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5 The beginning of the modern downfall of democracy
N.C. doles out millions for more film projects shoot ing in North Carolina
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Virginia’s Republican gov erner wants schools to out trans kids
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18 Seeing stars
After two years of virtual events, Pride Durham returns live, September 24 in person with multiple performers, a parade and vendor fair.
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Pride Durham Parade
issues.Pride
The 10 best books about bisexuality that should be on your shelf right now
N.C trans woman’s lawsuit against state prison expected to proceed LGBTQ mural celebrates tenth anniversary
The roots behind Bisexual Day of Visibility
Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 3
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In small towns beyond Charlottes, despite resistance, LGBTQ Pride abounds
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Thirteen things not to say to bisexuals Pride Journey: Orlando
Organization in the Triad specifically for bisexual community Famous bisexual people throughout history
4 Will social districts bring ‘good vibes?’
Durham’s Pride celebration is back in real life and in person
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inside this issue
Republicans think keep ing kids ignorant is the key to academic excellence
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pretty fast, but at the same time, you’re gonna be on the sidewalk and people are gonna try to get multiple drinks to come outside,” Davis said. “You still got the risk of fights and stuff.”
While no social districts have been implemented here, the Charlotte City Council approved the concept at a meeting Aug. 22. This gives local mer chant organizations, neighborhoods and businesses the opportunity to request a district in their area.
Right now, nowhere in Charlotte has implemented social districts.
What Are Social Districts?
Will social districts bring ‘good vibes?’
Social districts are possible due to House Bill 890, a measure allowing cities and counties to define outdoor spaces where people can legally drink alcoholic beverages bought from a state-permitted business.
4 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022
Alcohol social districts allow neigh
vibrant environment,” Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told The News and Observer.
Why Is This Possible?
What Did the Charlotte City Council Do?
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andoutitthingcal.moreSouthCharlotte’sweekendssecurityworksDavis,ShawnwhoinoninEnd,isskepti“It’sagoodbecausewillclearthebarstheplaces
This article appears courtesy of our me dia partner The Charlotte Observer.::
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South End happy hour drinkers share their thoughts
rival gotCharlotte’sthat,tokind of step up now,” Pope andbusinessesportinggoals“achieveAug.startedsocialdowntownRaleigh’ssaid.district15toourofsupsmallcreatinga
That’s up to the individual neighbor hoods who will bring requests for social districts to City Council.
borhood and merchant organizations to request the creation of areas that allow people to bring purchased drinks out doors in predetermined boundaries.
TheApartmentEpworthAdvantage
Organizations from South End, Plaza Midwood, NoDa and Ballantyne have expressed interest in the creation of social districts in their neighborhoods. Other North Carolina cities that have implemented social districts according to the state ABC commission include Raleigh, Kannapolis, Greensboro, Madison, Monroe, Newton, Norwood and Selma.
Here’s what those enjoying happy hour on thirsty Thursday in South End during the last week in August had to say:
BY GENNA CONTINO |CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Here’s what we know so far.
Where Can People Get To-Go Drinks From Bars?
Charlotte Has to Step Up Joanna Rose and Celeste Pope moved to South End less than a month ago and spent happy hour Thursday enjoying a drink together at Hi-Wire Brewing. If social districts were established in their neigh borhood, it would “promote good vibes.”
They’re not carrying open containers of alcohol with them now, but bar hopping starts early in Charlotte’s South End. At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, people leaving work and walking dogs got an early start to their evening at Brickyard, Hi-Wire Brewing and other bars in the neighbor hood known for its vibrant nightlife and trendy restaurants. With a City Council vote, those pedestrians could opt to take their drink on a walk. Social districts received Charlotte City Council approval last week, and South End businesses have already expressed interest in codifying the ability to drink publicly outside the doors of restaurants and bars. Once an organi zation officially requests a social district, it will work with the council to determine rules and boundaries before the council votes in favor of the district.
“I’m originally from Raleigh and I know that they just did that, and I feel like to
Currently, there are no social drinking districts, but neighborhoods like South End, Plaza Midwood and NoDa are strong possibilities. Photo Credit: Facebook
When will they be implemented?
Just a short walk from Hi-Wire Thursday evening, Java Nelson was drink ing a beer and people-watching from his ground-level apartment. Living in the middle of South End, Nelson said he typi cally walks when he goes out to drink. He likes the idea of not having to throw out his drink when leaving the bar for his walk home. Jacob Feight, a South Carolina resi dent, drives into South End occasionally to see concerts. He thinks if rules are in place and people act responsibly, social districts are a good idea. “I think if people are being responsible and doing what they’re sup posed to do, I think that’s fine with me,” Feight said.
If we do nothing, the price to pay will be nightmarish and high. A small minor ity of exceptionally loud anti-democracy forces will seize control of the govern ment, likely dismantling healthcare, social
Nixon and his cohorts set their sights on the conservative voter block of the Southern United States and cashed in on racial tensions and religious zealotry to command much needed votes that kept him in office during part of his second term.
None of our country’s dissolution of democracy happened overnight. It was spread across multiple presidencies and generations of voters.
Just over two years later on July 30, 1956, Eisenhower continued with his blending of government and theology when he introduced “In God We Trust” as the country’s official motto. It replaced E Pluribus Unum on currency and coinage and sat in motion a chain of events that lead us to where we are today.
Despite what was the then-president’s successful efforts of straddling the lines of church and state, he was later forced to resign midway through his second term following accusations of purported illegal misconduct in the bugging of the National Democratic Headquarters, which came to be known as Watergate.
In an effort to balance that, Reagan permanently “borrowed” money from the country’s taxpayer funded social security system. To this day it has never been repaid.
security and forcing American citizens to struggle to survive in ways modern gen erations had never viewed as imaginable or plausible.Markyour calendars as September 15 approaches. It is known as International Democracy Day and was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 in an effort to help countries around the world stabilize their own democracybased governments. It is a time where every strong democracy-minded American should engage in conversation with their friends, neighbors and family about the importance of stabilizing and maintaining our own democracy, before it is too late.
As we move towards the midterm elections and later presidential elections, Qnotes will join in on the North Carolina Democracy Project through editorial content in an effort to educate our read ers about the importance of upholding the principles of democracy and fulfilling our country’s destiny, as established by its founders, to continue to provide the right to pursue life, liberty and justice, and continue expanding equality for all. ::
While the presidential terms of ap pointed president Gerald Ford and elected president Jimmy Carter largely passed without incident, Ford did pardon Nixon for his potential involvement with the Watergate scandal, which prevented him from facing prosecution, and in effect, put an American president above the reach of the Withlaw. the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the former actor turned California governor turned president was seem ingly nothing more than a polished figurehead for the Republican Party at first, however his actions went on to negatively impact democracy in ways previously thought impossible.
The beginning of the moderndownfall of democracy
Depending on your perspective, the official erosion of democracy in the United States began at two pivotal times in the mid-20th century.
In one of his most notorious moves that is often referred to by “Reaganomic”
It’s time to put aside party affiliation and fix our broken government
But once again, things began to back slide with the election of Richard Nixon.
With over 60 years worth of ground work already in place, Donald Trump’s capturing of the White House in 2016 gave him carte blanche to proceed with a full throttle effort to dismantle this coun try’s long respected democracy-based government system.
Even though he was roundly voted out of office during the last election, his appointment and approval of activist
anti-democracy judges to the Supreme Court eventually led to the recent and shocking overturning of Rowe v. Wade and the reversal of a woman’s right to reproductive choice.
His earlier attempt, along with riotous supporters, to overturn the Biden admin istration’s confirmed election during a violent confrontation on January 6, 2020 at the state’s capital, has shown us just how far the anti-democracy element will go to force their fascist agenda onto an unwilling citizenry.
Specifically, under the guidance of for mer President Dwight Eisenhower, the first inappropriate blurring of govern ment and religion came on June 14, 1954, when Eisenhower was swayed by the ef forts of a Baptist minister into placing the words “One Nation Under God” into the pledge of allegiance to the American flag.
supporters, the president provided enor mous tax cuts for large corporations and the wealthy, which left the country with a debt numbering in the hundreds of bil lions of dollars.
Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 5
Over the course of the next three de cades we saw anti-democracy foot soldiers hard at work on the state and local levels chiseling away at voter districts in an effort to get less democracy-inclined candidates elected to office, despite the fact they were not reflective of the people’s will and certainly not in their best interests.
In short, we cannot be complacent. We must organize on every level from local to national. We must work as quickly as pos sible to motivate every democracy-minded individual to vote during the midterm elections and the next Presidential elec tion to save our country and to maintain the governance that made us respected by nations around the globe.
BY DAVID AARON MOORE QNOTES STAFF WRITER views
In fact, during the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and then later Lyndon Johnson, democracy in the United States regained a steadier foothold. Jim Crow laws were abolished and the integration of schools became the law of the land. The Civil Rights Act was passed.
“They think that parents have no right to know what your child is discussing with their teacher or their counselor,” Youngkin said, “particularly when some of the most important topics, most important topics that a child may want to discuss are being determined.”
In short, the bills are meant to dena
Projects Filming in North Carolina
Then there are the bills that protect the tender emotions of white students. These so-called “divisive concepts” laws prohibit any discussion of race in the classroom that could cause students to feel “anguish, guilt or any other form of discomfort or stress.”
Not content to remove current events and history from schools, Republicans have gone after other subjects as well. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) called for the removal of 54 math books because he claimed that they somehow slipped critical race theory into the multiplication tables.
As those schools proved, the curri cula are not designed to educate, but to indoctrinate. School choice options, like religious schools and, worse still, home schools, can be as political as they want. Indeed, a leading figure on the right Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA – has started a chain of “anti-woke” academies based on “bedrock principles” that sound a lot like Trumpism.
— John Gallagher
–Jonathan Limehouse
Absent from any of this discussion is anything about academic standards or, you know, actually making students smart er. There’s a good reason for that. What Republicans are interested in isn’t making students smarter, it’s making them more Republican. Apparently, the way to do that is to keep them as ignorant as possible.
pastor whose “chance encounter may turn out to be a true gift from heaven,” the state’s release said. The streaming movie recently wrapped up filming in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, and it will receive an award of up to $156,250.
news
info: bit.ly/3TYS16x
Virginia’s Republican governor wantsschools to out trans kids
As the GOP lurches ever forward toward authoritarianism, one of its key tactics is to suppress free thinking. What better place to start that effort than in the schools (and by extension school libraries)?
A continuing influx of film projects being shot in North Carolina will offer jobs for cast and crew. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock)
“Having North Carolina communities as the backdrop for independent and studiosupported projects is a positive multiplier for our talented workforce, our small businesses and our economy.” The three
der students to gain political points. “Transgender and non-binary students are not going anywhere, and we need to treat them with the respect and care that they deserve,” the statement read. “The gov
“What’s their name? What pronoun will they use? How are they going to express their gender? This is a decision that bureaucrats in Fairfax County believe that they should be able to make without telling parents,” the genderorientationbasedandtoganizationGLSEN.acommentscontinued.governorYoungkin’sdrewrebukefromTheorworksendbullyingharassmentonsexualandidentityin
schools. This effort got a big boost from you guessed it – the Supreme Court, which ruled in its last session that two antiLGBTQ Christian schools in Maine were entitled to receive state funding.
Virginia, a state somewhere in po litical flux between blue, red and purple, is showing some pretty ugly colors lately. The North Carolina border state’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin recently called on school officials to out transgender and gender nonconforming students to their parents.
Republicans think keeping kids ignorant is the key to academic excellence
are taught anything at all.
“This kind of hostile school climate puts trans youth at greater risk of harass ment, mental health challenges or discrim ination. Transgender and nonbinary stu dents need respect and autonomy, not additional scrutiny and policing of their gender identity in getingYoungkinVirginiastatement,school.”InaseparateEqualityblastedfortartransgen
Speaking at a “Parents Matter” rally on Wednesday, Youngkin criticized Fairfax County Public Schools Regulation 2603, which allows students to use the pronouns, restrooms and other school facilities that correspond with their gender identity and does not require school officials to notify parents of students’ transition.
N.C. doles out millions for more film projects shooting in North Carolina
Camera crews will continue to pop up around Charlotte aplenty after the state recently awarded three projects currently shooting in the area film grants for helping North Carolina’s economy and job market, Gov. Roy Cooper announced last month.
movies along with two other projects, the “Welcome to Flatch” television series in New Hanover, Duplin and Pender coun ties, and “Eric Larue” in Wilmington — are expected to generate $61 million of instate spending and more than 2,400 jobs, according to the release. “We are excited to have more and more productions creat ing economic development opportunities in our state,” North Carolina Film Office director Guy Gaster said in the release. Altogether, the projects bring filmrelated production spending in North Carolina to more than $241 million and creates more than 13,000 jobs in 2022, the release said. This is the second time projects being filmed in Charlotte received grants to encourage production in North Carolina. Hallmark television movie, “To Her With Love,” and a feature-length film, “AGB and Her Monster,” received rebates last month, The Charlotte Observer previ ously reported.
The “Welcome to Flatch” TV series is about a small town of primarily young adults being filmed for a documentary, according to IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base). The Fox series will get a rebate grant award of $6.5 million. This story appears courtesy of our me dia partner The Charlotte Observer. This story appears courtesy of our media partner The Charlotte Observer. info: bit.ly/3eHIEbi
That’s because Republicans believe that schools are where children should be taught how to become Republicans, if they
As previously reported from The Charlotte Observer, “Please Don’t Destroy” creators Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy have been shooting in Charlotte and the surround ing area. The film, which is shot feature-lengthamountmaximumawardedties,BurkeGastonMecklenburg,inandcounwasthefora film a $7 million rebate grant.
“Eric Larue” follows Janice, the mother of a 17-year-old who shot and killed three of his classmates, IMDB said. The project has been approved for a grant of up to $589,105.
But what’s less noticed is that in brand ing itself the education party, the GOP is actually the ignorance party. Republicans’ constant attacks on bogus controversies like critical race theory are just an excuse to dumb down the school curriculum.
students and educators and to force edu cators to violate students’ privacy by out ing them to guardians,” the organization’s executive director Melanie WillinghamJaggers said in a statement sent to the Los Angeles Blade.
That’s where the second part of the plan comes in. Republicans have been pushing hard for “school choice,” which would use taxpayer money to fund private
Kirk has the perfect credentials for the job. He never went to college.
Virginia’s anti-trans governor Glenn Youngkin on the Fox Channel. (Photo Credit: John Russell)
Two things are happening as Republicans go after schools. One is to focus on public schools and make sure that students learn a right-wing version of history. That involves eliminating groups that the right doesn’t like, like LGBTQ people. Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill is an obvious example of erasing the visibility of non-approved groups from schools.
— John Russell
The untitled Please Don’t Destroy project created by the Saturday Night Live comedy team previously reported on, “Site” featuring “True Story” and “Luke Cage” actor Theo Rossi, and the madefor-TV movie “Second Time Around” were named recipients of the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant, state Department of Commerce officials said in a news release. “We are excited to have more cameras rolling across our state,” Cooper said in the release.
“Site” is a film about a small town fam ily man who encounters something “ter rifying” at an abandoned government test site and begins “seeing haunting visions of a past that threatens to destroy his pres ent,” according to IMDB. The project was approved for a film rebate of $937,500.
It’s no surprise that schools have emerged as one of the key battlegrounds in the culture war.
ture history so that the ongoing quest for civil rights in the U.S. effectively ends with the Civil War.
This commentary appears courtesy of our media partner LGBTQ Nation. ::
info: bit.ly/3Dlzs6Q
“Second Time Around” focuses on a
This story appears courtesy of our media partner LGBTQ Nation.
6 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022
schools and has pub lished a guide along with the ACLU detail ing the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming students.
So-called “parental rights” in education have recently become a particular flash point for conservatives aiming to control what kids learn about and the ideas they are exposed to in schools. The line of at tack has led to disruptions at local school board meetings across the country, book bans in school and public libraries, and laws restricting the teaching of topics related to race and LGBTQ issues. Florida’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Act – bans any mention of LGBTQ topics at most grade levels.
“It’s devastating to see politically mo tivated attempts to break trust between
ernor’s administration needs to hear and really listen to what transgender youth in our schools have to say about their experi ences and ensure that there are policies in place to protect them. By instead making open threats to their rights, the adminis tration is failing transgender students in Virginia and contributing to hostile school environments for our youth.”
Connie J. Vetter, Esq. Attorney at Law, PLLC Your LGBTQ+ Law Attorney serving Clients from across North Carolina Talk/Text 704-333-4000 or online news
arguments in Zayre-Brown’s case, but refrained from making a ruling on the mo tion and he did not respond to the ACLU’s motion for a preliminary injunction, which would have allowed Zayre-Brown to have surgery and receive prescriptions.
—Daviddoor.
ney with the ACLU of North Carolina. “Mrs. Carolina,DistrictforU.S.Cogburnlife.”andfrontofcareurephoria.formedicaldeservesZayre-BrownadequatetreatmenthergenderdysDPS’sfailtoprovidethatisaviolationherrights,anaftoherdignity,athreattoherIfgrantedbyandtheDistrictCourttheWesternofNorththemotion
Once approved by the city, Croy and his team of artists Marq Sumrall and Jef Madden got to work. Each weekend and evening, the store was abuzz with art ists and volunteers. More than 30 people picked up brushes to help with the three
North Carolina prison inmate Kanautica Zayre-Brown remains hopeful she will be allowed to re ceive gender-affirming medical care while incarcerated.(Photo Credit: Facebook)
In a city full of murals, espe cially in areas like Plaza Midwood, NoDa, and Southend, the White Rabbit mural remains one of the largest in the city and is believed to be one of the largest LGBTQ murals in the country.
“To this day,” says Yarbrough, “we still get lots of compliments and many people stop to take photos of it.”
During the final week of August, at torneys for the ACLU urged a federal district court to grant preliminary relief to Zayre-Brown. Following the hearing, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn indicated the possibility of an order to reject the state government’s request to dismiss the suit entirely.
Ten years after the painting was fin ished, it remains a vibrant site to behold. While the colors are slightly bleached by the sun, they wrap around the building and still vividly depict images of a gender fluid drag performer and two same-sex couples amidst a blending of abstract and traditional rainbow colors with the words Pride, Love, Community and Equality on one wall and a dog and cat to great cus tomers at the front
“State officials must comply with their legal obligations to those committed to their care, including those who are trans gender,” said Jaclyn Maffetore, staff attor
diverse LGBT Communitycommunity.”reactionat the time of its creation, Croy confirmed, was nothing other than positive.
https://bit.ly/3ByHmIt
for a preliminary injunction will require DPS to assess Zayre-Brown for the medical care she has been denied and provide it while the case proceeds.Inresponse to litigation from the ACLU and ACLU affiliates, courts across the country have consistently recognized the right of incarcerated transgender people to adequate health care and safety measures. In late December 2021, a federal court ruled on a motion and ordered the Bureau of Prisons to evalu ate Cristina Nichole Iglesias for gender-
Cogburn confirmed he wants to hear
he had to get per mission from the building owners and make sure to comply with the city rules and regulations.“Ittookten months working with the city of Charlotte to get final approval to move forward.” said Yarbrough. “The first drawing of the mural had a rabbit sitting on a swing hanging from a limb of a large tree.” Yarbrough continued. “The city would not let us use the rabbit saying that made it a sign. Then they had issues with size of the words on the mural.”
White Rabbit pride store moved to its current location, 920 Central Avenue, in November, 2007. Owner Jim Yarbrough, also the publisher of Qnotes, moved the newspaper’s offices into the sizable struc ture in the summer of 2011.
Aaron Moore
trans woman’s lawsuit against state prison expected to proceed LGBTQ mural celebrates tenth anniversary
In the most recent lawsuit filed on behalf of Zayre-Brown in April 2022, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS) is charged with denying es sential gender-affirming health care to the inmate, who has been diagnosed with genderZayre-Browndysphoria.has requested necessary treatment consistent with established medical standards yet for several years, but she continues to face numerous delays.
The following year noted Charlotte artist Gil Croy was working on a project at the Charlotte LGBTQ Community Center and had an idea. He saw the White Rabbit structure as something more than just a building. He saw the potential for a mas sive canvas, which would allow him to paint a mural that would pay homage to the diversity of local LGBTQ culture.
Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 7
Croy, however, insisted that the mas sive mural was not political in nature and not a response to Amendment One. “It ac tually has nothing to do with Amendment One,” Croy said at the time. “Rather, it is to celebrate Charlotte’s ever growing and
Kanautica Zayre-Brown had been incarcerated in a North Carolina men’s facility for more than a year when the Department of Public Safety made the decision to move the transgender female inmate to a women’s facility in Anson County in 2019. That decision made her the first incarcerated transgender person transferred based on gender identity in NorthUnfortunately,Carolina. her struggles didn’t end there, and her fight to receive genderaffirming medical care continues, though it appears there may now be a light at the end of the tunnel.
month long project.
N.C.
Although it doesn’t seem like a very long time ago, a lot has happened in the past 10 years.
At the time North Carolina’s anti-mar riage equality “Amendment One” had had been recently approved by voters, defin ing opposite sex marriage as “the only domestic legal unions considered valid or recognized in the state.”
More information on this developing story will be forthcoming as it is made avail able.
Although no specific dates have been announced, he is expected to issue his de cision on both motions in the near future,
affirming surgery. That decision marked the first time a court has ordered the fed eral government to address an incar cerated person’s medical needs 2017,toandinsurancewasedtransgender-relatforsurgeryneeds.Zayre-Brownconvictedoffraudsentencedtenyearsinwhichwould
mean she will remain in the Anson County Correctional Facility until 2027. Reaction to her plight from LGBTQ Americans nationwide and the work of the ACLU secured her transfer from a men’s prison to the women’s facility in 2019. She has expressed regret for her crimes and is hopeful for an early release.
—David Aaron Moore
Croy approached Yarbrough with the idea of painting a mural on all three of the visible sides of the store building. As a project of the Community Center, Croy would manage everything, in terms of material, expenses and volunteers to help paint. Yarbrough liked the idea, however,
Finding Community
The Globe and Mail Prism provided an immediate resource for Allen and other students in the LGBTQ+ community at Wingate. The tight-knit club helped Allen find kindred spirits, but when she found out about East Frank Superette and Kitchen, she found a community.
do, Robinson wants to ensure they can prevent this from happening in the future. One of her organizations’ goals is to increase GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) clubs in the local high schools.
One of the spaces that also helped Allen was Prism, a club at Wingate dedicated to the education and support of gender identity and sexual orientation. “I have a lot of friends at Wingate who are also in the community,” Allen said. “I think that’s the great thing about having these clubs and these events is that it brings people together and it gives you a support system that you may not normally have. I definitely needed that during that time... I still need it now.”
The restaurant holds a variety of events, including drag shows, which regularly sell out. Englander said while their other events were popular, the drag shows were really embraced by the community. Already their show for September is sold out, and they’re con sidering now doing two a month. “This one was where people were like, ‘Finally I have a place to be,’” Englander said of their drag show events.
For its owners, being inclusive was always the goal. “We decided from the get go to provide an inclusive space for everybody because that was lacking in Union County,” said Carley Englander, co-owner of East Frank’s.
Spaces like East Frank’s and Union County Pride were long in need, says
Continued on page 13 life
“It makes it easier for them to have someone to talk to,” she said. “And that can go a long way.” Robinson echoed similar sentiments. In 2015, a transgender teen in Union County died by suicide after being bullied by both youth and adults. In the work Union County Pride aims to
a Confederate statue still in the middle of town, she said. “That sends a message, but our message is everyone is welcomed in our store,” Barnes said. “We never intended to be crusaders or anything. We were just who we are.”
“The first year I really just did a lot of stuff in Mecklenburg [County]. There wasn’t really anything to find over in Union County,” Robinson, 46, recalled.
Robinson, who identifies as queer, moved to Union County shortly before the pan demic, but found she had to travel to find more inclusive spaces.
8 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022
E
“We didn’t even have coffee houses we [could] find that would feel comfortable. There was one in Waxhaw that had a good vibe, but until East Frank’s came along there really wasn’t a hang out place.”
The restaurant, located in downtown Monroe, has become a gathering space for those in the queer community in Union County. “They have a bunch of events that [are] inclusive, including poetry slams, karaoke nights and gaming nights,” Allen said. “You get to meet people from all dif ferent backgrounds and interests, but they still support you.”
who was looking to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ people in Union County.
Allen said she noticed differences in how people treated her after she came out. One of her favorite restaurants she used to attend was always warm to her. When she later returned with her girlfriend, things changed. “I was treated very rudely,” she said. “I don’t even know how to explain [that]. It was like I was pushed over.” And while her parents grew to be sup portive, other family members were not as receptive when she posted her girlfriend on social media. The support she received from her friends on campus helped ease the challenging moment.
Traveling to Mecklenburg County for such resources is not uncommon for those in surrounding counties, according to Bethany Corrigan, executive director of Transcend Charlotte. Corrigan leads an organization that pursues equity for transgender and gender expansive com munities. “It would make sense that in a highly, densely populated urban area that there might be more services,” Corrigan explained, “but it doesn’t make it easier on the folks who are in smaller or rural sur roundingPeoplecounties.”inlessdensely populated ar eas with limited or no transportation op tions can also face challenges accessing these resources, Corrigan said. A 2019 report by the Movement Advancement Project estimated between 2.9 million and 3.8 million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people live in rural America — at the time around 15 percent to 20 percent of that respective population.
The restaurant also connected Allen to Cristal Robinson, a Weddington resident
In small towns beyond Charlotte, despiteresistance, LGBTQ Pride abounds
As Charlotte’s Pride festivities hit full swing the last week of August and are generally embraced, outside the Queen City’s bubble is not as welcoming. North Carolinians identifying as LGBTQ+ face other challenges and are striving to create their own inclusive spaces in smaller cities andBuildingtowns. inclusive spaces is hard fought in the face of resistance. It comes after Union County officials in June decided to cancel LGBTQ+ events at the Union County Library planned in advance of the county’s first Pride festi val, next month. Earlier in June, Gaston County officials removed a photo of two men kissing that was a part of the county museum’s photography exhibit.
Robinson got to know the Union County Democrats, who would meet at a Whole Foods prior to the pandemic. The su permarket chain marked one of the few spaces she considered liberal leaning at the time. It was at least one more space for people in the LGBTQ+ community. “There was nothing,” Robinson said.
Cress Barnes, a co-owner at East Frank’s, said upon moving to Union County they did a lot of research about the angst and civil unrest that took place in Union County’s history. Currently there is even
Over the last few years, Robinson has worked along side others to carve out an inclusive space for members of the queer com munity in Union County. She now heads CountyUnionPride, one of many organizationspride that have sprouted up in the past decade outside of more outsideingofPride,ofViceAllen,populateddenselycities.whoisnowPresidentUnionCountysaidmanytheyouthlivincountiesofMecklenburg
mily Allen’s nerve-wracking journey to come out to her family last December ultimately became a revelation about what identifying as queer means in a small town. “I just started to see in Union County there weren’t really many safe spaces for LGBTQ youth or adults to hang out and be themselves,” Allen, a 22-year-old student at Wingate University, said.
need these spaces and support systems in their towns — es pecially if some are not getting it at home.
Union County Pride set for Belk Tonawanda Park in Monroe
“I don’t want another child to go through that,” Robinson said. On Aug. 11, Allen joined Robinson and Cynthia Brown, treasurer of Union County Pride, at East Frank’s in Monroe. The restau rant has been open for three years, but has already come to be known as a hub and safe space for members in the LGBTQ+ community. The restaurant has a home-like and laid-back vibe and is rarely empty, according to Robinson.
BY DJ SIMMONS | CONTRIBUTING WRITER
East Frank Superette and Kitchen is a welcoming and inclusive space for the LGBTQ community. (Photo Credit: Facebook)
This year’s theme is “IRL!” (Inspiring Real Love) and organizers hope the experience will encourage the act of just that.
The evening after the parade and festival, the festivities will continue with a concert held in Durham Central Park with a culminating party at The Fruit – a former produce warehouse repurposed into an arts and entertainment event space.
Looking back at American queer his tory, Pride celebrations were born out of a rebellion against oppression, known as the Stonewall Riots, which took place in the wee hours of the morning on June 28, 1969. On that date, NYPD officers raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar located in New York City’s Greenwich Village, an area well-known for its concentration of LGBTQ residents and businesses.
All but one was able to flee. Antonevitch – because of a physical disability – could not run. His disability resulted in him being beaten unmercifully, leading to his death. Durham’s LGBTQ community responded to the incident in a manner similar to what had occurred at the Stonewall Inn 12 years earlier, with angry protests in front of a courthouse and calls for justice.
In addition, Pride Durham will also showcase the talents of Madame Gandhi, Zebra Katz and Imani Pressley. As the night ends, Pride party-goers can look forward to dancing the night away to the tunes of DJ Wicked, Femi the Femme, DJ Ayo VIP and DJ Gay Agenda.
This year, as it began and has been for the many years prior, Durham’s Pride Parade and full festival of vendors is being held on Duke’s campus. Durham’s four major pride events will all happen on Saturday, Sept. 24.
One later event in the LGBTQ Pride event on North Carolina’s calendar is Pride Durham. The LGBTQ community and friends celebrate the event Sept. 24. This year also marks a return to live and in-person. Like many Pride celebrations around the world events in Durham have been previously stymied because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not so, this year!
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Kimora Brooks will serve as Pride Durham’s Grand Marshall. (Photo Credit: Facebook)
All across the nation, and in many cases across the globe, June begins LGBTQ Pride month.
Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 9
“I think there are several things, but what comes to mind immediately is the rich history that we get to be a part of,” says Huddleston. “Not only do we experi ence, but we also get to contribute and invest in that experience for the benefit of the community and the culture. I continue to meet people and learn of stories that relate to Pride and people’s experiences. It’s what makes it worth protecting and preserving. It makes our community beau tiful and strong.”: :
A look at pride history’s roots and how Durham will celebrate
Carolinians will be happy to learn that Durham’s Parade and festival are back after a 2021 hybrid (virtual and in person) Pride event that was broken up between
In the Carolinas, Pride events of one sort or another begin during the interna tionally recognized month and continue through September and October, wrap ping up with related tie-ins to Bisexual Awareness Day (Sept. 23) and National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11).
was quoted in the Durham Herald, “We just don’t want to let this incident at Little River pass. It’s a question of the whole atmosphere that would let something like thisFourhappen.”years after Antonevitch’s mur derers were sentenced for their crimes in a Durham court in 1986, a second equal rights demonstration was held on the campus of Duke University. Over the next 14 years, annual pride events and marches would follow, held in other major
Duke’s campus and the city’s LGBTQ center (for the few in person community service vendors). Indeed, 2021 vendors were sparce in comparison to usual, but they will be back in abundance for 2022.
In a statement the Co-Chairs of Pride, Carlos Fernandez and Jesse Huddleston, confirmed this year’s event is expected to be attended by a crowd well into the thou sands, and there are hopes for a larger attendance than in years past.
The Stonewall Inn was a popular des tination for the queer community – espe cially the drag and transgender commu nity. Throughout the community, people had grown weary and angry about the abusive raids and finally decided enough was enough on that night in late June. The rebellion lasted for more than six days and laid the groundwork for Pride marches, parades and events so many now attend.
By the early 2000s the decision was made to keep the former state Pride event in Durham celebrating local queer culture, while other cities in North Carolina began to hold their own. Today, Whitman’s mem ory continues to be echoed in the spirit of Durham’s pride celebration and others.
The two are enthusiastic and clearly looking forward to a successful array of in clusive events that will highlight the trans and BIPOC communities. The parade’s Grand Marshall, Kimora Brooks, is a local drag artist and Black and indigenous trans person. Other performers representing the rainbow of diversity in the Durham LGBTQ community are drag queens and kings such as Stormie Dale, Dustin Reams and“There’sTeagress.always intent behind what we do for community,” Fernandez explains. “We want to make sure we have representation and that there is diverse representation of community. Not just white community, not just Black community, but everyone.”
Huddleston explained why he expected the upsurge in attendance. “People are ex cited to gather and in general because the pandemic has been brutal. So, we’re really grateful and excited to come out and come together. I think that’s even more true because [Pride is the] reason people will come out [for events].”
BY L’MONIQUE KING QNOTES STAFF WRITER
Durham’s now annual march and festival came about as a result of and re action against an area hate crime. In April 1981 a gay man known as Ronald “Sonny” Antonevitch died from injuries after being beaten on the banks of the Little River in Durham. Antonevitch had been sunbathing on the banks of Little River along with three friends when a group of homophobic locals (four men and two women) began spewing hateful epitaphs and attacking the sunbathers with clubs and tree branches.
A few months later North Carolina’s first gay and lesbian march “Our Day Out” was held on June 27, 1981. It attracted about 300 hundred brave marchers. Carl Whitman was one of those marchers and
Huddleston feels the importance of Pride Durham can’t be understated.
Performers such as Stormie Daie, Teagress and Dustin Reams will be on hand to keep the crowd entertained Pride Durham 2022. (Photo Credits: Stormie: Teagress: Shattering Light/ Facebook) Facebook; Dustin Reams: Facebook
cities throughout the state.
Durham’s Pride celebration is back in real life and in person
First officially observed in 1999 at the International Lesbian and Gay Association Conference in Johannesburg, South
This day (week, month) is a call to rec ognize and celebrate bisexual history, bi sexual community and culture and all the bisexual people in our lives. Currently, no events are planned in the Carolinas, how ever, a virtual online celebration is slated for the Facebook community known as Bisexual Plus, which begins at 9 a.m. and continues through 10 p.m.
Africa, Celebrate Bisexuality Day is the brainchild of three bisexual rights activ ists: Wendy Curry of Maine, Michael Page of Florida, and Gigi Raven Wilbur of Texas.According to a Wikipedia article, Curry offered this assessment for the current date of celebration:
muddy in places, but it’s still a solid read for the political-minded among us.
The 10 best books about bisexuality that should be on your shelf right now
“We were sitting around at one of the annual bi conventions venting, and some one – I think it was Gigi – said we should have a party. We all loved the great bi sexual, Freddie Mercury. His birthday was in September, so why not September? We wanted a weekend day to ensure the most people would do something. Gigi’s birthday was Sept. 23. It fell on a week end day, so, poof! We had a day.”
Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Charles M. Blow
No bookshelf on bi issues should be without this on it. Getting Bi collects 220 separate essays on the subject that cover the gamut of bi experience, including a substantial number of non-western writ ers and experiences. Worth noting: It was updated in 2009, but it is surely due for yet another edition in the future, particularly to look into the rise of pansexuality and the many changes that have impacted the LGBTQ community in the last decade.
sameReportedly,year.
One of the smaller niches in any LGBTQ bookstore or library is the bisexual shelf. Finding a good book on bisexuality can, at times, be as difficult as finding bisexual voices within the larger LGBTQ movement. Much the same, once you find them, you are liable to find some rare and wonderful things that you might have overlooked in the crowd.
sion. The topic may sound dry, but San Filippo brings a sharp ness to her writ ing that keeps this dive engaging.vampirearteverything,intofromcinematomovies,
Here’s a pick of the best books to fatten up your bookshelf with information, auto biographies, a little snark and some deep dives into what it means to be bisexual.
A mix of different event names and people from around the globe all aim for the same goal
cause of social justice.” He declared June 23, 1990, to be Bisexual Pride Day. That date didn’t stick.
The B Word: Bisexuality in Contemporary Film and Television by Maria San Filippo
Debuting initially as an advice column on the Bisexual Resource Center’s web site, this book collects a pick of the best of Upland’s columns in one place. Both hu morous and thoughtful, this is a great book for those seeking to better understand their own bisexuality or that of others. What’s more, behind Tiggy Upland’s quirks
Black Dove: Mama, Mi’jo, and Me by Ana Castillo
They had their first meeting at the initial National Bisexual Conference in America, held in San Francisco, that
Getting Bi: Voices AroundBisexualsofthe
A beautiful autobiographical picture of growing up in Chicago as a Hispanic woman, Castillo, a feminist bisexual woman, tells a heartfelt and personal story of both her and her son’s coming of age in America though a Hispanic lens. While the chapters touching on her bisexuality and polyamory may be of the most relevance on this list, it may be Castillo’s openness about her son’s arrest and incarceration that will stick with you the longest.
On Sept. 18, 2012, Berkeley, Calif., be came what is thought to be the first city in the United States to officially proclaim a day recognizing bisexuals. The Berkeley City Council unanimously and without discussion declared Sept. 23 as Bisexual Pride and Bi Visibility Day. : :
Bad Dyke: Salacious Stories from a Queer Life by Allison Moon
This is truly the “missing manual” of queer studies and media critique, digging into the way bisexuality is treated — and often mistreated in film and televi
10 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022
The Bisexual’s Guide to the Universe: Quips, Tips, and Lists for Those Who Go Both Ways by Nicole Kristal and Mike Szymanski
More distinctly political than most of
Advice from a Wild Deuce: The Best of Ask Tiggy by Tiggy Upland
In this groundbreaking anthology first published in 1991, more than seventy women and men from all walks of life describe their lives as bisexuals in prose, poetry, art and essays. Despite some dated content, it’s a seminal collection that still deserves to be read!
This article appears courtesy of our me dia partner LGBTQ Nation. : :
Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me by Ellen Forney
World by Robin Ochs and Sarah Rowley
Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaahumanu
Here’s a pick of the best books to add to your bookshelf with a first hand look at what it means to be bisexual
The biggest “bi” in this graphic mem oir is “bipolar,” as author Ellen Forney explores her creative life since her diag nosis with bipolar disorder. Fear not that this book is on the wrong list, however: Marbles also digs deep into the other “bi’ in Forney’s life, talking frankly about her bisexual identity.
This is not the book you share with your grandmother to explain bisexuality. This selection of essays by Allison Moon is full of bawdy, sometimes graphic tales of her coming of age as queer in the 1990s. The sexual content, however, will ring true to any reader. The stories twist and turn, in rhythm with Moon’s own better under stand of herself and her interests.
and wit, you’ll find a large dose of kindness.
the books on this list, Bi: Notes for a mayagainst.criminatedandexploitedginalized,oftenhavepeopleformanifestofeelsRevolutionBisexuallikeabisexualwhobeenmardisItbeabit
Bisexual
Day of Visibility (also called Celebrate Bisexuality Day, Bisexual Pride Day, Bi Visibility Day, CBD, Bisexual Pride and Bi Visibility Day, and Bisexuality+ Day) is generally observed on Sept. 23, although some organizations and websites refer to September as Bisexual Awareness Month.
New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow’s memoir will take you on a beautiful and often challenging story of coming of age as a Black bisexual man in the deep south. This is a powerful, potent story that feels all the more important in the Trump years.
BY GWENDOLYN SMITH| CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The roots of Bisexual Day of Awareness can be traced back to 1990, when the oldest known national bisexual organization in the United States, BiNet USA, was founded.
more than 450 people at tended from 20 states and five countries, and the mayor of San Francisco sent a proclamation “commending the bisexual rights community for its leadership in the
The roots behind Bisexual Day of Visibility
Autobiographical tomes on the bisexual experience can be a challenge to find, but well worth the read. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock)
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This one shares a lot of useful infor mation in a humorous fashion, but at the same time this text could also disappoint with a focus on stereotypes and their ilk. It is not recommended for a newcomer, but someone who has been out and about for a while. It’s worth a look, especially for fans of snark.
BY DAVID A. MOORE |STAFF WRITER
Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner
Josephine Baker JosephinesingerDancer,andactressBaker
was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, andreerbegan“Zouzou.”1934’sBakerhercainvaudevillelaterroseto
BY LAINEY MILLEN I CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Hans AndersenChristian Danish writer Hans fairytales,world’swrittenknownAndersenChristianiswellforhavingsomeofthemostfamousincluding
Actress Greta Garbo was a star who successfully made the transition from silent films to “talkies” and was one of the biggest stars of the early film industry. During WWII, Garbo worked as a spy for the British government. She also became an art collector later in life. Garbo never married, but appears to have had relation ships with both men and women, with later biographies bringing her relation ships with women to light.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
BasquiatJean-Michel
Organization in the Triad specificallyfor bisexual community
Composer, conductor, writer and pianist Leonard Bernstein is best known for writing the score for “West Side Story,” as well as the film score for “On The Waterfront.” He also wrote music for ballet, opera and orchestral perfor mances, among others. Bernstein was also a philanthropist whose efforts focused on increasing music, dance and theater instruction in schools. Bernstein left his wife when he decided he could no longer conceal his bisexuality, but returned to her when she became ill, caring for her until her death. He is also said to have had relationships with both men and women before marrying his wife.
Painter Frida Kahlo had a distinc tive, surrealism,suchdowithstyle,individualisticoftenlabeledcategoriesthatnotquitestick,asfolkartandwhichshe
BY JEFF TAYLOR| CONTRIBUTING WRITER
events. “While the group will explore the cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point, and enjoy ourselves, we also have a higher purpose. amBi’s mission is to build a vibrant and visible bi-community
Editors Note: First run in Qnotes on September 9, 2016. ::
A look at some significant contributors to world culture
Writer Edna St. Vincent Millay won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, only the third woman to win the award. Millay also wrote prose un der the pseudonym Nancy Boyd. Much of her writing explored female sexuality, feminism and antiwar concepts. She was married to a man, but both of them had lovers throughout the relationship. Millay was openly bisexual.
This month the community celebrates bisexual visibility, shining a spotlight on part of the LGBTQ community that is all too often ignored. Here is a list of noteworthy bisexual individuals through out history.
Co-organizers Cindia Gonzalez and Dave Moffatt met at a bisexual/pansexual support group started by North Star LGBTQ
One of the most famous and critically acclaimed painters of the 20th Jean-MichelCentury,Basquiat first gained notoriety as a graffiti artist living in New York City. His work married elements of figuration, abstract expres sionism, neo-expressionism, graffiti, poetry and folk art. His work often dealt with socio-political issues and spoke out against colonialism and racism. He rose to fame early and created all of his work before his death of a drug overdose at just 27. Basquiat never came out as bisexual, but is said to have had relationships with both men and women. Jennifer Clement, author of “Widow Basquiat,” said of the artist: “He was attracted to people for all
here in the Triad,” organizers shared. Gonzalez said, “It is so important to build a positive, vibrant bisexual com munity in the Triad. Bisexuals are the largest portion of the queer community, yet often suffer greater health dispari ties and minority stress than either gays or lesbians, mostly due to bi-phobia and bi-erasure. It’s time we had a place in the Triad to build a community of healthy, fun-loving, positive bisexuals and allies, and to affirm that our bisexuality is as valid a way of loving as any other.”
Greta Garbo
Simone Beauvoirde Writer, philoso pher and activist Simone de Beauvoir was one of the most influential thinkers of her time. Her writing wellfeministexploredtheory,asasexistential
Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 11
different reasons. They could be boys, girls, thin, fat, pretty, ugly. It was, I think, driven by intelligence.”
Three years and counting, WinstonSalem and the Piedmont Triad’s chapter of amBi.org, a national group of social clubs for bisexuals, is still going strong in the region. The first amBi chapter on the East Coast, amBi Triad NC joins 10 other locations.
Community Center in Winston-Salem and became passionate about offering more programming for bisexuals and pansexuals in the Triad. amBi Triad NC is not just an other meetup group that will only offer fun
For more information visit ambi.org/ triad-north-carolina and groups/457277904867858/facebook.com/ . : :
Leonard Bernstein
Founded in Los Angeles in 2006, national amBi.org “embraces the vision that social progress begins with commu nity and only by building and maintaining a vibrant and visible bisexual commu nity can real progress begin on social issues that matter to bisexual people,” the organization said. At amBi Triad NC, participants can attend events, enjoy fun activities and meet other bisexual and bi-friendly people in the Triad.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes,” The Little Mermaid,” “The Snow Queen” and “The Ugly Duckling.” He also wrote novels, plays, travelogues and poems for an adult audience. While Andersen avoided sex and did not have any successful relationships during his life, he did fall in love with both men and women.
Now in its third year, Facebook shows 175 members
ism, which came in the form of novels, essays and biographies. De Beauvoir’s longtime partner was fellow philosopher, writer and activist Jean-Paul Sartre, but she also had relationships with throughoutwomenherlife.
life
Frida Kahlo
Gonzalez concluded, “We’re so excited that amBiTriadNC was founded during Bi Pride Month and that we’re the first amBi chapter in the South and on the East Coast.”
prominence while performing in France. Ernest Hemingway called her “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.” Baker refused to perform for segregated audiences and was active in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. She was also noted for her support of the French Resistance during WWII. Her adopt ed son described her as bisexual, claiming she had relationships with both men and women, including artist Frida Kahlo. Baker was married four times.
rejected. She is most well known for her self-portraits. When the Louvre acquired her ”The Frame” painting, it was the first work of a twentieth-century Mexican artist that they purchased. She would go on to gain much more notoriety after her death. Kahlo was married to fellow artist Diego Rivera and also had relationships with women throughout her life.
Famous bisexual people throughout history
Bisexuals
3. “Bisexuals are cheaters.”
11. “Bisexuals love threesomes.”
As if we don’t have standards. That doesn’t make any sense.
Editors Note: First run in Qnotes on June 1, 2016
Thirteen things not to say to bisexuals
often face biphobia from both the straight and gay communi ties. There are a number of myths surrounding bisexuality, despite the fact that bisexuals have existed throughout history. Here are some things bisexual people are sick of hearing and that you should stop saying, if you find yourself thinkingFromthem.writer and bi activist Eliel Cruz’s “13 Things to Never Say to Bisexuals”
1. “Bisexuals don’t exist.”
Polyamory means that you are in a relationship with more than one person. There are bisexual people who are polyamorous. There are also gay people and straight people who are polyamorous. It is not specific to bisexuality. They are two different things, but they can overlap, just like any other sexuality.
12 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022
9. “Bisexuality is binary.”
There are a lot of times in media, in fictional characters but also in real life, where bisexuality is erased from the LGBTQ community, as well as the straight community. You’ll see a lot of LGBTQ orga nizations missing the “B” in their program ming, a lot less out bisexual individuals. This has a lot to do with biphobia. Bisexual erasure is definitely a real thing and it hurts us.
According to author Eliel Cruz, bisexuals make up at least half of the LGBTQ community
10. “Bisexuals spread HIV.”
Photo of man marching in the D.C. Capital Pride parade, held in Washington, D.C.
This is a really ugly stereotype that came from the height of the HIV/AIDS cri sis. When we started seeing women with HIV as well, people blamed a lot of the
12. “Bisexual erasure is a myth.”
It’s all for this male gaze, straight men enjoying women being with women but also with me. Not all women are bisexual, and to sexualize them just be cause they’re women only serves to uphold a really disgusting archaic idea of patriarchy and male gaze, and let’s not do that any more. Not all women are bisexual. Some are, and that’s cool too.
Bisexuals are not only attracted to cisgender men and women…Bisexuality was never meant to be binary. It is only because we think in such binary ways that we assume that the “bi” means two as in “man” and “woman.” Bisexuality simply is: I’m attracted to genders that are my own and genders that are not.
life
Actually, one of my friends is bisexual, and he has so much anxiety that he says the idea of being in bed with more than one person is so [stressful] that he would never in his life want to be in that position.
This is a tired old trope…There’s plenty of out and proud bisexuals. I’m one of them.
to be sexually satis fied…We have the same low to high sexual cravings as any other community, gay or straight.
5. “Bisexuality is polyamory.”
8. “Bisexuals find everyone attractive.”
We don’t need all the genders in order
bisexual community for “spreading” HIV. Regardless of who you are, regardless of your sexuality, if you take the proper pre cautions, if you’re using a condom, you’re asking your partner their status, you know your status [and] you’re taking PrEP, we can stop this disease. Let’s be smart about it and let’s be safe.
13. “The bisexual community is small.” We make up almost half the LGBTQ community.
BY JEFF TAYLOR| CONTRIBUTING WRITER
This has a really annoying sexualization aspect to it that we see a lot in the media.
4. “Bisexuals are greedy.”
2. “Bisexuality is a phase.”
If you’re scared of commitment, you need to reevaluate your life and figure out what you want to do before you get into dating. It has nothing to do with your sexuality or the other person’s sexuality, whatever it may be.
I came out when I was 14; 11 to myself, when I first encountered the word bi sexual on Google. I never identified as gay, I’ve always identified as bisexual. I’m now [30]. It’s been a … long “phase.”
7. “All women are bisexual.”
CREDIT: Tim Evanson
6. “Bisexuals are scared of commit ment.”
Cheaters are cheaters. Cheaters come in straight forms, gay forms, bisexual forms. Cheating isn’t attributed to one sexuality. To say that bisexuals are cheaters is just a misunderstanding of what bisexuality is.
Service
The Momentum Is Growing
“The need is there and the momen tum is growing,” they said. Elsewhere, Robinson points to Salisbury Pride and Rock Hill Pride as examples of smaller counties or cities that have seen local or ganizations work to make their own towns more inclusive. Salisbury Pride was cre ated by a group of friends who wanted to celebrate equality and diversity, according to the organization’s website. It held the city’s first pride festival in 2011, and the organization became a nonprofit in 2012. Similarly, Queen City News reported Rock Hill celebrated its first Pride Festival in 2021, which drew more than 2,000 people to its events. Robinson is hopeful smaller counties or towns will continue to create their own organizations to provide inclu sive spaces for their queer population, and not force them to travel out. For Brown, who has witnessed slow change around the country, in her hometown and where she now lives, Union County Pride is about continuing to show the queer community are everywhere and no different. “We’re validated in our relationships,” Brown said. “We’re validated in who we are.”
Cynthia Brown, a Monroe resident. Brown has been out as a lesbian for decades and was excited to see Union County Pride established. “I’ve been talking about it for a year,” Brown, 55, said of establishing a local pride organization.
Continuing from page 8 life
Liz Cooper, Union County’s director of communications, told the Charlotte Ob server the government typically partici pates in or promotes municipal-sponsored events, or events by organizations that re ceives the government’s funding. “County administration determined it was prudent to review events ... particularly ones we had not previously participated in,” Cooper said in an email.
“When they told me there was a Facebook page I jumped on it. I wanted to be involved, and I wanted to be a part of it because I’m a part of the older commu nity, I guess you could say.” Brown, who was raised in Charlotte, said similar to how her hometown changed over the years, Union County is now slowly changing. “I have been flying my rainbow flag since the first of June and it’s August,” she said, “and I’ve had zero resistance.”
“With me being gone, it’s so important they still feel safe when they walk up to someone at the library,” Kimbrell said.
of mouth has become one of the ways people in the queer community are finding and sharing their own spaces and resourc es in Union County, Kimbrell said.
Brown has watched both the nation and her hometown come a ways over the years when it comes to embracing people in the LGBTQ+ community. But she point ed to the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme court case in 2015 as a true watershed moment for LGBTQ+ people. In 2015, the Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage through the case.
CAROLINA MORTUARY SERVICE & CREMATION Funeral Over Years in
Members of Union County Pride noted there is a vocal minority seemingly opposed to change. In June, the Union County Library backed out of plans to host a seminar ahead of the county’s first ever pride festival, as first reported by WSOC-TV. Robinson said the group also planned a drag queen story time, and wanted to partner with the library to host a book club for teens. She said the move was disappointing, but did not blame staff, and noted the decision came from Union County government officials.
The library was one of the spaces in Union County where Kimbrell was able to find their own resources. Kimbrell, who identifies as non-binary, said they noticed a co-worker wearing a non-binary pin like them one day. After approaching them, they instantly hit it off. The connection led them to resources within the library, like LGBTQ+ friendly books, and resources outside the library, like East Frank’s. Word
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In 2021, the Charlotte City Council adopted a new nondiscrimination ordi nance which would include protections for gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and natural hairstyles. “I enjoy seeing a younger couple walking down the streets holding hands without any resis tance,” Brown said. “It’s a beautiful sight to be able to do that, and I’ve seen that just explode in Mecklenburg.” It’s improving in Union County, but there is still a ways to go, she said.
This article appears courtesy of our me dia partner The Charlotte https://www.charlotteobserver.com.Observer. : :
Union County Pride takes place Sept. 18 at Belk Tonawanda Park (Photo Credit: Facebook)
“It’s still like that even though Union County Pride is just getting off the ground,” they said. “But they are literally making it more accessible for the queer community in Union County.” Kimbrell recently resigned from the library, in part because the library canceled the Pride events. But they worried about those who had found a comforting person to walk up to and ask about more LGBTQ+ resources.
But the decision was tough for many, including Kate Kimbrell, a former librar ian at Union County Library, who said it was hard to stomach. “The library is a safe space for everybody,” Kimbrell said. “It’s a space anybody can go for a non-biased interaction for non-biased information. Sexuality, gender expression, the LGBTQ community, well that’s a part of that.”
Having members of the queer com munity come up to them and know they found someone safe to interact with was so important, they said. Even within the library, the queer community would try to
be as affirming as they could, giving warm gestures to each other, providing compli ments and continuing to direct those in need to affirming resources. But some in Union County still do not realize how many people live within the county who also identify as LGBTQ+, Kimbrell said.
Gay Owned and Operated Charlotte’s Oldest Independent
Charlotte has seized the oppor tunity to showcase its edgier, more artistically creative side with the inaugural, first annual Charlotte International Arts Festival (CIAF).
BY TERESA DAVIS| CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, the Mint Museums, the Levine, Gantt and Bechtler museums and culture centers are but a few highly vis ible venues which consistently provide the Charlotte area with top-quality art. Until now, however, larger numbers of exhibits that highlight the innovative, cutting-edge exploratory arts world have remained primarily underground.
“Blackstar,” Bowie’s final album, was re leased two days before his death in 2016, and the Artistic Director of the Charlotte
For the festival, attractions at
The CIAF, presented by Blumenthal Performing Arts, brings to Charlotte a high level of cutting edge artistry that many Carolinians have not yet expe rienced. The 17-day festival strives to stoke our imaginations as we see the Queen City through new eyes. Many artists from all over the globe pres ent their work, but they’re also joined by plenty of local artists who provide Charlotte the opportunity to experi ence the Queen City’s homegrown artisticMind-bogglingtalent. performances and exhibits include dancers repelling off office buildings and flying around rooms, interactive murals involving water, and aerial displays performed by artists perched atop swaying polls. Organizers say this festival not only captures more innovative, artistic aspects of Charlotte, but also celebrates diversity through its many varied forms of art.The Festival exhibits larger than life, fanciful sculptures and also provides inter active presentations featuring labyrinths of tunnels and domes. Festival organizers promise plentiful food trucks, and Uptown’s Levine Avenue Artist Stage includes a Biergarten with Live Music beginning at 11:30 am on Friday, September 16.
Also of particular interest to the Carolinas’ LGBTQ community is the “Drag Queen Story Hour.” Similar presentations have caused unwarranted controversy in parts of North Carolina but continue to be welcome in Charlotte. The spoken word performances will take place at Romare Bearden Park in Uptown September 17-18, 11 a.m. to noon.
Multi-location event explores Queen City’s edgier artistic side
At 8:00 pm on September 16, the Festival presents the world premiere of “Blackstar Symphony: The Music of David Bowie” with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and guest artist John Cameron Mitchell from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The performance is also scheduled for Saturday, September 17. Both will be held at Charlotte’s Belk Theater in Uptown.
First Charlotte International Arts Festival boasts 200 works of art
For decades, the Queen City has been known for NASCAR and proudly representing the Carolinas with its first class Panthers football team.
world premiere, Donny McCaslin, is best known as the saxophonist on Bowie’s “Blackstar” album. Tickets for each of the performances start at $40 and can be pur chased through Blumenthal’s CarolinaTix.
An important attraction, “Drag Queen Story Hour is presented as part of an international organization that promotes diversity in literature through drag. Drag queens and kings read books to children to promote diversity and self-acceptance, but the performances are entertaining for adults as well as kids.
Taking place from September 16 to October 2, the explosive Festival is made up of more than 200 mindbending visual and performing arts attractions, and many presentations are free or cost under $5. With venues in Uptown and Charlotte’s new venue, Ballantyne Backyard, the Festival in cludes several family-oriented exhibits but also presents numerous attrac tions more appropriate for adults.
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Other attractions taking place at the Festival’s Romare Bearden Park venue are “H20” which is an interactive mural with water revealing hidden imagery and messages.Thespectacular performance “Bloom,” which explores themes of diversity and is 20 minutes in length, features aerial an tics by three, highly skilled and colorfullycostumed performers; while “Tablao Flamenco” brings a riveting performance of dynamic flamenco dancing and the high-energy “Mexico Beyond Mariacha” celebrates Mexican culture through its liveAmongmusic. the festival’s other varied venues are Charlotte’s recently-developed Ballantyne Backyard. The Blumenthal reports that it’s excited to expand its reach down to South Charlotte with this new venue, the former 100-acre Ballantyne Golf Club, which regularly hosts cultural events, boasts retail establishments and pop-ups, and recently offered a presentation of the Vincent van Gogh hot air balloon.
14 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022
which challenges our imagination and stokes artistic innovation going forward. Charlotte’s local government dampened the promotion of diverse artistry when it banned or required licensing of Uptown sidewalk artistic performers. Hopefully, this Festival will create our city’s longlasting, edgier arts world to complement Charlotte’s first class arts scene and topnotch sports teams.
For foodies and television food show enthusiasts, Tabitha Brown of “It’s CompliPlated” appears at the Belk Theater on October 1 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The $v44.50 ticket price includes a copy of her
book “Cooking From the Spirit,” which is valued at Finally,$30.the Festival features the spectacular “We Are Hip Hop,” a twoday “festival within a festival” scheduled for September 17 and 18 at the Knight Theater in Uptown. “We Are Hip Hop,” comprised mostly of Charlotte artists, celebrates hip hop culture through visual arts, dancers, DJ Battles, and spoken word poets. The event includes a vtwo-day block party and stunning dance tournaments. The CIAF showcases a much needed aspect of creative arts and performance,
Local artists, and Blumenthal Performing Arts fellows who are featured at Ballantyne Backyard include Jason Payne and Bunny Gregory. Their team presents “QC Crown Towers” with five villuminated towers illustrating Charlotte’s crown logo. “Mazing Shadows” takes participants on an adventure through a labyrinth constructed out of shadows. “Birdmen” is made up of huge, illuminated
The Booth Playhouse at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center hosts numerous Festival attractions celebrating diversity to include “Project: Full Out!” which is a fun, Hip Hop dance showcase made up of live musicians. “Project: Full Out!” svhowcases story-telling, comedy, and an interactive game show for audience participants.”
Ballantyne Backyard include the worldrenowned “Luminarium: Architects of Air,” a sensory experience of light, color, and sound. The interactive walk-in sculptures have astounded audiences in venues of 43 countries around the globe, including the Guggenheim in vSpain and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
For more information about the not-tobe-missed CIAF, visit www.CharlotteArtsFest.
animals moving through the area, and “Wanted,” which is inspired by ‘80s comics and videogames, includes two live acro bats tossed around in a journey balanced between real world and fantasy.
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Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 15
I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, which is perfectly situated within minutes of Walt Disney World parks and just a short drive from Universal Studios. The property is massive and contains a separate fitness building, resort-style pool with bar and live music as well as a convention area.
Orlando is known for having a won derful LGBTQ scene. One of my preferred low-key places to enjoy a cocktail is Savoy, located just north of downtown. Every time I visit, I usually end up there with friends. Some other popular spots include Stonewall Bar Orlando and SouthernOrlandoNights.Pride is also one of the largest pride events in the state. This October, Coming Out With Pride will take place on Saturday, October 15 at Lake Eola Park in downtown, and will be surrounded by a host of other events throughout the week leading up to the festival. While down town, try to catch a show at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The spar kly new building hosts a variety of touring Broadway shows as well as performances from major artists in addition to Orlando’s many local performing arts organizations.
IWeekend,OnecoincidedthewasitmagicalatglobetheRewind.CosmictheGuardiansEverridestowhenant,quitewhichcrowds,waspleasespeciallyitcamethenewerFrozenAfterandofGalaxy:SeeingiconiclitupnightisasnowaswaswhenIayounger.Ironically,conferencewithMagicalsoalsohadtheopportunity
Enjoy the Journey! ::
Whenlater.Iheard
to visit two LGBTQ parties while there, the first being the annual Red party at House of Blues and the second being OMW’s Therapy pool party at Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort. People from around the country travel to Orlando for this event, so I ran into many friends during that weekend, some of
There are three viewing areas of the building. Visitors will be able to see the waterfall at the entrance of the club, a wall of the building where the forty-nine names are inscribed, as well as the area where people were rescued by from the restrooms by first responders.
which I hadn’t seen in years.
U.S. Travel’s IPW conven tion was going to take place in Orlando this year, I knew I had to go.
ing menu items like Duck and Waffles, Brined and Smoked Salmon Benedict as well as their Hot Salt Chicken.
People often forget that Orlando isn’t just theme parks. There are many beautiful towns in the metro area that are worth visiting. Antique collectors will really enjoy the charm of Mount Dora, while Dr. Phillips has emerged as a culi nary epicenter boasting a variety of fine dining
The memorial also has a Ribbon Wall of Photographs, filled with pictures of the community and the world’s response of love and support and artifacts collected from the Orange County History Center. It’s a very emotional experience but one you need to do if you’re ever in the area.
The next time you visit Orlando, I would encourage you to venture outside of the amusement park areas to get to ex perience the city. I met so many wonderful people when I lived there, so I would love for you to get to know the locals the way I did.
16 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022 CONNECT. ENGAGE. EMPOWER. To Become a Member or Partner:www.clgbtcc.org704.837.4050info@clgbtcc.org
However,restaurants.myfavorite neighborhood to visit is Winter Park and more specifically, Park Avenue. The cobblestone street is lined with wonderful boutiques, outdoor cafes and is adjacent to Rollins College, my alma matter. Located in Winter Park, The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The Museum’s Tiffany collection includes jewelry, pottery, paintings, art glass, leaded-glass win dows and lamps, and the chapel interior the artist designed for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
BY JOEY AMATO QNOTES STAFF WRITER
My visit wasn’t all fun and agewouldspaceafundsofrialinterimclubowneryears12,backPulsenewswewereberwethough.gamesIthinkallrememwherewewhenheardtheofthemassacreonJune2016.Afewago,theoftheopenedanmemowithagoalraisingthetoopenpermanentwhichpayhomtotheforty-
experience the park without the
life
Orlando has always been a place close to my heart. Back in 2002, I attended graduate school there as well as worked in the music industry for a company that launched the careers of Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, O-Town and other stars. I even managed a boy band of my own around that time. Needless to say, I really enjoyed living in Orlando. It was also the place where I finally admitted to myself that I was gay, although I didn’t officially come out to my family until a few years
Epcot was always my favorite park to visit as a child, so I was excited to learn that one of the main events for the confer ence would take place there. We got to
Orlando Pride Journey
nine beautiful souls lost that day. Located at the site of the original club, the current memorial contains an offering wall where visitors can leave flowers or mementos.
A few miles away is the new Hall at the Yard development, an upscale food hall venue. One of the highlights is a restaurant called The Chef & I, which is owned by my friends Erica and Chris Rains from Nashville. Every time I visited their restaurant, I knew I was about to experience something special. The Chef & I is one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville and I’m sure it will be a hit with the Orlando community. The restau rant throws a delicious brunch, featur
Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 17 “ ” growbusinessyour HERE HEREHERE over and Call Q-Notes 704.531.9988 BUSINESS CARDS AS LOW AS $22 FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL ADSALES@QNOTESCAROLINAS.COM
follow-up to Saved by a Song, in the works?
by Gregg ContributingShapiroWriter
MG: Yeah, that’s right. I think you’ve got it. We’re on the same page. It’s a collection of songs about the transfor mative power of love, and it’s also about grief and loss, and all of this is happening inside a single heart at the same time. I’m looking at a list of people that I love that have died in the last two years: eleven people. The only other time I’ve ever been through this was in the early days of the AIDS crisis.
MG: Yeah. It works for a troubadour to tell stories, but also to :read stories that have been crafted.
GS: I was just gonna say that. I think for a lot of queer people, we can see so many of these parallels between COVID and AIDS, especially with the way Republicans fumbled the early days of both viruses.
Mary Gauthier performs September 10 at Antlers & Acorns Songwriter Festival 2022 in Boone and September 11 at ISIS Music Hall in Asheville. ::
If you’ve been listening to out singer/ songwriter Mary Gauthier for any length of time, say since the release of her 1997 debut album “Dixie Kitchen” (containing the song “Goddamn HIV”), you know that you are in for an emotional journey. This continued throughout her recording ca reer, with examples such as 2005’s “Mercy Now” (featuring the devastating title cut and “I Drink”), as well as 2010’s deeply personal “The Foundling” and 2018’s Grammy-nominated “Rifles and Rosary Beads” (a project created via Songwriting withGauthier’sSoldiers). music has inspired many. From a legion of fans to well known musicians who have covered some of her compositions, like Jimmy Buffet (“Wheel Inside the Wheel”), Blake Shelton (“I Drink”) and Boy George (“Mercy Now”).
MG: Yes. I will. What I’ve learned about being an author is that if you want to sell a book, it’s up to you. The publisher is not gonna’ do it. It’s a lot like a record com pany. “We’ll put it out, but you’ve got to sell it.” I want people to read it because I’m proud of it. I read it every night (of a show) and people come to the table and they purchase a copy and I sign it and it works in that way. I will be bringing books and I will be reading (from) them. I think it’s actually makes for an interesting show.
GS: It does! It breaks things up.
Mary Gauthier: Oh my God, I loved it so much. I wish we could do that every week end. It was so much fun. It’s the commu nity I’m looking for. It felt so good. I loved the panels. I loved the books. I loved the authors. I loved the insights. I loved hang ing out with everybody after. I loved sitting up there with Rickie Lee Jones. We became friends after that. [We] started to hang out a little [in] Nashville when she came to play here. We’re in communication. It built a lot of bridges for me to people that I am just grateful to know. It’s an extraordinary event. Wow, is all I can say.
MG: Yeah, I mean, I hope they’re delighted. It’s going to be startling, that’s for sure. Because I’ve never chased down straight-up happy songs before. I tend to be broody and moody. Life has been hard, and my songs have reflected it. But I’ve got this beautiful relationship with Jaimee, and we’re in our fifth year together. It’s incred ible to me that this is working. I’ve never had a love that renewed itself. I’ve been in love, but it hasn’t been the type of love we knew. It would slowly sort of drain out. I’m sure that’s probably because of my own behaviors and my own inadequacies and my own dysfunction. But I’ve done a lot of work to prepare myself for this [to] grow and become a person who could have this. Prior to Jaimee, I intentionally stayed single for five years and did some hard work on myself to prepare for either I’m gonna be single or if I do get into a relationship it has to be different. I guess I laid the groundwork for this by doing that. I can’t believe it, but it works. It’s incredible to experience this later in life for the first time. I turned 60 in March, and this is my first relationship that’s not crazy. I’ve had so many crazy relationships because I’ve been crazy. I’m not blaming the people who have come through my life, and by any stretch, it’s not anybody’s fault but mine. But I had hard work to do, and I’m still doing it. I’m grateful that somehow, I became willing to do the work.
Seeing stars
GS: That sounds like a good creative partnership. You are embarking on a multi-city concert tour in support of “Dark Enough to See the Stars.” What
GS: Will you be incorporating read ings from “Saved by a Song” the way you did when you performed in Fort Lauderdale in November, 2021?
While her new album “Dark Enough to See the Stars” (In The Black/Thirty Tigers) has its share of poignant moments, Gauthier will astonish you in unexpected ways. The album features honest and beautiful love songs, inspired by her relationship with musician Jaimee Harris (a gifted singer/songwriter in her own right). As it turns out, love, like a comfortable pair of boots, is a good fit for Gauthier, who is a natural at writing these kinds of songs.
GS: The title of the album comes from a Martin Luther King Jr. quote, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” Do you think there’s any chance that during these dark times, there will be stars bright enough to il luminate the way to a better future?
Gregg Shapiro: I saw you at the an nual Saints and Sinners LGBTQ+ literary festival in New Orleans. What was that experience like for you?
GS: Do you have another book, a
18 Qnotes Sept. 16.-29, 2022
MG: So many parallels! If you’re a queer person of a certain age, this is also familiar. This is not your first rodeo. The unfolding of it just rings so familiar.
GS: In some ways, “Dark Enough to See the Stars” is also a pandemic album, particularly in the way it ad
MG: She’s very meticulous, thorough. She’s one of the great melody writers of our time. She’s got an incredible amount of wisdom around music and songs, and patience. She’s also just like magic. That’s not an exaggeration. The woman is magic, and she knows. It’s not like she knows it in a way that’s arrogant. She just knows how to be a conduit for it. I love writing songs with her because she’s really committed to getting it right.
MG: I’m pushing some stuff around. I’m working on it. I did a residency down in Key West for a month. I sort of wrote a foreword, so it gave me some kind of road map to where I think I might go. But, for me, writing books takes years. I’m not a quick writer, by any stretch. I’m writing songs all the time, but writing a book, to me, is strenuous. It’s a long marathon.
GS: Would it be fair to say that some listeners might be surprised by the Mary Gauthier they hear on “Dark Enough to See the Stars?” Especially with songs such as “Fall Apart World,” “Thank God For You,” “Amsterdam,” and “About Time?”
are you most looking forward to about performing live again?
MG: I absolutely have to believe that, yes.
Mary Gauthier’s latest album is ‘Dark Enough to See the Stars.’
a&e
MG: I just love it. I love being on stage. I love connecting. I love that I get to have Jaimee with me right now, and so we get to do this together. She’s gonna be coming out with her own record soon, and then she’ll be doing her thing. This is special because I get to have her with me. Also, I just feel right when I’m out there working and being in the work instead of talking about the work or doing all the things to get there. I’m a troubadour by nature. I like hopping around, town to town, meet ing folks, and hotel rooms. The whole enchilada. I like it. I go around the world. It’s a real privilege to have this job.
dresses life after loss and trauma on “How Could You Be Gone” and “Where Are You Now.” Please say some thing about the impact of the pandemic on your songwriting.
Interview with singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier
GS: I’m a longtime fan of Beth Nielsen Chapman with whom you cowrote the title cut for “Dark Enough to See the Stars.” Beth is someone you’ve collaborated with in the past. What makes her a good songwriting partner?
Sept.16-29 , 2022 Qnotes 19 70 4.97 7.2972 @TheDudleysPlace dudleysplace.org 70 4.948.8582 @MyRosedaleHealt h myrosedalehealt h.com MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH
CHARLOTTE INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE MUSIC OF DAVID BOWIE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: DONNY MCCASLIN Part of CharlotteArtsFest.com GUEST ARTIST: JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL SEPT. 16-17 • BELK THEATER BLUMENTHALARTS.ORG • 704.372.1000 AT BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
