UNC Story Archive recording with Michael G. Williams: The Story of Us5 items
Date Deposited: 2021-09-21
Collection: UNC Story Archive (70096)
Collection Number: 70096
Finding Aid: https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/70096/
During a remote recording session, Michael Williams (Class of 1999), shares how a need to leave conservative small-town life, North Carolina Teaching Fellows, and a story about "so many Queer people Out and proud at UNC Chapel Hill” hanging out in The Pit lead him to UNC. Although he had started to come Out, Williams found himself “immediately... Read more
During a remote recording session, Michael Williams (Class of 1999), shares how a need to leave conservative small-town life, North Carolina Teaching Fellows, and a story about "so many Queer people Out and proud at UNC Chapel Hill” hanging out in The Pit lead him to UNC. Although he had started to come Out, Williams found himself “immediately back in the closet” around many of the other Teaching Fellows because “they were all from tiny little towns like I was, and a lot of them were extremely conservative". After making the decision to attend a CGLA (Carolina Gay and Lesbian Association) meeting for the first time, Williams “was absolutely terrified because at the time I had never had the experience of not being able to build a wall between regular life and Queer life” but soon became an integral member of The Lambda. Williams also describes when “right-wingers in Student Congress” broke into the B-GLAD (Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians, and Allies for Diversity) office to steal a roster that contained contact information. He also recounts being a “peacekeeper” for North Carolina Pride, “which meant...I was basically volunteering to get beaten up first if someone was going to get beaten up”, attending a Queer rights march in Washington D.C., and “the secret code system that used to be in place for people to meet each other on campus”.Read less