W0056_Transcript |
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Object Description
Interview no. | W-0056 |
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 | 14 May 2005 |
Interviewee | John. |
Interviewee occupation | Unknown |
Interviewee DOB | 1966 |
Interviewee ethnicity | African Americans |
Interviewer | Johnson, E. Patrick, 1967- |
Abstract | John was born in 1966 in Belton, S.C. His parents were textile workers and he had an older sister. John grew up Southern Baptist and states that church was important in his life, not so much for its teaching but because it was something you were expected to do each Sunday. John first realized he was different from other boys in the second grade because he became very attached to one boy and wanted to be close friends with him. He states that his father always knew he was gay but his mother learned from talking to people in the neighborhood. His mother was never ok with him being gay and he mentions that he dropped contact with his family until she was diagnosed with a chronic degenerative disease years later. John also states that his sister is mostly fine but that her husband has homophobic fears. Much of the interview is also spent discussing his college life at Clemson University. Finally, there is a discussion of various terms regarding gay men, including the term snow queen, in which a black man prefers a white man. 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 John by E. Patrick Johnson, 14 May 2005 W-0056, in the Southern Oral History Program Collection #4007, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
Description
Interview no. | W0056_Transcript |