In 2022, Pride penetrates all. Amid an era of “Holiday parties,” perhaps Pride Month is America’s new Christmas.
In honor of June’s LGBT extravaganza, a Massachusetts Jesuit college instructor recently videoed himself searching the school premises for #Pride.
At earlier points in our country’s religious history, Professor Andre Isaacs’s probe would’ve concluded without much to show.
But these days — at the College of the Holy Cross — there’s plenty color on display:
These are professors at @holy_cross. pic.twitter.com/SCbD3F36Xn
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 10, 2022
Dr. Andre teaches chemistry at the school. In April, he was profiled by C&En: Chemical & Engineering News:
A tall, thin Black man slides into frame. He’s in a chemistry lab and is wearing a tie-dye rainbow lab coat. He points at a sleek machine and dances, shimmying from side to side. The video is captioned, “Seducing our $550K NMR 4 good data on NYE.” He did, in fact, get good data.
The dancing scientist is Andre Isaacs, a star on the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) side of TikTok (@drdre4000), with nearly 355,000 followers. He’s also a chemistry professor at the College of the Holy Cross. Both on social media and on campus, Isaacs strives to mentor future scientists and advocate for queer students.
Per C&En, “Isaac’s colleagues describe him as a first-rate chemist.”
He’s a first-rate influencer, too:
He…cofounded Outfront, an LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff alliance, after being hired by Holy Cross in 2012. The organization advocates for and supports LGBTQIA+ staff and students and increases their visibility on campus. “We are at a very queer Jesuit Catholic institution,” Isaacs says. “We queered up this space.”
According to its HolyCross.edu webpage, Outfront’s aims are as follows:
- Support and encourage LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff.
- Cultivate a vibrant social community of LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff.
- Promote stimulating education and dialog about LGBTQIA+ issues on campus.
- Build an academic and professional network for those engaged in LGBTQIA+ teaching, scholarship, mentorship, service, and support.
- Advocate for the rights of LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff on campus, focusing on issues such as employment discrimination, access to specialized resources and fostering safe and welcoming work environments.
- Maintain close connections and collaborate on programming with the student group Pride and the LGBTQ Alumni Network.
As aforementioned, Pride has been absorbed into American life. And it’s being increasingly accepted in the arena of faith:
Christian Church Will Host Drag Show for Youth Ages 12-18
Christian University’s Residence Hall Gets ‘We’re Here! We’re Queer!’ LGBT Mural
Iconic Baptist University Christens Its First LGBT Student Org
Mainline Protestantism Gets Its First Transgender Bishop
Church Pastor Claims Jesus ‘Transgenders Himself’ in the Bible
Of course, not every religious entity offers the same LGBT embrace. Massachusetts Bishop Robert J. McManus recently excommunicated the Catholic Nativity School of Worcestor for its refusal to remove, among other things, Pride flags.
Still, American Christianity’s course seems clear.
Putting faith aside, perhaps no better example of Pride’s reach is a new LGBT high school. The first of its kind, it’s located in Birmingham, Alabama:
Magic City Acceptance Academy, which teaches students in grades six through 12, enrolls more than 230 students and plans to add over a hundred more this fall.
Nearly half of these students identify as LGBTQ+.https://t.co/TzDtMXjZVL
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 10, 2022
Back to Holy Cross, the Christian college appears to be keeping up with the culture.
For a very long time, pride — of any sort — was considered a “deadly” sin. But religion is being remodeled, and the colossal structure known as Catholicism isn’t untouched.
-ALEX
See more content from me:
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