Mel White, 66,
has stepped down as head of Soulforce, the gay activist
group he cofounded, to get back to the front lines against
antigay Christian fundamentalists. His new book is
Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the
Christian Right (Tarcher/Penguin).
From the successful Equality Ride to the current Right to
Serve campaign against the military’s
“don’t ask, don’t tell”
policy, this has been a breakout year for
Soulforce. Why?
It took some time to warm up—we’ve only
been alive since 1999, and we’ve needed to
train folks. It takes something to convince people that
you’ve got to do more than send in a check.
That’s important, yes, but you’ve got to
create an interest in investing in the idea that we will
not acquiesce to our oppression.
Are you talking about religious fundamentalism?
A lot of people don’t understand
fundamentalism. It’s not just nutty religious
people—it’s militant piety. And it’s a
real danger, not just to us but to anybody who
doesn’t agree with the white guy in charge of the
fundamentalist movement. There is a big push right now to
create a fundamentalist Christian nation, and unless
we stop the virus that has infected the church and
state alike, it will be a long time before we get any
civil rights.
You stepped down as executive director of Soulforce in
April. Why?
I wanted to be on the ground and involved on the
front lines again, to participate in events like our
march on Focus on the Family and the Equality Ride.
Next year’s ride is going to include two buses doing
two separate routes. We’re going to send a bus
to Eastern Europe to visit the capital cities of the
countries that have antigay policies. Many of these
countries are trying to join the [European Union], which
frowns upon discrimination. I’ll be involved
with that.
What do we need to do politically?
We need to stay focused. Winning our rights is
only a small part of making sure the country
isn’t taken over. We can’t forget that other
people are suffering. We really need allies right now, but
we can’t expect them to show up and help us if
we don’t show up and help them.
How will
Soulforce achieve that goal without you at the helm?
I think we will become predominantly a youth movement.
Revolutions are always carried out by the young.
Currently we have a youth movement that is acting
separately from the adult movement. We’ve trained a
new generation of activists willing to take to the
streets and get the word out. I’m very excited
about what they’re doing.
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