HIGH
ALDER Alexander Calder and Pablo Picasso are two of the foremost figures of twentieth-century art. Through more than one hundred paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, Calder-Picasso reveals the radical innovations and enduring influence of these two artists and explores the rare intersections between their lives and their works. Reserve today at high.org. HIGH MUSEUM OF ART ATLANTA JUNE 26-SEPTEMBER 19 Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976), Vertical Foliage, 1941, sheet metal, wire, and paint, Calder Foundation, New York. © 2021 Calder Foundation, New York/Artists Rights Society CARS), New York. Photo courtesy of Calder Foundation, New York/ Art Resource, New York. Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), Reclining Nude (Nu couche), 1932, oil on canvas, Musee nationale Picasso-Paris, Pablo Picasso Acceptance in Lieu, 1979. © 2021 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo© RMN-Grand Palals-Adrlen Dldlerjean.
Calder-Picasso is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; de Young Museum, San Francisco; and High Museum of Art, Atlanta, in partnership with the Calder Foundation, New York; Musee national Picasso-Paris (MnPP); and the Fundaci6n Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte (FABA).
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This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
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4 Editorial June 25, 2021
We laughed at oppression. We laughed at oppressors. On May 11, 1966, the Atlanta Constitution headlined “Clear Out Piedmont Park Perverts, Grady PTA Urges.” Some of us reveled in being called perverts. Some of us joked, calling it “Needle Panic in Piedmont Park,” as the cops cleared out drug sellers and users along with men meeting men. Some of us embraced being outlaws. Six weeks after the Stonewall riot on June 28, 1969, Atlanta’s finest (affectionately called “the pigs” by some folks) instigated another raid, this time on the Ansley Mall Mini Cinema on August 5, 1969. Our ally, theater owner George Ellis, brazenly (and lucratively) showcased Andy Warhol’s film, “Lonesome Cowboys,” a Romeo and Juliet knockoff set in the Old West, where cowboys strip down and furtively fall in love. Back east at Ansley, house lights blasted, camera bulbs flashed, IDs were demanded, and moviegoers were badgered (so much for the Fourth Amendment). “Does your husband know where you are?” our current community leader Abby Drue (CEO of the Ben Marion Institute for Social Justice) was challenged. The question and the assumption went unanswered. Our LGBTQ response was not to burrow back into the closet. Inspired by Stonewall cultivating gay liberation fronts cropping up all over the country, activists here created the Georgia Gay Liberation Front, and at the behest of community organizer Bill Smith, called it the GGLF to embrace the entire state, Deep South and Bible Belt be damned. My friend and mentor Berl Boykin (April 7, 1944–October 6, 2018) already knew about payback. As a sophomore at Emory University in 1963, he was given 24 hours to get off campus when he was caught with another
man in his dorm room.
125, I know, I counted them twice!”
“Didn’t that deter you from ever going back to Emory again?” I marveled, and Berl chortled, “No, not at all!” He and his best buddy, Emory student body president, Steve Abbott, dreamed of a gay rights group on campus and gay liberation worldwide, and that was that. Even when Steve burned his draft card on the Emory quad to protest the Vietnam war, he didn’t get expelled.
Our natural allies on the left often didn’t know what to make of us. The GGLF appealed to the Georgia chapter of the ACLU to obtain a permit and were soundly thrashed. “No, we won’t help you, you are not a minority!” Berl quoted them. Even when we marched together, as Atlanta gay writer and actor Steve Warren did for the 1963 March on Washington, we were undercover, despite gay man Bayard Rustin orchestrating the 1963 march.
Although married and with a baby girl, Steve mostly loved men, bisexual before it was common. His daughter Alysia pays homage to him in her 2013 memoir, “Fairyland,” which has been optioned by Oscar-winning director Sofia Coppola to be made into a movie (Steve died from complications of AIDS in 1992). Other bisexual folks were pivotal too, among them GGLF co-chair Judy Lambert, in tandem with her husband Phil. Steve and Berl found the only friendly media in town, the alternative newspaper The Great Speckled Bird, and rotated on and off the Bird staff, which had a musicalchairs policy to keep any one writer from becoming entrenched. Also an artist, Steve crafted a front page cartoon for the Bird on June 28,1971, touting Atlanta and Georgia’s first Gay Pride March. “Gay sisters and brothers are oppressed in Atlanta too,” Steve editorialized. “By the churches (‘unnatural creature!’), by the government, by almost everyone (‘no jobs for queers’). Thus, in Atlanta, as all over the country, gays were marching again. We call for a repeal of anti-gay laws and for an end to job discrimination. An injustice to one is an injustice to all.” For our fabled city too busy to hate, Gay Pride was daunting. Atlanta refused a permit for the march, and so the 125 protesters “marched” on the sidewalks and stopped for every traffic light. As Grand Marshal Berl loved contradicting the Atlanta Journal Constitution report of 50 folks: “There were
The coda to the first Pride March came on July 14, 1971, when GGLF co-chair Bill Smith accessed then-Governor Jimmy Carter’s open meetings policy. He, Berl Boykin, and Klaus Smith trooped into Carter’s office to ask for repeal of Georgia’s sodomy law and for bottom line rights like employment nondiscrimination. Immediately the meeting went south, and Carter repeatedly bellowed, “No!” Again, Berl laughed about the spectacle, but mourned that Klaus Smith then quit the GGLF. In October of 1972, Klaus and his roommate Robert Lyons, best known as drag performer British Sterling, were killed in a home invasion. Having the chutzpah to confront your state’s highest authority lives on. In 2004, Berl and I camped out at the Carter Center lobby until a staff member would meet us. Earlier that year, Georgia amended its state constitution to outlaw same-sex civil unions, and now as a world human rights champion, we asked if President Carter would endorse same-sex civil unions. Wonder of wonders, this time we succeeded, and Carter confirmed so in December 2004. As they say, it is good to share your strength, your hope, and your experience for the benefit of others. Hope springs eternal. Appreciation goes to Martin Padgett for his new book, “A Night At The Sweet Gum Head: Drag, Drugs, Disco, and Atlanta’s Gay Revolution” for invaluable research. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
Everybody means everybody. General Motors is proud to support the LGBTQ+ community. As the first automaker to support the Equality Act, we celebrate and embrace diversity as we continue our journey to becoming the most inclusive company in the world.
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NEWS BRIEFS Staff Reports New Children’s Book Tells Story of First Same-sex Married Couple in U.S. GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, announced the latest children’s book in its series in partnership with Little Bee Books, Two Grooms on a Cake, written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Robbie Cathro. The children’s book tells the story of Jack Baker and Michael McConnell, the first married gay couple in the U.S. Long before marriage equality was the law of the land, two grooms stood on a wedding cake with their feet firmly planted in fluffy white frosting. That cake belonged to Baker and McConnell, who were wed on September 3, 1971, becoming the first same-sex couple in America to be legally married. Their struggle to obtain a marriage license in Minnesota and their subsequent appeals to the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States is an under-told story in LGBTQ history. This book celebrates the love story of two pioneers of marriage equality for all through the baking of their wedding cake. “Two Grooms on a Cake is a continuation of our partnership with Little Bee Books to further LGBTQ representation in kids and family books and education,” said Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s Chief Communications Officer. “It’s important that we both document LGBTQ history, and create opportunities to celebrate LGBTQ couples with our families and children, and with Two Grooms, Rob Sander’s accomplishes both.”
PHOTO VIA ACLU
a dozen sources, including the FBI, UCLA School of Law, and the U.S. Census. The findings were bleak. 57 percent of states, including Georgia, fell short in providing protections for LGBTQ residents. Only half of the states have laws that include one or more LGBTQ nondiscrimination health care protections for private insurance, and on average, states have more laws in place protecting LGBTQ public employees than private ones; 59 percent have laws protecting employees of the state and local governments on the basis of sexual orientation, while 41 percent protect employees in the private sector. States with higher populations of LGBTQ residents also had higher than average rates of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, and 22 states’ adoption laws do not explicitly state they allow same-sex couples the right to secondparent adoption.
“When I first read about Michael McConnell and Jack Baker, I knew the story of their marriage was one kids needed to hear,” author Rob Sanders said. “I’m so grateful they allowed me to share their story and I’m even more grateful that they lived their story.”
Nationwide LGBTQ safety rankings were determined through several criteria focused on population, crime, work, marriage and family, and children. States were rated 1 or -1 for each answer, resulting in a possible score range from 100 to -100.
Two Grooms and a Cake is on sale now.
California and Vermont tied for first place with a safety index score of 100 each. By contrast, North Dakota scored most poorly in the nation with a safety index score of -71. On average, states with higher populations of LGBTQ residents performed better, with one exception: Georgia, which was #48 in the ranking with a score of -58. Georgia has no measured protections in place through
Georgia Ranks #48 in the Nation for LGBTQ Safety The Safe Home research team released state-by-state rankings detailing the best and worst cities to live from a perspective of LGBTQ safety. The rankings were determined through a compilation of over 6 New Briefs June 25, 2021
Gerald Bostock at news conference state law for public accommodations, antidiscrimination in health care, or employment protection from discrimination. Gerald Bostock Archival Collection to be Displayed at University of West Georgia The Invisible Histories Project (IHP) and the University of West Georgia (UWG) recently announced that archival items from Gerald Bostock, the plaintiff in Bostock v. Clayton County, were donated to be put on display in UWG’s Special Collection in Ingram Library. In 2013, Bostock was fired from his job in the juvenile court system. Three years later, he sought legal recourse, alleging workplace discrimination due to his sexual orientation. In a landmark decision in 2020, the Supreme Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. The historic case granted workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans. The items to be archived include t-shirts from various LGBTQ events and organizations, a banner from Atlanta Pride 2019, and other items collected during Bostock’s life representing his experience outside the courtroom. The collection is currently being processed by UWG history students before being displayed in the Ingram Library. The collection will be open to the public and used for student research and coursework. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
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NEWS
Activist Devin Barrington-Ward Announces Run for Atlanta City Council Olivia Martin
$18 an hour, including city support in the form of workforce development bonds, and funding for infrastructure, street repairs, and affordable housing.
Devin Barrington-Ward has dedicated much of his life to advocacy and political work, from starting a political organization in high school to later relocating his advocacy work to D.C. He’s now returning to his hometown of Atlanta to run for office. This is a career path that makes sense for someone like Barrington-Ward, whose passion for civil service spans childhood and beyond.
The link between Barrington-Ward’s activism and his politics is strong, and he plans to draw from his knowledge and experience on the frontlines of protest and advocacy to enact policies that protests and people in the city of Atlanta have been demanding for months or even years or decades.
“I probably always wanted to be an elected official,” he told Georgia Voice. “I would use my Legos and my Hot Wheels to create little cities, and there would be conflict, but we would solve it.” The community organizer, frontline activist, and managing director of the Black Futurists Group announced his run to represent District 9 on the Atlanta City Council on May 26. For Barrington-Ward, this marks a return to the political arena after a previous loss. In 2020, he ran to represent District 38 in the Georgia State Senate, but lost in the Democratic primary to incumbent Horacena Tate. Barrington-Ward’s political resume extends all the way back to high school. When he was not elected Class President, he took matters into his own hands and created his own political club. From there, he held a handful of roles on campaigns as well as political internships and then served as one of the youngest Chiefs of Staff in the history of the Georgia State Senate. Many of the issues Barrington-Ward advocates for are particularly relevant to his own lived experience. He draws upon his own experiences being Black and queer to inform his activism and pushes for policy. “As a queer person, my identity was not fully understood by my family, and so there was some family separation and distance 8 News June 25, 2021
“The streets have been talking,” he said. “They were talking before the death of George Floyd. They’ve been talking when HIV rates continue to soar in this community, and no one was doing anything about it. The streets have been talking when trans folks have experienced harassment by APD … The streets have been talking, but many of the elected officials who currently hold office have not been listening.”
because my family’s from the Caribbean and there’s some extra stigma that can sometimes be attached to a child coming out in the Caribbean household,” he said. “So, I got to see also the realities that Black LGBTQ people go through in this city at a very early age. I’ve had friends die of HIV … and I’ve been homeless myself, I’ve had friends who are homeless.” Based on this personal experience and his wide breadth of political knowledge, Barrington-Ward hopes to turn the tide on policies that prove harmful, particularly to marginalized communities. “I’ve had, you know, dual experiences,” he said. “I’ve seen politics and how it can work, and how bad policies and stigma and homophobia and transphobia can impact our lived experiences, and so I bring that to
the full weight of my activism.” With an overarching theme of “Wake Up Atlanta!,” Barrington-Ward’s campaign centers on the “three Ps”: public safety, public infrastructure, and poverty. “It’s time to wake up and recognize that there are some issues that we have continued to collude with because we have adopted some old mindsets to old problems,” he said. “And we need some new ideas and fresh blood to come in and to transform these problems.” He has many programs, changes, and developments in mind for the city, including the closure of Atlanta City Detention Center. His campaign also supports alternatives to policing in the form of mental health services and diversion initiatives, providing young people in particular with jobs that pay
Barrington-Ward also seeks LGBTQ representation in Atlanta’s leadership, realizing the importance of the city on the national and world stage and the importance of having LGBTQ people in positions of power to advocate for their communities. “I just think it’s imperative that marginalized communities not ask for power but demand it, and so as a Black queer person … this is indicative of not asking for power on behalf of my community but taking it for the people who need it,” he said. “It’s imperative that we not just have one LGBTQ Council member, but I believe in a city that is probably one of the most important cities for LGBTQ people, for Black people, and just one of the most important cities in the world, it’s imperative that we have numerous LGBTQ leaders.” More information about BarringtonWard’s campaign can be found at wakeupatlanta.org. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
NEWS
Understanding Fulton v. Philadelphia: Dodging Bullets Lisa Keen
“Think about this in another area of law, like health care,” said Pizer. “If a doctor announces prospectively that they intend to discriminate — that they will treat only people of this one race and not another race — that’s a discrimination problem. And maybe people hear that doctor’s message and don’t go to that doctor. But that doesn’t absolve that medical office. You wouldn’t have a decision saying that ‘lots of doctors in town are willing to treat Black people so Black people can just go somewhere elsewhere.’ There has never been that kind of understanding of how civil rights laws are supposed to operate.”
Read the full article at thegavoice.com. Was it a “significant” victory for LGBTQ people or another sign of “death by a thousand cuts” for LGBTQ equal rights? Was it an “important win for religious liberty” or a “failure”? Reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 17 decision in Fulton v. Philadelphia — allowing a Catholic foster care agency to refuse to obey a city nondiscrimination ordinance — elicited an unusually wide range of often contradictory assessments. The Fulton decision did not deliver as straightforward a message as Obergefell v. Hodges did in 2015, when the court said, “same-sex couples may now exercise the fundamental right to marry in all States.” It did not spell out clearly, as it did in Bostock v. Clayton last year, that “an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law.” Instead, Fulton carried a nuanced message, akin to that of the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado decision in 2018. In Masterpiece, the court ruled: “the laws and the Constitution can, and in some instances must, protect [LGBTQ people] in the exercise of their civil rights … At the same time, the religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views and in some instances protected forms of expression.” In Fulton, it said: “We do not doubt that [the city’s] interest [in the equal treatment of prospective foster parents] is a weighty one, for [quoting from Masterpiece] ‘our society has come to the recognition that gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in dignity and worth.’ On the facts of this case, however, this interest cannot justify denying [Catholic Social Services, or CSS] an exception for its religious exercise.” TheGeorgiaVoice.com
PHOTO BY BOB KORN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
“CSS seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts; “it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else.” Joining Roberts in the opinion were the three more liberal members of the court — Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan — and two of the court’s newest conservatives — Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
same-sex couples. When CSS’s contract with the city came up for renewal, the city declined to renew it, saying CSS was in violation of the city ordinance and the contract’s language. CSS sued, saying the city’s refusal to renew its contract violated its First Amendment Free Exercise right. Besides, said CSS, it never violated the law because no same-sex couples had ever come to CSS and, if they had, CSS would have gladly referred them to some other foster care agency.
The remaining three conservative justices — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch — concurred in the judgment (that Philadelphia owed CSS an exception to its nondiscrimination policy protecting LGBTQ people). But Alito and Gorsuch wrote their own concurring opinions, indicating they would have gone much further in ruling for CSS. And Thomas joined both.
Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts accepted CSS’s contention that, by certifying a family for potential foster care placements, it was making an “endorsement of their relationships.”
The facts of the Fulton case are these: The city of Philadelphia has an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and its contracts with outside organizations include similar language. City officials discovered that one of the private agencies to which it refers children in need of foster homes — Catholic Social Services (CSS) — had a policy of denying such placements to
“CSS does not object to certifying gay or lesbian individuals as single foster parents or to placing gay and lesbian children,” wrote Roberts, noting that no same-sex couple had ever gone to CSS seeking to be certified. And he reiterated CSS’s contention that, if a samesex couple had gone to CSS, the Catholic agency would have directed the couple to an agency that does certify same-sex couples. Jenny Pizer, senior counsel and director of law and policy for Lambda Legal, could not buy into that line of logic.
Roberts made two other arguments for his decision, too. One focused on the way Philadelphia’s foster care system was set up: The city had custody of children in need of homes and asked its various foster care contractors to “certify” couples who could provide suitable homes. CSS said certification was tantamount to endorsement and claimed its religious beliefs were opposed to endorsing same-sex marriages. So, the city’s insistence that CSS certify qualified same-sex couples “forced” CSS to choose between its religious beliefs and serving foster care children in Philadelphia (the city had argued that CSS received $26 million per year for its services, “which is hardly something demonstrating religious hostility”). Roberts’ second argument was that foster care placement is not a “public accommodation.” A public accommodation, he said, is one that provides a benefit to the “general public.” James Essex, director of the national ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, said it’s very important in Fulton that “the court did not rule (as the agency asked) that there is a constitutional right for government contractors such as the foster care agency to discriminate in their work for the city based on religious beliefs.” Fulton, he said, “means that governments can and should continue to enforce their nondiscrimination laws in all contexts.” June 25, 2021 News 9
PRIDE
Pinkwashing and Sincere Corporate Allyship Katie Burkholder
Facebook float at San Francisco Pride
Come June 1, corporations trade their everyday logos for rainbow versions and tweet out vague messages of love, equality, and Pride. This 30 day long stint of allyship typically dissolves July 1, only to be reinstated the following June. This phenomenon — labeled with phrases like “pinkwashing,” “corporate Pride,” and “rainbow capitalism” — is relatively new; within the last five years, it has become the norm for brands to recognize Pride month. At its best, this mass corporate allyship is a sign of a culture of LGBTQ acceptance. After all, polling from Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) shows that 76 percent of Americans — more than ever before — favor laws protecting LGBTQ Americans from discrimination. At its worst, however, it’s an exploitative cash grab at a historically marginalized community whose purchasing power has begun to increase. Although public opinion favors the LGBTQ community, things are still bleak when it comes to LGBTQ rights. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 2021 is slated to become the worst year for anti-LGBTQ legislation at the state level, with more than 250 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced nationwide in only a sixmonth span. Despite their outward support of the LGBTQ community during Pride month, many corporations are distributing money to the politicians pushing these bills and blocking pro-LGBTQ bills like the Equality Act. This month, the progressive and proLGBTQ Representative Pramila Jayapal took to Twitter to call out corporations doing just that. Businesses like Wells Fargo, Walmart, and Goldman Sachs all took part in the slew of rainbow logos and social media celebration, despite donating $69,000, more than $150,000, and $102,500 — respectively — to Sen. Mitch McConnell and other Republican senators blocking the Equality Act, according to Jayapal. Data compiled by Corporate Accountability Action, an organization dedicated to highlighting corporate donations to anti10 Pride June 25, 2021
PHOTO BY SUNDRY PHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
LGBTQ legislators, reveals that AT&T (another company “supporting” LGBTQ Pride on social media) donated a whopping $204,350 to 133 anti-LGBTQ legislators. As these numbers reveal, the trend of rainbow capitalism serves as an attempt by many brands to cover up their year-round anti-LGBTQ behavior with a rainbow flag to continue profiting off their pro-LGBTQ customers. Many companies are attempting to transform the history and struggle associated with Pride month into a new Black Friday while actively contributing to the struggle. So, how does one as a buyer distinguish the true allies from the fake “woke”? “It’s not just about a change of logo, it’s not just about the rainbow,” Oksana Tunikova, the Senior Brand Manager at Crello, told Georgia Voice. “If you [recognize Pride month as a brand], you need to have a statement behind it. We understand that some brands do this, but unfortunately what we notice is that most brands just blindly follow the trend to catch the hype. They [usually] have this general statement about raising awareness for Pride month, but Pride month isn’t something that needs awareness [anymore]. What needs awareness is the problems and
issues the community still faces.” Crello is an online graphic design platform that allows brands to visualize their marketing ideas. The company has a vast library of templates that can be used by brands, including many relating to the LGBTQ community and Pride — which Tunikova says are offered year-round, but used far more often by clients during June. According to Crello, brands can use their platforms and power to actually support the LGBTQ community — but it requires much more than a rainbow. Have Something to Say Crello suggests participating in Pride month as a brand only if you have something authentic to say. This could be, for example, explicit support for the Equality Act (and having the political donation record to back it up), opposition to specific antitrans bills being passed in state legislatures, or tips for creating an inclusive workplace environment. This shows that the brand is familiar with and truly cares about the current issues LGBTQ people are facing. Be Mindful of the Rainbow If a brand wants to use Pride hashtags, rainbow stickers, and LGBTQ filters on
“At its best, this mass corporate allyship is a sign of a culture of LGBTQ acceptance. After all, polling from Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) shows that 76 percent of Americans — more than ever before — favor laws protecting LGBTQ Americans from discrimination.” their social media content, they should be coupled with charity or education — otherwise, they’re just exploiting the month for visibility. Look for brands that make donations during Pride month to LGBTQ organizations like The Trevor Project or, locally, Lost-n-Found Youth and educates their followers on specific LGBTQ-related issues with infographics. Pride is Personal Let’s not forget that the LGBTQ community is made up of actual people! According to a recent survey of LGBTQ professionals by LinkedIn, 25 percent of respondents reported being intentionally denied career advancement because of their identity. Companies that are true allies should have diversity among their higher-up positions, clear anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, and educational opportunities and bias training for employees. Don’t Limit Pride to June Maybe one of the easiest ways to tell if a brand is truly dedicated to LGBTQ equality is year-round support. The LGBTQ community doesn’t only exist during June, so advocating for them shouldn’t, either. “A company that claims to be inclusive and diverse should be like that in all ways,” Tunikova said, “not just with their public facing social media and marketing presence, all year round.” TheGeorgiaVoice.com
PRIDE
The Racial Implications of Pride “For the past 20 years, separate spaces and platforms have been created to allow Black queer voices to be heard, in a historically white mainstream movement. By the 1990s, Black Gay Pride had become an alternative movement and space to discuss issues solely within the Black community.”
Cami Melson Pride is a time for the LGBTQ community to come together, but it is also a time for it to come apart. In the past year, killings of Black individuals, including trans people, have led to social unrest across the country. Black queer people find themselves at an intersection of racism and homophobia. Day to day, they encounter abuse in the workplace, in the media, and in the streets. With the annual Pride festivities taking place this year, the LGBTQ community is reflecting on what it can do to better protect and serve queer persons of color. Despite the LGBTQ community’s best efforts to bring about change and equality, there hasn’t been enough to bring about inclusivity and equality for Black members of the community. The best step forward may be to become more educated on Black lives and Black stories. For the past 20 years, separate spaces and platforms have been created to allow Black queer voices to be heard, in a historically white mainstream movement. By the 1990s, Black Gay Pride had become an alternative movement and space to discuss issues solely within the Black community. These separate celebrations and spaces are not meant to divide the LGBTQ community. They’re meant to close the gaps and uplift silenced voices. The first Pride events and festivals were not designed to amplify Black voices and Black thought. Some more recent events haven’t even tried to include Black members of the community. Meanwhile, Black cisgender and transgender people have been leaders of activism in their individual, Black and gay communities. People like Marsha P. Johnson and Bayard Rustin are remembered for their leadership within their communities, yet people just like them today are ostracized from the spaces they created. Atlanta, unlike most places in the world, holds three annual Pride celebrations. There TheGeorgiaVoice.com
Sevyn Streeter sings with the crowd at the 2018 Atlanta Black Pride Celebration. FILE PHOTO
are opportunities to celebrate the progress of the LGBTQ community as a whole and the progress of the intersecting communities within it. The city is also recognized as one of the two official festivals for the Black LGBTQ community in the United States. Events begin in late August and include workshops, sip & paint events, comedy shows, art exhibitions and the annual Pure Heat Community Festival.
of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others have sparked a revolution. Police brutality has been protested by the gay community since the Stonewall Riots and even prior to that. Several cities have even banned police from Pride marches this year. Yet, the police abuse Black people face, versus the rest of the community, doesn’t compare. Every day is a Pride march for Black queer people.
These events serve as an opportunity to party together and openly discuss issues such as housing and food insecurity, mental health, and health care for individuals in the Atlanta area. Black Gay Pride has made these discussions possible and fostered action when it comes to issues like the fight against HIV/AIDS in the city.
The pandemic has also impacted Black and Brown communities at disproportionate rates. According to the CDC, the pandemic has revealed the inequity in health care (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html), and as a result they have had a greater chance of getting and dying from COVID-19.
The issues facing the community now include COVID-19 and continued police brutality. Police brutality is nothing new to Black and queer people, but the killings
With vaccine rollouts and fewer restrictions this year, Pride festivities have returned to the city, but now the community must navigate through new protocols and safety. Most events
have been outdoors and socially distanced. Masks have been required or recommended and streaming some of these events has become a viable option as well. It is likely that these same steps will be taken at Atlanta Pride and Black Gay Pride events this fall. The past year has opened the eyes of many to the harsh realities facing people of color in this country. The gay community has come together in the streets and at the polls, and now it’s time to revamp and rejuvenate in unified and even separate spaces. Without these spaces for the LGBTQ community to come apart, it will never fully come together. Therefore, Black Gay Pride must always be in place to serve the needs of Black queer people. The community, as a whole, must continually work to align its goals based on issues facing the whole group and the intersecting ones. It isn’t enough to celebrate at parades and events with Black queer individuals. This past year has shown that allyship is needed not only to achieve equity and justice, but also to save Black lives. June 25, 2021 Pride 11
PRIDE
Come (Out) as You Are Provides Online Space for Coming Out Anthony T. Eaton Read the full interview online at thegavoice.com. Our stories are what connect us, unite us, and let us know we are not alone in our journey, whatever that may be. This is especially true for those who are considering coming out, are in the process of coming out, or have come out. Together, Kaitlyn Scoville and Robyn Warren have created an online place, comeoutasyouare.com, for members of the LGBTQ+ community to share comingout stories and a place to understand the experience and gain an understanding, not only about coming out but being LGBTQ. Where did the idea for Come (Out) as You Are come from and when did you launch? K: The idea came to me as I was completing my college career at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in fall 2020. I was in the middle of job searching and thought to apply my acquired skills through something I was passionate about — person-of-interest journalism, storytelling, and reporting. Shortly after I graduated, I bit the bullet and began Come (Out) as You Are. My girlfriend helped me come up with the name. After I published a few stories, my former journalism adviser took notice and offered to donate $100 to get my blog moved to its own domain. Around the same time, I asked Robyn to help out. How has it been received so far, and what kind of responses have you gotten? K: Community responses have been wonderful since the beginning. I received word from an old colleague that one of my coming-out story posts encouraged him to come out to his parents, which was greatly affirming. It’s part of my goal to instill confidence and strength in those who may not have been ready to come out. I’ve also 12 Pride June 25, 2021
heard from my more miscellaneous posts that I’ve helped parents, teachers, and even other LGBTQ folks understand parts of the community they hadn’t seen before. R: I would have to say overall, people love it, and they are happy to have it as a resource and read about coming-out stories and pressing issues the LGBTQ+ community faces. We have made many great connections with individuals who share it with others, and it just keeps spreading organically, and I can’t thank those individuals enough. We have had a few distasteful comments on posts or ads. No matter the interaction, positive or negative, I strive to interact with love and compassion. Despite our having more rights, protections, and visibility, coming out doesn’t seem to have become easier. Why do you think that is? K: It can stem from several factors, of course. However, I believe there is a deep-rooted fear among youths and even adults for how their families might react. That internal struggle can come from observations children make that their parents never notice. It all comes down to accepting one another for who they
are no matter what, to teach children it’s okay to wander from the status quo. R: I think we still face contention from an older generation that isn’t as accepting and pushes the status quo. If we look at who is leading the government and the influence they have on American people, that can answer a lot of questions. When biased media outlets speak about the LGBTQ+ community, they never choose the best or most flattering way to present the community. I think another major player in the homophobia gambit is religion. Many people use religion as their driving narrative to be homophobic somehow. The decision to come out or not, when and how, is a very personal one. Is there any advice you would offer to someone considering it? K: Let me quote a few individuals who have said it better than I probably ever will: “I think the most important thing is making sure that you live for yourself first. And if that means you have to distance yourself from your family, then do it. If that means
you need to make new friends, then do it.” — Cory, January 5, 2021 (the first person who shared his story with me) “Build yourself a support system before you move to some of the harder coming out stages; it’s good to slowly build that up as you feel more comfortable.” — Zach January 12, 2021 “If you never come out to people, you’re always going to have that worry in your stomach, and it’s never going to go away … If you’re in a place where you can’t come out yet, your day will come … don’t give up.” — Lilith May 10, 2021 R: Make sure you’re in a safe environment to do so. Make sure you have a great support network, and never look back. Get yourself to a place where you can be you without issue and be your best self and if you need support, reach out and get that support. There is absolutely no shame in getting the help you need. Learn more about Come (Out) as You Are and read others’ coming out stories at comeoutasyouare.com. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
Find Your Way Home!
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June 25, 2021 The Pink Page 13
DANTE RHODES THE GAYLY DOSE
Pride’s a Protest, not a Party Dante Rhodes, Co-Host, The Gayly Dose Pride is a simple word, but one that doesn’t go without a complex meaning to so many. The queer community has taken that word and attached feelings of hope, love, and humanity to it, and has done so with the promise of one day having equality — equality not only in the world, but furthermore, even within our own LGBTQ+ community. While we have come so far in our fight, to this day Pride itself is more than just a party; it’s a protest rooted in the fear of not having a future. Growing up in metro Atlanta, I never dealt with a world that invalidated my sexuality to a point of it being a life-or-death situation, and while I am thankful for that, I still had to deal with ostracization, hate, and cruelty. The reason it hurt so much was because it came from people who “loved me” only in the absence of my sexuality being tangible. The same people who built me up to be a great person in their eyes then weaponized something that I hadn’t even contextualized as being valid. This is the struggle for many, and this is why being queer identifying can be the bane of some people’s existence. During this time in my life is when I realized the true meaning of what pride meant to me. It meant a future where I could be myself, surrounded by love, and do whatever I wanted, however I wanted. In 2016, I went to my first Pride festival, and that changed everything for me. I could see the world in a lens that made so much sense to me. I understood everything without knowing anything at all. The way I felt just felt so correct — so validated, finally. When thinking about Pride, this feeling isn’t unique just to me, nor did it start with a festival filled with circuit parties and a list of performers who fill your heart with 14 Columnist June 25, 2021
The Raid on Stonewall PHOTO VIA WIKICOMMONS
glee. It started with the raid of the Stonewall Inn in NYC’s Greenwich Village. This bar served as a safe haven for people in the queer community at time when homosexual acts were illegal in most states and transgender individuals were suffering from persecution and violence. This raid was met with a resistance that would change the trajectory of LGBTQ+ rights forever.
Black humans in America. During the peak of the pandemic, there was a sudden spike in crimes committed against Black people in our country, done so by the people paid to do the complete opposite. This time the response was different, similar in nature to how people reacted to the raids at the Stonewall Inn. Both served as the final straw for so many.
In 2021, the fight for human rights extends beyond the LGBTQ+ community and lies within an intersectionality that so many queer people exist in. This is where I steer the conversation toward the welcomed uprising of people fighting for rights for
Being Black and gay in America has plagued me in ways that affect me differently from others, but still exist along the same parallels. I am seen as the outsider at times in the world — even within each respective community. This is a struggle for me, but one that I
“Pride is a simple word, but one that doesn’t go without a complex meaning to so many. The queer community has taken that word and attached feelings of hope, love, and humanity to it, and has done so with the promise of one day having equality — equality not only in the world, but furthermore, even within our own LGBTQ+ community. While we have come so far in our fight, to this day Pride itself is more than just a party; it’s a protest rooted in the fear of not having a future.” refuse to succumb to. I will put my honest foot forward in every room I enter, and look beyond the hate, hoping for a future where I can simply exist as Dante. Dante is the Founding Chief Host and Lifestyle Expert of The Gayly Dose, an Atlanta-based podcast hosted by an all-gay cast. Unique in its mission and followon format, weekly episodes are known for their real conversations about things that matter to the community and their listeners. Purposefully candid and brutally honest, the cast speaks on a range of topics including monogamy, body issues, coming out, dating apps and growing up gay in the church. Listen at thegaylydose.com. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
BUCK JONES THE FRENCH CONNECTION
Buck’s Losers If you grew up in the South and are of a certain age, you might remember a particular weekly radio show. Originally broadcast on WRFCAM out of Athens, Georgia, in 1958, Leonard Postero created a unique prognostication show that blended humor with the region’s love of college football. Postero’s show, which quickly gained a devoted following, was called “Leonard’s Losers” and he would look at the pairings for each college football game and give a clever summation of the match-up, finishing with his prediction not of the winner, but the loser. He made this homey show a part of Southern culture and added his own colorful descriptions for each of the college teams. For example, the local University of Georgia’s mascot, the Bulldog, was instead called “the red clay hounds,” and a typical episode would sound like this: “Phillip Fulmer leads his Rifleman into the Athens Kennel for a shooting match with Jim Donnan’s Pack of Drool Dogs. The Volunteer Army has owned the K-9s of late, while the Red Clay Hounds think it’s about time to sink their teeth into the Big Orange Rifle Brigade. The Knoxville Army is angry 16 Columnist June 25, 2021
after last week, but the Athens Dawgs will get the job done. Leonard’s loser? Tennessee.” The show lasted for years and continued on briefly after Postero retired in 1999. At its height the show was carried on more than 1,400 radio frequencies. Out of homage to Leonard and his losers, since I am in an especially nostalgic mood this month of Pride, I am offering up some matchups between the United States and France. Each country has advantages and disadvantages, and hopefully this will give y’all a chuckle and make you think, challenging your thinking and American-centric pride, just as Postero did each weekend for your favorite school during college football season. Beers I’m not a beer drinker (my adult beverage of choice is of the rosé variety), but I do know a thing or three about this favorite malted drink. One would think that France, which is next door to arguably the world’s epicenter of beer (Belgium and Germany), would have a sophisticated brewery heritage. Alas, no. The USA, on the other hand, with its proliferation of microbreweries easily surpasses France’s mass-produced labels in terms of both quality and enthusiasm.
Cheers, my friends. Buck’s loser: France. Muscle Cars For some, the mere mention of a muscle car evokes an image of a brooding James Dean in “Rebel Without A Cause” and his 1949 Mercury. The classic muscle car, a twodoor midsized car fitted with a powerful V8 engine, is a uniquely American phenomenon. The 1950s–1970s saw a celebration of these street racing cars, such as the Pontiac GTO, the Buick Gran Sport, and even the Rambler. For France, as well as much of Europe, they were constrained by restrictive fuel economy standards following World War II. So-called “horsepower taxes” made it impossible for the common person to afford a highpowered car, but Peugeot launched its 504 model to great acclaim. Even though it had only four cylinders (thereby half the power of a V8), it won hearts and several prizes. And while the Citroën SM series (1970–1975) is technically not a “muscle car,” it, too, grabbed attention with its almost rocket-like chassis. When the checkered flag is waved, Buck’s loser is France (again). 1970s Rock Finishing up my nostalgic string of comparisons, my attention is diverted by
the guitar licks and percussive anthems of 1970s rock. Hear just the opening few bars of the Steve Miller Band’s “Jet Airliner” or of Boston’s “Peace of Mind” and you’re hooked for the entire ride. There’s something very American about rock music, which like jazz is arguably one of America’s greatest cultural gifts to the rest of the world. Since its genesis in the 1950s, each decade has seen an evolution in rock. While the British invasion of the 1960s probably stole the crown for awhile, by Woodstock America had once again found its preeminence. Unlike America, France has an unabashed love affair with dancing. What we commonly call disco music was going strong in Europe before it ever transfixed Middle America. Perhaps France’s greatest musical success from the 1970s is “Born To Be Alive” by Patrick Hernandez (1978), which, while a great dance song, is just that: a disco song. Among the most adored and prolific of French rockers is Johnny Hallyday, but Elvis Presley heavily influenced his style. Magma is a genuine French rock group, but they sing in a made-up language about a pretend history of space colonists, a recipe that is far too esoteric for a mainstream audience. Put your ear buds back in, because Buck’s loser is, once more, France. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
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June 25, 2021 Ads 17
BILL KAELIN ONE-ON-ONE
Vicki Powell COURTESY PHOTO
One On One with
Vicki Powell Bill Kaelin bill@billkaelin.com
This month I sat down with my old friend, Atlanta DJ and nightlife legend, Vicki Powell. It took some convincing, as Vicki can be painfully shy and is an extremely private person. With a little coaxing, I convinced her to come out from behind the turntables and share her story with the Georgia Voice in this month’s “One on One.” Read the full interview at thegavoice.com. Tell me a little bit about your history. Where did you grow up? I am an Atlanta native, which is rare. I was actually born at St. Joseph’s Hospital on Courtland Street, which is a skate park now. The hospital was in a predominately African American neighborhood called Buttermilk Bottoms. Growing up in Cobb County as a queer kid had to be hard. Did you get bullied at all? How did you adapt to being an outsider? I had really red hair growing up and the kids would call me Red Headed Wood Pecker, which in hindsight is hilarious, but I knew I was different. There were two things I used most as defense mechanisms: music and my sense of humor. Tell me a little bit about Atlanta in the ’80s. I had a best straight guy friend who I used to roller skate competitively with named Clay Mathis who had a gay sister that went to UGA. I was underage and completely naïve, but I think his sister knew I was queer because she drove us both up to Athens and took me to my very first gay dance club that was down a long, dark country road called Club Rendezvous. I was so nervous. It was so nondescript; no gay Pride flag was outside 18 Columnist June 25, 2021
“I had really red hair growing up and the kids would call me Red Headed Wood Pecker, which in hindsight is hilarious, but I knew I was different. There were two things I used most as defense mechanisms: music and my sense of humor.”
the door. I had no idea what to expect until I walked in, and Sylvester was playing. I immediately knew I had found my people. I was hooked. It was a 12 on the gay Richter scale. The entire placed smelled like sweat and poppers. It was then I realized, “fuck roller skating, I’m a dancer now,” and I went back to Atlanta and started to explore every gay dance club I could. The first gay bar I went to in Illinois was down some old country road as well. I don’t know if the kids today realize that it wasn’t that long ago that our safe places were usually located in nondescript locations off the beaten path. That was so true until I got to Midtown Atlanta. There were gay and lesbian bars on what seemed like every corner back in the ’80s and ’90s … The Sports Page used to be located where the Heretic is now, and it was a lesbian bar for years. They had one of those Saturday Night Fever style dance floors, and Alicia Bridges, who sang “I Love the Nightlife” would DJ there. It was the first time I had ever seen a woman DJ, and it inspired me. A few years later Atlanta icon Yvonne Monet hit the scene DJing all over town, and I became obsessed. I stalked her
and was a total fan girl. I was just trying to soak up as much as I could from her. I think I annoyed her! I was only 16, so I guess I would have been annoyed with me as well. I love it that your dream to become a DJ finally came true. It did eventually, but not until after a lot of pain and heartache. As soon as I became comfortable with myself and finally found my tribe, everyone started to die. The AIDS epidemic hit Atlanta hard. I was losing friends every week. It was horrific. It seemed like the nightmare was never going to end, and the only way people found any solace was by losing themselves on the dance floor. It was an escape from the horror, even if just for a few hours. I saw the power in this. You love hard, you give a lot to your community, and you even mentor young and up and coming artists that want to be
DJs. How have you learned to manage the risk of getting hurt or taken advantage of when you give as much as you do? We come from a generation of LGBTQ humans who have had to be tough to survive. It wasn’t easy for us to come out. We didn’t have marriage equality. You could still get fired for being gay, and we grew up in the middle of the AIDS pandemic where we didn’t even know if we were going to live or die. I have thick skin because of all of this. I may get my feelings hurt from time to time, but I have learned how to be resilient thanks to all the strong people in our community that fought for their lives before me. Music is what heals me and hopefully my DJ sets will help others find joy as well. If I can accomplish that, then there is absolutely nothing that can bring me down. I will survive. Yes you will honey. Just like Gloria Gaynor, you will survive. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
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June 25, 2021 Ads 19
JIM FARMER ACTING OUT
New LGBTQ Film Offerings Include Documentaries and a Campy Thriller Jim Farmer Two documentaries — one about legendary gay authors and the other about a transgender comedian — are among new film releases, as well as an LGBTQ horror film mixed with some camp. Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s new film, “Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation” is a captivating look at Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, two legendary writers who were both gay and Southern. Vreeland worked on the project for two years. “I really wanted to highlight the talent of Truman and Tennessee as writers because it is something that I think has been forgotten in a lot of ways,” she said. “I think these characters — toward the ends of their lives when they were primarily addicts — kind of recast their legacy in an odd way. I wanted to highlight the words of these great men.” The documentary makes use of some great archival footage to show the two men’s lives, including some David Frost interviews. One of Vreeland’s favorite aspects of the filmmaking process, she said, is finding footage: “I love to sit in libraries and discover things. We had a clear idea of what we wanted with the film.” The two writers were friends, although Williams was older, and were also competitors in a sense. Neither, though, had any qualms about being out and being themselves at a time when it was not safe to do so. Gay actors Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto lent their vocal talents to the film. “They very generously agreed to do this,” Vreeland said. “These two men meant something to them, and Zach has acted in Williams’ plays and Jim 20 Columnist June 25, 2021
Courtesy photos
Julia Scotti (left) and Lisa Immordino Vreeland (right).
has grown up reading Capote as a young boy.” For decades, Julia Scotti performed on the comedy club circuit before transitioning. Now, she is one of the leading trans comedians on the stand-up circuit, known as “the crazy old lady of comedy.” Scotti’s story is the basis of the new documentary, “Julia Scotti: Funny That Way.” Director Susan Sandler, known best for her play, “Crossing Delancey,” and the film version she adapted, met Scotti years ago, and the two instantly bonded. The film charts Julia’s decision to transition and the effect it had on her personal and professional lives. It led to some difficult times with family and loved ones. Scotti credits Sandler for being able to capture that. “Susan has a great sense of what the trans experience is,” she said. “It’s different for people in my generation to go through [my transition] than it is a millennial or Gen X, someone who is younger,” Scotti said. “Their peers may be a little more accepting. For my generation, not
so much. Susan understood that and presented that in a really tasteful way.” When Scotti came back for her second coming, she had two criteria — to be totally honest and fearless. “Prior to that I was fearful of everything. Something was amiss in my character. I thought I was gay, and at the time being gay in show business was not a really popular thing to do. I hid it, and it turns out I wasn’t. It scared me ever more because I didn’t know what was wrong. I lived as a cis person and coming out as I did on national TV, there was no hiding anymore.” In the new LGBTQ horror film, “Road Head,” three friends (Damian Joseph Quinn, Clayton Farris, Elizabeth Grullon) embark on a road trip to the Mojave Desert and unexpectedly encounter a murderous cult. Directed by David Del Rio, it’s a horror film, but one with tongue firmly in cheek. That was important to him, as well not having stereotypical LGBTQ characters. “I did like what [screenwriter Justin Xavier] put into the script about who is the final survivor,” he said. “It was cool but what
excited me is the journey, whether it makes sense. That is how I moved forward with it. Love is love. Fear is fear. Survival is survival. That is the pinnacle of what I was going for.” The director is straight, but the cast and crew include some out LGBTQ talent. As an actor, Del Rio was seen in the 2020 series, “The Baker and the Beauty,” and came to Atlanta early last year to promote the show at SCAD’s aTVfest. Despite a devoted fan base, however, the series was canceled by ABC. He has also appeared on Broadway in “In the Heights” and in the box office sensation, “Pitch Perfect.” Next up he has a slew of projects, including the TV series, “Maggie.”
MORE INFO “Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation” opens at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema June 25 “Julia Scotti: Funny That Way” is now available on VOD “Road Head” is available on VOD
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June 25, 2021 Restaurant Guide 21
IF… YOUR HANDS SWEAT AS YOU THINK OF PRIOR BAD ACTS… DON’T RUN. YOU WONDER ABOUT OUTSTANDING WARRANTS AS THE OFFICER APPROACHES… DON’T RUN. PULLED OVER WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT LICENSE AND INSURANCE… DON’T RUN. STOPPED AND QUESTIONED BY POLICE IN A WELL-KNOWN AREA FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING AND STING OPERATIONS… DON’T RUN. CAUGHT WITH AN OPEN CONTAINER OF BEER IN THE VEHICLE… DON’T RUN. NO PROOF WHEN ASKED BY COPS TO SHOW PROOF OF I.D… DON’T RUN.
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MELISSA CARTER THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID
MLK and Juneteenth Melissa Carter Mr. Carter learned about Martin Luther King Jr. last January while in kindergarten. It seems that, however, those lessons have lasted longer than I expected for a six-year-old and often come out in humorous and embarrassing ways. Recently I was getting ready to take him somewhere. Mr. Carter was playing with some toys while I was in the bathroom, and I had the TV set to old music videos. Sir Mixa-Lot began playing. Mr. Carter: What is this song about? Me (laughing): Butts. Mr. Carter (after thinking about it): It’s like that guy who went to Heaven who said you shouldn’t be mean to people because of the color of their skin. Me: Martin Luther King? Mr. Carter: Yes. Me (getting his point): Correct. It shouldn’t matter what size butt you have. Never have Sir Mix-a-Lot and Dr. King been mentioned together in such a way. Then a few days later we were at a swim meet. There were round tables scattered all around the pool, and after his competition he came to sit in my lap. He then said loudly: “Before Martin Luther King you would have been mean to him.”
ACRBGOV.ORG 22 Columnist June 25, 2021
He then preceded to point to a Black man and his family seated at the table right next to us, who I didn’t know. I knew they heard him, and I internally panicked. However, I knew this was an important moment and the opportunity was far more valuable than my ego. I simply said I hoped I wouldn’t be
Martin Luther King Jr. PHOTO VIA WIKICOMMONS
mean to him even without Martin Luther King, but that Dr. King was a very important person to honor and a great role model. This is a new day, even if it’s hard sometimes to remember. I can recall the introduction to an MLK Day in this country, and the intense backlash. Then, when it was enacted, I remember the ridiculous debates within my workplaces on whether employees should take the holiday off or not. And now we have a brand-new national holiday in honor of Juneteenth, which is a day I admit I was unaware of until last year’s racial unrest. A remarkable feat, and a holiday my son will always know. At the time he first learned about MLK, I was glad he was getting a formal introduction to the civil rights icon and impressed his school made sure to spend a week on his lessons for MLK Day. I could see my son was developing an understanding as to why the man was important. However, he was also confused as to why such a man was needed. Mr. Carter had not been exposed to that kind of discrimination and had the unfortunate realization that there were indeed people who were that mean. MLK talked about his dream of children from different races playing together, but I doubt he allowed himself to imagine my Southern white son’s diverse classroom speaking his name both inside and outside school in such a progressive way. Whether we stop to celebrate these victories or not, the fact remains that things do evolve and get better. TheGeorgiaVoice.com
RYAN LEE SOMETIMES ‘Y’
No Pride in What I’m Not Ryan Lee
The highlight of any childhood trip to the grocery store was my mother letting me pick a treat to eat on the car ride home, an item cashiers knew not to put in a bag by how I hovered above it on the conveyor belt. “You’re not going to like that,” my mother said the time I adventured beyond candy or ice cream and tried to select a coffee-flavored yogurt. “It’s too mature for your taste buds.” My desire now fully piqued, I insisted I was old enough to enjoy coffee. She relented to my begging on the condition I eat the entire container even if it was as disgusting as she expected, terms enforced after I started crying upon her demands I eat a second spoonful.
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“You and your sister are in such a goddamn rush to be grown,” she said with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. “You better be a kid for as long as you can because you’re an adult for so much longer.” I’ve never acquired a taste for coffee, which causes some people to suggest I try spinoffs they assure me do not taste like coffee. They always taste like coffee. I’ve sometimes felt like coffee in how often people try to convince me I’m not what I am. I’m used to straight friends saying I’m different from other gay people, which is either meant as a compliment or an explanation of why they like me despite any disapproval of broader LGBTQ issues or culture. In words and actions, I show my discomfort in being severed from my people and how I
share many of the traits heterosexuals find distasteful in other gay people (most notably, an affinity for anal sex). This forces them to consider whether they like me as much as they thought, or, more frequently, if they hate LGBTQ expression as much as they assumed.
existence to be mistaken as younger. Being told I don’t look my age feels like a denial of my memories, and a disrespect of my reality. I am the oldest I have ever been and will get older every day, an inevitability I do not wish to numb with people’s perception of my age.
Another “compliment” I’ve grown accustomed to over the past year is folks’ disbelief that I am in my forties. Alas, an asshole bemoaning the curse of people thinking I look younger than I am; but I wilt under this flattery because it feels undeserved. I’ve smoked, tanned, underslept, usually chosen soda over water, and feel disqualified from claiming much credit for whatever youthfulness has survived my habits.
I have little control over the biology of aging, but my spirit heeded what I consider my mother’s best advice by resisting the sociology of adulthood. I work and pay bills and in no way think I’m still a kid, but I have maintained a juvenile aversion to the accumulation of responsibility and avoided letting nostalgia rot into resentment.
By contrast, I’ve earned my age. I look in the mirror and see someone two weeks away from turning 41, and there is no day, year or era I can fathom subtracting from my face or
My immaturity doesn’t receive as much flattery as my appearance, but I’m old enough to not rush away from an outlook that has aged relatively well.
June 25, 2021 Columnist 23