Happy new decade, queers! We can’t believe this is Spectrum South’s third annual Year in Review. While it truly feels like 2019 flew by, we’re taking a moment to slow down, reflect, and give gratitude for all of the wonderful happenings over the past year.
The last 12 months have been a time of growth for Spectrum South. We welcomed new voices to our team, including writers Rachel Abbott, Joelle Bayaa-Uzuri, Noah Diaz, Jayce Tyler, and social media content creator and videographer Alexander Miller. These talented team members have been instrumental in moving the publication forward and furthering our mission of bringing meaningful media representation to queer southerners. We encourage you to check out these writers’ thought-provoking personal narratives: Rachel recalls her journey as a queer femme in Texas; Joelle writes on embracing her truth as a Black trans woman; Noah details his sex-positive mantra; and Jayce stands firm in their identity as a non-binary lesbian.
The beginning of 2019 brought both fiscal and creative success, as Spectrum South was proud to be selected as an Idea Fund grant recipient! This one-of-a-kind re-granting program—administered through a partnership of DiverseWorks, Aurora Picture Show, and Project Row Houses and funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts—awards artists and creators at three distinct levels and Spectrum South was honored to be chosen for our efforts in expanding the Veer Queer podcast series.
Speaking of Veer Queer, this QTPOC-centered podcast series hosted by Mai Ha, Endesha Haynes, and Julien Gomez, was Spectrum South’s first foray into the incredible world of podcasting. We celebrated this new endeavor with a live episode event featuring model and activist Jessica Zyrie and over 50 audience members from Houston’s thriving LGBTQ community. Veer Queer rounded out season four with nine episodes highlighting a range of guests, including Houston-based chef Adán Medrano, musician and T.R.U.T.H. Project performer Rechatter Brady, the executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas Emmett Schelling, and many more!
Pride month marked Spectrum South’s two-year anniversary! To celebrate, Spectrum South partnered with Pride Houston as an official media sponsor of the 2019 Houston LGBT Pride Celebration. Our team greeted thousands of festival goers, gave out Spectrum South swag, and unapologetically showed our Pride.
Just as Pride is a tradition for the queer community, QFest—Houston’s International LGBTQ Film Festival—has become a tradition for the Spectrum South family. This past July marked QFest’s 23rd year in operation and our second year as the festival’s media sponsor, and we could not have been more excited to join forces with this community staple once again. The festival’s opening night kicked off with Jennie Livingston’s iconic 1990 documentary Paris is Burning, followed by an afterparty of drinks, dancing, mixing and mingling, and performances by Stoo (featuring Luis Cerda and Ricky Lethridge) and emcee Roxanne Collins. The festival then continued with an extended, eight-day lineup of more than 15 features and an expanded slate of shorts that brought both new revelations and nostalgic feels to audiences.
Spectrum South was proud to round out the year by sponsoring the 2019 Houston Transgender Unity Banquet, the city’s largest annual transgender event, which featured trans model Carmen Carrera as the evening’s keynote speaker. The connections we’ve made with HTUC and other community partners have been invaluable to us as we grow, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
As 2020 begins, we look forward to what this new year will bring. We will be adding even more queer southern voices to our team to expand our presence and perspective. The new season of Veer Queer, launching early in the year, will feature an all-new format full of intriguing interviews with some of the South’s most passionate movers and shakers. Plus, as we approach November’s crucial election, we’ll be increasing our political coverage to address the issues that matter most to the LGBTQ community.
In order to grow, evolve, and keep our finger on the pulse of such a diverse community, we need your help. Feel free to contact us at [email protected] to leave feedback, suggestions, and story ideas—we want to hear from you!
Cheers, queers and happy New Year!
Xoxo, Kelsey + Megan
