Last Thursday, the Visibility Project hosted a talk back to discuss the success about their project and keep the conversation going.
The Visibility Project is an initiative founded by Julia Burkley and Christine Choi, aimed at breaking down the societal binary of Faith and LGBTQ+/allies by highlighting those who fall between those categories. Essentially, it aims to show that not all people of Faith (of any religion) are prejudiced toward those in the LGBTQ+ community, and not all those in the LGBTQ+ community lack religious faith.
In order to showcase the intersection of these two groups, the Visibility Project took photos and short quotes about those in both communities and displayed them in the Union for everyone to see. These included photos of students, faculty, alumni, and others linked to the Davidson community.
The turnout for the talk back was surprising, as the group filled the Union atrium outdoors. It started with Julia and Christine introducing themselves and explaining why the initiative was important for them, and then the conversation was open-mic. A number of different people voiced their plethora of opinions, but everyone was respectful of each other, remaining silent as people spoke and applauding them at the end.
The first same-sex couple married in Davidson College Presbyterian Church spoke about their experience when they attended Davidson. Back then they couldn’t be out, but upon returning to the community, they were able to get married and even change the opinions of an older alum they encountered. A few students talked about being an ally and having discrepancies with their parents or family about the issue, and a few queer students stood up and talked about how important being accepted by religious communities was. Others talked about how they changed their opinions over time, coming to embrace the LGBTQ+ community as part of their religion. It was an emotional and beautiful discussion, which hit many of the key topics surrounding this issue.
Julia and Christine hope the dialogue about this issue continues and manages to spread to other campuses. If you’re interested in the Visibility Project, like them on Facebook and check out all the photos in their gallery. Also, if you have questions, feel free to email Julia (juburkley@davidson.edu) or Christine (chchoi@davidson.edu).
If you are interested in writing an article for Her Campus Davidson, contact us at davidson@hercampus.com or come to our weekly meeting Tuesday at 8pm in the Morcott Room.