Sat 11/12 @ 7PM
Ultimately, the cynical Republican/evangelical tactic of singling out LGBTQ+ kids for abuse is going to fail, but not before creating a lot of misery. They’ve already somewhat moved on from gay kids (although we’ve seen some backpedaling there) to abuse transgender kids: the Ohio state legislature seems to think it’s more important to ban the one transgender girl in the entire state who plays high school sports from doing so than to address issues such as gun violence, high maternal mortality rates and the state’s plummeting education ratings.
Daresha Kyi’s film Mama Bears shows why it will fail: while these kids are rejected by families at an outsized rate, other families — even conservative Christian ones — are finding that Christian love means accepting their kids as they are and fighting for them. This documentary tells the story of two of these “Mama Bears” whose love for their kids pushed them to challenge the teachings of evangelical churches, as well as the story of a young Black lesbian’s journey toward self-acceptance. The filmmaker tells their stories using home movies, photos, social media posts and interviews to look at what happens when religion and politics collide with the home front.
“We’re not going to see changes in our legislative halls until we change what we hear in the pews from the pulpits of our churches,” says Mama Bear Laura Beth Buchleiter Tatham.
The film will screen at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River as part of its social action film series. It’s free and open to the public, although donations are welcome. Parking is free too. Get more information here.