Dec 14, 2007   | COMMENTS     

Most people say that investing in children is important for the future, but Archene Turner is doing more than just paying lip service to that ideal. Ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister on Dec. 9 of this year, Turner is currently developing plans for a school to serve Unitarian Universalist children. She hopes to open the school in five years. Turner was the only American-born child of her siblings, the remainder being born in Jamaica, and she was sent to boarding school in Great Britain. After returning to the United States for undergraduate work in chemical engineering at the University of Florida, Turner moved to Washington to accept a job as an examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1988, where she still works. She is single and lives in the District.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I have been out for 28 years and come out to new people when the time is appropriate. The hardest person was probably my boss because I feared losing my job.

Who’s your gay hero?
If you mean gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, it would be Audre Lorde.

What is Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
The past nightspot would be Tracks, and I do not do much clubbing now to know which is the best.

If gay marriage were legal, would you tie the knot?
No. I believe the marriage law is archaic and needs to be changed to provide legal protection to people however they define their family. I know of grandmothers raising their grandchildren, seniors living together in a friendship. Should they not be protected?

What non-gay issue are you most passionate about?
Every issue is a gay issue, but it would have to be protecting, providing and nurturing our children — here and around the world.

What historical outcome would you change?
It’s complicated, but I would have fought to get equality in jobs first before the school system. It never made any sense to me why we burdened our young people with desegregation and not the adults first, when the older people have more power. I think we would have gotten further with dismantling racism and sexism.

What has been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?
What came to mind immediately was the “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl halftime show. It raised many issues, including the sexual dysfunction in America.

On what reality TV show would you fare best?
I do not watch reality shows because I’m busy dealing with my own, but I guess “Survivor.”

What item of clothing has been in your closet since high school?
Nothing.

If your life were a book, what would the title be?
“Happy to Be Me.”

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?
Question the discovery and wonder why they spent their time on it instead of finding a cure for HIV, malaria, cancer, etc.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world?
The interconnectedness of all beings.

What would you order for your last meal?
Crab legs.

What would you walk across hot coals for?
For something that we do not have the capacity to fix any other way.

What gay stereotype annoys you most?
All of them.

What is the best gay film ever made?
I recently saw “For the Bible Tells Me So,” and I was incredibly moved — love can overcome hate and fear.

What is the most overrated social custom?
That you are not supposed to talk about sex, politics and religion. When people exchange ideas about these three things, you get to know what is important to a person.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?
The Nobel Peace Prize.

What’s your advice for gay teens?
Be yourself, be respectful and be safe…we need you!

Why Washington?
I came to Washington for a job and I stay because if I can change human rights here, it will have a ripple effect all over the world.