“30 Utahns Greet Gay Train”
“Rev. Harris Protests: 30 Utahns Greet Gay Train,” The Salt Lake Tribune, “Salt Lake City, Utah), Friday 12 October 1979, page 28.
In October of 1979, Gay Christian activist Rev. Troy Perry decided to take a train from Los Angeles to Washington DC for the historic first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The march had been organized in the wake of the assassination of Harvey Milk in 1978. The founder of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in 1967, plus some 110 fellow activists, booked one whole car together on Amtrak’s California Zephyr to make the cross-country trek – and Rev. Perry and others with him took the opportunity to stump and preach at their stops along the way. During the scheduled stop at Ogden’s Union Station, Perry briefly spoke to about 30 local supporters who met him there, including Rev. Bob Waldrop of the Salt Lake MCC and an old friend of mine.
According to this article in the Salt Lake Tribune on October 12, Perry thanked the local supporters for “coming out” to meet the train, acknowledging, “We know this is a rough state for homosexuals.” Lesbian activist and comedian from Canada, Robin Tyler, told those gathered, “We’re not victims anymore. We’re survivors. We have rights and we’re letting people know.” In Washington DC, Tyler went on to emcee and produce the main stage at the historic civil rights protest.
But not everyone there at the Ogden station came to support Rev. Perry and their train ride to DC for our rights. Rev. Robert L. Harris of the Church of God in Christ in Ogden, dramatically lay down on the tracks in front of the train in protest…once it had already stopped. He held a sign that read, “Homosexuals, You Devils Are Not Welcome Here.” He also told the Gay rights activists, “I love you devils, but I have to tell you the truth. You have no rights and the power of God is against, you.” The crowd loudly sang “Amazing Grace” to drown out his homophobic words. A photo in the Tribune shows Harris recreating how he had laid down in front of the train with his sign.
Rev. Harris was well-known for being the first Black person elected to Utah’s legislature in 1976, as a Democrat representing Ogden. He also staged similar, dramatic protests against abortion rights, the high cost of postage stamps, the death penalty, elder abuse, and the Ku Klux Klan. During his activist career, he was arrested some 97 times in acts of civil disobedience. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Robert Lee Harris died in Ogden on February 22, 2005.
