WINSTON-SALEM
Black church has the spirit
page 21
MYRTLE BEACH
Gay youth create radio PSA
page 00
Noted. Notable . Noteworthy. LGBT News & Views
Dammit, Janet!
Disciplined diva’s got love for
‘the children’
Becoming a pop icon takes undeniable tal
ent, ferocious discipline and, of course, a solid
gay fanbase. The legendary Janet Jackson has
all three, and she’s proving it yet again v^ith
her 10th studio album, appropriately titled
“Discipline.”
‘I’m not going to stop being who I am and
creating the music that I create.’
Photo Credit: Chuando & Frey
Miss Janet returns to her pop roots on the
new release with infectious songs like“Luv”
and “Can’t B Good” and heats up the clubs
with cuts like the thumping lead single,
“Feedback,” “Rock With U” and “The 1” (fea
turing Missy Elliott).
For those late-night rendezvous, there are
freak-session songs like the title track, in
which Janet coos,“Daddy take your time... I
want you to punish me... I need some disci
pline tonight.” Wow, what’s next — a Janet
Jackson booth at the Folsom Street Fair?
In a relaxed one-on-one chat, a jovial
Jackson dished on her gay friend “Keisha,” her
celebrity girl-crush and hip-hop homophobia,
before dispensing the greatest advice of all: how
to battle a “Madonna” drag queen.
Janet, what can your gay fans expect
from the new album, “Discipline?”
What’s in it for the children? The kids!
[Laughs] I know they love to dance — that’s
what it is. There’s “Rock With U,” a house song,
which everyone’s seemed to have fallen in love
with — even the kids in Europe.
At what point in your career did you
know you had a gay following?
I think it showed its face more to me, or
maybe I realized it more, when I did “Together
Again.” What album was that?
That was I997’s “The Velvet
Rope.”
Thank you very much for knowing my
own work! [Laughs] I don’t ever really
remember saying, “I’ve got a pretty
nice gay following,” or “The children
are really into me.” I never thought
about it.
Do you have many gay people in
your inner circle?
Yeah, I do. •;
Who is the closest gay person
to you? - - . .
His name is Gil, and we’ve been best
friends for about 11 years. He’s a creative
director and one of the choreographers
that I work with as well.
How does your man, Jermaine
Dupri, react to the gay boys
around you?
He doesn’t. We’re all friends. As a
matter of fact, it’s so cute because we
all call Gil “Keisha.” It’s a pet name.
Jermaine calls him “Keisha,” too, and
it startled Gil because he had never
done it before. It’s just cute to see.
Are you asking because jermaine’s in the
hip-hop world?
Exactly.
It’s just another friend with Jermaine. He loves
Gil just as much as I do. I’ve heard people talk
a litde bit about that, but that doesn’t apply
when it comes to Jermaine. He’s very comfort
able with all my friends, and they’ve become
his friends as well.
You have a strong fan base in hip*
hop, which does have a reputation of
homophobia. How do you balance
that with your own personal accept
ance of the gay community?
I’ve never really thought about it. I just do
what I do. There have been moments where I
know f>eople have spoken out about certain
things that I’ve done, which skewed more
toward topics that dealt with the gay commu
nity, and diey disliked it — but I’m not going
to stop.
For instance, I think it was “The Velvet
see Jackson’s on 17
CHAPEL HILL
Senate race statistically even
page 13
Volume 22 . Number 22 www.q-notes.com March 8.2008
SX. gender-variant teen killed
News receives little regional,
national attention
compiled by Q-Notes staff
N. CHARLESTON, S.C. — News that a
gender non-conforming teenager was shot
down here more than a month ago has been
slow to reach regional and national LGBT
media organizations.
Adolphus Simmons, 18, was shot at the
Bradford Apartments complex by a 15-year-
old boy on Jan. 21. Police arrested and
charged the suspect on Jan. 24. Another juve
nile was arrested and charged later. The
names of the suspects are not being released
by authorities.
Jackquez Witherspoon, 19, was arrested
and charged with accessory after the fact of
murder, for giving a false report to police and
hindering the investigation.
Simmons dressed as a woman and was a
freelance hair stylist, according to the
Charleston Post and Courier. Family and friends
described him as lighthearted and jovial.
Public information officer Spencer Pryor
has said police are not releasing a motive for
the killing and that there is no evidence the
act was a hate crime.
About two weeks prior to Simmons’ mur
der, a group of people broke into his apart
ment and stole some items. Simmons’ mother,
Felicia Moultrie, told The Post and Courier that
the thieves “were looking for him.” It is not
clear if the break-in and robbery have any
connection to
Simmons’ death.
The Feb. 13
California classroom
shooting of openly
gay and gender-vari
ant Lawrence King
has spurred coverage
of anti-gay and anti-
trans violence across
the country, but
news of Simmons’
murder has only
recently begun to
receive attention. Q-
Notes learned of the
killing at the end of February. I
Adolphus Simmons, 18,
was shot outside his
apartment on Jan. 11.
Community remembers 1990
hate crime victim
Memorial breaks the silence on
Talana Kreeger slaying
by Bambi Weavil
Special to Q-Notes
rTl
WILMINGTON, N.C.
— Eighteen years ago,
Talana Kreeger was bru
tally sexually assaulted
and murdered in a
vicious hate crime here.
The painful memory of
that tragic event has
been held in silence in
this Coastal community
— until now.
Community mem
bers gathered into a
packed sanctuary at St.
Jude’s Metropolitan
Community Church on Feb. 22 to remember
and celebrate Kreeger’s life. They came to
express the need to answer the questions of
why Talana Kreeger was murdered and why
V* >
%
Talana Kreeger, 32, was raped
and murdered by Ronald
Sheldon Thomas (pictured
right) in Wilmington, N.C., on
Feb. 22, 1990.
the community had been silent about such a
brutal and passionate crime of hate.
Kreeger, 32, was murdered by
truck driver Ronald Sheldon
Thomas on Feb. 22,1990, after
leaving Park View Grill, a lesbian
establishment, where they drank
and played pool. Kreeger was
remembered
as fun-loving,
loved and
free-spirited.
The
memorial
service
allowed com
munity members to express the
need to start the process of healing
within the gay community and
come together to fight for stronger
hate crime legislation in North
Carolina and nationwide.
The gathering was organized by Tab
see hate on 17
Mould to headline Charlotte gig
page 21
Real estate in 2008
page I I
Lesbian ‘herstory’ is uncovered
page 21