Transgender DNC delegate delivers sermon at local church
By Carmen Cusido
Posted: Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/26/3480677/transgender-dnc-delegate-delivers.html
CHARLOTTE, N.C. For Janice Covington, being selected as the first openly transgender delegate from North Carolina to the Democratic National Convention was "better than amazing" and is the culimination of a long journey.
Covington, 65, delivered a sermon Sunday at Wedgewood Church, near SouthPark.
"I advocated for LGBT rights, basically human rights, for many years," Covington told the more than 35 people who attended the service at Wedgewood.
The church's pastor, the Rev. Chris Ayers, called Covington "a hero and a pioneer."
Covington received applause, hugs and words of encouragement following her sermon. "She has a vision and courage to take to the Democratic convention. I'm behind her all the way," said Debra Pettus, 59, of Belmont. "We need much more representation and diversity in this country."
Covington said Sunday that a lot of times people don't come out because of fear of losing their jobs. "I stand up for transgender people because I don't want them to have to go through the same things I did."
Of the 158 N.C. delegates, 13 are members of the LGBT community, three times the number of the 2008 delegation, Walton Robinson, a spokesman for the N.C. Democratic Party, said in an e-mail.
