| UNCG
student forms new LGBT political organization |
by Jim Baxter . Q-Notes
staff |
|
 |
‘Politics is how I think and what I think,
and a political group was something I have always wanted to do.’
— Matt Hill Comer |
Matt
Hill Comer, a 20-year-old native of Winston-Salem, is an LGBT rights
and youth advocate with some bright and exciting ideas. Currently a sophomore
at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G), Comer is harnessing
the power of the internet not only to connect but to organize.
Coming out to himself as a gay man was remarkably brief, although dealing
with his religious upbringing and family proved difficult. While his family
was apprehensive about his sexuality six yeas ago, Comer says they are
growing more accepting and embracing with each passing day.
“I think I always knew I was different. I remember feeling a lot
closer to guys than girls my whole life. In fact, I actually had a crush
on the two guys who played in ‘The Never-Ending Story’,” he
told Q-Notes.
“I don’t think I was ever actually aware that my feelings were ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ until
I was about 11 or 12, though. I got a lot of support and information on
my own, at the public library or the school library and such. When I came
out at 14, in eighth grade, I got a lot of support from my teachers and
a few friends.”
Today, Comer serves on the executive board of UNC-G’s LGBTQ student
organization and he has just started a new project called the North Carolina
Advocacy Coalition (NCAC). But his activism started much earlier.
“During the summer between my eighth and ninth grade year, I saw
the Millennium March on Washington and the
students who started the Gay-Straight
Alliance (GSA) in Salt Lake City, Utah,” he said.
“I was actually just flipping through the channels on the television
and came across it on C-SPAN. I’ve heard a lot about the arguments
and the bickering that was happening back then. I really didn’t know
much about all that, but watching the event and knowing that people like
me were in D.C. making a stand and working for me, inspired me to do something
here.
“The students who started the GSA in Utah, and who had gone through
so many legal battles to keep it, were speakers at the main rally. It was
then that I decided I wanted to start a group like that. So, in September
2000, when I was in 9th grade, I started it along with the help of about
14 or so other students.
“By the end of my first semester, however, all of those students
had been scared or harassed out of being active with the club. I guess
the harassment from other students was just too much. For about a year
and a half, the GSA was comprised mainly of me. In my junior year the group
started to grow and we were probably one of the most active groups on campus
by the fall semester of my senior year.
“It was tough, but I had a lot of support from a few awesome teachers.
With their help and mentoring I made it through. I’m also just a
tad hard-headed, too. I wasn’t going to let much get in my way.”
Comer says he also had help from the Winston-Salem chapter of the Gay,
Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and YouthFLAG, the LGBT
youth support group run by Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays (PFLAG) Winston-Salem.
“By 2001 I had actually gotten involved with the local GLSEN chapter,
so I did have larger, organizational support and plenty of mentors in the
LGBT community,” he said.
Comer grew up in an internet-connected world and he has made the most of
it. “The GSA had a website for a time and that certainly helped with
getting the word out on campus. I’m sure it also helped plenty of
students who might not have been able to come to meetings.”
When he enrolled as a freshman at UNC-G, one of the first things he did
was start a web log. “MattHillNC.com is probably one of the best
things I’ve done. It’s popular with students at UNC-G and with
people in the Triad and it helps to raise a lot of awareness. I’m
hoping that we can create the same type of atmosphere with the NC Advocacy
Coalition website,” he said.
“Having my website has given me the opportunity to not only speak
my mind, but to express my thoughts in a more public arena. Talking with
people one-on-one is a great thing, but putting the message for equality
in a forum accessible to whoever happens to access it can spread our movement
further. My website has also opened up a lot of personal opportunities
for me, too. I’ve met a lot of great and interesting folks in the
Triad area and it is how I first got active with Congressman Brad Miller’s
campaign, too.”
Comer naturally got involved in organizing when he got to college.
“One of the first things I remember doing at UNC-G’s Open House,
while I was a senior at Reynolds, was going to the UNCG PRIDE office and
talking to one of their officers,” he said. “I got involved
with the group, first as our organizational senator to our student government.
I’m still involved now, as one of the group’s two outreach
coordinators.
“I tried my hardest to be a representative voice for LGBT students
in student government also. I’m still involved with the student senate
and I’ll be going into my second year as chairman of the senate legislative
committee when Fall comes around.”
Despite a full agenda of school and volunteer work, Comer wanted something
more.
“Politics is how I think and what I think, and a political group
was something I have always wanted to do. It all started to come together
through last semester. I saw a need for local and grassroots advocacy and
activism, especially with youth and the 18- to 24-year-old voting demographic — the
college crowd.”
So, from that impulse, the NC Advocacy Coalition (NCAC) began.
“We really want to reach out to youth. College-aged youth are the
most progressive age group in America. Using the internet and social networking
sites like MySpace.com (where the group does have an account) is turning
out to be a great way to reach youth on their level. The internet also
makes getting out information easier and quicker,” he said.
His work may have a beneficial effect on organizing in the Triad area as
well.
“Since I live in the area and go to school here, I do think that
the group’s work will have a lot of impact on the Triad. This is
also where I grew up and where I am rooted, so a lot of my political awareness
is based in local governments. For example, I can definitely see the NC
Advocacy Coalition working to draw attention to what has been some very
outspoken anti-LGBT stances taken by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board
of Education.”
NCAC is rolling right along and picking up support from local community
members.
Joshua Henson of Greensboro, a college student, gave NCAC its first in-kind
donation: the domain name, www.ncadvocacycoalition.org.
The first monetary contributions came from NCAC supporters Charles Hornaday
of Mebane and well-known community leader Allen Broach of Greensboro. The
group has received further contributions from Bob Page, Janet Joyner, Cris
Elkins and Gene Hannond.
“Their contributions are helping NCAC greatly, allowing us to take
care of some of our initial financial obligations and outreach capabilities,” Comer
said.
The group is working to build its interim board of directors, which will
later choose the first official members of the NCAC Board. The group is
also working to fill two vacant executive staff positions: executive vice-director
of development and treasurer.
A lot of people ask Comer where the difference between the new NC Advocacy
Coalition and more established Equality NC lies.
“I guess some people wonder if two state-wide groups is a good idea.
I think it is,” he said, “mainly because while EqualityNC is
in Raleigh and doing some exquisite work with the General Assembly, the
NC Advocacy Coalition will be focusing our resources elsewhere, trying
to build up the movement for equality in different areas and new ways.”
NCAC is planning the implementation of its Grassroots Regional Organizing
Campaign for areas across the state and is currently looking for individuals
willing to serve as regional coordinators.
“As someone who is still quite young myself, I feel as though the
most important work in North Carolina surrounds our LGBT youth,” Comer
wrote in Boston’s In Newsweekly this past February.
“Slowly but surely, LGBT and straight allied youth are beginning
to take action and work toward equality and acceptance in their schools
and communities. When I was a freshman in high school, my district had
only three gay-straight alliances, including the one I started,” he
said. “Now, nearly two years after I graduated, the number of gay-straight
alliances in Winston-Salem has more than doubled to seven. Across the state,
the same holds true; the number of gay-straight alliances is continually
rising….
“As the youth of North Carolina grow older and become active members
of society, the fact that younger generations are more accepting of LGBT
persons will surely have a positive effect on full acceptance and equality
for all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender-identity.”
More information on NCAC is available at www.ncadvocacycoalition.org, by
phone at 336-391-9528 or by email at ncadvocacy@gmail.com.
To learn more about Matt Hill Comer’s activities and see more of
his writings, including his blog, visit www.matthillnc.com. |
|
|
|