
It’s odd to invest in something with such focus and drive for 8 months and then see it unfold without any problems. I have been so worked up pulling together the local Queer history timeline for Charlotte that I don’t think I ever really thought about what would happen when it actually went up on the wall.
Last Thursday I faced my fear of exposure and went to an opening reception at the Levine Museum of the New South to unveil not just the Timeline, but also the other three exhibits that will be part of LGBTQ Perspectives on Equality. I gathered together my closest friends (including my darling mother) had a drink and then went to the museum to see all the work put together in one place. When we left the house there was literally a giant rainbow from horizon to horizon, I think it was Google’s way of telling us that things were going to be amazing.
Last Thursday I faced my fear of exposure and went to an opening reception at the Levine Museum of the New South to unveil not just the Timeline, but also the other three exhibits that will be part of LGBTQ Perspectives on Equality. I gathered together my closest friends (including my darling mother) had a drink and then went to the museum to see all the work put together in one place. When we left the house there was literally a giant rainbow from horizon to horizon, I think it was Google’s way of telling us that things were going to be amazing.
I knew deep down that people would like it, what I was not prepared for was the level of emotion that I received from the museumgoers. I walked into a throng of people who could not believe that it was really happening. I was nervous because I knew I didn’t have a complete picture of the community and I hoped that our local Queers would cut us some slack. As I walked around the museum, I noticed that people were asking a lot of questions with smiles on their faces, and people seemed thrilled with all that had been pulled together. I was asked to give a few remarks and since I am not the kind of person who believes in writing things down, I wanted to be as real as I could in that moment.
I am not certain that my remarks were the most pulled together in the world but as I began talking about what the timeline could do for the community I gazed around the room to see tears in people’s eyes and smiles on all the faces. I wanted people to know that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender history existed in Charlotte from the very beginning. I wanted people to know that we have lead the way in the South and that while we didn’t always get it right, we had learned from our mistakes. I hope this project inspires people to learn more about Queer history. I hope it can fire up Southerners to see themselves as part of the moment and to claim their rightful place in the history. Most of all I hope people leave feeling motivated to do more and to help us complicate this picture even further.
Please check out the coverage of the exhibit at:
The Washington Post
The Charlotte Observer
Q-Notes
I am not certain that my remarks were the most pulled together in the world but as I began talking about what the timeline could do for the community I gazed around the room to see tears in people’s eyes and smiles on all the faces. I wanted people to know that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender history existed in Charlotte from the very beginning. I wanted people to know that we have lead the way in the South and that while we didn’t always get it right, we had learned from our mistakes. I hope this project inspires people to learn more about Queer history. I hope it can fire up Southerners to see themselves as part of the moment and to claim their rightful place in the history. Most of all I hope people leave feeling motivated to do more and to help us complicate this picture even further.
Please check out the coverage of the exhibit at:
The Washington Post
The Charlotte Observer
Q-Notes