Get Used to It: Ep. 117, "Voices of Our Lives: Rodney Scott"

(keyboard clatters) (keyboard clatters) (upbeat music) - Hi, welcome to Get Used To It. I'm Sheila Kuehl, and I'll guide you through this hour of our show as always. I'm happy that you're joining us. Every so often we do an interview with an individual, we call it Voices of Our Lives, an individual in our community who has pretty much spent their lives making a difference, working in the community. And today's guest, as they say, is no exception. Today, we're going to be talking to Rodney Scott, who's the president of our Christopher Street West here in Los Angeles, which is the organization that puts on, well our parade and other gatherings and events. And I'll let Rodney tell you about that. Rodney, welcome. - Thanks. - [Sheila] But that's not all you've done. I like to get an idea of where people come from, what their background is. So, if you don't mind starting at the beginning? - [Rodney] Absolutely. - Where'd you grow up and what was your family like growing up? - I was born and raised here in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley. I was raised by a very courageous single mother. She was 15 when she had me. - [Sheila] Wow. - And it was interesting. I'm an only child. So, we became as Helen Reddy song, You and Me Against the World. It was unique growing up. We grew up with a lot of people who still had two parent households and siblings. And growing up, not having siblings or two parents, it was a different experience. - [Sheila] Did you guys live with your grandparents? Did she work to support you? - She did. I lived with my grandparents through periods of my life, but mostly with her. And she took whatever job she could. I tease her because when she was 18, she was a go-go dancer. She did some modeling for a while. She was a pool hustler. (Sheila laughs) She'd go into clubs and play pool in order to make extra money. - [Sheila] Wow. - So, she did whatever she needed to do to keep our family together. - Well, I guess it's easy to see where you get the resourceful part of your nature. So growing up, you know the people's impression of the San Fernando Valley is it's sort of Kansas on the West Coast. So, I imagine it couldn't have been too easy for a gay guy. Were you aware of your sexual orientation when you were really young? - I think I discovered that I was attracted to boys when I was in junior high, about eighth grade. And I remember pretty vividly walking by the basketball court and seeing high school students playing basketball. I'm like, "Oh, I like that." And I wasn't talking about the game. I clearly didn't want to play basketball. So, instead I played tennis 'cause it looked like a sport I could play. But then I realized that it was significantly different for me. And the valley that time, was very conservative. And I don't know that it was difficult at first because I don't think I recognized what was so different about me. I learned very quickly to become resourceful and to find power centers or communities to hang out with so I would be safe. I learned very early on that I became friends with actually the girls, because then the guys would leave me alone because I was their girlfriend's friend. So, I created safe environments that way. And I did that all through junior high and high school. - Now, of course we didn't have any laws about harassment or any awareness about stuff in schools, were the teachers aware and how did they treat the kids? - Well, it was interesting. As I got older, I kind of discovered that I actually became teachers pets or I aligned myself with teachers who I later found out were lesbians. - [Sheila] Oh wow. - I found those comfort places that I knew that I could be safe. And I found out later after seeing some of them when I grew up coming to find out many of them were lesbians. - I think people have had the same kind of experiences, in so many of the schools. So junior high, not so bad in the valley. And were you active in any way in junior high? Was there gay awareness or anything like that? - [Rodney] No, I think I moved to drama. That was about as much gay awareness as I could get. - [Sheila] I can relate. (both laughing) - So, I hung out a lot there and that gave me, I think, the self confidence and a little bit more self-awareness and in that environment, it wasn't okay to be out 'cause I didn't know what that was, but you weren't bad or wrong for being who you were. I didn't feel like I had to compete or prove myself. - Did that change in high school? - Oh, dramatically. Actually, it was interesting. Most people will go to a more maybe liberal place or they'll go farther out. I became far more conservative actually in high school. I joined Young Republicans. I joined junior achievement and I created a very conservative environment around me. That seemed to be a lot safer. - [Sheila] Why was it safer? - Not being a sports jock, people were like, "Why aren't you out doing football or baseball?" It kept me a little bit more in a safer environment and I could negotiate very well and I could debate and I could carry on a conversation. So, people didn't look at me in that arena of questioning my sexuality, they looked at me, "Oh, he's the one who, if we need to get a petition done in the school. He's the one if you need to move an issue through student government, you come talk to him." - So, it's kind of training in a way on political work. - [Rodney] Right. - But did you feel ever that you were working against yourself? - I don't think I was that aware at that point. I think I was more it's about trying to find a skillset and a place that I could thrive and be safe. I learned unfortunately or fortunately through my mother, that safety was a huge issue for me growing up. I grew up in a very domestic violent household. Unfortunately, she was with people who were very violent with her. So, you learn different skill sets and how to maneuver through situations. And for me, my ability to have humor, tell a joke to align myself with the administration and the teachers, allowed me to navigate through school much easier. - And did you go on to college? - [Rodney] Yes. - Also in the valley? - [Rodney] Also in the valley. Well, actually I went to school with Moon Zappa who sang Valley Girl. (Sheila laughing) So, I had to keep my heritage moving along. And I came out, I really came out. I was 18 and I actually came out to my family before I had ever been with a man. - [Sheila] Hmm. - Recognized that I was clearly gay and it was going to be okay. - Was there an atmosphere, was there a awareness of a movement? Was there something that made you feel, as a man who values safety that it was more okay to come out to your family at that time? - No. I think that I came to an awareness that for myself and my own wellbeing, I couldn't suppress it anymore. That I was like, "This isn't right anymore and why should I be ashamed?" It was interesting, the minute I decided to tell somebody publicly, I no longer felt shame. I'm a huge fan of National Coming Out Day, which lands on my birthday, which is wonderful. But I'm a huge fan that you coming out and telling the truth of who you are, releases all that pressure. You no longer can hide out. You told me a story a few years ago about a man walking up to you, I think it was after you were elected to the assembly and he trusted you because you told him that you were a lesbian. - Right, he said he would vote for me because I had already said the worst thing about myself. - [Rodney] Exactly. (Sheila laughing) - And I thought there's a sort of a left-handed compliment. But I did understand what he meant. It is and the other thing that people find of course is, when we come out to our family, sometimes there are other family secrets, and remember the Act Up T-shirt? Silence equals death. And certainly, the AIDS pandemic, it was absolutely true. But I think it's symbolically true as well. Our silence about ourselves is like the death of our real selves. - [Rodney] That's true. - And once you tell somebody, especially your family, I think, and you're not, I mean, a lot of us do get kicked out of our families, it's very risky. But still the freedom of it. And were you out then in college as well? To people or with people? - I was, but I didn't make a big statement about it. I was out with my family. I started going out to clubs. I started exploring who I was. I didn't feel like, though CSUN had an active gay and lesbian community, it wasn't a place that I was at. I was still recognizing that I really wasn't a Republican also, I was like, "Am I a Democrat, am I a Republican, what am I?" So, I had to come out also as a Democrat and be comfortable with that. - So, was there an incident or something that really helped you decide that you wanted to either come out and if you were already out to be more active because your whole life has been, as we will see, one of activity within the community. - For somebody who values safety as you brought up, I was almost 20 and I was walking out of a local Seven11 store and I was attacked and I was beat up pretty bad. That moment I recognized, even more so that I couldn't just sit down and be quiet anymore. That my silence could move to somebody else being attacked, that somebody else may not be safe anymore. So, I decided from that point to really find my own voice and to start standing up and saying who I was. - So, what kind of work did that lead you to? - Well, originally it moved to a little with a No on 64. - Explain a little about that, 'cause with a national audience often people don't know and probably in people in California don't remember it very much. - It was really one of the first attempts to deal with the issues of discrimination against people with HIV and AIDS. It was with Lyndon LaRouche who wanted to basically quarantine people who were diagnosed with AIDS. And I found my voice and Ivy Bottini was very helpful. And Morris Kai in encouraging me as a young gay man to really step up and do things. And I became a co-chair of the local steering committee. I became an outreach person and started talking to the community about our issues and found that I really enjoyed adding my own personal voice to our struggle. - What did it feel like at that time? I mean, enjoying adding your voice, but was there a sense of excitement and what years are we talking about here? - Well, it was a sense of everything is absolutely possible. I mean, it was like I could change the world. In those moments, I honestly believe that me alone with everybody else could change the world. That there was no stopping us, that no one was going to stand somewhere and say "no" to us and "go away". And my church, I was attending my church at the time, we lost over 150 people in our church to AIDS and it was heartbreaking. And I can never describe what that was like. But what it did for me was say that I can't be quiet. I have to contribute in any way that I can. And that first political movement of No on 64, really gave me that opportunity. - What was the work that you did within No on 64? - I did mostly outreach. I did some canvasing, did some outreach, a little bit of fundraising, which I found that I loved the most and I felt really comfortable asking people to give to our issues and give to our causes. - So, what came next for you? - Shortly after that, I joined a couple local community boards. Eight for AIDS was one of them. I did a small stint with them as an interim executive director, while they were replacing somebody. And then I went to work with the Gay and Lesbian Center in Los Angeles with West Hollywood Cares, which was really the first education prevention program with Zelda Rubinstein about HIV and AIDS for them. I went to work with some other HIV organizations and then I kind of took a break from that environment and started moving more into political work. Started doing some more political campaigns, initiatives and focusing more on fundraising. - It's interesting, obviously I see a connection, but it's interesting to me how many people in our community, and I don't mean those who are most active or those who are political, but many people in the community don't actually see the connection between politics and their lives, between issues of their lives. As a matter of fact, they have a very negative impression often of politicians. So, talk a little bit about the connection as you see it. Because, I think the way a person spends their life also indicates what they think is connected to what cause they move their skillset to places and it's a choice. You were working in AIDS education and outreach. And then you started working on campaigns. Now, it wasn't necessarily always for money. I mean, often you were a volunteer in these campaigns. What's the connection? - Well, I think let's use an example that we're experiencing in Los Angeles right now or in California. AB19 in the state assembly failed by four votes. - [Sheila] That was the Gay Marriage Bill - Right, four votes. And for me, if you don't think politics makes a difference in your life, look at that moment. That just four people could have made the difference in moving that bill forward. If we don't think politics makes a difference, the fact that you were the first lesbian to be elected to the state assembly and now what we have a gay and lesbian caucus in Sacramento. - [Sheila] Yeah, the only one in the whole country. - Right. It makes a huge difference. I think I discovered really early on that politics and making a difference was a huge passion of mine. And the way I could see making a difference was changing public policy. Now, I'm not a big policy wonk, I don't look over policy like you do and find the language, but what I found was that, I wanted to support people like you, like Carol McDon, like some of our other friends in Sacramento, that was a passion for mine to get people who were progressive and who would speak out for us like Antonio. I mean, Antonio, here is a man who had no reason to advocate for us. And not only did he advocate as an assembly person, he advocated as a speaker. He advocated when he went to the city council and now he's going to become our mayor of Los Angeles. He's going to be a huge advocate for us. And we have a partner and a friend in him. And if we didn't show up for him and we didn't educate him on our issues and we didn't raise money for him and didn't get votes out for him, where would our issues be? - Well, I think it's very true. I think mostly people don't understand the connection between policy itself and their lives, and who makes the laws. Healthcare financing, for instance, the fact that the Ryan White Care Act is up for reauthorization in Congress. Who in our community, except for AIDS activists know anything about that and is trying to find out who's with us and who's not with us. Will have an election, a number of elections in California for Congress. And I think people often do not weigh the value of a particular candidate based on, shouldn't only be that, obviously there's other economic issues that we care a lot about. And not just ours, poor people, people who need healthcare, et cetera, but it's good for people to understand the connection. - Well, I think people need to understand that if people are standing adamantly opposed to gays and lesbians, that they're adamantly opposed to people's lives. I'm a firm believer. If you stand up and you say you oppose gay marriage, you're opposing people's lives. It's not a debate for me. It's not an issue that you can be, "Well, economically." That's not the case. We are denied basic human rights. Marriage is one of them. And you said a long time ago that no civil rights movement has ever failed in this country. This one isn't going to fail either. - It's true. - And I am determined through whatever small contribution I can make and adding my voice that I want marriage in my lifetime, not my god-kids lifetime that are six. I want it in my lifetime. I want to be able to walk down an aisle, get a piece of paper and have the same rights and privileges and obligations with my partner. - Well, it's interesting how your life has taken you because you're not actually concentrating at the moment. And you haven't for a while as the majority part of your life in the political arena. - [Rodney] Right. - I mean, it really took you in a connected with slightly different direction. Talk about what you went into next. - After I started doing the political work. - [Sheila] Yeah. - I stayed in politics for a while and I raised money. And then about five, six years ago, let's say about 10 years ago, I went to Pride. I started working in the Pride Movement and went to Long Beach Pride and did some work with them and then became president of Christopher Street West, which is our Pride celebration here. - Now, are we talking parades or more than parades? - I did mostly media and corporate outreach. I realized that in that, money makes a difference and the impression that people have us through the media makes a difference. So, I found that I could contribute in that arena. - Well, let's talk about these Pride celebrations. - [Rodney] Okay. - They're not really all that old, right? - [Rodney] No. - I mean, how long has Christopher Street West been doing Pride? - Just 35 years? - Well, it seems long for a lot of us, I guess. - And considering I'm only 35. (Sheila laughing) Okay, maybe. - Yes. (Rodney laughing) I'd buy that. - Okay. You and I both could be 35 for the rest of the show. - I wouldn't be 35 again, thank you. I might be 45 again, but maybe not that young, but it's an interesting phenomenon sort of in the big picture. We've got a movement that is about changing the law, got a movement that's about coming out and changing people's minds, but we've adopted the word, Pride. And I think it was as a antidote to shame you needn't be shamed and not only unashamed, but proud. That was a big step. And I think a very good choice. Then the question was, "How do we demonstrate that we're proud?" We come out. We're not ashamed. I mean, it was still a little unclear. And I think these events became the focus for how we demonstrate that we're proud, but it's not only proud. It's out and really out. And here we are. And as we say on the show, Get Used To It. But, you now spend a lot of time working on these events. Talk to me about why you think these are important in our community. - Because there's still some kid somewhere in this country and maybe in Los Angeles, that thinks it's not okay to be gay. There's some young girl who's struggling with that, she's a lesbian and doesn't know anybody. These events are about letting the world know that I live next door to them. These events are about letting them, I was telling your crew that I knew I was going to have a tearful moment on this. - It's fine with me. Just shows how much you really believe in it. - That this event is about two men who are still struggling in Florida, who are two friends of mine in Florida, who are still struggling to adopt a child that needs a home to love them. And I believe Pride contributes to that awareness and to that acceptance. And I want people to know that we're 300,000 in west Hollywood, we're 400,000 in San Francisco or a million, we're 200,000 in Long Beach. We are your neighbors and we are your friends. And I want them to know that today in 2005, I still don't have some basic civil rights that your family has. And there's some amazing kid out there, who's 18 years old, who's 16 or 17 or 15, struggling with their own sexuality thinking it's not going to be safe for them. That's why I do it. - So, we're back in a sense to the issue of safety. Safety in numbers, as they used to say, that's one of the oldest sayings I ever learned, safety in numbers. - [Rodney] Right. - But there are different ways that people demonstrate their pride or participate. Some people stay home and they watch this on television. Some people actually go to the parade. Let's talk about those who are the spectators. Who is this audience, is it all gay people? - [Rodney] No, it's our friends. It's our family, it's our supporters. It's people who want to lend their visibility and their voice to our issues. Everyone who lines that street in Santa Monica or everyone who lines the streets in San Francisco, Boston, New York, everyone who turns on that channel, they're lending their voice to our issues. They're standing with us. I was sharing with a friend of mine that my boyfriend's mother is here visiting, and she's from Argentina. And she came to support us and she judged the parade, but she was also there because she was letting her son know that he matters to him. And that this relationship of meeting me, matters. And that is so incredibly valuable. - Well, there's probably a million stories. - [Rodney] Yes. - In terms of these events, now it's not only the parade that happens, right? - [Rodney] Right. - What else? - Well, we have about a month worth of Pride activities throughout Los Angeles, ranging from speaking, lectures, parties, celebrations. We co-sponsor a handful of events. We co-sponsor to Trans Unity Pride, which is a Pride that focuses on transgender issues. We host a mayor's reception a week before the event to invite everyone to this amazing city of ours. Then we have the festival, which is a three day activity. It starts off with an event called Club Freedom. It's a clean and sober dance, which several thousand people come. And then we, Saturday open our festival grounds and have an amazing celebration. - Do a lot of people come? - We have over 300,000 people for the weekend. - [Sheila] Wow. - In a city that has a population of about 40,000. (Sheila laughing) - So, we take over the city. - Good thing we settled the hotel strike. - I know. Thank you so much. (Sheila laughing) We so appreciate it. - So, the people who are spectators, they're supporting us, they're enjoying themselves. They're identifying often with us. They want to see who's there and who is like them and who is more fun than they are. And just like any parade. Now, for the people in the parade, what do you think their experience is like? Have you ever ridden down the street? - I have. Imagine spending most of your life, people telling you that you're wrong or that you're not normal or that you should be locked up someplace. Who knows what messages people are given. And imagine standing in a corner and these people don't know you, and over hundreds of thousands of people are cheering you, for you having the courage to be who you are. Imagine, a man who is struggling with his sexuality. And he decides to come out and do drag, 30 some years old. And he turns the corner at Santa Monica and Crescent Heights and for the next two hours, people are just screaming and celebrating him. I mean, what an amazing experience. And it's not about they're screaming and celebrating themselves, not just the person in the parade, but themselves, that we are all in this together and that we're all standing up for each other. - Well, it's an interesting mix. I mean, anyone who's ever seen the parade, obviously in the old days, and maybe even today, you can tell me, there's some critique because the bar floats, they're pretty naked, they're pretty sexual, they're pretty having a good time. They're pretty about party, they're pretty not about anything very serious. And then you have elected officials and various official officials, et cetera, waving from their cars. And then you have organizations and groups that march, who are doing the work of the community in many, many different ways, either the religious work of the community or for themselves and community participating, healthcare work, et cetera. Do you think it makes sense to have such a mix? - Absolutely. It is who we are. It is truly who we are. We are that 18 year old drag queen. We are that 65 year old grandmother. We are the clubs. We are the organizations. We are the elected officials. We are all that. And I think the minute we eliminate any of that, we eliminate who we are. - Well, this year's parade was interesting and got a lot. (Both laughing) This year's parade was very interesting and wonderful and fun and beautiful and exquisite. And it got a lot of publicity and it got a lot of publicity even increased from what it had gotten in years past. - [Rodney] Tenfold. - You think? - Oh yeah. - [Sheila] And why was that, Rodney? - People wanted to talk to me. - [Sheila] That was it? - No, no, that wasn't it. We as an organization chose Kathy and Paris Hilton as our Grand Marshals. - Okay, we're going to need to hear more about that. - [Rodney] Yes. - So, let's start with the selection process. - We begin the selection process about four months before the event. The community has an opportunity to submit names and recommendations for a number of awards, man, woman of the year, our Harvey Milk Award, the Sheldon Anderson Award, the George Mescone Award, community Grand Marshals, celebrity Grand Marshal, and our Grand Marshal. And members of our community brought the idea of Kathy and Paris Hilton to us. And the board stopped for a moment, looked at it. I had the pleasure of having a number of conversations with them. And what I found in them is that they really wanted to lend their voice to our issues. - So, the people who brought their names to you, let's start with that. What were they thinking, just publicity? Because, we have a bit of a reputation. You do a show. You don't want to highlight people who have done bad things for the community or to the community. I mean, I certainly don't on my show. - [Rodney] Right. - So, the parade itself, if it is a statement of pride, the Grand Marshal, though it's often a person chosen for celebrity, they at least need to be somehow with us. What was the presentation that convinced the board that these would be the right Grand Marshal? - I think that after talking with the Hilton's and particularly with Paris, Paris really recognized that she has the ability to speak to a generation of people that I cannot speak to, that she can speak to a generation of youth that I can't talk to. And she's had experiences of hearing from her friends who are young, who are still dealing with issues of discrimination, and she wanted to contribute to helping change that. And she felt this was one of the ways that she could do it. - So, what was the response when the first announcement went out that they would be your Grand Marshal? - The first response I got, the very first email that I got was, "You're crazy, you must be insane. What are you thinking, why would you do this?" And then we got responses of, "That's interesting." (Sheila laughing) To "Congratulations, thank you for thinking outside the box." I got a number of young people writing to me saying, "My mother's a lesbian, thank you for including her because she's my idol or my hero." We had young gay and lesbian people write and say, "Thank you for bringing attention to our issues." And I had people very upset with me. - And do you think that it hurt, I'm just going to go from the last thing that you said. - [Rodney] Right. - Do you think that it hurt the event in any way? - No. - Yeah, I didn't get the impression that it did either. I mean, it's like you want to say, "Get over it." I mean, why would people be very angry about this? - I've talked to many people and I think when people have heard why we did what we did, they were better with it. I'm not saying they all agreed with me, but they were better. We chose them because they bring a platform to a population that we can't bring. They bring visibility to our issues that in the five years that I've been with CSW, we have never had so much press. And I got to talk about marriage. I got to talk about equality. I got to talk about who we are as a community. And I don't know that I would've had that same opportunity if we hadn't chose them. - Well, I think it is very, you mean to media that wouldn't have paid attention to the parade except for this. Well, I think that's right. I mean, I think it is a calculated choice. It seemed like a calculated choice to me. And, yet it is a statement by a very famous person or infamous to some extent that a statement of support for our community that I agree with you was a very strong statement to a younger generation. But what about her mother? I mean, that was interesting to choose both of them. - Well, we wanted to show we were very interested in showing a family that supported us, not just an individual. That we wanted to show that it wasn't just Kathy, but her mom who really as a family unit, wanted to support us and be present for us. And, we've read about them. We've heard about them. And I thought I knew them. And then I got to talk to them. - So, what was the surprise? - They're both very passionate and compassionate about issues that we face. And they've said repeatedly in my conversations, "I don't know what it's like, but I want to do something. I want to be part of the solution." - And what was the response of people as the parade went through the street? - Okay, can I have a confession here for a moment? (Sheila laughing) I decided to walk with their float because I was a little nervous and I haven't shared this with anybody. - [Sheila] Okay. - So, we came out, all the paparazzi were there, hundreds of them, and it was a little overwhelming and we got them on the float and we stepped off. And for the minute we stepped off to the minute we completed, it was praise and celebration. And "Thank you." And "We love you." And "We're glad you're here." And "You go girl." And of course her infamous saying, "It's hot." If I heard one more person say it was hot. And boas, there were feather boas for her everywhere. I mean, and there were pet chihuahuas everywhere. And so it was quite an amazing experience. - So, I don't know how you'll top it and I won't even ask you who's going to do it next year, but I just think it's an interesting choice for your life, in terms of these large scale events, in terms of raising money for issues. Were you working at other jobs along with this? I mean, can you support yourself doing this? - Yes, I have a day job. Yes and an incredibly supportive day job. I actually work for United Church of Religious Science, which has 180 plus churches all over the country and some international. And it's a philosophy that's very important to me. It's my faith. I have a strong belief in God, and I've always had that. And I think that's really, what's helped me walk through some of the challenges we walk through in the community. - Talk more about your work. - [Rodney] Sure. - And about the church. - My work at the church is I'm responsible for corporate. - [Sheila] Parade. - Parade. Yeah. We do. I'm responsible for corporate oversight legal. I'm also responsible for our marketing, fundraising and communications. We have a publication that's been in circulation for 80 years. We're celebrating our 80th anniversary. Which is pretty exciting 'cause they get to make small contributions of awareness about our issues through our publication. We have a philosophy that God is present in everything that we do. God is in with me. God isn't this thing that has a judgment and an opinion of us. We have a couple large churches here in Los Angeles. People in Los Angeles probably know Agape with Dr. Michael Beckwith. So, that's been my passion and my day job. And it's leading me into a new passion. I will continue with Prides, but one of the new things that I'm going to be working on is I'm really tired of this country only seeing one faith voice, that they only see conservative Christians talk about issues of family. And we are putting together a media watch group with progressive ministers from all over the country, so that we can get exposure about people of faith having a different opinion and different thoughts about issues, not just about gay and lesbian issues, but issues about the poor, issues about our environment, issues about our country. That it's not going to just be the conservative religious right talking about us. It's going to be us talking about us. - How do you go about putting such a thing together? - [Rodney] I haven't got a clue. (Sheila laughing) - Oh, now it's recorded. - [Rodney] No. - Okay, take two. - Okay. - How do you go about I mean, we never cut this stuff, so you'll be able to see all of it, but seriously, Rodney. I mean, well, here's why I ask. - [Rodney] Okay. - Not that I'm asking you for your business plan, but virtually every movement in as every aspect of a movement is somebody's idea. And no one knows if anything is going to succeed when you start out on it. But, yet it's not magic. So, how will you and others working with you, how will you go about to do this? - Well, I think we're going to start with educating. We're doing some media outreach all over the country with local media outlets. So, that they know that there are people of faith in their local communities who could bring a different perspective to issues. So, let's just talk about marriage for a moment and marriage equality in California. We want ministers and people of faith and communities to be able to be spoken to by the media and with the media about our issues. So, we're putting together speakers, bureaus, we're putting together press packages. We're putting key ministers in place so that they can speak to the press about our issues and other issues that are coming forward and really begin to hopefully shift the dialogue about our country and our country under faith. I'm a gay man and I have a strong belief in God, the Christian right doesn't own God. I don't own God. It's available to whoever wishes. And I don't want it just to be about my God. And I don't want this country, as we just reelected this very conservative president who says that he has a divine appointment or he's been appointed by God or whatever he may say. I have a different opinion. And my faith really encourages me to step out and do something different. - Well, I think two things I want to explore about that. I think that the churches, the conservative churches have been a very strong organizing base for the conservative wing of the Republican party, which has virtually taken over that party by exploiting that relationship. It's been mostly about what they're against and not so much what they're for. And I think that the more liberal people of faith have been a little bewildered, it's sometimes very difficult to know how you meet such harshness. When you are a person that's about compassion, about mercy, about understanding, about encompassing all people. And I think that there has been this sort of, "I can't believe it" aspect to people of faith who don't know how to respond, sort of like when you listen to talk radio and you say, "Well, why aren't the liberals doing that?" Well, the liberals don't do that kind of red meat say the first thing that comes into your mind, whether it's true or not radio, they just don't do it. We've started to a little bit with Air America. - Isn't that they were at the festival? - Well, I mean, I think that, and a lot of people said it's about time and yet it's not proliferating in a way, because we're not about anger and it puts you at a disadvantage. It's sort of like we're experiencing California, if the governor's interested in war and the legislature's interested in a peaceful resolution for whatever, a budget or whatever, war is always more adamant. It's sort of like, "Can't we all just get along?" And the answer is no. And it seems like the conservative churches have said no, and it's been a good organizing tool for them. So, even meeting that message seems to me to be a very good thing to undertake. I remember when the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAAD started and they had said, "Oh, the media, we have to go to the media." So, do you think your participation be part of organizing a message, training, how do you see your work in it? - I think my work is going to be working with the media to help move them to key players in our community, in larger communities, with people of faith, hopefully raising some awareness and some money to be able to accomplish this. I'm really committed that we need to make the difference in the media with religious messages, because night after night, day after day, in the millions of books that are being sold are messages that are really out there, that are hurting us. And this is going to sound corny, but I do have in my office a sign that someone made for me, which is your quote, is that, "No civil rights movement has ever failed in this country and we're not going to fail." So, I'm looking at what the next frontier for me is and contributing to that message. - Well, in the broader context, talk about faith for a minute. I think so many of us experienced rejection from our churches, from our synagogues, certainly from our mosques. It seemed like we had no choice, but to abandon religion because it had abandoned us and yet so many didn't. Can you talk about that either personally or people you know in the larger context. - For me, I didn't grow up in a faith based household. We didn't have church, but I remember being told after going to Sunday school a few times that God was going to punish me. And that seemed rather odd to me that God had enough time to punish me. God seemed much larger than just my one issue, because I was doing something that they didn't think I should do. And that seemed really foreign to me. And then I left that. And then I found my faith and I found that I got to celebrate me and my faith in a way that really works for me. And that's the other reason why I want to do this work so much a pride. People have been tossed out of their churches. People have been abused by their churches and by a message of God, and I want to help change that message. And I want people to know that whatever they choose, whether they choose a traditional faith of their family, or they choose to go someplace else, or they choose no faith, that no one should be telling them that they're wrong. And one of the things that really motivated me to do this was about four years ago, I was on the parade route and I saw a man in his late thirties, standing with a sign that says, "Fags die, fags go to hell." Holding a little boy's hand. And the boy is maybe five or six years old. And what dawned on me is that five or six year old little boy could become gay or is gay or will go to school with somebody who is gay or have someone gay in their family. And he's going to grow up in an environment of hate. And I want him to know that if he comes out and discovers that he's gay, that there are people like you, like me, like our community that are going to be there for him. And there's people of faith that are going to be there for him. - Well, the aspect of community has always been one that's kind of attached itself to the issue of faith. You can have faith and a personal relationship with God anywhere, anytime, anyhow. - [Rodney] Absolutely. - It could be trained through a faith and you adopt some of those principles as your own or what, but there's more to it than that. I mean, in a way I was raised Catholic and I don't feel like I was thrown out of the faith. I feel as though the church is against me. So, some parts of it, I'm not denied at all. I'm me. That's up to me. What do I believe, how do I communicate with God, how do I listen? Probably more importantly. How do I do my gratitude, whatever, but the communal aspect of religion, as an aspect of faith, that's a different thing. And I think that's where our community, very much like being shut out of organizations, the Boy Scouts, areas where you learn about civic engagement, this is being shut out of a communal area where, together you experience something that's beyond your own individual. I guess, I mean, obviously you say, "Mm-hmm." But I don't know whether that gets at why you would participate in a church rather than just be on your own in terms of your faith. - I chose to participate in church 'cause I wanted to be with people in fellowship. I wanted people who would support me and I could support them in their lives. And I chose to go to church as I still go to church and work for a church because I think it makes a difference in people's lives. Church isn't for everybody. But I want to make sure if I can, I wanted to make it a safe place for people. I want to make it a safe place for families who are raising their kids to raise them in an environment of tolerance, of acceptance and love. And if I can do that with one family, in one church, in one community, I've done my work. If I can get one newscast to show an a different side to faith and to issues that face our families, I've done my job. - So, will you be traveling for this? Is this a national kind of thing. - We're working on it. - I understand it's not in place yet. But I want to know about your dream of it. I want to know about your vision of it. - My vision of it is that I will be in Sacramento and Washington DC and every state capital. And every time there there's an issue that faces us, we will be there showing a different side. My dream is that when you think of A Voice of Faith, when you think of somebody of faith and you think about what they're going to say, you think about a progressive faith voice. You don't think of a conservative voice. - This would not be the first time this happened. I mean, when we hear about liberation theology, which is pretty much being squelched in the Catholic church now was very, very important to revolutionary work in South America and central America. And frankly in many impoverished areas, in America. During the civil rights movement, partly because of Dr. King and his own position of being a man of the cloth. There were so many people of faith who felt called upon to put a voice to this. Now, the power of the opposition in faith at that time was not as strong. We saw pictures of ministers standing in church door saying, "No black people coming in my church." But it seemed to me like the weight of the faith community in that civil rights movement appeared to be more on that side. Now they might say, you don't know the half of it. You don't know what we faced in churches. You don't know what the Ku Klux Klan was half of the time was the ministers. So, it could be my own lack of knowledge of history. But this seems to have some pretty weighty opposition. It's going to be a real struggle, but you think we'll win? - I think the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have died from HIV and AIDS. I think that women still aren't safe to go to clinics for a choice. I think kids are beat up at school every single day. I think kids are thrown out of their houses, they're beat up. Matthew Shepherd was tied to a fence. That's hard. That's what I want to do. Their opposition is nothing. Nothing. They can bring it on because Matthew Shepherd was tied to a fence and beaten. Our kids are told that they're bad and wrong. That's hard. What I want to do, we're going to do it. 35 years ago, a few hundred people walked down Hollywood Boulevard and were threatened with their lives as they wanted to come out and be gay and lesbian. That was hard. And now we have people like you, people like Carol Macdon and Christine Kehoe, we've got Barney Frank, we're not alone in this. And we've got ministers and people of faith who are going to join us. - Do you know, Rodney, those people who went before that made it easier for us too. And I know what you're saying. I really understand that. I have not been threatened very much, and yet younger people look at me and say, "I can't imagine what it was like when you were all by yourself up there." And they think of me as being all by myself, though, I wasn't. Antonio and I, for instance, were elected at the same time. - [Rodney] Right. - But I know what you mean, still. I think your life has been so far and you're very young. - Thank you for pointing that out. - Well, you are. Certainly to me, but I think just in the world, - [Rodney] Right. - It's really been an example of how you can just by your own choices, make a difference. And so tell me, have you, are you happy with your choices? You glad you took this life path? - Yes. - [Sheila] What would you change, anything? - I don't think so. I don't think I'd change a thing. I think I have an amazing support system. I have incredible friends, really loving people in my life. I have an amazing relationship. I'm pretty blessed. - Well, I can't think of anything I'd rather end to show with than saying, "I feel pretty blessed." I'm very grateful that you were here. It's a great story, Rodney. And I'm really probably even more fun living it than even just talking about it. Certainly do put on a good parade. - Thank you. - [Sheila] It was just wonderful. - And we'll see you there next year. - [Sheila] Absolutely, even if I have to bring my own sign and my own magnets and my own car. - I'll tell you what, we'll make sure there's a car for you. You just bring your own sign. We'll make sure there's a car there for you. - All right. It's wonderful. Thank you too for joining us today to talk with Rodney Scott. It's a really good example. I think of how you can simply say to the world, "This is my work, I'm standing up for who I am, might as well Get Used To It." (upbeat music)