Queer Kentucky ISSUE 07: Letter from the Editor

Queer Kentucky ISSUE 07: 25 Faces of Fairness is available now in select stores and on our website.

Dear reader,

Countless faces, from Paducah to Pikeville, have played roles in advancing fairness and equality for the LGBTQ+ community across the Bluegrass — many of which proved foundational for my own path of Queer activism.

Ten years ago, I met Fairness Campaign Executive Director Chris Hartman for the first time at Galaxie, a swanky bar and restaurant in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood. I don’t even remember exactly how we originally connected—probably just by virtue of being two gay men in Louisville, but I knew he was with the Fairness Campaign and I wanted to learn more about it. True to form, Chris rushed in wearing a suit and tie and slightly out of breath from running between meetings or perhaps from Frankfort.

I had just started writing for Louisville.com in an attempt to fulfill the city’s need for Queer content. Ironically, I didn’t know much about being gay myself. I had been out of the closet for quite some time, but struggled with and repressed my sexuality and Queer culture for years. Looking back, I think stepping into Queer journalism was my way of safely navigating an unfamiliar world through the lens of my work.

I rise to greet him, and of course I don’t receive a handshake, but rather a firm Hartman bear hug that caught me off guard. Chris is a big dude with a big personality and I was still crawling in my skin as a shy gayby. I envied his confidence.

I was a sponge during our conversation. Chris filled me in on Bourke v. Beshear, the landmark case from Kentucky that would eventually pave the way for national marriage equality, which was already in motion. He opened my eyes to the discrimination and hatred faced by trans Kentuckians—things I had been completely ignorant to as a cis man. We discussed the anti-marriage equality campaigns spearheaded by Southeast Christian Church, and he handed me a roadmap of fearless Queer leaders throughout the city and urged me to connect with them. If I wanted to write about Queer culture in Louisville, he said, these were the people I needed to know.

I was introduced to names like Kaila Story and Jaison Gardner, whose Strange Fruit podcast opened my eyes to the Black Queer experience and what it meant to live at that intersection. I learned about David Williams, a renowned Queer Kentucky historian and archivist. And there were so many more—like Fairness co-founders Carla Wallace and Lisa Gunterman, to whom we, as Queer Kentuckians, owe an immense debt of gratitude.

Since that inspirational conversation with my now dear friend Chris a decade ago, hundreds of new activists have stepped up to join the fight for fairness and equality. Their dedication inspires a movement that continues to grow, but the work is far from over. We need every voice, every heart, and every hand to join us in this fight for a future where equality and justice are realities for all—together, we can make it happen.

— Spencer