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Black LGBTQ+ affirming spaces

From Pride organizations and ballroom houses to churches and community groups, these spaces reflect histories of survival, care and self-determination

Across North Carolina, Black LGBTQ+ communities have long created their own spaces for survival, celebration and care. These spaces exist not because of preference, but because of necessity. For generations, Black LGBTQ+ communities have navigated racism within mainstream LGBTQ+ spaces while also facing homophobia and transphobia within Black institutions. In response, affirming spaces emerged as…

by Liz Schob

FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Legendary inventors, artists and thinkers of the Black LGBTQ+ community

It has been said that societal constraints and oppression encourage creativity, thought and action. Most of us have heard this infamous quote: “Art is never created in a vacuum. It reflects lived realities, challenges, injustice and gives voice to stories that are often unheard.” In the case of many of the individuals included here, their…

by David Aaron Moore

Our People

Our People: Ali Steele

“You have to go the way your blood beats. If you don’t live the only life you have, you won’t live some other life, you won’t live any life at all.”  When famed author and social justice warrior James Baldwin said that – he couldn’t have possibly known how much his words would capture many…

by L'Monique King

COMMUNITY

What goes on in a queen’s world?

Squeezed into a closet-sized bathroom in the small apartment they share, drag queens Venus Wyre and Moxxxie Hexxx search through a hundred brushes and containers of makeup as they prepare for a lip-sync battle at Chasers, a local gay bar in Charlotte. Their home is highlighted in pink and neon. A blue wig is pinned…

by Jaylen Jones

Qnotes Democracy

Mecklenburg County experienced lower voter turnout in 2024

The election of Donald Trump to the presidency in 2024 has left many asking questions: how, after losing reelection in 2020, could Trump regain power and defeat a more than qualified candidate? While there may be many contributing factors, there may be an explanation in the number of people who turned out to vote nationwide.…

by Taylor Heeden Larkins

Join the Qnotes Press Club

As Qnotes enters its 40th year, we are inviting readers to help carry this work forward. Qnotes is the only LGBTQ+ newsroom serving the Carolinas, and our reporting remains independent and community-centered because of reader support.

Joining or renewing the Qnotes Press Club helps sustain local LGBTQ+ journalism, amplify community voices, and preserve stories that might otherwise go untold.

A $40 gift in honor of 40 years is a simple way to support the next chapter of Qnotes. Monthly and annual options are also available.

Join the Press Club today and invest in the future of trusted, local LGBTQ+ journalism.

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