The Georgia Voice - 6/20/14 Vol. 5, Issue 8 by Georgia Voice

Before the sweet nothings, whisper something that can keep him safe.

Protect yourself and your partner. Talk about testing, your status, condoms, and new options like medicines that prevent and treat HIV. Get the facts and tips on how to start the conversation at cdc.gov/ActAgainstAIDS/StartTalking

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EDITORIAL

Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

IN THIS ISSUE OF GA VOICE

06.20.14

THE GEORGIA VOICE

PO Box 77401 | Atlanta, GA 30357 404-815-6941 | www.thegavoice.com

Deputy Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com

NEWS 6 | One-year anniversary of DOMA decision: see how map for equality has changed 12 | ‘Party atmosphere’ cited for refusing color guard for Augusta Pride 14 | Activists accuse CDC of ‘plodding’ response to HIV

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Jim Farmer, Vandy Beth Glenn, Shannon Hames, Ryan Lee, Tina Tian, Steve Warren

BUSINESS

COMMUNITY

Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

17 | National LGBT Pride roundup 18 | Ponce City Market to bring breath of fresh air to Atlanta 24 | Catching Up … with Beth Littrell, Lambda Legal senior attorney

Managing Partner: Christina Cash ccash@thegavoice.com Sales Manager: Marshall Graham mgraham@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Anne Clarke aclarke@thegavoice.com

A&E

12 | 'Party atmosphere' cited for refusing color guard for Augusta Pride.

Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group

In loving memory of Mike Ritter, 1965-2014

OUTSPOKEN

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National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

FRIENDS & FOES IN THEIR OWN WORDS

FINE PRINT

“I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.” —Texas Gov. Rick Perry at a forum in San Francisco (Washington Post, June 12)

COLUMNISTS 37 | That’s What She Said: Melissa Carter on an odd food that made its way into the meat market 39 | Sometimes ‘Y’: Ryan Lee on how LGBT equality is about more than marriage

—President Obama in his Father’s Day address (Towleroad, June 14)

“I think you’re trying to say I used to be opposed and now I’m in favor and I did it for political reasons, and that’s just flat wrong.” —Hillary Clinton to NPR’s Terry Gross when questioned about the timing of her gay marriage endorsement (POLITICO, June 12)

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“They instill values like hard work and integrity, and teach their kids to take responsibility for themselves and those around them. This is a task for every father—whether married or single, gay or straight, natural or adoptive—and every child deserves someone who will step up and fill this role.” Photo via Facebook

All material in the Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the 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 the 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 the Georgia Voice is available from authorized distribution points. Multiple copies are available from the 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 the Georgia Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. The 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 the 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 the 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.

27 | Gay violinist Andrew Sords to perform with Atlanta Philharmonic 28 | East Point Possums raise $25K to help homeless LGBT youth 30 – 33 | Calendar 34 | Food: What’s a proper tip to leave in Atlanta restaurants? 35 | Theater: Iconic ‘Steel Magnolias’ bows at Onstage Atlanta 36 | Books: ‘Queerly Beloved’— A trans love story

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NEWS

06.20.14

The heroes of Marriage Equality Chad Griffin

Griffin is the current president of the Human Rights Campaign but also founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which was the vehicle behind the successful push to overturn Prop 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban.

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One year after DOMA decision Supreme Court ruling has led to court challenges of same-sex marriage bans across nation BY LISA KEEN

Kevin Cathcart

There is perhaps no legal group more involved in the marriage equality fight than Lambda Legal, of which Cathcart is the president. They are representing plaintiffs in numerous marriage equality suits across the country, including the Inniss v. Aderhold case here in Georgia.

Evan Wolfson

Wolfson is the founder of Freedom To Marry, who have been heavily involved in gay marriage cases and helping to increase national support for marriage equality since 2003. They are also behind the recently created Southerners for the Freedom to Marry campaign.

Roberta Kaplan

The powerhouse attorney was the driving force behind the Windsor case, which ultimately led to the striking down of a major portion of the Defense of Marriage Act last June. There have been 20 straight marriage equality case wins since then.

Kate Kendell

Kendell is the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who have represented numerous plaintiffs in marriage equality lawsuits, and continue to fight for employment discrimination protections among many other rights for the LGBT community. —By Patrick Saunders

une 26 is the most historic date on the LGBT civil rights movement’s calendar. It is the day in 2003 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not enforce laws prohibiting same-sex adults from having intimate relations. It is the day in 2013 when a Supreme Court procedural ruling enabled same-sex couples to marry in California. And it is the day in 2013 when the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not deny married same-sex couples the same benefits it provides to married male-female couples. While the decision that allowed couples in California to marry provided important momentum to the marriage equality movement, the decisions in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas and 2013 U.S. v. Windsor cases are undeniably the most important Supreme Court decisions ever issued on LGBT-related matters. Lawrence brought a crashing end to the longstanding presumption by society and the law that gays were “deviant” and should be singled out for disfavor. “When homosexual conduct is made criminal by the law of the State, that declaration in and of itself is an invitation to subject homosexual persons to discrimination both in the public and in the private spheres,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the 6 to 3 majority in Lawrence. “…The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government.”

‘CONSTITUTION’S GUARANTEE OF EQUALITY’ And it was Justice Kennedy who wrote the 5 to 4 majority decision in Windsor last year, striking the key provision of the federal

Edie Windsor, whose lawsuit led to the U.S. Supreme Court striking down a major portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, has been hailed as an American hero and was a grand marshal of the 2013 New York City Pride Parade. (Photo by ACLU)

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that barred every federal entity from treating married same-sex couples the same as married heterosexual couples for the purpose of any federal benefit. “The Constitution’s guarantee of equality must at the very least mean that a bare congressional desire to harm a politically unpopular group cannot justify disparate treatment of that group,” wrote Kennedy in Windsor. “…DOMA’s unusual deviation from the usual tradition of recognizing and accepting state definitions of marriage here operates to deprive same-sex couples of the benefits and responsibilities that come with the federal recognition of their marriages. This is strong evidence of a law having the purpose and effect of disapproval of that class. The avowed purpose and practical effect of the law here in question are to impose a disadvantage, a separate status, and so a stigma upon all who enter into same-sex

marriages made lawful by the unquestioned authority of the States.” “…DOMA undermines both the public and private significance of state-sanctioned same-sex marriages; for it tells those couples, and all the world, that their otherwise valid marriages are unworthy of federal recognition,” wrote Kennedy. “This places same-sex couples in an unstable position of being in a second-tier marriage. The differentiation demeans the couple, whose moral and sexual choices the Constitution protects… And it humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples. The law in question makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives.” Kennedy’s words in both Lawrence and Windsor have been repeated in numerous court decisions since. And the powerful influence of

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Marriage Equality Status Map States where same-sex marriage is legal States where same-sex marriage ban struck down, appeal pending

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States where same-sex marriage is banned, currently challenged in court

words and decisions has almost obscured the fact that they were narrow victories. In Lawrence, Kennedy wrote for just five of the six justices who considered sodomy laws to be unconstitutional; while Justice Sandra Day O’Connor provided a sixth vote in concurrence with the judgment, she did not join Kennedy’s opinion to the extent that it overruled the 1986 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick (which had upheld state sodomy laws). O’Connor said she would simply strike Texas’ law on equal protection grounds. (“Moral disapproval of this group, like a bare desire to harm the group, is an interest that is insufficient to satisfy rational basis review under the Equal Protection Clause.”) In Windsor, Kennedy wrote for just five justices. One of those five, Elena Kagan, had been on the bench for only two and a half years and apparently had to recuse herself from a similar DOMA challenge that had reached the high court sooner because she likely discussed it while serving as Solicitor General. If the court had taken that first case, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the court likely would have rendered a tie vote and DOMA would still be in effect in most states.

PRESIDENTIAL INFLUENCE Often forgotten, too, is the enormous influence the sitting president had on the impact of each decision. The administration of President George W. Bush took no action in 2003 to see that the Lawrence decision was quickly and thoroughly respected by various federal programs, such as the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law banning openly gay servicemembers. It continued enforcing the ban that had been approved by a Congress that pointed to sodomy laws to justify its hostile treatment of gays. Bush said nothing about

“…DOMA undermines both the public and private significance of state-sanctioned same-sex marriages; for it tells those couples, and all the world, that their otherwise valid marriages are unworthy of federal recognition.”

Brian Brown

There is perhaps no bigger enemy of the LGBT community than the founder of the National Organization for Marriage, a viciously anti-gay marriage group who have floundered in recent years as the country has accepted marriage equality.

Ralph Reed

Reed founded the Christian Coalition and the Faith and Freedom Coalition and is a longtime gay marriage foe who repeatedly cites bogus studies saying children are better off with straight parents, despite all evidence to the contrary.

—Justice Kennedy

the Lawrence decision and the White House press secretary brushed it off as a “state matter.” Then, in 2004, Bush spoke in support of a Congressional bill that sought to ban marriage for same-sex couples. In contrast, President Obama spoke out quickly in support of the Supreme Court’s decision in Windsor and ordered his administration “to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly.” Legal activists responded differently following both decisions, too. LGBT legal activists were still wary of mounting lawsuits that would wind up in front of the Supreme Court. Even as late as 2009, they thought it was “too early” to put another issue to a vote at the Supreme Court. But following the Windsor decision last year, legal activists filed more than 70 lawsuits in short order, challenging state laws in 30 states that banned marriage for samesex couples.

39 PERCENT OF POPULATION NOW LIVES IN MARRIAGE EQUALITY STATES Prior to the Windsor decision, 12 states and the District of Columbia allowed same-sex couples to marry. One year later, 18 states and D.C. have marriage equality and another 14 states have had courts declare their bans on same-sex couples marrying unconstitutional. Prior to the Windsor ruling, 18 percent of

The villains of Marriage Equality

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the U.S. population lived in states with marriage equality. Today, not counting Wisconsin or Pennsylvania (whose bans are still subject to appeal), 39 percent of the population lives in marriage equality states. U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pam Karlan shared with DOJ Pride attendees earlier this month some of her memories of having clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun in 1986 when he authored the dissent to the court’s Bowers v. Hardwick decision, upholding state laws prohibiting private consensual sex between same-sex adults. Karlan said she suggested to Blackmun that the majority opinion was resting on “an unexamined assumption that gay people were different in a way that permitted denying them” the right to intimate relations. When Blackmun wrote his dissent, she said, he made a subtle change to her suggested language, saying the majority opinion was based “on the assumption that homosexuals are so different from other citizens…” “In making those changes, Justice Blackmun was doing two things,” said Karlan. “First, he was emphasizing that gay people are citizens – that is, true members of our national community. But second, and just as importantly, he was rejecting the idea that there is an ‘us’ for straight people – and that gay people are somehow a ‘them.’ And he was laying the groundwork for an understanding that the central constitutional claim is not just one about liberty; it is about equality as well.”

Maggie Gallagher

The former president of the anti-gay marriage group the National Organization for Marriage is now the president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, whose mission is similarly to stop marriage equality at all costs.

Bryan Fischer

Fischer is responsible for his organization, American Family Assocation, landing on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate group list after making several anti-gay comments. He has also called gay marriage an abomination and says same-sex parenting is a form of child abuse.

Alan Sears

Sears doesn’t get much press, but his organization Alliance Defending Freedom is one of the most dangerous groups working today to fight LGBT rights. The group represented the Prop 8 proponents and is responsible for drafting most of the “religious freedom” laws. —By Patrick Saunders

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‘Party atmosphere’ cited for refusing color guard for Augusta Pride Decision viewed as ‘insult’ to LGBT community By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com A post-Don’t Ask Don’t Tell military still is not on board in Georgia with having a color guard march at the front of a Georgia Gay Pride parade later this month because of its “party atmosphere.” Augusta Pride is set for June 27-29 with the parade taking place June 28 through the city on Broad Street. The Augusta Pride board was hoping to have active military members march as the color guard in the parade. This year marks the fifth annual Augusta Pride fest. Jonathan Roman, an Augusta Pride board member and Georgia’s chapter leader of OutServe-SLDN, an LGBT military organization, made a formal request to Fort Gordon officials in May for a color guard carrying the American flag as well as the flag of each branch of the military to lead the city’s Pride parade. His request was denied. J.C. Mathews, Fort Gordon’s public affairs officer, said the decision for a color guard to participate in a community event is made at the local level and Fort Gordon’s garrison commander decided Augusta Pride was not an appropriate atmosphere for its soldiers to march. “There were no legal objections to having the color guard participate in the event. However, since Fort Gordon has never participated in the event before, we reviewed video of previous Pride parades,” Mathews told GA Voice. “Our review led us to conclude that the ‘party atmosphere’ of the event was not conducive to preserving the military bearing and dignity of our color guard—a critical factor in determining whether to allow ‘official’ participation,” Mathews said. He added, “It is our hope that the Pride Parade may evolve into the kind of broadbased community event appropriate for our participation, and we look forward to reviewing future requests.” Roman said he believes the garrison commander didn’t think the decision through. “I think his reasoning that the color guard would not fit with a ‘party atmosphere’ of the weekend is too narrowly focused and is just not thoughtful,” he said. Color guards appear and participate at many party events such as sporting events and other parades, Roman explained. Jeff Cleghorn, an Atlanta attorney and former Army major, said Fort Gordon’s commander’s decision to not allow a color guard march in Augusta Pride’s parade is disrespectful to the

A Joint Armed Forces Color Guard rendering honors at a recent NASCAR opening ceremony. Fort Gordon officials denied a request for a Color Guard at Augusta Pride because of its ‘party atmosphere.’ (Photo by http://www.army.mil)

LGBT community and military personnel. “Fort Gordon’s dismissive characterization of Pride as a ‘party atmosphere’ lacking in community support is an insult, and the Commanding General of Fort Gordon should apologize,” said Cleghorn, also a former SLDN board member who worked to repeal DADT.

DC PRIDE HAS FIRST OFFICIAL COLOR GUARD

The first active U.S. Armed Forces color guard believed to march in a Gay Pride parade took place June 7 in Washington, D.C. Buck Cooke, executive director of Atlanta Pride, said Atlanta Pride always has a color guard but due to DADT many of the marchers were veterans. “While Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was in effect, veteran volunteers were the only way we could have had a color guard in our Pride parade. With the repeal of DADT, I see no reason why an active military color guard cannot be present in our parade just like they would for St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Independence Day or other parade held in a city,” Cooke said. The local chapter of the American Veterans for Equal Rights organizes Atlanta Pride’s color guard. “Until this issue came up, though, it had never occurred to me to ask for an active mili-

tary color guard because we enjoy working with AVER and recognizing so many of our heroes who have served and are serving our country in the military,” Cooke said. Cooke said he plans to reach out to AVER to see if an active color guard can march in this year’s Atlanta Pride parade. He also disagreed with Fort Gordon’s assertion that Augusta Pride is a “narrowly focused” event. Last year, 10,000 people attended Augusta Pride and more than 250,000 people visited Atlanta Pride, Cooke said. “These are not ‘narrowly-focused’ events and they are growing each year,” he added. And with Fort Gordon’s denial to allow a color guard march in this year’s Augusta Pride, Cooke said while steps continue to be made for full equality, there are still barriers that have to be overcome. “I think the U.S. military has come a long way since the repeal of DADT and, in some ways, is pushing the issue of full equality across federal, state and municipal landscapes. This instance, however, shows me that there is still much work to be done in the military. I’m not naive enough to think that all of the prejudice in the military evaporated with the repeal of DADT, but I am disappointed to see Augusta Pride’s request be denied in this fashion,” he said.

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Activists: CDC ‘plodding’ in its response to rising HIV infection rates among gay men, trans women ‘Atlanta Principles’ proposal presented by groups to try to reverse escalating trend

The Atlanta Principles HIV/AIDS activists presented “The Atlanta Principles,” a list of 10 recommendations for preventing HIV, to the CDC on June 9.

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com Amid troubling statistics, a team of HIV/ AIDS activists from New York teamed with Atlanta activists to call out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on their strategies and sense of urgency in a June 10 press conference. “There is an HIV prevention emergency in the United States today,” said Jim Eigo of ACT UP/NY. “But you won’t hear any of the federal officials who have been charged with managing this epidemic issuing a call to action anytime soon.” Representatives from ACT UP/NY and Treatment Action Group, along with Atlanta groups Transgender Individuals Living Their Truth (TILTT), SisterLove and Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition met with the CDC’s HIV prevention personnel on June 9 to discuss their concerns and present the “Atlanta Principles,” a series of proposed actions they say the CDC should take (see sidebar). While the number of new cases of HIV in the U.S. has held steady for the past decade at 50,000 per year, new cases of HIV among gay and bisexual men and transgender women has spiked, according to local and national studies. More troubling here at home, a recent Emory School of Public Health study shows that 12 percent of Atlanta’s young gay black men are contracting HIV every year and 60 percent of sexually active young gay black men have a chance of becoming infected by the time they are 30.

‘BUSINESS AS USUAL NOT CUTTING IT’

While saying they were received cordially, members of the group said they were left with concerns, as they discussed in the June 10 press conference at the Embassy Suites at Centennial Park. The most frequent criticisms were about the CDC’s efforts at promoting newer prevention options and the lack of representation of the transgender community in HIV/ AIDS statistics. The specific HIV prevention options the groups want the CDC to promote more aggressively include: n Treatment as Prevention (TasP): For those infected with HIV, sustaining an undetectable viral load will greatly reduce the

Terri Wilder and James Krellenstein of ACT UP/NY; Adolph Arromand, executive director of the Atlanta-based National AIDS & Educations Services for Minorities; and Craig Washington, preventions programs manager of AID Atlanta. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

chances of transmitting the virus to others. n Truvada: This medication can be taken once daily as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV in negative people at risk. n Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP): If exposed to HIV, taking anti-HIV medications as soon as possible (within 72 hours) after the fact can reduce the chances of infection. “If there was one overwhelming feeling and message that we got from the CDC was a total sort of indifference,” said James Krellenstein of ACT UP/NY. “A total sort of business as usual approach to HIV prevention. But we know for a fact that business as usual is not cutting it.” Jeremiah Johnson of New York-based Treatment Action Group concurred, calling the CDC’s overall momentum in tackling the disease “slow” and “plodding.”

‘WE’VE BEEN INVISIBLY DYING’

It also was not lost on the HIV/AIDS activists that the CDC is based in Atlanta, where a very troubling number of new HIV infections have occurred. “If they cannot get it right in Atlanta, how can the country expect them to get it right anywhere else?” said Dazon Dixon Diallo of SisterLove. But the most passionate comments came regarding the transgender community’s representation in HIV/AIDS statistics. “Every involved stakeholder must be addressed,” said Cheryl Courtney-Evans

of transgender rights group TILTT, who became emotional discussing the transgender friends she’s lost to the disease. “We’ve been invisibly dying.” Mathew Rodriguez of ACT UP/NY spoke up for young gay men of color, saying the outreach to his community and the embrace of proven means of HIV prevention has been disappointing. “If the CDC were to implement HIV interventions that were accessible to young gay men of color, it would treat us as sexual, healthy beings and with dignity,” Rodriguez said. “It might promote a narrative of hope that counters a narrative of inevitability.”

CDC DEFENDS HIV PREVENTION EFFORTS

The CDC responded to the GA Voice’s request for comment, outlining the steps it has taken in regards to prevention efforts. “CDC recently issued comprehensive, national guidance on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at substantial risk for infection,” said Dr. Kenneth G. Castro, acting director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the CDC. “Additionally, CDC is also implementing a wide range of prevention educational efforts to equip high-risk individuals, including gay and bisexual men, and those who care for them with accurate information about prevention options such as PrEP, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and treatment as prevention,” Castro continued.

n Introduce sexually frank HIV prevention messaging and work with communities impacted by HIV to produce prevention materials. n Treat people with HIV as a way to prevent new infections and launch a national campaign to educate people that treatment for HIV could make viral loads undetectable and greatly reduce the chance of transmission. n Expand education efforts for pharmaceutical prophylaxes and design campaigns to educate populations impacted by HIV about the potential of the pre- and post-exposure drugs to combat HIV. n Expand HIV prevention efforts targeting populations at highest risk, including men who have sex with men, and boost local prevention efforts. n Revise HIV testing guidelines that currently call for yearly testing for key populations and expand testing sites to include dental and mental health offices. n Improve research and data collection to better reflect HIV infections among transgender women, sex workers and young gay men. n Reform National HIV Behavioral Surveillance to take into account flaws pointed out by local health departments to better understand how HIV is spread. n Create sex education materials and an HIV curriculum for students free of prejudice and speaks frankly about queer sex without language that stigmatizes LGBT youth. n Include seniors and women living with HIV in studies to help improve care. n Partner with local HIV organizations to help prevent HIV and link people with HIV to care and a wider net of services.

A new ad campaign, featured in the GA Voice and on the GA Voice website, is also part of its new educational efforts. “CDC’s recently-launched ‘Start Talking. Stop HIV’ communication campaign for gay and bisexual men acknowledges the increasingly complex prevention landscape and the need to consider biomedical and behavioral options that best fit a person’s circumstances in both the promotional materials and the more detailed web content.” Castro said the CDC is looking forward to continuing a dialogue with the groups. The activists left the CDC with a copy of the “Atlanta Principles” to review and they will be following up with the organization with action steps and requests for a follow-up meeting.

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Pride across America Take a road trip to one of these many celebrations

to the parade on Sunday morning.

Twin Cities Pride

June 28-29 www.tcpride.org It’s an all-day festival Saturday and Sunday in Loring Park in Minneapolis with over 300,000 visitors expected. The parade steps off Sunday morning.

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com June is considered Pride Month throughout the nation, with President Barack Obama issuing an official proclamation declaring it so and hundreds of Pride fests happening in cities across the U.S. The 44th annual Atlanta Pride fest is slated for Oct. 11-12 in Piedmont Park, but there is still time to celebrate in June at various locations, including in Augusta, Georgia, at the end of this month. Several other Georgia Pride fests take place before the Southeast’s largest Pride event occurs in Atlanta in the fall. But if you are looking for a road trip to some of the largest Prides in America and perhaps some lesser known Prides, here’s a list of places to visit to celebrate your Pride before hitting your hometown.

GEORGIA PRIDES Augusta Pride

June 27-29 www.prideaugusta.org The weekend includes an outdoor dance party, pool party, Saturday morning parade and a festival.

North Georgia Marietta Pride

July 31 – Aug. 2 www.rainbowgeorgia.org The three-day festival has family friendly activities and nightly performances at LeBuzz, plus the Run for Equality on Saturday morning.

Atlanta Black Gay Pride

Aug. 26-Sept. 1 www.inthelifeatlanta.org www.atlantaprideweekend.com What began as backyard parties has grown into one of the largest Black Gay Pride celebrations in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Atlanta for the parties hosted by the city’s largest party promoters as well as educational and social justice seminars and live entertainment offered by the nonprofit In the Life Atlanta. A one-day fest in Piedmont Park is in its third year with vendors and live entertainment as well.

Savannah Pride

Sept. 13 www.savpride.com Forsyth Park is the location for this year’s Savannah Pride, with details on performers, events

San Diego Pride

July 18-20 www.sandiegopride.org 40,000 people are expected at the allweekend music festival, and other highlights include a Friday block party and rally. The parade begins Saturday morning where over 300,000 visitors are expected.

Charleston Pride

NYC Pride is just one of many LGBT Pride celebrations nationwide. (Photo via Facebook)

and other information yet to be announced.

South Georgia Pride

Sept. 20 www.southgapride.com The all-day festival takes place at John W. Saunders Memorial Park in Valdosta, with more details and information to come.

PRIDES ACROSS THE NATION Chicago Pride

Through -29 www.chicagopride.gopride.com Chicago’s two-day Pride festival will feature singers Mya, Thelma Houston and Jennifer Hudson, and the festivities finish up on Sunday with the Pride parade with an estimated 750,000 to be in attendance.

Houston Pride

June 20-29 www.pridehouston.org Fashion shows, pool parties, circuit parties and more lead up to an all-day festival on Saturday, June 28, followed by the big parade in the evening. The fun continues at several after parties.

NYC Pride

June 24-29 www.nycpride.org The birthplace of the LGBT rights movement hosts a week of festivities, including a family night, rally, circuit party featur-

ing DJ Tony Moran and others, a girl party, pride fest and parade.

St. Pete Pride

June 26-28 www.stpetepride.com The 27/82 concert Friday night features “The L Word’s” Hunter Valentine, and the parade kicks off Saturday, with a festival all day Sunday with an expected attendance of more than 20,000.

Cleveland Pride

June 28 www.clevelandpride.org Voinovich Park is the spot to be in Cleveland on June 28, as the parade steps off at noon and is followed by a rally and all-day festival featuring two stages of nonstop entertainment.

San Francisco Pride

June 28-29 www.sfpride.org The festival goes on all day on June 28 and June 29 at the Civic Center, with a big parade going down on Market Street on the morning of the June 29 with the theme “Color Our World With Pride.”

Seattle Pride

June 27-29 www.seattlepride.org It’s 40 years of Seattle Pride this year, with events including a YouthPride dance, dyke march, boat party and more leading up

Aug. 2-10 www.charlestonpride.com Concerts, film screenings, picnics and, of course, parties lead up to the Pride parade, which kicks off Saturday morning in downtown Charleston, followed by a rally and a blowout after party that night.

Southern Decadence

Aug. 27 – Sept. 1 www.southerndecadence.com While not New Orleans’ official Pride event, this nonstop Labor Day Weekend party often draws comparisons thanks to the series of LGBT events capped off with a huge parade.

Las Vegas Pride

Sept. 5-6 www.lasvegaspride.org Things kick off with a Pride Night Parade in downtown Las Vegas, followed on Saturday by a festival featuring several music artists performing on the outdoor stage all day and into the night.

Austin Pride

Sept. 20 www.austinpride.org Several fun events lead up to Austin Pride on Saturday, Sept. 20. The day starts off with an all-day festival, a pre-parade dance party in front of Emerald City, then the big parade downtown that night.

SC Pride

Sept. 20 www.scpride.org South Carolina Pride turns 25 this year, and downtown Columbia is going to be packed, with a record 30,000 expected to be in attendance. The parade kicks off at noon and is followed by an all-day festival.

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PONCE CITY MARKET

TO BRING BREATH OF FRESH AIR TO ATLANTA Renovated buildings located in Old Fourth Ward touches Virginia-Highland, Poncey-Highland and Midtown neighborhoods By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com

There is a lot of excitement about the construction and renovation happening at Ponce City Market, the former City Hall East building, which was also the former, historic Sears, Roebuck & Company building. Slated to begin opening this fall with more stores and restaurants opening throughout 2015, the project has been some five years in the actual build-out. Total cost? A quarter billion dollars. The site, which holds memories for many Atlantans of all ages, is ready to start a new phase of its contribution to the city’s neighborhoods it touches—the Old Fourth Ward, Virginia-Highland, Poncey-Highland and Midtown—as a breath of fresh air into a

rapidly evolving section of the city. A partnership with the Atlanta Beltline was announced this month with plans to create a North Avenue Plaza for people to step off the Beltline to gather. Apartments, or flats as they are being called, are now being rented, art shows are taking place in the Ponce City Market art gallery and Dancing Goats, a coffee shop open in the space, is packed nearly every day of the week. Jamestown, a real estate and privateequity group, bought the historic property from the city of Atlanta in 2011 for $27 million. Jamestown is behind such well-known developments as the Chelsea Market in New York, Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco and the historic Warehouse Row in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Ponce City Market will not only be a place for people to live but also for the pub-

Ponce City Market, top, is bordered by the Eastside Trail of the popular Atlanta Beltline, above. (Photos and renderings courtesy Ponce City Market)

lic to gather at numerous planned restaurants and retail shops as well as around the Atlanta Beltline.

What retail stores and restaurants are lined up for Ponce City Market? Binders Art & Framing, the Suzuki School

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The Atlanta Beltline and Ponce City Market are joining forces to create a plaza between PCM’s Boiler Building and the Eastside Trail for the public to enjoy.

and General Assembly. Confirmed restaurant tenants include Anne Quatrano’s Dub’s Fish Camp, Linton Hopkins’ H&F Burger, Peter Chang’s Jia, Honeysuckle Gelato from Wes Jones and Hannah Chung and Grace Lee’s Simply Seoul. How much living space is there? What are the various sizes and costs? 259 residential flats now available for rent; there are studios, one, two and three bedrooms available starting at $1,295 (a month). What is planned with the Atlanta Beltline and why is it important to combine efforts with the Beltline? We have a direct connection to the Beltline and are incorporating a pedestrian network; green city spaces and bridge access to the Eastside trail of the Atlanta Beltline to effectively link the building with its surrounding intown neighborhoods. The Beltline Shed is being restored for retail and restaurant use as well. n From the June 12 Ponce City Market blog:

“We have a total of four buildings on the site and two of them front the Atlanta Beltline. The Shed and the Boiler Building. They will have retail and food … and with the new Boiler building we’re constructing and maintaining a stair and elevator access by the North Avenue Bridge. “Also amazing is the public-private partnership between Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. and us (Jamestown) that resulted in a transportation, community and system preservation grant to build a public plaza with native trees and grasses, an ADA accessible pathway, benches, bike racks and trash cans. All for public use. In front of and designed in a coordinated effort to serve the needs of the Atlanta Beltline transit and trail corridor as well as the new Ponce City Market Shed and Boiler buildings retail fronting the trail.” n From the June 12 Atlanta BeltLine blog:

“Work is starting on the North Avenue

Plaza, a project resulting from a partnership between Jamestown (the developers of Ponce City Market) and the Atlanta Beltline. “The Plaza, partially funded by a Federal Transportation, Community, and System Preservation grant, will function as a public space immediately adjacent to the Ponce City Market development, giving users of the Eastside Trail a place to step off the trail and gather. Ultimately, the plaza will be accessible from the bridge over North Avenue and from the existing access path to Ponce City Market’s rail shed deck. Ponce City Market will also construct stairs and an elevator from North Avenue as part of the construction of the Boiler Building, which they will make accessible to the public. “In the coming days, Ponce City Market will begin the grading and site preparation work for the plaza and the Boiler Building. “In finalizing the plans for this project, Ponce City Market and Atlanta BeltLine Inc. have coordinated closely with Trees Atlanta to address the trees that will be removed as part of this project replacement plan is in place. Once site preparation is complete, construction of the plaza should start this coming fall. The sustainable planting on the Plaza will also include a bioretention area and native grass meadow.”

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A rendering of the interior of the Ponce City Market’s courtyard, looking east.

Did you know? n Jamestown is restoring 1.1 million square feet of the historic Sears, Roebuck & Company building as Ponce City Market (the structure is 2.1 million square feet—the 1.1 million is office, retail, food and residences, the remainder becomes parking, circulation and service corridors). n The restoration of the property is creating a vibrant urban centerpiece that combines 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 475,000 square feet of office space and 259 residential flats. n

Over 56,000 panes of glass were replaced in the restoration of the historic steel windows.

There will be 400 bike parking spaces on property when it opens.

n 420 blue whales—that is how many it would take to equal the weight of materials the Ponce City Market crew has recycled since beginning construction in 2011. As of March 2014, 84,080,840 pounds of material has been diverted from landfill so far.

The more than 84 million pounds of recycled waste is also equal to: n 4.2 Eiffel Towers n 87 Statue of Liberties n 3,363 school buses

How much has the project cost and when will it be completed? We are slated to open in fall 2014 with a rolling opening into early 2015. Office and residential move-ins will begin fall 2014 as well as the openings of Binders and the Suzuki School. Projected investment is a quarter of a billion dollars. Is there going to be a Ferris wheel on the roof or some kind of small park? What will it consist of if so? Who will be able to use it? There will be amusement and entertainment activities available and open to the public on the roof. More details to come.

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Another rendering of Ponce City Market’s courtyard, looking west.

What is STRIBILD? STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. It combines 4 medicines into 1 pill to be taken once a day with food. STRIBILD is a complete single-tablet regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines. STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking STRIBILD. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. 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.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD? STRIBILD can cause serious side effects: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. • Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain. • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking STRIBILD for a long time. In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking STRIBILD, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking STRIBILD without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health. STRIBILD is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

Who should not take STRIBILD? Do not take STRIBILD if you: • Take a medicine that contains: alfuzosin, dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine, cisapride, lovastatin, simvastatin, pimozide, sildenafil when used for lung problems (Revatio®), triazolam, oral midazolam, rifampin or the herb St. John’s wort. • For a list of brand names for these medicines, please see the Brief Summary on the following pages. • Take any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection, or the medicine adefovir (Hepsera®).

What are the other possible side effects of STRIBILD? Serious side effects of STRIBILD may also include: • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do regular blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with STRIBILD. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking STRIBILD. • Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. • Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines. • Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking STRIBILD. The most common side effects of STRIBILD include nausea and diarrhea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking STRIBILD? • All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. • All the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. STRIBILD may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how STRIBILD works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Do not start any new medicines while taking STRIBILD without first talking with your healthcare provider. • If you take hormone-based birth control (pills, patches, rings, shots, etc). • If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take STRIBILD. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STRIBILD can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking STRIBILD. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Also, some medicines in STRIBILD can pass into breast milk, and it is not known if this can harm the baby.

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 Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information with important warnings on the following pages.

STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used as a complete single-tablet regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

I started my personal revolution Talk to your healthcare provider about starting treatment. STRIBILD is a complete HIV-1 treatment in 1 pill, once a day. Ask if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right for you.

Patient Information STRIBILD® (STRY-bild) (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information. What is STRIBILD? • STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. STRIBILD is a complete regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines. • STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. You must stay on continuous HIV-1 therapy to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses. • Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others. Do not share or reuse needles, injection equipment, or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them. Do not have sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood. What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD? STRIBILD can cause serious side effects, including: 1. Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take STRIBILD or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: • feel very weak or tired • have unusual (not normal) muscle pain • have trouble breathing • have stomach pain with nausea or vomiting • feel cold, especially in your arms and legs • feel dizzy or lightheaded • have a fast or irregular heartbeat 2. Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take STRIBILD. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: • your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) • dark “tea-colored” urine • light-colored bowel movements (stools) • loss of appetite for several days or longer • nausea • stomach pain You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking STRIBILD for a long time. 3. Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. If you have hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and take STRIBILD, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking STRIBILD. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. • Do not run out of STRIBILD. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your STRIBILD is all gone

• Do not stop taking STRIBILD without first talking to your healthcare provider • If you stop taking STRIBILD, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking STRIBILD Who should not take STRIBILD? Do not take STRIBILD if you also take a medicine that contains: • adefovir (Hepsera®) • alfuzosin hydrochloride (Uroxatral®) • cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®) • ergot-containing medicines, including: dihydroergotamine mesylate (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine tartrate (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine®, Wigrettes®), and methylergonovine maleate (Ergotrate®, Methergine®) • lovastatin (Advicor®, Altoprev®, Mevacor®) • oral midazolam • pimozide (Orap®) • rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®) • sildenafil (Revatio®), when used for treating lung problems • simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®) • triazolam (Halcion®) • the herb St. John’s wort Do not take STRIBILD if you also take any other HIV-1 medicines, including: • Other medicines that contain tenofovir (Atripla®, Complera®, Viread®, Truvada®) • Other medicines that contain emtricitabine, lamivudine, or ritonavir (Atripla®, Combivir®, Complera®, Emtriva®, Epivir® or Epivir-HBV®, Epzicom®, Kaletra®, Norvir®, Trizivir®, Truvada®) STRIBILD is not for use in people who are less than 18 years old. What are the possible side effects of STRIBILD? STRIBILD may cause the following serious side effects: • See “What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD?” • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking STRIBILD. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking STRIBILD if you develop new or worse kidney problems. • Bone problems can happen in some people who take STRIBILD. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones. • Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The exact cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known. • Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine.

The most common side effects of STRIBILD include: • Nausea • Diarrhea Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. • These are not all the possible side effects of STRIBILD. For more information, ask your healthcare provider. • Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking STRIBILD? Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including: • If you have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis B infection • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STRIBILD can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking STRIBILD. - There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take STRIBILD. - You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. - Two of the medicines in STRIBILD can pass to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if the other medicines in STRIBILD can pass into your breast milk. - Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements: • STRIBILD may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how STRIBILD works. • Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you take any of the following medicines: - Hormone-based birth control (pills, patches, rings, shots, etc) - Antacid medicines that contain aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take STRIBILD - Medicines to treat depression, organ transplant rejection, or high blood pressure - amiodarone (Cordarone®, Pacerone®) - atorvastatin (Lipitor®, Caduet®) - bepridil hydrochloride (Vascor®, Bepadin®) - bosentan (Tracleer®) - buspirone - carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®) - clarithromycin (Biaxin®, Prevpac®) - clonazepam (Klonopin®) - clorazepate (Gen-xene®, Tranxene®) - colchicine (Colcrys®) - medicines that contain dexamethasone - diazepam (Valium®)

- digoxin (Lanoxin®) - disopyramide (Norpace®) - estazolam - ethosuximide (Zarontin®) - flecainide (Tambocor®) - flurazepam - fluticasone (Flovent®, Flonase®, Flovent® Diskus®, Flovent® HFA, Veramyst®) - itraconazole (Sporanox®) - ketoconazole (Nizoral®) - lidocaine (Xylocaine®) - mexiletine - oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®) - perphenazine - phenobarbital (Luminal®) - phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®) - propafenone (Rythmol®) - quinidine (Neudexta®) - rifabutin (Mycobutin®) - rifapentine (Priftin®) - risperidone (Risperdal®, Risperdal Consta®) - salmeterol (Serevent®) or salmeterol when taken in combination with fluticasone (Advair Diskus®, Advair HFA®) - sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil (Cialis®) or vardenafil (Levitra®, Staxyn®), for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). If you get dizzy or faint (low blood pressure), have vision changes or have an erection that last longer than 4 hours, call your healthcare provider or get medical help right away. - tadalafil (Adcirca®), for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension - telithromycin (Ketek®) - thioridazine - voriconazole (Vfend®) - warfarin (Coumadin®, Jantoven®) - zolpidem (Ambien®, Edlular®, Intermezzo®, Zolpimist®) Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. Do not start any new medicines while you are taking STRIBILD without first talking with your healthcare provider. Keep STRIBILD and all medicines out of reach of children. This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about STRIBILD. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can also ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about STRIBILD that is written for health professionals, or call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.STRIBILD.com. Issued: October 2013

COMPLERA, EMTRIVA, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, HEPSERA, STRIBILD, the STRIBILD Logo, TRUVADA, and VIREAD are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. ATRIPLA is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. © 2014 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. STBC0080 03/14

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Catching Up … with Beth Littrell Lambda Legal attorney shares her unlikely path to Georgia’s biggest LGBT rights moment

and the opportunity to work for Lambda Legal in Atlanta arose and I jumped at it. Number one, it allowed me to focus on LGBT rights full-time. The ACLU of Georgia did all civil rights throughout Georgia with an emphasis on LGBT issues, and Lambda Legal is laser focused on helping people who are LGBT or living with HIV That was the primary reason, but it also allowed me to work on a national scale. At Lambda at the southern regional office, I work in all 10 southern states. What’s your favorite thing about the job? The privilege of getting paid to do something that’s so impactful and so meaningful.

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com Beth Littrell is fighting the good fight. As a senior attorney at the Southern Regional Office of Lambda Legal based in Atlanta, she has had her hand in numerous important cases affecting the LGBT community, but none more so than Inniss v. Aderhold — the federal class action lawsuit filed in April that is attempting to strike down Georgia’s 2004 same-sex marriage ban. The West Virginia-born, West Palm Beachraised Littrell distinguished herself in several ways at the ACLU of Georgia before she joined Lambda Legal in 2007. But she did not travel the usual attorney track to get here — far from it in fact. A bad family reaction to her coming out led her to interrupt her undergraduate studies and move to Atlanta, where she started over and rebuilt her life. She took a detour into the music industry and became a promoter for Capricorn Records and was the music director at Georgia State University’s WRAS Album 88 at one point. But Littrell couldn’t shake her love for the law, so she worked her way through law school, bartending at Atkins Park and My Sister’s Room while getting her law and journalism degrees at GSU. The Kirkwood resident has what she calls her dream job and she’s a major part of what would be, if successful, one of the most significant moments in Georgia’s LGBT history. So Beth, what was it like growing up in West Palm? It was hot and humid but, you know, it was interesting. It was nice to be near the beach. I think I always felt this weird unexplainable pull to get out of Florida and find a different culture and different weather and more urban and progressive areas. It was a good childhood but it was unsettled until I found Atlanta. And where did you go from there? I went to college at Florida State for two years until I realized that my sexual orientation was not heterosexual and I shared the happy news with my family who immediately cut me off. So I found my way from Tallahassee to Atlanta and got a job and started making a living and building a life as an out proud lesbian. I got a job bartending in Buckhead and it took me a few years to get back into school because I had to pay off student loans that I didn’t know I had. I bartended my way through a couple of degrees and ended up with a law degree.

Beth Littrell explored a couple of other careers before going back to her first love — the law. (Courtesy Lambda Legal)

“After working in the music business, I realized what I was doing was just selling art and I didn’t want to be a salesperson — I wanted to be an agent of change.” —Beth Littrell So they just completely cut you off when you came out? They cut me off financially in an effort to probably get me to come home where they would have more influence on my decision. But that did not work out well for them. I was queer, this was who I am and there is nothing wrong with that. We stayed in touch and over the years have patched up the differences. But it was a challenge to move to a big city where you don’t know anyone and establish yourself and rebuild your self-esteem. But Atlanta was a welcome city; I made a lot of friends who I am friends with to this day. When did you start getting the notion that you wanted to go into a career in law? I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I have been told that I announced that when I was five. When I was at Florida State I was prelaw, but along the way I lost focus for a little while just trying to figure out what I wanted to be and do for a living and remembered that law was a passion that I thought I could be good at. So when I went to law school I wanted to be a civil rights attorney from day one — in fact I wanted to be an ACLU attorney. What made you hone in on civil rights law, besides the fact that you were gay?

My pull to law school and be a lawyer was to be able to use the power of the law to make peoples’ lives better, and I realized that what civil rights attorneys did was not just make peoples’ lives better but make the world better. It’s a powerful platform to effect change so that’s what I knew I wanted to do. What made you want to get a journalism degree in addition to the law degree? When I was bartending and living and creating a life, I realized that there was a career that folks could have in music without being a musician. So for a little while my major was commercial music, and I spent a couple of years working for record labels before I got that [journalism] degree. I was actually one class shy of a BA in commercial music before I got offered a full-time job with Capricorn Records. Then after working in the music business for about a year-and-a-half, I realized what I was doing was just selling art and I didn’t want to be a salesperson — I wanted to be an agent of change. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer and figured that getting a degree in journalism would allow me to use the power of the pen to persuade my way to a law degree. What led you to make the move from the ACLU to Lambda Legal? I was at the ACLU from 2000 until 2007,

What about some of the challenges that come with the job? Not being able to help everyone who calls us and needs help. Beyond that, there is no statewide anti-discrimination laws, so we have a lot less legal pull to effect change and to help people out. It’s frustrating to know that in some states you can get fired based on your sexual orientation and gender identity and it’s a difficult road to get compensation on that. There are judges throughout the south making decisions based on their own biases. But we’re making such progress. It’s become a lot less frustrating because I can see such enormous change and a light at the end of the tunnel for our community. There was a lot of pressure on you and Lambda Legal as so many marriage equality lawsuits were filed around the country and Georgia ended up becoming one of the last to do so. What was that pressure like? It was … anxiety-producing. Because we were waiting for the right time and hoping that the community would trust us enough to wait with us. And fortunately they did, and we now have this great foundation of winning cases with 20 judges of different colors and ages and political persuasions who recognize that there’s no justification to continue to exclude same-sex couples from being able to marry. In Georgia in the Eleventh Circuit, it was especially important for that foundation to be laid to have the best chance for success. But as frustrated as people were whom we talked to along the way, they understood. It was frustrating for them to understand and recognize that timing is everything. But folks got it, in the legal community and in the larger community. Do you ever foresee yourself not working in areas of LGBT equality or pursuing a different track? This is my dream job. I’m engaged in this work and challenged and learning every day. My long-term goal is just to become a better, smarter, more experienced lawyer so that I can continue to do this work.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Gay violinist Andrew Sords celebrates Pride Month with the LGBT Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra on June 28 with a performance of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto. (Publicity photo)

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‘It is so close to the human voice’ Violin soloist Andrew Sords to perform with Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com Andrew Sords is on vacation somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin, admiring fourwheeled beauties at a car show. Yes, the classical violinist loves cars. “I like to look at cars, old American cars. I love the Corvette,” he says. “I like all beautiful things. I’m a glutton for anything beautiful,” he adds with a laugh. And it seems as though fans appreciate his beauty and mastery of the violin. Hailed as “utterly radiant” by Canada’s Arts Forum and “exceptionally heartfelt and soulful” by the St. Maarten’s Daily Herald, Sords has appeared as a soloist with more than 150 orchestras across four continents. His upcoming solo appearance with the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra for the “Tchaikovsky Pride” concert on June 28 is a return back to the city after three years and to an orchestra he admires. Sords began piano lessons when he was five (he was born in the “mid-80s”) and then followed up with violin studies. It was the violin that spoke to him like no other instrument and he studied it closely. “It is so close to the human voice,” he says. “I can’t sing very well, so with the violin I feel like I am singing. The violin feels like a third arm.” “It’s the sound,” he adds. “When it has that rich sound, it resonates with you. That struck me; it was a primal reaction to a good sound.” Born in Delaware and now living in Ohio, Sords says he came out to his friends while at music camp in high school. He told his family later, when he was 18 or 19, and is currently dating someone. But he declined to share anything else about his special someone. His love for music moves beyond classical artists. “If you look at my iPod I have everything from Beyoncé to Broadway to Beethoven,” he says.

DETAILS Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra with soloist Andrew Sords Saturday, June 28 7:30 p.m. Reception to follow North Decatur Presbyterian Church 611 Medlock Road, Decatur, GA 30033 Tickets: $20 adults, $15 seniors and students www.atlantaphilharmonic.org

About the APO n Founded in December 2004 to be an LGBT inclusive orchestra, the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra is inspired by a similar ensemble in Minneapolis n The inaugural concert was conducted in November 2005 at Saint Mark United Methodist Church n The music director is Mirna Ogrizovic. She was born in Croatia, grew up in Belgrade, Serbia, where she received her violin performance degree from the School of Music, Belgrade University of Arts. She received her Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Georgia State University. n Amy Wilson is the associate conductor and has conducted concerts through the U.S., Mexico and Europe. She is the conductor of the Mercer/Macon Symphony Youth Orchestra in addition to her APO duties. n Concertmaster Betül is a native of Turkey and renowned violinist who has performed with world-famous musicians including Vladimir Spivakov, Igor Ozim, Trio de Trieste, Stanislav Apolin and Rudolf Baumgartner.

About Andrew Sords n The violin he plays: 96-year-old Belgian violin by Augustine Talisse n Favorite concerti to perform: Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart nHow much does he practice a day? Depends. An average day is two hours, sometimes up to five or six hours if relearning a concerto to perform in just a few days. And during vacation? Zero hours. n Personal vices/guilty pleasures: Sushi, dance clubs, E! Hollywood Biographies

But he only plays classical music and has a special affinity for the Tchaikovsky piece, the Violin Concerto in D Major, he will be performing in Atlanta. “It’s great. It’s got everything. Fast passes, sexy romantic melodies. People love it,” he says. For those who may not believe classical music can be sexy or fun or, well, good, Sords says they just haven’t heard any good classical music yet. “I automatically assume they weren’t exposed to it all that often,” he says. “I find that people who may not listen to it in the car but then go to a concert will become riveted by the music. It resonates,” Sords says. “So what I will do is drag them to a concert or pick up the violin and play for them.”

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East Point Possums

Owen McCord

raise $25K to help homeless Atlanta LGBT youth Drag queens and drag kings gathered together on June 14 to perform at the 17th annual East Point Possums Show in downtown East Point and organizers say they raised some $25,000 to go to Lost-N-Found Youth, an organization helping Atlanta LGBT homeless youth find permanent housing. Funding will go toward helping the nonprofit renovate a house to make space for a large emergency shelter facility. Hundreds and hundreds of people packed the East Point Downtown Commons Area to watch more than a dozen acts take the stage with all tips going to Lost-N-Found. The annual event is part of Atlanta Prideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stonewall Month of activities. See more photos at www.thegavoice.com (Photos by Dyana Bagby)

Genre

Myah Monroe

Brigette Bidet, left, and Ellisorius Rex

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2014 NGLCC National Business and Leadership Conference July 29 – August 1 Caesars Palace | Las Vegas

Grow Your Business with NGLCC! Join us at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada July 29 to August 1 for the largest NGLCC conference to date! You will experience robust programming, unparalleled networking, and special events that will help you grow your business. The 2014 NGLCC National Business & Leadership Conference will be the biggest and best yet with over 700 LGBT and allied business owners, corporate decision makers, government representatives, and chamber leaders attending. The conference is designed to promote economic development for all business, so whether you are an entrepreneur, business owner, corporation, community leader, or ally, the conference has something for you!

Celebrity Keynotes: Marcus Lemonis CNBC’s The Profit

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Shaun T Creator of INSANITY®

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The Third Friday Film Series film for June is “Persepolis,” the animated coming of age story of a young Iranian girl, 7 p.m., donations accepted, First Existential Congregation, www.firstexistentialist.org

FRIDAY, JUNE 20 Celebrate the release of trans male culture magazine Original Plumbing’s latest issue, the HOTLANTA issue, that features guys from the ATL community, 10 p.m., Atlanta Eagle, www.originalplumbing.com, www.atlantaeagle.com

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It’s the third annual Pride Night at the Atlanta Dream, as the Dream take on the New York Liberty with cheap seats and giveaways. Tickets available at http://www.wnba.com/dream/index_main.html, 7:30 p.m., Philips Arena, www.philipsarena.com Singer-songwriter Jennifer Daniels performs at Eddie’s Attic, 8 p.m., www.eddiesattic.com Edie Cheezburger and her usual assortment of special guests present “The Other Show” drag event weekly at Jungle, 9:30 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

Photo via Facebook

Atlanta’s DJ Christopher Kind and LeBUZZ present their first leather and glow party. No cover all night for men over 25, 10 p.m., www.thenewlebuzz.com

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Roxie Watson, nominated for the Georgia Music Awards Best Country Band 2014, and Michelle Malone join forces to perform, 8 p.m., Red Clay Theatre, www.eddieowenpresents.com

SUNDAY, JUNE 22 Mexican DJ and producer Isaac Escalante spins for the late night/early morning crowd of at Xion at 3 a.m. as part of Peach Party Weekend, www.xionatlanta.com, www.PeachPartyATL.com

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

Resident DJ Twisted Dee visits Xion as part of Peach Party Atlanta weekend, 3 a.m., www.xionatlanta.com, www.PeachPartyATL.com The Atlanta Radical Faeries host “A Midsummer Nightmare” all day and through the night to celebrate the Summer Solstice. The day begins with a heart/intention circle from 1:30-3 p.m., playshops from 3-6 p.m., Summer Solstice ritual from 6-7 p.m., the (k)No(W) talent show from 7-10 p.m., DJ Vicki Powell spinning from 10 to midnight and DJ King Atlanta spinning midnight to 2 a.m. The Radical Faeries welcome all identities, genders and orientations. At the Arts Exchange, 750 Kalb St. SE, Atlanta, GA, 30312, http://tinyurl.com/ppjxfeg The Sweet Auburn Living Beyond Expectations event temporarily transform two blocks of Auburn Avenue (from Fort Street NE to Jackson Street NE) into model Lifelong Community “better blocks”—places where people young and old can live, work and play throughout their lifetime, from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday, June 22, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Georgia Equality hosts its 10th annual Evening for Equality, with honorees the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Grady Health System, Augusta Pride and Kevin Clark, 7:30 p.m., Twelve Hotel, www.georgiaequality.org

FRIDAY, JUNE 20

Peach Party Atlanta weekend begins tonight with DJ/Producer Tony Moran at the Heretic, with an opening set by Mike Pope, 9 p.m. – 3 a.m., www.hereticatlanta.com, www.PeachPartyATL.com

SOMETHING GAY EVERY DAY!

Bookmark www.thegavoice.com to get your daily dose of local LGBT events. Onstage Atlanta presents the gay favorite “Steel Magnolias” through June 28, with an 8 p.m. performance tonight, www.onstageatlanta.com Atlanta Freedom Bands hosts “Set Sail,” a musical journey exploring the beauty of the sea. AFB’s 50-member concert band has exciting music from the classic pirate adventure film “Sea Hawk” sailing alongside “Pirates of the Caribbean” and much more. 8 – 9:30 p.m., First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta, www.firstmcc.com

It’s Jock Strap Sister Twister Night with DJ Pat Scott, 9 p.m., Atlanta Eagle, www.atlantaeagle.com Joe Gauthreaux spins and Phoenix from “Rupaul’s Drag Race” performs as part of Peach Party Weekend, 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., Jungle Atlanta, www.jungleatl.com, www.PeachPartyATL.com The Bikini and Board Shorts Foam Party with DJ Liz Owen, beginning at 11, where ladies in bikini tops get in free before 10 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com

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SUNDAY, JUNE 22

The We are Family! event, sponsored by Atlanta Pride, invites LGBTQ families and kids of all ages to enjoy a day of games, arts and crafts, kids yoga, storytelling, face painting and more, 1 – 4 p.m., Piedmont Park Pavilion. DJ Kevin DuRard gets the crowd moving at an afternoon tea dance as part of Peach Party Weekend at BJ Roosters beginning at 2:30 p.m., 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324 The Counting Crowes come to Chastain Park, with special guests Toad the Wet Sprocket, 7 p.m., www.ticketmaster.com The Atlanta Lyric Theatre’s “Spamalot” runs through June 29 with a 2 p.m. matinee today, Cobb Civic Center, www.atlantalyrictheatre.com Paulo visits Opera, with an opening set by Corey David, as part of Peach Party Weekend, 7 p.m. – midnight, at Opera, www.operaatlanta.com, www.PeachPartyATL.com

MONDAY, JUNE 23

The Sundance Award-winning documentary “The Case Against 8,” co-directed by former Atlantan Ryan White and charting two couples in their efforts to overturn California’s Proposition 8, debuts on HBO tonight at 9 p.m., www.hbo.com

TUESDAY, JUNE 24

Cockpit Atlanta is the home for You Tubesday ‘90s mix, with VJ Ayem, http://thecockpit-atlanta. blogspot.com Ruby Redd and Angelica D’Paige are the emcees of Drageoke, 10:30 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25

Loosen up and settle in for some exercise with yoga at the MISTER Center, 5:30 p.m., www.mistercenter.org TEN Atlanta sponsors Dinner and a Movie every Wednesday at 8 p.m., www.tenatlanta.com

THURSDAY, JUNE 26 – SUNDAY, JUNE 29

Taylor Dayne is among the acts headlining this year’s Augusta Pride celebration, which also feature the Beats on Board event with DJ Kaos on Friday, June 27, from 6 p.m. to midnight. On Saturday, June 28, the Pride Parade is at 10 a.m. along Broad Street with the Pride Fest starting at 11 a.m. All take place in the Augusta Common, www.prideaugusta.org

THURSDAY, JUNE 26

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

The Atlanta Cotillion’s Cirque De Nuit en Rouge event features performances from Liquid Sky, “America’s Got Talent” finalist Prince Poppycock, Dragon House and Dance Crew benefitting AID Atlanta, Delta Flight Museum, 7 p.m. – 1 a.m., www.AtlantaCotillion.com

Shawnna Brooks hosts Duct Tape Dynasty at 11 p.m. at Blake’s, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

ing event at 5:30 p.m. at Any Spine Chiropractic Center, www.anyspine.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 27 AND SATURDAY, JUNE 28

Atlanta Team Tennis Association (ATTA) presents its summer mixer from 7 – 11 p.m., Hit Atlanta, http://hitatlanta.com

She’s everyone’s icon! Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus presents Cher Determination, with celebrated music from the diva. Shows are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and at 8 p.m. The final show will feature special guest Chad Michaels, winner of “Rupaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” Rialto Center for the Arts, www.rialtocenter.org My Sister’s Room hosts a Comedy Show/Official Ladies Party Stonewall event tonight, www.mysistersroom.com

FRIDAY, JUNE 27

SAGE Atlanta hosts its weekly social hour/games and conversation event, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.org

A Mr. Turk swimwear fashion show serves as a fundraiser for Joining Hearts. 5 to 9 p.m., Trina Turk at Phipps Plaza, http://www.simon.com/mall/phipps-plaza/ stores/trina-turk, www.joininghearts.org

Tribal Underground House Music is the rage tonight at Mixx Atlanta, www.mixxatlanta.com

The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC) presents its monthly network-

Acclaimed local author and playwright Pearl Cleage presents her first work of non-fiction in many years at Charis Books. In her inspiring memoir “Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs,” Cleage reminisces on the art of juggling marriage, motherhood, and politics while working to become a successful writer. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Event. The suggested donation is $5. 7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Boys Room is a Friday night dance party with DJ Headmaster and all sorts of retro music videos, Mary’s Atlanta, www.marysatlanta.com The M4M Hardbody Revue, hosted by Envy Van Michaels, is a competition for men with a $100 cash prize weekly, LeBUZZ, www.thenewlebuzz.com

Traxx Girls night at My Sister’s Room offers drink specials, great music and lots of beautiful women, 10 p.m., www.mysistersroom.com Destiny Brooks gets the crowd worked up at Femme Fatale at 11 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com Princess Charles hosts the Pop! Star 2 talent show, with a $100 prize, 11 p.m., 10th and Piedmont, www.communitashospitality.com/10th-and-piedmont

SATURDAY, JUNE 28

An LGBTQ Commitment Ceremony, speed dating and a strong entertainer lineup highlight the fifth annual Rainbow Days at Six Flags Over Georgia, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., 275 Riverside Parkway, www.rainbowdaysatsixflags.com Real Youth, a new organization for LGBTQ youth and allies ages 13-25, is holding its second cookout

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to help create a safe space to allow young people be themselves. 1 to 4 p.m., Brownwood Park, www. facebook.com/RealYouthAtl A pool party benefiting the Nighthawks Bust, the Heretic’s softball team, starts at noon today, 1119 Colby Court SE Atlanta 30316 The WON (Women’s Outdoor Network) Summerfest 2014 is a benefit for Project Open Hand, 1 - 9pm, Lake Claire Land Trust. $15 tickets for WON members; $20 for prepaid non-members and $30 for non-members at the event. Entry includes a meal ticket and two drink tickets. http://lcclt.org/ get-in-touch/directions-to-the-land-trust/

THURSDAY, JUNE 26 – SUNDAY, JUNE 29

friendsonponce-atl.com The Socialite Saturday party at Krave welcomes women from 6 – 10 p.m., www.lapatl.com Katy Perry visits Philips Arena, 8 p.m., www.philipsarena.com The Atlanta Eagle hosts the Panther Leather/ Levi Club Night, 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com The statuesque Shawnna Brooks presents Synergy at 11 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

SUNDAY, JUNE 29

Join Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow as the iconic “The Wizard of Oz” screens at 2 p.m. at the Fox Theatre as part of the Coca Cola Film Festival, www.foxtheatre.org

Join Charis in celebrating the first ever city-specific issue of Original Plumbing Magazine, which just happens to feature Atlantans. Among those featured are cover boy James Darling, Deep Amazing, Macc Attack, Christopher Dowdy, boy Dana and more. $9, 4 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

She Speaks! Presents: The Brown Sugar Vibe’s “Trophies” includes a Red Carpet Reception from 6:30-8 p.m., the Brown Sugar Market Place from 6:30-8 p.m. and then the Brown Sugar Vibe beginning at 8 p.m. which will showcase national and international spoken word and live music and then the induction of six artists into the new Brown Sugar Vibe Hall of Fame, 444 Theatre, 444 Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30312, www.444.theatre.com

“Let’s Make a Deal,” hosted by Ken, is on tap tonight at Friends on Ponce, 6 – 10 p.m., www.

“The Voice” 2014 tour brings together contestants from the first, fifth and sixth seasons of the

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NBC music reality show, 7:30 p.m., Cobb Energy Centre, www.cobbenergycenter.com $2 well drinks are on tap all day and night at Sunday Funday at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309

MONDAY, JUNE 30

Monday Night Trivia, emceed by Wild Cherry Sucret, offers chances to win up to $250 in cash and prizes, 11 p.m. at Blake’s, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

TUESDAY, JULY 1

Two Step Tuesdays offer free two-step, waltz and swing lessons from 8 – 9 p.m. before an open dance from 9 – 11 p.m., Heretic, www.hereticatlanta.com

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2

Bring an empty stomach to Taco, Tequila and Beer Night at Amsterdam Atlanta, with $5 tacos, 6 – 11 p.m., www.amsterdamatlanta.com The Roast of Bubba D. Licious honors the drag goddess, with Phoenix hosting the night’s event and roasters including Charlie Brown, Ruby Redd and Wild Cherry Sucret, benefitting PALS, Jungle, www.jungleatl.com Monica Van Pelt, Angelica D’Paige and Viola Chachki are the hosts for Lips Atlanta’s Bitchy Bingo event, with showtime at 8:45 p.m., www.lipsatl.com Primetime Wednesdays dance party revs up from 10 p.m. – 3 a.m. at Sutra Lounge, 1136 Crescent Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30309

THURSDAY, JULY 3 – SUNDAY, JULY 6

The annual Atlanta BearFest, sponsored by Southern Bears and welcoming hairy men from around the Southeast, opens at the Courtyard Marriott, with all sorts of events over the four day holiday weekend, www.atlantabearfest.com

THURSDAY, JULY 3

Sister’ Night at Woofs – Love American Style version – offers up bingo, raffles and shots to raise money for the local Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, 7 – 9 p.m., www.woofsatlanta.com Decadence: A Night of Drinking and Debauchery is every Thursday starting at 10 p.m., hosted by Adam Bland and Ashley Mitchell with beats by DJ Daryl Cox. A wet underwear contest begins at 11 p.m, with a cash prize and dancers galore, TEN Atlanta, www.tenatlanta.com

UPCOMING SATURDAY, JULY 5

The Atlanta Gender Variations: Parents of gender variant/trans children support group meets in Atlanta today from 2 – 4 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, www.uuca.org

“Legendary Children: In Heat” is a hot and sweaty summer night featuring some of your favorite local artists serving you good ol’ southern queer drag, installations, photos, film, drawings, performance, sexy go-go boys/slaves, music, dancing and shameless innuendo. Entertainers include Bridgette Bidet, Edie Cheezburger, Ellisorous Rex, Jai’Ne Van Michaels, Kryean Kally, Lavonia Elberton, Mo’Dest Volgare and Violet Chackhi, 8 p.m., The Mammal Gallery, http://Mammalgallery.com

SATURDAY, JULY 12

CCE and Cardio ATL present Victor Calderone at

Opera, 10 p.m., www.operaatlanta.com

THURSDAY, JULY 17

Atlanta is Ready for Hillary PAC fundraiser event is from 6 to 8 p.m. at Park Tavern. Tickets are $20.16, host committee tickets are $201.60, and cochairs tickets are $500, www.readyforhillary.com

FRIDAY, JULY 18 AND SATURDAY, JULY 19

The Indigo Girls hits the Atlanta Botanical Gardens as part of the Concerts in the Garden series, 8 p.m. both evenings, www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org

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SATURDAY, JULY 19

Joining Heart’s annual pool party is back. World renowned DJ/remixer/producer Manny Lehman will be headlining the Main Event Pool Party with an opening set by Atlanta’s own DJ Travis, 4 – 11 p.m., Piedmont Park Aquatic Center, www.joininghearts.org

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2

The Inaugural 5k Run/Walk will take place in the historic Marietta Square, beginning at 8 p.m., benefitting the Health Initiative, www.5kequalityrun.org

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Eating my words BY CLIFF BOSTOCK

What’s a proper tip to leave in Atlanta restaurants? Don’t punish servers if food is not good Last week, after lunch at Anis, I found myself amid a scene that occurs too often. I sneaked my usual peek at a friend signing his credit card receipt. He was leaving a $3 tip on a nearly $25 bill. This is usual for my friend. I seldom say anything, but I erupted this time. “How do you do that?” I asked. “Do you not realize these people are working for tips for a living?” “All right, all right,” my friend said. That’s part of the incomprehensible part to me. He knows fully well that such a weasley tip is offensive. It’s especially embarrassing at a place like Anis, where I’ve been dining for years. So, chastened, he changed the $3 to $4. I love my friend, but WTF? When I first started writing about restaurants almost 30 years ago, chief among my stupidities was a relative lack of respect for servers. As was typical of the time, I called them “waitrons.” The term was not considered insulting then, partly, I think, because the profession was widely regarded as something you unhappily did before you got a “real job.” Employers treated servers like robots, and a gender-neutral term like “server” had not yet replaced “waiter.” In my weekly Creative Loafing column, “Grazing,” I regularly awarded a “Waitron of the Week” designation that actually became coveted. Not everybody was amused, though. In fact, when I wrote a satirical column about waitrons, someone began circulating a petition to have me fired. Soon after that, I began to pay more attention. I became amazed that anyone can even work as a server without going insane. Eating constantly in restaurants became a lot like viewing theater of the absurd. I watched, and still watch, diners punishing servers with outlandish demands. It’s as if they’ve purchased a slave for the evening. They haughtily chastise the server for not bringing ketchup with their lobster. They send their entree back to the kitchen because their whole fish has eyes. Servers maintain their cool when these people deserve to have their comped desserts rammed in their faces. Then the slave-whipping diner leaves a 10 percent tip, before taxes. I’ve asked my friend why he leaves such small tips and have never received an answer, unless throwing an extra dollar on the table is an answer. He travels a lot, so I’ve wondered if he thinks that servers here are paid a living wage like they are in Europe,

(Photo by freegreatpictures)

where it’s customary to leave a small tip. Maybe he doesn’t understand that most servers here receive extremely low hourly pay and are dependent on tips to pay their rent. It’s true that with the increase in finedining restaurants in Atlanta, waiting tables can pay pretty well these days. Ditto for pubstyle restaurants where tabs are heavy on the booze (on which many restaurants are dependent for profits). But, for most servers, it’s still grueling work with low pay and without benefits. Employers are not particularly sympathetic. Decent-paying shifts may be hard to come by or too many servers are on the floor at once. And I’m not even going into the absurdity of the new “no-tip” restaurants like Panera. True, these places are all about counter service, but at least let the diner have a choice about throwing some money in a tip jar. Or let diners enter tips on credit card receipts. Even Starbucks won’t allow that. My rule? Tip at least 20 percent, after taxes, on full table service. If you get truly lousy service, it’s rarely the server’s fault. For God’s sake, don’t punish the server because the food sucks or takes forever to get out of the kitchen. The only job I had that was even close to a server’s job was at Six Flags Over Georgia, the summer after my senior year in high school. I was hired as a “relief worker,” circulating among various fast food stands. I got called to the office once because I had prodded customers into line with a broom handle and, at another time, impersonated a redneck to her face when she ordered seven or eight hot dogs, each with four different toppings. I was not fired and I knew why. Nobody in their right mind would have taken that job for what it paid. Things haven’t changed.

Cliff Bostock, PhD, besides being a longtime Atlanta dining critic, is a psychotherapist-turned-life coach, specializing in creativity, midlife transition and gay issues. He offers individual sessions and group workshops. www.cliffbostock.com.

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THEATER BY JIM FARMER

Iconic ‘Steel Magnolias’ bows at Onstage Atlanta Theater searching for home finds one near DeKalb Farmer’s Market A few years ago, the future for Onstage Atlanta seemed pretty bleak. The company had to abandon their home in Decatur’s Suburban Plaza for the impending Walmart in that location. They eventually relocated just a few miles away, near the DeKalb Farmer’s Market, and are up and thriving in their new home. The troupe, known for having several LGBT company members and for producing LGBT fare, currently has a production of “Steel Magnolias” running with out actress Cathe Hall Payne in the role of Truvy. The actress, who admittedly at first thought she wanted to play the character of wisecracking Ouiser (“I think I am Ouiser,” she cracks) eventually realized that Truvy is the center of the show. “When I got to the guts of her, she is the through line of this play,” Payne says. “It’s set in her shop, everyone comes to her for advice. They have been coming to her for years. She is the heartbeat of these women.” Written in 1987 by Robert Harling, the Louisiana-set “Steel Magnolias” has always been popular, particularly in the South. The film version is even more iconic. It boils down to the fact the Southerners can completely relate to the characters, especially LGBT ones, feels Payne. “Southern people want to go home,” she says. “It’s that simple. I can’t tell you how many people have said ‘it’s just like that when I go to the hairdressers with my mom.’ This play takes people home, whether they want to admit it or not. They want to eat fried green tomatoes and drink iced tea. I love the South—I am a Southern girl. That’s the crux of it—make me feel like I did when I was at my grandmom’s house. Give me a piece of my heritage.” “I think that gay people want to go to what is familiar. They want to sit in a chair and watch their grandmother get her hair done.” The rest of the cast includes Patty Mosley Nelson as M’lynn, Kim Salome as Clairee, Abra Thurmond as Annelle, Sarah Newby

DETAILS “Steel Magnolias” Onstage Atlanta 2969 East Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 Through June 28 www.onstageatlanta.com

Gay favorite ‘Steel Magnolias’ is being performed at Onstage Atlanta, now thriving in a new location. (Courtesy photos)

Halicks as Shelby and Bobbie Elzey as Ouiser. For Payne, being in a play with such strong female characters was a joy. “All the characters are so good, each one in its own right for any actress is a gem,” she says. “These women are big. None are small. Each one is someone to be reckoned with. That is why they are cherished. There is not a shrinking violet among them. If this were a race, all six of these women would run neck and neck around the ring. Full out. It can be a danger when you put six strong women on stage of it exploding. Instead we just bonded.” Dolly Parton plays Truvy in the movie, but Payne and her cast members did not watch the movie. “I steered far away,” Payne says. “All of us sit in the spot where people will go, ‘Well Olympia Dukakis didn’t do it like that, Sally Field didn’t do it like that, and Dolly didn’t do that.’ All of us have taken the path that she did it her way and it was fabulous but there is no need to copy that. You have to go out on your own and find your own character and soul. If you copy an icon you should just go home.” The actress feels the success the company is now having started with what they established in the prior location. “The new location piggybacks off the old location,” she says. “We worked really hard in the old location to get people to come back and love our shows and love us. We find familiar faces in the lobby. We get to know the patrons by their first names. We have a children’s program. The location may have changed but we kept the personality of the old theater. Make them feel happy, make them feel at home.” Like “Steel Magnolias” itself.

Meet your future with confidence. LESLIE A. COOK, JD, CFP®, CDFA™ Financial Advisor 825 Juniper Street Atlanta, GA 30303 404.564.4265 leslie.a.cook@ampf.com ameripriseadvisors.com/leslie.a.cook

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BOOKS BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

‘Queerly Beloved’ looks at love across genders ‘Perfect lesbian couple’ faces major changes

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Why do you stay with the one you love? You can count the ways: he makes you laugh. She’s tender, kind, and generous. You love being in his arms. He’s a good dancer. She’s hot. There a million reasons to love, each as individual as the lovers. But what if your partner changed? What if it was a big change—like the one in “Queerly Beloved” by Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall? At first, says Diane Anderson-Minshall, it was “just supposed to be about sex.” Suzy Minshall was a “hook-up,” a knockout with long legs and blonde hair—just the type of woman Diane fell for. It didn’t take long for them to move in together, or to become the “perfect lesbian couple.” But Diane always knew that Suzy felt unsettled. She “tried on many things in the search for identity” but—aside for a job she fiercely loved and sadly lost—there was something else, something different simmering in Suzy. Diane sensed it months before Suzy did but though she was terrified of the imagined implications, she let Suzy come to a realization and reason herself. Suzy wasn’t a lesbian, she was a man— but it was complicated. As a woman, Suzy was a feminist and was deeply committed to the LGBT community; the lesbian community, specifically. Diane was founder of and editor for several lesbian publications. It bothered Suzy, who became Jacob a lot, during the transition, to think that he might no longer be a part of that which he’d embraced for much of his life. Still, with the help of the woman he’d married four (or five, depending on who’s telling the story) times, Jacob continued with his transition. He began with hormones, a meaningful name change, and “top surgery.” Diane, though she mourned what was lost, helped with a keen fashion sense and advice not to be “that kind of man.” Jacob spent time re-examining his life, noting that his gender dysphoria had been inherent for a long time, the clues scattered like “breadcrumbs.” He’d never wanted to be a girl. “I just wanted to be me,” he says, “in a male body.” Let’s put this right on the table: “Queerly

Jacob spent time reexamining his life, noting that his gender dysphoria had been inherent for a long time, the clues scattered like “breadcrumbs.” Beloved” isn’t bad. It isn’t great, either. My biggest irritation here was that authors Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall repeat themselves a lot. If, in fact, the repetition had been cut from this already-short book, it would’ve nearly been a pamphlet. There’s also plenty of time spent on the authors’ personal reasoning with a dothprotest-too-much slant, and very intimate oversharing that comes after adamant vows of not sharing. And yet, though the irritations made me wince, there’s a decent overall story here. Look harder, and you’ll find a deeply personal look at transitioning from the aspect of both the transitioner and the person who’s loved him for most of their lives. If you’re a sucker for romance that right there could be enough reason to plunge into this book. Just be aware that “Queerly Beloved” might be one that’s tough to stay with.

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THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID Just what are ‘Pizzle Sticks’? An odd food makes it way into the meat market By MELISSA CARTER Ever heard of pizzle? Probably not. In fact I hope not. But a Texas grocery store is in trouble for selling it. It’s beef penis. Yes, I said penis. Ground up or dried. MT Supermarket in Austin is in trouble for improperly labeling and selling pizzle for human consumption. According to KXAN, a lawsuit was filed alleging a manager and employees at the supermarket took the pizzle from boxes “labeled inedible beef, not intended for use as human food and repackaged the pizzle in consumer size packages, then labeled the pizzle as human food.” A recent judgment in the case called for $5,000 in fines against MT Supermarket and the employees named in the suit. So who is pizzle intended for? Here in the U.S. it’s meant for dogs. Companies use pizzle in chewable dog toys. Drs. Foster and Smith sell “Pizzle Sticks” online, with a picture of some poor yellow lab chowing down on one. Does he know what he’s eating?!? According to the product’s description, “The rich flavor and crunchy texture keeps dogs chewing for hours. Braided Pizzles have even more surface area with bumps and ridges for teeth cleaning and gum massage. Natural chews will vary in size.” I feel so dirty. In America, pizzle is also used in specialty glues, but I can’t seem to find exactly which glues use this unique ingredient. But I will think twice before I lick my next envelope. Other products include pizzle whips. World Wide Whips describe how the product is made: “The bull´s penis is cleaned and dried. By twisting and stretching during this process, it becomes a vicious, highly flexible whip.” My eyes. In other countries pizzle is used for human consumption, like in soups and alcoholic

Melissa Carter is one of the Morning Show hosts on B98.5. In addition, she is a writer for the Huffington Post. She is recognized as one of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta and one of the few in the country. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCarter

drinks. There are recipes for it, both as pizzle and under it’s sexier name of Cow Cod, which is thought to be an aphrodisiac. Some athletes claim it boosts stamina and performance. Take the 2008 Olympic Games. Team China ordered supplies of pizzle from a Scottish company during competition to help with their performance, since pizzles are said to be rich in protein, vitamins, calcium, magnesium and hormones and low in cholesterol. Yum. However, athletes from China did win 51 gold medals in 2008, the most of any nation at those Olympics. Maybe the proof is in the penis pudding. Asian markets and restaurants around the world are willing to provide you with appendages from a variety of animals, including—but not limited to—ox, deer, horse, and tiger. There are plenty of recipes online for pizzle, including on the Live Strong website, that calls for a bowl large enough “for it to lie flat,” and the all-important preparation of slicing the pizzle open “along its length and remove the urethra.” I may not eat again. There are even pizzles in pop culture. Artists have taken on names like DJ Pizzle, Pizzle P, and Pizzle Mane. “Pizzles in Paradise” offers the literary world tales of one veterinarian’s career dealing with a variety of animals. There’s even H Pizzle, who is apparently Harry Potter’s gangster alter ego. Somebody’s childhood was just ruined. I could have happily gone through my life without knowing what pizzle was, or the fact it even existed. I choose to ignore the possibility I may have even willingly offered my dogs this ingredient without realizing what I was doing. But now that my innocence is forever lost, I must apologize to all my vegetarian friends for often ignoring the arguments of your superior diet. From what I’ve now seen, you may have been right all along.

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SOMETIMES'Y' The prettiest

uprising LGBT ‘revolution’ opts for champagne flutes over Molotov cocktails By RYAN LEE President Obama affirmed how most gay Americans view our cause when he traced the LGBT rights movement along the esteemed lineage of “Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall.” This historical positioning may be appropriate for the century-and-ahalf-old concept of gay liberation, but our recent advances for marriage equality are starting to feel more befitting a future installment of VH1’s “I Love the [Insert Decade].” Same-sex marriage has become as much a cultural fad in 2014 as Candy Crush Saga or “Gangnam Style” were in preceding years. The progress we’ve made at the U.S. Supreme Court and in states from Pennsylvania to Utah has been historic, but it also undermines our claims that we are engaged in the human rights struggle of our lifetime. Exhibit A is “The Case Against 8,” a new HBO documentary that chronicles one of the most significant developments in the marriage wars: the legal challenge to California’s Proposition 8. It is a charming and insightful film, and a feel-good profile of the attorneys and plaintiffs who overturned the hateful ballot initiative that was approved in 2008. What it didn’t seem to be was a story about a human rights struggle. For one, the pinnacle of most liberation movements is not usually reached over catered lunches and iced coffees, and such struggles tend to encounter more resistance than a halfhearted cross-examination or a homophobic voicemail left by an intoxicated caller. I’m not sure anyone can or should be blamed that the course of our movement involves legal strategy and public relations rather than hunger strikes and guerilla warfare, but we should at least practice restraint when thrusting our plight atop the rankings of global oppression. In one scene during “The Case Against 8,” an expert witness for the pro-gay litigators reminds us—once again—that the scope and severity of the legal discrimination that LGBT folks encoun-

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

ter is incomparable, as if he were unfamiliar with Jim Crow, the War on Drugs or our nation’s vile history of immigration policies. During a testimony practice session, neocon-turned-queer-loving attorney Ted Olson asks namesake plaintiff Kris Perry to describe the instances she has been discriminated against due to her sexual orientation. To my memory, Perry offers not a single anecdote. The documentary itself is a heroic tale that desperately needs a villain, as it’s never quite clear who the oppressor is. When the legal challenge to Prop 8 was filed, the state government of California refused to defend the law. When the case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal government refused to defend the law, with the Obama administration intervening on behalf of the gay rights litigants. The movie’s primary antagonist was the uber-obscure HakShing William Tam, who lobbied for Prop 8 among the 10 percent of the California electorate of Asian descent, a group that narrowly defeated the ballot initiative. Rarely has a Goliath so meekly surrendered; yet the makers of “The Case Against 8” never stray from their against-all-odds story arc. Today’s same-sex marriage wins are vital, and are largely an aftershock of the gratuitous bigotry of the past decade. It was the issue our opponents challenged us on, and after absorbing early bruises, we are annihilating them. But it’s a shame how the fight for marriage has devoured the rest of our movement, to the point where many LGBT folks and outsiders consider it to be our ultimate goal. A piece of paper and a pretty ring do not protect transgender riders on MARTA, or prevent a gay man from being assaulted at Detroit’s Gay Pride, or guarantee that same-sex couples can show their love in public without being attacked. There is indeed a revolution awaiting us once we’ve finished toasting champagne and eating wedding cake.

06.20.14

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