The Freedom Center for Social Justice is left-of-center organization that promotes faith-centered advocacy for gay, lesbian, and transgender interests. ¹ In addition to advocating for LGBT causes through the prism or faith and religion, the organization seeks to mobilize its target audience, religious members of the LGBT community, to vote and participate in politics. ²

Background

The Freedom Center for Social Justice was founded in 2009 in North Carolina. ³ The organization seeks to connect faith-centered individuals in the LGBT community, as well as other minority groups, within the broader left-of-center LGBT political movement by “educating” such individuals and “advocating” for them. ⁴ The Freedom Center for Social Justice refers to itself as a culture-shifting organization. ⁵

Finances

In 2022, the Freedom Center for Social Justice received $484,622 in contributions, ⁶ $489,163 in total revenue, ⁷ incurred $423,081 in expenses, ⁸ and held $122,312 in net assets. ⁹

Trans Faith Action Network

The Trans Faith Action Network is a multi-day “virtual retreat” that involves programming and workshops designed to organize religious transgender individuals along left-of-center viewpoints on pressing issues of the day. ¹⁰ Topics discussed at the retreat included healthcare issues, and opposition to North Carolina’s ban on sex-change procedures for underage individuals. ¹¹

While the Trans Faith Action Network today seeks to mobilize religious transgender individuals along multiple left-of-center issues, the program originally operated under the name TransFaith in Color, ¹² which had the narrower objective of pressuring religious institutions to set aside their doctrinal beliefs and accept transgender and LGBT individuals into their houses of worship. ¹³

Liberating Theologies

The Liberating Theologies speaker series invites activists and pastors to provide “culture-shifting theological interpretations and perspectives” on issues related to religion and society, ¹⁴ as well as more specifically opposing legislation that seeks to limit sex-change procedures and other laws characterized by the Freedom Center for Social Justice as “white supremacist legislation.” ¹⁵

In 2023, the speakers for the Liberating Theologies series included Jé Exodus Hooper, William Barber II, and Angela Tyler-Williams. ¹⁶

In 2013, Barber, who has a long history of political activism, ¹⁷ stormed the North Carolina state legislature with 75 other protestors and directly confronted then-North Carolina House of Representatives Speaker Thom Tillis (R-NC), eventually leading to Barber’s arrest. ¹⁸

Voting

The Freedom Center for Social Justice provides its North Carolina members with resources to determine whether they are registered to vote, resources to register to vote, and relevant election dates. ¹⁹ The organization also utilizes infographics to guide individuals on how to satisfy North Carolina’s voter ID laws. ²⁰

In addition to these resources, the Freedom Center for Social Justice links non-North Carolina residents interested in voting to Vote.org, ²¹ a left-of-center get-out-the-vote (GOTV) organization. ²²

Black Lives Matter

In 2020, the Freedom Center for Social Justice signed on to a letter authored jointly by a number of LGBT nonprofit organizations in Charlotte, North Carolina. ²³ The letter stated that the organizations stood with the Black Lives Matter movement and that they had “fallen short” in providing support to the Black and Black LGBT community. ²⁴

The letter went on to commit to including more African Americans on their board of directors and staff, as well as to provide “accessible” and “uplifting” programs for the Black community. ²⁵

Leadership

Tonyia M. Rawls is the founder and executive director of the Freedom Center for Social Justice. ²⁶ Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, Rawls worked for an advertising agency where she marketed bundled real estate loans. ²⁷ She then became a minister of the United Freewill Baptist Church, ²⁸ and later an ordained reverend with Inner light Unity Fellowship Church. ²⁹

1. “Our Story.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/our-story
2.  “Voting Information.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/voting-information
3. “Our Story.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/our-story
4. “Our Story.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/our-story
5. “Our Story.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/our-story
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Freedom Center for Social Justice. 2022. Part I, Line 8.
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Freedom Center for Social Justice. 2022. Part I, Line 12.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Freedom Center for Social Justice. 2022. Part I, Line 18.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Freedom Center for Social Justice. 2022. Part I, Line 22.
10. “Trans Faith Action Network.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/trans-faith-and-action-network
11. “Town Hall on Facing the Trans Health Crisis -The Freedom Center for Social Justice” Facebook. April 16, 2021. Accessed August 7, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/TransFAAN/posts/d41d8cd9/3724617447666205/?paipv=0&eav=AfaCtioHRPGqbdcAT2tKL3sTK-msPjADBoTu4unGQajB9m6xDIcSZXeMKJlU_bY_VmM&_rdr; Schoenbaum, Hannah. “Transgender health care restrictions gain steam in North Carolina” AP News. June 21, 2023. Accessed August 7, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-care-ban-north-carolina-0a845525e18a513591d31d526aa96244
12. “Trans Faith Action Network.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/trans-faith-and-action-network
13. “Trans Faith Action Network.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/trans-faith-and-action-network
14. “Sacred Rights, Sacred Rites – 2023.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/liberating-theologies
15. “Sacred Rights, Sacred Rites – 2023.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/liberating-theologies
16. “Sacred Rights, Sacred Rites – 2023.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/liberating-theologies
17. Cobb, Jelani. “William Barber Takes on Poverty and Race in the Age of Trump” The New Yorker. May 7, 2018. Accessed August 7, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/14/william-barber-takes-on-poverty-and-race-in-the-age-of-trump
18. Cobb, Jelani. “William Barber Takes on Poverty and Race in the Age of Trump” The New Yorker. May 7, 2018. Accessed August 7, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/14/william-barber-takes-on-poverty-and-race-in-the-age-of-trump
19. “Voting Information.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/voting-information
20. “Voting Information.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/voting-information
21. “Voting Information.” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/voting-information
22. “About.” Vote.org https://www.vote.org/about/
23. de la Canal, Nick. “Charlotte LGBTQ Groups Sign Open Letter: ‘We Believe Black Lives Matter’” WFAE 90.7. June 28, 2020. Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.wfae.org/local-news/2020-06-28/charlotte-lgbtq-groups-sign-open-letter-we-believe-black-lives-matter
24. “Charlotte Black Pride-Charlotte’s LGBTQ Community Organizations Stand United in Solidarity” Facebook. June 28, 2020. Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=2607491456177617&set=pcb.2607494806177282
25. “Charlotte Black Pride-Charlotte’s LGBTQ Community Organizations Stand United in Solidarity” Facebook. June 28, 2020. Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=2607491456177617&set=pcb.2607494806177282
26. “Our Staff” The Freedom Center for Social Justice. https://www.fcsj.org/our-staff
27. “Bishop Tonyia Rawls.” LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/tonyia-rawls.
28. “Bishop Tonyia Rawls.” LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/tonyia-rawls.
29.  “Bishop Tonyia Rawls.” LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/tonyia-rawls.