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Mecklenburg Approves NDO to Protect LGBTQ People
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On October 5, Mecklenburg County commissioners unanimously approved an expansion to the county’s nondiscrimination ordinance to protect LGBTQ people and people who wear natural hair styles — a major development in a years-long battle over gay and transgender rights in North Carolina.
The ordinance prohibits discrimination for those newly protected groups at employers of every size. In addition, it prohibits discrimination in a wide range of public settings.
With the vote, Mecklenburg County is on track to become the 13th local government to expand its local nondiscrimination ordinance this year. Commissioners will need to take another final vote before the expanded ordinance becomes law.
The wave of support for the expansions comes five years after a thorny political battle between Charlotte and the state legislature.
“It’s an exciting night,” Ginger Walker, the president of LGBTQ Democrats of North Carolina, told commissioners on October 5, “It is a long time coming.”
In 2016, responding to a nondiscrimination expansion in Charlotte, the state legislature passed House Bill 2, widely known as the “Bathroom Bill.” It sought to prevent transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice.
Among other things, that law also prevented local governments from expanding their nondiscrimination ordinances. Amid national outcry, though, the state repealed that law and replaced it with House Bill 142. That law also prevented local governments from passing nondiscrimination ordinances, but that provision expired in December.
Since then, a dozen local governments, including Charlotte’s, have passed protections of their own. Neither Charlotte’s nor Mecklenburg’s protections regulate the use of bathrooms.
“Tonight’s discussion reaffirms the importance of LGTBQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, in Mecklenburg County and across the state,” Kendra R. Johnson, Executive Director of Equality North Carolina, said in a statement, “Measures like these will make Mecklenburg County a better place, especially for people with multiple layers of marginalization. We applaud the Commissioners for taking this action, and we encourage them to pass this NDO swiftly.”
Commissioners weighed two proposals on Tuesday. Both sought to add job protections for LGBTQ people and people who wear their hair in natural styles.
But the primary difference between them was the size of businesses that the ordinance would apply to. One version would only have applied to businesses with fewer than 15 employees, while the one that was approved would apply to businesses of all sizes.
Advocates have praised the expanded ordinances as a major step forward in the battle for equality in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. In a letter urging commissioners to pass the expansion on Tuesday, Equality NC and the Campaign for Southern Equality wrote that it “will create a community where all people can thrive.”
Charlotte’s ordinance, which the City Council passed unanimously in August, applies to employers of all sizes.
Cameron Pruette, who spoke to commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting, said the federal commission that handles workplace discrimination cases only takes a limited number of complaints every year. If the commission does not take a case, discriminated workers are forced to hire attorneys if they hope to get justice.
“Discrimination should not require you to fund yourself to protect yourself,” he said.
“All 12 local governments that have expanded their NDOs this year have not limited protections to employees at small businesses,” Pruette said.
“I’m only asking you to vote for as much protections as Republicans in Buncombe County, as Republicans in Charlotte did, because we need it,” he said.
Commissioner Pat Cotham said the time for action on nondiscrimination is overdue. She added that she believed the state legislature “is at a different moment in time,” and that it’s not likely there will be legislative pushback, as there was with HB2.
“This is about dignity,” Cotham said, “But the more that I thought about it, you don’t have dignity if you don’t have strength.” Reprinted with permission from The Charlotte Observer info: bit.ly/3lqCo8N
UNC Chapel Hill’s Process Series Presents ‘Voices: A Walking Tour’
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC Chapel Hill) Process Series season begins with two presentations of Heather Tatreau’s “Voices: A Walking Tour” November 5-6, both beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Curated by Tatreau, the site-specific performance takes the shape of a contemplative walking tour of campus after dark to discover the hidden voices in the school’s landscape. Beginning at UNC’s historic Old Well, the tour guide will lead audiences to performances in dance, spoken word and song at various monuments and historically significant sites on the UNC campus.
The performance asks: What can we learn when we are quiet and let the voices of the past come into conversation with the present? Can we create a space where every voice belongs? Who has been left out of our community’s narrative? These are questions that members of our Carolina community have been asking more and more as we reconcile with our past. “Voices” offers an opportunity for community members to come together, contemplate and imagine a more just future.
Tatreau, a UNC dance faculty member and professional choreographer, created her first presentation of the project in November 2018. Her intention was to re-visit UNC campus monuments to mark the changes in the physical and political landscape.
Nowhere is more emblematic of the school’s changing campus than the empty field where Silent Sam, a Confederate monument toppled by protestors, once stood.
Local choreographer, Killian Manning, is creating a dance performance and response to be performed at the politically charged empty space.
Three Bone Theater is Back With ‘Open’
Three Bone Theater is currently staging “Open,” originally written by Crystal Skillman.
The play focuses on a woman called the Magician, who presents a myriad of tricks for the audience’s entertainment, yet her performance seems to be attempting the impossible — to save the life of her partner, Jenny.
Directed by Sarah Provencal and starring Danielle Banks as The Magician, the oneperson show is a theatrical magic act exploring love and loss. Audience members are an essential part of this modern LGTBQ love story: the playwright asks, is our faith in her illusions enough to rewrite the past? The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and, as impossible as it may seem, this Magician’s act may be our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate.
“This is our first live show since the beginning of the [COVID-19] pandemic,” says a cofounder of the theater, Robin Tynes-Miller, the Artistic and Operations Director at Three Bone Theater. “It’s kicking off our tenth season of professional theater in Charlotte [and] our community partner on this production is PFLAG Charlotte.”
Danielle Banks, who plays The Magician, is an actor and musician. She is currently a 6 qnotes Oct. 15–28,, 2021
— Will Wright
“Although the statue has been removed and buildings have been renamed, systemic racism still flourishes here,” says Manning, “The Walking Tour gives us an opportunity to reflect on the past three years and to imagine how we can move forward.”
“Heather’s work … invites a diverse array of local voices and brings them together to offer commentary on the places we call home. When we walk past those places, we will reflect upon newly exposed truths,” says Process Series Artistic Director, Joseph Megel.
This tour will also include Chapel Hill Poet Laureate C.J. Suitt, giving voice to the African-American workers who built the campus with a performance at The Unsung Founders monument. “UNC sits inside the community of Chapel Hill. This is a small reminder,” says Suitt.
The tour will also visit Peace and Justice Plaza on Franklin St. to provide a link between the university and the town with a song from “Affordable Housing: The Musical,” under the direction of George Barrett. As the Executive Director of The Jackson Center, Barrett’s work reminds us that Chapel Hill is not just a university town. How do we give voice to wider community issues like homelessness? Tatreau has also created a collaboration with the Carolina Indian Circle to incorporate native student voices through a performance at The Gift. This brick walkway outside of the Student Union was created by Senora Lynch of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe to pay homage to the original inhabitants of the university’s land.
“Our physical landscape informs and reflects our values as a community,” says Tatreau, “Site-specific performance brings awareness to these values and offers an opportunity for diverse perspectives to be considered. I am grateful to have such thoughtful collaborators for the tour.” info: facebook.com/theprocessseries
— qnotes Staff
sophomore at Winthrop University, pursuing a B.A. in musical theatre. Her prior theater credits include Megan in “Puffs: The Play,” Colleen in “Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play” and Lisarda in “The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs.”
Sarah Provencal, Director of “Open” is a theatre director, professor and teaching artist based in Charlotte. In addition to being a freelance director, she also teaches directing, acting and script analysis courses at Winthrop University and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.
Danielle Melendez, the show’s Assistant Director and Stage Manager, graduated from the University of the Arts in 2011. Since moving to Charlotte, she has worked with Three Bone as a stage manager, artistic associate and co-director.
Three Bone will offer ten performances of “Open” evenings at 8:00 p.m. across three weekends: October 15-17, 21-24 and 28-30. The show will stage at The Arts Factory at West End Studios, 1545 W. Trade Street. To purchase tickets and for COVID-19 Health and Safety Requirements, visit their website at threebonetheatre.com.
“Open” contains adult language and themes, including discussion of trauma to women and the LGBTQ community. It is recommended for ages 16 and up. : : info: threebonetheatre.com — qnotes Staff
The Charlotte Pride Band in concert under the direction of John Stanley Ross presents “Halloween Music for the Spirits,” featuring trumpeter Gabriel Slensiger from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
The event takes place Oct. 30, 4:00 p.m., at Park Road Church, located at 3900 Park Road. Tickets are available for purchase online at charlotteprideband. org/tickets. They’re $20 for an individual and $35 for a family.
Musical selections include works by Rafael Mendez, Leonard Bernstein, Gustav Holst, Erika Svanoe, Samuel Hazo, Clare Grundman, Charles Gounod and Eric Whitacre. Also included is a special performance by Winthrop University’s Trumpet Studio under the direction of Marisa Youngs.
Ross is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University, where he serves on the graduate faculty, conducts the Appalachian Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds and Concert Band and teaches courses in graduate and undergraduate conducting.
A frequent guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician throughout the United States, he has also conducted in China, Romania and South Korea. He has commissioned and arranged several works for winds, has conducted over 30 world premieres and his performances have been heard on National Public Radio’s Performance Today series.
Gabriel has performed with a variety of leading ensembles, including the orchestras of Atlanta, Washington D.C. (National Symphony), Houston, Richmond and Utah, plus the Mercury Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed in the summer as principal trumpet with the Bravo! Big Sky Music Festival, in Big Sky, Montana.
The Charlotte Pride Band has approximately 60 members drawn from the greater Charlotte’s LGBTQIA community and ally supporters. info: charlotteprideband.org
John Stanley Ross directs The Charlotte Pride Band for ‘Halloween Music for Spirits.’
— qnotes Staff
Damon Seils Captures Victory Fund Endorsement for Carrboro Mayor
As of September 23, the LGBTQ Victory Fund has officially endorsed Damon Seils for mayor of Carrboro, N.C.
“Damon Seils has been a leader in advancing equality in Carrboro and across North Carolina for many years,” said former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who is the current President & CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, “Damon is immensely qualified to serve as mayor, and LGBTQ Victory Fund is proud to endorse him.”
LGBTQ people remain severely underrepresented in government nationwide — holding just 0.18% of elected positions despite representing at least 4.5% of the U.S. popula- If elected, Damon Seils will be Carrboro’s third LGBTQ tion, according to Gallup. Seils has Mayor. (Photo Credit: Damon Seils for Mayor of Carrboro) been a consistent champion for LGBTQ people during his time on the Carrboro Town Council and in his broader work in the community.
Seils has also served on the Duke LGBT Task Force, which works closely with students, employees, alumni and administrators to promote equality and inclusion for gender and sexual minority communities on campus and in the health system. He received the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award from Duke’s Office for Institutional Equity in 2006, and he received the Outstanding Staff Award from the Center for LGBT Life (now the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity) in 2008. He has been a consistent volunteer with the NC AIDS Action Network and received their Advocate of the Year Award in 2017.
Seils announced his intention to run for mayor in June. Current Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle announced she would be stepping down after serving in the position for the past eight years.
Previously unopposed, Seils is now running against local artist and restaurant owner Mike Benson.
If Seils is elected, he will become the third mayor of Carrboro who is a member of the LGBTQ community. Mike Nelson was the first openly gay individual to be elected to the position in 1995. He was one of the first openly gay individuals elected to a mayoral position in the United States and the first gay man elected in North Carolina. He would go on to serve five consecutive times. Current Mayor Lydia Lavelle is the first lesbian to hold the office. info: bit.ly/3uWUVfT — qnotes Staff
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