QCVC Event this Thursday!

Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales

This one-man show is based on the oral histories collected in Johnson's book, Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South--An Oral History, published by the University of North Carolina Press. The oral histories are from black gay men who were born, raised, and continue to live in the South and range in age from 19 to 93. This performance covers the following topics: coming of age in the South, religion, sex, transgenderism, love stories, and coming out. The show tells of Chaz, a transgendered person who lives as a man on Sunday so he can sing in the church choir, but lives as a woman during the rest of the week; then there is Larry, whose early years of sexual experimentation is both humorous and disturbing; Freddie's story of being raised by parents who did not want his is heartbreaking, but also delivered with an ironic twist; Countess Vivian, the oldest narrator, recounts his life during the 1920s and the 1930s on the streets of New Orleans; and, Stephen, one of the youngest men, shares the moving story about being pressured to conform to a traditional notion of masculinity and enter a heterosexual relationship that produces a son. Johnson embodies these and others' stories in the show.

Thursday, April 16
8-10pm
Sanders Classroom 212 - Spitzer Auditorium