[9
The Carolinas’ Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper
Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 13, Number 11 • October 17, 1998 • FREE
The Latest Q^POLL Results
As a high school student, did you experience anti
gay harassment or discrimination from fellow students,
faculty or staff?
Often Occasionally Never
29% 48% 22“^“
Vote at www.q-notes.com
SC advocacy group hosts gay leader
Atlanta Feminist Women’s Chorus performs at the Closing Ceremony
OutCharlotte closes on high note
by Brian D. Holcomb
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—OutCharlotte 98, the
fourth annual installment of the Queen City’s
celebration of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender community, concluded on Sunday,
October 11 with a triumphant Closing Cer
emony. This year’s, perhaps even more than
others, was truly something to be proud of The
Festival has “grown up;” it has a format, it has
expectations from the community, and this year,
it even took on a life of its own.
The first major event of the Festival was film
night at Park Terrace Theatre. The film selec
tions (It’s In the Water and Alive dr Kicking were
particularly good and well-received. The show
ing of It’s In the Water, in fact, sold out, which
really gave the whole Festival a jolt of energy.
As in years past, there was one ‘girl film’ and
one ‘boy film,’ but there was more of a cross
over audience in each than there has been be
fore. Wonderful for community-building, but
it made for a bit of squirming in seats during
the respective love scenes. So much the better.
Sara Felder, the first artist-in-residence to
perform, opened on Thursday evening at The
atre Charlotte. June Bride is a hilarious one-
woman performance detailing the trials and
tribulations of Felder and her partner as they
attempted to organize a ‘traditional Jewish les
bian wedding.’ Felder’s writing was right on the
money. Her visual images were both riotous and
stunning (at one point, Felder is balanced on a
seesaw in a straight]acket when the phone rings
— of course, she manages to answer) and her
performance style is unique. It was not so much
theatrical as it had the feeling of a concert,
which helped draw the audience in even fur
ther.
Felder’s performance was the first overt in
stance of OutCharlotte’s own energy beginning
to stir. The Festival Steering Committee had
selected the theme of ‘Family’ early on in the
planning process and most of the events ad
hered. Felder’s performance, of course, dealt
with defining her gay family and gaining the
acceptance of her biological family. But it also
dealt with Felder’s Jewishness. The ‘sub-theme’
was emerging; being gay is part of who we are.
It is not the defining factor of our existence. It
is important, but so arc other things.
In June Bride, Felder examined her lesbian
ism, but mostly for comic value. Her dilemma
lay in where her sexuality intersected with her
Jewishness, which was just as vital and just as
innate.
The performance troupe “A Real Read” from
Chicago had the same message underlying their
work. Yes, they are gay. But they are also Afri
can-American and that can be as difficult to
deal with, if not more so, than their sexuality.
Comedian Michele Balan laced her routine
with more Jewish humor, once again showing
that she is many things, not one.
All were asked to OutCharlotte because of
See OUTCHARLOTTE on page 14
History is coming out of the closet
Greensboro sets the
pace in NC
by Brian M. Mycr
Q-Notes Staff
GREENSBORO, NC—More and more
communities across the country are stepping
forward to celebrate Gay and Lesbian History
Month — despite potential controversy. In
many cases, the focal point of this national,
grassroots movement has been screenings of Jeff
Dupree’s critically-acclaimed documentary. Out
of the Past. The groundbreaking feature had its
NC premiere in Greensboro on October 1.
“For centuries, the contributions of lesbian,
gay and bisexual people have gone untold. The
five history books most commonly used in
American public schools never once mention
the words lesbian or gay. This silence robs les
bian, gay and bisexual youth of a sense of their
history and presents all students with a distorted
image of our past,” stated Kevin Jennings, ex
ecutive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN) and a native of
Winston-Salem.
In an effort to bring attention to these un
acknowledged contributions. Out of the Past
documents the emergence of gay and lesbian
culture through 300 years of American history.
The stories are framed by the present-day
struggle of Kelli Peterson who stirred national
controversy when she attempted to form a Gay-
Straight Alliance at her Sdt Lake City high
school.
Out of the Past, which has been lauded by
critics from coast to coast, received the 1998
Audience Award at the prestigious Sundance
Film Festival. It will garner a national viewing
audience this fall when it is scheduled to be
broadcast on PBS.
The film’s NC premiere served as the kick
off for Greensboro’s community-wide celebra
tion of Gay and Lesbian History Month. In
addition to the screening. Mayor Carolyn S.
Allen issued a proclamation recognizing Gay
and Lesbian History Month, the contributions
of Greensboro’s gay and lesbian community and
GLSEN’s role in providing a better understand
ing of the accomplishments of gays and lesbi
ans.
Out of the Past was shown in Sternberger
Auditorium on the Guilford College campus
with approximately 100 attendees. The screen
ing was co-sponsored by GLSEN-Greensboro
and the GLBT student group at Guilford Col
lege. Advance tickets were available for $8 from
local GLBT youth groups; they were allowed
to keep $3 from the sale of each one.
See HISTORY on page 14
by Wanda Pico
Special to Q-Notes
CHARLESTON, SC—Kerry Lobel, execu
tive director of the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force (NGLTF), was in Charleston Sep-
, tember 23 to address a newly-formed, statewide
GLBT advocacy group. The meeting featured
attendees from Charleston, Georgetown, Co
lumbia and Hilton Head.
“Our greatest hope for change lies in com
munities across this country,” said Lobel, one
of the most respected leaders in the struggle for
GLBT equality. “Our gathering today demon
strates the power in grassroots organizations.”
The meeting was hosted by the Alliance For
Full Acceprance (AFFA), a non-profit organi
zation that encourages networking, advocacy
and education among those committed to se
curing social justice and civil rights for gays and
lesbians. The group was founded by a coalition
of Charleston-area gay, lesbian and heterosexual
professionals.
During the meeting with Lobel, Linda
Ketner, AFFA president, declared, “Today is a
turning point for Charlestonians concerned
about the last acceptable prejudice — discrimi
nation against gay and lesbian citizens. We’re
coming together from across the state, from
across sexual orientations, from across races,
religions and socio-economic groups to elimi
nate this prejudice.”
“AFFA’s first initiative,” Ketner noted, “is
to get gays and lesbians to the polls in Novem
ber, backing those candidates who share our
concerns for social justice.” Bouyed by a recent
NGLTF survey which indicated that gay and
lesbian voters constitute approximately 9 per
cent of voters in “second-tier” cities, AFFA lead
ers believe their get-out-the-vote campaign can
have a real impact on local races.
In addition to Ketner, other officers and
board members of AFFA include Charles
Smith, vice-president; Lynne Moldenhauer, sec
retary; Jim Redman, treasurer; and Sharon
Strieker, Tom Myers, Carolyn Newkirk and
Warren Gress, board members.
AFFA-sponsored activities planned for the
coming year include bi-monthly membership
meetings, forming a speakers bureau, publish
ing a resource directory, establishing a web site
and implementing various training programs
to educate members about GLBT issues.
And it seems the group has formed just in
time since The Charleston Post & Courier ran a
full page ad on October 5 promoting Exodus
and other “ex-gay” ministries that claim to be
able to “cure” homosexuality.
The first open meeting of the new organi
zation will be held November 5 at a location to
be announced. For more information on AFFA,
write PO Box 22088, Charleston, SC 29413
or call (843) 883-0343. T
Candidates stump for gay support
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—Mecklenburg County
politics came full circle on September 29 when
eight hopefuls for the County Commission —
including two incumbents — addressed gay and
lesbian voters at a town hall meeting to gather
support and mobilize a strong get-out-the-vote
effort.
A similar forum would have been unthink
able during the last election cycle, but a divi
sive, long-running war
on gay issues plagued
the Commission for a
year and a half, substan
tially altering
Mecklenburg’s political
climate. The fallout
from the battles made
moderate leaders more
aware of anti-gay big
otry in Charlotte and
left them more receptive
to working toward solu
tions.
At the meeting,
hosted by the
Mecklenburg Gay &
Lesbian Political Action Committee (Meek
G&L PAC) and held at the Metropolitan Com
munity Church of Charlotte, each candidate
was given five minutes to address the 80-per-
son audience and share his or her political views.
With one exception, all of the candidates
were endorsed by the PAC prior to their atten
dance at the forum, but, despite this, the over
whelmingly positive chorus of comments were
unanticipated by many voters.
Incumbent Commissioner Becky Carney, a
Democrat seeking an At-Large seat, said she w5s
cautioned against speaking at the meeting by a
well-intentioned colleague who thought it
might hurt her campaign. Carney said she sim
ply responded, “I go where I’m invited.”
She noted that things happen for a reason
and said the increasing respect for diversity that
has come in response to some commissioners’
intolerance has been the silver lining in this
.Sfi
Chris Cole (1) and Parks Helms
debacle for her. She also shared that she dreams
of the first Commission meeting after the elec
tion when moderates will be ejnpowered to
undo the damage wrought in the past 18
months.
Parks Helms, another incumbent Democrat
running At-Large, said that elected officials
must understand that “every person has intrin
sic dignity and worth.” He noted that a wave
of economic and social changes are “creating
stress on the old social infrastructure” in
Mecklenburg necessitating
growth and increased ac
ceptance.
Without calling names.
Helms accused some fel
low Commissioners of be
ing “judgmental and vin
dictive” and noted that
O' they have an “arrogant in-
2 sensitivity that we must do
g away with at all cost.”
E Before being seated,
^ Helms read a passage from
g an e-mail distributed by
^ Commissioner Bill James,
a member of the
Commission’s “Gang of
Five.” The message announced that Democratic
candidates were participating in a “lovefest with
homosexual activists” in the evening. Helms
rhetorically asked, “Why is Bill James sending
out e-mail about a meeting that he’s not even
attending?”
Former Commissioner Jim Richardson,
whose retirement opened the door for Hoyle
Martin (another “Gang” member) to get
elected, asked for absolution. “My God, what
a mistake I made,” he half-jokingly said.
Richardson said that his son’s homosexuality
and subsequent death from AIDS made him
painfully aware of the hurt the gay community
has felt. “I won’t make anyone special,” he
promised, “because I’ll make everyone special.”
Tom Vance, the lone Republican candidate
at the meeting, said he was motivated to run
out of frustration with the direction his party
See CANDIDATES on page 14