Black gay clubs in north carolina
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As a young gay dude in Charlotte of the 1980s, I managed to snag a fake ID that was realistic enough to convince bar owners I was five years older than I actually was. The fact that I was over six feet tall came in handy, too. There’s something about height that implies age.
Beginning at the age of 16, I was able to gain entree into a number of Charlotte’s gay bars.
My first experience came at a center city nightspot famous as The Odyssey, At the time it was located at the corner of Morehead and Tryon Sts. in what had previously been a restaurant and its regional corporate headquarters.
It wasn’t all that large, really, but sizable enough to offer three separate bars and a dance floor. Downstairs was another gay bar acknowledged as the Brass Rail.
Standing outside and waiting in a line to the stairs that took you to where The Odyssey was, I heard other young gay men referring to the Brass Rail as “The Wrinkle Room,” indicating it was a place where mostly older gays congregated. Even then I thought their evaluation seemed crass and flippant, but I was initially so nervous I just stood in the line quietly.
I can still recall making my way
Charlotte’s Best LGBTQ+ Bars
Nightlife
Ready for a night out? These LGBTQ-friendly bars are the city's foremost picks.
by Dean McCain
Azucar Latino Charlotte
Area: East Charlotte
If you’ve got dancing on your mind and deserve to move your hips, Azucar is your nightclub. Rising-star DJs, extravagant queenly queens and studly go-go dancers create this Latin venue one to guarantee a wild overnight out. The enjoyable and flashy nightclub is all about dancing whenever, and with whomever, you want.
Bar Argon
Neighborhood: LoSo
Located down South Boulevard, this casual move club is a welcoming spot for all types. Verify Argon’s online calendar for themed nights like leather gear parties, Latin nights, line dancing lessons, karaoke and even table-top card game tournaments. Saturday nights on the boogie floor are some of the optimal on the scene.
Chasers
Neighborhood: NoDa
For over 30 years, Chasers has served as a welcoming space for everyone to like a night of high-energy dancing and daily drink specials. Against the glow of neon lights, go-go dancers participate you on the dance floor an electric experience. Examine Chasers’ calendar for regular events, such as drag s
Legacy Bars of the Carolinas
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Fragmentary seems like the most appropriate word to portray the history and society of oppressed people, and especially the LGBTQ+ society. Our heritage and society has often gone undocumented for fear of unintentionally providing information that could lead to unwanted trouble from our oppressors. Dial it a fail guarded, if you will, but the end result was/is a huge loss of LGBTQ+ history prior to the 1980s.
In other instances, our history was often deemed as insignificant or unworthy of being saved by those in a position of power to make decisions about historical preservation. As late as the mid 1990s I can still recall the shock I felt when I was informed by a periodical librarian at the Atlanta Fulton County Public Library that copies of locally produced same-sex attracted and lesbian publications were thrown away when each new edition arrived, unlike the mainstream straight newspapers and magazines, which were typically archived.
When I inquired as to why, the librarian shot me an incredulous look and replied with a patronizing to