^nortKI
& soi^
CAROLINA
Kate Bomstein comes
to Charlotte
Pepper Mashay performs
atS.C. Pride 25
Continued terror for
gay Iraqis 12
America must stand up to
Jamaican homophobia 13
S&M trio charged, remain
jailed for castrations 21
North and South
Carolina
North Carolina:
MeckPAC announces
new leadership 06
South Carolina:
SCEC hires manager to
fight amendment 08
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VOLUME 20 . ISSUE 26
SINCE 1986 WWW.q-NOTES.COM
MRY 6 . 2006
Get ready for S.C. Pride 2006
New location and exdting
new line-up of entertainment includes
Pepper Mashay and a Nickelodeon-
sponsored gay film fest
by Ed Madden and
Donald Miller
COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Cay
and Lesbian Pride Movement (SCGLPM) will
host the 15th Anniversary South Carolina
Pride Parade and Festival in Columbia on
May 20. The festival is part of a week of
activities and events celebrating the theme,
“We the people... includes everyone!”
“The message behind the theme is meant
to drive home the message that the upcom
ing constitutional amendment really will be
harmful to LGBT families,” says Kate
Goodrich, the newly elected president of
SCGLPM. “With that theme in mind, we’re
also trying to make the center more inclusive
of the entire LGBT community — lesbians,
the community of color, the transgender
community, everyone is welcome.”
The central events of South Carolina Pride
will be the parade and festival, which will be
held in downtown Columbia. The festival has
a new home this year, moving from Finlay
Park to Martin Luther King |r. Park in Five
Points.
According to Goodrich, the move has
been fortuitous, although it was not inten
tional. “We didn’t get the contract for Finlay
Park,” she explains. “Another group got the
permit before we did.”
Pride organizer Radar Williams confirms
that the annual Columbia Women’s Run did
actually get the permit before
SCGLPM in order to hold an
awards ceremony.
Despite the change of
venue, Goodrich sees it as a
positive move.
“This is increasing our
visibility,” says Goodrich. ’
“We’ll also be marching
down Devine St. during the
parade. Past the business
district on that street are res
idential neighborhoods — so
we want to tie together the
notion that we’re all neigh
bors and families and friends. We’re also
hoping to draw a lot more spectators since
we’ll be so close to where a lot of people
live.”
Expected to be the largest in the organi
zation’s history, the parade will begin at
noon, proceed down Devine St. and through
Five Points into Martin Luther King |r. Park.
The festival and celebration, featuring ven
dors and live entertainment, will be held 1-6
p.m. in the park.
Both Williams and Goodrich confirm that
last year’s attendance for the festival and
related events numbered somewhere around
2,000.
“This festival has been around for 15
years now, continuously growing and we’re
Revelers in Pride March '05.
really hoping more people will come out this
year, especially because of the amendment,”
says Goodrich.
The year’s festival guests include lifelong
women’s rights and lesbian activist Mandy
Carter and South Carolina progressive
activist Brett Bursey.
Entertainment will include many local
see SOUTH on 10
PRIDE Charlotte announces
date and location
Changes include new leadership, new vision and new location
by Mark Smith
CHARLOTTE — At a press conference held May 5 at The Lesbian and Gay
Community Center of Charlotte, organizers officially announced that the Center
is now officially taking charge of the annual Pride celebration in the Queen City.
“With a new name, new location and a new vision, we’re extremely excited to
announce that this year’s PRIDE Charlotte Festival will be held at Gateway Center,”
said Laura Witkowski, co-chair of the PRIDE Charlotte Task Force and executive
director of the Center.
Witkowski and PRIDE Charlotte co-chair ]im
Yarbrough went on to confirm that the event will take
place on Saturday, Aug. 26.
"It’s a date that works out well with what’s
going on in other communities around the
Carolinas and in accordance to our planning,” said Witkowski. “I know there will
be people that will be bummed because it’s not taking place in lune, but at the
same time to have a quality event, we have to have a feasible amount of plan
ning time. We don't want to sell ourselves short.”
Oiganizers say they’re expecting crowds similar in size to last year and think they’ll
find the new digs an added incentive to want to attend.
“Gateway is a wonderful site.” says Yarbrough. “It’s in see PRlDEon 23
Twenty-one
arrested at West
Point Equality Ride
action
Equality Ride comes to a close
by Richard Lindsay
HIGHLAND FALLS, N.Y.
— Military police arrested
15 Soulforce Equality Riders
and six community mem
bers as they attempted to
step onto the United States
Military Academy at West
Point to speak as citizens
and taxpayers opposed to
the military’s “Don't Ask,
Don’t Tell” policy. The poli
cy prevents out LGBT pea-
pie from serving in the mill-
tary or attending West
Point. see FINAL on 16
Don’t miss the special 20th anniversary edition of Q-Notes May 20.