“There are 200 colleges in the country where you can be kicked out simply for being gay, and I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing,” says Jake Reitan, 23-year-old LGBT activist, Christian, and co-director of the Soulforce Equality Ride.
Equality U tells the story of Jake and the 32 other young activists on the Soulforce Equality Ride who toured the country to visit religious colleges and universities with discriminatory policies against LGBT students. The documentary focuses on a handful of individual Riders and schools, using a combination of footage, interviews, and personal video diaries.
The film touches on a number of issues faced by LGBT youth, from the difficulties of balancing Christian faith and gay identity to the fear of being cut off financially from one’s parents for coming out. The central conflict of the film, however, is the internal struggle faced by the group as they attempt to reconcile their differing philosophies of social justice activism.
At times, the focus on the drama within the group threatens to distract from the real results of their action. Still, Equality U is a moving film that documents an important project. The passion of the Riders demonstrates the lasting power of the tactics of nonviolent resistance espoused during the Civil Rights Movement.
Recommended, particularly for college and university libraries.
Reviewed by, Caitlin Shanley
Instructional Design and Technology Librarian
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Lupton Library
