(upbeat music) - Hi, I am Jacqui Tricarico on location at the NJEA convention here in Atlantic City, and so pleased to be joined now by Max Rodio, who's the President of Hammonton Pride and also the co-creator of a beautiful exhibit right behind you actually.

It's called Drag is Not a Crime.

I had the pleasure of already walking through over there.

- Yeah.

- It's beautiful, thank you for joining us.

- Thank you for having me.

- So I wanna start though with Hammonton Pride because you created this organization in your hometown, born and raised in Hammonton, which is not too far from where we are in Atlantic City, South Jersey town.

Tell us why it was a passion for you to create this organization in your hometown.

- Absolutely.

So having been born and raised in Hammonton, I kind of got to the point where I felt like I needed to create a sense of community for the queer community in Hammonton, 'cause I knew that it existed.

And I think that in cultivating that it would've helped myself in my more formative years to have seen that community and you know, be an inspiration for those younger kids as well as adults too.

- Yeah, and we were talking before we started this conversation about just being in the South Jersey area.

There is a mix of different types of people, and I'm wondering what has been the reception from community members in and around Hammonton about the organization?

- Yeah, a mix is a good way to describe it.

Yeah, we've received a lot of support, a lot of silent support as well.

But we've also received a good amount of backlash as well, kind of, especially with drag, you know, especially nowadays, it's become such a hot button topic, realistically for no reason.

And that's why we're here today and in past exhibits to break down those misconceptions and hopefully, you know, encourage those people who maybe once gave us backlash to learn a bit more.

- I wanna get into that in just a minute, but tell me a little bit more about what the organization is doing outside of creating this, and really setting this whole Drag is Not a Crime exhibit up here and it was previously at the Noyes Museum- - Correct.

- Part of Stockton University here in South Jersey.

But tell me what else the organization is doing.

- Yeah, so we kind of started out with just pop-up events, you know, whether it's open mic night.

We've had panel discussions to learn more about our trans brothers and sisters and educate people on that.

But our marquee event every year is our annual Miss Hammonton Pride Pageant, where we crown a new Miss Hammonton Pride every November.

And a lot of their stuff is exhibited here today.

- So you brought up trans, the trans community as well and drag and often, which is not correct, people kind of put those two identities into the same basket.

Why is that harmful to both trans folk and to people who decide to do drag?

- Yeah, so the trans community deals with a whole different set of issues in today's world than even, you know, the drag community does.

Both of them obviously face terrible things than your average person, but you know, you can be trans and participate in drag, or if you participate in drag does not automatically, you know, have anything to do with your sexual or or gender identity.

So the two are very different, but like you said, they also coincide quite a bit.

- So drag is something like you said before, lots of controversy around it, especially when it's presented to children.

There's a lot of backlash about that.

What are you hoping people take away today from the exhibit itself?

- I'm hoping to break down those barriers and misconceptions about drag, especially surrounding children.

I was actually really surprised with the amount of children that are here today at the convention.

I was not expecting that.

And they've just been absolutely in awe of the exhibit and the sparkles and the crowns and the queens and, "Oh, can you sign this for me?"

And that's really what it's all about is that it's just a pretty person all dressed up and sparkly or you know, it's really not that deep.

It can be, but it's not that deep of an issue.

We're just all here to have a good time and celebrate, look great and share what artistry, you know, drag is and at every single age level.

- Well let's take a little history lesson, because drag here in Atlantic City, when you walk through your exhibit, you're seeing those details about where did drag come from, what is the history here in South Jersey?

Give us a little bit about that.

- So I mean, drag actually goes back centuries.

I mean you have masquerade, you have theater, you have community space events.

I mean, drag has been an art form for like I said, centuries.

Locally here in Atlantic City there was a thriving, you know, Gayborhood back in the day with so many different nightclubs and hotels and it really became a hotspot for the queer community in South Jersey.

Unfortunately in the, you know, mid I'd say '60s or '70s a mysterious fire burnt down basically a whole section of New York Avenue and we lost that.

We're starting to see that come back now, especially here in Atlantic City.

But yeah, drag has always been rooted here in South Jersey.

- So people are walking through this exhibit.

What are they seeing?

Who are they seeing and give us a little bit more of a taste of what they're experiencing.

- Yeah, so we have different vignettes throughout the exhibit.

When you first walk in we have a gorgeous handmade American flag/Pride flag gown made by Dallas Dubois, our Miss Hammonton Pride 2023, which really embodies the Drag is Not a Crime message, especially today in America.

You know, we can be queer and we can be American.

You know, we're entitled to those rights.

We also feature a lot of anti-drag rhetoric that has been shared throughout the last, you know, few years especially 'cause we're not here to sugarcoat anything and what exactly our community's dealing with.

But they also see the full drag room where you can see exactly what it is that goes into getting into drag and the layers and wigs and makeup and outfits and all of that.

Plus we include some of Atlantic City's history, like we mentioned as well.

As well as a little bit of Hammonton's, you know, now that we're adding to that crowns and scepters and a lot of gowns from our pageant that we host.

And all of it is handmade by our Miss Hammonton Pride title holders.

So it all literally comes from their heart and their hands.

And we also have a ribbon dress, so we're encouraging all the attendees here today to share with us their intentions for the exhibit and for the convention here.

And they're all tacking that onto the dress.

So we'll have a brand new dress by the time we're done here.

- That's beautiful.

Now if we're talking to some of the drag queens that are there today, what is it that inspires them and makes them want to go on this artistic adventure of doing drag?

What is usually the driving course?

- Usually sometimes it happens accidentally, whether, you know, you're working in a club or a bar and someone throws you into drag and then you run with it.

I know that's happened actually for two of our Miss Hammonton Pride title holders.

They kind of fell into it, always have appreciated drag, but then once you get into it, it's almost like a superpower.

Almost intoxicating to become this other person.

But it's actually really a piece of you that you're sharing on stage with the ultimate amount of confidence and glitz and glamour.

And so yeah, the two of them, they kind of fell into it, but other people, whether you nowadays have grown up watching shows like "RuPaul's Drag Race," that's opened the door to a lot of baby drag queens as they call them.

So a lot of different ways to kind of get into it for sure.

- What are your hopes for the next chapter of this, of the Drag is Not a Crime exhibit as well as what's going on with Hammonton Pride?

- So I would love to continue to expand the exhibit or take it to different places.

Maybe one day we'll have a permanent installation somewhere.

But we have enjoyed sharing it, like you said, with Stockton University.

We had that actually on display for over three months and now here today at the NJEA, which is an amazing honor.

And Hammonton Pride as a whole will continue to grow our pageant and be, you know, a force here in South Jersey, but hopefully also reach beyond that and show people that even in conservative areas such as South Jersey, you know, we can bloom where we're planted.

- Well we can't wait to see what you do next then.

- Thank you so much.

- I mean we're gonna be showing a lot of video of the exhibit 'cause it's just gorgeous.

It's really beautiful, well done.

- We're happy to share it with you.

- Well done.

Thank you so much for joining us.

We appreciate it.

- Thank you.

- And thank you for watching, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by NJ Best, New Jersey’s five-two-nine college savings plan.

Stockton University.

Johnson & Johnson.

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.

The North Ward Center.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The Fund for New Jersey.

And by United Airlines.

Promotional support provided by NJ.Com.

And by BestofNJ.com.

- Energetic music