The Georgia Voice - 4/30/10 Vol. 1, Issue 4

Page 1

NALLEY BMW

SUPPORTS GA VOICE.

2010 BMW 3 SERIES 328i Convertible MSRP $54,400

Stock Number: 15175 plus tax $ per month

2010 BMW X3 XDR30i

1606 Church Street

Stock Number: 15117 plus tax $ per month

499

Stock Number: 15249 plus tax $ per month

499

36 month lease, 10K miles per year, $5,449 due at signing with approved credit.

|

MSRP $49,920

MSRP $45,125

499

1-866-416-8811

2010 BMW 1 SERIES 135i Convertible

36 month lease, 10K miles per year, $4,887 due at signing with approved credit.

36 month lease, 10K miles per year, $5,229 due at signing with approved credit.

|

Decatur, GA 30033

|

www.nalleybmw.com

All leases are with approved credit, tax, title, state and dealer fee extra. Cars are for illustration purposes only. Dealer is not responsible for typographical errors.

04.30.10 NEWS

OUTSPOKENIN THEIR OWN WORDS “There are half a million kids in foster care in America. To have public officials deem homosexuals unworthy of parenting is disastrous for the nation, for equality and for humanity and, Mike, for Christianity.”

Should Atlanta spend millions on an LGBT community center? Page 4 At least five gay candidates run for Ga. legislature. Page 8 Derrick Martin attends prom with boyfriend in rural Ga. Page 9

— Lesbian comedian and talk show host Rosie O’Donnell in an April 24 chat with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on her Sirius radio show. Huckabee, who ran for president in 2008 and may run in 2012, criticized gay adoption last month by saying that “children are not puppies.” (New York Daily News, April 24)

Fred Phelps’ anti-gay church coming to Atlanta. Page 9 Obama heckled by protesters, repeats DADT promises. Page 11

Photo via mikehuckabee.com

National news briefs. Page 11

VOICES From the publisher: Let’s talk about the elephant. Page 12 Speaking out: Readers react to Fred Phelps, Nancy Schaefer. Page 13

“What I’m saying is that I think the ideal environment for children is in a relationship that has both a mother and a father.” — Mike Huckabee, attempting to explain his remarks to Rosie O’Donnell. (New York Daily News, April 24)

A&E

Events: Stage icons raise funds for local theaters, Anthony Williams’ on a new runway. Page 19

COMMUNITY Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence pray for Atlanta. Page 21 Milestones: Joan Sherwood & Debbie Fraker. Page 21 Readers share stories of their outstanding moms. Page 22 Georgia spotlight: MEGA Family Project, First City Network. Page 23

2

Maximum number of heterosexual players allowed on teams in the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance

$75,000 Damages requested by three bisexual players suing the Gay Softball World Series for disqualifying them in 2008 as “non gay”

202

U.S. House co-sponsors for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would ban job bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity

CALENDAR Pages 24-26

theGAVOICE.com • Breaking news as it happens • Calendar and daily event highlights • Photo albums and video galleries • Share ‘Your News’ and ‘Your Voice’ facebook.com/thegavoice twitter.com/thegavoice

POP QUIZ

2

ENDA co-sponsors out of Georgia’s 13-member House delegation (Reps. Hank Johnson and John Lewis) -- Compiled by Laura Douglas-Brown Sources: Seattle Weekly, April 21; Library of Congress

— The owners of Adelaide’s Thai Spice, telling South Australia’s Equal Opportunity Tribunal why they refused to let a blind man and his guide dog enter. The staff apparently misunderstood “guide dog” for “gay dog.” They will pay a fine for disability discrimination. (Agence France Press, April 24)

Photo by Joan Marcus/LaCage.com

Sports: Atlanta Beat readies for inaugural season. Page 18

BY THE NUMBERS

WITH JZ

Music: DJ Mike Pope brings the beats to the South. Page 17

CHERI CHURCH

Atlanta Women’s Bu siness

Networking Group

View the full interv iew

t h e GAVO IC E .co mat

Photo via Facebook

Books: Yolo Akili’s poetry transcends sexual identity. Page 16

“The staff genuinely believed that Nudge was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog.”

Publicity photo

Q-100’s Melissa Carter on road to motherhood. Page 14

“No, I have a tool box. A belt tends to wear me down and I don’t like that.”

“My take on homosexual, heterosexual, transgender relationships, interracial relationships, it’s all up to you and the person you love, and frankly I’ve never thought that politics and marriage mixed in any way.” — Actor Kelsey Grammer, who is starring as a gay nightclub owner in the new Broadway version of “La Cage aux Folles,” at the same time as he helps launch RightNetwork, a conservative TV channel. (Wall Street Journal, April 23)

4

GA Voice April 30, 2010 News

www.theGAVoice.com

Is it time for Atlanta to have a world-class LGBT community center?

Renewed effort underway to make long-time dream a reality By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com Duncan Teague remembers working for the Lambda Center in the early 1990s with fellow LGBT activists, trying to raise enough money for the facility to have its own building. “I was part of the first group of community people trying to put it together — that must have been 1991 or 1992 — and what I am most proud about is that we were as inclusive as possible,” Teague said this week. Providing space for meetings and events was a key goal at the time, Teague said. “That was the biggest issue and still is,” he said. “When I went around asking people for $1,000 and $5,000, people came up with it. I wasn’t with [the Lambda Center] when they decided to take the seed money and opened on West Peachtree on the same floor as Positive Impact and AIDS Survival Project,” he recalled. Atlanta has seen several attempts at an LGBT community center, some more successful than others. Now a new group of activists is debating whether to attempt what the others never achieved: a large-scale, state-of-the art facility that could become the hallmark of the local LGBT community, but would also cost millions of dollars to create and run. Before the Lambda Center opened, there was the Atlanta Gay Center, founded in 1976. The Gay Center, which eventually became the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Community Center, provided support groups, a health clinic and a newsletter, but always remained relatively small. At one time the Gay Center was located on 12th Street. It later moved to 159 Ralph McGill Blvd., where several HIV/AIDS service organizations, including Positive Impact and AIDS Survival Project, were located. The Lambda Center also located there, and the two efforts joined forces. But the “159 Center” broke up when that space became too expensive, and in February 2003, the Gay & Lesbian Center moved to a house located at 170 11th St. The center closed soon afterwards in the wake of a lawsuit from a former employee. Positive Impact and the AIDS Alliance for Faith & Health are now located at 139 Ralph McGill Blvd. Despite the troubles Atlanta has had maintaining an LGBT community center, there is no excuse for the city to not have one, Teague said. “[A community center] is never not needed,” he said. “We have one of the largest gay communities in America and we don’t have a home. Some grassroots activists are choking on a $10 million cost, but I’d like to see us move forward without worrying about the numbers. “When I go to the doctor’s office, I sit in a

Center on Halsted 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60640 www.centeronhalsted.org

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center 1625 N. Schrader Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 www.lagaycenter.org

The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center’s headquarters features 44,000 square feet and cost $7 million to purchase and renovate. (Courtesy photo)

beautiful space. There is no reason for us not to go to a beautiful space,” he added.

Exploring the possibilities

At an April 22 meeting at the gay bar Mixx on Piedmont Avenue, about 20 activists gathered to discuss the idea of building or renovating a current building for an LGBT community center similar to the large facilities in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Attendees expressed support for the concept of a world-class center in Atlanta, but stressed there is also the need to support the Phillip Rush Center that already provides space and resources to numerous LGBT organizations. The Rush Center, located on DeKalb Avenue, is named for gay community activist Phillip Rush, who died last April. Realtor Barb Rowland organized the April 22 meeting with Justin Ziegler, executive director of the Atlanta Executive Network. With MEGA Family Project, which rents space at the Rush Center, and other non-profits including Atlanta Pride struggling to meet their

• Year founded: 1971 • Year opened in current location: 1992 • Approximate square footage: 44,000 (also has three other locations) • Approximate cost for main location: $7 million (purchase, renovation, capital campaign expenses) • Was any money used to procure current location from government funding? $1.25 million loan from City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, will be forgiven over time as long as Center provides social services • Total annual operating revenue: $48.5 million (FY 2008) • Amount of annual operating revenue from government funding: $11.1 million in government grants; $26.7 million in AIDS Drug Assistance Program and program fees • Services offered: Free HIV/AIDS care and medications for those most in need; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth; support and advocacy services for LGBT seniors and LGBT-parented families.

annual budgets, some attendees felt that money should be funneled to these groups already in existence rather than start a capital campaign for a new facility. “Look at the criticism HRC [the Human Rights Campaign] gets because of its fancy building [in Washington, D.C.] — a lot of people are angry because so much money goes to the building rather than to resources,” said Kathy Kelly, executive director of MEGA Family Project. Please see CENTER on Page 6

• Year founded: 1973 • Year opened in current location: 2007 • Approximate square footage: 65,000 for agency (175,000 total includes parking and retail client Whole Foods) • Approximate cost for location: $25 million capital campaign • Was any money used to procure current location from government funding? 34 percent from federal, state and local funding • Current annual budget: $4 million • Amount of annual budget from government funding: 40 percent • Services offered: Mental health services, youth program, rapid HIV testing/ State of Illinois HIV/STD Hotline, legal services, the Anti-Violence Project, elder services, cultural programming, social programming, gym, fitness classes, rental space, and more. San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center 1800 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94102 www.sfcenter.org • Year founded: 1996 • Year opened in current location: 2002 • Approximate square footage: 35,000 • Approximate cost for location: $13.7 million (purchase and construction) • Was any money used to procure current location from government funding? Approximately half from city/state/ federal grants • Current annual budget: $1.85 million • Amount of annual budget from government funding: 39 percent from government contracts • Services offered: Economic development, Children, Youth & Families; Health and Wellness (HIV prevention); Arts & Culture (visual art exhibits, performing arts & cultural events); Community Development; 300-plus events each month, cybercenter, reading room, childcare, non-profit tenants

Democratic Party candidate Tom Stubbs tackled the issue of discrimination against gay people in a column he wrote in April 2005 as president of the DeKalb Bar Association: “That issue is the bigotry perpetuated in our laws against same-sex couples. By virtue of their sex, or, more accurately, the sex of one of them, same-sex couples are denied, among other things, the right to inherit by intestacy, to adopt children and to benefit from laws providing that employer-provided health insurance (and other fringe benefits) be made available to a spouse. ... [T]hese laws cannot be reconciled with the equal protection and other rights we enjoy under our Constitution.�

Tom Stubbs is also a: Longtime member of Stonewall Bar Association. Longtime supporter of Lambda Legal. Tom has walked the walk for LGBT rights not quietly and not for just the past few months, but publicly and for years. That proven dedication to these causes, coupled with his unmatched policy and political experience, make Tom Stubbs the strongest advocate and best candidate for the LGBT community.

6

GA Voice

April 30, 2010

News

www.theGAVoice.com

Needs survey is first step to Atlanta LGBT center

Rowland said she had spoken with wealthy local residents who wanted to invest in a gay community center similar to ones in Chicago, New York and San Francisco. A proposed budget for such a new facility in Atlanta is up to $22 million, she said. “The saying, ‘Build it and they will come’ — there is some truth to that,” Rowland said. “There are some very monied people here who want to invest in something to make a big splash.” Nearly everyone agreed a community center to house organizations and programs and provide services to LGBT Atlantans is a great idea. How to do that, however, remains to be seen. Anne Barr, founder of the Decatur Women’s Sports League, said she would love to see a large community center in Atlanta. “We have to be the leaders of the South,” she said. A community center would attract more LGBT people to Atlanta and to Georgia and provide a safe space for those people who don’t feel safe elsewhere, she added. “I think we’re paying all this money in all these different directions to rent facilities, if we could put it together we could own it. I’m excited,” Barr said after the meeting.

Building bridges

Others brought up the fact that Atlanta’s LGBT community is divided into different groups. If there was a large community center where everyone could congregate and come together, bridges could be built between different groups. But the idea of building a community center in Atlanta is one that has been attempted before several times and never worked out, pointed out Rev. Paul Turner of Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta. “To be honest, this is the third or fourth meeting I’ve been to where we’ve taken a shot at this,” said Turner, who has lived in Atlanta for 15 years. “I think before long it gets to push and shove because the leadership really doesn’t know what the community wants and needs,” he added. “Sometimes we don’t utilize the resources we have. I think we have to be intentional of literally going out to the community and asking what they need.” Kiki Carr, founder of MondoHomo Queer Fest, pointed out that no people of color were at the meeting and it would be important to get feedback from various communities on what and if a community center is needed. “We need to ask people what they want. When I hear ‘first class,’ I hear something in Midtown for rich, white gay men,” Carr said. Teague believes Atlanta has needed a true LGBT community center for a long time, but it will take work for such an idea to come to fruition.

Photo by David Shankbone (Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license)

CENTER, continued from Page 4

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center 208 West 13th St., New York, NY 10011 www.gaycenter.org Barb Rowland, an organizer behind a potential gay community center in Atlanta, says it’s time to assess support for such a facility . (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

“This community has enough creativity and energy to do it. We need a center. We needed a center 10-20 years ago,” he said. But to do so, there will have to be even more bridge building. “There will have to be collaboration and compromise between groups that have never spoken to each other,” Teague said. “It’s time we joined other major urban centers for gays, lesbians and queers and open something we can be proud of.”

‘Incubator’ at Rush Center

Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, and Linda Ellis, executive director of the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative, discussed what they are attempting to do at the Rush Center. It is the office space for their organizations and MEGA Family Project, but it also provides meeting space for dozens of other organizations and groups, such as the Black Lesbians Cancer Survivors Group, Weight Watchers, AID Atlanta’s Evolution Program and the Atlanta Pride Committee. When the Rush Center was opened last year, it was intentionally not called a community center but rather is described as an “incubator.” Plans are in the works to expand the center if possible when new space comes open in the building. The facility currently has 2,500 square feet and is nearly at capacity, Graham said. Another space may come open in the building soon, which could add another approximate 1,000 square feet to the center. But rent for that space would be approximately $1,500 a month and

• Year founded: 1983 • Year opened in current location: 1984 • Approximate cost for location: $1.5 million (in 1983) • Current annual budget: FY 2008 expenses $9,326,971; revenue $9,226,153 • Amount of annual budget from government funding: Grants make up 52.46 percent of annual revenue ($4,840,338) – not broken down in annual report in percent from government sources • Services offered: Meeting space, health services, youth services, support groups, library, history archive, numerous community and cultural events

Graham said the goal is to have at least nine months of funding secured before expanding, or about $15,000. Graham said this week it was nice to see some enthusiasm people had at the meeting for raising funds for a world-class center and he remains hopeful people will come together. “I do think it is important to point out that this kind of project will take years at the very least,” he said. “It’s also nice to see the meeting organizers acknowledge the Rush Center and that it could serve as an incubator and possible model,” Graham added.

Needs assessment

Ziegler suggested that the community try to raise $100,000 – enough to fund the Rush Center expansion for five years at a cost of about $90,000, with $10,000 to spend on assessing whether a larger scale center is needed, and what people would want from such a center.

The LGBT Center in New York cost $1.5 million in 1983. Grants make up about 52 percent of the center’s revenue, which in 2008 topped $9 million.

A mission of any community center is to bridge gaps and bring people from different communities together. Graham and Ellis said the Rush Center is doing that organically and right now they hope to be able to add a cultural space for such events as small art shows. Rowland said the vision of the donors she has talked to is very different than the ideas of those behind the Rush Center, however. “I could go to 10 different fundraisers this weekend, but there is no focus to it,” she said. “But if we have the money go toward a gay community center, there is a focus. But we need to do it from a groundswell of support.” Kelly said asking non-profit groups to raise funds for a community center when the economy is down is not likely to happen. “Most nonprofits can barely keep their doors open. There is no way they can divert their attention to fundraise for this,” Kelly said. Kelly also noted that she worked on the campaign to fight the state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in 2004 and only $100,000 was raised. Most of that money, she added, came from the straight community. “And this was the biggest attack our community faced,” she said. Rowland said after the meeting that while she hoped for a more definitive plan of action, she is optimistic the community will rally behind a professional needs assessment to be taken to gauge what the entire Atlanta LGBT community wants. “It’s time for us to do that,” she said. — Laura Douglas-Brown contributed

HRC AND ERIC ALVA ARE FIGHTING TO REPEAL “DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL.” Eric Alva was the first U.S. service member wounded in Iraq. He lost his right leg to a land mine. He is a proud Marine and a gay man. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” keeps patriotic women and men like Eric from serving openly. He is working with the Human Rights Campaign to repeal this law. Join us and help to repeal it now. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ Over the past months, we have worked nationwide to repeal DADT, focusing on 103 priority congressional districts. Our efforts include: ★

More than 300,000 phone calls and e-mails to members of Congress.

★

275 HRC members lobbied on Capitol Hill to repeal DADT and pass ENDA and other key legislation.

★

Beyond the Beltway, our members conducted more than 250 in-district lobby visits.

★

In 41 cities, we held events that highlighted military veterans opposed to DADT, and over the next several months we will conduct dozens more.

★

On May 11, we will send hundreds of veterans to Capitol Hill to lobby for repeal.

Join HRC and Eric to repeal DADT Visit www.hrc.org/RepealDADT

8

GA Voice

April 30, 2010 News

www.theGAVoice.com

At least five gay candidates run for Ga. legislature Gay-friendly Republicans face challengers as races shape up By Matt Schafer & Laura Douglas-Brown lbrown@thegavoice.com The week of April 26-30 proved intense at the Georgia General Assembly, as the end of the annual 40-day legislative session coincided with the official five-day qualifying period for major party candidates for this year’s elections, in which every seat in the Gold Dome will be up for grabs. At Georgia Voice press time April 27, at least five openly gay candidates had announced plans to run for the state House and Senate. Party primaries are slated for July 20 and the general election is Nov. 2. State Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), Georgia’s first openly gay state lawmaker, qualified April 26 to run for her sixth term. State Rep. Simone Bell (D-Atlanta), the first openly lesbian African-American state legislator in the nation, qualified April 27 to run for her first full term after winning a special election last fall to finish the term of Robin Shipp, who resigned the seat when it conflicted with her employment. Neither Bell nor Drenner, who was unopposed in her last election in 2008, had drawn a challenger by press time. Visit www.thegavoice. com for updates after qualifying ends April 30. Meanwhile, at least three gay candidates hope to join Drenner and Bell under the Gold Dome, where they would be the first openly gay men to serve in the General Assembly. Two — House District 80 candidate Keith Gross and Senate District 47 hopeful Tim Riley – are seeking rematches after unsuccessful bids in 2008, while the third, House District 59 candidate Brad Ploeger, is running as a Libertarian and therefore must qualify for the ballot via petition rather than the party primary system. Riley, a gay mental health counselor who lives in Athens, had not filed qualifying papers by Tuesday afternoon, but announced his candidacy via a press release on April 21. Riley, a Democrat, ran for the same seat in 2008, losing to Republican Ralph Hudgens in the general election. Riley received 25,172 votes, or 35.2 percent of votes cast, compared to 46,257 votes, or 64.8 percent, for Hudgens. Hudgens is running for state insurance commissioner. At press time two Republicans had qualified to face off in the GOP primary: Shane Coley, a software consultant from Statham, and Kelley Gary, a business owner from Hoschton. In a press release about his new bid, Riley said that he first ran for state Senate in 1988, and noted the dramatic changes for an openly

gay candidate in the span of 20 years. “It was a different time when I won the nomination in 1988, I had death threats and many vile remarks back then,” he said. “In 2008 some 20 years later it was more low-key and issue oriented. Georgia is growing up and we are all taking seats at the table now, even in rural Georgia.” State Senate District 47 includes parts of Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Jackson, Madison and Oglethorpe counties. Ploeger was nominated to run for Atlantabased House District 59 at the Libertarian Party state convention on April 24. He is challenging gay-friendly Rep. Margaret Kaiser (D-Atlanta) for House District 59. Ploeger, who is gay, is an attorney and lives in Grant Park with his partner. According to the Libertarian Party, Ploeger must collect 1,600 signatures to qualify. “This state needs leadership and a clear purpose of vision. We the people have only been given bread, circuses and scandals,” Ploeger said in a press release.

GOP allies draw opponents

Two of the most publicly gay-friendly Republicans in the Georgia House are facing challenges from Democrats offering to be even stronger allies on gay and transgender issues. Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta) will face a Democratic challenger for the first time since leaving that party in 2007. Gay business owner Keith Gross hopes to be the name on the ballot with Jacobs in November, but will first face computer consultant Sandy Murray and any other Democrats who qualify in the July 20 primary. Gross attempted to run against Jacobs in 2008, but was pulled off the ballot after a court challenge determined that Gross did not meet the residency requirements. The Democrats were unable to get a candidate on the ballot and Jacobs easily beat an independent candidate. Gross did not return calls from Georgia Voice, but wrote on his website that he had received bad legal advice. “I ran for this seat in 2008 because of my disappointment that Mike lied to all of us and switched from Democrat to Republican (after lying long enough to get elected),” Gross said on the site. “Just like you, I was surprised when I was kicked off the ballot through a clever legal maneuver, which I inadequately defended.” Jacobs said he welcomed a challenger and was confident the voters will approve of his records. “I’m not worried about it. I’m going to run a strong campaign, and feel that I’m known quality within my district, but I feel that’s for the voters to decide,” said Jacobs, who has been endorsed by Georgia Equality and the gay Log Cabin Republicans in past races. During this legislative session, Jacobs has been the lead sponsor of a bill to curb bullying in schools. While the language of the bill does not single out sexual orientation, it is strongly backed by Georgia Equality.

State Reps. Karla Drenner and Simone Bell, the two openly gay lawmakers currently serving in the General Assembly, both qualified to run for re-election this week. (File photos)

Rematch in Senate District 42 MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com • Will lesbian incumbents face challengers? How many LGBT candidates will be on the ballot? See our update on state legislative races after qualifying ends April 30. • Status of bullying legislation as General Assembly adjourns

At press time, it was uncertain whether the bill would pass before the General Assembly adjourned. Neighboring House District 81, also located in northeast of Atlanta, should prove interesting for gay voters as well, although no openly gay candidate is on the ballot. Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta), the only Republican to vote against the 2004 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, will face her fourth Democratic challenger. Elena Parent is already drawing gay support, with a March 31 “Celebrate Equality” fundraiser that featured lesbian Q100 radio personality Melissa Carter and featured several gay political activists on the host committee. “(Chambers) has to tread carefully, and gay issues is not an area where she will, or has ever, proactively gone to bat for the issues that the gay community cares about,” Parent said. “She was able that one time six years ago to play defense, but I can play offense and be a voice for GLBT equality every day.” Chambers said she is seeking re-election because she is now in the position to carry significant legislation such as the “Hustler Bill,” that would bar police from releasing nude pictures of murder victims. Chambers said her track record shows her to be an ally to the gay voters in her district, and most of her work is fiscal, not social in nature. “My voters, whether they’re gay or straight, don’t want me to run on gay issues,

In a race closely watched by LGBT political group Georgia Equality, Democrats Jason Carter and Tom Stubbs, Independent Steve Patrick and Libertarian David Montane face off May 11 in a special election to fill the state Senate District 42 seat. The seat was left vacant when David Adelman left the Senate to become U.S. ambassador to Singapore. Georgia Equality endorsed Carter, grandson of Jimmy Carter, based on his support for LGBT issues and outreach to gay voters. Stubbs also competed for the group’s support, has lobbied on gay issues, and is a member of the Atlanta Stonewall Democrats. Whoever wins May 11, it appears Carter and Stubbs are headed for a rematch. Both have qualified to run for the seat and will face off in the Democratic primary on July 20.

they want me to run on fiscally conservative issues,” she said. House Districts 80 and 81 are both trending Democratic, creating an interesting question for gay voters who will choose between a proven ally or a new voice. Jason Cecil is president of the Georgia Young Democrats and Georgia Stonewall Democrats. “District 81 should have been in Democratic hands and it should have been for a long time. It’s not about strictly GLBT issues,” Cecil said. “It’s going to be a hard road to how to get back into power alone, much less pass any gayfriendly legislation.” Jamie Ensley, president of the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans, said that gays are better served by having Republicans who can lobby for gay issues. “Republicans are going to be in power for a while, and if we don’t have any allies in that party then we really don’t have a voice,” Ensley said. “And Mike and Jill are the strongest friends we have.”

News

www.theGAVoice.com

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

‘God Hates Fags’ church coming to Atlanta Derrick Martin has a Members of Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church are headed to Atlanta this week to protest a variety of sites, including Jewish events and three local high schools. The church, based in Topeka, Kan., routinely pickets around the nation. Its “God Hates Fags” mantra made national headlines when church members, who are mostly Phelps and his family, picketed the funeral of slain gay Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard. Since then, the Phelps clan has also made news for picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, claiming that the United States is a sinful nation. Students at Atlanta’s Grady High School, one of the targets of Phelps’ protest, are already planning their response. The Grady counter-protest is set for 3:15 p.m. until 6 p.m. on May 6. The students say they plan to collect donations for AID Atlanta and the Human Rights Campaign during the protest. When Phelps recently protested a same-sex marriage forum at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, his contingent of six was met by more than 500 counter-protesters, according to the Des Moines Register. On May 5, Westboro Baptist Church is scheduled to protest at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Douglass High School, the Jewish Georgian, the Marcus Jewish Community Cen-

‘blast’ at prom in rural Ga. with boyfriend

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com • Visit www.thegavoice.com and follow us at Twitter.com/thegavoice for live coverage of Phelps’ protest

ter of Atlanta and a Cinco de Mayo party and concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. In addition to protesting at Grady High School on May 6, the church is slated to protest Druid Hills High School, Emory University Hillel and the Selig Center (Jewish Federation of Atlanta). — Laura Douglas-Brown

Derrick Martin and his boyfriend, Richard Goodman, attended Martin’s prom in rural Cochran, Ga., on April 17 and had “a blast.” Although there was security present, there were no incidents at Bleckley County High School, where Martin attends. Goodman lives in Tifton, Ga. After the prom, Martin surprised Goodman with a weekend trip to Savannah. “It was a blast,” Martin said. Martin made international headlines after receiving permission to attend his senior prom with his boyfriend. Despite protests in the city, officials said they had no authority to deny Martin’s request. Although Martin received support from across the world, his parents said he could no longer live with them after his story became public. His father is a teacher at BCHS. As part of the BCHS prom, couples take part in a “walk through” where their names are announced and they walk into the prom. Martin shared his memory of that moment on his Facebook page on April 25. “The whole town turned out this year, and we were both making ourselves sick think-

Derrick Martin (right) and Richard Goodman. (Photo courtesy Arturo Beéche)

ing of all the outcomes … All eyes were on us as we walked to the podium, and the start of the ‘red carpet.’ … I braced myself for an onslaught of hate and shouting, but what we were greeted with surprised me more than I ever could have imagined … “People I didn’t even know were there just cheering for us, smiling and telling us things like, ‘be true’ and ‘keep on baby.’ I couldn’t even believe it. All this time I had considered all of the bad things that could have happened, but I never gave a second thought to the night actually going perfectly,” he wrote. Martin did say he missed his parents being there. “When I looked out on all those people, all I could think was, I wish my parents were there cheering with them …” he wrote. — Dyana Bagby

I=: DCAN I>B: L:ÉAA I:AA NDJ ID <D HIG6><=I#

<Zii^c\ id @Zn LZhi XdjaYcÉi WZ ZVh^Zg# ?jhi iV`Z JH& higV^\]i i]gdj\] I]Z @Znh# D[ XdjghZ! l]Zc ndj \Zi ]ZgZ! ndj XVc \d Vcn Y^gZXi^dc ndj lVci#

fla-keys.com/gaykeywest ~ 1-888-524-4915 Key West rated “Favorite Gay Resort Town” - Out Traveler

9

10

GA Voice April 30, 2010

www.theGAVoice.com

DIRECTORY LISTINGS To advertise, email sales@thegavoice.com

www.OffhandPhotography.com 404.312.5392

National News

www.theGAVoice.com

Obama heckled, repeats DADT promise Protesters arrested outside White House, Sen. McCain’s office

By Lisa Keen Keen News Service President Obama, appearing at a fundraiser for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer in Los Angeles Monday, April 19, seemed initially irritated when his speech in support of Boxer’s re-election was interrupted with shouts that he do more to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” An Associated Press video of the proceeding shows him trying, at first, to talk over the protests, then trying to respond to them, saying “We are going to do that.” When the protests continue, he raises his hand and says, “Hey, hold on a second. Hold on a second. We are going to do that.” By then, the full audience had begun chanting, “Yes, we can,” drowning out the protesters. The president stood quietly at the podium until the crowd began to quiet and then he beckoned them: “Now, listen. What the young man was talking about was we need to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, which I agree with and which we have begun to do.” “But let me say this,” continued the president, “when you’ve got an ally like Barbara Boxer and you’ve got an ally like me who are standing for the same thing, then you don’t know exactly why you’ve got to holler, because we already hear you, all right? I mean, it would have made more sense to holler that at the people who oppose it.” President Obama resumed his speech, after the first protesters were escorted out, but then ad-

Army Lt. Dan Choi (center) and five other LGBT veterans handcuffed themselves to the White House fence last week in protest of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ echoing a similar protest staged one month earlier. (Photo by Michael Key/DC Agenda)

ditional protesters began to shout, “It’s time for equality for all Americans!” Obama repeated that he and Boxer “are supportive of repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ so I don’t know why you’re hollering.” Frontiers in LA magazine editor Karen Ocamb reported the protest was carried out by five activists with the new LGBT activist group GetEqual. Meanwhile, on April 20, six uniformed veterans chained themselves to the White House fence to protest “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” According to CNN, the protesters included Lt. Dan Choi, who was arrested last month after chaining himself to the White House fence in a similar protest. On April 26, five people were arrested outside Sen. John McCain’s office in Phoenix after they requested to talk to the senator and former GOP presidential candidate about repealing DADT. In February, McCain, who lost to Obama, said “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” was “imperfect but effective,” according to the Washington Post.

COURTS

Elderly Calif. gay man sues over separation from partner

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is suing Sonoma County, Calif., on behalf of an elderly gay man who alleges the county separated him and his partner of 20 years after his partner injured himself. His partner later died. Clay Greene, 78, represented by NCLR, says in his civil lawsuit that after his partner, Harold Scull, 88, injured himself after falling down some stairs two years ago, Sonoma County officials admitted him into a hospital and denied Greene visitation privileges even though the couple had legal documents naming each as the other’s spouse, according the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. “Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s ‘roommate.’ The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to

one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care,” states NCLR in a press release. The county then auctioned off the items in Greene’s and Scull’s home and had Greene involuntarily admitted into a separate nursing home from Scull, the suit alleges. Scull died three months after being admitted into the hospital. The attorney representing Sonoma County officials in the suit, set to go to trial July 16 in the Superior Court for the County of Sonoma, told the New York Times on April 27 that county officials acted the way they did because they believed Greene had abused Scull. In an email response to the New York Times asking about Spaulding’s comments, Shannon Minter, legal director for NCLR, said the domestic violence charge resulted from “unsubstantiated suspicions and allegations that the county never followed up on, because there was no evidence of abuse.” — Dyana Bagby

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

11

12

GA Voice

April 30, 2010 Voices

The Georgia Voice 1904 Monroe Dr., Suite 130 Atlanta, GA 30324 404-815-6941 www.thegavoice.com

EDITORIAL

Editor: Laura Douglas-Brown lbrown@thegavoice.com Deputy Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com Web Manager: Ryan Watkins rwatkins@thegavoice.com Art Director: Bo Shell bshell@thegavoice.com Contributors: Jim Farmer, Shannon Hames, Shannon Jenkins, Robin Kemp, Ryan Lee, Mike Ritter, Matt Schafer, Christopher Seely, Steve Warren, Justin Ziegler

BUSINESS

Publisher: Christina Cash ccash@thegavoice.com Business Manager: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Marshall Graham mgraham@thegavoice.com National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

BOARD OF ADVISERS

Richard Eldredge, Sandy Malcolm, Lynn Pasqualetti, Robert Pullen 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 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, 1904 Monroe Drive, Suite 130, Atlanta, GA 30324. 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.

www.theGAVoice.com

VOICES OPINION & REACTION Let’s talk about the elephant Why is there a GA Voice and a Southern Voice? Publisher’s Letter By Chris Cash For those of you who know the history of Southern Voice, and my role in that history, I apologize for any redundancy here. I also ask everyone’s forgiveness for talking about the small and often boring world of local LGBT publishing. There are many topics that could be covered in this space, anything from Prom King Derrick Martin to the president’s recent directive to hospitals to treat LGBT partners the same as heterosexual partners. But there is something in our own living room that obviously needs to be discussed. You may have seen “Southern Voice” back on the street in the last couple of weeks. The first issue came out on April 17. There is a great deal of confusion about this with both readers and advertisers. Why is there a Georgia Voice and a Southern Voice? Which one should I read? Which one is better for me as an advertiser? What’s going on here? Here’s the deal. The original Southern Voice began publishing in March 1988, with me at the helm. One year later, in March 1989, I incorporated Ryan Publications, Inc., to own and publish Southern Voice. I am the founder of the original newspaper and my title throughout the almost 10 years I owned SoVo varied from editor to publisher and back again. In August 1997, Ryan Publications, Inc., sold Southern Voice to Window Media LLC. Window Media owned Southern Voice and several other publications until Window Media closed its doors on Nov. 16, 2009. Before Ryan Publications sold Southern Voice in 1997, I hired Laura Douglas-Brown as a staff writer. She stayed with SoVo through the years and in 2006 she was named editor of the newspaper. Flash forward again to Nov. 16, 2009, when SoVo employees, including Douglas-Brown, found the locks changed at their of-

“The short version of the truth is this: Georgia Voice has former Southern Voice staff and management but it does not have the name. The current incarnation of Southern Voice has … the name.” fice and a short note saying the newspaper has ceased publication. Laura and I talked on the phone that afternoon. We expressed our grief and frustration, and we cried on each other’s shoulders. Then, we started the discussion that led to the newspaper (or web page) you are reading right now. Let me be 100 percent clear. Georgia Voice is not Southern Voice, we are not the “new” Southern Voice, and we are not owned or managed by any of the people who managed Southern Voice between August 1997 and the day it closed forever on Nov. 16, 2009. So, you might ask, if Southern Voice “closed down forever,” how is it back on the streets now? It is on the streets because Gaydar Magazine, Inc. bought the remaining Atlanta assets of Window Media, including the rights to the name Southern Voice (along, incidentally, with the rights to the name David). That corporation now publishes a newspaper that it has named Southern Voice. It can do that, because it owns the name. The owner of Gaydar Magazine, Inc., was never previously an owner, employee, manager, or publisher of Southern Voice. Southern Voice did not “emerge from bankruptcy” as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV reported a few weeks ago. Instead, the name Southern Voice was bought, and it is being used again.

SPEAK UP. SPEAK OUT.

The short version of the truth is this: Georgia Voice has former Southern Voice staff (Laura Douglas-Brown, Dyana Bagby, Bo Shell, Ryan Watkins, and Tim Boyd) and management (Douglas-Brown and me) but it does not have the name. The current incarnation of Southern Voice has … the name. Because six of the seven staff and managers of Georgia Voice have a history with the old Southern Voice, people assume Georgia Voice is a new version of SoVo. We held a community meeting in December 2009, after Window Media ceased publishing Southern Voice, in which the approximately 80 attendees voted to name our new LGBT media outlet the Georgia Voice. We then formed a new corporation, The Georgia Voice, LLC, in January; launched our website at the beginning of March; and put out our first print edition March 19. We are a brand new company that intends to become the “LGBT media outlet of record in Atlanta and throughout the state of Georgia.” That is part of our mission statement. It’s who we are. So, which should you read? Which should you trust? Which should you spend your precious advertising dollars with? Well, obviously, I think the answer is Georgia Voice. But, also as obvious, you have to decide. Read them both. Go to both websites. Determine what you like and what you don’t — what information you trust and what you don’t. If you have any question about anything, send me an email or send Laura Douglas-Brown an e-mail. And while you’re at it, please tell us what you like about Georgia Voice (or what you don’t). Suggest a story, a writer, a better whatever for our website, or anything else you want to see. Send us your birthday, anniversary, job promotion, etc. for Milestones. Comment on our website and Facebook page. Blog for us. In short, get your voice out there. After all, that is the voice that matters. Chris Cash is the publisher of Georgia Voice. She can be reached at ccash@thegavoice.com. Editor Laura Douglas-Brown can be reached at lbrown@thegavoice.com.

Share your Voice!

Email opinion column ideas to editor@thegavoice.com

www.theGAVoice.com

SPEAKING OUT Better to ignore or oppose ‘God Hates Fags’ church?

Re: ‘God Hates Fags’ church coming to Atlanta” (thegavoice.com, April 21) Ignore them. They only want attention. Let’s hope there are several hundred peaceful demonstrators against the six or eight hateconsumed sociopaths and their fearless, racist, anti-semitic, homophobic “leader” Fred Phelps. It is sad that he and his kin are so consumed with their own hatred of themselves and all things living that they feel compelled to “protest” life. Silence is not the answer. I am not sure what is the correct response, but to be silent while these assholes spread their hate? It seems like Atlanta would be saying it’s ok. At this point silence is complicity.

Westboro Baptist Church (Courtesy photo)

Editor’s note: These comments on Georgia Voice articles were submitted via our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thegavoice). Want to weigh in? Follow us there or submit comments on our website.

Obama: Fierce advocate or moving too slow on LGBT rights?

Many, many places have staged peaceful counter-protests with silly signs like, “God Hates Penguins.” I think that is a great idea!

Re: “Pro-gay hecklers repeatedly interrupt Obama at DNC fundraiser” (link from realclearpolitics.com posted on thegavoice.com, April 19)

I agree we should ignore these hate mongers, but I feel it’s highly important to support the people they are protesting — particularly the students.

He says he’s a fierce advocate and he says he hears us — must be a tin ear then Mr. President, because you sure aren’t acting very fierce!

I wish these people would get a life. God does not hate. Jesus shunned or judged no one. WWJD. He most definitely would not be picketing and preaching all of this hell and damnation. Last time they were here the local channels didn’t cover them; they covered the peaceful counter protests. I think we need to take the same approach — not giving their message any coverage while loudly speaking the good Word.

Disgraceful for Ga. Senate to honor anti-gay Schaefer Re: “Georgia Senate honors Schaefer” (thegavoice.com, April 20)

I am torn. I seriously think that he is biding his time to do things when he can. The recent HHS memo seems to be evidence of that to me. I am not going to act like the right; I believe President Obama when he says he is an ally and I believe he will fight for us as he can. Time is on our side but you have to give Obama a slight break. It’s difficult repairing the state of the nation which it took a previous president eight years to f**k up. Wondering when he is going to start repairing and quit adding to the previous screw ups.

Nancy

I’d rather throw a bucket of water on her to see if she’d melt! Nice to know they have time to do this when they are supposed to be dealing with oh, transportation and the freaking budget. Good God Almighty! Why don’t they just go for the gold and honor David Duke. Hitler, and the KKK while they are at it. I could think of some others but I’m at a loss for words. This state turns into a disgrace more and more every day.

There are no quick fixes to eight years of Bush mismanagement. … Before you can do life-saving surgery, you have to stop the patient from bleeding. It took eight years to screw this pooch, it may take two to five at best to fix it Unfortunately noise is part of the political process to enact “change.” Before change can occur you must first become uncomfortable with the status quo. … While negotiations towards the repeal will occur behind closed doors, public outrage and moderate civil disobedience has always been part of the process. One must acknowledge the role of these “freedom fighters” and the potential tarnish they may have placed on their public records for forwarding a cause.

Voices

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

13

16

GA Voice

April 30, 2010 A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

BOOKS by ROBIN KEMP

Poetry beyond the binaries Yolo Akili’s ‘Purple Galaxy’ transcends sexual identity Poet Yolo Akili’s new CD, “Purple Galaxy,� is a spoken-word meditation on transcending sexual identity. In it, he imagines an erotic utopia, free of shame and labels and driven by pure pleasure: this place most folks are too repressed or afraid to engage this place is the space that I call my home my own purple galaxy my erogenous zone tell me... do you think you have what it takes to come? It’s a world where “a dick is not a weapon / but a sensual extension / meant to ride rock and stroke / not to bang hit or cut,� where “black women/ bare breasted / dancing / with honey almond dildos strapped to their laps. . . / mount / male bodies / enter mounds of jasper / sweaty cinnamon, / black.� It is the Yolo dimension, where, he says, “we would have entirely different understandings of our bodies and be able to separate sensation from attraction.� Transcending sexual

)5,'$< -8/< 7,&.(76 21 6$/( )5,'$< $35,/ $7 $0

orientation as identity, the poems challenge false binaries of all kinds. “Duality is itself an illusion, albeit a persistent one in the cultural imagination,â€? says Akili, who recently moved to New York from Atlanta. Akili performs May 8 at Kat’s Cafe as part of the Brown Sugar Vibe. He performs and signs copies of “Purple Galaxyâ€? at Outwrite Books on May 14. Although the album was more than a decade in the making, Akili’s writing process isn’t one of strict discipline. “Some of the tracks go as far back as ‘95. Some, like the title track, are a lot more recent. Poetry for me is not something I often think much about,â€? he says. “It normally just comes out of me when I need to express or convey something to page, to release. Some poems were prompted by trauma, others by desire.â€? The title track, “Purple Galaxy,â€? introduces an otherworldly sexual utopia: “in this dimension / gender binaries fall / sexual orientation / it don’t mean shit at all,â€? Akili writes. “I believe that all people are essentially bisexual, but that attraction is not always physical,â€? Akili explains. “We are pulled to different people

7LFNHWV DYDLODEOH DW WKH YHQXH ER[ RIĂ€FH DOO RXWOHWV 7LFNHWPDVWHU FRP RU

Poet Yolo Akili envisions an erotic utopia where sexuality isn’t bound by categories of male / female and gay / straight. (Photo via Facebook)

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com Yolo Akili & ‘Purple Galaxy’ Saturday, May 8, 8 p.m. Kat’s Cafe 970 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta GA 30309 Friday, May 14, 7:30 p.m. Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse 991 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30309 www.outwritebooks.com

in many different ways that are not sexual in just the physical sense.� Akili graduated from Georgia State, where he majored in African-American and women’s

studies. His work as an instructor-trainer for Men Stopping Violence and as a yoga instructor also clearly informs his work as a poet. “The narrow categories that we have in the West don’t leave room for the fact that some people move and shift. It also doesn’t take into account that many of us express only certain aspects of ourselves because of fear or trauma,� Akili says. “In ‘Purple Galaxy,’ I try to envision what a world would look like where sexual oppression doesn’t exist — and then, by virtue of that, none of the -isms could ever exist.� But Akili’s world also has a dark side. The track “They Will Hunt Us� describes queer survival in an actively homophobic world:

they will seek us out like wolves in the evening search sidewalks and streetcorners for a whiff of our scent our maleswinging hips will incite them to rage a woman’s jaunty swagger will give them psychotic fits and they will reach for their guns and their blades conjoin their five fingers to a fist and take aim

Even under siege, even at the point of the blade, Akili sees the true enemy: “for we are the projections of their own fears / we are the faces of their own unexpressed pain / they will hunt us until they heal.� To hear these and other poems from the album in their entirety, visit www. yolothepoet.com. For our full interview, visit www.thegavoice.com.

A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

MUSIC

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

by MATT SCHAFER

SPRING BREAK AT PIEDMONT BARK

The man behind the music NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, DJ Mike Pope brings the

FULL-SERVICE!

beats to some of the South’s largest gay events

Âł 0LOHV \HDU ROG

DJ Mike Pope keeps rooms filled with hundreds of gyrating dancers moving to the beats thumping from his booth, but he likes the attention focused on his music, not himself. “I’m not the sort of ‘giving a speech in front of people’ person, or that sort of thing,â€? Pope says. “People are like, ‘You’re a DJ, and so you’re good in front of a mike,’ and I’m like, ‘No, I’ll turn it on for you and hand it to you,’ but I don’t like talking in front of people.â€? Pope, 38, a resident of Brookhaven, has been expanding his reach beyond his adopted home recently. In April, he marked his second appearance as the headlining DJ for Rites of Spring, a major HIV benefit in Birmingham, Ala., and in June he will travel to Orlando for the first time to spin for some of the large parties for Gay Days. Pope’s also busy around town as the resident DJ for Joining Hearts, where he spun for last weekend’s Change of Seasons tea dance, and he has spun for official Pride and Pearl Day parties. But Pope was a late bloomer and might not have gotten into music if not for WETBar, a now-defunct but much-missed Atlanta gay bar. “When I finally started, and I waited far too long to get into DJing, it was a combination of three individuals: DJ Kim Crawford and Gregg Dean who was the DJ at WETBar‌ and of the course the person who really gave me a kick in the butt was Tony Moran,â€? Pope says. Moran, a recognized DJ and songwriter from New York, has remixed songs from Madonna, BeyoncĂŠ, Britney Spears, and Rihanna, and saw talent in Pope. “He was really the one who said I should be out there doing this,â€? Pope says. Pope works in multi-media presentations. He currently is a manager in the audio-visual department at the Art Institute of Atlanta, and began to see hints that he was developing as a DJ while working on presentations. “There were things that were kind of hinting to me back then, like beats and progressions, but there is a big difference from doing things for bands to doing things for hundreds of people,â€? he says.

Branching out

Pope began playing in front of people in the mid ‘90s while he was living in Florida, before moving to Atlanta in 1997. “Whenever I hung out with friends I always had an iPod going or brought CDs, and I

After spinning at Joining Hearts’ ‘Change of Seasons’ party on April 25, DJ Mike Pope is also slated to appear at Gay Days at Disney in June. (Photo courtesy Pope)

remember for this one party I had this stack of CDs, not mixing them, just playing the tracks,� Pope says. “It was a big house party and people started really responding to it and I thought now is when I need to have my own equipment.� After investing in mixing equipment Pope began playing around with beats and tempos in ways he hadn’t before. His official debut came at WETBar, the massive dance club that once catered to a gay crowd before becoming Primal in 2008, which has a primarily straight clientele. One night he was asked to fill in for DJ Kim Crawford for a few songs. “It was just a few songs and I barely wanted to give the headphones back I was feeling it so much.� WETBar led him to more shifts in club DJ booths and soon he garnered a growing fan base, both gay and straight, spinning at Opera, Jungle, Primal, Amsterdam, Whiskey Park, Bellissima, Artistry, Beleza, STEEL, The Fox Theater, Front Page News and Shout. Pope has also offered his skills to a growing list of non-profits, most famously Joining Hearts, the massive summer pool party in Piedmont Park that benefits housing for people with HIV. “I’m privileged [to have Joining Hearts] call me their resident DJ and that’s normally something that’s reserved for clubs,� he says. “I’m honored that they consider me that.� Pope is enjoying the out of town gigs that he’s starting to land, but Atlanta will always be his home. “I love Atlanta and I’ll always try to take gigs there first, but it’s exciting to start branching out,� he says.

YAPPY HOUR MAY 2, 2010: PROUDLY PRESENTING

THE 2010 PET COTILLION OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK • 404-873-5400 • MIDTOWN ATLANTA, AMSTERDAM WALK, 501 AMSTERDAM AVE, ATLANTA, GA 30306

17

18 2

GA Voice April 30, 2010

SPORTS

A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

by Laura Douglas-Brown

The Atlanta Beat is back For out goalkeeper Brett Maron, new Atlanta pro women’s soccer team is a dream come true

Brett Maron’s fifth grade yearbook listed her top two choices for what she wanted to be when she grew up: a professional soccer player, or a doctor. “By the time I was 18, it was pretty apparent that I was closer to being a professional soccer player,” Maron laughs. Now 23, Maron has fulfilled her childhood dream. She’ll take the field as goalkeeper on May 9 when the Atlanta Beat, the city’s new professional women’s soccer team, plays its home opener against Sky Blue FC at its stateof-the-art field at Kennesaw State University. The Beat’s inaugural season has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, to be expected for a new team. Their April 11 debut ended in a 0-0 tie with the Philadelphia Independence. They have since lost two close games, and face Philadelphia again May 1 before heading back to Atlanta for their first home game. “Everything is going very well for us; it’s

just the little things aren’t falling together for us right now,” says Maron, who moved to Atlanta from Boston. “But once the little things are clicking, we will be unstoppable.” “Unstoppable” could apply to Maron herself. Women’s professional soccer wasn’t really on the horizon when she was a small child, but she never doubted she could achieve her dream. “I was fortunate to have strong women around me growing up who made me believe I was powerful enough to do whatever I wanted,” she says. “So there wasn’t a thought in my head that it wasn’t a possibility.” Coming out also didn’t limit Maron’s options. Homophobia, once rampant in women’s sports, has kept many athletes in the closet. Lesbian athletes may be pressured to keep their sexuality secret in order to avoid reinforcing the stereotype that all female athletes are gay. “I can only speak from my perspective, but I have been openly gay since I was a teenager, and I have never had an inkling of a problem or anything that was homophobic,” Maron says. “I’m either lucky or things are changing.” Maron says she has “never been pressured to stay in the closet.” “Especially with the Beat, everyone is so ac-

The Atlanta Beat. Goalkeeper Brett Maron is on the far right, at the end of the bottom row. (Photo courtesy Atlanta Beat)

cepting of everyone — not just sexuality,” she says. “They are just all around good people.” The team’s management agrees. “WPS [Women’s Professional Soccer] is 100 percent inclusive of all people no matter what their orientation may be,” says Christa Mann, media relations manager for the Beat. “We embrace both teams and fans from all backgrounds, beliefs, and interests.” The Beat, now in its second incarnation in Atlanta, also hopes to be embraced in return. The former Atlanta Beat, which played from 2001 to 2003, was part of the Women’s United Soccer Association. The team reached the

championship game twice in three years, but ended when the league fell apart. Women’s Professional Soccer, a new league, launched in 2009, and the Atlanta team is debuting for the 2010 season. Head coach Gareth O’Sullivan says fans can expect an exciting experience. “The strength of the team is made up of the different characters we have and the highlevel of technical play,” he says. Maron was goalkeeper for Fairfield University, and then played for two international teams — Kristianstad FF (Swedish Women’s Premier League) and Afturelding FC (Icelandic Women’s Premier League). Now, she’s excited to be back in the United States, helping soccer gain the notoriety and respect here that it enjoys in other countries. She also wants to send a message to other young girls, to let them know that their dreams, like her own, can come true. “I think it is unbelievably important that young girls know they can do anything they want, especially now,” Maron says. “If they want to play soccer, they can.”

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com Atlanta Beat Home opener vs. Sky Blue FC (NY/NJ) May 9, 7 p.m. at KSU Soccer Stadium 3200 George Busbee Parkway, Kennesaw, GA 30144 678-298-4778, womensprosoccer.com/atlanta

A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

EVENTS by JIM FARMER

GA Voice

19

Williams hits a different ‘Runway’

Beloved by gay fans, stage icons help raise funds for local theaters

Elaine Stritch (above) and Chita Rivera head to the Atlanta stage for two events benefting local theaters. (Publicity photos)

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com Stritch will be in town this weekend in a benefit for the Alliance Theatre titled “A Tony Evening.” Stritch will perform numbers from her recent show “Elaine Stritch Performing Sondheim: One Song at a Time.” The revue originated at New York’s Café Carlyle and was scheduled for a short run but was extended due to its popularity. Stritch is a Broadway legend herself, perhaps best known for her role in Sondheim’s “Company,” where she belted out the immortal “Ladies Who Lunch.” At age 85, she has been performing for decades, finally winning a Tony for her onewoman show “Elaine Stritch at Liberty” after a lifetime of lauded performances. She also won an Emmy award for a guest appearance on “30 Rock” and was seen as Jane Fonda’s mother in “Monster-in-Law.”

‘Chita Rivera: My Broadway’ Friday, May 7, 8 p.m. Earl Smith Strand Theatre 117 North Park Square, Marietta, GA 30060 404-377-9948 www.atlantalyrictheatre.com ‘A Tony Evening’ with Elaine Stritch Saturday, May 1, 7 p.m. Loew’s Hotel Midtown 1065 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309 404-733-4618 www.alliancetheatre.org

“A Tony Evening” is the second annual gala to benefit the Alliance and its children’s programming. Tickets are not cheap – individual tickets start at $250 – but do include cocktails, a gourmet dinner, a silent auction and the show.

For a few months, Anthony Williams was judged weekly for his fashion designs on the reality show “Project Runway.” This weekend he will actually be one of the judges himself for the Simon Fashion Bow Wow, part of the Simon Fashion Now weekend event at Lenox. The Bow Wow is a design competition featuring six students from Bauder College’s fashion design program. The six students will design clothing for local media celebrities as well as adoptable dogs from Atlanta Pet Rescue, a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter. Williams is excited about serving as a celebrity judge for the runway show, especially so soon after the conclusion of “Project Runway,” where the quickwitted contestant – eliminated but then given the chance to return — finished fifth in the series. The openly gay Williams is proud to be an Atlantan and says when he was asked to participate in Bow Wow, he jumped at the opportunity. “I live in Atlanta, and that is where I want to be,” he says. “I am looking forward to doing this.” Williams admits he enjoyed being part of “Runway” and loves meeting fans at functions such as these. The event is free and open to the public.

Publicity Photo

Star power Broadway sensation Chita Rivera comes to town next week in a fundraiser for Atlanta Lyric Theatre. Brandt Blocker, artistic director of the company, had the chance to work with the gay icon a number of years back in New Orleans and remembers her professionalism. “She was gracious and a great teacher,” Blocker says. “I always wanted to do something with her again.” Flash forward to Lyric’s 30th anniversary this year and it seemed a given to try to get Rivera for the theater’s annual fundraising event. “We wanted to do something different – we wanted a big star – and Chita was able to work it into her schedule,” he says. “As a local company dedicated to musical theater, we are honored to be able to have her here.” Blocker calls Rivera a true legend. “Her characters have stood the test of time,” he says. “When I ask folks about her, even some of the younger ones who might not know her name know her shows. She originated so many roles. She was in ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ and she was in ‘West Side Story’ and of course ‘Chicago.” She was also in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman.’ Gay men who know musical theater have always known and loved her.” Rivera will be performing her acclaimed “Chita Rivera: My Broadway,” which she has been taking across the country of late, featuring numbers such as “Nowadays” and “All the Jazz” from “Chicago” and “Big Spender” from “Sweet Charity.” Ticketholders will get a chance to meet Rivera as well at the event. Chita Rivera is not the only celebrated diva/ gay icon coming to Atlanta. Tony winner Elaine

April 30, 2010

MORE INFO

www.theGAVoice.com

Simon Fashion Bow Wow Friday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. Lenox Square 3393 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30326 404-233-7575, www.simon.com www.thegavoice.com Our interview with Anthony Williams and tour of his Atlanta loft

20 2

GA Voice April 30, 2010

A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

EVENTS Photos by Jon Arge | www.argeart.com

WigOut for Mondo Homo WigOut, held April 24 at the Atlanta Eagle, raised funds for Mondo Homo. The queer arts festival is slated for May 27-31.

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com • More photos from WigOut and other community events.

50% off the first 3 months!*

Q

Humidity & temperature controlled

Emory/VaHi 404.888.9688

Q

24-hour surveillance

1248 Zonolite Rd, Atlanta, GA 30306

Q

Covered loading area

Q

Clean indoor environment

Q

Wine storage at Midtown location FREE Truck Rental at Move-In!

Midtown/14th St. 404.733.1400 680 14th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

Decatur 404.292.0606 2910 N. Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA 30033

Atlanta’s Choice for Self Storage www.spacemaxstorage.com

* Restrictions may apply.

www.theGAVoice.com

COMMUNITY LOCAL LIFE

Community

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

21

Your Milestones

Amen, Sisters

Atlanta’s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence ‘promulgate universal joy’ by giving back By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com When a bearded nun in whiteface wearing glitter makeup puts a condom in your pocket, you notice. And that’s the point. “When I walk in somewhere as Rick Westbrook, gay activist, nobody pays much attention. But when we walk in as Rapture or Fiddle D. Dee, people pay attention. It’s an interesting little culture shock,” says Westbrook, a.k.a Rapture Divine Cox. “I tell everyone we’re the gay Shriners.” Atlanta’s fledgling order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — fittingly known as the Flaming Sugarbakers in a nod to “Designing Women” and their Georgia heritage — is living up to the mission of the Sisters to give back to the community in a way that is entertaining and interesting. The mission of the Sisters is to “promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt,” explains Gunza Blazin, who declined to give his real name. “We want to banish the guilt churches have put on you in the past.” Formed in 1979 by a small group of men in San Francisco, the Sisters of Perpetual In-

Joan Sherwood and Debbie Fraker celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary and 19 years together on April 19. They were married in Toronto, Ontario, in 2004 with the Honourable Justice Harvey Brownstone performing the ceremony. Celebrating a MILESTONE? Share your engage-

ments, weddings, births, adoptions, anniversaries, birthdays and other events! Announcements can be up to 200 words and can include a photo. E-mail editor@ thegavoice.com with your milestone and contact info to see your name in print!

The Atlanta Sisters known as the Order of the Flaming Sugarbakers are, from left, Ivanna Pokeahotass, Gunza Blazin, Fiddle D. Dee and Rapture Divine Cox. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

dulgence intentionally flew in the face of Catholicism to fight against the tyranny the church tried to impose against the surge of gay people living in the Castro. Soon after the San Francisco Order was formed, houses started popping up across the U.S. and around the globe, in countries including Colombia, Germany and Scotland. And while the San Francisco House is considered the “Mother House,” each Order is autonomous and comes up with its own look, culture and rules based on the environment they live in. But all Houses must do one thing: give back to their community. Recently, the Atlanta Sisters — they are considered Novice Sisters right now — helped raise $4,200 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation by playing in the Bats-n-Rouge softball fundraiser at Piedmont Park. They also made quite an impression at the April 24 Wig Out party at the Atlanta Eagle, a fundraiser for queer arts and music fest MondoHomo. “We go wherever help is needed,” says Fiddle D. Dee, otherwise known as Eddie Townson. They’re just like super heroes, except instead of capes they’re wearing a wimple (those would be the bonnets on their heads), glittery makeup and rhinestones glued to their foreheads and cheeks.

“Martha Stewart has fabulous glitter … she probably never thought it’d be used for this,” says Fiddle D. Dee with a laugh. “The glitter isn’t supposed to be used on your face, but whatever works,” adds Gunza Blazin. But don’t confuse them with drag queens. “What we do is more of a service rather than a performance,” says Ivanna Pokeahotass, a.k.a. Wesley Sumpter.

Steps to sisterhood

The Atlanta Sisters were formed in late 2009 by Gunza Blazin, Ivana Pocahotass and Fiddle D. Dee. Atlanta Pride in October was their coming out party. When Westbrook, a longtime performer in the popular East Point Possums drag show, saw them marching in the parade, he says he almost fell to the ground he was so thrilled. He joined in January as a founding member. Four specific steps must be taken to become a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and the process typically takes about one year. And anyone — man, woman, transgender or gender-bender — can become a Sister, although most across the world are men. The first step is Aspirant, a time when a person declares in a general membership meeting their intention to join. As an Aspirant, one is required to take time to get to know the Sisters,

participate in events and watch to see how community work is done. No whiteface or wimple is allowed at this stage. If it’s agreed upon by the Sisters that enough work has been done as an Aspirant, a person is elevated to Postulant. In Atlanta, Postulants are members of the Order and can begin “manifesting” — painting their faces and also wearing a grey veil. However, they can only paint their eyes and not their lips. The next step is Novice Sister, when a Sister can paint her lips and speak out about who and what the Sisters are. They also can wear the signature wimple with a white veil. The Atlanta wimple, a tribute to Civil War bonnets, was designed by Gunza Blazin, who also sewed them for the others. After about six months of being Novice Sisters, a ceremony called an “exequator” is held and the Novice Sisters trade in their white veils and are “black veiled.” Atlanta’s exequator is set to be held sometime this fall. The Flaming Sugarbakers currently includes four Novice Sisters, four Postulants and four Aspirants. The group also includes guards — those who protect the Sisters, take care of the money at events and do whatever else the Sisters ask. “I wanted to give back to my community. I used to live in Seattle and saw the joy and good the Sisters did there and thought it was time for Atlanta to have its own Sisters,” Gunza Blazin says.

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com Atlanta Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence www.atlsisters.org

22

GA Voice

Community

April 30, 2010

Quiet support from an exceptional mom

(plus the real reason Obama was elected) By Maggie López Growing up, I didn’t think my mother was special, just different. Mom was older than my friends’ mothers; she had me at 40. She didn’t speak English, having arrived in the U.S. as an exile fresh from Castro’s Cuba in her forties, too busy with young children and a struggling husband to learn the language. Having grown up in a privileged household, she dutifully earned a university degree to become suitable marriage material, yet never worked outside the home like my friends’ younger, working moms. Having had a driver and cooks in Cuba, she never mastered either skill, which explains my own penchant for cabs and restaurant food. Due to culture, class and circumstance, she displayed a genteel passivity that masked her own rebellious streak, which would occasionally manifest itself in support of her often-challenging teenage daughter. My mother always knew how to keep the peace at home, yet foster my creative, progressive bent. Like the time my conservative father gave me considerable grief for showing up at the dinner table wearing an Afrocentric dashiki top, for him a sure sign I had joined the Black Panther movement. To our astonishment, my mom greeted us at the dinner table the next evening sporting one herself, having taken two buses and crossing neighborhood color lines which then still existed in Miami, to purchase one in my support. In a much later act of defiance, my mother would cross the family’s staunch political party lines and vote for — gasp — Bill Clinton, an act for which my father solely credited the election’s outcome and the fall of civilization itself. A product of her generation, we never had candid discussions about my own lifestyle, yet she nursed me through a devastating breakup with a long-term partner. For the next decade, she worried that I would remain, as best as she could articulate it, “companionless.” She stopped worrying the day she met my partner Patt. Immediately taken with each other, they engaged in an implausible discussion given neither spoke the other’s language, over the recent presidential elections and the importance of the vote. When Patt asked whom she had voted for, Mom smiled mischievously, raised one finger to her lips and whispered, “It’s a secret ballot.” Right then, somewhere between heaven and purgatory, my father realized just how President Obama had won the election. Last June, I had the dubious privilege of seeing my mother breathe her last breath. I realized she wasn’t really different after all — she was exceptional.

www.theGAVoice.com

A mother’s

heart

Readers celebrate unconditional love for Mother’s Day

Mom’s ‘double duty’ on Mother’s Day By Kevin Moss My twin brother and I are both gay men, and fully supported by our mother. Our birthday is always around Mother’s Day, sometimes even on Mother’s Day (about every nine years or so). On our 23rd birthday a couple years ago, it was on Mother’s Day. So to celebrate, our mother decided to go to a gay owned/operated restaurant (a popular one in Atlanta called Joe’s on Juniper) to celebrate both Mother’s Day and her gay twin sons’ birthday. She’s ultra inclusive, a staunch letterwriter (to voice her opinion to public figures), and more gay-friendly than gay people themselves. She welcomes any boyfriend my twin or I bring home to her. She deserves recognition for doing double gay duty as a mother. When my big sister tried to make a gay

This Mother’s Day will mean more to me than any other because of the countless hours my mother has recently contributed to my life. Let’s back up for a moment and let me tell you a little more about who she is and what she has done to make my life so extraordinary. The most amazing example was the way she handled herself when I decided it was time to come out of the closet … at 14 years old … via AOL 2.0 … sent to her work email address. Oh, the coward I was! But it worked out well: She went to work, checked her email, learned that her very young son was gay (which she claims she knew all along) and came home and embraced my lifestyle. Go mom for being an open-minded angel in the midst of creepy closed-minded Mississippi! Another great instance of her amazing sup-

By Laurie Pizzano My mother so loves my wife, she believes it is only natural for us to be married. Trust me, if Lori and I broke up, the first thing out of my mother’s mouth would be, “What did you do? She was the best thing that has ever happened to you, you idiot! Now fix it!” That’s my mom. I wish everyone could have this much love and support because the world would be a better place.

Acceptance for daughter — and ‘daughter in love’ By Chance Claar-Pressley

Kevin’s mom on Mother’s Day 1985 – the day before her twin sons were born.

rights non-profit group (she’s a supporter of my twin and I), she needed money to finance copyright and trademark filings. My mother financed my sister’s endeavor. Not only does my mom openly support and join her gay sons, she also forked out a few hundred dollars she didn’t really have to help my LGBTsupportive sister start up “DHHIL” (Don’t Hate How I Love). My mother truly is an LGBT Mother of the Year to so many of my friends.

My best friend since coming out via AOL By William Duffee-Braun

I wish everyone could have a mom like mine

port came when I was about to graduate from college. She surprised me with airfare and lodging in New York City so I could look for an internship. This may not seem like much, but she is a single mother, supporting three kids. Money was often pretty scarce. But recently I ctould not thank her enough for her time and effort. I am currently in the midst of producing the new LGBT lifestyle magazine, Fenuxe, for the Atlanta community. She spent her entire spring break in Atlanta working to help us get this publication off the ground. She put our racks together. She created, edited and deleted content for our first issue. She organized our office so that we could work faster and more efficiently. All from a place of wanting/encouraging her gay son to succeed. All from a place so that this fine city will have an inspirational glossy LGBT publication. She is my best friend, my angel, my mother.

Well, my mom is Samantha Claar. She’s a pretty cool lady. She drew the line at funky hair dye and tattoos as a teenager, but was totally behind me running a LGB (no T at the time) youth group when I was a young, queer youth. Now, she loves my partner of 16 years (who she calls her daughter-in-love) and her two grandbabies the same way. That’s pretty cool. Editors’ note: Samantha Claar is a longtime lesbian activist and was a grand marshal of last year’s Atlanta Pride parade.

Ring-shopping with Mom By Shawn-Marie Clements

My mom is incredible and special for many reasons! She loves and accepts me for who I am. In fact, she went with my future wife ring shopping — shh, I’m not supposed to know! She has been through so much, but came out of it all to teach me to be strong and work hard through everything. Even through all of our arguing and bickering when I was growing up, she is still, and always has been, my shelter I go to in times of need or peace. She is always there and always forgiving. She, to me, is the best mom I could have! She’s the greatest. In honor of Mother’s Day, May 9, we asked readers to share stories of the love and acceptance they have received from their mothers. Some made us laugh, others made us cry, and Maggie Lopez’ essay on her “exceptional” mom managed to do both. With Lopez out of the running since she admittedly exceeded our word limit (though her story is well worth it), Kevin Moss wins our $50 gift certificate to steakhouse Parker’s On Ponce. Enjoy these stories, and look for more reader submission contests in the future. And if you are in need of resources to help your mom be this supportive, visit www.pflag.org

Community

www.theGAVoice.com

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

GEORGIA SPOTLIGHT

First City Network Despite Atlanta’s reputation as a gay mecca, the organization that bills itself as Georgia’s oldest continuous LGBT group isn’t located in the state capital. Savannah’s First City Network was founded in 1985, and continues to serve the coastal city with a wide variety of services. First City Network serves as a clearing house for all things LGBT in the city, with a dynamic website and monthly printed newsletter that connect Savannah residents with everything from Savannah Pride to gay and gay-friendly businesses and religious organizations. The new Gay & Metropolitan Police Department Collaborative allows people who have issues with the police based on their sexual orientation or gender identity to report the situation through a link on the First City Network website. First City Network hosts a monthly First Saturday Social and Lesbian Potluck, along with

MEGA Family Project

MEGA, or Marriage Equality Georgia, was founded in the wake of the 2004 state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The group evolved into the MEGA Family Project, offering a variety of proactive, positive educational and social events for LGBT families. “Georgia is home to a very large LGBT community, and over the last seven years we have seen a significant increase in the number of LGBT-headed families living here,” the group’s website explains. Led by Executive Director Kathy Kelly, MEGA offers a packed schedule of monthly gatherings, plus larger events throughout the year. May’s schedule includes the MEGA Cookout Fundraiser on May 8, prospective parent support group and coming out support group meetings on May 20, and the informa-

MORE INFO First City Network PO Box 2442, Savannah, GA 31402 912-236-CITY, www.firstcitynetwork.net

a variety of other events like the annual Oyster Roast each March. FCN has also served as an incubator of sorts for other LGBT groups in Savannah. Stand Out Youth has its roots in a youth support group first established by FCN in 1994; Stand Out Youth incorporated as a separate group in 2002. The Savannah Gay & Lesbian Film Society, founded in 2008 under the umbrella of FCN, is now also becoming a separate non-profit group. “First City Network serves as a forum to share strengths ... stimulate personal growth and provide social activities,” the mission statement says. “We provide national, state and local information and referral services for health care, counseling, education, advocacy and mutual support.”

MORE INFO MEGA Family Project 1530 Dekalb Ave. Suite A, Atlanta, GA 30307 404-808-3350, www.megafamilyproject.org

tive Maybe Baby seminar for prospective LGBT parents on May 26. MEGA Family Project also just announced that its annual MEGA Family Vacation, scheduled for July 23-25, will be held at Lake Lanier Island Resort after taking place on Tybee Island in past years. MEGA Family Project serves hundreds of families throughout the state, and is in the midst of a critical fundraising period. The group accepts tax-deductible donations of all amounts, and you can become a MEGA Family Champion for as little as $10 per month. — Laura Douglas-Brown

YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD THE WORLD’S BEST RESEARCH AND CUTTING EDGE SCIENCE IS HERE IN ATLANTA.

LET’S MAKE HIV A THING OF THE PAST.

WE ARE SEEKING MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN BETWEEN 18 AND 45 YEARS OF AGE WHO DO NOT HAVE HIV TO JOIN IN OUR QUEST FOR A VACCINE TO COMBAT HIV. If eligible you will participate in a study to evaluate the safety and the potential efficacy of an HIV vaccine. The vaccine does not contain HIV. You will receive $75 per study visit for your time and travel expenses to the study location in Decatur, Georgia. This study is being conducted by Dr. Mark Mulligan of the Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, located at 603 Church Street, Decatur, GA 30030.

WWW.HOPECLINIC.EMORY.EDU | VACCINE@EMORY.EDU HOPE…BE A PART OF IT. CALL 877-424-HOPE(4673) TO LEARN MORE.

W 200 INNE 8 R G AG ANGUARD LCC EL A IAN WA RD

23

GA Voice April 30, 2010 Calendar

24

BEST BETS 04.30 - 05.14

www.theGAVoice.com

ADD YOUR EVENT

There are two ways to add your events to our online and print calendars. Submit your info to www.theGAVoice.com or e-mail the details to editor@theGAVoice.com.

Friday, April 30

SPOTLIGHT

Charis holds a going-away party for lesbian erotica writer Fiona Zedde, who is moving to Florida. Zedde reads from her ebook, “Kisses After Midnight,” and will sign her other books as well. 7-8:30 p.m. at Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta GA 30307, 404-522-9912, www.chariscircle.org

Friday, April 30 – Sunday, May 2 The second annual OutlantaCon focuses on LGBT themes in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres. Speakers for the weekend conference include J.A. Steel, Cecilia Tan, Darieck Scott, Andrew Greenburg, J.M. McDermott, Eugie Foster, Kiernan Kelley, Greg Herren, Kayelle Allen and more. Events at the Holiday Inn Select – Perimeter, 4386 ChambleeDunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30341, www.outlantacon.org

The gay Atlanta Stonewall Democrats join several Young Democrats chapters to host the Democratic Mixer with candidates who signed up during the April 26-April 30 qualifying period to run for office this year. 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Manuel’s Tavern, 602 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.atlantastonewall.org Gay playwright Topher Payne plays Joan Crawford in the premiere of his “Christina Darling,” which tells the story of Joan’s daughter Christina Crawford, author of the scorching memoir “Mommie Dearest.” Through May 8 at Onstage Atlanta, 2597 North Decatur Road, Decatur, GA 30033-6126, www.theprocesstheatre.org Bear icon Dru Bruin bartends at the Eagle for one night only. 306 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.atlantaeagle.com

Friday, April 30 – Sunday, May 2

Photo courtesy Bravo

The sixth annual Women’s Music in the Mountains festival at Swiftwaters brings a packed slate of musicians to the lesbian-owned women’s campground in Dahlonega. Among the almost two-dozen acts are Cell, Renee Mixon, Lives of the Monster Dogs, Lindsey Hinkle and Ronnda Cadle. Camping and day passes available. Swiftwaters, 830 Swiftwaters Road, Dahlonega, GA 30533, www.myspace.com/swiftwatersfest

Saturday, May 1 The 23rd annual Atlanta Human Rights Campaign Dinner features awards for Bravo’s Andy Cohen, state Rep. Simone Bell and Vandy Beth Glenn, who is suing the General Assembly for firing her for being transgender. Includes silent auction. VIP reception begins at 5 p.m., silent auction at 6 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 265 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303, www.atlantahrcdinner.org

Saturday, May 1

Celebrate the first annual World Fitness Day by working out with Jane Fonda and her celebrity friends, including gay favorite Margaret Cho. The list also features Ludacris, Debbie Allen, Richard Simmons, The Pointer Sisters and more. Tickets are $75 to work-out, $25 to watch. Benefits Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. at the Georgia Dome, 1 Georgia Dome Drive, Atlanta, GA 30313, www.worldfitnessday.org The Atlanta Bucks, the city’s gay rugby team, holds its annual Purple Dress Run to benefit the team and YouthPride. Don your purple dress for

1 shire Saturday, May Heretic. 10 p.m. at 2069 Che Tony Moran spins at the m Popular New York DJ om, www.hereticatlanta.co 30324, www.djtonymoran.c Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA

MORE COMMUNITY EVENTS

Photo by Luis Carle/djtonymoran.com

Photo via Myspace

Lindsey Hinkle performs at 9 p.m. at Bellissima, 560 - B Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta, GA, 30306. www.myspace.com/bellissima_lounge

www.theGAVoice.com

Looking for more events? Visit our website for our extensive daily calendar, including nightlife schedules and community organization meetings, provided by our friends at ProjectQAtlanta.com. the run from Mixx to Blake’s to FROGS Cantina to the Eagle; drinking all the way. A cookout follows at the Eagle. Registration starts at 1 p.m., step off at 2 p.m. at Mixx Atlanta, 1492 Piedmont Ave., Suite B, Atlanta, GA 30309. purpledressrun.org

your favorite furry friend to be crowned Cotillion King or Queen, then enjoy the party with open bar, silent auction and DJ Greg Moseley. 3-6 p.m. at Piedmont Bark, 501 Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306, www.piedmontbark.com

Dina Jacobs returns to Atlanta for an 8 p.m. show at Bellissima, 560 - B Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta, GA, 30306. www.myspace.com/bellissima_lounge

LadyCatcher Productions presents a night of comedy with comedian Daddy Jane. 7 p.m. at My Sisters’ Room, 1271 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysistersroom.com

Lesbian guitarist Kaki King brings her unique sound to the Variety Playhouse. 8:30 p.m. at 1099 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, www.variety-playhouse.com Atlanta artist Jon Arge exhibits new works, while DJ William Roman spins. 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 1113 Colquitt Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. facebook.com/argeart

Sunday, May 2

Piedmont Bark presents the 2010 Pet Cotillion, a benefit for PALS Atlanta, which helps people with HIV and other serious health conditions keep their pets. Vote online at www.palsatlanta.org for

Mondo Homo’s Mondo May Day features queer punk music from Shitty Candy, Romanenko, Violence Gang, and a dance party with Jeremy Gloff. 4 p.m. at Eyedrum, 290 MLK Jr. Drive, Suite 8, Atlanta, GA 30312, www.eyedrum.org

Monday, May 3

Get a head start on Cinco de Mayo with Cinco de Gayo, a benefit for the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta tonight at Agave. 15 percent of your bill goes to ARCA. 5 – 10 p.m. at Agave, 242 Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30312, www.agaverestaurant.com

Calendar

www.theGAVoice.com

Tuesday, May 4

LGBT activist Betty Couvertier hosts “Alternative Perspectives” every Tuesday at 7 p.m. on WRFG, 89.3 FM. www.wrfg.org Watch “Glee,” then enjoy show tunes with VJ Vaughn. 9 p.m. at Amsterdam Atlanta, 502 Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306, www.facebook.com/ amsterdam.atlanta Go Out 2 Eat, a new monthly social event hosted by AID Atlanta’s Gay Men’s Outreach Program. 6:30 p.m. at Amsterdam Atlanta, 502 Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306, RSVP steven.igarashi@aidatlanta.org Enjoy Cinco de Mayo with AID Atlanta LOOP, the agency’s donor circle. Includes cocktail bar, food, visits from two Georgia legislators and the announcement of the new AID Atlanta LOOP 3.0 initiative. 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at a private residence. www.aidatlanta.org Papi’s Cinco de Mayo Parking Lot Fiesta kicks off at 6 p.m. at Las Margaritas, 1842 Cheshire Bridge Road, followed by a special Café Con Leche after party at 10 p.m. at the Heretic, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road. Shuttle service between both locations. www.chriscolemanenterprises.com Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with DJs 5 Hour Boner and Sam Roth Stein in the Honey Pot. 9 p.m. at Mary’s, 1287 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, 404624-4411, www.marysatlanta.com New York Times food writer Kim Severson reads “Spoon Fed,” her memoir of life lessons from female cooks. 7:15 p.m. at the Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur, GA 30030, outwritebooks.com

Thursday, May 6

Counter protests are planned as Rev. Fred Phelps’ “God Hates Fags” Westboro Baptist Church comes to Atlanta to protest at several local organizations and high schools. Students at Grady High School, targeted by the Phelps clan in part for their Gay-Straight Alliance, and supporters gather from 3:15 – 6 p.m. at Grady, 929 Charles Allen Drive, Atlanta, GA 30309. The weekly Indulge party brings the boys out. 9 p.m. to midnight at the W Midtown Atlanta Hotel, 125 10th Street, Atlanta, GA 30309, chriscolemanenterprises.com

Friday, May 7 – Sunday, May 9

Atlanta West Fest brings a three days of events to the Historic West End. Benefit concert on Friday night at the Wren’s Nest, tour of homes on Saturday and Sunday, and all-day festival and artist market on Saturday in Gordon-White Park. atlantawestfest.com

Saturday, May 8

Quick Silver Country Dancers presents a genderfree Contra Dance, where couples of all gender combinations enjoy dancing similar to square danc-

Photo via MySpace

Wednesday, May 5

Friday, May 7

The queer-inclusive band Herman Put Down the Gun returns from hiatus with a 9 p.m. show at Kavarna, 707 East Lake Drive, Decatur, GA 30030, hermanputdownthegun.com ing, performed in long lines so that everyone dances with everyone else. 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 1911 Cliff Valley Way NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, www.qcdancers.org Remember the good old days of Atlanta’s gay 24 nightclub with the latest Backstreet Reunion. Doors open at 8 p.m. Charlie Brown’s Cabaret at 9 p.m., DJs Bill Berdeaux and Rob Reum spin. Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Rd., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com Catch the Brown Sugar Vibe with Lakara Foster, with spoken word, musicians and DJ “E.” Theme is “Think Pink, Wear Pink, & Drink Pink for the Cure”; 10 percent of proceeds donated to Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. 8 – 11 p.m. at Kat’s Café, 970 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30309. facebook.com/lakarafoster

Saturday, May 8 – Sunday, May 9

Join DJ Vicki Powell and Bill Kaelin as the popular Flux party gets wet for Flux Deluxe on the first Saturday and Sunday of each month. On Saturday night, the Flux dance party packs the Livingston Restaurant + Bar at the historic Georgian Terrace Hotel from 10 p.m to 3 a.m. The music continues Sunday with brunch specials and music at the rooftop pool; special hotel rates available for those who want to stay over. Call Kaelin at 404-396-5750 for room reservations. 659 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30308, search “FLUX with DJ Vicki Powell” at www.facebook.com

Monday, May 10

The cast of Broadway’s “Mary Poppins” presents a special cabaret to benefit Jerusalem House, which provides housing for people affected by HIV. 8 p.m. at Ansley Park Playhouse, 1545 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.jerusalemhouse.org

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

25

GA Voice April 30, 2010 Calendar

www.theGAVoice.com

Photo via Facebook

EVENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

Tuesday, May 11

The new Atlanta Women’s All About Business Networking group meets from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Across The Street, 688 Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30312. For more information, search for the group on meetup.com

Wednesday, May 12

Fiesta Positiva features Latin popstar Andres Cuervo to raise money for Positive Impact’s HIV outreach programs to the Latino community. 6-8 p.m. at the Latin American Association of Atlanta, 2750 Buford Highway,Atlanta, GA 30324, www.positiveimpact-atl.org

May 12 Wednesday, set to hit theaters May

With the sequel film theme for this 27, “Sex & the City” is the ular event that pop the go, month’s PALS Bin with HIV and raises funds to help people ir pets. Doors other illnesses care for the rt at 7:45 p.m. at sta es open at 6:30 p.m., gam a, GA 30324, ant Atl , Rd. er Jungle, 2115 Faulkn ubatlanta.com 404-844-8800, www.junglecl

UPCOMING Monday, May 17

Atlanta joins in the International Day Against Homophobia with a full slate of speakers scheduled from 6-11 p.m. at Virginia Highland Church, 743 Virginia Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30306, atlantahomophobiaday.blogspot.com

Dine out at a long list of restaurants in Virginia Highland this evening, and at least 15 percent of your bill will be donated to Maximillian Corwell’s campaign for Atlanta Cotillion, the annual debutante fundraiser for AID Atlanta. 4 p.m. to 10:55 p.m.; list of restaurants online. Search “Atlanta Cotillion Virginia Highlands Dineout” on Facebook.com AID Atlanta’s Gay Men’s Outreach Program hosts “Gay, Gray & Ready to Play: A Look at Aging in the LGBT Community.” 7 p.m. at AID Atlanta, 1605 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, steven.igarashi@aidatlanta.org

Thursday, May 13

The gay Atlanta Executive Network hosts its monthly Mix & Mingle networking from 6-8 p.m. at Bellissima, 560 - B Amsterdam Ave., Atlanta, GA, 30306. www.myspace.com/bellissima_lounge, www.aen.org AID Atlanta Honors celebrates Jeff Graham, For the Kid in All of Us, Atlanta Gas Light and Bud Russell for their contributions in the fight against HIV. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at Schwartz-Goldstein Hall at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.aidatlanta.org

Publicity photo

26

Tuesday, May 18

Like “Sesame Street” for grown-ups, the hilarious, decidedly adult “Avenue Q” comes to Atlanta May 18-23 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339. Use the code “IMPACT” when buying tickets for the May 18 show and a portion of your price will be donated to Positive Impact, which provides mental health and other services to people affected by HIV. www.cobbenergycentre.com, www.positiveimpact-atl.org

www.theGAVoice.com

April 30, 2010

GA Voice

27

770-457-7659

www.deceasedpetcare.com INDIVIDUAL PET CREMATIONS AND BURIALS

“Because Your Pet is a Member of the Family”

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.