PERSPECTIVE
Perfect placement for
your lifestyle
Billy Mallette
your rental/relocation specialist
bmallette@kluttspropertymanagement.com
C - 704-345-7007
$750 — East • 6611 Pineburr Road
2br,2bt, 1,200 sq. ft. Duplex
Privacy abounds! Huge great room with fireplace.
Double master suites. Fenced yard and large deck. Backs
up to acres of walking, running and biking trails.
Convenient to McAipine Greenway Park.
50% off 1st month’s rent with this ad!
$495 — Plaza-Midwood *1411 Downs Avenue
Ibr, Ibt, 700 sq. ft. Duplex
Petite, but complete! Situated near cultural, dining,
alternative mixed business, as weli as urban districts.
Convenient to Uptown and NoDa.
Full service agency with the best agents in the city
waiting to assist you wiVi your “Family” styled living
KLUnS
PROPERTY
MANAGEMENT 704.409.7585
www.klutts.info
For up-to-date coverage visit: www.q-notes.com
the Carolinas’ multimedia LGBT news source
Editor’s Note
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
Ode to ’09
Class of 2009, now is your time to
shine.
As you mark your final days of college and
walk across that stage, you should know: the
world is counting on you.
To all my peers, I hope you find satisfac
tion and a sense of achievement in your new
academic or work careers. In all your endeav
ors and jourpeys, I hope you keep one thing in
mind: You have the ability to make positive
change in your communities, cities, states,
nation and world.
But, you already know a thing or two
about change. Your generation — my genera
tion — will and already has made history. We
are the generation who witnessed through
innocent eyes the ravages of Sept. 11,2001
and the resulting “War on Terror,” forever
changing the way we related to the world and
it us. Time after time we’ve said goodbye to
friends and peers, family members,
boyfriends and girlfriends who signed up to
fight abroad, hoping they’d return in one
piece. Many of us enlisted ourselves.
And, because of the historic occurrences
of our childhood, our generation was among
the millions of Americans who sought for a
progressive change in our national leader
ship and direction. We helped to herald the
beginning of a new American era — an age
where it was finally possible for a black man
to ascend to the very position that less than
a century ago was used by others to keep
entire races, genders and cultures sub
servient and unequal.
We are witnessing the birth of an
America where all citizens, regardless of sex
ual orientation and gender-identity, enjoy
A JIT
JL liJ tJfVJ'.
JC i 'O'
221 Ashioy Avt+miti ' Historfe Dotvutown Charie!;!;':i
CharlestonChapel.com
1^., JL JL ‘
II Unions & Commiifm^t Cerem^i^ P
4 MAY 16.2009 *QNotes
freedom and justice and the benefit
of knowing their leaders and com
munities acknowledge their contri-
. j butions, affirm their lives and cele-
brate their loves.
Tq As you graduate, five state govern
ments realize the errors of their ways,
opening the institution of civil marriage to all
people. As we wrap up our 20s in six, seven or
eight years, imagine what our country will
have achieved.
The possibilities for progress are limidess.
The dominos are falling at an astoundingly
fast pace. And, you can be a part of history.
The change we’ve seen since we were chil
dren is amazing. In just 10 years, even some of
the most conservative places have seen the
LGBT people in their midst. When we were
teenagers, there were only nine gay-straight
alliances in high schools across North
Carolina and only a handful in South Carolina.
Now that number has grown almost tenfold or
more. Our local communities and schools
have changed because we took the effort to get
involved and push for the right to be safe, rec
ognized and heard.
Let’s put that same effort and energy to
work as we continue our academic pursuits or
enter our careers. Let’s continue to shape our
universities and workplaces, making them
shining examples of communities that accept
and embrace all people.
As we enter our foture, remember that life
is about more than personal financial gain or
material possessions. The world needs lead
ers, visionaries, activists, philanthropists, vol
unteers — kindhearted and community-
minded people who work just as much for
others as they do themselves.
It is easy to think only of ourselves. It is
easy to focus on the here and now, I challenge
you to continue what you have done through
out your youth. Think of tomorrow and what
you can do today to change it.
Get or stay involved with your local politi
cal process. Attend local town halls and city
government meetings. Become precinct offi
cers, phone bankers, campaign volunteers.
Donate your time and skills to your local
or state advocacy groups. Attend their lobby
days. Call and visit your elected officials.
Volunteer to collect signatures for petitions.
Spend time helping the least among you.
Dish out meals at the local soup kitchen. Take
your old clothes to Goodwill. Give that stranger
on the corner a dollar or some change.
Small acts of kindness create a ripple effect
through time and space. In one small moment
and gesture of human compassion, you can
lift spirits and change lives.
This is your mission. This is your life. This
is your future. ►
^online q-poll^
Do you think Q-Notes
adequately covers all
geographic areas
in the Carolinas?
See the options and vote,
and send your feedback at :
www.q-notes.com/qpoll