■ 3^ *'*'*•*
IJiMBDA
October 1986
Volume 13, Number 1
CaroliTia Gay And LgsbigiiABsoaaUoi^Jgw^^tt^
Joe Herzenberg tells it like it is .. .
Triangle Lesbian and Gay March
Following is the text of remarks by Joe
^Grzenberg at the Triangle Lesbian and Gay
^3.rch & Celebration in Durham, NC on Sat
urday, June 28, 1986.
Sisters and brothers, members of our
family, members of the community:
My name is Joe Herzenberg, and I'm from
Chapel Hill, and I am delighted to be in
Durham this wonderful afternoon. For many
years now I have envied my friends here in
Durham for their institutions (and I don't
just mean the Ninth Street Bakery and
ftancesca's); I mean to say the political
institutions, the networks, the alliances
®f this city. But never before this
ufternoon have I felt such warm--or should
i say hot-- feelings for this city and its
people. In recent days those who are not
necessarily our friends have referred to
Durham as "the gay capital of the South."
Now in fairness to my hometown, I have to
add that some of those same people have
Called Chapel Hill "the San Francisco of
North Carolina." I am not sure I under
stand what these names mean to their in-
"'^antors, but seldom have epithets thrown
np in far and hatred sounded so sweet to
me.
We are nearing the end of a great week
in the history of this city, in the his
tory of the Triangle. Never before has
the issue of gay and lesbian rights been
on the agendas of the Durham City Council,
the Orange County Board of Commissioners,
and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. Never
before have the media of our area, the
newspapers, radio, and television, given
such unprecedented attention to the local
gay and lesbian community. Never before
have so many lesbians and gay men appeared
openly in the public press and on televi
sion. And in my humble opinion, we looked
good. There were proclamations of gay and
lesbian rights, such well-worded proclama
tions, from Mayor Wib Gulley of Durham and
Orange County Commission Chair Don Wilhoit
and a strong statement in our behalf by
Mayor Jim Porto of Carrboro. None of
these men--and none of their
predecessors--had ever before taken such
strong stands against discrimination
against gay men and lesbians. And many
more people than ever before, including
lots of our friends who are not gay, at
tended the Triangle Pride Picnic in Pullen
Park in Raleigh on Sunday, the Stonewall
Community Supper at Binkley Baptist Church
in Chapel Hill on Tuesday, and now all of
us are here. These have been great days
for all of us. And all of this is as it
should be: good and just and wonderful,
(see GAY PRIDE on page 10)
I’m Out — Now What?
The excitement in the air as spring
Semester started at Carolina was over-
yl^elming. Christmas break had given an
interlude to the chaos of the semester.be-
fore. Hundreds, no thousands of people
^nced around frantically trying to get
tl^eir routines and acquaintances
reestablished.
I sat on the steps in the Pit and
hatched them. For a while I remained, ex
hilarated, looking and soaking it all in.
I read the signs which had been hap-
nzardly posted in the chaos. "Carolina
^^rate Club...," "Revival in the Pit
Thursday. . . , "Anti-Apartheid Rally. ..."
Membership Drive... Carolina Gay and Les-
ran Association. Jan. 20-24." My heart
stopped. I read it again. "Membership
hrive../Carolina Gay and Lesbian Associa
tion. Jan. 20-24."
"Where?" I heard myself scream. The
stupid thing didn't say where. Damn! So
^iose. You're not gay, I told myself.
helped. Someone was really playing a
cruel joke on me. they left the sign
there for two months. God, was I glad
when they finally decided the joke was
over and took it down.
Summer came and went. Time to get back
into the swing of things: exams, profes
sors, studying, and "where." The sign
board outside at the Pit was empty. Oh
great, I knew "they" existed, but I still
didn't know where. Disheartened I walked
into the Student Union. Out of boredom I
began reading the announcements on the
bulletin board. It caught my eye; in
fact, it reached out and knocked me upside
the head. "Carolina Gay and Lesbian
Association--Membership Drive. Room 230
Student Union."
Mesmerized, I stood reading it over and
over again. Gathering up my courage I
bounded up the stairs to room 230. 222*.
226. The walls were closing in. I had
already acted out this scene thousands of
times in my head, but the butterflies were
still doing a tango.
(see NOW WHAT on page 12)
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