Interview with Pikeville Pride Co-Founder and Business Owner Tonya Jones

In this episode of Screen Door Queers, the crew visits a metaphysical shop in Pikeville, Kentucky, to talk with Tanya Jone, a local business owner, foster parent, and longtime queer community organizer. Tonya shares how she helped start Pikeville Pride and why creating safe, welcoming spaces for LGBTQ people matters so much.

The episode is the second in a three-part story focused on queer life in Eastern Kentucky. The series is produced by students in a Media and Communications course at Warren Wilson College. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi folks, thanks for joining. This episode of Screendoor Queers will contain brief mentions of suicide. If that's not something you feel like you can handle right now, feel free to click off.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hey folks, welcome to today's episode of Screen Door Queers. This podcast is a production of the Media and Communications Queer Migrations course at Warren Wilson College, westled in the mountains of Solananoa and Western North Carolina. This anthology series explores the stories of queer people living in Appalachia by queer people in Appalachia.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Welcome to today's episode of Screendoor Queers with Steve Bate and Eso Ashworth. As we enter day three of our trip to eastern Kentucky, the group is making way to Moonlight Pathways, a metaphysical shop owned by Tanya Jones. Tanya lives in Pikeville, Kentucky, and is one of the founding members of Pikeville Pride. Uh you can't face Eso, you don't have to face the camera. It would be better if you face. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

I'm used to recording for the news and stuff, but yeah, I don't know what you know. My name is Tanya Jones, and I identify as she, her, mom mostly. Um and I own Moonlight Pathways, which is a metaphysical shop in eastern Kentucky. Those two things don't normally go together, but and I've been with my wife for almost 31 years now.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Beautiful. But anything else you want to share? Just yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Yeah, after we had um the clan show up that started a little movement here which was positive. Pikeville Pride is one of the things that did come out of that, and I was one of the first people to help organize that. Um, the last few years I've stepped back because we also do foster care and I've had a lot of work with kids. Normally we only take in teenagers, and every one of the teenagers we've had has been in the LGBT. They've identified somehow in it. And we just want everyone to know you have a safe space. Me and my wife, and you know, that's why we started on this journey. Here at the shop, we have one whole section that is just all LGBTQ books, and I sell them for five dollars. Some of them I have to pay full price to get in here, but I sell them for five dollars for people. Um, we offer the different pride flags that I have in stock for free for anyone, and I also had a customer that was so sweet. She came in the other day, she had bracelets and buttons. There were all different types of identification and rainbow love and all that, and she said give them out to people. Do you get a lot of like donations and stuff? We get some, but the majority of the time I have to purchase it myself. Could you tell me a little bit more about your business and what you're doing here? Well, it's a metaphysical shop. We sell incense, books, um, tarot cards, oracle cards, herbs, different things, and we're in the salt room here, which is where we do Reiki sessions, clearings, and sound baths. My stepfather teaches philosophy, so he opened my mind to a lot of different religions, and my mother has a metaphysical shop too, and that's opened my mind to a lot of different things. You know, when you're a teenager, you fight against it and you tell them they're crazy. As you get older, you realize they're not crazy.

SPEAKER_03 3:48

Can you tell me a little bit about how it ties into your like history of organizing and activism for the queer community here?

SPEAKER_02 3:58

Well, anyone who is not a white Christian feels left out sometimes in this area, especially. And that's one reason I wanted to start the shop because I have never been so-called Christian. I believe in spirit, and that's what I want people to know, that they're not wrong for questioning what they've raised, what they've been raised around. They're not wrong for that. And one thing I always tell people is if you have someone telling you you have to do it this way, that's the only way you can do it. I said absolutely do not listen to them. Because you are the one that chooses your path, no one else does.

SPEAKER_03 4:46

I'm wondering it's a little bit of a shift, but if you could um maybe go more into the like history of the starting up of Pikeville Pride.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Well, we actually had our first meeting at El Azul at a location that's no longer even there. Um, and we just got together, decided what we wanted to do, and one thing I always advocate for is it be kid-friendly because a lot of prides are not, you know, there's some prides I wouldn't feel comfortable taking my kids to, not because it's hard to say. I I don't want to offend anybody, but there are certain things kids shouldn't be exposed to that have gone through trauma, you know, and I want all people, especially our youth, to feel comfortable, and that's one thing we encourage. We also go and support Pride in the Park, which is at the breaks in July, hottest time of the year around here, and that's one reason we have our Pride later in the year because so many around here have them in July. So we have it in normally late September, early October, depending on when we can get the location.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

It sounds like um like you've fostered a lot of kids, and it seems like um you know, kids are very important to you. I wonder if you could talk about that a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Kids are our future, you know. So you gonna make me cry. Just like my 19-year-old in there. We got her when she was 13. And she had been through so much and no one ever accepted them for who they are, you know. She uses all pronouns and and we just let her be who she is, and that's all she ever wanted. And uh I wish I could adopt them all, but I can't. Some just don't fit in with our family, you know, they're not. We've unfortunately had to have some removed for safety reasons, but without our kids and the way everything's going with the administration and everything, I worry so much for our kids.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

If I was growing up here, this would be like my number one hangout. Are there a lot of queer kids who like come and like want to be in the shop?

SPEAKER_02 7:29

Yeah. Not only just queer kids, but anyone who believes different. You know, and that's one reason I have the sitting area. I have lots of people just come in and sit and talk, and and that's what they need. They'll come and tell me I need a mom hug. That's why I'm here.

SPEAKER_03 7:52

Are there any like moments since you've opened the shop where you're like, wow, this is really, I can tell, this is impacting people.

SPEAKER_02 8:04

There's been several, and there's one that we lost. He unfortunately did commit suicide, and he had helped with pride as well as um the big safety safe zone. He had come in and when he came in, he would you could just tell he was so down, and I was able to help him feel better before he left. And unfortunately, he did move away from here and wound up taking his life. And we have seen lots and lots, especially of our youth, come in and as they get older, they leave. And there's nothing for them here, and I don't blame them.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

How do you feel about like people leaving Pikeville to go?

SPEAKER_02 9:10

I feel bad for Pikeville because they're losing their most valuable resource, which is our children. Perfect time for that. She lets herself be known.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Uh do you think a lot of the youth that are moving away will come back?

SPEAKER_02 9:36

I hope they will. I've seen some that have tried to come back, and because uh family members not accepting them, they move away again. Unfortunately.

SPEAKER_03 9:52

Do you think that's the reason why people typically move away? Yeah.

unknown 9:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Do you still keep in contact or a lot of them, yeah, especially through Facebook and TikTok and Instagram and stuff?

SPEAKER_03 10:05

So you're still building that community, you know? Yeah. That's what's great about the digital age, I guess. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

I couldn't imagine that 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_03 10:16

Is there any like inspiration by behind like why you decided to open this business?

SPEAKER_02 10:25

I'm from central Kentucky, but where we've been together so many years, my wife is from here. I've seen this area change so much, good and bad. And this is something I'd been wanting to do for many years. And of course, it was right before the pandemic I opened it up, but that actually helped people know more about me too, because I get to spend more one-on-one time with people when they would come in after we were able to be open, and a lot of messaging going on with customers, letting them know that they're safe, you know.

SPEAKER_03 11:08

Can you tell me a little bit more about like growing up here and living here?

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Well, my wife's the one that grew up here, and she has family that is um in the LGBTQ plus too, but everyone hides it here. I think it's called lavender marriages. There's a lot of them around here, and I never was one to hide who I am, and she is very, very male presenting, but she still hid who she was. And I think after it went legal for us to get married, and the first time she introduced me as her wife instead of my good friend, that feeling of acceptance. That's what everyone should feel, you know? And we'd been together 20 years at that point, but she still introduced me to people she wasn't sure how they felt as her good friend. I never did that. This is my girlfriend, this is my partner, that that's the way it always was, but I was raised different than her, and it's not that her parents didn't accept me, her parents loved me, and they loved our older son. We have a 33-year-old too. 33, 19, and 19 months. So um her mom kept our son for years after school, and she always accepted us, but some of her siblings still don't accept me.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

And where where are you from specifically?

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Lexington. I was born in Georgetown, but raised mostly in Lexington, Kentucky.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Big City.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

Yeah. Yeah. Compared to here. Yeah. City moments. It's very shocking. You know, the first time I came to Eastern Kentucky was actually for the funeral of one of her cousins. Or I'm sorry, her niece. But unfortunately, she had lost her niece, and the first time her mom took me on a trip was down brushy, and at that time the ropes were not even paved. You know, I'm hearing banjos in my head thinking they're gonna leave me here, but everyone here was accepting of me to my face, and as you get to know people, you know who's gonna talk about you behind your back. Was there um a reason why you chose to stay here or she lost her mother and she had moved back to take care of her mom, and this is home for her. So when when exactly did you move here? First time was about 29 years ago. And then we'd moved out of back down there around Bargetown and stuff. Not quite as big as Lexington, but a little bit bigger than here. And it's been about 13 years, 14 years I've been back. Do you feel like this place is your home now or I do. I do. Especially after opening the shop because we've gone into places here and not felt comfortable and left. And no one should ever feel that way. One lady, she um her and her husband come in pretty regular and they're very open and very accepting, and she had lost her grandmother. And when she came in, she looked at me, and I immediately knew something was wrong. I didn't know what, but I just went over and hugged her. And she started bawling and telling me, and she said, I knew you'd know. And that's something I'm very intuitive with people, especially the more I get to know them about what they're going through. Whether it's it does I don't feel it specifically, but I know when they need me to come to them. You know, um just like if you are just all of a sudden driving down the road and have someone come into your mind, reach out to that person. There's a reason they've come into your mind. That spirit telling you you need to connect with them. And I just listened to that.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

I it sounds like you've become such a such an important friend and like guiding figure for this community. Is that something you set out to do, or did this just was it dressed upon you?

SPEAKER_02 16:38

It just happened over time, you know. Um I just my mission was to spread love and acceptance. And that's what I try to do every day. And if that helps me build a community of people that do it, that is wonderful. Just if we could all be a little nicer to each other, the world would be an amazing place.

SPEAKER_03 17:14

Thanks to Tanya Jones for being our guest on today's podcast. Thanks to Bec Banks and Warren Wilson College for making this possible. Today's episode was written, edited, and produced by Steve Bate and Iso Ashworth.