Jacob Reitan
Encyclopedia
Jacob Reitan is a LGBT
activist from Mankato, Minnesota
who founded the Soulforce
Equality Ride
, featured in the film Equality U.. He is currently attending the University of Minnesota Law School
. He received his masters from Harvard Divinity School
. He graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University
in Evanston, Illinois
, majoring in Communication Studies and Political Science.
In high school he helped create the first gay-straight alliance
at Mankato West High School. In 2006, Jacob and two friends, Haven Herrin and Ezekiel Montgomery, attempted to register in the Minnesota National Guard to protest the military's "Don't ask, don't tell
" policy. Jacob wrote a column for Lavender, a Minnesota LGBT news magazine, entitled "Faith in Action". He and his family also appear in the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So
.
On December 22, 2010, Jacob Reitan and many other LGBT rights activists attended the signing ceremony of the bill to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell
law. He was there on invitation from the White House.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
activist from Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
who founded the Soulforce
Soulforce (organization)
Soulforce is an American social justice and civil rights organization that supports acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people through dialogue and creative forms of nonviolent direct action...
Equality Ride
Equality Ride
The Equality Ride is a periodic LGBT rights bus journey across the United States led by young adults and sponsored by Soulforce, a national LGBT nonprofit organization. Its primary goal is to foster dialogue on issues of faith, sexuality, and gender, and discrimination against lesbian, gay,...
, featured in the film Equality U.. He is currently attending the University of Minnesota Law School
University of Minnesota Law School
The University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. The school offers a Juris Doctor , Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers, and joint degrees with J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A, J.D./M.A., J.D./M.S., J.D./Ph.D.,...
. He received his masters from Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
. He graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, majoring in Communication Studies and Political Science.
In high school he helped create the first gay-straight alliance
Gay-straight alliance
Gay–straight alliances are student organizations, found primarily in North American high schools and universities, that are intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their straight allies .-Goal:The goal of most, if not all,...
at Mankato West High School. In 2006, Jacob and two friends, Haven Herrin and Ezekiel Montgomery, attempted to register in the Minnesota National Guard to protest the military's "Don't ask, don't tell
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
" policy. Jacob wrote a column for Lavender, a Minnesota LGBT news magazine, entitled "Faith in Action". He and his family also appear in the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So
For the Bible Tells Me So
For the Bible Tells Me So is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Daniel G. Karslake about homosexuality and its perceived conflict with religion, as well as various interpretations of what the Bible says about same-sex sexuality...
.
On December 22, 2010, Jacob Reitan and many other LGBT rights activists attended the signing ceremony of the bill to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
law. He was there on invitation from the White House.