PAGE 4 Q-Notes ■ November 1986
Town Meeting Crowd Hits 91
By don king
Edltoi
Charlotte's gay/lesbian community
turned out 91 strong Monday, Sept. 15,
for the first widely publicized meeting of
a local political activist group since the
demise of the last such group in 1984.
Gay/lesbian political activism died in
Charlotte after the election of Harvey
Gantt as mayor two years ago; but its
rebirth as One Nation Indivisible was
strong and determined.
ONI was formed in July to stage a
vigil to protest the appearance of a
discredited psychologist invited to Char
lotte by the antigay group Concerned
Charlotteans. The Sept. 15 meeting
brought ONI out of the closet as a decid
1708 South Boulevard
Charlotte, N.C.
Phone 704/333-3859
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edly activist organization determined to
help the gay/lesbian community wrest a
position of power in local and state
politics.
Among the men and women attend
ing the meeting, 31 registered to vote
and 18 joined ONI, getting membership
cards on the spot, courtesy of a laminat
ing machine from Oleen's. Dozens more
carried home ONI membership applica
tions, many vowing to send'in the $12
annual membership fee. Steve Free
man, co-owner of Charades, offered to
pay for 10 memberships in ONI for those
who can't afford to join.
During an open-mike session, people
told stories of harassment and rejection.
■ A former first-grade teacher and
church organist said he had come to
Charlotte to live and work because
church members in his smaller town
who found out he was gay vowed to run
him out of town if he didn't leave.
■ A man who appears in television
commercials said that if it were known
he is gay, he probably wouldn't be
hired as an actor.
■ A former Baptist minister told of un
relenting rejection and economic suffer
ing since he found the courage to ac
knowledge his gayness.
Others spoke of personal experiences
and hopes for changing the antigay tide
they see in Charlotte.
Rick Carter, known in gay entertain
ment circles as Boom Boom Latour,
called for gay/lesbian bar patrons to
read, register to vote and become in
volved. In his unique way with words,
he told the crowd with dead seriousness
that "your mouth is important to your
friends." No one laughed, knowing that
he was urging everyone present to talk
up gay activism and involvement and
the possible consequences of inaction.
He warned that gay bars were not im
mune from the hit list of antigay activists.
'The meeting was held in the disco
room at Charades, but no one was
dancing as ONI organizers recounted
offenses against the community, includ
ing the Charlotte police department's
antigay employment policy.
Freeman spoke up for individual
members of the department.
"When my partner (in Charades) was
stabbed," he said, "the police couldn't
have been more concerned. They
stayed with us for 16 hours straight."
And he related the change in attitude
policemen who have never worked off-
duty hours at Charades experience af
ter one night.
Bill Purcell of the Tradesmen regis
ters to vote at Town Meeting.
"When they first start, they're scared
to death because they don't know what
to expect," he said. "But after their first
night, they're amazed. They say they
had no idea the job would be so easy.
They didn't know it would be so different
from working a regular (straight) night
club where they hove to break up fights
and deal with violence such as stab-
bings."
At a table near the disco room's en
trance, people signed a petition stating:
"We, the undersigned, in signing this
petition, recommend to the city and
county of Charlotte/Mecklenburg the in
clusion of openly gay persons on public
committees and commissions."
ONI members vowed to carry the
petition to other gay meetings as well as
nongay gatherings to collect hundreds
of signatures. The petition was in re
sponse to Gantt's never-fulfilled 1984
promise to appoint a member of the
community to the Human Relations
Committee.
In the piano bar, ONI members used a
portable tape recorder to document in
stances of harassment and discrimina
tion.
And people didn't flinch as a Q-Notes
photographer used a camera with flash
to record the scene.
Acceptance
To Host Forum
CONTINUED FEOM PAGE 1
may register if they will have estab
lished residence in Mecklenburg within
30 days of the election.
■ New 18-year-olds. People 17 may
register, too, if they will be 18 on or
before election day.
■ Persons who have moved from one
voting precinct to another within the
county.
Mecklenburg residents may register
during office hours at any public library
or branch. Mechanics 8c Farmers Bank,
Huntersville Town Hall, Pineville Town
Hall, Matthews Town Hall, and the Board
of Elections (8-5 Mondcry through Friday
and 10-4 Saturday) at 741 Kenilworth
Ave. Suite 202 (Park Plaza office condo
miniums).
Persons who have not previously reg
istered must provide a form of identifi
cation such as a driver's license (N.C. or
otherwise), a birth certificate, a check
with name and address on it, a student
ro card — anything indicating persons
are who they say they ore.
■ ■■
One Nation Indivisible is Charlotte's
gay/lesbian political action organiza
tion. Memberships are $12 per year.
Send check, payable to One Nation
Indivisible, to ONI. P.O. Box 221841,
Charlotte 28222.
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WARNING. Publication of a person's picture or name
should be taken os no indicortion of sexual preference.
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€l-Notes
c/o Don King, 331 East Blvd. #3,
Charlotte. N.C. 28203
Phone 704/332-3834