Fans of giant 4x4s will be heading Uptown on Saturday for the Monster Jam at the same time that drag queen and transgender activists protest the Human Rights Campaign Gala at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Is the Queen City diverse or what?
The backstory. The Human Rights Campaign of the Carolinas is holding its big celebration and gala this week in Charlotte, primarily at the Westin hotel. The HRC is the mainstream gay and lesbian lobby nationally. Beginning last year the HRC pressed the Democratic Congress for anti-discrimination legislation. That culminated in a bill drafted by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). That bill included language on “gender identity” in addition to sexual orientation. That made some Democrats nervous. Frank stripped out the “gender identity” stuff. This has the transgender community upset.
Cue an organizer what is being described as an “initiative” outside the gala and at a hospitality suite at the Westin, Angela Brightfeather. Brightfeather tells Q-Notes:
“This certainly isn’t the first educational initiative we have done,” she said. “Our first was in Raleigh, four years ago. We were tired of hearing about ‘education’ when we knew that part of the educational process had to happen with HRC and its own members. We decided to meet with them and talk about the issues. The best place to do it was at the dinners and galas. … “We don’t want to invade any space and we don’t want to be confrontational,” Brightfeather said. “This won’t be an active protest and we don’t want to be known as ‘those radical trannies.’ In our own Gandhian way, we want to be able to educate others about our problems with HRC.”
Charlotte only seems like an unlikely place for drag queens to clash with gay and lesbian activists if you are unaware of Charlotte’s robust transgender community. Local nightclubs regularly host drag queen shows and Queerview, which bills itself as the “nation’s only LGBTQ talkshow” has been running since last fall, with host Sabrina Love.
Can’t wait to see if any local media covers the event, let alone the protest.
Bonus Observation: The convention center event listing does not mention the HRC Gala. Hmmm. Makes me wonder how much public money, if any, went into the event. At a minimum, discounted rates at the city subsidized Westin would seem to be involved.
