08/19/16, Vol. 7 Issue 13

Oprah’s Atlanta-filmed megachurch drama wraps up hit first season with LGBT storylines aplenty

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com Expectations were high when the Oprah Winfrey Network announced last summer that they had ordered straight-to-series a new scripted drama called “Greenleaf ” about a powerful African-American family and their Memphis megachurch.

Not only were Emmy winners Lynn Whitfield and Keith David top-lining the Atlanta-filmed show as the Greenleaf family’s matriarch and patriarch, respectively, but Oprah herself was serving as an executive producer and stepping in front of the camera in a supporting role as Whitfield’s character’s sister.

The show delivered, with the June 21 premiere drawing enough viewers to make it the number one series debut in OWN history. And as the August 31 season finale approaches, the show stands as the summer’s number one new cable series among women and total viewers.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 7

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GEORGIANEWS

Changes coming to Atlanta Black Gay Pride In The Life Atlanta drops host hotel, spreads out across city for 20th anniversary

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com In The Life Atlanta, the official organizer of Atlanta Black Gay Pride, is turning 20 this year and organizers have changes in store to shake things up for the over 85,000 people expected to attend this Labor Day Weekend. Those changes include dropping host hotel the Georgian Terrace Hotel, spreading the events out around the city and adding more educational components.

This year’s theme is “20 Years Strong,” and locals and visitors alike can expect a robust lineup of activities, symposiums, seminars, social events, entertainment, and ITLA’s signature events.

“We wanted to kind of move in a different direction because there’s been a lot of changes in the world with the Pulse nightclub tragedy, marriage equality is the law of the land, and the ‘religious freedom’ act I have a feeling is on its way back,” In The Life Atlanta president Rickie Smith tells Georgia Voice. “So the political climate in Georgia is really changing and we in the LGBTQIA community need to be aware of these changes and how it’s going to affect us down the line.”

One of the biggest changes was moving away from having a host hotel, which is a role the Georgian Terrace has played for years. Smith says there’s a stigma attached to having a host hotel.

“People come to town but don’t want to go to the hotel. All of a sudden it feels like that’s where all the gay folks are and ‘I don’t want to be seen coming out of there,’” he explains. “We’ve got a big city which people need to be able to explore and know that there’s a lot of stuff going on in our city and we’re just not crammed up in the hotel so let’s get out and enjoy some of the beauty of our city. Let’s go into our neighborhood a little bit and support some of our businesses in our neighborhood.”

All of the workshops, which were previously held at the hotel, will now be held www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Atlanta Black Gay Pride organizers In The Life Atlanta have dropped the host hotel this year and will have events scattered all across the city. (File photo)

“It’s about educating our people, getting our people registered to vote and remembering the community where you live. Once the music stops in the club, we’ve still gotta live in this community. This is not so much about the nightlife, it’s about our life in general. Somebody needs to stop and take a look at what’s going on around us and how we can shape the landscape of what’s going on around us.”

—Rickie Smith, president of Atlanta Black Gay Pride organizer In The Life Atlanta

Details

downtown at the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Smith says the workshops will have a political tone, an advocacy tone and an empowerment tone.

“Being in a historical place like that one for our twentieth year speaks volumes about understanding where we came from and where we’re going,” he says.

There are several signature events planned as well including:

Tie Awards Ceremony and Rustin/Lorde Scholarship presentation n Town Hall called “A More Perfect Union: The Need for Comprehensive Civil Rights,” which will examine ways in which recent events have altered the narrative of the LGBT community n Coffee and Chat Breakfast with city officials including Mayor Kasim Reed n Women’s Empowerment Symposium Luncheon where community leaders will be recognized for their work, and guests will hear from local and national speakers on issues affecting black women in the LGBT community n Faith & Equality Luncheon to discuss the necessity for LGBT-affirming faith communities in a changing social-political landscape

n VIP Reception and Silent Auction n Charity Fundraisers including a Purple

Smith says it’s a concerted effort by ITLA to make Atlanta Black Gay Pride weekend

Atlanta Black Gay Pride Aug. 30 – Sept. 5, 2016 Locations around the city For a full list of In The Life Atlanta’s events, go to www.inthelifeatlanta.org

about more than just the parties.

“It’s about educating our people, getting our people registered to vote and remembering the community where you live,” he says.

“Once the music stops in the club, we’ve still gotta live in this community. This is not so much about the nightlife, it’s about our life in general. Somebody needs to stop and take a look at what’s going on around us and how we can shape the landscape of what’s going on around us.”

He mentions the ongoing gentrification of the Midtown area as an example, saying, “The cultural pieces are slowly disappearing and if we’re not careful the whole landscape will change and we’ll be standing there going ‘Well, where are we supposed to go?’”

“It’s important to realize you need a reason to celebrate Pride. Find out what you need to be proud about instead of just dancing in the street,” Smith says laughing.

August 19, 2016 News 3

GEORGIANEWS

Inside the minds of Georgia’s gay Republicans for Trump Weatherman-turned-commentator, teenage former Sanders supporter open up about controversial candidate

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com LGBT Republicans are used to being asked by others about how, given the party’s track record on LGBT issues, they can support the GOP. Many political pundits expected more of those in the LGBT community to embrace Republican candidates after marriage equality became the law of the land, but then came the backlash.

The GOP doubled down following last June’s U.S. Supreme Court decision and was responsible for filing over 100 anti-LGBT so-called “religious freedom” bills across the country, including the federal First Amendment Defense Act, which is still under consideration. So the questions for LGBT Republicans continue, and the rise of Donald Trump and his controversial behavior over the last year has led to a new series of questions.

Everybody knows the Republican candidate’s gaffes. Mocking the disabled. Inferring that a female journalist who asked him tough questions during a debate was menstruating.

This past month has been particularly bruising for Trump, with him calling President Obama the “founder of ISIS,” implying that “Second Amendment people” could assassinate Hillary Clinton, and ridiculing the parents of a Muslim-American Army captain killed in Iraq. Subsequent national polls show Trump sliding further and further away from Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic Party is starting to pump money into Georgia now that it’s considered a toss-up state.

So we reached out to LGBT Republicans to find out why they support Donald Trump and the fallout they’ve experienced as a result.

Immigration reform, terrorism views drew Atlanta man Arch Kennedy is a former meteorologist who previously had stints at several networks and affiliates in Atlanta and around the South. Now he’s back in Atlanta, and for the past year has been building a following as a political commentator. The 46-year-old

Arch Kennedy (l) and Avery Anderson (r) are vocal in their support of GOP nominee Donald Trump. (Courtesy photos)

“I wish people would stop being afraid and get on my level, because I’m happy to support him. I’m happy to tell people that I’m an openly gay Christian Republican who supports Donald Trump because he’s willing to defend me and I feel like he’s the right guy for the right job.”

—Donald Trump supporter Avery Anderson says he was always planning on supporting the Republican nominee for president and favored Sen. Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina early on in the primary, while having reservations about Trump.

“As I watched him defeat all those other candidates, I realized there was a movement going on. It wasn’t even about Republicans or Democrats anymore—it was about it bringing it back to the people. He’s a populist,” Kennedy told Georgia Voice.

For Kennedy, it came down to who he thought was better on limited government, the economy, terrorism and securing the border.

“When it comes to immigration reform, you have to first stop the bleeding and I believe in what he says on securing the border, and Hillary Clinton is not really pushing that,” he says. “I believe very much so that she’s an open borders girl.”

Of Trump’s temperament and any concern about how that could translate to the Oval Office, Kennedy says he agrees that the

GOP nominee needs to be “more presidential” and that he “needs to tone it down,” but—despite Trump’s actions over the last month—that he’s seen improvement in that area and thinks he’ll continue to calm down.

Kennedy says two groups have been the most vocal in their opposition to his support of Trump—establishment Republicans and LGBT Democrats. He also gets asked about the party’s platform, which was the most anti-LGBT platform in years.

“If Trump’s in office, those platform issues are not going to come to pass. I am more concerned with the economy, Islamic terrorism and things that are going to affect all Americans. We have gay marriage, it’s time to move forward is the way I feel.”

‘Honesty seems to hurt a lot of people’ 19-year-old Donald Trump supporter Avery Anderson decided to do something a little risky when he showed up for the first

day of classes this fall at the University of West Georgia—he wore his Trump shirt and hat. He got a couple of looks here and there, with a dash of commentary on the side.

“One lady said she was going to name her daughter Hillary,” Anderson tells Georgia Voice.

But he says the backlash that day and overall hasn’t been as bad for him, which might have something to do with his county being solid red, with nearly 70 percent of Carroll County voters opting for Mitt Romney over President Obama in the 2012 presidential election.

What’s surprising though is that, drawn by the talk of free college and free healthcare, Anderson had previously supported Bernie Sanders for president and labeled himself a “hardcore Democrat.” Last year he had what he calls an “epiphany” and began to ask himself if Sanders was the best option for him. After reading up on the candidates and getting a look at Donald Trump’s tax plan, he formally switched to the business mogul’s side.

“I became a Trump supporter because I feel like I can identify with him,” says Anderson, who was also drawn to Trump’s views on immigration and the military. “I felt like if he could sit down with me, we can carry out a very pleasant conversation.”

He later got involved with the Republican Party and ended up becoming an alternate delegate at last month’s GOP convention.

Anderson is quick to defend the Republican nominee against claims that he’s sexist, saying, “He’s probably mean to the women who go after him and it’s kind of a respect thing—treat those how you wish to be treated.” And of the racism claims, he says, “They’ll bring up the immigration issue and I’ll tell them, ‘No that’s not a racist issue, that’s a legal issue.’ It seems like everything that they try to go after, I feel like they’re going after him for being honest, and honesty seems to hurt a lot of people.”

Overall, he says he wishes people weren’t afraid to show their support for the candidate.

“I wish people would stop being afraid and get on my level, because I’m happy to support him. I’m happy to tell people that I’m an openly gay Christian Republican who supports Donald Trump because he’s willing to defend me and I feel like he’s the right guy for the right job.”

4 News August 19, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NEWSBRIEFS Atlanta drag icon Diamond Lil dies at 80 Atlanta drag legend Diamond Lil has passed away at age 80. The announcement was made on the entertainer’s official Facebook page on Aug. 9.

Lil had been battling cancer and was put in hospice care in June. While she lived a public life onstage, friends say she wanted to keep her health issues private.

Lil was born in Savannah, Georgia on December 28, 1935. As a young child, she sang on Savannah radio, and she dressed in drag for the first time when she was five years old. She performed publicly for the first time in drag at age 18, doing the song “Three Letters” by Ruth Brown.

“I tore up three letters in front of the audience,” Lil told Georgia Voice in an interview from last August.

Lil gained fame early for regaling the sailors docked at the Savannah port by singing and dancing on the ships in the harbor, where the sailors would pick her up and throw her in the air, according to Atlanta LGBT historian Dave Hayward. However, she experienced a great deal of harassment as well for being gender nonconforming in the 1950s South.

Not only was she discharged from the National Guard, she was also arrested on numerous occasions for what she wore.

From the Savannah port into Atlanta’s heart Lil came into Atlanta’s life after a move in the early 1960s and proceeded to perform in the gay bars of the time, including Mrs. P’s on Ponce de Leon Avenue and Chuck’s Rathskellar and Rose Room on Monroe Drive. She was called the “Queen of the Jukeboxes” as she was featured on jukeboxes around the Southeast—unique among female impersonators as she often performed in her own voice and composed her own songs. She was a major influence on the performers that rose up in her wake, including Jayne County (who attributed her performing career to Diamond), and was also a clear influence on drag stars like RuPaul and Lady Bunny, who both started in Atlanta.

While not a political activist, she generously performed benefits for the Georgia Gay Liberation Front. The entertainer also performed at other benefits over the years, including for the Committee on Gay Education at the University of Georgia in 1972, when she sang “Stand By Your Man.” Hayward tells

Atlanta’s LGBT community mourns the passing of drag icon Diamond Lil after succumbing to cancer at 80. (File photo)

Georgia Voice that UGA officials did all they could to throw the COGE off campus, but that Lil’s notoriety and the standing-room only crowd helped ensure that the group had the financial backing and the high public profile necessary to keep it going.

A performer until the end Lil continued to perform throughout Atlanta in the decades that followed, including at Manuel’s Tavern and Mixx. In recent years, Lil scooped up several notable awards. Georgia Voice readers voted Lil as Best Icon in the 2014 Georgia Voice Best of Atlanta awards. And in 2015, Atlanta Pride and Touching Up Our Roots honored her in the first ever Our Founding Valentines event celebrating LGBT pioneers, trailblazers, and community builders.

Till nearly the very end, Lil could be seen at various events around town, always with one of her CDs at hand ready to sell. And just this April, she gave wedding advice for couples for Georgia Voice’s Wedding Issue. Lil had said that her all-time favorite song to perform was her original song “Cabbagetown Katie.”

Rather poignantly, when asked by Georgia Voice last year what she had learned about herself as a performer over the years,

she replied, “There comes a time when it’s time to hang up your skirts.”

Kasim Reed appoints trans activist Tracee McDaniel to Atlanta Citizen Review Board Mayor Kasim Reed has made a bold step towards the inclusion of transgender Atlantans in city government with the recent appointment of Tracee McDaniel to the Atlanta Citizens Review Board.

“I am pleased to appoint McDaniel to serve on the Atlanta Citizen Review Board,” said Mayor Reed. “As a life-long advocate for the transgender community, Ms. McDaniel will bring an important perspective and a lifetime of experience to this role. It is always essential to have minority voices in the room, and our LGBTQ community has a tremendous stake in positive police-community relations.”

“Reed had been holding out for a transgender person to fill that role,” reports CBS46.

McDaniel reacted to the appointment on her Facebook page: “I knew from an early age that I wanted to make positive contributions to my community. It’s my intention to represent our community well, to the best of my ability,” she said.

6 News August 19, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The show’s juicy storylines are at the center of “Greenleaf ’s” success, and it being a megachurch drama set in the South, LGBT characters just had to be a part of the action.

Enter Tye White (“American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson”) as Kevin Satterlee, the sexually conflicted husband of Charity Greenleaf-Satterlee, and Parnell Damone Marcano (the gay web series “Old Dogs & New Tricks”) as Carlton Cruise, the church’s openly gay choir director.

Complex role drew ‘American Crime Story’ actor Tye White is having a moment. After kicking off his career in 2009 with a handful of television and short film credits, and bolstered by roles in the 2014 VH1 television film “Drumline: A New Beat” and a recurring role as L.L. Cool J’s character’s son in “NCIS: Los Angeles,” White nabbed plum supporting roles this year in two shows that have captured the nation’s attention.

First up was playing Jason Simpson, O.J. Simpson’s son in FX’s smash hit “American

Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson.”

And now “Greenleaf.” While White can’t reveal much about his character’s arc as the season wraps up, he does warn against viewers making assumptions about Kevin Satterlee.

“As the story evolves, I don’t think it’s going to be something that people expect,” White tells Georgia Voice. “The speculation is just that he’s in the closet, but I think that for the most part it’s going to be a different angle to the LGBT community. He’s complex, man, and he’s fun to play.”

Part of that fun derives from his playing a character who is, in essence, playing a character to his wife and in-laws. White makes a “Tropic Thunder” reference to describe it.

“You remember Robert Downey, Jr.? I’m playing the guy that’s playing the dude disguised as another dude,” he says laughing.

“This is why I took on the role. It’s an interesting role but the fact that you have a guy that’s dutiful to his family but he loves his wife. This whole them being best friends and them wanting to make a family together, it’s not fake. He’s not a fraud. There’s just some underlying tones and some underlying reasons why he struggles with his sexuality so

it’s fun to play as a guy that’s in some shape or form acting as well.”

Details

Openly gay actor on parallels, meeting Oprah While White’s Kevin Satterlee is conflicted, Marcano’s Carlton Cruise is anything but.

“He is an openly gay man who is a preacher’s kid,” Marcano tells Georgia Voice.

“So he’s always grown up in the church and has now gotten to a point in his life where he’s done with hiding who he is and he’s fully living in his truth and let the chips fall where they may.”

As to what drew him to the role, the openly gay Marcano answers immediately.

“It’s me!,” he says laughing. “All my friends, when I auditioned for the role and then when I booked it, that’s what everybody said. ‘Oh my God, that’s so you, that’s so who you are.’ I’m not a preacher’s kid or anything like that but I did sing in the youth choir as a teenager. And I did get to a point in my life where I was like, you know what, it’s not my job to make you comfortable with my life. I’m comfortable with it.”

As the season has progressed, Marcano’s

been getting a lot of questions from friends, family and fans about whether Kevin and Carlton have something going on behind the scenes. Marcano says he hopes not because he doesn’t see Carlton doing that to his wife, but he is interested to see what direction the writers take it in in the future.

Aiding heavily in “Greenleaf ’s” success is that mega-dose of star power in the one and only Oprah. While they didn’t have any scenes together, Marcano says he got to meet her and snag a picture at the show’s wrap party. And there’s always next year for sharing a scene with the mogul, as the show earned a Season 2 renewal two months ahead of the premiere.

“I haven’t had a chance to really have a heart-to-heart conversation,” Marcano says.

“I’m sure she hears it all the time about how she’s influenced people’s lives. When I grow up, I want to be like Oprah.”

‘Greenleaf’ Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on OWN Season Finale on Aug. 31

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August 19, 2016 A&E 7

FINANCIAL TIPS

Do you have a circle of trust?

The definition extends beyond friendship into finances

By MERCEDES M PASQUALETTI, MBA Many people assume the average tax practice is on vacation or closed from April 16 until January of the following year. This may be true for small firms that only prepare tax returns, but not for full-service accounting and financial services firms. Summer and fall are actually a fantastic time to meet with all the people in your circle of trust.

This includes your tax advisor, financial advisor, mortgage consultant and attorney.

During the busy season of January through April, many firms are bogged down with the nuts and bolts of filing returns and do not have time to devote to planning. As such, you should take advantage of the summer and fall to bring your circle together to make sure all the pieces of your financial and legal world are working in a cohesive manner.

It is ideal to meet with your circle at least once a year or any time you have a lifechanging event such as a birth, death, marriage, divorce or inheritance, etc. By meeting with your circle of trusted advisors, this allows the proper amount of time to make any necessary tweaks or adjustments prior to year-end. If things have changed significantly from the prior year or even from the beginning of the year, it is better to be proactive rather than reactive.

Things to discuss include, but are not limited to: n Have you paid in enough tax year-to-date or do you need to adjust your withholdings?

Is your financial advisor managing your portfolio with the tax implications in mind? n Has anything major in your life changed that would warrant a revision to your will? n Have you exceeded the estate limit or need a trust? n Is it time to think about refinancing your current mortgage or are you thinking about purchasing a new home? n Is your business on track to meet the projected numbers for the year and if not, what changes can be made to make sure your company hits the target? n

If you do not have all the necessary professionals in your circle of trust, now is an excellent time to begin the process of developing your team and circle of trust. Be proactive, not reactive and your financial picture will be dramatically impacted. Look for advisors who can educate and guide you through the financial process. Any advisor worth their salt will be able to tell you why they do things a particular way and will give you the tools to be able to understand the process.

Do not be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. If you have been using the same accountant, tax preparer, advisor, or attorney for years and do not seem to be having much communication with them currently, contact them to find out why. If you do not get the response you are looking for, it is time to find a new person to fill their spot in the circle of trust.

(iStock photo)

“It is ideal to meet with your circle at least once a year or any time you have a life-changing event such as a birth, death, marriage, divorce or inheritance, etc.�

If you have outgrown any of your advisors and their abilities, seek out new sources that have experience with your level of need. It is always a good idea to interview new firms to find out if they will be a good fit for you.

Once you have a circle of trust you are comfortable with, use them to help you.

Seek their council when making big financial decisions and make sure all parties are on the same page. For example, do not sell stock for a gain with your broker until you have discussed the tax implications with your tax preparer. Making sure all parties are well informed can take the surprise out of transactions in the long run.

If you have never had a circle of trust and are in the financial place where it makes sense for you to have one, ask your friends, family, and neighbors for referrals. This is a great place to start if you are unsure about whom to contact.

Make sure you have the tools in place to manage your financial life. The circle of trust are people who can help you actively manage your finances and will help you achieve your goals.

HLM Financial Group is located in downtown Decatur and offers accounting, tax preparation and planning, financial planning and investing. www.hlmonestop.com.

8 Finances August 19, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com Managing Partner: Christina Cash ccash@thegavoice.com

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10 Outspoken August 19, 2016

“Oh honey—you can’t spray paint DNA. The downside of white privilege is that you don’t understand what it’s like to have embedded into your brain from the moment you’re born that you’ll have to work thrice as hard as everybody else just to survive in the world. You don’t understand coming from a people who thrive, even when all the odds are stacked against them. When you couple that kind of hard work and determination with the intangible ‘it’ we refer to as Black Girl Magic...ma’am—you can’t paint that—only God can. Sorry, not sorry, Becky with the low scores…better luck next lifetime.”

-Bisexual singer/activist Frenchie Davis responding on Facebook to an Italian gymnasts’ racist jibe at Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.

(Aug. 9/Facebook Photo)

“As a newsroom, we succeed together and we fail together, and this was a failure on The Daily Beast as a whole, not a single individual. The article was not intended to do harm or degrade members of the LGBT community, but intent doesn’t matter, impact does.”

—An apology from The Daily Beast editors regarding a dangerous article published outing gay Olympians by writer Nico Hines. (Aug. 11/Screencap image)

“I feel a great deal of pity for Donnie McClurkin. How awful must it be to be a gay man who is so traumatized by God and religion that you think deception is the key to heaven? How ugly is it to force yourself into a box you’re too big for? How telling is it that other people believe it’s their righteous duty to encourage your pretense? And how horrible is it that the lie is going to help perpetuate the spiritual oppression of other queer people by continuing the falsehood and oppressive nature of compulsory heterosexuality? There is no ‘deliverance’ from homosexuality because homosexuality is nothing to be ‘delivered’ from.”

—Writer Son of Baldwin on the engagement of “ex-gay” gospel singer Donnie McClurkin and Nicole C. Mullen. (Aug. 15/ Facebook Photo) www.thegeorgiavoice.com

IN THE MIDDLE

By Kim Riggins

What about me?

Kim Riggins lives in Smyrna with her two incredibly spoiled dogs and an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars.

“‘Why can’t we just say all lives matter? Don’t all lives matter? Why do we have to celebrate gay Pride and black gay Pride? All these labels do are divide us.’ But my question is, ‘Why do those things divide us?’ They only divide if we allow them to.”

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Okay, I have a hate/hate relationship with social media in that I hate almost everything about it and I hate that I can’t stay away from it. I tell myself things like, “Don’t read the comments,” or “Okay, read the comments but don’t say anything because it will become a long, involved discussion that will solve nothing.”

Then, “What did he say?! Okay, comment because this guy needs some education.” It never really turns into anything educational because social media has given anyone with an opinion, educated or not, a platform from which to spew it and we get to listen to it—or read it. Yippee!

The trend I have noticed lately, what with all the protests and shootings, is that there are a lot of white people who are overly defensive about being white. “Well, I guess it’s my fault because I’m white,” they lament sarcastically.

Or, “I’m not allowed to have white Pride because being white is bad.” And my personal favorite, “Why don’t we get white history month?” Where is mine? What about me? Me, me, me. Mine, mine, mine.

“Why can’t we just say all lives matter?

Don’t all lives matter? Why do we have to celebrate gay Pride and black gay Pride? All these labels do are divide us.” But my question is, “Why do those things divide us?” They only divide if we allow them to. As a white woman, I do not feel marginalized by Black Lives Matter. As a white lesbian, I do not feel marginalized by black gay Pride. To be frank, as a white person, even a white gay person, I doubt very seriously that I know what it feels www.thegeorgiavoice.com

like to be truly marginalized at all and the little I do know about it only fosters a sense of injustice for those who know about it on a much deeper level.

I get it, though. I really do. I used to throw tantrums when I didn’t get presents on my brother’s birthday. That is essentially what our “what about me?” society has come to. Why don’t we get to have straight Pride? Or white Pride? Why don’t all lives matter? Or blue lives? Why do only black lives matter? These questions stem from a mindset akin to that of a four-year-old who cannot comprehend the world beyond their own small bubble. It is not in the nature of a small child to think of others. The only things they can grasp are things that affect them. It isn’t that they are hateful.

They are children. They lack understanding.

They haven’t grown up enough to see that the world doesn’t revolve around them—an understandable state for a child that is far less tolerable when we encounter it in adults.

No one has ever asked me to apologize for the color of my skin. No one has insisted that I apologize for the actions of people long dead and gone. No one has ever asked me to sit in the back of a bus. No one has ever asked me to use a different water fountain. No one has asked me to feel ashamed or to hang my head because I’m white. Those things are not necessary for us to be on the right side of history here. I can acknowledge that there are injustices that I will never experience and that privilege does not equal monetary wealth. There is no shame in that. The shame comes when we see those who do not enjoy the same advantages and we ask, “What about me?”

Creepoftheweek Ben Kinchlow’s ‘normal America’ is frightening

By D’ANNE WITKOWSKI Anyone who lives in reality in America knows that Donald Trump is bad news.

Even people who don’t particularly like Hillary Clinton know that. But if you live in Right Wing America, then reality is just a pesky detail that you keep swatting away because it’s annoying your otherwise terrifying nightmare version of the country.

Take former “700 Club” co-host and founder of the African American Political Awareness Coalition Ben Kinchlow, for example. He really does NOT want Clinton to be President.

And he laid it all out in an unhinged Aug. 7 World Net Daily editorial in which he reveals a very surprising theory about President Obama’s election: Americans only elected him because he’s black.

“It wasn’t because he was the most eminently qualified individual,” Kinchlow writes, “but because America wanted to prove to itself, and the world, that it was not racist – ergo they elected Barack Hussein Obama.”

And now Americans, in our quest to show the world what a wonderful, peaceful (drone strikes aside) people we are, are going to elect Hillary Clinton as our next president

in order to finally put to bed the ridiculous notion that we are sexist—because that’s totally how presidential elections work.

Check out these actionBen Kinchlow packed stats: “America has an extremely high percentage of voting-age college students, millennials, transsexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals and feminists,” he writes. “In addition, many normal Americans want to demonstrate that they are not racists, homophobes or anti-feminist.”

It’s interesting, too, that given his explanation, it appears that racist, homophobic, and sexist are the default settings for “normal Americans.”

Kinchlow states more than once that Clinton is unqualified, though he offers no examples of what qualifications she lacks.

So my guess is she just doesn’t hate gays and Muslims enough. If she wanted to nab Kinchlow’s WND readers’ votes, she’d need to turn up her hatred level to extremely high.

August 19, 2016 Outspoken 11

CATCHING UP WITH …

Winston Johnson Reflections on friendship with, coming out to late Coretta Scott King

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com The late Coretta Scott King made history in 1986 when she stepped to the podium as the keynote speaker at that year’s Human Rights Campaign Dinner in New York and said, “My dear friend Winston Johnson asked me to be here this evening, and I am here to express my solidarity with the gay and lesbian movement.”

Johnson and his partner Leon Allen later founded the Atlanta HRC Dinner and are namesakes for the Community Leadership award presented every year at the gala. The 75-year-old Midtown resident reflects on meeting King in the midst of a tragedy, coming out to her and more.

When did you first meet Coretta Scott King?

I met her on April 5, 1968—the day after [Martin Luther King, Jr.’s] assassination.

I worked for Eastern Airlines and I drove a car at that time for VIPs. I was in the Eastern Club—their first class lounge back then— with Eugene McCarthy’s wife.

I mentioned to her that this plane bearing Dr. King’s body and Mrs. King was coming in and the mayor and others would be out there to meet it. She said they were good friends and that she’d love to go over to the aircraft.

So I drove her to the plane and when Mrs. King came down the stairs, they embraced and then she introduced me to Mrs. King.

And Mrs. King asked if [Abigail McCarthy] could come to the house. So I drove her over to the house and in fact, we got there before Mrs. King did. Harry Belafonte answered the door so we were impressed with that.

We were there for maybe an hour and then I took her back to the airport.

After that, Mrs. King started traveling a lot and raising money to build the King Center. So we got to be very good friends over many years after that. She traveled frequently. I was called a customer service rep by then and I handled VIPs and celebrities so

“I called her in 1986 and I said, ‘There’s something we should have talked about years ago. Leon and I are a couple.

We’ve been together since 1964.’ I mentioned BowersHardwick and she was very aware of it and she knew it was horrible. She said Martin would have hated it and would probably have already been out there for us.”

—Winston Johnson on coming out to Coretta Scott King I saw her frequently. She was usually traveling coach and I would usually put her in first class [laughs].

And going back to that day meeting her the day after her husband’s assassination, what was her demeanor like?

The demeanor that I saw was what I saw for the next 25 years with her. She was very composed and very gracious to the people that she met. I was amazed that she could be that composed considering what had happened.

And when did you come out to her?

Well that took awhile [laughs]. Leon and I were very closeted. I had almost lost my job in 1969 [over being gay]. So we stayed in our closet and when the Pride marches and stuff started in the early ’70s, we were so into our being closeted that I just never thought about talking with Mrs. King about it— until Bowers-Hardwick in 1986 [the U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld Georgia’s sodomy law].

We had become very close to her. So I called her in 1986 and I said, “There’s some-

Winston Johnson, 75, and his late partner Leon Allen are namesakes for the Atlanta HRC Dinner’s annual Community Leadership award. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

thing we should have talked about years ago.

Leon and I are a couple. We’ve been together since 1964.” I mentioned Bowers-Hardwick and she was very aware of it and she knew it was horrible. She said Martin would have hated it and would probably have already been out there for us.

And I said, “Well we wanted you to know because we love you and we know you love us” but I also told her I wanted her to do something important. We’d gotten involved with HRC [Human Rights Campaign] a couple of years before. We went to New York to the HRC dinner in 1985 and we didn’t know gay people did anything like that. So I told her about that and said it’s for gay rights and she said “Well, tell me where and I’ll be there.” And she was there in September of that year, that was in 1986.

And she just really spoke out for the rest of her life and she always said Martin probably would have been with us because of [gay civil rights activist] Bayard Rustin, who

helped organize the March On Washington.

I’m curious, did she ever have questions about the LGBT community or things you had to clear up, or did she just get it?

She just got it. I think she got it because of their experience with Bayard, because you know Bayard Rustin was 10 or 15 years older than Martin so he was gay and he was kind of an icon to she and Martin. They knew he was gay and what a good person he was so I think she just sort of got it.

She would send me a birthday card every year and she would always include Leon in notes that she sent. And I’ve got the one where I know she was telling me goodbye.

I knew she was sick, I just didn’t realize it was that serious. She talked about that she knew Leon and I were having a rough time because of his Parkinson’s and that she was having health issues too. I went back after she died and I realized that was goodbye in that card.

12 Community August 19, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

BLACKGAYPRIDE

PREVIEW GUIDE TO THE BEST BLACK GAY PRIDE EVENTS IN ATLANTA FOR AUG. 31-SEPT. 5

SUNDAY, SEP. 4

“Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta’s” Mimi Faust, Karlie Redd & Ariane Davis are the headliners for the 2016 Celebrity Showtime Sundays at Mansion Elan, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

You name it and you can find it during this year’s Black Gay Pride Weekend. Whether it’s karaoke, a vendor marketplace, celebrity performances, an LGBT film festival, educational workshops or brunch, and of course—nearly a thousand parties to choose from—Atlanta Black Gay Pride continues to live up to its reputation as the largest Pride celebration for people of color and their allies in the world. So get your endurance up because sleep is not on the agenda this weekend.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31

9 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

THURSDAY, SEP. 1

Rockstars Production presents The What A Night official Pride indoor and outdoor kickoff party, featuring drink and bottle specials, VIP sections and multiple DJs, Museum Bar, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www. rockstarsproduction.com

Sing it out at Hip Hop Karaoke, Location TBA, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

It’s the Black Gay Pride Official Welcome Reception at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, 6 p.m. to

14 Black Gay Pride Preview August 19, 2016

Keep the party going at the Annual STRIPHER event at Soul Bar at Pals Lounge, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www. atlantaprideweekend.com

Weekend Comedy Show hosted

by Kia Comedy, Georgian Terrace Hotel, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Traxx Atlanta presents “Love and Hip Hop’s” Tommie Lee, plus two rooms of nonstop hip-hop music and an open bar until 11:30 p.m. at Liquid Lounge, 10:30 p.m.-until, www.traxxatlanta.com

Come party with thousands of sexy men and catch a live performance by recording artist Teyana Taylor at the annual 5000 Men Block Party at Club Rain from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.traxxatlanta.com

FRIDAY, SEP. 2

The Gilead Community Luncheon takes place inside the Mitchell Ballroom of the Georgian Terrace Hotel, noon, www.atlantaprideweekend.com

“Love & Hip Hop: New York’s” Cardi B hosts the HOTLANTA Mega Party with 5,000+ men in attendance at Georgia Freight Depot, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com Get your laugh on at the ATL Pride

Who can resist a party with the name the Naked Hustle Day Party 2016 at Magic City, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.,

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Above: Cardi B; Right: Teyana Taylor www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Bar, www.traxxatlanta.com

Rockstars Production wants you at The Dope Boy Day Party. It’s their official Black Pride 2016 pregame party. Location TBA, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com

Black Pride’s sexiest men will be in the building for the Ultimate Indoor and Outdoor Day Party at Kapture, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com

AIDS WORKS and the National Federation of Black Gay Prides hosts a VIP Mixer at The Livingston, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

It’s going to be one Epic 708 Street Party featuring New York and DJ Vjuan Allure at Museum Bar, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., www.traxxatlanta.com

SATURDAY, SEP. 3

SUNDAY, SEP. 4

Club Opera is the place to be for the annual WETher! Celebrity Block Party hosted by Erica Mena, Temper & Gizzle, Brittany Duet and Renaye Diaz, 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com Miami invades ATL as rapper Trina performs live at Obsessions, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com The Legendary Traxx Atlanta’s Black Pride Weekend Mega Party featuring a live performance by June’s Diary, three floors, state of the art décor and a plush terrace level at Museum

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Never miss the nonstop music in the park courtesy of the Annual Pure Heat Community Festival starring Trina and Towanda Braxton and more, noon to 8 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Rockstars Production promises to rock pride with the sexiest men, music, food and signature cocktails during Fit Men who Brunch. Location TBA, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com

Get ready for Labor Day amplified at The Main Event, with five national DJs, private VIP areas, cabanas and VIP bottle service. Location TBA, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com

Take a breather and fill up at the Soulfood Poetry Slam Jazz Brunch hosted by spoken soul icon Queen Sheba at the Georgian Terrace Hotel from noon to 3 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Get a little variety in your weekend by attending the Same Difference Viewing Film Festival and Atlanta Dream Game at Philips Arena, 11 a.m.,

MONDAY, SEP. 5

The women will hit the water for the Pretty in Pink Booze Cruise on Lake Lanier, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Party buses depart

Georgian Terrace Hotel at noon sharp. www.atlantaprideweekend.com Some Like It Hot: SplasHer Rooftop Party, Location TBA, 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com Blow out the candles with Traxx Girls owner DJ M during her Annual Birthday Bash at Onyx Strip Club, 10 p.m. to 12:45 a.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com Ladies and gentlemen, find those crisp white tees to wear at the Annual All White Party at ENIGMA Lounge, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com

August 19, 2016 Black Gay Pride Preview 15

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DREAM TO HOST LGBT NIGHT Outspoken player Layshia Clarendon on LGBT rights, WNBA’s shift in support

By DIONNE N. WALKER A game in 2014 was to be one of the most momentous in Layshia Clarendon’s fledgling WNBA career. Then a player with the Indiana Fever, Clarendon and her teammates were set to debut rainbow-emblazoned warm-up shirts as part of the women’s basketball league’s groundbreaking effort to openly woo its gay and lesbian fans.

But moments before the bold debut, things fell apart: The team nixed the shirts, triggered, Clarendon would later learn, by some players’ discomfort with the gay-friendly theme. The very teammates that showed outward support, it seemed, were internally conflicted.

“Betrayed and disappointed,” Clarendon recently said of her feelings on that night, adding that it troubled her to know that beneath the veneer of acceptance, homophobia was still so prevalent among some players and coaches.

The 25-year-old has channeled this and similar life experiences into an off-the-court career as a fledgling LGBT activist, CONTINUES ON PAGE 22

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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speaking openly about issues surrounding homophobia and transgender discrimination. She joins a wave of young athletes increasingly using their public profiles to pipe up about everything from gay rights to police brutality.

Recent high-profile events include a group of Minnesota players donning proBlack Lives Matter shirts at a basketball game and an out New York player’s poignant essay following the Orlando shootings, in addition to Clarendon’s own recent Esquire Magazine editorial urging more attention to transgender rights.

“It is generational,” said Clarendon, who now plays for the Atlanta Dream. “The younger people are just being more outspoken.”

WNBA comes out for LGBTs This season marks the third in which the WNBA has recognized LGBT fans via Pride-related courtside signage, community events and merchandise that raises funds for gay community groups. The Atlanta Dream will host a special LGBT-themed Pride night on Sept. 4.

“WNBA fans are proud of their teams, favorite players and themselves, and we are honored to have so many loyal fans in the LGBT community,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders. “We embrace the opportunity to celebrate the league’s diverse fan base and to promote important values of our game like inclusion and respect.”

Such open embracing of the gay community is special in any sports league, but particularly in the WNBA. Founded in 1996, the league initially fought stereotypes of lesbian-only athletes by promoting a strongly heteronormative, family-friendly image that left its large LGBT fanbase feeling shut out.

That began to change in 2014. That year saw league president Laurel J. Richie launch WNBA Pride, responding in part to research that estimated a quarter or more of WNBA season ticket holders identified as lesbian.

Fast-forward to 2016, and the league openly courts LGBT fans with splashy rainbow gear and a special Pride-themed web page.

“We’re really turning the tide, where people are using their outness…to build a brand,” Clarendon said.

Clarendon herself has used her own voice to press for increased recognition of transgender rights in particular. Surprisingly, she credits things like the fall of anti-gay marriage laws with the rise in attention to transgender issues.

“It got to a point where a Democrat

Atlanta Dream player Layshia Clarendon is making waves on and off the court.

(Publicity photos)

Details Atlanta Dream LGBT Night Sep. 4 at 6 P.M. Philips Arena 1 Philips Drive NW Atlanta, GA 30303 www.philipsarena.com

or Republican wasn’t going to run on the whole ‘I’m for or against gay marriage’ anymore, because obviously it’s federally legal,” she said. “So now, it’s shifted to transphobia.”

In a first-person article she penned in June, Clarendon shared experiences of being misidentified as male based on her nongender conformist clothing, and lamented the similar experiences of transgender people every day. She later took the community to task for not speaking up for transgender brothers and sisters.

“They are disproportionately at risk for homelessness, poverty, abuse, anxiety and depression,” she wrote. “As a community and as humans, we can’t just settle for gay marriage. We have the responsibility to fight for trans rights with tenacity.”

But make no mistakes, Clarendon believes homophobia in sports remains a key issue – as much today as it was during that game in 2014. The difference is now, there are more athlete voices speaking out.

Clarendon, who eventually hopes to go into broadcasting, plans to keep making her voice among the loudest.

“A lot of that has to do with my faith and just getting to a point where I was okay being gay and Christian,” she said. “And then realizing [advocacy] was my calling and my purpose.” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT theaglcc.org FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 Cocktail Reception 6:30 | Dinner 7:30

Emceed by

Tony Kearney

2016 Guardian Angel Award winner

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

August 19, 2016 Ads 23

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It’s certainly the most prominent LGBT offering of the season – and one that could be ripped out of today’s headlines. In the Alliance Theatre world premiere musical “The Prom,” a young teenage girl decides to bring her girlfriend to the prom. When her high school cancels the event instead, all hell breaks loose – and a group of actors come to town to try and change the tide. Georgia Voice caught up with out director and choreographer (and Tony winner) Casey Nicholaw, lead actress Caitlin Kinnunen and out actor Brooks Ashmanskas to find out more about the project, which begins previews this week.

Georgia Voice: How long have you been working on this, Casey?

Nicholaw: Probably five years ago. It has changed so much and will continue to. Even after the first preview, we’ll have a long list of stuff to be done. That’s the thing with an original musical – you have no guidelines.

How does the prom situation affect the townspeople?

It’s all about tolerance. People are people no matter what, despite their preferences, likes and beliefs. We have gone through phases where we say, is this still prevalent? But there was an article in the New York Times recently about how much bullying and stuff still happens.

With this piece, we didn’t want it to be heavy with (a message for tolerance). So that is why we have the idea of these other folks coming down. It seemed like a good comic structure. The tricky thing is finding the tone and the two worlds - how they come together. That will be the biggest challenge.

Was this based on an actual event?

It was a combination of so many things we’ve read about and then we made our own story.

Brooks, tell us about your character.

Barry Glickman is a Broadway performer who got into the business to try and make a difference in the world. He is a catalyst on the New York side of things to get these actors and other performers together to go down and to make a difference and

The world premiere musical ‘The Prom’ runs at the Alliance Theatre through Sep. 25.

Details

‘The Prom’ Through Sep. 25 Alliance Theatre 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309 www.alliancetheatre.org change the minds of what they think are these small town-minded people. In turn, their lives are changed.

How do you all go about making a musical, albeit one with a message of tolerance?

With Casey leading the way, what they found is this beautiful young girl who has the power to change the world just by being herself – and the world accepting her.

Caitlin, tell us about Emma.

She is a 17-year-old lesbian who becomes the catalyst for the show.

How difficult is it to work on a new, constantly changing musical?

For me it’s difficult. We get at least 10 new pages of dialogue a day. Trying to put it on its feet and learning and ingraining it in your mind, then having a few words different can be a mind game. But it’s good. It’s what we are used to. It’s exciting because you get to do those things. It’s very collaborative.

It’s a cool show for me. There have been some other shows I have been involved with that have depicted teenagers in a stereotypical way. Emma is based on real people and stories. I feel lucky to play her, because people go through what she has to go through.

24 A&E August 19, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

Mild to spicy: When one flavor of chile isn’t enough I was sitting at the bar at Taqueria del Sol (2165 Cheshire Bridge Rd., 404-3211118, taqueriadelsol.com), feasting on my favorite dish there, only available six weeks of the year. At the end of the bar, I heard a woman ask the perennial question raised by the delicate of palate: “Is it spicy? Will it burn my mouth?”

The man behind the bar began an instant poll of those of us eating the dish, repeatedly asking, “How spicy is it? Medium or hot?”

Everyone answered medium.

The scary dish was a chile relleno, but these are not made with the usual poblano peppers. They are made with Hatch green chiles from Hatch, New Mexico. They come to the table fried with a thin, crispy-like panko coating, stuffed with a luscious, melting white cheese, served over a small pool of a roasted-tomato sauce. Every year, Taqueria del Sol buys a couple thousand pounds of the infamously delicious chiles during the annual August-September harvest. Chef Eddie Hernandez incorporates them in regular, changing specials for six weeks. He also freezes a lot of them for dishes later in the year. But nothing compares to the fresh ones.

What’s so good about them? The Hatch is a long, relatively narrow chile with an unusually intense flavor that holds up quite well to roasting, not yielding all its taste and texture to other ingredients. Many chile rellenos you find around town turn into virtual mush even when made with the usual poblanos. And, yes, Hatch chiles do come with a nice blast of spicy heat. You can’t always predict the heat’s intensity, but I don’t recall ever eating a superspicy one in my many years of appearing at the bar several times a week to eat them.

The Hatch chile relleno is not on the regular menu. A few signs are posted that they are available, evenings only, making them kind of an open secret. They’re about $5 each and you can easily make a meal of two of them, especially if you get some chips and salsa to start or a side, like my favorite corn and shrimp chowder. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Hatch green chiles are incorporated into Taqueria del Sol’s menu in changing specials over a six-week period during the year.

(Photo by Cliff Bostock)

Now, if you want to taste the Hatch chiles cooked in numerous ways, you need to attend the madcap Foxeria del Sol Hatch Chile Fest (4-8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28). Cosponsored by Fox Bros. B-B-Q, it’s held in the large parking lot in front of Taqueria del Sol’s Westside location (1200 Howell Mill Rd.).

The menu of about 15 dishes is insane. The most compelling to me, besides the chile rellenos, is the smoked pork-belly steamed bun with Hatch tomatillo jam and pork cracklins. There are green-chile cheeseburger sliders, green-chile jambalaya, and a short-rib taco with Hatch chile slaw. On the sweet side you’ll find peach and Hatch chile kolache, assorted chile cookies, and a fried Hatch chile and apple pie.

Tickets are $30 and entitle you to eat your heart out. Alcohol drinks are separate.

I do encourage you to buy tickets immediately on xorbia.com. I also suggest you show up early. The last one I went to a few years back was like trying to get some grub amid a plague of locusts.

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

August 19, 2016 Columnists 25

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Our Guide to the Best LGBT Events in Atlanta for Aug. 19-Sept. 1

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FRIDAY, AUG. 19

Actor’s Express’s version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” directed by Freddie Ashley with a cast including Libby Whittemore, has a performance tonight at 8 p.m., running through Sept. 4, www.actorsexpress.com (Publicity photo)

FRIDAY, AUG. 19

DJ Laura Gentle jumps off the weekend by spinning at the Atlanta Hideaway tonight, including all your favorite hits and requests, beginning at 9 p.m., www.atlantahideaway.com Don’t miss the Mr. and Ms. Atlanta Eagle ’70s Groove party with DJ Doc Ervin, 10 p.m. – 2 a.m., Atlanta Eagle, www.atlantaeagle.com

SATURDAY, AUG. 20

EVENT SPOTLIGHT FRIDAY, AUG. 19

Join artist Noah Saunders for the opening of his new art show, “Scope - Celebrating 20 Years of Showing Art,” at Mason Fine Art. This show will feature the largest collection of Saunders’ wire sculptures to date, including new pieces, as well as the unveiling of his new line of silver jewelry, 6 – 10 p.m., www.facebook.com/ events/1363483380342293

26 Best Bets August 19, 2016

The Gentlemen’s Foundation hosts its second annual Men’s Health & Wellness Fair today. The event seeks to provide awareness, education, and complimentary medical services to gay, bisexual, and transgender men of color and their allies to help empower them to make better life choices and improve their overall quality of life. Services include HIV/STI Testing, prostate and testicular cancer testing and blood pressure testing, 10am-2pm., The Villages at Carver Family YMCA, www.facebook.com/ events/1113294002069096 Get your ginger on! It’s Ginger Appreciation Night at Woofs Atlanta, www.woofsatlanta.com Come enjoy Dinner with Bears at the Colonnade, 7 – 10 p.m., www.facebook.

com/events/262077540828770

events/1712652359018956

Living Room, Inc. presents the fundraiser Taste of Life, an evening of food, wine and fun, and a silent auction with Joining Hearts’ Wes Berry the night’s honoree, 7 p.m., The Mary Gay House, 716 W Trinity Place, Decatur, GA 30030

The Splash summer pool party to benefit Jerusalem House is today from 12 – 4 p.m. with DJ Mike Pope and complimentary food and drink. $20 suggested online or at the door. 21 and over, ID required. 345 Valley Road NW, Atlanta, GA 30305-1026, www.facebook. com/events/872798569498476/

Come out and see who will make the cut to be part of the next season of the Armorettes. Part one of the auditions are today from 8 – 10 p.m. at the Heretic.

Performers include Trashetta GaLore, Kellie Divine, PL Aid (Pink Lemonade), Lori Divine, Kitty Love Antoinette, Autumn Sky, Calico Deville, Ginger Bred Man, Roxy Cotton, Shalita Bisquitte, Edward Smith (Sharon Needles) and many more, www.facebook. com/events/1753702641568158 Dee Martello – aka Twisted Dee – rocks out at the Heretic tonight, 10 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com Angel X, BH Productions, and Who’s Who Atlanta reunite at the Welcome Back Mega Party, with DJ Angel X and Hypeman Bizzy, 11 p.m. – 3 a.m., Jungle, www.jungleatl.com

SUNDAY, AUG. 21

DJ Dan Deleon spins at Xion, 3 a.m., www.facebook.com/

Join the fun as Oscars celebrates its seventh year anniversary. Food, games, door prizes, DJ Paulie-V and more are on tap, brought to you by Ketel One Cocktails. 2 p.m., www.facebook.com/events/981110495320219 The PFLAG support groups for parents and families of LGBTQ meets at the Spirituality Living Center of Atlanta today from 2:30 – 4 p.m., 1730 Northeast Expressway NE, Atlanta, GA 30329 Part Two of the Armorette auditions are today from 7:30 – 9 p.m. at Burkhart’s www.facebook.com/ events/505479869635861

MONDAY, AUG. 22

It’s the Panther Levi/Leather Meeting from 7 – 10 p.m. as well as Underwear Night until 2 a.m., Atlanta Eagle, www.atlantaeagle.com

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TELL US ABOUT YOUR LGBT EVENT Submit your LGBT event for inclusion in our online and print calendars by emailing event info to editor@thegavoice.com TUESDAY, AUG. 23

Enjoy Happy Hunk Hour tonight from 4 – 6 p.m. featuring half-priced appetizers, Joe’s on Juniper, www.joesonjuniper.com

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24

The Alliance Theatre previews the highly anticipated musical “The Prom,” about a high school student who wants to bring her girlfriend to the prom with her – and all hell breaks loose. Directed by out director Casey Nicholaw, 7:30 p.m., through Sept. 25, www.alliancetheatre.org Wednesday nights are Karaoke Night with food and drink specials and much more, hosted by Spotlight Entertainment, www.mysistersroom.com

THURSDAY, AUG. 25 – 27

The Atlanta LGBT Film and Music Festival 2016 kicks off tonight and lasts through Saturday, www.atllgbtfilmfestival.com

THURSDAY, AUG. 25

FRIDAY, AUG. 26

The ensemble comedy “The Intervention,” directed by out actress Clea Duvall and starring Duvall and Natasha Lyonne as lovers, opens in metro area theaters today. It premiered at Sundance and won a special acting award for actress Melanie Lynskey. (Publicity photo) mix and mingle with LGBT and allied business professionals at the LGBT Institute at the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

SunTrust and First Data host, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., National Center for Civil and Human Rights, LGBT Institute, 100 Ivan Allen Jr. NW Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30313

The Pretty Girl Hideout Thursdays is tonight, hosted by Mook Dahost, Soul Bar at Pal’s Lounge, 254 Auburn Ave., Atlanta, GA 30303, www.traxxgirls.com

Club Rush Latin Fridays night is a benefit for Atlanta Pride, 10 p.m. – 3:30 a.m., Club Rush, 2715 Buford Highway Atlanta, GA 30324

FRIDAY, AUG. 26 – 28

Celeste Holmes emcees Celestial Fridays, with Brigitte Bidet, Shawnna Brooks, Angelica D’Paige, Lena Lust and Chavon Scott, 11 p.m., www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

The Ready4Hope Red Party Weekend, in association with Scruff, raises money for AID Atlanta. The festivities begin tonight at 10 p.m. at the Heretic with Wired, featuring DJ Brent Milne. Later that night/early the next morning, it’s Uncensored with DJs Travis and Eric spinning at 3 a.m. at Xion Atlanta. On Saturday night, the 27th, the Adored Red Party kicks off at 7 p.m. at La Maison Rouge, with DH Ben Baker, Desired begins at Jungle Atlanta with DJ Seth Breezy at 11 and Redemption at Xion Atlanta at 3 a.m. on the morning of Aug. 28th with DJ Alex Acosta, www.hereticatlanta.com/06r4hschedA/ pR4H_2016_sched_DM_v1bsrgb.jpg

FRIDAY, AUG. 26

Join the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC) for the 4th Friday Networking Night to

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SATURDAY, AUG. 27

Studs & Suds is a charity fundraiser for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, with a car wash, a bottomless beer bust, a cookout and DJ, 3- 7 p.m., BJ Roosters, 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324 DEEP SOUTH presents the first time appearance of The NeedlExchange in Atlanta. The NeedlExchange (TNX) is a DJ collective from Washington, D.C., comprised of Baronhawk Williams, Bil Todd & Tommy Cornelis, who celebrate the freedom in the groove.

Vicki Powell hosts the warm-up event, with hosts Hydrangea Heath, Brian

Pollard, Omar Godwin, Bryan Lee, Robert Ansley, Billy Badass and Warlock. 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., Heretic, www.facebook.com/events/1764139203862947/

SUNDAY, AUG. 28

Enjoy free pool at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309

MONDAY, AUG. 29

For those who have been waiting for news on fall softball as part of the Decatur Women’s Sports League, the wait is over. Registration is now up on www.dwsl. biz. Dates are Sept. 9 – Nov. 4, with play on Friday nights 7 -10 p.m. It is an eight-week season, and the early bird pricing is $70.

Mondays are Customer Appreciation night at Tripps, with $1 off all beverages, 1931 Piedmont Circle NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

TUESDAY, AUG. 30 – MONDAY, SEPT. 5

The 20th annual Atlanta Black Pride kicks off today with events all over the city, atlblkpride.inthelifeatlanta.org

AUG. 30

Do you want to read books by amazing black women writers? Do you want to discuss works from a black feminist perspective(s)? Do you want to do all of this in an awesome gem of a feminist book

store? Then the Black Feminist Book Club is for you! Charis Circle board co-chair Susana Morris will be the facilitator of this group. All community members are welcome to participate! This is a Charis Circle from margin to center literary event and the suggested donation is $5. August’s Book is Ghana Must Go

by Taiye Selasi, 7 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com J’s Lounge is the home for Rainbow Tuesdays, with Dymond Onasis and Nicole Paige Brooks leading the fun and DJ Destin providing house music, 1995 Windy Hill Road #1, Smyrna, GA 30080

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31

It’s the bitchiest night of the week – come enjoy Bitchy Bingo at Lips Atlanta, www.atldragshow.com Angelica D’Paige and Malibu host the A.M. competition at 10:30 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

THURSDAY, SEPT. 1

Charis invites community members to join The Personal is Political: Feminist Vent, a lightly facilitated group to talk about personal issues or societal issues they are trying to deconstruct. The group will use intersectional feminist strategies as tools to talk through these issues. 7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

August 19, 2016 Best Bets 27

A MODICUM OF DECORUM

By SHANNON HAMES

Loyalty and letting go When you hear the word “loyalty,” what comes to your mind? The reason I’m asking is because it’s one of those topics that seem to be surfacing in every corner of my world lately.

I always try to pay attention when there’s a recurring theme so I don’t miss the lesson.

Sometimes, I imagine my guardian angels (or spirit guides or other frustrated invisible beings in charge of me) throwing their hands up in the air at my hopelessness in figuring out the clues they keep sending. I think it’s for this reason that they send me a barrage all at once.

I work as a realtor in downtown Decatur and I have the greatest work wife in the world. Sometimes, it’s only Jenn and I in the empty office space and we end up talking about friendships, relationships and the struggles we are facing, including my dad’s terminal illness. We often act as each other’s sounding boards, cheerleaders and therapists. Her value has no end.

I came in last week and informed her that it was a “red flag” day for me. That’s our code for “Please forgive me in advance for being such a crybaby bitch today.” These are verbal “get out of jail free” cards we issue to each other as a reminder to not take our hormones personally.

With gentle inquiries, Jenn coaxed me to tell her about that morning’s difficult visit with my father who suffers from a brain tumor. I also told her that I’d just found out that someone who was a dear friend mentioned that a new girl she’d just met felt insecure about our friendship and said if they were to date, we could never be alone together.

For a week prior, she had reassured me that nobody would ever come between us, that our friendship was far too valuable and she was not going to pursue a relationship with someone who wanted to dictate her friendships. However, that morning and after inquiries from me, she admitted that she was “weak” and enjoyed a strong woman telling her what to do. She caved to this person’s silly demands to govern the time that we can spend together.

“Sometimes, I imagine my guardian angels (or spirit guides or other frustrated invisible beings in charge of me) throwing their hands up in the air at my hopelessness in figuring out the clues they keep sending. I think it’s for this reason that they send me a barrage all at once.”

It was painful. After all, my girlfriend, Kelly, used to feel the same insecurity about this friend. But when I told her how important the friendship was to me, she whipped out one of her Brené Brown books and worked through her insecurity, not making it my problem. She came back to me with her blessing on the friendship.

As Jenn listened to my broken heart, she took on my weight. But she framed it in a great light for me so that I could see the lesson: When life shows you who is loyal, you pour yourself into loyal people. When life shows you who isn’t loyal, you let that person sink to the bottom of your cares list. The experience gave me a much greater appreciation for my girlfriend and the work that she did on herself to show me love. It also allowed me to see that this friend that held a high place in my heart needed to be relegated to a lower position.

The late, great Maya Angelou said, “When people show you who they are, believe them.” My angels, spirit guides and invisible beings in charge of my journey have worked very hard to help me learn this lesson. It’s taken some time but now, I’m passing it on to you for free. You’re welcome.

Shannon Hames is a mom, writer, realtor, volunteer, rocker chick, world traveler, and ’80s hair band aficionado. She loves babies, observing people, reading great books and taking hot baths. She has been writing for Georgia Voice since 2010.

28 Columnists August 19, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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August 19, 2016 Ads 29

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

By RYAN LEE

Doped up outrage over Olympics Grindr controversy My second relationship lasted one-anda-half years, which was about six months longer than it should have, mainly because I didn’t want to lose the googly-eyed tale of how we met. One of the things that made it such a great story, in 2005, was that our meeting took place in the real world, in a grocery store to be exact.

So I confess to experiencing a bit of a letdown whenever I told the story of how I met my third boyfriend: in an online threesome.

I had been using the internet to meet guys for about seven years at that point, but the concept of “online dating” was still socially taboo, having inherited the aura of desperation that newspaper personals and mail-order brides once had. Even though gay men were pioneers in using the internet to find partners, there remained great cynicism toward the idea that a long-term relationship could be kindled on Men4Now or Manhunt.

I’m not sure gay men get enough credit for reducing (or ignoring) the stigma of online dating, but nowadays it’s likely that your father met your new stepmother on eHarmony, or that you’ve heard your greataunt’s cell phone buzzing with Tinder notifications. Given gay men’s history and familiarity with online dating and hook-up sites, I was surprised by the outrage over an article on the Daily Beast where a heterosexual writer profiled the Grindr scene in the Olympic Village.

With exaggerated indignation, the Daily Beast report was labeled everything from homophobic to cyber terrorism. Several gay activists, as well as Grindr CEO Joel Simkhai, laughably characterized Grindr and other online hook-up sites as “a safe space for the gay world” – which would surprise any gay man who is overweight, effeminate or over 40.

The biggest grievance with the Daily Beast article was that it supposedly included details that could be used to identify closeted athletes from repressive countries, and

“It’s naive to pretend that men from these countries don’t know how to safely search for sex partners, and it’s condescending to assume that these men are victims rather than subjects of uninspired journalism.” thus endangered those athletes when they returned home. There was no consideration for those countries likely having more Grindr users than Daily Beast readers, or that an elite athlete from Kenya is just as likely to live and train in Naples. Fla., as in Nairobi.

It also ignored that in many countries where LGBT folks endure dire persecution, Grindr and other apps often include a warning for users to cruise carefully to avoid entrapment and other dangers. It’s naive to pretend that men from these countries don’t know how to safely search for sex partners, and it’s condescending to assume that these men are victims rather than subjects of uninspired journalism.

Despite what this controversy would like you to believe, online hook-up sites are not, and never have been, shelters for LGBT people. They can be compromised by your curious female neighbor, a homophobic coworker, bitter catfish who will misappropriate your photos, or an armed robber looking to prey on gays -- and so every gay man on the planet should maintain some baseline level of caution when logging onto them.

If outrage were a sanctioned sport, the LGBT (and allied) response to the Daily Beast “controversy” would be guilty of performance-enhancing doping.

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

30 Columnists August 19, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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