Newspapers / Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.) / Sept. 1, 1995, edition 1 / Page 1
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Vol. 10, No. 4 September 1995 Coroner makes queer comments ...Page 4 School’s in, we’re out ...Page 25 The Carolines’ Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper Printed on Recycled Paper FREE Eddie Hatcher steps out all over again by David Stout Q-Notes Staff HAMLET, NC—Even though Native American activist Eddie Hatcher, 38, has been out of prison since this past May, he’s now coming out again—out of the closet that is— as a gay man living with AIDS. He recently explained to Q-Notes that he hadn’t come out before because no media outlet, before this one, had ever bothered to ask him about his sexual orientation. He also spoke about the new path his social justice work is taking with the formation of his Hatcher Center for Hu man Rights. Hatcher’s former organizing is what led him to prison, in 1989, for his role in the day long takeover of the Robesonian newspaper. He has always maintained that the move was a last-ditch effort to keep himself alive in the face of death threats from Robeson County officials whom he claimed were trafficking drugs. Afederal jury accepted Hatcher’s story and found him not guilty of kidnapping. North Carolina’s Attorney General wasn’t so sure though, and the state re-tried him. Too weary to fight, Hatcher pled guilty and was sen tenced to 18 years in prison. Television cameras statewide recorded the scene this spring when a paroled Hatcher walked from Raleigh’s Central Prison as a shell of his former self. He says that prison administrators allowed pneumocystis pneu monia to overrun his body for nearly six weeks before finally seeking medical atten tion for him — even though he was facing bouts with fevers of up to 106 degrees, vom iting continuously and sinking into an unshakeable weakness that kept him bed ridden. “The only thing I was able to do was get on my bunk and lie down.” The devastating effects of the illness, coupled with the de spair of being aban doned by the system, left Hatcher so de spondent that he only had one hope: death. “I cried out of des peration and asked God to please just let me die.” Had he gone with out treatment any longer than he did, he would have died. But, his mother harangued state officials into ac tion — eventually, he was hospitalized and the pneumonia was eradicated. Pneumocystis was Hatcher’s first encoun ter with an HIV-related opportunistic illness. Soon after this first incident, he was paroled. A spokesperson with the state Parole Board says that illness had nothing to do with the Eddie Hatcher decision to release Hatcher (“North Carolina has no medical parole provisions.”); but, that claim notwithstanding, the fact remains that he had been denied release nearly a half- dozen times prior. Immediately after leaving prison, the controversial activist did exactly what any one who knows him would have expected: he called a press con ference and issued a number of blistering charges, mostly relat ing to rates of HIV infection among in mates (he estimates over 40 percent are positive) and guards’ tolerance of unsafe sex in prisons which is driving the num- bers even higher. “In mates would have sex right out in the open, and the guards wouldn’t say anything about it.” Among his statements was one personal declaration which seemed out of place: Hatcher told reporters that he had been in fected through “promiscuous” sex in prison. This seemed like an odd choice of words, so Continued on page 21 Rollers bowl into 10th season with strikes to spare by Gene Poteat Q-Notes Staff It is the most popular sport in this country. Last year, 79 million Americans did it, on wooden floors, in over 7,000 different places. Starting again this month, a group of homo sexual men and women will be doing it, in groups of three, in Charlotte. What are these people up to? Participating in the most popular sport in this country and the second most popular sport, behind soccer, in the world — bowling. This fall marks the tenth season for Queen City Rollers, a mixed, handicap league of gay and lesbian bowlers which takes to the alleys of Charlotte’s Coliseum Lanes at 9pm on Monday nights, begitming September 18. “We expect to have 16 teams this year,” says the league’s vice-president, Billie Rose, who recently retired from a five-year stint as the group’s president. Each team consists of three members. “The usual rule in a mixed league is to have men and women on each team,” she explains, “but we allow any mix of players [on a team] because some men prefer to play only with men and some women prefer to play only with women.” Chuck Hart, the Rollers’ incoming presi dent, says, “I feel we have a strong slate of officers this year, and I am looking forward to a great season with lots of new faces. I am looking forward to leading the league.” He declares, “We want people to get excited.” Hart, who has been bowling in leagues for 23 years, started as a junior bowler at age 13, was initially attracted to the group as a way to meet new people and, he says, “...to get back into a sport I thoroughly enjoy.” “It’s a community thing, a group of gay people getting together,” he adds. “By being a handicap league,” explains Hart, “everyone basically starts out even [for the purposes of scoring]; we are not professionals.” Players range in age from 18 to 40 and up. Although women were instrumental in the founding of the league. Rose was the only female member when she began with the league five years ago. “In the early years, we had a difficult time getting women to bowl,” she states. While the number of female par ticipants has steadily risen since she joined, she says, “I would like to put more effort into seeing that the lesbian community plays a larger part in the league.” Handicapped individuals are also encour aged to take to the alleys. “Two summers ago a deaf male began playing with us, and we have an interpreter on the league,” relays Rose, adding, “We expect to have more deaf players this fall.” Queen City Rollers, whose logo is a four point crown with a pink triangle in the center, is a member of the International Gay Bowling Organization (IGBO) which has over 10,000 members scattered across most states in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. To be recognized in league play, male members of the Rollers must be sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress (ABC), and fe males must be endorsed by the Women’s International Bowling Congress (WIBC). “To be sanctioned,” explains Rose, “means you join a local league, pay a yearly membership fee and follow the rules. We are then recog nized for our accomplishments.” Members also participate in local bowling associations. i^C’s Mark Miiler, who supplied the statistics used at the beginning of this article, notes that there are over 100 million players world-wide. “Many people are surprised at the sport’s popularity,” he says. Last year, the ABC, headquartered in Greendale, WI, sanc tioned some 75,000 bowlers in North Caro lina; 40,000 in South Carolina; and 100,000 in Virginia. These states have 103,56 and 91 bowling centers, respectively. League bowl ing is big business. In addition to the membership fees re quired for sanctioning, which are, according to Hart, “around $10 per year for men and little more or less for the women,” Roller members will, he says, “probably pay $9.00 each week to play this year.” That weekly fee includes the cost of play, a prize fund and a small portion for record keeping. In addition Continued on page 21 Astraea funds lesbian survey COLUMBIA—The South Carolina Women’s Consortium has been awarded a grant to survey lesbian health care in South Carolina. The grant will enable researchers to collect information on the type and quality of health care provided to lesbians. The grant was received from the Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation which awarded $52,000 in grants to projects focus ing on issues from lesbians and gay youth and advocacy to health care and hate crimes. Access to health care, mental health ser vices, and other services designed to improve health is difficult for women in the state. For lesbians, this difficulty is intensified by isola tion, homophobia, and lack of provider knowl edge related to lesbians ’ specific health needs. To gather data about health-related issues faced by South Carolina lesbians, the consor tium has initiated a major statewide survey. The project is being conducted by lesbian health providers and researchers interested in improving health care access. The project is focusing on women who have women part ners or who identify as lesbian or bisexual. The researchers are seeking to increase re sponses from older women, women of color, low-income or working class women, women with physical challenges, women without housing, and rural women. “We are excited about the project, since it is a first-time effort to collect data statewide on an issue which is so important to all of us,” says project coordinator Pamela Clarke. The L«sbian Health Care Project is work ing to find women throughout the state who are interested in helping to distribute surveys in their communities. Rural women, women of color and older women are strongly en couraged to call to assist with the distribution. .For more information or to receive a copy of the survey, contact Pamela Clarke at (803) 777-4499 (leave message) or the South Caro lina Women’s Consortium at (803) 252-9813. Health project selects Prince as new executive director Jeff Prince DURHAM—^The North Carolina Les bian and Gay Health Project (LGHP) has named Jeff Prince as its new Executive Director. Prince comes to the po sition from the higher education arena where he spent several years working in fundraising, community rela tions, and public affairs. Prince was previously employed at Louisburg College as director of public re lations. While there, he managed the college’s external publication, acted as offi cial spokesperson, directed the media rela tions program, and assisted the develop ment office in the design of a variety of fundraising materials. Prior to his appointment at Louisburg, Prince served Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, VA in a variety of capacities. He worked as assistant director for develop ment, a fundraising position where he solic ited donors and worked to secure gifts to the college’s annual fund. Later, he was pro moted to the position of director of public relations. In that position he managed the college’s publications, media relations, and community relations programs. Prince is a 1988 graduate of Virginia Tech where he received a bachelor’s de gree in communication studies with a con centration in public relations. His master’s degree in higher education administration with an emphasis on institutional advance ment is from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education. Since coming to North Carolina in 1993, Prince has been an active member of the gay and lesbian community. Anne Dornberg, Co-Chair of LGHP’s board of directors, said it was exciting for the organization to have a new leader in place. “After a long, careful search for an executive director, we’re pleased to have Jeff Prince,” she said. “Many people in the community were frustrated by the length of time it took us to fill the position, but the Search Committee felt very strongly that we wanted a candidate who had a lot of knowledge and experience — we were willing to wait until we found a strong leader with fundraising and administrative Continued on page 21
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