Recent Project Activity
A summary of Unfinished Lives project activity in descending chronological order:
Candlelight Vigil for Slain Teens Jorge Steven López Mercado and Jason Mattison, Jr., and Survivor Jayron Martin at the Crossroads in Dallas: Dr. Sprinkle was among the speakers at the Vigil on November 22, 2009. He called for anger and sadness at the brutal slaughter of gay youth to be turned to social action power. He was interviewed by Fox 4 and a local Latino/Latina documentary project. Photo is by Carl J. Stoneham.
Dr. Sprinkle hosted the Tarrant County Transgender Day of Remembrance at Robert Carr Chapel on November 20, 2009. Transgender leaders from across the county and their allies met to worship and remember our transgender sisters and brothers who have been lost to transphobic violence during the past year.
Fall 2009 – Dr. Sprinkle marched with LGBTQ people and allies from all over the world at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. on October 11, 2009, and participated in the Wreath Laying Ceremony for Sgt. Leonard Matlovich a the old Congressional Cemetery. At the request of the Deputy Director of the HRC Religion and Faith Program, Dr. Sprinkle wrote a reflection on the passage and enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Bryd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, entitled, The End of the Beginning: How the Passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act Transforms Us. The HRC Back Story picked this short essay for featured publication in early November. 
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.
Spring 2009 – Dr. Sprinkle presented a version of his Unfinished Lives Project focused on United States military troops and veterans at the annual Military Chaplains Forum of the Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network held in Austin, Texas, May 29-31, 2009.
Dr. Sprinkle Opens Clergy Call 2009 Press Conference with Prayer
Unfinished Lives project Director Stephen V. Sprinkle participated in the 2009 Clergy Call for Justice and Equality in Washington, DC, to lobby Congress for the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act on May 4 & 5, 2009. He delivered the Opening Prayer at the Clergy call Press Conference on Capitol Hill. This is the second Human Rights Campaign Clergy Call lobby event Dr. Sprinkle has attended.
Announcement for Winter 2008/2009 – This winter, the Unfinished Lives Project participated in community events in Texas and North Carolina which remember victims of anti-LGBT hate crimes. Dr. Sprinkle spoke at the TCU Leadership Center & Center for Civic Literacy on December 10, serving as a panelist on “The Climate of LGBT Life at TCU.”
In January, Dr. Sprinkle traveled to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where he spoke about the intersection of GLBT community and religion/faith. In March, Dr. Sprinkle, along with Dr. Joretta Marshall, spoke at Brite Divinity School’s Community Conversation on Transgender Life. He also lectured on Transgender Hate Crimes Murders for the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. He served as a presenter at the Brite Social Justice and Diversity Colloqium on “Seeking Justice During a Holocaust.”
Looking ahead – Dr. Sprinkle has been funded for research during Summer 2009, and will be traveling to murder sites along the East Coast.
Social Justice Advocacy Archive 2006 – Fall 2008
Project Activity Archives
Project Activity – Summer 2008
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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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