CHARLOHE
NORTH CAROLINA
Fine Ats Show includes gay artists
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ENC releases primary endorsements
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EDITORIAL
Our primary endorsement
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Noted . Notable . Noteworthy . LGBT News & Views
Volume 22 . Number 25 www.q-notes.com April 19.2008
Charlotte lesbian
K astor to
ecome bishop
National Unity Fellowship
conference meets to consecrate two
female bishops
by Will Billings
Contributing Writer
CHARLOTTE — The national mid-year
conference of the LGBT-affirming Unity
Fellowship Church Movement will meet here
Apr. 21-21 During the conference, Charlotte-
based pastor Tonyia Rawls, as well as another
female pastor, will be consecrated as bishops
in the denomination.
The historic occasion will mark the first
time female candidates have been inducted to
the Unity Fellowship Church’s House of Bishops.
The Unity Fellowship Church Movement
(UFMC) is a small, Christian denomination
— it has 14 churches nationwide — founded
in 1982 and primarily serving the African-
American community. For 25 years, one of the
church’s primary missions has been serving
those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In
fact, the church itself grew out of the ministry
offered to those with
HIV/AIDS and their
families by founder.
Archbishop Carl Bean.
Previously a min
ister in the Baptist
church. Bean reached
out to African-
American men and
women infected with
HIV/AIDS during the
earliest years of the
crisis.
“Those hospital
visits he made turned
into funeral services,”
Bishop-elect Rawls
told Q-ATofes.'Tn those
days, AIDS — known as GRIDS, or Gay-
Related Immunodeficiency Syndrome — was
a death sentence.”
Rawls said Bean’s outreach and compas
sion allowed grieving family and friends to
have “a safe venue to bury their loved ones”
without any of the anti-gay bashing many
families experienced at funeral services dur
ing the 1980s.
“We’ve come a long way now,” Rawls said.
Rawls first heard of Unity Fellowship
see rawts on 21
Bishop-elect
Tonyia Rawls, of
Unity Fellowship
Church of
Charlotte, will be
consecrated a
bishop on Sunday,
Apr. 27.
Day of Silence sparks outcry
Carolina conservatives gear up to
protest gay students
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
REGIONAL — On Friday, Apr. 25, thou
sands of LGBT and straight ally students in
the Carolinas and across the US. will partici
pate in the National Day of Silence, a day-long
vow of silence to represent how LGBT people
are forced to live invisible lives.
In response, national right-wing groups
including the American Family Association
(AFA) and Americans for Truth are pushing a
“Day of Silence Walk Out.” The action was origi
nally called for by Mission America, a Columbus,
Ohio-based organization that cites witchcraft as
one of many “problems” plaguing public schools.
In Charlotte, Board of Education member
Kaye McGarry has backed the boycott. She
told The Charlotte Observer she would put a
motion excusing students’ absences for April
25 on the board’s April 15 agenda. (The meet
ing is after our press deadline. Check www.q-
notes.com for updates).
According to the Observer report,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) sent
memos to principals “reminding them they
must give students observing the Day of
Silence ‘the same restrictions or access as you
do to any other student-led activity.’”
Students are not allowed to miss school
to avoid events they disagree with, CMS
spokeswoman Nora
Carr told the
Observer.
Daniel
Gonzales is an “ex- .\
gay” survivor
turned
activist in _
Denver, 1
Colo. He is
also a con
tributing
author at
BoxTurtleBulletin.com. He said McGarry’s
proposal “would effectively sanction the avoid
ance of the [Day of Silence] by anti-gay families.”
He told Q-ATofes,“Given her previous oppo
sition to the anti-bullying proposal I believe .
she is being disingenuous when she claims
her motivation is to prevent the Day of Silence
boycott from becoming‘a big deal.’ She’s wast
ing the district’s time to accommodate the
most anti-gay of her constituents.”
AFA announced the creation of its North
Carolina affiliate, the Faith, Family, Freedom
Alliance, on Apr. 4. With the help of Mission
America, the group is circulating a list of all
the schools where students have indicated
they will participate in the Day of Silence.
The list, from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN),
includes more than 30
schools in North Carolina
and eight in South Carolina.
On the Mar. 29 edition of
“Family Policy Matters,” the
right-wing, radio talk
show of the N.C.
Family Policy
PMofMEWCE:
Council, Americans for Truth founder Peter
LaBarbera attacked the Day of Silence.
“The Day of Silence is a national pro
homosexual event. They try to make it seem
like students do it on their own but this event
was started by a group called GLSEN.. .a very
well-funded pro-homosexual activist group.”
The assertion is patently false — the first
Day of Silence was organized by University of
Virginia student Maria Pulzetti in 1996.
LaBarbera encouraged listeners to find
out if their children attend a school that is
see outcry on 15
Carolinas Prides gear up for 2008 festivals
Local events span two-state region
by Collier Rutledge . Contributing Writer
REGIONAL — In recent years, a proliferation of local Pride festivals
have popped up across the Carolinas. From Wilmington to
Boone, Raleigh/Durham to Columbia, LGBT folks will have
plenty of activities to choose from throughout the 2008
Pride season.
The first event of the year will be the Triad Pride festival (-
in Greensboro. Spanning five days in the second week of May,
Triad Pride will feature LGBT-affirming worship services, a Idck-
off party on May 8, a May 9 Winston-Salem OUT at the Movies
showing of “For the Bible Tells Me So,” a day-long May 10 festival
in Greensboro’s Festival Park and a May 11 Pride Picnic.
Other planned events include a pageant, a softball game and
Saturday night Pride parties at Greensboro’s Warehouse 29 and Winston-
Salem’s Club Odyssey.
Wilmington and Boone both have their Pride festivities slated for
June. Small but inviting, the coastal and mountain cities will roll out their
gay days June 7-14 and June 13-15, respectively. Wilmington’s eight-day
series of events will feature a picnic, drag show, an ’80s roller skating
party, wine-tasting and more.
Pride Charlotte, slated for July 26, is anticipated to draw more than
8,000 attendees, making it one of the largest Pride festivals between
Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. The day-long festival will again be held at
uptown Charlotte’s Gateway Village. An extended festival grounds will
include Trade St., next to Johnson and Wales University, and a second
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stage is being added this year for community speakers
and performances.
The Carolinas statewide Pride festivals are both
planned for late September.
The SC Pride 2008 festival will be held Sept. 20 in
Columbia’s Finlay Park — the same location as last year. The SC Pride
Committee is currently seeking sponsors and vendors for the event and
has opened registration for groups planning to march in the parade
through downtown.
“A New Day Dawns” is the theme for this year’s SC Pride. On Mar. 16,
the board of the S.C. Pride Movement voted to approve the theme and
AIDS Walks across the Carolinas
page 25
Anti-gay
N.C. pastor visits gay hot spot
page 13
see gearing on 21
Hot and steamy: Summer fashion
page 27