Ed DePasquale oral history interview, 2016 October 19
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WARNING: This interview includes language that many may find offensive, including racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and anti-Semitic statements. Ed DePasquale discusses his life as a gay man in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past sixty years. Mr. DePasquale recalls growing up in a Roman Catholic, Italian-American family in a neighborhood in upstate New York during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1955, Mr. DePasquale moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where he worked largely in the retail industry, particularly for Family Dollar. Mr. DePasquale speaks at-length about his various management roles with Family Dollar, specifically spending time discussing his role as the manager of the North Graham Street location in Charlotte. Mr. DePasquale transitions to recounting his life as a gay man, highlighting his first sexual encounter with another man in 1956 in a restaurant bathroom in Uptown Charlotte. Mr. DePasquale acknowledges that his coming out was largely prompted by his dissatisfaction with his marriage. In 1970, Mr. DePasquale left his wife but didn't come out to her for fear of losing contact with his daughters. Mr. DePasquale discusses his involvement in Charlotte's gay male community, speaking at-length about the LGBT organizations Acceptance, Metrolina AIDS Project (MAP), and Prime Timers, as well as LGBTQ+ affirming churches New Life Metropolitan Community Church and Wedgwood Baptist Church. Mr. DePasquale also discusses his involvement with the civic organization Charlotte Junior Chamber (Jaycees). Other major themes that Mr. DePasquale discusses include racism against African Americans, HIV/AIDS, and gay marriage.
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