Qnotes March 4, 2022

LGBTQ Local News, Voices and Community

MAR. 4 - MAR. 17, 2022|VOL 36, NO 23

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BIG PLANS FOR 2022?

PATTI LA BELLE – pg 10

Cameron Pruette of FCSJ talks about transgender youth – pg 8

The New Miguel & Holley show starts Mar. 7 on HITS 96.1 – pg 12

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inside this issue feature

Mar. 4 - Mar.17, 2022 Vol 36 No 23 goqnotes.com

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contributors this issue

Writers: Rémy Bonny, Ruben evans Kendra R. Johnson, L’Monique King David Aaron Moore, Shannon Roddel Chris Rudisill, Terri Schlichenmeyer Henri Somadjagbi, Qnotes Staff Trinity

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charlotteobserver.com/1166/ a local news partner of The Charlotte Observer

10 Patti LaBelle Performs in Charlotte

Black Charlotteans Are in Constant State of Trauma

news

6 Radio Personalities Miguel Fuller & Holly O’ Connor join Area Station 6 Study Examines Impact of N.C.’s “Bathroom Bill” 7 Pride Festival and Parade Plans Return to Uptown CLT in ‘22 7 CLT LGBTQ Senior Projects Underway 9 Black Charlotteans in Constant Trauma. and U.S. Looked Away 14 Carolina Drag Ent. in Miss Gay America 15 No. of Individuals Identifying as LGBTQ Rises in U.S.

Mental health in the black community has been taboo for years not to mention how the last 3 year has affected the black community. In this article we address this topic.

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Charlotte Pride Returns

Plans for Charlotte pride is in full swing for this year’s festivities. In this story we discuss what is to be expected.

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12 VAPA Brings. A Vibrant Arts Space to Uptown 13 Out on the town 13 Out In Print

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life

Tell Trinity What’s Your Hobby?

Our People: Gray Phillips

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4 Celebrate Queer Caregivers 5 Russia Attacked LGBTQ Ukrainians While Europe

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Celebrate Trans and Queer Caregivers and Trailblazers This Women’s History Month Political Voices

by Kendra R. Johnson, Equality NC Executive Director Contributing Writer

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arch is a time to celebrate two important events: Women’s History Month, honoring the powerful contributions of women around the globe; and at the end of the month, on March 31, Trans Day of Visibility. This month and every month, join Equality NC in recognizing and lifting up all women: BIPOC, lesbian, bisexual, queer, cis and trans.

Often the narrative around Women’s History Month excludes the lived experiences and accomplishments of LGBTQ+ women, particularly women of color.

Celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender expansive individuals is especially important this year, in light of anti-trans efforts across the nation. A recent legal opinion by Texas AG Ken Paxton defined gender-affirming care as child abuse and Governor Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to investigate reports of “gender-transitioning procedures.” While this statement was not legally binding, the devastating effects on trans children and their caregivers is indisputable. In a time like this, it’s important to reflect on how we are protecting and uplifting all parts of our community.

This year, the theme of Women’s

History Month is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” From the early days of our movements to the present day COVID-19 pandemic, trans and queer women have been on the front lines, providing critical care, often unrecognized and unsupported.

From the days of Stonewall, trans and queer women have been leaders and protectors. Women like Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Marsha P. Johnson, and Stormé DeLarverie were just some of the critical leaders and healers in our community. Their activism has served as mutual support and protection. In the words of Miss Major: “We only have each other. We always knew this, but now we needed to take a step towards doing something about it.

So I started looking out for myself and the girls who worked on the street with me.

We girls decided that whenever we got into a car with someone, another girl would write down as much information as possible…Since no one was going to do it for us, we had to do it for ourselves.”

This legacy of care continues even to the current pandemic. Throughout this pandemic, we’ve seen the ways in which traditionally female-coded caregiving

labor has been taken for granted and exploited.

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way in which we work, and the result has been very hard on caregiving professions. Healthcare workers in particular have been tremendously harmed, with many being infected and many more suffering the pain of impossible work hours, low pay and the psychological toll of mass death. The harm increases at the intersection of different marginalized identities. Communities who have experienced a history of discrimination and marginalization are more likely to contract COVID-19, less likely to have access to affordable healthcare and are less likely to have adequate resources to support their families.

Queer and trans women of color who work in front line occupations face transphobia, homophobia and heterosexism at their workplaces at the instituitional level as well as from the patients they serve.

The pandemic has also harmed many other “pink-collar” jobs, like domestic workers, child care providers, and teachers.

Many have been heavily exposed to covid due to their positions as front-line essential workers. They’ve frequently experienced additional challenges like trying to arrange

care and education for their own children, as well as navigating workplace staff shortages. Educators experience additional job stressors, like protests over mask mandates and censorship efforts in schools, increasing the likelihood of burnout in an already difficult profession.

From the AIDS crisis to the current COVID pandemic to the ballroom scene, trans and queer women have played a pivotal role in our community’s history of care and advocacy. For many of us, when our own biological families cast us out, these women acted as our mothers, protectors and stepped up to give us much needed and often life saving support. When Arkansas passed a law banning genderaffirming healthcare for kids last year, Miss Major, a longtime trans rights activist and community leader, who currently lives in the state, joined calls to boycott Arkansas to protect trans youth living in the state.

We celebrate the trans and queer women in our communities who by fighting coronavirus on the frontlines, providing childcare, teaching our youth and staffing the “essential services” have allowed the LGBTQ+ community to survive another pandemic. Look for our upcoming spotlights on the trans and queer women who played critical roles on our history and continue to lead us to lived equality. This month, and all year long, Equality NC celebrates our trans and queer sisters! : :

SC United for Justice & Equality Opposes “License to Discriminate” in Healthcare Bill Bill Would Grant Healthcare Providers a Broad “License to Discriminate” Against LGBTQ People

BY QNOTES STAFF | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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subcommittee of the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee in Columbia voted Feb. 25 to advance H.4776, a bill that would grant a broad “license to discriminate” for a wide range of healthcare workers. This bill is the House version of S.811, which was amended earlier this month to more specifically sanction anti-LGBTQ so-called “conversion therapy.”

SC United for Justice & Equality, a coalition of more than 30 organizations committed to LGBTQ equality in South Carolina, opposes both versions of this bill, which could have devastating impacts on LGBTQ people, women of color, and people of diverse faith backgrounds.

The bill would grant medical providers a broad “license to discriminate” – that is, deny care and services – based on their personal or religious beliefs, which could negatively impact LGBTQ people, women, people of color, and people of diverse faith backgrounds. The bill is so broadly defined it could allow doctors, nurses, receptionists and other employees to refuse to admit

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or offer against services to the LGBTQ patients commuin need of nity in their care in any employnon-emerment gency situpractices, ation. The as well as specific allowing services insurance listed in companies the bill that the ability a medito refuse cal care to pay for SFFA Executive Director Holly Whitfield: ‘H.4776 is so broad provider care. and so dangerous … the full committee must reject it.” (Photo can refuse Dozens Credit: Adobe) include of South an “initial Carolinians examinatestified tion,” which suggests that a medical profesagainst the bill today, including represional could refuse services based solely sentatives from the SC United for Justice on who a person is, not just the care they & Equality coalition, criticizing the bill’s need. Additionally, this bill would also allow problematic vagueness, overbroad nature a “medical practitioner, health care instituand the myriad ways it would impact martion, or health care payer” to discriminate ginalized people, especially those who live

in rural communities. Every House member of the subcommittee expressed grave concerns about the legislation and shared desires to discuss these problems further in full committee.

Holly Whitfield, Executive Director of the Alliance for Full Acceptance, spoke on behalf of the SC United coalition.

“No one should face discrimination because of who they are or who they love – and everyone should be able to access quality, affirming healthcare in their hometown,” said Whitfield. “H.4776 would allow virtually anyone who works in the healthcare field to claim a so-called ‘conscience’ objection to equally and fairly serving South Carolinians. A receptionist could refuse to check in a patient receiving gender-affirming care. A pharmacist could refuse to fill a birth control or fertility treatment prescription. A nursing home staffer could refuse to offer trans patients hormone therapy. This is so broad and so dangerous – and the full committee must reject it.” : :

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Russia Attacked LGBTQ Ukrainians While the Rest of Europe and U.S. Looked Away

The struggle for LGBTQ rights has been part of Ukraine’s cultural conflict and political battle with Russia for decades.

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urope is preparing for war. The war between Ukraine and Russia goes beyond its borders. It is a war between democracy and authoritarianism.

The future of the Trans-Atlantic world order is about to be decided in the coming days and weeks in Ukraine. And the struggle for LGBTQ rights has been an inherent part of this war since its very beginning.

During the pro-European EuroMaidan protests in Kyiv in 2014, billboards appeared linking the EU with “gay propaganda.” Later, it was discovered that these billboards were sponsored by Russia.

When Russia invaded Ukraine for the first time in 2014, after the EuroMaidan revolution, the situation for the LGBTQ community became horrible. The draconian anti-LGBTQ laws of Russia were introduced after the occupation of Crimea, Donbas and Luhansk.

When I spoke with an LGBTQ activist that fled to Kyiv from the Ukrainian Nash Mir NGO in 2018, he said, “I moved from Luhansk, and recently we moved the rest of our members who were still in Luhansk, and currently they are all here in Kyiv. We are very grateful that an LGBT shelter in Kyiv welcomed us. My friend lived in this center for half a year.”

“I know a lot of people from occupied territories who used this shelter for living because when you leave all your things, your property, you came to Kyiv without anything. Because of the situation, it is virtually impossible to help [people] that live in the occupied territories, unfortunately.

We can help only when they left.”

Indeed – helping LGBTQ people in these territories is impossible. Russia’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda laws prevent any support for the community. But also, the support for these pro-Russian breakaway regions comes specifically from wellknown Russian anti-LGBTQ oligarchs.

One of them is Konstantin Malofeev.

The Putin ally is one of the biggest supporters of the international anti-LGBTQ network and is widely known as the oligarch behind the Russian support for the rebels in the war in Eastern Ukraine.

He is on the United States’ Magnitsky Sanctions List.

Through his assistant, Alexey Komov, Malofeev has been a fierce supporter of the World Congress of Families (WCF). The World Congress of Families is a US-based organization that is uniting anti-LGBTQ voices across the world. The organization is led by Brian Brown, who’s also in charge of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). These days, Brown has established high-level Republican contacts, as well as contacts with political and government officials in Georgia, Hungary, France, Moldova and Poland.

Another example of anti-LGBTQ support for Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatist regions is Fabrice Sorlin. Sorlin is one of the driving forces behind the antimarriage equality campaign in France, Mannif Pour Tous. Sorlin is, as well,

BY RÉMY BONNY | CONTRIBUTING WRITER And finally, Leonid Reshetnikov’s Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS) sent employees to the World Congress of Families and organized events in Moscow several times.

Reshetnikov is a former top KGB spy and RISS is accused of plotting coup d’états in Bulgaria and Macedonia and drawing up the plans for the ‘fake news’ campaigns that helped former U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House.

Infiltration & Deception Through its participation and support for organizations such as the World Congress of Families, Russia has created a network of connections with Western policymakers.

It was, among others, the World Congress The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a clash between liberal democracy and authoritarian imperialism of Families that made with the radical ultra-conservative and American-based ‘World Congress of Families’ urging Russia on. Shown the Polish organizahere is the organization’s leader Brian Brown. tion Ordo Iuris more influential. Ordo Iuris is the French representative at the World ed in 2008 when Russian troops invaded the organization behind Congress of Families. about 20 percent of Georgia. Georgia the so-called “LGBT Free Zones” and the Sorlin’s support for Russia is not was, just like Ukraine today, on its way to abortion ban in Poland. a secret. According to the Southern becoming a NATO member and getting The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Poverty Law Center, he was president of closer to the European Union.

Orban’s nominee for the Hungarian presia French group called the Alliance France Around 2010, we saw an increased dency, Katalin Novak, organized the World Europe Russia (AAFER). Sorlin has lived Russian interest in international antiCongress of Families in Budapest in 2017. since 2015 in Moscow with his wife and LGBTQ initiatives such as the World As Hungarian Minister for Family Affairs, eight children.

Congress of Families. However, the she participated several times in events In 2018, he also joined the anti-governAmerican ultraconservative organizaorganized by WCF. She was responsible ment “Gilets Jaunes” protests in Paris. In tion has had links with Russia for defor many of Hungary’s recent anti-LGBTQ pictures of him during the protest, he was cades. In 1995, Allan Carlson – from the laws, including the introduction of the holding the flag of the Donetsk People’s Howard Centre for Family, Religion & anti-LGBTQ propaganda law – which is a Republic (DNR), the self-proclaimed inSociety – was invited to Moscow by Prof. copy and paste of Russia’s law. dependent pro-Russian rebel province in Dr. Anatoly Antonov and Prof. Dr. Viktor Similar connections between the World Ukraine recently recognized by Putin. He Medkov of the Lomonosov Moscow Congress of Families, Russia, the Italian seems to be leading the unofficial “repreState University. They invited him for his Matteo Salvini and the French politician sentation of DNR in France.” theories on “the demolition of populaMarine Le pen also exist.

A clash of values tion sizes.” After this meeting, Carlson Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine The war in Ukraine is not just a military founded the World Congress of Families. may have seemingly just begun, but the standoff. It is a clash between liberal Notwithstanding this early link, the war with liberal democracy has been wagdemocracy and authoritarian imperialism. first WCF-related event in Russia took ing for much longer. Russia used infiltraSince 2014, Ukraine has been on its path place in 2011. After two years of organiztion and deception to spread its authoritowards becoming a full-fledged European ing the ‘Demographic Summit,’ the WCF tarian imperialistic view around the world. democracy, and that’s Russian president decided that it was time to organize its For over a decade now, Russia’s war with Vladimir Putin’s biggest nightmare. big annual gathering in Moscow in 2014 – In an interview with the Financial which they had to cancel because of the the West has been ongoing.

Times, Putin said that “the liberal idea” had Ukraine crisis.

Liberal policymakers have failed to “outlived its purpose.”

Since the first Moscow Demographic take seriously all these warning signs. We “[Liberals] cannot simply dictate anySummit, the World Congress of Families preferred trade over values. They used thing to anyone just like they have been has received support from three Kremlintrade to share their values. attempting to do over the recent decades,” linked oligarchs including Konstantin Rémy Bonny is the executive director he said.

Malofeev, through his assistant Alexey of Forbidden Colours, an organization And he started a counteroffensive Komov. Secondly, Natalia Yakunina, the working to prevent state-sponsored distowards this so-called liberal “dictate” wife of former CEO of Russian Railways crimination against LGBTQ+ communities over a decade ago; it started before the (Russia’s biggest employer) Vladimir in Europe. This commentary appears courEuroMaidan revolution in 2014. Putin’s Yakunin, participated and financially suptesy of our media partner LGBTQNation. : : campaign against liberal democracy startported conferences several times.

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news Radio Personalities Miguel Fuller & Holly O’ Connor join Area Station Charlotte top-forty radio station HITS 96.1, part of the national iHeartMedia Company, announced Feb. 17 on-air personalities Miguel Fuller and Holly O’ Connor are coming to the HITS 96.1 morning airwaves with the debut of a new show, “Miguel & Holly,” effective March 7.

“Miguel & Holly” will broadcast weekdays from 6-10 a.m.

Fuller and O’Connor are well-known for their fondness of local content and sharing a natural chemistry that delivers a fun and interactive morning show.

“Holly and I are absolutely honored to join the iHeartRadio family, as we’ve always admired the company’s cutting-edge approach in keeping listeners and advertisers connected,” says Fuller. “I am so thankful that [we] get to continue to work together and host a morning show that will bring new, fun and genuine energy to The Queen City every morning!”

In an email to qnotes, out and proud Fuller expressed his enthusiasm about the move to Charlotte. “[I’m] so excited to get to Charlotte and help shine a spotlight on the community like we did in Tampa Bay,” he said, referring to his successful stint as an openly gay on-air personality in Florida.

O’Connor is equally enthusiastic about

the gig with Fuller in a city they both share history with.

“Miguel and I met for the first time at a radio conference in Charlotte back in 2008,” O’Connor recalls. “We’ve come full circle and will now work together in the city where it all began. Words can’t describe how excited we are to get started at our new home. We are so grateful to the entire iHeartMedia senior leadership team for this opportunity.”

“It is evident that Miguel and Holly strive to be the best every day,” says Dave Carwile, President for iHeartMedia Charlotte. “I am confident that they will quickly engage with a sensational morning show and build strong relationships with our listeners and the local advertising community in Charlotte and the Carolinas.”

In a 2018 interview with the Tampa Bay Business Journal (TBBJ) Fuller talked about his experiences as a gay man and community advocate, while working as a morning show co-host at a local radio station with O’Connor.

“I worked with the local gay and lesbian club to get them to advertise on the radio, which was the first time that had taken place in the Panhandle,” he said in the

Notre Dame Study Examines Impact of N.C.’s “Bathroom Bill” on CEO Sociopolitical Activism Business leaders have traditionally avoided wading into sensitive social and political debates. Yet, increasingly, CEOs are taking visible public stands on hotly contested issues, engaging in what has come to be called CEO sociopolitical activism.

New research from the University of Notre Dame examined reactions to North Carolina’s controversial 2016 “bathroom bill” to shed light on how CEO activism influences their employees’ attitudes and behaviors.

CEO activism can be a net positive for firms, but only when a majority of employees are in agreement with the CEO, according to “How do employees react when their CEO speaks out? Intra- and extrafirm implications of CEO sociopolitical activism,” forthcoming in Administrative Science Quarterly from lead author Adam Wowak and John Busenbark, management professors in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, along with Donald Hambrick from Penn State University.

The study shows employees’ reactions to activism hinge on the alignment between their own ideological values and the CEO’s public stance. When they agree, employees respond positively, strengthening their commitment to the firm and support for the CEO’s ideological position.

When the stance runs counter to employees’ values, they pull away, experiencing diminished commitment and support for the CEO’s cause.

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The study focused on North Carolina’s “bathroom bill,” which was signed into law in 2016 and rolled back existing antidiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals, including the ability to use public restrooms that corresponded with their gender identity.

The bill was the subject of intense debate among politicians, journalists and activist groups, but also attracted the attention of a group that traditionally avoided wading into societal debates – CEOs of publicly traded corporations. Nearly 100 public company CEOs signed a highly publicized letter opposing the bill, in doing so signaling their support for the liberal position on the issue.

interview. “I teners about also menthe LGBTQ+ tored gay community in and lesbian Tampa Bay,” high school he told TBBJ. students.” “[And] it During has been a his time in true honor Florida he was through chosen to be the years 2016 Grand to receive Marshal messages for St. Pete from kids … in Pride. Local school telling publication me they were Tampa Bay able to come Watermark out to their voted him parents beas the area’s cause [they] favorite local listened to radio personme and had ality; and he become more was among a accepting Miguel Fuller and Holly O’Connor go live with the group of key of gays and weekday morning show ‘Miguel & Holly’ March 7 community lesbians.”

(Photo Credit: iHeartMedia) members that With helped select Charlotte and the new exHITS 96.1 as ecutive director of St. Pete Pride. his new home comes an extra-added benIt is clear Fuller takes pride with what efit he’s personally quite pleased with. he was able to accomplish through his role “Our station is a sponsor of Pride,” he in radio there, as well as being comfortexplains, “so I’m excited to get involved able and strong with his identity. and see how I can help.”

“By involving other radio stations … I info: https://bit.ly/3pspfxo was able to have deep, meaningful conver— David Aaron Moore sations with different demographics of lis-

The team examined the effects of CEO activism by comparing the companies whose CEOs signed the opposition letter and CEOs who were invited to sign, but declined. Their sample included 74 “signer firms” and 251 “nonsigner firms.”

The researchers measured employees’ organizational commitment by assessing the change in companies’ Glassdoor ratings in the preto post-letter time periods, and support for liberalism by assessing the change in employees’ political donations to Democratic recipients in the pre- to post-letter time periods.

“Our results suggest that speaking out on controversial societal topics can result in benefits for the CEO’s firm, but only when most employees are on the CEO’s side in the first place,” Wowak said.

“Until a few years ago, CEOs rarely took sides in societal debates. The conventional wisdom has been to avoid such behaviors, as they run the risk of alienating stakeholders who disagree with the CEO. But until now, the real-world consequences of

doing so were unknown.”

The team’s central prediction was that more liberal (on average) employee populations would respond positively to CEO liberal activism, while more conservative employee populations would respond less favorably. They also considered the effects of CEO activism on employee support for the underlying ideology, which they measured by examining employees’ political donations to Democratic recipients.

In both cases, the results supported the team’s theories.

For CEOs, Wowak says, the implications are clear.

“Employees notice and respond to CEO activism,” he said. “It’s thus important to have a reasonably accurate gauge of where your employees stand on the ideological spectrum, as taking a position that goes against the prevailing view will not go over well internally.”

Wowak says the results also can have corporate governance and societal impacts.

“Boards would benefit from a better understanding of the pros and cons of CEO activism,” he said. “While it’s true that picking sides in public debates can backfire when a majority of employees disagree with the CEO, our results suggest that activism can cause employees to feel more strongly connected to the firm when the CEO takes a stance that they agree with. And perhaps even more intriguingly, our results indicate that CEO activism can have an effect on employees’ behaviors outside the workplace. CEOs, it seems, are in positions to influence their employees’ personal levels of political engagement.” info: https://bit.ly/3sE8fGN — Shannon Roddel

news Pride Festival and Parade Plans Return to Uptown CLT in ‘22 The Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade will return to uptown Charlotte Aug. 2021 after two years of virtual and limited in-person events. The annual parade and festival reportedly brought a whopping 200,000+ visitors to the city in 2019, and is one of the largest LGBTQ Pride events in the region.

The return of the event to an all inperson format in uptown Charlotte is something business owners and local government officials across the metro region will likely welcome with enthusiasm.

“Charlotte’s annual Pride Week is the principal celebratory event for our LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” says city Mayor Vi Lyles. “Each year, the Pride Parade is one of the city’s most attended festivities and it serves as a special moment of acceptance and camaraderie for everyone involved. For two years, I have missed the beautiful, smiling faces, the rainbow-decorated parade floats, and all the joy this event brings to the Queen City.

I’m excited for the return of the festival and parade and can’t wait to celebrate … [this] August.”

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the city’s hospitality industry has suffered financially: Revenue from in-town spending, business travel and out-of-town visitors decreased dramatically.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have indicated the COVID-19 virus remains a threat because of current and future variant possibilities, and Mecklenburg County is still in a state of high transmis-

should pandemic numbers continue to decrease as expected, an in-person Pride festival and parade could be a financial windfall for the city, similar to the last in-person festival and parade

together with the LGBTQ community each year. In years past prior to the pandemic, organizations frequently connected with community members seeking social, health, and advocacy services via the festival and parade.

Indeed, LGBTQ people from all walks of life have enjoyed the weekend event as a way to socialize with old friends and new, build community and meet with service organizations.

COVID-19, social distancing, public interaction and changing methods of working (depending on what you do – working from home or long hours spent wearing a protective face mask) have exacerbated already-high levels of depression, stress and isolation among LGBTQ people of all ages, especially in the face of mounting anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric.

Organizers with Charlotte Pride are hopeful the return of in-person activities will bring about a renewed sense of unity and well-being from socializing and reconnecting with the community.

They’re also hoping for an increase in attendance from the aforementioned 200,000 at the last in-person event in 2019. An expansion to the festival zone area on South Tryon Street is planned, along with a change in the parade route. A wide variety of special community events will take place in the lead up to the festival and parade.

If you’re a qualifying community organization, a business or potential vendor, or a gifted artiste selling your creative works, applications for festival exhibit spaces and parade are now open.

If you’d like to volunteer, The Charlotte Pride Programs Team offers year-round community involvement potential. info: charlottepride.org/pride22 — QNotes Staff

Charlotte’s last fully in-person Pride celebration attracted an estimated 200,000 attendees.

(Photo Credit: Charlotte Pride/Facebook) sion. However, the overall number of cases and deaths have dropped, prompting area residents and businesses owners to seek a return to some sense of normalcy.

The city’s event business and leisure travel is returning, with increased bookings at the convention center and several other major events moving forward with in-person programming. In all likelihood,

event in 2019, reportedly resulting in an $8.05 million economic impact, with $4.79 million in direct visitor spending with a sizable profit for the city and restaurants, bars and hotels.

Charlotte’s Pride festival and parade is the largest event of its kind in the city to bring large and small businesses and local and regional LGBTQ nonprofits

Charlotte LGBTQ Senior Projects Underway The Charlotte Queer Oral History Project (CQOHP) was originally founded in 1993 as part of a larger statewide effort to record personal histories of local LGBTQ communities around North Carolina. Histories recorded so far are currently stored at campus libraries at UNC-Greensboro and UNC Charlotte.

CQHOP is now mounting an effort to begin again the process of recording our very important senior LGBTQ oral histories before they are lost forever. Tina Wright, an oral historian at UNC Charlotte will be the co-coordinator along with Linda Lawyer.

There are several opportunities to help with this project. You can record interviews with members of our community using our audio equipment or Zoom. We’ll also need written summaries of the interviews and identified and indexed keywords for future research, as well as reviews of automated

translations of interviews and providing any needed corrections.

Some of these options are perfect for those of you who like to read people’s stories in the comfort of your own home, but at the same time, give back to our community.

On Sunday, March 27 beginning at 2 p.m. and continuing through 4 p.m., CQOHP will present an overview of the program and conduct an interviewing workshop at Time Out Youth, located at 3800 Monroe Road. If you’re interested, contact Linda Lawyer via email at LAL_28216@ yahoo.com, or call 704-650-7386.

Interested in launching a social group?

After a successful kickoff with Queen City Friends’ Senior Lesbian Lunch, the Charlotte LGBTQ Elders group is seeking volunteers to help launch both a senior gay/bi men’s social group and a non-binary social group for seniors. Connect with Charlotte LGBTQ Elders through Facebook

Charlotte LGBTQ Elders is seeking organizers for queer senior social groups.

(Photo Credit: Adobe) or by email at charlottelgbtqelders@gmail. com if you’re interested in helping with new programming in 2022.

New Developments with Charlotte LGBTQ Elders Charlotte LGBTQ Elders has success-

fully received their 501(c)(3) organization status and have recently opened a bank account to process any donations to the non-profit group. info: charlottelgbtqelders.org/ — David Aaron Moore

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news

For Them Too

Campaign Focuses on the Crisis Facing Transgender Youth

by Chris Rudisill Qnotes Contributor

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he Freedom Center for Social Justice (FCSJ) is launching a new campaign to address the safety and wellbeing of transgender and non-binary children.

“For Them Too” comes at a critical time when the transgender community is being attacked both socially and politically.

Organizations and individuals are asked to sign a pledge and take actions in their homes, neighborhoods and faith communities.

FCSJ plans to provide tools and resources as part of the program, which includes a multi-layered approach to create affirming spaces, especially in congregations and religious centers. It will also focus on building awareness and support for other LGBTQ service organizations, building opportunities for advocacy and policy change and sharing stories of resilience.

New billboards will increase community awareness, and FCSJ is focused on protecting positive visibility in educational settings that have recently been attacked with book bans that target LGBTQ and Black history and representation.

The pledge states: “I Pledge To …

Care For Them Too by encouraging kids to be who they are, and doing what’s within my power to create a safer world for children of all gender identities and expressions, including access to life-saving care and therapies.

Pray For Them Too by uplifting the needs of trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive youth, whose sacred right to exist and thrive is under assault.

Speak For Them Too by responding actively to statements made out of fear, ignorance, or bigotry that target vulnerable youth.

Advocate For Them Too by contributing to the advancement of policies in education, healthcare, and beyond that will protect trans people of all ages.”

Founded in 2009 by Bishop Tonyia M. Rawls, FCSJ has previously found strength in the relationships and linkages between service organizations and the religious community, especially in the fight against

Cameron Pruette is the Director of Faith Organizing at The Freedom Center for Social Justice HIV and LGBTQ stigma. The organization’s “Do No Harm” campaign has focused on the intersections of faith, race and classism as they relate to the LGBTQ community. It has been successful in gaining advocates in religious and broad civil rights communities.

The evolution of that first campaign laid the groundwork for this next critical moment in the organization’s life cycle.

Rawls spoke of those early relationships to a group of LGBTQ and allied organizations on Friday at Discovery Place’s Windows on Tryon in uptown Charlotte. Attendees at the launch included Charlotte organizations that will be part of a community-wide effort including the Gender Education Network, Time Out Youth, Transcend Charlotte, PFLAG, State of Emergency and Charlotte Trans Health (formerly the Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group).

“What we’re finding now, however, is this issue around two things. One is the fact that more people are not disturbed by the number of trans women of color who are being killed and harmed daily. And, because this isn’t a conversation that has risen to the top, it also isn’t being analyzed in a way that allows us to truly get to some of these root causes,” said Rawls.

The campaign starts in Charlotte with

Connie J. Vetter, Esq. Attorney at Law PLLC Your LGBTQ+ Law Attorney

Talk/Text 704-333-4000 or online

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plans for national expansion.

Director of Faith Organizing at FCSJ, Cameron Pruette presented the program to attendees. “We’re starting here in Charlotte, because there’s a crisis here in Charlotte,” he said. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Charlotte has the second highest rates of anti-trans violence and murder, especially against Black trans women.

In a written statement, Charlotte City Councilmember Dimple Ajmera said, “The youth of Charlotte are our next innovators, leaders, and those who will continue to push our city to greater heights.”

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Leigh Altman and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools’ Board of Education member Jennifer De La Jara were also in attendance.

Pruette pointed out the importance of helping transgender and gender expansive youth at this critical time. “Our youth are hearing the dialogue going on in the public square,” he said. “They hear when their lieutenant governor calls them filth. They hear when pulpits and pastors degrade their right to exist. They hear when they are denied the right to play sports.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, children who are members of a faith community that is supportive of their gender identity or sexual orientation are

five times less likely to experience suicidal ideation, compared to three times that of children who are members of less supportive congregations.

“This is important culture shift work that’s going to take time,” continued Pruette.

Another key aspect is eliminating conversion therapy. North Carolina leads the country in providers of conversion therapies on gender identity. The Trevor Project found that children who undergo such treatments have 150% increase in suicide attempts.

“Trans kids just want to be kids,” finished Pruette. “Non-binary kids just want to be kids. Gender-expansive kids just want to be kids. They want to go to school, they want to have fun, they want to play sports.

They just want to learn, grow and thrive.

They don’t want to be political targets.”

For more information or to sign the pledge, visit www.ForThemToo.org. : :

Following lunch, Jermaine Nakia Lee read “When Aidan Became a Brother,” by Kyle Lukoff. The reading is an example of a monthly story time the campaign will include to promote visibility and representation of transgender and gender expansive children in an affirming way.

news

Black Charlotteans Are in Constant State of Trauma, but Awakening to the Need for Mental Health Care Donates a Portion of Sales for the Entire Month of February

BY HENRI SOMADJAGBI | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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lack residents of Charlotte need to acknowledge how the last three years have created a period of constant trauma with proven negative impacts on their mental health, according to therapist and social rights activist Justin Perry.

As Black History Month comes to a close, Black Americans are continuing to deal with challenges marked by the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color.

Perry has been examining how the compounded impact of two pandemics — one rooted in racism and the other in disease — changed the way his patients, family, friends and neighbors regard their sense of wellbeing, their ability to cope, and their willingness to seek help. It’s been more than challenging, but lightened by one positive development.

“The experience as a Black person in America is an experience of constantly overcoming trauma, overcoming oppression, overcoming all kinds of challenges, but also still somehow managing to do it with joy and often being able to do it with resilience,” Perry said in a recent interview. Black Americans deal with the trauma of everyday racism, the trauma of witnessing brothers and sisters being murdered, and the trauma of realizing that this could happen to them, he said. And they deal

express emotion. “On the flip side of that, though,” Perry said, “the slowdown in some situations has allowed for us to actually say, ‘Wait a second. Mental health is not just a thing for other people. Mental health is a thing for me.’”

How Are Children and Teenagers Affected?

Younger generations have had important activities stripped away: education, extracurricular programs, social gatherings, playtime for kindergartners. “Sometimes young people feel ignored, feel stepped on, you know, feel like, ‘I don’t truly matter.’

And so that is going to create resentment, that does create anger and pain,” he said.

Like adults, children suffer from being locked inside and exposed to the media barrage of the last three years. Now, Perry said, kids are exposed to constant trauma at a young age, creating a bundle of emotions they’ll have to navigate through – anger and fear being George Floyd vigil at Lincoln Memorial, June 1, 2020, Washington, D.C. Photo by Miki Jourdan prominent. “Anger is a secondary emotion, and underneath anger is often hurt,” he said. Young people with the trauma of realizing that none of mental health counselors have seen need a space for communicating early this is new. increases among Black Americans because having adults who can hear and “However, the acknowledgement of seeking out mental health care. They listen to what is being experienced is the experiences that so many of us have, include Aura Davis of Wilson Oasis, Dr. fundamental in their development. being recognized as someSaidat Kashimawo-Akande of Carolinas thing to address through a Heathcare System Behavioral Health and How Are Black Americans Addressing mental health lens is new,” Dr. Taren Coley of Hopeway.

Mental Health? he said. Black Americans Perry regularly discusses these issues tend to believe that “what in counseling sessions, presentations, Perry said the process starts with takhappens in this house stays opinion pieces, podcasts and interviews. ing care of oneself physically, mentally in this house,” and perceive He is scheduled to speak at the YWCA and spiritually. Surrounding oneself with that their own personal Central Carolina’s “We Believe 2022” event others who can support and relate is just issues are solvable without on March 9. A licensed social worker and as important. “There’s value in the village outside help. clinical addictions specialist, Perry has … the opportunity to surround myself with Perry’s experience in been a counselor and therapist since 2009, people who bring out the best in me, who Charlotte is echoed by and founded his own practice in 2016. A may challenge me when I’m off, but also national research released graduate of West Charlotte High School, who will love me,” he said.

Black Americans need to eliminate in 2021 by Harvard and Perry has bachelor’s degrees in psycholthe idea that caring for mental health is Stanford universities. ogy and sociology and a master’s degree a myth, or just something that rich white Researchers found that in social work, all from UNC Chapel Hill. people do, Perry said. rates of depression and “Here’s the thing. We experience pain,” anxiety increased in the COVID-19 Eliminated Ways to Express Perry said. “When we experience pain, population during the Emotion what we want to do is heal, right? We have pandemic, but the murder a right to heal. We have overcome enough of George Floyd added an Sports, the arts and social gatherings that finding sources of healing is someadditional mental health provided people with opportunities to thing we have a right to.” burden, particularly for express emotion, Perry said, but the panHenri Somadjagbi is a student in the Black Americans. It literally demic curtailed them. Media coverage of James L. Knight School of Communication changed their health and protests made Black Americans wonder at Queens University of Charlotte, which made them sick. if it was safe to go outside, although provides the news service in support of Justin Perry. Photo from Justin Perry Counseling Other Charlotte in some cases it provided an outlet to local community news. : :

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Musical Legend Patti LaBelle Performs in Charlotte A Look at Her History, Music, Friends She’s Lost Along the Way and Her Secret for Staying Youthful

by David Aaron Moore qnotes Staff Writer

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any words have been used to describe singer Patti LaBelle, from diva and legend, to powerhouse vocalist and gay icon. One thing’s for sure, she’s been a friend to the LGBTQ community throughout her career Now 77-years old and still going strong, she recently embarked on a concert tour that includes a performance here in Charlotte and other venues in two nearby cities. She’ll be making those appearances in both Carolinas March 11-13.

Beginning Friday, March 11, LaBelle will perform at the Township Auditorium in Columbia, S.C. A second performance follows Friday, March 12, at the Peace Center Concert Hall in Greenville, S.C. She wraps up the regional triptych Sunday, March 13, at Charlotte’s own Belk Theater.

Patti LaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte May 24, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Her music career kicked off in the early ‘60s as the lead vocalist for a group known as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles.

Later would follow a name change for the group, to simply LaBelle, and the smash hit song “Lady Marmalade” would follow, which skyrocketed to the number one position in late November 1974 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard R&B chart. Additionally, it shot to the number one spot in the Netherlands and Canada. It also placed high on multiple charts around the globe, which pushed LaBelle (the group included Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash) and lead vocalist Patti LaBelle into the international spotlight.

As a result, LaBelle became the first black vocal group to land on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine and the first pop group to play at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

After friction began to develop between the three women, Patti decided to make the move towards a solo career.

She signed a contract with Epic Records and released her debut album, “Patti LaBelle” in October 1977. The album featured three somewhat successful singles, “It’s a Joy to Have Your Love,” “Dan Swit Me,” and the later to become legendary, “You Are My Friend.”

For the next eight years, Patti LaBelle would remain busy with Epic, recording multiple albums, although she would not see the success she had with her first solo album and the previous success she experienced with LaBelle.

But it wasn’t all bad. In 1979 came the album “It’s Alright With Me,” which featured two moderately successful singles: “It’s Alright With Me” and “Music is My Way of Life.” Both were popular in dance clubs and with LGBTQ fans. The album “Released” followed in 1980 with another dance song success, once again

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In a recent interview, when asked what she liked about being her age, Patti Labelle replied: ‘That men still look at me!’(Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons) popular with the LGBTQ community, called “Release.”

LaBelle has been described by many as the greatest gay icon of all time and a prime example of the intersection of the LGBTQ community and black female artists.

In a 2017 interview, she said: “When I think about it, the gay fans are some of the reason – one big reason – I’m still standing, ‘cause they loved me when other people tried not to. Everybody always says, ‘What makes gay men like you?’ ‘I have no clue,’ I say. I still don’t. But I know that love has lifted me up for many, many years.”

Indeed, when many performers were afraid their careers would be ruined early on in the fight against the AIDS Pandemic,

Mar 4. - Mar. 17, 2022

Patti LaBelle was on the front lines, lending her voice to help educate others about AIDS awareness and misconceptions.

The legendary dance music and gender fluid recording artist Sylvester had long been a fan of Labelle’s, even including a version of “You Are My Friend” on his 1979 album “Living Proof.” Labelle was aware of Sylvester’s musical success and shared an appreciation for his work, as well. During appearances in San Francisco, she had even invited Sylvester onstage to perform the song with her.

In the fall of 1988, Sylvester had been diagnosed with full-blown AIDS and was in the process of making his final life arrangements. A mutual friend the two

shared, recording artist Jeannie Tracey, informed LaBelle that Sylvester was extremely ill, which prompted LaBelle to pay her old friend a visit.

On the day she came to spend time with Sylvester, Tracey prepared LaBelle, just as she did his other visitors.

“Just go in, and give him the latest dirt,” Tracey told her. “Don’t cry until you’re out of his sight.” The two performers and friends gossiped, sang and laughed during her visit and posed for a photo together while she held his hand for the last time.

Sylvester passed away less than a month later.

But back to the earlier 1980s and Patti’s initial climb to pop culture legend status.

After a musical dry spell following 1980’s “Released,” Patti returned in 1983 with the album “I’m In Love Again” and the hit ballad “If Only You Knew,” which went straight to the top of the Billboard R&B charts. The following year, two singles included on the soundtrack of the Eddie Murphy movie “Beverly Hills Cop,” “New Attitude” and “Stir It Up” became massive crossover pop hits for the artist and changed the trajectory of her career, when they were both released as pop-dance singles.

She was nominated by the Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Performance for “New Attitude,” though disappointingly, she did not capture the award.

No Matter. The lady was far from done yet.

Over the next 20 years, LaBelle’s career continued to flourish, with a total of 14 nominations, which resulted in two Grammy Awards and an induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In addition, she’s authored books, captured multiple film and television roles, two Emmy Nominations, won six NAACP Image Awards, an American Music Award and a GLAAD Excellence in Media Award, among many others.

While Labelle has been praised for her youthful appearance and upbeat outlook, she lost a friend last year that left a permanent empty space in her heart: former LaBelle member Sarah Dash, who had gone on to experience some career success on her own with the chart topping dance single “Sinner Man,” passed away unexpectedly. Following her death, LaBelle posted a comment on Twitter regarding her fallen musical colleague: “This weekend, we said goodbye to my sister. And her earthly farewell was as beautiful and regal as she was. I love you always #SarahDash! “Nightbird fly, fly by the light of the moon.”

Despite that loss, in a 2021 interview with writer Danielle Harling for the website Oprah Daily, Labelle was able to articulate what her secret is for staying youthful.

“I like to be with people who are fun.

And sometimes those people are not my age; the old[er] people that I know, they’re not usually like – see, I love Tupac, I love California Love and The Club and Ain’t Nobody, I like dancing to those gangster songs, you know? And I think it keeps me going. My grandkids say, ‘Oh, Grandma,

Before others would, Patti LaBelle joined in on the fight against AIDS. This ad campaign dates back to 1984. (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons) you know that song?’ I say, ‘Yeah, girls, that’s before your time.’ But they watch me for encouragement. As they turn seven and four, they’ll say, ‘Oh, Grandma is old, but she doesn’t act old.’ So I feel that doing things like dancing and moving around … and pranking and all the fun things that I do has kept me happy.”

As for what Patti fans can expect in her upcoming concert, be prepared for a mix of hits old and new and some classic American jazz standards, as well. For more information on her upcoming appearances and how to purchase tickets, visit www.pollstar.com. : :

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VAPA Brings a Vibrant Arts Space to Uptown Charlotte New Visual and Performing Arts Center Hosts Open House Event on March 5

by Chris Rudisill Qnotes Contributor

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he Visual and Performing Arts Center, or VAPA, will officially open to the public in Charlotte on March 5.

According to an earlier press release, “The intent of VAPA is to create a space which brings together artists to create, practice and exhibit their respective arts. Born out of necessity, due to the closing of Spirit Square and the lingering impact of the pandemic, a space was needed for artists to come together to continue to teach classes, rehearse shows and perform.”

In a matter of months, eleven arts organizations, who became the project’s founding members, quickly transformed an underutilized government building into a vibrant arts space in the heart of the city.

Those founding members are 9-189 Studio Gallery, BlkMrktClt, Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte, Charlotte Comedy Theater, Charlotte’s Off Broadway, JazzArts Charlotte, Levine Museum of the New South, the McColl Center, OBRA Collective, The Arts Empowerment Project and The

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Light Factory.

County had reached The building out to about 26 arts is also home organizations to to 120 artists determine a plan working in for displaced artists studios across from Charlotte’s two floors Spirit Square. The and features longtime center for classrooms, arts in the city, Spirit galleries, darkSquare closed its rooms, theaters, doors in October to rehearsal space, make way for a masoffices and sive development The VAPA Center at 700 North Tryon Street in more. Earlier project that will reuptown Charlotte. Photo: Facebook this month, shape the 600 block VAPA Center of N. Tryon Street. announced that In July, due to overwhelming response, they had Mecklenburg County Commissioners closed the center’s waiting list for space. unanimously approved the initial lease In addition to open-studio events, the terms and plans for the VAPA Center to Center will have open-air artists’ markets, take occupancy of the Hal Marshall buildconcerts, artists talks and more. Artists will ing, located at 700 North Tryon Street. have the opportunity to sell their works in VAPA takes up about 130,000 feet of the the outdoor artists markets. building’s 150,000 total square footage.

The project is led by local artist, The remaining space is currently used to Arthur Rogers, who spoke with qnotes in house Charlotte Mecklenburg Main Library September when the venue opened to its staff during its renovation and will later first tenants. He said that Mecklenburg be used for the field operations unit of

Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s office, according to reports.

A grant from the Charlotte Center City Small Business Innovation Fund helped propel development of the project. Other sponsors include Mecklenburg County Government, McColl Center for Arts + Innovation, Charlotte Ballet, Gensler and Perkins Eastman.

Prior to the renovation, Mark Hahn, director of asset and facility management with Mecklenburg County, said “as artists come and go, and present shows and events, they will take what is currently a lifeless space on North Tryon and transform it into an area of creativity, energy and cultural engagement.”

The VAPA Center will host an open house from 1-6 p.m. on Saturday, March 5.

People are invited to tour the center, meet artists and performers, and learn more about how the collaborative space will be part of the city’s arts community.

The VAPA Center will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00-9 p.m. For more information visit www.vapacenter.com. : :

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Out on the Town with Danny Knaub

A Blumenthal Group Offers a Safe Space for LGBTQ+ Theater Enthusiasts

BY L’MONIQUE KING QNOTES STAFF WRITER

months with a pre-show party for ‘Rent.’ It was like a giant family reunion.”

Knaub, as well as many of the group’s members, are more than delighted to see the theater presentations return, along with the post-show parties that allow cast and crew members from the shows to join theater goers in post-show festivities. “This group loves mingling and meeting the stars of the show. Sadly, COVID protocols have put a temporary hold on cast parties.

But I look forward to the day when we can return to post-show events.”

As we seem to be rounding a curve in the COVID pandemic, Knaub looks forward to continuing to grow the group, welcome new faces and discover all the new hot spots popping up all around Uptown.

“The 2022-2023 Broadway season is being planned as we speak,” Knaub explains, “so we’re already starting to plan future Out on the Town events. We’re continuing the tradition of bringing the best of Broadway to Charlotte, and I know our members will be thrilled with what’s to come. Tours are more important than ever because so many haven’t been able to make a trip to NYC these last two years.”

The question of how Charlotte’s LGBTQ community can access more safe space programming like that offered by the Blumenthal’s Out on the Town group is at the forefront of many who are looking to return to social activity. For an answer, we went back to Knaub for some advice.

“My first step is always reaching out to other LGBTQ+ organizations to find ways to work with each other,” he says. “In just the last few months, Blumenthal has worked and partnered with RAIN, Time Out Youth and qnotes, to name a few.

“There are so many fantastic LGBTQ+ organizations in Charlotte … we should be leaning on each other to help us all grow, be more inclusive and be better allies to the LGBTQ+ community.”: :

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or as long as there have been humans, people have sought to form community. For those who are part of a subculture, finding your tribe can feel a bit daunting and even more important. We in the LGBTQ community aren’t any different in that respect. For a vast majority of us, community and finding our tribes are important to our safety and social wellbeing. From the clandestine night clubs (with warning red lights) of the past to the fraternal organizations of the present – we have always found a way to connect with each other. And we’re often drawn to each other by more than our LGBTQ status. For LGBTQ Carolinians with a thirst for the arts, Out on the Town just may fill that void.

Out on the Town is a Blumenthalsponsored social club for arts lovers that identify as or are allies to the LGBTQ+ community. Members enjoy special discounts and invitations to mixers before or after select performances. There are no dues, no officers, and no membership requirements. Simply stated, “The goal of this group, and our events, is to provide a safe space where you are free to be who you are,” says Danny Knaub, the Blumenthal’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

Knaub is relatively new in his role as VP of Marketing and Communications (since May 2021) but has been with the Blumenthal since 2008. Beginning then and continuing through 2013, Knaub was in charge of the Out on the Town program.

In an interview with qnotes he offered some insight on how the inclusive group creates safe space for LGBTQ theater lovers and an opportunity to make new friends while having fun enjoying theater.

“The LGBTQ+ community is no strang-

The goal of Out On The Town, says Danny Knaub (pictured), is to provide a safe space where you are free to be who you are. (Photo Credit: Justin Driscoll) er to friends being your family,” Knaub offers. “As an often-marginalized group in society, building a wide net of support is very important. Watching members build lifelong friendships has been a gift, and I’m excited to see that tradition continue.

“On a lighter side, with so much negativity in the world, it’s nice to kick up your feet, enjoy a cocktail, have some laughs, eat delicious food and go see the best of Broadway with fellow fans and friends.”

Eager to share information on the specifics of Out on the Town events, Knaub explains, “We host pre- and postshow mixers centered around six to seven shows a year. Whether you attend one event or all events, we’re excited to have you. We’ve been around for over 15 years and continue to see new faces every single event.”

In January the group served up “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” a musical theater

production highlighting the life and times of Motown recording group The Temptations. The diverse crowd of Out on the Town members clearly enjoyed the night of musical theater, drinks and light bites at a local haunt.

In November of last year, the Blumenthal-sponsored group presented “Rent: the 25th Anniversary Tour.” In 2019 “Hello Dolly” and “Miss Saigon” were added showstoppers.

Just like the rest of the world, however, Out on the Town was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down the world of theater for over a year. According to Knaub, “Between March 2020 and September 2021, no Broadway was presented in our venues. That finally changed when ‘WICKED’ returned for a recordbreaking engagement, September through October 2021. Then in November, Out on the Town hosted its first event in over 18

The Audacity of a Kiss: A Memoir Out in Print

BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER CONTRIBUTING WRITER “The Audacity of a Kiss: A Memoir” by Leslie Cohen c.2021, Rutgers University Press $24.95 / higher in Canada 235 pages

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on’t move.

Stay entirely still, don’t even breathe. You’re about to become a symbol of something that’s bigger than you are, something you’ll be proud of for the rest of your days. Don’t flinch, scratch, or sneeze, just don’t do anything. Don’t.

Move. Unless it’s to turn the pages of “The Audacity of a Kiss” by Leslie Cohen.

Behind every statue is a story, and

the one behind those representing four people in Christopher Park in New York’s Greenwich Village is no different. But to explain how this monument came about means also telling a long love story and a tale about a nightclub.

Leslie Cohen’s mother was her very best friend, although there were misunderstandings in the relationship. Sevenyear-old Leslie couldn’t see why she received pink girly things for her birthday.

In later years, she couldn’t understand why her mother deferred to Leslie’s father and endured his abuse.

The one thing Cohen did understand was that once puberty hit, the boys in her neighborhood were no longer pals to roughhouse with. She was supposed to want to date them and it didn’t entirely make sense, but Cohen went along with it even after she left home for college. She went out with boys and lost her virginity

to one, but meeting Beth was the most remarkable thing about higher learning.

She was sure she was in love with Beth, but Beth was obsessed with a boy and so Cohen moved on.

She moved on to other men and then women, at a time between when women loving women was unthinkable, and the Summer of Love. Cohen embraced her lesbianism, fell in and out of love, and went into a partnership with three other women to open New York’s first lesbian club, where lesbians and straight feminists were welcome to dance and drink.

To be sure, it was a heady time. Cohen worked nonstop, gained confidence and learned to run a bar business. She was busy, but happy.

And then Beth came back into her life...

Let’s face it: author Leslie Cohen’s life story is basically like that of a lot of lesbians born at the beginning of the Baby

Boom. A solid childhood, confusion, selfawareness, entrepreneurship all make a somewhat familiar story set apart by one abundant thing: warmth.

Indeed, “The Audacity of a Kiss” is an easy tale. It’s comfortable, like a crackling fireplace and a glass of wine on a cushy sofa. There are accomplishments here, told so that you really share the pride in them. Readers are shown the struggle that Cohen had, too, but experiences are wellframed by explanations of the times in which they occurred, with nothing overlydramatic – just the unabashed truth, and more warmth. Opening this book, in a way, then, is like accepting an invitation to own the recliner for an evening, and you won’t want anything else.

Younger lesbians will get a lot from this book, but anyone who’s been there will relish it. Get “The Audacity of a Kiss,” then sit down... and don’t move. : :

Mar 4. - Mar. 17, 2022

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Carolina Drag Entertainers Take Part in Miss Gay America Much of state Represented with Performers From Across the State

by David Aaron Moore qnotes Staff Writer

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harlotte and North Carolina’s best known documented drag history of stage performers dates back to the 1960s.

The region has long been a hot spot for gender-bending stage personalities, so it comes as no surprise a bevy of Carolina girls took part in the most recent Miss Gay America held January 17-20, at Robinson Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Among those in attendance, Shelita Bonet Hoyle (Cary), Ivy Carter (Greensboro), Aria Russo (WinstonSalem), Paris Brooks-Burnett (Raleigh) and Charlotte’s own Buff Faye.

Faye is well known as an entertainer in Charlotte – she’s been regularly hosting Buff Faye’s Drag Brunch in the city since 2009. Out of character and cosmetics Faye is Shane Windmeyer, a local and national LGBTQ political figure and founder of Campus Pride.

Windmeyer explains a little bit about the history behind his Buff Faye character.

“The character was originally created to raise money for the Charlotte Royals Rugby team,” Windmeyer recalls. “I did

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NC’s Winners from the Top 10 list of competitors in the Miss Gay America 2022 contest: Charlotte’s Buff Faye and Cary’s Shelita Bonet Hoyle. a number from ‘Hairspray’ called “Big, Blonde and Beautiful,” and I won!

With the birth of the character, Windmeyer came to realize he was able to communicate with people in a different way than he did as Shane.

“It brought out a different side of me,” Windmeyer explains. “I was able to communicate and share with humor and laughter.”

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Fast forward to the year 2019 and as Buff Faye, the comedic drag diva captured the title of National Entertainer of the Year, which she relinquished in July, 2021, making her the first individual to hold the title for such a length of time.

“Only because of the pandemic,” she chuckles.

In order to attend and appear in the

Miss Gay America pageant, contestants must hold winning titles of one sort or other from another pageant.

Faye’s latest title, which gave her the credentials she needed, was first alternate for the Miss Gay North Carolina pageant.

Drag performers from around the country competed but in order to vye for the title of Miss Gay America 2022, they would first have to make it to the coveted Top 10 position. That would require a performance boasting creativity, performance and appearance strong enough to wow.

Two performers from North Carolina – Charlotte’s Buff Faye and Cary’s Shelita Bonet Hoyle – did just that, and both were chosen to compete among the final 10.

In the end, while neither Faye nor Hoyle captured the winning title, both have stated they felt like winners for placing in the top 10 and the performances they gave.

And just in case you’re curious, the winner of the Miss Gay America Pageant for 2022, did turn out to be a southern performer named Dex Poindexter, who goes by the drag moniker of Dextaci. : :

news

Number of Individuals Identifying as LGBTQ Rises in U.S. Various Media Reports Place Figure Over Seven Percent

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recent press release from Kaiser Health News claims cultural changes are apparently motivating more Americans to come to terms or be more comfortable with their sexual orientation – to the point that an increasing number of individuals are “coming out” in some capacity.

While many sources have maintained figures from the Kinsey Report drawing on data collected in the 1940s that claimed as many as 10% of Americans were somewhere in the LGBTQ family, later surveys have disputed that figure, placing it anywhere between 1% and just below 4%.

A story carried by USA Today says the number of American adults who identify as LGBTQ has risen to a record 7.1%, and younger people are at the forefront of the increase.

The statistics for the estimate come from a Gallup Poll, and place the increase

BY QNOTES STAFF | CONTRIBUTING WRITER “I think it speaks to society changing in terms of acceptance of people with different sexual orientations and gender identities and people’s willingness to identify that way,” he said in said in the interview dated Feb. 17.

Gallup found that the increase is due to “high ​​ LGBT self-identification, particularly as bisexual, among Generation Z adults,” who are 18 to 25. It asked more than 12,000 American As many as 21 percent of Generation Z young adults identify as LGBTQ. adults how they identified during telephone interviews conducted last year. at double the percentage from 2012 when It found that younger adults are much Gallup first explored sexual orientation more likely to identify as LGBTQ than older and gender identity and above last year’s generations. More than 1 in 5, or 21%, of poll that showed 5.6% of adults identify as Gen Z individuals identify as LGBTQ. That’s LGBTQ. In a 2017 poll, that number was nearly double the number of Millennials, 4.5%. who are 26 to 41, at 10.5%, and nearly five That increase is significant, Gallup times the proportion of Gen Xers, who are Senior Editor Jeff Jones told USA Today.

42 to 57, at 4.2%.

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life

Being Young, Loved, Gay And Getting Dumped Tell Trinity

BY TRINITY | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Dearest Trinity, I’ve always been promiscuous but now I have a boyfriend whom I love. However, I’m having a much harder time with monogamy than I thought. I’m only 23 and it’s only been 5 months. What can I do?

Endless Appetite Detroit, MI Dearest Endless Appetite, Needing sex outside a relationship comes from three emotions: 1) feelings of being too tied down, 2) feelings of NOT being in the right relationship and/or 3) feelings of just not being ready for mo, mo, monogamy (it’s a hard word even for me!)

So for now allow yourself to quietly look at others, while making more “play dates” with your boyfriend. If after three month’s time you still need “more” then you’ll have to do one of three things: 1) get permission to play around, 2) accept that this relationship may not be what you need or 3) end this relationship and go “play” until you truly want monogamy. Honey, learning about yourself while learning responsibilities, and balancing both is what life’s all about!

Big Kisses, Trinity Dear Trinity, I’ve been told my whole life that the church hates us for being LGBTQ. Does God really hate us?

Not So Chosen Charleston, SC Dear Not So…, On the contrary! After years of theology training, I can truly say that not every house of worship speaks clearly or hon-

estly on the unconditional love God has in mind.

Not only are LGBTQ folks Gods will and gift but Pumpkin, it’s also God’s way of making the world and life a more colorful union!

Hello Trinity, I’m young and interested in how gay men ended up looking like we do today?

Can I have a short gay history lesson?

Gay His/her-Story 101 Sacramento, CA Hello Gay His/her-Story 101 , In 1969, when a bunch of folks at the Stonewall Bar, said, “Enough!”, the perfect gay man was skinny, mustached, wore bell-bottoms and had long hair. In 1981 the AIDS virus emerged and gay men started hitting the gym, using hair gel and pushed their way into tighter jeans, cowboy boots and tank tops. Then the 90’s hit and gay man began embracing longterm relationships (hey, someone had to

help with the condo fees) and at that time they cut their hair short, took to looser fitting jeans or three-piece suits. Today Darling, if you can get a gay man out of the chat rooms and pull the steroid needle out of his butt, you’ll find him commonly wearing almost anything depending on the type of “bear,” “twink” “ or “musclegay” he is. His hair is back to being longer or shaved and he’s wearing tighter jeans again just like he did forty years earlier.

Welcome to the 20’s!

Splash some water on your face and start practicing: Trinity’s Sobering Tips For After You’ve Been Dumped 1. GET support from a close friend, talk show host or a professional councilor.

2. Hunt him down and make him SUFFER eternally. Just kidding!

3. Start dating ASAP! Sweetie, get back on that horse now!

4. Exercise, diet, sleep and eating dark chocolate are the four ways of BEATING desperation, I mean depression.

5. Stop listening to OUR favorite song, visiting our favorite restaurant or playing his voice messages again just to remember “what was.”

6. Keep BUSY with projects, work and/ or social activities. Time heals!

7. STALKING, revenge, punishment or meaningless lawsuits only make things wonderful, I mean worse!

8. You choose many of your thoughts.

Choose NOT to think about it!

9. TAKE a fabulous vacation, have an expensive makeover, be naughty and have fun!

10. Lastly, remember some people are born SELFISH, sour, sex hungry animals.

Surprise!

Hey Trinity, My partner of three years recently broke up with me. I thought I was doing well but after four months I’m still fighting depression!

Help?

Trying To Move On Kansas City, MO

With a Masters of Divinity, Reverend Trinity hosted “Spiritually Speaking” a weekly radio drama, performed globally and is now minister of WIG: Wild Inspirational Gatherings. Sponsored by: WIG Ministries, www.wigministries.org Gay Spirituality for the Next Generation! Send e-mails to: Trinity@telltrinity.com

Hey Trying to Move On,

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life

What’s your Hobby?

Individuals in the LGBTQ Community Share What Intrigues Them

BY RUBEN EVANS | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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or many people, having a hobby is an essential part of who they are. There are so many possibilities: artistic and creative endeavors, sporting activities, collecting distinctive vintage items. What might seem silly and frivolous to one person could just as easily be deep and meaningful to another. Indeed, the list is endless.

Miguel Wilson, a 23-year-old full-time graduate student who identifies as genderqueer, is currently studying organizational sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He discovered an interest in horseback riding around the age of eight. Wilson’s introduction to the sport of horseback riding comes from his father’s initial interest. Wilson’s own personal passion developed further through attending various summer camps.

Says Wilson about the activity he enjoys so much: “[It] helped shape my identity, in terms of keeping up with horseback riding. I had to find creative and interesting ways to maintain this hobby.

When I was 14 I moved to Texas [where] I was on a farm, which really helped me learn how to take care of these thousandpound animals.”

Hobbies can define your sense of individuality. And they don’t have to be hard.

You’ll know when you find what’s right for you: when it doesn’t feel forced and the interest and motivation fits like a perfect pair of gloves.

Wilson explains: “I love the routine of it all, I feel like the art of tacking up a horse and the act of riding is really amazing; riding a horse can be indescribable at times.”

Landon Pitts, a 30-year-old transgender man and retired veteran, enjoys hiking in his free time. Pitts discovered his appreciation for the activity while stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. “There are a lot of recreational activities out there, and I

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needed something to do,” Pitts recalls.

Actively filling up his leisure time isn’t the only benefit of hiking for Pitts. “Hiking helps with my anxiety; it is a way for me to get out without having to be around too many people. It is like meditation for me. It clears my head and makes me feel better. I’ll take my dogs with me and organize my life by making lists while I’m walking,” Pitts explains. “As therapy, I see myself into hiking for the long term.”

Mikael Hyppolitea, 23, is a gay professional working in the non-profit field as a community organizer. He spends his downtime creating music. “I have always been into music,” he explains. “When I was younger and lived in New Jersey, my parents paid for piano lessons. My family put together a music group and we’d play with each other when we were younger.”

Mar 4. - Mar. 17, 2022

More than just a chance to express himself, music has offered Hyppolitea other benefits, as well. “[Music] has helped me find genuine people and friends. I’ve met a lot of other people with similar interests that I have, and it has pushed me to want to learn more and discover different facets of it.”

His response when asked about the most enjoyable part of making?

“Other people’s reactions are my favorite thing about creating music, others’ reactions and getting feedback inspires me more. Negative or positive.”

All too often, people can lose themselves in the world that surrounds us. Be it a daily grind, family responsibilities or the challenges everyone

experiences with personal relationships from time to time. Self expression through your own individualized hobby – no matter what you connect with – can be the key to finding a part of yourself again, or perhaps, for the first time. : :

life

Gray Phillips

Our People: A Gay Man and His Best Girlfriend Paint the Town Rainbow like a big warehouse where tons of small businesses have booth space. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. The timing was right, and the location was great.

So, we met with one of the managers to discuss the requirements and signed a yearlong contract. The Green Giraffe now has a brick-and-mortar home in booth W2, and we love it.

BY L’MONIQUE KING QNOTES STAFF WRITER

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ray and Jourdan sittin’ in a tree, paintin’ up signs, for you and me.

First came…

Nope!

No marriage. At least, not to each other. And no baby carriages filled with kids they’ve made together will follow in this remake of a childhood song.

What follows is an interview that’s a story of love, friendship and creativity.

Back in 1997 in Yadkinville, N.C., two little kids found each other. They met in kindergarten at the tender age of five.

Gray was a shy little boy with blonde hair and Jourdan was an energetic and outspoken little brown girl who enjoyed sports.

Race and religion never presented themselves as boundaries between the two. As children they were one’s yin to the other’s yang. Gray was shy with most, but not with Jourdan. And even back then he was a creative soul who often drew pictures for Jourdan. She used Gray’s creations to decorate her notebook binders and was quite proud to do so.

Around the time when Gray Thillips was turning 20 years old, he told his buddy Jourdan Hawkins he liked boys before he told anyone else.

“I honestly think since he came out, he’s more comfortable with being himself and now he’s outgoing, self-assured and more confident in himself. Thank goodness and way to go Gray.”

At the time of Gray’s coming out, his family, southern and quite religious, were not accepting of having an LGBT person in the fold. Fortunately Jourdan and her family have always been accepting of the two being friends, and Gray’s coming out never changed that. In 2010, the inseparable two relocated from Yadkinville to Charlotte.

Gray came first and couldn’t imagine embarking on a new journey in a new town without his best friend. So, covertly, he filled out an interest application at a Charlotte university in Jourdan’s name.

Shortly after, a college representative telephoned Jourdan about her application and the next thing you know, she was taking a tour, enrolling in school and following her

qnotes: Any plans for when the lease is up?

Gray: When the year is over, we plan to have bigger and better things coming, whether that means re-signing the lease or expanding into other locations. qnotes: What kind of signs do you make?

Gray: Currently we offer a 17” round sign, 4 or 5-foot vertical signs and bottle opener signs [square shaped signs with bottle openers attached], t-shirts with our company logo on them and noodle boards. Noodle boards are like stove top covers. qnotes: How long do you see yourselves doing this?

Gray: I don’t see myself ever not doing it.

Jourdan: For a long time, until we can hire people to do it for us.

Gray Thillips and Jourdan Hawkins bestie with a move to Charlotte.

Today, the two have their own romantic partners and still remain best friends, living near each other in the same apartment complex in Mathews. They’re also in business together as co-owners of The Green Giraffe – a custom sign company. qnotes: What is The Green Giraffe?

Gray: [We’re] a custom wood shop. qnotes: What makes your shop different from any other wood shop?

Gray: A few things, starting with, when we say custom, we mean custom. People can come to us with any idea, any text, any color [suggestion] or no idea at all, and we’re going to turn it out for them.

We also provide exceptional customer service and make sure our customers are 100% satisfied. qnotes: How’d you get into this?

Gray: One night last year [October

2021], Jourdan and I were hanging out at my apartment playing with paint and drinking wine. We were just being creative and having fun with it. We wanted a welcome sign for our doors. I made one for mine and she made one for hers. After we finished, we showed our family, and the reaction was all positive – they instantly wanted one and started asking if we could do different things with colors and text.

We then started researching – kinda just to find out what products, paint and stain colors to go with different designs and also to find out if other area businesses were doing this. We’re now licensed for North and South Carolina. qnotes: How’d you turn an idea into a business?

Gray: We started on social media and word-of-mouth. We were attending different pop-up shops and a flea market in South Carolina. Then we heard about the Painted Trees Boutique in Matthews. It’s

qnotes: It’s been said, you shouldn’t engage in business with family or friends.

What do you say to that?

Gray: It can be challenging, but at the end of the day, what’s not a challenge?

Jourdan: That’s because they’ve never worked with Jourdan Hawkins [giggles]. qnotes: What would you say to those interested in turning a craft into a livelihood?

Gray: Just do it. Stay focused and positive and get your bag. qnotes: What are you doing when you’re not painting/working on signs?

Gray: Graphic design. qnotes: Life seems pretty good and filled with quite a few smiles. What makes you frown?

Gray: Dishonesty. I pride myself on being loyal and honest, so if you can’t be those things, it’s a wrap. Other than that, not clearing the seconds on the microwave. Makes my blood boil! : :

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