Working Class Love Notes #11: Pride
Celebrating Pride and all the Country Queers
Hi friends,
Like so many others, I’m hootin’ and hollerin’ for Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in the first round of the New York City’s mayor’s race. Over 40,000 volunteers, the most in any mayor’s race in US history, powered his campaign facing down over $30 million in racist attack ads from centrist Democrats who continue to court Trump’s billionaire funders over working class people. As my home organization SURJ said (we endorsed his race), “this win is a powerful reminder that unapologetically progressive, anti-racist, pro-trans, anti-genocide candidates fighting for the working class can win against corporate mainstream Democrats.” Let’s go let’s go let’s go!
And, while I’m at at it, as always: Free Palestine! Abolish ICE! No War with Iran! Long Live The Queer Agenda! Trans Rights Now!
I wanted to use this love note to put some shine on Pride this month with a special focus on my beloved state of Kentucky and all the country queers out there. I’m highlighting some history, creators, and stories here that I’m taking a lot of inspiration from lately, but it’s only scratching the surface of all of the powerful LGBTQ history, resistance, and creativity coming out of this state and from country people forever and always.
If you know this history already, I hope it’s an uplifting reminder. If you see yourself in this, I hope you feel powerful because you are. And if this is new information to you, which it is for many people, I hope you’ll share it with others and that it shapes how you see Appalachians, rural people, and the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, a place that’s vibrant, diverse, and full of fighters.
Special shout out to Pikeville Pride for lots of the history and stats I’m using here. Support them and give them a follow! They have some amazing merch. And if you’re in the area, it’s gonna be a big time at Pikeville Pride on September 27th! See you there?
Louisville Fairness Campaign
Did you know that Louisville, Kentucky won protections for trans rights before even New York City and Chicago? That’s right, my loves, Kentuckians did that.
In January 1999, despite even supporters saying it couldn’t be done, and despite the campaign taking 15 years to win, Kentucky’s Fairness Campaign won historic LGBTQ civil rights legislation by centering anti-racism, building a cross-class base of people, and refusing to play small.
Since the initial win, the Fairness Campaign has grown to 24 municipalities and partnered with other Kentucky cities, including many small rural towns, to win some of the most progressive legislation in the state. According to the Fairness campaign, these ordinances cover nearly a third of the population of our state.
I keep this initial campaign story close to my heart because it’s a reminder that big wins can take a lot of years, but we never stop fighting and we don’t leave anyone behind. Louisville Fairness won those protections for trans rights because they refused to take any compromise that left trans Kentuckians behind and that’s the exact kind of commitment we must make to each other. All of us or none of us. We stay united no matter what.
Queer Creatives:
Some of my favorite writers, musicians, and creators are country queers. Here’s a list you must check out!
Rae Garringer and Country Queers: It’s a podcast, it’s a book, and it’s a community. Rae has also edited another book, an anthology titled To Belong Here: A New Generation of Queer, Trans, and Two-Spirit Appalachian Writers. All of Rae’s work is so, so beautiful and I’m proud to call them a friend.
My dearest beloved Tanya Turner’s latest podcast project Healing Justice in Kentucky: Stories of Community Care. From Tanya: “For the past ten moon cycles I've talked with Kentuckians building muscles of mutual aid and creative caretaking, across the Commonwealth. Whether you're in Kentucky or wandering elsewhere, I'm sharing these stories of community care as visions and lessons for us all.” Sign up for Tanya’s patreon for this project and also get your hands on her herbal care packages.
Willie Carver’s poetry book Gay Poems for Red States and his upcoming book now for pre-order Tore All to Pieces. Love him so much. (Remind me to tell you about when we studied abroad together . . . )
Belle Townsend’s poetry book The Holy and the Humdrum and her rural anthology Discarded. Plus, catch her writing regularly in Queer Kentucky. Belle is my heart and I’m rooting for her every damn day.
Carter Sickels’s The Prettiest Star. Carter is telling the kinds of stories we all need. Tender, skillful, heartbreaking, and gorgeous.
Pride (2014 film): Even though this film is based on real historical events that happened across the pond in Wales, it’s also a story about country queers. It’s a beautiful film about rural organizing, true solidarity between London’s LGBTQ community and striking Welsh coal miners, and it’s an example of the type of organizing that we need now more than ever. It’s definitely in my top favorite films of all-time and I can’t recommend it enough. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel hope. It’s streaming in various places and it’s worth the rental price if you have to pay. Also, they’re making it into a musical!
Finally, S. G. Goodman’s latest album Planting by the Signs is out now! I have been waiting on this one and it’s so excellent! Plus, it’s named after the witchy Appalachian practice of gardening by astrological signs??? Come on . . . perfection. Bonus: Check out Belle Townsend’s interview with S.G. Goodman in Queer Kentucky!
Lige Clarke
So proud of a couple of my good friends and fellow Eastern Kentuckians who created the Lige Clarke Liberation Fund together in honor of Lige. “In the spirit of Lige Clarke’s life’s work in advancing LGBTQ+ equality, this fund provides strategic grantmaking to increase public support for queer rights and equality in Appalachian Kentucky. Funds foster, help develop, and promote queer leadership within regional nonprofits, support the creation of queer spaces, art and media, and provide queer youth with financial and other resources to seek educational and professional opportunities.” Donate here.
That’s all for now, beloveds. You can catch me and some other brilliant folks who I deeply admire on July 1st on a webinar for Catalyst Project titled Mobilizing White People for the Anti-Fascist Fight. I’ll also be at the Socialism Conference hosted by Haymarket Books in Chicago July 4th weekend on a panel with some friends and fellow country folks, including Rae Garringer, talking about The Rural Defenders Union. If you can’t make it to Chicago, you can stream the conference from home.
Love, Beth
