Founded originally to fight against North Carolina’s Crimes Against Nature Law (also referred to as a “sodomy law”), Equality NC (ENC) has never wavered in the continuing equality fight for LGBTQ+ North Carolinians for nearly 45 years. Now the organization is poised to face a new chapter: Its executive director of over five years, Kendra Johnson, is leaving right before the beginning of a new year with an important general election.
During her time at ENC, Johnson oversaw the expansion of the organization from the diversifying of ENC staff to the physical expansions to western and eastern North Carolina. ENC has worked with municipalities to pass 22 ordinances protecting LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, as well as establish a Rural Youth Empowerment program providing resources to queer folks in rural communities across the state.
“I made the decision to come to the Tarheel State because I witnessed a dramatic increase in vitriol directed toward minority communities as Trumpism began to rise and ultimately reach the White House,” she wrote in a press release in October. “Amid the resurgence of mainstream racism, xenophobia, transphobia and homophobia, I knew I needed a bigger playing field to fight back, alongside strong allies working for undocumented immigrants, Black folks, women, differently abled people, the resource poor and the LGBTQ+ community. I found just that, with incredible partners working on issues from voting and reproductive rights to incarceration.”
ENC has yet to name Johnson’s successor. But according to sources familiar with the matter, the organization will announce an interim leader and lay out a plan for finding their full-time director in the coming days. In fact, Johnson sent out a final press release on Dec. 26 — one day after Christmas — looking forward to the future.
“One of the things we do at Equality NC is one-word check-ins when we open and close our meetings, [and] as we close out 2023 and usher in 2024 the word that comes to mind for me is Hopeful,” she wrote.
ENC will turn 45 in 2024, which makes the organization the oldest statewide advocacy group dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
“That means four decades of organizing and uplifting LGBTQ+ voices and getting LGBTQ+ candidates and allies elected,” Johnson emphasized. “It means 45 years of pushing to be heard, seen and respected for all the contributions that we as a community have made and continue to make every day.”
However, LGBTQ+ issues have become a hot topic for the upcoming election year, as states across the country pass legislation restricting the rights of queer Americans. The legislature in our state voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto on three different bills (House Bill 808, House Bill 574 and Senate Bill 49), which were criticized and categorized as legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ North Carolinians.
HB 808 made it “unlawful for a medical professional to perform a surgical gender transition procedure on a minor or to prescribe, provide or dispense puberty blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to a minor.” HB 574 would bar trans girls from participating on sports teams that correlate with the gender they identify at both the K-12 and collegiate level. SB 49, also known as the “Parents Bill of Rights,” bars instruction related to gender identity and sexuality in grades K through 4th and will notify parents when students want to change their names or pronouns.
Rebby Kern, who identifies as nonbinary and serves as the Director of Education Policy of EqualityNC, said on the day these bills went into law they are a part of a national effort to belittle and dehumanize queer Americans.
“We knew that this day would come where we would be standing together filled with anger, rage, determination, all with an unbreakable spirit,” Kern explained. “We will not be silenced — our Pride celebrations are bigger than ever, you will continue to see drag shows and drag story hours all over the state, our students will continue to read banned books … trans youth will continue to assert their identity in safe and supportive ways in schools … We will not be erased. Together, we rise up, and we fight back.”
This sentiment was also shared by Johnson in her latest statement, as she emphasized the circumstances going forward into the 2024 election.
“We literally will be fighting for our lives on the state, local, and federal levels,” she explained. “And we will need our entire community of progressive individuals and radical leaders within and outside North Carolina to come together as we advocate for pro-equality candidates from the appellate courts to the Governor’s Mansion to the White House.”
Johnson said organizations like ENC need to unite and work together to continue to advocate for queer residents. However, these organizations depend on the work of countless volunteers and staff to do the “on-the-ground” work to raise a voice for those who are marginalized.
“White supremacists and Christian nationalists have moved from the shadows of our society to the center stage of our government, taking aim at our rights and our very existence,” Johnson offered. “Now more than ever, we need to be telling our stories differently, flanking and supporting organizations that serve as a container for organizing, and working across identities to build a movement for us all.
“We are at a pivotal point in the organization’s future where we can change the course of history.”
In one of her final messages as executive director for ENC, Johnson urged the public to continue to advocate for LGBTQ+ North Carolinians and never stop pursuing equal rights for all.
“If you’re tired of bullies winning by targeting women, children, and trans folks, fight back alongside us,” she said. “There is much more work to be done, but Equality NC has shown repeatedly what we can do when we work in tandem with organizations and other dedicated and passionate movement leaders who share our goals and values.
“There is nothing we cannot accomplish together.”