FāVS News News and Commentary about Religion and Ethics in Eastern Washington and North Idaho
Charlene Strong, a nationally known human rights advocate and member of the Washington State Human Rights Commission, will present a discussion on marriage equality next week at the Gonzaga University School of Law.
Her lecture will be Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in the school's Barbieri Courtroom (721 N. Cincinnati St.).
Strong was appointed to the Washington State Human Rights Commission in 2009 and is the subject of the award-winning documentary “For My Wife.”
Following the death of her partner Kate Fleming in 2006, Strong became an advocate of marriage and same-sex equality. According to a press release, her advocacy brought her before the Washington State Legislature and her testimony helped pass landmark domestic partnership legislation in Washington.
Strong has spoken for the CIA, the World Affairs Council, and numerous universities. She was invited to a private meeting with President Obama and other dignitaries in Washington, D.C. to discuss marriage equality, according to a press release.
“We are honored to have a speaker of Charlene’s caliber share how her personal and heartbreaking story of discrimination motivated her to become an advocate for social justice,” said Ashleigh Schuller, president of Gonzaga Law School’s Gay-Straight Alliance Outlaws student club in a press release.
For information about the free lecture call (509) 313-5847.
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
