This week saw the city of San Francisco honor Glide Memorial Church’s Minister of Celebration Marvin K. White. As a Black gay man and minister, he brings a rare and powerful voice to the Tenderloin—one rooted in compassion, justice, and unwavering faith. We have reprinted Supervisor Bilal Mahmood’s words for you to read and appreciate.
Colleagues, today I have the profound honor of recognizing a visionary artist, spiritual leader, and truth-teller whose work has reshaped how we understand faith, justice, and joy in San Francisco.
We are here to celebrate Minister Marvin K. White, the Minister of Celebration at GLIDE Memorial Church, whose ministry is as rooted in poetry as it is in prophetic power, and whose leadership speaks not just to the soul of a congregation, but to the soul of a city.
He is a public theologian, a preacher, and a poet who brings people together across perceived boundaries of race, sexuality, gender, faith, and identity and invites us into a more loving, liberated, and unified future.
First Time Learning About His Work
When I first asked around about Minister Marvin, I expected to hear about his work at GLIDE, his sermons, or his art. And I did. But what I heard most clearly, over and over again, was how he makes people feel.
People said:
“He gives me permission to feel joy again.”
“He helps us grieve honestly and celebrate fiercely.”
“He reminds us that God is not done with us yet.”
Whether on stage, behind a pulpit, or holding space for healing, Minister Marvin brings people into a deeper relationship — with themselves, with one another, and with a higher calling toward justice.
Background and Artistic Legacy
Minister Marvin earned his Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, and he has never stopped creating. He is the author of four books of poetry, including Our Name Be Witness, Status, and two Lambda Literary Award-nominated collections: Last Rights and Nothin’ Ugly Fly.
His words have been performed on stages across the country and adapted for screen and he himself toured nationally and internationally as a member of the groundbreaking performance collective PomoAfroHomos, one of the earliest groups centering queer Black narratives on stage.
He has led writing workshops in classrooms, prisons, and churches. He is a Cave Canem fellow, and he helped found two vital spaces for queer and BIPOC writers: Fire & Ink and B/GLAM. In 2019, he was named one of the “YBCA 100” for his cultural and community impact.
But his artistry is not separate from his ministry. At GLIDE, and throughout his life, he has used storytelling as salvation, and imagination as resistance.
Spiritual Leadership and Community Healing
When Reverend Cecil Williams selected Minister Marvin to serve GLIDE, he didn’t just choose a successor, he chose a path forward.
Minister Marvin leads with celebration, but he is not afraid of grief. He leads with laughter, but he does not ignore pain. And above all, he leads with love- radical, inclusive, embodied love.
In a world where so many queer and trans people have been told that faith does not belong to them, Minister Marvin has rewritten the script. He has reminded us that the divine can be found in a poem, in a protest, and in each other.
His leadership during Pride Month and Juneteenth is not incidental. it is essential. He shows us what liberation can look like when rooted in history, acceptance, and a look forward.
Legacy and Living Ministry
Minister Marvin is what we in District 5 call a light. Not a spotlight, but a lantern, something you can carry with you, something that helps you see more clearly, something that calls you home.
He is part of a lineage of Black queer faith leaders who have redefined what the church can be, not just a sanctuary, but a stage, a school, a site of resistance.
He is not only building a spiritual legacy. He is building space for healing, for art, for presence, and for endless possibility.
Commendation
So colleagues, please join me in recognizing Minister Marvin K. White, for his visionary leadership, his unapologetic joy, his enduring ministry, and his ability to see holiness in places the world too often overlooks.
Minister Marvin, thank you for showing us that celebration can be sacred, that poetry can be prophetic, and that community can be church.
On behalf of the people of District 5 and the City and County of San Francisco, we are proud to honor you today.