"As a Black gay man in North Carolina, I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud to keep fighting alongside my community members and allies and I do think I'm quite tired," said Elijah King.
At 23 years old, King represents the LGBTQ + community proudly by keeping close watch of bills moving through the North Carolina General Assembly and the potential impact they could have.
"It's no question that Durham is a beacon of progress, but the problem is with North Carolina, we have an issue of being shifty on LGBTQ issues from House Bill 2 to anti-trans bills we saw in 2023," he said.
Earlier this month, Pride celebrations were on full display across the country. Out! Raleigh's two-day event, that's been running for 13 years in the City of Oaks, held its inclusive family-friendly festival.
Ben Chapman is a board member for Hope for Teens, an anti-bullying organization for LGBTQ+ youth. He manned a booth at the festival.
"There are rural areas of North Carolina where I can't necessarily be as out, as visible and as unconcerned as I'd like to be," said Chapman. "I'd started saying that I would like to try to remain in North Carolina for as long as it's safe for me and my partner to do so."
The Trump administration announced it will stop providing support to LGBTQ+ youth through the 988 national suicide and crisis lifeline on July 17th. It's something Chapman said that people expressed concern over at the festival.
"There are a whole host of people in their community that are willing to go to bat for them and fight for them," he said.
Both King and Chapman empathize with the LGBTQ+ youth because they feel teens are being targeted. King is running for Durham's City Council Ward 1 seat. He said the fight for visibility remains and more LGBTQ+ people in leadership are needed.
"I think the fight for visibility is more than just having parades and rainbows. It means having people that look like you, love like you, feel like you and fight the same battles are in positions of power," he said.
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Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be 2025 | Full Episode