Not a Founding Father: How a non-binary minister became America’s most radical revolutionary Nina Sankovich’s film is a thrilling celebration of the Public Universalist Friend, a forgotten hero of the American Revolution and a non-binary rebel whose life speaks to the radical nature of the American experiment. Their story begins in October 1776 in the small farming community of Cumberland, Rhode Island, when 23-year-old Jemima Wilkinson nearly dies from an illness, giving birth to the Public Universalist Friend, who claims that Wilkinson did indeed die and that her body was reanimated with a new spirit.
public universal friendpublic domain
During the course of the American Revolution, the Universal Friends gathered members of a sect called the Universal Friends Society. This young pastor seemed to embody the possibilities of revolution, especially the right to complete self-determination. Hundreds of men and women from all walks of life joined the growing sect and pledged ideals of equality, piety, and love. But to the authorities, the minister was a “devil in petticoats” and a threat to those who wanted to monopolize American power. So, after the war, the Public Universal Friends ventured west, creating a Garden of Eden on the frontier. Their vision is a place where everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as shared peace and prosperity. But to every Eden comes the serpent. And soon, financial fraud, contested wills, adultery, plagiarism, murder charges, and whispers of a new war with Great Britain threaten to destroy this new American utopia, forcing the Universal Friends to fight even harder for their mission of redemption and the interests of all Americans.
“Not your founding father.” Nina Sankovic
read a special excerpt from not a founding father Below:
On the morning of October 10, 1776, a young Quaker woman named Jemima Wilkinson woke up and spoke to her brother sitting by her bedside.
“There’s plenty of space.”
Jeptha Wilkinson was stunned. Just the night before, Jemima was on the verge of death. “It has become almost impossible to help myself…”[on the brink] The shock of death…” Now the patient was sitting on the bed, his eyes clear and his cheeks shining.
The person, whom he knew as his sister, began to explain what had happened during the dark hours of the night. Then “archangels with crowns of gold on their heads descended from the east” and told the dying young woman, “room, room, room, into many mansions of eternal glory for you and all…”
The angels then revealed to Jemima that she had been chosen by God to house the “Spirit of Life.”[which] He was waiting to become a body prepared by God for the Spirit to dwell…” The angels explained that Jemima’s body would serve as a “tabernacle” for the waiting spirit, and that the reborn Jemima would carry God’s message of universal salvation to “the lost and the sinful, the perishing and perishing world.”
Now awake and fully revived, the patient claimed to have successfully transformed into a genderless messenger sent by God to save the world, and from that point on became known as the “Public Universal Friend.”
feminist writer Nina Sankovicdouglas healy
Within days of Friend’s transformation, everyone within a 10-mile radius of the Wilkinson home heard the news, and the story spread even further, with the wind beating the news out of every farmhouse window in the surrounding hills and valleys of Rhode Island. Just a week after her recovery, when Universal Friend appeared in public to attend a religious service at a local meetinghouse, crowds of people crowded around her to see for themselves the changed Jemima Wilkinson. The crowd was so large and so curious that Friend decided to use this opportunity to share his message of salvation.
My friend spoke casually and calmly for quite some time, never changing his position in the chair provided for him, eyes firmly set and chin up. Quoting Bible verses he had memorized, the friend talked about the importance of living a moral life, the danger of sin, and the urgency of repentance. As most of Friend’s sermons will end in the coming months and years, this sermon most likely ended with the promise of eternal bliss to all who faithfully followed the pastor’s exhortation: “For what great love God has…that all may come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved…”
Although Friend’s first sermon contained nothing revelatory or new, the pastor’s astonishing breadth of knowledge of the Gospels may have been impressive. But it wasn’t the message that caught the crowd’s attention that day, it was the messenger. Everyone knew how sick Wilkinson’s daughter was, but the tall figure who appeared before them was now healthy and full of life. Her round face exuded a gentle energy. His broad, well-squared shoulders spoke of strength and resilience. Her black hair shines in the sunlight and her bright, clear black eyes complete her radiant and healthy image. The woman who was on the threshold of death left, and a powerful minister stood before them. It was a miracle from God. Friend’s clothing and hair, as well as their physical attributes of health and strength, identified them as messengers of God himself. A long black robe, a white cravat around his neck, and his hair, unadorned by hats or ribbons, simply pulled back from his forehead and hanging down to his shoulders.
Ezra Stiles, president of Yale University and a Congregational minister, bluntly stated that Friend “dressed like a man.” Another observer wrote that the pastor’s clothing and appearance “looked so much like a man that I thought it was very inappropriate.” A Quaker from Philadelphia objected to his friend’s “manifestations of immorality in women” [which]…would confuse the distinction between men and women. [and]…is highly inappropriate and has a negative impact on society. ”
However, Friend responded to these criticisms of his “male appearance” with the following statement:[t]There is nothing obscene or inappropriate in my dress or appearance. I am not responsible for morality, I am me. ” It was a declaration of free will and individual choice. Friend, who rejected the limitations imposed by society and religion, was living proof that people can just be, without being defined or limited by the opinions of others.
The friends’ genderless appearance emphasized their core belief that all humans are equal before God. The outer vessel that contained a person’s soul, the “tabernacle of flesh,” was not important. Gender, social status, skin color, these are all outward manifestations and do not indicate the worth of the inner soul. My friend preached that every human soul can be saved for eternal bliss, and that all humans can be happy on this earth simply by exercising agency over their lives. There was no plan to permanently mark people as sinners or as saved. There was neither Ham’s curse of enslaving colored people nor Eve’s curse of women for giving Adam the apple. “Everyone must commit his own sins…” Everyone can decide their own destiny.
Friend’s message of salvation came at a time of great upheaval and uncertainty in the American colonies. War was declared against England, and the world changed forever. Universal Friend preached a formula for survival: self-empowerment. Agency. choice. These were revolutionary concepts. And Friend was all of those things: bold, weird, and powerful. A flag was being hung. Now, who will follow?
Excerpted with permission from author Nina Sankovic and Simon & Schuster. Rather than looking for founding fathers simonandschuster.com and wherever good books are sold.
This article is part of The Advocate’s May-June 2026 print issue, on newsstands May 26. Support and subscribe to queer media — Or download the issue from Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
