Portraits of Pride, Year Two: Voices of Queer Young People and Their Allies

Queer young people and their allies are who this feature centers. You will read their stories, consume their art, reflect on their thoughts, and learn more about the young experience than you knew yesterday. You’ll read pieces that young people, ages 9 to 25, have constructed. You’ll take a trip through the second year of the INDY ’s Portraits of Pride series and you’ll hear from young people associated with community spaces, including Durham’s very own Blackspace. This edition honors Pride: Durham—an annual celebration that the LGBTQ Center of Durham hosts.

Over the last decade, be it the young queer people who led demonstrations protesting HB 2, the young Black people who led highway shutdowns and die-ins on behalf of Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name, or the young people leading the campus uprisings in support of Palestine, North Carolina’s youth have visibly positioned themselves on the frontlines of revolutionary calls to action.

For last year’s Portrait of Pride, I wrote about my (at times weird and challenging) journey from a questioning queer young person to an answering queer adult person. This year, I want you to hear directly from the young people in our community on similar journeys. You’ll also hear from young allies in their struggle.

This feature pays homage to the ways young people express and acknowledge their burning desire to protect humanity and demonstrate love. These are young people who aren’t interested in making the case for their humanity; they are gifting us with the opportunity to discover and experience who they are. These youth challenge the notion that young people are our future—instead, they demonstrate that young people are our here and now.

We hope you spend some time with their work and join us for Pride: Durham, NC on the last weekend of the month to give them—and many others in our community—their flowers.

Louder Than Hate: Your Voice and Your Vote, Essay by Ben Negin, age 22

Why is Everything About Race? Examining Racial Erasure in Queer Spaces, Essay by Kendall Garraway, age 22

There’s a Girl in the Men’s Bathroom, Essay by Jenna Gartland, age 22

Southside Soliloquy, Poem by Lani, age 24

Finding Your Community: A Q&A with Taj Scott, age 15, by Desmera Gatewood

Auntie Assata, the Baby Ancestor: A Q&A with visual artist Assata Goff, age 24, by Desmera Gatewood

Pitfalls, Song lyrics by JammTHANubian, age 23, LGBTQ ally

The Sneak Out, Story by Lela Smith, age 9, LGBTQ ally

Me, Poem by Aiyana Smith, age 11, LGBTQ ally

We’re All One, Art by Gohi

This feature is dedicated to Eternity Philops who transitioned into a Black Queer ancestor on September 8, 2024. Rest in power.

Desmera Gatewood is a neurodivergent, Black, non-binary writer and organization development practitioner. They serve on the board of the LGBTQ Center of Durham.

Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.

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