatedly attempted to engage Dobson and his associates in dialogue and has been continually rebuffed. FOCUS ON THE FACTS seeks to end religion-based oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Coloradans and is modeled on Gandhi’s Satyagraha campaigns in South Africa and India. In the words of Nelson Mandela, Gandhi "rightly believed in the efficacy of pitting the soul force of Satyagraha against the brute force of the oppressor and in effect converting the oppressor to the right and moral point."
Video of Visit
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SOULFORCE is a national civil rights and social justice organization. Our vision is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance. To learn more about Soulforce and FOCUS ON THE FACTS, visit www.soulforce.org.
To learn more about JAMES ROY and his inspirational creative work, visit www.jamesroymusic.com. "It took a four-year electrical engineering degree and a taste of the corporate world before [James] realized that life is more about living than trying to meet the expectations of others. In the few years that followed, he built up a studio, founded the company Blue Disco Records, Ltd., and started capturing the world around him in high-energy songs with powerful lyrics." Soulforce recently announced a new partnership with James Roy on his latest release, Rise Above. 10% of the proceeds of this CD will go to benefit the social justice work of Soulforce.