Mitchell Gold, founder of Faith In America, will make a special presentation in Fayetteville, Ark. on Dec. 12 to 10-year-old elementary school student Will Phillips for his commitment to equality for all.
A nationally recognized leader in the furniture industry as well as civil rights advocate for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community will be the guest speaker for a discussion at the Fayetteville Public Library on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 11 a.m.
Gold will lead a discussion about his transformative book "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America" and make a special presentation to Will Phillips, the 10-year-old at West Fork Elementary School near Fayetteville who recently made national headlines when he took a courageous stance for justice and equality for LGBT citizens by refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in his fifth-grade class. ( CNN link: us.cnn.com/video/ ) .
"Following the story of young Will Phillips, I was immediately struck by his ability to understand a message so many in America have failed to grasp — that it is simply wrong to treat others as unequal and inferior based on their sexual orientation," Gold said. "It truly is a message that even children can understand, yet so often anti-gay religious groups tell us such a message is a threat to our children. I want to express my appreciation to Will and his family for helping others understand that very simple lesson — one that history has repeatedly shown. It certainly is no threat and, in fact, uplifts our society and our humanity."
Jimmy Creech, co-founder of Faith In America and a former United Methodist minister who has long advocated for full equality for LGBT individuals, will also attend the events in Fayetteville.
"It is an honor to join the Fayetteville community on this very special day," Creech said. "While religion-based bigotry, prejudice and violence are the worse religion has to offer, the Fayetteville community is coming together with these two events to exemplify the best - the peace or shalom that is experienced when we overcome long-standing prejudice and discrimination that has caused so much division and harm in our world."
Faith In America's website at http://www.faithinamerica.com/
BASED ON A PRESS RELEASE