Friday, January 28, 2011

In memory of Ugandan LGBT rights activist David Kato



In memory of
David Kato
Ugandan LGBT rights activist
Murdered Jan. 26, 2011

white candle Pictures, Images and Photos




David Kato
I light a memorial candle for David Kato Kisule, a Ugandan LGBT rights activist who was brutally beaten to death on January 26. He is considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement. Shortly before his murder David won a lawsuit against a magazine for identifying him as gay and calling for his execution.

American evangelicals who promoted the death penalty law for homosexuals in Uganda helped create the hostile atmosphere in which this hate crime occurred.

I offer prayers for David Kato, his family and friends, and all who share his passion for justice. May we honor his legacy by continuing to work for justice and equality for all. May David Kato find peace with all the other LGBT martyrs and saints who have gone before him.

Update on 2/7/11: I added a powerful video about David Kato from "The Rachel Maddow Show." Be sure to watch it to see scenes from David’s funeral and hear David’s own voice in an NPR interview about homosexuality in Uganda. At the funeral Ugandan clergy speak both for and against LGBT rights. Very moving!

More info is available at the following links:

Wikipedia

Wild Reed Blog

Walking with Integrity Blog: Martyrs of Uganda by Caroline Hall, president of Integrity USA

Counterlight's Peculiars Blog

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3 comments:

  1. Trudie5:40 AM

    The situation in Uganda is of course only the spectacularly gruesome tip of the iceberg of homophobia and oppression. Sometimes we forget, if we've been in relatively safe and comfortable circumstances, that this type of atrocity is by no means a thing of the past. Thanks for this timely and meaningful post.

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  2. Kittredge Cherry4:37 PM

    Yesterday at Kato’s funeral and Anglican priest added to the horror by shouting anti-gay comments. It reminds me of our home grown anti-gay propagandist Fred Phelps who pickets AIDS funerals and the like. The American evangelicals who promoted the death penalty law for homosexuals in Uganda must bear some of the responsibility for creating a hostile atmosphere in which this hate crime occurred.

    thanks to Trudie and all who left comments at Facebook about this post. It's good to connect with each other in the face of such tragedy.

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  3. Kittredge Cherry9:31 AM

    I have added a powerful video about David Kato from "The Rachel Maddow Show." Be sure to watch it to see scenes from David’s funeral and hear David’s own voice in an NPR interview about homosexuality in Uganda. At the funeral Ugandan clergy speak both for and against LGBT rights. Very moving!

    ReplyDelete