QNotes, October 5, 2018

Oct. 5-18, 2018

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Oct. 5-18, 2018

inside this issue

Oct. 5-18, 2018 Vol 33 No 12

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LGBT History Month: Mayor George Moscone

Dr. Todd Herman

The newly selected president and CEO of the Mint Museum brings a combination of artistic sensibility, business acumen and community engagement to further the museum’s work.

contributors this issue

Matthew S. Bajko, Russ A. Brinson, Amanda M. Cubit, Torie Dominguez, Jack Kirven, Lainey Millen, Gregg Shapiro, Trinity, Jason Villemiz

front page

Graphic Design by Lainey Millen Photography: Another Believer via Wikimedia Commons, CC Share Alike 3.0 Unported Mission:

The focus of QNotes is to serve the LGBTQ and straight ally communities of the Charlotte region, North Carolina and beyond, by featuring arts, entertainment, news and views content in print and online that directly enlightens, informs and engages the readers about LGBTQ life and social justice issues.

Pride Publishing & Typesetting, Inc., dba QNotes P.O. Box 221841, Charlotte, NC 28222 ph 704.531.9988 fx 704.531.1361 Publisher: Jim Yarbrough Sales: x201 adsales@goqnotes.com Nat’l Sales: Rivendell Media, ph 212.242.6863 Managing Editor: Jim Yarbrough, x201, editor@goqnotes.com Assoc. Editor: Lainey Millen, specialassignments@goqnotes.com Copy Editor: Torie Dominguez, torie@goqnotes.com Production: Lainey Millen, x205, production@goqnotes.com Printed on recycled paper.

Material in qnotes is copyrighted by Pride Publishing & Typesetting © 2018 and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent of the editor or publisher. Advertisers assume full responsibility — and therefore, all liability — for securing reprint permission for copyrighted text, photographs and illustrations or trademarks published in their ads. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers, cartoonists we publish is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or photographs does not indicate the subject’s sexual orientation. qnotes nor its publisher assumes liability for typographical error or omission, beyond offering to run a correction.

Official editorial positions are expressed in staff editorials and editorial notations and are determined by editorial staff. The opinions of contributing writers and guest columnists do not necessarily represent the opinions of qnotes or its staff. qnotes accepts unsolicited editorial, but cannot take responsibility for its return. Editor reserves the right to accept and reject material as well as edit for clarity, brevity.

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Int’l Film Fests School Safety Campaign ASO PrEP Program Briefs Bert & Ernie Come Out Book Launch: Reynolds

a&e 11 17

Age of Aquaria Tell Trinity

life 6 7

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Our People: Calla Hales

An adminsitrator with A Preferred Women’s Health Center shares her thoughts on abortion issues and her concern for the community..

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Willyce Kim Breast Cancer Awareness Walks Dr. Todd Herman Health & Wellness Our People: Calla Hales

Register to vote!

views 12

Legal Eagles

events 18 18

‘Fall Works’ Ballet Be Steadwell

Photo Credit: komunews via flickr. CC by 2.0

In just a few weeks, voters will get a chance to take a stand againt discrimination by electing officials to office who will share their views. Want to be part of that process? Then be sure to go to an early voting location from Oct. 17-Nov. 3 or to the polls on Nov. 6 and cast a ballot. Same-day registration is availble in North Carolina (ncsbe.gov)during early voting and online in South Carolina (scvotes.org)

by Oct. 7.

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Archive documents late San Francisco mayor Moscone’s close LGBTQ ties LGBT History Month: Details advances made in early ‘gay rights’ days

BY Matthew S. Bajko, LGBT History Project | guest WRITER College of the Pacific. A star basketball player and leader of the student government during his time there, Moscone received an honorary law degree from the private university in 1976.

His family agreed to donate Moscone’s papers to his alma mater in 2014. After receiving a $47,232 grant last year from the National Archives’ National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the university was able to process the archival material and digitize a portion of the documents so they are accessible online to researchers, students and anyone interested in learning more about Moscone.

“Our whole purpose is to share. We really want to get these into people’s hands Harvey Milk (left) and Mayor George Moscone. (Photo Credit: Associated Press, and allow them to see history first hand,” “Moscone and Milk, [circa 1977]” (1977). Mayor Moscone. 45. University of the said Mike Wurtz, the head of special colPacific Scholarly Commons. The George Moscone Collection) lections at the university.

In July, the library uploaded roughly 200 items online from the Moscone coln June 1977 an irate San Francisco resident mailed off a lection. The documents include Moscone’s letters and letter to then-mayor George Moscone. The focus of his ire speeches, photos, and other ephemera from his life. There was the planned Pride celebration at the end of the month. are also 60 oral histories that filmmakers hired by the He complained that his relatives were likely to cancel university are incorporating into a documentary about their visit to the city after hearing on their local news Moscone. about the “faggot (they say ‘gay’) festival AKA orgy” to be “He was a real progressive and made no apologies held in the city. In permitting the event, the letter writer about it,” said Joseph Olson, the project archivist hired to asked Moscone, “Why do you buckle to the fag desires, process the collection. “He was just a man of the people; a other than VOTES?” San Franciscan born and raised. I think the values he had Moscone sent a 210-word reply in late July thanking the were really shaped by San Francisco itself.” person for their letter and defending the right of the city’s gay “tax-paying” residents, which he estimated numbered more than 100,000 men and women, to hold the annual event.

“I am sorry that you object so violently to this paBorn November 24, 1929, Moscone grew up in the rade, and that you feared for the safety of your relatives city’s Marina district. His father was a prison guard at San because such an event could take place in San Francisco,” Quentin and his mother a homemaker. wrote Moscone. “I would inform you, first of all, that our After earning his undergraduate degree, Moscone City passed an ordinance in 1972 which prohibits disgraduated from the University of California Hastings College crimination against citizens on the basis of race, religion, of the Law. He served in the Navy for two years and then or sexual preference. As the mayor of San Francisco I am went to work as a lawyer. He married Gina Bondanza, and sworn to uphold the laws of this City to the best of my abilthe couple had four children, including Jonathan Moscone, ity, and that is exactly what I intend to do.” who is gay and a well-known theater director.

The correspondence is just one illustration of how George Moscone’s political career was launched in close Moscone was, both politically and socially, to the 1963 when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of local LGBTQ community during his time in office. It is Supervisors. Three years later he was elected to the state among the roughly 160,000 documents that make up senate and quickly rose to the powerful majority leader the George Moscone Collection housed at the University position. of the Pacific Library’s Holt-Atherton Special Collections.

While in the legislature, Moscone cemented his reputaMoscone graduated with a B.A. in sociology in 1953 from tion as a progressive politician, helping to pass legislation the university in Stockton, Calif., when it was known as the

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Early life

that legalized abortion in California and repealed the state’s anti-gay sodomy laws.

He was sworn in as San Francisco’s 37th mayor in January 1976. One of his first moves as mayor was to appoint gay rights activist Harvey Milk to the city’s Permit Appeals Board. It marked the first time an LGBTQ person had been given a mayoral appointment to a major oversight body.

The following year Moscone appointed the late Del Martin, a well-known lesbian leader, to the city’s Commission on the Status of Women. The mayor also helped push through district elections for the city’s supervisor seats that year, paving the way for Milk to again make history.

In November 1977, Milk won a supervisor seat, marking the first time an out LGBTQ candidate had won elective office in both San Francisco and the state of California. The following April Moscone and Milk, in conjunction with thensupervisors Carol Ruth Silver and Bob Gonzales, enacted the most sweeping gay rights protections of any city in the country. Known as the Human Rights Ordinance, it banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations in the private sector.

In response to the parents of a gay son living in the city who had written him in thanks of signing the law, and included a $20 donation to the mayor, Moscone responded with a note of his own.

Dated July 1, 1977, Moscone noted that, “In San Francisco we have tried to set a dignified example for the rest of the nation. We have tried to show the rest of the world that people can live together in peace, free from hostility and prejudice. That will continue to be our highest priority in this city, and I hope our nation as well.

“With the support of generous people like you, we will surely triumph in the end,” he added.

Moscone also received praise for how he handled the tragic killing of Robert Hillsborough, a gay man and city gardener, that June outside his home in the Mission district mere days ahead of the annual Pride weekend.

One letter from a city resident thanked Moscone for his “forthright and decisive manner.”

It prompted a solemn reply from the mayor, with Moscone writing in a letter dated June 30, 1977 that he learned with “great sadness and anger” of Hillsborough’s death. “Such an outrageous attack has no place in our city and I am grateful for the excellent work done by the San Francisco Police Department in apprehending those suspected of being responsible for this senseless crime,” he wrote. see next page u

LGBT History Month — A Time to Celebrate Every October, the LGBTQ community takes time to recognize the people, place and events that helped shape our lives and the quest for “equality and justice for all.” During this time, readers can get a glimpse, both in print and online, of those past heroes, some well known and some more obscure, who stepped out of the shadows, and with bravery, marched forward toward a better life for us all and our world.

These features are being presented to you compliments of the National LGBT History Project.

Additionally, during the month, qnotes is rolling out daily a different personality chosen by the Equality Forum to help our readers learn more about others who have left their mark on the landscape of equality, social justice and more.

Enjoy the read and add these facts to your historical memory and mental archives.

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Joyous moments

The archive also documents more joyous moments of Moscone’s mayoralty.

Several press clippings from the spring of 1978 recount his throwing out the first pitch at the season opener for the city’s gay softball league. Another from the January 30, 1978 issue of the San Francisco Examiner reported on the mayor being “warmly received” at the annual contest to elect the next empress of the Imperial Court, a charitable organization formed by local drag queens.

Moscone’s administration was the first to designate city funds toward the annual Pride celebration. The archive includes a March 2, 1978 news release from the city’s then chief administrative officer Roger Boas announcing that $10,000 from the hotel tax fund had been allocated to the event, then known as the Gay Freedom Day Parade.

That year Moscone also took a very public role in helping Milk and other LGBTQ leaders defeat the anti-gay Briggs initiative on the fall ballot. The measure known as Proposition 6 would have banned LGBTQ people and their straight allies from working in the state’s public schools.

Several documents in the archive illustrate Moscone’s opposition to the ballot measure. One is the statement he issued May 9, 1978 asking the public not to sign the petitions in support of seeing it be placed on the ballot. Saying he was “staunchly opposed” to the Briggs initiative, Moscone lambasted it as a “dangerous measure” that strikes “at the heart of our democracy.”

He noted he was “proud” to have recently signed the city’s groundbreaking gay rights law and was equally “disturbed that the Briggs initiative would reverse the positive effects of such legislation.”

An item in the Sept. 29, 1978 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle noted Moscone’s attendance at a $100 a plate fundraising dinner for anti-Prop 6 group the No on Six Committee. It quoted the mayor as saying the initiative was “the most outrageous distortion of what this country stands for I’ve ever seen.”

When John Briggs, the Republican state senator behind the measure, attempted to hold a news conference in San Francisco on Halloween night near the public celebration then held along Polk Street, Moscone showed up with Silver, Milk and other city leaders. As the Chronicle reported the following day, Briggs spoke to reporters “and then got in his car, surrounded by 4 aides, and sped off.”

Coverage of the defeat of the measure is also included in the archive. A clipping from the Nov. 8, 1978 Chronicle reported how Moscone had shown up at the Market Street headquarters for the anti-Prop 6 campaign and declared, “It puts to rest the people who would run for office on the basis of fear issues.”

The mayor added, “This is not a victory over a lightweight like John Briggs. It is a victory over the despair that has fallen on gay people. It’s a victory of intellect over emotion.”

Fraught relationship at times

While Moscone and Milk’s political alliance is well known, a review of the documents in the mayor’s archival collection reveals how their collaboration was at times strained. For instance, to the chagrin of Moscone, within weeks of Milk being sworn in to his seat on the permit appeals board he announced he would run for a state Assembly seat, a race that he lost.

According to various press clippings in the archive, Moscone had been under the impression that Milk would use the oversight body seat to gain name recognition ahead of running for supervisor in 1977.

“Harvey knew how I felt about it, before all of this,” Moscone told the Bay Area Reporter in an article published March 18, 1976.

The mayor explained that he had told Milk, “I am going to give you the shorter of the staggered terms so your term will end in 1977. Then there will be no conflict.

When you quit you will be declaring for the Board of Supervisors. He knew very well that I was trying to help him and that I did not want his service on the permit board to be used for campaigning.”

Yet Milk didn’t view his appointment in the same politically advantageous light as Moscone. Nor was he willing to wait to seek public office.

In a story that April published by the Advocate, Milk said, “I’m not controllable. I wouldn’t be anybody’s puppet.”

Moscone replaced Milk on the appeals board with another gay appointee, lawyer Rick Stokes, which the Advocate article noted had “no immediate political ambitions.” Stokes, however, would unsuccessfully challenge Milk for the newly created District 5 supervisor seat that included the gay Castro district in the fall of 1977.

The issue of mayoral appointments was a particular flashpoint between

Moscone and LGBTQ leaders. Early in his tenure the mayor faced criticism from Milk and Phyllis Lyon, a lesbian activist and longtime partner of Martin’s, for not appointing either to the police commission, which had yet to have LGBTQ representation. (Lyon and Martin made history in 2008 when they were the first same-sex couple to marry in San Francisco.)

As quoted in one undated press clipping contained in the archive from the Sentinel, a gay newspaper, Lyon asked, “When is anybody ever going to be ready?” in response to a suggestion that Moscone felt the timing wasn’t right to name an out police commissioner. Milk was quoted as asking the same question.

Yet in a letter Milk sent to Moscone, he informed the mayor he had written the paper to refute the tenor of the article and claimed that his quote in the story was “a fabrication.” Milk suggested the story was meant to make both him and Moscone “look poor” and apologized for the paper’s “yellow journalism.”

However, Milk would again that year publicly criticize Moscone for not appointing more LGBTQ people to city boards and commissions. A May 17 newspaper clipping from a local newspaper reported that Milk felt the mayor, who had named three out appointees, had slighted gay people because he had appointed more women and minorities.

“We certainly haven’t had our share considering we voted for him,” Milk told the reporter from the San Mateo-based paper.

In an interview published in the Nov. 23, 1977 issue of the B.A.R., which is also

included in the archive, Moscone pledged that he would name a gay person to the police commission before he left office.

Attorney Matthew Coles, a gay man who worked to elect Moscone as mayor and helped write the gay rights bill that he signed into law, said in a recent interview that he found Moscone’s support for the LGBTQ community to be genuine and from the heart.

“He was one of those straight men you run across from time to time who wasn’t in the least bit uncomfortable around gay men,” recalled Coles, who is now on the University of California Hastings faculty.

“Particularly back then, among straight men, that was pretty unusual. I thought he was very honest and a sincere supporter.”

Tragically, Moscone’s term as mayor was cut short on the morning of Nov. 27, 1978. Disgruntled former supervisor Dan White had snuck into City Hall with a gun and fatally shot both the mayor and Milk.

One of the more chilling documents in the collection is the news release Moscone intended to issue that day announcing he was appointing Don Horazny to White’s vacant supervisor seat. Written in red ink on the first page is the note that it was “NEVER ISSUED.” To learn more about the George Moscone Collection, which is open to the public by appointment, or to access documents in the archive online, visit scholarly commons.pacific.edu/moscone/. : : Matthew S. Bajko is an assistant editor at the Bay Area Reporter. He can be reached at m.bajko@ebar.com.

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Willyce Kim wrote her own story LGBT History Month: Pioneering literary personality

BY Jason Villemez, LGBT History Project | guest WRITER

W

Kim’s writing deals with female illyce Kim is the first Asianempowerment, friendship and American lesbian writer to family, and she handles sexualbe published in the U.S. She ity — often pairing it alongside spent her childhood years in Hawaii food metaphors — with sensuality and California, and graduated from and humor. In a scene from her San Francisco College for Women in 1985 swashbuckling novel “Dancer 1968. Kim was influenced by musiDawkins and the California Kid,” cians such as Bob Dylan and Joan Dancer Dawkins eats ice cream Baez and writers including Adrienne and the shop clerk compares her Rich and Diane Di Prima. She selfflavor euphoria to having an orpublished her first poetry chapbook, A selection of Willyce Kim’s books. (Photo Credit: ‘Dead gasm. The title poem in the collec“Curtains of Light,” with her sister Heat.’ Boston, Mass., Alyson Publications, 1988; ‘Eating tion “Eating Artichokes,” published in 1970 and soon after she began Artichokes.’ Oakland, Calif.: Woman’s Press Collective, by the Women’s Press Collective working with the Women’s Press 1972. ‘Dancer Dawkins and the California Kid.’ Boston, in 1972, closes with the line “your Collective in Oakland. As a memMass., Alyson Publications, 1985) entire artichoke can become a very ber of the collective, she published heavy sexual fantasy.” Kim also addresses issues of women’s works, took photographs and traveled the country to disliberation, specifically Asian-women’s liberation, human traftribute literature and give readings at colleges, bookstores ficking and colonialism in her work. Her characters unabashand women’s bars. In the ’70s and ’80s, she published edly stand up for themselves and the people they care about. three poetry collections, two novels, and contributed to The prose in her novels consists of short vignettes — literary magazines including The Furies, Phoenix Rising, and some only a paragraph long — that build on one another.

Conditions.

Publishers Weekly, in a review of Kim’s second novel, “Dead “She celebrated lesbian life and lesbian love,” said poet and Heat,” wrote: “Kim’s lean, deadpan style belies her gift for artist Kitty Tsui, who met Kim in the late ’70s and co-founded seeing subtle humor in the ordinary, shambling state of the Asian women’s writers collective Unbound Feet. “She human nature. Her characteristic technique of breaking used to read in the Bay Area with Pat Parker and Judy Grahn. down the plot into brief scenes successfully conveys the They did a lot of poetry readings, and that’s when I became sense that aimless events are converging into a mosaic of familiar with her work. When I came out in the 1970s I came meaning, independent of the efforts of her anti-heroines into a community of all white women. She was the first Asianand perhaps far beyond their ken.”

American lesbian that I saw in the flesh, so she really was a Kim, along with the members of the Women’s Press great role model for me because I thought I was the only one.”

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Collective, published works about lesbian women at a time when it was not socially acceptable and often dangerous in many parts of the country. After enduring Catholic schools in her childhood, she went to college near the HaightAshbury in 1964, two years before Compton’s Cafeteria Riot and five years before Stonewall. At the time of her first two book publications, the American Psychiatric Association still considered homosexuality a mental illness. Organizations such as the Women’s Press Collective were safe spaces for voices like Kim’s, and through their publishing and activism they encouraged women of all races, economic classes and sexualities to live their own way. In a 1985 review of her first novel, Feminist Bookstore News wrote: “Kim’s writing makes clear the difference between merely describing lesbian relationships and delighting in them.”

In addition to writing, Kim did printing and teaching jobs, and for several decades worked as a supervisor at the University of California at Berkeley library. Her works have influenced the likes of author Dorothy Allison, poet Pat Parker and the novelist Alexander Chee, who wrote: “She helped found a press based in a community of feminists, she took photos of them, she wrote about them and herself — she’s an inspiration. I think her decision to write high-spirited adventure novels about lesbians is perhaps a part of that same off-handed freedom she seems to have cultivated, and I love that. In today’s context, we would call that focusing on queer joy over queer pain, and maybe that’s her lesson for us.” : : Jason Villemez is a lecturer in creative writing at Boston University. His work has appeared in Philadelphia Gay News, Ruminate Magazine, Post Road, and other publications.

Breast cancer walks help raise awareness Monies raised go toward supporting organizations, research, treatment and care

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BY Lainey Millen |qnotes staff WRITER

ctober across the U.S. is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During this time, communities bring out the pink as participants take to the streets to walk or run to bring awareness to the disease that affects primarily women, and more rarely, men too.

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., one in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime; breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women; breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women; each year it is estimated that over 252,710 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,500 will die; although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,470 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and approximately 460 will die each year; on average, every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes; and over 3.3 million breast cancer survivors are alive in the U.S. today.

The Mayo Clinic reported that symptoms include: a lump in the breast; bloody discharge from the nipple; and changes in the shape or texture of the nipple or breast.

Treatment, depending upon the stage of the cancer, consists of chemotherapy, radiation and/or surgery. Many women and men choose to have genetic testing to determine if they are at a higher risk of getting the disease. And, some even go to the lengths of having prophylactic mastectomies to alleviate their risk ratio.

Research on lesbians and breast cancer risks is limited and contradictory, the National LGBT Cancer Network states.

Those affected by the disease are rarely asked about their sexual orientation in the data collection process. However, research does show that there are four most-cited risk factors on lesbians and breast cancer risk: cigarette smoking (higher usage); alcohol (heavier drinking as compared to straight women); obesity (BMI over 25); and pregnancy (likelihood of having biological children before age 30 which is shown to offer some protection against cancer).

At any rate, all women (and men who are at risk) should discuss having regular screening mammograms with their healthcare provider so that cancers can be detected early, thus providing better outcomes in fighting the disease.

For more information, visit national breastcancer.org/breast-cancer-facts, mayocl.in/2Oty4Wo and bit.ly/2Nf8f7O. Here is a listing of regional events:

North Carolina Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure The race series is considered the largest, most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer in the world. Walk events scheduled throughout the year. ww5.komen.org/RaceForTheCure.

Oct. 6 5K and 1-Mile Run/Walk Charlotte, N.C. Uptown Charlotte, S. Mint St. Registration: 6-7:30 a.m.

Run/Walk: 7:45 a.m.

Events include an opening ceremony, walk and a special area set aside for survivors and caregivers attending them, as well as Family Fun Zone space. Sign-up available online. komencharlotte.org.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer American Cancer Society Avon, National Presenting Sponsor Events include an opening ceremony, walk and a special area set aside for survivors and caregivers attending them. Open to teams, individuals and companies. Signup available online. bit.ly/2Nal0Az. October 13 Making Strides of Raleigh 4011 Cardinal St at North Hills Raleigh, N.C. Registration: 7:30 a.m.; Walk: 9:15 a.m.

October 20 Making Strides of Greater Charlotte zMax Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway 6570 Bruton Smith Blvd., Concord, N.C. Registration: 8 a.m.; Walk: 10 a.m.

October 27 Making Strides of Eastern North Carolina Greenville Town Common 105 E. 1st St., Greenville, N.C. Registration: 8 a.m.

Walk: Follows opening ceremony October 27 Making Strides of Greensboro Country Park 3805 Jaycee Park Dr. Greensboro, N.C. Registration: 8:30 a.m.; Walk: 10 a.m.

South Carolina October 7 Making Strides of Greenville Peace Center - TD Stage 101 W. Broad St. Greenville, S.C. Registration: TBD; Walk: 2 p.m.

October 20 Making Strides of Myrtle Beach Crown Reef Resort 2913 S. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach, S.C. Registration: 8:30 a.m.; Walk: 9:30 a.m.

October 27 Making Strides of Charleston North Charleston Riverfront Park 1001 Everglades Dr., North Charleston, S.C. Registration: 8 a.m.; Walk: 9:30 a.m.

More events will be listed online.

Oct. 5-18, 2018

qnotes

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BRIEFS

news

Pastor ordination

Film fest welcomes Kasen-Windsor

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The 5th Annual OUT at the Movies Int’l LGBT Film Fest kicks off on Oct. 5 and will continue its run through Oct. 7. During the event, directors, stars and others will be on hand for Q&A sessions to discuss selected films being showcased.

On Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m., the opening night screening of “You Should Meet My Son 2!” will take place at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) ACE Theatre Complex, 1533 S. Main St. Joining the kick-off event will be actors Emory Duncan and Tyler Richmeier, and writer/director Keith Hartman who will engage the audience in a Q&A. A reception follows at Jeffrey Adams on Fourth, 321 4th St. NW. On Saturday, Oct. 6, the festival will welcome for a Q&A Judith Kasen-Windsor, widow of Edith Windsor for the screening of the documentary, “To A More Perfect Union: U.S. v.

Windsor” at UNCSA Gold. Edith Windsor was a plaintiff in a watershed moment case surrounding same-sex marriage which she won.

Earlier in the day at 11 a.m., “A Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate Celebrates 50 Years” will be shown in UNCSA Babcock. It focuses on major events and watershed moments in LGBTQ history through never-before-seen archival footage and interviews. “Latter Days” will be shown at 7:30 p.m., UNCSA Main; and “Paris Is Burning,” 11 p.m., a/perture cinema, 311 W. 4th St. At the showing of “Latter Days,” a presentation of the festival’s inaugural INSPIRE award will be presented to the film’s actor Wes Ramsey. Ramsey has appeared on TV in soaps and prime time shows. At the “Paris Is Burning” screening, a UNCSA dance performance will be held at both Fourth Street and at a/perture cinema. This is the festival’s first late-night screening. See the festival website for more films being presented throughout the weekend.

In addition to these showing, Del Shores will perform his one-man show, “Six Characters in Search of a Play,” on Oct. 7 at the Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance, 1047 W Northwest Blvd., at 2 p.m. Standard and VIP tickets may still be available as of press time. VIP ticket holders will also be admitted to a reception at the Piedmont Leaf Lofts, 401 E. 4th St., with Shores, Ann Walker and other celebrities who are in town for the film festival.

Single tickets are available at $10 each. Festival passes are $75 which include screenings and an invitation to evening filmmaker receptions and flex passes are $40, good for admission to any five screenings. Purchase is available online for all options. info: outatthemovieswinston.org. aperturecinema.com. wstheatrealliance.org.

— Lainey Millen

School campaign released to support trans students, provide for safe schools

NEW YORK, N.Y. — GLSEN and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) announced a new national Safe Schools campaign and public service advertisement, “Hallway,” to grow the national Safe Schools Movement of parents, educators, youth, and policymakers necessary to sustain and build support for safe schools for transgender students nationwide, as well as advocate for safe schools for LGBTQ youth.

“Hallway,” the new PSA produced by MAP and released in partnership with GLSEN, depicts the harassment transgender students often face when they need to use the restroom at school — and how school administrators and supportive students alike can help. According to GLSEN’s 2015 National School Climate Survey, 70 percent of transgender students said they avoided bathrooms because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable. Amidst an increasingly hostile environment for transgender students nationwide, such as the Departments of Education and Justice’s withdrawal of crucial federal protections, local community support and school-based action are more vital than ever to ensure transgender youth have a fair chance to learn and thrive in school.

The 60-second “Hallway” spot is running through a national digital advertising campaign (see bit.ly/2zHxZGz), with a local emphasis on 15 states where anti-LGBTQ legislation has been proposed or existing supportive legislation is under attack. GLSEN aims to sign up thousands of safe school advocates across the 15 identified states, and nationally. The 15 states include Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. info: glsen.org. lgbtmap.org.

— Lainey Millen

ASO rolls out PrEP program

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Palmetto Community Care is launching a PrEP program to help combat rising rates of HIV in the greater Charleston community. The organization’s goal is to make this program and medication free or low cost for participants.

This program will focus on those most at risk for contracting HIV. Ideal candidates include individuals who are sexually active, have multiple sexual partners, have sexual partners of unknown HIV status and individuals who are 18 years of age or older. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds of people who could potentially benefit from PrEP are African-American or Latino.

Those interested in learning more about the PrEP program are encouraged to go to the North Charleston office for a free, confidential HIV test and to discuss PrEP with one of Palmetto’s prevention staff members. Optionally, phone screenings are available by callingl 843-747-2273, ext. 218.

Health insurance is a definite benefit and help for participation, but the program will include services and inclusion for uninsured who qualify. While Palmetto Community Care cannot guarantee that all uninsured PrEP program clients will be eligible, the goal is to find a way for as many people as possible to participate in the program. Participants will be required to complete quarterly lab blood work (free or reduced cost for participants), meet with a doctor quarterly and participate in continued adherence counseling with prevention staff. Qualified participants should be 18 or older, live in Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester Counties and be at high risk for potentially contracting HIV. The program will launch with both an on-site medical provider and, through a partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina, offer a new telemedicine meeting option that allows for medical appointments through a video chat app or computer video meeting. This will reduce time and effort for quarterly medical appointments.

Medications are mailed to individuals at their homes in nondescript packaging or, for increased privacy, medication can be shipped to the Palmetto Community Care office and picked up during normal business hours. Palmetto Community Care offices are open for HIV testing and PrEP consultations Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with extended hours Wednesdays until 6 p.m. info: palmettocommunitycare.org.

— Lainey Millen

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New Life MCC’s Rev. Dawn Flynn will receive her ordination during services on Oct. 14, 7 p.m., at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1201 S. New Hope Rd., in Gastonia, N.C. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.

info: newlifemccnc.org.

Survey gains

Alliance for Full Acceptance and its partners, College of Charleston and Medical University of South Carolina, have reported that its comprehensive survey of the LGBTQ community in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties is gaining traction. The data being collected will give the organizations a snapshot of what life is like for Lowcountry LGBTQ individuals.

info: affa-sc.org.

Theatrical premiere

The film “Reach” will premiere on Oct. 19 in 10 major markets across the U.S. in observance of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. The high school drama about bullying from the perspective of the bully, the bullied, and the bystanders. North Carolinians can see the piece at Northgate Stadium 10, 1058 W. Club Blvd., in Durham, N.C. Check the theatre for showtimes and tickets.

info: themoviereach.com. stadium10northgatemall.com.

Keynoter announced

Organizers of the 2018 Carolina Conference on Queer Youth, to be held on Oct. 19 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, have announced that its keynote speaker will be Juniperangelica/ Gia Cordova, a brown, queer, transgender grassroots organizer from California.

info: timeoutyouth.org.

Fund drive

Guilford Green Foundation has launched its Friendship Fund Drive and has announced that contributions are strong.

The goal is $85,000 and nearly $50,000 has been raised so far.

info: guilfordgreenfoundation.org/weneed-friends-like-you.

Queer benefit

The North Star LGBTQ Community Center, that celebrated its fifth anniversary on Sept. 30, has a new way to raise funds for its organization. Participants are asked to host a Queer Premiere Party, selecting a favorite TV show that’s beginning its new season and inviting friends to join in. Those who attend are asked to chip in a contribution to North Star.

info: bit.ly/2DFDEkD.

Gala sells out

The LGBT Center of Raleigh’s annual awards gala on Oct. 5 had its earliest table sell out in history. In late September, only a few individual and couple seats were available. Attendees will see a number of recipients receive honors during the evening’s program. A special, one-time Decade of Service Award will be presented to the City of Raleigh, Wake County and the State of North Carolina for their actions in recognizing June 2018 as LGBTQ Pride Month. Others receiving awards are: Lee Storrow, Rising Star of the Year; Britt Ellis, LGBTQ Ally of the Year; The Alliance of AIDS Services Carolina, 2018 Organization of the Year; Colin McKerrell, 2018 Center Volunteer of the Year; and Alyssa Canty, 2018 Program Volunteer of the Year.

info: lgbtcenterofraleigh.com.

Worldwide book launch slated

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Dovetailing after the culmination of LGBT History Month during October, a worldwide book launch of “The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World” will be held on Nov. 7, 4:30 p.m., at Flyleaf Books, 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Chapel Hill. Niko Pfund, president and publisher of Oxford University Press USA, will welcome attendees and introduce University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor and author Dr. Andrew Reynolds who will present a short lecture on the visibility of LGBTQ politicians.

Organizers shared, “Forty years ago, on Nov. 27, 1978, Harvey Milk’s iconic journey was ended by an assassin’s bullet. The generation of out LGBTQ leaders he inspired went on to transform the world we live in. … Reynolds has documented this history through the epic stories of courageous men and women around the world who came forward to make their voices heard during the struggle for equal rights.”

Following the lecture, USA Today journalist Steven Petrow will moderate a half-hour roundtable panel with LGBTQ elected officials from across North Carolina. Included panelists will be: Mayor Lydia Lavelle (Carrboro), Alderperson Damon Seils (Carrboro), Former City Councilman Billy Maddalon (Charlotte), Advocate Candis Cox (Raleigh), Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrera (Asheville) and Clerk of Court Mark Kleinschmidt (Chapel Hill).

After the hour-long event, organizers invite attendees to stay for a celebratory wine and cheese reception with the author and panelists.

Online pre-registration is required and tickets are $20 and includes a copy of the book and reception. Visit register.humanities.unc.edu/account to sign up.

A special discounted price of $15 is available for any current high school, undergraduate or graduate student. To receive this discount, email human@unc.edu with “Harvey Milk Student Discount” in the subject line and include first and last name, school attended and anticipated graduation year in the email. info: humanities.unc.edu/event/the-children-of-harvey-milk.

— Lainey Millen

Bert & Ernie come out

Photo Credit: See-ming Lee via Flickr. CC SA-BY 2.0 NEW YORK, N.Y. — Emmy Award-winning “Sesame Street” writer Mark Saltzman has announced that two of the show’s iconic characters, “Bert” and “Ernie,” were written as a gay couple. The relationship reflected his own same-sex relationship, according to Saltzman, who began writing for the show in 1984. Bert and Ernie shared a basement apartment at “123 Sesame Street,” since the show’s beginning and have been longtime gay icons for the LGBTQ community. “Sesame Street” is a staple educational television show for children and has been seen by billions of children worldwide.

LGBT Network President and CEO David Kilmnick has said that a coming out party for the “Sesame Street” stars is long overdue. Kilmnick says that these two main characters being part of the LGBTQ community will help children discover who they are, and further enable parents to speak openly with their children about LGBTQ causes at a young age.

“Bert and Ernie are icons of the LGBT community … LGBT Advocates everywhere see this as a terrific step in the right direction for inclusion everywhere, teaching kids that they may feel welcome and safe everywhere — including on Sesame Street,” Kilmnick stated. info: sesamestreet.org. msaltzman.com. lgbtnetwork.org. hbo.com. pbs.org.

— Lainey Millen

Oct. 5-18, 2018

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Newly minted museum head prioritizes progress Dr. Todd Herman took over Mint Museum in August

BY Torie Dominguez | qnotes staff WRITER

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Dr. Todd Herman has taken over the helm of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C. as its ‘newly minted’ president and CEO. (Photo Credit: Mint Museum)

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ifficult though it may be for a governing body to reach any decision by consensus, the Mint Museum Board of Trustees did just that when it elected to name Dr. Todd Herman the organization’s newest president and CEO this summer.

Herman assumed the role Aug. 20 following a seven-year tenure as director and CEO of Arkansas Arts Center. His stewardship of that Little Rock institution was characterized by the combination of artistic sensibility, business acumen and community engagement the Mint’s board hopes he’ll continue to bring to bear in Charlotte. Announcing his appointment in July, the museum cited Herman’s success in soliciting donations to the tune of $16 million and credited him with dramatically expanding the center’s artistic offerings.

Herman, for his part, lauded the Mint’s “strong tradition of excellence in the arts” as the state’s first museum of its kind.

The takeover came at a fitting time, coinciding as it did with the grand reopening of the Mint Museum Uptown after several months of renovation. And Herman is determined to ensure that the museum’s

renewal is about more than architectural updates.

Soon after his appointment, he spoke with Charlotte Magazine about the vital need to increase diversity in every part of the art world, saying, “I think it’s important for any cultural organization to diversify from the top to the bottom.” That goes for staff (counting paid workers at both its Randolph and Uptown campuses, the Mint currently keeps nearly 80 full- and part-time employees on the books) as well as for the artists represented in a museum’s collection.

“During my tenure at Arkansas Arts Center — and before me —” Herman reported, “we have been pursuing and collecting works by women and artists of color. It is extremely important. And I already have ideas for the collection in Charlotte.”

Furthermore, the president and CEO has frequently expressed a commitment to widening the influence of the organization he now leads. In a conversation with The Charlotte Observer he praised the Mint’s “two locations that put it right in the see Dr. Todd Herman on 13

a&e

The dawning of the age of Aquaria ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 10 winner speaks out

S

punky and sassy and bursting with talent, Aquaria (born Giovanni Palandrani, based in Brooklyn, N.Y.), snatched the crown from the other queens to be named Season 10 winner on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The Emmy Awardwinning competition grows in popularity with each season, and that’s a good thing for young champ Aquaria as that means more people (it’s estimated over half a million) have gotten to see what she is capable of doing. Currently on the road with fellow Drag Racers for the ongoing Werq the World Tour, Aquaria was kind enough to answer a few questions.

Gregg Shapiro: Aquaria, I’d like to begin by asking you your preferred pronouns.

Aquaria: She, her, I guess.

GS: How did you come up with Aquaria as your stage name?

A: I emerged from out of the sea [laughs].

Kidding. From my zodiac sign, Aquarius.

GS: What was involved in arriving at your look as Aquaria?

A: I’m often seen as somewhere between Madonna and Lady Gaga and maybe I am.

When I think on it, I’ve loved fashion for as long as I can remember. I would probably count Thierry Mugler, Michele Lamy and, of course, Madonna among my top influencers. You know who else I would count?

Raja. Watching Raja on season three was really cool for me. I really loved the way she stomped down the runway in her own unique, high-fashion way.

GS: One of your most distinctive traits is your sense of humor. Were you always funny or was this something that developed over time?

A: Thank you for saying that!

GS: You are welcome!

A: I feel like everyone thinks I’m a real bitch, but I do think I’m funny. I said it on the show, and it’s very true that my humor comes from a very confused place in my brain.

GS: How important do you think humor is in your work?

A: Isn’t humor a big part of everyone’s work?

I mean, you gotta laugh when you think of all the shit going down in Washington and the rotten, clown-ass pig sitting in the oval office [laughs].

GS: Agreed! Perhaps the best example of your sense of humor was your portrayal of Melania Trump on the Snatch Game competition on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

A: The truth is I’ve been doing Melania in my act even before she was first lady, and it was way better to laugh at her back when she was just a gold-digging bitch living in her tower. Shit’s gotten real these days, and I don’t see as much humor in having a complacent person standing beside a crazy man. People of the world are crying out for help, and we have these two awful dirtbags heading the government. But my job is to put a happy spin on reality, so I guess I’ll be doing Melania for a while more.

BY gregg shapiro | CONTRIBUTING WRITER GS: In what ways would you say your background and training in dance and fashion worked in your favor on “RuPaul’s Drag Race?”

A: A large part of drag is about doing research, honoring fashion icons throughout history and carrying on their legacy. I think what helped me to win was knowing what’s come before me, whether that’s drag, fashion, politics — and just really reinterpreting it all. I may be 22, but I know things. People love to underestimate me, and I love to prove what I can do. My favorite challenge on the show was the Last Ball on Earth challenge because it was fun to surprise people with my full-on runway looks.

GS: What did it mean to you to be crowned the champion of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 10?

A: I still haven’t had a chance to soak in the fact that I won. I mean I know I did, but I have been booked with shows all over the world since the win, which is amazing and wonderful, but I haven’t had more than five minutes to myself yet.

GS: You received early support in your drag career from Susanne Bartsch — have you seen the documentary “Susanne Bartsch: On Top” and, if so, what did you think of it?

A: I haven’t seen it yet, but I can’t wait.

Susanne Bartsch is a living, breathing work of art. She is brilliant, a legend and an inspiration.

GS: Do you feel like your differences with Bebe Rexha and Travis Scott have been reconciled?

A: Please don’t get me started! I’m trying to focus on the positive these days. One thing I learned from what went down is the need for our LGBFAGT community to support queer artists. There are so many talented people who don’t have large budgets or lots of connections to make their visions happen.

Even gay media is guilty of spotlighting mainstream artists when our focus should really be on raising up queer artists and giving them a platform for their voices to be heard.

GS: Well said! What can you tell the readers about what you will be doing on the Werq the World tour?

A: I’m excited to spend time with Asia, Kameron, Eureka and the rest of the cast.

They really are the most talented group of queens I’ve ever seen, and the show is sick, sick, sick.

GS: What advice would you give to queens who are thinking about auditioning for upcoming seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race?”

A: Don’t follow anyone’s footsteps. Make your own. Everyone knows how tight Sharon Needles and I are, and I’ll tell you, even though she’s been along with me for most of the ride, she has never told me how I should look or act. She’s shared suggestions on things, but more about life rather than how to put on an eyelash. The point is, no two queens are alike, and what works for one will not necessarily work for another. Do your thing the best way you know how. : :

Aquaria, season 10 winner of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ will be in Charlotte, N.C. on Oct. 24 at Knight Theatre on a Werk the World Tour stop. (Photo Credit: Vossevents.com)

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Domestic violence in the workplace Legal Eagles: Creating safeguards for protection BY russ a. brinson & amanda m. cubit, attorneys | guest WRITERs Employers are often quick to discourage office romances. One reason could be an attempt to avoid the precarious position of the employer and employees if the couple brings their relationship woes to the office or if the relationship does not last. Or worse, what if the relationship becomes violent? If you turn on the TV or scroll through social media, you will probably see at least one story related to domestic violence or sexual harassment. So, what happens if it’s the romantic relationship in your office?

In many cases, companies have policies where employees must disclose inter-office relationships. If you have been involved in a domestic violence incident with a co-worker, one of the first steps you should take is to inform Human Resources. Human Resource departments should be involved in any situations where employees are dating one another, especially when violence or threatening behavior occurs in the workplace. In addition, human resource professionals can provide information to employees and help protect both the employees and employer in the event an office romance turns sour.

In North Carolina, if an intimate partner becomes violent, the victim may seek a Domestic Violence Protective Order. A protective order can include various safeguards, such as prohibiting the abuser from having contact with the victim, threatening the victim’s family and coming to the victim’s workplace. In order to seek this relief, the victim must have shared at least one of several relationships, defined by North Carolina’s domestic violence statute, with the abuser. The obstacle unmarried same-sex couples can face is that, unless the couple lived together, they will not meet the definition of “dating relationship,” which applies

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only to dating partners of the opposite sex. This is especially troubling because, as research1 shows, the LGBTQ community is affected by domestic violence at equal, or even higher, rates than the heterosexual community.

If a victim is granted a protective order against his or her colleague-turned-abuser, an employer will be forced to take action to ensure compliance with the terms of the order in order to protect the employer and the victim. For example, if the abuser is ordered to stay away from the victim, the employer will have to decide whether it is even possible to continue to employ the abuser and, if so, how to do so within the confines of the protective order. Can they still park in the same parking garage? Work on the same floor of the building? Attend the same staff meeting?

Depending on how strict the terms of the protective order are, the employer may find it impossible to continue to employ both parties. Employers, when they put their employees in situations with prior court-determined knowledge of harassment and/or violence, may be exposed to tremendous liability if any further action occurs.

Even if a victim cannot seek relief under the domestic violence statute, the employer may be able to afford the victim protection from the abuser and, to avoid liability, an employer should take such precautions to reduce the risk of violence in the workplace. An employee who is experiencing abuse — whether at the hands of another employee or other third party — should inform the employer of the situation, particularly of potential risks. This gives the employer an opportunity to take steps to protect itself, its employees, its customers and the victim. An employer cannot guard against a risk of which it is not made aware.

If an employer is made aware of an employee’s violent relationship, preventative measures should be implemented. Most often, those measures can include relocation, suspension or termination of the abusive employee. If the abuser comes to the place of work, a plan should be in place to remove the abuser before the situation escalates.

If necessary, law enforcement should be called to advise the abuser not to return to the premises — regardless of whether a protective order is in place. The North Carolina Workplace Violence Prevention Act2 protects the employer and its employees from any attempts or threats of bodily harm and harassment of employees.

When domestic violence occurs, no one is safe — the ripple effect of violence in the workplace often reaches all the way to the employer as well. But, employers are not without protection. If colleagues, even a supervisor and his or her employee, are dating, the employer can utilize protections such as a Love Agreement. A Love Agreement acknowledges the relationship and, within the agreement, both parties agree the relationship is consensual.

Both parties typically agree not to show one another public affection in the workplace and, further, agree they will inform the employer if contact between the parties becomes unwelcome.

Open communication and quick action are imperative in situations involving office romances, specifically office romances turned violent. Individuals should exhaust all means to protect themselves from abusive partners and employers should take all precautions to assist employees in doing so. : : see Legal Eagles on 13

Dr. Todd Herman continued from page 10

middle of the community.” He continued, “Every place I’ve been, I’ve wanted to collaborate with all the arts organizations and the non-arts organizations to broaden the reach of the mission.”

Echoing Herman’s acquisition of multiple new curators to nurture new and innovative programs back in Arkansas, the Mint testified to his taking up the mantle in Charlotte “during an exciting period of growth,” including “an ambitious schedule of both traveling and Mint-organized exhibitions for the coming fiscal year, and plans for expanded study and exhibition of fashion and ceramics at Mint Museum Randolph.”

Those plans are already coming to fruition. As qnotes shared at the time, September saw the Randolph location host the 14th annual Mint Museum Potters Market Invitational with more artists than ever before, along with a showing of “The Gospel According to André,” a documentary on the life and work of former Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley complete with a live meet-and-greet with the subject himself. Furthermore, during the Oct. 5 weekend, the Mint Museum Randolph will present the public opening of its new exclusive exhibition ‘African-Print Fashion Now!’.

Also this month, the museum follows through on Herman’s promise, delivered to the Observer’s Lawrence Toppman, to include “non-arts organizations” in its collaborative endeavors. “The Art of Fashion Fall Runway Report” represents a joint project with Southpark luxury staple Neiman Marcus — as well as an example of the innovative fundraising for which Herman was known in his previous post, with 100 percent of proceeds from the event to benefit the Mint Museum Annual Report.

That isn’t to say, though, that Herman approaches the museum’s operation with

an eye only to pecuniary growth, or even its role as “a lively hub where art meets community.” Rather, his background as a curator and art historian (he holds a Ph.D. in the subject from Case Western Reserve University, where he specialized in Italian Renaissance painting) speaks to what Mint director of advancement and communications Hillary Cooper enthusiastically terms his “creative spirit” and lends him, as search committee head Weston Andress was quoted as saying in the Observer, “credibility in the art world.” Despite being a native New Englander, Herman even has experience utilizing these skills in the Carolinas, having taught university-level art history in South Carolina and served half a dozen years as chief curator at the Columbia Museum of Art. With its new president and CEO and his partner Harry Gerard now firmly reestablished in the region, the Mint Museum has every expectation that, in Cooper’s words, “Todd will be a wonderful leader for our team and organization.” : :

Legal Eagles

continued from page 12 Domestic Violence and the LGBTQ Community, June 2018 2 https://www.labor.nc.gov/safety-andhealth/occupational-safety-and-health/occupational-safety-and-health-topic-pages/ workplace-violence#regulations 1

Russ A. Brinson is an attorney with Sodoma Law, based in Charlotte, N.C. His practice areas include Employment Law, Business Litigation and Personal Injury.

Brinson is certified by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission to conduct Superior Court mediations.

Amanda M. Cubit is an attorney in the Family Law practice at Sodoma Law. She is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, Family Law Section, and a volunteer speaker for the Mecklenburg County Domestic Violence Speakers Bureau.

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Flu Shot

By Dominique Cossari, PharmD Candidate Flu shots have been a controversial topic for decades. There is an ongoing debate between health professionals and the public whether the flu shot is really beneficial or not. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that 80,000 Americans died last winter from the flu. This is the highest death rate America has seen in years. The average death count usually falls between 12,00056,000. The flu season peaked in February and lingered into March, causing thousands to become fatally ill. Flu season generally begins in the winter; if you are considering getting the flu shot, ideal vaccination time is October and November.

Why Do I Need the Flu Shot Every Year?

The influenza shot is a vaccination that protects our bodies from the influenza virus that causes “the flu.” The Influenza Virus is a very smart virus that mutates every year. Therefore, scientists have to create a new vaccine yearly to prepare for a new flu. The vaccine contains weak fragments of the predicted virus; when these are introduced into your body your immune system builds a defense system against the flu. This defense system your body creates protects you from becoming deathly ill if your body becomes exposed to the real virus, allowing it to fight off the infection much more easily. It is also important to know that the flu shot has a lifespan of 6-8 months.

The effectiveness of the vaccine decreases with time, making us vulnerable to infection by the next flu season.

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How Will I Know If I Have the Flu? Fortunately, the symptoms of the flu are easy to detect compared to those of the common cold. Unlike the common cold, which has a slow onset of symptoms, the flu is very fast and abrupt. Look out for sudden fever (>100 F), muscle pain, general fatigue, headaches, sore throat, runny nose, and dry cough. Children can experience all of the symptoms as well as nausea, vomiting, and an ear infection. Seniors over 65 years old and children less than 2 years old are more likely to be hospitalized and are at a higher risk for death. Individuals with HIV, heart disease, or lung disease, and pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing further health complications from the flu.

I Think I Have the Flu; What Should I Do? If you think you are experiencing the symptoms of the flu, contact your doctor’s office as soon as possible. Treatment for the flu can be prescribed by your doctor if you report your symptoms within 72 hours of their onset. When recovering, it is important to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. The influenza virus can be easily spread through respiratory droplets such as by coughing and sneezing. Adults who have the virus can infect others 1-7 days after experiencing flu symptoms; children can remain infectious for as long as over 10 days. Taking precautions such as covering your nose and mouth when sneezing, as well as frequent hand washing, can help prevent sharing the virus. Use antiviral products like Lysol to disinfect commonly touched surfaces in your home such as door knobs, telephones, and remotes. Those with the flu should avoid going into populated areas such as work and public transportation systems.

Photo Credit: Sherry Young via Adobe Stock

If you are interested in getting your flu shot, contact your local doctor or pharmacist! Flu shots can be provided as a walk-in service at most local retail pharmacies and are covered by insurance! Inform your doctor of any drug or food allergies, such as allergy to eggs.

Report any past incidents of severe reactions to a vaccination.

Resources: • https://www.statnews.com/2018/09/26/cdc-us-flu-deaths-winter/ • Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs: An Interactive Approach to Self-Care 18th edition. Chapter 11 “Colds and Allergy,” page 181 • Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiological Approach. Chapter 109: “Influenza.” 10th edition. Jessica C Njoku

life

Forging your gains though progressive overload Health & Wellness: The grueling process of improvement

BY Jack Kirven | qnotes contributor I was watching a series on Netflix about the Celts and how they weren’t at all the barbarians described to us by the Romans. In fact, for quite a long time, the Celts were far more technologically, economically and culturally advanced than the Romans themselves. One of the technologies the Celts mastered was the forging of iron.

During the episode, a group of German blacksmiths were hard at work for a team of anthropologists.

They were recreating in minute detail the process of forging a sword. It looked like backbreaking work. Not just the actual physical activity, but the sweltering conditions and the constant repetition. Not only did they have to hammer the ingot incessantly, they also had to keep repeating the same cycle of heating, folding, hammering, cooling, reheating and continuing.

The reason this is necessary is that with each circuit, more and more impurities are separated from the metal. Folding and pounding the glowing iron crushes out the impurities, so with each pass, the material gets stronger and more flexible. It was exhausting to watch and relatively mindnumbing as well. Upon reflection, it seemed quite familiar: This is like working out.

This, in a nutshell, is the process in personal training known as progressive overload. Progressive overload is the only sound and true way to develop measurable and sustainable gains. It’s repetitive, and it can be boring (even more than boring, tedious).

It isn’t exciting unto itself, but it’s the smelting process that reveals improvement.

I know that the casual exerciser likes lots of variety, because they get bored.

And if a person’s only goal is to have fun and stay active, then that is absolutely perfect. Whatever keeps a person excited about being fit is a win. However, if someone has specific goals, then all that constant change can be a hindrance. So, bear that in mind when you hear a trainer, class, gym or program brag that you’ll “never do the same workout twice.”

This perceived need to constantly change grows out of a false concept called “muscle confusion,” which was brought to prominence with the surge of P90X and

similar programs. Let me clarify something: There’s no such thing as muscle confusion. That’s a fad.

Is it true that the body becomes better and more efficient at doing something, and that further growth comes with variation?

Yes. But that change can be any nuanced adjustment: Heavier weight, more sets, more reps, faster tempo, different angle, longer distance, more incline, longer or deeper stretching. All of those are the tweaks that keep the body growing. All of those variables interrupt “muscle confusion.”

Let’s return to forging the sword. The blacksmiths came around again and again and again to the same steps. Heat, pound, fold, pound, stretch, cool…repeat. And with each pass, the sparks would fly, and that means more and more of the impurities were being removed. This is comparing apples to apples. If the blacksmiths decided in the middle of this process to use an acid wash followed by aeration and slow cooling…well, that just isn’t the same. They’d stay busy, sure. But whatever changes happened would then be comparing apples to oranges.

Switching it up constantly undermines the ability to track improvement, and it interrupts the process of perfecting technique. If your goal is to run a marathon and you do Zumba classes, it doesn’t matter if you lose fat and get better conditioned, you still won’t be able to run a marathon.

If you continue running, you’ll find each day or week that you can either cover more distance in the same time, or go for

more time before you need to stop. Going through that repetitive process of gradually improving specific nuances is fundamental to progressive overload.

If you insist on buying into “muscle confusion,” that’s fine. But do yourself a favor: Rather than changing out the entire movement vocabulary, make less drastic adjustments. Don’t throw out bench presses just because you’ve done them for more than two workouts in a row.

Change the angle of the bench press. Do the bench press more slowly. Do it at a different point in the workout. But don’t feel compelled to avoid repeating bench press this week just because you did it last week.

It takes far longer than that for your body to develop any “muscle confusion.”

As with almost everything in the fitness industry, less is often more. You probably don’t need all those supplements. You definitely don’t need that vibrating torture device you bought for four easy payments of $29.99, and those fat loss pills are probably just caffeine with a little bit of other stuff thrown in to look fancy. You don’t need to eat six times a day. Beer after exercise doesn’t hydrate you. And “mixing it up” every single time does not give you better results.

Perform your chosen activity during a session. Record what you did. Next time,

look at your journal, and then decide what improvements you’ll attempt: Lift more smoothly, stretch farther, throw harder, jump higher, run faster, hold longer… but perhaps only a little bit. Keep proper technique firmly in your mind. Record these newest results. Repeat this for days, weeks, months and years. Several sessions later, look back at the first entry and compare it to the most recent. See those specific improvements? Those are gains. Is it boring?

Sometimes. Do you need to reprogram from time to time? Yes, but not daily or weekly.

Will you ever hit plateaus? Of course, and that’s when you address reprogramming.

Exercise should be fun, definitely. But to meet specific goals, exercise should also be structured. As you put yourself through the rigors of repeatedly smashing all the weakness and doubt, you’ll be left with a better, stronger, more resilient version of yourself. It takes exceptional amounts of effort, but you’ll eventually transform from the pig iron to the sword. : : 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.

Oct. 5-18, 2018

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Oct. 5-18, 2018

a&e

Circuit Parties?

Are They Worth It? Tell Trinity

BY Trinity | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Hello Trinity, What are circuit parties and would you recommend them?

Circuit Queries, Philadelphia, PA Hello Circuit Queries, Circuit parties, typically benefiting AIDS organizations, started in Atlanta, Ga. in the 1970s at the Hot-lanta River Expo where so many people showed up that the organizers had to create smaller parties to accommodate the crowds, thus a circuit of parties. Events like Montreal’s Black & Blue fill sports arenas, sporting famous DJs and entertainers. For $75 to $150 you too can dance with gorgeous, muscular gay men. So once in your life down a Red Bull, remove your shirt and dance all night, but, darling, skip the drugs, because some people also overdose.

Kisses, Trinity Hey Trinity, I invited a guy from the Internet over for dinner, which ended up with us in bed. After I orgasmed, I asked him to leave because I was tired. Later he called to say how “horrible” I was for “excusing him” five minutes after “I pleased myself.” He was an Internet

date. What did he expect, romance?

Thanks, Now Leave, Houston, TX Hey Thanks Now Leave, Whether he wanted romance or to be treated humanely, it’s never OK to kick out anyone after you orgasm, including Internet dates! Next time “please” your date too and spend a bit of time together then announce that you’re selfish — I mean tired. Honey, make someone glad,

not mad to meet you! (My cartoon sure shows you how this is just an okay way to end an encounter!)

Dearest Trinity, I met this guy who forced me to have sex.

I’m gay, but I think I was raped. How do I know?

Sincerely, The Rape Rap, Nashville, TN Dearest Rape Rap, I also was raped at gunpoint outside Atlanta, Ga. in the early 1980s. I’ll remember it forever, and you will too. That’s the first sign you were raped. If you were given drugs, that’s the second sign. And if you feel like it’s your fault, there’s your third sign. Other signs include marks on your body and an inner fear of being raped again. Yes, sweetie, it takes two to tango, but just because you said yes to a date, doesn’t mean you should be forced to mate! Every city has gay helplines.

Please call them!

Love, Trinity Dear Trinity, Two years ago, I broke up with my ex, also of two years. Now he wants to get back again, but we always get back together to see if the relationship “will work” again. Should I give it another try?

Once Again, Cleveland, OH Dear Once Again, If after four years you’re still not sure, one thing is sure…you both may never be sure. So, pumpkin, before starting up again, start reading:

Trinity’s Sharp Tips For “When It’s Finally Time” To End A Relationship 1. When every night promises fighting and/or violence, it’s time!

2. When he cancels five out of seven dates (three times he called too late and twice he “forgot”), it’s time to forget him!

3. When by the fifth date she still treats you like a loser with nothing “important” to say or do…it’s definitely time!

4. When after three months he’s still extremely lazy, rude and selfish, it’s time!

5. When you can’t do or “have never done” anything right, it’s “so long” time!

6. When she doesn’t want to talk, listen or communicate ideas on making things better…guess what!

7. When he cheats in front of you and/ or behind your back for the third time, guess what again.

8. When you’ve only seen him a total of one month in the last three because of family, business or blah blah blah, it’s time.

9. When she steals your money, your car and your best friend, do I have to say it?

10. L astly, when you haven’t had sex in the last years of your four-year relationship, it’s big time to end it!

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.

Oct. 5-18, 2018

qnotes

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events October 5-27 ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’

Hadley Theater at Queens University 2132 Radcliffe Ave., Charlotte 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m.

Friday-Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday In the latest production from Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte, a teenage prodigy sets out to discover the killer of his neighbor’s dog after he himself is accused. The winner of five Tony Awards is based on the novel of the same name. Pay-what-you-can preview Oct. 4, 50 percent off admission Oct. 5-6. Ticket prices $28-$40 thereafter. Talkbacks will be hosted Oct. 11 and 18. The Oct. 21 performance will offer ASL interpretation. atcharlotte.org/curious-incident.

October 5-November 1 Retro Horror Series at Ayrsley Grand Cinemas

9110 Kings Parade Blvd., Charlotte 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. showings The South Charlotte theater gears up for Halloween with a dozen iconic genre films and sendups, from “Night of the Living Dead” to “Young Frankenstein.” Tickets $5. ayrsleycinemas.com.

October 7 Public opening: ‘African-Print Fashion Now!’

Mint Museum Randolph 2730 Randolph Rd., Charlotte 1-5 p.m.

Music and art activities accompany the opening of the Mint’s “AfricanPrint Fashion Now! A Story of Taste, Globalization, and Style.” The new exhibit “introduces visitors to a dynamic and diverse dress tradition and the increasingly interconnected fashion worlds that it inhabits.”

Light reception to follow. Museum general admission $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. mintmuseum.org/events/publicopening-african-print-fashion-now.

October 7 The Comedy Zone Greenville

221 Main St., Greenville, SC 3 and 5 p.m.

Sunday Funday with AJA Kween from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Patti O’Furniture hosts this one-timeonly event also featuring Venus Alexander and Carmella Monet Monroe. Ticket prices range from $25 general admission to $300 for a VIP table for eight. Ticketholders for the 3 p.m. show can add brunch ticket for an additional $15, with doors opening at 1 p.m. 21+ only. bit.ly/AJASunday.

October 10-November 4 ‘Hamilton’

Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center 130 N. Tryon St., Charlotte Various times Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical biography of founding father Alexander Hamilton is the Queen City’s most anticipated show of the season. Tickets $75-$600. blumenthalarts.org/events/detail/ Hamilton.

October 11-28 ‘Stuff Happens’

Burning Coal Theatre Company

Submit your events: editor@goqnotes.com

Murphey School Auditorium 224 Polk St., Raleigh 7:30p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2:30p.m. Sunday Award-winning playwright David Hare imagines the behind-thescenes maneuvering that culminated in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in this comedy-drama. Regular admission $25. Tickets $20 for seniors and $15 for students, teachers, and active military. Student rush tickets $5 where seats are available. burningcoal.org/stuff-happens.

October 11 ‘Wrestling the Angel’ Religious Leader Panel Discussion

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art 420 S. Tryon St., Charlotte 6:30-8 p.m.

The Bechtler Museum hosts a panel of community faith leaders, including Imam John Ederer of the Muslim Community Center and UNC-Charlotte professor Rabbi Barbara Thiede, Ph.D of Temple Or Olam, discussing the exhibition “Wrestling the Angel,” whose run at the Bechtler comes to an end this month. Tickets $10 for the general public, $6 for museum members. Firebird, Modernist and Ambassador society members and students with ID admitted free.

Doors open 6 p.m. bechtler.org/learn/events.

October 11 The Art of Fashion Fall Runway Report

Neiman Marcus 4400 Sharon Rd., Charlotte 6:30-9 p.m.

The Mint Museum collaborates with the luxury retailer for a special event featuring food, music and more, with 10 percent of proceeds to benefit the Mint Museum Annual Report. Tickets $50. mintmuseum.org/events/the-art-offashion-fall-runway-report.

October 13-14 Lost Hollow Music Fest Fall 2018

October 11-13: ‘Fall Works’

The Charlotte Ballet’s autumn offering is a triple feature composed of Fancy Free, choreographed by Jerome Robbins with a score by Leonard Bernstein; a new piece by Charlotte Ballet Resident Choreographer Sasha Janes, also set to Bernstein’s music; and Petite Cérémonie, choreographed

by Medhi Walerski. Tickets $25-$95 general admission. Saturday’s afternoon presentation is a special family-oriented event featuring pre-show activities beginning at 1 p.m., an abbreviated one-hour performance and more. Tickets $15 for children. Charlotte Ballet, 701 N. Tryon St., Charlotte.

7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. charlotteballet.org/tickets/fallworks.

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Oct. 5-18, 2018

October 2018

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden 6500 S. New Hope Rd., Belmont 12-5p.m.

Folk, bluegrass and Americanainspired musicians grace the garden’s outdoor amphitheater and lawn. The special event is free with garden membership or day admission — $12.95 for adults, $11.95 for seniors and $6.95 for kids.

Two-day admission is also available for purchase at a discount.

Visitors may enter the garden between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. bit.ly/losthollowmusic.

October 13 Charlotte Vegfest 2018

The Park Expo and Conference Center 800 Briar Creek Rd., Charlotte 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Now in its eighth year, Vegfest celebrates local plant-based cuisine with food trucks, vendors, live music, speakers, cooking demonstrations, prizes and more for all ages.

October 11: National Coming Out Day Concert feat. Be Steadwell

Self-described “queer pop” singer-songwriter Be Steadwell brings her distinctive lyrical style and affirming content to UNC in honor of National Coming Out Day. The concert is free and open to the public. Frank Porter Graham Student Union Auditorium, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 209 South Rd., Chapel Hill, 8-10 p.m. bit.ly/steadwell.

Kids’ activities include face painting, balloon animals, trick-or-treating and craft projects. Admission is free, on-site parking $5 cash. The first 200 attendees will receive a complementary gift bag. veganclt.com/charlotte-vegfest.

October 19 Uptown Grooves at Loft & Cellar: A LGBTQ Affair

Loft & Cellar 305 W. 4th St., Charlotte 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Fresh off Charlotte Pride 2018, DJ Dana Dee headlines this 21+ event also featuring a body paint show. Limited early bird tickets $7, general admission $10 in advance or $12 at the door. $35 VIP packages are available and must be purchased in advance. bit.ly/uptowngrooves.

October 20 Intersection of Faith and LGBTQ Identities Panel

Caldwell Presbyterian Church 1609 E. 5th St., Charlotte 8 a.m.-12 p.m.

PFLAG Charlotte invites community members to participate in a discussion on the intersection of faith and LGBTQ identity, featuring a panel of progressive Charlottearea faith leaders who will share how their respective traditions affirm diverse sexual and gender identities. The event is free, but advance registration is requested as space is limited. The day’s program will begin at 9 a.m. following a continental breakfast at 8 a.m. bit.ly/faithpanel.

October 20 The Art of R&B: An Interactive Experience

Harvey B. Gantt Center for AfricanAmerican Arts + Culture 551 S. Tryon St., Charlotte

12:30-3 p.m.

This two-part event introduces participants to diverse aspects of music production and the Charlotte music scene with an interactive panel followed by a series of mini workshops with professionals addressing production, performance, writing, recording, business and promotion. Ages 12 and up. Tickets can be purchased online and are $5 general admission, free for Gantt Center members. Members are asked to contact guest services for a promo code to be used during purchase. ganttcenter.org/calendar/the-art-ofrb-an-interactive-experience.

October 20 AIDS Walk & 5K Run

Dorothea Dix Park 795 Dawkins Dr., Raleigh 9 a.m.

This year’s event, featuring music, food, awards, door prizes and an after-race party, will benefit the Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, NC AIDS Action Network, the LGBT Center of Raleigh and the Crape Myrtle Festival. Registration $25 for the untimed walk or a “virtual runner” donation, $30 for the timed race, through Sept. 18; $30/$35 Sept. 18–Oct. 19; $35/$40 day of event. aidswalkand5krun.itsyourrace.com.

October 26-27 ‘The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber’

Knight Theater 430 S. Tryon St., Charlotte 7:30 p.m.

The Charlotte Symphony and guest vocalists present Webber’s greatest hits along with works from Broadway favorites ”Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Les Miserables” and more. Tickets $43-$195. charlottesymphony.org/events.

life

REGULAR EVENTS Charlotte Latin Pride

Spanish-language support nights, second and fourth Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m., Charlotte Pride offices at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1900 The Plaza, Charlotte. info: charlottepride.org/latin/

PFLAG Charlotte

Support meetings, second Monday of each month, 6:30-8 p.m., Time Out Youth Center, 3800 Monroe Rd., Charlotte. info: pflagcharlotte.org

Prime Timers

Monthly meeting including dinner, speaker, games and more for gay men ages 21 and up, 5-7 p.m., Park Road Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 3900 Park Rd., Charlotte. info: primetimersww.com/charlotte/

Trans Youth Group

Weekly discussion groups for transgender youth ages 13-20 each Thursday, 4:30-6 p.m., 3800 Monroe Rd., Charlotte. info: timeoutyouth.org

Transcend Charlotte

Support groups for partners, friends and family of transgender and gender non-conforming adults ages 18 and older, second and fourth Sundays of each month, 6-7 p.m., Time Out Youth Center, 3800 Monroe Rd., Charlotte. info: transcendcharlotte.org

Youth Drop-In Space

Drop-in space Monday-Friday, 3-6:30 p.m., 3800 Monroe Rd., Charlotte. info: timeoutyouth.org

Youth Discussion Group

Weekly discussion groups for LGBTQ youth ages 13-20 each Wednesday, 6:308:30 p.m., 3800 Monroe Rd., Charlotte. info: timeoutyouth.org

Youth of Color Group

Weekly discussion groups for LGBTQ and ally people of color each Thursday, 7-8:30 p.m., 3800 Monroe Rd., Charlotte. info: timeoutyouth.org

UPDATES/ADDITIONS?

Do you have a regular and reoccurring community event you’d like listed? A listing to update? Email us at editor@ goqnotes.com.

Our People: Calla Hales Healthcare Administrator

C

BY Torie Dominguez |qnotes staff WRITER

alla Hales, administrator of Charlotte abortion provider A Preferred Women’s Health Center (APWHC), is uniquely placed to bear witness not only to what may be some of the most critical moments in individual lives, but to the collision of personal and political on a larger scale. The Hofstra University alum, activist and prolific Twitter user shares with qnotes’ readers her path to the position she now holds, her experiences on the job, and, with midterm elections fast approaching, what the public needs to know about abortion and threats to reproductive rights.

How do North Carolina and Georgia compare to other states with regard to the availability of abortion and sexual healthcare?

Both states have strict TRAP (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws, particularly North Carolina. Georgia currently requires a 24 hour counseling before care, case reporting to the state and parental notification if a minor seeks abortion care. North Carolina currently requires a 72-hour counseling session before care, case reporting to the state (including copies of patient ultrasounds, in some instances), parental consent for a minor seeking care.

Your clinic is known not only for its own services, but for the perpetual presence of anti-abortion protesters outside.

How do those protests affect you? Has your reaction to them changed over the last four years?

These protests can be brutal. It’s bad enough for patients — hearing a stranger yell at you and call you names at a doctor’s appointment is so unnecessary and intimidating. I think it can be forgotten sometimes how hard it is for staff members and volunteers: these protesters see us day in and day out. They recognize us, know our names, have looked us up. We’re harassed by them day in and day out. It can be truly horrifying at times.

I try my best to document the protesters, but to otherwise ignore or not engage with them. It’s hard — I definitely snap some days — but I still try.

It’s not hard to imagine that aspects of your job could be very emotionally taxing. Is that something you deal with? If so, how do you cope?

The emotional aspect of this job is something that surprised me. I thought I truly understood the weight of the work before I got involved, but there’s not a lot that can prepare you for it. Every patient’s story is different.

Thankfully, I have a great support group in my friends and family.

I actively work at being a better practitioner of self-care, whether it be physical exercise, a relaxing trip or simply a quiet afternoon of binge-watching “Harry Potter” movies with my cat.

What do you consider the greatest threats currently facing abortion and sexual healthcare in the United States?

I believe that the greatest threat facing abortion and sexual health care is misinformation — CPCs (crisis prenancy centers) and

faith-based sex education are failing our country. There is a terrifying lack of knowledge about sex, contraception and abortion care in our culture right now.

What do you wish more people knew about abortion?

Abortion is safe and necessary healthcare. Period. Even in a perfect world where everyone had access to free, 100 percent-effective contraception, abortion would still be necessary healthcare.

What would you do if Roe v. Wade were overturned?

Stay open to provide safe and legal abortion care as long as I possibly can.

What advice do you give to new employees?

Communication is key. This job can be heavy at times. It’s imperative that you communicate with yourself, your coworkers and your supervisors to make sure we’re helping patients in the best way possible — even if it means tapping out and having a coworker assist you with a difficult case or acknowledging when additional support is necessary.

Do you ever encounter clients who are struggling with moral or religious concerns when deciding whether to have an abortion? If so, what do you say to them?

Abortion care is a highly personal decision, and there is no “one size fits all” answer. My mother used to always say, “abortion isn’t the right choice for everyone, but everyone has the right to make that choice.” I try to live by this motto and let it influence my work accordingly.

Lastly, how can people who are concerned about preserving abortion rights make a difference?

The all-encompassing answer: VOTE. For those who can help financially: donate to abortion funds (like National Abortion Federation’s Hotline Fund or Carolina Abortion Fund) or organizations that support grassroots abortion activism (like SisterSong, Charlotte For Choice or NARAL ProChoice North Carolina). For those who can help by donating their time/actions: reach out to local groups that have clinic escort programs, that organize for pro-choice candidates or support GOTV efforts.

Trust me — There are tons of opportunities in Charlotte! : : For qnotes extended interview of Hales, visit goqnotes.com/61222.

Oct. 5-18, 2018

qnotes

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Oct. 5-18, 2018