EQUALITY U

Directed By Dave O’brien

Review By Joseph Krimple

Equality U chronicles the story of 33 college-aged LBGT Christian activists who embark on a two month bus ride to confront homophobia and promote discussion of LBGT issues on faith based campuses. Labeled the Soulforce Equality Ride, these brave crusaders visit 19 conservative religious and military colleges across America in hopes of changing attitudes and creating a dialogue.  The riders prepare themselves for anything potentially thrown at them, from homophobic epithets to police batons.  Much like the Civil Rights activists of the 1960s, these LBGT activists practice non-violent resistance, and in several cities, get arrested for it.  The Equality riders often face restrictions, set forth by the administration of these schools, on how many people they can speak with, how much literature they distribute, and where on campus they can demonstrate.  But for the riders, the goal is the same at every school:  talk to as many students as possible. 

The climax of Equality U is the stop at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.  Here, there have been several cases of young Mormons committing suicide because they are taught it's better to be dead than gay.  Although BYU is extremely conservative in their stance on homosexuality, it appeared in the film to be the most open and tolerant of all the campuses visited, allowing the Riders to organize a rally with a huge turnout.  At all of the campuses, there were a few students who were interested in talking with the Riders (some even got kicked out of school or arrested for doing so), and  those few students make the whole trip worthwhile.