As with the Audre Lorde quote above, we sometimes mention the ways in which a person we quote comes from an underrepresented minority. Some people may find this jarring, alarming, or confusing, so please allow us to explain our intent behind this.
This is our way of saying that all people have wisdom, belong, and to affirm the dignity and worth of all lives.
We try to center quotes from women and queer people, who have traditionally been excluded from leadership roles in religious wisdom traditions. We try to center Black, Indigenous, People of Color, people with disabilities, people who are old, people who are poor, and other communities facing systemic discrimination to acknowledge their contributions and appreciate their worth.
When it comes to mentioning a queer person’s affectional orientation or gender identity, we only do so when they have outed themselves in their own writings and speeches. Otherwise, our intention is to respect every lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two spirit (LGBTQIA2S+) person, and people of other gender and affectional orientations to come out at the time and manner of their choosing.
We mention vegetarians and vegans to remind people to be allies of animals and the environment. All life is interdependent, and animated by the same one Life, making the belief in human superiority false. Yet this falsehood causes great violence and harm to animals and the environment, and has led to much suffering for humanity that will only get worse unless we act quickly to stop climate change and the animal food industry. It is no coincidence that many great spiritual leaders and nonviolent activists were vegetarian or vegan, including Peace Pilgrim, Audre Lorde, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, Guatama Buddha, Eckhart Tolle, and many many others.
By centering these underrepresented voices, and making these otherwise invisible aspects of their lives visible, we hope to remind people that all life has dignity and worth and belongs. This is one of the many things we do to make the Boundless Love Project a safe, inclusive, anti-oppression space where all are welcomed, valued, and appreciated.