Ms. Elaine Stephens – Montevallo Resident & Member of the Montevallo Acceptance Project Steering Committee
Elaine Stephens was born in Louisville, KY and transferred to Birmingham in 1979 with South Central Bell Telephone Company. Today, she resides in Montevallo. She earned a BA from The University of Louisville and a MAc from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). After retiring from Bellsouth, she served as Controller and Chief Financial Officer of three local companies, managed the Birmingham office of a CPA firm and then spent several years as an accounting consultant. Today, fully retired, she is a volunteer member of the Community Advisory Board of the HIV Vaccine Trial Network at UAB. She serves as a member of the LGBTQ Grant Committee of the Greater Birmingham Foundation. She is a charter member and Treasurer of PFLAG-Montevallo, an advocacy/support organization for family members of the LGBTQ community. In addition. she is a member of the steering committee of the Montevallo Acceptance Project, an advocacy organization that was successful in getting a non-discrimination ordinance passed by the Montevallo City Council. She serves as a guest lecturer in a Human Sexuality class at Auburn University – Montgomery and frequently participates at continuing education conferences for therapists, counselors and social workers, where she discusses transgender issues. She is involved in a program at UAB Medical School helping students understand transgender health issues. She serves on the Jefferson County Children’s Policy Council and as treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Policy Cooperative.
1. Tell us about yourself. What is your name? How do you self-identify? What are your pronouns? What is your connections to the City of Montevallo or the University of Montevallo?
My name is Elaine Stephens. I identify as female. My pronouns are she, her and hers. I have been a resident of Montevallo since 2007. I have lived in various parts of North Shelby County since moving here from Louisville, KY, with my family, in 1979 as an accounting manager with South Central Bell Telephone Company. I have a daughter that graduated from the University of Montevallo (UM) in 1993.
2. What does the community of Montevallo mean to you? How would you describe it?
Montevallo is home. I spend a great deal of my time in downtown Birmingham, involved in volunteer work but enjoy coming to my home in Montevallo. I live outside downtown Montevallo and often tell people I live in the suburbs. Montevallo is a quaint city with many of the charms of small town living. I am impressed with the beauty of the UM campus and the progressive nature of the city. I love the face of Main Street with all the work that has been done over the past couple of years.
3. What is your role in the community?
My role is that of an interested citizen. I try to be as engaged in as many activities as possible. I attend City Council frequently just for the civics lesson. I occasionally am afforded the opportunity to speak to classes at UM on various issues related to the LGBTQ community. I am a charter member and officer of PFLAG-Montevallo, a support group for family and friends of members of the LGBTQ community.
4. When did you first learn of the proposal for a non-discrimination ordinance?
I first learned of the non-discrimination ordinance (NDO) perhaps 2 months after work on it had begun. I was asked to become a member of the Steering Committee of the Montevallo Acceptance Project (MAP). We spent many hours meeting on the concepts of the NDO, working and re-working wording to give it as much legal strength as possible. We worked on the NDO for the better part of a year before it was proposed to the City Council in May, 2016.
5. What was your initial perception of non-discrimination ordinance?
My perception from the outset was very positive. While I was not aware of any particular instance of discrimination, I knew there was a possibility of such, particularly since Montevallo is in Shelby County, Alabama. Montevallo has the reputation of being open and “tolerant”. However, it was the desire of the MAP steering committee to see that openness codified in the form of a non-discrimination ordinance. And from early on, we had the support of our Mayor.
6. How was your role in the community crucial to your participation in forums, panels, and/or community discussions regarding the non-discrimination ordinance?
Until I joined the MAP steering committee I had not been very involved in Montevallo activities. All of my daily activity was in the direction of Birmingham, with meetings, church life, and other appointments. I was invited to speak at one of the MAP meetings and became interested in their work. Once on the steering committee I began to take more interest. I did have to shift some priorities to take part in the activities but that worked well. Also, there was only one other member on the committee that was also a member of the LGBTQ community, though others were parents or allies. During the second year of the process, the other LGBTQ member moved away and I, somewhat, became the face of the LGBTQ community as far as the MAP steering committee was concerned. This was certainly not by choice but was through circumstance.
7. What was your most memorable moment during the process of the creation, debate, or passage of the non-discrimination ordinance?
There were many memorable moments but I think the one that had the most impact on me was in 2017, shortly after the proposal was presented to the City Council for the 2nd time. At a City Council Meeting the opposition had come out in force. One of the community ministers rose to speak and chose to make the ordinance a “bathroom issue” as it related to transgender individuals, primarily women. Every time he used the word transgender he followed that by the word pervert. While being hurt and insulted, I chose to say nothing until after the meeting was concluded and I learned there was a younger transgender male in the back of the Council chamber. I then became extremely angry that the young person had to listen to such hate speech. It was then I went from advocacy to activism and made my participation much more visible and vocal. Also, the vitriolic panel discussion held by the opposition, wherein only non-residents of Montevallo participated was, in my opinion, a turning point for the undecided.
8. Did your personal beliefs or identities influence your advocacy for or against the non-discrimination ordinance?
Notwithstanding my being a transgender woman, my personal belief that every individual deserves to be treated with dignity and equality certainly influenced my work on the NDO. Equality is good for everyone. For Montevallo, a small city in central Alabama, to have passed the NDO is a remarkable accomplishment in this politically charged arena and is good for the city. Many residents do not agree with this but equality is right.
9. Did you have any experiences prior to the creation of the non-discrimination ordinance which prompted your advocacy for or against the non-discrimination ordinance?
I have no first-hand experience with discrimination. It is just my core beliefs that everyone should be treated equally that made me want to be a part of this effort.
10. Do you feel that the city government involvement in moderating forums, panels, and discussions among the community provided everyone an equal opportunity to express their opinions or beliefs?
While the steering committee was disappointed with having to stretch the process over a two year period, I believe, in hindsight, the Mayor and Council handled this correctly. They gave all citizens, proponents and opponents, equal opportunity to be heard. The open forum process worked well. The surveys that were taken at the conclusion of each forum were very telling as to the attitudes of the majority those participating.
11. How do you feel that the community has been impacted by the passage of the non-discrimination ordinance?
While the opposition claimed that members of the LGBTQ community would take advantage of the provision of the ordinance and file frivolous complaints, to date none have been filed. The opposition claimed that business would have to close. To date, none have closed because of the NDO. Some members of the opposition claimed they would move because of the NDO but, to date and as far as I know, no one has moved. Hopefully, the major impact is a coming together of the community to treat all equally. Hopefully, members of the LGBTQ community have a sense of security they did not have in the past. And, hopefully, the students at UM feel more secure as they shop and eat and enjoy the other venues in Montevallo.
12. Where do you see the City of Montevallo in the next five to ten years in regards to the enactment of the non-discrimination ordinance?
I will be very surprised if there are any complaints filed in the next five to ten years. While the process did indicate there are discriminatory attitudes in Montevallo, as far as I know, there has not been any open discrimination toward the LGBTQ community. The desire of the MAP steering committee was to codify what we believe was right for Montevallo.
This interview was conducted by email correspondence between Lillian Rouse and Ms. Elaine Stephens during the month of March 2019.