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GEORGIANEWS

Black LGBT march returns from hiatus for Labor Day Details

Stand Up & Represent March to address a series of issues

Stand Up & Represent March for Black Lives NOW Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 Meet at 10 a.m., step off at 11 a.m.

The Mall West End Program to follow at West End Park www.facebook.com/ events/1892301984327263

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com One night in mid-2001, Anthony Antoine had a dream. In it he saw a sea of black LGBT faces marching through the streets of Atlanta, representing, being seen.

He later mentioned the dream to friend and fellow activist Malik Williams, an organizer at the time for Second Sunday of Atlanta, a monthly meeting group for black LGBT men.

“When I shared it with him, his response was, ‘Well, why does it have to be a dream?’”

Antoine said.

And from that, the Stand Up & Represent March was born. Hundreds of black LGBT people marched from the State Capitol to the Martin Luther King Center that Labor Day as an alternative to the parties and other social events at Black Gay Pride Weekend.

The march grew the next year, and the next, but 2003 would be the last one—until now. Organizers are spurred on, not only by the original goal of injecting the critical ingredient of grassroots advocacy into Black Gay Pride, but also by a series of events that has affected the black and black LGBT communities in 2015.

So on Monday, Sept. 7, they step off from

Others turned the reins over to younger members in the community, but the success of those first three years couldn’t be repeated.

Anthony Antoine (left, with banner) and Jimmie Scott (right, with banner) were two of the main organizers behind the early 2000s Stand Up & Represent Marches. (Photo via Facebook)

the Mall West End to reignite a tradition.

Growth followed by the stall With encouragement from Williams about his dream in 2001, Antoine began to rally support from other friends and activists, including Craig Washington, Maurice Cook and Jimmie Scott, a community organizer and board member at the time for Georgia Equality.

“What I brought to the table was the political angle and the media angle and Anthony, he had the dream. And everybody knew Anthony,” Scott said. “Together, we were able to bring other people together and facilitate it.”

The Stand Up & Represent March for Black Lives NOW will kick off at The Mall West End and conclude at West End Park. (Map via Mapquest)

And on Labor Day 2001, just as Antoine dreamed it, 200 black LGBT people and allies set out from the State Capitol and made the 1.4-mile march to the King Center.

“I think people were hungry for another way to represent, and to have Black Pride mean something and to charge us to do something with representation so that we’re not only representing inside a club or party but also representing for other issues that matter to LGBTQ people,” Antoine said.

With more experience and more clout, the march happened again the following year and 300 people showed up. But they began to question the march route.

“Afterward, we all just kind of lingered around the Martin Luther King Center because nobody wanted to go home,” Scott said, laughing. “That’s when it was versed that we needed to end where we could celebrate.”

So in 2003, they moved the end point to Howell Park in the West End. Four hundred showed up that year, according to Scott, with numerous politicians and civic leaders and about 25 organizations, clubs and houses of faith represented, including Georgia Equality, Human Rights Campaign, AID Atlanta, ZAMI NOBLA, Congregation Bet Haverim and more.

However, due to a number of factors, the march stopped ceased after that year. A couple of the organizers moved, including Scott.

An idea reborn The movement to bring back the march began on Martin Luther King Day weekend of this year, with murmurs among the participants at the annual Bayard Rustin/ Audre Lorde Breakfast, organized by Washington and activist Darlene Hudson. A new incident of police brutality against the black community seemed to happen every week, the HIV infection rate among young, black gay men was skyrocketing and violence against trans women was on the rise.

Meanwhile, Antoine was in Selma, Alabama, taking part in the Martin Luther King Day march, and was feeling inspired by the award-winning film “Selma.” When he got back, he connected with Washington, and they reached out to Mary Hooks of Southerners On New Ground. Soon Hudson, Cook and Rev. Duncan Teague were on board and the march was a go.

“When you think about police and state violence, uplifting trans lives stomped out in just the last year alone, and also highlighting that the black LGBTQ community is also a part of the Black Lives Matter movement already, I don’t see that as a separate community,” Antoine said. “When you think about HIV criminalization and how that particularly impacts black gay men or black LGBT people, that’s another reason why we think about marching.

“Everyone has a personal individual reason why it’s important to represent, but then collectively I think it also makes a statement about how we see our own lives and our representation in that.”

4 News September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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GEORGIANEWS

LGBT Atlanta history exhibit opens at civil rights center Exhibit unveiling coincides with launch of the LGBT Institute

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta has unveiled an exhibit documenting the struggles and triumphs of Atlanta’s LGBT community. The exhibit’s launch doubles as the official opening of the LGBT Institute, an international LGBT organization housed in the Center that will also include an educational component and, eventually, an annual awards gala.

Center officials, the Institute’s programming board and other community members marked the occasion at a Sept. 2 event that was the first look at the exhibit, titled “Forward Together: A Look at Atlanta’s LGBT History Since Stonewall.”

“The exhibit portrays the vibrant history and difficult struggle of Atlanta’s modern gay rights movement,” said Ryan Roemerman, the Institute’s interim executive director. “From the catalyzing events during the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City, to Atlanta’s activists and organizations, protests and marches, legal setbacks and triumphs. The exhibit highlights nearly 50 years of important social history.”

LGBT archivists collected 500 objects The exhibit is the culmination of a months-long process that began by pulling together a curatorial team drawn from across Atlanta’s LGBT community, including: n Hillery Rink, President of the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project n Morna Gerrard, Vice President of the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project; Women and Gender Collections Archivist within the Special Collections and Archives at Georgia State University Library n Dave Hayward, Coordinator, Touching Up Our Roots, Inc. n Ashley Erin Coleman, Ed.M. Emory University Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Division of Religion; Person, Community and Religious Life Program and Research Associate; Whose Beloved Community? Black LGBT Leaders Project

LGBT Institute officials say the LGBT Atlanta history exhibit is the first of many initiatives to come. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

“It was a massive chore. I think I gave [the Center’s Director of Exhibitions and Design] David Mandel almost 500 objects.”

—Morna Gerrard, Vice President of the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project and Archivist for the Women and Gender Collections at Georgia State University

Activists from the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project started working on a timeline first. Luckily, Archives Project member Cal Gough had done an LGBT Atlanta history timeline for Kennesaw State University’s website, so they used that as a jumping-off point and added as they went along.

Archivists from the Archives Project began pulling together materials for the exhibit, of which about 80 percent came from Georgia State University and the rest from Spelman College, the Atlanta History Center and Kennesaw State University, according to Gerrard.

Then all the images had to be rescanned to a higher resolution suitable for display.

“It was a massive chore,” Gerrard said.

“I think I gave [the Center’s Director of Exhibitions and Design] David Mandel almost 500 objects.”

They also pulled together excerpts from 20 oral histories, but there wasn’t room for them in the exhibit. Gerrard says they hope to be able to use them if there is an online version of the exhibit.

Creating a narrative Hayward was tasked with creating a narrative tying together the major moments in

Atlanta LGBT history across five decades.

“We divided the narrative into Activism, Public Opinion and the Law, Civic Events, People, and Places,” Hayward told Georgia Voice. “Thus the exhibit is about landmarks in our long march to freedom, rather than about the growth of our various communities, so I’m hoping that the women’s community and trans community and people of color are covered in more depth in subsequent presentations. Of course all our communities are represented in this exhibit, albeit not thoroughly.”

Gerrard echoes Hayward’s comments regarding putting more of an emphasis on the transgender community and people of color in the future, saying that there just aren’t enough archival materials available from those communities.

“We want to do the history justice, but we don’t have the collections that completely cover everything,” she said. “My hope is that at the end of the day, this exhibit will encourage people to donate their materials so that archives around the state will get more and more materials.”

Next steps for the LGBT Institute Both Roemerman and Gerrard were eager to

mention that this is just the first of many LGBT initiatives the Institute plans on tackling.

“In terms of the exhibit, I think this is a jumping-off point. We have to see it as a history of LGBT Atlanta, it’s not the history,” Gerrard said.

The Institute’s programming board met in late August and walked out the door with a plan to address the improvements needed with three systems: criminal justice and safety, education and employment, and public health and wellness.

“These systems affect our everyday lives, and LGBT people are often at a disadvantage when it comes to access and protection,” Roemerman said.

The Institute will hold its first public event on November 2 at the Center. They will explore these systems and develop strategies on how to improve them. More details will emerge as the event approaches.

“I foresee a lot of activities that will help bring about change,” Gerrard said of the Institute’s future. “It’s not just like, ‘Well, let’s talk about stuff.’ We’re really hoping that peoples’ lives will improve and that awareness will be increased and substantive results will come out of the work that we’re doing.”

6 News September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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Paying for PrEP without breaking the bank

By DARIAN AARON daaron@thegavoice.com

means a comprehensive list. And of course, you’ll want to consult your health care provider before beginning any drug regimen.

There’s a lot of misinformation circulating around the internet and in conversations about PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis), the single-daily dose of Truvada, once only used to treat those living with HIV, but now available and approved by the FDA to prevent new HIV infections in negative individuals. PrEP has proved to be more than 90 percent effective in clinical trials when taken as prescribed along with condom use. That’s great. But paying for PrEP, whether you’re insured or not, can be a stressful and expensive experience.

Georgia Voice is here to provide you with some basic information about how you can get access to and pay for PrEP. This is by no

For the uninsured Gilead’s Medication Assistance Program: Gilead provides assistance for uninfected individuals who are eligible and who cannot afford to pay for TRUVADA for PrEP. To learn about eligibility, contact Gilead’s U.S. Medication Assistance Program at 855-330-5479 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Eastern). Applicants must provide proof of income and residency, and must meet federal poverty level requirements.

Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) Program: This program is designed to help uninsured Americans get the prescription medicines they need at no or low cost.

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You can find out if you are eligible by calling 888-4PPA-NOW (888-477-2669) or by visiting the PPA Web site, www.pparx.org.

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Users can save up to 80 percent on the cost of prescriptions at participating pharmacies.

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For the insured The Gilead Co-pay Coupon Card: The Gilead Co-pay Coupon Card may be able to help you save on your Truvada for PrEP copay. For more information, visit www.GileadCoPay.com or call 877-505-6986.

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‘Religious freedom’ bill author criticizes Georgia LGBT rights group In a recently unearthed video, state Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus), author of a socalled “religious freedom” bill that has failed in the state legislature for two years running, blamed the “liberal, far-left cultural norms” of multinational corporations headquartered in Georgia for the bill’s troubles, and downplayed the role of LGBT and progressive groups.

“The Georgia Equalities of the world and Better Georgia—they don’t get a whole lot done at the Legislature. So why is it that we’ve had this problem?” McKoon asks in the video of an Aug. 15 Paulding County GOP gathering, posted to the internet on Aug. 22.

“We’ve had this problem because very large multinational corporations that are headquartered in this state—their executives, many of whom are not from Georgia, have different values than you and I do,” he continues. “They think that their cultural norms, their liberal, far-left cultural norms, should be applied to our state. They think that they ought to be able to use the awesome power of government to do that. And that is why we have had the problem that we’ve had.

“When you have the CEO of Delta Air Lines saying that religious freedom is not in line with his company’s values, we’ve got a serious disconnect. We’ve got a serious problem.

“When you start telling me that our individual civil liberties are somehow a business issue, we’re going to have a serious problem.”

Georgia Equality is the statewide LGBT advocacy group that has been a steady presence in the fight against the bill. Better Georgia is the progressive group led by the openly gay Bryan Long that’s also been a fierce critic of the bill.

“Discrimination is wrong. Sen. McKoon’s bill is wrong. And his understanding of Georgia’s values is wrong,” said Long in a statement to Georgia Voice.

Amanda Hill-Attkisson, deputy director of Georgia Equality, tells Georgia Voice, “McKoon has been unable to pass his bill because it opens the door as a license to discriminate.

Local Georgia businesses and multinational corporations are smart enough to know that to attract the best talent and strongest workforce that discrimination in any form is unacceptable. And because Georgia doesn’t have any nondiscrimination laws in place, that makes this bill even more problematic.

“Obviously, we work extremely hard to make sure that LGBT communities are protected and we’ll continue to work down at

LGBT activists and supporters gathered in downtown Atlanta to call attention to a rash of anti-transgender violence. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

the legislature to make sure bad policies are not passed.”

Black Trans Lives Matters rally takes over Underground Atlanta LGBT activists and supporters gathered for a rally in downtown Atlanta on Aug. 25 to call attention to a rash of anti-trans violence, with a reported 17 transgender people being killed across the country so far this year.

The #BlackTransLivesMatter rally was the culmination of a national day of action and drew roughly 100 people to the entrance to Underground Atlanta and the Five Points MARTA station. The location was significant, as MARTA has faced heavy criticism for failing to protect trans riders following an assault on two trans women in May 2014.

Speakers mourned the loss of the trans murder victims and pleaded with onlookers to respect the trans community.

“Believe people when they tell you who they are. It doesn’t matter how they dress, their tone of voice, their mannerisms, their pronoun, their name,” said Holiday Simmons, community education and advocacy director for Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office.

“Respect peoples’ pronouns and practice. I love when people are like, ‘Well, I just haven’t had that experience’ or ‘I’ve known you for so long.’ When people get married, they never say ‘Well I’ve never gotten married so I can’t call you by your new name anymore.’”

Others noted the prevalence of phrases like “Girl, what’s the T?” and “throwing

shade” among cisgender men in popular culture, with activist Mickyel Bradford saying, “It bothers me to see these things become mainstream culture and get lifted up but me and my sisters are not lifted up.”

HIV meds to remain on preferred status with Medicaid All single-pill HIV regimens will remain on preferred status with Medicaid. This news comes after State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) and several LGBT rights groups called on the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) to reconsider a proposed move that would downgrade several HIV medications from preferred status on its Medicaid formulary. The change would have left only one single-pill daily HIV medication, Atripla, under preferred status, although patients currently taking the other once-daily regimens would have the option of being grandfathered in.

Sen. Fort sent a letter to DCH Commissioner Clyde Reese on Aug. 15 voicing his objections to the proposed change, citing several statistics on HIV/AIDS medications and saying, “I urge you to reconsider your proposal for the sake of public health. This change could prove to be disastrous and could set our state back in the fight against HIV/AIDS.” In a conversation with Georgia Voice, Commissioner Reece’s office confirmed that the change would be reflected on DCH’s website pending an update.

10 News September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

T

Atlanta’s DeKalb is The Southeast’s Next Big Food Scene

he word is out about DeKalb’s food scene, and no one here is really surprised at the reaction. Our chefs and bartenders are constantly pushing the envelope and challenging the traditional definition of dining, and these efforts are not going unrecognized.

Located just east of Downtown Atlanta and convenient to Midtown, DeKalb’s hidden gems are gaining national, and in some cases, even global recognition.

Our friendly and progressive neighborhoods include walkable areas with incredible restaurants and trendy shops as well as exciting nightlife in Decatur, East Atlanta Village and other DeKalb neighborhoods.

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Outspoken “It was a reflection of who I was at my core, black and same gender loving; two intersecting identities that beckoned to be celebrated simultaneously in the open without the identity politics that threatened to fragment my existence in other spaces. It was beautiful and necessary on the surface, yet deeply problematic underneath.”

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Editorial

Editor: Darian Aaron daaron@thegavoice.com Deputy Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com Editorial Contributors: Melissa Carter, Jim Farmer, Vandy Beth Glenn, Shannon Hames, Bill Kaelin, Ryan Lee, Charles Stephens, Simon Williamson

Production

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

Business

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

Sales

Sales Executive: Anne Clarke aclarke@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Dixon Taylor dtaylor@thegavoice.com Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

Fine Print

All material in the Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Georgia Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Georgia Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission.

Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

A single copy of the Georgia Voice is available from authorized distribution points. Multiple copies are available from the Georgia Voice office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to reach a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 26-issue mailed subscription for $60 per year. Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Tim Boyd, tboyd@thegavoice.com Postmaster: Send address changes to the Georgia Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. The Georgia Voice is published every other Friday by The Georgia Voice, LLC. Individual subscriptions are $60 per year for 26 issues. Postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

The editorial positions of the Georgia Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Georgia Voice and its staff.

To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words and commentary, for web or print, should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Email submissions to editor@thegavoice.com or mail to the address above.

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12 Outspoken September 4, 2015

Finding pride in PRIDE

By DARIAN AARON daaron@thegavoice.com The first time I attended a gay pride parade was in the summer of 1999 in New York City.

I was fresh off the plane from Montgomery, Alabama, and finally free of all the restrictions that were commonplace for a queer kid of color raised in the Bible Belt. In the years prior, my sense of community and affirmation as a samegender-loving man consisted of characters from E. Lynn Harris novels and the legendary queens from Jennie Livingston’s documentary, “Paris Is Burning.” It was the latter that began my infatuation with New York City and all the promise it held for an openly gay man who longed to exist as his authentic self without having to constantly be on the defensive.

As I exited the subway station and stepped onto Christopher Street, the sights and sounds of Pride were overwhelming. For the first time in my life I wasn’t alone. The thing that made me a target for ridicule by schoolyard bullies and evoked disapproving glances from parents, including my own, was being celebrated. The euphoria I felt in that moment as I was engulfed in a sea of (mostly white) queer bodies, that appeared to stretch further than the human eye could see, was life-affirming. My gay identity was validated that day. But even at the tender age of 19, I was aware that my dual identity as a same-gender-loving man of color was a source of conflict, a kind of push and pull in predominantly (white) gay spaces where it appeared that one part of my identity was expected to be elevated over the other.

I don’t recall the first time I attended Atlanta Black Gay Pride; from being a spectator to working as a reporter to ultimately serving as an organizer of the annual State of Black Gay America Summit, the years have all run together in my head. But I do remember experiencing a similar euphoria as I stood on Peachtree Street and watched as throngs of beautiful black gay men stood in line at Bulldogs or sauntered about in the parking lot, or as thousands gathered on Sunday at Piedmont Park. This was different from my Christopher Street experience. This was home. It was a reflection of who I was at my core, black and same gender loving; two intersecting identities that beckoned to be celebrated simultaneously in the open without the identity politics that threatened to fragment my existence in other spaces. It was beautiful and necessary on the surface, yet deeply problematic underneath.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Atlanta Black Gay Pride. The chiseled bodies, endless parties, and inflated club admissions over Labor Day weekend that remain a draw for thousands of people who travel to celebrate Pride in Atlanta have often left me with the recurring question: where is the pride in Pride? And beyond that, what happens in the lives of the men and women who are out and proud and a collective force to be reckoned with over Labor Day weekend once they return home and the parties have ended?

For some, I’m sure the work continues. Don’t get me wrong; I understand the purpose of partying during Pride and even the historical sense of refuge nightclubs have provided LGBT people in a world that offered very few spaces where we could be our authentic selves, or the sense of community

Pride gives those who may not have access to gay nightlife and the resources that a major city like Atlanta provides. But if we as a community are the roots of the tree, then we must bear fruit and make a commitment to invest in our collective political agency. The overall draw for Pride must move beyond lining the pockets of party promoters and heterosexual celebrity entertainers over the course of a designated weekend.

We must party with a purpose. We must become fully aware that the very act of showing up in our families or at work as our authentic black queer selves, or holding the hand of our partner outside the safety of the “gayborhood” of 10th and Piedmont, or worshipping in an LGBT affirming church, or taking the steps to demand respect as a bisexual or trans person of color is an act of political defiance to be exercised daily, not just during a holiday weekend. Our detractors who continue to work to marginalize our community and deny us a seat at the table would want nothing more than to isolate our pride to nightclubs and LGBT enclaves.

The euphoria I felt on Christopher Street nearly 20 years ago doesn’t have to be fleeting or reserved for a certain segment of the LGBT community. We in the black gay community have the economic ability and fortitude to create the kind of world, and yes, even the kind of Black Gay Pride celebrations, that will continue to provide a much-needed escape from dual oppressions, but will also give us a reason to be proud long after the crowds have dispersed and we return to face the daily challenges of existence as black LGBT people. Otherwise, we run the real risk of Black Gay Pride becoming a circuit party by another name.

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

OUT IN THE WILD

By Simon Williamson

The Puritans Are Restless Simon Williamson lives with his husband in heteronormatively-assimilative fashion in Athens, after a year of surviving rural Georgia.

I am all for anything that opens up more avenues for humanity to enjoy more sex, although I am still always surprised when I see the moralistic mother-grundies crawl out from beneath their rocking chairs to smear their righteousness across the comment sections of the internet, enraged that they can’t control all the cum being sloshed around outside their precious presence.

While discussion about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a preventative drug to combat HIV, may have dredged the heads of the morality police out of their holes, the Ashley Madison hack has brought forth such a tsunami of goody-two-shoes, there is simply no force that can contain the desire to tell everyone else how they should be living their lives. And this is not the usual bible-infused evangelical crew coming to desiccate other

“In our current moment, when we are constantly confronted by images of black people being murdered, I’ve also noticed, on social media in particular, the referencing of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin. Art thus helps inspire a language of resistance.”

Art is indispensable to social justice. Effective social movements are often accompanied by, if not shaped by, art and artists. One of the more recent examples that comes to mind is from the 1980s, when a flourishing black LGBTQ movement was reinforced by the cultural production of poets such as Essex Hemphill, Audre Lorde, and Pat Parker, along with the essayist Joseph Beam and the filmmaker Marlon Riggs. In 1986 alone, we saw the founding of such iconic organizations as Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), Adodi, and the first conference on HIV in the black community, coupled with the publication of the anthology In the Life and the founding of Other Countries, a black gay men’s writers collective. These combined forces inspired a collective comwww.thegeorgiavoice.com

people’s morals. A lot of this, my friends, is in-house; our own Huckabees are coming to crap all over our sexual freedom, our liberty to do with our body parts what we like.

It’s not as though we haven’t traversed similar roads before. This entire nation has spent decades policing into whom we might put our genitals. As recently as 2003, ten states prohibited sex up the bum, even within the biblically-venerated man-women relationship, until Lawrence (and Garner—the black guy we traditionally leave out) v. Texas allowed everyone (including gay people) the revolutionary crumb of liberty of being able to bang someone of their own reciprocal choosing in the privacy of their own home.

Now, something we have seemingly lost the ability to endorse, even as LGBT+ acceptance

and rights, like Channing Tatum working out in a gay gym, sees growth all around.

In fact, as I type this, the Department of Homeland Security, which once used to spend its time protecting us all from terrorists, has used its evidently wide mandate to protect us from rent boys, by dashing an escort agency in New York City, further preventing people from consensually undertaking a relationship where sex is commodified.

The government stepped in to save us from the danger of people who are not us, doing something in their own time, in their own residences, with their own money and their own bodies.

But, seemingly, we are doing this to ourselves now. The sexual revolution is getting speed-bumped by some of our own folks, who,

“While discussion about PrEP, a preventative drug to combat HIV, may have dredged the heads of the morality police out of their holes, the Ashley Madison hack has brought forth such a tsunami of goody-two-shoes, there is simply no force that can contain the desire to tell everyone else how they should be living their lives.” now that they have marriage, feel the entire system has been righted; that that assimilation is the same as victory (which, incidentally, would make them to the LGBT+ rights movement what Bobby Jindal is to immigrants).

My husband and I choose to shag each other exclusively. We have single friends who deserve trophies for their sheer number of trophy boys. We have friends who began dating as a “throuple.” We have polyamorous lesbians in our lives, and my current president, Jacob Zuma of South Africa, has four wives.

We all choose how we want our relationships, or nonrelationships, to work.

It doesn’t need to be like a prescription: you are allowed to do whatever the hell you want, without Dr. T.J. Eckleburg gazing over you, half-judgmental, half-hard.

THE ICONOCLAST

By Charles Stephens

On merging art, social justice Charles Stephens is the Director of Counter Narrative and co-editor of ‘Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call.’ munity resilience that demonstrates the power of art in the service of social justice.

In our current moment, when we are constantly confronted by images of black people being murdered, I’ve also noticed, on social media in particular, the referencing of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin. Art thus helps inspire a language of resistance. This indicates the urgency of allocating resources to support the work of artists and the development of arts institutions that can credibly grapple with racial equity and black LGBTQ justice in particular. Atlanta has one of the most powerful legacies and traditions of black LGBTQ artists speaking truth to power, and the city can best honor those legacies by investing in their continuation by supporting artists, arts institutions, and strategic partnerships

with social justice organizations.

Certainly, there are Atlanta-based artists and arts institutions that have been very effective at engaging black LGBTQ issues, but there has to be more. Most critically, arts funders: theater, literature, film and the visual arts must also recognize their role not merely in supporting existing institutions, but also in fostering innovation by creating new opportunities for emerging artists, particularly within the black LGBTQ community. This has occurred sporadically, but not in a sustained way.

To move in that direction, here are some ideas about what that could look like: (1) A fellowship specifically designated for a black LGBTQ person to work as a curator in one of the local museums; (2) a residency designed for a black LGBTQ playwright at one of the local

theater companies; (3) a fellowship targeting black LGBTQ artists in the literary and/ or visual arts; (4) a workshop for screenwriters that focuses on engaging emerging black LGBTQ writers; (5) funding that encourages the development of black LGBTQ leadership in the theater community; and (6) partnerships between community-based organizations and arts organizations to grapple with racial equity and black LGBTQ justice in the city. There are two major AIDS service organizations within walking distance of the Woodruff Arts Center.

Something as simple as a monthly coffee between, say, an AIDS service organization and an arts organization would go a long way.

Atlanta must lead not only in racial justice, and not only in investment in the arts, but in bridging social justice and the arts.

September 4, 2015 Outspoken 13

BLACKGAYPRIDE

Inside the mind of Patrik-Ian Polk The ‘Blackbird’ director speaks on Pride, HIV, and absent divas

By DARIAN AARON daaron@thegavoice.com The name Patrik-Ian Polk is synonymous with black gay cinema. A skilled and fearless filmmaker, his independent films have stirred up conversation and controversy. Polk became widely known for his groundbreaking LOGO television series “Noah’s Arc” and a list of films, that includes; “Punks,” “The Skinny,” “Noah’s Arc: Jumping The Broom,” and his most recent film adaptation of the Larry Duplechan novel “Blackbird,” starring Oscar-winner Mo’Nique, all of which have cemented his place as a gay trailblazer.

Georgia Voice caught up with Polk ahead of his scheduled appearance at the Atlanta Black Pride Welcome Reception.

Georgia Voice: Patrik, you’ve attended Atlanta Black Gay Pride in the past. What keeps you coming back?

PIP: At this point, I really associate Pride celebrations with work. When I do attend, I’m usually promoting a new film project.

This time around is a little more special, since we are doing an event with the CDC to promote HIV testing and awareness and the PSA campaign I directed with the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” and “Fashion Queens.”

Have you had any interesting or memorable experiences with fans during ATL Black Gay Pride?

The most memorable events were the ones I attended with my cast members, especially during the “Noah’s Arc” heyday. But I can say it’s always nice to hear from fans of my work. I meet so many gay men, young and old, who are diehard “Noah” fans. Kids in their late teens and early 20’s who used to hide in the closet and watch the show. It means a lot to me that my work has been a

positive force for a lot of gay black men.

Why did you decide to take on the CDC HIV/AIDS PSA? I’ve been working on this project with the CDC for almost two years. We all know the statistics by now- as many as 45 percent of gay black men in this country may be HIV positive. And those numbers continue to grow. My initial pitch to the CDC was to feature a major celebrity of importance to the GBM community- to use their popularity to more effectively deliver HIV messaging to gay black men. After approaching a host of major black female celebs we were unable to find one who’d agree to appear in our campaign. Every single one of them said ‘no’. I was incredibly disheartened that not one of these dozen or so A-list black celebrity females was willing to stand up, on camera and appeal to their gay black fans about their health and well-being. We’re fine to dust your face, beat your wig, deck you out in the latest red carpet fashions, but when it comes to engaging with us on a meaningful level such as HIV awareness, I got crickets.

But I’m a lateral thinker, so I kept pushing. And I noticed my twitter feed was full of RHOA tweets every Sunday night. It was clear that RHOA and its cast members were extremely popular, especially among gay black men. So I reached out to my friends Kenya Moore, and “Fashion Queens” stars Derek J and Miss Lawrence- they all agreed to be in the PSA and they also helped connect me to Claudia Jordan and Cynthia Bailey. The RHOA cast gets a lot of flack and negative press, but they are brave heroines in my eyes.

Marriage equality is now legal nationwide. You portrayed a same-sex marriage on “Noah’s Arc” well before it was legal in most states. Why was it important for you to show two black gay characters making that commitment?

I made “Noah’s Arc” simply because I wanted to see gay black men on television. I also wanted to see black gay men loving other

“We’re fine to dust your face, beat your wig, deck you out in the latest red carpet fashions, but when it comes to engaging with us on a meaningful level such as HIV awareness, I got crickets.”

—Patrik-Ian Polk, filmmaker black gay men on television. And I figured if no one else is gonna show this, then I guess I’ll have to do it. You look at television today and we’re still not there. Every gay black character on a current scripted television series has a non-black boyfriend, husband or lover. We draw a lot of life lessons and inspiration from pop culture, so the fact that young black gay kids grow up never seeing images of themselves loving other black men is a big problem.

Why was it important for you to bring your recent film “Blackbird” to the screen?

I’ve wanted to make this movie since I was a freshman in college when I discovered Lar-

ry Duplechan’s brilliant coming-of-age novel.

We haven’t had a lot of black gay coming-ofage films, especially with a religious theme. So I’m glad the film lives now and people everywhere can see it on iTunes and Netflix.

What can fans expect from your next project?

I wrote and directed an episode of a new series produced by MTV for Netflix called “We Are Lovers.” That’ll be out next year.

And the “Blackbird” soundtrack comes out later this month. Beyond that, you’ll have to wait and see. I wait until something’s ready before I start bumping my gums about it.

18 Black Gay Pride September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

2015 Black Gay Pride Event Guide Onyx Southeast presents Black Pride Bar Night at the Atlanta Eagle, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., www.onyxsoutheast.com It’s the Speak Fire—Love, Leather, Lust party at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org

SATURDAY, SEPT. 5

In The Life Atlanta is sponsoring a family day at Six Flags Over Georgia, including admission, a meal and parking for $42.45, all day, www.inthelifeatlanta.org It’s not all about the parties, so make sure to check out the Health and Life Expo at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org It’s day two of the Vendor Marketplace, Georgian Terrace Hotel, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

FRIDAY, SEPT. 4

Party with the hard bodied men at RockStars Production’s 5000 Men Party at the Georgia Freight Depot, featuring singer Monica, more than 15 exotic dancers, three DJs and a celebrity host to be named later. AID Atlanta will also be offering free HIV tests, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com (Publicity photo)

FRIDAY, SEPT. 4

It’s the first day of the Vendor Marketplace, Georgian Terrace Hotel, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com Who can resist a party with the name “The Naked Hustle Day Party 2015” at Magic City, 3 to 8 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

EVENT SPOTLIGHT FRIDAY, SEPT. 4

Blue Diamond Entertainment presents the Grown Folks Takeover, featuring DJ Mary Mac from New York City spinning hits from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s; The New Opus Lounge, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.bde25.com (Publicity photo)

Get real and get tested as AID Atlanta offers free HIV tests all afternoon at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 1 to 6 p.m., www.aidatlanta.org Atlanta Black Gay Pride and Georgia Equality present Faith & Equality at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, featuring state Rep. Keisha Waites and Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell, 2 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org Get your laugh on at the ATL Pride Comedy Show featuring Ms. Sophia at the

20 Black Gay Pride September 4, 2015

Georgian Terrace Hotel, 7 to 10 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com Sybil and Robin S. open up for CeCe Peniston at Jukebox Jams at Center Stage, featuring beats by three DJs; doors open at 9 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org Southern Xplosion Atlanta is back with a vengeance, kicking off with the Colors 2015 party starring singer Fantasia, hosted by radio personality ShayBaby, with music by the legendary DJ Sedrick; Club Rain, 9:30 p.m., www.southernxplosionatlanta.com The men will be lining up for the White Party at Club ATL, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., www.wassupnatl.com Some call it the biggest all-girl Friday in the city; it’s the Annual Mega Friday Night Live Ladies Lounge, Compound, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

It’s a tradition. Don’t miss the State of Black Gay America (SBGA) Summit featuring a luncheon and keynote address at the Hilton Atlanta Airport, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., www.facebook.com/pages/SBGASummit/120700581301362 In The Life Atlanta presents the Literary Cafe at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org Get a little variety in your weekend by taking in the documentary “The Same Difference,” screening at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, noon, www.atlantaprideweekend.com Ride For Pride with this indoor cycling experience at Vibe Ride presented by In The Life Atlanta, featuring a live DJ; noon, www.theviberide.com In The Life Atlanta will be conducting a free dating workshop at the Georgian Terrace Hotel hosted by J. Lamar, noon to 1:30 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org It’s a day party as Blue Diamond Entertainment presents Chocolate City featuring DJ Chocolate, E-Villa Lounge, 3 to 8 p.m., www.bde25.com Opera is the place to be for the Atlanta WETher! Celebrity Block Party, 3 to 8:30 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.rockstarsproduction.com Play it safe and get tested as AID Atlanta offers free HIV testing all afternoon at the Pure Heat Community Festival at Piedmont Park, noon to 6 p.m., www.aidatlanta.org Never miss the nonstop music in the park courtesy of the Annual Pure Heat Community Festival featuring live performances by Grammy-winning artists, celebrity hosts, a gospel showcase, hair battle, J-Sette competition, impersonator showcase, children’s stage and more, Piedmont Park, noon to 8 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

The ladies will flock to Mansion Elan to see DeJ Loaf at The Goliath 2015, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., www.traxxgirls.com (Publicity photo) Onyx Southeast presents the Safe, Sane & Consensual workshop at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 4 to 6 p.m., www.onyxsoutheast.com

Live Dance Party at Museum Bar, featuring celebrity appearances like Lil’ Kim, VIP arrivals and lounge and four DJs, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com

Up for a movie? Try the See Us In The Life On Film at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 4 to 9 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org

Mature women invited to the All White Party VII at the Westside Cultural Arts Center, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., www.bde25.com

RockStars Production presents its Day Party featuring bottle service, exotic dancers, hookahs and more, Havana Club, 4 to 9 p.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com The Ramada Plaza is the scene of the return of the Original Wet Dream Pool Party, a Southern Xplosion event, featuring host Milan Christopher and radio personality ShayBaby, 4 to 10 p.m., www.southernxplosionatlanta.com The Men of Traxx present The Zoo, their annual Black Gay Pride Weekend Block Party featuring stilt dancers, fire dancers, celebrity hosts, four DJs, three stages and a J-Sette street battle, hosted by Porsha Williams from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Club 708, 9 p.m., www.traxxatlanta.com Celebrity bartender Kelsey Nykole will be in the house for Saturday at The Anchor Bar, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.wassupnatl.com Turn it up at The Mega Saturday Night

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

The Saturday night Southern Xplosion Atlanta party is the Black Men In Hollywood Party at Quad Megaplex, featuring T.S. Madison, Tyler LaPlay, Brian White and Don Benjamin, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., www.southernxplosionatlanta.com

SUNDAY, SEPT. 6

Ride For Pride with this indoor cycling experience at Vibe Ride presented by In The Life Atlanta, featuring a live DJ, 10:30 a.m., www.theviberide.com Blue Diamond Entertainment present Sunday Morning Service at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 11 a.m., www.bde25.com Chill with the Jazz Brunch & Poetry Slam at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org Take a breather and fill up at the Soul Food Poetry Slam Jazz Brunch at the Georgia Terrace Hotel hosted by Queen Sheba, noon to 3 p.m.,

Some like it hot at the SPLASHer Pool Party hosted by Tomboi Swagg and Cream de la Cream, W Hotel Downtown, 4 to 8:30 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com If you’re still down to keep the party going, don’t miss the Men In White party courtesy of RockStars Production, ITLA & Traxx, Havana Nightclub, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.havanaclubatl.com

DJ Cedric and DJ Fyre and a special guest artist spark things up in the park with House of Soul, Piedmont Park, noon to 9 p.m., www.inthelifeatlanta.org

SUNDAY, SEPT. 6

The women will hit the water for the Pretty In Pink Booze Cruise at Lake Lanier, noon to 5 p.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com

Who’s up for a day party? Ladies can head to this Mansion Day Party by parking at 3950 Panola Road in Lithonia, 3 to 9 p.m., www.divasofthea.com Wassup N ATL keeps the party going with the Sunday Day Party at E-Villa featuring a special guest performing live, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., www.wassupnatl.com

Say hi to the birthday girl at DJ M’s Annual Birthday Bash at Strip Club, 10 p.m. to 12:45 a.m., www.traxxgirls.com Ladies, find those crisp whites to wear at The Annual All White Party at Havana Club, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.atlantaprideweekend.com The Men of Traxx present the Foam Party Finale with drink specials, BBQ on the patio, sexy dancers and more, Club 708, 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., www.traxxatlanta.com

If you like go-go and exotic dancers, a dynamic light show and thunderous sound system on multiple levels, then you’ll like The Legendary Main Event at Opera, 9:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com Wassup N ATL presents Sunday at Jungle Nightclub, featuring a special guest performing live, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., www.wassupnatl.com Southern Xplosion Atlanta presents The Club Europe Experience at the Georgia Freight Depot, featuring Terrell Carter, Toccara, ShayBaby and special guest Faith Evans, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., www.southernxplosionatlanta.com

MONDAY, SEPT. 7

It’s back! The Stand Up & Represent March will kick off at The Mall West End and end at West End Park, so get your marching shoes on and go for it. AID Atlanta will also be offering free HIV testing at the mall before the march, 10 a.m., www.facebook.com/events/1892301984327263 All aboard, boys, for The Annual Booze Crooze, with party bus departing the Georgian Terrace Hotel at noon and the party hopping from 1 to 5 p.m., www.rockstarsproduction.com

EVENT SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, SEPT. 5

It’s just the biggest girl party in the country, that’s all, as The Legendary Traxx Girls Present the Big Bang Event featuring Teyana Taylor, five DJs, two dance floors and a super surprise guest, Georgia Freight Depot, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., www.traxxgirls.com (Publicity photo)

September 4, 2015 Black Gay Pride 21

BLACK 28

The number of Black Gay Pride events in the United States. Black Gay Prides are hosted in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

GAY PRIDE BY-THE-NUMBERS Estimated attendance in Piedmont Park for the 2014 Pure Heat Community Festival: 50,000 Total estimated attendance over Labor Day weekend in 2014: 65,000

1,000,000 Revenue in dollars generated for Atlanta’s economy by Black Gay Pride.

30

The total number of Black Gay Pride events around the world.

1991 Inaugural Black Gay Pride launches in Washington, D.C.

Nearly 800 people were present for the first DC Black and Lesbian Pride Day, organized by a group of activists responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

22 Black Gay Pride September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

September 4, 2015 Ads 25

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‘Sylvester’ struts into Atlanta Broadway star Anthony Wayne takes on ’70s disco sensation

By JIM FARMER He was brash and bold, an over-the-top artist whose persona was all his own and well ahead of his time. Sylvester, the 1970s disco sensation behind such megahits as “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Do You Wanna Funk?” is at the heart of this weekend’s “Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical” at Variety Playhouse.

Broadway star Anthony Wayne takes on the lead role with iconic actress Sheryl Lee Ralph (Dreamgirls), a producer, and Kendrell Bowman, a co-producer and costume designer who also serves double duty on the project. “Mighty Real” is directed by Wayne and Bowman, with Wayne writing the book.

The two men are also romantic partners.

In the musical, Sylvester—who died from AIDS-related complications at the age of 41 in 1988—returns from the dead to perform one final stage performance. What began as a concert version of the show in 2012 is now a full-fledged musical. “Mighty Real” had been selling out every time it is staged, so the pair expanded it in the hopes of taking it off-Broadway and reaching more people.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 27 26 A&E September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 When it opened off-Broadway last year, it sold out six weeks’ worth of performances and was a New York Times critic’s pick. Preparing for that launch, they brought in Ralph. “We thought she would be perfect,” Bowman said.

“She has had her DIVA (Divinely Inspired Victoriously Aware) Foundation for the last 25 years, which she created in memory of the friends she has lost to HIV and AIDS. We knew she would be passionate about the project personally and would want to get the word out.”

Brown reached out to Ralph on Twitter to get her aboard.

Ralph remembers it a little differently. “You stalked me on Twitter,” she laughs. Eventually they all met and decided to move forward.

Known for his androgynous appearance, Sylvester was regarded as a trailblazer. “He was one of the first pioneers of people who lived their life out and proud,” says Wayne.

“He was the first disco queen. He has a legacy. We are grateful to pay respect.”

The artist started out in gospel, but had to adapt as techno music became the rage in the 1980s.”He tried to stay with the times,” says Bowman. “He was evolving as an artist, but he realized he needed to be himself.”

For Wayne, it was a lot of work trying to embody all the “isms” Sylvester was known for and not making him into a caricature.

“Of course, anyone can just act like somebody, but you have to really embody the passion of who that person is,” says Wayne. “I found myself seeking other parts of his story, speaking to his family and his friends. People gave me a lot of information about him.”

Ralph knew Sylvester and has been happy to share her insight. “From what I saw, it is always a challenge for a human being to be different,” she said. “It was a challenge for him to be a man who preferred to dress in female clothing. It was a challenge for a man to put on a wig and not be Beethoven.”

She has been captivated and impressed by the passion of Bowman and Wayne. ”These young men saw the story of this man that they knew nothing about – because they are young – and the spirit of

Details ‘Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical’ September 5 at 7 p.m.

Variety Playhouse 1099 Euclid Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 www.fabuloussylvester.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Sylvester (reached them),” she said. “I knew him and he would love this. He would love the fact that he inspired these two to create what they are doing now. This is a wonderful piece of American life. Sylvester was a trailblazer and he did not care what others said. He was doing Sylvester.”

Working together has been a harmonious experience for all three. Ralph admits they’ve been able to talk and share ideas freely. “We have made this work for the three of us,” she says. “They have done such

good work. All I have to do is encourage.”

Ralph has long been adored and appreciated by the LGBT community. To her, liking people isn’t something she had to learn.

“For me, people always say that to me and I always think to myself, ‘Wow. I never really looked at it like that,’ she said. “I looked at it as just loving people. I was raised in a way that said, ‘Who am I to judge people?’ Judge not lest you be judged. I can never figure out how to not like certain people just because of what others thought. Growing up, I was

never the popular girl; I was not Miss This or That until much later in life. I had an incredibly diverse group of friends because that is what I cultivated. I am a lover of people.”

Bringing “Mighty Real” to the ATL was a no-brainer. “Atlanta has a huge population of people who are in love with the kind of music that Sylvester sang,” says Ralph. “Any night, at any number of clubs, you can walk into Atlanta and hear the voice of Sylvester.

That is a slam dunk for us. You have to bring the show to the people who get it.”

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September 4, 2015 A&E 27

Top 7 LGBT things to do at Dragon Con Fantasy/science-fiction convention returns for Labor Day Weekend

13-year-old geeks, and this year it includes this helpful panel on bullying, LGBTQIA issues, cyberbullying, the internet, and social topics for adults. Have pride in the little ones!

By PATRICK SAUNDERS Dragon Con is back for its 29th year and while there’s something for everyone—and we mean everyone—here are seven ways to let your LGBT geek flag fly on Labor Day weekend.

THE SPECTRUM PARTY Saturday, Sept. 5 at 10 p.m.

DJ Neon Glowbear is in charge of the beats at this annual throwdown for LGBTQIA geeks and allies, presented in part by OutlantaCon. This year, attendees are encouraged to come in their best video game-themed cosplay.

SCOTT THOMPSON Appearances throughout the weekend The openly gay member of the legendary comedy troupe, “The Kids In The Hall,” has stayed busy, recently publishing a bestselling graphic novel and playing Jimmy Price on the NBC series “Hannibal” in between standup comedy gigs.

‘THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW’ LIVE Saturday, Sept. 5 at 1:30 a.m.

Approximately 3,000 people are expected to take part in this massive late night spectacle. Even better? It features an introduction by actor Barry Bostwick, who played Brad in the gender-bending 1975 film.

TUFF TOPICS FOR PARENTS PANEL Friday, Sept. 4 at 8:30 p.m.

The Kaleidoscope track is for 9- to

JOHN BARROWMAN Appearances throughout the weekend The openly gay actor currently plays Malcolm

Ervin is a transgender model, fitness trainer and actress known professionally as Amazon Eve. She scored a supporting role playing a character of the same name on Ryan Murphy’s demented FX show “American Horror Story: Freak Show.”

KRISTIAN NAIRN Appearances throughout the weekend This big bear of an Irishman nabbed the unforgettable role of Hodor on HBO’s massively popular series “Game of Thrones.” The openly gay actor will appear on a “Game of Thrones” panel on Saturday and at autograph sessions throughout the weekend.

Look out for loads of cosplay as always at Dragon Con this year. (File photo)

Merlyn on the hit CW series, “Arrow,” but is perhaps best known for creating the role of Captain Jack Harkness in the first series of Russell T. Davies’ revamped “Doctor Who” for the BBC. ERIKA ERVIN Appearances throughout the weekend

DRAGON CON Friday, Sept. 4–Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Hilton, Sheraton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis and the Westin Peachtree Plaza www.dragoncon.org Download the Dragon Con app or the Pocket Program Guide at www.dragoncon.org for location of events and more information

28 A&E September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

AJC Decatur Book Festival returns for Labor Day Weekend Lesbian ‘Iron Chef,’ feminist Details AJC Decatur Book Festival giants highlight festival lineup 2015 Sept. 4–6, 2015

By PATRICK SAUNDERS The largest independent book festival in the nation is back Labor Day Weekend as the AJC Decatur Book Festival celebrates 10 years of author readings, book signings, panel discussions and more. Revolutionary feminist author Erica Jong is the keynote speaker and will be interviewed by Roxane Gay, another famous feminist author.

Festival organizers have changed things up this year by eliminating the LGBT track, but festival programming director and former Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse owner Philip Rafshoon says there will be no shortage of LGBT authors present.

“The main reason [there is no LGBT track] is there are many LGBT authors participating in the festival, but the work is not specifically about LGBT issues,” he told Georgia Voice.

He notes an appearance by gay author Jim

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.decaturbookfestival.com

Grimsley as an example. Grimsley will appear on a panel to discuss his latest, “How I Shed My Skin,” a memoir about growing up in North Carolina as schools began to be desegregated. Appearances will also be made by the openly gay science fiction/fantasy favorite Samuel R. Delany and Cat Cora, the lesbian chef who was the first female winner of “Iron Chef America.”

There will, however, be panels dedicated specifically to LGBT issues or only featuring LGBT authors, such as a panel about coming out in the South featuring authors Susan L. Benton, Christina Holzhauser, Ed Madden, James Villanueva and local author and public relations strategist B. Andrew Plant.

Ryan Berg will be on an LGBT homeless youth panel to discuss his book, “No House To Call My Home: Love, Family and Other Transgressions.” Laura Gentle and Rick West-

Organizers say 85,000 to 90,000 people attended the 2014 AJC Decatur Book Festival.

(Courtesy photo)

brook from local LGBT homeless youth organization Lost-N-Found Youth will also be on the panel, which will be moderated by the openly gay Rev. Josh Noblitt of Saint Mark United Methodist Church.

Gay author Jamie Brickhouse will appear on a panel called “Life, Me and Mom” to discuss mother-son relationships and his book, “Dangerous When Wet.” John Lemley, the

openly gay host of “John Lemley’s City Cafe” on WMLB AM1690 will moderate.

Gay authors Brad Gooch and Robert Goolrick will discuss their books, “Smash Cut” and “The Fall of Princes,” respectively, on the panel, “Eighties New York: Portraits of an Era,” moderated by Richard Eldredge, the openly gay editor-in-chief of Eldredge ATL and contributing editor at Atlanta Magazine.

September 4, 2015 A&E 29

ACTING OUT

By JIM FARMER

Gearing up for two great plays Fall theater in the ATL brings with it options galore. Two plums are Alliance Theatre’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” adapted into a play by Dale Wasserman from Ken Kesey’s book, which was later turned into an Oscar-winning film, and Dominion Entertainment Group’s “Jar the Floor,” Cheryl West’s comedy about an African-American family and a birthday party marked by some surprises, one of which is the great-granddaughter of the main character’s new female lover. We caught up with actresses D. Woods (most recently seen in the film “Blackbird”) and Cara Mantella, who play “Jar’s” lesbian couple Vennie and Raisa, as well as Tess Malis Kincaid, who stars as Nurse Ratched in “Cuckoo’s Nest.” Ratched oversees the pysch ward, including new patient Randle McMurphy.

GA Voice: Tell us about your character, Cara.

Cara: Raisa is kind of the outsider of the

Details

‘Jar the Floor’ Southwest Arts Center 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331 Sept. 16 - Oct. 4, www.fultonarts.org ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ Alliance Theatre 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 Sept. 2 - 20 www.alliancetheatre.org group. She comes in as a friend of Vennie to her birthday party. The family reacts because she is white and also because she has had one breast removed. She had breast cancer and it is noticeable right away when she comes in.

D., what is it like working with a cast that includes the great Bernardine Mitchell, who

The cast of ‘Jar the Floor,’ showing Sept. 16 - Oct. 4 at Southwest Arts Center.

plays the family matriarch?

D. Woods: I had to ask her, “This was a long time ago, but didn’t you do a production of “for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf” at the Alliance a while back? She did. I was in the ninth grade and went to see that show. I remember her playing Lady in Red and her monologue terrified me.

I told her recently how much she scared me. To be working with her now is going to be intense.

Tess, can you talk to us about being part

of the ensemble of “Cuckoo’s Nest?”

I can say this. I felt lucky to get the call.

When (director) Susan (Booth) reached out I was thrilled.

How does the play compare to the film version?

The audience is in the space with those people. There is no escape from it – they are all in the ward. In the film you get the release from the inmates going on a fishing trip but the play, I think, has immediacy. It’s more visceral.

30 A&E September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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September 4, 2015 Ads 31

BO

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

OK

AT L T B LG

A ANT

‘The Right Side of History’ will raise your understanding

REVIE W Somebody got you started.

That’s the hard part, and often, that’s all you need: a forward-thinking person to lay the framework so you can roll with a project, adding, subtracting, shaping, refining. Somebody just needed to get you started; you can take it from there, as you’ll see in “The Right Side of History” by Adrian Brooks.

As in most years, this summer’s Pride parades were raucous events. And why not? There’s plenty to celebrate: new laws, old friends, and a sense of things being better—which can make it hard to remember that, “Such gains didn’t occur in a vacuum ...” according to Brooks.

This book, “a chorus of voices untamed,” is a collection of explanations.

To begin, Brooks writes of Isadora Duncan, a “free spirit” who, when ladies were expected to be proper, danced on stage with abandon, bared her breasts in public, and slept with whomever she pleased—male or female.

Hayden L. Mora writes of gay life in the early twentieth century, when clubs for “samesex attraction” began to appear in larger cities, even though being caught in a compromising situation could result in a loss of citizenship.

For Henry Gerber, the choice was a mental institution or the U.S. Army; he picked the latter and came back from World War I “determined to begin organizing gay men.”

The “father of the gay liberation movement” and founder of the Mattachine Society got his fire from another organization’s strike. A well-liked gay African-American boy, lovingly called “Pinhead” as a child, grew up to be Martin Luther King Jr.’s “righthand man,” while a nerdy white doctor (who happened to sleep with men) changed our notions of male sexuality. Activists today fight for intersex infants, asking doctors to delay sex-assignment surgery. Conversation launched a lesbian organization, and people have stepped into activist roles because of Anita Bryant, out-of-the-closet writers, politics, personal discoveries, and a 54-ton quilt.

And that parade you marched in? If you live in San Francisco, you might like to know that the Pride parade route is exactly the 32 A&E September 4, 2015

Details ‘The Right Side of History:

100 Years of LGBTQI Activism’

By Adrian Brooks, Foreword by Jonathan D. Katz, PhD Cleis Press, 2015 $18.95 243 pages same as a funeral march walked by strikers and their families in 1934.

Lately, it seems as though I’ve been seeing a plethora of books on Stonewall, as if that one event was where LGBTQI activism began. It’s not, of course, and “The Right Side of History” proves that.

Though it’s far from definitive, author Adrian Brooks collected his own work and that of several contributors to inform and inspire readers who likewise want to make change or to know where change came from.

I liked browsing the short biographies here, but I noticed one quirk: some of the profiles are a bit of a reach. Yes, they are very interesting, and yes, they are about people who stood their ground, but were they LGBTQI activists? Perhaps not always.

Even so, what you’ll read here may make you want to do something. At the very least, it’ll raise your understanding of those who paved the way. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

Masterpiece Restaurant titillates palate, senses Perhaps your childhood experience of Chinese food, like mine, involved eating slop like soy-drenched, celery-packed chicken chow mein topped with those usually stale, crispy worms. Such crap was so ubiquitous, for years I detested soy sauce and avoided Chinese restaurants altogether.

In my late 20s, though, I began eating my way up and down Buford Highway. I’ve never stopped. People frequently ask me why I’m so obsessed with the array of ethnic cuisines there. It’s simple. I’m adventurous, I like being able to eat well for little money, and I love waking up the palates of friends who also had my childhood experience of eating gruesome parodies of ethnic food.

For the last six months, Yelpers and food critics have fallen in love with Masterpiece (3490 Buford Hwy, 770-622-1191), a Chinese hole-in-the-wall in Duluth. Yes, foodies love to romanticize odd little hidden-away restaurants, but, believe me, this one is worth the drive to the hinterlands.

Here’s why. Masterpiece is owned by Chef Ri Liu. I’m not going into the complicated details, but he was brought to the United States by Tasty China in Marietta, when its strange and brilliant Chef Peter Chang disappeared. Liu, like Chang, is quite renowned in China. He’s certified as a master chef and has published three cookbooks. He carves feathery swans out of vegetables.

Liu’s cuisine is similar to Chang’s because much of it is rooted in the Sichuan tradition that is profuse with hot chilies, including the numbing ones that sting your lips and then anesthetize them. But Liu is also influenced by the less fiery food of the Harbin and Hunan provinces. The result is a much more subtle cuisine. Flavors of each ingredient swirl, often but not always with an underlying, simmering spiciness that alerts the palate instead of overwhelming it. Perhaps this is so impressive to the American palate simply because we didn’t grow up in a world of hot chilies. In any case, it’s awesome.

The menu is endless. The dish that stunned www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Masterpiece’s Kung Pao chicken is one of many traditional Siuchian dishes favored by guests. (Photo: Cliff Bostock)

me most was Dong-po Pork. It is four large cubes of pork belly. Its gorgeous layers of fat and meat are cooked in a very dark sauce of rice wine, slightly sweet and salty.

A friend ordered two native Sichuan favorites ruined by nearly every Chinese restaurant in town—Kung Pao chicken and hot and sour soup. Liu’s soup is most notable for its long-simmered broth. It is actually hot, with intense blasts of sourness. The Kung Pao was the favorite dish on our table— spicy, full of tastily seasoned peanuts and hunks of caramelized, juicy chicken.

If you like French fries, prepare to be astounded by the fried rectangles of eggplant, shockingly crispy and dusted with a powder made from Sichuan peppers. A dish of cumin lamb disappointed me a bit. It was my favorite of Peter Chang’s dishes.

One warning: the restaurant has fewer than a dozen tables in a dining room that is basically décor-less. We had no wait on a Friday night, but I’ve heard complaints to the extreme contrary. Don’t expect the best service, either. But patience is truly a virtue at Masterpiece.

Cliff Bostock is a longtime dining critic and psychotherapist turned life coach. www.cliffbostock.com.

September 4, 2015 Columnists 33

B

T ES

LGBT

BETS

Our Guide to the Best LGBT Events in Atlanta for Sept. 4-17

TA N A AT L EVENT

S

SATURDAY, SEPT. 5

Anthony Wayne stars in the acclaimed “Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical,” with actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, one of the creators. 7 p.m., Variety Playhouse, www.variety-playhouse.com (Publicity photo)

FRIDAY, SEPT. 4– MONDAY, SEPT. 7

ATTA, Atlanta’s LGBT tennis league, hosts the Peach International Tennis Tournament this weekend at various venues, www.atta.org The biggest event of its kind in the world, Atlanta Black Gay Pride revs up today for nearly a week of festivities and events, www.inthelifeatlanta.com

EVENT SPOTLIGHT FRIDAY, SEPT. 4

CeCe Peniston sings “Finally” and more at Center Stage, with special guests Sybil and Robin S., 8 p.m., www.centerstage-atlanta.com (Publicity photo)

34 Best Bets September 4, 2015

Dragon*Con is a giant popular-culture convention for science fiction, fantasy, gaming, art, comics, music and film, with panels, contests, vendors, a banquet, and a world famous parade down Peachtree Street, www.dragoncon.org

FRIDAY, SEPT. 4– SUNDAY, SEPT. 6

The Decatur Book Festival kicks off today with keynote speaker Erica Jong, followed by authors and readings all weekend, www.decaturbookfestival.com

FRIDAY, SEPT. 4

The Lesbians 50+ Potluck Social is tonight. Please bring a prepared dish to share and a beverage for yourself. Plates, utensils and ice provided. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and dinner is at 6:30 p.m. Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.org “Driving Miss Daisy” runs at OnStage Atlanta with an out director, Cathe Hall Payne, and a largely gay cast, at 8 p.m. through Sept. 5, www.onstageatlanta.com

SATURDAY, SEPT. 5

Atlanta Eagle hosts Talons Bar Night with DJ Marc J Cubs, 10 p.m.–3 a.m., www.atlantaeagle.com DJ Super Blue spins at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Ga., 30308, www.facebook.com/bulldogsbaratlanta.com In honor of Dragon*Con, the cast of “GurlFrandz” will be channeling their Inner Demons, Intergalactic Divas, My Little

Bronys, Queens of Outer Space, 8-Bit Video Game Heroes and any other sci-fi matters they can pull out of thin air tonight at Mary’s Atlanta. The night also features performances by Lavonia Elberton, Ella/saurus/REX, Brigitte Rackliffe, Chelsea Daggers, Biqtch Pudding and Hydrangea Heath, 10 p.m.–3 a.m., www.marysatlanta.com

SUNDAY, SEPT. 6

DJ Mike Pope spins for the late night crowd, 3 a.m., Xion Atlanta, www.xionatlanta.com Newnan Theatre Company has just opened “The Wizard of Oz,” with 3 p.m. performances today through Sept. 13, www.newnantheatre.org The Washington Mystics visit the Atlanta Dream this afternoon at 3 p.m., Philips Arena, www.philipsarena.com With artists and entertainers in Piedmont Park all day today, the Pure Heat Com-

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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 donation of $5. 7–8:30 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

Atlanta. Admission is $5, Jungle, 10 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

Nicole Paige Brooks, Mychelle LaCroix DuPree and Mo’Dest Volgare host Wild Out Wednesdays at Felix’s, www.felixsatlanta.com

SATURDAY, SEPT. 12

THURSDAY, SEPT. 10

Roland Belmares is the special guest for the Ready 4 Hope Red Party with a performance by Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.– 3 a.m., Jungle, www.jungleatl.com

SAGE Atlanta hosts a social hour and games at 10 a.m. and then a general meeting at 11 a.m., Phillip Rush Center Annex, www.rushcenteratl.org Come out to the lesbian-owned Twisted Soul for Food Fighters Thursday.

Every Thursday enjoy $5 drink specials and complimentary hors d’oeuvres at the bar, www.twistedsoulkitchenandbar.com

TUESDAY, SEPT. 8

An all-star Atlanta cast including Tess Malis Kincaid as Nurse Ratched headlines the Alliance Theatre’s version of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” with 7:30 p.m. performances tonight through Sept. 20, www.alliancetheatre.com (Publicity photo) munity Festival is a don’t miss event, culminating at 7 p.m. in a Stronger Than AIDS PSA With “Real Housewives of Atlanta” and “Noah’s Arc” cast members, pureheatcommunityfestival.com

MONDAY, SEPT. 7– SUNDAY, SEPT. 13

Athens Pride begins today with activities all week, including a drag search competition, a film festival, gay trivia, a wig-out dance party, a pride church service and the festival itself on Sunday, www.athenspride.org

MONDAY, SEPT. 7

Trans and Friends is a youth focused group for trans people, people questioning their gender, and aspiring allies. Charis Circle provides a facilitated space to discuss gender, relevant resources and activism around social issues. Whether silently or aloud, please come ready to consider your own gender in a transient world. This is a project of the Feminist Outlawz and is cosponsored by Charis Circle’s Strong Families, Whole Children.

Donations are accepted. 7–8:30 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com The PFLAG Atlanta support group

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Atlanta Eagle hosts Blackout night, 7 p.m.–2 a.m., www.atlantaeagle.com The Hideaway hosts Ian Aber for Hot Mic comedy nights, 10 p.m., www.atlantahideaway.com

TUESDAY, SEPT. 8– SATURDAY, SEPT. 12

FRIDAY, SEPT. 11

TUESDAY, SEPT. 8

Aces high! Tuesday night is poker night at the Model T beginning at 7 p.m., www.modeltatlanta.com The all-new Latino Tuesday kicks off with DJ Karlito, Blake’s, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9

The Icarus Project Atlanta is a local support network and media project by and for people who experience the world in ways that are often diagnosed as mental illness. This group seeks to advance social justice by fostering mutual aid practices that reconnect healing and collective liberation. This evening is sponsored by Charis Circle’s Urban Sustainability and Wellness Program with a suggested

CONTINUES ON PAGE 36

Atlanta Pride Committee hosts a Borders & Bridges: Race Caucuses event at the Phillip Rush Center Annex, 7–9 p.m., www.atlantapride.org

meets tonight from 7:30–9 p.m. at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, www.uuca.org

Savannah Pride kicks off tonight with events through the weekend, including the Thursday night White Party, www.savannahpride.com

Xion is the home for Heat, the Ready 4 Hope after party from 3–7 a.m. with DJ Robert Ansley, www.xionatlanta.com

Shake to your favorite old school dance tunes at the new My Sister’s Room (MSR) location in Midtown at Disco Night with the Women’s Outdoor Network (WON Atlanta). 7 p.m., www.mysistersroom.com The Sinister Wisdom Issue 98: Landykes of the South, featuring memoirs, interviews, essays and artifacts from the Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project, will have a release party tonight from 7:30–9 p.m. at Charis Books and More, www.charisooksandmore.com Ignite is a Ready for Hope party to benefit AID Atlanta, with DJs Shane Stiel and Seth Breezy, 9 p.m.–3 a.m., Heretic, www.hereticatlanta.com Celeste Holmes hosts Boys of BJ’s tonight at 9 p.m. at BJ Roosters, 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, Ga. 30324 Edie Cheezburger presents “The Other Show,” the most unique drag show in

EVENT SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, SEPT. 12

Multiplatinum recording artist—and hunk—Josh Groban continues his national tour in support of his new album “Stages,” 8 p.m., Cobb Energy Centre, www.cobbenergycentre.com (Publicity photo)

September 4, 2015 Best Bets 35

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 It’s two parties in one. DJ Rob Reum spins inside while DJ Daryl Cox turns up the music outside at TEN Atlanta, www.tenatlanta.com

SUNDAY, SEPT. 13

Wake up and make a joyful noise with the Sisters of Sequin at Gospel Brunch, including performers Bubba D. Licious and Justice Counce, 12:30 p.m. followed by a 1:30 p.m. show, Lips Atlanta, www.lipsatl.com The Ready 4 Hope weekend party comes to an end with Hydrate, powered

by Scruff w/ DJ Dee Martello aka Twisted Dee, 6–11 p.m., Park Tavern in Piedmont Park, 500 10th St NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30309 Regina Simms emcees the New Faces event with singers, dancers, musicians, drag kings and queens and more, 9 p.m., Friends on Ponce, www.friendsonponce-atl.com Brigitte Bidet presents Tossed Salad at 10:00 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

MONDAY, SEPT. 14

They’ve been doing it for 15 years and have never been better.

The Stars of the Century hit the stage at Jungle Atlanta for an unforgettable show led by emcees Miss Sophia and Joe Jackson. Featuring performances

by Necole Luv Dupree, Archie Bonet, Stasha Sanchez, Raquel Lord, Damoni Hall Dickerson, Trinity Bonet and more, 11 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15

Tuesdays are Latin Industry Nights as well as Papi’s Tuesdays with $2 tacos and $3 tequila shots at Las Margaritas, lasmargaritasmidtown.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16

Ruby Redd’s Birdcage Bingo starts at 8:30 p.m., with $3 well drinks all night, then Tyler King hosts Beauty and the Beat karaoke at 11 p.m., The Hideaway, www.atlantahideaway.com Enjoy games with hairy men at Woofs Game Night, 8 p.m., www.woofsatlanta.com It’s Amateur Night every Wednesday at 9 p.m. at BJ Roosters, 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, Ga. 30324

36 Best Bets September 4, 2015

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18

Lily Tomlin is generating Oscar buzz for her role as a lesbian grandmother in the new film, ‘Grandma,’ opening today in TBD Atlanta cinemas.

THURDAY, SEPT. 17

Charis and Cliterati pair up to present an inviting and fierce open mic and reading series on the third Tuesday of every month.

This month’s featured performer is poet Alice Teeter. Suggested donation is $5. 7:30– 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Faces Lounge in Marietta’s new All Star Cabaret is every Thursday at 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. with the likes of Heather Daniels and Coco Chanelle, 138 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta, Ga. 30060

UPCOMING FRIDAY, SEPT. 18

The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC) hosts its

annual Community Dinner/Awards, hosted

by Scott Turner Schofield, 7 p.m., Fox Theatre, www.atlantagaychamber.org Onstage Atlanta and Process Theatre present the drama “Looking for Normal,” about a church-going couple whose lives change when the husband reveals he is transgender. 8 p.m. tonight, through Oct. 10, www.onstageatlanta.com Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth performs tonight at the Cobb Energy Center, 8 p.m., www.cobbenergycenter.com Legendary Children are back to close out the summer and the end of the world officially with Nuclear Meltdown, an a-popolaptyic beach party. It’s hosted by the win-

ner of “Rupaul’s Drag Race” Season Seven, Violet Chachki. Noise Pollution is provided by DJ Robert Ansley and DJ King Atlas, with lifeguards Dax ExclamationPoint from Savannah, Biqtch Puddin, Evah Destruction, Arrianna Paris and Mo’Dest Volgare, 9 p.m.–3 a.m., Heretic. www.hereticatlanta.com

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19

More than 30 artists from around the U.S. and abroad have created works of art in clay for the upcoming exhibit titled “Taboo: Sexuality and Identity in Ceramics,” the purpose of which is to provoke thought and stimulate conversation “while demonstrating the ability of ceramic art to have a relevant voice in the social and political discussions of our time”; Signature Gallery, www.thesignatureshop.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

OUTSIDE THE BOX

By BILL KAELIN

Middle-aged and fabulous I may be getting older, and I don’t go out like I used to, but I still crave a night of good music, amazing cocktails and people watching. If I could go out and do shots of fireball, smoke cigarettes and party until last call, I would be the first in line, but the hard fact is that the older you get, the harder it is to recover.

Recently a couple of my “middle-aged” friends and I finally figured out how to get all the benefits of going to the club without feeling like crud the next day. Mary’s in East Atlanta was throwing a birthday party for Madonna, and if anything was going to get me out of the house, it was going to be that bitch. Starting with a quick pre-cocktail at the house around 8 pm, we then took a short Uber ride to East Atlanta that placed us at a perfect spot right at the bar by 9:30.

Bartender Marky Hatch served us some good stiff drinks with sweet smiles while the music and video mixing by DJ Diablo Rojo was pure perfection. I had a buzz by 10:30, and we were having a blast just watching everyone filter inside. MadonnaRama is like a gay national holiday, and since the early birds always get the worm, we still had the best spot right at the bar, even though there was a line of people waiting outside the door. The Madonna madness continued until around midnight, when the three of us looked at each other and, without saying a word, knew it was time to “Take A Bow.” I was tipsy, had lots of laughs and listened to great music, but I was ready to lie in my bed by 12:30.

The same strategy worked perfectly one week later, when at 8 p.m. sharp we decided to check out the brand sexy new spot in West Midtown called “Little Trouble.” The name itself sounded like it was the perfect place for me; after all, I am always looking for some trouble, just a little less than I used to.

Little Trouble is a stunning spot on the lower level of the White Provisions building. Created by Caleb Wheelus and Ian Jones, the team behind local favorite hot spot Victory, it is inspired by the iconic science fiction film, Blade Runner. Little www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“Recently a couple of my ‘middle-aged’ friends and I finally figured out how to get all the benefits of going to the club without feeling like crud the next day. Mary’s in East Atlanta was throwing a birthday party for Madonna, and if anything was going to get me out of the house, it was going to be that bitch.”

Trouble makes you feel like you are in another city or quite possibly another planet.

The entrance sets the tone with a long dark corridor that leads you to a mysterious, red neon sculpture that seduces you through the doors. Nothing is what it seems in the space where the windows are like walls and the walls are like control panels steering the mother ship.

Cocktails and conversations are encouraged with plenty of seating, a killer drink menu and a futuristic, cinematic, electronic soundtrack that’s played at the perfect volume. The crowd is eclectic, interesting and sexy, and the pan-Asian food menu created by Chef Melissa Allen is exceptional and perfect to share. The stoners at my table were losing their minds over the pork rinds drizzled with local honey. They were the perfect balance of salty and sweet, and all I could think of was how they would have made Ria Pell proud. I was so transported that I hadn’t even realized I was on my fourth delicious Rosalita cocktail made with tequila and Aperol by Midnight and realized it was probably time to head home while I could still walk. Little Trouble is exactly what Midtown and my middle-aged self needed, and I am so thankful to have figured out a way to still go out on the town without closing the bars down.

September 4, 2015 COLUMNISTS 37

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

By MELISSA CARTER

Difficult confessions There are some things you just don’t want to admit to, but it’s time for me to confess something. A big lesson I’ve learned in media is, the more authentic you are, the more you connect with your audience. Even if you’re not cool with doing it. And I certainly don’t feel cool right now.

Katie Jo and I called it quits. After 9 years together, we couldn’t make our relationship fit in a comfortable groove that would propel us into a lifelong relationship. This isn’t a new development; I just needed time to adjust to two major changes in my life that occurred at exactly the same time.

Katie let me know she wanted out as we travelled to bring our son home from the Oregon hospital where he was born. Our relationship had been deteriorating for some time, having nothing to do with Mr. Carter.

In fact, in hindsight I think he helped us stay together longer than we would have without the hope of him. But knowing it was over when our family had just begun was surreal, and something I don’t think I completely believed at the time. We both are equally at fault for our unraveling, but I naively thought things might get better once we got more sleep.

We decided not to change how we lived before the holidays. We faked it with our families so everyone could focus on Mr. Carter’s first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. But by the time spring arrived, Katie was out of the house and we were coparenting.

To say this year has been a difficult one is an understatement. I have, on the one hand, had the most incredible experience of my life getting to know and care for my son. At the same time I’ve had to grieve in private a relationship I thought would last much longer, and simply endure the comments from others about how excited they are for us as a couple.

The hardest time came when the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex

“To say this year has been a difficult one is an understatement. I have, on the one hand, had the most incredible experience of my life getting to know and care for my son. At the same time I’ve had to grieve in private a relationship I thought would last much longer, and simply endure the comments from others about how excited they are for us as a couple.” marriage. My activist’s tears of accomplishment were mixed with those that saw a personal dream unrealized. Good wishes poured in from people trying to guess when Katie and I would get engaged. Just last weekend several people referred to her as my wife, and I simply let it slide.

So, it’s time. It’s time to speak the words I never expected to; I’m a single parent.

Katie and I are committed to raising our son in an environment of incredible love and support, and I’m grateful that our end can transition into something more meaningful than us. Moving forward, though, I have no idea what to expect from my new dating life. I’m sure it will be the normal mix of Hey She’s Got Potentials and the Oh Hell Nos. Regardless of what comes my way, I can finally say I look forward to the challenge.

38 Columnists September 4, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

By RYAN LEE

Surrendering secrets I confess to having memberships with numerous websites that facilitate random gay sex between consenting strangers. I will not be enrolling into rehab or issuing any apologies – to my family, supporters or god.

I’ve also sent nude pics via Craigslist, offered my eclectic apartment as the set for a professional porn shoot, and participated in public sex. Hell, my first time penetrating a guy was when I was 15 years old, during a 45-second fling in the private-ish men’s room of a public library, which we both considered a safer space to explore our secret desires than our own bedrooms, a friend’s house or any other traditional setting for teenage hanky-panky.

While people who know me don’t know the particulars of these admissions, I don’t think any of the above would surprise anyone.

Nor do I feel that people’s baseline perception of me is as unscrupulous, and therefore I am unable to surprise anyone with immorality.

Rather, I hope they trust my code – my character and judgment – and know I consider authenticity my chief moral duty. Simply, there is not a man or emotion, not a status or promotion, that is worth denying the truth about how I exist.

It’s easy for my candor to be mistaken for over-sharing, but knowing the gulf between my behavior and people’s knowledge of my behavior, yet the harmony between my public and private lives, I believe it is necessary representation.

Discretion is good, even moral; deception is neither, and my secrets are not intended to mislead anyone about how I experience the world.

As satisfying as it was to see Josh Duggar exposed for the predictable hypocrisy of those who constantly tell others they are wrong and evil, I felt bad for the hapless schmuck when he was exposed as an adulterer in the Ashley Madison hack. Of course he deserves to be humiliated for the mismatch between his professed mission and personal behavior, but he also deserves pity as someone reared in a value system with such a polluted understanding of human sexuality that he considered incest and adultery superior forms of sexual expression than homosexuality and female desire. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“There is a good version of each of us that we present, and maintaining that ‘moral’ facade is often more important than nurturing the total version of ourselves, and wondering whether that total version co-existing with the world might be lighter, healthier and more moral than the lies and pretension that shield us from judgment.”

While the Duggar household may be supernaturally stifling, American culture gives barely more room for sexual exploration among consenting adults. The connotations attached to most sex beyond monogamy and military position creates the secrets that leave people feeling self-loathing and sinful, and make it easier for them to confuse pretense with morality.

There is a good version of each of us that we present, and maintaining that “moral” facade is often more important than nurturing the total version of ourselves, and wondering whether that total version co-existing with the world might be lighter, healthier and more moral than the lies and pretension that shield us from judgment.

Even with the soul-searching required to come out of the closet, many LGBT people are as confined as horny evangelicals from authentically representing their sexual nature – possibly more, since it is instilled in us to downplay sexual honesty in exchange for social respectability.

I learned that no one other than myself is responsible for my secrets, and no one can ascribe power to them without my surrender.

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