Pasadena - April 15th, 2010
Samuel Chu, Executive Director of CFE helps launch "A Moral Compass to Justice", a group of prominent interfaith leaders and organizers who have banned together to counter the rhetoric and racism of the Tea Party Movement.
Chu, one of the founders of this new group, and others began meeting a few months ago to see how their separate organizations could come together to support all the interlocking oppressions. At the center of all the groups is a strong sense of social justice and putting faith into action.
Their press release today stated "A Moral Compass to Justice" is a collaborative of justice-minded faith leaders calling for a faith based alternative to the environment of racism, homophobia, discrimination, and violence generated by the current Tea Party movement.
"A Moral Compass to Justice" claims social justice as a core value of all religions and faith. The new group calls for a return to the faith and values that have guided America through the social transformations that challenged discrimination and resulted in greater equality, freedom, respect and dignity for all of Americans.They urge elected officials and the American people to join them in the sacred work of setting a moral compass for justice so that there will be a more just world for all of us."
Other members of the Group Include:
Rev. Eric P. Lee, is CA State President/CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization co-founded by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is author of , “Marriage Equality: Proposition 8, The California Divide”, and co-producer of a 90 minute documentary on the failure of public education as it pertains to African American and Latino children titled, “Who Is Accountable?” As a civil rights activist, Rev. Lee recently took a stand against California Ballot Initiative Proposition 8 in support of marriage equality and LBGT Rights, believing that anytime one group of people is denied the same rights and privileges of others in society; it is fundamentally a denial of their civil rights. Rev. Lee is a founding member of the Stand For Security Coalition, which organized African American Security Officers into a union; Diversity Task Force member, working to reintegrate African Americans into the hotel and restaurant industries; founding member of the Alliance for Equal Opportunity in Education, a collaboration of organizations that forced UCLA to change their admissions policies proven to be discriminatory and racist. Rev. Lee is also a board member of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (IJUCP) elee@sclcla.org
Dr. Sharon Groves, Deputy Director of the Religion and Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign. At HRC Sharon has overseen the creation of numerous new resources, including a weekly preaching resource, a guide to living openly in your place of worship, a curriculum that follows the movie For the Bible Tells Me So and another that helps congregations wrestle with issues of gender identity within their faith communities. She has published a number of articles on such topics and religion and marriage equality, the importance of religious advocacy within the LGBT movement and the struggle for equality within world religions. She is a lay leader at All Souls Church, Unitarian.sharon.groves@hrc.org
Rabbi Denise Eger, President of the Southern California Board of Rabbis, is the founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood's Reform Synagogue and is a long time Human rights activist. She holds a B.A. in Religion from the University of Southern California and a Masters Degree from Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion. She was ordained in 1988. She is a founder of California Faith for Equality and for Jews for Marriage Equality. She is also a member of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion Council. rabbi@kol-ami.org
Ani Zonneveld is the Co-Founder and President of Muslims for Progressive Values. She is a strong advocate for human rights including LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights and established MPV as one of the first Muslim organization to support such a cause. Ani has partnered up with CA Faith for Equality against Prop.8 and has been a consistent supporter for federal and state-level protection of LGBT rights. MPV is a national organization based in Los Angeles with affiliates in NY, D.C. and Ottawa.
The Rev. Canon Susan Russell, priest at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA and former President of Integrity, USA - an LGBT advocacy organization within the Episcopal Church. She has advocated for the ordination of gay bishops, lead the charge for the blessing of same sex unions and now a powerful spokesperson for marriage equality in CA. She is a member of the Human Rights Campaign's Religion Council and has been named of the 50 Most Influential Anglicans Worldwide by the London Sunday Telegraph. Russell has made numerous appearances on network news programs defending Marriage equality. Her blog: http://www.inchatatime.blogspot.com/. srussell@allsaints-pas.org
Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs is Rabbi Emeritus at Temple Kol Tikvah in Los Angeles, Cal. Among his many social justice contributions, Jacobs served as part of the interfaith delegation to Yugoslavia with Rev. Jesse Jackson and helped to bring about the release of the captured American soldiers; he actively participated with service union workers for wage reform; and during the post-election 2000 uncertainty, Jacobs emerged as the prime force in the renewal of the Black-Jewish Coalition. For these and other activities throughout his life, Jacobs received the 2001 Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award.
Rev. Ryan Bell, Pastor at Hollywood Seventh-Day Adventist Church where he has served since June 2005. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan and is now completing a Doctor of Ministry in Missional Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Since 2005, he and his congregation have been active in the Hollywood community and the city of Los Angeles bearing witness to God’s reign by, in part, working for solutions to some of the most intractable social problems including homelessness, affordable housing and human trafficking through advocacy and faith-based community organizing. He has written numerous articles and contributed to several books, including The Peacemaking Remnant. He blogs at http://www.ryanjbell.net/.
Rev. Arthur “Art” Lawrence Cribbs Jr., is pastor of the San Marino Congregational Church, United Church of Christ (UCC) in San Marino, CA. Rev. Cribbs’ first career was as a newscaster. In the mid-1990s, he was employed by KPIX-TV in San Francisco, where he was appointed bureau chief for the East Bay and was a special commentator during the O.J. Simpson trial. He also founded a weekly spiritual support group for non-traditional church persons and produced a weekly focus piece on persons “Making a Difference.” Rev. Cribbs began his ministerial career at age 13 as assistant pastor in his father’s church. Once the Supreme Court upheld Prop 8, Cribbs refused to conduct any marriages.
Vincent Jones, Senior Program Officer, Liberty Hill. "I led the keep-the-peace effort at my high school during the civil unrest following the Rodney King trial. I’ve been organizing people to overcome challenges or achieve shared goals ever since." Vincent staffed several political campaigns and was an aide to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and New York City Councilmember David Yassky. He was executive director of Center for Health Justice, currently serves as board co-chair of the National Teen Leadership Program and is a Camp Courage trainer. He has a B. A. in History from Swarthmore College where he was a Eugene M. Lang Scholar for Social Action and a Public Policy & International Affairs Fellow.
Rabbi Jonathan Klein serves as the Executive Director at CLUE-LA. Prior to his ordination in 1997 from Hebrew Union College, Jonathan served congregations in Flagstaff, Arizona and Rye, New York. Upon receiving his rabbinical degree, he served three years directing the Reform Jewish Movement's college program, eight years as the Allen and Ruth Ziegler Rabbinic Director of USC Hillel in Los Angeles, and a year as a Campaign Organizer and then Development Director for the Progressive Jewish Alliance. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, on the executive boards of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, Jews Against the War, and the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP).
Eddie Martinez is the Associate Director of The Wall Las Memorias Project, a non profit HIV/AIDS organization located in Los Angeles. The Wall - Las Memorias Project is dedicated to promoting wellness and preventing illness among Latino populations affected by HIV/AIDS. Martinez is a native Angelino and the child of Mexican immigrants. Martinez was a community organizer during the Prop 8 campaign. Martinez was recognized in June of 2009 by Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl as one of the “Faces of the New LGBT Movement”. This recognition is in honor the new leaders and the growing diversity of the LGBT civil rights movement. Mr. Eddie Martinez is currently sitting on the County of Los Angeles Crystal Meth Work Group and State of Califonia Office of AIDS Latino Advisory Board. He is also the chair of the Greater East Los Angeles Meth Task Force. emartinez@thewalllasmemorias.org
Louise Brooks is CEO of LEB Media, a media consulting and messaging strategy firm in Los Angeles. Her clients include authors, celebrities, politicians and faith based non-profits. Prior to forming LEB Media she was an Emmy nominated television producer and executive. Brooks is a longtime civil rights activist for gay rights and has created successful media strategies for the election of gay bishops in the church. Brooks also did crisis management for All Saints Church during its investigation by the IRS.
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