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 Over the years, the term “Mothering Sunday” has fallen into disuse and has mostly been replaced by “Mother’s Dayl’which is used the world over.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

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