QNotes, Oct. 7-20, 2016

Oct. 7-20 . 2016

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qnotes news & features

news.History views. Month arts.

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October: LGBT 5 McCrory sinks to new lows 6 News Notes: Regional Briefs 7 In Memoriam: José Fumero 7 Mural highlights HB2 9 News Notes: U.S./World Briefs 10 The Nightmare Continues 12 Before Stonewall 13 How to be a good ally 15 Freddy Niblack: Checkered Dreams 21 Pulse performance tribute 27 Voter registration resources

Celebrate National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11 during National LGBT History Month!

National Coming Out Day helps to raise awareness of the LGBT community and its pursuit of its civil rights. It began 28 years ago on the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights held on Oct. 14, 1979. And a second march as undertaken on Oct. 11, 1897, at which the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was first publicly displayed.

This year is especially sensitive in the wake of HB2’s passage and all its implications, along with legislation across the country that focuses on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And, even more recently, on Sept. 30, Judge Roy Moore, Alabama’s chief justice, was suspended for the remainder of his term for informing probate judges to violate federal orders surrounding gay marriage.

Now, more than ever, is the time to stand up to prejudice and injustice. Register to vote and then do so! Our future is in your hands and your voice does matter. Also, make sure that your voter registration is up to date or simply register for the first time. Visit ncsbe.gov in North Carolina and scvotes.org in South Carolina to get more information on the process.

To learn more about National Coming Out Day, visit bit.ly/2dFGO75.

a&e / life&style

19 Health & Wellness 20 Tell Trinity 22 Q Events Calendar

opinions & views

4 From the Associate Editor 5 Why Black Lives Matter

more news & features

In Memorian: A community mourns José Fumero was an innovator, fine artist and friend to the arts community. page 7

Ways to be a good ally Some great suggestions to make things work for the benefit of both parties. page 13

Oct. 7-20 . 2016

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qnotes connect Oct. 7-20, 2016 Vol 31 No 12

arts. entertainment. news. views. goqnotes.com twitter.com/qnotescarolinas facebook.com/qnotescarolinas

contributors this issue

Maria Dominguez, Stan Kimer, Jack Kirven, Lainey Millen, Nick Poust, Jeff Taylor, Trinity, Lisa Wallace

front page Graphic Design by Lainey Millen Photography: Stonewall, NY Public Library; White House, Public Domain; Signage, InSapphoWeTrust; Demonstration, Library of Congress; Parade, National Museum of American History. CC license.

Mission:

The focus of QNotes is to serve the LGBT 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 LGBT 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, editor@goqnotes.com Assoc. Editor: Lainey Millen, specialassignments@goqnotes.com Social Media Editor: Jeff Taylor, jeff@goqnotes.com Production: Lainey Millen, x205 production@goqnotes.com Printed on recycled paper.

Material in qnotes is copyrighted by Pride Publishing & Typesetting © 2016 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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upcoming issues: 10.21.16: Election Preview Advertising Space Deadline: Oct. 12 11.04.16: Gift Guide/Trans Awareness Advertising Space Deadline: Oct. 26

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qnotes

Oct. 7-20 . 2016

from the associate editor

by Lainey Millen :: qnotes staff

It’s a 10/10 Challenge!

On Sep. 27, the nation celebrated Voter Registration Day. If you were not registered, did you get in on the action? If not, why? You only have a few days left to be part of the American democratic process. And, if not, please, don’t tell me that you’ve got an opinion about issues or elected officials when you could have voiced your biggest one by voting for the candidates of your choice. Don’t complain when you had a chance to make a difference. And, more importantly, this year is crucial in order that progressive candidates are elected to serve our LGBT community.

I’ve been around a long time through many elections over my lifetime.

And, the one this year is one of the most contentious ones I’ve ever seen.

We’ve got two very different candidates and, personally, I’ve had my mind made up for quite awhile on my choice of candidate for whom I will vote.

My first memory of elections was during the Dwight D. Eisenhower years. I was really young and I went to the polls with my Momma. I decided that I wanted to vote and the precinct workers indulged me. They gave me a piece of paper and a pencil and let me scribble my “vote” and I handed it to them. They put it into a special box for kids’ ballots and I was elated.

Life marched on.

Then? Picture this. It’s 1969. You are a freshman in college and it’s in the early years of the Women’s Movement. Girls are burning their bras (literally and figuratively) and I was sure one of them.

I had an opportunity to work for a Democratic candidate in Memphis, Tenn., as his communications director when he went up against Harold Ford, Sr. in the 1970s during Ford’s fist bid for the state House. We traveled to Washington, D.C., to raise funds and the whole thing was exciting. My candidate lost in the primary, but the experience I gained far outweighed those losses we had.

Afterward, I became a member of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and subsequently its Sexuality and Lesbian Task Force.

What, you say? A task force? Yes, in those days, NOW was exploring how to engage and bring lesbians into its fold. At a later date, I’ll share some of stories with you, but this is not the time.

Our NOW group was asked to provide security (I know, I know, you don’t even need to say anything!) for a Mid-Winter Democratic Conference in the mid 1970s. I had a chance to see some of the big-time folks, but the best “see” I had was being able to escort and handle Bella Abzug in the speaker’s area. What a thrill. Even had a photo taken of us together.

And, I even had my hat in the ring once for a spot on the North Carolina General Assembly’s House of Representatives. I ran a solo

campaign as a Libertarian candidate, being recruited by my national ballot drive chairman brother-in-law. I had to change my party affiliation from Democrat to Libertarian. Of course, I lost, but I was up against over a dozen other folks and I think I did rather well, considering. I netted over 2,000 votes and I never campaigned, and I never took in any contributions or had any staff or volunteers. It really was exhilarating. Later on I changed my affiliation again and registered as an Independent.

Over the years, I’ve made sure that I’ve been a current registered voter, and now I am a precinct worker, just like those folks were doing all those years ago in my hometown. I find the work rewarding, and I have a sense that I am contributing to the process. I always make sure that I vote early, however!

Now, that brings me up to my challenge. What I am asking each of our readers to do is to make sure you are registered. Then find 10 people who are not and either drive them to an appropriate place to register and have them each do the same thing with 10 other people and so on and so forth.

Even better yet, have a carpool to the polls for early voting or on Nov. 8.

Make it an event. Maybe even a party! Just celebrate your privilege of being able to vote.

Our own survival and freedoms are at stake right now. Personally, I’m ready to see a woman in the White House and have wanted to see that since my days with NOW. It’s been on my bucket list as something to experience before I die.

Are we “stronger together?” We sure are! Do we need to “make America great again?” No, it’s already great. But, we always have room for improvement and we’ve seen incredible progressive changes in recent years, even in the shadows of HB2 and its implications and aftermath. We simply have to move forward toward an even brighter future where “all y’all” really means everyone. Here’s your chance.

So take the challenge and vote! Registration deadline in North Carolina is Oct. 14 (ncsbe.gov) and in South Carolina is Oct. 8 (scvotes. org). Online registration is available, but registering in person is best so that there are no delays, etc. If you are going to be away, then get your absentee ballot now. If you are unable to make it to the polls, then vote early. Know someone who is ill, elderly or disabled and has challenges getting out or getting around? Be a helpful neighbor and citizen. Drive them to the polls. Curbside voting is available. Whatever you do — please vote!

Make the effort to be a part of the future today. : :

Looking Back

October is LGBT History Month It’s time to remember the past and look to the future

by Lisa Wallace :: Social Security Public Affairs Specialist, Charlotte N.C.

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ocial Security is committed to treating all Americans fairly. This commitment extends to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people covered by Social Security’s many programs.

October is also National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) History Month. It’s a month-long annual observance of the history of the gay rights movement. First observed in 1994 to coincide with National Coming Out Day, the month has evolved to include a more diverse range of people identifying as LGBT. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in all states and have their marriages recognized in all states. This decision made it possible for more same-sex Photo Credit: couples and their families to benefit from WavebreakMediaMicro Social Security. via Adobe Stock We now recognize same-sex couples’ marriages in all states, and some non-marital legal relationships, for purposes of determining entitlement to Social Security benefits, Medicare entitlement and eligibility and payment amount for Supplemental Security

Income (SSI). We also recognize same-sex marriages and some non-marital legal relationships established in foreign jurisdictions for purposes of determining entitlement to Social Security benefits, Medicare entitlement, and SSI eligibility.

We encourage anyone who is unsure whether they are entitled or eligible for Social Security to apply right away for benefits. Applying now will protect against the loss of any potential benefits.

If you have any questions about how to apply for benefits, call toll-free 1-800-7721213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

We can answer specific questions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Generally, you’ll have a shorter wait time if you call during the week after Tuesday. We treat all calls confidentially.

Visit www.socialsecurity.gov/people/same-sexcouples to apply for benefits and learn more about our policies for same-sex couples. : :

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HB2 Update

McCrory sinks to new lows while HB2 costs skyrocket LGBT advocates respond with indignation

by Maria Dominguez :: qnotes contributor RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina’s Gov. Pat McCrory has been the most passionate proponent of HB2, the notorious “bathroom bill” that openly discriminates against transgender people. The governor has spoken countless times of the “commonsense” nature of the bill, and has even sued the federal government for pointing out that the legislation violates civil rights. However, on Sept. 16, McCrory and company withdrew their lawsuit against the Justice Department on the grounds of “substantial cost,” especially because a similar suit is already active in federal court.

The true cost of HB2 has been worth more to LGBT North Carolinians than financial assets, though money is persuasive enough on its own. A recent estimate by Wired goes into detail about every performance, sporting event, and business expansion canceled in the state for the express reason of HB2’s discriminatory rhetoric. The grand total? $395 million dollars. So far.

But what is particularly ironic about Gov. McCrory’s explanation for the reneged lawsuit is that he, in August, failed to veto a bill diverting $500,000 from the state’s disaster relief fund in order to defend HB2 in court. However, public backlash on this move seemed to take an effect, and McCrory’s office declared a few days later that the funds would not be used to defend HB2.

Yet, still, the governor has been a loud supporter of the law itself, all while campaigning for re-election against Attorney General Roy

Cooper. At a recent campaign stop, the governor’s team planted friendly questions at a Q & A, claiming that they came from The Charlotte Observer. When called out by the Observer staff, the governor didn’t deny it, instead insisting that “80 percent of the questions came straight from the audience.”

In a recent speech at the Rotary club, McCrory read his own email message to a Charlotte City Councilmember from February, when the city’s non-discrimination ordinance was to be voted upon.

“The city of Charlotte is causing more problems by trying to solve a problem that does not exist,” McCrory claimed. He went on to describe HB2’s consequential passage in decidedly friendly terms, and went even further when Gov. McCrory reported on a meeting with the chairman of Human Rights Campaign (which he misnamed “the Human Relations Campaign”): “He said, ‘Governor, I’m going to make North Carolina the epicenter of the transgender bathroom movement in the United States of America,’” McCrory claimed. “‘And once I finish with North Carolina, I’m going to move to all the states . . . we’re going after you.’”

McCrory’s ominous report of this meeting with HRC officials was not taken lightly by the organization’s staff. On Sept. 20, HRC President Chad Griffin released a joint statement along with Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro and transgender advocate Candis Cox. The group represented the meeting in an entirely different light.

“This is the same cheap trick the North “Governor McCrory lied to North Carolinians Carolina General Assembly has attempted all today. In the wake of HB2’s passage six months along,” Winterhof said, “asking Charlotte to ago, we hand-delivered a letter from more than repeal crucial protections for the LGBTQ com100 CEOs and business leaders urging Governor munity and trust they will hold up their end of McCrory to repeal the bill,” the statement read. the bargain on a full repeal of HB2.”

“We also asked him to meet with LGBTQ North Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts seems Carolinians, which he has still not done. Instead to regard McCrory’s proposal as a non-issue. of working with us, Governor McCrory has Slate reported that the city attacked us publicly council would not consider and has continued to repealing the non-discrimfalsely characterize our ination ordinance, though conversation.”

Roberts did “applaud the As if lost revenue governor for recognizing the and bad publicity weren’t state should overturn HB2, enough, McCrory’s which the state can do at administration had to add any time without any action one more recent conflict from the City of Charlotte.” to the turmoil over HB2.

Even the editorial board “If the Charlotte City of The New York Times has Council totally repeals condemned this so-called the [non-discrimination] compromise. ordinance and then “It’s not too late for Mr. we can confirm there McCrory to come to his is support to repeal Gov. Pat McCrory refuses to repeal of HB2. senses and take the only among the majority of Photo Credit: Hal Goodtree via Flickr. CC2.0. way out — admit ignorance state lawmakers … the and error and repeal the law,” Times editors governor will call a special session,” McCrory wrote. “The rule was never enforceable, since spokesman Josh Ellis told the Observer. police officers can’t reasonably be required to If this proposal were to become a reality, it inspect people’s genitals outside bathroom stalls. would leave LGBT Charlotteans just as vulnerThe point of the law was to harm and humiliate able as they were before any of the HB2 mess.

L.G.B.T. citizens, and for that all North Carolinians LGBT advocates, including HRC Senior Vice are having to pay an ever growing price.” : : President JoDee Winterhof, spoke out:

guest commentary

by Maria Dominguez :: qnotes contributor

Why LGBTQ people should care about Black Lives Matter Minority solidarity and the importance of acknowledging privilege

Over Tuesday, Sept. 20, and Wednesday, Sept. 21, the world changed for me. Lying in my bed in the relative safety of my New Orleans apartment, I watched my home town become something entirely different than the place I thought it was.

But this shift was not because something new had come to Charlotte; no, it was because something very old had finally broken to the surface.

Horrible darkness gripped my heart as I watched Facebook Live videos of my dear childhood friends taking part in protests that became riots. I saw my friends get tear-gassed. I saw them shot by rubber bullets. I saw them run from police officers in full riot gear while the only meager protection my loved ones had was their dark skin.

I’ve heard different accounts of how the riots started.

Police authorities claim that it was the protestors who became violent. Protesters who were present insist that the gathering was peaceful until police officers began to use force.

Whatever the trigger, nothing changes the fact of the violence that occurred in Charlotte on those two nights after the shooting death of Keith LaMont Scott by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer. The question — why? — is not a question of the immediate trigger, but rather the long-term, systemic issues that have for decades, even centuries, led up to this moment in our town.

As LGBTQ people and allies, the readers of qnotes have some notion of systemic injustice. I have personally covered

developments in the fight against HB2, North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” that discriminates against trans* people. I have also read much of the NC legislature’s other discriminatory rhetoric, including a recent voter-ID bill that the Supreme Court of the U.S. struck down because it “target[s] African Americans with almost surgical precision.”

Both communities, LGBTQ and people of color (POC), have first-hand experience of legal discrimination in the very recent past or present of North Carolina.

Both LGBTQ and POC know what it is to be openly regarded as less-than, as unworthy of basic rights like voting and taking a pee.

This is not to mention that many people who identify as LGBTQ are also POC. Our communities are inextricably linked. One of the friends whose protest videos I watched identifies as a gay black man.

Another is a black LGBTQ ally. As I watched their fight for justice in the case of Keith Scott and so many others, I wondered how the white LGBTQ community would react to this horrific scenario. I wondered how I would, if I was a little less aware of my own privilege.

Wednesday night, full of passionate tension, I got into a discussion on Facebook about privilege with a white “friend” with whom I went to high school. He got very defensive when I implied that he was privileged, and that reaction made me reflect.

“Privilege isn’t something to be ashamed of,” I wrote to him.

“It is something to be used.”

I, myself, am highly privileged. Despite my Latinx roots, I look very white. Despite my pansexual identification, it happens that I date mostly cisgender men. I “pass” as white and straight on a daily basis, and because of that I have not dealt with the same discriminatory treatment, the same blatant hatred that so many LGBTQ and POC have to face on a daily basis.

Because I acknowledge my privilege, I am all the more determined to use it.

There are patterns of discrimination in this state and in this nation. There is discrimination everywhere in the world, of different types. But if we identify the patterns specific to our daily lives, we have to admit: the U.S. system of “justice” and “equality” excludes minorities. In a day and age where the North Carolina state legislature can pass two bills that blatantly discriminate against LGBTQ and POC citizens respectively, We the Privileged have to be willing to stand up.

I will stand. I will fight. I will use my voice and my privilege to call out injustice as I see it. I will participate in conversations with those of different views than I have. I will attend events and demonstrations for causes I believe in. In this time of conflict, passive acceptance is no longer an option. I urge you, the readers of qnotes, to do some thinking about where you stand in terms of privilege and in terms of activism. People of color need our support, just as we have needed and received theirs in our own causes.

Open the dialogue. Listen and learn. Take a stand. : :

Oct. 7-20 . 2016

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news notes: carolinas compiled by Lainey Millen :: qnotes staff

HIV/AIDS network named org of year RALEIGH, N.C. — The ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+) presented the NC AIDS Action Network (NAACN) with its Community Organization of the Year award on Sept. 24 at its dinner in Washington, D.C. Lee Storrow, executive director of NCAAN, attended the dinner and accepted the award on the organization’s behalf. “It’s an honor to be recognized for our work in North Carolina.

I share this award with our entire team and the hundreds of activists across our state who stand up every day for access to healthcare for those living with HIV.” The award was bestowed on NCAAN for their leadership and success in driving legislative and policy reforms for people living with HIV/ AIDS in North Carolina. NCAAN was selected specifically as a result of their advocacy efforts with the North Carolina General Assembly in expanding the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) to allow the program to use funds to help clients purchase health insurance through premium and cost-sharing assistance.

Studies have shown that premium assistance programs lead to better health outcomes and better viral suppression rates for patients. When someone is virally suppressed, it means that they have very low levels of HIV in their body, significantly reducing the risk of transmitting HIV to another person. Moving ADAP clients onto health insurance programs helps them access important health services to manage other health needs that are currently out of reach for many.

“Our annual awards recognize individual, community, government, media and corporate NC AIDS Action Network Executive Director Lee Storrow accepted the ADAP leaders who are working to improve access to care and treatment under the AIDS Drug Advocacy Association’s Community Assistance Program,” said aaa+ CEO Brandon Organization of the Year award.

M. Macsata. “What was achieved by the North Carolina AIDS Action Network with the passage of ADAP premium assistance in the state embodies the spirit of the awards.”

NAACN works to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and affected communities through outreach and public education, policy advocacy and community building to increase visibility and mutual support of people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the state of North Carolina. info: adapadvocacyassociation.org. ncaan.org.

Charlotte PFLAG holds elections

CONCORD/KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Concord/ Kannapolis will hold its annual chapter meeting and election of officers and executive board members on Oct. 11, 7 p.m., at Trinity United Church of Christ, 38 Church St. N. in Concord.

Nominated for the upcoming year are: Officers — Joan Gale, president; Kelley Cunningham, vice president; Linda Coonley, secretary; and Chrisy Horgan, treasurer; Board — Don Gale, Dorothy Perry, Michael Howard and Taylor Ciucevich. Term length is two years.

Voting is only open to paid PFLAG chapter members. Proxy votes are due by Oct. 9 via email to ckpflag@gmail.com. info: bit.ly/1pCFVBq.

#100yearsstrong celebration upcoming CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Planned Parenthood is celebrating its 100th anniversary during October. And, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will host a reception in its honor on Oct. 13, 5:30 p.m., at the Foundation for the Carolinas, 220 N. Tryon St. Keynote speaker will be Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist and author Anna Quindlen.

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She was a columnist for The New York Times and Newsweek.

Sponsorships of $1,000 or more are given the opportunity to join Quindlen for dinner following the reception. Information on being a sponsor is available online at bit.ly/2dcPKSn. Tickets start at $100 for singles and range from $250-$5,000 for those as the sponsorship level. They are available on line at bit. ly/2dcPKSn. In other news, Planned Parenthood of North Carolina was shown to have strong support in a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, netting a 66 percent positive view of the organization. Support cut across party lines.

The poll was one of five conduced across key battleground states.

The Planned Parenthood Action PAC North Carolina is engaging in a door-to-door effort to get progressive, pro-women’s candidates elected in November.

Sen. Richard Burr has voted eight times to defund Planned Parenthood, PAC head Paige Johnson said.

Planned Parenthood Votes has made North Carolina a federal priority, with intenstions to invest in a six figure digital ad buy which will focus on winning the Senate and presidential races in the state. info: ppsat.org.

Youth slate conference

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 2016 Carolina Conference on Queer Youth will be held on Oct. 14, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Student Union, 9201 University City Blvd.

The event, sponsored by Time Out Youth Center and The Multicultural Resource Center at the university, is open to students, K-12 staff, helping professionals and community members from around the Carolinas. The one-day conference is a unique opportunity for area representatives to network and organize around issues important to the healthy development of LGBT youth.

The keynote speaker will be Ann Clark, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Clark was instrumental in updating district regulations in 2016 to better support transgender students across the district.

“We are excited to welcome Superintendent Ann Clark as our keynote speaker for the 2016 conference,” said Rodney Tucker, executive director of Time Out Youth Center. “As many of the conference participants are CMS employees and students, it will provide a great opportunity for them to hear from the leader of the district on the specific steps CMS is taking to support LGBTQ youth.”

Organizers said that a focus area for this year’s conference is supporting transgender and gender expansive youth, with workshops addressing access to healthcare, creating inclusive and supportive school environments, and creating youth-led programs that empower transgender youth. Other workshops will include a know your rights in K12 schools update on HB2, examining intersectional identities, supporting LGBT youth of color and an overview of the Welcoming Schools program, among others.

Registration is free for youth and $25 for adults and is available online. Eight hours of CEUs are available for professionals attending the conference Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all participants. info: timeoutyouth.org.

clerk and courtroom deputy for the Honorable Marilyn D. Go in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Later he served as an investigator of discrimination complaints in employment, public accommodations and education for the Lancaster County Human Relations Commission in Lancaster, Pa. Afterward, Slack decided to become an ordained minister and left the field of law.

His divinity education was gained at Union Theological Seminary in New York, N.Y. He has served in various ministerial posts in the Metropolitan Community Churches and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Most recently, Slack served as director of congregational life for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, N.C. He is also the founder and lead organizer of 4LYFE, an associated ministry of Metropolitan Community Churches, which provides pastoral and educational resources to address sexuality and gender identity issues in social service organizations and faith communities across a broad spectrum. He develops programming that creates spaces for open and honest dialogue about differences, intersectionality and relationship-building and collaborates with grassroots organizations to build networks of faith and community leaders who care about issues that most impact LGBT individuals “Mykal far exceeds what we hoped for in this position. His legal and religious background, as well as his commitment to social justice and work as a Trans activist, made him a perfect fit for this post,” Bishop Tonyia Rawls shared. Rawls is the founder and executive director for the center.

The majority of his focus will be on the Yes You Can Go safe restrooms program, development of TransFAAN.com and the Transgender Faith and Action Network’s retreat and training programming. He will also work closely with Bishop Rawls, his co-director, on the expansion of the work the organization has been doing at the intersections of race, faith, social justice, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Slack will be based in Durham, N.C. and can be reached at mykals@fcsj.org. info: fcsj.org.

Fashion show honors leaders

Church announces spirituality series

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Power of One Awards and Fashion Show will be held on Oct. 15, 6 p.m., at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Center City Campus, 320 E. 9th St. The event, sponsored by PowerHouse Project, is held to honor African-American LGBT leaders who have made an impact in Charlotte and the surrounding area, organizers said. The fashion show features local designers and models.

Admission is free with an RSVP which is available online. info: powerhousecharlotte.org.

Center hires co-director

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Freedom Center for Social Justice has announced the hiring of Rev. Mykal Slack as its first co-director.

Slack began his professional career as a lawyer, serving as the first Gary Crawford Law Fellow at the LGBT Rights & HIV/AIDS Rights Projects at the national offices of the American Civil Liberties Union and then as a law

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Caldwell Presbyterian Church, 1609 E. 5th St., will begin a four-part spirituality series at 5 p.m. in The Third Place Coffeehouse at the church.

Presenter is Jim Green, M.Div., a psychotherapist.

Discussion is held in an LGBT and allied affirming setting and centers around the theme of “Thomas Merton and Mindfulness.” Dates and topics for the series are: Oct. 23, The Spirituality of Thomas Merton; Nov. 6, The Here and Now Moment; Nov. 20, The Divine is Shining Through the World; and Dec. 4, Finding the Peace of Christ at Christmas.

The sessions are free of charge and registration is required. info: caldwellpresby.org.

Victory endorses candidate

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Victory Fund has extended its support for Jane Campbell with an endorsement for her candidacy for the North Carolina House of Representatives for House District 98.

Campbell is the only out candidate for the state’s House. She is battling incumbent Rep. John Bradford who was one of the sponsors of HB2.

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In Memoriam: José Fumero

news

Fine artist, innovator, arts community proponent

Muralist unveils work of art

by Lainey Millen :: qnotes staff

Subject focuses on HB2

The couple returned to Charlotte at a later date and were emCHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fine artist and arts proponent José braced by the arts community.

Augustín Fumero, 91, died suddenly on Sept. 16 while on vacaFumero lost an eye as a teen and a failed cataract operation when tion in Nice, France with his partner of over 60 years Herb Cohen. he was in his 80s left him almost completely They were just getting ready blind, the Observer said. He “created a to embark on a dinner cruise new way to paint, by scanning images into when Fumero died.

Photoshop, magnifying them to examine Fumero was a Cuban small portions, and then painting the images immigrant who came to the with digital brushes. Then, he painted them U.S. at five. He was a graduagain on canvas with acrylics or oil paints, ate of Cooper Union for the with his face right up close to the canvas.”

Advancement of Science and Fumero and Cohen were seen all Art in New York, N.Y. and upon around town, at CreativeMornings/CLT graduation, worked designing breakfast lectures, for example, and car and airplane fabrics for hosted a Mint event at their home.

Collins & Aikman, which sent The Mint’s Kathleen V. Jameson, Ph.D., him to its plant in Albemarle, shared “The Mint family mourns the loss The Charlotte Observer of one of our most treasured members, reported.

José Fumero. An accomplished painter A blossoming relationship enand textile designer, José enjoyed a many sued once he met Cohen in 1956 decades-long career in the arts communiand they lived in Charlotte, N.C. ties of Charlotte and Blowing Rock. At the A fixture at the Mint Mint, he was an active volunteer in the Museum, Fumero served on the Herb Cohen (left) and José Fumero in their home in 2012, former Theater Guild, a devoted memstaff, including exhibition direc- filled with their artwork. On the wall are Fumero’s paintber of the Delhom Service League and tor and acting director. ings “Misty Mountains” and “Phoenix,” and on the table Founders’ Circle, an impassioned teacher, In 1972, the couple uprooted are pottery pieces by Cohen. and a stalwart supporter of the Mint’s and moved to Blowing Rock, Photo Credit: The Charlotte Observer, N.C., to focus on their art on Diedra Laird, dlaird@charlotteobserver.com educational programming. … Our deepest condolences go out to our friend Herb and a full-time basis. There they the many friends and family members whose lives have been indelhelped found the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum and ibly marked by José’s generous, creative, and engaging spirit.” served on its first board. Many considered them “founders emeriinfo: mintmuseum.org. tus,” the Observer added.

by Lainey Millen :: qnotes staff

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Sharon Dowell unveiled her “A City On Its Side” mural on Sept. 16 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Center City Campus as part of the “Heightened Perspectives” exhibition.

The piece can be seen through a window from the street at the corner of Brevard and 9th Sts. Its model was Lara Americo, a transgender activist.

Dowell used the opportunity to use art as a “response to HB2, equality and the political turmoil in our state and country,” she said.

During the unveiling, Dowell shared her thoughts on the underlying reason she chose the subject on which to focus. She said that she is white and straight and that means that she has privilege. However, with all of that she still feels and sees great injustice and bias around her. (The full script of her speech will be made available online in tandem with this reporting.) info: sharondowell.com.

Lara Americo (left) and artist Sharon Dowell with the ‘A City On Its Side’ mural.

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news

news notes: u.s./world compiled by Lainey Millen :: qnotes staff

Lifting minimum wage would benefit same-sex couples LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Williams Institute has reported through a study that elevating the minimum wage to $15 would lift 30,000 individuals in same-sex couples out of poverty.

The official U.S. poverty rate for 2015 was 13.5 percent, with 43.1 million in poverty.

This figure did not discuss the vulnerability to poverty of LGBT individuals. However, the new study showed that poverty remains a significant problem for LGBT individuals.

In “The Impact of a $15 Minimum Wage on Poverty Among Same Sex Couples,” researchers M.V. Lee Badgett and Alyssa Schneebaum drew on data on same-sex couples to show the effect of a higher minimum wage on that segment of the LGBT community. Raising the federal minimum wage from its current level of $7.25 to $15 an hour would reduce LGBT poverty dramatically, the Williams Institute shared.

“There are some who believe that the LGBT community is wealthy, but that’s a misleading stereotype,” said Badgett. “Looking at samesex couples shows that some groups of LGBT people are even more likely to be poor than

are heterosexual people. Raising the minimum wage would help everybody, including lifting tens of thousands of people in same-sex couples out of poverty.”

Key findings included: The percentage of poor female same-sex couples would fall from 6.9 percent to 3.7 percent, a 46 percent drop in poverty; poverty among men in same-sex couples would fall from 3.4 percent to 2.2 percent, a drop of 35 percent in poverty; the poverty rates of married different-sex couples would also decrease from 5.6 percent to 3.1 percent; and almost 30,000 people in same-sex couples would see their family incomes rise above the poverty level.

To make these predictions, Badgett and Schneebaum used the 2014 American Community Survey to compare same-sex and different-sex couples and to simulate what happens to families’ incomes if the lowest wage earners were paid $15 an hour, Williams Institute shared. Badgett and Schneebaum used the official federal definition of poverty, which is having an income that falls below the federal poverty threshold. info: williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu.

Methodists drop complaints

Coming Out seeks stories

CHICAGO, Ill. — The United Methodist Church has dismissed or resolved complaints against three of its clergy due to LGBT-related issues.

Rev. Anna Blaedel had previously been dismissed for being “a self-avowed practicing homosexual,” the church said. Blaedel had called into action “against all forms of injustice in the church…,” adding, “Silent acquiescence to injustice is unfaithful and sinful.”

Rev. Val Rosenquist had officiated at the marriage of two Charlotte, N.C. congregational members in early 2016.

Rev. Mike Tupper had, along with eight other clergy, co-officiated at the wedding of another minister and his partner in 2015. info: rmnetwork.org.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The non-profit Coming Out, an open-source library of coming out stories, is searching for narratives to add to its “shelves.”

The organization said that they are “committed to developing a platform that makes it easy for anyone of any background to both share, as well as read stories they can relate to.”

The site was launched in 2015 with members from organizations such as Google, Facebook, Uber, Michael Kors, Nielsen and Lambda Legal. It currently reaches an audience of more than thousands across 170 countries globally. info: comingout.space.

Source: Department of Labor

State-by-State Wage Rate 2016: How the Carolinas Stack Up Alabama $ 0 Alaska $ 9.75 Arizona $ 8.05 Arkansas $ 8.00 California $10.00 Colorado $ 8.31 Connecticut $ 9.60 Delaware $ 8.25 District of $11.50 Columbia Florida $ 8.05 Georgia $ 5.15 Hawaii $ 8.50

Idaho $ 7.25 Illinois $ 8.25 Indiana $ 7.25 Iowa $ 7.25 Kansas $ 7.25 Kentucky $ 7.25 Louisiana $ 0 Maine $ 7.50 Maryland $ 8.75 Massachusetts $10.00 Michigan $ 8.50 Minnesota $ 9.50 Mississippi $ 0

Missouri $ 7.65 Montana $ 8.05 Nebraska $ 9.00 Nevada $ 8.25 New Hampshire $ 7.25 New Jersey $ 8.38 New Mexico $ 7.50 New York $ 9.00 North Carolina $ 7.25 North Dakota $ 7.25 Ohio $ 8.10 Oklahoma $ 7.25 Oregon $ 9.75

Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

$ 7.25 $ 9.60 $ 0 $ 8.55 $ 0 $ 7.25 $ 7.25 $ 9.60 $ 7.25 $ 9.47 $ 8.75 $ 7.25 $ 5.15

QUICK HITS ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————q National Center for Transgender Equality has created a “Voting While Trans” checklist, including how to register to vote, how to update a name/address for voting, as well as what to do if challenged on Election Day, and more. They have also released a video on the importance of voting featuring Laverne Cox, Janet Mock and Kit Yan. info: transequality.org.

Immigration Equality and the Brooklyn Community Pride Center will launch the LGBTQ New Americans Project, featuring audio and video oral histories of LGBTQ immigrants living in Brooklyn and throughout New York City. info: immigrationequality.org.

Jason Leclerc has released his latest book, “Black Kettle,” which tackles the tough topics of gender fluidity, police brutality and politics. info: momentitiousness.com/black-kettle.

A new report, “From Teasing to Torment: School Climate Revisited, a Survey of U.S. Secondary School Students and Teachers,”

finds bullying continues to be a significant problem in schools, despite progress and also finds that teachers lack training on LGBT issues. info: glsen.org.

PFLAG participated in a coalition with the Department of Justice Community Services to launch a new “Law Enforcement and the Transgender Community” training video that models best practices for police interactions with transgender individuals. info: youtu.be/gfGPx4xJHvM. The Williams Institute has reported that strict voter ID laws may disenfrancise more than 34,000 transgender votes in the 2016 general election. info: williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu.

Equality Florida announced a total of more than $9.5M has been raised for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting, largely through a record-setting GoFundMe campaign that drew more than 120,000 donors from over 120 countries. info: eqfl.org.

During the past summer, Google documented global Pride parades using 360º cameras, the Gay and Lesbian International Foreign Affairs Agencies shared. This was done so that those who were unable to attend could celebrate using virtual reality and Google Cardboard. info: landing.google.com/intl/en/pride.

The Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society proudly announces the first edition of their annual publication, entitled “Inclusiveness Index 2016: Measuring Inclusion and Marginality.” info: haasinstitute.berkeley.edu/inclusive businessindex.

The mother of a transgender teenaged boy who was admitted into Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego for inpatient care in early April 2015 for suicidal ideation and for treatment of his serious self-inflicted injuries following an incident of transphobic harassment by his peers has filed a lawsuit against the hospital for discrimination against her son.

The hospital’s staff kept referring to the child

as a girl, despite requests from his mother. The hospital also released the child before the full 72-hour stay had been completed. info: nclrights.org.

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund will present their 2016 Freedom Award on Oct. 24 honoring HBO and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP. info: transgenderlegal.org.

Jill Soloway and the Freeform network will receive Outfest legacy awards on Oct. 23 in Los Angeles, Calif. Soloway recently received an Emmy Award for “Transparent” and will be the recipient of the Visionary Award. Freeform will receive the Corporate Trailblazer Award in recognition of its groundbreaking programming for young adults, people in high school, college and the decade that follows which includes such LGBT-friendly programs including “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Fosters” and “Shadowhunters.” info: outfest.org.

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Biz Beat

The nightmare continues Five impacts of North Carolina’s infamous HB2

by Stan Kimer :: qnotes contributor

A

out to their parents and getting the events have been moved out of state, and s a workplace diversity consultant, with a specialty in support to live in their true gender. various planned corporate expansions LGBT issues and working with multiple businesses and However, now in North Carolina into North Carolina have been cancelled. organizations across North Carolina, I am deeply enschools they are singled out in 2. Impact on talent recruitment: I trenched in our infamous anti-LGBT HB2 law passed earlier this terms of restroom and locker room have heard from several of my clients year. Though it has multiple components (see bit.ly/1Sjux6z), the usage and this undue attention that they are having a far more difone part that has grabbed the most attention is the provision that also opens them up for additional ficult time recruiting top talent for key transgender individuals must use the restroom corresponding to schoolyard bullying. positions, including enticing people to the gender on their birth certificates in public facilities.

5. Impact on cisgender people take internal transfers from other states.

I have previously written two blogs about this bill who may appear “gender nonNorth Carolina is now viewed by many • “Why do we all need someone to hate on? … and now in North conforming,” particularly “butchprofessionals as a “backward, bigoted, Carolina, it’s transgender people” on how I believe it is politics looking” women or gender ambiguanti-diversity” state that they do not want of hate and division which motivated HB2. ous people. For example, this law to live nor raise a family in.

• “North Carolina’s HB2 — don’t may make it very uncomfortable for 3. Overall safety and self-esteem boycott us, Cyndi Lauper-ize a female cancer survivor who has a of transgender individuals. This us!” which provides an altermastectomy and lost her hair who state law that singles out transnative to boycotting our state. uses the women’s room and has her gender people as “abnormal” and Now that the law has been gender questioned. “not fit to use the bathroom of their on the books for a while, I am This horrific law has caused so gender” both stigmatizes transgenfollowing up with these “Five much harm at some many different der individuals as well as making Impacts of HB2.” The first two levels, immediate and total repeal is them an increased target of hate are focused on broad economic Cisgender people (like female cancer survivors truly the only reasonable option. And crimes and ridicule. In addition, it impact and the final three are who lost their hair) my now be getting questioned even with that, it may still take years diverts law enforcement from more focused on various personal about their rest room usage. for state economic and personal psypressing issues and increases the impacts.

Photo Credit: prudkov via Adobe Stock chological harm to be reversed. : : chances of vigilantism and violence.

1. Negative business Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals — Stan Kimer, Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer, is a 4. Impact on transgender children. With a higher impact: North Carolina has lost sided with transgender teen Gavin Raleigh, N.C.-based business consultant who provides corporate number of high profile transgender people “coming out” millions of dollars of revenue Grimm, saying that he may use the and organizational training on a wide range of diversity topics and thousands of jobs as varirestroom corresponding to his gender and more acceptance of transgender people in corporate including transgender diversity.

America, more children are feeling safer about coming ous entertainment and sports identity in his high school.

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LGBT History Month

Before Stonewall Early actions in the fight for LGBTQ rights in America

by Jeff Taylor : : qnotes staff

M

any view the Stonewall riots, in June of 1969, as the starting point in the modern day fight for LGBT rights in the United States. It is such a famous historical event that countless books and movies have been made documenting it, and in some cases fictionalizing it. The site was made a national monument earlier this year.

While the importance of that action cannot be stressed enough, it was by no means the first important one in the fight for LGBT rights in America. The following are just some of the sit-ins, protests and spontaneous acts of rebellion which also stand as key moments where activists stood up and said enough is enough.

San Francisco Police Department caught wind of the fundraiser, they tried to shut it down. When that proved unsuccessful, the San Francisco Police Department arrested some of the clergy present, as well as the ticket takers.

More organized protests also began happening at this time, such as what is considered to be the first gay rights demonstration in the U.S. In September of 1964, a small group of activists picketed the Whitehall Street Induction Center over the violation of the confidentiality of gay men’s draft records.

A few months later, several activists picketed a lecture by a psychoanalyst who was espousing the then popular view that homosexuality was a mental illness. The four demonstrators were given ten minutes to make a rebuttal to this claim.

The beginning: 1959 – 1964 Finding places of community where LGBT people could feel safe to be themselves and be together without harassment was a constant Growing more organized, leading up to challenge in the early days of the fight for rights. Late night diners Stonewall: 1965 - 1969 and coffee shops often offered places of respite for those who had The first actions, both spontaneous and planned, woke up the nowhere else to go. So when police would go after the customers community as to what was possible. of these establishments, sometimes with the aid of the owners or In April of 1965, protesters picketed the White House over the managers themselves, chaos could ensue.

United States’ treatment of LGBT people, and the United Nations over One such incident occurred in May of 1959 in Los Angeles, Calif., Cuba placing gay people into forced labor camps. Protests continued at Cooper’s Donuts. When police began harassing gay men, some in Washington in the coming years, with the last White House picket in drag, they fought back, throwing coffee cups and donuts at the occurring in October 1965 after it was determined that doing so had officers. The Los Angeles Police Department called for backup and begun to lose its effectiveness. several arrests were made.

Also in 1965, the East Coast Homophile Organization (ECHO) orgaAnother small scale riot took place in San Francisco, Calif., in nized a picket in Philadelphia, Pa., at Independence Hall, where both the December of 1964, when the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, which joined gay activists and religious leaders together in the fight for LGBT rights, held a costume party at Barbara Gittings picketing the White House at the first Annual Reminder in 1965.

California Hall on Polk Street in San Francisco. When the Photo Credit: Kay Tobin Lahusen, New York Public Library Manuscripts and Archives Division. CC 3.0.

United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted. It would continue for the next four years and become known as the Annual Reminder.

In 1970, they organized the Christopher Street Liberation Day, to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

The following year, simultaneous demonstrations took place for Armed Forces Day in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Also in 1966, the “sip-ins” took place in New York City, challenging a law that made it illegal for bartenders to serve known homosexuals.

Activists went into bars, announced that they were gay and then asked to be served. They eventually found a bar unwilling to serve them.

The action worked, as the city’s human rights commission declared the law discriminatory and ruled that it must come to an end.

Later in the year, Mattachine Midwest picketed the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times for ignoring press material and refusing advertising from the organization.

Police raids and harassment continued, and spurred both spontaneous and planned actions, such as at Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco and at gay bars The Black Cat Tavern and New Faces in Los Angeles.

In 1969, there were two notable pickets against the firing of employees over their orientation, or perceived orientation. Activist and journalist Gale Whittington was fired by the States Steamship Company after coming out in print and Tower Records fired Frank Denaro because they believed him to be gay. He was eventually reinstated.

All of these moments played a pivotal role in allowing the Stonewall riots to be the flashpoint it is heralded as being, forging the path for a fight that continues to this day. : :

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Community

How to be a good ally Five tips for how to show up and stand up for the people in your life

by Jeff Taylor :: qnotes staff Show up Listening isn’t enough. It must be followed by action if you are serious about helping to make positive change.

There are countless ways you can use your privilege to show up for others. You can speak out against racism, homophobia, transphobia, or whatever other bigotry you may be unfortunate enough to encounter in your day-to-day life.

You can also show up to protests and rallies, sign petitions, call or write to your elected officials, donate to nonprofits organizations fighting to put an end to oppression.

W

hether you are a white person looking to be an ally to people of color, a cisgender person looking to be an ally to the trans and gender nonconforming community or a straight ally to the lesbian, gay and bisexual community, there are some key points in common that will help you be a better friend and champion to those in your life in a less privileged position than yourself.

Listen Your first job as an ally is to listen. As the member of a majority culture, you are probably used to talking. It has been drilled into your head that you not only have the right to do so, but that you should do so, because what you have to say is important.

While you likely do have some important insights, it is essential to listen to what people tell you about their lived experience and know that they have a perspective you cannot possibly compete with, as they are living it from the inside out. While no one individual can claim to speak for the whole, the more you allow yourself to drop your defenses and take in what is being said by as many members of that group as you can, the more educated you will be on their struggles, triumphs and concerns.

It is also important to listen to people when it comes to labels, pronouns and other ways in which people do or do not wish to be identified.

It is not your job to tell people who they are; it is your job to uphold their identity as they have determined it. After all, who would know who they are better than themselves?

Don’t tokenize They aren’t your gay friend, or your trans friend, or your black friend, they are your friend. See them as a human being, not merely as the member of a minority group.

Chances are you don’t introduce people as your white, straight or cis friend.

Also, just because you have a friend or friends who are member of a certain group does not mean you have a pass to act or talk however you want concerning said group. Just because you are with them does not mean you are them, and you should remember your place and check your privilege and status in regards to your actions.

Remember, too, that it is up to them whom they come out to and when, so let them have the autonomy to handle that on their own without your interference.

Don’t pat yourself on the back No one likes an ally that seems to be doing it for the kudos. If others want to applaud you for doing the right thing, you can graciously accept, but singing your own praises for being on the right side of history is one of the quickest ways to make you seem disingenuous and silly.

And never start a sentence with, “I am the least (fill in the blank) person in the world.” The least racist/transphobic/homophobic person in the world would never think to advertise themselves as such. Not to mention that is a ridiculous title that does not exist in the real world for good reason.

Admit when you screw up, then apologize, learn and grow While you are listening to others, you may hear some things you don’t like, including regarding your own behavior. It is not uncommon for allies to make mistakes. This is especially true for new allies. Don’t get defensive when you are called out for these errors.

Instead, listen, take ownership of the misstep, apologize for it and move forward. You don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to be willing to admit that you aren’t. Use it as a learning experience and seize the opportunity for personal growth. : :

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Coming Out Stories

Freddy Niblack: Checkered Dreams Indy Car Series driver

by Nick Poust, UNITE Magazine Indianapolis

F

reddy Niblack is the first openly gay driver in the Indy Car Series, but that’s not all that defines him.

As is the case for so many athletes, gay or not, he is also a person looking to accomplish a dream — a dream he’s had since his childhood days spent carving a race track through neighbors’ yards on his go-kart as the sound of the nearby Indianapolis 500 engulfed the air surrounding his family’s Speedway, Ind. home.

“I literally grew up two blocks from the track, and I was born in May, which happens to be the month that all the festivities for the 500 go on,” Niblack says. “My mom said I would scream and cry until she’d sit me on the porch and let me hear the Indy cars. They were like a lullaby. As long as there were racecars and motors, I was good.”

Niblack, 44, is still longing to be part of the roar that hummed as his childhood’s theme. He came out as a teenager and has traveled down a bumpy road filled with discrimination in his professional career. While he was racing in the mini Indy series in 1992 he was subject of hatred remarks that led to his departure.

“Someone put a poster on my race trailer that said ‘AIDS cures fags,’” he says, “and so that team owner didn’t want me anymore.”

Niblack then went to Europe, hoping for a better opportunity, but more of the same transpired. “People over there were even less accepting,” he says. “It didn’t matter if you had a podium finish, a first-place finish or a top-five, you were still the gay driver.”

“With some teams gay men are viewed as the weak link, which is funny because some of my times and finishes were a lot better than my counterparts, or my teammates,” he adds.

“Instead of being happy for me it became a source of a pang.”

That’s not the case anymore, however. Niblack signed on to race for Indianapolis-based Top Kart USA, which didn’t even know he was gay when he was signed. He competed in the Freedom 100 on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and for the first time, his presence in the driver’s seat wasn’t because of his sexual orientation or the sponsors and revenue that would coincide. It was about his talent.

“Here, it was all about what I brought to the table,” Niblack says. “There wasn’t this Indy car mentality. And what I mean by that is a lot of Indy car people, they forget to be human, and they forget what this sport is about. It’s to have fun. It becomes a money situation, and yes, here, it takes money to do what we do, but it’s also really fun. We can laugh and have a good time and be ourselves. For the first time in a long time I feel welcome. The gay thing isn’t really brought up unless I bring it up.”

That’s not to say his sexual orientation and its impact on the racing community doesn’t matter to Niblack. It means plenty. In his 22 years on the track, no one from the LGBT community has ever come to see him in his element. That changed on March 22, when Indianapolis’s JJ Gufreda, the president of GEI, Inc. — the first transgender-owned company certified as LGBTBE by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce — attended a testing at Lucas Oil Raceway.

“I was on the track, going about 160, 170 [miles per hour], and when I saw JJ, when I was in my racecar on the track I waved to her,” Niblack says. “To see JJ walk up was such a milestone, such a sense of pride, such a sense of finally. JJ wasn’t there to flip her hair or challenge the bathroom rules; she was solely

there to support me. And in my entire career I cannot think of a more defining moment than seeing JJ walk up.”

Niblack wants this to be the start of a pattern, to make the LGBT community feel as welcome at the racetrack as Top Kart USA and Gufreda have made him feel.

“To see someone come in who is different, who is out of the ordinary — and guess what, they are today’s ordinary,” he says.

“They are today’s human being. The gay community, take your place. Be supportive. Be proud of your own people. Not everybody dresses up like Tina Turner and lip-syncs for their life. Not all gay men are strippers or escorts or wear eyeliner. Embrace diversity. Embrace our differences.”

Niblack says he simply races better when he’s happy, and after he saw Gufreda he increased his lap speed by 1.5 seconds. “I had this feeling of self worth, this feeling of strength in numbers, and this feeling of love,” he says. “That’s huge for me. An honor, and I’m very grateful. I can’t imagine if I had 100 people from the community there, what I would do.”

Including the Freedom 100, Niblack is scheduled to race 13 times this summer — and while the Indianapolis 500 isn’t one of them, he plans on inhabiting one of those cars his childhood self lived to hear one day soon.

The 500 may be the ultimate goal for Niblack and Top Kart USA, but this year is about honing their craft as a team. Top Kart USA is predominately self-funded, and just this past March was the first time his number-22 car spent time on the ground, let alone a track.

“We’re not focused on Indy Car this year,” he says. “We’re focused on the cars that we have, and making them well.

We’re not begrudging about what we have and angry about what we don’t have. We’re happy about what we have and focused on what we have. We want a winning car. We want a winning team.”

Niblack brings his individual sponsors to Top Kart USA, but unlike other stops on his road that’s not the reason behind his presence. “We don’t need that sponsor money to create something,” says Blake Deister, the team’s co-owner. “It’s already created.”

“From the front of the house to the back of the house it is every single person that works on that team to get that driver into that car to win races or be competitive,” adds Niblack. “The owners of a lot of the larger teams, without those drivers and those drivers’ sponsors they wouldn’t be where they are. It’s not just about one person’s brand here. It’s about the team as a whole. Yes, I do drive for this team, and, yes, I did bring sponsors, but these people own the shop, the semis, the cars, the mechanics, the tools.”

With all of the pieces but the driver upon his arrival, the immediate acceptance of Deister and the Top Kart USA team was a weight off Niblack’s shoulders. Here, he can just race, without distaste for his sexuality in the undercurrent, waiting to rear its discriminatory head.

“It is such a small part of my life, but it is who I am,” he says, regarding his sexuality. “It’s just not a factor here. Now, at other places, it was ‘we don’t want you going here, we don’t want you going there, we don’t want you dealing with this publication, we don’t want you dealing with this gay event.’ Well, I am a gay man. My community, I want their support and their love, and I’m not going to be something that I’m not, and that’s the most important thing.”

That community would have much reason to cheer. Not just because of what he represents, but because of his talent, and that of his team.

“I have the same big visions and the same big dreams, but I’m intelligent enough to know that you have to start here before you can get there,” Niblack says. “With this team, we have the facility to grow. We have the technology, the equipment, the manpower. These guys will be here until midnight if that’s what it takes.”

And so will Niblack, with his childhood’s lullaby forever in his head, striving to accomplish just one of his many goals, hoping to influence a community along the way. : : [Editor’s Note: Niblack also graced the cover of Compete Magazine’s July 2016 edition.]

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News Notes continued from page 6 A retired Navy captain, her active duty locations included Pearl Harbor, Afghanistan, the Pentagon and the White House.

Her platform focuses on protecting LGBT rights and voting rights, as well as increasing educational funding. Campbell’s highest priorities are challenging the state’s conservative super majority.

Recently, Campbell’s opponent has blamed others for the passage of HB2, even though he sponsored and voted for the measure.

He points fingers and denies culpability, the Victory Fund reported. And, this is not his only “transgression.” He was a proponent of the I-77 toll road prior to the contract being signed, but back peddled and said it was a bad idea, but did admit his mistake.

If Campbell is able to win her election, she plans to work toward the repeal of HB2, among other items.

“District 98 deserves a new and honest leader who will put North Carolina’s economy and families first. I will be that leader,” Campbell shared. info: victoryfund.org. janecampbellfornchouse.com.

Triangle Equality gala announces keynote

RALEIGH, N.C. — Equality North Carolina Foundation has announced that Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro is its keynote speaker for its 10th Annual Equality Gala to

be held on Oct. 15 at the Raleigh City Center Marriott, 500 Fayetteville St. Castro has been a trailblazer and longtime advocate for the LGBT community. As mayor of San Antonio and as a federal employee, he has defended and supported the LGBT community and is a staunch ally.

He advocates fair and affordable housing, champions LGBT rights, especially with LGBT homeless youth and requires equal access for transgender individuals in federally-funded homeless shelters.

Tickets, which are selling fast, are $175/ individual, $50/active duty military, $225/individual plus VIP reception, $100/military plus VIP reception, $1,500/tables of 10 and $2,000/ tables of 10 plus VIP reception. Pre-paid guests of donors, sponsors, etc. do not have to pay but must verify by email to bgraumann@equalitync. org in order to be accepted for the rate. info: equalityncfoundation.org.

Sex survey results in

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Adam & Eve has released the results of its annual sex survey.

For this go-around, the company queried over 1,000 adults, age 18 and up, to see if they would be open to having a relationship with someone who is bisexual, and the responses they got may surprise some people.

Slightly less than half, at 47 percent, said they would not be open to having a relationship with a bisexual individual, 35 percent of the respondents said they were open to it and 19 percent said they were undecided.

Of those polled, more men than women (39 percent versus 31 percent) were open to a relationship with a bisexual partner, while 23 percent of the women versus 15 percent of the men were unsure.

“Bisexuality is defined as a sexual and/or romantic attraction to both males and females,” explains Adam & Eve Sexpert Dr. Kat Van Kirk shared, “It’s encouraging to see that people are open to the idea of sexuality encompassing more than the traditional male/female partnership.”

The web-based survey was conducted by an independent third party survey company and sponsored by Adam & Eve to study sexual preferences and practices. info: adamandeve.com.

New podcast begins

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — In a joint production with Public Radio International and North Carolina Public Radio WUNC, a new podcast, “The Civilist with Steven Petrow,” has launched.

Petrow is a journalist and author. He has penned guides on manners, among other topics.

Currently, a handful of episodes are available for one’s listening pleasure.

PRI describes the show, saying, “Fed up with flaming and unfriending, snark and shade, when discussing hot button issues like politics, religion, guns, LGBTQ rights and more? Then it’s time to join ‘The Civilist’ with the Washington Post’s Steven Petrow as he and his guests take on the issues you care about. Petrow’s guests are Red, Blue and Purple and his focus is on how to talk together, not who’s right or wrong.

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He’s determined to make American kind again.” info: pri.org/people/steven-petrow.

Western New parents group formed

HICKORY, N.C. — A kickoff event was held on Sept. 26 for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Hickory at the Neighbors Network.

Contact the group to learn more about its upcoming events and meetings at 828-244-5578 or email pflaghickory@gmail.com. info: facebook.com/pflag.hickory.

Regional Spooky dance party announced

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The Pride Community Center of the Tri-Cities has announced that its Pride Halloween Dance Party & Costume Contest will be held on Oct. 22, 7 p.m., at the Best Western Hotel, 2406 N. Roan St. This fundraising event includes DJ and emcee Brad Parris from Open Mic Entertainment.

Mixed drinks and drinks will be available for purchase, along with $3 shots.

Admission is $10 and is open to those who are 18 and over. info: pridetricities.com.

South Carolina Guild kicks off year

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The Coastal Business Guild will hold its first meeting of the programming year on Oct. 11, 6 p.m., at Mr. Fish Restaurant, 6401 N. Kings Hwy. Attendees will be able to gather information about upcoming events and opportunities for its membership. Additionally, time will be set aside for networking.

Appetizers will be provided and a cash bar will be available.

The organization’s Lunch & Learn session will be held on Nov. 8, 12:30 p.m., at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 101 Fantasy Harbour Blvd.

Speaker for the meeting will be Julinna C. Oxley, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy at Coastal Carolina University. She will present “Facts Company Leaders Need to Know About Transgender Issues.”

This brief seminar shares facts company and community leaders need to know about trans-

gender issues to make them better leaders.

The event is free for guild members. Guests may attend for $10 which covers lunch. There are a limited number of free lunches sponsored

by Takeover Grand Strand for Grand Strand area government and education leaders.

Lunch includes a deli sandwich, chips, cookie and beverage.

Registration is due by Oct. 31 to allow organizers to adequately prepare for those attending. Visit tinyurl.com/CBG201611 to sign up.

In other news, the guild’s partner, Takeover Grand Strand, celebrated its 10th anniversary on Oct. 6 at Liberty Tap Room & Grill. Attendees were able to enjoy camaraderie, as well as cake and cocktails. info: takeovergrandstrand.com/coastalbusiness-guild.html.

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Harbor sails for Halloween

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston Pride will host its second Halloween On the Harbor Cruise on Oct. 28 at 8:30 p.m.

Participants can enjoy an open bar, hors d’ouevres, hookah and entertainment by DJ Beck Danger while cruising around the scenic and historic coastal city.

A costume contest will take place with prizes.

Boarding is at 8 p.m. at Patroits Point located at 40 Patroits Point Rd. in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. The boat will cast off at 8:30 p.m., with a return at 10:30 p.m.

Pride Partners and Friends with Benefits receive free admission to the event and should email info@charlestonpride.org with name to confirm a spot on the cruise.

Tickets are $40. Space is limited, so early ticket purchase is recommended.

All proceeds will benefit Charleston Pride and Pride 2017.

Attendees must be 21 and over.

In other news, the organization is searching for new board members to join its team and help prepare for its 2017 festival. Those with expertise in communications, events and entertainment are encouraged to apply. Charleston Pride is also seeking at-large board members.

Check the website for more information. info: charlestonpride.org.

Have news or other information? Send your press releases and updates for inclusion in our News Notes: editor@goqnotes.com.

Oct. 7-20 . 2016

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— Sponsored Content —

Walking the Good Road Together

by Dale J. Pierce, President and CEO of Different Roads Home

Striving for acceptance, understanding With the recent events in our city, it breaks my heart to turn on the news or open the paper. As I grow older, which I hate to admit, I wonder what kind of world we are leaving for the next generation. Different Roads Home has always been my “brainchild” or dream since I can remember. We try to help, in the best way possible, those that are feeling marginalized due to chronic illness in our area.

We also try to get across a greater message of love, acceptance, and understanding by reducing stigma around things such as HIV and AIDS. Franklin Roosevelt once said, “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships — the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” Wow, what a concept if we could achieve it.

I am always reminded of a story that struck me, not so long ago. I was working the front desk at our clinical partner, Rosedale Medical (then Rosedale Infectious Diseases); which also was founded to serve HIV clients, but took a different approach to a more caring and nurturing way of serving the client and empowering them. One day a young lady came in that I had known for some time. Let’s just call her

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Mary. Mary was an African-American heterosexual non-IV drug user who had contracted the HIV virus through no fault of her own. She had told me in the past how she had been ostracized by her family and basically thrown out to pasture because of the stigma associated with her disease. (On a side note, so many people that are battling a diagnosis already feel like they did something wrong in order to contract the diseases. This is not the time to abandon them.) But on this day, her face was literally glowing as she told me that her family had decided to invite her to Easter dinner. I was so happy for Mary; the opportunity to reconnect with her family was lifting her up and giving her a new purpose.

When Mary came into the office for her follow-up three months later, Easter had passed. I saw her walk in and can tell you I was almost like a kid on Christmas morning to hear, what I had expected, of her wonderful reunion and time with her family. I asked her how it went.

Mary looked over her shoulder and around the lobby to see who was there, almost already setting a tone of being timid or afraid to speak. Her eyes glazed over and filled with tears as she started to recall the story with me of her experience. She told me that her family did open the doors to the family dinner,

but asked her to eat in the kitchen, away from the main table, and even asked that she serve herself on paper plates. OMG! I was horrified. At first I thought that wow, if this was how people were reacting, what a “teaching moment.” But bigger than that, I immediately felt the pain that she had felt and the sense of being cast out in her family’s own home. And on Easter of all holidays! I have to admit that my mind went to the cross and thinking of how Jesus must have felt when he was betrayed by the disciples as well.

More than anything I wanted to comfort her and tell her I understood, and find a way to make her feel better, but all I could do was to hug her. Try as I might, I couldn’t help but feel the anger and pain she must have felt and at the same time realized how lucky I was as a gay man who is positive that does have the support of his family. Words could never heal the brokenness that she was feeling, and would any of us blame her? She told me that she had decided to cut her family out of her life and count on the support of her small circle of friends, and even the staff at our clinic, to be her new family because we understood.

Understood. If understanding is something we can all get to, can we not see how much better it would be for all of us, in so many situations. John Hunter said, “Faith is the hinge that opens the door to opportunity.” I hope that in the coming weeks our community takes this to heart. Unlike Mary’s family, we all should learn to embody a culture of acceptance and understanding. My greatest wish out of all these tragic events in our city is that people open their eyes to the boundless possibilities to change the culture and thinking of our fabric and bring this community together as one.

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life

health and wellness

by Jack Kirven :: personal trainer, qnotes contributor

8 Patterns of Wellness Part 2 of 8: Hydration

Proper hydration allows the body to function at its peak. Work this into a good healthcare regimen.

Photo Credit: Ross Petukhov via Adobe Stock

In this series, I’m going to share some thoughts about the eight patterns that comprise the eight-week program that is Integre8t Wellness. With these fundamentals in place, you can expect to see enhanced results from your fitness plan. These concepts apply to all fitness and wellness programs. Part 1 discussed breath.

The second pattern is hydration. You can survive only a few days without water. Most people generally take drinking for granted, because access to clean water is (supposedly) ubiquitous. While consuming a wide range and vast amount of beverages that contain water, many people presume they are being properly hydrated. In fact, many people no longer know how to differentiate thirst from hunger. But there are some strategies to consider here.

Water is essential for practically every process in your body. The largest part of you is water. It’s rather strange to think of yourself as a big container holding little blops of water together, but that’s what we are on a fundamental level. The systems, organs, cells and fluids in your body require a steady stream of water.

One of the often overlooked sources of excess calories in the diet is liquid foods. If you drink something, and if it isn’t water, pause before you have it. It will have other ingredients, many of which have may have no nutritional value, but which affect your metabolism nonetheless. This is true of many drinks, pourable yogurt products, alcohol, sauces, marinades, and salad dressings.

“Sports” beverages, “health” beverages, sodas, flavored waters, juice, juice beverages (whatever that means), coffees, and teas that are already prepared when you buy them are often laden with sugar, artificial sweeteners and/or caffeine. You should not count it toward a healthful pattern of hydration. Do they contain water? Yes. But their other ingredients are not helpful. Sweeteners cause fat storage and undermine the microflora in your bowels.

Caffeine is a diuretic, so drinking it can actually dehydrate you. The same is true of alcohol.

There are many symptoms of dehydration, because a lack of water impacts everything in your body. Are you hungry, despite eating recently? Do you have a headache? Do you

feel dull or sleepy? Are you having trouble sleeping? Is your spit too thick? Is your nose, mouth and/or throat scratchy and dry? Are you grouchy? Do your eyes feel sticky? Is your skin ashy? Are your lips puckered, deflated, or chapped? Are you lethargic? Is your urine dark and/or smelly? Are you constipated? These are all symptoms of dehydration. If you are experiencing any of these, take a moment right now to go drink a glass of water. Check back with yourself in five minutes. Do you feel any better? It never hurts to try.

If you want to drink more water, but can’t seem to commit to it, set small milestones. As with everything in fitness, your goal should ultimately be to adopt a healthier lifestyle. This takes time. Gradual and cumulative substitution, as well as journaling are very helpful.

Consider alarms and reminders, if you don’t already have so many that you ignore them.

On day one, consider your beverage choices for the day. At one of those points where you would drink something else, have a glass of water. Just that new addition for the day (keep any servings of water you are already in the habit of drinking). The next day accumulate another substitution. Now you have two. And on and on, until you have eliminated most/all the additives and achieved consistent hydration.

When you are properly hydrated, your skin will feel more resilient. Your lips will be cushiony, and the skin will not be tight or cracked.

You’ll have more energy, strength and endurance. Your mood and concentration could improve. Joint pain, sticky eyes and dry mouth may decrease. Your bathroom breaks will be more pleasant (for everyone). When you are properly hydrated, you will experience better digestion, have faster results losing fat and/ or adding muscle, and enjoying an improved sense of well being. : : info: 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. 7-20 . 2016

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goqnotes.com/to/arts

tell trinity

by Trinity :: qnotes contributor :: trinity@telltrinity.com

The 11 hats for perfectly hosting the perfect party Hello Trinity, My best friends are coming to town, and I want to host a party for them. But I’m going crazy. My lover says, “Hire someone!” But I want to do it myself. Help!

Hosting Horrors, St. Louis, MO Hello Hosting Horrors, Hosting a successful party means putting on “The 11 Hats Of Hosting” starting with host, organizer, purchaser, head chef, prep cook, cleaning person, decorator, DJ, server, event maintenance and post-event breakdown person. I personally prefer hiring two fabulous gay men who usually can do what 11 different nongay helpers are needed to do. But, honey, if you must do-it-yourself, the best way to multitask is to be organized with lists for shopping, menus and chores, i.e., cooking, serving and cleaning.

Remember, “pre-planning, pre-thinking and preparing for everything… to go wrong” is my rule of thumb.

Hey Trinity, My girlfriend is all over my case because I “crossed boundaries” by saying something I shouldn’t have said at her family reunion! But I tell my family everything, why shouldn’t she?

Crossing Boundaries, Miami, FL

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Hey Crossing Boundaries, It’s very nice to tell your family everything, but not everyone does. And if everyone did, your girlfriend still has a right to be different. Sorry, but she has a right to her boundaries if she feels she needs to protect herself or others.

Some couples use spoken and unspoken rules in respect to each other’s boundaries. Now, darling, tell your girlfriend, “I’m sorry! It will never happen again! And I’ll learn to respect your boundaries from now on.” Remember, adults have secrets. Children tell their parents everything! (Tight lips are often the best posture when in new and/or uncertain surroundings. Check my cartoon on how this can play out otherwise!)

Dear Trinity, I’ve been dating this guy that I really like, but we argue and fight all the time. He suggested therapy. Can it really help?

Fighting Or Therapy, Amarillo, TX Dear Fighting Or Therapy, Some of us use therapy to clean out the past or deal with the present, and some of us use it to find ways of getting along with argumentative companions. I personally think everyone should have a therapist and also think seminars such as the Forum, Insight and/or Life Spring

a&e

teach great awareness and control over unconscious games we play with others and ourselves. We all learned to read and write, but, pumpkin, very few of us were taught how to handle “drama” — I mean dreamy relationships!

Dearest Trinity, I’m in a long distance relationship (LDR) and I could use all the advice you have.

LDR-4-HELP, West Haven, CT Dearest LDR-4-HELP By the time Obama became president, I myself had done the LDR circuit in Connecticut, D.C., Florida, Pennsylvania and Canada. So, baby, since we’re heading into a post-Obama presidency, all of us LDR addicts need to read: Trinity’s Not So Distant Tips For Dealing With Long Distance Relationships (LDR) 1. Communication means, calling, texting and emailing regularly.

2. Frustration means, when you need to kiss and make up, you’ll actually need to click and redial.

3. Sexual desires mean, while the cat’s away the mouse may play. So, don’t ask too many questions or you may get too many answers.

4. R omance means, vacations, weekends and overnight trips together.

5. R especting your precious time together means, not making too many personal or work plans when your LDR is visiting.

6. T rusting what you can’t see means, don’t let

your fears get the best of you.

7. A ccepting life’s troubles means, being open to dealing with them. So, deal with each issue as it comes, rather than being too quick to react.

8. Modernizing means, owning a cell phone, computer and web cam so you can be closer more often.

9. The future, if it works out, means, thinking about moving closer one day.

10. Lastly, enthusiasm means, acting excited when your LDR arrives. Hey a long trip deserves a great welcoming! : : info: 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. Learn more at telltrinity.com.

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life

Theatre presentation responds to Pulse shootings Brings in artists, performers from across the U.S.

by Lainey Millen :: qnotes staff CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After Orlando: an International Theatre Action in Response to the Pulse Night Club Shooting will be presented on Oct. 28, 8 p.m., at C3 Lab, 2525 Distribution St. Curated by Missing Bolts Products and NoPassport Theatre Alliance and Press, the event is comprised of readings from selected plays, along with performances by local artists. It is hosted

by Taproot, a multidisciplinary ensemble collaboratively creating immersive performance pieces and programs to reflect and challenge the communities with whom it engages.

Missing Bolts Productions’ Blair Baker and Zac Kline shared, “As theatre makers, we have the ability to bring together many singular unique voices toward a common goal. We feel it is necessary to give artists a place to respond to the tragedy in Orlando and the current state of the world. We have invited some of the most admired theatre artists worldwide to participate; to share our grief, our anger, our hope and our desire to combat the violence we are now living with on a daily basis.”

NoPassport Theatre Alliance and Press founder Caridad Svich remarked, “Making some healing art, some fiery art, some work that just says we can rise up from and through collective mourning.”

Contributing artists include: Neil Labute (“Reasons to be Pretty,” Broadway); Anders Lustgarten (“Lampedusa,” Soho Theatre, London); Mia Chung (“You for Me for You,” Royal Court Theatre); Deborah Zoe Laufer (“Informed Consent,” Primary Stages); Caridad Svich (“The House of Spirits,” Denver Center); Rohina Malik (“Unveiled,” Victory Gardens Theatre); Oliver Mayer (“Blade to the Heat,” Public Theater); Winter Miller (“In Darfur,” Public Theater); Ken Urban (“The Correspondent,” Rattlestick Theatre); EM Lewis (“Heads,” Blank Theatre); Amina Henry (“Animals,” JACK); Migdalia Cruz (“Miriam’s Flowers,” Latino Chicago Theatre Company); Matthew Paul Olmos (2015 National Latino Playwriting Award), Saviana Stanescu (“Aliens with Extraordinary Skills,” Women’s Project Theater); Chiori

Miyagawa (“American Dreaming,” Vineyard Theatre); Zac Kline (“Messed Up Here Tonight,” Renovations Theatre Company); Sung Rno (“Cleveland Raining,” Silk Road Rising Theatre); Stephen Sewell (“The Gates of Egypt,” Belvoir St. Theatre); Anne Rumberger (writer and publicist, Verso Books); Deborah Asiimwe (“Cooking Oil,” CalArts); Lisa Schlesinger (“Celestial Bodies,” Gets Theatre Chicago); Jessica Litwak (“My Heart is in the East,” La Mama ETC); Crystal Skillman (King Kirby, The Brick); Katie Pearl (Milton with PearlDamour); Jeremy O. Harris (“Xander Xyst, Dragon: 1,” Samuel French OOB Festival) Eric Mayer-Garcia (Louisiana State University); Ian Rowlands (“Blink,” national tour Wales and 59E59); Jacqueline E. Lawton (“The Hampton Years,” Virgina Stage Company) with more artists to be announced.

Tickets are $15 and are available at artful.ly/store/ events/10183. A portion of the sales will benefit Transcend Charlotte. info: digdeepgetdirty.com. missingbolts.com. nopassport.org.

Oct. 7-20 . 2016

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EVENTS

Submit your event to our calendar!

October-November 2016 LGBT Center of Raleigh ‘Boots on the Ground’ Awards Gala Sheraton Raleigh Hotel 421 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh

6:30 p.m.

The LGBT Center of Raleigh will honor its volunteers at their annual awards gala. Entertainment will be provided by Peter Lamb and the Wolves, there will be a silent auction and a three-course dinner. This year’s award winners are: Lorraine Johnson, Distinguished Service Award; Yvonne Torres, Community Impact Award; Deep South Entertainment, Organization of the Year; Jeremy Billow, LGBTQ All of the Year; Kellie Burris, Program Volunteer of the Year; and Artie Cline, Center Volunteer of the Year. Tickets are $150. More information and tickets are available online. lgbtcenterraleigh.com.

Winston-Salem Pride SEP OCT MO Trade St., Winston-Salem 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Winston-Salem Pride returns, with vendors, entertainment, food and more. The festival zone will occupy Trade St. and the parade will travel down 4th St., Trade St., 5th St. and Cherry St., and will kick off at 11 a.m. This year’s headliners are Jessica Sutta and The Branden James Duo. More information is available online. pridews.org.

–––––––––––––––––––– LGBTQ Fall Festival Open Air Market 5471 Central Ave., Charlotte 12-8 p.m.

A new festival gathering, sponsored Continues through Oct. 15

by Creativity Forms, where members SEP OCT MO ‘Sordid Lives’ of the community can get together to McGlohon Theatre at enjoy music, entertainment and more in Spirit Square a safe environment. Live performances 345 N. College St., Charlotte will feature independent artists, poets, 7 p.m.

Gospel singers, rock bands and jazz Different Roads Home and Theatre bands among others. Inspirational mesCharlotte join forces for the first time to sages will be shared by Pastor Shannon present “Sordid Lives,” the cult hit that Gresham from Spirit of Unity Worship explores what it’s like to come out in a Center of Gastonia and Sanctuary conservative environment. Actress Ann Outreach Ministries. The family-friendly Walker reprises her role as LaVonda event also has games and activities for DuPree, who starred in the original play children and adults. Food trucks will as well as the television series and film. be on hand, serving Latin, American, She will also star in the upcoming film Polynesian and Caribbean food, as well sequel, “A Very Sordid Wedding.” In as seafood and more. Exhibitors will homage to a famous scene in the movie share information on topics such as safe all seats will be $32.09. More information sex, suicide prevention, home décor and and tickets are available online. health and beauty. More information is blumenthalarts.org/events/detail/ available online. sordid-lives. creativityforms.com.

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You can submit your event to our comprehensive community calendar presented by qnotes, the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce and Visit Gay Charlotte. Submit your event at goqnotes.com/eventsubmit/ and get a threefor-one entry. All Charlotte-area events will appear on each of the three calendars at qnotes (goqnotes.com), Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce (clgbtcc.org) and Visit Gay Charlotte (visitgaycharlotte.com).

Equality Gala SEP OCT MO Raleigh City Center Marriott 500 Fayetteville St., Raleigh 6 p.m.

Equality NC holds its 10th annual Equality Gala, an annual fundraising event to help support their work fighting for LGBT rights. Awards will be presented to community leaders for their work. Tickets are $175/individual, $50/active duty military, $225/individual plus VIP reception, $100/military plus VIP reception, $1,500/tables of 10 and $2,000/tables of 10 plus VIP reception. Tickets and more information are available online. equalityncfoundation.org/gala.

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Continues through 22 NC Trans Pride in Action Bennett College 521 Gorrell St., Greensboro The 3rd Annual NC Trans Pride in Action is a two day event focusing on the past, the present and the future for the trans community. On Oct. 21, from 6-8 p.m. there will be a showing of “MAJOR!,” a documentary telling the story of trans rights activist Miss Major GriffinGracy, in the Global Learning Center Auditorium. On the following day, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., also in the Global Learning Center Auditorium, there will be a gathering for a day of community building and healing with trans and gender non-conforming artists, organizers, workshops, and vendors. A talent show and after party follows. For more information email transpridenc@gmail.com.

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To see more upcoming events, visit goqnotes.com/calendar/

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Oct. 7-20 . 2016

Miss Dia de Los Muertos SEP OCT MO Chasers 3217 The Plaza, Charlotte 9 p.m.

Charlotte Latin Pride will crown the first Miss Dia de Los Muertos in celebration of The Day of the Dead. The pageant begins at 10:30 p.m. and contestants will compete on theme and talent. For more information email charlottelatinpride@gmail.com.

Rainbow Readings: LGBTQ Storytime Glenwood Branch Library 1901 W. Florida St., Greensboro

3:30 p.m.

All are welcome for an afternoon of LGBTQ specific literature for school aged children as well as a craft. The event will also be a time of togetherness and community. More information is available online. queerpoccollective.com.

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Gay Bingo Grady Cole Center 310 N. Kings Dr., Charlotte 6:30 p.m.

Different Roads Home: SEP NOV MO 7th Annual Evening of Hope and Inspiration McGlohon Theatre at Spirit Square 345 N. College St., Charlotte 7:30 p.m.

Join Different Roads Home as they present their 7th Annual Evening of Hope and Inspiration, helping to raise funds for the HIV/AIDS services work they do year round. The night’s entertainment will include a conversation with “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice, country musician and Humanitarian of the Year Award recipient Louise Mandress and pop duo Jason and deMarco. Tickets range from $30-$150. More information and tickets are available online. differentroadshome.org.

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The second year back after a hiatus, Gay Bingo returns with a “Star Wars” theme and host drag queen Barbara Burning Bush. Bingo Verifying Divas, or BVDs, will walk the room, song and dance will carry on throughout the night and money will be raised for RAIN, so they can continue their work for HIV/ AIDS services. The event is best enjoyed by adults, or older children with parental approval. General admission tickets cost $35. More information and tickets are available online. gaybingocharlotte.org.

Submit your event at goqnotes.com/eventsubmit/

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life

Election 2016

Want to vote?

Then get registered!

LGBT community relies on progressive candidates’ elections to fight for civil rights

by Lainey Millen :: qnotes staff

I

t’s election season across the nation and this year, it’s going to be a real battle for the presidential seat between the Democrats’ Hillary Clinton and the Republicans’ Donald Trump. Simply look at the papers and broadcast media, as well as social media.

It’s more than just voting, it’s a decision on whether voters want to continue with a progressive administration or fall back to conservative values. For LGBT voters, the answer may be simple.

Voters are required to be registered in order to avail of every American’s privilege of

casting their choice for the candidate they feel will serve them well. In North Carolina, voters are required to register by Oct. 14, and in South Carolina, the deadline is Oct. 8. Online, mail and in-person methods are available. Additionally, voter requirements are listed.on each of the states’ websites. Also, one’s local board of elections can be helpful. Just call them.

Voting gives one a voice in the process of government. Remember the old adage: “Don’t complain if you don’t vote.”

So, here is a quick reference guide to “getting legal” for this process.

Statewide North Carolina State Board of Elections ncsbe.gov.

Voter tools, registration, precinct lookup, campaign finance reports, data and statistics and more. Deadline to register is 25 days before the date of an election, this year on Oct. 14.

South Carolina Election Commission scvotes.org.

Voter tools, registration, precinct lookup, campaign finance reports, data and statistics and more. Deadline to register is 30 days before the date of an election, this year on Oct. 8.

Local Boards of Election North Carolina Buncombe County Board of Elections 77 McDowell St. Asheville, N.C. bit.ly/2b94Kid. Durham County Board of Elections 201 N. Roxboro St. Durham, N.C. bit.ly/2aA5t9U. Forsyth County Board of Elections 201 N. Chestnut St. Winston-Salem, N.C. bit.ly/2aXlnke.

Guilford County Board of Elections 301 W. Market St # 115, Greensboro, N.C. bit.ly/2aA0y9d.

Mecklenburg County Board of Elections 741 Kenilworth Ave. # 202 Charlotte, N.C. bit.ly/1lBBOSg.

Greenville County Board of Elections 301 University Ridge # 1900 Greenville, S.C. bit.ly/2aORjVu.

Orange County Board of Elections 208 S. Cameron St. Hillsborough, N.C. bit.ly/2aAdE8e.

Horry County Board of Elections 1515 Fourth Ave. Conway, S.C. bit.ly/1LwCG4c.

Wake County Board of Elections 337 S. Salisbury St. Raleigh, N.C. bit.ly/2b99F2F.

Richland County Board of Elections 2020 Hampton St. Columbia, S.C. bit.ly/2aZRxMm.

South Carolina

Spartanburg County Board of Elections 366 N. Church St. Lower Level Ste. 1630 Spartanburg, S.C. bit.ly/2aBfjid.

Charleston County Board of Elections 4367 Headquarters Rd. Charleston, S.C. bit.ly/2aUYEEf.

In addition to these sampled resources, check online for more counties’ boards of election. Also, registration may also be available at libraries, Department of Transportation driver’s license bureaus, public high schools or college admission offices, as well as various service agencies and the Employment Security Commission. Call ahead to ensure they are prepared for registration processing.

On another note, precincts are always on the lookout for reliable, responsible workers who are willing to be part of the election process. Positions include chief judge, Democratic

judge, Republican judge, equipment managers, help desk assistants and greeters. Check with local boards of election to learn more.

One more way to become engaged in voter contact is to volunteer for one’s party at the campaign office. Make calls, canvass neighborhoods, assemble mailing pieces, or whatever is needed to aid in a candidate’s successful bid for election. Meetings on a precinct, county or state level will bring volunteers together to make the American voting experience more energized. There’s something for everyone who wishes to participate. : :

Oct. 7-20 . 2016

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Oct. 7-20 . 2016