Faith has always played a central role in Bishop Tonyia Rawls’ life.
“I know it sounds so simplistic, but when you ask about my faith or you ask about religion or any of those things, it literally is the love ethic that guides my work and guides my life,” she explained.
It’s Rawls’ faith which motivates her to fight for the growth, safety and empowerment of marginalized populations. That’s what led to her founding the Freedom Center for Social Justice (FCSJ), which works to help uplift women, LGBTQ+ people and people of color.
“The focus of our work is about finding those ways that freedom, justice, equality and love can find their way, and that starts with fundamental culture shifts because love is a change agent,” Rawls explained. “When we find ourselves in love, love has a way of transforming and it does the same thing in communities. It does the same thing in states. It does the same thing in nations, and it does the same thing around the world.”
Deputy Director Cameron Pruette said what makes FCSJ unique to other organizations in Charlotte is how it has recognized a need for education in churches across the area.
“The Freedom Center really does a lot of work at that intersection of race, faith and LGBTQ rights, and how those interplay with each other,” Pruette explained. “So the Freedom Center is really committed to that idea of intersectionality, that queer people are everywhere, which means our activism also needs to be everywhere, and our specialty for that is faith communities.”
Their mission focuses on creating a world with equal protections and opportunities for all, particularly the LGBTQ+ community. The first ever initiative from the organization — Do No Harm — kicked off in 2009 and focused on educating clergy members and congregations about ways to support their LGBTQ+ brothers, sisters and friends in Christ.
“Five years ago the landscape was a little different for LGBTQ folks, especially in faith communities in the South,” Pruette explained. “Our goal was to take that first step … asking them not to condemn people to hell from the pulpit because of who they love or who they are. That campaign was really kind of the toe in the door of talking with faith leaders who may not be used to talking about LGBTQ rights or talking about protecting their gay congregants or their trans congregants.”
A Gallup survey revealed nationwide, around 5.3 million LGBTQ+ adults are religious, including an estimated 3,063,000 who are moderately religious and 2,230,000 who are highly religious. The same report also showed about 40% of queer and trans adults ages 18 to 34 are religious, as are 51.1% of those ages 35 to 49, 55.8% of those ages 50 to 64, and 64.9% of those ages 65 and up. In regards to the racial makeup of LGBTQ+ religious folks, over 70% of Black LGBT adults are religious and over half (54.1%) of LGBTQ+ adults in the south are religious.
LGBTQ+ folks are spread across many denominations or spiritual communities — 1.5 million Protestants, 1.3 million Roman Catholics, 1.3 million belonging to another Christian religion, 425,000 who identify with another non-Christian religion, including 131,000 Jews, 107,000 Mormons and 106,000 who are Muslim.
FCSJ works with faith communities across denominations, sharing the message that regardless, everyone is made in the image and likeness of the Creator.
“We do culture shift work in the Southern states, and if we do that, it’s impossible to do that work well and not also integrate in communities of faith,” Rawls said. “We deepen relationships because that’s what it’s going to take to transform this world we’re living in that [seems] to want to turn its back on the most simple things.
“That’s not my political party, that’s not my race, that’s not who I happen to love or how I love. That has to do with who I am as a human being and who I am as I engage with other human beings.”
Continuing the fight for equity
FCSJ emphasizes collaboration, intersectionality, and the celebration of diversity and always aimed at advancing a more just and inclusive society.
An important element of FCSJ’s work is education — ensuring clergy have the resources and knowledge to support the marginalized folks in their own churches. Partnering with various congregations across Queen City has allowed FCSJ to create unique programming, including the Transgender faith and action network and the Liberating Theologies program.
“What we found was it wasn’t so much that people would not support the LGBTQ community,” Rawls said. “What we found in those early days, was people just had a lack of understanding of some of the true translation of the text, but also [a lack of] full understanding [for] the lived experiences of those that they felt [were] just choosing this.”
A huge hurdle in recent years for the FCSJ is the rise of white, Christian nationalism, which has pushed anti-LGBTQ+ and divisive ideologies. This is something Pruette says isn’t true to the real message in Christianity.
“We need faith leaders to be louder, to use their prophetic witness, to use their prophetic voice for good because we know there are voices of division that are also very loud and targeting innocent kids and their families based on who they are, or what their gender is or who they love,” he said.
According to Pruette, over 30 churches have pledged with FCSJ to continue educating themselves and supporting LGBTQ+ congregation members. Pruette said this could look like a Sunday School session on gender-affirming care, talking about the “sacred rights of people to make decisions about their own bodies,” and more.
“We need active allies, and we’ve always needed active allies,” Pruette offered. “The Civil Rights Movement and the faith movement went hand in hand, right? One doesn’t happen without the other.
“And 2024 may not be 1964, but we still need faith communities on board. We still need prophetic voices, and we still need folks ready to march together.”
The future of FCSJ
FCSJ is on the front lines fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups, and this year, the organization has launched a new initiative to educate voters before the general election. According to the initiative’s website, “Clack the Vote” is “dedicated to mobilizing voters through the power of culture.”
In many religious communities, hand-held fans have long been a symbol of reverence, celebration, and spiritual connection. The act of “clacking” some of the more elaborate folding fans during church services is not only a form of self-expression, but also a means of communicating affirmation, support, and encouragement. The logo for the Clack the Vote has a fan — an object that has a history, according to Pruette.
“The thing I love about a fan is that it can be joyful, but it can also be a protest,” he said. “We can clack for a drag performer, we can also clack at protestors at pride to drown out the haters.”
“We believe that every voice matters, and by harnessing the influence of various cultural movements, we can drive meaningful change in our communities and beyond.”
“Our focus is to make sure that people are educated and that they are supported in exercising their constitutionally given rights as American citizens,” Rawls explained. “Citizens should be educated about candidates. They should have access to healthy [and] valuable information that has integrity to it.”
There will be a Clack the Vote nonpartisan candidate fair on August 18 starting at 6:30 p.m. Charlotte residents can meet the candidates running in statewide and Mecklenburg County elections this fall, providing a chance to ask questions, learn about their platforms and make informed choices for the community. Admission is free and open to all, according to the event listing.
Just in case you’re wondering what the future of the FCSJ looks like. Rawls says she wants to see more young people getting involved, “picking up the torch” to lead in the fight for equality. “I think for many of us who are baby boomers, I think it’s important that we make room for equip and support the next generations,” she said. “ Some of the work that we’re going to be doing with them is just around how we help to equip them; to build and grow in those ways that they may desire to and we can be that source of support for them. That, I think, is some of what I would love to see.”