QNotes, June 12, 2020

June 12-25, 2020

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June 12-25, 2020

inside this issue

June 12-25, 2020 Vol 35 No 04

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Mykah Buff, Anthony T. Eaton, Trevor Hoppe, Tonya Jameson, Jack Kirven, Lainey Millen, Chris Rudisill, Terri Schlichenmeyer, Gregg Shapiro, Sara Shariff, Trinity

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In Memoriam: Larry Kramer

LGBTQ Orgs Unite

news

The community said goodbye to one of the more active and multi-talented legends. Larry Kramer not only was an Academy Award nominee as a screenwriter and a two-time Obie winner, Pulitzer prize nominee, he was an activist during the early days of the AIDS crisis.

5 Second Super Tuesday 6 Documenting LGBTQ Equality in the South 6 Court Hears Oral Argument in Citizenship Recognition 6 News Briefs 7 In Memoriam: Aimee Stephens 10 Voting in America 12 COVID, Closure and Clubs

a&e 14 16 18

Out in Print: ‘The Heart’ Tell Trinity Live and More

life 4 Friendship, Interrupted 5 Remembering a Leader: Larry Kramer 9 And The People Said 11 Arts Activist Focuses on Community Needs 14 Health & Wellness:

Wellness on a Budget 19 Our People: Ivy Hill

views 15 Legal Eagles: You are Healthy. You are Well.

events

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Ruthie Foster is Live and More

Bringing her soulful, engaging talents to the stage, out singersongwriter Ruthie Foster has released a new album along with her Big Band group entitled ‘Live at the Paramount’ that crosses numerous music genres.

PAGE 18

Arts Activist Focuses on Community Needs

Jermaine Nakia Lee has been involved in the community for a long time and his newest effort in helping others is his Coronavirus Relief Project’s Community Free Store.

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Our calendar will return once events begin again.

June 12-25, 2020

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life

Friendship, Interrupted Disconnection in the Era of COVID-19

By Trevor Hoppe | Guest Contributor

The coronovirus pandemic has created social isolation that challenges the need for companionship and connection while sheltering in place. (Photo Credit: Smileus via Adobe Stock) Sociologist Trevor Hoppe draws on his experience studying how gay men manage HIV risk to discuss how COVID-19 risk is shaping our relationships and influencing our social worlds.

M

y phone buzzed the other day with a long missive from a friend to a group Facebook chat we share with my husband and his fiancé. Earlier in the day, he had invited me and my husband over for dinner at their apartment. In the spirit of social distancing, I responded by suggesting maybe we do something outdoors — perhaps a picnic or a walk in the park?

He was furious. He felt like we were avoiding their “COVID germs.” After a series of angry messages, he left the group chat — the digital equivalent of a gauntlet-drop.

I looked at my husband, speechless.

Had COVID-19 just caused a different kind of loss, our friendship?

We all manage and respond to risk differently — and with varied emotions. Most of us are becoming well acquainted with the small daily frustrations of encountering people engaging in behaviors once considered perfectly normal but now labeled as risky: shopping for groceries without a mask, walking too closely to others, or coughing without covering your face.

But as my friend made clear, we can also find frustration in others we believe are being overprotective or too risk-averse.

As a sociologist who has studied how gay men practice and manage HIV risk, I think a lot about the way diseases shape our behaviors, emotions, and, ultimately, our social worlds. HIV is fundamentally different from COVID-19 in that it cannot be transmitted through casual contact like handshakes or shared Uber rides. Nonetheless, in order to navigate HIV risk, we engage in a similar kind of mental calculus.

Some gay men think the risk of contracting the disease is well worth the potential pleasures of eschewing condoms with a one-night stand. Other gay men recoil at the thought, so wary of HIV that they meticulously practice condom use or even avoid casual sex altogether (indeed, that recoil can at times translate into shame projected onto anyone who doesn’t take the same precautions). As anyone who has spent time cruising for sex online knows well, clashing views on risk and pleasure can lead to plenty of hurt feelings and libidinous disappointment.

HIV and COVID-19 risk can both put distance between us, but the pleasures interrupted are of a different stripe. For HIV, we take risk in search of human connection

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June 12-25, 2020

and sexual pleasure. For COVID-19, even the most ordinary of behaviors have become suddenly risky: sharing a meal, taking a walk, going to a movie. Avoiding COVID-19 is forcing us to deprive ourselves of all the many pleasures of life, both sexual and platonic.

Our new marching orders for our nowCOVID-ridden lives seems straightforward enough: avoid gatherings, wear masks in public, wash your hands vigorously. But for most of us, the truth is more complicated.

We are faced with a social isolation that hurts. And the promise of connection is not trivial or superfluous: we crave it. We need it.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we’ve all been doing a sort of risk-calculus in our heads these last few weeks. Is it OK to take a walk with my friend? Do we need to wear masks? Should I say yes to the invitation from my parents to come stay with them for a long weekend? For those of us that are single, is dating even possible anymore?

A tipping point in those risk-equations we all have been making these last few weeks is coming. As the loss of human connection and intimacy takes an ever-greater emotional and psychological toll, the potential risk of contracting COVID-19 won’t be enough to keep us away from those we love.

For some, especially those suffering from depression, isolation will become unbearable to the point of even becoming deadly.

As restrictions lift and we come out of our isolation, many of our phones will buzz with eager invitations from friends asking to get together and connect — for dinner, a walk, or to get coffee. But we won’t all be ready to take those risks at the same time.

Try not to take it personally. The truth is we are all aching from the pain of isolation. We miss you. And in the words of Queen Elizabeth, I long for the day that “we will meet again.” : : This article was originally published by San Francisco AIDS Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes health, wellness and social justice for communities most impacted

by HIV, through sexual health and substance use services, advocacy and community partnerships. Founded in 1982, SFAF regularly publishes content about community and connection. Learn more at sfaf.org, and read the original publication at bit.ly/2UercOx. Trevor Hoppe is a sociologist and author of the book, “Punishing Disease: HIV and the Criminalization of Sickness,” and co-editor with David Halperin of the collection, “The War on Sex.” He is an assistant professor in Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Remembering a Leader: Larry Kramer In Memoriam: 1935-2020

BY Anthony T. Eaton | Guest Contributor

W

e lost a great leader with the death of Larry Kramer. Larry was an accomplished man, earning a degree from Yale, an Academy Award nomination as a screenwriter, a two-time Obie winner, Pulitzer prize nominee and activist. Born in a time when being out was unheard of and the role models we have today did not exist, he had his own struggles with coming to terms with and accepting himself as a gay man, as many did and still do. Going as far as attempting suicide while in college, Larry would come to terms with who he was and go on to lead a movement that would change our world.

While not initially interested in activism, Larry would become a leader in the gay rights movement and the fight against AIDS when gay men began to get sick in 1980 with a then-unknown disease. Larry was instrumental in so many ways from forming the first AIDS organization, which would become the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), to ACT UP in 1987 after years of the government and the world turning a blind eye to what was happening. Larry forced gay men, the government and mainstream news to pay attention and respond to the AIDS crisis, starting with his lengthy essay entitled “1,112 and counting,” of which Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner said, “With that one piece, Larry changed my world. He changed the world for all of us.” Indeed, he did.

“You’d think one day we’d learn. You don’t get anything unless you fight for it, united and with visible numbers.”

— Larry Kramer Larry exemplified what it means to stand up and take action even when that makes you unpopular and a target.

While many were willing to stand back because they were afraid of being outed in a time when we had few, if any rights, Larry said no. He stepped forward, mobilizing a movement that would bring forth money for research to fight AIDS. He would not let all those that had died, were

news

Had it not been for Larry and others like dying and suffering, do so in him, we would be in a very different place vain. Widely criticized for his today. Because of his courage, we should all methods, even by the gay recognize that one person, each of us can community, he was ousted make a difference even when the stakes

by GMHC in 1983 due to his are high, we are afraid and there is much “in your face” approach. That to lose but also much to be gained. Today approach resulted in the inmore than ever, we all need to be like Larry tended outcomes — people and stand up against all that is wrong in and the government took the world and our own country. Renowned notice and took action. Larry immunologist Anthony Fauci said of Larry, knew someone had to do “In American medicine, there are two eras. something, and he did.

Before Larry and after Larry.”

While we now know Larry’s life and courage should be a that HIV had probably been catalyst for our own response to the lack of around for decades, it was leadership in our country, to the continued not until 1981 that the virus and pervasive racism and bigotry that still seemed to take hold and exists, the inequality and injustice of anyone. spread. If you were born Larry Kramer.

We must raise our voices, however we can. after 1981, chances are you (Photo Credit: David Shankbone via We must demand change and not stand by don’t know what effect the Creative Commons. CC BY 2.0 license) meekly and wait for someone to do it for us. disease had back then, the We must unite not as groups of color, gender toll it was taking. I was 14, or sexuality, but as human beings. Larry’s passing should and I remember clearly the fear that permeated the gay be a call for action, so we do not let all those who have community and the lack of response or even acknowledggone before us, who have sacrificed, risked and even lost ment of the government to do something because it was their lives to have done so in vain. Each of us must have that “gay disease.” I remember my own fear as a young a cause and do something to advance that. We must get gay man, seeing all those who were sick, dying or who had involved by voting, writing our representatives, raising our passed. Had those infected with HIV been white straight voices. Like Larry, we must act up. men, things would have been much different. Now more than ever, that fact is not lost on me when I see the world’s response to the COVID pandemic compared to what hap“Some reporter called me ‘the angriest gay man in the world’ pened back then. or some such. Well, it stuck, but I realized it was very useful.”

— Larry Kramer “AIDS was allowed to happen. It is a plague that needs not to have happened. It is a plague that could have been contained Leadership comes in many forms and people, but most from the very beginning.” often, it comes from those we least expect.

— Larry Kramer Larry Kramer was 84. : :

Second Super Tuesday

Primary Watch: Eight Primaries in One Day Amidst Nationwide Hysteria and a Global Pandemic

BY Mykah Buff | QNotes Staff WRITER Picking up from last issue’s primary watch on May 29, at press time the results of Hawaii’s Democratic presidential primary that took place on May 22 had not yet been made available. Former Vice President Joe Biden won the Aloha state’s primary with 63.2 percent of the final vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders took the remaining 36.8 percent of the state’s vote In the midst of a nationwide hysteria with sprees of protests ensuing all over the country, the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries for seven states and D.C. were in the works. In this jamboree of elections on June 2, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and the nation’s capitol were all carrying out contests which some states had already postponed in response to COVID-19.

Former Vice President Joe Biden.

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. CC BY SA 2.0 license)

The New York Times said voters who participated in primaries on June 2 were presented with some unruly circumstances, additionally noting the day as the most significant voting event to take place since the coronavirus began rearing its ugly head in the United States.

“On the biggest day of voting since the coronavirus disrupted public life, Americans cast ballots in extraordinary circumstances on Tuesday, heading to the polls during a national health and economic crisis and amid the widespread protests and police deployments that have disrupted communities across the nation,” said the Times.

On the brink of a global pandemic with health concerns to mount, a number of state primaries were postponed resulting in significant voting opportunities being missed that were intended to take place throughout the month of March.

Of the June 2 primaries, there were three states, Montana, New Jersey and New Mexico, as well as Washington, D.C. that were originally scheduled to take place. New Jersey’s primary was also scheduled for June 2 but was moved to July 7. Both Delaware and Connecticut were the first states to postpone primaries, rescheduling them for June 2. They have moved their primaries out even further with Delaware’s primary scheduled for July 7 and Connecticut’s on Aug. 11.

The primaries of seven states and Washington, D.C. that took place on June 2 provided a total of 479 pledged delegates that were available for allocation. Aside from Super Tuesday which took place earlier this year on March 3, there had not been a delegate count of this magnitude.

Biden continued his winning streak on Tuesday securing delegates in Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Dakota. While the final results were not made available at press time, it is projected that Biden will have success in Washington, D.C. as well according to CBS. : :

June 12-25, 2020

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BRIEFS

news New Report and PBS Web Series Document LGBTQ Equality in the U.S. South

BOULDER, Colo. — More LGBTQ people live in the U.S. South than in any other region of the U.S. But for the one in three LGBTQ adults who call the South home, the South is the most hostile LGBTQ state policy landscape in the country. The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) released a new report, “LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: Mapping LGBTQ Equality in the U.S. South,” which details how a dearth of progressive laws and policies in 14 Southern states has led to distinct challenges along with unique opportunities for advancing legal equality for LGBTQ people in the region.

The report is released in partnership with PRIDELAND, a new one-hour special and shortform digital series following host and actor Dyllón Burnside (from FX’s “Pose”) on a journey across the South. From a lesbian rodeo champ in Texas to an African-American mayor ally in Alabama, he discovers how LGBTQ Americans are finding ways to live “authentically and with pride” in the modern South. The six-episode short-form series launched in late May on PBS Voices, a new documentary-focused YouTube Channel by PBS Digital Studios. A one-hour companion special, also hosted by Burnside, will premiere on June 12 at 9 p.m. on PBS, PBS. org and the PBS Video App. “LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: Mapping LGBTQ Equality in the U.S. South” explores the LGBTQ policy landscape in the South in relation to the overall LGBTQ policy landscape for all U.S. states, based on a tallying of nearly 40 LGBTQ-related laws and policies. Compared to the Northeast, West and Midwest regions, the South has the lowest average LGBTQ policy tally, with an average 1.3 points out of a possible 38.5 points. Of the 14 states examined in the South, all but one are ranked as either negative equality states (eight states) or low equality states (five states). This means that 93 percent of LGBTQ Southerners live in negative or low equality states. Only Virginia is ranked as a fair equality state, a development that occurred in the first months of 2020 and marking a potential beginning of change in the South.

“Despite broad support for LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections from majorities of both political parties and religious groups, lawmakers in the South continue to enact laws and policies that makes life harder for the 3.6 million LGBTQ people who call the South home,” said Ineke Mushovic, executive director of MAP. “But don’t be mistaken: Southern advocates have defeated the vast majority of anti-equality legislation by building broad community coalitions — and they have done remarkable work in supporting the LGBTQ community through innovative programming, services, and advocacy — despite hostile laws.”

The report offers both an analysis of key LGBTQ policy areas in the region today, and a retrospective look at overall changes among the states in the South since 2010. While the South may lag in LGBTQ laws and policies relative to other regions, the report concludes with findings that highlight the progress made at state and local levels: • In 2010, all 14 Southern states were ranked as negative equality states. But by April 2020, all states but one had improved their scores, and five states had improved enough to change category (from negative to low or fair).

• In 2020, Virginia became the first and only state in the South to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics in employment, housing, and public accommodations nondiscrimination laws. Additionally, Florida leads the South and the country (among states without statewide nondiscrimination protections) in enacting local nondiscrimination ordinances, with 60 percent of Floridians living in places with LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protections.

In a rapidly changing legal landscape, MAP’s LGBTQ Equality Maps track LGBTQ equality, populations and other data by state. Maps are updated daily as changes in law, policy and legislation occur. All Equality Maps, including high-resolution JPEG versions, are available for publication. The LGBTQ Equality Maps allow websites to embed the maps easily and for free. info: lgbtmap.org/regional-south-tally. lgbtmap.org/equality-maps.

— Compiled by Lainey Millen

Court Hears Oral Argument in Citizenship Recognition

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal court in Maryland heard arguments on June 5 in a case brought by Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis on behalf of a married gay couple and their daughter Kessem Kiviti, whom the Trump administration continues to refuse to recognize as a U.S. citizen since birth, even though both of her parents are U.S. citizens. Kessem was born abroad via gestational surrogacy, and while federal law dictates that a child born to two U.S. citizens automatically becomes a citizen, the State Department has refused to recognize Kessem as a citizen because she is not biologically related to both of her fathers.

“What we want for our daughter — especially in times of unrest — is to be able to live free of discrimination and to have access to the full rights she deserves as a born American. We only ask for equal treatment, and for the government to recognize her as the U.S. citizen she is,” said Kessem’s parents, Roee and Adiel Kiviti.

The hearing follows a hearing held during the week prior before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in a similar lawsuit also filed by Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality and Morgan Lewis on behalf of Simone Mize-Gregg and her parents, married U.S. citizens Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg. As with Kessem Kiviti, the U.S. State Department refuses to recognize the U.S. citizenship since birth of Simone Mize-Gregg notwithstanding the dictates of federal law, again because she was born abroad and is not related biologically to both parents.

Roee and Adiel Kiviti are a same-sex couple who married in California in 2013. They had their daughter Kessem via surrogacy in Canada in February 2019. Because only Adiel has a biological connection to Kessem, the State Department is disregarding Roee and Adiel’s marriage and treating Kessem as “born out of wedlock,” meaning she must have a biological relationship to a U.S. citizen parent who has resided in the U.S. for five years. This requirement is not meant to be applied to the children of married U.S. citizens.

The Immigration and Nationality Act states that children of married U.S. citizens born abroad are U.S. citizens from birth so long as one of their parents has lived in the U.S. at some point, but the State Department routinely denies that right to same-sex couples and their marital children. While different-sex couples are automatically presumed to both be parents of their children, same-sex couples are subjected to invasive questioning about how they brought their child into their family, and because one parent is not a biological parent, they are treated as if they are not married, and their children are not recognized as citizens unless the biological parent can meet additional criteria.

For more information on these cases visit bit.ly/2TNf3Rn and bit.ly/2uhdb8J. info: lambdalegal.org.

— Compiled by Lainey Millen

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June 12-25, 2020

Pride 2020 Charlotte Pride hosts virtual events

As it is with Pride organizations worldwide, the Queen City’s celebration and observance will be held virtually. On June 17, 7 p.m., join in The Women of Pride: A Live Conversation. Then on June 24, 6 p.m., engage in The Legacy of Stonewall: A Conversation with Movement Leaders. More information is available from Charlotte Pride on Facebook and at their website.

info: facebook.com/cltpride. charlottepride.org.

Annual donation day ends Pride Month

Give Out Day, an annual event that brings together LGBTQ individuals and groups in LGBTQ community to collect funds, will be held on June 30. Since 2013 this campaign has helped to support LGBTQ organizations through generous contributions. This year the campaign is stretching out for the whole Pride Month. Prize money can be garnered for fundraising success. More information is available online. Search the site for Carolinas-based participants to support local efforts.

info: giveoutday.org.

Gaming org celebrates Pride

The Summer of Pride 2020 is being celebrated throughout June with a focus on diversity in video games, MidBoss shared.

Content creators are helping to raise funds for LGBTQ charities and include Trans Lifeline, The Trevor Project and GaymerX via TILTIFY. A year-round queer games storefront will go live later this month.

More information is available online.

info: midboss.com.

Makeup line unveils ally initiative NYX Professional Makeup announced the launch of the “Proud Allies for All” Pride initiative, which aims to educate audiences about what it means to be an ally to the LGBTQ community.

info: nyxcosmetics.com/proudallies.

Regional Org receives foundation award

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation recently granted funds to local non-profits to support projects that focus on children, youth and young adults. Time Out Youth Center was the recipient of a $15,000 grant to create safe and welcoming spaces to decrease the dropout rate for LGBTQ students.

info: charmeck-cf.org.

Carolina author wins literary award

Winston-Salem, N.C. author, Ann McMan, has been awarded the Lambda Literary Award in the Lesbian Mystery category for her novel, “Galileo.” The announcement came from Vanity Fair magazine.

This is McMan’s second Lammy which she won in 2019.

info: lambdaliterary.org/awards/2020winners. annmcman.com.

Screenings choice winners announced

Charlotte Pride has shared that “Exchange” took the top spot in the Best ShortViewers’ Choice vote from the LGBTQ Shorts Showcase: Stay-At-Home Edition from Reel Out Charlotte. “After That Party” and “Public Life” were named runners-up.

info: charlottepride.org.

Library shares hot gay TV scenes list

Mr. Man’s online library of male nude scenes in film has revealed its “Hottest Gay TV Scenes of All Time” and includes individuals such as Ryan O’Connell, Billy Porter and Omid Abtahi, among others.

Trans woman helps seniors’

Robina Asti, a transgender woman and 99 years old, has been working to raise $1 million to helps seniors Inside Edition reported.

The Cloud Dancers Foundation grants wishes for individuals and seniors who are faced with discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

info: bit.ly/3cFEn1d.

info: ietv.co/3h4zgva.

Census ‘queering’ phase launched

Ad network launches influencer community

The National LGBTQ Task Force has launched its phase two of their “Queer the Census” campaign, continuing to mobilize LGBTQ individuals across the country and ensure that the LGBTQ community is counted in the 2020 Census. Virtual tours of the Census take people through the form question by question, and the initiative works with volunteers to make thousands of phone calls to LGBTQ people to make sure they know how to fill out the Census.

info: queerthecensus.org.

Org names top 50 innovators

Fast Company has named its Top Queer 50 Innovators in technology, business and beyond. Those LGBTQ women and non-binary innovators listed are considered by Fast Company to be trailblazers and advocates who have shifted the paradigm in their fields.

info: bit.ly/2MQpA9L.

Weddings boost economy

A Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles analysis revealed that same-sex wedding spending by the 293,000 couples and their out-of-state guests after marriage equality has boosted state and local economies by an estimated $3.8 billion. More than half of married same-sex couples have wed since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision.

info: williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu.

The Gay Ad Network has launched its LGBTQ+ influencer community initiative across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

info: hbit.ly/2A5rAYW.

Trans dating app available

Transer, a new dating applicaiton for transgender individuals, has been released.

Transer makes it possible to meet and connect with verified transgender women seeking real, active relationships, developers said.

info: gotranser.com

Parents network created

The Q Christian Fellowship has created its Parents Take Action (PTA) to support youth and LGBTQ individuals so that they may feel a sense of belonging to a community where they are “deeply and unconditionally loved.” Membership is $20 per month.

info: qchristian.org/pta.

Poetry series showcased on PBS

Season 2 of the PBS show “Poetry in America” is now available online. It includes a number of LGBTQ guests and poets who talk about themed episodes and explore single American poems.

info: poetryinamerica.org.

In Memoriam: Aimee Stephens 1960-2020

On May 12, the world lost Aimee Stephens, 59, a transgender activist from Michigan whose U.S. Supreme Court case is one of three that are awaiting a decision that could change the way the U.S. handles civil rights.

“We learned … of the passing of Aimee Stephens, whose groundbreaking case at the Supreme Court will determine whether transgender workers are protected from discrimination based on their gender identity,” the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law Williams Institute shared.

The suit that was filed on her behalf was due to her being fired from a job at R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes after she disclosed to the owners her intent to transition. “I found it a little overwhelming when I realized that I could be in the history books, but somebody’s gotta do it, and I’d be happy and satisfied to be that person,” Stephens said shortly before her death as reported by Vox. Stephens family was from North Carolina and liked to visit them, BetweentheLines reported.

An outpouring of condolences were posted on social media. Some of those who shared their sentiments were the ACLU, Former Vice President Joe Biden and Human Rights Campaign Executive DirectorAlphonso David, to name a few.

Stephens’ death leaves end-of-life and funeral costs for her survivors and a GoFundMe page has been set up to help raise money to help defray those costs. She had developed kidney disease five years ago and had been undergoing frequent dialysis. The financial strain on her and Donna, her spouse, was significant after Stephens was fired from her job. As of press time, $26,460 has been raised out of a $15,000 goal. To contribute, visit bit. ly/2AThREN. Photo Credit: ACLU — Lainey Millen

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June 12-25, 2020

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news

LGBTQ Organizations Unite to Combat Racial Violence

More Than 100 LGBTQ+ Organizations Show Solidarity in Letter as Pride Month Began The following letter was composed by more than 100 LGBTQ+ organizations across the nation who have expressed their support and solidarity to fight racial violence.

•••••

“I

f you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Those words, written over 30 years ago by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, remind us that indifference can never bridge the divide of hate. And, today, they should serve as a call to action to all of us, and to the Movement for LGBTQ equality.

This spring has been a stark and stinging reminder that racism, and its strategic objective, white supremacy, is as defining a characteristic of the American experience as those ideals upon which we claim to hold our democracy — justice, equality, liberty.

We listened to the haunting pleas of George Floyd for the most basic of human needs — simply, breath — as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled with cruel indifference on his neck. We felt the pain of Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend as he called 9-1-1 after plainclothes Louisville police kicked down the door of their home and shot her eight times as she slept in her bed. We watched the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery by white vigilantes in Brunswick, GA, aware that they evaded the consequence of their actions until the video surfaced and sparked national outrage. We saw the weaponizing of race by a white woman who pantomimed fear in calling the police on Christian Cooper, a Black gay man bird-watching in Central Park. We have heard and read about the killings of transgender people — Black transgender women in particular — with such regularity, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a epidemic of violence.

This year alone, we have lost at least 12 members of our community: Dustin Parker, Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Yampi Méndez Arocho, Monika Diamond, Lexi, Johanna Metzger, Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Layla Pelaez Sánchez, Penélope Díaz Ramírez, Nina Pop, Helle Jae O’Regan, and Tony McDade. All of these incidents are stark reminders of why we must speak out when hate, violence, and systemic racism claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives.

The LGBTQ Movement’s work has earned significant victories in expanding the civil rights of LGBTQ people. But what good are civil rights without the freedom to enjoy them?

Many of our organizations have made progress in adopting intersectionality as a core value and have committed to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. But this moment requires that we go further — that we make explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ people.

We, the undersigned, recognize we cannot remain neutral, nor will awareness substitute for action. The LGBTQ community knows about the work of resisting police brutality and violence. We celebrate June as Pride Month, because it commemorates, in part, our resisting police harassment and brutality at Stonewall in New York City, and earlier in California, when such violence was common and expected. We remember it as a breakthrough moment when we refused to accept humiliation and fear as the price of living fully, freely, and authentically.

We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don’t matter. Today, we join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require.

• Affirmations, Dave Garcia, Executive Director • AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Aisha N. Davis, Director of Policy • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director • Arkansas Transgender Equity Collaborative, Tonya Estell, Board of Directors • BAGLY, Inc. (Boston Alliance of LGBTQ Youth), Grace Sterling

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Stowell, Executive Director • Basic Rights Oregon, Nancy Haque, Executive Director • Bi Women Quarterly, Robyn Ochs, Editor • Campaign for Southern Equality, Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director • Campus Pride, Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director • Cathedral Of Hope UCC, Rev. Dr. Neil G Thomas, Senior Pastor • Center on Halsted, Modesto Valle, CEO • CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, Denise Spivak, CEO • Community Education Group, A. Toni Young, Executive Director • Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, Sharon Kleinbaum, Senior Rabbi • Curve Magazine, Merryn Johns, Editor-in-Chief • Equality Arizona, Michael Soto, Executive Director • Equality California, Rick Chavez Zbur, Executive Director • Equality Delaware, Mark Purpura and Lisa Goodman, Board Chairs • Equality Federation, Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director • Equality Florida, Nadine Smith, Executive Director • Equality Illinois, Brian Johnson, CEO • Equality New Mexico, Adrian N. Carver, Executive Director • Equality New York, Amanda Babine, Executive Director • Equality North Carolina, Kendra R Johnson, Executive Director • Equality Ohio, Alana Jochum, Executive Director • Equality Texas, Ricardo Martinez, CEO • Equality Virginia, Vee Lamneck, Executive Director • Fair Wisconsin, Megin McDonell, Executive Director • Fairness Campaign, Tamara Russell, Board Member • Family Equality, Denise Brogan-Kator, Chief Policy Officer • Freedom for All Americans, Kasey Suffredini, CEO & National Campaign Director • Freedom Oklahoma, Allie Shinn, Executive Director • FreeState Justice, Mark Procopio, Executive Director • Garden State Equality, Christian Fuscarino, Executive Director • Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center, Fred Swanson, Executive Director • Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Kelsey Louie, CEO • Gender Rights Maryland, Sharon Brackett, Board Chair • Gender Spectrum, Joel Baum, Senior Director • Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network (GSA Network), Geoffrey Winder & Ginna Brelsford, Co-Executive Directors • Georgia Equality, Jeff Graham, Executive Director • GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO • GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz, Gloria Nieto, Board Member • GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Janson Wu, Executive Director • GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, Hector Vargas, Executive Director • GLSEN, Eliza Byard, Executive Director • GSAFE, Brian Juchems, Co-Director • Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, President • Immigration Equality, Aaron C. Morris, Executive Director • Ingersoll Gender Center, Karter Booher, Executive Director • Lambda Legal, Kevin Jennings, CEO • Lesbians of Color Symposium Collective, Inc., Shaunya Thomas, Co - Founder/President • LGBT Community Center of the Desert, Mike Thompson, CEO • LGBT Life Center, Stacie Walls, CEO • LGBTQ Center OC, Peg Corley, Executive Director • LGBTQ Victory Fund & LGBTQ Victory Institute, Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO • Louisiana Trans Advocates, Peyton Rose Michelle, Director of Operations • Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Tre’Andre Valentine, Executive Director • MassEquality, Tanya V. Neslusan, Executive Director • Matthew Shepard Foundation, Jason Marsden, Executive Vice President • Movement Advancement Project, Ineke Mushovic, Executive Director • National Black Justice Coalition, David Johns, Executive Director • National Center for Lesbian Rights, Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive Director • National Center for Transgender Equality, Mara Keisling,

Executive Director • N ational Equality Action Team (NEAT), Brian Silva, Founder & Executive Director • National LGBTQ Task Force, Rea Carey, Executive Director • National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), Glenn D. Magpantay, Executive Director • New York City Anti-Violence Project, Beverly Tillery, Executive Director • NMAC, Paul Kawata, Executive Director • Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, Joe Hawkins, CEO • Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Erin Uritus, CEO • One Colorado, Daniel Ramos, Executive Director • One Iowa, Courtney Reyes, Executive Director • One Orlando Alliance, Jennifer Foster, Executive Director • Our Family Coalition, Sam Ames, Interim Executive Director • Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Erin Uritus, CEO • OutFront Minnesota, Monica Meyer, Executive Director • OutNebraska, Abbi Swatsworth, Executive Director • Pacific Center for Human Growth, Michelle Gonzalez, Executive Director • PFLAG National, Brian K. Bond, Executive Director • PRC, Brett Andrews, CEO • Pride at Work, Jerame Davis, Executive Director • PROMO, Stephen Eisele, Executive Director • Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County, Kiku Johnson, Executive Director • Resource Center, Cece Cox, CEO • Sacramento LGBT Community Center, David Heitstuman, CEO • San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Joe Hollendoner, CEO • San Francisco Community Health Center, Lance Toma, CEO • SF LGBT Center, Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director • SAGE, Michael Adams, CEO • San Diego LGBT Community Center, Cara Dessert, CEO • Sero Project, Sean Strub, Executive Director • Silver State Equality, André C. Wade, State Director • Tennessee Equality Project, Chris Sanders, Executive Director • The Diversity Center, Sharon E Papo, Executive Director • The Gala Pride and Diversity Center, Michelle Call, Executive Director • The Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, Glennda Testone, Executive Director • The LGBTQ Center, Long Beach, Porter Gilberg, Executive Director • The LGBTQ Center, NYC, Reg Calcagno, Senior Director of Government Affairs • The Pride Center of Maryland, Mimi Demissew, Executive Director • The Source LGBT+ Center, Brian Poth, Executive Director • The Trevor Project, Amit Paley, CEO • Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), Emmett Schelling, Executive Director • Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), Andy Marra, Executive Director • TransOhio, James Knapp, Chair & Executive Director • Truth Wins Out, Wayne Besen, Executive Director • Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance (UGLA), Carl Matthes, President • Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Ricci Levy, President & CEO • Wyoming Equality, Sara Burlingame, Executive Director

••••• If you or someone you know is an LGBTQ+ American or who has experienced discrimination, you can contact the Human Right Campaign at act.hrc.org/page/38208/ to share your story.

If you or someone you know are in crisis or need support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject. org/Help, or by texting START to 678678. Visit thetrevor project.org/resources/ for more information.

If you or someone you know is looking for a place to connect during Pride amid social distancing and stay-athome orders, visit GLAAD’s 2020 Pride Guide atglaad.org/ prideguide for ways to be connected with the LGBTQ+ communities across the country. : :

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June 12-25, 2020

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Voting in America

How LGBTQ Organizations have Mobilized the Community

By Chris Rudisill | QNotes Contributor addition to legislative The Stonewall Riots were a response issues, it’s difficult for to police brutality and a system of opmany lower-income pression against LGBTQ people that had households and those gone on for years. It was sparked by the in rural areas to acbravery of black and brown young people cess poll locations. and became a pivotal moment of visibility “Most folks definitely launching the modern gay rights movewant to vote,” says ment and bringing our community out Berazandeh. At 24, she of the shadows and the closets that had has worked on several been built around us. In the years since, political campaigns our community has recognized these focusing on campaign events with Pride celebrations, parties and management, field parades. The fight against oppression has directing and outreach never ended, however, especially for those through Western North who are black and queer in America.

Carolina, joining CSE a In Raleigh, another LGBTQ bar was the year ago last week. site of confrontation between protesters Can the protests and police during the first week in June. and civil rights moveTim Leumel, the owner of Ruby Deluxe, ment which we are all was one of several individuals allegedly witnessing transform fired upon with blank flash bangs and pepLeila Berazandeh. into higher numbers at per balls — which are “small projectiles the polls? containing chemical irritants,” according to Reuters, during “I’ve been trying really, really hard to be uplifting,” says the first hours of Pride Month. The bar has been closed Berazandeh. Her message to those on the fence or those because of the coronavirus pandemic since March 15, and who simply do not want to vote is one of understandLeumel set up a medic station with water, first aid, hand ing, but also motivation. “I feel really let down by elected sanitizer and snacks in the parking lot to support those officials and the system that put them there and restricts protesting following the death of George Floyd. them. Life is incredibly hard and we created a system that “In its roots, Pride began as an uprising against police makes it even harder,” she says. “I brutality led by queer and get that — but it’s so important for trans people of color,” said us to grab as much power through the Campaign for Southern voting and through other means of Equality (CSE) in a recent stateadvocacy and mutual aid we can.” ment condemning racism and She predicts that we will also violence against black comsee a lot of action down ballot, munities. “We carry that legacy even during a presidential election with us as we work to secure which historically has shown more lived and legal equality for all attention at the top. Throughout LGBTQ Southerners.” the pandemic and protests, we are Continuing into the secseeing local officials and even state ond week of protests, people governors become “heroes” in the came out in solidarity in all 50 eyes of the public in comparison to states and several countries Trump. We have also seen a growabroad. Amidst a dangerous ing trend of activists running for pandemic, it is a hopeful sign political office which Berazandeh that there has been a shift in encourages. An only partial list the civil rights movement and of progressive independent and one that some might see as a grassroots groups building alternapromising indicator of voter tive candidacies includes All of Us, turnout in November.

Brand New Congress, the Collective “It’s an important rePAC, Emerge America, Flippable, minder but in 2020, it’s not Forward Majority, Indivisible, Justice enough,” points out David Democrats, Our Revolution, Run for Something, Sister Litt, former senior speechwriter for President Barack District, Swing Left, and We Will Replace You. “Progressive Obama. “As protesters risk a pandemic to flood the streets Democrats energized by Trump’s win are recruiting, trainof our largest cities, it is not coincidence that the communiing, and organizing like I’ve never seen before,” said a ties most affected by police brutality and systemic racism consultant with the Brookings Institute. are the same communities in which voting rights have been When we started this series, it was reported that one ruthlessly targeted over the last few decades — and even in five LGBTQ adults was not registered to vote. It is difjust the last few years.” ficult to tell yet how the current protests across the nation In a 2017 poll, 91 percent of Americans said that the might affect those numbers, or how it will impact overall right to vote was essential to their personal freedom. Yet, turnout come November. the percentage of those in the country’s minority populaVoting advocacy groups are tions without voting rights has soared. Mass incarcerareporting that registrations, voltion, a failed immigration system, voter purges and unjust unteer activity and donations are identification laws that target lower-income and minority all on the rise. Rock the Vote said communities (including LGBTQ people) all play a roll. More it saw the most registrations in a than 10 percent of America’s polling places were shuttered single week of the 2020 election between 2008 and 2016. cycle during the first week of pro“Voter suppression laws change pretty often,” says tests. Although the group cannot Leila Berazandeh, a community organizer for CSE. In make a direct link in the surge, Buncombe County, where CSE is based, there are two Carolyn DeWitt, the group’s CEO, weeks of early voting, but she points out that the times told CNBC that it suggests voters and locations often change a lot, causing increased confuare looking for extensive changes sion. “We definitely hear about early voting being cut to their government. severely or non-existent,” in other parts of the state. In

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George M. Johnson is an award-winning journalist and author of “All Boys Aren’t Blue.” He is non-binary, queer and HIV positive, and at 34 years old, his advocacy for change has led him to political activism. “Voting has been sold as the top priority for many, rather than a tool in a toolbox of ways we can effect change in politics, systems, and eradicate the things which oppress us. It’s not enough,” says Johnson.

I suppose that is the “pièce de résistance” from this look at voter mobilization. Voting does not bring about change — at least not by itself. It takes a community of people changing the way we address problems, it takes more of us willing to tell our friends and families about who we are and what our lived experiences are, it takes action that combines community support, proper allocation of funds, and often youthful motivation — and as seen throughout history, it often takes riots and protests.

It takes each of us not only ensuring that we have the right to vote, but that others do as well.

As Johnson says, “Voting is not the end, but simply the beginning of the work.” : :

Join the Conversation During National Pride Month, qnotes will host three virtual townhall events to further explore voting and community action around LGBTQ representation and equality.

Queer the Vote 2020: Mobilizing Our Community with the Campaign for Southern Equality June 18, 6 p.m.

The Campaign for Southern Equality is working to build a South where LGBTQ people are equal in every part of life. Director of Engagement and Organizational Development Al Murray and Community Organizer Leila Barazendeh join qnotes as we talk about voter suppression efforts further disenfranchising the LGBTQ community and learn ways for non-profit and community organizations to motivate people to vote.

Register at bit.ly/2zjxa9E. State of Equality with Equality NC June 25, 6 p.m.

Equality North Carolina is the oldest statewide organization in the country dedicated to securing rights and protections for the LGBTQ community.

Join Executive Director Kendra Johnson, Policy Director Ames Simmons and others as they discuss the state of equality in North Carolina and how you can prepare yourself for the 2020 Election.

Register at bit.ly/2XJaI37.

TurnOUT the Vote Community Town Hall June 28, 4 p.m.

To celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, qnotes will premier its new online voter resource as part of goqnotes.com. It will arm LGBTQ and allied voters throughout the Carolinas with the tools they need to take part in the 2020 election. qnotes’ reporters Chris Rudisill and Tonya Jameson will then lead a conversation with attendees around voting, democracy and the impact of elections on our community.

Register at bit.ly/3f68KPU. This project has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, solutionsjournalism.org.

life

Arts Activist Focuses on Community Needs Uses ‘Gift’ to Challenge Societal Norms

BY Tonya Jameson | Guest Contributor

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co-founder of Charlotte oogle Jermaine Nakia Lee, Black Gay Pride (now and the summation below: Charlotte Black Pride) “I’ve always believed and he helped launch CREATIVES & LGBTQIA folk have Black and Latino Prides been given a special assignment in South Carolina.

by God — to challenge societal Lee dropped off norms that seek to divide us the scene for a few with our gifts and with our very years to prioritize presence. God seems to like to raising his children — use ‘the least of us’ to.”

Josiah, 12, and Jediah, This quote is the essence of 6. In the last couple what drives Lee, a self-described of years, he quietly arts activist. re-emerged with even At times, he has been among more passion to help the least of us — couch surfthe “least of us.” ing, living on food stamps and He is the architect struggling to keep it together. He behind the Free Store, knows what being on the botan offshoot of his nontom is like, but he has clawed his profit Poor No More, way back and now he’s helping which has exploded others too.

Jermaine Nakia Lee. (Photo Credit: Facebook) since COVID-19; and Many in Charlotte’s LGBTQ the Facebook group community may remember Lee Charlotte LGBTQIA Community Conversations. as the confident University of North Carolina at Charlotte “Jermaine is a fearless advocate for the voiceless,” said graduate who was part of a movement of black LGBTQ Gladece Knights, project manager for Poor No More. “He young adults who demanded to be seen and heard in doesn’t think twice about something unless you do it.”

Charlotte’s monochromatic gay community. Lee served Before COVID-19 shut down the city, Lee was in the midst on various community boards, but he made his biggest of launching new arts projects, but the virus has postponed impact in the arts community. His works highlighted the all of that. The pandemic has not slowed Lee. He still has challenges and beauty of being black and gay through several plates spinning at the moment. His theatrical performances, movie showcases and art exhibits biggest is Poor No More, a non-profit that in the early 2000s. he launched last year to help working and Bishop Tonyia Rawls recalled Lee’s passion when he unemployed individuals. He and his sons was a member of Unity Fellowship Church Charlotte. In asked friends for donations and soon he those early years, Charlotte’s black gay community was had enough to create a free store. He belimited to clubbing and house parties. The church raised gan promoting the free store pop ups and awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on the black other efforts online and was soon overcommunity and inspired members to become organizers whelmed with donations and volunteers. and activists. Lee, former Charlotte City Councilmember He partners with local social services LaWana Mayfield, Black Pride co-founder Monica Simpson and family services organizations to and several other church members inserted themselves identify people in need. Clients range into Charlotte’s traditionally white LGBTQ organizations. from veterans to single parents to adult Their unflinching voices brought segments of the black gay caregivers for seniors. COVID-19 has experience out of the shadows here. increased the amount of donations received at Lee’s studio “Jermaine’s work with the arts helped amplify whatever to the point that there is no more space to store items. He the issue was,” Rawls said. “Jermaine played an essential is hoping to secure a larger location. role in helping to build a bridge between the arts and acThere is a free store planned for Saturday, July 11 at tivism. Jermaine had a way of being able to identify needs NoDa@28th Creative Arts Studios, 2424 N. Davidson St., and apply creative solutions to fit that particular need.”

Suite 110. In order to adhere to social distancing requireLee’s activism started in the late 2000s when he began ments, clients must make appointments to participate. creating artistic works such as “A Walk In My Shoes” about One person per household will be allowed to shop for the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on African-American, food and clothing. Hot meals are also provided, he said.

Latinx, queer and low-income populations. He was also a

Lee promotes Poor No More through his various social media channels, which is where LGBTQIA Community Conversations comes in. The Facebook group started in 2017 to be a clearinghouse for local LGBTQ organizations to post events, both social and political. Then posters began sharing ideas and talking. The group draws Log Cabin Republicans, LGBTQ Democrats and LGBTQ Libertarians, he said.

“The group is very, very diverse. I’m very proud of that,” he said. “We don’t see that often; we don’t see it in actual meetings. Probably one of the most segregated places is the virtual reality. We’re all in our tribes, our political tribes, our social justice tribes.”

In 2018, the group moved out of the virtual space and hosted a townhall about transgender identity to address the hatred and misunderstanding in the gay community about transgender individuals. Lee said about 70 people attended to discuss everything from bias and stereotypes to mis-gendering and mis-identification. In 2019, the group hosted another townhall to discuss the increasing violence against black transgender women.

That townhall grew into a subcommittee that met regularly, before the pandemic, to strategize and raise funds for local black transgender individuals. Lee said they applied for a United Way grant to provide financial assistance, food, emergency assistance and money for medication for transgender individuals in need. They stepped in to help the people who were dealing with local hotels that tried to evict them during COVID-19. The group also sell T-shirts with trans-affirming images and slogans to raise money for their efforts, he said.

Lee’s efforts are not going unnoticed. He was scheduled to participate in the Harvey B. Gantt Center’s Talk About It Tuesday forum titled “A Black LGBTQ+ Focus on Mental Health and Identity,” but the event topic changed to address the protests. Still, Lee is hopeful that it will lead to more substantive events at the Gantt about the black LGBTQ experience.

As Lee embraces being a father and manhood in his 40s, he is more confident than ever about the example that he is setting for his sons. He wants his sons to be able to Google him and see that his body of work has fostered an appreciation for black gay culture and black LGBTQ visibility.

“I want to make them proud,” he said. “I want to make my momma proud. I want to make all of the people whose couches I slept on, who loaned me $20 for gas ...I want them to look back and know that they sowed into good soil.” : :

June 12-25, 2020

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COVID, Closure and Clubs The State of Local LGBTQ Bars

BY Jack Kirven | QNotes Contributor

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or months, in response to Gov. Roy Cooper’s decree for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, all the bars and private clubs in the state have been closed. In the last decade, there had already been a noticeable decline in the number of LGBTQ establishments nationwide, and this public health crisis only adds to the pressure these businesses face. With the onset of dating and hook-up apps, along with broader acceptance of LGBTQ people, the intrinsic need for these safe spaces has been diluted.

Once the focal point of communities, gay bars now struggle more to stay open. Historically, bars were not only places for camaraderie, they were also epicenters for activism and fundraising.

As of early June 2020, despite thinking the North Carolina private clubs would reopen during Phase II of the state’s plan to reopen, private clubs in particular have been forced to remain shuttered. One question is this: Why are restaurants with full bars safe enough to The Woodshed open, but private clubs are not? This point of contention is the reason for a lawsuit against brewery bar, distillery bar, or even a restaurant bar,” said the governor filed by the North Carolina Bar association President Zack Medford. and Tavern Association (NCBATA). According to their ofNCBATA spoke with the governor’s office on June 3 to ficial press release: request a reopening date for private bars. “While there “Despite our numerous requests, the governor’s office was an encouraging exchange of facts and ideas, we do has offered no science or data showing that having a drink not believe the governor is willing to consent to our rein a private bar is more dangerous than having a drink in a

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quest to reopen by June 12,” said the association’s government relations consultant, Jack Cozort. “We have agreed to keep the lines of communication open.”

Although this situation applies to all the bars in Charlotte, and throughout the region on the North Carolina side of the line, the situation is different for The Hide-A-Way, located in Rock Hill, S.C. According to Margie Teal, the owner, she was able to open on a Thursday night several weeks ago. She did not bother to apply for any small business grants through the federal program, because after talking to people there she decided it was too complicated to bother. She also had no access to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Helping her to weather the closures, she has had leniency in paying rent while unable to operate. The Hide-A-Way has been in its location for 32 years, and the landlord is keen to keep a loyal tenant. What is The Hide-A-Way doing to promote health and safety now that they have resumed serving patrons?

Although the club can host 250 guests, they are allowing only 100. On the first weekend there were not yet more than 70 people, but many of those did come across from North Carolina.

Also, they have removed some of the tables and chairs see Bars on 17

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Wellness on a Budget

Health & Wellness: Staying Healthy During Insecure Times

BY Jack Kirven | qnotes contributor

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t seems that 2020 will be a year to remember for many dynamic reasons. My concern is that general public wellness could break down in the face of an unprecedented combination of crises in public health, economic shocks and civil unrest. It is very common in health and wellness columns to make recommendations for expensive equipment, gear, trips, memberships, supplements or other merchandise. But what to recommend when so many people have to scrimp, or when protests seem so much more important than dieting or working out?

I want to offer you some advice for what you can do to take care of yourself during these days when time, money and patience are in short supply.

Everything I suggest can be done as part of your normal life without costing any extra money.

First, be sure to shower. That may sound silly; Keeping healthy is essential for one’s wellbeing, especially during a pandemic. however, during isolation it becomes easy to neglect your Finding a hobby, keeping active and engaged are ways to remain vital without self-care. Something as simple as bathing can wash all having to expend extra budget dollars. (Photo Credit: fizkes via Adobe Stock ) sorts of literal and figurative dirt out of your hair. Whether you are still in your own home or staying with friends or sidewalk or putting your laundry away, the simple gesture family, if there is access to a shower, be sure to use it. of taking care of your environment has a calming effect on Failing something like this can be a trigger for depression. the mind. You can create even a little bit of order during If you have medication, take it. With around 40 million disordered days.

Americans unemployed, there is a high possibility that many Give yourself daily to something alive. That might of those people have lost their employer-provided health be taking time to water plants or walk your dog. You have insurance. To whatever degree you can, take your medicine. love inside you that needs expression. Find something And take it as directed. I know first hand what it means to face alive to put some of your love into. Sing to your goldfish. running out, so I don’t say this lackadaisically. To whatever Prune dead leaves off a tree in your yard. Volunteer at the degree you can, take your meds on time and on dose.

CSPCA. Do something nurturing to something living.

You have got to drink plenty of water. This is not just Your mind needs pleasurable stimulation from a general reminder. Very specifically, adequate hydration your senses. Listen to music. Make your own. Gaze at helps to alleviate stress. Obviously, water alone is not gosomething beautiful. Savor a flavor that makes you happy. ing to reverse depression, but dehydration can exacerbate Dance. Doodle. Give your brain something delightful to it. This becomes especially important if you participate in process as a bolster against everything you have to proprotests during increasingly hot weather. cess that is upsetting.

Each day you should clean or organize something.

Even if you are not at any rallies, maintain connecWhether it be making your bed, wiping out the kitchen sink, tions with people. Each day you should send a message to vacuuming the entire house, picking up some litter on the

another human being. Text, call or email them if you are self-isolating. Let someone know that they are on your mind.

Another great way to burn off stress, anxiety, or fear is exercise. I do not mean a full workout per se. I am not saying go lift weights when the gyms are still closed. That is futility. I am not even suggesting pushups, though those would be awesome. I mean more generally that getting your heart rate up for a few minutes releases endorphins that make you literally feel better. Be careful not to become sedentary.

Here is a suggestion that becomes an investment for the future. Each day you should do something you will be glad later that you took care of. Whatever minuscule task it might be, go ahead and do it, knowing it is one less potential stressor for tomorrow. It is also a source of gratification, and that is particularly important if you are feeling disempowered by circumstances.

Each day I want you to do something just because you want to. Something simple, maybe.

Rearrange your room. Make pancakes. Write some bad poetry. Call your friend from school. Spontaneity is essential for interrupting monotony, but it is also a source of pleasure.

That reprieve is especially uplifting if you are upset, whether it be over boredom, job insecurity, politics, or other stressors.

And finally: Laugh. Even if nothing is funny per se.

There’s all sorts of absurdity. But make sure to get in at least one belly-shaking guffaw each day. And what if you do not want to smile? Do it anyway. Hold your face in the shape of a smile until it actually becomes one. Smiling triggers dopamine in your brain. Even if you have to sit there faking it for a while, eventually it will become full of itself, and you will feel some levity. : : Jack Kirven completed the MFA in Dance at UCLA, and earned certification as a personal trainer through NASM. His wellness philosophy is founded upon integrated lifestyles as opposed to isolated workouts. Visit him at jackkirven.com and INTEGRE8Twellness.com.

a&e

‘The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris’ Out in Print

BY terri schlichenmeyer | CONTRIBUTING WRITER “The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris”

by Marc Petitjean, translated by Adriana Hunter ©2020, Other Press $25.00 208 pages

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very brush stroke must have had meaning.

Every color, every shading, every wipe and fingerprint and trowelmark left by the artist became a portrait of metaphor and mystery: what was the artist trying to say? Was it just a painting or, as in “The Heart” by Marc Petitjean, was there a story behind it for observers to unravel?

Because his father had led a colorful life, Marc Petitjean was surrounded by artwork and objets d’art for most of his childhood. One of those works was a painting that Petitjean understood was important to his father. Later,

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long after the elder man died, Petitjean learned how important the painting was when a stranger inquired about his father and the affair he had with Frida Kahlo.

Michel Petitjean was just 29 when he met Kahlo; she was 33 and was staying in France at the time, having gone there because André Breton, who had founded the surrealist movement, had decided on his own that Kahlo was a surrealist painter. Breton told her that he wanted to do an exhibit of her work, but when Kahlo arrived in France, she was angered that Breton was unprepared for both her arrival and her show.

She had met Breton when he and his wife, Jacqueline, came to Mexico to talk with Leon Trotsky, who was living temporarily with Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera.

The Bretons stayed at Rivera’s for several months — long enough for Kahlo to have a brief, but playful, sexual affair with Jacqueline before the Bretons returned to France.

Petitjean says that there is no way to know exactly how his father met Kahlo, but the first time they slept together “was the day Barcelona fell.” They did not speak the same language, but he comforted her as best he could, and she grew to mean a lot to him. Later, he helped her pack up

her paintings to return them to Mexico, and she gave him the option of choosing any painting he wanted.

He chose The Heart.

In a surprisingly charming mixture of fact and fiction, author Marc Petitjean spins a dreamy tale of an artist and a painting that is in itself a mystery. That, the multiple hypotheses, and a lingering unknown make “The Heart” a captivating tale.

Petitjean depicts Paris in the pre-War years in a way that lets readers feel the devil-may-care extravagance of the city’s residents living in the shadow of Nazism and looming trouble, giving this book a dark sense of forboding. He then imagines Kahlo’s political leanings and adds to her mystique, giving her a certain cheeky flamboyance and, with passages that seem as if they are viewed through sheer white curtains, he shows us a Kahlo that falls easily in lust and love, but with a blithe sense of detachment.

Petitjean hints that his father was more upset about that than was Kahlo, but again — we will never know for sure. Still, readers that love art, biographies, historical mysteries and Kahlo in particular will find “The Heart” to be a stroke of enjoyment. : :

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You are Healthy. You are Well.

Legal Eagles: You Still Need an Estate Plan During COVID-19

BY Sara Shariff, attorney | guest Contributor

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n times of uncertainty, it is natural for people to worry about having their affairs in order and making sure their loved ones are protected. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many people to review or prepare their estate plan. Even if you are so healthy you can bench press 800 pounds with one arm while stir-frying tofu and veggies with the other, you still need an estate plan.

The first step is to have a will prepared to control who your beneficiaries will be and ensure your loved ones are provided for. If you do not have a will, when you pass away your assets will be distributed according to the order of inheritance decided by the state you live in.

In North Carolina, if you are single and have no biological heirs, your parents are entitled to inherit your entire estate.

Do not want your parents to receive that inheritance? Then you need a will specifying who the beneficiaries will be. The law also adds a layer of complexity for LGBTQ couples who are not legally married. Most states will not recognize your partner as your inheritance beneficiary unless you have that person listed in your will. Solution: Make a will.

Parents in LGBTQ families should make special note of how this law affects them. Default inheritance rules apply only to biological children. It is important to have a will to provide for adopted or non-biological children.

A will and trust are usually the main documents to have, but a good estate planning lawyer will also prepare advance directives such as a healthcare power of attorney, durable power of attorney and living will. These documents allow you to designate someone you know and trust to make decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself.

A healthcare power of attorney assigns an agent to make certain medical decisions for you when you are un-

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Planning for the future, especially during times like a pandemic, enables individuals and families to have their wishes outlined legally in case of crisis or illness.

(Photo Credit: zimmytws via Adobe Stock) able to consent to treatments. Similarly, a durable power of attorney assigns someone to act on your behalf for nonmedical matters. A living will can provide guidance to your doctor and healthcare power of attorney regarding your end of life wishes and if you want to be kept on life support.

Let us look a little more closely at why you would take the time in the middle of a pandemic to schedule an appointment with an attorney and create these legal tools.

You are driving around town on your own, happy to finally be able to get out. Another car runs a red light and rams into you. You are seriously hurt and unable to communicate. After the ambulance rushes you to the hospital, your doctor has important information to share about your

condition, and your partner is frantic to know. But the doctor is not allowed to discuss your health or treatments with your partner or anyone else without your authorization.

Because you never created a healthcare power of attorney document, there is no authorization.

That is just one scenario that reveals why these documents are important. A healthcare power of attorney is also a way to make your wishes known in advance about your healthcare. Given the current restrictions on visitors at hospitals, it is even more essential to have a healthcare power of attorney prepared to ensure that your healthcare providers follow your desires as much as possible. People tend to assume estate planning is solely for after you are gone, but these tools help you plan for situations if you can no longer communicate or handle your own affairs.

We are all doing our best to stay safe and healthy during COVID-19. But smart planning means being prepared.

Estate planning may seem daunting, but really it is all about having ease of mind that we will be cared for during the end of our lives and that our loved ones will be taken care of after we pass. If you have already been proactive and prepared your estate planning documents, gently check with your partner or loved ones to see if they have as well.

Having these documents in place is ultimately an act of caring for those you love, especially during the public health and economic crises of COVID-19. : : Sara Shariff is an attorney with Hull & Chandler in Charlotte who practices estate planning law and business transactional law. She is admitted to practice throughout North Carolina.

Shariff is a native of Charlotte, where she lives with her spouse.

Reach her at sshariff@lawyercarolina.com.

space starting at $22: call qnotes for details 704.531.9988

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Drag Queens, Evil Queens and Cockfighting, Oh My! Tell Trinity

BY Trinity | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Dearest Trinity, I’m a drag queen who competes in pageants and shows. But the other performers are not very nice to me. Am I doing something wrong?

Curious DQ, Dallas, TX Dearest Curious DQ, As we leave our youth and enter adult life, we find many wonderful and not-sowonderful things. Some not-so-wonderful things include competition, envy and jealousy. These exist in all people to a healthy degree, but in others they are part of what makes bad queens, evil. This is life, especially in the entertainment industry, as well as the cockfighting industry. So, darling, be strong and accept these challenges as you climb the ladder of success. Also, remember to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Good luck, Trinity Hey Trinity, I’m a big fan of yours. I bought all three of your CD’s on Amazon.com, and I saw you in concert back in the day. How do I keep up with your career? I’ve also heard you’re still single. Do you like being single?

Sincerely, Fan, Boston, MA

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Hey Fan, As I haven’t done a concert in years, I recently went back to writing my memoirs, so who knows what the future will bring?

As for being single, I have to say I love it, pumpkin. It’s more fun than having some man tell me what to do, when to do it or ask why am I doing it! Truth be told, living well is the best revenge! (My cartoon shows how being single is such a potpourri of fun.)

Kisses and thanks, Trinity

Hello Trinity, My new boyfriend invited me to go with him on a business trip to Alaska. When my matching faux fur earmuffs, mittens, boots and coat were discovered, he asked me in the sweetest way to “butch up” my wardrobe. Any advice?

Yours, Wardrobe Woes, St. Louis, MO Hello Wardrobe Woes, Love means compromise, not accessorize. Matching faux furs works great at Disney’s Gay Days. But for everywhere else, a nice leather or tweed, long or short jacket over anything smart will entice him into inviting you on more trips. Also, take him with you shopping so he can put you in things he likes too. Remember, honey, he has to look at you a hell of a lot more than you have to look at yourself.

Good luck, Trinity Dear Trinity, I was recently forced into “retirement” — AKA laid off. I’ve worked my whole life… and then this! Now, I don’t know what to do with my time. Help?

Thanks, AKA Laid Off, Portland, OR Dear Laid Off, Not to worry my sweet, relaxing, bored retiree, here’s,

Trinity’s Tidbits For What To Do When You’re Retired (AKA Laid Off)

1. V OLUNTEER for religious groups, soup kitchens, retirement homes or political campaigns.

2. TRAVEL, visit friends or family, go to museums, concerts or cultural events and enjoy this time off.

3. TAKE classes in American history, art history, world history or the history of how you got laid off.

4. Pack some bags, and MOVE to a new location. Let this transition offer you a completely different adventure.

5. Besides fixing all those things you’ve been waiting to fix, CLEAN out your basement or garage and have a yard sale.

6. Start a HOBBY like painting, sculpting or making abstract art from the junk you discovered while cleaning out your house.

7. Try putting down the antidepressants, get on the Internet or go out and LOOK for a full time J.O.B.! Think life beyond unemployment checks and social security!

8. JOIN a gym and start exercising. Take a yoga class, an aerobics class or join an athletic group, i.e. hiking, baseball or job hunting.

9. But DON’T start exercising your addictions for drinking, smoking, sex, drugs or becoming a couch potato!

10. L astly, BECOME an advice columnist, writer, comedian, actor, singer and recording artist or spend your time and money in psychotherapy. I did! : : With a Masters of Divinity, Reverend Trinity hosted “Spiritually Speaking,” a weekly radio drama performed globally, and is now minister of sponsor, WIG: Wild Inspirational Gatherings, wigministries.org, Gay Spirituality for the Next Generation! Learn more at telltrinity.com.

Send emails to: trinity@telltrinity.com.

news Bars

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The Scorpio to promote distancing, there are no bar stools at the bar, and they encourage people to sit only two people to each table. People are encouraged to wear masks, but they are not required.

Margie says, “People are afraid to come out, and a lot of the queens aren’t ready to perform yet. I don’t think ‘normal’ will ever be the norm again.” Despite this, she feels The Hide-A-Way should be able to survive, especially as she is eventually able to allow more people to congregate inside at any given time.

However, this is not the situation in Mecklenburg County. The Woodshed is using this time to do upgrades and remodeling. As with any of the other bar managers, they cannot predict a date for reopening. The bar was able to get some government assistance, but not enough to make a significant impact. The owner was able to provide assistance to employees, but this was done out of pocket.

As with The Hide-A-Way, there is no pressure for paying rent. In terms of guest safety, the plan is to incorporate

masks, sanitizer, shields and social distancing. Although the owner has ordered touchless thermometers, he is not certain to use them, given the potential privacy violations. The government authorities will dictate capacity, but it is hoped that having two covered patios will help encourage social distancing protocols. Timothy Lee, the owner of The Woodshed, extolled the community to, “take care of yourselves, and take care of each other.”

At The Scorpio the situation is similar. Plans for events are generally on hold. The owner did apply for government assistance, but the status of that application is still unknown. And although all the staff were furloughed, many were able to get unemployment benefits. The Scorpio is another venue that does not have the pressure of paying rent.

The manager absolutely anticipates reopening once the governor has allowed private clubs to do so, and there is no fear of the bar closing. To encourage social distancing, the manager plans to remove tables and chairs, and to have patrons stand in queues to order drinks. Attendance capacity will be defined by the state, and The Scorpio will adhere closely to those standards. It will also be possible for the entertainers to practice social distancing in the dressing rooms, so performers will not be placed at risk preparing backstage with each other.

The situation for Chasers is different.

Chasers Tiffany Storm has owned the bar for six years,

and has poured significant resources into upgrades and remodeling. Although she has been able to access unemployment for herself, she has had absolutely no government business assistance or landlord leniency. She was able to raise $3,000 by way of GoFundMe, which covered expenses for April; however, she is loathe to request more help from the patrons, since many of them may also be impacted by soaring unemployment rates. In addition to her own personal expenses, she has also had to cover all the costs of the business. Fortunately, the business loan was paid off three years ago, so that particular pressure is no longer an issue. But at this point, the survival of the bar is not guaranteed. “I try to keep three month’s worth of savings on hand, but those funds are almost gone.” She does not anticipate large crowds when the bar is allowed to open, but has a strategy to implement her food licenses and professional kitchen. She would like to offer a limited menu as a way to entice patrons back to the performances. : :

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Live and More An Interview with Ruthie Foster

BY Gregg Shapiro | Guest Contributor

Ruthie Foster. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Conqueroo)

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ut singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster has the kind of voice that can give you chills and warm your heart at the same time. Soulful, sassy and as powerful as a transformer, it doesn’t matter if she’s singing one of her marvelous original compositions or putting her distinctive touch on a standard, the result is always a delight. This has never been truer than on her new concert recording “Live at the Paramount” (Blue Corn Music), recorded with her Big Band, where she illuminates more than a dozen songs across the genres. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ruthie last month.

Gregg Shapiro: “Live at the Paramount” is your third live album following 2004’s “Stages” and 2011’s “Live at Antone’s.” Why was now the time to release another live recording?

Ruthie Foster: Because this is a very different type of recording. I wanted to do a Big Band album. It’s not something typical of what would come from me. I wanted to do something special. It’s more of a concept album.

GS: Your daughter is the one who does your introduction on “Live at the Paramount.” What can you tell me about the decision to have her do that?

RF: I wanted her to be a part of the night. She loves music.

She’s a little superstar herself [laughs].

GS: Does she perform or want to be a performer?

RF: She has mentioned that. I take her to a lot of plays and musicals. She’s seen “Annie” and a lot of different types of musicals. She’s definitely interested in it. She goes to a summer camp where they put on their own musical, their own sketches and all of that.

GS: Fantastic! The album contains several of your original compositions. Can you please say something about the process of selecting originals, not only for a concert, but also for a live recording?

RF: I really just wanted to take my own music and then add the big band element to it. In that way, introduce people to the big band sound. I did a couple of standards at the end just to connect the dots. [But] I wanted to have my own

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music set to that style. For those who weren’t connected to that sound it was a way to let them know it can go with anything. Any popular song can be turned into that.

GS: I’m so glad you said that, because among the wonderful covers you do on “Live at the Paramount,” your distinctive reading of “Ring of Fire” really stands out.

Why did you choose that song, and what can you tell me about how you came up with the arrangement?

RF: I chose that one for that reason. I thought it was so different. To bring all of these different folks who love country music and folks who don’t know anything about country music together. I guess I came up with that particular version when I was playing piano. I love those chords; I love major 7th chords. The song fell right into that arrangement. I had the arrangement first. I’ve always been a huge Johnny Cash fan. My grandfather was a big Johnny Cash fan and he passed that on to me.

GS: Your live albums have been recorded in Austin, and I was wondering what it is that you think makes an Austin audience special?

RF: [Laughs] Austin is a special city. It’s a very nurturing town for musicians. We all take care of each other, and we all look after each other. As a matter of fact, I got a text this morning about some friends who are putting together a Willie Nelson birthday thing to wish him a happy birthday. I just wished him happy birthday yesterday. We all take care of each other; Austin is special that way.

GS: With the current shelter-in-place status in most of the country, the way most people may be experiencing “live performance” will be on live albums such as yours for some time to come. What will you miss most about live performance in these pandemic days?

RF: I can tell you that I miss the energy in the room.

When I get a chance to be in front of an audience, that’s the most…the spirit that comes from the interaction, I truly miss that. But I’m trying to do like everyone else, livestream. That’s the best we can.

GS: There’s an amazing video on YouTube of you

singing John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” with Bonnie Raitt, as well as a Facebook video of you singing the song solo. John died a few weeks before this interview is taking place, and I was wondering if you’d please say a few words about John and what his loss means to you.

RF: I never got a chance to meet the man. I regret that. But I’ve been familiar with his music for many years. It goes back to my days being in Charleston, S.C., in the Navy, I used to manage a music club there. Me and a friend of mine would sing his songs back and forth. He was a consummate songwriter. He had a way of getting in there.

[For example] the song “Hello In There,” the first of his songs I was introduced to. He had a way of being funny and a way of reaching in and touching you and a way of opening your heart wide open. “Dear Abby” [laughs], that’s a fun one.

GS: Could you ever foresee recording an entire album of Prine covers?

RF: Oh, well, there’s an idea! I’d never even thought about doing that. I so love the way everyone else sings his songs.

I sing them for myself. But that is a great idea!

GS: Thank you! Earlier we talked about the current situation with the pandemic. Because of that, most Pride festivals across the country are canceling in a domino effect. With that in mind, how will you be observing Pride this year?

RF: I had plans to be in New York during that time for the big celebration. It’s a huge disappointment not being able to do that. Hopefully we’ll be able to gather some by June.

If not, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something, maybe even livestream. Do something special.

GS: Have you started writing or thinking about songs for your next studio album?

RF: Yes. I’ve already been in touch with my band. We’re sending songs back and forth. I think my drummer is sending me something today. He’s putting something down on a song that my keyboard player Scottie Miller and I wrote together. Yeah, we’re writing now! : :

life

Our People: Ivy Hill

Southerner, Activist, Gender-Bender

BY Mykah Buff | QNotes Staff Writer

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reenville, S.C. native Ivy Hill is the community health program director for Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) and has been on the frontline in the fight for LGBTQ equality in the South since joining the CSE team as LGBTQ rights toolkit coordinator in 2015.

In addition to working with CSE, Hill is a co-founder and executive director of Gender Benders, a non-profit transgender, gender non-conforming support and advocacy non-profit organization.

Ze developed a trans-sensitivity training program that was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Obama Administration and has delivered this training to colleges, universities, hospitals, non-profit organizations and businesses across the Carolina’s.

Since 2004, Hill has worked around issues of LGBTQ equity ranging from advocating for hate crime legislation to serving on the SC Equality TransAction Committee, and qnotes had an opportunity to sit down and catch up with Ivy to see what it is like working with CSE and to see what other things ze enjoys doing outside of ze’s work in the community.

Can you describe your position as CSE health program director as well as any of your other roles?

In my role with CSE, there are a lot of different projects that I oversee and help implement. A few of those have been the Trans in the South guide that lists more than 400 trans-friendly medical providers in 13 Southern states. I also coordinate pop-up clinics across the South where we provide free services like name change assistance, self-defense classes by and for trans folks, information about immigration and more. I also do a lot of work to train medical providers in trans sensitivity to help increase the number of competent providers in the South. Also over the last couple of years, I’ve been involved in a lot of research about trans and queer health in the South and published the “2018 Trans Health Focus Group Report” and the findings from the “2019 Southern LGBTQ Health Survey.” CSE has been a major voice for the LGBTQ community in the South in a number of ways.

What are some major CSE victories you’ve been apart of?

Since I’ve been at CSE I can think of a lot of victories we’ve been able to celebrate together. In my earliest days with the organization we were fighting for marriage equality, and running direct actions across the South. I think the victory I’m most proud of though is pretty recent. We were able to strike down the “no promo homo” law in S.C. that said the only time you could talk about LGBTQ people in sex-ed class was when you are talking about HIV and other STIs. We struck down that law with a federal court case earlier this year. As someone who grew up in the public school system in S.C. that felt like a really big and personal win.

In addition to your position with CSE, you’re also the executive director of Gender Benders trans and gender non-binary support organization. Can you provide a little background on the organization and explain some of the ways it helps individuals who are trans and gender non-binary?

Gender Benders started in 2011 with three friends getting coffee and talking about what needs we had as trans and GNC [gender non-conforming] people in the Upstate of S.C. We just asked ourselves

where we wanted to be, where we were then and what we could feasibly do to help bridge that gap with no money or resources that were already in existence in our area specifically for trans people. Now the organization serves more than 600 trans and GNC people across the South with chapters in Hattiesburg Miss., Hendersonville, N.C, Clemson, S.C, Columbia, S.C, and our original chapter in Greenville, S.C. From those early conversations, we developed a threepronged approach to serving trans and GNC Southerners: 1) Connecting people to the resources they need to lead full and healthy lives; 2) Engaging in advocacy and education work to help make our community a safer place for our people; and 3) Creating space for people to connect with each other and build peer support networks.

What are some things you enjoy doing outside of your professional and volunteer efforts?

I’m actually a pretty big nerd. I really love to play with Rubik’s cubes and do puzzles.

More recently I’ve picked up art though, and that has been a lot of fun. During the pandemic, I’ve reconstructed a ping pong table with a design inspired by the Australian artist Mulga. That has really helped get me through so far.

As a native of South Carolina, what would you say is your most and least favorite thing about living in the South?

In the South, we have a whole lot more structural barriers than folks have to deal with in other parts of the country, so I hate to see my people struggle for things like basic medical care, or even just safety in moving through public spaces. What I see in the South that I love though is that the community here is so vibrant, strong and resilient. When you have to depend on each other for your survival, you actually become bonded in a deeper way that I do not think folks understand who are from other parts of the country.

What’s your favorite food?

I really love sushi. : : Read more about Ivy Hill online at goqnotes.com/65844.

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