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Thank you for visiting the official website for the Unfinished Lives project. Please feel free to contact us anytime with comments, queries, or to schedule an Unfinished Lives presentation. We always read, and strive to respond to, every message we receive.
Communicate with the Unfinished Lives project team:
info@unfinishedlivesblog.com
Additionally, comments made to this page will serve as a way to contact us. We appreciate your visit, and we are grateful for your interest in the Unfinished Lives project.
Sincerely,
The Unfinished Lives project team
P.S. Please don’t forget to check us out on:
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About
If you are a first-time visitor to the Unfinished Lives Project website, we invite you to read A Welcome Message introducing you to our project. We are truly grateful for your visit.
The Unfinished Lives Project website is a place of public discourse which remembers and honors LGBTQ hate crime victims, while also revealing the reality of unseen violence perpetrated against people whose only “offense” is their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender presentation. LGBTQ people in the United States are suffering a slow-rolling decimation of terror and murder all across the country. Every locale and demographic of society are affected: First Nations, Anglo, Black, Latino and Latina, South and Southeast Asian, Transgender, Bisexuals, Gay men, Lesbians, disabled, young, and mature. Homophobia has a long, crooked arm, and it is reaching out to snatch the life away from women and men whose tragic stories are under-reported to begin with, and whose memories are swiftly forgotten.
The horror of these killings transcends the shock and bereavement of loved ones and friends. These are not typical homicides; they are not killings for money or drugs, incidents of domestic strife, or crimes of passion. The vicious nature of hate crimes against LGBTQ persons is extremely brutal, grotesquely violent, and egregiously hateful.
Each murder serves the LGBTQ population as a sobering warning about the actual level of danger in our communities. The message these killings send is that freedom and open life for LGBTQ people is a cruel dream. Every time we remember one of these victims, however, the intentions of their killers are frustrated. To remember these women and men is to begin the process of changing the culture that killed them.
Our Project Director
Dr. Stephen V. Sprinkle (Keith Tew photo).
Stephen V. Sprinkle is Director of Field Education and Supervised Ministry, and Professor of Practical Theology at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, a post he has held since 1994. An ordained Baptist minister, he is the first open and out Gay scholar in the history of the Divinity School, and the first open and out LGBTQ person to be tenured there. Read More…
Recent Social Justice Advocacy Activity By Dr. Sprinkle
Summer 2009 – Dr. Sprinkle responded to the Fort Worth Police Department and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Raid on the Rainbow Lounge, Fort Worth’s newest gay bar, on June 28, 2009, the exact 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Dr. Sprinkle was invited to speak at three protest events sponsored by Queer LiberAction of Dallas. Here, he is keynoting the Rainbow Lounge Protest at the Tarrant County Courthouse on July 12, 2009. Read More…
Contact Us
Communicate with the Unfinished Lives project team:
info@unfinishedlivesblog.com
Schedule a Presentation
Dr. Sprinkle will gladly present his acclaimed presentation to your organization. To arrange an Unfinished Lives presentation for your organization or group, please contact us.
Dr. Sprinkle has given his Unfinished Lives presentation to these and other community groups and organizations. Read More…
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Where are our readers?
Publisher: Steve Sprinkle (Project Director)
Steve Sprinkle
Unfinished Lives: Remembering LGBT Hate Crime VictimsBrite Divinity School/Texas Christian UniversityFort Worth TXprofessor, minister, author, blogger, LGBTQ advocate
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Unfinished Lives 
Dr. Sprinkle,
I think you have an excellent website kept current with accurate, informative news. Since I do not know what might be involved, may I suggest a couple of changes however?
First: It’s probably just me, but I have a hell of a time getting where I want to go on this site. Could you redesign (i.e. “idiotproof”) the navigation part in the upper right, so when I click on something, that’s where I go?
Second: Could you add an “email this story” feature to your articles, so I can share some of them with others while ensuring that you are credited for them?
Thank you for your work — Cathy
Cathy,
Thanks very much for your compliments and suggestions!
The banner navigation at the upper right-hand part of the page has been a headache for us for a while. Unfortunately, we inherited the design flaw along with the rest of the site’s features when we chose WordPress as our host site. If the navigator bar at the upper right-hand part of the page gets too frustrating, try the links under the heading “Pages,” which is located in the descending columns at the right-hand side of the page. We’ve provided a link to each of our pages, and it’s much easier to use!
Also, we’ll look into a “mail this story” feature. We’re not sure what the possibilities are, but we’ll try to find out for you. In the meantime, by clicking on the title of any given post, you will be re-directed to that post’s permalink page. After clicking on the title and arriving at the permalink page, copy the URL address in your web browser’s address field and paste it into an e-mail. It’s a few extra steps, but perhaps it will help until we’re able to add a mail-this-story apparatus.
Thanks very much for your feedback, and for visiting our site! We’re grateful you’ve found it informative!
All the best,
The Unfinished Lives Project team
Hello,
My brother Bob Kerr was murdered in 2003. He was a gay man. The circumstances of his death remain unknown but the investigation has not been pursued as a hate crime.
For the past several years I have honored Bob’s memory by working against the death penalty in my home state of California.
I would like to invite you do consider joining our coalition to recognize that vengeance and revenge in our society contribute to justice and hate crimes.
Please contact me so that we can talk and plan further.
Thank your for your witness against the death penalty, Ms. Kerr.
Stephen Sprinkle
Hello,
I currently live in Houston, but I am moving to Austin mid august to go to school. I am extremely passionate about equality considering I have been predjudiced against numerous times and was wondering if there was anything I could do to get involved! I would like to perhaps join an organization or start one of my own however i’m having some dificulty deciding which one to join
I’m 18 and i’m going to Concordia Lutheran. I’m the very first homosexual attending this school and because of the conservative nature of the school, they put me in a private handicap dorm room all to myself.
All the strait guys there made me feel out of place and uncomfortable. I want to join a group to keep myself educated and to be able to stand up for myself in this christian atmosphere.
Sincerly,
Derek Jones
Derek, congratulations on your commitment to equality, your courage, and your faith. I teach in a seminary, and know some of the challenges you face. My seminary email is s.sprinkle@tcu.edu. I would be pleased to continue this conversation about involvement. In Austin, I hope you will look up Equality Texas and the Atticus Circle. Also look up Ryan Valentine at the Texas Freedom Network, tfn.org, and you will find a great friend there. Dr. Larry Bethune at University Baptist Church is a wonderful ally and advocate, as well as Dr. Paul Dodd, a fine gay pastoral counselor in private practice in Austin. All these people will be so happy to know you and to get you in touch with lots of good things and great opportunities.
Steve Sprinkle
Director of the Unfinished Lives Project
As a young youth I grew up in KS. Came out in KS. Grew up in the Nazarene Church and found myself being a victim of hate and judgement for being gay. I have personally been attacked by Rev. Phelps and his churh members. The impact it made on my life carried with me for many years. Not without great cost to my health and faith. Today, I have found comfort with my faith, my HIV status and relationships. I have spent the last 10yrs working with LGBT and questioning youth so that they may not go through what I went through. Provide them resources like this…so that they know they are not alone. Helping them to understand that they need to create a safe zone for them during the “coming out” process. Thanks again!!!
Thank you for your courage and your witness for equality, Rev. Dr. Jackson!
Steve Sprinkle