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CHARLOTTE
City honors gay leader
page 17
GREENVILLE
Gay man wants to be first in S.C.
page 15
MORGANTON
Young and gay in rural Carolina
page 25
Noted. Notable . Noteworthy. LGBT News & Views
Volume 22 . Number 23 www.q-notes.com March 22.2008
I
UNC queer
outh ready
or Unity
Largest LGBT student gathering in
South could draw 500 or more
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Since 2001, the
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and
Straight Alliance (GLBTSA) at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has drawn
hundreds of queer youth and students from
across the southeast for their annual Unity
Conference, the largest LGBT and allied stu
dent gathering of its kind in the South.
The conference provides opportunities for
participants to discuss the intersections of gen
der and sexuality with ability, age, class, faith,
health, race and ethnicity. Students also discuss
strategies for effective grassroots organizing
and learn about the work of other activists.
This year, those discussions will fit into the
conference theme, “Are you being served?
Slam poetry
performance artist
D'Lo will be a
featured speaker and
performer at UNC’s
Unity Conference.
Photo Credit: Todd Klinck
LGBTIQ Representation in the Media.” The
2008 Unity Conference will span the weekend
of Apr. 4-6.
“This is an election year, so there is a lot of
media coverage around political and LGBT
issues,” Conference Director Robert Wells told
Q-Notes. “There has also been a lot of talk
about the decline of LGBT characters on TV
shows and in movies.”
A senior at UNC, 21-year-old Wells has a
full course load, two jobs and the immense
responsibilities of overseeing the conference.
“[Organizing the conference] has been
great. It has gotten bigger every year and as it
does we have to take that into consideration,”
he said. “It has been quite a challenge — I
could spend up to 20 hours each week volun
teering for this. I think I’ve gotten really good
real world experience doing this.”
Wells has been involved with the GLBTSA
see unity on 20
Charlotte school board passes
anti-bullying policy
LGBT students offered protection
after heated debate
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE — After more than two
hours of public comment and an hour of
heated debate, the Charlotte-Mecklenberg
Board of Education passed by a vote of 6-3
an anti-buUying and harassment measure
including protections for LGBT students.
A packed auditorium at the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Government Center heard more
than 40 citizens and students speak out on
the policy. The overwhelming majority were
in favor of adopting the new guideline for
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS).
Arcena Todd, a senior at Berry Academy,
told Q-Notes that bullying is a daily occur
rence at her school. “This policy will give .
teachers the tools they need to stop the bul
lying and it will raise awareness. People
aren’t aware of these issues and this is going
to help them learn and grow.”
Brian Zarbock, a Providence High School
senior and president of the campus’ Gay-
Straight Alliance, told CMS
Board members that his
school experience has been
extremely challenging.
“In June I will waUc
across the stage to
receive my diploma.
While everyone else there will
be graduating, I will feel like I
have finally survived.”
Steven Shoemaker, senior
pastor of Myers Park Baptist
Church, asserted, “A school poli
cy might not be able to change
hearts, but it can create safer
spaces for vulnerable students.”
Myers Park was honored last month with an
Equality Award from the Human Rights
Campaign for its welcome of LGBT congre
gants.
The few citizens who opposed the anti
bullying policy seemed to be the usual mal
contents from right-wing groups Operation
Save America (OSA) and Coalition of
In fact,
while OSA and
CoC members
used biblical
passages, inac
curate statis
tics and other
homophobic
rhetoric to
condemn the
board and the
proposed
measure,
many students
in the audience
held high their
Conscience (CoC). Significantly, no students
spoke against the policy.
CMS Board of Education member Trent
Merchant introduced the new
anti-buliying poiicy.
signs in support of the change.
“How we are fighting this battle is going
to be determined on what we perceive the
battle to be,” said OSA Director Flip Benham,
who claimed the real struggle was against
the absence of God in school.
CoC director Dr. Michael Brown echoed
Benham’s remarks. He cited extreme examples
see anti-bullying on 20
Columbia officials pass pro-LGBT ordinances
Milestone votes could signal a change in attitude
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
COLUMBIA — In an historic occasion for the LGBT community of
the Palmetto State, the Columbia City Council passed new public
accommodations and housing ordinances banning discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation and gender-identity.
The motion passed unanimously on March 5. Columbia is the first
municipality in the state to offer such protections and only the third
in the Deep South. Atlanta and New Orleans offer similar protections.
“We have passed one of the most comprehensive bills in the coun
try, in one of the most conservative states in the country)’ said C. Ray
Drew, executive director of the S.C. Equality Coalition (SCEC). “South
Carolina, and states like ours, represents the front lines of our battle for
LGBT civil rights in this country)’
Council members Daniel Rickenmann and Tameika Isaac Devine
introduced the statutes and pushed for their passage. Rickenmann and
Isaac Devine stated, “When we work together and respect each other,
we can make Columbia an even better place to live.”
Drew believes the votes show a dramatic shift in LGBT advances in
South Carolina. “This really has made history here. This is largely con
sidered the bluest advance in gay rights here. Almost out of disbelief.
‘Code’ author to visit Carolinas
page 25
Top spring destinations
page 25
people are asking,‘How could this happen in South Carolina?”’
Harriet Hancock, a longtime activist and board member of the S.C.
Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement, was the architect of the 1991 city
statute prohibiting discrimination in city employment on the basis of
sexual orientation.
She echoed Drew’s comments. “These ordinances represent the
single greatest advance in civil rights for the LGBT community in the
history of our state.”
Drew said SCEC worked with the city council for more than seven
weeks to achieve this milestone. “The best advances in our community
are when you work at the local level and start working your way up
from there,” he said. “This is a grassroots approach.”
SCEC also partnered with the S.C. Gay and Lesbian Pride
Movement (SCGLPM) in building support for the legislation, which
has not received any political or religious backlash in the Columbia
area.
“There’s a whole new energy in our state. We’re focused and work
ing together. There’s no end to what we can accomplish,” said Ryan
Wilson, SCGLPM president.
Drew added that his organization is continuing to work with other
municipal governments across the state and that he hopes to have
similar successes elsewhere. I
info: www.sctquality.org
‘Outdoorzy’ guys blaze cyber trail
page 13