Rev. Lacette Cross
Rev. Lacette Cross, affectionately called Rev. L, lives in Richmond, VA. She has 20 years of youth development and leadership experience in school, community and faith settings. She is an experienced presenter, speaker, and facilitator with diverse audiences. Rev. L has participated in conferences, workshops, panels and summits throughout the country on topics of sexuality, LGBTQ inclusion, race, gender, religion and justice. Rev. L has been actively involved in the greater Richmond community as a faith leader, community advocate, speaker, and volunteer. She is committed to creating brave space for all persons, particularly black women and LGBTQ persons, to heal and become their full authentic self. Rev. L is the Founder/CEO of Will You Be Whole that talks sex and faith for wholeness with black women and those who love them and a founder of Us Giving Richmond Connections (UGRC), a black LGBTQ health and wellness nonprofit responsible for planning and executing the first ever Black Pride RVA in July 2018.
Rev. L is a recent fellow of the Community Trustbuilding Fellowship with Initiatives of Change and currently an Equity + Health Fellow with the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. Her past fellowships have included the Black Theology and Leadership Institute and the Faith and Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees. Rev. L is the pastor of Restoration Fellowship RVA, anopen and affirming church on Richmond’s north side and is the Director of Volunteers and Outreach for Side by Side, an LGBTQ+ youth serving non-profit. Rev. L grounds her work in womanist thought and the idea that all she does is from a place of love of God, self and others while in service of the collective liberation and safety of Black people and those who love them. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, trying out new restaurants, watching sci-fi action movies and reading good books.
Rev. L is a recent fellow of the Community Trustbuilding Fellowship with Initiatives of Change and currently an Equity + Health Fellow with the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation. Her past fellowships have included the Black Theology and Leadership Institute and the Faith and Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees. Rev. L is the pastor of Restoration Fellowship RVA, anopen and affirming church on Richmond’s north side and is the Director of Volunteers and Outreach for Side by Side, an LGBTQ+ youth serving non-profit. Rev. L grounds her work in womanist thought and the idea that all she does is from a place of love of God, self and others while in service of the collective liberation and safety of Black people and those who love them. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, trying out new restaurants, watching sci-fi action movies and reading good books.
Elder Donté McCutchen
Elder Donté McCutchen is a native of Richmond, VA. He was licensed and ordained at Christian Deliverance Fellowship Ministries under the leadership of Pastors Marvin and Shantelle Jefferson. Ministry is something that Donté takes seriously and has dedicated his whole life too. He is the founder of The Levitical Priests, Chairperson of The H.E.L.P. Community Advisory Board (Healing, Educating, and Loving People), an Executive Board member of the Richmond Boys Choir, and a lifetime member as he says of The James Cleveland Gospel Music Workshop of America (Richmond Chapter). He boast about having been under great leadership and finds joy in using all of the teachings he has received from Pastor Micah Jackson, Bishop Daryl Husband, Dr. Kenneth Dennis and Bishop Kevin Harris, some amazing men of God. He has served in several capacities in the church. Church choir, praise team, intercessory team, office assistant, and trustee board to name a few.
Elder Donté is the son of Janice McCutchen Williams and the grandson of the late Viola McCutchen and James Railey. Donté has four brothers and two sisters. In addition to the three Godchildren he is always excited about, Lamont, Nigel and Bria. He lives by the motto "Somebody did it for me, so I'll do it too" and is known for His favorite saying "It's safe to go with God".
Elder Donté is the son of Janice McCutchen Williams and the grandson of the late Viola McCutchen and James Railey. Donté has four brothers and two sisters. In addition to the three Godchildren he is always excited about, Lamont, Nigel and Bria. He lives by the motto "Somebody did it for me, so I'll do it too" and is known for His favorite saying "It's safe to go with God".
Dr. Ravi Perry
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Dr. Ravi K. Perry has been preaching since the age of seventeen. Having been baptized, nurtured and developed within the African Methodist Episcopal church and under the leadership and direction of Rev. Dr. Charles L. Scott Sr. (now of St. Paul AME Church in West Palm Beach, FL), Dr. Perry has long welcomed the privilege to speak on behalf of the Lord. Firmly believing his voice has been designed to give glory to God, Dr. Perry relishes the opportunity, as a lay preacher, to share the good news.
Perry’s familial lineage in the AME Church has roots dating back to the early 1800s. On both sides of his family, relatives have been members of the AME Church for centuries, in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. Raised in the third district, Perry has spent significant time in the 12th district, 4th district, 1st district, and presently the second district as a member of Third Street Bethel AME Church, the Mother Church of the Virginia Annual Conference, in Richmond, VA where Rev. Reuben J. Boyd, Jr. is pastor. Perry serves on the Men’s Usher Board.
Dr. Ravi K. Perry holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Brown University, each in political science. Dr. Perry is Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University.
An expert on Black politics, minority representation, urban politics, American public policy, and LGBT candidates of color, Dr. Perry is the editor of 21st Century Urban Race Politics: Representing Minorities as Universal Interests, a book that discusses the efforts of African American, Latino and Asian mayors to represent the interests of minorities in historically White cities in the United States. His second book, entitled Black Mayors, White Majorities: The Balancing Act of Racial Politics, focuses on the challenges Black mayors face in representing Black interests in majority White, medium- sized cities in the state of Ohio. His third book, published with his mother, is The Little Rock Crisis: What Desegregation Politics Says About Us. In it, Perry and Perry frame the story of the Little Rock 1957 desegregation crisis through the lens of memory. Over time, those memories – individual and collective – have motivated Little Rockians for social and political action and engagement.
Currently, Dr. Perry is writing a book that introduces the lives and campaigns of Black, and openly lesbian and gay elected officials in the United States.
A member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Perry is Immediate Past President of the National Association for Ethnic Studies. Previously, Perry was a member of the Board of Directors and Affiliate Equity Officer for the ACLU of Mississippi, and Dr. Perry was also one of the first openly gay branch presidents of color in the history of the NAACP in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Dr. Perry is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being recognized as one of the Andrew Goodman Foundation’s 50 “Hero Citizens.” More about Dr. Perry can be found at http://www.raviperry.com
Perry’s familial lineage in the AME Church has roots dating back to the early 1800s. On both sides of his family, relatives have been members of the AME Church for centuries, in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. Raised in the third district, Perry has spent significant time in the 12th district, 4th district, 1st district, and presently the second district as a member of Third Street Bethel AME Church, the Mother Church of the Virginia Annual Conference, in Richmond, VA where Rev. Reuben J. Boyd, Jr. is pastor. Perry serves on the Men’s Usher Board.
Dr. Ravi K. Perry holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Brown University, each in political science. Dr. Perry is Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University.
An expert on Black politics, minority representation, urban politics, American public policy, and LGBT candidates of color, Dr. Perry is the editor of 21st Century Urban Race Politics: Representing Minorities as Universal Interests, a book that discusses the efforts of African American, Latino and Asian mayors to represent the interests of minorities in historically White cities in the United States. His second book, entitled Black Mayors, White Majorities: The Balancing Act of Racial Politics, focuses on the challenges Black mayors face in representing Black interests in majority White, medium- sized cities in the state of Ohio. His third book, published with his mother, is The Little Rock Crisis: What Desegregation Politics Says About Us. In it, Perry and Perry frame the story of the Little Rock 1957 desegregation crisis through the lens of memory. Over time, those memories – individual and collective – have motivated Little Rockians for social and political action and engagement.
Currently, Dr. Perry is writing a book that introduces the lives and campaigns of Black, and openly lesbian and gay elected officials in the United States.
A member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Perry is Immediate Past President of the National Association for Ethnic Studies. Previously, Perry was a member of the Board of Directors and Affiliate Equity Officer for the ACLU of Mississippi, and Dr. Perry was also one of the first openly gay branch presidents of color in the history of the NAACP in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Dr. Perry is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being recognized as one of the Andrew Goodman Foundation’s 50 “Hero Citizens.” More about Dr. Perry can be found at http://www.raviperry.com
Dr. Sylvia Rhue
Dr. Sylvia Rhue is the Executive Assistant to Bishop Yvette Flunder in Oakland, CA. She has worked as the Director of Religious Affairs for NBJC (National Black Justice Coalition), Director of Equal Partners in Faith, and Assistant Director of Counseling at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. She has a doctorate in Human Sexuality, an MSW from UCLA, and is a writer and film maker.
Her passion for social justice began in 1964 when she met Dr. Martin Luther King and was inspired to become a door-to-door fundraiser in support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1988, she helped found the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum with the Black AIDS Institute’s Founder and Executive Director Phill Wilson. She is the co-producer of the award-winning film "All God's Children" and is an expert on the "ex-gay" movement.
Her passion for social justice began in 1964 when she met Dr. Martin Luther King and was inspired to become a door-to-door fundraiser in support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1988, she helped found the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum with the Black AIDS Institute’s Founder and Executive Director Phill Wilson. She is the co-producer of the award-winning film "All God's Children" and is an expert on the "ex-gay" movement.
