TRIBUTE TO JIM BAXTER
it to be better. Better news writing. More let
ters to the editor. More local involvement.
And there are so many stories that 1 wanted
to write, that should have been written, that
never got done. So to the people and organi
zations whose stories didn’t get into the
paper, 1 apologize. ▼
^ Since 1970.
IPjo0|||q9C
ftrivinQ flK Utt I tMMNMVf ic *nwli) wwOw MrfMM
Notable Notes on Jim Baxter
' Work as a community organizer as noted
in “Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones:
Queering Space in the Stonewall South”
by James T. Sears. Rutgers University
Press; published in 2001.
' Included in Genre magazine’s turn of
the century (December 1999/January
2000) “2000 Years, 2000 Queers” honors
list.
- The 1999 N.C. Pride Statewide Award of
Merit was awarded jointly to Jim Baxter
and The Front Page. Sponsored by the
N.C. Gay and Lesbian Pride Committee,
the award is given each year to people or
organizations whose work on behalf of
the community has made a positive dif
ference. Spectator magazine did a cover
story on The Front Page in its June 16,
1999 issue as result.
• Received a “Citizen’s Award” in 1994
from The Independent and was profiled
in its Nov. 23,1994 issue,
• The Stonewall 25 North Carolina com
mittee named Jim Baxter a “Stonewall
Hero” in 1994 “in recognition of efforts
on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender people in the Carolinas.”
Queen City Quordinators, a Charlotte
community organization, awarded Jim
Baxter their “Carolinian of the Year”
award in 1986.
The Front Page was included on a list of
“The Most Essential Newspapers,” one
of only five local publications cited, in
“The Big Gay Book: A Gay Man’s
Survival Guide for the ’90s” (Penguin,
1991).
' In addition to The Front Page, Baxter’s
writings have appeared in:
“Revelations: Gay Men’s Coming-Out
Stories,” by Adrien Saks (Editor), Wayne
Curtis (Editor), Alyson Publications,
October 1988.2nd edition published
September 1999.
“Mama’s Boy: Gay Men Write About
Their Mothers,” by Dean Kostos (Editor),
Eugene Grygo (Editor), Painted Leaf
Press; published in 2000.
Other work has appeared in a variety of
publications including The Sun, Lambda
Literary Review, The Washington Blade,
The New York Blade, Gay Peoples
Chronicle (Ohio), Outspoken (Colo.),
Watermark (Fla.) and others. ▼
■C
All about Baxter
Mandy Carter
“Where do 1 begin to thank you for so many
years of service to North Carolina’s LGBT move
ment and community by way of The Front
Paget I first met Jim Baxter and got introduced
to The Front Page when I moved to Durham in
1982 to join the staff of the then War Resisters League/Southeast
Regional Office. That means I’ve maintained both a personal friendship
and professional relationship with Jim and The Front Page for the past
24 years. And I am truly thankful. When you think about the history
and growth of our LGBT community and movement here in North
Carolina we know that we can find it in the pages of The Front Page.
And personally knowing that, like me, Jim Baxter is a pack rat means
that he has every single issue since the beginning.
“Isn’t it great to know that The Front Page outlasted Sen. Jesse Helms!
When The Front Page started, Helms sat in the US. Senate representing
the state of North Carolina for 30-way-too-many-long years of bigotry and
intolerance. Fortunately for us, Helms didn’t seek re-election after his fifth
six-year term. It is now the year 2006 and as The Front Page has come to
its conclusion we sit in a Helms-free North Carolina!” ▼ '
All about Baxter
Mark Kleinschmidt
“I have only the highest respect for Jim Baxter
and what The Front Page h&s meant to the gay
and lesbian population in North Carolina. I
remember moving to Chapel Hill in 1988 and
coming out in 1989.1 have fond memories of how anxiously I and my
friends awaited every issue of The Front Page. It was virtually oUr only
source of connection to the larger LGBT community. Because we were
ignored by the mainstream media, the paper was my first source for learn
ing about issues our community was facing around the country.
“Even as the paper aged and we all became less reliant on it as a source
of news information, it remained the most important way of identifying
businesses in our community that we knew would welcome gay patron
age. Any time I needed professional services, was seeking a roommate or
just wondering what stores most deserved my gay dollars, I went directly
to The Front Page.
The value Jim’s work has had for the LGBT community in North
Carolina is immeasurable. He helped define the community in North
Carolina and made sure that its newest members knew that it was a wel
coming and supportive one.” ▼
-IW'i
SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE SECTION .TRIBUTETO jIMBAXTER &THE FRONT PAGE
S-5