2020 Charlotte Pride Magazine

ANNUAL CHARLOTTE PRIDE MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 2020

VOLUME 2

2020 pride & pandemic

Inside: Black Lives Matter in Charlotte The Year in Queer: 2020’s top pop culture moments LGBTQ nightlife’s cautious return Queer entertainers get creative Getting out the socially distanced vote Local mutual aid spotlight

LIMITED EDITION YEAR-END RETROSPECTIVE

Featured Stories

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Timeline: A 2020 Look Back A long year full of challenge and a sense of lost and forgotten time: a look back to help us remember

The Charlotte Pride Team BOARD OF DIRECTORS Daniel Valdez, he/him, President Nan Bangs, she/her, Vice President Brisa Ramirez, she/her, Secretary Lee Robertson, he/him, Treasurer Megan Jones, she/her, Director Will Martin, he/him, Director Riley Murray, she/they, Director Clark Simon, he/him, Director STAFF Jerry Yelton, they/them, Programs & Development Director Matt Comer, he/him, Communications Director Nada Merghani, she/they, Programs Manager

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Collective Care: Mutual Aid in 2020

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Shaken and Stirred: Bars during COVID

Table of Contents

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Black Lives, and Minds, Matter

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While organizers put their bodies on the line, one local professional took care of their minds

Local organizations and initiatives reached out to the most vulnerable in 2020

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Local LGBTQ bars weathered the pandemic shutdowns as best as they could, reopening in the fall

Welcome Letter A(n Unusual) Year Charlotte Pride Sponsors Reel Out Charlotte Sponsors Pride & Solidarity 2020: Look Back You Survived Charlotte Pride Scholars Overcoming Adversity ‘A Little bit of Glitter’ The Year in Queer Black Lives, and Minds, Matter Collective Care The Show Must Go On Last Call?

Serving in Safety Rainbows & Resistance Community Resources

2020 TEAM COORDINATORS Bryce Carey, he/him Katie Cormier, she/her Dustin Crites, he/him Tiffany Crooks, she/her Raquandra Davis, she/her Alicia Emmons, she/her Jenny Gunn, she/they Heather Hudson, she/her Carlos Johnson, he/him Vanessa Kovalcik, she/her Marie Mancinelli, she/her Tatiana Marquez, she/they Morgan Mayes, he/him Wes McNeely, he/him Justin Pate, he/him Courtney Pickens, she/her Tia Rainey, she/her Rochelly Reyes, she/her Cristal Robinson, she/her Travis Shannon, he/him Lupe Silva, he/him Alissa Smith, she/her Maggie Solomon, she/her Kisha Summers, she/her Douglas Taylor, he/him Angel Truesdale, she/her Kimani Varner, he/him John Walton, he/him Asia Washington, she/her David Zealy-Wright, he/him CHARLOTTE PRIDE MAGAZINE December 2020. Volume 2.

A publication of Charlotte Pride, Inc. © 2020, Charlotte Pride, Inc. All rights reserved.

MAGAZINE EDITING & PRODUCTION: Matt Comer (he/him) EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS: Grant Baldwin (he/him), Matt Comer (he/him), Trey Gibson (she/her) Anders Hare (he/him), Nada Merghani (she/they), Jared Misner (he/him), Pat Moran (he/him), Julianna Peres (she/her), Sumayya Smith (she/her), Jerry Yelton (they/them), Second Life Photography No portion of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Charlotte Pride. For reprint or reproduction requests, contact us at media@charlottepride.org.

Charlotte Pride, Inc. PO Box 32362, Charlotte, NC 28232 info@charlottepride.org Charlotte Pride is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Welcome Hello

and welcome to our second ever issue of the Charlotte Pride Magazine! We certainly had intentions of getting this magazine in your hands at our in-person Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade this year, but as you are all too aware, this year has come with many trials and tribulations for our community and the work we hoped to do. We are bringing you this magazine as a year-end wrap-up as we look ahead to better times in 2021.

First and foremost, we want to thank our community for its incredible strength, beauty, and resilience in this challenging year. Thank you to our freedom fighters marching in the streets for Black Lives, thank you to our leaders advocating for care and treatment for our communities battling this pandemic, and thanks to you for persevering and being here with us despite so many who would prefer you to not be your authentic, beautiful self. Thank you to each of you that continue to push forward to honor the spirits of those who have fought for the progress we have made.

I want to express my appreciation for our Charlotte Pride team. To our board of directors, our volunteers, our staff, and our donors, sponsors, and partners, thank you so much for your work. Without your continued support, energy, efforts, and enthusiasm, our impact would have disappeared in 2020. This year was a unique opportunity for us to learn how to reach our community virtually and continue to offer our programs and communitybuilding, and I am so proud of what we have done together. Thank you.

To our readers, I want to share words of hope and power as we look ahead.

In 2020, we faced many hardships, and we saw so much progress and hope. We saw the power of our community when called to action; we saw the resilience of our people in the face of adversity and loss; we saw our creativity in answering the needs of our own. As we look to the future, let’s take these lessons we have learned and ensure they are kept in practice. We keep our community safe and empowered, and that’s exactly what we must continue to do after we see the other side of this pandemic.

As we wrap up our 2020 season, we send love and light to each of you. We send hopes of healing for the losses you and your families have felt.

We hope this magazine brings you a sense of togetherness as you learn about the work our community has done, and we look forward to seeing you back in person for Charlotte Pride 2021 on August 21 and 22, 2021!

With pride and solidarity,

DANIEL VALDEZ President, Charlotte Pride Board of Directors he/him/his Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

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A(n Unusual) Year in the life of Charlotte Pride 2020

was an incredibly trying and difficult year for our community. Amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic, the team at Charlotte Pride worked to continue offering programs and activities to virtually answer our mission: to enrich, empower, strengthen, and make visible the lives of LGBTQ people in Charlotte and the Carolinas.

Annually, our August festival and parade acts as the region’s largest celebration of the LGBTQ community and the primary fundraiser and launch point for our year-round activities, including our film festival Reel Out Charlotte, Charlotte Latinx Pride, Charlotte Trans Pride, Charlotte Women’s Pride, the Charlotte Pride Scholarship Program, our Charlotte Pride Interfaith programs, and many others. We have worked as a collaborative team with our community to craft a portfolio of programs that answer the needs of our diverse and intersectional community.

At the start of 2020, we unveiled a slate of new programming focused on continuing to uplift the Latinx, transgender, and women’s communities, as well as expanded offerings for our film festival and plans for a late March conference of Pride organizers from the entire Eastern coast. We were so excited for the promise of 2020 with a new logo, plans for creative solutions to incorporating our community’s needs even further into our programming, and a variety of new activations at the festival and parade. As we all know, 2020 had very different plans for us all.

In March and April of 2020, we quickly cancelled our conference and delayed our film festival. We knew this could mean the cancellation of our annual festival and parade, but we held out hope until early May. We faced this difficult decision and made the call to cancel 2020’s celebration with our community’s health and safety in mind, as we knew that LGBTQ people in Charlotte and across the region and country were being disproportionally affected by this pandemic. 40% of LGBTQ people work in the five most affected industries (restaurants, food services, hospital, education, and retail industries), as

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Charlotte Pride Team Coordinators Raquandra Davis (she/her), left, and Dustin Crites (he/him), right, at Charlotte Pride’s In The Know kickoff reception and logo unveil event in March, the only official in-person event hosted in 2020.

Photo by Second Life Photography. opposed to 22% of the general population (HRC, 2020).

This inspired our COVID-19 Relief Program which, in partnership with the Foundation for the Carolinas and the United Way, offered 160 individuals micro-grants of $100 to help offset some of the lost income from industry and country-wide shutdowns and closures.

Our most recent in-person festival and parade in 2019 saw over 200,000 visitors over the course of the event

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: 2021 Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade August 21-22, 2021 weekend, so we knew that our team would need to work creatively to offer a virtual lineup of programs, including a virtual “festival and parade.” From the beginning of the pandemic, our team created a variety of new program offerings. Among our most successful and engaging included our weekly livestream conversations garnering thousands of views across our social media channels and covering topics like the Black LGBTQ experience, non-binary identities, local LGBTQ history, and many others. These conversations were also expanded through our Facebook group, “LGBTQ Charlotte: Queerantine Edition.”

This space offered a sense of community and camaraderie during a time where folks cannot gather inperson, and it has grown to nearly 1,000 participants. In July 2020, our team unveiled our festival and parade plans — virtually! We offered creative opportunities for the community to visit in-person “Pride Sites” that offered special activities, discounts, and benefits in a socially distant manner; we featured three LGBTQ history lessons; our annual Charlotte Pride Interfaith Service; and other fun week-of livestreams. We concluded our week with our parade livestream and a 10-hour festival livestream featuring LGBTQ performers, artists, speakers, and leaders.

We were honored to have thousands of attendees join us this day and throughout the year’s over 40 virtual activities — and we continue to work to create ways for our community to be together apart. We are incredibly excited to share that our in-person 2021 Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade weekend is scheduled for August 21-22, 2021, preceded as usual by our Pride Week celebrations. We are optimistic through conversation with community leaders in the City of Charlotte and through monitoring the timeline on public safety protocol that we will be able to host this event and bring our community back together in-person in 2021.

Interested in being a part of these special activities and programs in the future? You can join our team! Charlotte Pride is looking for folks to build up our Festival and Parade team and our ever-expanding Programs team. Whether you’ve volunteered with dozens of organizations or if this is your first venture into community work, you’re welcomed here. Learn more about involvement opportunities and apply at charlottepride.org/apply/. v

Photo Above: A group photo of Charlotte Pride’s 2020 Team Coordinators, board members and staff at our first January 2020 Team Huddle. Other photos this page: Various scenes from the few, small in-person events, meetings, or livestream studio sessions held in 2020, including Charlotte Hornets Pride Night, Charlotte Pride “In The Know” 2020 Kickoff and Logo Reveal, Charlotte Pride Week Pop-Up Shop, International House delegate meeting, self-care kit packing, and February 2020 Team Huddle meeting.

Some photos by Second Life Photography.

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Pride is inside and out

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Pride & Solidarity COVID-19 Relief Program gives back

by Jerry Yelton (they/them)

Our

LGBTQ community — and, in particular, trans and Black/brown people in our community — has often been left behind by many movements and forgotten in moments of crisis.

This year’s coronavirus pandemic has been no different.

History is a good teacher for us. Our community saw firsthand how another pandemic — this one in the 1980s — disproportionately affected LGBTQ people, trans people, and Black and brown people, as governments, social movements, and others forgot about us.

As we have faced this year’s pandemic and worked to respond to its heightened effect on marginalized communities, Charlotte Pride knew we had to step up to assist in whatever ways we could. We’d already been making intentional shifts of focus in our programming — creating space for the most marginalized and doing work to create visibility for those who need it most. Before 2020 unexpectedly blew us off course, we had plans to expand our visibility and awareness work to draw further attention to issues like wealth disparity, homelessness, discrimination, and many others.

So, it made sense, as COVID-19 cases continued to rise, that we would shift our focus to the intersections this pandemic and its effect on our community.

The LGBTQ community has an incredible array of healthrisk factors that increase our susceptibility to COVID-19.

From the increased likelihood of exposure to illnesses like HIV, the reticence to seek medical care due to risk of discrimination or lack of healthcare, a heightened use of tobacco amongst the community, and the higher portion of LGBTQ folks who work in customer service, gig-based jobs, and in nightlife, (40% versus 26% of general population, according to 2020 statistics from the Human Rights Campaign), our community has seen a disproportionate amount of hardship through this crisis.

However, though these hardships are noted by many LGBTQ publications (and a few mainstream ones), very few funding opportunities to relieve the burden of COVID-19 have been made directly available for LGBTQ folks.

Charlotte Pride worked to help change this with our relief

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program that exclusively benefited LGBTQ Charlotteans.

Charlotte Pride wanted to help change that. With grant support from the Foundation For The Carolinas and the United Way of Central Carolinas, we launched our Charlotte Pride COVID-19 Relief Program, providing direct financial assistance in the form of micro-grants to LGBTQ people living in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

“At the heart of our organization’s mission is our community. Without the beautiful and diverse community that supports our work, attends the annual festival and parade, and makes life in Charlotte more enriching and vibrant, our organization would not exist,” Daniel Valdez (he/him), president of the Charlotte Pride board of directors, said when the program was launched. “In this important time of need, we knew it was our responsibility to give back and support our local LGBTQ community — with a focus on the people who have been hit hardest by the ongoing pandemic and its economic repercussions.”

The program’s original goal was to disburse 150 microgrants. Through crowdfunding and the additional generous support of Charlotte Black Pride, we were able to increase that number to 161 micro-grants, for a total of $16,100 in direct financial support going back to our community members. The micro-grants were dispersed in two bursts: one in mid-July and one the week after our virtual festival and parade in August.

As the largest LGBTQ visibility organization in the city, we wanted to take the opportunity to show our community that we see their struggles and hardship, and we are here to help support them. We look forward to continuing to develop and create new programs that individually support the needs of our community.

Charlotte Pride wants to extend thanks to the Foundation For The Carolinas, United Way of Central Carolina, Charlotte Black Pride, and the many individual donors who gave amounts both small and large to help support this important work assisting our community during this challenging year. v

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Charlotte Pride COVID-19 Relief Program Recipient Testimonials “I was able to maintain food in my home and for that I am grateful and humbled.”

Walton

“The $100 helped me pay my September rent. I love that there’s a donation to people like me because we go through a lot of judgmental situations and now we know we have people in our corner even if they don’t completely understand it.”

Shante

“Thank you much to Charlotte Pride and its benefactors for the much-needed help.”

Q.

“The Charlotte Pride COVID-19 program helped me out a lot.

Not only financially, but I felt as if the community had my back in this time of need.”

Royal

“Thank you so much for the grant funds this summer. It was a great help to someone like me who hasn’t worked since March.”

Phillip

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2020: Look Back

Hours, days, weeks, months. It’s all a blur in the year of corona

by Matt Comer (he/him)

Time

has lost all meaning. The minutes bleed into hours, days into weeks, and weeks into months. And, sometimes, it feels like an entire month has passed by in just a matter of hours. Where did all the time go?

Psychologists are well aware of this phenomena, caused by profound uncertainty and fear in a time of continually unfolding chronic trauma. All the ways we usually mark time — work, school, pleasure, travel — have gone away.

With it, perhaps we’ve also forgotten exactly what’s happened this year, and when. Here, we take a short look back at a COVID 2020 timeline, as seen primarily through the eyes of Charlotte Pride, the local Charlotte community, and the larger LGBTQ community.

January

Initial reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and others point to a potentially new coronavirus. In late January, the U.S. confirms its first case 2019 novel coronavirus. Wuhan, China, goes into quarantine and WHO declares a global health emergency.

February

The U.S. declares a public health emergency and global air travel begins to be restricted, as WHO says COVID-19 is headed toward a pandemic status. For many people in the U.S., and elsewhere, life continues as normal. In Charlotte, longtime community leader Dan Kirsch passes away.

Kirsch was the founder of One Voice Chorus and played foundational and integral roles with the 1994 NC Pride March in Charlotte, OutCharlotte, the Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Fund, the Charlotte Lesbian and Gay Community Center and more.

March

Charlotte Pride holds it’s “In The Know” 2020 kickoff and logo reveal event. Just days later, WHO declares COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. On March 12, Charlotte Pride announces the cancellation the 2020 NERP-POSE Conference. A regional conference of InterPride, the event was due to have been held March 19-23, bringing hundreds of visitors from across the Eastern U.S. seaboard, Europe, and Australia. One day later, travel to the U.S. from Europe is restricted. Charlotte Pride suspends all in-person programming and a virtual Trans Day of Visibility is held with partners Transcend Charlotte and Gender Education Network. LA Pride becomes one of the first Pride organizations in the U.S. to announce a 12

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

postponement of their 2020 events, scheduled for June.

The City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County enact its first, more stringent stay-at-home order on March 26.

The order closes all businesses except those deemed “essential.” Monika Diamond, a local trans woman known for her work in building space for trans and LGBTQ people, is shot. She will be the only documented trans person lost in Charlotte during 2020.

April

Charlotte Pride announces the postponement of Reel Out Charlotte, the Queen City’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival from early May to late October. Local and state stay-at-home orders, which shut down most bars and reduced services and hours at many restaurants, begins to take its toll. Local LGBTQ bars report some of their first concerns, but are generally optimistic they’ll be able to reopen soon.

Charlotte Pride participates in a series of COVID-related webinars presented by InterPride, bringing together panelists from Charlotte Pride, Equality NC, the Freedom Center for Social Justice and Atlanta Pride. As stay-at-home orders continue, concerns mount for longterm residents

We proudly support

at local hotels and motels. A local Days Inn attempts to remove a large number of queer and trans residents. The nation’s largest Pride event in New York City announces it will cancel all events planned for June. RAIN announces its annual AIDS Walk Charlotte, planned for May 2, will go virtual. Charlotte and Mecklenburg County slightly relax their stay-at-home orders, but bars and nightclubs remain shuttered. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announces his now ubiquitous three-phase reopening plan.

April 28, 2020

Charlotte Pride and Charlotte Black Pride jointly announce the cancellation of all inperson Pride events originally scheduled for July and August.

May

Following New York City, LA Pride announces its 2020 events are cancelled.

Globally, more than 200 Pride organizations are forced to cancel or postpone their events. Charlotte Pride hosts a weeklong virtual short films showcase, on the dates originally scheduled for an in-person Reel Out Charlotte. A week later, Charlotte Pride hosts a week-long Spring Spotlight on local drag entertainers, poets, dancers, singers, and other artists. North Carolina’s Phase 1 reopening begins.

Openly gay, HIV-positive author, essayist, playwright and ACT-UP founder Larry Kramer passes away at age 84

Charlotte Pride brighthousefinancial.com

Continued on page 14 >>>

<<< Continued from page 13 in New York City. George Floyd is murdered by police officers in Minneapolis. Two days later, police shoot and kill a Tony McDade, a Black trans man, in Florida. Black Lives Matter protests spring up across the nation, state, and here in Charlotte. North Carolina’s Phase 2 reopening begins.

June

As Pride Month begins, LGBTQ organizations and Pride organizations locally and nationally turn their attention to the movement for Black lives, drawing parallels between the modern stuggle against police brutality and the historic underpinnings of the Stonewall Riots and modern Pride movement. Charlotte Black Pride Chair Shann Fulton (they/them) and Charlotte Pride President Daniel Valdez (he/him) release a joint statement calling racism, white supremacy and police brutality “another long-lasting pandemic in our country.” Charlotte Pride releases its annual Stonewall Resolution this year calling for significant changes and reforms in local policing.

The City of Charlotte authorizes the painting of a “Black Lives Matter” mural on S. Tryon St. The U.S. Supreme Court hands down a landmark ruling outlawing antiLGBTQ discrimination in employment. At the end of June, Charlotte Black Pride convenes more than 40 local LGBTQ organizations for a press conference on the day of the 51st anniversary of Stonewall. The organizations all sign a community letter pledging to combat racism and white supremacy in their organizations and in the community.

Total U.S. COVID-19 cases reach 2 million.

July

Charlotte Pride announces its virtual festival and parade plans. Dan Mauney (he/him), a longtime community leader known for his involvement with Time Out Youth, RAIN, the Human Rights Campaign, Takeover Friday and others, passes away. Charlotte Black Pride holds a weeklong slate of virtual Pride events and activities, including a town hall, arts showcase, virtual vendor fair and more.

Charlotte Pride launches its COVID-19 Relief Program. A virtual Charlotte Pride Week kicks off at the end of the month, with the annual Charlotte Pride Interfaith Service hosted virtually by St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church, in partnership with Temple Beth El, Charlotte Buddhist Vihara and Sacred Souls United Church of Christ.

August

Charlotte Pride hosts its ten-hour-long virtual festival on Saturday, Aug. 1, and a one-hour virtual parade livestream on Sunday, Aug. 2. Charlotte Pride Interfaith Programs begins a four-part, four-month-long conversation series, “Erasing Racism,” focused on the intersections of race, racism, and LGBTQ-affirming faith institutions. COVID-19 becomes the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., with more than 170,000 total deaths and more than 1,000 reported deaths each day. Total COVID-19 cases total more than 5.4 million cases.

September

Community groups begin their get-out-the-vote efforts in earnest, experimenting with new ways of reaching voters, including social media and through text. U.S. Supreme Continued on page 16 >>> 14

Photo Top: Charlotte Black Pride Chair Shann Fulton speaks at the Charlotte LGBTQ Black Lives Matter Press Conference. PMiddle: Representatives of Charlotte Black Pride and Charlotte Pride following the press conference.

Bottom: A scene with other organization representatives during the press conference.

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

<<< Continued from page 14 Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, long hailed a feminist and LGBTQ champion, passes away. Charlotte Pride partners with Cine Casual to present a four-week long exploration of Spanish-language LGBTQ films for Latinx Heritage Month.

October

North Carolina’s Phase 3 reopening begins, opeing the doors of local LGBTQ bars and nightclubs for the first time since being shuttered in March. The news is welcomed by many, but criticized by others for moving too quickly as cases still rose. Some bar owners were unappy with Phase 3’s stipulations, restricting patrons to 30% capacity only on outdoor patios and seating areas. Charlotte Pride participates in the national Pride Stride, a nationally coordinated effort among dozens of Pride organizations across the country. The Pride Stride encourages safe, socially distant and on-your-own 5k walk/run race. Pioneering trans activist and journalist Monica Roberts passes away in Houston. At the end of October, Charlotte Pride hosts a virtual Reel Out Charlotte, with a full week of film festival activities, including shorts and featurelength film screenings and talkbacks with actors, directors, and producers. More than 40 million total COVID-19 cases are reported worldwide. Globally, the COVID-19 death toll surpasses 1 million, with more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S.

November

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Charlotte Pride’s new individual program with exclusive perks and special thank-you gifts!

The 2020 general election is held. Sarah McBride becomes the highestranking openly transgender elected official upon her Delaware state Senate victory. Seven openly LGBTQ candidates won their races in North Carolina. RAIN hosts a virtual Gay Bingo. RAIN’s founder and CEO, Debbie Warren, announces her retirement later in the month.

A virtual Trans Day of Remembrance is held; community partners included Charlotte Black Pride, Charlotte LGBTQ Elders, Charlotte Pride Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group, Freedom Center for Social Justice, Gender Education Network, PFLAG Charlotte, Time Out Youth, Transcend Charlotte, and Transitioning Center of the Carolinas. Charlotte Pride supports Queen City Nerve’s and Single Barrel Room’s “Eat. Gay. Love.” Friendsgiving meal for Thanksgiving, in partnership with Time Out Youth Center.

December

A key provision of HB142, an anti-LGBTQ law passed in the aftermath of 2017’s HB2 controversies, expired on Dec. 1. Equality North Carolina, the Campaign for Southern Equality and other organizations launch a new campaign to pass new LGBTQ-inclusive protections across the state. Charlotte Pride is voted Best Festival and Best Local Nonprofit by in Queen City’s Nerve’s “Best of the Nest 2020.” Charlotte Pride Magazine is published as a year-end recap and retrospective.

Gov. Cooper orders more stringent night-time curfews and other restrictions to control a ballooning winter surge in COVID cases. As of press time for this magazine, global COVID cases surpass 72.5 million with 1.62 million deaths. In the U.S., more than 300,000 deaths are reported with more than 16.4 million cases. v

You Survived

A letter to those whose mental health made 2020 even harder

by Nada Merghani (she/they)

C

ongratulations! If you’re reading this you have survived 2020. Though I definitely think we should, we don’t regard survival or “making it through the year” as a huge accomplishment, but this year was different.

2020 was undoubtedly a difficult year for those of us struggling with our mental health. Political turmoil, pandemic deaths, physical isolation, fearmongering, hate crimes rising, and economic trauma affected most of us this year. These seemingly unending crises and traumas made the already difficult task of navigating life with a mental illness feel unbearable.

But still, you persevered and made it here. Your mental health did not get the best of you. This year you won, emerging victorials over everything working against you because you survived.

You have every right to be proud of yourself.

Regardless of how you coped, no matter what you had to do to make it here, in spite of how many times you almost (or did) fall apart, whatever the goals you felt like you didn’t accomplish this year, despite how many times we may have almost lost you — you made it all the way to the end of the year, and I am so proud of you for that.

I want you to take a moment and simply thank yourself for surviving. Thank your body for being the vessel that got you to this point. Thank your soul for guiding you through the chaos that filled this year. Thank your heart for keeping you going. Thank your sense of perseverance for keeping you alive. Even if you didn’t get as far as you wanted to this year, you deserve to spend time thanking yourself rather than feeling guilty.

Many of us are entering 2021 feeling broken down. It’s okay to take some time to lick your wounds. It’s also okay to not be at 100% as soon as 2020 is over. All the trauma we experienced is not going to magically go away when that New Year’s Eve clock hits midnight, the old year passes away, and a new year begins. I hope you find relief in the fact that all the resilience, strength, and conviction Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

you built this year to endure all that trauma isn’t going away either. You are entering the new year as a stronger, more radiant version of yourself.

You are stronger. You are better. You are resilient and have earned skills that will carry you forward. Be forgiving to yourself. Know that you will continue to grow and continue to become better, and know that it’s okay when you don’t feel like you are growing and getting better.

Every version of you is valid and loved. Happy New Year! v Do you need support? Schedule a time to talk with the Social Justice Emotional Response Collective at es4sj.org. You can also find other social, support, and health resources in the community resources listings in the back of this magazine, starting on page 52.

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2020 Charlotte Pride Scholars This year, more than ever, Charlotte Pride was proud to award four new scholars in our Charlotte Pride Scholarship Program. Students across the country have faced a whirlwind of new experiences and challenges as they navigate their academic careers, jobs, and extracurricular activities in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Given the pandemic and the additional economic uncertainties, we were committed to continuing the scholarship program as a key component of our mission to strengthen and empower our local LGBTQ community.

Begun in 2017, the Charlotte Pride Scholarship Program aims to improve economic mobility for LGBTQ and ally college students from the Charltote metro area. Scholarships are awarded yearly, with applications opening each spring. For more information or to bookmark our application for 2021’s scholarship applications, visit charlottepride.org/scholarship/.

Be sure to read two of our scholars’ application essays on pages 20 and 23.

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Kelton Bloxham Maryville College ‘24

Pronouns: he/him Hometown: Indian Land, S.C. Major: American Sign Language Interpreting with teaching licensure

Milan Carter Cornell University ‘24

Pronouns: she/her Hometown: Charlotte, N.C. Major: Communication

Harvey Quick Howard University ‘22 Pronouns: he/him Hometown: Charlotte, N.C. Major: Legal Communication

This scholar has chosen to remain anonymous and we are using a psuedonym because he is not yet fully out. We respect the coming out journeys of all our scholars.

Tiana Taylor American University

Pronouns: she/her Hometown: Cornelius, N.C. Major: Music

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Overcoming Adversity 2020 Charlotte Pride Scholarship Essay

by Milan Carter (she/her)

W

hatever it is, you’ve got it.” My wide eyes stared up at the director, trying to conceal the trembles in my muscles after the particularly difficult audition. “I genuinely hope you join us in New York this summer,” she added.

When I received this compliment, I considered it a fluke. According to nearly all ballet standards, I was too physically imperfect to receive such an accolade. In that moment, my low arches, broad shoulders, and brown skin didn’t matter, the country’s most prestigious ballet school was telling me “We want you.” With a wink and a twirl, the ballet mistress disappeared and I was left standing there wondering why I was picked out of a room of perfect ballerina prototypes.

Every dancer yearns to exude a certain je ne sais quois, the sparkle that captivates the hearts of an audience and the minds of casting directors. Day after day, I trained myself to speak through my body: plié, pirouette, tombé. Simultaneously, my lips curled into a smile, as each muscle in my leg confidently fired, and my gangly arms gently followed. In class, there was no place for words, no time to overthink, and no room for doubt.

Contrarily, ballet also demands imagination. It is centered on leaving one life behind to create a fictional one, an escape that I desperately needed. I strived for technical perfection, both in and outside of the studio, hungry for the praise of my teachers and directors. Learning how to control every inch of my body gave me a false sense of control in my own life. But, when my left knee gave out, the rest of my life came crumbling down with it.

In the past, lifting my leg into an arabesque would cure all my sadness and a grand leap would light a fire in my soul. After my injury, depression and uncertainty lived within my joints, leaving them locked with an ache that had no definite resolution. A long, painful grieving process followed. In the midst of accepting losing a potential career, I also had to mourn the loss of my first love and, in a way, who I was. I was always a dancer, and I now wondered what I would become if I could no longer use that as my sole identifier.

Over time, however, it became clear to me that sometimes losing everything is the best way to rebuild your life. Although I was intensely afraid, this loss gifted me the chance to explore other talents and interests that I never knew I had. I decided to join local youth government, mentor other students, and began collecting art.

Additionally, I rekindled my love of writing, reading, and public speaking. My greatest weakness of verbally communicating emotions became my new strength, and it opened up prospective career path in public relations.

As I enter into this next chapter of my life, I feel exceptionally optimistic. Developing new interests led to my connecting with unique people, experiences, and ideas that I wouldn’t have been exposed to in my ballet bubble. Also, the challenges that I have faced resulted in my honing my interpersonal communication skills, being more adaptable to new situations, and becoming more empathetic towards those experiencing life transitions.

Above all, losing my ability to dance professionally taught me to value myself as a whole person. I am more than a thin body used for aesthetic vision; I am a tenacious, adventurous, fashionable, and scholarly young woman. v

It is nearly impossible to describe what it was like to seemingly lose everything I had. Expressing how I felt became even more difficult when the one way I knew how to communicate was made impossible because of an injury.

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Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

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‘A Little bit of Glitter’ 2020 Charlotte Pride Scholarship Essay

by Kelton Bloxham (he/him)

I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure and stress lately and have been planning on writing this for a while now. First off I want to say how much I love and appreciate everyone who has supported me on this journey to me becoming me. I love you all and I want the rest of y’all to know that I am gay and I am proud. I want to thank my dad and my brothers for the love they have shown and still continue to show, it means the world to me and I couldn’t have done this without them. #lovewins. July 23, 2018

For

anyone wondering, yes that’s my coming out post. I know, how millennial of me to come out on Instagram, nonetheless I wouldn’t have done it any other way. With 1,300 followers that sure sent the message quite clearly. The challenges really hid behind the screen.

A month and a half before I posted this I came out to my dad, who just happens to be extremely devoted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; more commonly known as the Mormons. Growing up in a family of devout Mormons wasn’t healthy for a poor gay kid like me in the middle of Utah. My first memory was me trying to pray the gay away — trying is the keyword there. Clearly, no matter how much praying happened in my lifetime nothing changed.

Though I do thank my family for their “support” in my coming of age story, they weren’t there, yet I still forgave them because they don’t understand me entirely. Honestly, neither do I some days, so who am I to blame them?

I didn’t have support as a kid for what I was feeling.

Therefore as a young adult, I was determined to find a way to help other kids like me. I began working when I was 15 at a local restaurant, and became a manager at the age of 16. This allowed me to begin hiring people and creating a safe space like none other. Within six months I had a crew that was well mixed and represented on all sides with minorities. This one crew allowed for a flourish in LGBTQIA+ culture as well as just really showing everyone what a family truly meant.

I went to my first Pride with them, I came out with their support, and most importantly I learned what it meant to truly love myself.

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Another way I really expounded on my leadership roles was throughout my time as parliamentarian of the local Future Farmers of America chapter. I increased and made room for acceptance in the hearts of many. Agriculture and Rednecks aren’t the typical scenes for gay kids typically let alone, me being an acting leader. However, this act changed their hearts on what it meant to be gay.

Gay doesn’t come in a certain type of body, language, or religion. Stereotypically we’re forced to conform to whatever society thinks we “should look like.” One of the best things I was told was this, “Kelton... You’re a different breed of gay. What other gay kid do you know which wakes up at four in the morning to take care of his animals then go to church school for two hours?”

That was the best sentence I heard for years. Knowing that I personally can change thousands of minds and really just make them so much more flexible to change, even if they are yet to notice.

My future goal as of now is to become certified to teach American Sign Language as well as teach about Deaf Culture. Helping those who don’t have access to the necessary help and assistance which comes with the language deprivation in America’s education systems.

One day I would like to be married and adopt a deaf child and teach them about their culture and help in the most I possibly could. In order to receive this certification, I cannot attend any schools in North or South Carolina because they are yet to begin offering the courses, and training required.

This reason alone is why I’m hoping you will still take my application into consideration.

For years I have worked on acceptance throughout the Carolinas. Living all over South Charlotte, and South Carolina I have touched the hearts and minds of many and am hoping to touch many more in the future along with your assistance.

Thank you for the consideration and thank you for giving kids like me a place to be true to themselves. Sometimes a little bit of glitter and loving is all you need. v

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The Year in Queer LGBTQ pop culture moments of 2020

by Anders Hare (he/him)

Not

even the chaotic events of 2020 can cloud a year of historic accomplishments, cultural distinctions, and overall OMG moments among our favorite queer and queer-affirming icons. This year brought forth excellence and innovation in all facets of LGBTQ entertainment. Celebrate 2020’s most vibrant and queer moments of pop culture.

Jaida Essence Hall Claimed Victory on ‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race’ (Season 12) After an astounding twelfth season of the iconic “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” series, Milwaukee, Wis., native Jaida Essence Hall emerged as the winner, with Crystal Methyd and Gigi Goode ending as runner-ups and North Carolina’s-own Heidi N Closet as Miss Congeniality. Hall began drag in the early 2010s and eventually made a name for herself in Milwaukee, performing at the Milwaukee Bucks halftime show in 2019. Her aim following her appearance on “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” is to inspire young, Black people coming up behind her.

She tells Entertainment Weekly, “I hope I can inspire so many young, Black people like myself who never feel like they’re special or that what they offer the world isn’t important.”

Elliot Page Announced He is Transgender

an inspiration to let other aspiring queer actors that if he could do it, they can too.

Elton John and ‘Rocketman’ Won Big at Industry Awards

It’s no secret that “Rocketman,” the biopic depicting the life of music legend and queer icon Elton John, ruled the box offices in 2019 and early 2020. The musical film swept at this year’s first quarter award season –– no surprises there either. “Rocketman” earned 16 industry awards, with John and lyricist Bernie Taupin garnering Best Original Song at both the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards for their 2019 anthem “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again.” The film’s lead actor Taron Egerton picked up seven nods as well for his portrayal of John including Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe Awards. A supporter of the LGBT community, Egerton told NME, “Elton John’s a gay icon. And who are we, as frankly heterosexual filmmakers, to not put that element of his story? How dare we. And that’s not what we did.” “Rocketman” also earned a nomination for Outstanding Film – Wide Release at the GLAAD Media Awards. With its critical acclaim, “Rocketman” remains a staple in the life of the icon that is Elton John.

‘Happiest Season’ Broke Barriers in Hollywood

As the first holiday film centering If he wasn’t already a household an LGBTQ couple produced by a name for his roles in “Juno” and major studio, Clea DuVall and Mary Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” Holland’s “Happiest Season” is sure then Elliot Page surely is now. The to be a Christmas classic. The Hulu Oscar-nominated actor took to social original film stars Kristen Stewart and media to announce he is transgender Mackenzie Davis coupled together as and non-binary. Page addressed his they venture home for the holidays in followers in an emotional statement a narrative built on themes of family saying, “I love that I am trans. And I acceptance and remaining true to self. love that I am queer. And the more I The holiday flick also stars queer Dan hold myself close and fully embrace who Levy, riding high on his post-“Schitt’s Creek” I am, the more I dream, the more my heart role. Ranked highly among viewers and critics grows and the more I thrive.” Before transition, alike, “Happiest Season” is a heartwarming holiday tale Page was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable that proves that love –– and entertainment –– knows no openly gay actors, known for his roles in “Hard Candy,” boundaries when it’s genuine.

Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” and Sony’s reboot of “Flatliners.” His announcement further cements him as Continued on page 26 >>> Photos This Page: Promotional photo of Jaida Essence Hall (Project Publicity). Still from “Umbrella Academy.”

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Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

<<< Continued from page 24

Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts Tied the Knot 2020 was full of surprises, but none compared to the joyous occasion that was the union of “Claws” actress Niecy Nash and R&B singer Jessica Betts. The pair wed in an intimate ceremony on Aug. 29 in California.

The announcement of their marriage broke the internet as it was many fans’ first time learning of Nash’s sexual orientation. Despite not disclosing her sexuality prior, the Emmy winner told People Magazine her marriage to Betts was “not a coming out,” but a “going into myself.” She detailed, “I love who I love. At one point in my life, I married twice and I love those people. And today I love this person. I’ve done everything I wanted to do on my own terms and my own way. So my choice now in a partner has nothing to do with who I’ve always been. It’s a matter of who I am in this moment.”

Zendaya Won an Emmy for Role in ‘Euphoria’

History was made at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards as Zendaya won Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series for her role as Rue in HBO’s “Euphoria,” becoming the youngest and second Black actress to do so.

Popular among the queer community, the show follows recovering teen drugaddict Rue as she forms an often-uncertain relationship with her transgender classmate Jules, played by Hunter Schafer. When speaking on the show’s innate inclusion, Zendaya told Deadline, “I think that that’s what’s good about ‘Euphoria’ is it makes other people feel less alone in their experiences. It makes them know that they’re not the only person dealing with what they’re dealing with.” With an Emmy under her belt, Zendaya is ready for another season of the lauded series.

‘Love, Victor’ Set the Small Screen Ablaze

Fans of the critically-acclaimed “Love, Simon” were treated to second helpings of the self-discovery tale with “Love, Victor.” Set in the world of the groundbreaking 2018 film, the Hulu original series follows Michael Cimino as Victor Salazar, a teen from a half Puerto Rican, half Colombian-American family struggling with his sexual orientation at Creekwood High School after his family’s relocation to Atlanta. Riddled with endearing teen romance, “Love, Victor” brilliantly

elevates the genre of queer media. The series was Hulu’s most-watched drama and garnered a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93% upon its release. Critically-acclaimed, “Love, Victor” is a must-watch contender for the soon-approaching 2021 award season as hopefuls expect the series will be better received than its predecessor.

Lil Nas X Pushed The Envelope past ‘Old Town Road’

Perhaps you’ve heard of a little song called “Old Town Road.” It’s the song that put queer rapper, Lil Nas X, on the map in 2019. In a move nothing short of iconic, the track not only earned Lil Nas X two Grammys for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, but also a GLAAD Media Awards this year. Dodging the term one-hit wonder, the rapper made strides, blending genres, cultures and audiences with his western-chic looks, epic troll sessions and down-to-earth personality. His latest single “Holiday” continues to break records, earning over 50 million views on YouTube since its release. Lil Nas X’s innate style continues to develop as he readies his debut album for the world in 2021.

LGBTQ Candidates Run Historic Campaigns

A highlight of a distinct election year was the inspiring campaigns of a record number of LGBTQ candidates in what some activists have called a “Rainbow Wave.” The most high-profile candidates included the historic presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg, as well as other federal and state races like those of Delaware’s Sarah McBride and New York’s Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., became the first openly gay major presidential candidate in U.S. history. The presidential hopeful made it far in 2020, running against Democratic titans such as Presidentialelect Joe Biden and Vice Presidentelect Kamala Harris. In Delaware, wellknown trans activist Sarah McBride, who previously worked for the Human Rights Campaign, won her race for a seat in the Delaware state Senate. Her victory makes her the highest-ranking, openly transgender elected official in the country. New York’s Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones won their U.S. House races to become Congress’ first openly gay Black members. v

Photos Center: Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts’ wedding (Twitter/Niecy Nash), Screen capture from Lil Nas X’s “Holiday” music video (YouTube/Vevo). Still from “Love, Victor.”

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Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Courage to be you

Understanding your own truths and having the strength to embrace them openly and honestly is the foundation for living a life that’s most meaningful to you. You inspire us with your courage to share your unique story, and we celebrate your individuality. We are a proud sponsor of Charlotte Pride.

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Black Lives, and Minds, Matter

One local professional helps keep the minds and spirits of community organizers strong

by Sumayyah Smith (she/her)

It’s

been half a year since national protests erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Spring and summer gave us a new Charlotte – now more than ever, we can’t ignore the socio-economic and racial inequities in our city, and we are witnessing the fight against it in the streets of our neighborhoods. It feels like we’re watching history take place before our eyes.

These past few months have defined our idea of the Black Lives Matter movement: crowds flooding the streets in mass protest and nationwide civil unrest. And while street activism plays an essential part in the fight against injustice, behind it are the many organizers, counselors, and leaders who help to sustain the movement.

Everyone can’t be protesting on the streets, but plenty of change makers have dedicated their lives to serving oppressed and vulnerable people in our city through a variety of mental, emotional, and spiritual outreach.

In the fight against inequality, some are put in the position of choosing between their personal wellbeing and the needs of the collective — so, many Black and LGBTQ activists are forced to neglect their own mental and emotional health, which can lead to higher rates of depression and anxiety among both groups. Additionally, in times of mental, spiritual, and emotional crisis, they’re more susceptible to substance abuse, poverty and homelessness – mostly attributed to the lack of adequate resources.

The issue has grown more prevalent throughout the years, and in response, more organizations — ranging from church groups and wellness clinics to pop-up mutual aid efforts — have affirmed their presence in the community and helped to provide outreach to at-risk demographics. Several of these organizations have gained traction in Charlotte over the past few years, such as Transcend Charlotte and The Social Justice Emotional Response Collective (SJERC) – both centered on providing mental and emotional outreach to minorities and the LGBTQ community, with emphasis on low-income and Black transgender folks.

How does this relate to BLM? Well, leaders in mental health and healing are diligently providing the backbone to the Black Lives Matter movement. In preparation for this article, I had the opportunity to chat with Reia Chapman, a licensed therapist, community organizer, and founder of The Social Justice Emotional Response Collective (SJERC). Currently serving as the director of clinical services at the Center for Family and Maternal Wellness, PLLC, she considers herself to be embodying the principles of collective liberation and justice in her practice. She also touched on the integral role mental health advocacy has in the human rights space and how her 24/7 outreach and support helped to fuel Black Lives Matter organizers since 2012.

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Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Chapman’s impact on marginalized communities in Charlotte has always been significant. Her work during the past few months of heightened unrest in our city has increased and taken on a new form. As we look back on how the events of spring and summer shaped Charlotte, let’s profile the social justice powerhouse, Reia Chapman, and how she not only helped bring important conversations to the forefront, but continued to breathe life into the Black Lives Matter movement.

Rewind

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. This horrific act of violence sparked uproar in marginalized communities everywhere. Not because a murder like this is in and of itself shocking – but, rather, because it’s far too shockingly common. Floyd’s death echoed the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people who lost their lives to police brutality this year. For Chapman and other community organizers, these events further revealed the saturated amount of inequality coursing through Charlotte. In Chapman’s definition, Charlotte likes to think of itself as a progressive city, but this past spring and summer really pulled back the curtain to reveal all of the city’s flaws.

A few months into the widespread protests, Charlotte Agenda profiled “Tent City.” The now infamous tent compound is inhabited by dozens of houseless people,

“Division isn’t new [in Charlotte] ... This year just revealed all of the division and inequality that’s always been there.”

Reia Chapman

primarily women and people of color, and acted as another chisel in chipping away Charlotte’s illusion of progress.

This mirage is particularly prevalent in the Black LGBTQ community, too – a rarely spoken about, but very disenfranchised demographic in Charlotte. There’s been over 30 Black trans women killed nationwide since summer, with at least one taking place in Charlotte earlier this year, when 34-year-old Monika Diamond was shot while receiving medical attention. Like many southern cities, Charlotte is notorious for violence and discrimination towards trans people, such as denying them service at businesses, verbal harassment, and physical attacks. And with little resources available, plenty of local coalitions have taken the initiative to address the growing amount of inequality against the LGBTQ community.

Photo Center: Following an NAACP rally at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center on June 8, 2020, attendees and protesters marched through uptown, eventually arriving at Marshall Park. Photo by Grant Baldwin.

Photo Top: Reia Chapman.

The abolitionist group Charlotte Uprising – led by a substantial amount of queer Black people – has used the Black Lives Matter movement as a tool for bringing awareness to the vulnerability of Black trans women in the city.

Through both their website and social media accounts, Jail Support helps to raise funds for Black trans women who are risking eviction (especially due to the pandemic) and, for those already displaced, they work to find temporary housing solutions, whether it be from a Jail Support member themselves or reaching out to shelters.

As the founder of SJERC and an active member of the Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group (CTHCG), Chapman is no stranger to intersectional activism and integrating the needs of broader demographics into her practice. She Continued on page 30 >>>

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

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<<< Continued from page 29 also recognizes that the Black Lives Matter movement is far more affirming of the LGBTQ community: “It’s easier to put aside our differences…We’re all united by being Black and the collective experiences we share,” Chapman shares.

Here We Are

Once summer cooled off and fall nestled in, it became abundantly clear that the old skin of Charlotte had begun to shed. Not only had the protests forced conversations surrounding social justice to become more common, they had even gotten the attention of elected officials, both local and statewide — including Gov. Roy Cooper, who was quoted voicing support of Black Lives Matter and spotted marching alongside peaceful demonstrators.

Significant attention has also been given to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and several policing practices activists say are unethical harmful, among them accusations of brutality during arrests, turning off body cameras, and the blatant antagonizing of the protestors.

Local police officials have responded with several changes — though many activists say the changes don’t go far enough — like additional de-escalation trainings, compliance with the national “8 Can’t Wait” policy priorities, and new changes being proposed by Charlotte City Council. Some officers have also been cited for termination or resigned.

Continuing to pull back the curtain – to peel away at the old skin – seems to be the priority of marginalized communities now. As Black Lives Matter activists hammer away, it reveals the beginning of a new landscape in Charlotte. Queer, Black, and women led organizations are finally gaining much deserved traction and are reshaping our social fabric, making us all unapologetically aware of their presence and plights.

And nowadays, beautiful murals honoring Black Lives Matter decorate the cityscape. Local business owners have become outspoken about their intolerance towards bigotry in the community, and have voiced their solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ movements.

“[Decolonized Therapy] is focusing on the process of unlearning decades of trauma, colonization, and oppression [that can effect] mental health, self-esteem, and our views on the community” Chapman explains.

Where We’re Headed

I have to admit: seeing social justice bloom in Charlotte is refreshing. Although this change was birthed from the heartbreaking tragedies of the spring and summer, we’re finally seeing marginalized groups on a trajectory of empowerment within our community – and that’s worth celebrating.

Despite this, the city is still far from unification. Especially in the aftermath of a very intense election, Charlotte feels more divided than ever.

“Division isn’t new [in Charlotte]…This year just revealed all of the division and inequality that’s always been there,” says Chapman.

Even with all the prevalent issues, and still so much work ahead, Chapman and other community organizers stress the importance of remaining positive, diligent, and grounded during these challenging times. If we don’t commit to our beliefs in a better and brighter future, social justice then becomes unsustainable and a source of mental drainage.

Chapman encourages activists to develop boundaries and to not overextend themselves into areas that aren’t their strong suits. For her, this meant acknowledging that her place in the movement was not being an active participant in protests, but rather an organizer and resource for those involved.

“Knowing my role [in the movement] was a powerful tool I used to help the longevity of my activism,” Chapman reflected. “As I got older, I realized I could no longer be a physical participant in protests, and I think It’s important for us to keep reinventing and reimagining our place in the movement.”

The Black Lives Matter movement has found its footing in Charlotte and it’s greatly due to the efforts and achievements of Chapman and other community organizers. Not only are they tearing down the walls of bigotry and inequality in the city, but restoring faith, hope, and a promise of a better future. v

In her work as a counselor, Chapman keeps this momentum of change pushing. Through what she defines Learn more about the Social Justice Emotional Response Collective at es4sj.org. Learn more about Chapman’s practice, the Center for Family as “Decolonized Therapy,” she address generational and and Maternal Wellness at cfmwellness.com. systemic trauma of marginalized groups in order to begin the healing process.

Photos Center: Various scenes from Uptown protests and marches on June 6, 2020. Photos by Grant Baldwin.

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Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Collective Care

Local mutual aid efforts help to fill gaps created before and during 2020 pandemic

by Julianna Peres (she/her)

2020

is the impossible year. The year that would seemingly never end and never stops taking. If social distance and quarantine has taught us anything, it’s that we have to help our neighbors. Whether you’re stuck at home or in an office, you can give something that will change someone’s life. And that’s exactly what community members across the country, and right here in Charlotte, have done since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting the economic downturn.

boots — to assist folks in situations they may have never envisioned for themselves. And, when the time comes, that same kind of assistance can be available to those who are giving now. We all need help now and then; today, you may help someone else, but tomorrow, it may be you needing assistance.

We spoke to a handful of mutual aid organizers here in Charlotte — and profile each of them below — to get a sense of their work and to highlight the good they’ve done for the community during a year of great challenges.

Like many mutual aid projects around the country, these efforts are mostly or all Black and queer led. In fact, one of the greatest examples of mutual aid in modern history was

As the pandemic’s shutdowns led to layoffs and other job losses, community members and families found themselves grappling with heavy questions and impending disaster. Many saw their incomes plummet and, as a result, started facing hunger and “We all benefit from not having a poor evictions. For those who were already society. People think that to be a giver living at or beyond the margins, the effects or philanthropist, they have to be rich, of the economic downturn were even but most givers are working people.” more dire. When you’re already poor, and Jermaine Nakia Lee you lose whatever little income you had, just how do you make ends meet? also Black-led. In the late 1960s, the Black Panthers’ free breakfast program began in Oakland, Calif., spreading to Jermaine Nakia Lee, a longtime LGBTQ community leader, 19 cities and feeding 20,000 children by the end of 1969. artist, and entrepreneur, started Poor No More, a local Additional Black Panther programs included clothing “free store,” to assist with basic needs and essentials. distribution, free medical clinics and transportation assistance — the exact same kinds of mutual aid services “A girl’s life was changed because of a single pair of that became essential for survival in 2020. work boots,” he recounts. All this young woman needed was professional shoes to start at a new job and, upon Poor No More receiving that, was able to build a career for herself.

Jermaine Nakia Lee didn’t set out to operate a mutual aid service when he opened his new business. NODA@28th That young girl’s story is a prime example of the kinds of Creative Arts Studios was originally envisioned as a seemingly simple, but potentially life-altering, assistance rehearsal and studio space for artists, photographers, that mutual aid can provide. Small gifts — like a pair of

models, and others. As his business grew, it morphed into hosting small retail operators and hosting community and social events.

Lee soon began encountering houseless neighbors who approached him and asked for leftover food remaining at the end of events hosted at the venue. Lee, his tenants, and his family and friends all realized they could band together to address the needs facing the folks living and working all around them in the NoDa neighborhood. And, thus, Poor No More was born.

to provide healthy food options, including sandwiches, during Free Store events.

Lee has aims to grow the effort, especially since storage space is waning in the current studio space. Lee is on the lookout for a warehouse space with a kitchen and showroom. He’s hoping a local powerbroker can help identify a space, especially as donations continue to come in.

Lee says he’s been appreciative of the tremendous support for Poor No More.

“Guardian” is the word Lee uses to describe the Lee had never really thought donors who give to the Free Store. Guardians of organizing and managing a mutual aid service. What provide everything from clothing to furniture, started with small charitable baby bottles, cribs, and car seats. Lee says gifts from Lee’s friends and they’re always in need of educational toys for tenants later blossomed into children. small fundraisers, food drives, “We all benefit from not having a poor society,” and clothing drives. And as the says Lee. “People think that to be a giver or a need continued to increase, philanthropist, they have to be rich, but most Lee increased his giving. givers are working people. Everyone can be a Today, Poor No More Free guardian.”

Store is partnering with other community organizations like You can learn more about Poor No More and get Black fraternities and sororities Volunteers with the Poor No More Free Store. in touch with them to make donations or offer and corporate sponsors, Photo by Jermaine Nakia Lee. other support by visiting them on Facebook at like Belk. The iconic local facebook.com/PoorNoMoreCharlotte/. department store supplies Poor No More with donated clothes and housing items once Greater Charlotte Rise each month, with 100 percent of every monetary and It was in the aftermath of the 2016 election that Jasmine physical donation going directly to a low-income person Sherman and others dreamt up what would become in the community.

Greater Charlotte Rise — a local community organization that offers a winter gap shelter for unhoused community For shoppers at the Free Store, the experience is much like any other retail center or department center — with members, as well as immediate financial relief assistance, the added benefit of a hot meal. Lee wants shoppers to rental assistance, job placement services, and clothing retain a sense of dignity and respect, especially since most assistance. of Poor No More’s clients come from already marginalized “One of the best things to do in the midst of change is communities. Their largest client base are single mothers to serve the community at a grassroots level,” she says. with two or more children, as well as Black trans women, “At the time of the 2016 election, the government was seniors, and individuals living with a disability. not focusing on the support of unsheltered individuals.

Poor No More’s food offerings come through partnerships Our goal, for the past three years that I have been with with Feed The Movement, as well as The Bulb, a local Greater Charlotte Rise, has been to come up with a plan mobile farmer’s market that aims to ensure low-income for long-lasting systemic change.” homes have access to locally grown fresh food. That’s in For Sherman, creating systemic change starts from the addition to a new partnership with Powerful, a company that makes high-protein snacks, yogurt, and other foods, bottom up.

Continued on page 34 >>>

<<< Continued from page 33 “If you don’t have a home, it’s nearly impossible to do anything beyond that,” Sherman says. “Basic needs must be met in some way which is why we offer clothing specific to job interviews, as well as rent assistance specific to the individual. Our goal is to make unsheltered people look on the outside how they feel on the inside.”

Like many other community support and mutual aid efforts, Greater Charlotte Rise has met its fair share of challenges during 2020. Getting the word out about their services and available assistance has been particularly challenging. She often meets folks in need on the street. Though the internet is a great tool, it’s not always a resource houseless people can access. COVID-19 made houselessness a growing issue, with increasing numbers of people being forced out of their homes and onto the streets without any knowledge of how to navigate organizational aid.

The group has been able to partner with A Roof Above and Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership. A Roof Above provides housing for unsheltered people and just recently purchased a complex in order to expand on their available spaces. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, is a government agency that provides aid.

Merghani, who also works professionally as Charlotte Pride’s programs manager, and Marquez, a Charlotte Pride volunteer coordinator, decided to do something about it. The pair of friends began Feed the Movement in order to provide fresh, home-cooked meals to protesters and community organizers.

The two started raising funds, soliciting donations, and galvanizing other volunteers to cook and deliver meals. Feed The Movement has striven to offer not just food, but healthy food.

“We don’t provide lower quality food just because it’s cheaper,” Merghani says. “When I cook meals for myself, I cook the same thing for the people we serve. We’ve also started coming up with vegan and gluten free meals.” Merghani says the founder of Nourish, a Charlotte vegan and organic meal delivery service, is also in their network.

Feed The Movement co-founders Nada Merghani, left, and Tatiana Marquez, right.

Photo by Clarabelle Catlin.

But Greater Charlotte Rise has big dreams and a long-term goal to establish their own micro-housing unit for unsheltered members of community. Here they will have housing, opportunity for employment, mental and physical health services, recycling projects, and internet access. In order to achieve this, Sherman and other organizers are always looking for grants, though she wishes more support could come from the corporate community.

The organization is always in need of donations — from monetary support in whatever amount to items like gently-used clothing. The key, Sherman says, is for donors to ask themselves, “Would I give this to my own family?”

You can learn more about Greater Charlotte Rise and find ways to support the organization and is work online at greatercharlotterise.org, by emailing wecanrise.nc@ gmail.com or by calling or texting 980-552-1897.

Feed The Movement

In June, at the height of the local and national Black Lives Matter movement protests, Nada Merghani and Tatiana Marquez found themselves staring down an overlooked and critical need. For weeks, protesters had been marching in the streets of Charlotte demanding justice in the aftermath of police killings of unarmed Black people.

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And they were doing it with few resources, including food.

It would have been easy for Feed The Movement to remain focused on meal preparation for protesters, but the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans. In the face of increased community need, the group has expanded their mutual aid support and assistance.

“Most of the jobs lost during COVID-19 aren’t coming back,” says Merghani. “By the time COVID-19 begins to go away, there will be a financial and housing crisis.”

Feed The Movement has since blossomed into an effort to provide a variety of support. They’ve expanded their meal services to houseless community members living in Uptown’s Tent City. In addition to meal preparation and delivery, they’ve also collected coolers and other necessities to help houseless folks store and retain fresh food. The group is also purchasing grills for Tent City residents and offered cooking lessons so that houseless folks can prepare their own meals when food cannot be delivered.

Feed The Movement has also expanded to offering housing and support for those recently released from jail, including assistance in paying for short-term housing in hotels and connections to employment opportunities.

Yet, food and meal services are still part and parcel of Feed The Movement’s jail support. Merghani wants to ensure that individuals recently released from jail don’t end up back behind bars just because they have no food.

With the pandemic still raging and winter fast approaching, Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Merghani anticipates a growing need to house individuals without warm and safe shelter. In any normal winter, housing is always in tight supply, but COVID-19 has made that need even more urgent. Feed The Movement has already begun collecting funds to help pay for temporary or permanent housing, an effort made all the more challenging because of the group’s current pool of supporters.

“The same people we’re supporting are also donors,” they say. “We all have good and bad weeks, especially people without stable paychecks, and we have to support each other as a community.”

It’s frustrating, Merghani shares, because of just how wealthy Charlotte is.

“Charlotte is a banking city and the big wigs are monetizing on poverty rather than helping,” they say, echoing a common criticism levied toward government agencies, corporations and traditional nonprofits who struggle to fill gaps in fighting poverty and providing housing. There are few options or resources, for example, for often overlooked community members experiencing substance abuse or addiction issues, mental health challenges, or for young people, especially those who identify as LGBTQ. Getting through the winter is Feed The Movement’s immediate goal, but long-range plans are already being made. First up are efforts to raise more funds in creative ways. Currently, the group operates on just about $2,000 each month. It’s not enough to meet the need, so Merghani, Marquez, and other organizers are turning to a variety of fundraisers, including plant and bake sales hosted at the Neighborhood Theatre and a recent virtual auction which netted $1,000 for the group’s efforts.

Once winter passes and immediate housing needs are met, the group’s dream is to buy and outfit a food truck.

Taking their services on the road will mean being able to respond to needs in a variety of communities and neighborhoods.

In the meantime, Merghani also wants to focus on increasing engagement and support from the broader community. People with resources often direct their giving to large nonprofits serving the houseless community, but those resources aren’t always readily or quickly available to those in need. Merghani says people should feel comfortable giving directly to those in need, be that through directly assisting by pitching a tent, cooking or buying a meal, or offering to fix a car. Anyone, Merghani says, can reach out and offer support to a person in need, without going through the red tape and bureaucracy of institutional support — the very definition of mutual aid. The more people who do this work, the better and stronger the number of people who are helped.

You can learn more about Feed The Movement, follow their support efforts, and learn how to donate and contribute by following them on Facebook at facebook. com/feedthemovementclt/ or on Instagram at instagram. com/feedthemovementclt/. v

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

35

The Show Must Go On How Charlotte’s LGBTQ entertainers conquered COVID-19

by Anders Hare (he/him)

2020

020 has been nothing short of tumultuous.

Lives lost to COVID-19, businesses closing indefinitely and the economy spinning into a recession before our eyes are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the agony endured.

As autumn came, Charlotte cautiously reemerged from this year’s cloud of constant uncertainty blanketing livelihoods and upending realities. For the local entertainment industry, however, that uncertainty would remain a little more constant still, as innumerable clubs, bars and venues remained barred from opening or operating at limited capacity until further notice.

The effects of the pandemic undoubtedly have hindered Charlotte’s entertainment quarters to a point of no return. Regal Twin Manor, the Queen City’s oldest and last art-house cinema, indelibly closed its doors this summer after 73 years of service at the disappointment of long-time patrons and the city as a whole.

What’s more, NoDa’s widely-favored Neighborhood Theatre began auctioning off pieces from local artists made out of planks of wood taken from its former stage as a way of keeping money coming in.

While the brutal results of the entertainment market standstill have wounded on multiple levels, entertainers in Charlotte’s LGBTQ community have found ways to cope with the magnitude of the loss.

Artists and entertainers in the LGBTQ community have been subject to cruel realities as the world paused back in March. With venues closing, they have been obliged to seek other methods of keeping their audiences laughing, smiling, dancing, and hoping for a turnaround to this chaotic time.

Many of them were willing to sacrifice their own desires to keep pushing their craft, and the outcomes were progressive, generating a connection with die-hard and new fans through social media posts and virtual performances.

While it was a difficult journey to live out, their stories are compelling and inspire their audiences to make sense of the cards dealt by 2020.

Courtney Lynn and Quinn

As royalty in Charlotte’s country and Americana music scene, wife-duo and band Courtney Lynn and Quinn are an unstoppable force. Gritty, soulful delivery paired with seamless harmonies live in a state of concord and bliss for listeners of a spectrum of music genres.

After meeting in Los Angeles some years back, CLQ moved to the Queen City in 2016 to lay the groundwork for their artistic maturation and, ultimately, their blossoming union. The couple eventually wed in the fall of 2018, and

36

Shaine Laine, right, stands with Charlotte Pride Programs & Development Director Jerry Yelton, middle, and Lolita Chanel in the Charlotte Pride studio created for this year’s virtual festival and parade livestreams. much like their relationship, their music is built on the bricks that make up each of their individual unique personas and styles, fastened together to produce a lasting foundation.

Their artistry branches into numerous musical realms and spaces, from the heart-wrenching wails of Grace Potter and The Nocturnals to the innate and thought-provoking songwriting skills of Brandi Carlile. As past performers at the Charlotte Pride Festival, CLQ knows how to rock the mic right. But on the heels of their creative breakthrough, a year and a half of densely-gathered momentum dispelled before their eyes.

In merely 48 hours following North Carolina’s mandated shelter-in-place orders, nearly 90% of music gigs acquired by the band over 3-4 months had been scrapped. But this was about more than just performing for CLQ, as

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

the couple practically upended their lives to make this moment work only to have their dream crumble.

In January, CLQ unveiled its long-awaited debut project Remiss to critical acclaim from local and national news outlets. However, a stagnant promotion cycle ensued following the pandemic, one that Quinn describes as making the EP “feel irrelevant.”

“It feels like we lost a lot of the steam behind it because we released it purposefully three months before we were supposed to go on tour. It was a hard, emotional hit,” Quinn expressed in an interview held, appropriately enough during this time, via Zoom. “I think the hardest part for me was that this dream that we had worked on for a whole year and a half was just swept from under our feet without any question.”

“One of my great friends, she messaged me the other day and she said, ‘I really love your live streams, and I miss them.’ And that to me is so positive. If I’m doing something therapeutic for someone else, then this is a positive take on it that I misunderstood for a long time.”

The duo has plans to take their sessions on the road in a spin-off aptly-titled “On The Road Sessions.” “‘On the Road Sessions’ is one of our fun ideas because we’re set up to travel but we love music and want to keep engaging our fanbase and keep writing, so that’s an idea that we have. But we’re just trying to figure it out day-by-day,” Quinn informed.

As the year concludes, many things remain uncertain for CLQ. But the last few months have provided an arsenal of new ideas and more ways to connect with their audience than ever before. “I don’t know what life looks like. I think right now we’re trying to be okay with that and be open to new opportunities and explore whatever is in front of us.”

Courtney Lynn, right, and Quinn, left, The pair’s mental health became recording one of their socially distant a priority during the pandemic, ‘On the Farm Sessions.’ superseding their desire to record new music. “I think the very best thing we could have done for ourselves is to take care of our mental Nekeith health through all of this,” Courtney Lynn detailed. “At “Clap if you know you’re the baddest in the game / clap if some point, you just have to give yourself a rest because you know no one’s in your lane.” These are lyrics that rising it’s a lot. Sometimes we didn’t do all the things we thought rap phenom Nekeith lives by. Inspired by the keen flows we should do for music that week; we just took care of and vividly extroverted instrumentals of artists like Nicki ourselves.”

Minaj and Missy Elliot, this provocative and overt lyricist is a long-time partner with Charlotte Pride, performing at the Financial strife and mental health aside, the frontwomen’s annual festival and other events for multiple years now. desire to perform in front of live audiences was barred for months. But to find new means to engage with fans, CLQ A graduate of UNC Charlotte, Nekeith is native to High revamped its YouTube page inaugurating an exciting new Point, N.C., but he ultimately decided to stay in Charlotte series called “On The Farm Sessions” in April. to hone his craft and bloom into the star he is today. The “Androgynous Queen” rapper garnered attention with his Encapsulated in virtual performances lasting no longer “bad bitch” energy-infused anthems, but let it be known than five minutes, the “sessions” were filmed on location that Nekeith is an all-around entertainer, shutting down at CLQ’s horse farm. With the series’ unique setting paired stages in Charlotte and all across the country. with selected covers and their original music, the series was a deafening boom on YouTube and eventually made Nekeith ushers in addictive vitality with his demanding its way to other social media platforms like Instagram. stage presence and complex dance numbers. Not only that, he has delved into other ventures such as acting, The songs featured in the series covered a wide range making him a triple threat. It’s clear that Nekeith’s world of artists including Little Big Town, Lil Nas X, Adele, and revolves around performing. However, things became Whitney Houston. An eclectic, yet sophisticated mesh, the murky when clubs and venues were shut down in March. group says they chose to cover artists who blurred genres whose sounds they associated with their unique taste.

In an instant, numerous appearances and performances by the entertainer were canceled or postponed “Those are the artists in my past that I’ve been most indefinitely. However, Nekeith was able to find the silver inspired by. Like the band Queen who will have like a rock lining in this abrupt halt. song and then like a weird opera ballad. I love artists who aren’t scared to dance the line in different genres,” Quinn “The positive was that it made me focus on what matters explained. “It’s fun for us,” Courtney Lynn adds. “When we to me the most which are my family, music, supporters, get to do cover shows, it’s fun for us to play everything and community,” he explained. “During this tough time, I from ‘No Diggity’ to ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ to always tried to focus on the positive. I don’t try to dwell on ‘Home.’ It’s just all over the place, and that’s fun for us.” the negatives.”

Quinn also explains how embracing social media during the pandemic has given the medium new meaning and encourages her to use it as a mechanism to inspire others.

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

A constructive outlook on this untimely situation is what kept the frontman active in pushing his career forward.

Continued on page 40 >>> 37

Your will can break any barrier.

You have the power to redefine what’s possible and your journey has inspired others. We call that being empowerful.

50 years ago, Pride began as a movement to push the world forward, and your courage continues to pave a path. As you relentlessly strive for equal access and the opportunity to flourish financially, Wells Fargo walks right beside you helping to make it happen. You’ve come this far. We can help you go further.

Learn how at:

wellsfargo.com/empowerful © 2020 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. IHA-25981

empowerful

Entertainers

<<< Continued from page 37 He continued securing virtual gigs and attending casting calls with ease. But perhaps his pinnacle moment of 2020 so far is the release of his latest single “Gimme Some More.” A confidence-boosting bop, “Gimme Some More” was written inherently to provide a jolt in energy that was missing from the world due to the pandemic.

The Ciara-sampled track went on to become a summer anthem for Nekeith, and its accompanying video garnered over tens of thousands of views on YouTube upon its unveiling. While the track was a success for Nekeith, its release was bombarded by swelling events that occurred this summer.

“I was going to release it in June but there was so much heaviness surrounding the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and I thought ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea to put it out right now,’” Nekeith explained.

As a Black entertainer, Nekeith felt immensely supported by the LGBTQ community despite the increased racial division in the country this year. “I definitely have been feeling the love and support. I’m always so thankful for anyone who shows support for my movement. I haven’t received anything but love and I’m truly thankful for that.”

most importantly love yourself for who you are.”

He continued, “This is the first album that really hits differently for me because I really had time to focus on the lyrics and hooks and everything and the message I want to send to my audience. There’s something on the album for everybody from R&B to Pop to vogue, and of course hip-hop and rap. So get ready. It’s time. Let’s go!”

Shaine Laine

Similar to comforts such as music and food, comedy can be a path to a person’s heart. For Charlotte native and prominent, openly transgender comedian Shaine Laine, it is the driving force behind his journey to becoming the man he knew he always was.

Shaine’s comedy is intertwined with his transition, so much so that the first time he came out as trans was onstage. The comic clearly knows who he is and experiences in his life help to build the comedy that has become his life’s purpose.

Shaine was looking to further expand his career and audience with a planned move to New York City, but the pandemic and its quarantine restrictions shifted his life goals.

“I was actually supposed to have moved to New York in June, however with COVID that went on the backburner right away,” he explained. “I thought that there would be some hope a couple of months before of me moving, even in like March and April. But things never cleared up.”

Nekeith used time during 2020 to write music and journal about goals as aspirations as Releasing new music was an a form of therapy.

The transition from in-person to virtual obvious goal for Nekeith, and shows was slow initially. Many of Shaine’s apart from putting on live shows would go from dozens of attendees to fewer than performances, he took to writing new material as a form a dozen. Moreover, it was hard at first for the comic to of therapy. Journaling about his goals and aspirations have adapt to the reformatted audience. Many of the attendees also become routine, but the rapper is eager to resume via Zoom either had delayed laughs or kept themselves performing, looking to enhance the Nekeith experience muted. for a virtual audience.

Social media has always been a tool Nekeith wielded to his advantage with his #FreestyleFriday videos being a highlight on Instagram. But creating an elaborate performance for the smartphone screen is a new frontier he is ready to face head-on.

“I recently bought some green screens and a home mic and some editing software, so if I need to do a performance I can do it from the comfort of my home safely,” Nekeith explained. “I love social media! It puts you right in front of everybody. It’s really a good tool to use to make your voice heard.”

Nekeith is currently promoting his next body work.

“Pollowtalk,” released in December, reflects many of the discoveries Nekeith has made about himself during the pandemic, as well as touching on topics that are sure to uplift fans and newcomers alike.

When asked about the resounding themes this project has to offer, he replied, “Definitely self-confidence. Also, not relying on anybody, and being independent. And, 40

“It’s a little awkward because I’m, like, who am I going to focus on, and who has the longest laugh or the shortest laugh,” Laine details. “And it’s just all from facial expressions, so it’s become more of like a fun storytelling adventure rather than what stand-up comedy is where it’s like, ‘boom-joke-boom-joke-laugh.’”

But many of Charlotte’s brightest comedians, including Shaine, were able to adapt smoothly. The funnyman eventually took to social media outlets like Tik Tok and Instagram and blew up seemingly overnight. He currently holds 14,300 followers on the former. At first, the attention online was confusing to Shaine, and he briefly left social media altogether in order to get a firm grasp on how he was going to wield it.

“I didn’t know how to deal with all the people sending me messages and asking me questions they wanted to know about me,” Shaine explained. “I needed to figure out what this means and talk to you the way you want to be talked to. It took a lot in me to read through all the comments and respond to those people directly. I had to have my Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

sister who’s 18 teach me everything.”

Performing aside, Shaine’s made the most of the lemons dealt by COVID-19. In fact, he credits the events of this year for igniting his current relationship. He made the choice to commit after his move was postponed, and the two were able to focus primarily on each other because of social distancing. But the summit of Shaine’s experience in 2020 was moving forward with his top surgery. When asked if the pandemic delayed this process, Shaine replied, “no, if anything, it’s sped it up.”

Because he did not have a strong male figure growing up, the comedian considers himself a “self-made man.” It is a phrase that he lives by; it’s in his Instagram bio, on his merch, and embedded into the way he lives life.

“I started at a very feminine place not knowing what anything was, and also being in the South being transgender was not something I thought about until I got to college. So the fact that I had come so far and built myself up, I had built myself into the man I want to become,” he said.

He continued, “I had a complete vision After his top surgery took place on Nov. of moving to New York and dealing 9, Laine is more than eager to face his with my transition later. At that point, “new-normal” despite the adversaries I was, like, my craft and my comedy COVID-19 has laid in his path. “The comes first, and when I get that, I can new normal is what is next, and then go do something else, but because the going through that,” he explains. pandemic hit, there were no shows and it made me think about things like Shaine at his first post-quarantine performance 2020 has taught the comic that at The Pin House in October. everything you do in life must be ‘what do I want?’ I started working a lot Photo by Andrew Presnell. intentional. He continues, “There was because that’s all I could do to keep me a quote I saw on Instagram about somewhat sane, and I realized I could procrastination and it was, ‘how dare you think you can’t start working for my top surgery. I was working doubles do this thing right now because you may never get the and all this stuff, and I actually was able to pay it off [in chance to again.’” v October].”

Shaine’s realization of his identity didn’t come full circle until he was in college. Every moment up until then, he was surrounded by perceived women in his family.

Want to see Courtney Lynn & Quinn, Nekeith, and Shaine in action?

Visit charlottepride.org/springspotlight/ to see their performances under the“Comedy” and “Music” sections.

Last Call?

Shuttered for half a year, with some on the verge of permanent closure, local bars have worried and struggled, but ultimately weathered the pandemic

by Jared Misner (he/him)

When

Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all bars and nightclubs closed on March 17 to minimize coronavirus infection risks, Kevin Cooper kept the beers in his bars’ coolers.

They’d reopen in a couple months, he thought. They’ll be there, nice and cold, when that time comes.

A “couple months” passed. Then whole seasons came and went. Still, Sidelines Sports Bar and Billiards and Bar Argon, the side-by-side pair of LGBTQ bars on South Boulevard he owns, remained closed through the governor’s executive orders.

“It was kind of a wait and see thing. Then the restaurants opened and the bars didn’t,” Cooper, who is not related to the governor, said. “And that’s when we got worried.”

stay financially afloat during the closure.

It was a difficult choice, but she decided to invest one more month’s worth of money in the beloved spot she’s owned for five years. After that, she’d have to lock the doors for good.

“I just dropped the phone and started crying,” Storm said.

Soon after, Storm got a call saying the Foundation for the Carolinas had awarded her a small grant to help keep Chasers open. It was the lifeline she needed.

“If I hadn’t saved some money over the years, it wouldn’t be there,” Storm said of Chasers. “But the money I have is gone.”

Aside from plowing through their savings, Storm, Cooper and other LGBTQ bar owners in Charlotte had to resort to fundraising or other innovative ways to make money.

Finally, on Oct. 2, after nearly seven months of lost income, the governor extended North Carolina’s re-opening plan Bar Argon and Sidelines hosted a virtual dance party with to include bars and nightclubs. Finally, Cooper could pop several local drag open those welldonating chilled beers – but “These places, they’re safe havens, the queens their time only to an outdoorplaces people go to feel themselves ... performances. and only crowd of 30 They’re more than bars; they’re a part of The event raised percent capacity. our community.” $10,000, and Cooper Tiffany Storm, owner, Chasers split the money Even with the between paying the limitations still staff at both bars and funding ongoing operating costs of hampering business, Cooper and the owners of other the dual bars. queer bars in Charlotte say they’re fortunate to reopen at all. Many Charlotte bars and restaurants, unable to Chasers, like The Stonewall Inn in New York City, created a pay the bills for half the year with reduced or no income, Gofundme crowdsourcing fundraising page to help keep closed up shop instead. the lights on.

The reopening seems to have come just in time for some.

It was demoralizing, Storm said, to ask her customers, who were also navigating murky financial waters, for In mid-September, after losing an estimated $150,000 in money even though she could give nothing immediately income, Tiffany Storm, owner of Chasers, had a decision to in return. make: Would she spend her last remaining bit of savings, hoping Chasers would reopen soon or call it quits and cut “It gets to a point where it just feels like you’re begging,” her losses?

Storm said.

“Is it worth it to be totally broke and to hold onto something But Charlotte’s queer community came together, raising that you know you won’t eventually be able to?” asked nearly $4,000 for one of its own.

Storm, who started waiting tables at Maria’s restaurant to 42

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

“I want to let them know the money they donated, the calls, the texts, they weren’t in vain,” Storm said.

“I’m still here, holding on.”

LGBTQ workers more likely to be negatively affected While the pandemic has claimed, as of press time, over 290,000 American lives and cost untold number of jobs for everyone, the coronavirus and its effects walloped the nation’s LGBTQ community especially hard.

According to a Human Rights Campaign study released in March, the pandemic affected 40 percent of LGBTQ workers nationwide compared to 22 percent of nonLGBTQ workers. Additionally, according to a separate 2018 Human Rights Campaign survey, fewer than one in three LGBTQ workers has access to workplace health insurance. This, all during a pandemic that attacks the lungs when the asthma rate for LGBTQ people is already 50 percent higher than for non-LGBTQ people, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

The pandemic, it seems, was a perfect storm for the LGBTQ community, laying bare the inequities in both health care and income.

Vic Genwright, a bartender at both The Woodshed and Bar Argon is just one local LGBTQ worker affected by the pandemic’s wrath.

Genwright had the misfortune of being laid off not only from one job – but both his bartending jobs as nightclubs across the state closed. To stay solvent, he took a parttime job at a warehouse.

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Bar Argon bartender Victor Genwright mixes a cocktail. Photo by Second Life Photography.

It was an abrupt change for a bartender, Genwright said.

He went from interacting with hundreds of people each shift to a handful.

“I think when everybody was going through the closure, everyone was going through the same pain. We all missed that camaraderie,” he said.

During the early days of the pandemic, Genwright, like 2.49 million other North Carolinians, according to the Associated Press, filed for unemployment.

“But that only lasted for so long,” he said. His employers were still closed.

Finally, a lifeline

Month after month, bar owners across North Carolina monitored the infection rates, hoping for good news.

“Each time we get some glimmer of hope, which is whenever the governor is going to make another announcement, we’ll plan for possibly being open next weekend,” Timothy Lee, The Woodshed owner, said.

He quickly learned those glimmers of hopes were fantasy — at least for a while.

“Then I realized, ‘We’re going to be the last group to open.’”

Lee, who had just bought The Woodshed in August 2019, Continued on page 44 >>> 43

<<< Continued from page 43 says he doesn’t have an estimate of how much money he lost but that during the last four months of 2019, the bar — which has become a home for the city’s bear, leather, and other queer kink and fetish communities — brought in about $200,000.

And that doesn’t include most of the summer months, the bar’s busiest of the year.

Still, Lee says he’s more fortunate than some. He owns both the building and the land The Woodshed sits on. He didn’t have to worry about a landlord expecting rent each month.

“I don’t have any more money in my 401k, but right now, I’m fine to be closed,” Lee said.

“I’m not making any money, but I’m not losing any money. Outside utilities and insurance, that’s all I’ve had to pay.”

That’s not to say Lee or others haven’t suffered during the closure. Others, like Cooper, owner of Bar Argon and Sidelines Bar, merely don’t like to think about it.

Woodshed bartender Mike Miller, left, chats with customers who came for The Charlotte Tradesmen’s December bar night.

Photo by Second Life Photography.

“I couldn’t even begin to estimate it,” Cooper said of the combined losses between his two bars. “We’ve lost over half a year of income. It’s a little too depressing to stop and think about it.”

though on-site alcohol sales must end at 9 p.m. The current restrictions will last through Jan. 8, 2021.]

Slowly, as the infection rates in North Carolina trended downward, Gov. Cooper announced bars could reopen on Oct. 2.

A special place

Aside from the obvious detrimental and inequitable effects on health and income, the LGBTQ community also experienced a loss different than other communities during the pandemic: a loss of many of its safe spaces.

The queer community, having been denied many of their safe spaces for the majority of the year, rejoiced.

“We were very happy to finally open,” Cooper said.

The pandemic lockdown comes on top of years’ worth of worry over queer bars’ closures and their dwindling numbers across the bars here in Charlotte, country.

“As far as the gay we’re pretty much aligned, and we’re looking out for each other and want each other to be okay.”

An increasingly affirming society With the governor’s with more inclusive executive order Timothy Lee, owner, The Woodshed and safe spaces allowing bars in traditionally to reopen at 30 mainstream bars and nightclubs has resulted in economic percent capacity and only outside, some bar owners had challenges for many LGBTQ bars, and so their numbers to be creative. have steadily drifted downward.

Sidelines Bar has only a small patio, Cooper said, so to In Charlotte alone, the community has lost several queer adhere to the governor’s order, the bar brought tables bars over the past decade, most notably Hartigan’s, the outside and fenced them in, “café-style.”

Irish-themed pub doubling as the city’s only lesbian and queer women’s bar, which closed in 2014.

“It maybe wasn’t the perfect solution, but people liked it,” Cooper said.

The recent history of challenges for queer bars — and the closure of several bars across the country as a direct result Chasers, with its small patio, also dealt with its own of pandemic lockdowns — exacerbated fears that fewer capacity issues. “Once I get to 30 percent, I’m gonna have would be left open once the pandemic has subsided. to tell them to come back later,” Storm said.

She paused. “But 30 is better than zero.”

[Editor’s Note: At press time, Gov. Cooper had futher restricted, though not completely closed bars or restaurants. Previous restrictions closing bars at 11 p.m. were shortened to 10 p.m., 44

Making matters more dire, few LGBTQ bars across the state and country serve food and are, as such, primarily licensed as restaurants, meaning they couldn’t take advantage of some of the more lenient reopening guidelines for dining establishments. Chasers, the only exception to that rule Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

in Charlotte, is classified by the state as primarily a nightclub and, therefore, wasn’t permitted to open.

Without its bars open, queer people nationwide and throughout Charlotte were left without a space to commune.

“These places, they’re safe havens, the places people go to feel themselves there,” Storm said. “They’re more than bars; they’re a part of our community.”

‘Community’ was a word the bar owners threw around a lot when discussing their closures.

“As far as the gay bars in Charlotte, we’re pretty much aligned, and we’re looking out for each other and want each other to be okay,” Lee, The Woodshed owner, said.

Storm reiterated that sentiment.

“A lot of people think the bar owners are at each other’s throats here,” she said. “But I’ve had all the other bar owners calling me and donating money.”

She stopped, thought for a moment about the community that’s supported each other during the past half year and then continued.

“We’ve all embraced each other,” she said. “So I think it’s

Chasers’ halls — and stage — are decked for the holidays, but customers are limited to the club’s small outdoor patio.

Photo by Second Life Photography. going to be better for the clubs because we understand we’ve all been through something.” v Misner is a writer in Charlotte. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Charlotte magazine, and the Chronicle of Higher Education among others.

Serving in Safety

LGBTQ advocates adopt new outreach and voter education strategies amid pandemic

by Pat Moran (he/him)

H

eading into 2020, Equality North Carolina Executive Director Kendra Johnson planned a bold outreach strategy. North Carolina’s largest and oldest LGBTQ advocacy group and lobbying organization was poised to embrace the political year with its most ambitious ground game yet, capitalizing on in-person Pride events to spread its message and gain support for securing rights and protections for the state’s LGBTQ community.

“For example, the Triangle was going to have one of the largest fairs (Triangle EXPO for LGBTQ Aging Adults) that dealt with cradle-to-grave services for the LGBTQ plus community,” Johnson said.

Equality NC intended to be a major sponsor of the event.

“And then COVID hit,” Johnson said.

messages for the campaign, which also utilized a remote phone bank, Alston said.

Alston had worked the phones before. The 30-year-old reckoned she’s worked campaigns, both national and local, for 13 years. In 2016, Alston was field organizer for the Hilary Clinton campaign, recruiting volunteers for the candidate’s presidential run. The differences between the two campaigns was striking, Alston said.

In 2016, 16 organizers were packed into an office, one of several throughout Charlotte. Within days, 50 volunteers flooded into the already crowded office.

“It was a different environment,” Alston said.

“You could hear someone else’s phone calls, and you could talk about the experience that you just had, you could talk about the election.” With the Biden campaign there was no office at all, Alston offered.

Like similar advocacy organizations across the state, Equality NC had to “You had to be creative this time adapt to an outreach landscape around generating excitement and defined by safety measures put camaraderie,” she said. “Most of the in place to stem the spread of the time you were doing your own thing.” coronavirus. Dangerous in-person events and face-to-face canvasing Both the Clinton and the Biden Equality NC volunteers masked up and headed out to were eliminated or severely educate early voters at Hornet’ s Nest Park in Charlotte in campaigns included staff and curtailed, and digital strategies – October. Photo by Equality NC. volunteers going door to door to text banking, emails and virtual engage prospective voters, but there townhalls – were embraced to were far more canvassing constraints this year. Face engage and energize constituents in what promised to be masks and social distancing on doorsteps were required. the most consequential political season of their lives.

Autumn Alston was in the midst of this virtual sea change.

Currently the intersectionality program manager for Freedom Center for Social Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for the safety and empowerment of the LGBTQ community, Alston volunteered for the Biden/Harris campaign for two months. She started out sending text

“With previous campaigns, you could canvass in groups or partners, but not this time,” Alston says. “I had to go it alone.” Deprived of the opportunity to generate excitement amongst peers and people in the community, she did it virtually, taking pictures of herself knocking on doors or delivering T-shirts and posting the photos on social media.

Continued on page 48 >>>

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<<< Continued from page 46 “It gave people that election feel,” Alston said, “[it was] saying that things are happening in your neighborhood.”

Another innovation in 2020 were canvassing apps like Minivan, Alston offered, which negates the need for printed lists of routes and addresses by displaying the information on your phone.

While the mechanics of actually knocking on doors and talking face-to-face hasn’t changed, peoples’ reactions to the tactic have. Alston sensed apprehension from people that the canvassers were putting them at risk of COVID-19 exposure.

organization ramped up their digital game with a battery of new tools for 2020. The nonprofit hosted 23 virtual town halls that featured a slate of LGBTQ and pro-equality candidates for an array of offices across the state, Johnson said.

They produced 17 different videos featuring short conversations with the candidates, which were disseminated across Equality NC’s social media channels.

They also hosted Facebook live events where people could have a one-on-one conversations with some of the 147 candidates the organization endorsed, including Gov. Roy Cooper.

“I had the feeling that people were wondering, ‘Why are you here?’” she said.

“We sent out 541,000 text messages, made 10,000 calls, [and] we reached over 135,000 people on Facebook,” Johnson said.

“Before when you knocked on a door, you would worry that someone didn’t want to be bothered,” Alston said. “Now people were questioning how healthy and responsible we were being.”

Amid the virtual tools Johnson deployed, one traditional one was set aside – canvassing in person.

“We kept it all digital and social media,” Johnson said. Taking the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ directives to heart, Johnson determined she would not put any staff, volunteers and members of the public in harm’s way.

As civic engagement organizer with Common Cause North Carolina, Trey Gibson did no phone banking and very little canvassing this year. Instead, the Charlotte-based grassroots activist advocated for safer election laws in North Carolina through texts and virtual meetings on Zoom. She felt both methods were effective in terms of accessibility.

“What was really challenging with all the digital engagement was the fact that the pandemic was at the forefront of everyone’s mind, especially when it [came to] Black and brown people who are being disproportionately affected by the virus,” Gibson said. Many people she contacted were not initially receptive to the nonprofit’s message. They were focused on issues like unemployment and food insecurity, which they did not connect to politics.

“We’ve already lost too many North Carolinians and too many Americans,” she said. “And we knew that the numbers were climbing in those months when we were doing the work.”

Top: Kendra Johnson Middle: Autumn Alston Bottom: Trey Gibson.

“I felt that [Common Cause NC] adding virtual meetings and conversations to the landscape, especially early on, was just mentally exhausting for a lot of people,” she said.

In 2018, before joining Common Cause NC, Gibson was an organizer for the Fight for Her (#Fight4Her) campaign, which was focused on overturning the federal government’s restrictive reproductive policy, often known as the “Global Gag Rule.” The campaign relied on canvassing, phone banking and the relatively new method of text banking, Gibson said.

Although texting was considered an afterthought for the #Fight4Her campaign two years ago, it has now supplanted other methods of outreach in terms of popularity with campaign workers, Gibson said. “The technology has improved. It’s gotten a lot easier to target folks and tailor the message to reach them.”

At Equality NC, Johnson embraced texting as the 48

As early voting and election day approached, Johnson incorporated some safe and socially distanced in-person tactics. The 200 volunteers that were sending texts and making phone calls were reassigned to do poll work. They hit over 30 polling sites, Johnson said, distributing information and voting guides.

“In Charlotte, we had drag queens at the polls to greet folks,” she said. “Because we knew there were going to be instances of voter intimidation, we tried to make the voting experience as fun, friendly and supportive as we possibly could.”

Equality NC also handed out protective equipment in partnership with the North Carolina Black Alliance and Disability Rights North Carolina.

In 2020, COVID-19 has put North Carolina in near-lock down and has prompted anxiety about the public health emergency — and the pandemic is far from over. In response to the crisis, community organizers and advocacy groups have done more than shift gears, turning away from dangerous face-to-face forms of communication.

They’ve embraced digital outreach, learning techniques they will use in a future not defined by the coronavirus.

Even though she cites studies that show canvassing is still the most effective way to get people to vote, Alston said we’ll see an increased shift to texting in the future, across all age ranges.

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Alston pointed out that she personally prefers texts to phone calls. She never answers her phone, she said, and if campaigners want to reach younger voters, they should swap texts for calls to get engagement.

Digital and virtual events will be seen as an “ important part of outreach, and not just an icing on the cake,” she said.

“Back in 2016 we would do maybe one social media post a day, and that was tossed out. It was like, if you do it, good. If you don’t, whatever,” Alston offered. “Now, [social media] is a much better way to do things, because there are so many pockets of people that we’re missing if we always stick to the older tactics.”

Gibson said phone banking and the canvassing will still be used, because face-to-face interactions have proven to be effective in getting people to take action.

“We will certainly continue to do these things but we’ll also utilize digital outreach and engagement more, because they are accessible and have the potential to reach more people in less time.”

“We had to navigate COVID, and yet we had one of the most active political seasons in the history of the organization,” Johnson said. “We engaged more volunteers than we ever had in any campaign that we ever done.”

“This pandemic has shifted how all of us do our work,” Johnson said. “It has made us think about what is necessary and what is unnecessary.” v

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Rainbows & Resistance The Interconnectedness of Pride Month and Black Lives Matter

by Trey Gibson (she/her)

Ten

years ago as a high school student in North Carolina, I did not learn about the historic Stonewall Riots that occurred in the summer of 1969 that sparked the modern queer liberation movement. In fact, as a student, I had no conception of a modern queer liberation movement beyond the demand for marriage equality, which was not achieved until 2015.

To say that LGBTQIA+ movements are barely covered in North Carolina history curricula is an understatement: LGBTQIA+ issues are largely ignored in all school subjects, especially sexual education. For those and other reasons, I spent a lot of time questioning my sexuality and felt pressure to determine into which neat category I could fit myself.

Erasure of bisexual people from popular culture is an ongoing phenomenon, and as such, bisexual people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, intimate partner violence, and other health disparities. Still, I am proud to be a Black bisexual woman at this crucial point in society because Pride is different this year for several reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic and the unrest gripping the nation.

Rather than the usual monthlong celebration with rainbows adorning everything, this June we’re forced to reckon with the true history of resistance within the LGTBQIA+ community and the importance of Black queer and trans activists in the fight for equality. It may be hard to accept because it goes against what we have been taught about social change in this country, but the modern movement for queer liberation began with a series of riots against an oppressive police force. The remnants of those oppressive forces still exist today, and we would be wise to learn from the past if we truly want to build a better future.

My heart aches for the people across our state and country who have flooded the streets to demand that police and vigilantes stop abusing and killing Black people. What initially started as protests in Minneapolis responding to the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of police has spread into a global network of demonstrations against police brutality, including in my home of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The images flooding social media of militarized police 50

officers harming citizens in the name of justice reminds me that Black people have been fighting for the right to live without state violence – in the form of environmental injustice, restrictive reproductive health policies, government surveillance, etc. – for centuries.

To decry riots and looting ignores the truth that peaceful protests alone have not always changed the hearts and minds of people in power. Just ask Colin Kaepernick.

Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. showed the nation that nonviolent demonstrations are a powerful tool for change, he was ultimately assassinated for his beliefs of a future where all men would truly be equal. The painful irony of using his message in this moment is that Black people have always been given incremental civil rights while so many of our movement’s leaders still suffer at the hands of white supremacy.

My high school history textbooks, with its black-andwhite photos of Black students defiantly eating at lunch counters in the South, failed to include images of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two trans women of color who were on the forefront of the movement for queer liberation. Although we may now condemn the violence experienced by LGBTQIA+ people in 1969 New York City, the New York Police Department never issued an apology for its malicious mistreatment of queer people until June 2019 – fifty years after the historic uprising took place!

In North Carolina, indeed in Charlotte, trans women still face housing, unemployment, and healthcare inequality at disproportionate rates; in no way is the right to marriage equality the end of the struggle for queer people.

Make no mistake, when we say that Black Lives Matter, we include Black queer lives because too often our names are forgotten. Tony McDade. Nina Pop. So many others. In the fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation, I cannot be complacent with marriage equality while so many of my queer siblings face employment discrimination, violence and erasure from history’s narrative. We have to voice our frustrations because they are valid and we deserve to be heard!

It should come as no surprise that people will riot when no one listens – it is what MLK called “the language of the unheard” – and the loss of physical property on land that was stolen from Indigenous people should not bother anyone more than the loss of irreplaceable lives.

Charlotte Pride Magazine December 2020 Volume 2

Police should not arrest, tear gas and/or shoot people for expressing their rights to assemble and dissent, nor should they escalate violence and wear riot gear when most demonstrations have been peaceful. Still, as long as our democracy exists there are other tools to use: I am working to make sure people in our state can safely vote without barriers caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and I know that after November the work to liberate Black queer people will not be complete.

Continuing to protest, to call elected officials and demand policy solutions to improve Black lives is what Common Cause North Carolina supports to hold power accountable.

I seek stories from the past to understand the role of collectives in the fight for liberation, and I know I am not free until the most oppressed amongst us are free.

This Pride Month, the history of LGBTQIA+ resistance is inescapable, and I know I will be on the right side of history because I choose to support a world where all people truly are equal.

Trey Gibson is the Civic Engagement Organizer in Charlotte for Common Cause North Carolina. She is an organizer and writer with a passion for reproductive justice and imagining a world without borders and the Prison Industrial Complex. She enjoys art, reading about history, and working to strengthen democracy so that all people’s voices can be heard in the political process. This commentary was originally published by Common Cause North Carolina on June 15, 2020.

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Community Resources Advocacy

Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte gmccharlotte.org

Campaign for Southern Equality southernequality.org

One Voice Chorus onevoicechorus.com

Equality North Carolina equalitync.org

Health

Freedom Center for Social Justice fcsj.org Human Rights Campaign Carolina hrccarolina.org LGBTQ Democrats of Mecklenburg County meckdemlgbtq.org Mecklenburg LGBTQ Political Action Committee (MeckPAC) facebook.com/meckpac/ North Carolina AIDS Action Network ncaan.org Safe Schools NC safeschoolsnc.org

Arts Charlotte Pride Band charlotteprideband.org

Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group cthcg.org

-- Denotes HIV-related care and services Affinity Health Center Multiple locations in Rock Hill, Clover, Fort Mill and York 803-909-6363 affinityhealthcenter.org Amity Medical Group Two locations in East Charlotte and South Charlotte 704-208-4134 amitymed.org Anuvia Prevention & Recovery Center 100 Billingsley Rd. Charlotte, NC 28211 704-376-7447 anuvia.org Carolinas Care Partnership 5855 Executive Center Dr. Suite 102 Charlotte, NC 28212 704-531-2467 carolinascare.org

Dudley’s Place 103 Commerce Centre Dr. Suite 103 Huntersville, NC 28078 704-948-8582 myrosedalehealth.com/dudley/ House of Mercy 100 McAuley Cir. Belmont, NC 28012 704-825-4711 thehouseofmercy.org Mecklenburg County Health Department 704-336-6500 mecknc.gov/HealthDepartment/ ClinicServices Southeast Campus 249 Billingsley Rd. Charlotte, NC 28211 Northwest Campus 2845 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 Planned Parenthood Charlotte Health Center 700 S Torrence St. Charlotte, NC 28204 704-536-7233 plannedparenthood.org/healthcenter/north-carolina/

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United by our differences, we are proud to be allies to the LGBTQ+ community and excited to show our Charlotte City pride.

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PowerHouse Project 1420 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 704-394-8968 facebook.com/ ThePowerhouseProject Quality Comprehensive Health Center Medical Clinic 3627 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 704-394-8968 qchealth.net RAIN 601 E. 5th St. Suite 470 Charlotte, NC 28202 704-372-7246 carolinarain.org

Charlotte Observer charlotteobserver.com

Charlotte Black Pride charlotteblackpride.org

Charlotte Post thecharlottepost.com

Charlotte Gaymers Network facebook.com/ charlottegaymersnetwork/

CLTure clture.org Hola News nolanews.com La Noticia lanoticia.com QCityMetro qcitymetro.com QNotes goqnotes.com

RAO Community Health 21 W. 11th St. Charlotte, NC 28202 704-237-8793 raoassist.org

Qué Pasa Mi Gente Charlotte.quepasanoticias.com

Rosedale Health & Wellness 103 Commerce Centre Dr. Suite 103 Huntersville, NC 28078 704-948-8582 myrosedalehealth.com

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Queen City Nerve qcnerve.com

Alpha Psi Kappa Fraternity alphapsikappa.org Carolina Bear Lodge carolinabears.org Charlotte Tradesmen charlottetradesmen.org

Charlotte Agenda charlotteagenda.com

Carolina Transgender Society carolinatransgendersociety.com

Charlotte Magazine charlottemagazine.com

Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce clgbtcc.org Charlotte LGBTQ Elders charlottelgbtqelders.org Charlotte Lesbian and Gay Fund fftc.org/clgf Charlotte Pride charlottepride.org Charlotte Uprising charlotteuprising.com Crisis Assistance Ministry 500-A Spratt St. Charlotte, NC 28206 704-371-3001 crisisassistance.org Feed The Movement facebook.com/ feedthemovementclt Greater Charlotte Rise greatercharlotterise.org Hearts Beat as One Foundation heartsbeatone.org Pauli Murray LGBTQ+ Bar Association lgbtqbarnc.com

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PFLAG Charlotte pflagcharlotte.org

There’s Still Hope! tshcharlotte3.org

Gender Education Network gendereducationnetwork.org

Poor No More Free Store facebook.com/ PoorNoMoreCharlotte/

Transcend Charlotte transcendcharlotte.org

Pride Alliance Club Central Piedmont Comm. College facebook.com/groups/ CPCCPrideAlliance/

Prime Timers of Charlotte primetimersww.com/charlotte Queen City Connects queencityconnects.com Queen City Prism queencityprism.com Rainbow Foster Network facebook.com/ RainbowFosterNetwork/ Roof Above roofabove.org A new organization which merges the: Men’s Shelter of Charlotte 1210 North Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28206 704-334-3187 mensshelterofcharlotte.org Urban Ministry Center 945 N. College St. Charlotte, NC 28206 704-347-0278 urbanministrycenter.org Social Justice Emotional Response Collective es4sj.org Southern Country Charlotte southerncountrycharlotte.com

Twirl to the World Foundation twirltotheworld.org

Sports Charlotte Rainbowlers charlotterainbowlers.com Charlotte Roller Girls charlotterollergirls.com Charlotte Royals Rugby charlotteroyalsrugby.com Queen City Tennis Club facebook.com/ groups/36411747197 Stonewall Sports Bowling, corn hole, dodgeball, esports, kickball, softball, volleyball stonewallcharlotte.org

Youth Campus Pride campuspride.org Davidson College Center for Diversity & Inclusion 207 Faculty Drive Davidson, NC 28035 LGBTQ@davidson.edu 704-894-3103 davidson.edu/offices-andservices/diversity-and-inclusion

Time Out Youth Center 3800 Monroe Rd. Charlotte, NC 28205 704-344-8335 timeoutyouth.org UNC Charlotte Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement Information on a variety of LGBTQ and other student organizations, activities, and events Popp Martin Student Union 210 & King 210 704-687-7121 identity.uncc.edu Do you see information in these listings which should be updated? Would you like to add your community resource to a future publication of these listings? Send your information in an email to media@ charlottepride.org.

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