Observer: Pride Charlotte celebrates diversity
by Matt | August 26th, 2007 |The Charlotte Observer also published an article on a local Pride festival in North Carolina yesterday; the one that took place down in Charlotte:
Event celebrates tolerance
Gay pride event offers a place to enjoy, learn, let protesters speak out
KAREN CIMINO
kcimino@charlotteobserver.comWhile the Pride Charlotte Festival focused on tolerance, one mother came to talk about how intolerance killed her son.
Pride Charlotte drew thousands of visitors and a few protesters to Gateway Village uptown Saturday. The event is sponsored by the Lesbian and Gay Community Center of Charlotte.
Elke Kennedy of Greenville, S.C., came to talk about her son Sean Kennedy, 20, who died May 16. Police say a stranger punched him in the face for being gay. He fell and hit his head on the pavement, according to news reports from S.C. newspapers.
Kennedy died within hours, his mother said. A suspect in the attack has been charged with murder and is awaiting trial.
Kennedy’s family started campaigning after his death to pass hate-crime laws in South Carolina covering sexual orientation. North Carolina has hate-crime laws covering attacks based on a person’s race, religion, ethnicity or gender.
“May 16 was the worst day of my life, but I had to have something positive come out of it,” Elke Kennedy said.
The Pride Charlotte Festival was a mostly peaceful event with food, music and fellowship. Some said they were being tolerant of the protesters, who held signs and preached on bullhorns, because they believe they have a right to their opinions, too. But signs around the festival read, “Don’t feed the Protestors.”
Yesterday was just a good ole gay time in North Carolina. From the Triad to Charlotte… we were alive!
Technorati Tags: Pride Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, gay pride
Matt, 22, is an LGBT journalist, activist and youth advocate currently living and working in Charlotte, N.C., where he serves as the Editor of Q-Notes, the Carolinas' LGBT news source. A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Matt attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is still continuing to pursue his bachelors degree. He is the Owner & Editor of InterstateQ.com and has been active in LGBT advocacy work since the age of 14.
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