Tonda Taylor was a 74-year-old woman at the time of the interview, which took place in her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Charlotte in 1940. She was educated at Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, and Queens College, Charlotte North Carolina. Ms. Taylor worked in non-profit organizations, including American Youth Hostels and the Girl Scouts when she lived in New York City. She is the founder of Time Out Youth, a nonprofit organization that provides resources, support and advocacy to LGBTQ youth in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area.
In this first of four interviews, Tonda Taylor, long-time activist for LGBTQ rights and founder of Time Out Youth, an organization that offers support, advocacy, and opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in Charlotte North Carolina, recounts her family background and her formative years. Ms. Taylor describes her experiences growing up in a conservative family in the Myers Park neighborhood of Charlotte, her relationship with her father, a prominent local allergist, and the challenges she faced as she became aware of her sexuality. She discusses the complexity of interracial relations in Charlotte during the 1950s and early 1960s, noting the effects of segregation and the pervasiveness of racism. In particular she describes the important role that her family's housekeeper, Bessie Rushing, played in shaping her world view and interest in social justice. Ms. Taylor also recalls the liberating impact that foreign travel had on her life when she was a teenager, her personal experiences of homophobia, and the serious setbacks that this caused in her life and education as a young woman.
