Collection

Recollection of the memorial service for Billy Jack Gaither at Covenant Metropolitan Community Church, Birmingham, Alabama

Span Dates: 1999-2002
Bulk Dates:
Volume: 1 digital item

Description

This digital copy of a two page printed statement describes the recollections of Rev. Marge Ragona, pastor in 1999 of Covenant Metropolitan Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama. It describes how MCC initiated a call for a memorial service that was subsequently joined by ally churches.

Hist/Bio Note

Billy Jack Gaither (1960-1999) lived in Sylacauga, Alabama, with his parents, caring for them, and worked as a computer operator at the Russell Athletics apparel company near the small town. On the night of February 19, 1999, he visited a local bar called The Tavern. He left in his car with two men—Steven Mullins and Charles Monroe Butler. The men beat him with an axe handle, cut his throat, and burned his body on a pile of tires soaked with kerosene. Mullins and Butler confirmed that Gaither’s sexual orientation motivated the murder. Both were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1999. A memorial service after Gaither’s death in 1999 at Covenant Metropolitan Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama, drew over five hundred people from numerous religious congregations and local community organizations, according to the church’s pastor, Reverend Marge Ragona. His murder was widely covered in the state and national press, and his story was featured on the PBS news program Frontline in an episode called “Assault on Gay America: The Life and Death of Billy Jack Gaither,” aired near the anniversary of his death in February 2000.

Finding Aid

This is a digitized image of a historical document located in the Billy Jack Gaither Collection at the University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository. This item recalls the activism of local churches in organizing the memorial service.
https://cdm17336.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/u0003_0003618/id/150

Location

The original of this digital item is housed in the Billy Jack Gaither Collection at the University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository Box 870266 Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0266
https://www.lib.ua.edu/libraries/hoole/

Tags

Ally | Activist (religious institutions) | MCC | Alabama | Birmingham