Ken Schell oral history interview 1, 2017 February 8

Description

WARNING: This interview contains discussion of rape beginning at 25:13 and ending at 25:27 and discussion of a drug overdose beginning at 35:35 and ending at 36:04. In this vivid interview, Ken Schell describes his life as a gay man working and living in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1967, Mr. Schell accepted a teaching position in Huntersville, North Carolina with the Learning Academy, a racially-integrated progressive teaching and residential program for underachieving male students based at Torrence Lytle School. (The program which lasted three years was modeled after the Advancement School in Winston Salem.) Mr. Schell describes the late-1960s, 1970s, and 1980s in Charlotte in graphic detail, discussing his professional life as a teacher of multiple subjects, and his social and sexual activity. Topics discussed include the division he constructed between his public and private life in order to accommodate his need for sexual partners amid pervasive homophobia; his efforts over time to break this pattern; his trips to Washington DC and New York City to pursue gay male culture and sex; places in Charlotte that accommodated anonymous gay sexual encounters such as adult book stores and cruising locations; and the complexity of the gay relationships he eventually developed. Mr. Schell also mentions his experiences with African-Americans in Charlotte; his longtime work with the Teenage Parenting Services Program (TAPS); his involvement with local Charlotte LGBT organizations, including the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Charlotte and the political group First Tuesday; and his involvement with local ceramic and arts organizations in Charlotte, in particular Clay Matters.

In collections

Charlotte LGBTQ+ oral histories

Details

Title: Ken Schell oral history interview 1, 2017 February 8
Interviewee: Schell, Ken, 1944-
Interviewer: Burford, Joshua D.,1974-
Contributor: Barnes, David
Place of Publication: Charlotte, North Carolina
Publisher: J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections & University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Date of Interview: 2017-02-08
Physical Description: 1 audio file (54:24) : Digital, MP3
Object Type: sound recording-nonmusical
Genre: spoken word
Language: eng
Interviewee Biography: Ken Schell was a 72-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1944. He was educated at Wyoming Ohio Public Schools and Earlham College and was employed as a teacher and art dealer.
Abstract: WARNING: This interview contains discussion of rape beginning at 25:13 and ending at 25:27 and discussion of a drug overdose beginning at 35:35 and ending at 36:04. In this vivid interview, Ken Schell describes his life as a gay man working and living in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1967, Mr. Schell accepted a teaching position in Huntersville, North Carolina with the Learning Academy, a racially-integrated progressive teaching and residential program for underachieving male students based at Torrence Lytle School. (The program which lasted three years was modeled after the Advancement School in Winston Salem.) Mr. Schell describes the late-1960s, 1970s, and 1980s in Charlotte in graphic detail, discussing his professional life as a teacher of multiple subjects, and his social and sexual activity. Topics discussed include the division he constructed between his public and private life in order to accommodate his need for sexual partners amid pervasive homophobia; his efforts over time to break this pattern; his trips to Washington DC and New York City to pursue gay male culture and sex; places in Charlotte that accommodated anonymous gay sexual encounters such as adult book stores and cruising locations; and the complexity of the gay relationships he eventually developed. Mr. Schell also mentions his experiences with African-Americans in Charlotte; his longtime work with the Teenage Parenting Services Program (TAPS); his involvement with local Charlotte LGBT organizations, including the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Charlotte and the political group First Tuesday; and his involvement with local ceramic and arts organizations in Charlotte, in particular Clay Matters.
Digital Object Notes: MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on a Zoom H5 Handy Recorder with XY modular mic.
Audio Condition Note: Some microphone disturbance.
Interviewee Occupations: Art dealers
Teachers
Subjects--Names: Schell, Ken, 1944- \
Subjects--Topics: Gay men--Suicidal behavior
Gay couples
Gay men--Sexual behavior
Same-sex partner abuse
Gay relationships
Subjects--Geographic: North Carolina--Charlotte
Washington (D.C.)
North Carolina--Huntersville
Subjects--Genre: Oral histories
Interviews
Coverage--Dates: 1960-2020
Digital Collection Title: Charlotte LGBTQ+ oral histories
Rights: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
This material is protected by copyright. Copyright is held by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Internet Media Type: audio/mpeg
Related Interviews: Ken Schell oral history interview 2, 2017 August 15 (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/index/render/object/pid/uncc:2708/parentPID/un...) J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Identifier: QH-SC0036
Handle URL: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/uncc:6271

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