Transgender Warrior Leslie Feinberg in SF w/Message of Solidarity

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10, 2007
Contact: Gayle Orr-Smith Email: gayleorrsmith [at] aol.com
Phone: (415) 948-7226


Leslie Feinberg, Transgender Warrior
Is Howard Thurman Award Recipient and Keynote Speaker
At The Church For The Fellowship of All Peoples


Leslie Feinberg, transgender activist, award winning author and speaker, will present the keynote address, titled “Solidarity: Building Bridges of Unity,” at The Church for The Fellowship of All Peoples’ Annual Convocation in San Francisco, Sunday, October 21, 2007, 3:00 p.m., 2041 Larkin Street. At the event, Feinberg will also receive the prestigious Howard Thurman Award, for hir activism and advocacy in defense of oppressed nationalities, women, disabled, the working class movement and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Feinberg, who uses “Ze” and “Hir” pronouns to self identify, is well known in the U.S. and around the world as a transgender activist who works to help forge a strong bond between the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities, and stresses the importance of connecting LGBT issues with the struggle for racial equality, class, nationality, and women’s issues. In May of this year, Feinberg was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berkeley’s Starr King School for the Ministry, for transgender and social justice work.

The Award is named for Dr. Howard Thurman (1900-1981), civil rights leader and visionary theologian who, in 1944 co-founded the first interracial, interfaith church in the U.S., The Church for The Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. Hailed by Life Magazine as one of the foremost theologians of the twentieth century, Thurman was the first African-American to travel to India in 1936, to study non-violence with Ghandi. A man of penetrating foresight, his vision of the oneness of all life helped inspire a generation of non-violent activism where he was teacher, mentor and minister to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jessie Jackson and others in the civil rights movement.

Each October Fellowship Church celebrates its anniversary by convening the convocation and presenting The Howard Thurman Award. Recipients are people who have contributed significantly to realizing the vision that guided Thurman’s life and work: the search for common ground, the oneness of all life, racial and religious reconciliation, social justice and spiritual transformation.

Musical inspiration on October 21 will be provided by the Lucy Kinchen Chorale and by Dr. Carl Blake. The Church is located at 2041 Larkin, between Broadway and Vallejo on Russian Hill. Parking is quite limited, so public transportation is advised. For more information visit http://www.fellowshipsf.org, or call the Church at (415) 776-4910.