FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 CONTACT: Amy Steele, Luna Media Group 208-301-0846, amy@lunamediagroup.

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Soulforce Equality Ride Announces 2012 Co-Directors, Jason Conner and J. Mason
Fifth Ride of Nationwide Social Justice Bus Tour Appoints Two Young Activists to Confront LGBTQ Oppression
ABILENE, TEXAS Today, Soulfource a non-profit organization committed to the freedom of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people from political and spiritual oppression announced the new co-directors for this years Equality Ride. Jason Conner, 27, and J. Mason, 27, will lead a team of 15 Riders on the organizations fifth two-month bus tour from Philadelphia to San Francisco to reach out to communities and confront the oppression of students and faculty at colleges with policies that discriminate against LGBTQ people. Conner comes to Soulforce after his venture with the 2010 Equality Ride as a selected Rider. Raised in the Latter-day Saints church, he served a two-year mission in the Florida Orlando Mission and left the church upon coming out three years later. Over the past 10 years, Conner has worked with and for various non-profits, including United Way, The Red Cross, Utah Family Partners, The Central Florida Compassion Outreach Center and the Boy Scouts of America. I believe in the effectiveness of the Equality Ride to create real change, said Conner, who currently works full time as the Director of Programs for Soulforce in Philadelphia, Pa. And I believe in the mission of Soulforce. As a participant in the 2010 Equality Ride, I can literally say that the Ride saves lives. It saved mine. The Ride provided me with an outlet to come out to my friends and family, and then provided me with an instant community of friends and loved ones. Partnering with Conner to direct the tour, Mason a black, transgender and queer educator and performer also from Philadelphia has worked with thousands of community members and service providers on the needs of LGBTQ youth and adults over the course of his career. For many, having a safe place to express their faith as LGBTQIA [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and ally] people is the difference between life and death. I am participating in Equality Ride to save as many lives as possible, said Mason, who joins the 2012 Equality Ride as Program Coordinator for Soulforce from his role as the Training Coordinator of the Attic Youth Centers Bryson Institute in Philadelphia. This week, the Equality Riders meet their co-directors in Florida for nonviolent resistance and community service training. Soulforce will announce more details on the 2012 Equality Ride in the coming weeks leading up to the launch on March 4, 2012. ###

Soulforces purpose is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance. For more information, go to www.equalityride.com or www.soulforce.org. Like Soulforce on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SoulforceOrganization, or follow the organization on Twitter @soulforceorg.