A simple rainbow sticker provokes a hate crime when Erin Davies’ VW Beetle is spray painted with the word “fag.” Disregarding the initial shock and embarrassment, Erin dubs her car “fagbug” and transforms the ugly incident into an opportunity to raise awareness about homophobia in our society. Armed with her besmirched bug and a video camera, she embarks on an impromptu 58-day cross-country trip, documenting her experiences as she takes her campaign through some of the country’s most conservative communities.

Davies sees her travels as both an outreach and an experiment. She notes the way she and her car are treated at hotels and gas stations, highways and residential areas. She travels to several towns where young men had been murdered for being perceived as gay, all around the same time of the vandalism. Her investigations uncover that her tale is a symptom of a more deep-rooted sentiment that often manifests as violence towards LGBT people. On her journey, epithets are shouted, rocks are thrown — bigotry lives on. But there are also countless Good Samaritans who attempt to remove the hateful words from her car, or otherwise assist her on her thought-provoking odyssey. Through it all, Davies finds friends, family and allies offering their encouragement and support, even in the seemingly unlikeliest of places.

In the touching music video Created Equal, MC Flow raps about Proposition 8 and the importance of equality.— PHILIPPE GOSSELIN