Qnotes, June 9, 2023

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12 Charlotte Royals Rugby Club host first ever International Gay Rugby Tournament

5 How can Pride fight hate?

8 Gov Cooper issues call to action over public schools and extremist Republican legislation

8 Charlotte is one of the most expensive cities in North Carolina 8 Don’t be fooled by boycotts: most Americans want companies to support LGBTQ

Tips for getting married in NC

The days are getting longer and the temperatures are getting warmer. It’s a time when many couples turn their thoughts to marriage. In North Carolina, just like every other state in the country, same-sex couples are free to marry. Here are some tips for getting married in the Tarheel state.

By: Evan Moore

In Focus

PAGE 24

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Credit: Anthony Crider licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

A letter from Kendra: Seeing ourselves in the movement Political Voices

his March marked five years since I accepted an offer to move from Arkansas and take the helm of Equality NC, the Equality NC Foundation and the Equality NC PAC. I made the decision to come to the Tarheel State because I witnessed a dramatic increase in vitriol directed toward minority communities as Trumpism began to rise and ultimately reach the White House. Amid the resurgence of mainstream racism, xenophobia, transphobia and homophobia, I knew

by Kendra Johnson Qnotes Staff Writer

TI needed a bigger playing field to fight back, alongside strong allies working for undocumented immigrants, Black folks, women, differently abled people, the resource poor and the LGBTQ+ community. I found just that, with incredible partners working on issues from voting and reproductive rights to incarceration.

At the time, I knew I was joining an organization whose leadership had voted to adopt an explicit race equity lens. Equality NC was one of the few in the Equality Federation that embraced the truth – we cannot work for LGBTQ+ equality without grappling with the racist foundations of the United States and its legacy in our everyday lives. Early on in a casual conversation with a long time ENC member

and supporter, I said that I wanted people to “see themselves in this movement.” What I meant as I was explaining my vision for our work was that I wanted people to feel connected to ENC, to feel empowered and to find their role in fighting for their own liberation. I knew that in order to be an organization for all people, the staff needed to look like the people we aspire to serve and we needed to be telling all our stories, so they could literally see themselves reflected in the movement we are all building. Another way I wanted people to see themselves was to find their unique gifts to the movement — whether as a spreadsheet wizard, public speaker, an envelope stuffer or an event planner — because I knew the work of liberation needs us all.

In these past few years, Equality NC’s staff has diversified and spread to more cities, from the Triangle to the Western edges. The Board has welcomed folks from varied races, ages, gender identities and life experiences. The Political Action Committee has grown to have statewide and regional members, offering local input while vetting candidates on races from Congress to school boards. And the organization has completed an incredible strategic plan rooted in building LGBTQ+ power in pursuit of racial and social justice to guide us for the next five years.

As my five year anniversary approaches in May, I feel proud to be at the helm of an organization that has worked with community members and other organizations to pass 22 ordinances protecting LGBTQ+ people from discrimination across the state. I find hope in the Rural Youth Empowerment program that began in my first year and is supporting the leaders of now and tomorrow to build lasting resources. I cherish the partnerships ENC has formed to mobilize voters, get progressive candidates elected, elevate the most pressing issues of our day and support mutual aid efforts. And I know that with your support, Equality NC is ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

As I look at where the movement is nationally, with more anti-LGBTQ+ bills than ever before and an open attack on our youth, I know that we need strong organizations like Equality NC to keep fighting. White supremacists and Christian nationalists have moved from the shadows of our society to the center stage of our government, taking aim at our rights and our very existence. Now more than ever, we need to be telling our stories differently, flanking and supporting organizations that serve as a container for organizing and working across identities to build a movement for us all.

And as I continue the work of seeing myself in this movement, I know the time has come for me to take on another role, that of building up infrastructure for our liberation. So I have made the bittersweet decision to leave Equality NC in late 2023 to continue my path of servant leadership to the scaffolding of this movement.

In the weeks and months to come, Equality NC’s boards, led by Milan Pham and Ivan Canada, will be looking to find its next leader. I will be working to support our phenomenal staff and invite you all into regional discussions about our new strategic plan. As I do so, I invite you to show up for this movement, work alongside me, and continue building a united front where y’all means all and we can ALL see ourselves in this movement. ::

How can Pride fight hate?

Republicans go after drag queens while Proud Boys set their sights on Pride events

by David Aaron Moore Qnotes Staff Writer

North Carolina’s neighboring state of Tennessee became the first in the country to kick start the stomp out drag movement when Governor Bill Lee officially signed the state’s bill regulating drag performances on Thursday March 2, 2023.

It would have become law April 1, however, Trump appointed judge Thomas Parker ruled to block Senate Bill 3 near the end of March, declaring the statute was too broad to be enacted.

As of Friday June 2, Judge Parker officially ruled the law was unconstitutional because it was “vague and substantially overbroad.”

That was a massive game changer.

Drag performers and performances have historically been a part of Pride events dating back to the late 20th century.

Prior to the Tennessee ruling, multiple Pride celebrations throughout the country, especially in all of the 16 states that now have or are considering regulatory laws on drag performances in public places were left to scramble to maintain the presence and performances by drag artists who have become a mainstay of queer culture in modern history.

The possibility of an LGBTQ pride parade or celebration without some sort of drag performance, for most in the queer community, is unthinkable.

While similar bills have been passed and are active in states like Florida (where Pride events have been denied permits by cities, counties and towns) and are under consideration by legislators in others, including in North Carolina, the Tennessee ruling has added some new footing for drag queens and pride organizers, who say they’re ready to fight and move forward as they have in years past.

The North Carolina bill, HB 673, introduced in late April, could potentially ban drag performers from appearances anywhere that is considered public and in

the presence of individuals under the age of 18, even if the event is announced or advertised to be private. That would mean no drag performances at any Pride events in the state and the possibility of potentially shutting down drag performances in LGBTQ bars and clubs.

It’s important to note that a violation of the NC bill, should it pass, would be considered a class A1 misdemeanor, which is the most serious kind of misdemeanor. That would place a Pride celebration drag show in a category similar to violent crimes such as assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse and sexual battery.

Charlotte’s Pride event isn’t held until August 19-20, to avoid conflict with already established Charlotte area summer festivals and to allow LGBTQ Pride attendees from throughout the region the opportunity to attend multiple Pride celebrations without having to choose one over the other because of a previously affixed date.

Information on Charlotte Pride’s 2023 website confirms that, for now, event plans are status quo for drag performances. In fact, the website is currently encouraging drag performers to sign up for competition and appearances.

While the Tennessee ruling is certainly positive news and a thumbs up for many performers and organizers to attempt to do as they would prefer, it remains unlikely the Republican super majority will step back on their plans to limit drag performances in our state.

But the potential lack of drag performers at a Pride celebration isn’t all there is to be concerned about.

There’s the Proud Boys.

They’ve been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group and by multiple criminologists as potentially dangerous for their involvement in often illegal and violent behavior. That includes participation in the 2021 Capital attack and riot; attacks on Black Lives Matter rallies and macing members of a George Floyd March.

In North Carolina, a drag show held at

a brewery in Sanford, North Carolina was disrupted by a Proud Boy protest that was preceded by aggressive warning messages and death threats.

At the New Hanover County public library in Wilmington, Proud Boys protested outside and then entered the building during an LGBTQ Pride-themed story presentation.

As recently as May 30 in a report carried by Qnotes from LGBTQ Nation, watchdog groups warned that the Neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ group has plans to disrupt Pride events around the country.

As confirmed by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), North Carolina topped the list of states in the US in 2022, with the largest number of anti-LGBTQ and specific drag related protests, confrontations and attacks.

With that recipe of disaster mixed together, it seems unlikely that North Carolina will go unscathed during Pride season from protests and potential violence by the Proud Boys and any other far right-wing groups attempting to ride their coattails.

Coinciding with Pride season and the recent conviction and sentencing of four key members of The Proud Boys, Voice Of America has reported that the remaining members have made it clear the majority of the organization’s focus will be antiLGBTQ activism.

While Charlotte Pride may not take place until August, Pride events will be held throughout both North and South Carolina during this month. In North Carolina, Pride and pride related events will be held in Raleigh, Durham, Apex, Fayetteville, Chapel Hill and Carrboro. In South Carolina, events will take place throughout the month in Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Charleston, Greenville and Rock Hill.

In an interview with the web publication Business Insider, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism Heidi Bierich warned of what could lie ahead.

“[“We’re] seeing just a singular focus on LGBTQ people,” she explained. “And

I don’t see how we don’t end up having more violence. It’s frankly getting a little out of control.”

The twisted sensibilities of the Proud Boys’ sentiment towards the LGBTQ community is easily visible in a recent contradictory post on Twitter.

“This is not homophobia,” he wrote. “This is ‘we like natural men and women and don’t want to be forced into your world of liberal depravity.’ Another post on the right wing social media site Telegram suggests their ultimate goals: [“We] intend to appropriate Pride Month into Proud Month, to celebrate Western values and straight Pride and to challenge this perversion of the nuclear family and gender.”

Another hate group known as The Patriot Front, a white nationalist organization of sorts that demonstrated at the US Capitol recently while wearing masks, is also expected to show an increased presence at various Pride events

All evidence clearly supports that the Proud Boys and the far right have become a clear and present danger to everyone in the LGBTQ community.

“What happened last year, it was probably just a whiff of what we might see this year, after 12 months of organizing,” Bierich added.

During the month-long celebration of our community’s achievements, the question remains: how do we stay safe in a political environment that has seemingly gone backwards?

Some have felt that we should arm ourselves (legally, of course). Others have suggested self-defense training in an effort to create a battle ready army to fight back when needed. Many are simply choosing to stay away and avoid any type of conflict whatsoever. But then, that’s what the far right wants, isn’t it?

Internet chatter among LGBTQ activists has suggested the day may soon come when we will need to revisit the actions of those who came before us in the Stonewall era, when fighting for our rights wasn’t an option, but a requirement. ::

Drag queens at Pride: will it be allowed this year? CREDIT: Facebook

Proud Boys at a protest rally in Pittsboro, North Carolina. CREDIT: Licensed through Creative Commons from Wikipedia

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Gov Cooper issues call to action over public schools and extremist Republican legislation

During a public announcement held May 23, Governor Roy Cooper declared that public education in North Carolina is facing a state of emergency. In his address, the Governor outlined extreme legislation in the NC General Assembly that would cripple the state’s public education system and urged North Carolinians to contact their legislators.

“It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education. I’m declaring this a state of emergency because you need to know what’s happening. If you care about public schools in North Carolina, it’s time to take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation,” said Governor Cooper.

In recent weeks, Republicans have pushed a series of sweeping legislation that would decimate public education. These extreme bills would cause public schools to

lose hundreds of millions of dollars, exacerbate the state’s teacher shortage and bring political culture wars into the classrooms.

Injecting Culture Wars Into the Classroom

Republican leaders want to inject their political culture wars into classrooms across North Carolina with bills that would put politicians in charge of curriculum setting, micromanage what teachers can teach, and target LGBTQ+ students. Already, prominent Republicans have proposed eliminating core science classes and are pushing to rewrite history curriculums to fit a political agenda. Students need an education that prepares them for the workforce and success. North Carolina’s families, businesses and economy depend on it. Putting politicians in charge of the classroom is dangerous.

A Devastating School Voucher Scheme

Charlotte is one of the most expensive cities in North Carolina

Charlotte is one of the 25 most expensive cities in North Carolina in terms of household expenses, a new study says. And Charlotteans’ average monthly bills also outpace the national average, according to the same study.

“The average Charlotte household pays $2,190 a month, or $26,286 a year for the 10 most common household bills,” including mortgage or rent, utilities and insurance, the bill-pay service doxo said.

The study “relies on anonymized data from its (eight million) customers paying more than 120,000 billers,” according to the group. Here’s what to know about how Charlotte’s cost of living stacks up, plus the latest on how inflation is impacting North Carolinians’ expenses.

How does Charlotte’s cost of living com-

pare to the rest of NC and the US?

“On average,” doxo said in a statement announcing their findings, household expenses in Charlotte “are seven percent higher than the national average of $2,046, and 14.5 percent higher than the state average of $1,913.” That puts Charlotte as “the No. 22 most expensive city in North Carolina for household expenses.”

Average monthly payments for Charlotte households, per doxo, include $247 for utilities, $364 for multiple types of insurance, $479 for a car payment and $227 for cable, internet and mobile phone services. The average household in the city spends “37 percent of their income on household bills,” the company said.

What’s inflation doing?

A major drain on North Carolinians’

Legislative Republicans propose pouring billions of dollars in taxpayer money into private schools that are unaccountable to the public and can decide which students they want to admit. Their plan would expand private school vouchers so anyone –even a millionaire – can get taxpayer money for their children’s private school tuition.

By expanding voucher eligibility to any K-12 student, our public schools, especially schools in rural and poorer counties, will face steep funding cuts, leaving schools without the resources to maintain fixed costs and support students.

A Worsening Teacher Shortage

North Carolina schools currently have more than 5,000 teacher vacancies. Recruiting and retaining quality teachers to the classroom is harder than ever and low pay is a big reason why. Governor Cooper’s budget proposed an 18% pay raise over two years. But last week Senate Republicans proposed increasing veteran teachers’ salaries by just $250 spread over two years. This will cause North Carolina to continue to fall behind, pushing teachers out of our classrooms and leaving public school students without instruction. In addition, legislators

are proposing an acceleration of tax cuts that are projected to cut North Carolina’s state budget by almost 20% — hamstringing the ability to fund public education now and in the future.

During the last week of May, Governor Cooper will travel across the state to meet with business leaders, educators and parents to raise awareness about the dangers of the bills in the NC General Assembly and ask them to demand better and join the fight to protect public education in North Carolina. ::

—Qnotes Staff

“A key index of U.S. prices ticked higher in April, and consumer spending rebounded, a sign that inflationary pressures in the economy remain high,” the AP said in late May.

“Bottom line, plain and simple, the medical examination system is in crisis,” the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services secretary says.

New residents flock to Charlotte in high numbers daily. It’s no surprise monthly expenses are higher than the national average.

pocketbooks in the last year has been rates of inflation. Although inflation levels are down from the peak levels seen last summer, some numbers are still not where economic leaders want them, the Associated Press reported.

Gay” law. In 2022, LGBTQ people reported more incidents of hate-based harassment than any other group, showing a connection between hate speech, anti-queer legislation and real-world violence, the report added.

“The index, which the Federal Reserve closely monitors, showed that prices rose 0.4 percent from March to April. That was much higher than the 0.1 percent rise the previous month. Measured year over year, prices increased 4.4 percent in April, up from 4.2 percent in March. The yearover-year figure is down sharply from a seven percent peak last June but remains far above the Fed’s two percent target.”

To use doxo’s data comparison tool to compare household expenses across various states and cities, visit here.

This article appears courtesy of our media partner The Charlotte Observer. ::

—Mary Ramsey

The recently released “Accelerating Acceptance” study from the LGBTQ media monitoring organization GLAAD surveyed over 2,500 adults who don’t identify as LGBTQ.

The survey found that 96 percent of survey respondents believe that schools should be safe places for LGBTQ students, 91 percent believe that LGBTQ people should live a life free from discrimination, 84 percent support equal rights for LGBTQ people and 70 percent believe companies should publicly support the LGBTQ community through inclusive policies, advertising and sponsorships.

The statistics not only equal an “alltime high” of support for LGBTQ equal rights, they also indicate that majorities of

Americans disagree with a loud minority of right-wing figures who have targeted school districts, medical professionals and companies that seek to uplift LGBTQ identities.

Republican politicians like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Rep. George Santos (NY), Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former President Donald Trump have all blasted transinclusive educational policies, genderaffirming healthcare and Queer-inclusive marketing as “woke indoctrination” that “sexualizes” children.

This year alone, Republicans have introduced 500 anti-LGBTQ bills. Tweets referring to LGBTQ people as child sex abusers increased 406 percent in April, a month after DeSantis signed his state’s “Don’t Say

“The hopeful news is that we have decades of work to show that fair and accurate journalism, visibility in media and corporate responsibility all have an enormous role to play,” GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis wrote in the organization’s report.

“When people are exposed to LGBTQ people and experiences in media it changes hearts and minds and shifts culture and sentiment,” she added.

The study also found that between 63 to 80 percent of non-Queer Americans are comfortable with having LGBTQ identified family members, co-workers, congregants and healthcare providers, as well as seeing LGBTQ people in advertisements.

Of little surprise, the study also found that only 28 percent of respondents said they personally knew a trans person. This lack of acquaintance may contribute to anti-trans attitudes and ignorance about trans community needs.

As pride season is upon us and right-wingers protest various retailers, study finds most Americans wholly support the LGBTQ community. CREDIT: Adobe Stock

However, respondents also said that exposure to the LGBTQ community in media made them 30 percent more likely to feel familiar with LGBTQ people overall, suggesting that anti-trans attitudes can be softened by increasing the visibility of trans people in real-world spaces and media.

This article appears courtesy of our media partner LGBTQ Nation. ::

—Daniel Villarreal

CREDIT: Adobe Stock

Don’t be fooled by boycotts: most Americans want companies to support LGBTQ community

The Republican legislature wants to choke the life out of NC public education, which includes erasing LGBTQ students. CREDIT: Adobe Stock

Watchdogs warn Proud Boys planning big Pride Month protests nationwide

Molly Sprayregen|LGBTQ Nation

As Pride Month approaches, watchdog groups are warning that the neo-Nazi and vehemently anti-LGBTQ+ Proud Boys have big plans to disrupt events around the country. Many are worried they are going to get violent, as the group has a history of doing so.

Heidi Bierich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told Business Insider that they are “seeing just a singular focus on LGBTQ people” from the Proud Boys and other far-right groups. “And I don’t see how we don’t end up having more violence next month. It’s frankly getting a little out of control.”

The Proud Boys intend to appropriate Pride Month into “Proud” Month to celebrate “Western values” and “straight pride” and to “challenge this perversion of the Nuclear Family and Gender,” as one Proud Boy reportedly posted on Telegram.

“We want to focus on straight love and the love of our straight lives,” someone wrote. “Family, childrens [sic] innocence, mothers, fathers and our fight to keep the nuclear family in tact [sic].”

“It is a dangerous thing, because the Proud Boys are all about violence,” Bierich said, adding that another violence-focused white nationalist group, Patriot Front, is also planning to have a bigger presence at

Pride events.

A December 2022 report found that last year, the Proud Boys abruptly shifted their focus to anti-LGBTQ+ action in mid2022.

The data came from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) as well as tracking from Vice News. The report found that 100% of anti-LGBTQ+ actions involving the gang took place between late May and December of this year. It also found that the group participated in more anti-LGBTQ+ demonstrations than any other far-right group last year.

The Proud Boys have built a reputation in the last year for showing up armed and in combat gear to drag queen story hours, harassing families who attend and inciting violence during their protests.

Increasing Proud Boys activity in the South and Southwest seems to have coincided with increased anti-LGBTQ+ activism from so-called “parental rights” groups and Christian nationalists. “Where these groups have popped up around the country this year, the Proud Boys have followed,” said Southern Poverty Law Center senior research analyst Cassie Miller.

Miller explained last year that the group appears to be acting “in lockstep” with the GOP and right-wing media in its

focus on the LGBTQ+ community.

The data from the ACLED found that overall, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment was the largest driver behind the increase in farright protests in 2022. The report found that 14% of far-right demonstrations were fueled by anti-LGBTQ+ ideology, a massive jump compared to the 3% of far-right antiLGBTQ+ protests in 2021.

Anti-LGBTQ+ political violence was also a large factor in the increased violence against civilians. Of the 150 violent incidents targeting civilians in 2022, there were over 20 that targeted LGBTQ+ people. Comparatively, in 2021, there were 100 incidents of reported violence targeting civilians with only seven directed at the LGBTQ+ community.

“What happened last year, it was probably just a whiff of what we might see this year, after 12 months of organizing,” Bierich told Insider. “It’s a dangerous thing, because the Proud Boys are all about violence, and so are the Patriot Front. Not necessarily firearms, but with bats, shields, and – most usually – with their fists.”

Through its investigation of Proud Boys Telegram channels, the publication discovered the group discussing “taking back June,” “gaslighting the libs” and protecting

children from “mutilation” and “sexualization.”

One person mocked that LGBTQ stands for “Let’s Go Bully The Queers.”

“By mid-May we should be getting blow back from the F*g community or we aren’t doing enough,” another wrote. “If they aren’t flipping sh*t, we are only tooting our own horns, ya know.”

The point, here, is that the Proud Boys are working on reaching more of the mainstream population, whom they refer to as “normies.”

They are also reportedly planning to appropriate Juneteenth by observing “Proud Day” on June 17th.

Emily Kaufman, a researcher with the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism said, “We don’t know specifically what folks are planning to do on that day, but we’re likely to see some activity from potentially multiple chapters.”

Kaufman said people should not approach any Proud Boys members due to the group’s violent history, adding that the ADL is “not trying to scare people” but just wants to provide guidance and “make sure folks are safe.”

This article appears courtesy of our media partner LGBTQ Nation. ::

A drag brunch in Sanford, N.C. was disrupted by the extremist group the Proud Boys in October. The group and other anti-LGBTQ forces continue to confront attendees at LGBTQ events. CREDIT: Anthony Crider, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Proud Boys and other anti-LGBTQ forces confronting attendees at a Pride event. CREDIT: MSNBC Screenshot

Amidst Anti-LGBTQ legislation, students, allies and organizations hold support rallies in Waxhaw and Asheville Union

by David Aaron Moore Qnotes Staff Writer

Students in Union County held a youthled LGBTQ+ Pride Rally in Waxhaw at the Water Tower Community Corner Saturday, May 27 in response to ongoing attacks on the rights of LGBTQ youth in Union County schools.

In April of 2023, the Union County board introduced revisions to its policy 5-01, Selection of Instructional Materials. The new policy passed during the regular board meeting on May 2.

Updates to the policy restrict classroom displays to “materials which represent the United States, the State of North Carolina, the school name and mascot and/or tie directly to the curriculum.”

While the policy might seem innocuous, members of the LGBTQ community say that school board members designed the policy to ban displays of pride flags, Black Lives Matter content and other displays that affirm marginalized student groups.

Regan Shaw, a parent of a Union County student and PFLAG member, says that language in the policy also targets books in

school libraries with LGBTQ characters for removal. The new policy is a direct attack on LGBTQ young people, educators, and families, and echoes a national trend of organized hate groups using misinformation to censor the voices and stories of people with marginalized identities in public schools.

“In this entire crossfire, no one has thought about the students,” rally organizer Sydney Satalino said to the crowd that had gathered for the event. “The students have not had a say in this policy, which, at the end of the day, will affect them, not their parents or the school board members. [Students] know that it only seeks to other them and to make them feel more excluded in schools that can already be isolating. Schools should be a safe space for everyone. No matter who you are, what you believe in or who you love.”

In a press release, the organization Equality NC offered the following statement: “Our schools should protect all students and respect all families – including queer and trans students and families – so they can learn and thrive in a safe environment. LGBTQ+ youth already face discrimination in their daily lives and often turn to affirming teachers and school staff to support them in the classroom and beyond.”

Also this past weekend on Sunday, May 28, in Asheville, multiple LGBTQ and allied groups came together for “Rally 4 Rights,” an event organized by a local group known as The Beer City Sisters in response to the increasing amount of anti-trans and anti-drag legislation introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Other organizations that took part in the event include Blue Ridge Pride, Tranzmission, Arms Around ASD and Planned Parenthood.

In a story reported by the news department of Asheville channel WLOS-TV Channel 13, a member of the Beer City Sisters who identified as Hedwig Merkin confirmed the importance of coming out and encouraging the community to rally against legislated hate and discrimination.

“The queer community has been fighting for our civil rights and queer liberation ... for decades and this is not a new thing, this setback,” Merkin said.

This list includes legislation the Asheville event rallied to bring attention to:

• NC H43 Prohibitions of Certain Hormone/Surgery/Minors

• NC H574 and NC S631 Fairness in Women’s Sports Act

Union County LGBTQ+ Youth Rally organizer Sydney Satalino: ‘Schools should be a safe space for everyone. No matter who you are, what you believe in or who you love.’

• NC H673 Clarify Regulations on Adult Entertainment

• NC H786 and NC S639 Youth Protection Act

• NC H808 Surgical Gender Trans./Minors

• NC S49 Parents’ Bill of Rights

• NC S560 Medical Treatment for Minors Acts

• NC S636 School Athletic Transparency

For more details on the Beer City Sisters visit http://www.beercitysisters.org/ Information on Equality NC is available at www.equalitync.org. ::

County policies and proposed state legislation aim to erase queer community

CREDIT: Facebook

Union County Pride holds diversity and disability conference

Intersectional Dynamic Pride’ offers networking opportunities and guest speakers

by David Aaron Moore Qnotes Staff Writer

Union County Pride will present ‘Intersectional Dynamic Pride: Diversity and Disability Conference 2023’ in the Charlotte Metro area town of Monroe June 15 and 16.

Presentations will take place on both days, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until 5 p.m. The goal of the event is to educate attendees about various ways to raise, educate and employ a diverse community, while protecting and empowering one another in today’s complex society and volatile political environment.

Intersectional Dynamic Pride offers two methods of interaction: in person and virtual. If you decide on the in-person option, the presentation will be held at the Union County Chamber of Commerce building, located at 903 Skyway Drive in Monroe. For more information on the virtual option, visit unioncountypride.org/conference.

Organizations participating in Intersectional Dynamic Pride that will have speakers present include PFLAG Charlotte, Gender Education Network, Equality NC, Freedom Center for Social Justice, Pauli Murray LGBTQ Bar Association, Union County Pride, Incorporated, Council for

Children’s Rights, NC Disability Rights, North Carolina Justice Center, Save our Schools NC, Time Out Youth, ACLU of North Carolina, Gender Cool and New Rural Project.

Special guest speakers during lunch will be available for both days. Thursday will feature Bishop Tonyia Rawls, the founder and former pastor at Sacred Souls Community Church/United Church of Christ, and the founder and executive director of the Freedom Center for Social Justice. Rawls sits on the governing board of the North Carolina Council of Churches and on the board of the Mecklenburg County Community Building Initiative.

Friday’s lunchtime presentation will feature guest speaker Lydia XZ Brown, a writer, public speaker, educator, trainer, consultant, advocate, community organizer, activist, scholar and attorney. Brown is also the founder and leader of the Fund for Community Reparations for Autistic People of Color’s Interdependence, Survival and Empowerment.

The schedule of events for both days is as follows:

Thursday, June 15

9 a.m. – LGBTQ Local and National Review: Various Panel Speakers - Union County Pride, Pauli Murray, LGBTQ Bar Association and Carolina LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce

10 a.m. – Transgender and Gender

Diverse Kids: Joshua Jernigan (he/him/his)

- Gender Education Network

11 a.m. –

Transgender Affirming Services: Bethany Corrigan (they/ them) - Carolina CARE Partnership

12:30 p.m. – Keynote Speaker - Social Justice: Bishop Tonyia Rawls

- Freedom Center for Social Justice

1 p.m. – Family Panel: Growing up a Trans Teen: Maddie Jenifer (she/her) - GenderCool Project

Parenting Queer Children: Katie Jenifer (she/they)

2 p.m. – Parent Support: Mollie Burkholder (they/she) - PFLAG Charlotte

3 p.m. – Youth Support: Tuere Khanyisa (she/they) - Time Out Youth

4 p.m. – Authentic Self Challenges: Chantal Stevens - ACLU NC

Friday, June 16

9 a.m. – Disability & LGBTQ Legal History: Cristal Robinson (they/them) - CODE, Inc. and others

10 a.m. – Bully Prevention: Caitlin

Whalan Jones - Council for Children’s Rights

11 a.m. – Family Panel

12:30 p.m. – Disability Justice: Lydia X Z Brown (they/them/theirs/themself or no pronouns) - writer, public speaker, educator, trainer, consultant, advocate, community organizer, community builder, activist, scholar and attorney

1 p.m. – Educational Rights: The Leadro Case and Disability Education Funding

2 p.m. – Educational Funding: Susan Books (she/her/hers) - Save Our Schools

3 p.m. – Rural Activism: Cynthia WallaceNew Rural Project

4 p.m. – Action Steps: Artie Hartsell (they/ them) - Equality NC

For more information, visit unioncountypride.org/conference. ::

Lunchtime guest speakers include Bishop Tonyia Rawls and Lydia X Z Brown. CREDIT:Facebook

Charlotte Royals Rugby Club hosts first ever International Gay Rugby Tournament

Twenty-five North American teams competed for the NorAmCup,NorAmBowl and NorAm Vase

On the last weekend of May, Charlotte was given the privilege of hosting the first ever International Gay Rugby Tournament. Playing at the Sportsplex on the border between Matthews and Charlotte, twenty-five teams from all over North America were invited to take the field and compete, including the Queen City’s own Charlotte Royals. Even as the constant rain made the fields a little more challenging to play on both days, nothing was allowed to upstage the weekend comprised of both competition and unity between everyone involved.

From their website, The International Gay Rugby (IGR) Organization was formed in October 2000 by a small group of inclusive rugby clubs with the mission of providing the LGBTQ community safe spaces to play as the sport’s popularity grew. Since their formation, the organization has been able to be a positive influence upon its membership around the world through its outreach, fundraising, and inclusion for those looking to learn about the sport or join a club.

Along with the IGR tournament, the organization also puts together every few years the Bingham Cup, a mixed-tier tournament held around the world, and the Union Cup, the strictly European tournament. The most recent editions for each of these were held in Ottawa (Bingham) in 2022 and in Birmingham (Union) in 2023. Partially due to how the

Jonathan Golian|Contributing Writer

Queen’s Cup, Charlotte’s annual tournament hosted by the Royals, is run, planning out how to hold the IGR Cup came easier, even with the larger volume of

teams to contend with. One of the biggest wins for the organization this year while in Charlotte is the long-planned exhibition matches made up of all Trans participants. Pitched and spearheaded by members Atticus and Val Pizzo, the president of the Baltimore Flamingos team, the idea first came to Atticus during the 2018 edition of the Bingham Cup held in Amsterdam that year.

“For the first time since I started playing in 2013, I had only ever met another open trans person during this tournament, and that’s where the idea kinda formed.”, Atticus recalled. “That’s when I thought to myself that there had to be more of us out there and we just didn’t know. I decided from that point to put the message out there that it’s ok to come out and play rugby”.

That idea, originally planned for 2020, was put on ice due to the pandemic putting a pause on events world-wide, making the premiere for the concept only possible now through the pair’s efforts through the organization.

As one of the players Atticus reached with the idea, Val has been on the frontlines with them figuring out how to bring the vision to fruition.

“Originally, it was planned a few years ago, but because of COVID, it hadn’t happened before now, said Val. I tried to recruit as many people as I could because I have had a really good experience with rugby.”

“I realized that from the 33 players that we were sending, 13 were trans including one of our coaches. So I reached out to the tournament and asked that if I could find at least 30 players, could we do it, and they said absolutely. After multiple blasts to clubs and groups all around the spectrum (women’s, men’s, gay, straight), along with the teams attending, and I wound up with almost 60 people that were interested. This time, 40 were able to show up, including a trans referee,” Val continues.

“Thankfully, we were able to put this together at a good time, with restrictions being placed on all sports, including rugby. This is something we love to do together, and for us, it also serves as a protest.”

As far as organizing the players for

Charlotte Royals win over the Dallas Lost Souls. Credit: Jonathan Golian

New York Gotham Knights take the NorAm Cup. Credit: Jonathan Golian

the first ever all trans exhibition the execution ended up being fairly easy. The teams were split up by experience levels, from veteran to amateur level, forming two full matches. Players that came from the same club stuck together on the rosters, allowing for better teamwork by those already familiar with one another. seventeen different clubs in total ended up representing for the first edition of this event, including players as far away as California and Seattle, Washington.

Despite wins or losses, the setup was a total success, giving promise for future collaborations. Atticus added, “As we were all getting warmed up, doing a lap

New York’s Gotham Knights came away with the NorAm Cup, while the Columbus Coyotes took the NorAm Bowl and Washington Scandals earned the NorAm Vase. The Charlotte Royals, playing in the Bowl bracket, ended up taking a win from Dallas’ Lost Souls, while nearly missing victory against Wisconsin’s Beer Bulls and Montreal’s Canadian Armada. The Coyote’s took another accolade for favorite jersey of the tournament, with IGR’s Regional Representative for North America’s South Division Jeff Enoch revealing it from under his jacket before concluding remarks at Sunday’s award ceremony.

Love wins at Pride

by Liz Schob (she/her), Communications Manager

In this month’s column, Liz Schob reflects on a year of firsts and what it means to celebrate joy and liberation at Pride.

I’m standing in the middle of Tryon Street surrounded by a sea of rainbows and shouts of excitement from an exuberant crowd walking past me. It’s August 2019 and I’m at the Charlotte Pride Festival for the very first time. I’d only been in the Queen City for a month before my new colleagues at the nonprofit I worked at informed me that I’d have to set up and run our booth all weekend. I knew it would be a laborious task, but I was thrilled to do it.

I had only a few years before started

determination, and liberation.

I’m under no false notion that it hasn’t been a really challenging time for our community. A lot has changed since that first brick was thrown as Stonewall, yet so much remains the same. There are still so many misguided people who don’t think that we should be able to exist as our whole selves in public spaces and believe that we should be legislated back into the closet. The constant attacks are, frankly, exhausting.

What helps me stay encouraged is the fact that love truly does win. Time and time again bigots have sought to erase us, but we have something they don’t: liberating

around the field before the games started, the amount of cheers and applause we got from the sidelines was deafening, and it really made me feel like Yeah, let’s go do this!’

“The plan is to continue working toward organizing Trans teams with the mission of sending an official one to the 2024 Bingham Cup in Roam.”

For the inaugural IGR tournament,

As of this reporting, we may see a few of these teams back for a 2023 Queen’s Cup later this year, but most assured, the Queen City left an amazing mark on all those who attended the first IGR tournament, and if that stands true, it won’t be the last time Charlotte welcomes the organization and its players coming from around the world. ::

accepting who I am – a queer woman – and attending my first Pride as an out member of the LGBTQ community held so much meaning for me. Whenever I think back to that first Pride weekend in Charlotte, I forget about the exhaustion and humid August heat I experienced running that booth all weekend and think about the joy and liberation I felt being surrounded by my community and our allies. Even though I had attended other Pride festivals previously, the celebration hits differently once you’ve kicked your way out of the closet.

This year will also be a first for me. For the very first time, I won’t be running a booth or simply enjoying the festivities as an attendee - I’ll be helping to run the entire show as a staff member at Charlotte Pride. Getting a behind-the-scenes perspective on what it takes to put on the largest festival and parade in the city as well as one of the largest Pride festivals in the Southeast has given me a deeper appreciation for how far our community has come and what we are capable of when we come together in joy,

joy. Our community has always known struggle, but we also know the joy that comes from being free to live and love as your whole self. Our elders, particularly our BIPOC elders, who led the movement, knew what the future could be. They saw a future where everyone would be free to live and love as their whole self. They saw what was possible. It’s our job now to realize that future and I believe we can do it.

When I think back to the very first time I attended a Pride festival and the first time I attended the festival here in Charlotte to where I am now, I’m reminded of all that is possible. It is my sincere hope that everyone who is attending a Pride festival this year – whether you’ve attended for years or are attending for the very first time – sees what is possible when we refuse to give in to the bigots and people who have allowed ignorance to cast a shadow over their lives. Let’s show them the freedom and liberation that comes when you step out of the closet and into the rainbowcolored light. ::

PHOTO CREDIT: Adobe Stock

The Columbus Coyotes took the NorAm Bowl. Credit: Jonathan Golian

The Washington Scandals earned the NorAm Vase.. Credit: Jonathan Golian

Out! Raleigh Pride celebrates 11

years

Street festival in state’s capital highlights a month of events celebrating the LGBTQ community

Color and camaraderie are two crucial pieces of the Out! Raleigh Pride Festival on Fayetteville Street in Raleigh, which will take place on Saturday, June 24.

“Running from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the event offers live entertainment, local vendors and artists, great food, a KidsZone, and a beer garden,” the festival’s press release states. “In the last ten years, the event has become an integral part of Raleigh’s downtown culture, promoting diversity, awareness, and a sense of inclusiveness for the LGBTQIA+ community. Each year has been more successful than the last, and this year will be no exception!”

This year’s celebration marks the 11th LGBTQ Pride Month celebration in the N.C. capital city. The annual festival started in 2011 with the idea of taking a familyfriendly approach to traditional pride celebrations. This included adding kid-friendly activities, crafts and performances.

“Most pride events are known for being inclusive and colorful but also highly sexualized,” reads a blog post from Out! Raleigh Pride’s 2011 event. “Out! Raleigh stands out as a festival which is safe for the little members of our families to enjoy entertainment that is geared towards them.”

The inaugural event for Out! Raleigh Pride also featured five faith-based organizations, which is something the LGBT Center of Raleigh said was important to include.

“Many of them spoke and gave their support to a community that is often excluded from spiritual and religious sects of society,” the blog post states, referring to other pride festivals. “Five churches participated in that first festival, and we were treated to a confirmation of support from Mitchell Gold of Faith in America, who encouraged the community to be themselves and spread love and kindness.”

Hundreds of thousands of people have attended Out! Raleigh Pride over the years, including many entertainers and performers who make the pride celebration the coveted event people look forward to every year.

This year’s headliner performer will be Frenchie Davis, a Broadway performer and former American Idol and The Voice contestant.

“She’ll be sharing her soul/dance/ pop musical talents with us on the Pride Stage (on) June 24 and an extra special reception on June 25,” Out! Raleigh Pride’s Facebook post stated.

One person can’t organize an event as large as Out! Raleigh Pride — it takes a village. In the case for this year, Out! Raleigh Pride’s leadership team consists of seven people: Kori Hennessey, John Hull, Gwendolyn Love, Elise Chenoweth, Amy Cox, Bree Petrillo and Helicia Chiang. Hennessey has worked with Raleigh’s LGBTQ Center and currently serves as the interim executive director. They are this year’s festival director and said last year’s 10th-anniversary celebration was the biggest so far.

“PRIDE, to me, means celebrating who you are without shame or stigma while remembering and honoring the history,” Hennessey said. “This festival has always been a place where I’ve done just that. I can stop, look around, and truly see the impact it has on our growing southern city.”

Hull has worked on the festival planning committee for “a number of years,” according to his biography on the Out! Raleigh Pride website. He said he continues to volunteer his time to the event as he believes it provides a safe space in a state where not every community is accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals.

“I grew up in a very conservative community, and there weren’t resources for me to learn about being gay or places where I felt accepted and loved,” Hull said. “This wonderful event brings together individuals with a huge amount of diversity, all coming together to celebrate the LGBT+ community and how far we have come.”

Love is the program coordinator for Raleigh’s LGBTQ Center. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in African and African American Diaspora Studies with a concentration on Black Sexuality Studies and Women and Gender Studies.

She said one of the fun things about Out! Raleigh Pride is the fabulous ensembles people wear.

“I’m here for all the fits,” she said. “To me, PRIDE means being able to live in my true authentic self without explanation or concern for what others may perceive: being able to showcase all the best parts of my identities, and never having to worry about dimming my light.”

Chenoweth is the director of the Triangle area’s chapter of Drag Story Hour, and she has been in that role for over four years. She is working to bring

fun activities to the KidZone portion of the festival for children to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community.

“Bringing Pride to the Kidzone is important to me, because it encourages children to look beyond rigid gender stereotypes and embrace themselves and the people around them for who they really are inside,” she said.

Cox and Petrillo are both with Deep South Entertainment — a Raleigh-based entertainment agency. Cox is the company’s senior vice president, while Petrillo serves as the events coordinator.

Cox said Deep South Entertainment has helped to organize Out! Raleigh Pride since its inaugural event in 2011, and she’s very glad to be a part of the process.

“When a collective of volunteers/ leaders from the LGBT Center of Raleigh approached Dave Rose and myself in 2010 about doing the Out! Raleigh festival, Deep South was 100% on board and ready to support the efforts,” Cox said. “As an ally in the community, I have thoroughly enjoyed producing this very inclusive festival that is for everyone.”

Chiang works with the LGBTQ Center in Raleigh as its operations manager. This is her second year helping plan Out! Raleigh Pride, which is something she takes pride in.

“Pride is a celebration of equality, love, and progress as well as a time to remember and honor those who came before us that sacrificed their peace to create it for us,” Chiang said. “To me, Pride is about living as your true self and being accepted and loved without fear of shame or rejection … I love this community and Out! Raleigh Pride is an amazing opportunity to create new bonds and grow.”

Out! Raleigh Pride provides a safe space for LGBTQ people and allies to come together, and Hennessey said it’s important to stand tall and proud, especially in the face of hate.

“With all the bigotry and hate that has been filling our lives this year already, we need Raleigh, Wake County and the state of North Carolina to know that we are here and we are queer,” they said. ::

Taylor Heeden|Contributing Writer

Songbird Frenchie Davis headlines the 2023 Out! Raleigh Pride Festival on June 24.

Sponsored by:

Rainbow Rodeo: A Pride Burlesque Event by the Vixen Show

Location: Ruby Deluxe, 415 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh

Friday, June 9, 2023

Doors open at 8:00 p.m., Show starts at 9:00 p.m.

Saddle up for this sexy showdown as The Vixen Show returns for a rowdy good time of queer burlesque performances for their biggest pride show yet. Tickets start at $15 and benefit Equality NC Foundation.

Tickets: eventbrite.com/e/rainbow-rodeo-apride-burlesque-event-by-the-vixen-show-tickets-634199536887

Soft Serve Ice Cream Social

Location: Videri Chocolate Factory, 327 West Davie Street, Suite 100, Raleigh

Saturday, June 10, 2023

3:00-6:00 p.m.

The Raleigh-based company is also donating $1 from each of their pride month bars to the LGBT Center of Raleigh and Raleigh Pride.

More information: viderichocolatefactory. com

Flood District Album Release Show and Afterparty

Location: Ruby Deluxe, 415 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Doors open at 7:00 p.m., Show starts at 8:00 p.m.

Flood District performs a wide range of tracks from their their debut LP, “Eden to Carry,” sure to please fans of 80’s pop, j-rock, new wave, or any music that sounds dark, pretty and melancholy. Durham hip hop artist Kamus Leonardo opens the show and DJ Allisonwwwonderland provides the sounds for the afterparty.

Tickets: eventbrite.com/e/live-music-flooddistrict-album-release-show-and-afterpartytickets-634890573797

Safe Word

Location: The Wicked Witch, 416 W. South Street, Raleigh

Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11, 2023

This month queer, kink, play party includes a special performance by Hysteria Cole and “kinky burlesque” by Les Bimbos. Details and tickets: eventbrite.com/e/safe-

Pride event list

word-tickets-636667137547

Drag Brunch

Location: Ruby Deluxe, 415 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Doors open at 1 p.m., Show starts at 2:00 p.m

Ruby Deluxe Drag Brunch happens every Sunday. Food provided by a rotating list of local food trucks. Tickets are $10 per person and tables for groups are available.

Tickets: eventbrite.com/e/sunday-dragbrunch-tickets-183145231317

Space for Queer Joy Panel Discussion

Location: Junction West, 310 S. West Street, Raleigh

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Doors open at 6:00 p.m., Panel discussion begins at 6:45 p.m.

Join Raleigh Pride and panelists Breniecia Reuben, Daniel Thomas, Luis Vallespi, Marsha Mellows and Miss B. Haven for a conversation about the history of queer nightlife spaces in Raleigh. Hear from local DJs and event producers on why these spaces need to be preserved.

Registration: eventbrite.com/e/ spaces-for-queer-joy-panel-discussion-tickets-632676020007

Kiki with the Queens, Pride Edition

Location: House of Art, 306 E. Hargett Street, Raleigh

Friday, June 16, 2023

Hosted by local rapper Lil’ Glitter Kiki with the Queens features performances by Marisa Kenning and other local drag artists. Free to attend.

Tickets: houseofartnc.com

Pride Market and Drag Show

Location: 620 W. South Street, Raleigh

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Co-hosted by Urban Pothos and Hartwell, this event consists of an outdoor makers market and indoor drag performances. Proceeds from the drag show benefit the LGBT Center of Raleigh.

Information and Tickets: hartwellraleigh.com

Raleigh Pride Bar Crawl

Location: throughout Raleigh

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Participating venues include Whiskey

Rose, Dogwood Bar, Alchemy Nightclub, Cornerstone Tavern, Halcyon Nightclub, Split Nightclub and Milk Bar Raleigh.

Information and Tickets: barcrawllive. com/crawls/2023-raleigh-north-carolina-pridebar-crawl

The Body Party presents: Attack of the Glamazons

Location: Ruby Deluxe, 415 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh

Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18, 2023

A monthly showcase of Black and Brown performers highlighting local drag talent and curated by Alex Thee Rabbit. This party is the Official Drag Show for the 2023 Pride Bar Crawl, presented by Crawl with Us and the LGBT Center of Raleigh. Crawlers with official pride passes get into the event for free. 20% of all event proceeds benefit the LGBT Center of Raleigh.

Tickets and information: eventbrite. com/e/the-body-party-presents-attack-of-theglamazons-tickets-634326988097

Reimagining Blackness: How arts and creatives celebrate and expand our cultural understanding of Black identity

Location: Artspace, 201 E. Davie Street, Raleigh

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Join curator and choreographer Duane Cyrus for a moderated conversation with guest panelists from multiple art backgrounds as they discuss various ways that Blackness, and Black masculinity in particular, is being reinvented in a positive light through the creative arts. Free to attend.

Registration: artspacenc.org

Pride Yoga

Location: Junction West, 310 S. West Street, Suite 110, Raleigh, NC 27603

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Beginner level yoga class led by Graze Izzo. Proceeds benefit The Trevor Project.

Registration: https://momence.com/dashboard/23785/sessions/86472115

PRIDEFEST 2023 and Goodbye

Hillsborough St Dance Party

Location: The Green Monkey, 1217 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh

Friday, June 23, 2023

4 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Nightlife entertainment

Legends Nightclub 330 W Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601

https://legends-club.com/ (919) 831-8888

Saturday 9 PM–2:30 AM

Sunday 8 PM–1 AM

Monday 8 PM–12 AM

Tuesday -Thursday CLOSED

Friday 9 PM–2:30 AM

Flex 119 S Harrington St, Raleigh, NC 27601 http://www.flex-club.com/ (919) 832-8855

Saturday 5:30 PM–12:30 AM

Sunday 4 PM–12:30 AM

Monday Closed

Tuesday - Thursday 7PM -12:30AM

Friday 5:30 PM–12:30 AM

Ruby Deluxe 415 S Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27601

https://queerraleigh.com/

Saturday 8 PM– 2 AM

Sunday 1 PM–4 PM

Monday - Tuesday CLOSED

Wednesday - Thursday 8 PM–12 AM

Friday 8 PM–12 AM

The Night Rider

416 W South St, Raleigh, NC 27601 https://queerraleigh.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ TheNightRiderRaleigh/

Sunday 3 PM– 12:00 AM

Monday - Tuesday CLOSED

Wednesday - Saturday 5 PM- 2AM

The Wicked Witch 416 W South St, Raleigh, NC 27601

https://queerraleigh.com/ 5 PM– 2 AM

Sunday 3 PM– 12:00 AM

Monday - Tuesday CLOSED

Celebrate Pride at this kick-off party to the last 30 days for The Green Monkey on Hillsborough Street.

More info: https://fb.me/e/168GTe7Uk

Out! Raleigh Pride Festival

Location: Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh

Saturday, June 14, 2023

11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Out! Raleigh Pride returns in person for its 11th year with an inclusive and familyfriendly, action-packed event offering live entertainment, local vendors, artists, food, a KidsZone, and beer garden. Free to attend.

More info: outraleighpride.org

Les Celebrate Pride

Location: The Haymaker, 555 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Hosted by Girls Club NC, this event will transport you to a secret oasis with cocktails, live music and an intimate space to embrace each other and form community bonds. A percentage of the bar proceeds will be donated to the LGBT Center of Raleigh.

Sizzling with Pride by Girls Club NC

Location: House of Art, 306 E. Hargett Street, Raleigh

Sunday, June 25, 2023

This all-inclusive Pride finale event features food curated by Food Network’s Chopped champion, Eric Marshall, drag performances, drink specials and two inhouse DJs

More info: houseofartnc.com

A Queer Centric Comedy Showcase

Location: Watts & Ward, 200 South Blount Street, Raleigh

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

In honor of Pride, The Kulture Enthusiasts in association with Watts & Ward is producing a queer centric comedy showcase to shine light on queer comedians from North Carolina.

More info: wattsandward.com

Find more events at raleighpridenc.com/ pride-events or lgbtcenterofraleigh.com. ::

Wednesday - Saturday 5 PM- 2AM

440 Nightclub 2526 Hillsborough St #301, Raleigh, NC 27607

https://www.facebook.com/440nightclub?_rdr (984) 444-9292

Saturday 10 PM– 3 AM

Sunday 9 PM–12:00 AM

Monday - Thursday CLOSED

Friday Open 24 hours

Pinhook 117 W Main St, Durham, NC 27701

https://thepinhook.com/

Saturday - Friday 5 PM– 12 AM

LGBTQ advocates in the Triangle warn of damaging legislation

Potential anti-LGBTQ bills – if passed – could set back community decades

Damon Seils moved to Carrboro in the late 1990s from Washington D.C., where he completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees. Prior to moving Seils carefully researched the region to find a southern town that would accept him as an out member of the LGBTQ community.

“One of the few things you could find out about Carrboro on the internet back in the late ‘90s was that Carrboro had a gay mayor and a lesbian police chief,” he said. “And I thought, ‘Oh, that seems like the kind of place I want to live.”

Fast forward two and a half decades, Seils is now Carrboro’s third LGBTQ identifying mayor in less than 30 years. However, advocates and elected officials like Seils fear new anti-gay and anti-trans legislation will move forward in N.C.’s General Assembly, effectively erasing a lot of the progress made.

Kori Hennessey is the interim executive director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh. They moved to North Carolina in 2011 from northwest Indiana and got involved with the center in the state’s capital just over six years ago.

“Being that we’re in the capital of North Carolina, a lot of people as they’re moving

Taylor Heeden|Contributing Writer

to the area reach out to us when they first move here saying they want to get connected into the community or are looking for an LGBTQ-affirming doctor or something like that,” they said. “We’ve been able to build our programs and services around some of the needs that we’ve been seeing over the last couple of years.”

Hennessey and their team work yearround to provide a safe, affirming space for queer and trans people to gather and feel comfortable. However, recently proposed legislation in the NC General Assembly has forced Hennessey and other LGBTQ advocates back on the front lines rallying against what they believe to be harmful policies.

One policy filed in the state senate – S.B. 636 – would prohibit transgender youth from competing on sports teams correlating with the gender they identify as.

“It’s unfortunate that this is what’s happening. We are falling [in line] with some of the much worse off states right now for the [LGBTQ] community,” Hennessey said. “How do we support the youth and what can we do moving forward, because we know that even if some of these bills don’t completely pass all the way through into law, the ramifications of it are already happening.”

Hennessey said people who have reached out to the center are fearful of the legislation being proposed not just in North Carolina, but throughout the entire United States.

“A lot of people have reached out to us and have been disappointed and upset that things are going the way that they are,” they said. “When you feel like there’s nothing else that possibly can be done, some of these bills are going to become laws, and it’s not even just in North Carolina. Things are not great in this country at all, and so people are feeling kind of hopeless.”

However, Hennessey said these policies are coming from a political minority. A lot of the proposed legislation against LGBTQ people in the state legislature is from Republicans, who currently hold a supermajority in the North Carolina House and Senate.

Republicans may hold most seats in the legislatures, but only 30 percent of

registered voters in the state are Republican, according to Carolina Demography. The other 70 percent are either registered as Democrat or Unaffiliated, which is completely opposite of the current legislators in office.

Hennessey said it’s important to remember the loudest anti-LGBTQ voices in North Carolina and in the country don’t represent the majority of voters’ beliefs.

“I really do have to step back and think and realize that the majority of Americans in general, honestly do support the community,” they said. “It’s helpful to remember that people do want the best for others in a lot of ways, but we also know that the negative is going to speak and sound a lot louder than the positive.”

Back in Carrboro, Seils said there has always been a rich history of advocacy for social justice issues, especially in fighting for marriage equality and LGBTQ rights in general.

As mayor, Seils said he and the town council have made it their goal to ensure all residents feel welcome, even if the state legislature continues to propose policies he believes are discriminatory and “unconstitutional on its face.”

“Carrboro is not going to be the kind of community where you see the discriminatory enforcement of laws and things that are clearly violations … of constitutional rights. We’re just not going to do that,” he said. “I think what we need to do at the local level is just make sure that our residents know we’re on the side of those who are essentially being targeted by politicians. Simply put, these bills are legislative bullying. We can just make sure that at the local level, we’re not participating in it.”

Seils said as an openly gay man, he is disappointed in the direction North Carolina is going.

“I’m disappointed and kind of tired –this is not the first legislative session we’ve [had] to fight back attacks on LGBTQ people,

including LGBTQ youth,” he said. “I think on a personal level, it feels very stigmatizing. That’s something that all of us, who grew up queer or any other LGBTQ identity, are very familiar with – feeling stigmatized and in many cases bullied, either emotionally or physically.”

Seils said policies such as those being proposed by the General Assembly serve as a reminder for people that the fight didn’t end when the federal government recognized same-sex marriage.

“It’s a good reminder of the reality that progress on these issues isn’t linear,” he said. “It’s a reminder that our progress on the initiatives doesn’t just happen by itself –we have to make it happen.”

At the end of the day, Seils said legislators will have to answer to all of their constituents, not just the ones who voted for them. When that day comes, Seils said he hopes voters will hold them accountable.

“It’s not just disappointing, it’s terrifying that this sort of cynical use of political power for the sake of political power has to come at the expense of everyday people and their lives and livelihoods,” he said. “They have to answer for themselves, but we also have a responsibility not to just sit back. This is a reason for us to keep fighting. We didn’t get where we are today, in Carrboro, or anywhere else in North Carolina without standing up for ourselves and taking care of each other.”::

Local & regional LGBTQ community resources

Providing support for all

Qnotes Staff

Duke University Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity

919-684-6607 csgd@studentaffairs.duke.edu studentaffairs.duke.edu/csgd LGBTQ Center at UNC Chapel Hill lgbtq@unc.edu

919-843-5376

lgbtq.unc.edu/

North Carolina Central University LGBTA Resource Center nccu.edu/lgbta/index.cfm

North Carolina State University GLBT Center oied.ncsu.edu/divweb/glbt/

NC State University GLBT Center glbtcenter@ncsu.edu.

(919) 513-9742 diversity.ncsu.edu/glbt/

NC Central LGBTA Resource Center nccu.edu/life-nc-central/health-and-well-being/lgbta-center Addiction Recovery

D-icers CMA Meeting dicerstriangle@gmail.com

North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition loftinwilson@gmail.com

919-370-0671 nchrc.org/

Pipe Down - CMA Meeting

725 N Boylan Ave, Raleigh NC 27605 pipedownnc@gmail.com

Business / Professional Raleigh Business and Professional Network (RBPN) RaleighBizNetwork@gmail.com raleighnetwork.org/

Bull City LGBTQ Professionals tacnc@aol.com

RBPN - Raleigh’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce RaleighBizNetwork@gmail.com

919-349-0063 raleighlgbtchamber.org/ Community Service

ReachOUT NC info@reachoutnc.org gayforgood.org/raleigh-durham/ Community Support Wake County HIV Support Group, Under One Roof Compass Center clientservices@compassctr.org 919-968-4610 compassctr.org/

continued on page 19

Kori Hennessey (they/them) is the interim executive director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh. CREDIT: LGBT Center of Raleigh

Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils is joined by Chapel Hill Mayor Pro Tem Karen Stegman as they kick off Small Town Pride in Chapel Hill on Saturday, June 3, 2023. CREDIT: Facebook

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LGBT Center of Raleigh info@lgbtcenterofraleigh.com

919-832-4484

lgbtcenterofraleigh.com/ Oak City Cares (formerly Oak City Outreach Center) Kathy.Johnson@oakcitycares.org

919-790-8533 oakcitycares.org/ Triangle Empowerment Center, Inc. triangleempowermentcenter@yahoo.com

800-806-3558 triempowerment.org/ LGBTQ Center of Durham info@lgbtqcenterofdurham.org

919-827-1436

lgbtqcenterofdurham.org/

Trans Lifeline

877-565-8860 translifeline.org/ Trevor Project Lifeline

Crisis

866-488-7386 thetrevorproject.org/pages/get-help-now

Wrenn House / Haven House Crisis Line

919-832-7866 havenhousenc.org/ Durham Crisis Response Center DCRC crisisline@durhamcrisisresponse.org

919-403-6562 durhamcrisisresponse.org/ HopeLine, Inc

919-231-4525 hopeline-nc.org/

ElderCare

Village Hearth Cohousing villagehearthcohousing@gmail.com

561-714-8009

Entertainment Triangle Gay Men’s Chorus tgmchorus.org/

Health, Medical, & Wellness

Carly Kelley, MD, MPH

919-620-5300

dukehealth.org/treatments/adult-gender-medicine

Laura Torres, MD • Carolina Gender Care, PLLC care@carolinagendercare.com

336-308-9008

carolinagendercare.com/ Alliance Of AIDS Services - Carolina info@aas-c.org

919-834-2437

aas-c.org/ Durham VA Health Care System

919-286-0411

durham.va.gov/services/lgbt/index.asp

Rebecca Kooistra, Family Nurse Practitioner quickl@piedmonthealth.org

919-545-3420

piedmonthealth.org/locations/moncure-community-health-center/ Dr. Louise Metz • Mosaic Comprehensive Care abanning@mosaiccarenc.com

919-240-7269 mosaiccarenc.com/ NC AIDS Training and Education Center at UNC

919-843-8604

med.unc.edu/ncaidstraining/prep/PrEP-for-consumers

Planned Parenthood (Raleigh Health Center)

919-833-7526

plannedparenthood.org/health-center/north-carolina/raleigh/27603/raleigh-health-center-3338-90860

Melissa Reed, MD • Reed Family Medicine

Transgender hormone hello@reedfamilymed.com

919-578-5525

reedfamilymed.com/

Destry Taylor (they/them/theirs) board certified FNP

919-951-7600

piedmonthealth.org/chapel-hill-location/ Wake County Health Department - Clinic E

wakegov.com/humanservices/publichealth/information/hiv/ Pages/default.aspx

Rupal Yu, MD • Carrboro Community Health Center yur@piedmonthealth.org

919-942-8741

piedmonthealth.org/locations/carrboro-community-health-center/ Student Health Action Coalition HIV Free rapid HIV testing shac.hiv.unc@gmail.com

919-956-4000

UNC Infectious Disease

984-974-7198

ACLU of North Carolina

Political

contact@acluofnc.org

919-834-3466

acluofnorthcarolina.org/ Equality North Carolina equalitync.org/ Human Rights Campaign (HRC) linebacka@gmail.com hrc.org/local-issues/community/the-triangle

NC AIDS Action Network lee@ncaan.org

919-914-0311 ncaan.org/

Plant lovers, leading experts and rare plant auction coming to North Carolina Event

The Southeastern Plant Symposium and Rare Plant Auction – one of the nation’s largest annual gatherings of plant lovers, expert speakers and rare plants –returns to Raleigh on June 16 and 17.

Organized by NC State University’s JC Raulston Arboretum and Juniper Level Botanic Garden, this year’s gathering features 13 top speakers from around the world, including Emma Allen, with the Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden Wisely in the United Kingdom, plus an international cast of trailblazing plant experts representing leading institutions across the United States.

“Southeastern Plant Symposium is a who’s who of horticulture allowing plant lovers, educators, researchers, nurseries, plant breeders and industry leaders to connect and share cutting edge information and research,” said Mark Weathington, Director of JC Raulston Arboretum.

Now in its fifth year, the Symposium and

takes place in Raleigh June 16-17

Qnotes Staff

Auction has attracted attendees from over 31 US states, DC and eight nations.

“The Symposium’s Rare Plant Auction is an opportunity for people to acquire plants that, for the most part, simply aren’t available commercially,” said Tony Avent, Proprietor of Juniper Level Botanic Garden.

“We start the auction online about a week before the symposium, adding plants every day or two, ending with between 300 and 400 different plants on the final day. Even the hardest core plant lovers will find plants they’ve never seen for their gardens.”

Expert symposium presenters include:

• Richard Olsen, Ph.D., Director, United States National Arboretum, Washington, DC

• Scott McMahan, Manager of International Exploration, Atlanta Botanical Garden, GA

• Nina Bassuk, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor, The Urban Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

• Tom Ranney, Ph.D., JC Raulston Distinguished Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, Raleigh, NC

• Anthony Aiello, Associate Director of Collections, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA

• Emma Allen, Head of Horticultural Relations, Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley, London, England, United Kingdom

• Gary Knox, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, North Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida,

Quincy, FL

• Jenny Xiang, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, NC State University, Raleigh, NC

• Judson LeCompte, Ph.D., Product Development Assistant Manager, Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc., Grand Haven, MI

• Mengmeng Gu, Ph.D., Professor and Department Head, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

• Ross Bayton, Ph.D., Director, Heronswood Garden, Kingston, WA

• David Roberts, Director of Plant Breeding, Bailey Innovations, Bailey Nurseries, Inc., Athens, GA

• Greg Paige, Director of Horticulture, JC Raulston Arboretum, NC State University, Raleigh, NC

“Everyone will have opportunities to share their thoughts and questions with the experts,” said Weathington. “That’s what I find exciting – the cross-pollination of every field of landscape horticulture.”

“The day before and after the symposium, Juniper Level Botanic Garden and JC Raulston Arboretum will be open for attend-

ees,” added Avent. “This is a great chance for plant lovers to combine a tour of both gardens and attend the symposium.”

Registration is available for in-person or online attendance. The host hotel is Hilton Raleigh at North Hills on Wake Forest Road. All presentations, including Friday’s dinner and presentation, will occur at this location. Continuing education credits may apply to professionals. See the symposium website for details.

Auction proceeds benefit the JC Raulston Arboretum (tax ID 56-6049304) and the Tony & Anita Avent Juniper Level Botanic Garden Endowment (tax ID 56-6000756). Funds are managed by the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit. ::

The Juniper Level Botanical Garden is also in Raleigh. CREDIT: Southeastern Plant Symposium

NCSU’s JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh.

CREDIT: Southeastern Plant Symposium

THE Equality NC Crew!

Which state is the most closeted in the US?

Google search mining effort reveals surprising results

Greg Owen|LGBTQ Nation

Anew study from a market research firm in Austin, Texas, reveals where in the U.S. the most people are questioning their sexuality.

The unlikely answer comes from the politically red, religiously conservative Utah, a finding that earns the Mormon enclave the title “most closeted” among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“The evolution of social attitudes around sexual orientation and gender identity over the last two decades has been profound,” Cultural Currents

The firm describes this tension as “common” in Utah, where recent data revealed a surge in searches for “VPN,” an internet workaround employed after the website PornHub was blocked in the state.

Total search volume for the five terms combined shows a remarkable jump in the last two years, coinciding with the far-right’s campaign targeting the LGBTQ+ community with legislative bans on gender-affirming care, drag performance and other discriminatory measures, and efforts of groups like

Institute writes in a memo accompanying the study, which examined Google Trends data from 2004 to 2023.

The in-depth online research uncovered “a staggering 1300 percent increase in specific searches that may indicate a user is questioning their sexual identity.”

CCI mined data for five search terms: “am I gay,” “am I lesbian,” “am I trans,” “how to come out” and “nonbinary,” finding a significant upward trend among all the terms, with the results in some states more pronounced than others.

The top five states for “am I gay” were Utah, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia and New Hampshire.

Utah, a red state with the country’s largest Mormon population, topped the search list for three of the terms: “am I gay,” “am I lesbian” and “am I trans.”

The state’s top spots “might indicate a significant underlying questioning of identity among its internet users,” writes CCI, “possibly driven by the conflict between personal feelings and societal expectations.”

Moms for Liberty, LibsofTikTok and Gays Against Groomers directed at school boards, libraries and local governments.

Utah was the first state to ban genderaffirming care for trans youth in 2023. The law is on hold pending a court challenge.

The top five states for the search term “am I lesbian” were Utah, Connecticut, Kentucky, Washington and Colorado.

“Am I trans,” was most popular in Utah, Kentucky, Colorado, Michigan and Washington.

A collection of five deep red states topped the list for the search term “how to come out,” including Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky, a result that “could indicate a more challenging environment for selfdisclosure of identity,” according to the study authors.

The search for “nonbinary” yielded a broader ideological mix of states, including Vermont, Oregon, Maine, Montana and Washington.

This article appears courtesy of our media partner LGBTQ Nation.::

JOIN

The five search terms: ‘am I gay,’ ‘am I lesbian,’ ‘am I trans,’ ‘how to come out,’ and ‘nonbinary ’ are showing a significant upward trend.

CREDIT: Adobe Stock

by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Qnotes Staff Writer

$26.99

336 pages

Few things are cast in stone.

Which means that you’ve usually got time to change your mind. Do a little research, listen to other voices, get educated, think about things and pivot. No one will criticize; you may, in fact, be commended for your new open-mindedness. As in the new book, “Big Gay Wedding” by Byron Lane, you might like the new outlook, too.

Chrissy Durang, “Farmer Mom” and owner of the Polite Society Ranch near New Orleans, checked two things off a list in her notebook. The school bus filled with noisy children arrived for their tour of the ranch, check. Barnett should be arriving later, check.

Thirty-four-year-old Barnett was the light in Chrissy’s world, her son, her only child, the near-exact image of his late father. She was excited for his homecoming; surely, Barnett was flying from California to tell her he was ready to take over the ranch now, take care of the animals, take care of her.

Instead, not long after he arrived, Barnett dropped a bombshell about “The Big Thing” that they never discussed: he was engaged. To be married. To another man. And he wanted to do it there in Mader, at Polite Society Ranch.

Chrissy could think of a million things she didn’t like about Barnett’s intended, Ezra, and they all went into her notebook. Hair a mess, check. Controlling, check. Butt-kisser, check. Dream-killer, check. And yet, Barnett loved Ezra. It’d been a long time since Chrissy’d seen her son this happy.

She talked to her priest about the situation, but he disappointed her in a terrible way. It was clear that her father-in-law, PawPaw, was supportive of Barnett and Ezra, which was no surprise; Barnett was always Paw-Paw’s favorite. Chrissy didn’t have many friends in her small Louisiana town, but she was absolutely sure of three things: Nobody would approve of any sort of gay nuptials, Ezra’s family was downright weird and everybody in Mader would blame her for what was about to happen...

At face value, the story inside “Big Gay Wedding” seems awfully familiar: homophobic mom, gay son, wedding, Kumbaya moment, the end. Keep thinking that, though, and you’ll miss one truly wonderful novel.

From the paraprosdokian sentences to the Misfit Toys cast of characters, author Byron Lane takes readers from a deep dive into a box of tissues to a good snorting belly laugh, often in the same paragraph. So many unexpected, delightful things occur inside this story, in fact, that you may become disappointed when something conventional occurs.

Which it does, often enough.

Gay bashing, protesters, haters, misunderstanding, it’s-a-phase thinking, all the bad old tropes show up in this story, alas. Still, readers will be happy to know that they’re dealt with properly, just as you’d expect from a prissy mother, an alcoholic society

matron, two men wildly in love, a lightfingered grandfather and a dying sheep named Elaine.

Summer is always a time for weddings, and it’s a great time to enjoy this sweet, funny, excellent novel. Simply, “Big Gay Wedding” rocks. ::

“Big Gay Wedding” by Byron Lane c.2023, Holt

Tips for getting married in NC

What to know about tying the knot

Evan Moore|The Charlotte Observer

As warm weather becomes the norm during spring, many couples may be planning to tie the knot in North Carolina. Dates in May and June are the most preferred time to book a wedding in the Tarheel State. But before saying “I do,” couples in North Carolina must obtain a marriage license. Here’s what couples should know about applying for a marriage license and performing the marriage ceremony.

Marriage License Requirements

• According to the N.C. Judicial Branch, the following requirements must be met to obtain a marriage license:

• Both parties must intend to marry

• Both parties must not be currently married to anyone else

• Both parties must be at least 18 years old unless specific requirements for minors are met

• The parties cannot be more closely related than first cousins

• The parties cannot be double first cousins (the children of two sisters who married two brothers)

How to Get a Marriage License in North Carolina

Couples whose weddings are in North Carolina can get a marriage license from the Register of Deeds in any county in the state. Applicants must pay a fee of $60 and

fill out a form stating their names, ages, marital status and intention to marry. In most cases, both partners must visit the Register of Deeds office, but some counties, including Mecklenburg, allow online applications to be submitted before visiting the office to save time.

Performing a Marriage Ceremony in North Carolina Weddings in North Carolina “must be conducted by a recognized officiant” in order to be legally binding, according to the state’s Judicial Branch. Under state law, “any minister who is ordained in a religious denomination or authorized by a church” can serve as a “recognized officiant.”

“Marriages can also be performed in the recognized manner of any religious denomination that does not use officiants, or in the recognized manner of any federally or state-recognized Native American tribe,” the Judicial Branch says.

For a secular ceremony, magistrates can perform weddings. Many magistrates, including in Mecklenburg County, “set aside certain days and times when they are able to perform marriages at the courthouse or other court office,” Judicial Branch spokesman Charles Keller, Jr. told the Observer.

You should contact your county’s magistrate office for more information. If you’re interested in having a loved one officiate your wedding and they plan to get ordained online, you should contact your county clerk’s office to make sure the program they are using is acceptable under North Carolina law.

Many wedding planning websites offer lists of wedding officiants available for hire. You can narrow your search based on the location of your big day and the type of ceremony you’re looking for (religious, interfaith, secular, etc.).

How to Get a Copy of Your Marriage License in North Carolina

You can order a copy of your marriage license online, by mail or by phone at 1-800-669-8310 through the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The processing time for online and phone orders is four to five months, and the processing time for mail-in certificate orders is six months to one year. Copies of marriage licenses can also be ordered in person by appointment only at the North Carolina Vital Records Office in Raleigh. Appointments can be made online, or by calling 919-733-3000. Copies can also be obtained at the Register of Deeds office where the event took place.

This article has been edited for clarity and space constraints per agreement. It appears courtesy of our media partner The Charlotte Observer.::

Couples wanting to wed in North Carolina can get a marriage license from the Register of Deeds in any county in the state. CREDIT: Adobe Stock

by Gregg Shapiro Qnotes Staff Writer

There’s no disputing that Queer writer Henry Hoke has one of the most eclectic voices in contemporary literature. For example, the glue that held his 2022 memoir “Stickers” together was the adhesive of the back of the titular objects. In Hoke’s new novel, “Open Throat” (MCD/ FSG 2023), we see daily life in Los Angeles through the eyes of a Queer mountain lion. Alternately surreal, sexy, serious and satisfying, “Open Throat” is a quick and insightful read. Hoke kindly made time in advance of his book tour to answer some questions.

Gregg Shapiro: During the pandemic lockdown, many elements of the natural world began to be present again, including animals returning to or flourishing in their natural habitats. Is “Open Throat” in any way inspired by that?

Henry Hoke: Yes, especially a reverie/ vision of a human-free world that comes late in the book, and which I wrote postpandemic, in the revision process with FSG. I’m also writing a short story called “The Dolphins Are Returning to the Gowanus Canal” riffing on this phenomenon/idea.

GS: Did you ever encounter a mountain lion when you lived in LA?

HH: I never did! But I always imagined one was lurking just out of sight on my hikes. It was oddly comforting.

GS: I loved the way you depicted an earthquake through the mountain lion’s eyes. Did you experience an earthquake or earthquakes when you lived in California?

HH: Many! It was always surreal, to feel that loss of control, that strange warping of the physical order of the world, even for a moment. They become relatively commonplace when you’re in SoCal, but it’s always a bit of a reset to the day or night, a good moment to check in with friends and feel tied to a communal experience in such a vast city.

Postcard from a cougar

An interview with Henry Hoke

GS: The mountain lion’s thought process is presented as a kind of punctuation-less stream of consciousness. Was this always the way you envisioned it?

HH: Always. It just felt right to flow with the words like that, to let my big cat’s monologue be uninterrupted and churning. The way my word doc was formatted (with line breaks instead of any punctuation) is the way it looks in the finished book.

GS: The mountain lion appears to be captivated by the sounds of human speech patterns, including the pronunciation of LA as “ellay,” and the phrase “this is not a big deal.” The mountain lion says, “I have so much language in my brain and nowhere to put it.” Is this a fascination and a feeling that you share?

HH: Absolutely. It’s why I’m an author, I’m always overwhelmed with observing and listening, taking the world in and processing it toward some future project. So much of the dialogue is verbatim from what I overheard on my walks through LA and its wildernesses.

GS: You also include social and environmental issues, such as the homeless and the wildfires.

HH: Engagement with these issues emerged organically from the narrator and place I chose – the animal and Griffith Park –because the big cat’s everyday life happens in proximity to fire danger and a small community of unhoused park residents, consequences of the urbanization of wild spaces and the rampant inequality of Los Angeles.

GS: Queerness is an additional presence – from the gay poet “boy kid” holding hands with his boyfriend to the two men the mountain lion watches having sex in the cave.

HH: I wanted to punctuate the lion’s queer internal journey (a larger arc of oppressed sexuality, loss and gender affirmation) with exposure to Queer humans, however fleetingly, to help my narrator make sense, to see gayness as “a natural part of this world.”

GS: There is also unexpected humor in the book. Was it important to you to include that in the storytelling?

HH: I can’t really avoid it! Especially with the concepts I follow into book-length works, the wild and uncanny perspectives, humor always emerges to break up the more philosophical, painful and poetic. I always appreciate comic relief in darker works.

GS: The novel’s title, “Open Throat,” comes from the last chapter. Did the book have a working title before that?

HH: I had only been writing the book

for a week when the title emerged from my subconscious (delivered to me by Anthony Bourdain in a dream). I prefer to have a title when I write, to imagine the work as a finished book, so I can ride that confidence through the long crafting and revision process.

GS: On page 139, a human recognizes the mountain lion as P-22, the one that “lives in the park,” leading the mountain line to ponder “is this fame.”

HH: P-22 was the inspiration, and I’m not sure that my cat is truly P-22, but I wanted to play with that idea of a “famous” but reclusive cat’s confusion at being known, when in fact its life is so isolated and perilous. Fame always seems so disorienting, and the way people project onto the figures they deify, especially one as unknowable as a wild animal, never lines up for me.

GS: Disney, referred to by the mountain lion as “diznee,” made me wonder if you could imagine a movie version of “Open Throat.”

HH: I wrote this book, like all my books, to be unfilmable. But I’m not against a transformation for the screen. A girl, like a mountain lion, has got to eat [laughs]. ::

Broadway play ‘1776’ comes to Blumenthal with gender diverse cast

Musical about America’s ‘founding fathers’ includes female, transgender, and non-binary actors

by David Aaron Moore Qnotes Staff Writer

The Broadway production of 1776, a musical scored by Sherman Edwards with a book by Peter Stone, is based on the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It tells the story of John Adams’ efforts to persuade his colleagues to vote for independence and to sign the constitution.

The show originally premiered on Broadway in 1969, which resulted in a Tony Award for Best Musical.

In 1972, it was made into a film adaptation. Later still it was revived on Broadway in 1997 and again in 2022, this time with a cast made up of people who identify as female, trans, non-binary, of color and lesbian.

Some of the same cast members are appearing in the traveling 2023 roadshow version playing at the Belk Theater June 6-11.

From the theater company responsible for the latest presentation of “1776,” as presented through the acting skills of women and gender non-conforming actors, comes this description:

“What will it take to get two dozen powerfully passionate, exceedingly complicated, and all-too-human individuals to settle their differences, while they hold the very future of a nation in their hands? American Repertory Theater from Harvard University/Roundabout Theatre Company’s new production of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, ‘1776,’ catapults to blazing new life in a thrillingly new production from directors Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus.

Shelby Acosta, an actress who identifies as she, queer and from El Paso, Texas (with family roots in Mexico), is as enthusiastic about the play as the company’s description.

“This makes the second time I have been a part of the play,” she explains. “I was involved with the latest revival cast presentation, which was like my dream job, and now I get to go on the road with the show. It’s been a great experience and the cast is full of so many wonderful people that are amazing to work with.”

Acosta attended school in El Paso and, as it is so often with many professional actors, got her start in schoolbased theatrical productions.

“That was when the bug bit me,” she recalls with a laugh.

When she came to the realization that a career in stage acting in El Paso would be somewhat limited, she decided to make the move to New York City for easier access to auditioning for Broadway plays.

So far she has performed in ensemble stage presentations on cruise ships and appeared in “Into the Woods” as Cinderella, (an experience she described as unusual because she never saw herself as a Cinderella type); and the Broadway productions of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Saturday Night

Fever,” among others.

In “1776,” she plays the role of Charles Thomson, a man who during his own life was a translator of Latin (and other languages) and worked directly with the creators of the constitution.

“The role I play is more or less a kind of messenger,” she explains. “I’m always in touch with George Washington who is off somewhere fighting a battle and I am able to relay to those who are creating the Constitution what his thoughts and feelings are and tell the audience what the plot points are.”

One of Acosta’s unique and most rewarding experiences with the play is the opportunity to work with trans women in the cast. “It’s not something I experience or even see very often in New York on Broadway and other productions,” she explains. “As progressive as New York City is, and as color blind theater there is to casting, I don’t feel they’ve gotten that far with trans actors.”

“There seems to be this kind of wall that goes up. Rather than cast a trans individual in a trans role, we see a cisgender person playing a trans character and the producers call that okay. In this production we get to see so many people just being themselves, while still playing these characters. We’ve got actors who are trans and people who identify as non-binary, queer and lesbian.”

With the current political environment created by conservatives and Republicans lashing out at the LGBTQ community and especially at trans folk and drag performers, some members of the cast felt a mixture of trepidation and reserve when it came time to bring the production to the southern states.

“So there was some concern, yes. But

so far there hasn’t been any problem and since we are playing larger cities we’re all hoping that won’t be the case.

“I mean a number of people are taking issues with trans people and drag queens these days and here we are all in drag in some form or another and we’ve got trans people in our cast.”

Despite how much Acosta enjoys her role and the play itself, she admits she did face some challenges playing a white, cisgender man from the 18th century.

“In some ways we are normalizing these men who were racist slave owners and homophobic. Had I been alive back then I would never have been allowed to be a part of forming the Constitution. I wouldn’t have been any kind of consideration.

“We want the audience to see us as we morph into these characters, but still see us for who we are. I think it’s a really good thing for people to see this coming from us, instead of a cast of cisgender white men.

“It gives a completely different perspective, shows us how the world is changing and how much we are a part of this country now as they were then.”

Tickets available at the Belk Theatre website. ::

The National Tour Cast of ‘1776’ performs ‘Sit Down, John.’

CREDIT: Joan Marcus

Shelby Acosta – who identifies as queer –plays the role of Charles Thomson.

CREDIT: Facebook