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October 8, 2004
Serving the Carolinas Since 1979
Volume 25, Number 21
NC Pride: 20th PrideFest in Words & Pictures, pp. 1,8-13
Local: Carolina News, p.4
A History
of NC Pride
By Jim Baxter
Editor & Publisher
This is the text of the Keynote
Address which was scheduled to be
given at PrideFest on October 2. The
speect was rained out with much of
the post-parade rally on Saturday:
In the early 1970s, a publication
called the Carologue - a "cata
logue, directory, and manual of
alternatives and resources" pub
lished here in Durham - dis
cussed "Gay Liberation" in North
Carolina, in a short essay by a gay
man identified only as
"Matthew."
'If you re just coming out" or
thinking of coming out, North
Carolina can be a bitch of a place
to be located," he said...
"First of all, there is the prob
lem of finding a place or places to
go where you can meet other
gays. For example, there is only
one gay bar in the Triangle area
(in Chapel Hill)...
"Second, the police in North
Carolina are very unpredictable
when it comes to dealings with
gay people. Anti-homosexuality
laws are still on the books, and
although they are seldom
enforced, they still provide a basis'
for severe harassment...
"Third, the gay people in North
Carolina are, for the most part,
still afraid to publicly admit their
sexuality."
Ten years later, in the early
1980s, Matthew's assessment was
still pretty accurate. There were a
few more bars, and there was
continued on page 8
PrideFest Marks 20th State
Pride Parade in NC;
Crowds Larger than Ever
DURHAM — Organizers said
Saturday 's NC PrideFest was the largest
ever with about 3,000 people taking
part, either marching or shouting
encouragement from the sidewalks.
Parade watchers lined the streets, many
keeping cool with hand fans advertis
ing an upcoming Bette Midler concert.
The annual event included the usual
games, vendors, speakers and music. .
Several booths helped people register to
vote. And, of course, there was the
parade — which this year took a rough
ly two-mile route that connected Duke's
East Campus with Ninth Street. More
than 130 groups participated.
The unofficial master of ceremonies,
Dwayne Comelison of Durham, deliv
ered commentary from the center of a
huge orange paper-mache flower plant
ed at the comer of Main and Broad
streets (photo, p.10).
continued on page 11
No marching band is complete without a majorette (above); Pride comingles
with patriotism in contingent of Pride, NC and US flags leading the parade
(below left); rain doesn’t stop volunteers from canvassing the crowd with voter
registration forms just a month before Election Day.
Photos by Brian Doerfler