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Why I Won’t Gentrify My Career

Posted on October 3, 2018

In June 2018, I started my consulting and expert witness firm, The National Center for Equity and Agency, which specializes in sexual misconduct prevention and increasing cultural inclusion. Starting my own business meant building a brand, not only for the business, but a brand for me personally as well. What was the image I wanted to portray? Who did I want to impress and connect with? What was the vibe that I wanted our logo, language, and colors to exude?…

Healthcare is a Human Right: Houston Secures Transition-Related Healthcare Benefits for City Employees

Posted on August 29, 2018

An illustration of transition-related healthcare benefits.

Senior police officer Jackie Boniaby is a staple within the Houston Police Department. For the past 26 years, she’s dedicated her life to service, holding various positions throughout the department. The last few months, however, have been a transition—Boniaby recently came out as a transgender woman and is taking steps to live publicly as her authentic self. “I just recently transitioned,” Boniaby tells Spectrum South. “I had to conceal who I was for years. It’s a journey, but I’m simply…

Rise and Grind: 10 Queer Southern Entrepreneurs Doing The Work

Posted on January 31, 2018

In the words of Fleetwood Mac, sometimes, you just have to go your own way. Such was the case for Spectrum South. What started as a “what if” conversation over lunch one day quickly turned into a “well, why not?” Six months later, that pie-in-the-sky dream was a reality, and we couldn’t be happier…or busier. In the spirit of creating something from the ground up, we’ve curated a list of other queer southern entrepreneurs who have taken their passions, go-getter…

Yes, I Still Eat Chick-fil-A

Posted on November 22, 2017

The boycotts we engage in largely serve to elevate our own egos, as people think, “Look at the good I’m doing in the world by rejecting the hate chicken.” Plus, it’s not that hard to choose another fast-food restaurant off a U.S. Interstate where they dot feeder roads like weeds. But it’s almost unthinkable for liberals to picket Apple—especially when they have a magnificent pro-LGBTQ record. To add another dimension, we mostly boycott companies that only negatively affect the domestic…

Queer Southern Staples: Where Did All The LGBTQ Bookstores Go?

Posted on October 31, 2017

For a brief time beginning in the 1970s and stretching up to the 2000s, a new species of community institution sprinkled the southern landscape—the LGBTQ bookstore. Once prolific, these stores are now endangered. While LGBTQ visibility and community participation has expanded exponentially, economic changes have forced nearly all small bookstores to either close or shift their retail focus. Yet a few determined LGBTQ and feminist bookstores—from the funky Faubourg Marigny Art and Books in New Orleans to feminist stalwarts such…

From Bus to Brick: TOMO Mags Builds Community Through Independent Print Magazines

Posted on June 28, 2017

A picture of independent magazines sold at Tomo Mags in Houston, Texas.

Walking into TOMO Mags on West Alabama Street in Houston’s Montrose district, you encounter the city’s only magazine shop that is both an artistic incubator and community sanctuary at once. Co-founded by husbands Vico Tadeo and Keiwing Chong, TOMO Mags offers a range of niche magazines—including local publications on architecture, photography, and design—that you cannot typically find in corporate hubs like Barnes & Noble.…

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