Press Release
Unprecedented “All Are Neighbors” Event at Baylor to Spotlight LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Faith
Human Rights Campaign and Interfaith Alliance leaders to offer message of faith, dignity, and belonging to counter TPUSA tour stop
WACO, TX – Student leaders at Baylor will host a historic event on campus on Wednesday, April 22nd, as prominent Christian advocates for LGBTQ+ rights address the “All Are Neighbors” gathering – offering a powerful, values-driven alternative to Turning Point USA’s “This Is the Turning Point” tour stop happening the same day.
Baylor’s College Democrats, NAACP Baylor, Students Demand Action at Baylor, Hearts for the Homeless and Texas Rising asked for and received university approval to host the event, marking the first time that students at Baylor have been permitted to host leading gay advocates on campus. The event will provide a critical counterweight to TPUSA.
The event will take place at 5 pm CT on Wednesday, April 22, on the fifth floor of Cashion Academic Center. Speakers will include Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson, who is Catholic, and Interfaith Alliance president and Baptist minister Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush.
“This event is something we’re doing to make everyone feel welcomed, safe and comfortable here and to let the population know that we are all neighbors of one another and we should care for each other as such,” said event organizer Joseph Naylor, a Baylor senior.
“We’re going to provide a space for all students, including those who would not feel welcomed or supported at the TPUSA event,” said Baylor senior and event organizer Hanna Al-Hayek. “These speakers will emphasize the moral imperative to advocate for our fellow citizens and uphold freedom and dignity for all.”
“What’s happening at Baylor is historic—let it be a catalyst, not an exception. LGBTQ+ people are everywhere—in every zip code, every campus, and every faith tradition. The call to love thy neighbor persists across our differences. As a queer Black Catholic woman, I carry the truth that the same God who made one of us made all of us—and that truth demands we build a future where everyone can live freely, openly, and equally,” said Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization.
“With this gathering at the largest Baptist university in the world, we’re going to make clear that faith can and should be a force of love, tolerance, moral courage, and solidarity against discrimination and fear,” said Interfaith Alliance president and CEO Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush. “Virtually every faith tradition calls on its adherents to love their neighbors, and that message is resonating powerfully with young people at Baylor and beyond.”
Additional speakers for the event continue to be named, including Minneapolis minister and activist Rev. Susie Heyward who was a central faith organizer in the successful effort to push back against ICE’s Operation Metro Surge.
WHAT: “All Are Neighbors” event at Baylor
WHO: Kelley Robinson (HRC), Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushbush (Interfaith Alliance), Rev. Susie Hayward, and more
WHEN: Wednesday, April 22, 5 pm Central Time
WHERE: Baylor University’s Cashion Academic Center, 5th Floor
Contact: Ben DePasquale, [email protected], 717-779-4660
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Transcript
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