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Watauga County, North Carolina: We are the MountainQueers, 1969-2009
Contents
LGBTQ Life in Watauga County, North Carolina, 1969-2009 Pages Timeline References Categories
LGBTQ Life in Watauga County, North Carolina, 1969-2009
While Watauga County, North Carolina, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, remains rural and retains many conservative practices, its university, Appalachian State University, acts as a liberalizing factor in the area. Appalachian, as Watauga County’s main employer and the primary draw for in-migration, has similarly acted as a focal point for cultural activities and community development, especially with many students and employees active in civic and political organizations. Within the span of a century, attitudes toward LGBT people have moved from complete silence to one of open tolerance in many segments of the county.
Pages AIDS in Watauga County, North Carolina, 1985-2009 Appalachian State University LGBT Life, 1969-2009 Comprehensive Time Line County-wide LGBT Life, 1990-2009 Older Women in Watauga County, North Carolina, [dates] Sources for LGBTQ Life in Watauga County, North Carolina Women’s Studies at Appalachian State University, 1976-2009 Watauga High School LGBT Activism, 1999-2009
Abbreviated Timeline 1976: Appalachian State University (ASU) Women’s Studies Program founds and Counseling Center homosexual support group begins 1979: ASU official recognizes Appalachian Gay Awareness Association (AGAA) after much controversy (disbands by 1986) 1987: Watauga County’s first reported AIDS case soon followed by first reported HIV+ ASU student 1988: Community-based AIDS support group begins (disbands in 1995) 1989: PFLAG chapter begins 1990: Sexual Awareness Group of Appalachian (SAGA) begins meeting at ASU March, 1991: Gays and Lesbians of Watauga (GLOW) organizes, receives a bomb threat, and ceases meeting Fall, 1991: ASU's first Gay Studies course is offered December, 1992: Mountain AIDS Support Committee set up in Boone (disbands in 2001)
January, 1993: ASU student reports a gay-related assault 1993: Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of the High Country opens 1993: ASU adds “sexual orientation” to its Equal Employment Opportunity statement 1995: Delta Love Delta sponsors first Miss Gay Boone World pageant 1997: Boone Gay Pride march October, 2000: First annual “Queer Film Series” at ASU 2003-2004: Watauga High School students attempt to organize a gay-straight alliance; Watauga County School Board says no 2005: First annual Boone Pride Fall 2007: ASU student organization transACTION begins October, 2008: ASU's LGBT Center opens Spring, 2008: ASU adds “gender identity and expression” Equal Employment Opportunity policy October, 2008: Watauga High School principal approves Gay-Straight Alliance March, 2009: Town of Boone votes unanimously to add “sexual orientation and gender identity” to its Equal Employment Opportunity Statement, to oppose NC Senate Bill 272, which calls for a state-wide vote for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman, and to support NC House Bill 207, “The Safer Communities Act.” References
Categories Categories: Appalachian State University | Bisexual | Gay | Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) | Hate Crimes | Lesbian | LGBT High School, College, and University Groups | North Carolina | North Carolina -- Blowing Rock | North Carolina -- Boone | North Carolina -- Watauga County | Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) | Rural Life | Transgender | 20th century | 21st century | Youth
