2022 Charlotte Pride Magazine

The Charlotte Pride Team

Board of Directors

Clark Simon, President, he/him Riley Murray, Vice President, she/they Megan Jones, Secretary, she/her Heather Broadbeck, Treasurer, she/her Will Martin, Director, he/him Troy McElrath, he/him Lee Robertson, Director, he/him Daniel Valdez, Director, he/him John Walton-Tate, he/him

Staff

Matt Comer, he/him Director of Operations and Communications

Meredith Thompson, she/her Programs & Development Manager

Jerry Yelton, he/they Consultant

2022 Festival & Parade Team Coordinators

Adam “Fergie” Bowling, he/they Tommy Burns, he/him Justin Carpenter, he/him Maurice Clark, he/him Kyle Critcher, he/him Dustin Crites, he/him Tiffany Crooks, she/her Dan Foreman, he/him Ray Green-McCanic, they/them Michelle Hartz, they/she Christopher Locklear, he/him Tessa Malayan, she/her Wes McNeely, he/they Sarah Moore, she/her Leo Morton, he/him Liz Pagan, she/her Robert Philemon, he/him Jennifer Shafiro, she/her Esha Sha, she/her Alissa Smith, she/her Anthony Walton-Tate, they/them

Victor Valdez, he/him Stephen Wheeler, he/him

Charlotte Pride Magazine

November 2022. Volume 4. A publication of Charlotte Pride, Inc.

Magazine Editing & Production

Matt Comer, he/him

Copy Editing

Clark Simon, he/him Meredith Thompson, she/her

Cover

Grant Baldwin Photography

Charlotte Pride, Inc. PO Box 32362 Charlotte, NC 28232 info@charlottepride.org

Charlotte Pride is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

No portion of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Charlotte Pride. For reprint or reproduction requests, contact us at media@charlottepride.org.

© 2022, Charlotte Pride, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Charlotte Pride is a proud member of

the unique lives and experiences of LGBTQ people in Charlotte and the Carolinas.

CHARLOTTE

PRIDE

Charlotte Pride works to

Welcome

Welcome to this year’s Charlotte Pride Magazine. It is hard to believe it had been three solid years without a Pride festival or parade in Charlotte. Who could have imagined that we would have had two-plus years of pandemic disruptions, uncertainty, loss, and challenge — years of lost connections, commu nity, and the grief of lost friends and family?

I won’t lie and I won’t minimize: The COVID pandemic and the uncertainty and turmoil it brought into our collective lives would have been hard to fathom before we all experi enced it. Yet, here we are... coming out on the other side, ready to take on these challenges, remember those we’ve lost, and celebrate the triumphs we’ve experienced these past three years while looking forward to new successes in our future and the continued growth of our community.

As you peruse this year’s magazine, it is my hope that you will find encouraging and inspiring messages of hope, of community, resiliency, and of celebration. I also hope you’ll find yourself called to service and solidarity — be it through new connections to commu nity resources or ways to reach out and get involved.

More importantly, I hope you’ll feel a real sense of belonging and know that you are part of a grand movement of liberation that is larger than me and larger than you — the greater sum of so many who have come before us and those who will carry this movement on into the future. It is this sense of pride in our past and present accomplishments that propels our work.

With the return of this year’s Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade, we finally had the oppor tunity to celebrate, in-person, the 20th anni versary of Charlotte Pride’s first event in 2001 and the 40th anniversary of Charlotte’s very first Gay Pride Day event in 1981. It was an occasion we celebrated in this very magazine last year, with an in-depth historical overview of Charlotte’s LGBTQ community history and the history of the Pride Movement here in the Queen City. (If you missed that article, you can read it online at cltpri.de/20years.)

As we celebrated this landmark anniversary (with 275,000 of our friends) and all the people who have helped to shape our community and its Pride events over nearly half a century, we not only looked back — we w also looked forward. We recognize that our movement isn’t stagnant and it isn’t over. It is our respon sibility today to bring light to the issues and challenges of our day, just as our movement’s forebearers brought attention to the issues and challenges of their day.

I hope that this year’s in-person celebrations inspired you to take time to remember and reflect, and that you feel emboldened to take action and to advocate. We know that we are all stronger when we work together and we are at our best when we unite in the remem brance of Stonewall so as to carry its spirit and movement for liberation forward into the future.

With Pride, Clark Simon Charlotte Pride President he/him/his

After a pandemic hiatus, the Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade returned to Uptown Charlotte!

Clark Simon President Charlotte Pride he/him/his

Presenting Sponsors

Visionary Sponsors Leadership Sponsors

Visibility Sponsors Equality Sponsors

Pride is inside and out

At Bank of America, we believe being a diverse and inclusive company makes us stronger.

We’re proud to have been the first financial institution to offer comprehensive benefits to domestic partners.

And the more than 36,000 members of our LGBTQ+ Pride employee network and their global allies have been a powerful influence and voice that can be heard everywhere.

What would you like the power to do?®

bankofamerica.com/inclusion

By the Numbers: Charlotte Pride 2022

It’s been three years since Uptown Charlotte played host to the mas sive sea of rainbow-adorned people attending the annual Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade. Three long years of virtual-only or small and limited socially distanced activities could never really replace the special meaning and significance of a full-scale, in-person event.

Last fall, we were all still a little uncertain what the future would hold. We took a wait-and-see approach around October, when we should have originally started planning this year’s events. Vaccines were still being rolled out, and we weren’t certain what new variants or waves of COVID might do. As the new year rolled around, it seemed like we had turned a pandemic corner, and in late January, we made the deci sion to move forward with this year’s in-person festival and parade.

We’re glad we did! And by the looks of how many smiling faces we saw on the streets of Uptown in August — it looks like all of you were happy to be back, too!

By all accounts, the 2022 Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade was a smashing success. It’s a testament to the incredibly hard work, dedication, commitment, and passion of our volunteers. Words can’t really describe the amount of effort, creativity, and ingenuity it took to jumpstart a massive event-planning engine that had sat dormant since 2019. If you haven’t yet already, be sure to thank our volun teer leaders the next time you see them; they’ve certainly earned the praise.

Our volunteers, our sponsors, and our partners with the city and county, as well as our festival vendors and parade participants — and every person in our community who attended — each and every one of you can lay claim to the success of this year. Because of your commitment and decision to brave the threat of rain and storms (which never came!), Charlotte Pride smashed its previous in-person attendance record of 200,000 visitors over the weekend. Our 2022 attendance estimate came in at a whopping 275,000 — quite simply the single largest gathering of LGBTQ people and allies in the history of Charlotte, or anywhere else in the Carolinas for that matter.

Here’s a by-the-numbers recap of this year’s big event!

PhotoCredit:IntrepidMedia (instagram.com/intrepid.media)

Held in-person for the first time since 2019, the annual Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade broke new attendance records

275,000

Visitors over the course of the weekend, Aug. 20-21, 2022

FUN FACT:

Charlotte Pride’s first event in 2001 attracted about 2,500 people. In 2010, the event had 10,000. Wow! Look at that growth!

United in purpose and care for all people.

Truist is proud to be a presenting sponsor of Charlotte Pride. Their vision of a world where LGBTQ+ people are affirmed, respected, and included in their local communities reflects our own commitment to care and the purpose we live by.

At the core of that purpose—to build better lives and communities— are the values that guide us to be intentional about diversity, equity, and inclusion. And we continue to work at this every day. Because we believe a culture where we can live and contribute our authentic selves is a stronger one.

Truist.com

Truist Bank, Member FDIC. © 2022 Truist Financial Corporation. Truist, the Truist logo and Truist Purple are service marks of Truist Financial Corporation.

Returns, Firsts, and Transitions

Remember back when we all thought the 2020s might be a repeat of those Roaring ‘20s a century ago? Jokes and memes abounded on Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and every other social network. Three months, six months, and then a year and more of lockdowns went by, after which we all thought we’d emerge from our COVID-induced hibernations and awaken to a hedonistic dynamism filled with modern jazz, flappers, and swing.

The pandemic had other plans. In last year’s magazine, we called 2021 a “2020 redux,” for it largely mirrored the socially distant ways we attempted to connect as a com munity in 2020. The continued pandemic kept the wind of a new Roaring ‘20s from hitting our sails‚ keeping us all at home and isolated, save a short few weeks of respite in the summer last year.

Our society-wide doldrums came quickly to an end, how ever, once COVID vaccines rolled out en masse late last year. Lockdowns ended. Mask mandates began to fade into rearview.

2022 was nothing short of a full-on marathon as commu nity events and programs came bursting back to life — not only for Charlotte Pride, but for so many of our partners and others across the city.

As we look back at the year, three clear themes came to mark the life of Charlotte Pride: It was a year of Returns. A year of First. A year of Transitions.

Returns

As the new year came and went, Charlotte Pride’s cautious optimism from the fall of 2021 grew into an increasingly positive confidence in the return of our various in-person

programs and events. As early as October 2021, we had been closely monitoring the rollout of vaccines and the progress made in tamping down the continued pandem ic. Despite really needing to get started on planning then, we waited — certain in our volunteers’ ability to plan our year’s events, even if on a shorter timeline.

By the middle of January, Charlotte Pride’s board made the decision to greenlight the return of all our in-person programs and events, including our two largest: August’s festival and parade and Reel Out Charlotte, the Queen City’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival.

Staff, board, and volunteers hit the ground running as fast as we could. We put out calls for volunteer leaders, ramped up planning for the film festival to be held in just a mere few weeks, and began plotting out all the details for what everyone expected would be a supersized festival and pa rade — the first held in person in three years.

The return of this year’s Reel Out Charlotte was a resound ing success, with an at-capacity opening night reception and short films screening. The event screened 10 feature films, with several state and southeastern premieres, includ ing “Sweetheart” and “Wildhood,” as well as an engaging panel discussion digging deep into the issues of institutional racism depicted in our closing film, “The Obituary of Tunde Johnson.”

The community’s interest in and support of Charlotte Pride grew to a crescendo over the spring and summer, as news began to spread about our in-person return. By Pride Month in June, we’d been out and about, supporting the in-person return of several community partners’ events, including RAIN’s AIDS Walk Charlotte, the Charlotte Hor

Three years since the pandemic began, Charlotte Pride returns bigger, brighter, and prouder than ever

A year in the Life of Charlotte Pride:

nets Annual Pride Night, and more. One month out from the Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade, we joined with our friends in what had to have been one of the largest, most successful Charlotte Black Pride events in the city’s history.

Firsts

For as much as we all loved the return of our favorite events and community gatherings, we also basked in the joy of experiencing so many firsts this year.

March seemed to mark a number of meaningful firsts in the life of Charlotte Pride. In addition to participating in the return of the Charlotte Hornets Pride Night, we began a growing relationship with Tepper Sports and Entertain ment — home to the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC. Charlotte Pride was honored to host our first large-scale lunch-and-learn workshop at Bank of America Stadium for Tepper employees.

Later that month, we partnered for the first time in hosting a community-wide local candidate fair. It marked the first time multiple candidates from multiple political parties joined together in a nonpartisan, community and voter education effort.

And it was also in March that we held our very first in-person volunteer leadership team meeting of the year. March, you say!? Yeah... we were a bit behind. Each year’s festival and parade planning usually begins in earnest each fall, but from our first team meeting in March, we knew our special and dedicated group of volunteers would make this year’s festival and parade a resounding success — even if we all had several months knocked out of our planning time!

Speaking of firsts and volunteers — a special shoutout is deserved for all of Charlotte Pride’s festival and parade team leaders this year. For the first time (in recent memory at least), the majority of festival and parade team lead ers were practically brand new! Many had soldiered on alongside us during virtual and limited, small-scale events in 2020 and 2021, but most had never volunteered at our normal, large-scale, and in-person festival and parade. Ev ery single one of our awesome volunteers (find their names listed on page 2 of this magazine) rose to the occasion in phenomenally fabulous style and grace! Thanks y’all! You’re the best!

During the summer, as we inched closer and closer to the festival and parade, Charlotte Pride would experience two other amazing firsts.

Returns, Firsts, and Transitions

In June, we partnered for the first time with Charlotte FC, which produced their first Pride Night at Bank of Ameri ca Stadium. It was a great night of soccer and community empowerment. The Carolina Panthers’ Justine Lindsay, the first openly trans cheerleader in the NFL, was honored. Time Out Youth was given a spotlight. And our very own Daniel Valdez, our immediate past board president and soccer fan extraordinaire, was honored with the pre-game coronation.

In August, one week prior to the big event, Charlotte Pride was honored to mark the in-person return of the annual Charlotte Pride Interfaith Service — hosted for the very first time at a historically and predominately Black faith congregation. St. Luke’s Missionary Baptist and its staff, including Senior Pastor Clifford Matthews, Jr., welcomed the event with open arms.

Transitions

2022 also marked a year of important changes and transi tions for Charlotte Pride, coming during a year of growth and resilience.

From the moment planning for the festival and parade began early in the year, we knew some big changes were needed. Our last in-person event in 2019 had already crushed records, attracting 200,000 visitors over the course of the weekend event. The parade line-up and the festival vendor area was at or nearing capacity. Changes to Uptown’s infrastructure — most notably the addition of the Gold Line along Trade Street — would necessarily mean adaptation for the parade.

Weeks of planning with city partners and slight changes to our festival and parade plans ultimately paid off, smoothing our transition back to the large-scale, in-person event and paving the way for another record-setting year. When all was said and done, Charlotte Pride’s weekend event saw 275,000 visitors, cementing its place as the city’s largest street festival and raising no question about its status as the city’s largest parade since 2017.

Adaptations in the event’s plans themselves weren’t the only significant transitions in this year of change.

As the new year dawned, the board’s leadership transi tioned from longtime president Daniel Valdez, who remains

on the board as a director, to incoming president Clark Simon. Riley Murray, a longtime volunteer and board member entering her 17th year of service to the organiza tion, stepped up alongside Clark to serve as the board’s vice president. Throughout the year, the organization’s board would grow, bringing on two more members from among our dedicated volunteer base.

As transitions in board leadership occurred, staff, too, would see transition and change — a sign of organiza tional growth and creation of opportunities for new voices and perspectives. In 2017, Charlotte Pride had brought on its first permanent, full-time staff with the hiring of Jerry Yelton, overseeing programs and sponsorship development, and Matt Comer, overseeing communications and mar keting. With five successful years under their belt, the year would see Jerry, later followed by Matt, make decisions to seek expanded career opportunities outside of Charlotte Pride.

The staff transitions meant the onboarding of new pro grams and development manager Meredith Thompson and the search for a staffer to succeed Matt.

Transitions in staff and leadership can sometimes be sad, as people come and go. But this year has been a joyful time of welcoming new friends, colleagues, volunteers, and leaders. Charlotte Pride is honored by and grateful for the continued support of the community, our sponsors, and our partners — without which the organization could not have the privilege of full-time staff. Not all Pride organizations are as lucky.

Neither are all Pride organizations blessed with the tre mendous amount of talent, skills, and dedication that flow from their volunteer base. Charlotte Pride ends 2022 with a stronger, larger board and its largest-ever group of volun teer festival, parade, and other event team leaders.

2022 was full of change — something Charlotte’s Pride organizers have grown accustomed to over the past 40 years. Sometimes uncertain. Other times exciting and full of opportunity. The future of Charlotte’s Pride Movement is as strong as ever, and we can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store. ▼

Charlotte PRIDE HISTORY Spotlight

1971-1975

Post-Stonewall Organizing

Charlotte organizers attempt to start chapters of the Gay Liberation Front and other early post-Stonewall advocacy organizations. 1981

First Charlotte Gay Pride Charlotte’s first Pride event is held.

1984

First Public Pride e media is invited to cover the first publicly advertised Pride event in Charlotte. Late 1980s

Pride in the Park

Smaller-scale events, including picnics, are hosted largely in public parks. 1994

NC Pride Charlotte hosts the statewide NC Pride March and Festival. Late 1990s

Out Charlotte

2000

An LGBTQ arts and literary festival fills the void of an annual Pride event.

Charlotte Pride is founded Charlotte Pride is founded and hosts its first festival in Marshall Park in 2001. 2006

Pride Charlotte

Local Pride events reorganize in the face of mounting anti-LGBTQ opposition. 2011 Uptown!

Pride Charlotte events move to Tryon Street. 2012

2013

Charlotte Pride is reborn Organizers re-establish an independent Charlotte Pride in preparation for future event growth. 2013

2017

Charlotte Pride is reborn Organizers re-establish an independent Charlotte Pride in preparation for future event growth.

On the march again! e Charlotte Pride Parade is established.

‘A city signature’ e Charlotte Pride Parade becomes the city’s largest annual parade. 2020-2021

Virtual celebrations e pandemic shifts all events to virtual and smaller-scale events.

2022 Anniversary return! In-person return celebrates 20th anniversary and attracts 275,000 to Uptown. Dig deeper: Read an in-depth history of Charlotte Pride online at cltpri.de/20years

CHAMPIONS OF PRIDE 2022

Charlotte Pride’s Champions of Pride Awards seek to recognize those whose work and dedication exemplify the meaning of Pride and the spirit of Stonewall. Our Champions endeavor to empower and unite LGBTQ and allied people through their leadership, service, and support for others. Our Champions understand the impor tance of celebrating our past while advancing LGBTQ rights and visbility. The leaders we honor and uplift this year have demonstrated their personal passion and commitment to service and community. They lead by example, often as servant leaders, in supporting and uplifting the people and community that surround them. They prove, as Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, that anyone can be a leader — the only necessity being a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love. With great honor, the Charlotte Pride Board of Directors presents the 2022 Champions of Pride. ▼

Stonewall Award

Daniel Valdez

he/him/his

Daniel is the Senior Director of External Affairs at Welcoming America. He has more than 10 years in nonprofit management working with organizations like the Hispanic Fed eration, Crisis Assistance Ministry, the Latin American Coalition and Carolinas CARE Partnership. He is passionate about using his talents and experience to advance the mission of organizations working on systemic changes in an effort to make the world a better place for all. Daniel was born in Acapulco, Mexico and grew up in North Carolina. Daniel has served on the boards of The Charlotte Lesbian and Gay Fund, The Bruce Iron Camp Fund, and Reel Out Charlotte. Daniel served as president of the Charlotte Pride Board of Direc tors from 2017 to 2021, and remains a current member of the board. The Charlotte Pride Board of Directors is honored to recognize Daniel with our Stonewall Award, a special recognition for community members demonstrating long service to Charlotte Pride.

Legacy Award and 2022 Parade Grand Marshal

Debbie Warren

she/her/hers

Debbie Warren is one of Charlotte’s most visionary and dedicated community leaders and a longtime friend, mentor, and hero to many. For three decades, Debbie led RAIN, which she founded as the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network, as president and CEO. Deb bie retired from her role at RAIN in 2021. Debbie holds a Master of Arts from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ken., and received her Clinical Pastoral Education at Carolinas Medical Center. Her early work as a hospital chaplain and caregiver with the House of Mercy informed her vision for RAIN. Without a doubt, many people are living full and happy lives today because of Debbie’s life work, her fierce advocacy, and her strong belief in love, compassion, care, and healing. Quite simply, the Charlotte community — and, in particular, the LGBTQ and HIV communities — would not be where we are today without Debbie’s strong, decades-long legacy of passionate community service. Charlotte Pride was humbled to welcome Debbie Warren as this year’s parade grand marshal and as a recipient of the Charlotte Pride Legacy Award.

Harvey Milk Award The Hon. Tamara Sheffield

MayorProTem,CityofSalisbury she/her/hers

The Hon. Tamara Sheffield, Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Salisbury, is honored this year with Charlotte Pride’s Harvey Milk Award. Tamara is recognized for her long leadership and service to the LGBTQ community in Salisbury and the greater Charlotte metro region. Tamara has worked for Frito Lay for 27 years and is a co-founder of EQUAL, the orga nization’s LGBTQ employee resource group. She is a founder and current legacy member of Salisbury Pride, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. In 2017, Tamara was the first openly LGBTQ person elected to serve on the Salisbury City Council, where she currently serves as mayor pro tem. Tamara has lived her entire adult life in Salisbury and is the proud mom of Eddie.

Outstanding Ally Award Dr. Holly Savoy

she/her/hers

Dr. Holly Savoy has been serving the LGBTQ+ community as a licensed psychologist in private practice for over 15 years. Dr. Savoy received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a founding member and past president of Charlotte Trans Health and a World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Certified Provider. She is known to many as a trans ally through her commitment to trans rights and healthcare advocacy through her clinical work, nonprofit leader ship, publications, and trainings. Being visible as a trans ally, she has also come to appre ciate how the role of bi-invisibility in her own narrative informs her allyship. She strives to center allyship around authenticity of self as she continues to advocate for visibility, acceptance, and affirmation of all sexualities and genders.

Youth Catalyst Award

Devin Green

they/he

Devin Green (they/he) is a transmasculine 19-year-old and graduate of the University of North Carolina of Pembroke. At UNC-Pembroke, Devin studied political science and served in several roles, including as a member of the LGBTQ student organization’s execu tive board and a senior representative and democratic engagement liaison for the Student Government Association. Outside of school, Devin has served as a congressional intern with the LGBTQ Victory Institute, a Rural Youth Empowerment Fellow with Equality North Carolina, and the chapter coordinator of PFLAG Charlotte. Devin is an incoming 1st-year law student at UNC School of Law and hopes to continue their advocacy work by becoming an attorney specializing in civil and human rights litigation.

CHArlotte pride Scholars

Charlotte Pride was honored for the sixth year to continue our Charlotte Pride Scholarship Program, funding col lege scholarships for LGBTQ students from the Charlotte area. For nearly three years, students across the nation have faced increased challenges — financial and otherwise — as they attempt to navigate their academic careers, jobs, family commitments, and extracurricular activities. With all of these uncertainties, Charlotte Pride knew it was important to continue our scholarship program throughout 2020 and 2021, and we were as equally excited to ensure its continued success this year.

Begun in 2017, the Charlotte Pride Scholarship Program is a key component of our mission to strengthen and empow er the LGBTQ communtiy. The Scholarship aims to help improve the economic mobility of LGBTQ studens from the Charlotte metro area, easing their burdens in helping to pay for higher education — a key achievement in ensuring future success later in life. Scholarships are awarded on an annual basis with applications opening each spring and closing in late June.

For more information or to bookmark our application page for 2023 applications, visit charlottepride.org/scholarship/. ▼

Gregory Burton

Morgan State University

he/him/his Charlotte, N.C. Social Work

August Warren

UNC Charlotte he/him/his Charlotte, N.C. History and Political Science

George Thomas

University of South Carolina he/him/his Irmo, S.C. Political Science and Economics

Three additional Charlotte Pride Scholars wereawardedthisyear.Theyhavechosento remainanonymous.CharlottePriderespects thecomingoutjourneysandprivatestoriesof all our scholars.

Principal Foundation fosters a world where financial security is accessible to all. We are proud to support the Charlotte Pride Scholarship Program, empowering the next generation of LGBTQ+ students and allies. We hope this support propels them on their path to higher education and financial health.

Pride Family Holiday

For one Charlotte family, annual Pride events take on the flair and familiarity of a family holiday

byMattComer(he/him)

When Joshua Jernigan and his family moved to Charlotte, it was like catching a breath of fresh air. Joshua, his partner Elliott, and their newborn daughter Elizabeth, had been living in Kentucky where he and Elliott couldn’t be out as a couple. Arriving in Charlotte, the family encoun tered a new world.

“It was very exciting,” says Josh ua. “The first time we went out to dinner together as a couple and we didn’t have to be so very stoic toward each other — it was nice.”

In Kentucky, the couple had occasionally gone to a local Pride festival, but it paled in comparison to the Charlotte event’s size.

“We knew Charlotte was bigger, but we didn’t know exactly what it would be like,” Joshua recalls thinking before heading to their first Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade in 2016.

“Once we got there, we had Elizabeth, who was one year old at the time, in her carrier,” Joshua says. “Everybody came over and was so welcoming and accepting and just loved that a baby was there. People were excited to see a family. We had never taken our kid to a Pride festival before. It changed our perception of Pride in general — just how welcoming and open Charlotte Pride was.”

Elliott’s work as a mechanical engineer prompted the fam ily’s move. Not long after arriving, Joshua noticed a gap in community services and got to work himself, founding the Gender Education Network in 2018. The community

nonprofit is dedicated to trans and gender-expansive children under the age of 12, assisting children and their families in navigating care, education, and social needs.

As Joshua’s work in the community grew, so did his family’s participa tion in the annual Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade.

“Pride is a full weekend celebra tion,” he says. “We all get new shirts and Elizabeth gets a new Pride dress to wear. We look forward to it. We get to spend the weekend with other families and people just like us. They understand our fami ly. We don’t get weird looks and we don’t have to explain.”

The weekend affair has become a mainstay family holiday. “We don’t celebrate other holidays like a lot of people do because we’re not par ticularly religious,” Joshua says. “We’ve made Pride our big family celebration each year. We go and immerse ourselves and just have fun.”

Joshua, Elliott, and Elizabeth, who is now six years old, missed Charlotte Pride during its pandemic hiatus. The family was eagerly looking forward to the return of the Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade early in 2022.

“We’ve had to quarantine extra because we have high risk people in our family,” Joshua remarked earlier this year. “It’s been hard. It’s been sad. But I’m very hopeful and ex cited for the festival and parade’s return this year.”

ElliottgivesElizabetha bird’seyeviewofthe Charlotte Pride Parade in 2019.

Family Holiday

The virtual events hosted in 2020 and 2021 had been fun, but they’re just not the same as being with a wider community they consider family. It’s important for Joshua and Elliott that Elizabeth understands her family is part of a larger community.

As the big event finally arrived, the family traveled into Uptown to ex perience the sights, sounds, and joy of the first in-person Charlotte Pride event since 2019. When they arrived, an expanded Youth and Family Zone awaited them. Joshua knew a little of what to expect, having been involved in helping to plan the zone, and he was glad to see it come to fruition — especially for Elizabeth’s sake.

“I liked having the larger zone,” Joshua says. “It gave us a little more space to allow our kid to be a kid with other kids who have families like ours. She had more to do. At past events, the youth and family area was a small little space. Organizers did the best they could, but activities there were always a little too young for her or too old for her. She never really fit in there. With this year’s space, she was around kids her own age. There were things she could do and she could fit in and bounce around and feel like she wasn’t being drug to an event by her parents, but instead she was actually participating in an event made for her.”

Joshua was also happy to see his work with the Char lotte-area Drag Story Hour pay off at this year’s Youth and Family Zone. He volunteered his time with other Youth and Family Zone volunteers to ensure the space was able to host four drag performers — two kings and two queens — who read from children’s books during the event. Joshua says it’s an innovative and creative way to teach diversity and literacy to kids.

“Kids love performance,” he says. “Kids love to be enter tained. Who better to entertain than someone like a drag perfomer? That’s what they do. Who better to promote diversity and literature?”

Joshua says the overall experience was a success. “The atmosphere of the whole event was so relaxed and welcom ing. Our community has been in such a heightened state of worry and just getting to go to Pride and be around friendly people, that was relaxing and welcoming.”

The family can’t wait for 2023’s events to roll around. As they did this year, they’ll travel into Uptown and ensure they all get to experience their special family holiday to gether.

“We just want to ensure we’re getting out there and letting her see that our community exists all over the place,” Joshua says. “For Elizabeth, at such a young age, she gets to see that her family is normal — whatever normal means. We’re not weirdoes. We have community. There are people who have families just like hers.” ▼

Ayouthplayshula hoopinsidethe2022CharlotePrideYouth&FamilyZone.

PhotoCredit:BobbyKernsProductions

The Queer Year in Review

Anyone else feeling life’s been a bit of a blur lately? 2022 has gone by fast! The world seemed to reopen with a ferocity we’ve never experienced once lockdowns ended and vaccines made their way into arms across the country. Tucked in between continuing pandemic news, the LGBTQ community lived a variety of ups and downs throughout the year. Let’s hit rewind on what’s happened so far this year.

Come Out, Come Out!

There’s one rite of passage every queer person knows intimately: coming out. For most of us, coming out happens at some point in our lives, regardless of where we’re born or how wealthy we are. The same is no less true for celebrities, and several high-profile tastemakers and pop culture icons had their own coming out moments this year.

Well-known queer actor, director, and playwright John Cameron Mitchell (think “Hedwig and the Angry Itch” and “Shortbus”) came out as nonbinary in March, a move

similarly made by singer Janelle Monáe, who had previously come out as pansexual.

“I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely. I feel all of my energy,” the singer said. “I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she.’ And if I am from God, I am everything. I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything that I am. Beyond the binary.”

At the height of national debates over efforts to restrict LGBTQ conversations and trans inclusion in schools, an heir to the Disney fortune came out as transgender. Charlee Corra Disney made the decision to bring more attention to the fight against the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” laws being passed around the country, including in Florida.

Some coming out stories weren’t all glitz and glamor this year. Australian actress Rebel Wilson came out in October, following pressure from the Sydney Morning Herald which

TedEytan

Everybody counts.

Truliant.org

Truliant’s culture is shaped by honoring and celebrating different perspectives, insights and experiences. Because of these differences, we shine brighter together.

Leading with inclusion

We believe in a work environment— and a world—where everyone can be their authentic self. Where diverse perspectives help everyone achieve more.

At Principal®, that means prioritizing inclusion, integrity, and respect. Not only does this enable our workforce to reach their full potential, but it also helps us best serve our customers.

We’re proud to support Charlotte Pride.

principal.com/inclusion

NASCAR IS PROUD

Year in Review

planned to expose her relationship with girlfriend Ramona Agruma. Young actor Kit Connor, the 18-yearold co-lead in the hit Netflix series “Heartstopper,” felt like he was forced to come out as bi after a wave of online pressure and, dare we say it, harassment, accusing the young actor of “queerbaiting.”

Stopping our hearts

Speaking of Kit Connor and “Heart stopper,” 2022 saw the hearts of queer (and ally) people everywhere stop and melt at the touching and poignant coming-of-age series which debuted on Netflix in the spring. Based on a webcomic and graphic novel of the same name, the series follows openly gay high schooler Charlie (Joe Locke), who finds himself falling in love with classmate Nick (Connor). The show was widely praised by critics and fans alike, earning a 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans and reviewers praised the show for its inclusive, non-sexual content capable of reaching younger audiences. Older fans gushed over its tender portrayal of young love, with many expressing just how much they wished they’d had a show like this when they were younger.

A very queer screen

“Heartstopper” wasn’t the only show queering up small screens across the country this year. Amazon Prime’s “A League of Their Own” received an immediate queer fan following, especially among women, who, according to NBC News, praised the show for its “unapologetic gayness, intersectional storytelling and much-needed sense of humor.”

The show was inspired by the 1992 film of the same name;

while the film became a queer cult classic, it lacked the explicitly gay themes of the new show. Leaning into our era’s new openness to intersec tionality and modern audiences’ tastes, the new series was able to acknowl edge the real lived experiences of queer people, women, and people of color. In reality, many of the players on the teams that inspired the film and new series were, in fact, queer.

“The show is a rich portrait of queer community and queer life during a time period when we don’t often get to see those stories told,” said Riese Bernard, co-founder and CEO of the LGBTQ- and women’s-focused site Autostraddle.

In other hit TV moments, Ryan Mur phy returned this year with another season of “American Horror Story,” pleasing many queer fans with its in tently and overtly queer-centered sto ryline set in New York City during the 1980s. This year’s season, “American Horror Story: NYC,” was proclaimed as perhaps AHS’s gayest season yet, with open and unapologetic portrayals of ‘80s-era gay male sexuality, includ ing BDSM and bathhouses, the inter play between male-dominated queer media and queer women’s efforts to bring attention to their issues, and ex plorations of historic police brutality and mistreatment of LGBTQ people.

AHS: NYC also holds a regional connection for folks in the Carolinas: Actor Isaac Cole Powell, who plays photographer Theo Graves, was born and raised in Greensboro and attended college at Winston-Salem’s UNC School of the Arts.

Pride Pics

PhotographsprovidedbyBobbyKernsProductions,GrantBaldwinPhotography,andIntrepidMedia.

Recognizing what was. Celebrating what is. Working for what should be.

Progress for the LGBTQ2+ community continues, but there is still work to be done. That's why we provide year-round support to over 175 LGBTQ2+ initiatives and programs focused on affordable housing, financial literacy, and health and social wellbeing. Together, we can help ensure pride continues progressing.

Learn more at td.com/foreverproud

Forever Proud. Forever Progressing.

Member FDIC I TD Bank N.A.

Year in Review

Unholy and unchained

The queer world of pop culture is never complete unless there’s music involved, and 2022 didn’t disappoint. Among the biggest stories, two stand out.

Longtime queer ally and icon Britney Spears had successfully fought to have her years-long conservatorship over turned in November 2021. The past year has seen Spears launch into a newfound freedom and independence, signing a new deal for a personal memoir and immediately hopping back into her passion for music — this time on her own terms. In August this year, Spears teamed up with the legendary Elton John, releasing a duet, “Hold Me Closer,” a remake of the lat ter icon’s 1972 hit, “Tiny Dancer.” The song hit number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

Other queer icons found their own pop music success this year, including out gender-nonconforming and trans singers Sam Smith and Kim Petras. The duo became the first out trans people to hit number one on the music charts with their viral sensation “Unholy.” The chart-top ping hit was a moment of success particularly for Petras, marking her first career entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

We say gay and trans

Early in the year, all eyes turned toward Florida — al though they weren’t the only culprits — as the state debated it’s so-called Parental Rights in Education bill. LGBTQ advocates quickly dubbed the measure the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, due to its strict prohibition of any classroom instruc tion on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill would pass in March and go into effect in July, with a wave of similar legislation being enacted across the country.

Across the country, anti-LGBTQ advocates didn’t just stop at the speech and presence of LGBTQ youth in schools. Florida, Texas, and several other states took up administra

tive policies or statewide legislation directly targeting trans youth and trans healthcare.

The unprecedented wave of anti-LGBTQ laws — and anti-trans legislation, in particular — are still being chal lenged in courts across the country as parents and youth scramble to find in clusive, accessible, and gender-affirm ing healthcare. In Texas, gender-af firming care, up to and including the simple acknowledgment of one’s child as transgender, was classified as child abuse, leaving some families feeling pressured to leave their homes.

A similar anti-LGBTQ schools bill was proposed in North Carolina, but later got shelved by legislative leaders who found themselves under pressure to avoid the kinds of controversy that followed the state after the passage of the anti-trans HB2 in 2016.

The fever-pitched attack on LGBTQ young people this year, along with a general push to label all LGBTQ peo ple as pedophiles and “groomers,” was the result of a coordinated campaign of terror instigated by some of the same rightwing folks who had previously ignited debates over critical race theory and K-12 lessons on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

SamSmithandKimPetras(top),Brit neySpearsandEltonJohn.

SUNDAY SERVICE AT 11:00 AM www.charlotte rst.org

SHARED VISION

We are proud to be the first law firm to engage in a multiyear sponsorship of Charlotte Pride. This partnership extends a collaboration that began in 2020 and will evolve as we promote diversity and inclusion across the globe.

K&L Gates LLP. Global counsel across five continents. Learn more at klgates.com.

“We depend on diversity of ideas, experiences, and perspectives to develop solutions to tough problems, identify opportunities for growth, and unleash new capabilities that make a positive di erence in the world.”

Wendell Weeks Chairman & Chief Executive O cer

Corning is vital to progress.

Corning plays an essential role in society, from tangible inventions to lifesaving technologies. We draw upon a combination of materials science leadership, manufacturing processes that we pioneered, and industry expertise to make contributions that are vital to shaping the world we inhabit.

Learn more about careers at Corning:

We take pride in being your financial partner.

We see your potential and possibilities and believe that an inclusive society creates a better future for us all. usbank.com/communitypossible U.S. Bank is proud to support Charlotte Pride.

Member FDIC. ©2019 U.S. Bank 251301c 10/19

Daimler Truck North America is one of the largest employers in the Carolinas with six locations in the Charlotte area. Through intentionality, understanding, and empathy, and with the help of EQUAL, Daimler’s Employee Resource Group which focuses on LGBTQIA+ employees and their allies, DTNA works to cultivate a safe and authentic workspace for employees of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We actively promote the hiring of a diverse workforce and strive to retain that talent by creating inclusive policies and education. EQUAL gathers the strength of a supportive community for our LGBTQIA+ employees and their allies while championing policy change that is inclusive for everyone.

Year in Review

Pride in the crosshairs

Emanating from the same circles pushing a new moral panic over LGBTQ youth safety and inclusion, 2022 also witnessed coordinated efforts to harass, intimidate, and disrupt LGBTQ gatherings, Pride events, book readings, and other activities across the country.

White supremacists and a smattering of other ultraright provocateurs routinely showed up in-person at Drag Queen Story Time events at public libraries, private bookstores, and Pride events. In one shocking incident in Idaho, members of the white nationalist Patriot Front were intercepted by law enforcement on their way to a local Pride event.

In North Carolina, LGBTQ organizations and activities faced their own battles with anti-equality forces. In Win ston-Salem, rightwing groups protested at a bookstore hosting a drag-led story reading. LGBTQ community members in Apex, a suburb of Raleigh, were forced to find a new event sponsor — shifting from the town to Equality North Carolina — after being pressured to drop their drag performances and Drag Queen Story Time. To the east of Charlotte, local organizers with the brand new Union County Pride faced mounting pressure to cancel their events, while, to the west, government leaders with Gaston County censored a museum display containing a photogra pher’s an image of two men kissing post-marriage proposal during the 2019 Charlotte Pride Parade.

Thisphotofromthe2019CharlottePrideParadewascensoredbycountyofficialsfrom anexhibitattheGastonCountyMuseum.PhotoCredit:GrantBaldwinPhotography.

We are working to further the progress made by the LGBTQ+ community with these primary goals for our team members:

Create a work environment with open doors, open minds and an open culture rooted in trust.

Educate our team members with diversity workshops.

Create and sustain an inclusive workspace for team members of all backgrounds.

Make sure all team members have equal opportunities.

Follow Us: @RocketCareers

Year in Review

Fears of attacks on Pride events ratch eted up even further over the summer after a mass shooting in Oslo, Nor way. There, in late June, the perpe trator opened fire on a popular gay nightclub and several other locations the night before Oslo’s Pride parade was to be held. Twenty-one people were injured, with two people wound ed fatally.

The Oslo attack and a later unrelated attack on an Independence Day pa rade in a Chicago suburb forced many late-season Pride events, including Charlotte’s, to double-down on secu rity measures.

The end of Roe

The Supreme Court is almost always active each June — a month which has seen some of the nation’s most impactful equality decisions in recent years, including the nationwide legalization of marriage equality. This year also saw a landmark case, but, for first time, the court decided to roll back, not expand, civil rights.

The court’s decision to overturn the historic Roe v. Wade decision establishing the right to abortion was felt imme diately across the country. Progressive, civil rights, and human rights organizations across the nation and world spoke out in near unison, decrying the decision as harming women, trans people, and, more broadly, threatening the civil rights and liberties of a wide swath of citizens and residents.

LGBTQ groups, including Charlotte Pride, were stunned at the decision, too — warning that a national rollback on the rights to privacy and bodily autonomy could threaten other landmark decisions, like those making so-called sodomy and crimes against nature laws unconstitutional or even marriage equality itself.

The right to abortion is now left to the states. In the re maining months of the year, various states across the coun

try have moved to limit or outright ban abortion access. The restrictions have forced health clinics to shutter, while those in states where abortion remains legal or less restricted faced an onslaught of harassment, even while attempting to handle increased demand for health services from those traveling across state lines.

The fight for abortion access and healthcare for pregnant people is likely to continue for years to come, as some states continue to restrict access and others — like five which did in the November elections — pass abortion protections via ballot.

A pox on our Prides

It may have felt like the universe couldn’t have delivered an other viral blow to our collective health, but the spring saw the international emergence — and eventual official procla mation — of yet another pandemic. Reports out of Europe and eventually the U.S. marked an alarming rise in the number of people contracting monkeypox, a disease similar to that of smallpox. Affecting primarily men who have sex with men, health agencies across the world scrambled to produce enough vaccines to prevent increasing outbreaks.

Year in Review

Because the initial outbreaks oc curred largely among queer men, widespread attention turned to LGBTQ organizations and events, including Pride events — many being held in the immediate months following the spring outbreak. In the U.S., the federal government ac tivated, bringing increased vaccine doses to several large LGBTQ and Pride events, including those in At lanta, New Orleans, and even here in Charlotte.

The efforts seem to have paid off over the year’s remaining months. By the end of October, the World Health Organization reported an “unmistakable” decline in the number of new monkeypox cases. LGBTQ advocates attributed the successful stemming of the pan demic to the queer community’s fast efforts to adopt harm reduction and mitigation techniques.

A ‘Rainbow Wave’

Kotekwillbecomethefirstoutlesbian stategovernorsintheU.S.HealeywillbecomegovernorofMassachu setts,withKotekreplacingoutgoing,openlybiOregonGov.KateBrown.

As the year began to wind down, voters across the country headed out to the polls for this year’s midterm elections in November. As of press time, the nation’s political pundits and vote counters were still doing their tabulations for all the results. The immediate sense from poll watchers was that neither a “blue” nor “red” wave would hit the nation’s various elections this year.

LGBTQ advocates, however, pointed to a definitive “rain bow wave” of successes across the country. According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, over 1,000 openly LGBTQ candi dates ran for office in the 2022 midterms. For the first time ever, at least one LGBTQ candidate appeared on a ballot in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Election night brought about a wave of historic victories. Maura Healey became one of the nation’s first out lesbian governor in Massachusetts, sharing the honor with Or

egon’s Tina Kotek, who will replace outgoing, openly bi Gov. Kate Brown. Openly gay Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also won re-election. In New Hampshire, James Roesener became the first openly trans man to win election to a state legislature. Out west, Robert Garcia will represent California in the U.S. house, becoming the nation’s first openly LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress.

All told, some 340 openly LGBTQ candidates won their races across the country. According to Axios and the Victory Fund, there are currently two governors, two U.S. senators, nine U.S. House members, 186 state lawmakers, and 56 mayors who openly identify as LGBTQ. ▼

Maura Healey(left)andTina

Charlotte. A lot of love is deeply rooted in our city’s DNA. Between passionate people who take hometown pride to new levels and memorable experiences that embody the soul of the Queen City, Charlotte’s welcoming spirit will have you falling in love too. Plan your trip at charlottesgotalot.com

Community Resources

Advocacy

Campaign for Southern Equality southernequality.org

Equality North Carolina equalitync.org

Freedom Center for Social Justice fcsj.org

Human Rights Campaign North Carolina northcarolina.hrc.org facebook.com/HRCCharlotte/

LGBTQ Democrats of Mecklenburg County meckdemlgbtq.org

Log Cabin Republicans of North Carolina lcrnc.org

North Carolina AIDS Action Network ncaan.org

Safe Schools NC safeschoolsnc.org

Arts

Charlotte Pride Band charlotteprideband.org

Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte gmccharlotte.org

One Voice Chorus onevoicechorus.com

Health & HIV -—OrganizationoffersHIV-related care and services

Affinity Health CenterLocations in Rock Hill, Clover, and York 877-647-6363 affinityhealthcenter.org

Amity Medical GroupLocations in East and South Charlotte 704-208-4134 amitymed.org

Anuvia Prevention & Recovery Center 100 Billingsley Rd. Charlotte, NC 28211 704-376-7447 anuvia.org

Carolinas Care Partnership5855 Executive Center Dr. Suite 102 Charlotte, NC 28212 704-531-2467 carolinascare.org

Charlotte Trans Health charlottetranshealth.org

Dudley’s Place103 Commerce Centre Dr. Suite 103 Huntersville, NC 28078 704-977-2972 myrosedalehealth.com/dudley

House of Mercy100 McAuley Cir. Belmont, NC 28012 704-825-4711 thehouseofmercy.org

Mecklenburg County Health DepartmentNorthwest Campus 2845 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 704-336-6500

mecknc.gov/HealthDepartment/Clin icServices

Mecklenburg County Health DepartmentSoutheast Campus 249 Billingsley Rd. Charlotte, NC 28211 704-336-6500 mecknc.gov/HealthDepartment/Clin icServices

Planned Parenthood Charlotte Health Center

700 S. Torrence St. Charlotte, NC 28204 704-536-7233

plannedparenthood.org/health-cen ter/north-carolina/charlotte/28205/ charlotte-health-center-2703-90860

PowerHouse 2.03552 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 980-999-5295 facebook.com/ThePowerhouseProject

Quality Comprehensive Health Center Medical Clinic

3607 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 704-394-8968 qchealth.net

RAIN601 E. 5th St. Suite 470 Charlotte, NC 28202 704-372-7246 carolinarain.org

RAO Community Health321 W. 11th St. Charlotte, NC 28202 704-237-8793 raoassist.org

Rosedale Health and Wellness103 Commerce Centre Dr. Suite 103 Huntersville, NC 28078 704-948-8582 myrosedalehealth.com

Online and Print Media

Axios Charlotte charlotte.axios.com

Charlotte Magazine charlottemagazine.com

Charlotte Observer charlotteobserver.com

Charlotte Post thecharlottepost.com

CLTure clture.org

Hola News holanews.com

La Noticia lanoticia.com

QCityMetro qcitymetro.com

Qnotes qnotescarolinas.com

Qué Pasa Mi Gente charlotte.quepasanoticias.com

Queen City Nerve qcnerve.com

Scalawag Magazine scalawagmagazine.org

Social & Support

Carolina Bear Lodge carolinabearlodge.club

Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce clgbtcc.org

Charlotte Tradesmen charlottetradesmen.org

Charlotte Black Pride charlotteblackpride.org

Charlotte Gaymers Network charlottegaymersnetwork.com

Charlotte LGBTQ Elders charlottelgbtqelders.org

Charlotte Pride charlottepride.org

With Remarkable Pride.

Novant Health is a proud sponsor of Charlo e Pride. Together, we are creating a world where everyone is respected and cared for. Our a rming providers are here for you every step of your health journey. Because we see you, the whole you. You are remarkable — and you deserve remarkable healthcare.

Community Resources

Crisis Assistance Ministry

500-A Spratt St. Charlotte, NC 28206 704-371-3001 crisisassistance.org

Erase Trans Hate Carolinas facebook.com/ groups/393107558452641

Feed The Movement facebook.com/feedthemovementclt

Hearts United for Good hugclt.org

Pauli Murray LGBTQ+ Bar Association lgbtqbarnc.com

The Plus Collective thepluscollective.org

Poor No More Free Store facebook.com/PoorNoMoreChar lotte/

Prime Timers of Charlotte charlotteprimetimers.org

Queen City Connects queencityconnects.com

Southern Country Charlotte southerncountrycharlotte.com

There’s Still Hope! tshcharlotte3.org

Transcend Charlotte transcendcharlotte.org

Twirl to the World Foundation twirltotheworld.org

Roof Above roofabove.org TryonStreetCampus: 1210 North Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28206 704-334-3187 DayServicesCenter: 945 N. College St. Charlotte, NC 28206 704-347-0278

Sports

Carolina Piedmont Softball Association carolinapiedmontsoftball.org

Charlotte Front Runners facebook.com/CharlotteFrontRun ners/

Charlotte Rainbowlers charlotterainbowlers.com

Charlotte Roller Girls charlotterollergirls.com

Charlotte Royals Rugby charlotteroyalsrugby.com

Queen City Tennis Club facebook.com/groups/36411747197

Stonewall Sports Includesbowling,cornhole,dodgeball, esports,kickball,softball, volleyball stonewallcharlotte.org

Being your true self is easier with an ally. We’re proud to be allies to the LGBTQ+ community and are excited to celebrate Charlotte Pride.

WE RESOLVE.

TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITIES.

Health starts with equal access to the basics like affordable housing, healthy food and fair and just treatment. That’s why we collaborate with organizations like yours to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion for our state. Thank you, Charlotte Pride.

#doitright @ally ©2022 Ally Financial Inc. All rights reserved

of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Community Resources

Youth & Family

Campus Pride campuspride.org

Central Piedmont Pride Alliance Central Piedmont Community College facebook.com/groups/CPCCPrideAl liance/

Center for Diversity & Inclusion Davidson College LGBTQ@davidson.edu 704-894-3103 davidson.edu/offices-and-services/ diversity-and-inclusion

Gender Education Network gendereducationnetwork.org

PFLAG Charlotte pflagcharlotte.org

PFLAG Concord/Kannapolis facebook.com/PFLAG-ConcordKan napolis-659750274130168/

Rainbow Foster Network rainbowfosternetwork.org

Students Advocating for Equality Queens University of Charlotte queens.edu/life-at-queens/diversi ty-equity-inclusion/student-resources/

Time Out Youth Center 3800 Monroe Rd. Charlotte, NC 28205 704-344-8335 timeoutyouth.org

UNC Charlotte Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement

Student Union 210 & King 210 704-687-7121 identity.uncc.edu

Keep Us Updated: See a listing in this community resource directory or other infom ration in this magazine that needs to be updated or corrected for future printings? Send us an email to media@charlottepride.org.

Pride in the Carolinas

Charlotte Pride is a member of the International Association of Pride Organizers (InterPride), the U.S. Association of Prides, and Prides of the Southeast. We are proud to support and highlight our sibling Prides across the Carolinas.

Blue Ridge Pride Asheville, NC blueridgepride.org

Alamance Pride Burlington, NC alamancepride.org

Charlotte Black Pride Charlotte, NC charlotteblackpride.org

Charlotte Pride Charlotte, NC charlottepride.org

Pride Durham Durham, NC pridedurhamnc.org

NENC Pridefest Elizabeth City, NC nencpridefest.com

Fayetteville Black Pride Fayetteville, NC facebook.com/fayettevilleblackpride/

Fayetteville Pride Fayetteville, NC fayettevillepride.org

Greensboro Pride Greensboro, NC greensboropride.org

Hendersonville Pride Hendersonville, NC hendersonvillepride.org

Catawba Valley Pride Hickory, NC catawbavalleypride.org

ENC Pride Kinston, NC encpride.org

Outer Banks PrideFest Manteo, NC obxpridefest.com

Out! Raleigh Raleigh, NC outraleigh.org

Salisbury Pride Salisbury, NC salisburypride.com

Port City Pride Wilmington, NC facebook.com/PortCityPrideBlockParty

Pride Winston Salem Winston-Salem, NC pridews.org

Sylva Pride Sylva, NC facebook.com/SylvaNCPride/

Charleston Pride Charleston, SC charlestonpride.org

South Carolina Black Pride Columbia, SC facebook.com/southcarolina.blackpride/

South Carolina Pride Columbia, SC scpride.org

Upstate Pride SC Spartanburg, SC upstatepridesc.org

Did You Know?

With 18 groups, North Carolina has the second-highest number of Pride groups in the Southeast. Florida is first, with 29 groups. Virginia has 15.

CELEBRATING THE UNIQUENESS IN EACH OF US.

At The Hartford, we believe each person’s differences make us all stronger – in business and in life. It’s why we’re honored to sponsor Charlotte Pride and to celebrate the LGBTQ community. Learn more about us at TheHartford.com

The Hartford® is The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. 22-DI-1406999 © June 2022 The Hartford

INterfaith Directory

The Charlotte Pride Interfaith Directory is a new community resource. For many years, various versions of LGBTQ-affirming faith resource lists have existed nationally, regionally, and locally. Few have taken intentional efforts to document and confirm faith institutions’ practical commitment to affirmation, inclusion, and equity of women and LGBTQ people in the full life of their faith communities.

The Charlotte Pride Interfaith Directory is inspired by the national work of Church Clarity. We share Church Clarity’s conviction that faith institutions should clearly communicate their beliefs, practices, and policies. “Many churches fail to disclose their actively enforced policies,” Church Clarity states. “Ambiguity enables those with power to operate without accountability and case real harm.” Learn more about Church Clarity at churchclarity.org.

While similar in many respects to Church Clarity’s online database, this Charlotte Pride Interfaith Directory differs in several key ways. First, it is entirely focused on our local and regional community. Second, our directory will include faith congregations of all faith traditions, not just those from the Christian tradition. Third, while Church Clarity also lists and discloses the practices of non-affirming institutions, this Charlotte Pride Interfaith Directory will only list those who meet certain criteria.

To be listed in the directory, organizations must voluntarily choose to submit their listing. Additionally, they must meet four key criteria: (1) Accept openly LGBTQ members, (2) Allow openly LGBTQ members and women to take leadership roles, (3) Ordain openly LGBTQ people and women, and (4) Perform same-gender marriages. Two additional criteria are asked of each organization: Do they have an LGBTQ affinity or study group and do they financially support and/or par ticipate in LGBTQ-affirming causes, organizations, or events. The directory also asks each faith institution to disclose its faith tradition, denomination, or affiliation.

The following list of faith resources to the right is compiled from those organizations which have already opted to voluntarily submit themselves to this directory. To learn more, see the directory online or to submit your organiza tion, visit charlottepride.org/interfaith/.

Caldwell Presbyterian Church Presbyterian Church (USA) 1609 East Fifth St. Charlotte, NC, 28204 704-334-0825 caldwellpresby.org

Dilworth United Methodist Church United Methodist 605 East Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28203 704-333-4173 dilworthchurch.org

First United Methodist Church United Methodist 501 N. Tryon Street Charlotte, NC 28202 704-333-9081 charlottefirst.org

Havurat Tikvah Jewish, Reconstructionist 2821 Park Rd. Charlotte, NC 28209 980-225-5330 havurattikvah.org

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1900 The Plaza Charlotte, NC 28205 704-377-5439 htlccharlotte.org

Inclusion Community

United Methodist PO Box 2292 Cornelius, NC 28031 inclusioncommunity.org

Missiongathering Christian Church (Disci ples of Christ)

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 420 E. 15th St. Charlotte, NC 28206 704-412-4028 missiongathering.com

M2M Charlotte

Presbyterian Church (USA) 3601 Central Avenue Charlotte, NC 28205 m2mcharlotte.org

St. John’s Baptist Church Alliance of Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 300 Hawthorne Ln. Charlotte, NC 28204 704-333-5428 www.stjohnsbaptistchurch.org

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Episcopal Church 115 West 7th St. Charlotte, NC 28202 st-peters.org

Sardis Baptist Church Alliance of Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 5811 Sardis Rd. Charlotte, NC 28270 704-362-0811 sardisbaptistcharlotte.org

Trinity Presbyterian Church Presbyterian Church (USA) 3115 Providence Rd. Charlotte, NC 28211 704-366-3554 trinitypresbychurch.org

Wedgewood Community Church Interfaith 4800 Wedgewood Dr Charlotte, NC 28210 704-641-0454 wedgewoodcharlotte.org

Unitarian Universalist Community of Charlotte

Unitarian Universalism 234 N. Sharon Amity Rd. Charlotte, NC 28211 704-366-8623 uuccharlotte.org

A commitment to people and PRIDE.

Supporting LGBTQ+ kids in foster care and their foster families. rainbowfosternetwork.org

BONDS BUILD A BETTER COMMUNITY.

A strong community creates a bond between us all. It fosters friendship, respect, and well-being. And most importantly, we accomplish more together. That’s why we’re proud to support Charlotte Pride.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.