QnotesCarolinas, Charlotte, NC (2025)

07/22/2025

Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs), also known as Gender and Sexuality Alliances, have become a vital component of many high schools and colleges, serving as a platform for LGBTQ+ students and their allies to connect, share experiences, and support one another.

The current political climate, along with legislation targeting DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, presents significant challenges for these programs, directly impacting their operations and the level of support they can provide to students.

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GSAs face political pressure in Charlotte schools, but students, parents & orgs like Time Out Youth push back with advocacy and care.

07/21/2025

One hand over the other.

That’s how you climbed to where you are now. One rung at a time, hand over hand until you
reach the intended goal.

Yes, sometimes you went backward before you ascended again or
you had to move sideways past a barrier.

And sometimes, as in the new memoir, “Yet Here I Am” by Jonathan Capehart, you got a hand up.

His mother refused to talk about it.

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Jonathan Capehart reflects on identity, media, and mentorship in his thoughtful but mellow memoir Yet Here I Am.

07/21/2025

As students across the country prepare for another school year, community-based programs like Center 360 are stepping in to provide critical year-round support well beyond the classroom.

Founded in 2015 by Akeilah and Keisha Hamilton-Stewart, Center 360 is a Charlotte-based nonprofit that empowers middle school students who are at risk of disengaging from school.

Over the past decade, it has become a lifeline for families and a launchpad for youth discovering their unique strengths and career potential.

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As students across the country prepare for another school year, community-based programs like Center 360 are stepping in to provide critical year-round support well beyond the classroom. Founded in 2015 by Akeilah and Keisha Hamilton-Stewart, Center 360 is a Charlotte-based nonprofit that empowers m...

07/19/2025

The date June 27 marked the end of the United States Supreme Court’s docket term, meaning multiple precedent-making decisions were issued all at once on that Friday.

The Supreme Court handed down legal victories to President Donald Trump and conservatives across the country on a myriad of issues, one of which involves LGBTQ+ curriculum in public schools.

In a divided 6-3 vote along ideological lines, the court ruled school systems were required to allow parents to opt their children out of classes with material “contradicting” their religious beliefs.

This would allow for students to be excused from lessons involving LGBTQ+ history and stories.

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SCOTUS allows parents to opt kids out of LGBTQ+ lessons, raising concerns over inclusion and education equity in public schools.

07/18/2025

Summer is in full swing and we're one national holiday away from the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.

This year there’s more than pickup schedules and needed supplies to be concerned about.

There’s been tons of new legislation which has and will continue to impact students and educators – in a very unsettling manner for many.

It’s enough to have some folks wondering if the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment (affording protection from discrimination based on factors such as national origin, s*x or race) has been redacted.

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Educators brace for 2025 school year as anti-DEI, anti-LGBTQ+ laws reshape classrooms and student support.

07/17/2025

Michael Danforth waited 37 months for disability assistance from Medicaid as colon cancer ravaged his health.

Just nine days before his first disability was due to arrive, he died at 33. He was uninsured due to a genetic condition.

His smiling portrait sat atop an empty, black casket in front of the Gaston County Courthouse Monday.

Held by organizers, the casket was decorated with signs reading “This coffin represents policy murder!” and “307,000 people in North Carolina will lose Medicaid.”

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Protesters mourn Medicaid cuts in Gastonia, calling new federal bill “policy murder” after NC man dies waiting for aid.

07/14/2025

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) laid off the staff of its LGBTQ Health Program in late June, effectively shuttering a resource that helped LGBTQ+ people access and navigate healthcare for the last decade.

Members of the institution’s LGBTQ Health Community Advisory Board and a former member of the program’s office staff say VUMC quietly eliminated the office and its Trans Buddy program on June 24 with no notice to the community or the patients served by the program’s resources.

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Vanderbilt ends LGBTQ Health Program and Trans Buddy with no notice, sparking backlash from advocates and former staff.

07/14/2025

The federal government cannot withhold Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood after a district court judge issued a temporary restraining order July 7, the same day the organization filed a lawsuit.

Republicans included language in their “big, beautiful bill” that would block Medicaid payments from going to Planned Parenthood for the next year, a move that would effectively prevent enrollees in the state-federal health program for lower income people from visiting any of its clinics for routine health care.

The ban began when President Donald Trump signed the bill into law.

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A judge blocks Trump's Medicaid ban on Planned Parenthood. Lawsuit filed same day, hearing set. Over 1M patients affected.

07/14/2025

Nineteen states now have a law or policy banning transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity.

About one in four transgender people live in states with some form of bathroom restrictions, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit research group that tracks LGBTQ+-related legislation.

South Carolina renewed its K-12 bathroom law this year as part of the state budget.

The mandate — initially inserted into the budget last year during the Senate’s floor debate — applies to multi-stalled school restrooms and places where students undress, to include locker rooms and gym showers.

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19 U.S. states now restrict transgender bathroom access. South Carolina renews its school rule; lawsuits and expansions continue.

07/10/2025

In what was supposed to be a chain of naval ships being renamed in order to take “the politics out of ship naming,” as per Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the project seems to be screeching to a halt after replacing the name only of the USNS Harvey Milk.

The move came at the beginning of Pride Month, almost in a way of fighting back against the celebration and fanfare within the LGBTQ+ community that would occur throughout June.

The administration’s position under Hegseth has been that no ships should be named after civil rights leaders because that’s “ideologically motivated” and that the renaming was not about Milk in particular.

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Harvey Milk's name removed from Navy ship amid claims of depoliticizing, halting renaming of other civil rights era vessels.

07/08/2025

You thought a long time about who sits where.

Compatibility is key for a good dinner party, so place cards were the first consideration; you have at least one left-hander on your guest list, and you figured his comfort into your seating chart.

You want the conversation to flow, which is music to your ears. And you did a good job, but, as you’ll see with these two great books on dining LGBTQIA-style, it’s sometimes not who sits where, but whose recipes were used.

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Explore two books that celebrate LGBTQIA+ food culture, q***r kitchens, and inclusive dining history.

07/07/2025

There’s no question that when Patrik-Ian Polk’s series “Noah’s Arc” premiered on Logo 20 years ago, it was a groundbreaking creation. The storyline focused on a group of Black gay men and their wonderful friendship.

The titular arc was that of the main character, Noah (Darryl Stephens), and his close-knit circle of friends, including Chance, played by gay actor Doug Spearman.

This compelling and loving fraternity may, in fact, be what brought viewers back repeatedly, including a 2008 movie, “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” as well as the 2020 “Noah’s Arc” short, and now, a new full-length feature “Noah’s Arc: The Movie,” which debuted on Paramount+/Showtime on June 20.

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Doug Spearman reflects on grief, representation, and legacy in Noah’s Arc: The Movie 20 years after the show’s debut.

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