Mandy Carter: Scientist of Activism

SOUTHERN JUSTICE

Mandy Carter SONG Business Card, Durham, NC: 2003.

SONG Brochure, Durham, NC: 1995.

Southerners On New Ground was founded in 1993 by Mandy Carter and five other lesbians who wanted a southern LGBTQ organization that “ignited the kindred” to challenge racism, sexism, and poverty. Rather than working on isolated single-issue struggles, they aimed to center the range of social justice issues that impacted southerners and engaged LGBTQ people. Carter served as co-executive director from 2003-2005 and established many projects, including the Bayard Rustin Project and the collaborative work with the Highlander Center.

Get on the Bus Flyer, Durham, NC, April 1, 2003.

Boycott Mt. Olive Co. Pickles, Mt. Olive, NC: n.d.

Southerners On New Ground joined the Farm Labor Organizing Committee in boycotting Mount Olive Pickles. The boycott was organized to support farmworkers’ demands for higher wages and safe working conditions. SONG’s participation was an effort to show that gay activism wasn’t just about being gay, but about liberation for all.

Bayard Rustin Project Card.

The Bayard Rustin Project is a program at SONG to help strengthen the leadership skills of southern LGBTQ people of color and support them in their pursuit of justice in their communities. Held as an annual event, it brings together leaders for training and workshops as well as opportunities to connect and heal.

Pharr, Suzanne, Homophobia, a Weapon of Sexism Book, Berkley, CA: 1997.

Homophobia, A Weapon of Sexism is a book by Southerners On New Ground (SONG) co-founder Suzanne Pharr. First published in 1988, the book examines how homophobia exists to suppress all people, not just those who identify as LGBTQ.

Red and Black t-shirt

Bandana

SONG 25th Anniversary Poster, Atlanta, GA, 2013.

SONG used artistically designed t-shirts and bandanas to “ignite the kindred” (the organization’s motto) and mobilize supporters across the region. The bandanas feature the organization’s name in English and Spanish, recognizing the importance of language in social justice work. To honor its twentieth anniversary, SONG worked with artists to create an image of an oak tree that bears the word resilience. All of these artistic works amplify and carry forth a movement philosophy coined by SONG, “queer liberation will happen in our lifetime.”

Drawings of the Movement (empty boat), Chapel Hill, NC: April 2003.

Drawings of the Movement (full boat), Chapel Hill, NC: April 2003.

Drawing from a 2003 NC Unity Conference meeting of the “Sinking GayLesBiTrans Movement” and the “Repaired Movement.” This highlights how the LGBTQ movement at the time did not hold space for people’s identities beyond their sexuality, limiting their ability to bring their whole selves to organizational work.

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