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georgia VOL.11 • ISSUE 7
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GUEST EDITORIAL
A Day in the Life of Modern Day Racism J.Tebias Perry
“You’re fired!” “I’ve always won, and I’m going to continue to win. And that’s the way it is.” “I’ve always said, ‘If you need Viagra, you’re probably with the wrong girl.’” — Donald J. Trump Photo by Office of Congresswoman Alma S. Adams / WikiCommons
Who have we really become in the “era of Trump?” Better yet, what are we becoming during these tumultuous times? Are we radicalizing our privilege or exercising more racism? There is a noticeable increase in horrific racial violence in this country. These heinous crimes are being committed not only by civilians, but by brutal police as well. In the past, violence and discrimination were present, but they have never saturated our 5 o’clock news as they do now. They are so prevalent, even children can identify it. Offering “thoughts and prayers” and “I’m sorry! I said I was sorry,” do not comfort mothers and fathers of deceased children. It does not wipe away the tears and trauma that amplify the mourning of households, many of which fall below the poverty line. So the question is, “Is a sheep a murderer for killing a wolf who returns to the pastures to feed?” The media has always been and always will be the fastest source of information to share among the masses. When I was growing up in the 1970s, the media were more balanced. The news anchors presented their stories without bias.
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The media now feels free to spin the news openly. The result of that privilege is that
Black Lives Matter mural being painted June 9 on a street in Charlotte, North Carolina.
some consumers accept as true information that is blatantly wrong. Televised racism has transformed into modern day teachings of “how to discriminate against people of color.” It has set the meter to project a feeling of normalcy in the eyes of its viewers.
an incident that is only threatening to your ego reeks of white privilege. It has never been the responsibility of the oppressed to tell the oppressor the mental and social pain they cause. However, the oppressor has always had the ability to rally their colleagues.
What does this acceptance say about us?
Inherent racism is woven into the fibers of our country’s DNA. We must find allies that are the opposite of our melanin. Until we find refuge and are able to cross the tracks safely with mind, body, and soul, “we will surely fail as a nation.” Until we can hold hands and sing, “We Shall Overcome” in harmony, “we will surely fail as a nation.” Until we stop saying that we don’t see race, when innocent black and brown people are being slaughtered, “we will surely fail as a nation.”
An innocent man jogging in his own neighborhood. A 17-year-old boy going home while eating a pack of Skittles. A man outside a convenience store selling cigarettes. A woman pulled over for a traffic stop found dead in her jail cell. A black man reaching for his proof of insurance and license. A man arrested because a white woman called the police. A man killed in his home after a neighbor mistook it for her apartment. A black FedEx carrier blocked from entering an all white subdivision. All these incidents were perpetrated upon people of color. Unless we criminalize these incidents, this privilege will continue for generations. As a result, racism is further perpetuated through copycat offenses. “Getting away with murder” is something that we should always find criminal. Calling the police for
We must invoke a different way of thinking to exemplify the true reason why we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. This column is just a day in the life of modern day racism. Whether you share this sentiment or not, democracy is for all! Tear down those walls of mistrust toward those who look different from you, and accept that “We The People” have the potential to spread love. June 19, 2020 Editorial 3
CELEBRITY CLOSE-UP!
(PHOTOS VIA FACEBOOK)
Celebrity Brief
(THE BLACK LIVES MATTER EDITION)
As Black Lives Matter protests continue on across the country, LGBTQ celebrities are speaking out against police brutality and focusing on creating a better, more inclusive America
“Excited to hear that NYC [and Mayor Bill de Blasio are] proposing cuts to the NYPD. This is a huge step in a fortifying direction for people of color. We need education reform, rehabilitative services, and new infrastructure. Our neighborhoods need to be built up and renewed. So much to do.” —Indya Moore (Twitter)
“Being Black In America should not be a death sentence. I’m tired of typing ‘Rest in Peace,’ I wish Black men could live in peace... This must end.” —Lena Waithe (Twitter)
4 Celebrity Close-Up! June 19, 2020
“I just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever. I don’t think the movement has ever been this powerful. We don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. We need to spread info and be as loud as ever.” —Lil Nas X (Twitter)
“The reallocation of resources and reimagination of what policing looks like in this country is an imperative step in abolishing the legacy of slavery. We cannot afford to be continually oppressed by an institution whose presence was founded upon the enslavement of Black lives.” —-Amandla Stenberg (Instagram)
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NEWS BRIEFS
Trans Man Killed by Police, Trump Admin. Rolls Back on LGBTQ Protections Staff Reports
“While this case involves rejecting LGBTQ families, if the court accepts the claims made in this case, not only will this hurt children in foster care by reducing the number of families to care for them, but anyone who depends on a wide range of government services will be at risk of discrimination based on their sexual orientation, religion or any other characteristic that fails a provider’s religious litmus test,” Cooper said.
Black Transgender Man Tony McDade Killed by Police in Florida 38-year-old Tony McDade was shot and killed by police in Tallahassee, Florida. On May 27, officers were called after a stabbing occurred involving Malik Johnson, who died from his injuries. McDade, the suspect in the stabbing, was seen running away from the scene, and police contended that he was armed with a gun. McDade was reportedly shot five times after waving and pointing a gun at police. However, eyewitnesses contend that the officers involved in the shooting did not warn McDade before firing. “As soon as he pulled up, I seen him jump out of the car, swing the door open, and start shooting,” witness Clifford Butler told a local NPR affiliate. “I never heard ‘get down, freeze, I’m an officer.’ I never heard nothing. I just heard gunshots.” Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell claims that the officer called out, ‘Shots fired,’ before shooting. The officer who shot McDade was not injured and has been placed on administrative leave. “Adequate words do not exist to describe the weight of the pain that accompanies drafting statements to honor Black people who have been murdered as a result of who they are when they show up in the world,” David J. Johns, the executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, said in a statement following McDade’s death. “It especially pains me to acknowledge when police officers who do not have a license to kill are implicated in the murder … We don’t know a lot of the details around Tony’s death, or how police became involved. We do know that Tony should not have been killed.”
Trump Admin. Asks SCOTUS to Legalize Banning Same-sex Couples from Adopting Attorneys from the Trump administration, including U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, signed a brief in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a lawsuit filed by Catholic 6 News Briefs June 19, 2020
Max Elram/Shutterstock.com
President Donald Trump is shown at a campaign rally during the House of Representatives impeachment vote Dec. 18 in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Social Services (CSS) after the city told them they could no longer refuse LGBTQ parents. After finding out that the agency discriminated against LGBTQ people in 2018, the city of Philadelphia suspended its contract with them, citing an ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The city said that it would reinstate the contract if the agency stopped discriminating. CSS responded with the lawsuit, saying the ordinance violated their religious freedom. After a federal judge and the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against CSS, the case is now moving to the Supreme Court, and the Trump administration is siding with CSS. “Governmental action tainted by hostility to religion fails strict scrutiny almost by definition,” the Trump administration’s brief argues. “Adoption of a law in reaction to particular religious conduct may suggest that the government is impermissibly targeting religious exercise, rather than simply targeting a given type of conduct without regard to its religious motivation.” Leslie Cooper, deputy director with the American Civil Liberties Union LGBT & HIV Project, said in a statement if the Trump administration gets its way, the decision would impact more than LGBTQ families.
The ACLU signaled it will respond to the government’s brief in a filing due before the Supreme Court on Aug. 13.
Trump Administration Reverses Transgender Health Protections After more than a year of working towards rolling back Obama-era health care protections, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized a rule that would remove these nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people seeking health care and insurance. “HHS respects the dignity of every human being, and as we have shown in our response to the pandemic, we vigorously protect and enforce the civil rights of all to the fullest extent permitted by our laws as passed by Congress,” said Roger Severino, who directs the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, in written statement announcing that the HHS rule had become final. The rule is set to go into effect by mid-August. The rule allows healthcare providers and insurance companies to deny coverage or care to transgender patients, as well as women who have had abortions, on the grounds of religious freedom. It’s a rollback on an Obamacare provision prohibiting patients from being turned away because of their gender identity or sex. Under the new rule, an insurance company could “charge higher premiums or other fees for those who are LGBTQ [or] cancel or deny coverage,” according to Lindsey Dawson, the associate director of HIV Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
NEWS
Black, Trans Sex Workers Face Police Violence Rose Pelham
Those who are arrested face extremely inhumane conditions, almost always including being placed in a jail, or later, prison, of the wrong gender.
The criminalization of sex work in Georgia endangers the most marginalized in the queer community.
In court, transgender sex workers, particularly those who are black or of color, face higher rates of bias from judges and juries, doubtless contributing to wrongful convictions.
Black, transgender sex workers face criminalization resulting in systematic police harassment all too frequently leading to abuse, arrest, and incarceration.
In prison, transgender sex workers face disproportionate rates of harassment, with 52.6% reporting harassment from correctional staff and more than a quarter reporting physical assault from the people with whom they are imprisoned. A quarter of transgender sex workers report being denied hormone treatments, and more than ten percent face sexual assault from prison officers.
For many transgender women, particularly black transgender women and transgender women of color, discrimination is a major barrier to employment. According to a 2015 study (www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/ Meaningful Work-Full Report_FINAL_3.pdf), “transgender people who lost a job due to anti-transgender bias were almost three times as likely to engage in the sex trade (19.9% vs. 7.7%),” while, “an overwhelming majority (69.3%) of sex workers reported experiencing an adverse job outcome in the traditional workforce because of discrimination.” While sex work is often low-paying, “for many transgender people, the sex trade can offer greater autonomy and financial stability compared to more traditional workplaces, with few barriers to entry,” according to the same study. Of all transgender women surveyed by the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 14.9% reported doing sex work, with 64.3% of transgender sex workers surveyed being either “Black and Black Multiracial” or “People of Color.” Although discrimination in other forms of employment has a clear statistical correlation with who does sex work, it is important to note that people choose to do sex work for diverse reasons, not just necessity. For some, it is a “first-choice job,” even as the societal stigma attached to sex work leads many to assume that it is always an employment of last resort or coercion. Sex worker advocacy organizations, like the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP), stress that it is important to consider “trading sex TheGeorgiaVoice.com
Photo by Sandor Szmutko / Shutterstock.com
A protestor holds up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest June 6 in London.
for money and resources as neither inherently harmful or degrading, [nor] inherently stabilizing or empowering,” according to a PowerPoint presentation (swopusa.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/03/Impacts-of-SESTAon-US-SWs.pdf) on SWOP’s website. In other words, sex work is, precisely, just another type of work. However, under Georgia law, exchanging sexual acts for money is illegal, with sections 16-6-9 through 16-6-12 of the Official Code of Georgia, Annotated (OCGA) criminalizing sex workers, those who hire them, their landlords, and pimps. While sex work itself is considered a misdemeanor in Georgia, those who hire sex workers, or house them, face “high and aggravated” misdemeanor, or, in certain cases, felony charges. By criminalizing and harshly punishing those who hire sex workers, Georgia law seeks to
deter much of their customer base, reducing sex workers’ incomes as well as their ability to vet those who hire them. The ostensible purpose of deterring people from hiring sex workers is to prevent sex trafficking, on the assumption that all sex workers are being trafficked. Since this assumption is untrue, the law results in the endangerment of sex workers as they are forced to take on less reputable clients to make ends meet. At the same time, the criminalization of sex work itself places sex workers in direct danger from the police. It is common to hear stories of police harassment from black, transgender sex workers, even including instances where police demand sex in exchange for not arresting them. There have also been reports of police confiscating condoms from transgender sex workers, fueling disproportionately high rates of HIV transmission.
After prison, the ordeal does not end, but continues with a parole system designed to result in re-arrest and reimprisonment, which scholar Michelle Alexander described via the title of her book on the subject as: “The New Jim Crow.” To add to the bitter irony of criminalizing sex work ostensibly in order to rescue sex trafficking victims, being convicted of any crime, including “prostitution,” results in a de facto ban from all legal forms of work. Considering the fact that white, transgender sex workers constitute just over six percent of all transgender sex workers, it is clear that this system of criminalization and punishment is aimed squarely at the intersection of race and gender based oppression. This is what systematic racism combined with transphobia looks like. Only when black trans lives matter, do trans lives matter. For this article, Georgia Voice corresponded with the Chapter Coordinator of the Sex Workers Outreach Project, but was unable to schedule an interview as of the time of writing. June 19, 2020 News 7
NEWS
Discussions on Queer Incarceration, Protests Georgia Voice interviews Susan Stryker on transgender incarceration, the movement against racism and police violence Rose Pelham The following questions were emailed to Susan Stryker, an American professor, author, filmmaker, and theorist whose work focuses on gender and human sexuality, on the day of George Floyd’s murder. Her responses reflect the subsequent international protest movement against police violence and systemic racism. The interview has been edited for length. In Transgender History you write about how being LGBTQ has been criminalized in the past. Could you write about how that history of criminalization effects queer people today? It’s important to recognize a few things here: first, that the law only gets you so far. Some of the most important anti-trans actions are extrajudicial; they take place outside the scope of law, and are not remedied by law. Second, the very logic of legal, bureaucratic, administrative, or institutional forms of power can be hostile to trans people, and are not going to save us. Policing and incarceration are not solutions for injustices, but problems that cause injustice for trans people. Finally, what laws do exist that offer limited legal protections for trans people are unevenly distributed, both by jurisdiction and demographics. There are very few federal level protections, and they are actively being eroded. It’s far easier for white trans people to be able to claim the protection of the law, than for people of color, particularly black and indigenous people, to do so. The history of criminalization still affects trans and queer people today because it’s not history—it’s still our present. How does the continued criminalization of prostitution uniquely effect transgender people, and particularly those of color? Trans women, especially trans women of color, face so many barriers to “normal life”— familial rejection, housing and employment discrimination, loss or lack of educational 8 News June 19, 2020
Courtesy photo
Susan Stryker is an American professor, author, filmmaker, and theorist whose work focuses on gender and human sexuality.
opportunity, heightened vulnerability to policing and incarceration, that they disproportionately wind up in sex work. One of the most important societal changes that could immeasurably improve the quality of life for trans women of color would be to decriminalize prostitution, and to provide support for either doing that work safely or creating pathways towards other kinds of work. We often take for granted that transgender people will be sent to the wrong gender of prison. Why is the practice so commonplace, and what kinds of violence does it engender? I think there are two or three different levels of explanation here. Prisons as social institutions replicate socially dominant ways of understanding sex/gender. We live in a society that believes our personhood in this regard is fundamentally determined by our genitals. Second, it’s important to remember that prisons are designed for punishment. How trans people’s gender expression and identity are undermined in prison is part of this overarching punitive intention. Third, I think it can express an unconscious (or sometimes conscious) sadism that imagines incarcerated trans people as targets for
acting out one’s fantasies of domination and control. Sickness plus misguided intent plus uninterrogated social norms all add up to a hegemonic form of oppression and violence that lands very heavily on trans people in prison. It is truly a form of “cruel and unusual punishment” that should be abolished. Do you think being transgender inherently challenges hetero-/cis-normative legal structures? Yes. Even for trans people who have binary identities and are cis-passing, I think being trans fundamentally challenges the cultural assumption that there is anything fixed, natural, or inevitable about our sex/gender classifications. We represent a difficult problem for the routine administrative practices of the state. You have extensively covered historical uprisings, like the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot. What, in your opinion, is the best modern example of transgender people organizing to oppose legal discrimination in policing and the justice system? I can think of no better example than the moment in which we live right now: the participation of trans people in social
“Trans women, especially trans women of color, face so many barriers to “normal life”—familial rejection, housing and employment discrimination, loss or lack of educational opportunity, heightened vulnerability to policing and incarceration, that they disproportionately wind up in sex work.” – Susan Stryker movements for racial justice, particularly black liberation, and calls to abolish the police and the prison-industrial complex. I’m very inspired by what’s happening in Minneapolis, with elected officials promising to defund the police, and in Seattle, where protestors have set up an “autonomous zone” to begin imagining together what a free and just society can look like. It’s highly likely that later this month the Supreme Court is going to rule that trans people are not protected from discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It will be interesting to see if that formal denial of rights will open up a new front in the justice-struggles we see unfolding all around us right now. It could provide an opportunity for an even more deeply intersectional politics aimed at the transformation of the “bio-centric” modern world order, which imagines our flesh as an unalterable anchor for our social positionality and arguably emerged from the transatlantic slave trade. Transness is ultimately the promise that flesh can come to signify otherwise, and that the meanings attached to our bodies can change. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
NEWS
So, You Want to Be a Better White Ally SONG talks white-on-white organizing, accountability, and risk-taking Katie Burkholder As protests have erupted across the nation against police brutality, many white people are coming to the sobering realization that simply not being racist is not enough. In a world ruled by white supremacy, we as white people are having to reevaluate: How can we help after centuries of hurting? It’s a task as daunting as it is necessary, but organizations like Southerners on New Ground (SONG) are tackling it. Jade Brooks, the Regional Organizing Lead for SONG, talked to Georgia Voice about the work they’re doing to mobilize white members and the ways white people can become better, more effective allies to the movement for black lives. Over the course of this summer, SONG will host a “Race Traitors” series, the goal of which is to bring Southern, antiracist white members together to build connection and relationship while focusing skills and strategy to follow the leadership of black people. “We see this Race Traitor series as just a flanking to the black-led work that SONG is moving, particularly in collaboration with the movement for black lives,” Brooks said. “We want to give people real, tangible actions to take during this time; sometimes, as whites, we really spin out.” One of the central tenets of the series and of SONG overall is maintaining accountability, something that Brooks says is necessary to practicing antiracism. “We know that combating internalized white supremacy and the sickness of racism inside ourselves as white people is a lifelong journey,” she said. “So, we hold on to this notion of getting yourself an “accountabilibuddy:” somebody who’s going to hold you accountable to the ways you’re trying to grow in your antiracist organizing so it’s not always on black people and people of color TheGeorgiaVoice.com
Photo courtesy of SONG
Members of Southerners on New Ground (SONG) converse during a meeting.
to call us out or give us feedback.” Accountability means recognizing and challenging your own white supremacy, which often manifests in ways that can be unintentionally insidious. In 2015, SONG released a guide regarding the role of white people in the antiracism movement. The guide discusses racist tendencies that can prevent or inhibit organizing, which include (but are not limited to): martyrdom, condescension, gatekeeping, tokenism, entitlement, fragility, and self-obsession. This internal allyship is best matched with external action, which is where many white allies can become overwhelmed. According to Brooks, the best way for newbie organizers to get involved is to simply lend your labor to black-led organizations, even just to mop floors. “Too often we think, ‘Okay, the first step is to read every book that’s been written or listen to every podcast that’s ever been recorded.’ That’s always important to strengthen our analysis, but we also believe in practice. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. The call is
very clear right now: defund the police. Look for organizations in your community working to defund the police and see how you can support.” While SONG is a great organization to support, Brooks also suggests Close the Jail ATL, Women on the Rise, and Just Georgia as activism launch pads. Allyship is no easy feat: to be effective, it’s going to be risky. “We need to be feeling the discomfort and tummy clench of moving outside of our comfort zones in our vocal resistance to racism in every community conversation we’re in,” Brooks said. “If we’re not feeling that discomfort, then we’re not doing enough … I wish we were seeing more white people taking risks right now: putting our bodies on the line in the streets (for those of us who are able, obviously) and having difficult and necessary conversations with our kin—both our right-wing kin and our Amy Cooper-style liberal white lady kin who think they’re doing everything right.” These kinds of awkward, difficult conversations with family are what will
make the difference come November. “[We] … need to go get our families and move them to vote,” Brooks said. “We’re facing an election that has tremendous impact across so many of our communities, particularly black, undocumented, and poor people. We need to be having the conversations necessary to move more white people to be pro-racial justice than we’ve seen in the last … well, ever!” If we’re going to see the real, systematic change necessary to protect the lives of black people and other marginalized groups, we as white people need to take on some of the responsibility; it should not be on only black people to care about black lives. While we must self-critique, follow the clear direction of black community leaders, and, as Brooks says, “never think that any of us have got it figured it out,” we have the power to organize our fellow white people toward the goal of social, racial justice. To get involved with and learn more about SONG, visit southernersonnewground.org. June 19, 2020 News 9
NATIONAL NEWS
Photo by bakdc / Shutterstock.com
People protest at a rally for LGBTQ rights outside Supreme Court on Oct. 18, 2019 in Washington D.C.
HISTORIC: Supreme Court Rules Firing Workers for Being LGBTQ is Illegal Chris Johnson Washington Blade In a historic development, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that existing federal law bars discrimination against workers for being LGBTQ, affirming long-sought federal protections for LGBTQ people in the workplace. The 6-3 decision, written by U.S. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, determines antiLGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, thus prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” Gorsuch writes. “Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the 10 National News June 19, 2020
decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.” Joining Gorsuch in the majority was U.S Chief Justice John Roberts as well as U.S. Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer. Dissenting were U.S. Associate Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. The ruling doesn’t merely uphold the status quo, despite the widespread misconception anti-LGBTQ discrimination is already illegal. For the 29 states that lack state laws banning anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the workforce, the ruling affirms discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace is now illegal in those places and nationwide. The decision was issued in three consolidated
cases, Bostock v. Clayton County and Zarda v. Altitude Express, which sought to clarify whether anti-gay discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, and Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, which sought to clarify whether anti-trans discrimination was sex discrimination. The transgender worker in the Harris case, Aimee Stephens, a funeral home director, passed away last month before she could learn of the decision to come from the Supreme Court. The gay worker in the Zarda case, Donald Zarda, a skydiver, had passed away before his case reached the Supreme Court. The gay worker in the Bostock case, Gerald Bostock, is still living. In each of these cases, LGBTQ workers argued they were unlawfully fired because of their sexual orientation, but the employers argued that was perfectly legal because no
federal law explicitly bans anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Although employers argued before the Supreme Court Congress didn’t intend to include LGBTQ people when it enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Gorsuch throws cold water on that argument. “The employers assert ‘no one’ in 1964 or for some time after would have anticipated today’s result,” Gorsuch writes. “But is that really true? Not long after the law’s passage, gay and transgender employees began filing Title VII complaints, so at least some people foresaw this potential application.” Gorsuch cites several cases establishing precedent on the scope of Title VII to reach the conclusion it bars anti-LGBTQ discrimination. CONTINUES ON PAGE 11 TheGeorgiaVoice.com
NATIONAL NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
“The Supreme Court decision today provides important clarity for both workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace,” SmithBrown said. “We are reviewing the decision to determine how it will impact EEOC’s enforcement of Title VII.”
Among them is the 1998 decision in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.—a decision written by the late U.S. Associate Justice Antonia Scalia that determined sexual harassment from same-sex workers amounts to sex discrimination under the law.
In theory, the ruling should apply to laws other than Title VII banning discrimination on the basis of sex in the workforce, including the Fair Housing Act, the Affordable Care Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1964. That would mean LGBTQ people now have federal protections not only in employment, but also in housing, health care and school systems.
Kavanaugh, who elected to write his own dissent, said justices are overriding the scope of Title VII by interpreting it to prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination. “In the face of the unsuccessful legislative efforts (so far) to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, judges may not rewrite the law simply because of their own policy views,” Kavanaugh writes. “Judges may not update the law merely because they think that Congress does not have the votes or the fortitude. Judges may not predictively amend the law just because they believe that Congress is likely to do it soon anyway.” Alito, in a dissent joined by Thomas, takes to Webster’s Dictionary to dispute the meaning of “sex” includes LGBTQ people, then forecast dire consequences for the Supreme Court reading too much into Title VII. “Although the Court does not want to think about the consequences of its decision, we will not be able to avoid those issues for long,” Alito writes. “The entire Federal Judiciary will be mired for years in disputes about the reach of the Court’s reasoning.” LGBTQ rights advocates, many of whom had been fighting for decades to win LGBTQ non-discrimination protections at the federal level, hailed the Supreme Court ruling as a historic milestone. Tico Almeida, an attorney at WilmerHale who represented more than 200 businesses— including Apple, Facebook, Google, Univision, and Warner Media—in an amicus brief supporting the LGBTQ workers, said the decision “affirms the legal protections that give LGBTQ Americans the freedom to work without discrimination.” “The major businesses that signed our proLGBTQ amicus brief to the Supreme Court employ millions of workers, comprise over $5 trillion in revenue, and share a common TheGeorgiaVoice.com
Photo by Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
The current Roberts Court justices (since October 2018): Front row (left to right): Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Samuel Alito. Back row (left to right): Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Brett Kavanaugh.
interest in equality because they know that ending discrimination in the workplace is good for the U.S. economy as a whole,” Almeida said. In terms of federal law, the decision dramatically expands civil rights protections by assuring Title VII prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people. Only two federal judicial circuits—the Second and the Seventh—had previously determined anti-gay discrimination is sex discrimination. The idea anti-trans discrimination is a form of sex discrimination is more established in the U.S. jurisprudence, but the Supreme Court ruling now guarantees those protections nationwide. Shannon Minter, a transgender civil rights attorney and legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the ruling comes at an appropriate time for the nation. “This is a huge victory not just for LGBTQ people, but for our country, which benefits enormously when LGBTQ people are permitted to participate and contribute on equal terms,” Minter said. “Today’s decision will be remembered as a watershed in the history of LGBTQ rights, even as our country continues to grapple with the
brutal legacy of racism.” The Trump administration, through U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, argued before justices firing workers for being LGBTQ is permitted under Title VII. It remains be to seen how the Trump administration will implement the decision now that the court has ruled the other way. The White House and Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to the Washington Blade’s request for comment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. agency charged with enforcing federal workplace laws, had been accepting charges from LGBTQ people alleging discrimination in the workforce under Title VII. Although that practice during the Trump administration was in question before the Supreme Court decision, accepting and pursuing those LGBTQ charges will likely continue uncontested in the aftermath of the ruling. Kimberly Smith-Brown, a spokesperson for the EEOC, said the Supreme Court decision is important, but the agency is still reviewing its scope.
Because no federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in public accommodations or federal programs, the ruling does nothing for LGBTQ protections in those areas. As an example, Colorado baker Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who refused to make a custom-made wedding cake for a same-sex couple and narrowly won a previous case before the Supreme Court, would still be able refuse to service to LGBTQ people under this latest ruling. For most cases, the ruling should put to rest fears that led to the adage of LGBTQ people being married on one day and fired the next, but a series of other cases accepted by the Supreme Court may soon undermine the Title VII decision if the rulings come out against LGBTQ people. Last month, the court heard arguments in the cases of Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, Agnes and St. James School v. Darryl Biel. In those cases, Catholic schools are seeking a wider religious exemption under federal law to discriminate in hiring. If the court rules in favor of the schools, it would allow them to refuse to hire or fire LGBTQ teachers over religious objections. The Supreme Court has also agreed to take up the case of Fulton v. Philadelphia in which Catholic adoption agencies are seeking a First Amendment right to refuse child placement into LGBTQ homes. A ruling in favor of Catholic Social Services could undercut the Supreme Court’s ruling the Title VII cases. June 19, 2020 National News 11
NATIONAL NEWS
OK, You’ve Marched In the Street. Now What? Jasmyne A. Cannick Washington Blade
to every generation of Black people since the first one of us was pushed off the ship that brought us here.
As a Black woman, I get it—the collective anger and rage after watching the killing of yet another Black man by the police. I, too, have witnessed how the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has touched off a new firestorm of protests against police killings of Black people around America. But when this round is all said and done with, when everyone has gone home, when the media has stopped their over-sensationalized tonedeaf coverage—what are we left with? A week—maybe two—before we wash, rinse, and repeat the cycle with a new video, a new dead Black body at the hands of the police and a new name to mourn. In 2020, it’s not enough for police chiefs to fire the police officers involved in these egregious situations. This generation is no longer pacified by lip service. What we demand is that those police officers who recklessly and with no regard for human life kill Black and brown people face the same criminal charges any civilian would in the same situation. But the reality is, protesting will only get us so far. To effectuate any kind of long-lasting change in this country when it relates to human and civil rights it has almost always required one of two things—a court ruling or legislation. Facts. There are serious conflicts of interest at the heart of our criminal justice system. The solution? From state to state, county to county, it’s time to remove the decision on whether or not to prosecute police officers involved in disputed police killings out of the district attorney’s office once and for all and create an independent prosecutor’s office. Independent prosecutors don’t take money from police unions and should not be appointed by people who do or anyone who is elected for that matter. Now granted, even with an independent prosecutor’s office, not all force is going to be 12 National News June 19, 2020
Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results. Complaining does not work as a strategy. If the prosecution of police officers is truly what the protesters want, then it’s time to get out of the street and participate in civic engagement and change the law.
Courtesy photo
Jasmyne A. Cannick is a political strategist, journalist, and media commentator in Los Angeles.
deemed excessive, and not all fatal shootings are going to dictate criminal charges be filed against the officer involved. But with the removal of any conflict of interest, the public can have faith in the process and an unbiased investigation. That doesn’t exist currently. As long as prosecutors, elected sheriffs, local and state lawmakers—both Democrats and Republicans—are the recipients of obscene amounts of money from police unions, they will continue to be reluctant to push for any meaningful change when it comes to prosecuting police officers. In Los Angeles, police unions have donated over $2.2 million to help re-elect the current district attorney Jackie Lacey. The Los Angeles police union alone chipped in over $1 million dollars. (Full disclosure: I used to work for a police union.) Lacey, who oversees the largest prosecutor’s office in the U.S., has been under fire for her eight-year record of failing to prosecute
police officers involved in controversial fatal shootings and excessive use of force cases. And that’s just the district attorney. Police unions have their tentacles spread far and wide. From city hall to the legislature in every state—it’s the reason why lawmakers do very little other than pay lip service and create powerless commissions in response to the cries for justice from their constituents. There are only one of two ways we’re going to get independent prosecutors—legislation to create and fund the office in each state or direct democracy. But it’s up to the people to fight for what they want to happen. As a political strategist, I’m all about the end game—how do we make long-term change after the protests so that future generations don’t have to pick up this mantle of fighting police brutality and killings? This fight against police accountability—whether it be the sheriff, constable, watchmen, slave patrol, or slave overseer—has been a burden
It’s time to either vote the people out of office who won’t take on the police unions or circumvent them altogether and take it straight to the ballot. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy—but then again neither is watching police officers who commit blatant murder walk away and retire from the job with their pension intact. Some of the politicians who take the police union’s money are our friends, people we voted for—African American themselves. It’s time to get off the fence. Consider this, it’s been 50 years of marching, chanting, and protesting and we’re still fighting the same fight. Believe me when I tell you that the police unions are counting on y’all to stay out in the streets protesting. At the end of the day, all of those protests are helping their members make out like fat cats from the overtime they’re being paid. Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill once said, “See fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need. And I just retired from the fantasy part.” If the same people in the streets of America protesting over George Floyd’s death put their money where their mouth is, pooled their resources, and showed up on Election Day, they could have had the change they’re calling for. Jasmyne A. Cannick is a political strategist, journalist, and media commentator in Los Angeles. Find her online at iamjasmyne.com. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
YOUR VOICE
Remembering Stonewall in the Midst of a New Revolution Mark Segal Publisher of Philadelphia Gay News
self-identity, and community. Part of our movement was to work with others seeking social justice, so we marched with women, Latinos and African Americans. We worked with the Young Lords and Black Panthers. The women of GLF were part of the women’s movement, and many were leaders there.
As someone who participated in the Stonewall riots back in June 1969, many people have been asking me the similarities between that event and the events, civil unrest and demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd. They want to know if the two events—and the people pushing for change—share a connecting factor. In May of 1969, when I was 18 years old, I moved to New York to escape a closeted life of lies. I quickly realized that we LGBTQ people were invisible in the media, business, entertainment, and most areas of life. We were thought of as immoral by all religions, illegal by the police, and mentally ill by the medical profession. And as I noticed almost instantly, we were treated as inhuman, dominated, and controlled by police. I would find out the extent to which we were dominated very shortly. When the police burst into Stonewall that night in June, I witnessed police violence against our community for the first time. Not just intimidation, not just verbal abuse, but true physical assault. The lights blinked inside the bar, and soon after the doors bursted open. Police took people, who had been peacefully enjoying their drinks, and slammed them up against the walls. They did this simply because they knew they could, and nobody would stop them. It was their right to attack us because they believed we deserved it. Nobody thought we as LGBTQ people had any worth in society. No authority would be on our side. We were let out of the bar one by one. But rather than run home, many of us chose to stay. I stood across the street from the bar. Eventually, there were more of us outside the bar than the police who were trapped inside. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
For people who were literally illegal in New York at that time, we took back our streets. We advertised our meetings and dared the police to break them up. For the first time a drag queen could walk down Christopher Street and not be arrested, and they were welcomed as part of this new movement of inclusion and diversity, where in the past our own community had shunned them.
Photo courtesy of Mark Segal
LGBTQ people march during the first Pride on June 28, 1970 in New York City.
Almost spontaneously we began to throw anything we had at the doors. The police had lost control because we refused to allow them to attack us anymore.
community. What about us? In the middle of that revelation, a man named Marty Robinson handed a piece of chalk and told to write on the walls and streets, “Tomorrow night Stonewall.”
Like the black community, we witnessed hate, disregard, and a police force who wanted to dominate and control us. Like today, the Stonewall Riots were made up of young people my age, street kids, trans people, people of color, and women. Society and even parts of our own community had already abandoned us. We didn’t have good jobs that we were afraid of losing. We had only our lives and our dignity to protect. We were the ones that had nothing to lose.
And we did meet a second night, and a third, and from the ashes of Stonewall Gay Liberation Front was created. From our anger we found a group that made sure nobody would forget what happened at Stonewall and nobody would forget how we’d been treated by the police. A movement was created, the first LGBTQ movement that was willing to fight back and not just plead for our rights. We were out, loud, and in your face.
Sometime in the middle of all the ruckus, I stood there and thought: this is 1969. Black people were fighting for their rights, so was the Latino community and women’s
In the following nights we were the ones who dominated the streets. We were the ones who defied the police to stop us. We had found in ourselves real radical organization,
We protested and created incidents, some of us were beaten, others arrested, but we never gave up. When anyone got arrested, we demonstrated the next day outside the police station. The similarities are obvious between Stonewall and the protests today. Violence once seen as normal in all its ugliness became unacceptable. A dominating police force would no longer be tolerated. The idea that this cannot keep happening led to civil unrest and created a movement for change. We are at a pivotal time in history, a time of powerful change. We need to embrace the moment and help it spread. We need to be proudly on the front lines. We can’t be afraid of being arrested. Many of us in 1969 wore our arrests as a badge of honor. After all, our country was born from a revolution. Those who fought to create this country are known as Patriots. And the people fighting for change today, the people taking to the streets and demanding that these injustices happen no more, they are Patriots too. June 19, 2020 Your Voice 13
YOUR VOICE
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photo via WikiCommons
Sharing Black Lives Matter Stories J. Tebias Perry/Demarcus Austin The movement of black lives matter has shined a bright light on racial inequity and police brutality in America. J. Tebias Perry (founder) and Demarcus Austin have decided to spotlight countless individuals who chose to share their experiences with peaceful protesting, riots and looting around the country. The range of diverse stories will give you some insight to the movement; present and past. They have teamed up with Georgia Voice to spread their stories to further share their recaps. Robbie Poindexter My Name is Robbie Poindexter and this is my Black Lives Matter story. Growing up in Mississippi, I dealt with racism. We shouldn’t be treated any 14 Black Lives Matter June 19, 2020
differently because of our skin color. It’s sad a black life had to be taken to drive home the reality that racism is still alive and well. Too many innocent black lives have been lost at the hands of racism. I will continue to peacefully protest until we get justice for the black lives we lost. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” Alexis Mathis My Name is Alexis Mathis and this is my Black Lives Matter story. “Southern trees bear a strange fruit. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root. Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” This song, called “Strange Fruit,” was written in protest of the lynching and murder of black Americans. Over eighty years later, we are still singing the song. Why? Why have we
been protesting and crying over blood shed for centuries as Americans? Since before the United States was free from British rule, blacks have always been portrayed as villains, criminals, test subjects, and animals, even in fighting for our freedom to be American. Black Americans were used by force for testing drugs and medical procedures, because it was believed that blacks could not feel pain. Black Americans were also bred, the same way as dogs, to create the strongest and best slaves. For over 400 years, we have been protesting in a system that was solely created for straight, white, free men. Protesting has led to laws that protect those who have murdered, tortured, and abused. We need to create a new system of government. The solution will have to be transformative. I dedicate this to my brothers and sisters that have had complete generations wipedout due to the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge era, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the
Communist invasion in Tibet, Native American Massacre of 1622, Gasoline Baths of Mexicans, the Stolen Generations of Australia, and the Cuban Revolution; slaves who were breeders; slaves who were used for medical experimentation; and the political prisoners who will never see the light of day because they refused to believe in the American political system. Master Eli My Name is Master Eli and this is my Black Lives Matter story. The Black Lives Matter movement is so personal to me and all who are black. As a person of direct Jamaican decent, I feel privileged to be a part of this empowerment movement in America. I truly understand the Black Panthers’ position in America. I take pride in showing up and showing out for CONTINUES ON PAGE 15 TheGeorgiaVoice.com
YOUR VOICE
“Southern trees bear a strange fruit. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root. Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze. Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” —Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit” Photo via WikiCommons
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14
I behave, who I listen to, and why.
the mission of empowering blackness in the streets.
Since that day, I have made a commitment to learning the history of black people, understanding how the system was built on their backs, and keeps them down, unable to breathe. I am far from perfect. I continue to learn and try to do just a little bit better every day.
Nick Fuentes My Name is Nick Fuentes and this is my Black Lives Matter story. I was playing roller derby with the Atlanta Rollergirls, surrounded by some of the most badass black women on earth. At the same time, a member of of my chosen family was a white police officer. One game day, after yet another brutal action by the police, a white teammate showed up at a game wearing a Black Lives Matter (BLM) shirt, and I was in attendance with my cop friend. The cop started saying BLM is a terroristic group designed to kill cops. I knew this was not true, but I said nothing; He had taken care of me during one of the darkest periods of my life. He was “one of the good ones,” I thought. But after speaking with one of my black peers, I went back to my cop friend. I told him we weren’t going to talk about BLM anymore that day. I went home and sat in the hard emotions about how I think, how TheGeorgiaVoice.com
Tony Feliciano My Name is Tony Feliciano and this is my Black Lives Matter story. I have three African sons, so I will protest via advocacy for human rights, especially for the rights of my people until the day I die, even if I have to stand alone. The Creator has placed a mandate on me to oppose the spirit of racism, and I will do so unapologetically, because black lives—our lives—matter! Rick Gore My Name is Rick Gore and this is my Black Lives Matter story. No matter what laws are enacted or resolutions passed, there will always be people who hate gay
folks. And obviously the same holds true for black people. Only God can change those hearts. In the meantime, we still need to love those different from us, vote for the right people and work to pass laws that protect the life and dignity of all people. There are no quick solutions.
do my part in making sure everyone feels equal, safe, and loved regardless of race. We all deserve that; we all deserve to live in peace, love, solidarity. I’m not only with my son, I’m with you. I will not stop fighting until racism is no longer an issue in this country!
Ronald Ballenger My Name is Ronald Ballenger and this is my Black Lives Matter story.
Tobias Jackson Campbell My Name is Tobias Jackson Campbell and this is my Black Lives Matter story.
I’m a 53-year-old Caucasian man that lives in Atlanta. As a single father of a bi-racial child, I recall at an early age when he came to me and asked, “Daddy, being mixed, what race do I belong to?” My response to him, “The human race!” I’ve had to sit and teach him about racial injustice from an early age, and how he will be judged solely on the color of his skin. That caused great pain for me. I worry, I struggle, and I lean on my faith to protect him when he’s not in my sight. As I have raised him to think we are all equal in God’s eyes, somehow the world reminds me that he’s not as equal as I am. I want him to feel as safe as I do in my house as well as outside the house. My son should be safe regardless. As long as I’m breathing I will
This marching, this movement, this moment in American history is different. We assure you of that. We are what our parents told us we could be. Our parents told us, “The sky is the limit.” The marching, the protesting, the desegregation of schools, fighting for legislation such as the Voting Rights Act, all of their actions to form a more just and inclusive union, making the American dream more tangible for black and brown citizens everywhere. We are the generation of black people that was told nothing could stop us, not racism, not sexism, not classism. The marching and protesting will not stop until this government understands the meaning of “no justice no CONTINUES ON PAGE 16 June 19, 2020 Black Lives Matter 15
YOUR VOICE
“America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 peace,” until this society sees the black race as equal, until tangible policies are put in place to protect our lives. America has had to face the brutal truth— that what black people have been saying for years about police officers is true—by video. The video of George Floyd being pinned down for eight minutes and 46 seconds was watched by the world, who saw the glaringly smug expression on the officer’s face. For those nine minutes, they had to feel our pain, they had to acknowledge their lack of care for our pain for centuries, they had to admit that there was a problem in America when it comes to raising up the black experience and the systematic system that keeps holding back the black race. This moment in American history, with protesting and marching, is necessary. The only thing we are asking America to do is to live up to your founding principles, that all people are created equal with a right to the pursuit of happiness. We will get there. We will. We ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around. “America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” —Martin Luther King, Jr. 16 Black Lives Matter June 19, 2020
Eric Rutherford My Name is Eric Rutherford and this is my Black Lives Matter story.
do you feel needs to be done? Too many people are allowing this to become political, but it’s not; it’s human. Let’s work together for change. We can’t inspire change until we come together.
My thoughts on the BLM Movement is simple. It’s about black lives and the years of injustice still lives. All lives matters to me, and no other race should be placed before another one. However, being an African American, I’m usually the one unrecognized, overlooked, unappreciated and targeted by those who feel superior to myself and others like me. At some point we have to come together to recognize the injustices we’ve endured for many years. We need ALL lives to push our movement, so if ALL lives matter to you, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Pat Ferguson My Name is Pat Ferguson and this is my Black Lives Matter story.
Anita Dodd My Name is Anita Dodd and this is my Black Lives Matter story. I am a conservative. I’m 60 years old, and I have seen many changes in our country. Asked how I feel about the BLM movement, I say that I support people of color. I personally want to see change. I want to be a part of the change. My question is simple: What can I do to help change occur? What
The horrific and inhumane image of George Floyd lying face down, hands bound behind his back, begging, pleading for his life until he had no more breath to beg with, and using the last of it to cry out for his Mother, shook me to my core. I was traumatized beyond my own comprehension at first. Then it began to sink in: this trauma is 61 years old for me and 336 years old for African Americans. What was I seeing with my own eyes? I could only watch a few seconds. As my mind began to comprehend what my eyes were seeing, I realized that I couldn’t breathe either. I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t breathe, I stopped breathing. I was watching a human being die. Not a movie, not a dream; in real life, a cop put his full weight on a man’s neck until he stopped living. I was watching a snuff film. I saw the last few seconds of the eight minutes and 46 seconds that the policeman casually applied his full body weight of 200 plus
Photo via WikiCommons
pounds. I saw, with renewed and complete horror, that Mr. Floyd was dead. He was gray, eyes bulging, not breathing, still. In the street, still under that cop’s knee, he was dead. For 61 years, I have looked away, ignored, walked through the trauma that is the state of my existence. I cannot this time. Being traumatized as a people had become accepted by black folk, by me, and by the world at large, but as it turns out, black folk, me and the world just can’t accept it anymore. The world has asked me to keep going despite America’s vile history of slavery and centuries of racism that follows us into 2020. The world has asked me to ignore years of torture, rape, family separation, the emasculation of our men, beatings, hangings, stereotyping, the denigration of black womanhood … the list of dehumanization goes on and on. The world has asked me to look away from disproportionately imprisoned Black men, subpar schools for my son, health disadvantages, joblessness, unfair hiring and promotion practices, unequal pay and incentives, overpolicing, and police brutality against my people. We’ve played by rules that were never designed for us to even be in the game. When we made our own rules, they were burned to the ground, infiltrated, and destroyed. There is a punishment and price for not accepting America’s trauma and marginalization. I am struggling, and you need to know that others may be as well. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
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June 19, 2020 Ads 17
JIM FARMER ACTING OUT
Gay Themed “Love, Victor” Bows on Hulu Series is a spin-off of beloved film “Love, Simon” As Brian Tanen awaited word on whether or not his series, “Grand Hotel,” would be renewed, he got an offer he eventually knew he had to leap at—being a coshowrunner and executive producer of the new series, “Love, Victor.” “I hesitated for half a beat because I had another commitment that I wasn’t sure was going forward and I had just come off a grueling year,” he says. “Yet I knew in my heart that I loved the movie so much and the opportunity to be part of a show that had a gay teen protagonist at the center was something I did not want to pass up.” In the new series, a spin-off of 2018’s “Love, Simon,” Victor Salazar (Michael Cimino) is a new student at Creekwood High School in Atlanta who is struggling with his sexual orientation. He thinks he may be attracted to other guys, but soon begins dating popular Mia (Rachel Hilson). Aware of what Simon dealt with earlier, Victor reaches out to the older Simon— now in New York—for some advice. From the very start, Tanen and creators Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger knew that this series was going to tell a different story from the film. “’Love, Simon’ was wonderful but is a somewhat idealized coming out story wrapped up in a nice little bow after two hours,” he says. “I thought there was an opportunity to tell a story over time in multiple episodes that was more nuanced and had greater amounts of conflict and difficulties for this character and his journey. We felt a good first season was a character who—like many people growing up young and LGBQ—was in the first step of identifying and coming to terms with it 18 Columnist June 19, 2020
Publicity photo courtesy of Hulu
From left: Michael Cimino (Victor) and George Sear (Benji) star in Hulu’s new series, “Love, Victor.”
and being proud of it.” Tanen is gay, as are other members of the writing team. It was important for them to make Victor’s journey feel real. “When you are a young person struggling with these issues one of your biggest fears is creating problems for your family and not being the golden kid anymore that you might have been in your youth. Having a family that is going through something felt like a good backdrop.” Victor’s parents Armando (James Martinez) and Isabel (Ana Ortiz) have recently moved from Texas to Atlanta, and as the series progresses, some of their marital issues come to the surface. Nick Robinson, who played the titular character in “Love, Simon,” is a producer of the series. “We knew from the beginning that we wanted Nick to be part of the show and I think it’s genius the way Isaac and Elizabeth connected the world of the TV show to the film,” says Tanen. “Victor feels like he has
no one else. Simon helps Victor through his problems with encouraging narration.” In the writers’ room, the relationship between Victor and Simon was special. “For a lot of young LGBTQ people, you feel a little bit alone when you are going through this journey and along the way you meet people who have gone through this experience before you and you develop relationships that feel very close to mentorships in a way,” says Tanen. “That is something we try and convey—this idea that it can feel lonely but once you get to the other side and you come out there is a community of people who become almost instant family. The relationship between Victor and Simon felt authentic.” Tanen himself didn’t know many gay people growing up in South Florida. He had a liberal family, but didn’t see much LGBTQ representation on TV or in film. “It hasn’t been until recently that gay characters are prominent on TV and film. It wasn’t until
college that I began interacting with other openly gay people and realizing my feelings were normal and something to be embraced and proud of.” While “Love, Simon”—based on Becky Albertalli’s novel “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda”—was filmed in Atlanta, “Love, Victor” is shot in Los Angeles and struggles somewhat in its knowledge of the area. Yet it’s hard to ignore the sweetness of the series. “Love, Victor” was originally slated to air on Disney+, but the network got cold feet and dropped it—and Hulu stepped in. Tanen is excited that the series will have the opportunity to explore more of Victor’s personal discovery as he evolves into adulthood. Although the cast and crew won’t know for a while, the hope is that the series will be picked up for a second season and have a long life on the streaming service. “Love, Victor” is now airing on Hulu. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
CLIFF BOSTOCK OLD GAY MEN
Just a Reminder Stonewall Was a Riot It is 1977. AIDS has not arrived and we are in our hedonistic prime. You take your perky white ass and pink lips to a club’s weekly dark room. “Tonight,” you tell a friend, “I’m gonna get me some Big Black Dick.” You have a few drinks and you stride in your ravishing whiteness into the dark room, which, as it happens, is the most racially integrated gay space in the city on these nights. You get your dose of BBD and you leave the room without ever having to interact socially with the man himself. Yes, I know the point of dark rooms is anonymous sex, but sex is the playground of the psyche and coincidence does not explain the highly interracial makeup of those spaces in an era when doormen were demanding three pieces of identification from black men at a bar three blocks away. So, now it is 2020—over 40 enlightened years later!—and you have a profile on Grindr that says, “Not into Asians and blacks. Sorry, just a preference.” But you’re still darting into dark rooms for the coveted BBD (or you have a separate profile on Grindr). “Sometimes, you just gotta have BBD,” a former friend told me, after uttering the cliché, “Once you go black, you’ll never go back.” Then—I’m serious—he moved to another city because, he said, “There are no [n-words] living there.” This is the insanity called sexual racism. It operates with all the illogic of general racism. As for black men themselves, the dark room reverses history: they own the white bodies for 10 minutes. Now, these same 40 years later, we are watching global demonstrations in response to the police’s murder of George Floyd. The streets are filled with protesters calling for an end to police brutality. For a few weeks, there is random looting. Maybe you recall the later riots of the Civil Rights Movement when your parents raged about the looting and burning, claiming it exemplified the inherent unruliness of black people that required their constant monitoring by police. Now, in Zoom lunches with your friends, you might parrot their denial by focusing on the shoes stolen from a bashed window display instead of the police brutality. We never seem to remember that the violence always begins 20 Columnist June 19, 2020
Screenshot photo
The Stonewall Riots June 28, 1969.
with the police. Black people do not initiate the war. They are not the aggressors. What most confuses me in this condemnation of violence in response to police brutality is our own celebration of the Stonewall Riots in June of 1969. Gay Pride memorializes that brick-throwing, fire-setting rebellion. Eric Cervini, author of the new “The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America,” reminds us too that the strategy of our movement before and after Stonewall was almost entirely borrowed from the Civil Rights Movement. Yet we never worked as a coalition. You can proffer all kinds of explanations for that, but one thing is readily observable: After the first few years of the
more radical Gay Liberation Front, our activist community became dominated by— sorry—privileged white men whose ultimate goal was complete assimilation, to the unrelenting degree that many now resent the effort to enter coalition with trans people. Meanwhile, some of these same men still complain about Black Pride: “If they got Black Pride, why cain’t we have some White Pride?” The question is so stupid, when posed by an old person, it’s smarter to wait for its asker to die than answer it. Seriously, it is impossible to grow up in America without internalizing institutionalized racism. We see thousands
of younger people acknowledging that and marching through the world’s streets. Older white, gay Americans, well familiar with the problem of internalized homophobia, need only take a step toward self-acknowledgment to start managing racism and finding gratitude for the lessons African Americans taught our leaders. The sad horror of racism, besides its cruelty, is the limits it places on our own adventure in this world, which really is larger than a dark room. Cliff Bostock, Ph.D., is a former psychotherapist turned life coach. If you are interested in participating in a support group for older gay men, contact him at cliffbostock@gmail.com or 404-518-4415. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
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June 19, 2020 Ads 21
MELISSA CARTER THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID
Finding My Inner Crazy Cat Lady It’s been a sad time in my house during this pandemic. First, my 20-year-old cat, Akima, passed away in March and then two months later my mother, Millie Pete, departed as well. Not only have I had to process my own grief during these two events, I’ve also had to explain to my 5-yearold what it means to lose something or someone in such a way. The time came to add new life into my home in the form of adopting an animal, but that too proved to be less than wonderful. Mr. Carter has wanted a new kitten since Akima’s death, which happened just before I left for my 50th birthday trip. Upon my return, the stay-at-home orders took effect and I was unable to peruse adoption centers to find our new addition. I explained to him we’d have to wait until after the bug, which is what he calls the pandemic, and we were content to stay patient until the time was right. But after the loss we experienced, I determined the time was right for the muchneeded distraction. I reached out to several charities in search of what we were looking for, a kitten with white in its fur. Mr. Carter knew the new cat couldn’t look exactly like Akima, but he wanted it to look similar to her as a kitten. She had white in her fur, so the new cat would need to as well. They each suggested I check out PetFinder, then fill out an application for the kitten I was interested in. I’m not sure if you’ve ever filled out an application for pet adoption, but it’s fairly personal. Address and type of home you’re in, how many pets you’ve ever had and what happened to the ones you no longer have, your employer and vet, and a list of references and their contact information. It’s one thing to provide this as a final step to adoption, but to start out 22 Columnist June 19, 2020
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the gate with that level of transparency was unnerving. Adding insult to injury was the fact that each time I finished providing this intimate information, they’d tell me the animal was already adopted. I joked with a friend that it would have been easier to purchase a weapon. Frustrated and determined, I voiced my frustration to yet another charity who, as per the ritual, had made me fill out an application. This time, however, they didn’t have me check out any animals and agreed only to inform me of cats that were available. I did as was asked and waited a few days. They reached out to tell me about a kitten that did have white in its fur, but that he was so attached to his brother they’d have to come as a pair. Ready to get this done and grateful something was available that would satisfy my son, I agreed. I may officially qualify as a crazy cat lady with three cats at this point, but they were right. Those boys are inseparable and more confident as a team. I appreciate the work those who help save animals do, and can’t imagine the things they’ve seen these animals go through. However, I do think there has to be a lessintimate way to introduce people to the process, so pet seekers less motivated than I don’t give up their efforts entirely. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
RYAN LEE SOMETIMES ‘Y’
40 is the New 60 for Snapchat Chasers My last boyfriend once predicted that my biggest fear would become my fate, and his forecast seemed all the more ominous because it felt accurate. Nothing since has re-routed me from that projected destiny, although beams of sun have melted much of the gloom. As a 20-year-old college student visiting Atlanta on weekends, my nightlife options were limited to adult bookstores and an 18-and-up dance club called 708. I was young enough not to know what type of liquor I enjoyed, and when a friend asked what I wanted from the bar I said a Sex on the Beach so I wouldn’t look naïve. I was just as clueless about what it meant to be gay, even though I had already come out to my mother and closest friends. I got the dick-sucking and booty-rubbing part, but at the turn of the millennium I still saw few examples of what came next, or what a gay future was supposed to look like. Along the perimeter of 708’s dance floor were often men who appeared to be in their fifties or sixties (although they were probably like 37), ignored by everyone and everything except the part of my brain that stores dread. Their presence and solitude amid the crowd manifested stereotypes of homosexuals being lonely, desperate and doomed, and birthed my concern about becoming one of them. Countless relationships (across orientations) are initiated and aided by the fear of growing old alone, and I was poor at disguising that as a motivating force in my romances. Sounding more clinical than angry, my boyfriend suggested it was pointless for me to pursue a relationship with anyone because, no matter how gravely I wanted otherwise, my character and behavior ensured I would be single for the rest of my life. Upscale student housing now sits atop my TheGeorgiaVoice.com
“My generation is fond of lamenting ageism in gay culture, of pretending we are the first group of 40-year-olds that are invisible to twentysomethings and that we did not originate the online culture that tells older dudes to stay out of our inbox. The hopeless mantra, ‘40 is the new 60’ is invoked anytime a young guy doesn’t want to go on a date or have sex with a middle-aged man.” first Atlanta nightclub, I’m on the eve of being twice as old as I was when I frequented there, and more than a decade has passed since someone called me his boyfriend. Sadly, I can still see the dance floor at 708 almost every day, with so many of my peers standing at its edges hoping for attention. My generation is fond of lamenting ageism in gay culture, of pretending we are the first group of 40-year-olds that are invisible to twentysomethings and that we did not originate the online culture that tells older dudes to stay out of our inbox. The hopeless mantra, “40 is the new 60” is invoked anytime a young guy doesn’t want to go on a date or have sex with a middle-aged man. Forty feels 40 as fuck to me—with security in my chaos, virility powered by naps and the wisdom to accept I don’t know a damn thing. Forty feels like Facebook or Twitter, and I’m not going to download Snapchat or TikTok and wonder why I don’t understand the memes. Nor have I waited for anyone to make me and my memories worth living with during my golden years. Each of us has sovereignty over our happiness and satisfaction, and it is not the responsibility of young adults to teach us that. June 19, 2020 Columnist 23