Fagbug Rolls into Pride in the Park, Allentown August 19

Erin shows off her ride

     We all have heroes in our lives. Individuals who make us see the world as hopeful and positive. Sometimes our heroes are parents, teachers, or mentors along our path of growth in a world full of fear and oppression. Other heroes are those whose courage is often measured by their actions as soldiers in war or rescue workers at a scene of a catastrophe. 

     However, in our society many of the acts of courage by ordinary citizens to work towards changing systemic injustices and prejudice against great odds go unnoticed. Hate crimes legislation is finally being discussed at a national level. But still many hate crimes are often times ignored by the corporate media or written up as simple assaults or robberies by the police. It is, therefore, uplifting and refreshing when someone turns one of these negative hurtful actions into a positive motivating response. 

     Such is the case of one of my heroes, Erin Davies, who experienced a hate crime in Albany, NY on National Day of Silence(April 18th, 2007) and turned it into a cross country odyssey which ends on August 19th at the Annual Pride in the Park Festival in Allentown. I met Erin Davies three years ago at the Boston Social Forum. She was running a workshop about a project that she had done in Baltimore with inner city African American gay and lesbian youth. She had, despite difficult conditions, created a theatrical piece in the spirit of Brazilian educator, Pablo Freire. Her work was classic participatory democratic pedagogy. She didn’t even realize it. But her own inner passion to make a difference overshadowed her inexperience. And despite the rug being pulled out from under her by the homophobic director of the NGO she worked for, she continued the work with no monetary or authoritative support. She allowed the students to create dialogue and scenes depicting their own struggles with sexuality growing up in urban Baltimore. 

     The result was an uplifting play, Living Proof (http://www.pendulumdiaries.com), which they performed that year at the annual GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, http://www.glsen.org ) conference. I was moved by her passion. It was, therefore, no surprise to me when she sent me an email a few months ago with a link to her new website. She had shown the courage that made me admire her from the start. Someone spray painted “fAg” and “U r gay” on her VW bug. Instead of simply quietly getting it removed, she has turned this hateful action into a positive cross country odyssey. Her mission is to gather feedback about intolerance from as many diverse communities as possible and turn it into a documentary. You can follow her daily blog at www.fagbag.com . On August 19th, she will be speaking about her experience at the annual Pride in the Park Festival which takes place at Cedar Beach Park in Allentown from noon to 6:00PM. See http://www.prideglv.org for more information on the upcoming event. And come out and meet one of my heroes.  -Tim Chadwick