The Georgia Voice - 8/15/14, Vol. 5 Issue 12

Make conversation before you make out.

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

Follow us online at:

facebook.com/StartTalkingHIV

@TalkHIV

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O F D E C AT U R

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EDITORIAL

Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

IN THIS ISSUE OF GA VOICE

08.15.14

THE GEORGIA VOICE

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

Deputy Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com

NEWS 6 | Atlanta LGBT youth speak out on their issues.

8 | YouthPride appears to be closed for good.

9 | Youth guest editorial: Being queer in Georgia.

14 | Can candidates win in Georgia if they support gay marriage?

16 | News briefs.

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Jim Farmer, Vandy Beth Glenn, Shannon Hames, Bill Kaelin, Ryan Lee, Steve Warren

BUSINESS

Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

Managing Partner: Christina Cash ccash@thegavoice.com

COMMUNITY

Sales Manager: Marshall Graham mgraham@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Anne Clarke aclarke@thegavoice.com Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group

In loving memory of Mike Ritter, 1965-2014

LGBT youth in Atlanta are organizing to find ways to meet their needs. Page 6

OUTSPOKEN FRIENDS & FOES IN THEIR OWN WORDS

FINE PRINT

—???????

“GAWKER - always getting the cutting edge, homophobic scoop!!! Go see CHILD OF GOD in theaters and see me direct my live-in boyfriend, SCOTT HAZE!!! Love you SCOTT!!!!”

—James Franco posts a screenshot with a headline that addresses a ‘homophobic’ Gawker report stating he is living with ‘gay partner’ Scott Haze.

(James Franco’s Twitter account, Aug. 6)

21 | Fire dancer: Eric Rebus sizzles.

22 | Art: Robert Sherer’s ‘Heirloom’ on display at KSU. 23 | Theater: ‘Right On’ has tears, laughter and soul.

24 | Food: Cliff Bostock’s 7 tips all foodies need to know.

26 | Calendar

COLUMNISTS 30 | Books: Breaking out of ‘The Glass Closet.’

31 | Sometimes ‘Y’: Ryan Lee is tired of closeted political allies.

—The Advocate with a profile on gay statistician Nate Silver for their “40 Under 40” issue. (The Advocate, Aug. 1)

“If you are feeling depressed reach out, scream out, make sure someone takes hold of you and helps until you are well enough to help yourself.”

—Out actor Harvey Fierstein talks about depression and remembers his “Mrs. Doubtfire” co-star Robin Williams, who was found dead of an apparent suicide Monday morning.

(Queerty, Aug. 12)

Photo via Creative Commons

Join us online: facebook.com/thegavoice twitter.com/thegavoice

“Don’t be afraid to question authority. That’s a key skill for a journalist — and it’s something that LGBT people are usually pretty good at.”

Photo via Creative Commons

All material in the GA Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the GA 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 GA 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.

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A&E

Photo via Twitter

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

19 | Catching up with Phillip Boone, owner of Traxx Atlanta.

Brian had his HIV under control with medication. But smoking with HIV caused him to have serious health problems, including a stroke, a blood clot in his lungs and surgery on an artery in his neck. Smoking makes living with HIV much worse. You can quit.

Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

#CDCTips

HIV alone didn’t cause the clogged artery in my neck.

Smoking with HIV did.

Brian, age 45, California

GA VOICE

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6

08.15.14

LGBT YOUTH

www.theGAVoice.com

Holding out for some heroes A slew of LGBT organizations old and new line up to save Atlanta’s LGBT youth

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com

In the meantime, the number of phone calls from homeless LGBT youth continues to rise as Lost-N-Found gets closer to providing them with another resource to have at their disposal.

Marriage equality seems to be the main— some would say only—LGBT issue that gets talked about lately throughout the community. But there’s a broader struggle going on, and it’s affecting our most vulnerable population—our young.

We spoke to several LGBT groups as well as the youth they serve, or hope to serve in the near future, to find out what needs to be done, who is doing it and what our younger contingent really cares about.

GEORGIA EQUALITY

JUSTUS ATLANTA www.justusatl.org JustUs Atlanta is an entirely youth-led LGBTQQA organization that formed in April 2012.

While initially the group offered support groups, it is unclear how active the group is now.

The GA Voice did not hear back from representatives from JustUs Atlanta after sending interview requests; the last post on their Facebook page was on June 17.

According to an April 1 Facebook post, the group had raised $6,600 of a $20,000 goal set to open up its own space, a benchmark the organization had initially hoped to accomplish within six months of forming.

Also, two JustUs Atlanta leaders are no longer affiliated with the group, Gabriel Haggaray and Brit Prince. They have gone on to help start up the new LGBT youth group Real Youth Atlanta.

LOST-N-FOUND YOUTH www.lost-n-found.org Lost-N-Found Youth, founded in 2011, contin-

13-YEAR-OLD TRANS GIRL Editor’s Note: Due to her age and fears about past bullying incidents being repeated, she and her mother requested anonymity.

This young girl just wants to live her life without fear of being harassed and bullied, and the answer to her problems could very well be Pride School, a new K-12 non-profit for LGBTQQIA educators, students, and families that’s in the works courtesy of trans educator Christian Zsilavetz.

The teen and her mother heard about Pride

Real Youth Atlanta organizers Cedrick Hayward, Mark DeLong and Brit Prince lead an Aug. 12 townhall meeting. (photo by Patrick Saunders)

ues to move forward with several projects in its mission to help Atlanta’s homeless LGBT youth.

After opening a 13,000-square-foot consignment and thrift store last November and then a drop-in center in February, the group set its sights on a third major goal: opening up a new facility in Midtown next to Saint Mark United Methodist Church that will include emergency shelter with 15 to 20 beds, transitional housing with up to 20 beds, a new drop-in center and office space for the organization.

Lost-N-Found co-founder Rick Westbrook says the organization has done everything it can to clean out the house. The porch and

School from Jamie Strand, founder and support group facilitator for Atlanta Gender Variations, a support group for parents and guardians of teens who are gender variant or nonconforming.

“She told us about Christian and about Pride School,” the mother says. “I think most parents want their kids to sit in the general public schools.”

It’s a much-needed resource for the family, as the girl’s sibling is gender fluid, and the bullying got so bad that both had to be pulled out of public school.

“My son wanted to wear sparkly and pretty things and he wouldn’t because he was terrified of getting picked on,” the mother says. “It broke my

roof have been repaired and new windows have been ordered. Next up is electrical, HVAC and plumbing, but Lost-N-Found can’t start that until it gets permits from the city, which Westbrook says has been frustrating. It’s not a process they are unfamiliar with, though.

“The thrift store should have been open in a month and it took four,” Westbrook says.

Westbrook says he hopes the group gets the permit situation resolved and the interior work started within the next month.

He says the original goal of a November opening will have to be pushed back to next spring.

heart because he couldn’t truly be who he wanted to be because of this fear. For a variety of reasons we felt this would be the best way to go.”

They currently receive their education through Georgia Cyber Academy, an online public school.

“But it’s not the same as going to school and having the peers and everything there,” the mother says. “All she ever wanted was a normal public school experience. She wants to stand at the sink and talk about makeup, not have to slip in and slip out.”

The young girl says fear was a big part of her public school experience.

“At different public schools some people aren’t

www.georgiaequality.org Georgia Equality, the state’s LGBT advocacy organization, has a number of ongoing youth-centered initiatives.

The group’s Safe Schools Campaign is a partnership with the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition to enact anti-bullying policies throughout the state and is the responsibility of Georgia Equality field organizer Em Elliott.

“Due primarily to Em’s work, we have been successful in getting 50 school districts around the state—including all of the metro Atlanta school districts—to include enumeration in their policies that address sexual orientation and gender identity,” says Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham.

Elliott also coordinates GSA Connect, the state’s network for gay-straight alliances.

The network currently has 38 colleges, 44 high schools and two middle school GSAs since launching in 2011.

The group has also partnered with GLSEN and the Advancement Project to address the disproportionate numbers of youth of color, LGBTQ students and students with disabilities who are punished by teachers more often and more harshly than their peers.

Elliott says that the youths she speaks to on an almost daily basis are concerned about high levels of violence and harassment in school as well as the fear of being outed. Georgia Equality depends on student feedback to shape its game plan, but it doesn’t get any easier to hear story after

really familiar with trans people,” the girl says. “It’s more like just scared.”

Little do her old tormenters know how much like any 13-year-old she is.

When asked what she likes to do for fun, she responds, “Sometimes I like to go outside, other times I just like to tease my brother.”

While she does meet other trans boys and girls through Atlanta Gender Variations, she looks forward to having the chance to meet more through Pride School.

“I could be who I am and nobody would care,” she says. “It would be a lot easier. I just want it to be normal.”

h

LGBT YOUTH

www.theGAVoice.com story from the youths.

“I feel like I get less surprised or shocked, but it still hurts and you still have to carry those stories with you,” Elliott says. “But that’s why we do this work.”

THE EVOLUTION PROJECT

www.evolutionatl.org The Evolution Project is a program of AID Atlanta that provides a drop-in community callscenter in Midtown for young African-Amero riseican gay and bisexual men and trans indithemviduals between 18 and 28 years of age. posal. Formed in 2006, the organization has become a safe space for many young black gay men in Atlanta, and visitors also get a growing list of health care guidance, including advo-technical assistance, linkage to care, medigoingcation support and assistance dealing with life after a diagnosis of HIV. The resource has is aalso developed an empowerment component s Co-to the services. ough- Rig Rush, 30, is the Evolution Project’s Geor-study project coordinator for the Minority AIDS Research Initiative (M.A.R.I.), which is a beenstudy to help reduce HIV incidence, increase oundaccess to care and reduce HIV-related health lantadisparities among gay/bisexual men of color. on inHe says the need for the Evolution Project lies ationin the expanded services it offers. y Ex- “Lots of places in Atlanta offer HIV testing and STI testing, but not that many offer edut, thecational services to inform people about livnces.ing with HIV,” he says. s, 44 Increasing the lines of communication is anGSAsother component the Evolution Project tackles.

“We believe in face-to-face communicaLSENtion,” Rush says. “We teach people how to s thenavigate themselves and also hold their social color,networks responsible. There’s nothing else abili-like this in the city of Atlanta.” re of-

ATLANTA COALITION FOR LGBTQ YOUTH

peakswww.facebook.com/pages/Atlanta-CoalitionernedFor-LGBTQ-Youth/262885297199537 rass- ACTFLY is a different animal from the othbeinger groups profiled in this story because it is a stu-coalition instead of an organization. Its goal , butis to bring several organizations together to afterhelp improve competency in serving LGBTQ youth in Atlanta.

“We’re probably not ever going to incorporate, we’re just a coalition trying to fill a gap,” says Emily Halden Brown, ACTFLY’s facilitator.

But the coalition is tackling more than HIV. She lists housing, other health care issues, homelessness, jobs, safe schools and more as the areas ACTFLY is tackling.

Brown works at Emory University as part of PRISM Health, which addresses the sexual health of minorities. She calls this “emergency response triage time” in terms of having a place to send LGBTQ youth who are living with HIV. Brown didn’t know what to expect when she invited all of the providers to the table for an initial discussion last October, but it turns

08.15.14

out she didn’t need to worry.

“We had a massive turnout. People are fired up,” she says. “They want to do better.

It’s been an amazing response. I never would have anticipated building a coalition coming out of the first meeting.”

ACTFLY’s ultimate goal is to hand the reins over to an LGBTQ youth organization that offers wraparound services, much like YouthPride used to.

PRIDE SCHOOL ATLANTA www.facebook.com/prideschoolgeorgia Pride School Atlanta’s goal is to create a K-12 nonprofit school for “LGBTQQIA” educators, students and families.

The school is the brainchild of Christian Zsilavetz, 44, who is transgender and has over 20 years of teaching experience, and is certified by GLSEN to do LGBT training.

He came up with the idea in March while working at a small private school, and he realized that even though he had transitioned eight years ago, he was not out to families and most of the staff.

“I realized that it was inhibiting my ability to be the best educator I could be because I could not be authentic on the job and be the best educator,” he explains.

The academic component is taking shape but it’s definitely still a building year for Pride School. In the meantime, organizers plan to offer weekend academic seminars and weekday parent-child play groups. But Pride School still needs money to make all this work, so right now a big chunk of time will be spent on fundraising.

So far, Pride School has raised $625 and Zsilavetz says its goal is $45,000 in the next year, with the school’s first full year tentatively scheduled for the 2015-2016 academic year.

|

KENDALL BOONE 23-year-old gay man

REAL YOUTH ATLANTA www.facebook.com/RealYouthAtl/info Real Youth Atlanta is a brand new organization whose goal is to provide a safe space for LGBTQ youth and allies ages 13 to 25. Members plan to offer tutoring, mental health and general counseling services, college and career prep and more.

The group started having meetings in January of this year, formed their board in April and just submitted 501(c)(3) paperwork.

There are currently nine board members and an LGBT youth listserv of 25 people.

So far the list of services provided includes only social gatherings.

“But we’re looking to start career readiness, homework support, after-school hangout space, mental health, HIV and STD testing and more,” says Gabriel Haggray, 26, president of Real Youth Atlanta’s board of directors, who also helped found JustUs Atlanta.

Real Youth is all-volunteer and is in the process of securing a building, which they hope to achieve in the next few months.

GA VOICE

BRIAN McMAHON 21-year-old gay man

Brian McMahon is the youngest board member of the new organization Real Youth Atlanta, but he already has six years of experience participating in youth groups.

He learned about the group from his friend Darryl Moores, who he knew from another youth group.

“I told him how I really wanted to get involved with something but I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” says McMahon, who had an interest in housing and HIV issues.

Moores invited McMahon to a Real Youth Atlanta meeting and the reaction was immediate.

“I went and I was like, ‘this is it, this is exactly what I need to do,’” he says. “So I stuck with it and we formed the board and filed for incorporation and filed for 501c3 status.”

He’s now part of the group’s programming committee and also helps out with I.T. and marketing.

“I think the great thing about the board is that we’re a very diverse group,” he says.

“Each of us has our own group of contacts that we can reach out to.”

McMahon hopes to help Real Youth Atlanta have some of the qualities he used to find in other LGBT youth groups.

“I just always enjoyed intelligent conversation with people that are like-minded and enjoying that safe space,” he says. “We’ve progressed so much in society but there’s just so much farther that needs to go. So being part of the youth I see firsthand how many people this organization would help. It pains me and I just want to see it get off the ground as soon as possible.”

He hopes the group also addresses division within the LGBT community.

“I’ve seen it a lot around friends and others, and too much there’s tension within the community which causes us to take two steps backwards after we take one step forward in moving towards equality,” McMahon says.

“That’s something I really want to impact is to get rid of the division and have inclusivity so that we really are all just people. That’s the heart of it. People want be seen as just another person and nothing less.”

Kendall Boone is a youth activist involved in several organizations, including the Evolution Project, Living Room (a housing organization focused on low-income people living with HIV) and CAPUS (a CDC project targeting HIVpositive people of color). He also represents those groups when taking part in the Atlanta Coalition for LGBTQ Youth.

He got involved with the Evolution Project after noticing a dearth of people of color during his time as a student at Emory University.

Markese Sanders, who was a volunteer then and is now core group coordinator for the Evolution Project, is a friend and suggested Boone come by.

“It was the largest amount of black gay people I had seen in my entire life,” Boone says. “I was really taken aback but intrigued at the same time.”

Boone says the Evolution Project has helped him figure out how to thrive as a black gay male and sparked a greater interest in in him to learn more about HIV and health care issues.

“The most pressing issue with black gay men is HIV, so it’s also a sex-positive and informational center,” he says. “When you know better, you do better, you want to be better. It’s really shaped my career trajectory of wanting to go into public health, specifically having to do with the black gay community.”

He says it’s nice to have a diverse space to gather that isn’t a club or a bar.

“You can really commune with people like you and not like you,” he says. “I’d never known someone that’s transgender and now I do. It was really foreign to me but now it’s not. It helps you realize how diverse the world is and how some petty stuff doesn’t matter.”

Like most of the LGBT youth we spoke to, marriage equality is not a priority issue for Boone at this stage of his life, as he is more focused on his career.

What does concern him, though, is infighting within the LGBT community.

“If we were more unified and aware of each other and educated on each other and stopped discriminating amongst ourselves and built a stronger community, then we would be a stronger people,” he says.

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GA VOICE | 8

08.15.14

LGBT YOUTH

www.theGAVoice.com

YouthPride appears to be closed for good No sign of controversial executive director since February

MORE INFO Visit www.thegavoice.com for a timeline chronicling YouthPride’s downfall.

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com The struggling YouthPride agency, once the only organization serving LGBT youth in metro Atlanta, appears to be completely dissolved of any official status.

The nonprofit was evicted May 22 by the Fulton County Marshal’s office from its most recent location at 72 Broad St. in Downtown, just one more eviction in a long line of evictions that began in 2012.

The controversial executive director, Terence McPhaul, is also nowhere to be found after arrest warrants were issued against him in February for writing bad checks in the name of YouthPride.

“Terence McPhaul presented himself as the director of YouthPride but failed to pay a cent of rent after signing the lease in November 2013,” John Graham, who represents the landlord of the property at 72 Broad St., told the GA Voice.

Terence McPhaul, the controversial director of YouthPride, has not responded to requests for comment on the status of the youth organization that now appears to be defunct.

(File photo)

“Unless you call two folding tables leaned against the wall taking possession of the space, YouthPride never occupied nor operated within the space. Our memory of what the now defunct YouthPride was when it was a viable organization, opened the door for McPhaul to add this property to a long list of addresses where YouthPride has been evicted in recent years under McPhaul’s control,” Graham added.

“I can only suppose that all he wanted was to have an address that might lend

some credibility making YouthPride appear as a functional organization.”

Graham added that McPhaul did not appear in court for the eviction hearing.

The YouthPride phone number listed on the organization’s website gives callers a message that the person at the number is not available and to try back later. The website does still appear to be accepting donations through PayPal, however.

McPhaul apparently got rid of his cell phone, because the number he could once be reached at is answered now by a woman who has no connection to him.

YouthPride’s Facebook page and website have not been updated since February. Some people have posed questions on the Facebook page asking about YouthPride’s status, but no answers have been provided.

When reached by phone on Tuesday, Theresa Willis, who was the board president of YouthPride, said she could not comment on the status of the organization because she is no longer on the board.

“I haven’t been on it for quite a minute,” she said when asked when she left the board.

She also could not say where McPhaul is.

“Like I said, I’m no longer on the board,” she said, adding that she could not handle stress because of heart problems.

When reached Tuesday, Tracee McDaniel said she did not know the status of YouthPride because she was also no longer a board member and had not been for some time.

Criminal warrants were issued for McPhaul’s arrest in February after a former landlord pressed charges against him for writing nearly $4,000 in bad checks to pay for rent for the LGBT youth organization.

The checks, written on YouthPride’s account, were for $1,800 each and were to pay for rent in November and December of 2013 while YouthPride was located at 115 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The warrants were issued by Fulton Superior Magistrate Court on Feb. 3.

A spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department could only say that McPhaul has never been booked at the Fulton County jail. A spokesperson for the Fulton County Marshal, the department responsible for executing criminal warrants, would only say there was no update to be given on the warrants issued for McPhaul’s arrest.

www.theGAVoice.com

LGBT YOUTH

08.15.14

GA VOICE

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9

Being queer in Georgia means being here for others

By JESSICA FISHER It’s 2014 and here we are in the public conversation still trying to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be queer in Georgia, but I find it par for the course—I’m 22 and a lifetime resident of the state and I’m still trying to figure out what it means to be queer in Georgia.

I guess it started a little before fourth grade. It was while in fourth grade that I came out as gay to my mother at the age of 10 or 11 (the year would have been 2002-2003).

Living in Sylvania, Georgia, at the time, I was culturally as far away from Savannah as I was from Atlanta.

Part of what it means to be queer in Georgia is to experience a lack of language. This lack of language compounds identity issues.

I told my mother I was gay because I was envious of the clothes that she and my sister wore. I wanted to be more like them, and if there was a feminine person on television and my dad or one of my uncles thought they weren’t supposed to be feminine, they’d call them gay.

I wanted to be like the people on my television—I wanted to be Misty (from the “Pokémon” anime series) as much as I

“I wanted to be Hermione as much as I wanted to be Harry Potter.”

—Jessica Fisher

(photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

wanted to be Ash. I wanted to be Hermione as much as I wanted to be Harry Potter. I wanted to be Lizzy McGuire, Elle Woods and Kim Possible.

I never said so, though. That’s part of what it means to be queer in Georgia. You don’t say anything. My family was very clear on gender roles. Subversion of gender roles (and by that I mean feminization for those of us socialized as male from birth) was seen as so humiliating it was sometimes threatened as a punishment.

It never stopped me. It never stopped me from secretly dressing up, trying to feel right but shaking with fear and guilt and wondering if I was going to go to prison or Hell for being some kind of pervert or abomination.

I don’t know if I ever believed in God, but I believed in singing hymns at the top of my lungs as a kid. I believed in shaking everyone’s hand before the sermon and putting on your best smile—it was a couple hours on a Sunday for a sense of community. I also remember the first time I read the Bible verses that were supposed to indicate that homosexuality was a sin. I remember the time I learned about the Westboro Baptist Church.

It’s been a long road from the night I came out as gay to here. Where is “here”? An associate’s degree, endless internships and no money for hormone replacement therapy. There is more to “here,” though. I’ve spent

the last two years going to community college and carving out a space where it’s safe for me to be an out transwoman. At Georgia Highlands College I found my first home as a transwoman. It’s where I found the most support. Not only was there club space in the form of The Equality Alliance, but also, I grew to find that all of my professors were understanding and open to my gender identity and gender expression. I found friends who have helped guide me as I’ve navigated understanding what it means for me to express and present my own womanhood.

Sometimes as a rural queer I still feel left out, but that’s changing more and more all the time. I still get told to move to Atlanta or California or the Northeast, but I know I can’t simply escape for my own benefit, because being there for others is part of what it means to be queer in Georgia.

Jessica Fisher lives in Cartersville, is a recent graduate of Georgia Highlands College and will be attending Kennesaw State this fall. She organizes with GetEqual and Georgia Equality and helped start The Equality Alliance at GHC. When she’s not organizing she writes fiction and poetry and listens to copious amounts of music.

GA VOICE | 14

NEWS

08.15.14

www.theGAVoice.com

Same-sex marriage ‘no longer political wedge’ in Ga. politics “I really think the issue now is if you believe in marriage for gay people you can, certainly as a Democrat, you can enunciate it without much concern.”

Gay analysts: Democrat candidates should not fear supporting LGBT equality

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com Ten years ago, Georgia voters flocked to the polls for a general election to select a president and to overwhelmingly approve a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

In November, Georgia voters will be heading to the polls for two high-profile elections: to vote for a governor and a U.S. Senator. Progressive voters are hoping to “turn Georgia blue” by electing Democrat Michelle Nunn into Congress and Democratic state Sen. Jason Carter as the next governor.

Neither will be able to do so without the support of LGBT voters, but what kind of effect those LGBT voters will have in the polling booths is still uncertain.

Charles Bullock, the Richard B. Russell Professor of political science at the University of Georgia, believes neither Nunn nor Carter can win if they embrace as part of their platform support for same-sex marriage.

“I don’t think you will see a Georgia statewide politician embracing support for gay marriage,” Bullock said April 11. “Embracing same-sex marriage is not an asset for Democratic candidates.”

However, Bullock admitted he had not heard that Carter only days previously had publicly stated his support of marriage equality to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Creative Loafing after pressure was put on him to do so by the LGBT media. So, since Carter came out in support of marriage equality, are his chances of winning now zero?

“He still has some chance, although what he has to hope for is a stumble on the part of Republicans,” Bullock said. “I think that’s also the same for Michelle Nunn. These are both races for Republicans to lose.”

Despite Bullock’s grim outlook for Democratic candidates’ chances of victory while publicly supporting LGBT equality, including marriage, he readily acknowledges that 2014 is much different from 2004. The public outcry and knee-jerk reaction to such issues by voters has largely vanished from the electorate.

“Carter’s position might mobilize some who otherwise might not vote in a mid-term election. And it could also help with fundraising,” he added.

WILL DEAL GO ANTI-GAY?

At a July LGBT fundraiser, Carter raised nearly $100,000 without even saying the words “gay” or “LGBT.” Several people in Atlanta’s LGBT commu-

—Marc Solomon, national campaign director for Freedom to Marry

NUNN’S ‘HARMLESS PANDERING’ ACTUALLY HURTFUL TO LGBT VOTERS

Democratic state Sen. Jason Carter (File photo)

nity who attended the fundraiser stated on social media it would be wrong to ask Carter to publicly support marriage equality, because to do so would ruin any chance they have of winning.

It’s not like Carter was doing anything new. In 2010, when Roy Barnes was trying to regain his seat as governor, he and other top Democrats attended an LGBT fundraiser. While Barnes and others were willing to talk about gay issues in one-on-one interviews with reporters, they did not say anything LGBT-related in their pitches to the audience.

Barnes lost that election to Nathan Deal, who ran one of the most anti-gay campaigns in Georgia history to win the Republican nomination over Karen Handel.

Bullock believes Georgia Republicans have that anti-gay campaign bias in their veins still, despite the national, and statewide, polling that shows more than half of voters support same-sex marriage.

“I would not be surprised if ads run later on that will be attacking Carter on his stance [for marriage equality],” Bullock said. “Not necessarily by the Deal campaign but other groups.”

A request for comment from Deal’s campaign for this story was not returned by press time.

Still, Bullock recommended, statewide politicians in Georgia would do best to wait for marriage equality to come to the state through litigation rather than to make it any part of their platform for change.

“I liken it to the number of school officials 40 years ago—they knew integration was coming. But those who were conservative and in rural areas, they wait to get sued and would rather fight and lose than announce to their constituency that this is law of the land and we need to comply,” he explained.

“Even if Jason Carter wins and says the law needs to change, he will likely be like Bill Clinton and the issue of gays in the military.”

LGBT support is there for Nunn, but perhaps not as strongly as for Carter. Nunn’s position is to allow the states to decide on same-sex marriage, which is the same view her Republican opponent, David Perdue, holds. Bullock believes because of that, her support by LGBT voters is “less enthusiastic” than that for Carter.

Atlanta attorneys and LGBT activists Jeff Cleghorn and Dan Grossman voiced their displeasure with Nunn’s position in an August 8 guest editorial on the GA Voice website and urged her to change her mind and support same-sex marriage. Calls to her campaign for comment have gone unanswered.

“While gay voters and donors already know why Ms. Nunn’s position on marriage is wrong, many seem to believe it is just harmless pandering that can safely be ignored. We think it is important to understand that this stance is far from benign; it does great harm to gay people individually and to our movement toward full equality,” they wrote in the web piece.

Marc Solomon, national campaign director for Freedom to Marry, told the GA Voice he can understand the caution by some gay voters, especially those in the South, on whether or not to demand politicians come out in support of same-sex marriage.

“I understand the concern because a number of years ago, particularly in the South, this was a weapon used against our community with ballot measures,” he said.

Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate Michelle Nunn (File photo)

“But I’m confident that the tide has turned on marriage.”

Since a major portion of the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last June, more than 20 courts have ruled their state bans on samesex marriage are unconstitutional.

“Most recognize marriage is going to be the law of land,” Solomon said. “The overwhelming majority of voters believes that. It is nowhere as divisive an issue it once was.”

And with this national sea-change in the acceptance of marriage equality, voters want, and are demanding, politicians clearly state their support for LGBT equality.

“I really think most people now expect the Democrats to support marriage equality and I think voters want someone who is open and who will enunciate their true beliefs on the matter,” Solomon added, “even in Georgia and in the South.”

“I mean, who will they lose?” Solomon asked. “I really think the issue now is if you believe in marriage for gay people you can, certainly as a Democrat, you can enunciate it without much concern.”

Bryan Long is the executive director of Better Georgia, a progressive group working to oust Deal as governor among many other issues, such as expanding Medicaid. Long is also gay and said he was thrilled to hear Carter publicly state his support for marriage equality.

“Same-sex marriage is no longer a political wedge and the partisan politicians who used it for decades to fire up their base have largely stopped bringing up the issue,” he told GA Voice.

“From what I’ve seen, issues of equality are non-negotiable for Jason Carter and for most Georgians. On the other hand, Gov. Deal is opposed to marriage equality and has a history of looking out for himself instead of the people he represents. Gov. Deal’s position appeals to a fringe of his base and will not help him on Election Day. The fact that most Georgians support equality will be evident on Nov. 4,” he added.

As for Nunn’s wishy-washy position on marriage equality, Long said, “Every statewide candidate will face the same pool of voters on Nov. 4. Our position is that civil rights and equality don’t end at the state line.”

• Having sex when partying (with drugs, including alcohol); • Using IV drugs; and/or • Having sex in exchange for money, drugs or a place to stay.

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PrEP can reduce your risk of contracting HIV

Recently, the HIV drug Truvada was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for once-a-day dosing for HIV-negative males to help prevent them from becoming HIV-positive. This preventive approach is known as PrEP: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis.

Truvada also has previously been approved and prescribed not only for treatment of HIV, but also for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).

That is, for someone who has had sexual contact with an HIV-positive person. Truvada continues to be used in HIV-treatment regimens, as well as for PEP.

Who takes PrEP? You are a candidate for PrEP if you are HIV-negative. Once your provider verifies that you are HIVnegative, they may consider you for PrEP if these conditions apply to you: • Repeatedly having unprotected sex; • Having sex with someone you know is HIV-positive, or whose HIV status is unknown;

Risk and benefits Like many pharmaceuticals, Truvada can cause kidney problems, as well as other complications. Your health care provider will monitor you for these issues should you opt for PrEP. Most people report some nausea at the beginning of this treatment. It usually goes away. Your health care provider can help address side effects.

Truvada has been shown to be extremely helpful in reducing the risk of getting HIV, but only in people who took it daily. You cannot miss a dose, so it is a commitment you must be ready to make.

Getting PrEP? PrEP is prescribed by a health care provider (physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant). Most insurance plans pay for PrEP, though some require pre-certification and your usual insurance responsibilities – such as copay – would apply.

Again, your health care provider will want to test you regularly for side effects, HIV and STDs. Bottom line PrEP is a treatment protocol that involves the prescription Truvada to help prevent HIV. It is not for everyone and is just part of an overall HIV-prevention strategy. PrEP requires HIV testing and monitoring for side effects. You need a prescription for PrEP, and most insurance plans are paying for it.

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PrEP is a serious decision you make with your health care provider.

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GA VOICE | 16

08.15.14

NEWS

www.theGAVoice.com

NEWSIN BRIEF NEW LGBT LIAISON APPOINTED

BY ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Atlanta Police Department has announced the appointment of Officer Eric King as a new LGBT liaison.

Officer King joins Senior Patrol Officer Brian Sharp, the other LGBT liaison for the APD. “I am honored to serve as an LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department and I want to strengthen relationships and improve the communication between the department and the LBGT community,” King said in a prepared statement.

King began working for the APD five years ago and most recently was a bicycle officer in Zone 4 in the West End and Greenbriar Mall areas, according to a press release from the APD. He replaces Sgt. Kristin Knight, who recently received a promotion. King can be reached at elking@atlantaga.gov or at 404546-5428.

— Dyana Bagby

FIRST LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER OPENS IN COLUMBUS

Chattahoochee Valley Pride recently hosted the grand opening of Columbus’ first LGBT community center, with organizers saying it will be a safe space for the community to come for support groups, fun events and more.

“The closest LGBT-friendly center was either Macon or Atlanta,” CV Pride secretary Mark Scruggs tells the GA Voice. “There’s nothing local here for the Chattahoochee Valley, so we felt there was a need for people that just want to come in and hang out or get support or meet new people, whatever they want. We’re going to try to provide a number of different things.”

The center currently has an HIV/AIDS support group that meets every other Wednesday, and future plans include a transgender support group, movie nights, game nights and more.

Scruggs says since there are no gay bars or any other LGBT facilities in Columbus, people tended to get together only at house

Columbus center (Courtesy photo)

Josh McKoon (via Facebook)

Eric King (Courtesy APD)

parties or other small get-togethers at different houses around town.

“We’re trying to get those people away from their cliques and out into the community and bring everyone out there to show people in Columbus just how powerful we can be,” Scruggs says.

Funding for the center is currently all local donation-based, but CV Pride is looking into grants it may be eligible for, so with more funding and more volunteers they would be able to change the hours of the center from the current needs basis to seven days a week.

The Chattahoochee Valley Pride Celebration will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, starting at 11 a.m. at Flat Rock Park on Warm Springs Road in Columbus.

—Patrick Saunders

ACTIVISTS TAKE TO FACEBOOK IN ATTEMPT TO HEAD OFF ANTI-GAY ‘RELIGIOUS FREEDOM’ BILL

A Facebook page was created Aug. 5 by activists hoping to send a message to state Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) not to reintroduce his discriminatory “religious freedom” bill in the next legislative session.

“Tell Josh McKoon, No RFRA in GA” hopes grow a base to convince McKoon not to reintroduce the bill, which was defeated in the last session. A similar bill was introduced in the House by state Rep. Sam Teasley (R-Marietta).

But McKoon, who is up for reelection in November, pushed for the bill’s passage until the last hours before the 2014 session ended and promised he would seek to get the bill passed next year.

While McKoon has also said the bill, based on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), does not discriminate against LGBT people, others state the vague-

ness of the bill opens the door to discrimination against LGBT people and many others.

Georgia Equality rallied LGBT activists to gather at the Capitol and to call their representatives, leading to the defeat of the measure.

Intercontinental Hospitality Group and several Atlanta-based companies, including Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines, denounced the proposed legislation, saying it would hurt their ability to be diverse in serving and hiring LGBT people.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber also publicly opposed the bill on the last day of the legislative session.

From the “Tell Josh McKoon, No RFRA in GA” Facebook page: “Josh McKoon’s Religious Freedom and Restoration Act is widely viewed as discriminatory and unnecessary. It suffered a resounding defeat last session. Georgia’s citizens and businesses made it crystal clear that we do NOT want his badly written legislation to become law in our state. And yet, Mr. McKoon has indicated that it will be his primary objective to waste the taxpayer’s [sic] money trying to get it passed next session, if he manages to win his seat this election day. Georgia has had enough, Mr. McKoon. Your Pandora’s Box of unintended consequences will drive business and tourism from our state.”

The person who started the Facebook page wishes to remain anonymous and declined a request for an interview.

The attempt to pass a Georgia “religious freedom” bill was part of a national legislative strategy by organizations that oppose LGBT equality.

Debate over the bills in various legislatures suggests they are largely motivated by a desire to allow an individual to express opposition to same-sex marriages by refusing to bake a wedding cake or provide wedding photography.

But the bills are written such that they create a gaping hole in human rights laws, enabling people to circumvent legislation banning discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, sex, and every other classification, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Moreover, they could enable a person to cite religious motivations in a wide range of activities, such as withholding medical care, refusing to pay back interest on a loan, or denying service in a hotel or restaurant.

— Dyana Bagby

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08.15.14

GA VOICE

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19

Catching Up With ... Phillip Boone Traxx Atlanta owner survives personal tragedies, keeps the party going

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com Say “Traxx Atlanta” and the first thing that comes to mind is a party, a good time. But there has been plenty of tragedy behind the velvet rope over the years for Traxx and its owner, Phillip Boone.

Two of Boone’s business partners have been killed, and their murders have never been solved. His cousin and business partner David Hampton was brutally slain in 1998, then the same thing happened to his close friend and business partner Durand Robinson in 2010.

But Boone, 51, and Traxx have endured the losses and the mystery to keep the party going for over 30 years now, providing quality nightlife entertainment geared toward gay African-Americans in Atlanta at their unofficial home, Club 708, and in several cities across the country.

The Detroit native spoke with the GA Voice as Black Gay Pride, Traxx and their femalecentric spinoff Traxx Girls approached their biggest weekend of the year.

Phillip, what was it like growing up in Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s?

I had a pretty good middle class upbringing, a good family. I was raised by a single mom, but overall I think it was a good childhood.

Detroit has always been in a struggle but always had a ray of light, of hope. It’s a very resilient city with a unique, strong people.

I’ve seen the ‘67 riot, I remember tanks going down the street. I’ve seen the city been burned down and you go back there now and a lot of areas still look like that because of plight and the auto industry going downhill. But there’s a lot of revitalization downtown.

When did you come out?

I think I told my family at maybe 17 or 18.

It was okay from my mother, [she was] very supportive.

How did you end up moving from Detroit to Atlanta?

I went to ITT Tech in Detroit for two or three years but after that, the city was not a good place for someone of the age of 21 with the energy I had [laughs]. It was between Chicago and Atlanta and I chose Atlanta. I came down with my cousin who was going to Morehouse—David Hampton, God rest his soul. He was killed in 1998 and was one of the original founders of Traxx along with myself.

Traxx owner Phillip Boone (center, in purple) at the 2010 memorial for his late friend and business partner Durand Robinson. (File photo)

“We miss [Hampton] much. It was never a closed case and we’re just still kind of empty about it.” —Phillip Boone What were those early years like when you first moved to Atlanta in the mid-1980s?

There was a very diverse but separate gay life here. There was a white gay life and a black gay life. There weren’t really many clubs of African-American ownership or that had promotions at that time. Some clubs here, and I won’t mention any names, at one time you needed three IDs to get in. Myself and my cousin saw that that wasn’t cool. So that’s when we started doing house parties at our apartment called K-11 which was at Atlanta Overlook at 180 Jackson Street. We started doing parties under the name of Ritz Boyz about 1985 and it just grew from there. I was also working at Dante’s Down the Hatch at that time.

What were the parties like?

They were $5 to get in, all you could drink.

That grew so much that we started renting different facilities in the city. We were doing them at dives, we were young, we did rooftop parties at the Atlantan. We eventually had a place downtown at 61 Poplar Street, that’s where it became Traxx Atlanta around 1989.

How is black gay nightlife in Atlanta different between then and now?

Back then, you had only your safe havens where you could go and be comfortable and be you and that’s what we created. Now people can go to any club here now and feel comfortable being gay, especially in Atlanta. It’s different out there—out with the big clubs, in with the lounges and more intimacy.

The party scene here in Atlanta is in transition. And with the internet and other things, you’ve gotta really be creative with how you try to entertain your clients. You have people doing more monthly parties and special events than weekly parties.

Then you have the people within the community where the younger people don’t want to be with the older people, the femmes don’t want to be with the trade, the trade don’t want to be with the queens.

The issue of HIV/AIDS, especially in young African-American men, has been a major issue these last few years. How does Traxx handle that conversation?

You know, I try to work with all of the nonprofits here. I started doing parties with In the Life Atlanta back in 1992. We have condoms of course in the clubs, but I think we’re still fighting an uphill battle because when I go onto various websites to promote parties, I see people on there saying they’d have sex with no condoms and I feel people really haven’t woken up. I don’t know if it’s just a young hormonal thing and you find yourself in the heat of passion but the awareness needs to be out there. The fight is not over.

Your cousin and business partner David Hampton’s murder is still unsolved, right?

No, I don’t think [the police] did [solve it] but we have reason to suspect a person who did it who seemingly disappeared after that time period. Months later you hear through the

grapevine that this person moved back somewhere and something happened to them. We miss [Hampton] much. It was never a closed case and we’re just still kind of empty about it.

Your friend and business partner Durand Robinson was killed four years ago this month. What do you miss most about him?

He was a very caring, giving person. One of our jokes was we wanted to open a house for him just so he could shelter people because he was one of those people who, if you were ever in need of anything like shelter, food, a talk, he would be there. He’s very missed.

How has Black Gay Pride changed over the years?

It’s gotten bigger. It’s getting better. We’re just looking for the next level that we’d like to take it to, which is more streamlining everyone together under one umbrella like an Essence [Music Festival] kind of feeling, making it all one package rather than separate entities.

So what’s next for you and Traxx?

Just taking a break from doing parties and concentrating on a new relaunch of the Traxx brand and special event company coming in the future. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, I’ve lost two partners and I just had to sit back for a minute and re-evaluate why I’m doing this and what does the community need right now and what can I offer them that would be different from a weekly party. So look forward to the relaunch of Traxx coming soon.

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08.15.14

GA VOICE

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Balefire burning Fire dancer flows with flames

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com

B

y day he’s a librarian at Georgia State University. By night, he dances with and swallows fire.

Eric Reber, 43, has been fire dancing for six years as a way to get outside the focus and detail of working as a digital assets archivist and set free his creative and adventuresome self.

“It’s like a big release,” he says. “I get to step outside myself.”

Reber originally practiced props manipulation—the art of performing with various objects such as balls, hoops and clubs.

A student of martial arts, Reber, who is out and proud, used a fire staff as his primary prop.

“At a certain point you say to yourself, you know, you can set that on fire,” he says. “And so I did. And it’s been a blast ever since.”

His passion and respect for fire and the art of fire dancing and performance led him to start a business, Balefire, in 2010 with friend and fellow performer Alexandra Mitchell. The two met while taking a belly dancing class.

Together they have worked with some notable clients, including the Savannah Zombie Walk, Georgia Special Olympics, Run for Your Lives—Zombie 5K, Wedding One Bridal Expos and Tiki Hut—Hilton Head Island.

“When we started the business it’s because we decided we wanted more fire. And

it’s been busy every weekend since. It can be very demanding,” he says.

Reber’s fire dancer name is Woad, a name he chose carefully.

“Woad is the blue body paint that the Celts used when they went to war.

I have mostly blue tattoos, which is why I chose it,” he says.

Dancing and eating fire is a way Eric Reber says he can express his creative side. Reber performs with Alexandra Mitchell during a Balefire show. (Photos by Steve Thackston, www.stevethackston.com)

BURNING BALEFIRE

Balefire is an old pagan term that means bonfire, Reber explains, and is linked with the May Day holiday, also known as Beltane, traditionally celebrated on May 1. The Gaelic festival can mark the beginning of summer and through rituals of music and dancing offers protection from harm.

As fire dancers, Reber and Mitchell strive to delight their audiences with the magic of flames and movement, but sometimes what is seen is not always as romantic and as it appears. Concentration is crucial to ensuring crowd pleasing dances—and sometimes the fire exerts its authority.

“There are the mild singeings here and there,” he says. “And I’ve burnt my beard pretty dramatically. But we are very focused and always have safety personnel close.”

Balefire is also insured.

“We take every precaution,” Reber stresses. “There’s an element of risk. You have to have enormous respect for fire.

I’ve seen some horror stories.”

‘TASTES LIKE BURNING’

Besides dancing with fire, Reber

likes to eat fire.

“I always like to say it tastes like burning,” he says.

“It’s interesting. You’re essentially stuffing a flaming metal rod in your mouth. I do a lot of rinsing out of my mouth immediately afterward,” he adds with a laugh.

The props are set on fire using a fuel that is usually a hybrid of liquid paraffin and white fuel, better known as Coleman camp fuel. Together, the two make a mild, odorless fuel and a clean burning source.

“They call it flow arts,” Reber says of fire performance. “You just go into a flow when performing. I’m cognizant of my surroundings and hyper aware of people around me.”

Reber’s boyfriend is also a fan of the art and is on the safety crew. He’s good with a needle and thread and tailors many of the outfits worn by Reber.

DETAILS BALEFIRE balefirefiredancing.wordpress.com

“The key for costuming and fire performance is the material used. We use nothing but organic, silk, cotton, wool, hemp.

You don’t want to wear polyester or rayon because they will melt,” Reber says.

Throughout the summer, Reber and Mitchell as Balefire are constantly busy traveling the Southeast to perform at private events or at large festivals.

“We take a lot of joy in what we do and like to think we bring that to any event we do,” Reber says.

“It’s dramatic, exciting and infectious. And we are always happy to share how we learned what we do.”

21

GA VOICE | 22

08.15.14

Blood craft

Gay artist Robert Sherer’s new work runs deep in Marietta’s roots

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

www.theGAVoice.com

BY DELWYN ANDREWS

I

t’s easy to understand both people’s admiration and their shock when they look at Robert Sherer’s latest artwork. Currently on display in Kennesaw State University’s “Hearsay” exhibit, Sherer’s piece, titled “Heirloom: I Know Where The Bodies Are Buried,” may not catch one’s full attention until after learning how it was made, noticing his attention to detail and hearing the story behind its creation.

The work is a 6-foot by 8-foot quilt with a pattern of silhouettes, arranged in a checkerboard, displaying various examples of local gossip from Sherer’s town, Marietta. And if the idea of seeing people’s “dirty laundry” isn’t intriguing enough, finding out the paintings on the quilt were made completely from blood should be more than enough to captivate and even disturb some viewers. The intricacy of the silhouettes, made of blood and printed on a beautifully hand-stitched quilt, causes a feeling of amazement and unease, but Sherer is all too familiar with the controversy his artwork has been known to cause.

Having lived in various major cities across the country before settling in metro Atlanta in 2004, Sherer, who is openly gay, is a world-renowned artist, featured internationally before becoming an Associate Professor of Art at Kennesaw State University.

Sherer talks freely on everything from art to sexuality to race and it is easy to discover an abundance of compassion behind the controversial work.

Taking strong dedication and nearly nine months to complete, “Heirloom” (or “the blood quilt” as it has been called) was one of Sherer’s biggest challenges, but it has also been among his most rewarding pieces as well. Devoting his time solely to its completion for three-fourths of a year, other gigs were placed on hold in order to make sure the message he wanted to convey with this piece was seen through.

JONBENET RAMSEY MURDER INSPIRATION FOR ‘BLOOD QUILT’

The moment that sparked the conception of this piece was when Sherer learned that the body of JonBenet Ramsey, a nationally known child pageant star who was brutally murdered in 1996, is buried nearby in Marietta. This set Sherer off on a journey to find out more; not only about Ramsey, but also all of the secrets the area may be holding.

Gay artist Robert Sherer stands before his ‘blood quilt’ now on display at Kennesaw State University. (Courtesy photo)

DETAILS Robert Sherer’s ‘Heirloom: I Know Where the Bodies Are Buried’ On display at Kennesaw State University’s ‘Hearsay’ exhibit Through Oct. 25 zuckerman.kennesaw.edu www.robertsherer.com

And to complete this project, Sherer did everything from engaging in local gossip to find other leads on subjects to include in this art piece, to researching cemeteries of the subjects he found and even learning to sew in order to stitch the quilt.

When asked the significance of blood in the work, Sherer says he wanted something that would fully encompass the area.

“I tried to make the quilt highly specific to Marietta. All of the research that went into its making was conducted in Marietta by locals,” he says. “It is made of materials found in Marietta, including the blood of Mariettans. It was sewn together [locally] and the quilting pattern is a map of the town radiating from its epicenter.”

Sherer has used blood in other works as well.

In aboriginal cultures, he says, blood is used as a decorative product in art. As with “Heirloom,” the blood he uses is always specific to the place in which he’s working and it helps to authenticate his work to have a connection between the piece itself and the blood used in it.

Using blood as a medium isn’t the only unconventional way Sherer expresses himself. When asked about the controversial nature of his work in general, he says coming from his small, conservative hometown of Jasper, Alabama—where things are often kept quiet if they are outside of the status

quo—he has always wanted his audience to have the opportunity to connect and express themselves freely when looking at his work. But Sherer made it clear that it was and is never his intention to cause controversy with his art; he simply does.

“I don’t try to be controversial; I just try to be honest,” he says.

‘HEIRLOOM’ EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

Describing himself as a “lone wolf,” Sherer does admit that this project would never have been completed without the hard work and dedication of four local individuals: Janice and Taylor Cox, John Bohannon, and Terry Stevens—all of whom worked tirelessly and at no charge in order to help in the completion of “Heirloom.”

Grateful for the help he received, Sherer says, “I think [the quilt] exceeded my own expectations, because it is pretty stunning.”

All in all, Sherer says, despite the nature of the quilt, the overall reception of it has been positive, and there hasn’t been much opposition either to the creation of the quilt or its exhibition. He says he believes this is one of his more satisfying creations, based on the positive feedback he has received from the community, and he hopes the exhibit will continue to draw crowds and get people talking.

When he is not creating his latest masterpiece or teaching art, Sherer is diligently working to endow the Robert Sherer GLBT Scholarship. First introduced in 2008, this scholarship will help benefit self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender art students at Kennesaw State University. Currently, the scholarship is $9,000 away from being endowed, but Sherer is hopeful that funding will be raised within the next two years to aid students.

www.theGAVoice.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

08.15.14

GA VOICE

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23

THEATER BY JIM FARMER

‘Right On’ filled with soul, laughs, tears and a funky beat Comedic drama reunites college friends for a new generation Playwright Darren Canady is developing a soft spot in his heart for Atlanta. His play “False Creeds” debuted at the Alliance Theatre in 2007, and now he is back with his new “Right On” at Horizon Theatre.

In the comedy with music, four former college friends who attended school together in the 1970s gather for a reunion at their alma mater in 2004. Three have remained tight, but the fourth—Bella (Donna Biscoe)—has pretty much severed ties with the others. The friends have “traded dashikis for day jobs” and Bella is also dealing with a mentally ill son.

Canady, a black, gay playwright, wrote the first draft of “Right On” in 2007. He went through a few rewrites then put it aside to come back to later. When he did, he made many changes. “A lot of the changes were about the character of Bella—what drove her, caused her to cut herself off from her friends,” he recalls.

“When I got to Atlanta, I completely overhauled it. God bless those actors because they rolled with the punches; I was doing re-

DETAILS “Right On” Through Aug. 31 Horizon Theatre 1083 Austin Ave. Atlanta, GA 30307 www.horizontheatre.com

Starring in ‘Right On’ are, from left, Minka Wiltz as Patrice, Donna Biscoe as Bella, Marguerite Hannah as Sharonda and Tonia Jackson as Janice. (Photo by Bradley Hester)

writes almost every day, responding to what was going on in rehearsal. Act Two is almost entirely new and two thirds or a half of the first is.” “Right On” ends with an inspired set of musical numbers, which was always part of the show’s “DNA,” he says.

Some of the details about the character of Bella are similar to Canady’s mother. “She is not my Mom, but what I have discovered in the process is that she’s a bizarro version of my mother,” he says. “If she had made

different decisions in her life but she could have become Bella.”

It was important to keep a balance of comedy and drama but also reflect on the era in which these women grew up. “In the (rehearsal) room we had some serious and extensive discussions on what it would like to be an adult in (the early 1970s),” he says.

“Your high school classmates are getting killed in Vietnam, coming back changed and altered. You are wondering if the civil rights movement achieved its end in terms of numbers. What was about non-violent change was changing into activism. There is a sense of anger and disillusionment that permeated the characters’ young adult lives,” he adds.

“For a variety of reasons they tried to move beyond as adults. What’s at play is the tension between the difficult time and people remembering the vigor and energy of youth.”

Canady has found Atlanta to be an “amazing” arts community. “I learned early on, Atlanta celebrates black culture and art, in all its forms as it comes out of the black experience,” he says. “That has been really important in me in the development of both ‘False Creeds’ and ‘Right On.’” He thinks the next civil rights frontier, the next great struggle, is around LGBT rights. “To compare it to the civil rights movement is understandable,” he says.

“What’s more interesting now is that activism is at a place where there is anger about the politics of self-identity. There is rhetoric around what is the LGBT community about who’s gay, who’s in, who’s out, what does leadership look like? Is marriage the point?

What is the point? That has a lot of echoes to the ‘70s.”

As someone who has worked on close to 20 plays, he is wary of choosing a favorite.

“Because I am not a parent, these are the closest to children that I have, so it’s like choosing a favorite child,” he says. “Each of them reflects a different side of my personality, an aspect of who I am, who I was, what I am becoming, what is important to me. The play I most love and most hate is the one I am currently working on.”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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Eating my words BY CLIFF BOSTOCK

7 tips all foodies should know Dining etiquette to save your friendships Years ago, one of my mentors wrote something that has stuck in my brain like little else. “A best friend,” he wrote, “is someone you can’t stand to be around more than once a year.”

It’s hyperbole, but it’s basically true. Every close friendship arrives at a point when the other person knows you so well, you don’t have a prayer of fooling her about anything.

You tell her over pizza that this is a “cheat day.” You are working to take off that 15 pounds by eating healthy the rest of the week.

“Oh really?” she says. “So I shouldn’t mention I saw you eating in the front window of Zesto yesterday?” You cringe. When will you learn?

Oh wait. You do the same thing to her.

Dinner is a frequent venue for such interactions. Sitting at a table, although supposedly restrained by etiquette, we allow our brains and tongues to become loose, aggressive, reactive—especially when alcohol is present (Think of family dinners.). A deadly form of this behavior developed with my expartner. Dinner out, the only time we ever attempted to talk, became a stage for resentment, craziness, denial and anger. Refusing to eat with him—walking out of a restaurant—signaled the end.

Maybe we need to be more mindful that dining together increases intimacy, which can feel good but also puts us at risk of hurt feelings. Here are some simple suggestions, directed especially at other foodies, mostly inspired by my own ever-flowering defects.

1.) Consider ordering food to share, and not only in Chinese restaurants. Sharing is the whole point of small plates. Sharing enhances friendship. You compare, you contrast, you learn your different tastes.

Be curious. Don’t be scaldingly critical (like me) before even trying a dish. (Sharing does complicate the bill. Work it out.)

2.) Especially share the sweet finale. I’m the worst at this. Nobody else orders dessert and I hoard it. My spoon flies like a ninja’s sword. Anyone attempting a taste will lose two fingers. Greed is unsavory; share the sweetness. Don’t reinforce the impression that you’re bitter.

3.) Generally, instead of biting your friend’s head off about something they said, no matter how provocative, bite your tongue.

Oh, I know, it really does taste bitter. You can barely resist darting it out of your mouth like a snake’s, but don’t act like you’re at the Col-

All foodies must have good etiquette when dining out, but still should be able to appreciate guilty delights such as Flaming Hot Cheetos. (via Facebook)

onnade with your partner of 30 years. Take a swig of sweet tea and change the subject.

4.) Don’t commit my most common offense—carping about someone’s taste and order. Why, I often wonder, is anyone asking for kung pao chicken at an exotic Chinese restaurant on Buford Highway? Hey, they’re paying. It’s their choice. And it might actually taste good – exactly my embarrassed experience on many occasions.

5.) When friends have fallen away, don’t dis them in their absence. It makes everyone uneasy. In fact, they probably should not be mentioned at all unless they have literally died. (Yeah, we know he’s already dead to you.)

6.) Make a pact. Dinner is about enjoying company over good food. Don’t be afraid to discuss differences of opinion—the flavor of your favorite condom, the 10-year-old terrorists invading our southern border—but be mindful of language. You can see that my first language is sarcasm. It can often be misunderstood, since I intend nothing mean. So help me out and ask for clarification. At least understand that everyone speaks a different “dialect.”

7.) The latter said, it’s still appropriate to request respect for personal boundaries.

Discussion of my age—the very mention of the number – is taboo for me. Another friend doesn’t want to hear explicit tales of sexual exploits while eating in public. Rationality is not always the reason for our boundaries, but can be innocuous anyway.

In summary, have a sense of humor and at least a tiny willingness to experiment.

Otherwise eat alone and order from the children’s menu. But don’t be intimidated by radical foodies, who have become fanatical way beyond even their capacity to appreciate Popeyes and Flaming Hot Cheetos.

Cliff Bostock, PhD, is a longtime Atlanta dining critic and former therapist who now specializes in life coaching.

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Event spotlight

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The Third Friday Film Series presents “Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth,” a short documentary which explores the role the United States and its allies, Rwanda and Uganda, have played in triggering the greatest humanitarian crisis at the dawn of the 21st century, co-sponsored by Friends of the Congo & the Social Justice Guild, 7:30 p.m., First Existentialist Congregation, www.firstexistentialist.org

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 It’s Madonna’s birthday bash at the Plaza Theatre—a screening of “Truth or Dare” celebrates the icon’s date of birth.Dress up in your best Madonna attire for a chance to win two tickets to see Madge bestie Sandra Bernhard on Oct. 18 at the W Hotel Midtown, 7 p.m., http://tinyurl.com/nv82hwp

As WNBA playoffs near, the Atlanta Dream take on the Tulsa Shock at 7:30 p.m., Philips Arena, www.philipsarena.com

Photo via Facebook

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17 The party keeps going well into the morning with DJ Martin Fry rocking at Club Xion, 3 a.m., www.cariocaproductions.com

High Heels & High Time is a femme variety show to benefit Charis Circle, with performers including Sid Robinson, Malika Freydberg, Al Schlong, Hanne Blank, Kenyetta Chinwe, Fiona Zedde and Adriana and Kathleen Delaney-Adams, as well as a bake sale. Tickets are $10, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., Charis Books, www.charisbooksandmore.com All hail Madge. It’s the annual Madonna-rama party with an entire evening of her music. DJ Diablo Rojo will be spinning the beats and showing tons of videos, live performances, mash-ups, B-sides, remixes and rarities. Everyone is encouraged to dress up in your fave Madonna looks.

Come early to one of the biggest parties of the year. 10 p.m., Mary’s, www.marysatlanta.com

Photo via Facebook

The 2nd annual Ready for Hope pool party is today with DJ Neon, noon to 5 p.m. Money raised will go to AID Atlanta, 1293 Woodland Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30316

Sexy frontman Brendon Urie and his band Panic! At the Disco perform at Chastain Park Amphitheatre, 7:30 p.m., www.panicatthedisco.com, tinyurl.com/puav9bm

SOMETHING GAY EVERY DAY!

Get your dancing shoes on. It’s Pump Friday with DJ Mike Pope at the Heretic, 10 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

Bookmark www.thegavoice.com to get your daily dose of local LGBT events.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 17

offers up DJ LilBad AzzDj E on the wheels, 10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., bassmentatlanta.com

Charlotte Pride 2014 will be held in Uptown Charlotte this weekend. Each year the fest attracts more than 80,000 people. The Queen City’s fest includes a festival, parade, live entertainment from Sunday’s headliner Leann Rimes and much more, including “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio. For more info, visit www.charlottepride.org

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 SATURDAY, AUGUST 23

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17

Out director Brian Clowdus’ acclaimed version of “Oklahoma!” runs through August 16, with a show tonight at 8:30 p.m., www.serenbeplayhouse.com It’s Instigator Night with Fort Troff at the Atlanta Eagle beginning at 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com The Ladies at Play Blowout at Bassment

Blake’s hosts Glitter Bomb, 75 minutes of high-energy illusion, at 11 p.m., www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17

Sing “A Spoonful of Sugar” and other favorite things as the Fox Theatre hosts “The Mary Poppins Sing-A-Long” as part of the Coca-Cola Film Festival, 2 p.m., www.foxtheatre.org PFLAG hosts a special Sunday support group.

2:30 – 5 p.m., Saint Mark United Methodist Church, www.stmarkumc.org Angelica D’Paige and friends—including Brent Star and Destiny Brooks—purr up fun at Sex Kitten,

with $5 burgers and Smirnoff cocktails, 8 p.m. at 10th and Piedmont, www.communitashospitality. com/10th-and- piedmont/promotions/ Sex-Kitten-with-Angelica-DPaige

MONDAY, AUGUST 18

The Pride Kickball summer league hosts Monday Games at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Piedmont Park sponsored by Blake’s on the Park. For more information: www.gokickball.com/atlanta/ Trans and Friends: a Project of the Feminist Outlawz is a youth focused group for trans people, people questioning their gender, and aspiring allies. This is a project of the Feminist Outlawz.

This event is co-sponsored by Charis Circle’s Strong Families, Whole Children Program. There is no suggested donation for youth participants of this program, but adults and allies may make a

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donation in support by clicking here. 7 – 8:30 p.m., Charis Books, www.charisbooksandmore.com

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19

Pearl Cleage visits the Decatur Library to read from and sign copies of her book “Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs, 7:15 p.m., dekalblibrary.org/

Cockpit Atlanta is the home for YouTubesday ‘90s mix, with VJ Ayem, www.facebook.com/ cockpit.atlanta

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20

Play “Family Feud,” “Match Game” and more as part of the Big Gay Game Show, a benefit for Lost-nFound Youth, 8 p.m., Jungle, www.jungleatl.com Dine Out For Atlanta Pride night at Lips Atlanta raises money for this year’s Pride festivities, 5 – 10 p.m., www.lipsatl.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21

SAGE Atlanta hosts a social hour with games and conversation, 10 – 11 a.m., Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.com Singer/songwriter Sonia Leigh cranks it up at Eddie’s Attic, with special guests Muddy Magnolias, at 8 p.m., www.eddiesattic.com The History of Black Gay Atlanta Pride Press Conference and Media Mixer hosted by Meak Productions will feature organizations, event producers and club promoters participating in the annual Atlanta Black Gay Pride event over Labor Day Weekend. 7 p.m., Hyatt Atlanta Midtown, www.facebook.com/meakproductions Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, and witty repartee are all part of one of the most iconic movies of all time: “The Women,” screening today at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Coca-Cola Film Festival at the Fox Theatre, www.foxtheatre.org Charis and Cliterati pair up to present an inviting and fierce open mic and reading series on the third Thursday of every month. Hosted by the anarchic spoken word team of Karen G and Theresa Davis, members of the Art Amok Slam Team, this series cultivates the voices of authors, novices and an assortment of poets, songstresses and storytellers. August’s feature is Darlene Burns, the author of “Midnight Comes With the Dawn,” a new lesbian vampire series. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Program. The suggested donation is $5. 7:30 – 9 p.m., Charis Books, www.charisbooksandmore.com

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BLACK GAY PRIDE PREVIEW THURSDAY, AUG. 28MONDAY, SEPT. 1

FIle photo

Tori Amos comes to the ATL with her new studio album, “Unrepentant Geraldines,” 8 p.m., Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, www.cobbenergycentre.com

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The largest such celebration of its kind in the country, Atlanta’s Black Gay Pride festivities run through Monday, www.inthelifeatlanta.org

THURSDAY, AUG. 28

As part of Atlanta Black Gay Pride there will be a welcome mixer from 4 – 7 p.m. at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, followed by the Sexy in the City VIP Rooftop Party from 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., www.georgianterrace.com Wassup N ATL throws its kickoff weekend party at Room Service, 1937 Piedmont Cir NE, Atlanta, GA 30324. Doors open at 9 p.m., www.wassupnatl.com Traxx Atlanta’s Black Pride Weekend Kickoff Party is hosted by HypeMan AntMan who is “Igniting Atlanta’s Nightlife on Fire” and featuring Krank That Nae Nae Contest with cash prize. No cover and complimentary shots before 11 p.m., 708 Spring St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.facebook.com/ TraxxAtlanta GA Voice’s Welcome to Atlanta Pride Weekend event at Halo, 817 West Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

FRIDAY, AUG. 29

Billed as the biggest all-girl Friday in Atlanta, the annual MEGA Friday Night Live Ladies Lounge event is from 10 p.m. – 3 a.m. at Compound Atlanta, www.compoundatl.com

SATURDAY, AUG. 30

Atlanta Black Gay Pride’s Ladies of Literature event is from 11 a.m. at 5 p.m. at The Georgian Terrace Hotel, www.atlantaprideweekend.com The Atlanta WETher! Celebrity Block Party kicks off at 3 p.m. at Club Opera Atlanta, www.OperaAtlanta.com

The Traxx Girls Annual Strip Her 2014 is tonight from 10 p.m. – 3 a.m. at My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com; www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Atlanta Black Gay Pride’s Annual Soaking Wet Pool Party, sponsored by Wet, features a swimwear fashion show and two DJs, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m., Georgian Terrace Hotel, www.atlantaprideweekend.com

FRIDAY, AUG. 29 – SATURDAY, AUG. 30 Vendor market at Atlanta’s Black Gay Pride Weekend’s host hotel, the Georgian Terrace Hotel, both days from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Wassup N ATL hosts its Saturday pool party with sexy male dancers from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Memphis, Dallas and Atlanta.

Holiday Inn Airport North, 1380 Virginia Ave., Atlanta, GA 30344, from 4 to 8 p.m., wassupnatl.com

FRIDAY, AUG. 29

Wassup N ATL then moves its party to Club 714 with a special celebrity guest TBA. Doors open at 9 p.m., 714 Spring St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.wassupnatl.com

Strip Tease 2014 at the Magic City Strip Club as part of Black Gay Pride, 3 p.m. – 8 p.m., www.magiccity.com The Atlanta Pride Weekend Comedy Show, hosted by Ms. Sophia, is tonight with doors opening at 7 p.m., www.thegeorgianterrace.com The Annual Grown Folks Take Over Event 2014 gets going at 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com

The Traxx Girls “Big Bang” event—called the biggest girl party in the country—revs up at 10 p.m. and goes until 5 a.m., Georgia Freight Depot, 65 Martin Luther King Jr Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303 The Mega Saturday Night Live Dance Party, part of Black Gay Pride weekend, is one of the

bigger parties of the weekend at 595 North, www.595north.com, www.rockstarsproduction.com

SUNDAY, AUG. 31

The annual Pure Heat Community Festival begins at noon and runs through 8 p.m. with performers all day at Piedmont Park, 1071 Piedmont Ave. Atlanta, GA 30309, www.atlantaprideweekend.com Wassup N ATL parties at Jungle Atlanta with special guest D. Woods from Danity Kane performing live. Other performers include Jordan Antonia, GaDiva and Elite Noel.

Doors open at 9 p.m., 2115 Faulkner Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30324 Soulfood Poetry Slam JAZZ Brunch begins at noon at Georgian Terrace Hotel, www.thegeorgianterrace.com Atlanta Black Gay Pride’s Unity Ball starts at 4 p.m., Georgian Terrace Hotel, www.thegeorgianterrace.com It’s Celebrity Showtime Sundays from 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. at Mansion Elan, www.themansionelan.com The Ladies at Play Atlanta Labor Day Sunday Bash is tonight at Tongue & Groove, with DJ LilBad AzzDj E, Thundersnatch drummer Krystal Meth, and DJ Deejay Frye, with VIP options available, 10 p.m. – 2:30 a.m., www.tandgonline.com

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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 Phoenix of Rupaul’s Drag Race brings her sass to her Dancefloor Divas show 11:30 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22

The 2014 AGLCC Community Awards Dinner will recognize local LGBT businesses and business professionals. This event, hosted by radio personality Melissa Carter, is the culminating celebration for a year of advancing, networking, and educating Atlanta’s LGBT community. 7 – 9 p.m., Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Tickets available at www.atlantagaychamber.org “Doubt: A Parable” bows at Out of Box Theatre in Marietta beginning at 8 p.m. The play is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award and was also

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a major motion picture production starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The local cast features multi-award-winning playwright and actor, Topher Payne as Father Flynn, Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre Award-winning actress Jo Howarth as Sister Aloysius and professional actress Amanda Cucher as Sister James. Rounding out the cast is the multi-talented Parris Sarter as the child’s mother, Mrs. Muller. The play runs through Sept. 6, www.outofboxtheatre.com

specials, great music and lots of beautiful women, 10 p.m., www.mysistersroom.com

Big Gay Movie Night presents Terry Gilliam’s “The Zero Theorem,” hosted by the Alanta Radical Faeries, 8 p.m., 1043 Sans Souci Way, Clarkston, GA 30021

The Atlanta Zine Library, Atlanta Zine Fest and Charis Circle are facilitating a skill-share workshop for anyone interested in making zines. This workshop is a kick-off to the zinester writer’s group.

This is a Charis Circle Whole Children, Strong Families program; the suggested donation is $5. 2 – 4 p.m., Charis Books, www.charisbooksandmore.com

Sweet Tea: The Refill is a queer variety show featuring DJ PK Fire and hosted by and performances

by Taylor Alxndr. Suggested door cover is $2.

Doors open at 9 p.m. with a dance party and the show starts at 10 p.m., the Hangar, 151 Sampson St., Atlanta, GA 30312, tinyurl.com/q39ture 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 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

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23

Come out together today for a massive Moral March on Georgia from Woodruff Park to our state Capitol. The Moral March on Georgia is part of a South-wide strategy to build power against policies that have seen wages decreased, jobs taken and homes foreclosed, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

“Let’s Make a Deal,” hosted by Ken, rounds up contestants tonight at Friends on Ponce, 6 – 10 p.m., www.friendsonponce-atl.com The Guys as Dolls show is a drag extravaganza featuring a bevy of beauties to raise money for the 2014 AIDS Walk. Featured performers include Tara Kotta, Kimora Layou, Sue Nami, Paige Turner, Stella D’oro, Misti Shores, Charlene Boufontaine, Regina Carter, Jordan Mathews, East Point Possums, Berlinda Wall, Holly Walden and the comedy talents of Bob Killough. Proceeds donated to

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Ready For Hope. Tickets are $8 in advance/$10 at the door. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and showtime is 6:30 p.m., Jungle, www.jungleatl.com Aerosmith’s Let Rock Rule tour comes to the ATL with special guest Slash. 7:30 p.m., Philips Arena, www.philipsarena.com The third annual Shakespeare Follies Best in Show shows pits 15 contestants against each other in an attempt to win audience votes, 8 p.m., Smith’s Olde Bar, www.smithsoldebar.com Haul out your outfit—it’s a Cell Block Party from 10 – 11 p.m. at the Atlanta Eagle, www.atlantaeagle.com

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24

The Marketplace includes vendor booths by authors, print makers, jewelry artists, photographers, craft artists, candle makers, business owners and more, 3 to 8 p.m., The Phillip Rush Center. Those interested in participating can email cycleforfreedom@gmail.com, www.rushcenteratl.org SAGE Atlanta hosts an International Dine Out Day at Phuong, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., 4051 Buford Hwy. Atlanta, GA 30345 An outstanding version of “Mary Poppins” is playing at Aurora Theater through August 31, with a matinee today at 2:30 p.m., www.auroratheare.com

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MONDAY, AUGUST 25

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, AUGUST 26

Kidliterate: A book club by Laurel Snyder and Rebekah Goode-Peoples is a new kind of book club. One book a month (children’s or young adult fiction) will be selected to be read. This is a Charis Circle Whole Children, Strong Families Program.

The suggested donation is $5. 7 – 9 p.m., Charis Books, www.charisbooksandmore.com

Energy Centre Foundation, with a pre-show event at 6:30 p.m. and the show at 8 p.m., Cobb Energy Centre, www.cobbenergycentre.com In advance of Black Gay Pride activities comes Hip Hop Karaoke at My Sister’s Room, 9 p.m. – 2 a.m., www.mysistersroom.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28

Girlz Retro & Aunt Judy’s Social Circle join forces to bring you that ’70s vibe from 5:30 – 9 p.m.at Bad Dog Taqueria at Emory Village, 1579 North Decatur Road, Atlanta, GA 30307. (Complimentary valet parking is available)

Two Step Tuesdays offers 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

UPCOMING

Team Trivia with Wil, 9 – 11 p.m., Atlanta Hideaway, www.atlantahideaway.com

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 31

Ruby Redd and Angelica D’Paige are the emcees of Drageoke, 10:30 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com Wednesday, August 27 $5 tacos, tequila and beer are on tap at Amsterdam Atlanta from 6 – 11 p.m., www.amsterdamatlanta.com Jay Leno yucks it up at a fundraiser for the Cobb

Mid Georgia Pride is a weekend of fun, adventure and music, DJs, pool parties and entertainers such as Ruby Redd, Kristina Foxx and Miss Karen Michaels, at Oz Campground, aplacecalledoz.com

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29 – MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Thousands swarm the ATL for the annual Dragon Con event, with its infamous line-up of sci-fi and pop culture heroes and its beloved parade,

www.dragoncon.org Male and female tennis players from across the country compete in the Peach International Tennis Championship, various times at DeKalb Tennis Center, courtesy of ATTA, Atlanta’s LGBT tennis league, www.atta.org One of the most celebrated book festivals around, the Decatur Book Festival, runs this holiday weekend with Joyce Carol Oates as a speaker and a great LGBT track, including Allan Gurganus, www.decaturbookfestival.com

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band play at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 8 p.m., www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org

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Atlanta Black Gay Pride’s Annual Soaking Wet Pool Party, sponsored by Wet, features a swimwear fashion show and two DJs, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m., Georgian Terrace Hotel, www.thegeorgianterrace.com The Traxx Girls “Big Bang” event—called the biggest girl party in the country—revs up at 10 p.m. and goes until 5 a.m., Georgia Freight Depot, 65 Martin Luther King Jr Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303 The Mega Saturday Night Live Dance Party, part of Black Gay Pride weekend, is one of the bigger parties of the weekend at 595 North, www.595north.com

SUNDAY AUGUST 31

Alex Acosta visits Xion Atlanta, 3 a.m., www.xionatlanta.com

The Atlanta Rollergirls host a playoff match, with teams TBD, 7 p.m., Yaarab Shrine Center, 400 Ponce De Leon Ave, Atlanta, GA 30308

The Ladies at Play Atlanta Labor Day Sunday Bash is tonight at Tongue & Groove, with DJ LilBad AzzDj E, Thundersnatch drummer Krystal Meth and DJ Deejay Frye, with VIP options available, 10 p.m.

– 2:30 a.m., www.tandgonline.com

Atlanta Black Gay Pride’s Ladies of Literature event is from 11 a.m. at 5 p.m. at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, www.thegeorgianterrace.com

The annual PureHeat Community Festival begins at noon and runs through 8 p.m. with performers all day at Piedmont Park, 1071 Piedmont Avenue Atlanta, GA 30309

The Atlanta WETher! Celebrity Block Party kicks off at 3 p.m. at Club Opera Atlanta, www.OperaAtlanta.com

Soulfood Poetry Slam JAZZ Brunch begins at noon at Georgian Terrace Hotel, www.thegeorgianterrace.com

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30

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Breaking through ‘The Glass Closet’

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NEW YORK GILBERT AND SULLIVAN PLAYERS Friday, September 12, 8 p.m.

LGBT employees face risks coming out at work

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The view from your office is quite magnificent.

When you moved into that space, you also got the perfect desk, a credenza to match, and a plushy, throne-like chair. It’s a workspace anyone would envy.

Yes, your office is well-appointed. But your closet? Not so much. Therefore, according to John Browne in his new book “The Glass Closet,” maybe it’s time to come out of it.

Starting as a young man in 1969, John Browne rose through the ranks at oil-giant BP until 2007, when he resigned as chief executive. He might still be there if not for an unfortunately splashy scandal that seems tame today: Browne is gay. When “a tangled skein of allegations” pulled him out of the closet, he resigned from his job, fearing that his life was over.

Obviously it was not, but he discovered that his experiences weren’t unusual. Even though great strides have been made, and nearly all Fortune 500 companies now have policies in place to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, more than 40 percent of American LGBT workers remain closeted on the job. According to a survey, 90 percent of transgender employees report problems at work.

“Years of progress have reduced the risk of harassment,” says Browne, “but they have not completely eradicated it.” Coming out is still risky, as evidenced by the interviews Browne completed with people who mostly asked that their last names not be used.

One person interviewed was Vandy Beth Glenn of Atlanta, copy editor for the GA Voice. Glenn shared her story of being fired as a legislative editor for the Georgia General Assembly after her boss learned she was transitioning from male to female.

She sued the state in federal court in Glenn v. Brumby with the help of Lambda Legal and won, setting a precedent for transgender government employees to be protected from discrimination. Her lawsuit was cited in the Macy v. Holder case that established Title VII protections apply to transgender people, providing protection to private-sector transgender employees.

Businesses, Browne says, should understand that inclusion “levels the playing field”

and widens the choices available in the “war for talent,” something Fortune 500 companies already know. Extending benefits to same-sex partners serves to retain workers, and policies supporting LGBT employees also send a positive message to other minority groups. Marketing and ad departments must remember that the LGBT community is “traditionally under-served” but represents an “often sizeable opportunity.”

As for LGBT workers, Browne recalls how much effort it took to keep his secret, and how much it weighed him down. Still, “[n] o matter how skilled you think you are at hiding your true self, those closest to you … will see you through the closet door.” Coming out is risky, but “the risk will be worth the reward.”

Seemingly meant for business, “The Glass Closet” is not exactly business-related for the first third of it. Instead, author John Browne begins with his life story followed by a trite LGBT history that includes little to nothing about the world of work.

That doesn’t leave much room for business-related information in this too-short book—but after getting past those first pages, the irritation subsides. Browne continues by offering eye-opening stats; several interviews to prove that there are others experiencing similar issues; and points to ponder, interspersed with helpful info for employers and employees, both LGBT and straight.

If you’re interested in a biography, that’s here. The real appeal of this book, though, is for the starter help it offers, and the modicum of support. For those small, brief, shaky reasons, “The Glass Closet” is worth a look-through.

COLUMNISTS

www.theGAVoice.com

08.15.14

GA VOICE

SOMETIMES'Y' Friends like these

America’s last generation of closet case allies

The first time I met a U.S. president’s grandson, I got my ass groped in the dim backroom of a Midtown gay bar. An affinity caucus of the Democratic Party of Georgia was hosting a meet-and-greet with progressive candidates and LGBT voters, and as a friend introduced me to Jason Carter, my boyfriend snuck up and grabbed a handful of my booty.

My eyes widened in embarrassment, but I remember Carter chuckling off my boyfriend’s colorful greeting.

Until last week, I thought Carter might wince at the re-telling of that encounter, committed as he seemed to be to downplay his comfort with, and support of, LGBT Georgians during his gubernatorial bid. However, Carter’s aplomb during our initial meeting shone again in his response to demands that he support same-sex marriage.

“Marriage equality is something I believe in and have for a very, very, very long time,” Carter told Creative Loafing due to prodding from Atlanta’s LGBT media. “Everybody who knows me knows where I stand.”

Carter’s position seems sincere, but his statement was the donkey manure LGBT residents should expect to come out of Georgia Democrats.

Among the “everybody” clueless about where exactly Carter stood on marriage equality were the many LGBT supporters who insisted that the writers and activists seeking clarification were naive, reckless and selfish for trying to push Carter too far to the left in a statewide race.

The games Carter plays with his political messaging are distasteful but forgivable, given the certitude of his recent statements.

I have faith that his heart is with our movement, and that his leadership of our state would be comprehensively superior to that of incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal.

It’s harder to forgive Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Michelle Nunn, whose personal views closely align with Carter’s, but who is, at best, a closet-case ally of LGBT equality. A leaked campaign memo revealed that Nunn

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

targeted LGBT donors for more than a quarter-million dollars, while having the same policy position on same-sex marriage as her Republican opponent, David Perdue.

“In the hollowest opposition that can be expected of a GOP candidate in the Deep South, Perdue told the Marietta Daily Journal that he favored the state’s ban on samesex marriage because “As a senator, I’ve got to uphold...whatever the law of the land.

“If that changes, then I will support that with the population,” Perdue added. As toxic as this position could be perceived, Perdue stated it in February, survived a rabid Republican primary, then upset a heavily favored congressman in the longest runoff in Georgia history.

His deference to state policy is identical to that of Michelle Nunn, who, presented with an opportunity to advance the conversation about gay rights in Georgia, has deployed talking points from the 1850s.

Moreover, “Nunn” remains among the foulest names in LGBT history due to the dishonored soldiers and destroyed lives that resulted from her father’s championing the anti-gay prejudice that became “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Far from trying to redeem her family name, Nunn has settled for being among the last generation of progressive politicians to resist the inevitability of same-sex marriage.

Sadly, a good number of LGBT Georgians accept being cast as political poison. We gush over, and give to, politicians who reduce us to Unmentionables, far beyond the issue of marriage. We accept the wink-andnods of closet-case allies because we believe everyone benefits if their support for us is kept on the down low.

There is no benefit to our cause being shushed to protect hidden alliances. Demanding the grandest concessions from our opponents while accepting the cheapest tokens from our allies is not savvy, but rather political grabass.

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

Call me today at 404.564.4265.

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2014 Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

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