On Saturday, Feb. 25, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Joe Solmonese will say goodbye. At least, that is, to his Carolinas membership and community.
The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and Broadway Impact announced in January a full slate of more than 40 productions of Dustin Lance Black’s “8,” a play recounting the historic Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown), the case filed by AFER to overturn Proposition 8, which stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the fundamental freedom to marry. Two of the productions will be staged in North Carolina. Chapel Hill’s Playmaker’s Repertory Theatre will present the play on April 9, followed by the Raleigh Ensemble Players’ production on April 21.
We’ve all certainly heard the stereotypes, the rumors and the innuendo. If you’ve listened to any of the rhetoric from the religious right you’ve heard it, too: Gay men are sexual predators, promiscuous and diseased. The prejudice-laden stereotype of gay male sexuality has done real damage to our movement for equality. It stands at the crux of many folks’ beliefs on LGBT equality and, in particular, marriage equality.
Organizers of the effort to defeat North Carolina’s proposed anti-LGBT state constitutional amendment officially kicked off their campaign on Jan. 18 at a press event at the North Carolina General Assembly. In addition to traditional campaign organizing, the activists also plan to take their message directly to the people.
SC Equality, a statewide LGBT education and advocacy group, announced on Jan. 18 that state motor vehicle officials have begun offering a specialty plate themed with SC Equality’s name and logo.
The cold, dreary winter keeps pushing on. It’s time for spring, you exclaim. Too bad winter still has weeks left to go. True, we’ve had a pretty mild winter so far, but that doesn’t mean some of us aren’t still yearning for the return of those bright, warm and cheery spring and summer days.
Friends, this is my last issue as editor of qnotes, a position I’ve had the honor and humble privilege to hold now for nearly four-and-a-half years. As you read, my time with the paper has already come to an end.
Organizers of the effort to defeat North Carolina’s proposed anti-LGBT state constitutional amendment officially kicked off their campaign this week at a press event at the North Carolina General Assembly. In addition to traditional campaign organizing, the activists also plan to take their message directly to the people starting this month.
SC Equality, a statewide LGBT education and advocacy group, announced on Wednesday that state motor vehicle officials would begin offering a specialty plate themed with SC Equality’s name and logo.
In December, Time Out Youth (TOY) hired a new executive director, Rodney Tucker. Long-known for his involvement and work with the community in a variety of ways, Tucker says he’s looking forward with optimism and excitement for TOY’s future growth.
Three… two… one… Happy New Year! Yes, it’s time for well wishes, resolutions and new beginnings. I do it. You do it. We all partake in the annual wish-making and dreaming that is New Year. With a new calendar comes hopes for change, progress and success. And, as much as we each wish better for ourselves, here’s to new hopes that our community and world experiences better days as well.
Happy holidays! We hope your Christmas and Hanukkah weekend went by as smooth as ever. Folks are still celebrating Kwanzaa and New Year’s is just around the corner, but we’re back here at qnotes, ready to get down to business as the days slip by toward 2012. With holiday break over and [...]
Bells will ring, candles will be lighted and champagne will be toasted and plenty of folks will wish they could forget many of the days gone by this year. Yes, the economy still sucks. Yes, politicians still have no answers. Yes, Congress is still deadlocked. But, don’t be fooled: Lots of good things happened this year, too.
LGBT advocates and grassroots activists knew they were up for a challenge the moment election results started rolling in November 2010’s midterm elections. Control of the state legislature had been returned to Republican hands for the first time in over a century. It was time for the longtime minority to have its way on Jones St. and Republican leadership wasted no time getting to their decades-long pent-up agenda.
For her persistent commitment, intelligence, zeal and passion for this city’s LGBT community, its equality and the welfare of the city at large, qnotes is proud to name LGBT activist and civic leader Roberta Dunn our 2011 Person of the Year.
A brutal early morning fight and stabbing at Uptown’s Hartigan’s Irish Pub in early December left one woman dead, another jailed on murder charges and a community left scrambling for answers.
Despite this year’s litany of successes, our community experienced loss. No year-end wrap up would be complete without pausing in remembrance of those friends, family and loved ones who passed this year.
At the beginning of the month, we reported on a new pro-LGBT equality ad campaign that would be hitting The Charlotte Observer‘s website this month. We noticed this morning that the ads had finally appeared. Screenshot below, click to enlarge. Article exploring the ads here.
North Carolina-based LGBT advocacy group Faith in America is criticizing Cisco Systems and Charlotte-based Bank of America for their decision to rehire an anti-gay activist known for his extremist views on LGBT people.
A Christian magazine based in the Queen City has named Alan Chambers, the leader of the “ex-gay” Exodus International organization, its “Daniel of the Year,” a reference to the Hebrew prophet Daniel known to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike for his imprisonment and later safe delivery from a lions’ den.
