Civil Rights Activist Rev. Gil Caldwell Dies at Age 86

Earlier this week, news broke that civil rights “foot soldier” Gil Caldwell had died while in hospice care at age 86. A retired United Methodist Church minister and former PFLAG National Board Member, Rev. Caldwell participated in the 1963 March on Washington, the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer, the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March, the March in Boston protesting public school segregation, and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.

Of his work with PFLAG, Rev. Caldwell said: “One of the joys of my long justice journey is to have been invited to be a member of the Board of Directors of PFLAG National. The inspiration I get from working alongside the loved ones of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people fuels my advocate soul, and their commitment to the well-being of all LGBTQ individuals—be it their children, family members, friends, or co-workers—is an example that all of us should follow.”

His work within the civil rights movement inspired him to focus on issues beyond race—including LGBTQ equality. In 2000, he, with others, organized the RMN Extension ministry United Methodists of Color for a Fully Inclusive Church (UMOC), an organization committed to the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in every aspect of church and society.

Rev. Caldwell then joined the PFLAG National Board in 2009. He continued his work to change the United Methodist Church’s position on LGBTQ inclusion, and as a UMC minister, officiated his first same-gender wedding on the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day in 2014.

“I considered Rev. Caldwell a real role model for how to do the work within faith communities, and within communities of color. As a Methodist—and the mom of a gay man—I was moved and inspired by all that he did to bring more allyship and engagement within the UMC. I will miss my dear friend, and PFLAGers everywhere have lost a real champion for inclusion,” says Former PFLAG National Board President Jean Hodges.

Caldwell remained a passionate, nonviolent activist until the end of his life. With help from a walker, he took the podium at a Black Lives Matter rally on June 7 in the New Jersey township of Willingboro. Bishop John Schol, who leads the Greater New Jersey Conference, introduced Caldwell at the rally. The two had been friends since they were both pastors in the neighboring Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

“Rev. Gil Caldwell brought the best of both prophetic and pastoral leadership to ministry,” Schol says.

“His love of God motivated him to care deeply for all people, and he was a champion for the rights and inclusion of people of color, the LGBTQ community, and women. He was gifted at loving, nudging, and challenging people to do the just and right thing.”