W0012 |
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Object Description
Interview no. | W-0012 |
Restrictions | In-library use only. Access through the Southern Historical Collection. |
Project | W.2. LGBTQ Life in the South: Sweet Tea Interviews by E. Patrick Johnson |
Project description | Interviews, 2003-2006, conducted by E. Patrick Johnson with black gay men from the South including men from many Southern states regarding their experience of growing up gay in the South with particular focus on such topics as the influence of the church in upbringing, coming out experiences, gay vernacular, college and career in the South, gay life in small towns, segregation, gay social life, and whether the South is hospitable to gays. These interviews form the basis for Johnson's book, “Sweet Tea: Black Gay men of the South,” published in 2008 by University of North Carolina Press. |
Date | July 20, 2005 |
Interviewee | Kevin, pseud. |
Interviewee DOB | 1981 |
Interviewee ethnicity | African Americans |
Interviewer | Johnson, E. Patrick, 1967- |
Abstract | Kevin is a black, gay man from Memphis, Tennessee, born in 1981. He reflects on the strong role of the church in his upbringing. His father was a preacher during his childhood, but later on his mother and each of his sisters in turn acknowledged a call to preach and ultimately Kevin began to preach himself. He always loved church and religion is still very influential in his life whether he attends church or not. As a child, tolerance was a value that his parents instilled in him. He describes growing up next door to Buddhists and a gay boy across the street. He currently is out to his family and lives with them. He looks back upon the South as a safe place where he could leave the door unlocked and where children were given a lot of freedom, but as a place where church held sway. He details how careful he feels he must be in his sex life and how HIV/AIDs has impacted his generation, which he feels is more responsible, though not always so. The racism was the worst part of his memories of growing up in the South. This interview is part of the E. Patrick Johnson collection and was conducted for Johnson's book, “Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South.” |
Citation | Interview with Kevin, pseud. by E. Patrick Johnson, July 20, 2005 W-0012, in the Southern Oral History Program Collection #4007, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
Description
Interview no. | W0012 |