LGBT Carolinas headlines: March 8
by Matt | March 10th, 2008 |Headlines from the March 8 issue of Q-Notes, the premier LGBT news source of the Carolinas.
S.C. gender-variant teen killed
News receives little regional, national attention
compiled by Q-Notes staff
N. CHARLESTON, S.C. — News that a gender non-conforming teenager was shot down here more than a month ago has been slow to reach regional and national LGBT media organizations.
Adolphus Simmons, 18, was shot at the Bradford Apartments complex by a 15-year-old boy on Jan. 21. Police arrested and charged the suspect on Jan. 24. Another juvenile was arrested and charged later. The names of the suspects are not being released by authorities.
Jackquez Witherspoon, 19, was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact of murder, for giving a false report to police and hindering the investigation.
Simmons dressed as a woman and was a freelance hair stylist, according to the Charleston Post and Courier. Family and friends described him as lighthearted and jovial. Read more…
Community remembers 1990 hate crime victim
Memorial breaks the silence on Talana Kreeger slaying
by Bambi Weavil, Special to Q-Notes
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Eighteen years ago, Talana Kreeger was brutally sexually assaulted and murdered in a vicious hate crime here. The painful memory of that tragic event has been held in silence in this Coastal community — until now.
Community members gathered into a packed sanctuary at St. Jude’s Metropolitan Community Church on Feb. 22 to remember and celebrate Kreeger’s life. They came to express the need to answer the questions of why Talana Kreeger was murdered and why the community had been silent about such a brutal and passionate crime of hate.
Kreeger, 32, was murdered by truck driver Ronald Sheldon Thomas on Feb. 22, 1990, after leaving Park View Grill, a lesbian establishment, where they drank and played pool. Kreeger was remembered as fun-loving, loved and free-spirited.
The memorial service allowed community members to express the need to start the process of healing within the gay community and come together to fight for stronger hate crime legislation in North Carolina and nationwide. Read more…
HRC Gala attracts 1,200 attendees
Trans group follows through with boycott
by Tiffany Brand . Contributing Writer
CHARLOTTE — The 13th annual Human Rights Campaign Carolinas (HRC) Gala, the second-largest HRC fundraising dinner in the country behind the National Dinner in Washington, D.C., was a rousing success with over 1,200 attending the Feb. 16 event.
“It’s a beautiful cause. I think it’s worth it to give a piece of myself for it,” said Brianna Collins. Around her the Charlotte Convention Center buzzed with activity — people talking, embracing and perusing the offerings of the silent auction.
“The sense of community and coming together is powerful and wonderful,” added June Carter as she made her rounds through the packed lobby.
Jennifer Roberts, the chair of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, was in attendance for her fourth Gala. She credits HRC with helping to keep people informed about LGBT issues in the Carolinas. Read more…
S.C. gay youth group creates PSA
Ad submitted to local radio stations for broadcast
by Will Billings . Contributing Writer
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Rainbow Beach, The Center Project’s LGBT youth support and social group, recently recorded a 60-second public service announcement for radio broadcast.
Six young people from Rainbow Beach auditioned and were selected to perform the script in front of a live audience of LGBT youth assembled in a makeshift recording studio set up inside The Center Project’s multi-purpose room.
In addition to the performance, the entire group was recorded as they talked amongst themselves about all the positive and fun things Rainbow Beach has to offer queer youth in Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas.
The PSA’s script pulls no punches. It doesn’t apologize or shy away from getting the message out to the public or from promoting the LGBT youth group to other young people. Beginning with the loudly asked question, “Are you gay?” the announcement is a lightening-paced, back and forth dialogue that immediately grabs the listener’s attention. Read more…
Black church has the spirit
Members find a safe harbor, familiar environment
by Matt Comer, Q-Notes staff
If even the most conservative African-American minister stepped inside the Church of the Holy Spirit Fellowship in Winston-Salem, N.C., he or she would be hard-pressed to deny the presence of God reflected in the members’ joyous worship.
In fact, were it not for the same-sex couples holding hands and the details of the personal testimonies shared by attendees, they probably couldn’t guess that this black church is also primarily gay and lesbian.
Church of the Holy Spirit Fellows hip, pastored by the Rev. Roger E. Hayes, is a place where LGBT and same-gender loving (SGL) people are accepted just as they are. Although primarily African-American and LGBT/SGL, the church also has white and straight members.
The church began in 2001 with a congregation of only four members in Greensboro, N.C. Today, services are regularly attended by 50 or more people. Read more…
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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