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Q-NOTES
May 1989
PRIDE IN PRINT I
•;-S*-xo«W:$5SiASSw
Switchboard, Charlotte 704/525-6128
AIDS Hotline, Charlotte 704/333-AIDS
PFLAG Hotline, Charlotte 704/364-1474
AIDS Hotline, Columbia 803/779-PALS
Call Linp. Wilmington 919/675-9222
TO ADVERTISE: 339-0679
Chambers' Banquet Draws Protest
May 7 Bingo at Steven's
May 10 Queen City Friends
May 11 PFLAG
May 12 GIL Forum Cable Ch. 33
May 19 Male Impersonation,
Hide-A-Way, Rock Hill
Anniversary Show, Charades
Boom-Boom Latour, Oleens
May 20 MCSP Casino Night
May 23 Closer Asheville
May 24 Talent Show Scorpio
May 27 MCC Charlotte
Pot Luck Supper
May 28 Coco Vega, Tracy Morgan,
Brooklyn Dior,—Scorpio
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Animersons, The
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News In Brief
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Page 7
The Soft Spot
Paged
by Richard Epson-Nelms
Q-Notes Staff
Approximately thirty protesters from First
Tuesday, the gay and lesbian political action
group, were joined by members from both
PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians
And Gays) and NOW (National Organiza
tion of Women) in picketing the fifth annual
banquet of Concerned Charlotteans and its
president. Reverend Joseph Chambers.
This year’s guest of honor was Vice
President Dan Quayle. The visit to Charlotte
by the vice president was arranged by Sena
tor Jesse Helms. First Tuesday made no
effort to inform Quayle about Chambers’
extremism. However, in a letter to the vice
president, Joyce Rankin of Dallas, N.C.,
director of PI^AG’s South Atlantic Region
stated, “I am deeply concerned that you may
not be aware of the true nature of this group
self-styled as ‘Concerned Charlotteans.’ Do
you really want to associate your name and
office with a group which espouses love,
peace, and brotherhood, but whose policies
in practice have resulted in hatred and vio
lence against our innocent gay and lesbian
children?”
“As you enter the banquet hall in Char
lotte,” the letter said, “there will be a group of
us. . . silently standing outside with signs
protesting the consequences of some of the
actions of Concerned Charlotteans. We want
you to look into our faces and know how
much you will be hurting us and our chil
dren.”
“We want the vice president to know that
the views of Joe Chambers are his own and
don’t represent Charlotte,” said Don King,
media representative for First Tuesday.
Chambers, minister of the Paw Creek Church
of God, is a founder and president of Con
cerned Charlotteans. The conservative citi
zen’s group has continued to stir controversy
with its attacks against homosexuality, por
nography, and AIDS education.
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In a February 1988 issue of the Con
cerned Charlottean Update, the group’s
newsletter. Chambers said “One of the most
powerful forces in America against Judeo-
Christian traditions and values is the homo
sexual/lesbianism organizations. Pornogra
phy, homosexuality, molestation of children,
and rape are intimately tied together.”
In March of this year Chambers took
exception with the report of the United Way
Study Committee on AIDS. The committee
was created by the Mecklenburg County
Commissioners and made up of some of
Charlotte’s leading citizens. It was formed
last year after Chambers and Concerned
Charlotteans attacked Metrolina AIDS Proj
ect for distributing explicit “safe sex” cards.
Chambers said “The report sounds like it
was either written by a homosexual or writ
ten by a person who was a pawn in the hands
of a homosexual.” Where the report called
for a compassionate community that doesn’t
see AIDS as “God’s punishment for one’s
homosexual orientation,” Chambers said “We
will oppose any effort to neutralize the moral
consequence of the homosexual lifestyle.”
King cited reasons for the picket includ
ing violence against gay men and lesbians.
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“When a person in the public eye so falsely
characterizes a segment of the population, he
should accept responsibility for the conse
quences of his statements,” King said.
“Chambers’ remarks help perpetuate the view
that human beings who are gay are fair tar
gets of harassment, violence, and discrimi
nation.”
King said that Chambers represents two
See Protest on page 8
Charlotte Will Host The 1991 International P-FLAG Convention
By Douglas Randolph
On April l,the 18-member National Board
of the Federation of Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays held its mid-year board
meeting at the Washington, DC, head office
to consider future convention sites along
with other business. Detroit will host the
1989 convention in October. Orange County,
California, was selected for the October 1990
meeting, and Charlotte has been designated
to host the October 1991 conclave.
Representatives of the Charlotte chapter
of Parents and Friends of Lesbians & Gays
accepted the honor and took note of the fact
that 1991 will be the Parents Federation's
10th anniversary year.
One of the national board members, Joyce
Rankin of Dallas, North Carolina, is the
Regional Director of P-FLAG’s South At
lantic Region which covers North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Bermuda,
and the Caribbean Islands.
Joyce reports that the board chose Char
lotte for a number of important reasons.
First, the national body tries to strike a bal
ance between the east and west coasts and
the heartland in selecting the convention site
from year to year. An eastern or southern
location was needed for 1991 and Charlotte
was specifically chosen because it is gener
ally regarded as having the most activist P-
FLAG chapter in the southeast with a strong
core of dedicated parents capable of hosting
such a large undertaking.
Second, the Parents Federation continues
to explore various ways and means of com
batting the anti-gay thrust of the conserva
tive movement. Said P-FLAG vice-presi
dent Tom Sauerman of Philadelphia: "By
choosing Charlotte, we are declaring guer
rilla warfare against Jesse Helms and others
of his ilk who seem bent on destroying our
gay children. We are sending a message and
making a statement that we intend to strike a
blow against homophobia by taking our
See PFLAG on page 8
New Restaurant To Offer Variety In Charlotte Dining
By Bill Allen Goad
Q-Notes Staff
Two Charlotte women have decided to
open a new restaurant to serve the growing
Charlotte Gay and Lesbian community. Pat
Sizemore, former bartender at the Scorpio
Lounge, and Linda Swenson have obtained a
lease on the property at 311 Rensellaer Ave.,
presently occupied by Steven's Cafe and Bar.
"Gay people here deserve better than
they've been given," said Pat Sizemore, who
said she was one of the new partners. "Our
intentions are to see to it that they get it."
Sizemore, a longtime employee of the
Scorpio, recently resigned to pursue this
project along with Swenson. Sizemore said
the business, with new name, will be a restau
rant with an upstairs bar.
Present Steven's owner and manager, Ken
Groniger, refused to talk to Q-Notes about
the restaurant. Groniger opened Steven's 2
years ago as Charlotte's only gay/lesbian
restaurant in the 1980's.
Sizemore said there will be changes to
make the restaurant a nice place to go before
a night on the town. "Our main thing right
now is to get it cleaned up, get things in order
and try to make these people happy," she
said. "They deserve it."
As quickly as possible, the menu will
change to include light appetizers and en
trees. Servers will be properly dressed. Bar
music will no longer be played in the restau
rant portion of the building. Decor will
change. Eventually, new kitchen equipment
will be installed. Improving service is a pri
mary concern.
"The presence of management means a
lot," Swenson said. "It's hard for one person
to manage a place like that and be expected to
be there; there are just too many hours. We
plan to make arrangements for one of us to be
there all the time."
The new restaurant's owners say they are
committed to community support similar to
that of Steven's benefit bingo games.
"We want to show that we want to help,"
Sizemore said. "We haven't decided what
yet, but I'm sure we'll get help with ideas. If
clubs or organizations want our help, we'll be
glad to give it."
"I've seen gay people abused so much,
and treated so wrong for so long," she said,
"if there's anything I can do about that. I'm
going to do it.
Swenson and Sizemore ask that people
keep an eye open for advertisements an
nouncing the grand opening in Q-Notes and
The Front Page in the near future.