Life Power Now - for gay men

Rise Up And Shout! empowers gay and lesbian youth. Bridging the generation gap between the gay elders leading the community and the gay youth struggling through the coming out process, Rise Up And Shout! brings the two groups together in a year-long mentoring relationship. Through this process, the youth find, develop and finally showcase their unique voices in a performance event.

Rise Up And Shout! began in 2006 when Don Kilhefner, co-founder of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and Mark Thompson, former editor of The Advocate sat down together to try and figure out a way to reach the thousands of gay and lesbian youth in area schools, many of whom had no contact with the larger gay community. Kilhefner and Thompson put together a team of activists, artists and other leaders to reach out to the youth by bringing community directly to them. Through auditions, one-on-one and group support meetings, education, rehearsals and the production and direction of the performance itself, Rise Up And Shout! helped usher in the next generation of gay and lesbian youth.

Rise Up And Shout began out of a feeling among leaders in the community: a feeling that even though the gay and lesbian community had made great strides, our youth still struggle in many important ways. Homophobia stays strong in many schools, as the recent murder of Lawrence King, 15, demonstrates. Youth, seeking encouragement and support, must instead often hide the very essence of who they are for their own survival. Rise Up And Shout! responds to the call of gay and lesbian youth, bringing older and younger together, giving younger the promise of community support and encouragement, giving youger the chance to discover and bring out to the world their unique voices and diverse gifts.

Film and television professionals work with young filmmakers. Published authors work with young poets and other spoken word artists. Musicians and choreographers help young piano players and dancers. Intergenerational groups meet and discuss everything from day to day coming out issues to the larger notion of gay spirituality and the unique role that gay people play in the world. Mentoring occurs through a process that inspires both old and young to see themselves more deeply, come out more fully, and build community more passionately.

Rise Up And Shout is organized by an intergenerational committee ranging in age from 30 to 85. Our oldest member, Malcolm Boyd, is an Episcopal priest who was active in the civil rights movement, is the author of over 30 books-- a 40th anniversary edition of his international bestseller Are You Running With Me, Jesus? has just been published. Mark Thompson is a former editor of the Advocate and author of five highly acclaimed books. Our youngest member is Joey Shanley, 30, who has worked wth community AIDS education and is currently enrolled in the UCLA masters program in social work. Ethan Shvarzman is a software project manager and an artist. Brian Gleason, the producer of this year’s event, is a psychotherapist and filmmaker. Jim Pentacost is a Broadway director. We all volunteer our time and creativity because we believe deeply that youth truly does represent our future and we need to support and encourage them in concrete and tangible ways.

Youth need adults, especially in the gay community, where the coming out process divides generations. Rise Up And Shout! bridges this divide, bringing our youth more fully into their community and our community more fully into the world.

For more information, to donate, or if you are a youth with talent to share, contact:
Brian Gleason
brian-gleason@sbcglobal.net
323.848.7372