04/27/18, Vol. 9 Issue 5

What is TRUVADA for PrEP?

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?

TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescription medicine that is used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex.

This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: ® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. ® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP? Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. ® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. ® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. ® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. ® To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: ® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. ® Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. ® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. ® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. ® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: ® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: ® Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA. ® Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. ® Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. ® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? ® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. ® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA. ® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk. ® All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. ® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

TVDC0153_PrEP_B_10-10-5_GeorgiaVoice_Apt_p1.indd 1-2

We're open, not unprepared.

We know who we are. And we make choices that fit our lives.

TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices. ® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.

Learn more at truvada.com

8/7/17 3:20 PM

IMPORTANT FACTS

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

(tru-VAH-dah) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative.

• Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.

• You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

• See the “How To Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information.

TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1.

• To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status.

• Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP” section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

• Bone problems.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.

These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis.

• Have any other medical conditions.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you.

• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners.

• Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV infection.

• Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.

TRUVADA FOR PREP, the TRUVADA FOR PREP Logo, the TRUVADA Blue Pill Design, TRUVADA, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0153 07/17

TVDC0153_PrEP_B_10-10-5_GeorgiaVoice_Apt_p1.indd 3

8/7/17 3:20 PM

GEORGIA NEWS

Controversial Atlanta activist posts homophobic video ‘Sir Maejor’ accuses Black Lives Matter of pushing LGBT agenda

mitment to LGBTQ rights has been explicit since the organization’s founding. On BLM’s national site, a “herstory” of the movement reads, “As a network, we have always recognized the need to center the leadership of women and queer and trans people.” Two of BLM’s three founders (Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors) self-describe as queer.

By JASON RHODE jrhode@thegavoice.com Local eccentric Tyree Lavelle Conyers-Page is under fire for homophobic video comments. In a recent video post, the self-proclaimed CEO of a Black Lives Matter splinter group accused mainstream BLM activists of pushing an “LGBT agenda.”

Conyers-Page, 29, is an occasional actor who performs under the name “Sir Maejor.”

He appeared twice in an uncredited role on the television series “American Horror Story: Coven.”

It’s not the first time Conyers-Page has attacked the award-winning civil rights organization. Following his departure from Atlanta’s BLM chapter, Conyers-Page founded his own organization “Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta.” According to activist Aurielle Marie Lucier (as quoted in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution), “[Conyers-Page] is the head of an organization that does not exist.”

Trouble follows Conyers-Page In the same AJC story, local activists called Conyers-Page “a fraud, a violent homophobe and a con-artist.” In a press release, Atlanta BLM said they have issued a cease and desist notice: “[Conyers-Page] used to be a member of our chapter but left and created another organization that used our name but didn’t align with our guiding principles.”

In Atlanta, Conyers-Page is tied to a series of bizarre public incidents. These alleged acts include instances of provocation, impersonation of law-enforcement officials and violence.

According to blogger Gloria Tatum, “Conyers-Page has an extensive criminal background spanning many states, including one alarming recent incident in which he has impersonated an FBI agent, and another in which he impersonated a police officer.”

Research indicates Conyers-Page is originally from Ohio: Reports published by the University of Toledo Police Department suggest Conyers-Page has a checkered history there. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Conyers-Page, 29, discussed the Black Lives Matter movement in a 52-minute Facebook video on March 15. (Screenshot)

“Folks just need to have some discernment when they are deciding whether or not to engage with him.”

—Atlanta BLM member Mark Hooks on Tyree Lavelle Conyers-Page On May 5, 2011, according to a Criminal Awareness Bulletin released by the UTPD, Conyers-Page, a one-time student, had three entries with the university police for “Menacing, Harassment, Theft, Obstructing Official Business, Assault and Telephone Harassment, just to name a few.” After being banned from university property, “Page made 18-plus unsolicited phone calls to the president’s office and residence.”

A late night video surfaces On the evening of March 15, Conyers-Page appeared in a 52-minute video posted to the “Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta” Facebook group. In the video, Conyers-Page said he would be “exposing Black Lives Matter.”

Speaking from what appeared to be a small office with Venetian blinds, Conyers-Page criticized Atlanta BLM members Mary Hooks and Dre Propst.

According to Conyers-Page, during his first meeting with Atlanta BLM, “for 15 minutes straight, members of the other Black Lives Matter group aggressively tried to push the LGBT agenda. They aggressively did gay role-playing — they, they, they, they formed, and forced, people to be part of this LGBT-based movement.”

“If you ask me,” he continued, “Black Lives Matter, the national group, doesn’t give a damn about black men.” Conyers-Page said that BLM had “no problem using the death of unarmed black boys and the unarmed deaths of black men to further use the LGBT agenda as a vehicle to be pushed.” Conyers-Page claimed whenever the national media aired anything about BLM, “the interview’s gonna be done by a gay person, a gay man like, ah, ah, we ain’t gonna say no names.”

Conyers-Page’s claims are at odds with documented history. BLM’s public com-

Atlanta BLM reacts According to long-time Atlanta BLM members Hooks and Propst, Conyers-Page’s recent outburst is no surprise.

Propst said he began the Atlanta chapter in 2015 with Mary Hooks. They had an open public meeting that was standing room only.

“Maejor came with his attorney. He told us he wanted to get involved with BLM,” Hooks told Georgia Voice. They investigated him, and his strange history came to light.

When Conyers-Page fell into legal trouble, Propst said, “He asked me if BLM could help him by showing up in the court.” Propst declined. Conyers-Page replied, “Well, y’all gonna have to,” and then said he wanted to use BLM to raise money for his legal fees.

“We said no,” Propst continued, “And he started getting mad at us. Next thing I know, he’s starting to talk to people I know about ‘Those gays in the Black Lives Matter Movement.’” According to Propst, multiple women said that Conyers-Page had grabbed or attacked them. After BLM declined to make Conyers-Page their communications manager, “He got mad, and opened his own chapter.”

“He said BLM was black gay men, that we don’t like straight people,” said Propst.

“But we do accept straight people!”

“Everywhere we go, he follows us,” Propst said. “He shows up. He’s attacked women.

He’s been doing this for a couple of years.”

“What’s really at stake here is the fact that he’s co-opting black queer women’s work,” Hooks said. “And so … that’s what disturbs me: He has no intention of manifesting the principles that BLM puts into it.” Both Hooks and Propst suggested that Conyers-Page might be an agent provocateur. “Folks just need to have some discernment when they are deciding whether or not to engage with him.”

Conyers-Page’s organization declined an invitation to comment on this story.

April 27, 2018 News 5

? News January 5, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

GEORGIA NEWS

New Atlanta LGBTQ advocacy group draws attention Petition to save ‘landmark’ questioned, fake signature alleged

By JASON RHODE jrhode@thegavoice.com A new group, Gay Georgia Inc. (GAGA), is attracting public attention. GAGA says it is a PAC — a political action committee — dedicated to protecting LGBTQ landmarks.

GAGA claims the beleaguered adult store Tokyo Valentino is one such location. Critics have accused GAGA of being an astroturf organization posing as a grassroots political movement.

A benefit and a petition GAGA’s recent notice can be traced back to two events: a benefit and a petition.

GAGA oversaw the “Queens United” benefit at Park Tavern in February. The event followed in the wake of the Burkhart’s racism controversy, and was organized by GAGA official Dino Thompson-Sarmiento. Despite hosting approximately 100 guests, the event is now regarded by many attendees as a poorly-planned mishap. Calvin Hemphill, who DJ’d the party, described the occasion as “disorganized, with poor turnout.” Although Hemphill said he got reimbursed, “the queens did not get paid.” “I was disappointed to see that fall through,” he added.

Approximately four weeks ago, GAGA posted a petition on Change.org. On the petition page, GAGA called for the protection and preservation of Tokyo Valentino.

Tokyo Valentino is an adult retail store located on Cheshire Bridge Road. The store’s owner, Michael Morrison, is currently involved in a zoning dispute with the City of Atlanta. Under the 1977 Atlanta code (amended 1987), no adult businesses may operate within 500 feet of a residential area.

On Jan. 3, Thomas Thrash, the chief U.S. judge for the Northern District of Georgia, issued an injunction in the zoning case. He found Tokyo Valentino to be in violation of the city’s adult entertainment ordinance.

The case has yet to be resolved in full.

In the text of its petition, GAGA called the store a “landmark establishment.”

Gay Georgia Inc. (GAGA) was established as a nonprofit in February of this year.

(Courtesy photo)

“The idea that Tokyo Valentino, a place I’ve never heard of and didn’t exist when I lived there, is a landmark among those is laughable to me.”

—Chris Brandon

“Tokyo Valentino at Cheshire Bridge Road is being shut down by the City of Atlanta unless you help! This location is important to our LGBTQ identities as gay Georgians (GAGA). … GAGA cannot afford to lose another landmark establishment.” The petition compared Tokyo Valentino to other LGBTQ institutions, such as Burkhart’s and The Eagle, adding “If we lose our culture then we also lose our identity as gay Georgians!”

As of this writing, nearly 7,500 people have signed the online document.

‘I have a store I’m trying to save’ The Change.org petition states that “Gay Georgia, Inc. (GAGA) is a state-registered political action committee (non-candidate committee) in the State of Georgia.” Georgia Voice was unable to find a PAC registered to “Gay Georgia, Inc.” on the Georgia list or on the federal list of registered PACs and lobbyists. However, Gay Georgia, Inc, is documented by the Georgia Secretary of State as a domestic nonprofit corporation,

registered on Feb. 21, 2018.

Georgia Voice asked Morrison for his thoughts on GAGA and Tokyo Valentino.

Morrison said he had no special knowledge of GAGA, and that the store and GAGA were separate entities. “I am currently fighting the city in a lawsuit,” he said. “I have a store I’m trying to save.” Morrison declined to answer further questions and then hung up.

The veracity of GAGA petition signatures has been called into question. Chris Brandon claims someone signed his name to the petition without knowing it. Brandon, a D.C. resident, is originally from the Atlanta area.

Brandon told Georgia Voice that he’d “never heard of Tokyo Valentino until I received the email from Change.org that my name and email address had been registered for a petition to save it.” Brandon said he emailed both Change.org and the GAGA contact form to discover how he was added. The person who replied from a GAGA PAC email was Atlanta party promoter, Chris Coleman — a close friend of Morrison’s who has helped promote Tokyo Valentino over the years.

According to Brandon, Coleman had added Brandon to his mailing list years ago “for parties or something.” Brandon said Coleman “responded to me tersely. … That is the only interaction I’ve ever had with him until last week.” In his April 12 reply to Brandon, Coleman wrote “If you don’t want to be a part of the petition, you are able to remove your email address. You were added to the petition because I thought you would want to support the cause. If you don’t want to support the venue, I apologize for adding you.”

Brandon dismissed the idea of Tokyo Valentino as a gay touchstone. He said he came out and spent his “definitive gay years in Atlanta.” He spoke of institutions like “Backstreet, The Heretic and the Warehouse on Spring Street.” Brandon described those places as “LGBT institutions with important legacies to me.”

“The idea that Tokyo Valentino, a place I’ve never heard of and didn’t exist when I lived there, is a landmark among those is laughable to me.”

Thompson-Sarmiento and Coleman initially indicated an interest in commenting for this story, but declined to follow through.

6 News April 27, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NEWS BRIEFS Macon woman attacks soldiers A 71-year-old woman was arrested for assaulting a pregnant soldier, while her son reportedly yelled racist and homophobic slurs.

Judy James Tucker, a Bibb County woman, was taken into custody on charges of small battery. The assault took place at 8:20 p.m. on April 14 at a Macon Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen restaurant.

Tucker’s attack was supposedly triggered by the issue of restaurant parking at the Riverside Drive location. Tucker, her son Robbie and her daughter Angie were involved in a verbal assault on the two Army Reserve captains: Stephanie Mitchell, 34, and Treasure Sharpe, 27. The Tucker family continued to verbally assault the women outside and inside the restaurant, using profanity and slurs.

According to arresting deputy Stephen Phipps, Tucker told Phipps that the incident started because “[Tucker] was white and it was a race issue.” Mitchell and Sharpe are African-Americans; Tucker, her daughter and her son are Caucasian. When the two soldiers began to record the incident, Tucker began a physical assault. She was later arrested, before being released on bail.

According to Queerty, Robbie Tucker’s business, Corvette Classics, appears to have closed, and the phone number has been disconnected.

LGBTQ political groups issue endorsements Georgia Equality and Georgia Stonewall Democrats issued endorsements for the May 22 primary elections.

Georgia Equality chose former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams over former state Rep. Stacey Evans for governor. The winner of the May 22 primary will face off against the Republican primary winner in November. Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle is the current frontrunner on the GOP side. The group also chose Sarah Riggs Amico for lieutenant governor, Cindy Zeldin for insurance commissioner, Sid Chapman for state school superintendent and Richard Keatley for labor commissioner. Georgia Stonewall Democrats have yet to issue endorsements in those races.

Both groups endorsed LGBTQ Reps.

Park Cannon and Karla Drenner. Georgia Equality also endorsed LGBTQ Reps. Sam Park and Renitta Shannon.

For the full list of endorsements, go to

71-year-old Judy James Tucker assaulted a pregnant soldier at a Macon restaurant on April 14, as captured in this cell phone video. (Screenshot)

www.georgiaequality.org and www.georgia stonewall.org.

Three Atlanta organizations get HIV/AIDS grants The Elton John AIDS Foundation was joined by the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the Aileen Getty Foundation in issuing grants to organizations nationwide.

Together, these groups pledged $650,000 to win the fight against HIV/AIDS in the American South. Among the grant recipients were three Georgia organizations.

The Georgia Equality Foundation received a grant of $75,000; the Racial Justice Action Center also received $75,000; and SPARK, a reproductive justice organization, received $50,000. Georgia Equality is the largest LGBTQ rights advocacy group in the state. They focus on increasing fairness, safety and opportunity for the LGBTQ community through political action. The Racial Justice Action Center is a multiracial organization dedicated to building social justice on grassroots models developed by working-class and poor people of color. SPARK is a social justice association dedicated to issues of reproductive justice. The group focuses on causes which

affect women of color, and trans and queer people of color. From 2006 to the present, EJAF grants to Atlanta organizations have totaled $3.1 million.

Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, told Georgia Voice that this was “the third or fourth year that Georgia Equality has received an Elton John AIDS Foundation grant.”

“I’ve worked with the Elton John AIDS Foundation as a grantee, as well as someone who’s provided information to them over the course of the last 20 years or so,” he said. This year’s donation will fund the Youth HIV Policy Advisors program, which matches “elected officials and clergy with HIV-positive youth advocates who serve as their special advisors on the issue.”

The Elton John AIDS Foundation was set up in 1992. The EJAF seeks to fund and support new treatments, services and educational programs for individuals who are living with HIV. In its lifetime, the Foundation has raised an estimated $200 million dollars in 55 countries. According to a 2014 Huffington Post story, Funders for LGBTQ Issues recognized EJAF “as the largest funder of programs for black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals.”

8 News April 27, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NATIONAL NEWS

White House won’t comment on HHS proposal to nix rule for trans health Obama-era rule bars medical providers from refusing service to transgender people

By CHRIS JOHNSON, WASHINGTON BLADE courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association

The White House has declined to comment on recent indications the Trump administration is set to undo an Obama-era rule barring medical providers from refusing service to transgender people, including gender reassignment surgery.

The Washington Blade sought to ask White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders about the proposed reversal April 23 during the daily briefing, but the spokesperson didn’t call on the Blade for a question, nor did any other reporter ask about the issue following a report on the development in the New York Times.

In response to an email request for more information, the White House referred the Washington Blade to HHS, which didn’t respond to a request for comment. OMB also didn’t respond to the Blade’s request for information.

The Obama-era rule interpreted Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which bars discrimination in healthcare on the basis of sex, to bar refusal of service to transgender people based on their gender identity, including the denial of transition-related care such as gender reassignment surgery.

Pattern of anti-trans policies continues As the Times first reported, the U.S. Justice Department noted in a filing last week in a lawsuit challenging the rule the Department of Health and Human Services “had submitted a draft of a proposed rule” for review to the White House Office of Management and Budget. The OMB website reveals it’s considering a proposed rule related to “non-discrimination in health programs and activities.”

Although the Justice Department filing doesn’t explicitly say the pending proposal would undo the Obama-era rule, that seems likely based on the decision to file it in a lawsuit challenging the provision and the histowww.thegeorgiavoice.com

In response to a request for comment, the White House referred the Washington Blade to the Department of Health and Human Services, which didn’t respond. (iStock photo)

“No health care provider should be able to turn someone away because of their gender identity. [Trump’s] plans to eliminate the regulations spelling out these crucial non-discrimination protections is unconscionable.”

—David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, on the Trump administration’s plan to undo an Obama-era rule barring medical providers from refusing service to transgender people ry of the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has already declared federal law barring discrimination on the basis of sex doesn’t apply to cases of transgender discrimination in education and employment. The Education and Justice Departments rolled back Obama-era guidance requiring schools to allow transgender kids to use the restrooms consistent with their gender identity. Additionally, the Justice Department reversed a memo from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder finding Title VII of Civil Rights of 1964 prohibits anti-trans discrimination in the workforce.

The Justice Department filing indicates the proposed rule change will be published in the Federal Register and made available for public comment — but says nothing about timing for when that will happen.

HRC: Trump’s plans ‘unconscionable’ The Obama-era rule is currently moot in any event. Last year, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued an injunction barring the U.S. government from enforcing the rule as a result of litigation filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Roger Severino, an anti-trans scholar at the Heritage Foundation-turned-director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, cited the court ruling in an interview with the New York Times as evidence that it’s time to re-examine the rule.

“The court held that the regulation’s coverage of gender identity and termination of pregnancy was contrary to law and exceeded statutory authority, and that the rule’s harm was felt by healthcare providers in states across the country, so a nationwide injunction was appropriate,” Severino is quoted as saying. “The court order

is binding on HHS, and we are abiding by it.”

Despite this court order — and even if the Trump administration were to reverse the underlying rule — transgender people could still sue medical providers in court based on the underlying law in the Affordable Care Act that prohibits discrimination in healthcare on the basis of sex. A growing number of courts are interpreting laws against sex discrimination to apply to LGBT people regardless of the views of the Trump administration.

David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, criticized the Trump administration in a statement.

“No healthcare provider should be able to turn someone away because of their gender identity,” Stacy said. “[Trump’s] plans to eliminate the regulations spelling out these crucial non-discrimination protections is unconscionable.”

April 27, 2018 News 9

ASK THE DOCTOR

By JOEL ROSENSTOCK, MD, MPH & BETHANY WEIKART

“The new recommendation is that everyone over 50 years old should receive two doses of Shingrix, 2-6 months apart, regardless of past exposure to shingles or history of Zostavax use.”

Ask The Doctor is a monthly health column where the experts at AbsoluteCARE answer your pressing medical questions. Have a question you want answered? Email it to askthedoctor@thegavoice.com!

On a shingles vaccine and Medicare Advantage Q: I heard there’s a new vaccine for shingles. I’m 55 years old, but my partner is 62 and got the shingles shot last year.

I’m confused over what we should do.

A: This is a great question and very much in the news. The FDA approved the new shingles vaccine (Shingrix) in October 2017. The vaccine was recommended by ACIP and approved by the CDC director in February 2018.

The new recommendation is that everyone over 50 years old should receive two doses of Shingrix, 2–6 months apart, regardless of past exposure to shingles or history of Zostavax use. Those who received Zostavax at least two months previously should receive two doses of Shingrix 2–6 months apart.

The Shingrix vaccine is 95 percent effective in preventing shingles. Although it is not a live virus vaccine, it was not studied in HIV patients. Results in HIV patients should be published soon.

So, to answer your question, my recommendation is that you should both receive two doses of Shingrix, 2–6 months apart. Please check with your primary caregiver, as not all insurances have adopted the recommendation and may not be reimbursing for the two-shot series, which costs approximately $270.

Q: I keep getting mailers from “Medicare Advantage Plans.” What is the difference between Medicare and Medicare Advantage?

A: If you opt to get your coverage through a Medicare Advantage Plan, also known as Medicare Part C, you still have Medicare coverage; however, both your medical and (generally) your prescription benefits will be contracted through a private company.

You may or may not be required to pay an additional premium for your plan. Patients are usually responsible for a set copay for services, rather than a coinsurance. The coverage varies from plan to plan but all Advantage Plans must, at a minimum, cover the same medical and prescription benefits covered by Original Medicare.

It is important to remember that with Advantage Plans, you may be required to choose and stick with a Primary Care Physician. You may also need a referral from your PCP to see a specialist. Provider networks for these plans are more limited than with Original Medicare. You will need to be sure to see providers who are in-network for your plan or you will likely face higher out-of-pocket costs or possibly even no coverage at all.

Joel Rosenstock, MD, MPH Chief Medical Officer AbsoluteCARE Medical Center & Pharmacy

Bethany Weikart Care Manager AbsoluteCARE Medical Center & Pharmacy

10 Community April 27, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

TAKE THE LEAD

Take an active role in your health.

Ask your doctor if an HIV medicine made by Gilead is right for you.

onepillchoices.com GILEAD and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc. © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC4619 06/17

UNBC4619_B_LEAD_10x10-5_Blue_GeorgiaVoice_p1.indd 1

9/19/17 3:24 PM

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Goodbye, for now

BY PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com PO Box 77401 • Atlanta, GA 30357 P: 404-815-6941; F: 404-963-6365

EDITORIAL

Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com Deputy Editor: Jason Rhode jrhode@thegavoice.com Editorial Contributors: Ashleigh Atwell, Cliff Bostock, Melissa Carter, Dallas A. Duncan, Jim Farmer, Shannon Hames, Just Toby, Ryan Lee, J. Matthew Cobb, Dionne N. Walker, Craig Washington, Simon Williamson

PRODUCTION

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

BUSINESS

Managing Partner/Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

SALES

Sales Executive: Dixon Taylor dtaylor@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Jim Brams jbrams@thegavoice.com Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

FINE PRINT

All material in Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of Georgia Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by Georgia Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

A single copy of Georgia Voice is available from authorized distribution points. Multiple copies are available from Georgia Voice office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to reach a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 26-issue mailed subscription for $60 per year. Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Tim Boyd, tboyd@thegavoice.com Postmaster: Send address changes to Georgia Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. Georgia Voice is published every other Friday by The Georgia Voice, LLC. Individual subscriptions are $60 per year for 26 issues. Postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

The editorial positions of Georgia Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Georgia Voice and its staff.

To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words and commentary, for web or print, should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Email submissions to editor@thegavoice.com or mail to the address above.

Join us online: facebook.com/thegavoice twitter.com/thegavoice instagram.com/thegeorgiavoice youtube.com/user/GAVoice

12 Editorial April 27, 2018

“A journalist has a duty to report accurately, to respect the reader’s time, to never let personal beliefs or personal gain or loss affect a story, and those are duties I will never take for granted.”

When I came out about 15 years ago, I would read the local gay press and stare at the bylines, thinking about how rewarding it would be to write about the LGBTQ community for a living. Those writers were kind of like rock stars to me.

At the time, my writing was confined to (probably obnoxious, in hindsight) gay rights rants on social media. I eventually spun that off into a freelance gig at Creative Loafing, which turned into a full-time job at a local LGBTQ magazine and then other freelance gigs. Five years ago, after circling each other for quite a while, the timing finally lined up and I joined the staff of the Georgia Voice, eventually taking over as editor last January.

And now it’s time for a new adventure, a new challenge — this will be my final issue with the Georgia Voice.

To be honest, I was thinking of getting out of LGBTQ media completely a couple of years ago, but then the presidential election happened and I decided it would be worthwhile to stick around for the inevitable assault on our rights. Getting the space to guide the editorial direction of the paper during this time — while contributing my own news stories and editorials — has been an unfortunate honor, considering the circumstances and the times we found ourselves in as it happened.

I am forever indebted to Tim Boyd and Chris Cash for that conversation at the “Bearbucks” at Ansley Mall a few years ago that led to me getting the chance to work for such an important paper. Big thank yous also go out to former editor Dyana Bagby, who I was lucky enough to learn under those first couple years, to Rob Boeger, who expertly brought all those stories to life through his art direction, to Dixon Taylor and Anne Clarke and all the other salespeople who helped the paper prosper, and to all the oth-

FEEDBACK Re: “When ‘I do’ turns into ‘I don’t’: Gay Atlanta attorney talks the ins and outs of divorce,” April 11 “Most marriages are not what they are cracked to be. I have known many gay couples who have been together for 30 years or more and choose not to marry now that they have the right.”

-Richard G. Rhodes via Facebook “It was sad to me to see the number of couples waiting for marriage equality so that they could divorce in Georgia such a short time after being married in some other state.”

-Ken Cribbs via Facebook “Yes, there are many and various responsibilities in being married, and in obtaining a divorce. Good article!”

-William E. Chappell III via Facebook Re: “Gay Johns Creek couple fighting high school to be named prom Kings,” April 11 “This is a Title IX violation and these students have a legitimate case.”

-JLP Prince via Facebook “It is hard for adults who are under the influence of legalized discrimination to come to terms with the reality that youth aren’t buying into that menu.”

-Diane Dougherty via Facebook

ers who I was lucky enough to work for and with. I will miss working with badass writers like Ryan Lee, Melissa Carter, Jim Farmer, Cliff Bostock, Simon Williamson, Ashleigh Atwell and many, many others. I will forever be a faithful Georgia Voice reader.

This isn’t the last you’ll hear from me in the ongoing fight for this state’s LGBTQ rights, but I want to thank you, the readers, for taking the time to listen to what I had to say in these pages for the past five years.

A journalist has a duty to report accurately, to respect the reader’s time, to never let personal beliefs or personal gain or loss affect a story, and those are duties I will never take for granted.

I hope you’ll join me in welcoming incoming editor Berlin Sylvestre, an LGBTQ media veteran who will surely serve you well.

We clearly have a lot of fights ahead of us to take on together, and that’s the only way we’ll prevail — together.

‘Til next time...

“Hell no! Johns Creek is above hate/discrimination. We are a city of diversity and tolerance. Their fellow students nominated them. Listen to the students.”

-Celine Falvey Maney via Facebook “Sadly it’s only the start of their discrimination experience. So proud of them for trying to make a difference and fight the bigots.”

-Mike Williams via Facebook “You can do better than this, Fulton County.”

-Jody Miles via Facebook “The high school kids vote for their prom royalty … the kids have spoken!”

-Claudia Burgess via Facebook Want to be featured in Feedback? Leave a comment to a story via social media or on our website, or email editor@thegavoice.com with the subject line “Feedback.” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

THIS IS OUR HOUSE

By Craig Washington

A reflection on Aretha Craig Washington is a writer, storyteller, angelic troublemaker and an HIV-positive conqueror.

I am a child of the late 60s and early 70s. Black people, speaking directly to the collecMy people’s ongoing struggle for liberation tive by voicing our demands and desires. Some was catapulted straight into the nation’s registered as subversive anthems (“Respect,” living room through newspaper headlines “Think”) that challenged inequalities of genand evening-television bulletins. In homes der and race within and beyond the contexts throughout Black America, the artists were of romantic relationships. In our home, she considered no less essential to our uplift than was an abiding presence, usually referred to by activists, pastors and teachers. There was a first name like a next-door neighbor. While fervent dialectic between artist and commu- listening to Aretha, my mother would affirm nity that fit those demanding times. a line, “His name is Doctor Feelgood in the By 1967, as her second Atlantic album ti- morning” with spirited cheers like, “Tell ‘em, tle pronounced, Aretha Franklin had arrived Ree” and, “You better sing, girl!” I loved witachieving international fame. That summer nessing the impromptu rituals in which Ma would be coined by Ebony Magazine as the joined the visiting sisters adding spoken word “the summer of ‘Retha, Rap and Revolt.” to the call-and-response chorus. I marveled The newly crowned Queen of Soul deliv- at the bonding language with which these AF_ATL_Ad_GeorgiaVoice_HalfPageHor_10x5_Male_FINALOUTLINES_Print.pdf 2 9/26/2017 5:32:53 PM ered hit after hit that resonated deeply with women shared testimony across boundaries of

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“Like many queer little boys betrayed by adolescence, I was lonely and terrified. When she closed her eyes, reared her head back and soared, I would be lifted high above my constrictions.” space and time to recount universal narratives of love, lust, loss and redemption.

Aretha’s singing reached inside my being like a presence that recognized me and articulated all that my tangled soul could not express. Like many queer little boys betrayed by adolescence, I was lonely and terrified.

When she closed her eyes, reared her head back and soared, I would be lifted high above my constrictions. As I matured, I came to understand the lessons in those lyrics and the immense feeling she embedded in them.

As an HIV-positive older Black gay man, I count such icons as jewels in the paid-for crown James Baldwin claimed I have only to wear on my head. Above all of them, I chose Aretha as my principal muse. Twenty years ago, I named

my first HIV prevention program after her house classic remake “Deeper Love.” The name expressed what I wanted Black gay men to rediscover and celebrate in congregation.

Last year, she announced her semi-retirement and plans to open a nightclub in her Detroit hometown. The reports about her health issues worry me and I pray that she is enjoying her own life. Through the loss of my mother, who loved her madly, and all the tribulations this life brings, Aretha has been by my side step by step. As “Bridge Over Troubled Water” opens, her backup singers harken, “Don’t trouble the water” and she complies, “I won’t.” Toward the song’s end, in response to the repeated plea, she reminds her good sisters, “Said I wouldn’t!”

Thank you, Aretha, for keeping your promise.

April 27, 2018 Editorial 13

LGBTQ SENIORS

Gay Atlanta pioneer turns 74 Activist Berl Boykin reflects on 50-plus years of the struggle for LGBTQ equality

By DALLAS ANNE DUNCAN On April 7, Atlanta’s LGBTQ community gathered to celebrate Berl Boykin’s birthday.

It’s been 74 years well-lived for the Miami-born gay pioneer, whose activism helped lead the city’s fight for LGBTQ equality as far back as 1963. That was the year Boykin was expelled from Emory University because of his sexuality.

“The dorm counselor had a skeleton key and came in on me at the wrong moment.

So they gave me 48 hours to get off the campus,” Boykin told Georgia Voice. “It was a different world then.”

The sudden end to his collegiate career launched Boykin’s path in a new direction.

Together with his band of LGBTQ brethren and straight allies, he battled on behalf of his community so that one day, no one would face this treatment because of their sexuality or gender identity.

“I can’t remember when I actually met him, but I always knew who he was,” said gay Atlanta historian Dave Hayward, founder of Touching Up Our Roots. “It was really a collective movement and Berl was one of the key people, but we all really participated.”

THE SUMMER OF ’69 “It was like being a part of any other persecuted and prosecuted minority. You fought back as you could and when you could, because you pretty well had to,” Boykin said. “No one else is going to take up for you, so I did.”

Boykin credits the civil rights movement and black activists of the day with helping to inspire the push for LGBTQ equality.

Though he and the late Shelby Cullum had previously founded The Georgia Mattachine Society to support gay rights, push came to

shove in August 1969 after an Atlanta theater was raided by the police during a showing of the Andy Warhol film “The Lonesome Cowboys,” just a few months after the Stonewall riots in New York.

“We decided to have a meeting to see if we could organize a Georgia Gay Liberation Front like the one that was in New York at that point,” Boykin said. “We were popping mad. People were jumping up and down with anger.”

The next spring, members tabled at Piedmont Park during the Arts Festival and “distributed propaganda that we’d printed off.” The following summer, Boykin and his Georgia Gay Liberation Front members took to sidewalks.

“I certainly never thought, when I was organizing the first gay Pride march here, that it would get up to 300,000 strong. We had 125 people the first time in 1971 by actual count,” Boykin said.

He should know — he counted twice.

“We could not get a parade permit from the city,” Boykin said. “We marched up Peachtree from the Federal Building downtown … by the Baptist church at 5th and Peachtree, just as they were getting out of church and they were freaked out.”

The march continued to 14th Street and then on to Piedmont Park, where the 125 marchers gathered for speeches. Boykin served as grand marshal for that event.

CONFRONTING GOV. CARTER Years after his activism began, Boykin was honored by the Georgia Legislature. One of the sections in the House resolution commended him for being among three men to present “the first official petition to a sitting Georgia governor for lesbian and gay equal rights under the law.”

Boykin, joined by the late activists Klaus Smith and Bill Smith, met with then-Gov. Jimmy Carter on July 14, 1971. It was Bastille Day, and they had a bone to pick.

“For the first time in the history of Georgia, [Carter] outlawed lesbianism,” Boykin said. “He instituted a 20-year prison sen-

The Atlanta LGBTQ community gathered on April 7 to celebrate activist and gay rights pioneer Berl Boykin’s 74th birthday. Boykin was a co-founder of The Georgia Mattachine Society and the Georgia Gay Liberation Front. He also helped organize the city’s first Pride march, among many other accomplishments. (Photos courtesy Jeff Quigley)

tence for sodomy for lesbianism. He did reduce the male sentence from 30 to 20 years.”

Though they were unable to get any women to join them that day, the three went to visit Carter during his open office hours.

“He wasn’t expecting us, but there we were. We demanded that he lend his voice to a repeal of that law,” Boykin said.

The governor didn’t give in at the time, but there is a sequel.

“A few years back, we had an amendment here in Georgia that was against any pro-gay law being passed. That year I wrote a letter to Jimmy Carter, along with Dave Hayward, and I pointed out what I just went over,” Boykin said. “At a vital juncture in 2004, he came out and supported civil unions, which I know is half-cake and sort of superceded now, but it was vital at the time to have the support from a prominent public voice. I’m proud that I could do that much by just writing a letter and putting a guilt trip on him.”

IGNITING A FIRE “We’re a long way from full equality, because even with the things we achieved, there’s still a lot of racial prejudice, still a lot of prejudice against gay people in society and it still has to be struggled against, or they’ll put us right back in the closet,” Boykin said.

“The eternal struggle is the price of liberty. I think it’s a price worth paying.”

In the heyday of his activism — which was peppered between writing jobs for the alt-newspaper The Great Speckled Bird, delivering film, living in England, writing a book, working for public radio and radio theater — there was a key group taking charge of LGBTQ rights in Atlanta. Boykin had friends who were killed for their beliefs and their sexuality. The groups he was part of fizzled and factioned, but their fiery spirits never wavered.

“If you were out, you were generally out and doing something,” Boykin said. “Today, people get together at Pride, and then for the most part they disappear into the woodwork.”

That’s one reason he believes LGBTQ Atlanta shouldn’t forget its roots.

“People need to know now, younger gay people, how bad the oppression was in the old days and how it had to be fought against for people to even get to the relative state of liberation we’re in now,” he said. “Never forget the struggle. Our enemies won’t, and they will definitely have the energy to push us back. … Struggle on until you get more freedom in each aspect. … Until we get full equality, every way with straight people, no more, no less, things are not over.”

14 LGBTQ Seniors April 27, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

LGBTQ SENIORS

LGBTQ seniors face unique challenges Isolation, prejudice ranked as top concerns for community elders

By JASON RHODE jrhode@thegavoice.com Aging can be a challenge for any community. But the lives of LGBTQ seniors bring distinct pleasures and pains. Or, as author Dave Singleton wrote, nearly half a century after Stonewall, “we’re still in the early stages of grasping what it really means to be LGBT and older. ... Now, a confluence of a cultural and legal shift — along with sheer population size — is changing how we approach the needs of the LGBT senior community.”

The Census Bureau reports that over five percent of the 65-and-over population reside in nursing homes, assisted living and similar situations. By 2030, the last Baby Boomers will have turned 65, and older adults will make up a fifth of the nation’s population.

This is where specific hurdles for the LGTBQ community appear. The organization SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) estimates that 1.5 million LGBTQ people 65-plus currently reside in the United States — and that total will double by 2010.

As PBS NewsHour put it, “As openly gay and lesbian people age, they will increasingly rely on caregivers and move into assisted living communities and nursing homes. And while many rely on friends and partners, more are likely to be single and without adult children, according to research published by the National Institutes of Health.”

ISOLATION, DISCRIMINATION FUEL HEALTH ISSUES In an interview with Georgia Voice, Linda Ellis, executive director of the Health Initiative (an LGBTQ-centered health organization), outlined several of the singular problems faced by LGBTQ seniors.

“It’s sometimes harder,” she said, “for LGBTQ seniors to take advantage of the www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“Make sure that you are mindful of the elders around you.”

—Linda Ellis, executive director of the Health Initiative progress that our community has gained in recent years.” She noted that recognition and marriage had arrived too late for some members of the community.

“Getting old isn’t easy by any standard, and it’s much harder when you’re more likely to be alone or have less income or not enjoy partner or spousal benefits, as many LGBTQ elders are.” Isolation was the biggest challenge: many of the “current generation of elders came out of straight marriages after the kids were raised” with strained or lost family connections, or lack of long-term partnering.

Ellis stressed that not all elders share the same experience: “Lesbians and people of color are more likely to live in poverty than white gay men. Older bisexual adults are more likely to experience greater social isolation, and are more prone to depression.

Transgender older adults are more likely than their peers to be forced back into the closet or forego needed healthcare.”

According to the organization Justice in Aging, only 50 percent of senior-age LGBTQ Americans in long-term care said they were comfortable being out about their orientation. According to the AARP, when compared to the general population, LGBTQ seniors are at higher risk for mental health issues, disabilities and “have higher rates of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.”

A 2011 National Senior Citizens Law Center study titled “LGBT Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities” stated that nearly half of older LGBTQ women and men had either been abused, or witnessed abuse — and this doesn’t take into account unreported mistreatment. These included separation

The organization SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) estimates that 1.5 million LGBTQ people 65-plus currently reside in the United States — and that total will double by 2010. (File photo)

from a same-sex spouse, being forced to share a room with a phobic companion, refusal of admittance or eviction due to conflicts with gender identity or sexual orientation.

In such institutions, negative treatment from other residents was the most frequently-related problem; verbal/physical harassment by staff ranked second. Additionally, some respondents reported that staff refused to accept the medical power of attorney, or refused to use an individual’s preferred name or pronoun.

A PATH TO TURNING THINGS AROUND “Often times,” Ellis said, “the biggest challenges are from fellow residents or participants — or volunteers — and it’s difficult for staff to feel comfortable addressing those behaviors without the policies and training to support them as they do so.” According to a City Lab post, these challenges are even harder when the seniors “are transgender and are people of color. LGBT older adults who live in more rural areas are also particularly affected.”

There are heartening signs of change. In September 2017, the California Legislature passed SB 219 — a Bill of Rights for LGBTQ Seniors in long-term care facilities. The law was designed to protect elderly members of the community (who rely on assistance from professionals) from being mistreated.

Additionally, there is a boom in LGBT-specific institutions. By 2017, the number of retirement communities for LGBTQ seniors had grown, numbering 20 according to U.S. News & World Report, with several more on the way.

Activism-wise, Ellis said that “Pushing the Department of Health and Human Services to reinstate the questions of sexual orientation and gender identity in the NSOAAP [National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants] is a start.”

“And while you’re at it,” she added, “ask HHS to designate LGBTQ older adults as an under-served population within the Older Americans Act. Then, advocate for the passage of comprehensive employment and housing nondiscrimination protections across the board. LGTBTQ elders will benefit along with the rest of us from those changes.”

Finally, while working for changes on the political side, Ellis urged concerned citizens to “remember the personal.”

“While we work for those changes,” she said, “make sure that you are mindful of the elders around you. Check on them. Include them. Ask if they need anything, and then listen for the answer. It’s a start.”

With progress, proper planning and empathy, the years to come can prove anew the LGBTQ community’s most encouraging mantra: it does gets better.

April 27, 2018 LGBTQ Seniors 15

LGBTQ YOUTH

LGBTQ youth among those taking a stand against gun violence Atlanta March for Our Lives organized in part by out activists

By DALLAS ANNE DUNCAN Gun laws in Georgia are simple.

Aside from a couple of hunting, fishing and parental permission-related exceptions, Georgians can’t own handguns until they’re 18. No weapons or long guns while on the premises of one of the state’s nuclear power facilities. Sawed-off shotguns and rifles, machine guns and silencers — with few exceptions — are illegal. If you have a concealed carry permit, it’s advisable to have it on you at all times. If you’ve been convicted of certain crimes, you’ve lost your privilege to own firearms.

Other than the provision of being a minor, there’s not much codified about who is able to purchase or own a gun in Georgia, and how dealers and private sellers make sure

who they’re selling to isn’t going to commit a crime or use their new weaponry for nefarious purposes.

But after years of seeing gun violence, mass shootings and school shootings hit headlines, youth activists across the country decided it’s worth a shot to take a stand and demand commonsense gun control legislation, and a movement was born.

NOW WALK IT OUT “I think I have grown up in a generation where every day I looked at the news and I see a tragedy or shooting, specifically with schools. I am a high schooler. I go to school every day. Kids who are exactly the same as me are not coming home in the afternoon because someone shot up the school, and that scares me a lot,” said 16-year-old Eli Hughes, a sophomore at Etowah High School in Woodstock.

Hughes, who identifies as nonbinary and uses the singular “they” pronoun, heard about the Feb. 14 school shooting in

Top, above and left: Following the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, student-led walk-outs and marches began taking place. In the Atlanta area, several of these events were organized in part by young LGBTQ activists. (Photos by Alli Royce Soble)

Parkland, Florida, and decided enough was enough. They heard about the March for Our Lives planned for Atlanta on March 24, and figured out how to get involved.

“Stepping into the role I did as peace marshal, I was not able to be inside the crowd but I could still witness everything that was happening, and it was truly stunning to see the amount and the range of people. I expected to see the vast majority as young kids who were liberal in nature, but I saw people who were as old as 72,” Hughes said.

The particular 72-year-old Hughes recalled said he had been a Republican his

whole life, was still a Republican, but was there to support the cause.

“This is one of the issues that makes us so divided as a country, and that’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about it. I think we need to be communicating with each other instead of always yelling at each other, and never being able to look at the other side,” said Savannah Nemeth, 18, a student at Collinsville High School in Lawrenceville.

Nemeth’s primary role in the march was creating fliers, but at the event was asked to CONTINUES ON PAGE 17

16 LGBTQ Youth April 27, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

LGBTQ YOUTH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 speak and read a poem written for the occasion.

“I ended up being the first person to speak. It was really amazing and I got so many people coming up to me afterwards,” Nemeth told Georgia Voice. “I’ve been to a lot of different marches for Black Lives Matter, and a lot of LGBT events, but I’ve never been someone who actually planned it and that’s what I think is so amazing about this movement. It’s giving so many kids a chance to step up and do amazing things.”

The march brought an estimated 30,000 to Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Police Department. It was preceded in many school districts by walk-outs, which was where Hughes first got involved.

The Georgia Alliance for Social Justice served as a fiscal sponsor and adult advisers for the younger organizers, but executive director Janel Green said the organization tried to hang back as much as possible.

“The objective was really to demonstrate that the youth were going to take charge.

The kids really wanted to make a statement that adults were failing them and failing to implement commonsense gun laws and practices that would protect them in their schools. This was their opportunity to take the helm,” she said.

‘YOU HAVE TO BREAK THE RULES’ The March for Our Lives in Atlanta spawned a new organization, the Georgia Student Alliance for Social Justice.

Elias Green (no relation to Janel), 18, a community advocate and senior at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Lawrenceville, had the role of being the march’s press contact.

“I was standing on the press bleachers that we had in the back … and people just kept coming and coming and coming. It was like, wow, a bunch of teenagers put this together,” he said. “Not only were we getting support for something that we all genuinely care about, but it was something that showed all of us that we were capable.”

Bentley Hudgins, an Atlanta LGBTQ activist and adult adviser for the march and walk-outs, wasn’t surprised that it was students taking the lead on this issue.

“Young people have been the voices of speaking truth into power for the longest time,” Hudgins said. “You have to break the www.thegeorgiavoice.com

The student-led March for Our Lives in Atlanta drew an estimated 30,000 people. (Photo

by Alli Royce Soble)

rules in order to show how ludicrous they are.”

He acknowledged that this does ask activists to risk something — in the gun control discussion, that risk included detention or suspension for participating in a walk-out, for example — which he knows many parents have valid concerns about.

“If you play by the rules, but the rules weren’t set up for you to win, sometimes you have to break the rules, and sometimes breaking the rules comes with consequences. … The schools have a right to discipline you, but they can’t do it any more harshly than they would if you were walking out of school to go get McDonald’s or something,” Hudgins said. “I understand their concerns about safety, but one of the things I say back to them is, ‘Are you sure that you’re just worried about their safety, or are you concerned that they are protesting gun violence?’”

He said people tend to speak up against movements when they don’t like or agree with what the movement’s goals are.

Hudgins also said that though March for Our Lives is a movement sparked by school violence, it’s important to remember that there are other victims of gun violence as well, including, disproportionately, transgender women of color, more than 20 of whom were murdered in 2017.

A CHANCE AT COMPROMISE Though some sources claim those who want gun law reform want to repeal the Second Amendment, the activists who spoke with Georgia Voice say this isn’t the case for them.

“Obviously an entire removal of guns is just impractical. What I think would be ideal would be the removal of assault weapons for sale to normal citizens. Those should be reserved to people in the military, as well as high-capacity magazines shouldn’t be able to be distributed,” Hughes said.

Hughes added that they believe some other gun modifications need to be less readily available, and there should be additional screenings to ensure those who purchase guns are fit to own them. Though their immediate family are not gun owners, Hughes believes most Americans have the right to own firearms.

One of the biggest groups to oppose proposed legislation is the National Rifle Association. The NRA and Georgia Gun Owners did not respond to interview requests for this story. Janel Green said the NRA’s position is frustrating.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, the NRA made a transition from being kind of a sportsmen organization that advocated for gun safety, and turned into a lobby for gun manufacturers. They can spin fear and they can spin all these other narratives. It creates profits for their other funders,” she said. “My husband owns a gun. I grew up hunting. I started hunting when I was my son’s age, so maybe 11 or 12. I see guns as tools and should be used as such. Some of these guns are really not tools for the average American and have really crossed the line into being more military-type equipment that’s sole purpose is for killing human beings.”

Hughes believes much of the policy discus-

sion is based on fear, for both sides of the debate.

“It’s fear that’s causing us to finally do something because we’re scared to get killed in school. [The opposing view] is scared that basic human rights are going to be taken away,” Hughes said. “It’s important to recognize their points as valid because by disregarding them, there’s no way a compromise can be reached.”

Hughes said one reason they believe this issue became so partisan is that a group of people believe those who want commonsense gun control want to take away Americans’ right to own firearms, which in Hughes’ case at least is not true.

“They’re taking it as a personal attack on themselves or their ideals,” Hughes said.

“People try to make it partisan because it makes it easier to deal with — this politician agrees, disagrees because of party. Trying to force gun control or gun issues into a partisan two-party system makes it so nothing that actually needs to be accomplished actually gets there.”

Nemeth’s immediate family does not own firearms, but the extended family members who do also support commonsense gun legislation. Nemeth sees compromise in the future.

“I hope that we can find some sort of compromise and some sort of agreement where we can be helping protect people form gun violence in a peaceful manner, and then also we need to take measures to be sure that whatever ends up being done to limit gun violence isn’t targeting communities of color,” Nemeth said.

Elias supports expanded background checks.

“I’ve had people criticize me, saying I know nothing about guns, but I’ve known how to shoot guns since I was 9,” he said, adding it’s more likely to see federal legislation pass than state. “The state Legislature is very polarized toward conservative issues, because the majority of the state of Georgia is conservative.”

Janel Green said it’s amazing to see students take an active role in this issue, especially given that many don’t have the power of voting to express their opinion.

“The thing that has really struck me the most of having youth leadership is they have nothing to lose. They don’t have political relationships they’re concerned about maintaining, so they’re far less inhibited. They’re unfiltered.

They’re willing to put themselves out there, put everything on the line and ask in a no-nonsense way for what they want. But they’re still kind and still working to be inclusive and hear one another,” she said. “It’s really impressive. I think they’re going to get it right.”

April 27, 2018 LGBTQ Youth 17

EN

Q AT LANT A

T

ER

TA I

N

T

LGBT

S W

S REVI E RT A

N ME

Inside the deep, forbidden world of

Todrick Hall YouTube superstar talks about ambitious visual album, his “Idol” days, race and his loudest critics

By J. MATTHEW COBB When Todrick Hall made his splash on season nine of “American Idol,” he assailed the boring status quo by forcing ballsy renditions of pop favorites into the mix. He admits it wasn’t enough. “My biggest regret was that when I was on ‘Idol,’ I held back so much,” Hall, 33, explained by phone on one of his tour stops in Indianapolis. “I wanted to perform Britney Spears’ ‘Circus’ with a ringleader costume on. Maybe I would’ve got booed off the stage, but my biggest regret is that I didn’t do it, that I didn’t come out swinging, but gave a half-assed version www.thegeorgiavoice.com

of what I wanted to give. I played it safe.”

Today Hall is breaking, or rewriting, every rule of convention, and he’s winning.

With over a million followers on Instagram and 544 million views on his YouTube videos alone, he stands tall as one of the most influential artists in LGBTQ entertainment. He’s done legit Broadway (“Kinky Boots,” “Chicago”), choreographed parts of the “Blow” music video for Beyonce, cameoed in a music video with bestie Taylor Swift and dropped a star-studded visual album “Straight Outta Oz.” He’s gal-palling with RuPaul as a guest judge and part-time choreographer for the competing queens on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

He calls “Drag Race” his favorite gig all year, although he wants to offer more to the Emmy Award-winning hit show. “I don’t wanna step on anybody’s toes or come for somebody’s gig, but I would love to actually write a musical [for it], ‘cause when I write my musicals, it inspires

what I’m gonna do choreographically and how I’m gonna produce it,” he said.

An important footnote: Hall has achieved all of this entirely as an independent artist — no label, absolutely all on his own. “It was initially my goal to do things the conventional way, and it wasn’t until recently that I actually started being proud of the fact that I have done it another way, because I used to always crave mainstream success and being part of a system. But when you knock on enough doors and you get enough ‘no’s’ and doors slammed in your face, you realize you only have two options: You can give up or you keep knocking on doors or build your own house, so I won’t have this problem anymore. And that’s kinda what I did.”

Videos, tour court controversy Now Hall is hitting the road for the 50city international tour “Todrick Hall Amer-

ican” to promote his latest visual album, the 20-track “Forbidden.” The tour, slated to unpack at the Fox Theatre on May 6, is described by Hall as being “a hybrid; a musical mixed with a concert.” Like his previous project, “Forbidden” is a super-stacked visual album done in the spirit of indie cinema and theater — think of Beyoncé’s infamous self-titled visual album. It’s packed with star cameos and collaborations ranging from RuPaul to Shangela, from Jenifer Lewis to Tiffany Haddish, from Tamar Braxton to Brandy. The road version won’t be as starstudded, but Hall promises it’ll be just as enthralling. “There’s over 100 costumes that we spent a lot of time and money on, a lot of tender love and care and picking out the fabrics, a lot of choreography and the set is really cool. It’s just a really, really fun time.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 20

April 27, 2018 A&E 19

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

Very positive and uplifting.”

But Hall is getting some vitriol and very sharp reactions from the black community on social media. That’s because “Forbidden” is by far his most ballsy and controversial project yet. It explores an alternate universe where Hall plays Nolan in a coming-of-age narrative that explores sexuality, gender, race and even the price of fame. The uploaded music video of “T.H.U.G. (Trade),” taken directly from the film, piles up the fetishes on black men. And the video for the perky “Ordinary Day” shows off a bizarro world where a street sign spells “Trayvon” backwards and an innocent white kid is gunned down by a black cop, brushed aside by witnesses in a ’60s-era suburb. At first glance, these disturbing images in Hall’s art pose a level of grave concern for those who mistakenly view Hall as the stereotypical, squeakyclean safe artist, but Hall isn’t holding back on his creativity and vision, which explains one of the reasons why Hall remains independent. “I went to several people with billions of dollars to spend on original content, and I told them I wanted to write this,” he said. “They were just so afraid to do it.”

Some of the criticism Hall is just learning about, and he understands some of it. “Well, in some ways I would agree with [them],” Hall responded. “I think it’s kinda ridiculous that people fetishize guys in that way, but that’s the beautiful irony of this album. I am singing that song as Nolan, that character.

But there are people who are literally like that. That’s what they want. That’s who they are. That’s what they look for.”

To remedy some of the hazy confusion, Hall feels people need to watch the visual album in its entirety. “The whole reason why I say my name [Nolan] at the beginning and put it on a wanted sign is because I was hoping that people would watch it and say this character is being taught to go after this person. I think if people watched the album in context, they would probably understand that.”

‘I am very proud to be black’ But Hall also knows there’s more work to be done, acknowledging the insecurities most people, even the gay community, have about race and interracial dating. “I’m always criticized or ridiculed as being a black guy who doesn’t stand for black people,” he said, as if he’s getting a heavy weight off his chest. “I am very proud to be black. I try to express myself in what I have to say about Black Lives Matter and racial issues through my music, but I’m not trying to prove to 20 A&E April 27, 2018

Todrick Hall has done Broadway, appeared in and choreographed music videos for major artists, dropped star-studded visual albums and been a guest judge on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ (Courtesy photo)

Details

Todrick Hall American Sunday, May 6 at 7 p.m.

Fox Theatre Tickets $48-$75 www.foxtheatre.org/events/detail/ todrick-hall-american people that I’m black because anybody that knows me knows that I’m fucking black.

They don’t even know how many guys that I wanted to date would not date me because they literally told me they don’t black men.”

And yes, he’s aware some of the backlash is coming from haters, from those angry over his close relationship with Taylor Swift, from those who recall his previous ex (who is white), from those who feel he’s too vanilla to be black. “It’s really just laughable to me that people would think that I exclusively date white men,” he said. “It’s absolutely not the case. It’s just crazy to me how it’s perceived online, and I understand why they would think that, but they don’t know me. And until they meet me, they have no idea.”

Hall is addressing his critics and more determined to stay vocal about his beliefs and experiences, while creatively injecting relevant hot-button issues through his music. Using the vernacular of the kids, he’s woke AF. And America has a chance to meet him, one tour stop at a time. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

April 27, 2018 Ads 21

ACTING OUT

By JIM FARMER

Lesbian-themed ‘Disobedience,’ Grace Jones doc coming soon Two new films — one a documentary on the legendary Grace Jones and the other an excellent lesbian-themed feature — are on tap for the next few weeks, providing an excellent alternative to big-budget superhero fare.

To say that musician Grace Jones is larger than life is a bit of an understatement. Director Sophie Fiennes’s new documentary on the subject, “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” is an intriguing look at the enigmatic one, warts and all. The film exposes enough of the artist to make a feature-length film, but still leaves much in mystery. Wisely, Fiennes has included some great concert clips, showing Jones’ inimitable style (and fashion sense). Jones comes across as very hardworking and devoted to her craft without selling out, but she is also a bit of a perfectionist and the film doesn’t shy away from some diva histrionics. “I’m like a madame in a whorehouse,” she complains after a musical performance of “La Vie En Rose.”

The one major flaw is that the director lets the film go on way too long. It’s almost two hours and it doesn’t need to be. The film follows a holiday road trip to Jamaica, and some traumatic moments from Jones’ childhood are revealed. Nonetheless, Jones’ story of her father is very emotional and gives poignancy to the number that follows. It’s moments like this that elevate the film. “Bloodlight and Bami” may not convert those who are not already following Jones, but it will be almost required viewing for die-hard fans.

Earlier this year, director Sebastian Lelio won a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for his film “A Fantastic Woman,” which starred transgender actress Daniela Vega in the title role. His first English-language feature is the new “Disobedience,” opening this week in New York and Los Angeles and expanding to other cities (including Atlanta) the following week.

In the film, when Ronit’s (Rachel Weisz, who also produces) father dies, she returns to her hometown in London. She has been working as a photographer in New York after leaving home in scandal — shunned when it was found that she had a relationship with

Rachel McAdams, left, and Rachel Weisz, right, star in ‘Disobedience,’ opening May 4.

(Courtesy photo)

Details

“Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” Opens April 27 Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308 www.landmarktheatres.com “Disobedience” Opens May 4 Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308 www.landmarktheatres.com

childhood friend, Esti (Rachel McAdams).

Back home, she finds out that Esti is now married to Rabbi Dovid Kuperman (Allesandro Nivola). Probably unwisely, Ronit decides to stay at the Rabbi’s home, but an attraction re-develops between the women.

The film is based on a book by Naomi Alderman and does an exemplary job of showing how the characters’ Orthodox Jewish religious beliefs influence their life — and those around them as well. The three central performers are all effective. Weisz’ Ronit may seem a bit chilly, but she captures the struggle of the character.

But, the standout here is McAdams as the conflicted Esti, who is re-thinking her decision to be married. Used to rituals, such as having sex with her husband on Friday, she is finding her backbone and ability to stand up for herself.

The film’s ending doesn’t wrap everything up with a bow, but is far from tragic. Lelio is a director whose every new project is showing new layers of craft and confidence.

22 A&E April 27, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

April 27, 2018 Ads 23

EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

Hunger, homelessness and death on Cheshire Bridge Road I met James last winter at the Cheshire Bridge Waffle House. Not 20, he was standing outside in a grimy gray hoodie, his hands shoved into his pockets. He pressed himself against the window, probably to warm his skinny frame. He smiled and I waved. He was soon standing by my table.

“You look hungry,” I said.

“You look lonely,” he said.

I laughed. “Yeah, I am, but not in that way.” I offered him dinner. “You’re homeless, aren’t you?” I asked. He tore into a burger. “So where do you stay?” He looked annoyed.

“I stay out of view,” he said. Like hundreds of other youths who lead such lives, he had been kicked out of his home for being gay. He thanked me for dinner and disappeared while I paid the check. But he came back in and whispered, “I miss my dog. I think he died.” I said I was sorry. “Would you mind if I used your phone to call my mom?” He cried during the call. His dog had indeed died and his mother was begging him to come home to Northeast Georgia. He said his stepfather made that impossible and hung up. He ran out the door.

A few months later, I stopped for lunch at Taqueria del Sol. James was in the parking lot. He looked very sick. “You’ve got to get help,” I said. He told me he had nothing

to eat and that drugs were devouring him.

“What can I do?” I asked. He said he needed money. I gave him $20. I offered to take him to Lost-n-Found, an organization that provides assistance to homeless gay kids. Or I could take him to Grady Hospital or even his mother’s home.

I pointed to the branch of Peachtree Creek that runs under the bridge near there.

“I got arrested down there when I was 30,” I said. “I was drunk and hiding from the police. They chased me with dogs and hauled me to jail. The worst part was that I ended up having to move back in with my disapproving parents while I got sober.”

“You were a Cheshire Bridge pioneer!” he said. “I know lots of guys — and geese!

DINING GUIDE

— who hang out down there. There’s a sewage plant somewhere. I’d rather be in sewage than at home.”

Saturday, I parked in front of my longtime favorite, Havana Sandwich Shop. I watched two head-bobbing geese step onto Buford Highway. I ran onto the road, signaling northbound drivers to stop. The birds waddled to the median. Then they made a step back after the traffic started to move. I looked away in terror, expecting to see them slaughtered. But then they crossed into the four southbound lanes. The traffic came to a complete stop and the birds were soon foraging in a tiny patch of green next to a commercial building.

A staffer told me that they had seen a lot of apparently lost birds since new construc-

tion began on the edge of the huge space containing the creek on Cheshire Bridge where James hung out.

Children have always been the most oppressed group in America. They have no rights.

We hunt them with wartime weapons. They have the highest infant mortality rate and growing incidence of food insecurity in the developed world. The CHIP program, guaranteeing healthcare for poor kids, became a Republican pawn in the last budget negotiations.

My phone rang yesterday. It was James’ mother. She found my number on her phone. Had I seen him? Not in months. I imagined him resting under a bridge. I imagined him vanishing, maybe lifting a green goose feather and rubbing it against his face as if it were the touch of love. Our city may be booming, but the growing homeless young, like the displaced geese, are harbingers of the inescapably dark shadow that uncompassionate capitalism casts.

It can be different. Please contribute money and donate time to Lost-n-Found Youth (lnfy.org) and the Atlanta Community Food Bank (www.acfb.org).

Cliff Bostock is a former psychotherapist now specializing in life coaching. Contact him at 404-518-4415 or cliffbostock@gmail.com.

TO ADVERTISE, CONTACT: JBRAMS@THEGAVOICE.COM

24 Columnists April 27, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

ATLANTA’S FIRST URBAN WINERY, INTIMATE MUSIC VENUE, RESTAURANT & PRIVATE EVENT SPACE 650 NORTH AVENUE NE, SUITE 201, ATLANTA, GA 30308, PONCE CITY MARKET | CITYWINERY.COM | 404.WINERY1

may 28

dec 22

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Jane Lynch

Get tickets at CityWinery.com/Atlanta or Call 404-WINERY1

Become a VinoFile Member to Purchase Tickets 48 Hours Before the General Public

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

April 27, 2018 Ads 25

B

Best Bets: Our Guide to the Best LGBTQ Events in Atlanta for April 27-May 10

BETS T ES

A T N TLA A Q T B LG T

S

EVEN FRIDAY, APRIL 27

Come network and unwind with LGBTQ business owners, corporate partners and supporters at the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s Fourth Friday event, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., The Westin Atlanta, Perimeter North, 7 Concourse Parkway N.E., Atlanta, GA 30328, www.atlantagaychamber.org As part of the long-running and popular Master Distiller Series, “Whiskey Walk in the Garden” offers a unique and engaging opportunity to learn about (and enjoy) ASW Distillery, 18.21 Bitters and Reformation’s full line of spirits and brews, all while savoring perfectly paired, gourmet small bites from Southern Art and Bourbon Bar Chef de Cuisine David Bartlett, 7 – 9 p.m., Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, 3315 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta, GA 30326, www.facebook.com/ events/192594598184733 Miz Cracker from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 10 headlines Sprung, sponsored

by WUSSY magazine, featuring Dotte Comm, Evah Destruction, Molly Rimswell, Alotta Wood, Kara Mel D’Ville and Zanny Ex with music by DJ NSA and JSPORT (Morph ATL), 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., Heretic Atlanta, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook. com/events/1743217575722196

SATURDAY, APRIL 28- 29

The LGBT Institute hosts its second annual symposium this weekend. In collaboration with research partner Georgia State University, the symposium will explore the findings of the LGBT Institute Southern Survey and lessons learned. Attendees will also have the opportunity to develop future strategies for survey outreach and design. This interactive symposium will

26 Best Bets April 27, 2018

FRIDAY, APRIL 27

The highly-anticipated documentary “Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami” — starring the legendary pop goddess — opens at the Midtown Art Cinema today, various showtimes, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.landmarktheatres.com (Publicity photo) be an ideal time for networking among academics and advocates. The symposium will focus on the three main areas of the LGBT Institute’s Southern Survey findings: education and employment; criminal justice and safety; and public health and wellness. The symposium will take place over two days with all participants engaging in an ongoing, interactive, plenary session.

10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Center for Civil and Human Rights, 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd.

N.W., Atlanta, GA 30313, www.facebook.com/events/1995579254092182 The Inman Park Spring Festival and Tour of Homes takes place in one of Atlanta’s oldest and most scenic neighborhoods, home to many historic homes and parks. The festival began in the early 1970s as a means to attract attention to gentrification efforts that sought to revitalize the community. Now celebrating its 47th anniversary, the festival offers something

for everybody — three stages of live music, kids’ activities, a tour of homes, a marvelous street parade, an artists’ market and some of the city’s best people-watching, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., www.facebook.com/ events/214877119070294

SATURDAY, APRIL 28

Have a blast at the Atlanta Chargers Jock Auction and Beer Bust today.

There will be free shots with purchase of a bracelet. Highlights include all-youcan-drink beer, Jello shots, Jagermeister specials, raffles, Absolut cocktails and plenty of guys. Come bid on a date with one of the jocks, 5 – 9 p.m., Oscars Atlanta, 1510 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/ events/368680110317004 Joining Hearts brings back its renowned Change of Seasons event with its This is Me edition, with special guest

Peaches as the Bearded Lady. Attendees can dance to the beats of DJ Eddie Martinez and Atlanta’s own DJ Mike Pope. 8 p.m. – 3 a.m., Heretic Atlanta, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/ events/1669193599855312 For this month’s edition of LEWK, Chicago’s bearded beauty Lucy Stoole will be taking over My Sister’s Room for a night of music, performance and sickening queer energy. The event includes performances from Stoole and Brigitte Bidet, 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., 66 12th St. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.facebook.com/ events/376389319504502 Don’t miss the Queeriety Variety Show: Spring Fling edition tonight. The show will be jam-packed with improvisation, live

CONTINUES ON PAGE 27 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 sketch comedy, stand-up comedy, puppetry and drag performances, complete with all the campy costume changes and set designs you want to see in a fabulous, over-thetop variety show. Tonight’s special guest is Powell Mansfield, 11 p.m. – 12:30 a.m., The Village Theatre, 349 Decatur St. S.E., Atlanta, GA 30312, www.facebook.com/events/590740514622860

SUNDAY, APRIL 29

The 3rd Annual Food Truck festival in Historic Fourth Ward Park hosts food trucks from all over the Southeast, craft beers/cocktails, local arts and crafts and live music. 11 a.m., Atlanta Beltline at Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park, www.facebook.com/ events/926733807491761 Join Atlanta favorites Joe Gauthreaux and Mike Pope today for Sunday Deck Party, a fun afternoon of great music, good food and drinks and lots of fun, rain or shine. 3 – 8:30 p.m., Midtown Tavern, 554 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.facebook.com/ events/1752294158160041

MONDAY, APRIL 30

Join Charis for a very special National Poetry Month Celebration: “From Her to Her to Her: A Matriarchal Poetic Lineage” featuring poets L Marilyn Kallet, Karen Head and Sarah O. Oso, 7:30 – 9 p.m., Charis Books and More, 1189 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.facebook.com/ events/2038582229799718 The Bleux Stockings Society is a monthly live literature show featuring cis/ trans women and non-binary people.

The theme is announced in advance and the pieces that best fit the theme are chosen. Each performer gets 5–7 minutes to read their piece. A portion of the proceeds will go to charity. The theme this month is Identity, 8:30 – 10:30 p.m., Highland Inn & Ballroom Lounge, 644 N. Highland Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30306, www.facebook.com/ events/348792348943702

TUESDAY, MAY 1

Make your lunch break a networking opportunity and connect with business professionals, small business owners and community sponsors to expand your circle of influence and grow your business at Connecting Atlanta, a networking lunch by Metro Atlanta Association of Professionals. Join MAAP at Egg Harbor Café the first Tuesday of every month from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

TUESDAY, MAY 1

The Atlanta Opera’s just-opened version of “Carmen” has a performance tonight at 7:30 p.m., with additional shows on May 4 and May 6, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339, www.atlantaopera.org (Publicity photo) for a networking lunch. The event is limited to 20 participants. Please pre-register by emailing harborlunch@maapatl.org, 1820 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.maapatl.org Spelman College and Out On Film present an encore screening of the documentary “Chavela” — about musician Chavela Vargas — with a Q&A with codirector Daresha Kyi, 6:30 – 9 p.m., Spelman College Science Bldg., Room 134, Atlanta, GA 30314

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2

Enjoy free pool tonight and beats by rotating DJs at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA, 30308

THURSDAY, MAY 3

Building on the activist tradition of consciousness-raising groups, each month Charis Books and More invites community members to join The Personal Is Political: Feminist Vent, to talk about personal issues or societal issues they are trying to deconstruct. The group will use intersectional feminist strategies as tools to talk through these issues. 7:30 – 9 p.m., 1189 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com Out Front Theatre Company opens Del Shores’ cult classic play “Sordid Lives” tonight at 8 p.m., running through

May 20, 999 Brady Ave., Atlanta GA 30318, www.outfronttheatre.com

FRIDAY, MAY 4

The acclaimed, lesbian-themed “Disobedience,” starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, opens in TBD area theaters today.

SATURDAY, MAY 5

Atlanta Prime Timers meets today at 3 p.m., Phillip Rush Center Annex, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.rushcenteratl.org Grab your friends and join the Cinco de Mayo Pub Crawl on the BeltLine, featuring a number of favorite bars and restaurants. Tickets Include: five complimentary Cinco-themed items from partner bars (beer, margarita, taco, chips and guac, etc.), a souvenir Cinco de Mayo Pub Crawl koozie and a map of participating bars with food and drink specials, 12 – 4 p.m., Atlanta Sport and Social Club, 260 Howard St. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30317, www.facebook.com/ events/551514231890976 Have those credit cards ready! For 31 years, HRC Atlanta’s Gala Dinner & Auction has grown to be one of the largest fundraisers in the country for the

CONTINUES ON PAGE 28

EVENT SPOTLIGHT FRIDAY, MAY 4

7 Stages’ “Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again” — written by Alice Birch — finds theatrical exhilaration in a puckish, yet deadly serious meditation on how language molds our experience of sex and gender. It has a way of making you question everything you say when it comes to discussing women and their relationships with men, one another and a world in a state of unending upheaval. 8 p.m. tonight, running through May 13, 1105 Euclid Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.7stages.org (Publicity photo)

April 27, 2018 Best Bets 27

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 Human Rights Campaign. The event, which includes a live and silent auction and black-tie dinner, celebrates excellence in the LGBTQ movement, successes in our pursuit of equality and refocuses us for the fight ahead. The theme for this year’s gala is “Impossible to Ignore.” It reflects the reality that our diverse LGBTQ and ally community is fully engaged in the fight for equality. It places importance on speaking out, being visible, standing up and standing together as we face adversity, hostile legislation and a threatening presidential administration. The theme serves as a reminder that our voices will not fade. 6 p.m. – midnight, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 265 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30303, www.facebook.com/ events/383729522060382

Rundown

SUNDAY, MAY 6

My Sister’s Room presents a day party from 2 – 6 p.m. and then Brigitte Bidet hosts Tossed Salad from 7:30 p.m. – midnight, 66 12th Street, Atlanta, GA 30309, www.mysistersroom.com

MONDAY, MAY 7

Trans and Friends is a youth-focused group for trans people, people questioning their own gender and aspiring allies, providing a facilitated space to discuss gender, relevant resources and activism around social issues. 7 – 8:30 p.m., Charis Books and More, 1189 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

CONTINUES ON PAGE 29

That’s right, Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday this year! Here are the hot spots around town to hit up.

Agave, 242 Boulevard S.E., Atlanta, GA 30312, www.agaverestaurant.com Babalu, 33 Peachtree Place N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.eatbabalu. com/location/atlanta Cactus House, 1020 Piedmont Ave. N.E. B, Atlanta, GA 30309, www.facebook.com/chtacos FROGS Cantina, 931 Monroe Drive,

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

georgia/atlanta

Atlanta, GA 30308, www.frogsmidtown.com La Hacienda, 900 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.facebook. com/lahaciendamidtown Las Margaritas, 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.lasmargaritasmidtown.com Moe’s Southwest Grill, various locations, www.moes.com/find-a-moes/

Pure Taqueria, various locations, www.puretaqueria.com Superica, various locations, www.superica.com Tacos & Tequila, various locations, www.tandtatlanta.com Zocalo, 187 10th St. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.eatzocalo.com

To advertise, contact: sales@thegavoice.com

PUT YOUR BUSINESS IN THE SPOTLIGHT DIRECTORY ADS

$40-$60

The most affordable way to get your business in print.

To advertise, contact: sales@thegavoice.com 28 Best Bets April 27, 2018

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

TUESDAY, MAY 22

It’s likely to be the theater event of the year — “Hamilton” finally opens in the ATL tonight at 7:30 p.m. courtesy of Broadway in Atlanta, running through June 10 at the Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.foxtheatre.org (Publicity photo)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 The PFLAG support group for parents and families of LGBTQ children meets today from 7:30 – 9 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 1605 Interstate 85/Frontage Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, www.uuca.org

TUESDAY, MAY 8

Play Let’s Make a Deal with host Ken tonight from 6 – 10 p.m. at Friends Neighborhood Bar, 736 Ponce de Leon Ave,, Atlanta, GA 30306, www.friendsonponce-atl.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9

Museum of Design Atlanta’s original exhibition, Designing Playful Cities, takes visitors through interactive installations that present a strong case for designing play into urban environments.

This exhibition is on view through May 13, 12 – 6 p.m., 1315 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.museumofdesign.org

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

THURSDAY, MAY 10

SAGE Atlanta’s bi-monthly meetings occur from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, Phillip Rush Center Annex, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.rushcenteratl.org Southern Fried Queer Pride presents TRANS PWR, a music show featuring local Atlanta trans/non-binary musicians across genres. Come out for this all-ages show tonight at The Bakery Atlanta to hear sounds by Monte Qarlo, Løvelace, Yancey Ballard, Haint and Love, doors at 9 p.m., music begins at 9:30 p.m., 825 Warner St. S.E., Atlanta, GA 30310, www.facebook. com/events/438068073299795

UPCOMING FRIDAY, MAY 11

Like great drag, don’t miss Doraku in Drag tonight in Buckhead, 11 p.m. – 2 a.m., Doraku Sushi, 267 East Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta Ga 30305

April 27, 2018 Best Bets 29

STORAGE SPECIALS •Free Truck Rental with Move-In •12 Month Price Guarantee •24-Hour Access •Heated & Cooled Units •Security System •Clean, Well-Lit Facility •Loading Dock 726 Ponce de Leon PL NE Atlanta, GA, 30306

404-913-8977

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

We sell boxes & packing supplies!

By MELISSA CARTER

The worst phone tag partner to have

1 Month Free First Month Free

New Customers. Select Units. Expires 6/30/2018

25% Off

Boxes & Packing Supplies www.morningstarstorage.com

30 Columnists April 27, 2018

Offer Never Expires.

It has been awhile since I had the sense my body was about to take me in an unknown direction. I have had health issues a majority of my life, but had found respite these past few years. However, a recent doctor’s appointment sharpened my focus and made me question all I’ve done since my kidney transplant.

I got a voicemail message late in the day.

By the time I was able to listen to it after work, the woman informed me of my upcoming dermatologist appointment and of the fee I would have to pay if I didn’t cancel the appointment within 24 hours. Realizing I would miss that deadline by calling the next morning, I decided to keep the appointment, despite being new to my job and feeling a little awkward about explaining a partial absence already.

In order to spend more time with my son, I took him with me. I explained to Mr. Carter all that would happen: Mom would take her clothes off and the doctor would look at all the moles. My sweet 3-year-old also told the doctor what exactly she would be doing as she came in, and took it upon himself to be her assistant during the examination.

Charmed, she and I talked about him throughout the examination, which distracted me from seeing what her nurse was doing — handing my doctor two needles and a razor. My dermatologist then swiftly took a mole from my forearm as I tried to keep Mr. Carter from bumping into the equipment while seeing what she was doing. I had never had a mole removed before.

When the next call came from the doctor’s office over a week later, I was unavailable.

When I tried back, they were unavailable to give me the results. This back-and-forth took all day, which gave me ample time to think the worst. Was I about to go through another illness? How would I explain to my son what was going on? And would I be the mother that doesn’t get to see her son grow up?

Regardless of what the answers were, I

“I have never known a completely healthy body and may never have that luxury, but I do know I must attempt all I can to give it the best shot at allowing me to reach my goal of having an adult son.” knew I could handle whatever came my way. I do admit though that icy nervousness coursed through my body until I was finally able to get a nurse on the phone after a few protests.

“It’s categorized benign,” she said. “But there were abnormal cells.”

Nothing to do but watch for further abnormalities and see them next year at my annual appointment.

Obviously relieved, I did hang on to the focus it had provided me that day. I have never known a completely healthy body and may never have that luxury, but I do know I must attempt all I can to give it the best shot at allowing me to reach my goal of having an adult son.

When the time does come for another closed-door meeting with a physician, and the news is the worst possible, I can tell Mr. Carter — at whatever age he may be — that this body hung on as long as it could and I am content with my efforts in helping it to the end.

Melissa Carter is recognized as one of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta and has been heard over the years on B98.5 and Q100 and can currently be heard daily on the Progressive Voices podcast “She Persisted.”

Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCarter. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

By RYAN LEE

Booty call-based interventions The fewer secrets you have, the more people seem willing to give you theirs. An almost reckless candor about my marijuana use and promiscuity has made me a repository for disclosures that people are reticent to make to others, namely their sexual turnons or asking where to get weed.

Whether interviewing someone for a story or building authentic relationships with loved ones, being vulnerable, and creating a space that promotes unguardedness, is a requisite for trust and intimacy. Throughout the years, my favorite compliment to receive from friends, lovers and strangers has been about the comfort they feel in my presence, with no weight of pretense or fear of judgment.

I’ve had friendly acquaintances who never made full disclosures about the struggles they were going through — drug use, homelessness, health problems, etc. — but made clear their appreciation for how our time together allowed them to pause their avatar, catch their breath or simply tune out the chaos outside our company. Rather than trying to diagnose or rescue them, we simply felt the breeze of each other’s exhales.

Despite my comfort in relationships with people whose default existence is turbulence, it remains startling to meet someone with an upbeat aura and see them gradually descend into instability. I was recently smoking a blunt with a longterm hook-up before we commenced the acts that have bonded us for five years, but instead of thinking about sex, I was weighing my obligation to stage an intervention.

Me and this guy had smoked weed, had flings and established an easy rapport over several months before he sent me a text asking if I knew someone with molly.

“Sorry, that’s not my scene,” was my standard response, intended to be equally nonjudgmental and definitive. Our hook-ups continued, and eventually he asked if I had a coke connection.

“Sorry, that’t not my scene,” I said, and repeated again when he later asked if I parwww.thegeorgiavoice.com

770-321-3433

“As someone who celebrates unattached sex, it’s nevertheless important for me to not reduce my partners to soulless flesh for whom I care nothing about outside of an orgasm.” tied, which I always associate with crystal meth without interest in any clarification.

It’s not hard to ignore a random hookup’s personal crisis, but someone doesn’t become a multi-year regular without having an energy that I appreciate and want to affirm.

As someone who celebrates unattached sex, it’s nevertheless important for me to not reduce my partners to soulless flesh for whom I care nothing about outside of an orgasm.

We have hooked up maybe a couple of dozen times over five years, a span in which he has lost his car and job. This was my first time at his apartment, and he mentioned that he would soon be forced to move in with a friend.

“This is my baby KoJo,” he said as he rubbed his dog with lonely affection. I resisted reminding him that was the name he gave me when we first met, and which I thought was his name until that exact moment.

It was humbling to realize how futile it would be to make life suggestions to someone whose name I don’t know, and just as dispiriting to recognize that, like for many gay men, KoJo and a semi-anonymous booty call may be the closest thing he has to a lifeline. Still, I lack the tools or resolve to stage any liaison-based intervention, so we eventually go into his bedroom to make secrets.

“I always enjoy your energy,” I say when I hug him good-bye. “I hope everything settles down for you soon.”

snappyservices.com Snappy Makes Homes Happy!

$75 OFF

ANY SERVICE CALL, NEW & EXISTING CUSTOMERS

•Heating •Attic Insulation •Cooling •Plumbing •Electrical •Energy Audits

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

April 27, 2018 Columnists 31

Your health doesn’t work a 9-5.

WITH US

You can always reach one of our after-hours pharmacists at 888.AvitaRX. With 24/7 pharmacist support, our pharmacists are available to assist with any prescription side-effects or other questions and concerns you may have.

avitapharmacy.com/atl Dekalb Health Pharmacy 1428 Scott Blvd • Decatur, GA Phone: 404-270-9242 Avita Pharmacy is a proud member of the Long’s family of pharmacy solutions.