Backlash over the Baylor Turning Point USA rally is rising, and Baylor leaders responded with a new option. Administrators approved an on-campus counter-event set for April 22. It will run the same day as TPUSA’s “This Is the Turning Point” tour. That tour is scheduled in Waco Hall, the largest campus auditorium.
Students pushed for balance, so a coalition petitioned the administration. On April 8, the coalition received permission for keynote speakers. The speakers include Kelley Robinson and Paul Raushenbush. The counter-event is titled “All Are Neighbors,” and details about its location remain unavailable.
Baylor grants LGBTQ advocates a rare platform
Baylor Turning Point USA rally backlash shaped years of pent-up demands. LGBTQ students, faculty, staff, and alumni have long sought equal representation. Baylor’s Statement on Human Sexuality calls same-sex relations sinful. That stance has limited campus platforms for LGBTQ Christians.
But the TPUSA invitation shifted the debate publicly. Critics highlighted a double standard, and pressure intensified. Baylor now appears to accept opposing voices on campus. The decision is believed to mark the first such event with openly gay Christian advocacy speakers.
Speakers bring civil rights and faith leadership
Kelley Robinson will headline as president of the Human Rights Campaign. She is the first Black, queer woman to lead HRC. She is Catholic, and she previously led Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Robinson studied at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign as a political organizer. Robinson is married to Becky George, and they have one child.
Paul Raushenbush will appear as president of Interfaith Alliance. He is an ordained Baptist minister and a frequent voice on religion and democracy. He hosts “The State of Belief” podcast. He previously worked at Interfaith America and Auburn Seminary, and he helped lead HuffPost Religion. He studied at Macalester College and Union Theological Seminary. Raushenbush is married to Brad Gooch, and they have two children.
Faculty voice joins and debate widens
Baylor faculty member Greg Garrett will also speak at “All Are Neighbors.” He writes as a BNG columnist and focuses on racial justice. TPUSA lists him on its “Professor Watch List,” and that adds heat to the moment.
The coalition includes the student NAACP chapter, Students Demand Action, Hearts for the Homeless, Baylor Democrats, and Texas Rising. Baylor alumna Skye Perryman recently predicted a wider marketplace of ideas. She suggested Baylor could welcome speech that it dislikes because freedom matters. Supporters want equal access and fuller dialogue, but detractors fear policy drift and conflict with Baylor’s sexuality statement.
In historic first, Baylor will allow gay Christian advocates on campus
Photo by Donald Guy Robinson on Unsplash
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