Supporting our own
Supporting LGBTQ+ owned and LGBTQ+ affirming businesses is more than a consumer choice; it is a practical way to encourage economic opportunity, strengthen local communities and reward companies that embrace equality. LGBTQ+ owned businesses create jobs, provide essential services and contribute to local economies. Research published by the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research…
SC Equality hosts black tie casino night
It’s time to get your queer James Bond on! South Carolina Equality, the Palmetto State’s oldest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, is hosting a black-tie recommended “Equality Royale” on the evening of Friday, October 9. This night of “cards, cocktails, and community” is a fundraising event with a message: “Don’t Gamble Your Rights Away.” LGBTQ+ rights are…
Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day rallies support for independent queer journalism
National headlines may capture the biggest stories affecting LGBTQ+ people, but much of LGBTQ+ life happens closer to home. It happens at school board meetings and city councils, at Pride celebrations and community centers, in local businesses and arts organizations. It’s found in the people building community, the organizations providing resources and the decisions being…
‘The Q’ explores who tells our stories for LGBTQ+ History Month
When we talk about LGBTQ+ history, it’s easy to think about the names, protests, court cases and political victories that made it into history books. But what about everything else? The photographs somebody kept for decades. The flyer from a queer bar that no longer exists. An old Pride program. A newspaper. A box of…
Charlotte Trans Health ‘Night Hits the Runway’ benefit a success
An enthusiastic and supportive crowd of LGBTQ+ community members and allies showed up Saturday, October 3, for “T.H.E. Night Hits the Runway,” a fundraising gala for Charlotte Trans Health (CTH). CTH Executive Director Holly Savoy told Qnotes the number of individuals in attendance was over 175 and their $100,000 fundraising goal was achieved. “It was…
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Related Stories
Politics
New HRC data: LGBTQ+ people are choosing visibility ahead of 2026 midterms
Even as more than half of LGBTQ+ adults (56 percent) say the current political climate makes them less likely to be open about who they are, LGBTQ+ people continue to build visibility and support for equality, according to new HRC Foundation data released ahead of National Coming Out Day on October 11. Most (85 percent)…
Business
NC’s first LGBTQ women’s sports bar expected to open this year
Watching women’s sports at a bar often means asking the bartender to change one of the TVs – if the game is on at all. A new Asheville business wants to change that. Q-Hall, which bills itself as North Carolina’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports, is expected to open later this summer. The venue…
Nonprofit/community
SC Arts Commission says ‘no funding’ to LGBTQ+ arts organizations
In a Zoom conference to reconsider funding for the Greenville Gay Men’s Chorus and Proud Mary Theatre Company of Spartanburg, the SC Arts Commission finalized its rejection of funding for both groups. Initial funding was denied because of questions related to the “artistic merit” of both organizations, as reported by Qnotes on September 18. Funding…
