A ROAD MAP FOR CHANGE.

• Author: Flanders, Laura
• Position: COMMENT - Gay rights in North Carolina

It's hard to think of a better example of doing what you can with what you've got than Naomi Dix when the lights went out.

When Dix, the producer and host of Downtown Divas, a benefit drag show in Southern Pines, North Carolina, suddenly found herself in total darkness while on stage at the historic Sunrise Theater in early December, she directed audience members to pull out their phones, turn on their flashlights, and sing. For the next forty-five minutes, 350 supporters belted out classics like Beyonce's "Halo" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."

Dix had no idea that night that the power had been cut--not just to the theater, but also to some 40,000 residents across Moore County, the result of what the FBI called a malicious and intentional attack. Did the gunshots targeting two strategically chosen electricity substations have any connection to the protests that had been plaguing event organizers for months? While people in the LGBTQ+, drag, and broader progressive communities across North Carolina are demanding a full investigation, they're not holding their breath.

Later, on Christmas, someone else vandalized four power substations in Washington State, knocking out power to 14,000 residents. The FBI is investigating these crimes, which some suspect are part of a nationwide terror campaign by white supremacists and neo-Nazis. North Carolina is fertile ground for both.

Southern Pines is an inauspicious place to hold a drag event. It is quaint enough, with its boutique shops and historical Welcome Center for visitors. But beyond the golf courses and horse farms, the town is situated in one of the most militarized, radicalized, and least drag-friendly regions of the United States. To the east is Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne Division and Army Special Operations Command; to the south is Mackall Army Airfield. In fact, if you drive thirty minutes in just about any direction from Southern Pines you will find a military base, an airfield, or an array of military contractors--from caterers and outfitters to shooting ranges, gun shops, and for-profit training facilities serving active-duty personnel, veterans, police officers, and self-styled survivalists.

For decades, Southern Pines was a so-called sundown town that practiced racial segregation by not allowing African Americans to live or conduct business there. In the 2020 presidential election, 63 percent of Moore County residents voted for Donald Trump. When Trump lost, busloads of...