Charlotte Pride

[elvigy]

I voted for Neal as well. I pretty much figured it was a lost cause, but to the best of my memory it's the first time I've gotten to vote for an openly gay candidate for anything ever. So that was pretty cool.

As for Gov, I won't vote for Pat. I just can't. Maybe NC Dems are just as craven as Republicans on gay issues, but I tend to doubt it. They might not be pro marriage rights, but they are way better than NC Republicans. I have a feeling that if the anti-gay marriage amendment were to come up again, Pat would be right there signing it while Bev would find some way to quietly sweep it under the table or consign it to committee hell. I could be wrong though.

Edit to ask-Has Perdue taken a stand on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage?

Edited May 8, 2008 by elvigy

[voyager12]

I also could not stomach voting for McCrory. He has been so callous and hostile to Charlotte's gay community. Politically, he loses absolutely nothing by doing so but Mayors are supposed to respond to and at the very least listen to ALL their citizens and he has not even gone that far. Perdue is certainly no prize either but between the two she is my only choice. Incidentally, I voted for Richard Moore in the primary. One of the reasons being that he instituted a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy at the NC Treasury Dept and was endorsed by Equality North Carolina as a result.

[voyager12]

Q-Notes has a story detailing alleged harassment by a CMPD officer on the East Side. Two friends, one who is Transgender were stopped while just walking through their neighborhood. The officer in question apparently hassled them for no reason and allegedly made derogatory statements regarding their appearance. A formal complaint has been filed. An internal investigation is ongoing. Have you or anyone you know been harassed by CMPD for being LGBT recently or in the past?

[voyager12]

While this thread is centered on Charlotte gay news, I feel I would be remiss not to give a about the California Gay Marriage ruling. The decision is a boost to gays across the country. I will feel more confident once the amendment is defeated in November. Interesting distinction....Massachusetts has a residency requirement for marriage. California does not. This difference could spur couples to marry in CA and then press their cases for recognition in their home state's court system.

Also.....

The Charlotte Business Guild presents on Tues, May 20th

Panel on Charlotte LGBT History

(Sponsored by Reinar Realty)

VanLandingham Estate

5:30-8:30 p.m.

Q-Notes publisher Jim Yarbrough, bar owner Greg Brafford, long-time activist Darryl Logsdon, and former activist Don King will be among the panelists for the Guild's May 20 program on the history of Charlotte's LGBT community.

[grodney]

I would be remiss not to give a about the California Gay Marriage ruling. The decision is a boost to gays across the country.

And is applauded by many many non-gays as well. (And the mean guy inside of me chuckles at the poor homophobes that think this is the beginning of the end of the world. Idiots.)

[voyager12]

I learned a lot about Charlotte's gay history from the panel discussion at the Guild meeting this month. According to one of the speakers Dilworth was a "hotbed" of hippies, subversiveness, and funkiness back in the early days. Still quite hard to imagine but some of the remaining artists and activists that held on through gentrification and are sitting on goldmines today have also told me this is true. Case in point, the white house with the great porches on Lyndhurst and East that I have always admired was a radical lesbian collective and women's center. Their archival records have been sought after by museums nationwide. The building is composed of professional offices now.

It was common practice by CMPD to raid gatherings of gays and arrest them for dancing together. The Observer's editorial stance has also changed with the times...during the crackdowns against gays by the police in the 40s and 50s they editorialized against imprisonment I thought that sounded good until I was told their solution for this "problem" was permanent placement in mental hospitals. Fast forwarding, because of a progressive publisher a few decades ago whose name escapes me at present, the paper was one of the first major institutions to implement partner benefits and a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy.

Edited May 30, 2008 by voyager12

[monsoon]

......

It was common practice by CMPD to raid gatherings of gays and arrest them for dancing together. ......

I am too young to have experienced this, but over the years I have had many older friends that remember this vividly. It was common practice in those days to locate Gay and Lesbian establishments in Black neighborhoods because they were generally more tolerant (due to their own problems with legal discrimination) and the fact the police generally did not go into these areas. Dilworth had become a rather downtrodden place and that was why a lot of Gays and Lesbians went there in the 60s & 70s. I am not sure about the 50s but I get the impression that Charlotte wasn't much different from a police state in those days.

[1979Heel]

I am too young to have experienced this, but over the years I have had many older friends that remember this vividly. It was common practice in those days to locate Gay and Lesbian establishments in Black neighborhoods because they were generally more tolerant (due to their own problems with legal discrimination) and the fact the police generally did not go into these areas. Dilworth had become a rather downtrodden place and that was why a lot of Gays and Lesbians went there in the 60s & 70s. I am not sure about the 50s but I get the impression that Charlotte wasn't much different from a police state in those days.

Neither was New York. (See Stonewall riots, 1969.) San Francisco had a much earlier truce with the police, in 1965 and so some gay historians mark this as the real beginning of our equality, not Stonewall. But Stonewall was much more dramatic than the nice sit-down gayfolk had with police in SF in 1965. Besides, it nicely coincides with the nation's celebration of freedom on July 4.

[1979Heel]

BTW, anyone going to the tea dance at The Forum on Sunday?

[voyager12]

I have never been to a Takeover Tea Dance. Mostly because I have two left feet when it comes to dancing and I am not a big fan of The Forum. Find it kind of high school prom tacky. Last week's thing at Tutto Mundo was pretty cool.

Outside of Charlotte, but I still think the recent arrest for"crimes against nature" by the Raleigh PD is worthy of notice for it's idiocy and and bigoted ignorance. Sodomy laws have been unconstitutional for years after Lawrence vs. Texas but the NC Legislature does not have the votes to remove it from the books.

The DA has dropped charges but as the victim stated the fact that it's still on paper allowed him to be arrested, put in jail and forced to pay a fine for doing nothing wrong. Ridiculous.

Edited May 31, 2008 by voyager12

[PlazaMidwoodGuy]

The DA has dropped charges but as the victim stated the fact that it's still on paper allowed him to be arrested, put in jail and forced to pay a fine for doing nothing wrong. Ridiculous.

I didn't understand that part, either. How can he be forced to pay a fine for breaking a law that is unconstitutional and can't actually be upheld?? Lunacy. I did like what he had to say, however: "Apparently the DA's office has a better understanding of our Constitution than the Raleigh Police Department." Nice dig!

[voyager12]

There is a ruckus in Seattle over two lesbians that were kissing at a Mariners game. An usher at Safeco Field told them to stop because a mother complained about having to "explain it" to her two young children. Meanwhile several straight couples were also kssing nearby. Leaving mom's stupidity ...and the glaring double standard aside....Seattle is a more gay friendly city. In Charlotte, are you comfortable holding hands or kissing your partner in public? Have you experienced problems? I am talking about restrained affection here, not going at it on the sidewalk which is ridiculous regardless of orientation. There are a few neighborhoods here that I have felt more comfortable doing this but as a whole the reaction is usually not positive, but I am single again so it's not issue currently

Edited June 5, 2008 by voyager12

[elvigy]

There is a ruckus in Seattle over two lesbians that were kissing at a Mariners game. An usher at Safeco Field told them to stop because a mother complained about having to "explain it" to her two young children. Meanwhile several straight couples were also kssing nearby. Leaving mom's stupidity ...and the glaring double standard aside....Seattle is a more gay friendly city. In Charlotte, are you comfortable holding hands or kissing your partner in public? Have you experienced problems? I am talking about restrained affection here, not going at it on the sidewalk which is ridiculous regardless of orientation. There are a few neighborhoods here that I have felt more comfortable doing this but as a whole the reaction is usually not positive, but I am single again so it's not issue currently

No, no PDAs in Charlotte for me and my partner. It is simply not an option in Charlotte. At the very least, it causes a LOT of staring and I'm actually fairly shy by nature and don't like attention. We are much more open and affectionate when we travel (depending on where we go, of course). It's not a problem in NYC or DC. Even small areas of Atlanta are OK. Charlotte just isn't there yet. At least not in any of the neighborhoods we frequent.

[voyager12]

Well, in the next few weeks, we are going to have to start nagging Center City Partners again to list Pride Charlotte Festival on July 26th. It's not on there yet, hopefully it won't take so much time this year for them to actually do something very simple.

[voyager12]

Qnotes has a disturbing cover story in the current edition. The leader of Time Out Youth (TOY) has been accused of being grossly insensitive and borderline bigoted toward group members. Mindboggling to me. The kid's indentities were left out of the article for fear of retaliation from Janine Eustache, the current leader. Allegations include her prohibiting the word "gay" used around her children when they visit the office. Also, questioning whether these kids truly are LGBTQ and claims from others that she doesn't tell anyone including friends and family where she works, allegedly because she is ashamed. Anectdotally, I attend many meetings of the gay Charlotte Business Guild. CBG has supported TOY through fundraisers. Janine is often there but I have noticed that she almost always stands just outside of the main room of the VanLandingham House. Half hidden, like she does not want to sit in the main area and be considered part of the group. Pictures are sometimes taken. Just my personal recollection, but it certainly fits the pattern of the article. Eustache is straight btw.

I have never believed leaders of gay organizations have to be gay. Often a straight face to the world can be helpful in pushing our goals forward because it does not seem so alien to the general public. However, in this case Eustache apparently lacks any sensitivity at all. Granted this article was one sided. These are allegations at this point and it's only fair that Janine be able to give her side. Unfortunately, neither Eustache nor the Board answered any relevant questions sent by Qnotes. Instead they circled the wagons and accused Qnotes staff falsely of infiltrating as members to undermine the group through their newspaper. Personally, I don't think the kids featured in this story would have come forward for no reason at all. I am familiar with people involved in TOY, not to a deep degree but they have always been aboveboard and great representatives of our community. Finally, if the Board and Eustache had nothing to hide why stonewall and refuse to answer direct questions? TOY's mission is too important and these kids are too emotionally fragile to be abused by someone who is supposed to be their advocate. The thought of it is sickening. I hope outside pressure continues to be put on Eustache and the Board to come clean and if any of these incidents are confirmed, Eustache needs to be thrown out along with the Board members that covered for her.

Edited June 17, 2008 by voyager12

[Charlotte_native]

Wow. That doesn't make any sense if it is true. Why would she want to be involved at all? Strange...it will be interesting to see how this pans out.

[voyager12]

I agree. I hope the ship can be righted fast. On a good note I was happy to see the article about The Griffin College Scholarship this week. It's the first one in NC specifically for gay students. The program is modeled on the nationwide Point Foundation. However, to qualify for this opportunity they don't have to be A students it's open to a broad range of abilities which is a good thing. The first recipients represent underserved minorities.

Also, McGill Rose Garden on N. Davidson is hosting an Art Crawl tonight in support of The Community Center ( weather permitting it's looking iffy as I type). Sunday brings a Tea Dance at the Center. 2:30 to 6pm. Free until 3:30, $5 to get in after that.

[atswim2boys]

I agree. I hope the ship can be righted fast. On a good note I was happy to see the article about The Griffin College Scholarship this week. It's the first one in NC specifically for gay students.

That's not true. Somebody at Time Out Youth didn't know what they were talking about.

From QNotes, again (this time, the editor's blog):

TOY featured in Observer

by Matt Comer {sodEmoji.|} June 17th, 2008

Time Out Youth's new Tim and Neil Griffin Scholarship fund was featured in Monday's edition of The Charlotte Observer:

But he is $2,500 closer this week, thanks to an unusual new Charlotte-based scholarship dedicated to students who have come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. Called The Griffin Scholarship, it is believed to be the first college fund in the Carolinas awarded on the basis of sexual orientation.

Yeah

[voyager12]

Thanks for the correction And welcome to UP !

Edited June 20, 2008 by voyager12

[voyager12]

Pride is less than a month away. July 26th. I am looking forward to it. It's all too rare to see large scale gay visibility in this town so I take what I can get once a year. I can also restock and satiate my bumper sticker fetish Last year it was so blazing hot! Hopefully we will luck out this time around.

One of these years I want to make it to a larger Pride with a parade etc. Have never been, I have friends in Atlanta, maybe next year.

Well, I did march in the Stonewall Anniversary Parade in Asheville a few years ago. That was fun and energizing!

[InitialD]

Pride is less than a month away. July 26th. I am looking forward to it.

I really want to go but the Caribbean Festival & Parade is the same day (starting at noon). Will much still be going on if I make it to Pride by 4pm or so? I've never been to Pride but want to make it to both.

[voyager12]

^ Going at 4:00 should be fine. From my experience it stays pretty busy until 6. Also want to mention that Charlotte Black Gay Pride's main event is on July 19th. Details @ Charlotteblackgaypride.com

[voyager12]

Qnotes says Janine Eustache has stepped down from leading Time Out Youth. Seems like the right decision to me. They need to take their time on finding a better replacement and the board needs to be more transparent in their deliberations.

Also, Charlotte landed on the top ten list of "Gay Ghettos" from Gayrealestate.com. Granted, these lists are a dime a dozen but it's still a good marker. Atlanta and Portland tied for first. Charlotte came in third with Raleigh in fourth. Results come from gay people reporting moving to the cities and requesting information. Southend and NoDa got mentions in our profile, expected. Windsor Park was also listed. Random? News to me. Where is that? Funny that PlazaMiwood was not there. PM is noted for a large gay population on Charlotte's Wikipedia page.

Edited July 12, 2008 by voyager12

[Charlotte_native]

Windsor Park was also listed. Random? News to me. Where is that?

East Charlotte off Independence and Central Ave. My lesbian aunt lives there and says a lot of her friends do as well. N'hood built in the 50's and 60's with brick ranches and split levels. Inexpensive and fairly large lots.

[voyager12]

^ Thank You. I really need to get out more