Mayor Lavelle also spoke out against recent legislation filed by North Carolina Republican lawmakers that would bar transgender children and young adults from participating on women's sports teams in school. "Our community has a long-standing reputation as the most welcoming place in the state for the LGBT community," she says. A key champion of the legislation was Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle, the state's first openly lesbian mayor. "This is not the case in many communities, and we recognize that we are so fortunate to feel so welcome and a part of the community here."Įarlier this year, all local governing boards in Orange County’s communities voted to pass an ordinance broadly protecting members of the LGBTQ community from discrimination. “I always feel welcome anywhere I go in Carrboro or Chapel Hill - and this was the case before I became mayor! - and able to talk openly about my family and my life," Nelson says. Mike Nelson, the first openly gay candidate elected mayor in North Carolina, led the town of Carrboro from 1995 to 2004, and Orange County is currently home to half of the state's gay and lesbian elected officials. The Chapel Hill area has a long history of electing openly gay and lesbian officials, beginning in 1987 with Chapel Hill Town Council Member Joe Herzenberg. This is a place where, as a queer man, I feel perfectly at home. is here, and we’re home to many of this country’s best writers - Allan Gurganus, Lee Smith, Daniel Wallace, Jill McCorkle and so many more. UNC, the oldest public university in the U.S. Orange County is home to James Beard Award-winning restaurants. “Of course, once they visit, they realize they’re 100 percent wrong.
“I’ve had friends from out of state joke that I live in ‘Appalachia’,” notes Hillsborough resident Steven Petrow, Washington Post columnist and author of the new book, Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old. Leaders welcome visitors to experience all Orange County has to offer during the month of June - or anytime. Small Town Pride events set for June in Chapel Hill and CarrboroĬHAPEL HILL - (June 1, 2021)- As Pride Month 2021 begins, the Chapel Hill Orange County Visitors Bureau is celebrating the legacy of the LGBTQ community in this quietly bustling town most often known for its university scene But leaders and influencers who lived the history of LGBTQ rights in this area know Chapel Hill, and surrounding Orange County towns such as Carrboro and Hillsborough, to be on the forefront of progressive, inclusive thinking.