Your opinion matters
Take the gay and lesbian survey
page 7
She’s oh, so sweet
Interview with Candye Kane
page 33
Rare opportunity
Marc Adams comes to N.C.
page 44
Noted . Notable . Noteworthy . LGBT News & Views
SUMMER ENTERTAINING
Volume 21 . Number 26 www.q-notes.com May 5.2007
Celebrating Mother’s Day
A look at the origins of the holiday
and an interview with a mother and
her lesbian daughter
by Tony Luck and Donald Miller
Motherhood has been Celebrated since
ancient times. The Greeks paid homage to
Rhea, the Mother of Gods, and there are
records of the Romans worshiping a mother
Goddess known as Cybele as early as 260 BCE.
The more contemporary way of honoring
mothers began in England in the 1600s, when
“Mothering Sunday” was observed on the
fourth Sunday of the Christian Lent.
Over the years, the term “Mothering
Sunday” has fallen into disuse and has mostly
been replaced by “Mother’s Dayl’which is used
the world over.
The first Mother’s Day in the United States
was held in 1907 when Julia Ward, who wrote
the words to the “Battle Hymn of the
Republic,” held a ceremony to honor her
mother. She then successfully campaigned for
a formal holiday to honor mothers and by
1911 most states had taken up the idea. This
was followed in 1914 by a declaration by
President Woodrow Wilson that Mother’s Day
should be celebrated as a national holiday on
the second Sunday in May. The idea quickly
spread to Canada and Mexico and many more
countries throughout the world.
In honor of all the mothers out there
who share a special relationship with a
child that is lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans
gender, Q-Notes takes a look at one mother
and daughter who have forged a special
bond.
Vanessa Harris is mother to two children:
Josh and Jessica (she prefers Jessie). With the
death of her husband she years ago, mom
Vanessa becariie the sole provider. Needless to
say, the family is a tight-knit threesome.
“1 have a very good relationship with my
kids,” says Vanessa. “I need to be supportive of
them. That’s my job as a mom. They can’t
function independently if they don’t have love
from home.
“All of the three of us are very close-knit.
We do so much together. For quiet time we’ll
read together, and often we end up in numer
ous, redly deep discussions. Jessie and I like to
play Scrabble and go to movies together a lot.
“We have this kind of old-fashioned
household. Everybody has to pitch in to make
sure things get done because I have no family
here. It’s just my kids and me.”
Vanessa points to one particular individual
who served as a strong mentor for Jessie: Time
Out Youth’s Nicole Hoagland.
Although Vanessa and her husband were
open-minded and accepting of their children
under any conditions, Vanessa admits she was
surprised when Jessie came out to them when
she was in the fifth grade.
“She mentioned it to me and my husband
when she was 11,” Vanessa recalls. “We thought
she didn’t know what she was talking about
because she hadn’t been [in] any sexual [rela
tionships] . We just kinda left it at that and
thought, you know, whatever.”
Jessie recalls the experience from her per
spective: “We were all having dinner one
night, and I just said it. I was so comfortable
talking about it, it didn’t really seem any dif
ferent from telling her that my favorite color
was blue. 1 didn’t think there was a problem
with liking girls, because I had never been
taught such a thing.”
Jessie’s pronouncement also evoked a
response from her brother Josh.
“He was very supportive and intrigued, but
I think a little bit uneasy)’ says Vanessa. “Not
because of her sexual orientation, but because
it would be bringing other people into their
relationship. They’ve always been very close.”
It was later in Jessie’s teen years that
Vanessa decided it was a
good idea for Jessie to
visit Time Out Youth.
“1 went with Jessie the
first time,” Vanessa
recalls. “When we got
there they were meeting
in the basement of St. .
Luke’s on the Plaza. I felt
she was uncomfortable
because I was there, so I ■
left, so that she could feel
more free to talk about
who she is and her expe
riences and not have to
be thinking‘my mom is
here.’”
“My mom is the most
understanding mom
there is,” Jessie says
proudly. “She’s always so
sympathetic and really
great about putting her
self in another person’s
place.”
Vanessa confirms that
see mother on
Fantastic duo: Jessie and Vanessa Harris
ACLU appoints gay rights
attorney to cover south
N.C. included in case load
by Paul Cates
‘There is a lot of impor
tant work to be done on
behaif of LGBT people in
the southern states —
and I look forward to
the challenge.’
— ACLU attorney
Christine Sun
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) has appointed noted gay rights attorney
Christine Sun to lead the American Civil Liberties Union’s
LGBT rights work in the south.
Sun, who has worked on LGBT and AIDS issues for the
ACLU in California since 2004, will work out of the ACLU of
Tennessee’s office in Nashville.
“We are excited to have Christine spearhead our
LGBT and AIDS work in the south,” said Matt Coles,
director of the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender
& AIDS Project. “We have long wanted to have a greater
presence in the southern states. Christine is an excellent
lawyer who has achieved some important victories dur
ing her time with the ACLU. Her commitment and
expertise are exactly what we need to make a difference
for LGBT southerners.”
“The ACLU of Tennessee has a long history of fighting
for greater fairness for gay people and people with
HIV/AIDS,” said Hedy Weinberg,
see attorney on 7
Myrtle Beach ‘Gala’ a success
page 20
Charlotte Lesbian
and Gay Fund
announces grant
winners
Community Center and Time Out Youth
among recipients
by David Moore . Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Lesbian & Gay
Fund (CLGF) was started in the spring of 2003 by a
group of people who were concerned about the
welfare of
Charlotte’s
LGBT organi
zations. Their
goal was to
explore new
funding
sources and
look into the possibility of establishing a perma
nent endowment at Foundation For The Carolinas.
“We saw that we were in a wealthy community,
but so many of the LGBT organizations were strug-
see fund on 9
n Community
ilrnd
10 years after Ellen
page 16