01/22/21, Vol. 11 Issue 21

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georgia VOL.11 • ISSUE 21

EDITORIAL

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Growing up, I often wondered if the people I learned about in history class recognized the historical significance of the time period they were living in. Did the people suffering through the Great Depression or the civil rights movement or the world wars realize that what was, to them, daily life would become a central lesson in American History classes decades later? Now, after living through a year seemingly determined to be the most significant in history, I know the answer.

There’s no question, with nationwide calls for police reform and abolition and a pandemic alongside a twice-impeached president and a coup attempt at the Capitol, this stretch of time will be covered by history books in detail. As I find myself on the other side of the history lesson, I now wonder: how will history remember this chaos? Will the curriculum be bold enough to admit America fell victim to a wannabe fascist leader? Will the Capitol insurrectionists be portrayed as traitors? Will Black Lives Matter organizers be remembered as heroes? Will the “defund the police” movement be to future generations what the civil rights movement is to us?

I want to hope the answer to these questions is yes, but the cynic in me is hesitant. History is subjective. Sure, it’s based on research and primary sources, but that doesn’t mean it’s immune to spin. I’m sure if you look back on

your history education, you’ll find it awash with American exceptionalism, and to say that America has been less than exceptional is an understatement.

Take, for example, the civil rights movement.

While he was by no means the only civil rights leader of the time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the one most closely associated with the era, especially in most American history classes. He’s remembered in death as a hero — rightfully so — but he was unfortunately not regarded with the same respect in life. In fact, a Harris poll taken in 1968 — the year he was assassinated — found that 75 percent of Americans disapproved of Dr. King. The man we revere today was hated by many Americans, so much so that it got him murdered.

Now that Dr. King is an American hero, those who were on the wrong side of history — the 75 percent — have been erased from the story. Their stance has been made historically insignificant because they were wrong. Amid the chaos and division we’re experiencing right now, I often hear the phrase, “Be on the right side of history.” The disappointing fact is this: everyday people who are on the wrong side of history will be forgotten. Their opposition to what is true and good will be erased from the retelling of our present, just like the 75 percent were. While they will be forgotten, however, they are still making their mark on the present, just like opponents of Dr. King did when they took his life. I have no doubt history will absolve Trump supporters and those who don’t support Black Lives Matter of

their wrongdoings by forgetting about them.

But they’re having an impact now. They are slowing the pace of change, and the longer change takes, the more people are going to die.

Instead of being on the right side of history, be on the right side of the present. Pay attention to what is happening right now, think critically about what you see on the news or hear from politicians, listen to and value the modern-day Dr. Kings before they’re martyred. Be the 25 percent. And most importantly, know your values and know what it takes to honor them. If you don’t think police should be killing Black people or violently suppressing the right to protest, then what practically needs to happen to ensure their lives are protected? (Hint: if you’re not Black, you need to listen to what Black community leaders and grassroots organizers are suggesting and support it.)

In honor of Black History Month, which for those who don’t know is February, consider the history that paints the backdrop of the America we see today. We aren’t living in a vacuum. Police brutality and white supremacy aren’t new occurrences — organizers like the Black Panthers were fighting against both during the civil rights era and are still labeled terrorists for it.

Donald Trump and his ardent supporters aren’t a blip in an otherwise beautiful history.

Learn the lessons we’ve been taught by the mistakes of our ancestors and actively work to be better and make our history one to be proud of.

January 22, 2021 Editorial 3

CELEBRITY CLOSE-UP!

Celebrity Brief (BLACK HISTORY EDITION)

In honor of Black History Month, LGBTQ and allied public figures and celebrities discuss Black history and the modern-day Black experience.

“I am so inspired by Dr. King’s message and legacy, particularly as we confront the threats we face today.”

“Much like we regard the expertise of medical doctors, pilots and educators, we must also embrace, lean on &, most importantly, trust journalists who have both experience covering race and experience living in Black bodies and bodies of color.”

—Don Lemon (Politico)

(PHOTOS VIA FACEBOOK)

—George Takei (Twitter)

“What I love most about being Black is that I carry a history of triumph, perseverance, and dignity. Though I carry some of the pain my ancestors went through and some of the current pain most people of color go through in today’s society, I use that to grow and unapologetically live out loud as a proud African-American woman!”

MJ Rodriguez (PopSugar)

“As we reflect on the contributions of Dr. King, let us build on his legacy by securing the promise of justice for all. By ensuring our voices were heard in the streets and at the ballot box, we renewed our fight to make the dream a reality. But the work continues.”

—Stacey Abrams (Twitter)

4 Celebrity Close-Up! January 22, 2021

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NEWS BRIEFS Staff Reports Local LGBTQ Activist and Ally Judy Colbs Dies at 89 Judy Colbs, the President of PFLAG Atlanta, has died at the age of 89.

Colbs passed away on January 5, according to her obituary. She is remembered as a staunch ally to Atlanta’s LGBTQ community. After her daughter, Sandy, came out as a lesbian, Colbs dedicated herself to LGBTQ activism.

She served as the President of PFLAG Atlanta for almost 20 years, counseling, supporting, and providing surrogate parenting to young LGBTQ people who were rejected by their families. While working with PFLAG Atlanta, Colbs built coalition of support with groups such as Congregation Bet Haverim and AID Atlanta.

Colbs’ work with PFLAG, as well as her LGBTQ activism — she was part of a “sit in” at Cracker Barrel to protest the unfair treatment of LGBTQ customers and employees and participated in the 1987 and 1993 Marches on Washington for LGBTQ rights – earned her a number of honors. She was honored by Southern Voice with their “Hippest Heterosexual Award” and was a grand marshal in the Atlanta Pride Parade in 2004 and 2016.

Colbs is survived by her two daughters Sandy and Alison, her grandchildren Nancy, Lauren, Meaghan, and Kate, and her greatgrandchildren Emily, Xavier, Olivia, Sophia, Aiden, and Charlotte.

Colbs’ family requests her memory be honored with a donation to one of the following organizations: PFLAG, Democratic National Committee, Congregation Bet Haverim, and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO. Pandemic Brings Decrease in LGBTQ Representation on TV, GLAAD Report Finds GLAAD’s 2020-2021 Where We Are on TV report found that of the 773 series regular characters that are scheduled to appear on scripted primetime broadcast series this season, 70 — or 9.1 percent — are LGBTQ, a decrease from the previous year’s record high of 10.2 percent. Of the 773, 46 percent are 6 News Briefs January 22, 2021

Judy Colbs COURTESY PHOTO

people of color and 46 percent are women.

There’s also been a decrease in LGBTQ series regulars on scripted primetime cable series, from 121 last year to 81. With an additional 37 recurring LGBTQ characters, there are a total of 118 LGBTQ characters on cable, down from 215 in 2019.

The number of LGBTQ characters from streaming services also decreased from last year; in 2019, there were 109 regular LGBTQ characters and 44 recurring characters in shows on Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. In 2020, there are 95 regulars and 46 recurring.

Across cable, broadcast, and streaming, there were 29 regular and recurring transgender characters — 15 trans women, 12 trans men, and two non-binary characters. 26 of the 29 were portrayed by transgender actors. 28 percent of all LGBTQ characters are bisexual+, a two-point increase from last year. Of the bisexual characters, 65 are women, 33 are men, and one is non-binary.

This is the first report since the 2013-2014 edition that saw a decrease in LGBTQ representation from the previous year.

However, GLAAD notes that this drop was expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic halting production on several shows and impacting the development of new series.

“In the midst of a destructive pandemic, a long overdue reckoning with racial injustice, and a transition into a new political era for this country, representation matters more than ever as people turn to entertainment storytelling for connection and escape,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD. “This time of unprecedented change matched with increased demand represents an opportunity to break new ground with stories we have not seen before and create LGBTQ characters that do not reinforce harmful stereotypes.”

Trump Administration Allows LGBTQ Discrimination with New HHS Rule Amid the chaos following the farright riots at the U.S. Capitol, the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially adopted new rules allowing for discrimination against LGBTQ people.

The final regulations, detailed in an 86page document, were officially released on January 7. The regulations, which were originally proposed in November 2019, roll back Obama-era rules that ban discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, color, national origin, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation by those receiving grants from the HHS. The

requirement for HHS grantees to “treat as valid the marriages of same-sex couples” has also been rescinded.

Now, it is a requirement of HHS “that no person otherwise eligible be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in the administration of HHS programs and services, to the extent doing so is prohibited by federal statute.”

Federal statute doesn’t currently protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.

Effectively, this new rule grants HHS grantees to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This new rule can affect programs related to foster care, adoption, HIV and STI prevention, youth homelessness, refugee resettlement, and elder care.

“At the 11th hour, the lame duck TrumpPence administration has published its parting assault on the LGBTQ community via a federal regulation that would permit discrimination across the entire spectrum of HHS programs receiving federal funding,” Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration and Secretary Designate Xavier Becerra must urgently work to rescind this discriminatory regulation.”

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NATIONAL NEWS

Biden’s LGBTQ Promises Complicated by Coronavirus, Impeachment Crises Chris Johnson, Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association

President Joe Biden PHOTO BY WIKICOMMONS / GAGE SKIDMORE

President Joe Biden will have his hands full upon his inauguration with coronavirus cases surging and impeachment proceedings in Congress, which may complicate his efforts to act on campaign promises to the LGBTQ community, especially signing the Equality Act into law with 100 days.

The cornerstone of Biden’s commitment to LGBTQ people during his presidential campaign was the Equality Act, which Biden called his No. 1 legislative priority and pledged to sign within 100 days of his administration. The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to expand the prohibition on anti-LGBTQ discrimination under federal law.

Expectations are tamped down, to say the least, with coronavirus infections and deaths hitting record highs, an unsatisfactory rollout of the vaccines and the impeachment trial of President Trump, which would bar him from holding office in the future.

The impeachment trial alone may hamper efforts in the U.S. Senate to confirm Biden’s Cabinet officials, which need to be addressed before significant action on any piece of Biden’s agenda can happen.

For the most part, LGBTQ advocates who spoke to the Blade on condition of anonymity for greater candor were open to granting Biden leeway amid the coronavirus and impeachment crises. But the idea that leeway should be granted to Biden on LGBTQ issues amid national crises isn’t shared by everyone, and it remains to be seen how much patience LGBTQ movement leaders will have before they start calling him out for not acting on his campaign promises. If the Equality Act stalls out in Congress, the handful of advocates who had called for a LGBTQ policy staffer on the TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Biden campaign and transition team may feel vindicated.

who has previously signaled support is Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

“The notion that our government can only focus on one thing at a time isn’t acceptable,” one Democratic insider told the Blade. “You can’t have the agenda and policy goals that Biden does and not have the process to move faster.”

With passage of the Equality Act in question, LGBTQ advocates are instead renewing calls on Biden to sign an executive order directing federal agencies to implement fully the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which found anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, thus illegal under existing civil rights law.

Instead of watching the Equality Act become law in 100 days, the bill’s supporters may have to settle for having the legislation passed in one chamber of Congress within the 100-day timeframe. With the Senate in a 50-50 party split, another wrinkle in the Equality Act is having to overcome the legislative filibuster, the Senate tradition requiring 60 votes to move forward with debate on a bill if one member objects.

If the 60-vote threshold remains intact, the bill’s supporters would have to find 10 Republicans willing to vote for the bill, which would be a tall order especially within the 100-day timeframe Biden has envisioned. The only Senate Republican

The executive order to implement Bostock, however, wouldn’t be as sweeping as the Equality Act because no law bans sex discrimination in federal programs or public accommodations. The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act to ban sex and anti-LGBTQ discrimination in those venues and expand the definition of public accommodations to include retail stores, banks, transportation services and health care services.

Biden’s comprehensive LGBTQ plan, which he proposed during the Democratic primary,

also puts additional timelines on Biden’s LGBTQ plans. According to the plan, Biden “on his first day in office” would direct the Department of Education to reissue Title IX guidance requiring schools to grant transgender kids access to sports, bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, which was rescinded during the first year of the Trump administration. The guidance could be folded into an executive order implementing the Bostock decision because they both relate to interpreting laws on sex discrimination, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, to apply to cases of anti-LGBTQ discrimination. In any event, Biden is expected to reverse the Department of Education’s interpretation of Bostock under the Trump administration, which just last week issued a memo excluding transgender kids from Title IX in contravention of widespread interpretation of the law.

LGBTQ-specific appointments Biden pledged to name as part of his administration who would help push along his LGBTQ commitments remained undecided, including the White House LGBTQ liaison and the State Department envoy for international LGBTQ rights.

Among leaders in the LGBTQ movement, there’s widespread expectation Reggie Greer, who handled LGBTQ outreach for the Biden campaign, will become White House LGBTQ liaison. Greer would have support from LGBTQ movement leaders as an alum of the LGBTQ Victory Institute.

For the position of State Department LGBTQ envoy, one name enumerated by LGBTQ advocates in foreign affairs as a potential contender — and who has support in the LGBTQ movement — is Jessica Stern of OutRight International. Another contender is Todd Larson, senior LGBTQ coordinator at the U.S. Agency for International Development, whom sources say is gunning for the job.

January 22, 2021 National News 7

HEALTH NEWS

A Look at How COVID-19 and HIV are Affecting Black and LGBTQ Americans “Prejudice affects the financial and physical wellbeing of Black and LGBTQ Americans, and the numbers surrounding both HIV and the COVID-19 pandemic prove it.

Without drastically altering the ways in which American medical and governmental institutions operate, these groups will continue to suffer disproportionately from illnesses in a manner that is wholly preventable.”

Sydney Norman Grady Health System’s Chief Executive Officer, John M. Haupert, released a statement on January 13, 2021, stating that Grady Memorial, the state’s largest hospital, is full. He stated that the hospitals are seeing an even higher number of COVID-19 cases than they did during the peak summer wave and that he fears they will have to begin making “tough choices on providing care.”

(Read: they will have to begin choosing which lives they save.) While this pandemic has been hard on everyone, it has disproportionately affected specific communities, mirroring some of the same disparities demonstrated by a different virus: HIV. COVID-19 has affected nearly every facet of everyone’s lives, but Black and LGBTQ populations are being disproportionately affected.

When COVID-19 strikes, those who are lucky remain asymptomatic, but others face fates much worse. The CDC defines “severe illness from COVID-19 … as hospitalization, admission to the ICU, intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death.” The CDC’s data (updated on January 13, 2021) reveals that while Black Americans only account for about 12.9% of the total population, they account for about 16.2% of total COVID19-related deaths.

The CDC has similarly alarming statistics regarding HIV diagnoses. It reported, “In 2018, blacks/African Americans accounted for 13% of the US population, but 42% of the 37,832 new HIV diagnoses in the United States and dependent areas.” The CDC also reports that the largest group affected by new HIV diagnoses continues to be men that have sex with other men due to the manner in which the disease spreads.

The disproportionate manner in which these illnesses affect members of the Black and 8 Health News January 22, 2021

LGBTQ communities could be linked to the economic adversities these populations face.

In March 2020, everyone and everything moved indoors and online. Zoom meetings and Skype calls characterized the beginning of the new decade, but some sectors of the economy couldn’t be completely digitized.

One area that took a major hit by the onset of the pandemic was the service industry.

Most bars were forced to shut their doors completely (at least for a while), and while some restaurants were able to adjust and pivot to a takeout-dominated business model, it left a large percentage of their employees out of work. Servers, hostesses, bartenders, and most other front-of-thehouse workers found themselves without a paycheck in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Recent findings published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and PSB

Research state that “Black people … comprise 20% of food service workers, janitors, cashiers and stockers and 15% of LGBTQ adults work in food service or restaurants.”

They also found that “31% of Black LGBTQ respondents had their work hours reduced due to COVID-19, compared to 23% of Black respondents, 28% of LGBTQ respondents and 22% of the general sample population” and “18% of Black LGBTQ respondents became unemployed due to COVID-19, compared to 16% of Black respondents, 16% of LGBTQ people and 12% of the general sample population.”

Based on these numbers, it’s safe to say that Black LGBTQ Americans have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic’s economic repercussions, potentially leaving them unable to pay for food, bills, and medical services.

A systemic review of 16 studies published

in the BMC International Health and Human Rights journal found that “the relationship between users and health services is considered essential to strengthen the quality of care. However, the [LGBTQ] population suffers from prejudice and discrimination in access and use of these services.” Another meta-analysis published in The Lancet medical science journal studying the “disparities and risks of HIV infection in black and other men who have sex with men” found that Black men who have sex with men were more likely than any other group to be without health insurance and to be less likely to have successful longterm treatment.

The main takeaway from this data is that racism and homophobia are intrinsic in the everyday systems our society is built on.

Prejudice affects the financial and physical well-being of Black and LGBTQ Americans, and the numbers surrounding both HIV and the COVID-19 pandemic prove it. Without drastically altering the ways in which American medical and governmental institutions operate, these groups will continue to suffer disproportionately from illnesses in a manner that is wholly preventable.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

How LGBTQ and Civil Rights Came Together with Two People Dave Hayward Since the 1960s, Atlanta has touted itself as “the city too busy to hate.”

SCOTUS in its infinite wisdom upheld the law and all sodomy laws in every state that still had them. I recall reeling down the street with the realization that we have no right to privacy.

Indeed, Atlanta integrated peacefully, unlike most of the rest of the South, moved in no small part by chaos being bad for business (take that, Donald Trump). Of course, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is also our most famous hometown hero.

Winston knew Vic Basile at the Human Rights Campaign Fund and told him I have a prominent friend who could speak up for us. “Oh yes please do so!” Vic said. “Well, the problem is, I have to come out to her,” Winston told him.

True to this spirit, our LGBTQ community has always been a multiracial coalition.

One of our first Black gay leaders was Lendon Sadler, who grew up in his mom’s beauty shop on Auburn Avenue and who organized anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s. Notable also were Melvin Ross, who cofounded Atlanta Black and White Men Together; community organizer extraordinaire Hubert Alexander; and Gene Holloway, who helped lead Atlanta Pride in 1976 and thereafter.

After setting up a late-night phone call with Mrs. King, Winston finally told her: “Leon and I are a couple.” Her response? “Winston, I knew you and Leon loved each other.”

Sadly, all four have moved on across the great Rainbow Bridge.

Until her passing in 2006, Coretta Scott King was one of our most outspoken allies.

On June 28, 1996, she addressed Atlanta Pride in Piedmont Park: “We share common adversaries. The church burners and the gay bashers drink from the same poisonous well of hatred. I want to assure you that I will continue to support you in your efforts to rid our country of all forms of bigotry, racism, sexism and homophobia.”

Still here is my beloved buddy Winston Johnson, a white man who enlisted Coretta Scott King into our cause, along with her longtime aide Lynn Cothren. As he tells it, Winston grew up in redneck rural Florida in the 1940s and 1950s and in the mid-1960s escaped with his husband Leon Allen to the Big A where they could live openly together (and did so until Leon passed in 2006).

Alighting at Eastern Airlines, Winston became the company’s de facto celebrity handler and was chaperoning Abigail McCarthy on April 5, 1968. Like today, upheaval was rampant in the 1960s, and in 1968 Senator Eugene McCarthy was challenging sitting president Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic nomination.

Abigail was out campaigning for him when

Thus, Mrs. King became the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign dinner in New York in October 1986, and the guest of honor at the first HRC dinner in Atlanta in 1988. Now the HRC bestows the Winston Johnson and Leon Allen Community Service Award every year at their Atlanta soiree.

Photo courtesy Winston Johnson via The Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project

Longtime Atlanta gay activist Winston Johnson is shown with Coretta Scott King.

she and Winston were told Mrs. King was arriving from Memphis carrying Dr. King home (Dr. King was shot and killed on April 4, 1968).

“We’re good friends. I want to see her,” Mrs. McCarthy replied, and she and Winston met Mrs. King coming off the plane. I always ask how Mrs. King was that day, and Winston describes her as being composed. Much later, Mrs. King told Winston that she and Dr. King prepared as much as they could for this awful scenario.

From that day forward, Winston handled

10 Black History Month January 22, 2021

Mrs. King’s travel on Eastern (Delta was not as progressive). He lived up to his nickname, “the upgrade queen,” moving Mrs. King to first class wherever she went carrying on Dr. King’s activism. Simultaneously, Winston and his spouse Leon aided and abetted in building the King Center and creating the national King Day holiday.

Then came the infamous Bowers v. Hardwick Supreme Court ruling on June 30, 1986, when Atlantan Michael Hardwick challenged Georgia’s sodomy law after being arrested in his own bedroom with another man. Surely we’ll win this one, we all thought, and then

And she did.

Atlanta Magazine calls Dave Hayward the unofficial historian of LGBTQ+ Atlanta.

He is the founder and coordinator of Touching Up Our Roots, which celebrates the contributions LGBTQ Georgians make to expanding civil rights for all people, creating civic and neighborhood groups, and enhancing local, regional and national culture.

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Repaying the Backbone of America: The Case for Reparations After Slavery Katie Burkholder

Table (CTTT) envision a much more comprehensive reparations plan that moves past financial compensation toward structural reform. CTTT released a reparations guide in August 2019 which details a number of suggestions for reparations. Ideas include instituting a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission; promoting wider access to museums, lectures, and cultural events that represent African American culture; revising how the history surrounding slavery, segregation, and civil rights is taught in American school curriculums; providing scholarships for African American students; forgiving student loans for low and middleincome African Americans; establishing a living minimum wage; ending mass incarceration and dismantling the school-toprison pipeline; increasing U.S. aid to African countries from which people were enslaved; strengthening police training; and more.

Forty acres and a mule. That was the promise to former slaves after being freed as reparations for the centuries of inhumane treatment they endured. And after having their labor and humanity exploited for white profit, African Americans were again disrespected by this country by way of a broken promise. If you’ve taken a basic American history class, you know that this was never distributed. Black people have never gotten compensation, and America has never paid for its most gruesome sin — in fact, it’s continued to profit off it.

Now, more than 150 years later, reparations have reemerged in the political landscape with hesitant support from the new administration.

President Joe Biden told the Washington Post he supports studying how reparations could be part of larger efforts to address systemic racism, and Vice President Kamala Harris co-sponsored a bill as a senator that would study the effects of slavery and create recommendations for reparations.

The idea, of course, has opponents. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was opposed to paying reparations because “none of us currently living are responsible” for America’s “original sin.” While he may technically be correct, McConnell has missed the most glaringly obvious reason why reparations are necessary: if unpaid, Black people will continue to actively suffer, both sociologically and economically, from the effects of slavery.

According to anthropologist and author Jason Hickel in his book “The Divide: Global Inequality from Conquest to Free Markets,” the United States profited off a total of 222,505,049 hours of forced labor until slavery was abolished in 1865. White Americans stole themselves a 250-year economic head start, accruing wealth — a lot of it — off the backs of Black people TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Shutterstock / lev radin

Assembly member Charles Barron organized a reparation rally and press conference July 2, 2020 at NYC African Burial Ground Memorial in New York.

while they were held captive in an economic standstill. We can see the modern-day effect of this disparity; the average white family has eight times the wealth of the average Black family, according to 2019 data from the Federal Reserve. That, coupled with housing discrimination, mass incarceration (which is modern-day slavery — watch 13th on Netflix if you haven’t yet!), employment discrimination, and a litany of systemic racism’s other ills makes upward mobility — an already difficult task — that much harder for African Americans.

America is no stranger to paying out reparations. After Japanese Americans were kept in internment camps during World War II, they were sent a check for $20,000 and a letter of apology. When we don’t offer the same to our Black citizens, we perpetuate a

cultural understanding that they aren’t worth an apology, further bolstering a social antiBlack attitude that needs to be eradicated.

In short, we cannot discuss anti-racism without discussing paying reparations.

So, what would reparations look like? Well, it would be more than $20,000 and an apology. According to Hickel, if the hours of labor were valued at the U.S. minimum wage with a modest rate of interest, they would be worth $97 trillion today. Unfortunately, simply cutting a check wouldn’t be enough to combat the structures perpetuating racism — throwing money at the problem isn’t going to make it better, especially when it’s 150 years after the fact.

Organizations

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Reparations needs to be a public policy priority in the coming years, at the local, state, and federal levels. Healing the wounds of slavery more than a century after it was abolished is a complex issue that will require substantial attention, but it’s entirely necessary. With white supremacy still rampant, federal reparations may take a while. In the meantime, white allies can pay their own personal reparations. CTTT suggests conducting personal historical research into your genealogical connection to slavery, owning personal transgressions that perpetuate racism and working to correct them, giving back to the Black community through public service, patronizing Blackowned businesses and Black-led nonprofits, campaigning and voting for African Americans in public office, supporting Black Lives Matter, and more.

To learn more about reparations and to read CTTT’s reparations guide, visit comingtothetable.org/reparationsworking-group.

January 22, 2021 Black History Month 11

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Shifting the Story Around Black Gay Men The Counter Narrative Project is a love letter to Black organizers from history Katie Burkholder When Charles Stephens founded the Counter Narrative Project (CNP) in 2014, he wanted to create a political home for himself and other Black gay men who found themselves victimized by the narratives surrounding them.

“I was frustrated with the public narrative that I saw about Black gay men in the media,” Stephens told Georgia Voice. “I didn’t see the wide range and diversity of representations I knew to be true. CNP was a response to that.”

Stephens and others at CNP believe that narratives have power, power that can be weaponized against either marginalized groups or racial injustice, depending on how they’re used.

“We [at CNP] knew that we wanted to operate in the terrain of narrative because we saw such power in that work,” Stephens said. “Narratives have public policy consequences. Narratives can be weaponized against marginalized communities, but as much as narratives can be weaponized against us, we believe that we can reprogram and build narratives to empower our community, to fight back, resist, and most important to inspire activism.”

To harness the positive power of narrative building, CNP works at the intersection of art and activism. To Stephens, media and culture are tools for social justice, strategies used by CNP through both the inclusion of artists in organization and mobilization work and the creation of original content. By creating its own content, CNP is combating the violence of erasure while ensuring that Black gay men have control and power over their own narrative.

“It’s critical that there aren’t just stories told about us, but that we own the narrative,”

Photos courtesy of the Counter Narrative Project

Charles Stephens (far right) founded the Counter Narrative Project, a political home for himself and other Black gay men who found themselves victimized by the narratives surrounding them.

Stephens said. “We tell our own stories. We are the authors of our own narratives.”

Bayard Rustin and explore what activists can learn from his legacy.

CNP creates an abundance of highquality content through three different platforms: The Reckoning, an online publication focused on telling the unique stories about Atlanta’s Black LGBTQ community; the CNP podcast network, which covers everything from conversations with prominent Black LGBTQ people to analyses of your favorite horror films; and Revolutionary Health, a YouTube series covering Black gay men’s health and wellness.

“Bayard Rustin is such an incredible inspiration for CNP,” Stephens said. “CNP is a tribute, a love letter, to Bayard Rustin. He was one of the greatest organizers ever, and we seek to find inspiration and blueprints from his legacy.”

CNP’s initiatives don’t only include creative pursuits. As part of its organizing work surrounding public policy, the project’s leaders have penned an open letter to the Surgeon General regarding the victim-blaming messaging surrounding COVID-19 and Black and Brown communities and secured a proclamation from the Fulton County Commission marking a day of remembrance for Tony Daniels, a prominent Black LGBTQ community organizer and poet from Atlanta.

They’re also currently organizing the CNP Summit, which will happen this March. This year’s summit will honor civil rights activist

12 Black History Month January 22, 2021

Without the rich history built by Black organizers like Rustin, James Baldwin, and Essex Hemphill, organizations like CNP wouldn’t exist — and Stephens not only recognizes, but celebrates that. He believes it’s crucial to honor where you come from and heed the lessons of your elders, who laid the groundwork for narrative building and community organizing.

“We want to be in conversation with movement history. Part of our work as organizers is to elevate our movement history because there’s so much wisdom we can gain from it,” he said. “One of the lessons I take from the very powerful civil rights history is the importance of understanding both community organizing, grassroots activism, and mobilization as well as the power of

symbolism, media, and getting the message out ... We can learn from the legacy that was left for us; we’re not reinventing the wheel or starting from scratch. But so much of our movement history has been erased, which is just a form of violence.”

It’s this erasure that necessitates both the narrative ownership that CNP advocates so heavily for and visibility initiatives like Black History Month, because Black LGBTQ people have been an integral part of building both America and Atlanta and aren’t reaping the rewards.

“I think it’s important for the City of Atlanta to recognize the contributions of Black LGBTQ folks to this city,” Stephens said.

“We see our work as correcting the record, because you cannot have a conversation about Atlanta without talking about the amazing contributions of Black LGBTQ people.”

Through their work combating the violence of erasure and embodying the power of the narrative, CNP is changing the landscape for Black LGBTQ Atlanta and empowering a new generation of activists who will carry on the tradition of the leaders of the past.

Learn more about CNP at thecounternarrative.org. Read “The Reckoning” at thereckoningmag.com, listen to CNP’s podcasts at thecounternarrative.org/cnp-podcastnetwork, and watch Revolutionary Health and other videos at CNPTV on YouTube.

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Black History Month Reading List Katie Burkholder In the fight against racism, education is of immense importance. In honor of Black History Month, educate yourself — no matter your race — on both African American history, which has been systemically diminished and erased, and the intersection between this history and the present, told

by Black authors taking ownership of how their history is remembered. All titles listed can be purchased at Charis Books and More, the South’s oldest independent feminist bookstore, through its website, charisbooksandmore.com. Quoted prices are from Charis.

Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements Charlene Carruthers Carruthers provides a vision for a Black liberation movement that’s more radical, queer, and feminist than its predecessors by drawing inspiration from Black organizing traditions, from the Haitian revolution to the civil rights movement. Unapologetic creates an organizing framework inspired by history and encourages people to see themselves as the future visionaries and leaders who will be remembered by history. Paperback, $13.46

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Michelle Alexander In her book, Alexander connects the legal history of America’s Jim Crow laws of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the current legal practices contributing to the mass incarceration of Black people. This work contextualizes the racial issues of the present into the larger historical landscape from which they came, perfectly illustrating how history has an impact on the day-to-day lives of many. Paperback, $17.09 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

PHOTO BY PIXABAY.COM

The ABCs of Black History Rio Cortez It’s never too early to explore Black history!

This bright and colorful rhyming children’s book celebrates big ideas, like power and soul; significant moments, like the Great Migration; and iconic figures, like Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B. DuBois, letter by letter. Hardcover, $13.46

Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies Dick Gregory If you’re looking for a full, no-holds-barred Black history lesson, look no further. Gregory uses his experience in the fight against social injustice — he was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — to chart the

true, often obscured history of the African American experience. This journey through time highlights everything from surviving the Middle Passage to modern-day protests, all with unapologetic candor. Paperback, $14.39

Black. Queer.

Southern. Women.: An Oral History E. Patrick Johnson This beautiful and poignant work illustrates the importance of preserving the history of the present. Johnson enriches the historical record of racial and sexual minorities in the South by following the life narratives of more than 70 African American queer women living in the American South. Johnson uses individual storytelling to raise questions on queer identity formation, community building, and power relations in the context of Southern history. Paperback, $43.95 January 22, 2021 Black History Month 13

YOUR VOICE

A Look at BLM in France Buck Jones

Around the corner from my front door in the center of Paris is an ersatz memorial.

The mural appeared just a couple of weeks ago and is a visual reminder of the millions of Black Congolese killed by the French during the period of colonization from the 1880s to independence in the 1960s to today. Its simple message, illustrated in a deliberately naive, almost school-chalkboard manner, is the English phrase, “I can’t breathe.”

This now-familiar cry of George Floyd is today a part of the French lexicon, particularly since the tragic case of Adama Traoré was revived this past summer with mass protests for justice.

On July 19th, 2016, Traoré died on his 24th birthday in a police station. The son of an African immigrant from Mali, Traoré had been taken into custody following a police identity check. He died from asphyxiation.

Over the course of hours, and then days, following his detention, his family was given misleading and contradictory explanations as to the circumstances of his arrest, detainment, and eventual death. One of the gendarmes who was present said his last words were that he couldn’t breathe.

The parallels between the George Floyd death and Adama Traoré’s were so striking that on May 29, 2020, when French authorities absolved the police of any responsibility for Traoré’s death, over 20,000 people marched in protest.

“I can’t breathe.”

For most of the white French citizenry, police repression was finally brought into visibility during the mass protests of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests). This overwhelmingly white, middle-class, populist movement arose in 2018 against Macron’s proposed increase 14 Your Voice January 22, 2021

Shutterstock / Javier Pina; Buck Jones

Above: Justice for Adama Traoré and George Floyd protest June 2, 2020 in Paris.

Right: A Parisian mural with the quote: Je ne peux plus respirer (I can no longer breathe).

of the gas tax. They had never experienced firsthand the kind of police tactics that are usually reserved for the Black and Arab populations who reside in the impoverished working-class ghettos that ring Paris and other French cities. Over the course of weekly marches, the police indiscriminately beat protesters and exploded tear gas canisters (France was the only country in the European Union that used these devices, which can blow off a hand or leg if detonated too close.

Their use has since been discontinued.).

In the wake of this heightened public awareness following the Gilets Jaunes protests, reports came out that contradicted the official position that these were isolated incidents, that there were only a few “bad apples” within the ranks of the police.

In June of 2020, posts within a private Facebook group for French police, which had 7,240 members, were published in the national media. As reported by Kim Willsher in The Guardian: “Screenshots of the group’s

page … showed comments that were racist, mocked the deaths or injuries of members of the public sustained in contact with the police, or were sexist or homophobic. In one comment posted on the group’s Facebook page after a demonstration organized by Traoré’s family last week, which attracted 20,000 people, one member wrote: ‘It was rather like an oil tanker had sunk,’ referring to the color of the protesters.”

Despite the French public’s current, newfound sensitivity to the endemic problem of police violence and racism, Macron’s government in the fall of 2020 introduced a new law that would make illegal any sharing of images showing police faces, punishable by a fine of €45,000 and jail time of up to a year. The fact that the police do not have body cameras, or any independent oversight, was not addressed.

President Macron has responded to the repeated problems within the police in an

obstinately tone deaf manner, finally only saying the actual words “police violence” after repeated questioning in an interview but still disavowing that it was a systemic crisis. All 16 ministers of his newly installed government following the June 2020 Adama Traoré protests, headed by his new Prime Minister Jean Castex, are white.

On November 22, 2020, a prominent Black, French rap producer, Michel Zecler, was beaten by Paris police officers in his studio.

The entire scene was captured on the security cameras in his studio, as well as by CCTV footage outside in the street. The police falsely claimed that Zecler had tried to confront the police, and that he had attempted to drag them inside, yet video evidence clearly showed that was not the case.

As luck would have it, the Zecler incident happened just as the controversial new global security law was being pushed through parliament. With the public outcry at yet another example of police obfuscation regarding the facts, as well as the images showing the pummeling Zecler received from the police, the law has been tabled for the moment, to be “revised,” according to Macron’s government.

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YOUR VOICE

BLM Protests and the Capitol Siege Aren’t the Same Sydney Norman

to allow us into the building.”

Equating the actions of those peacefully protesting the systemic and enduring oppression and violence against Black Americans by police forces following the horrific murder of a man and the violent actions of white supremacists supported by a president falsely claiming his election was “stolen from him” is simply wrong.

On November 16, 2020, Michelle Obama posted a photo of her and her husband with a caption stating that when Donald Trump won the 2016 election, she “was hurt and disappointed — but the votes had been counted and Donald Trump had won. The American people had spoken. And one of the great responsibilities of the presidency is to listen when they do. So, my husband and I instructed our staffs to do what George and Laura Bush had done for us: run a respectful, seamless transition of power — one of the hallmarks of American democracy. We invited the folks from the president-elect’s team into our offices and prepared detailed memos for them, offering what we’d learned over the past eight years.” She added that both she and her husband had to put their pride aside in order to help educate the new president-elect and his wife (who spread racist rumors about the Obamas) to prepare them for their term. She says it’s what they had to do, because that’s what the duty of holding office entails.

This obviously contrasts with the actions of President Donald Trump. After multiple recounts and calls for legally cast ballots to remain uncounted, he continued to claim that Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats stole the election. His digital tantrums culminated in the events that unfolded in Washington on January 6, 2020.

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Despite warnings in advance from the FBI and NYPD that there may be violence on January 6, the Capitol police did nothing to increase security, and the vast majority of the rioters left that day free and unharmed.

The same couldn’t be said when crowds gathered across the nation this spring and summer to participate in Black Lives Matter movements. The National Guard and police were present when they arrived. They came dressed in riot gear and armed with rubber bullets and tear gas, which they used freely.

People were arrested on flimsy charges like “being out past curfew.”

Shutterstock / Johnny Silvercloud

QAnon Shaman, Jake Angeli yells into a crowd during the Trump initiated riots January 6 at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Trump spoke at a rally in D.C. around noon near the White House. He again claimed that the same election process that named him the 45th president of the United States in 2016 produced a fraudulent result four years later, saying, “This election was stolen from you, from me, from the country.” NPR reported that Trump then called “on his supporters at the rally to march on the U.S. Capitol, saying he [would] walk with them.

Instead, he [returned] to the White House.”

Directly following his address, his loyal followers did as they were told. They marched on the U.S. Capitol. They stormed the scaffolding set up for the presidential inauguration and broke into one of the nation’s most significant buildings on the same day Congress was meant to solidify Joe Biden’s election through peaceful democratic processes.

Four protesters and one police officer died as a direct result of the Capitol siege, and another

police officer present at the Capitol during the siege died by suicide four days later.

Photos and footage from inside the Capitol show rioters and police officers standing off at gunpoint, an image that remained wholly absent from the Black Lives Matter protests.

Footage from inside the Senate chamber during the insurrection shows men in military gear and even a shirtless man wearing American flag face paint and a Viking helmet casually walking from desk to desk, rummaging through official government papers. A uniformed Capitol police officer casually strolls among the men and politely asks them to leave the Senate chamber, stating it’s “the sacred-est place.” When rioters claim they won’t leave but “won’t disrespect the place,” he idly stands by as the men file through. The man wearing the Viking helmet prays through a bullhorn, thanking God for “being the inspiration needed to these police officers

The President labeled these protesters as “thugs” and supported their shooting. He did not sympathize with them and tell them that he “felt their pain” as he did with those that stormed the Capitol.

The vast majority of the Black Lives Matter protests were organized and registered through the appropriate public offices. They were filled with people chanting for justice because their brothers and sisters were being murdered.

They were not breaking into a government building with the hopes of sabotaging a peaceful democratic process. They were not stalking the halls of the Capitol with guns while senators hid under desks, fearing for their lives. They were not applauded by a president who continues to be a sore loser.

Attempting to equate the two is attempting to equate the lowest actions of a group wanting to dismantle peaceful democracy and uphold white supremacy with the actions of citizens desperately asking for their brothers and sisters to come home every day without the fear that a police officer will murder them for existing. They are not the same.

January 22, 2021 Your Voice 15

YOUR VOICE

As Horrifying as the Attack on Our Capitol Was, It Is a Comfort to Know Technology Will Hold Them Accountable “There really is no telling what damage has been done to our national security as a result of this despicable act, all while our own citizens took selfies, put their feet on desks, broke mirrors and generally behaved like unruly children.”

Clint Thomson Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, started out the same as any other day for me: Starbucks, a virtual meeting with my staff to discuss the day, and then a few client calls. I was catching snippets of the news throughout the day on NPR because I had been following, with a growing unease, the stories of potential violence planned at the Capitol by radical right-wing supporters of President Donald Trump.

Trump, with his infinite penchant for petty delusion, had organized a “Stop the Steal” rally to coincide with the counting of the Electoral College votes in protest of the certification of Joseph R. Biden as the next president of the United States. This rally was the culmination of months of lies regarding the outcome of the election, lies peddled to Trump supporters by the president himself, conservative media and GOP politicians like our very own Sen. Ted Cruz. It also came on the heels of a very illegal call that the president made to the Georgia Secretary of State, attempting to browbeat him into “finding” additional votes in a heinous, desperate effort to steal the election from Biden and hand it to Trump.

I was concerned that there may be a small fraction of his supporters bent on causing trouble. Yet I was sure that there would be a police response equal to that of the heavyhanded clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square so that Trump could walk over to the St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo op, holding a Bible in a contrived attempt to feign religiosity so that his evangelical supporters would assume he was one of them.

Fast forward to around 1pm on Jan. 6, when I sat in stunned silence as THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES whipped his crowd of supporters, estimated to be around 10,000, into a frenzy with more lies. And 16 Your Voice January 22, 2021

Shutterstock / lev radin

Smoke rises after police used pepper-spray ball guns against Pro-Trump protesters rally January 6 around the Capitol building before they breached and overrun it.

then he directed them to march across to the Capitol with lines like, “Something’s wrong here. Something’s really wrong. Can’t have happened. And we fight. We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” We all know what happened next.

Trump supporters, many of them on a mission to find and kidnap or kill lawmakers, stormed the Capitol. They overwhelmed the understaffed police presence and roamed the halls of the Capitol for hours until sunset.

These homegrown terrorists broke down Nancy Pelosi’s office door looking for her; they ransacked her office while young staffers cowered under a desk in another locked room inside her office. They stole her laptop.

Once the actual insurrection was put down and things began to calm, I reflected on the events of that day from the point of view of an information technology professional.

And the national security implications of the event are stunning to me.

Many of our enemies, including Russia and China, have clandestine agents stationed in Washington, minutes from the Capitol. If I

were one of them, and I was watching the news, I would have immediately headed down to the Capitol to blend in with the insurrectionists and enter the building.

Once inside, it is plausible that I could have placed covert surveillance devices throughout the building, downloaded data from any machine using a USB drive or a more sophisticated device and possibly even connected directly into the network.

I would have had hours in the building to do as I liked.

There really is no telling what damage has been done to our national security as a result of this despicable act, all while our own citizens took selfies, put their feet on desks, broke mirrors and generally behaved like unruly children.

These citizens are traitors and terrorists for this behavior.

Thankfully, few if any of these insurrectionists were smart enough to leave their cell phones at home. And this bit of knowledge helped to lessen the sinking feeling in my stomach, because I know the Capitol has its own

cellular infrastructure and Wi-Fi network.

Because there is a vast underground complex below the Capitol, cellular signals do not penetrate well, so the government augments this with their own equipment and then connect directly to the cell providers with a hard line. All devices in range of the Capitol’s cellular network connect automatically and are logged. Anyone in or near the building at the time would be in the logs, and it is a simple matter for the government to get those records from the providers. In addition to that, Wi-Fi networks today have location analytics built into them which use Wi-Fi Triangulation and Bluetooth Beacons to track a device’s location — down to centimeters in some instances.

This data — along with secret technology that the government most certainly has that we do not have in the private sector — assures me that not one person who was at the Capitol building that day will escape prosecution.

The long arm of the law may not be as swift as you may want in this instance, but it will get everyone in the end. As they say in Las Vegas, the house always wins.

Clint Thomson is an informational technology professional and managing member of Celeretec, a Dallas IT company.

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JIM FARMER ACTING OUT

Gay Couple Directs Thriller ‘Antebellum’ While Novice Feature Director Helms Lesbian-themed ‘Two of Us’ Jim Farmer The new film, “Antebellum,” came about in an unorthodox manner. It started off with a nightmare that Gerard Bush had shortly after he and his husband Christopher Renz — co-writers and codirectors of the film — moved to Los Angeles from Miami.

“I think with anything in life, you can go through chapters that feel pretty overwhelming,” Bush said. “At that time, I was going through some upheaval personally as it deals with sudden deaths of loved ones in my family. Right prior to moving, my dad died suddenly, and I was having difficulty coming to grips with a lot of things relating to his death. I had this nightmare about this woman, Eden, and it felt to me that she was desperate to reach for help, that she was communicating with me across dimensions.

I put it down in notes and the next day we had a discussion about it and we literally put pen to paper and made it into a short story.

From that came the film.”

“Antebellum” stars Janelle Monáe as an author who is transported back in time to the Civil War as a slave. The duo did not write the film for Monáe, but eventually realized she was a great choice. “When names were thrown out, we said no,” said Bush. “We thought we’d go with someone that was undiscovered, that people were not familiar with so you could immerse yourself into this fantasy. But we were always fans of Janelle as an artist. She is such a dynamic performer. I remember seeing her at the Grammys — we were home — and she was, there was this quiet power that sold us on the idea she’d be a great.”

The film was released in September and immediately climbed to the top of the VOD charts. Renz and Bush missed the experience of being in theaters with their first feature film and talking directly to audiences, but one flip 18 Columnist January 22, 2021

Publicity photos

Above: Janelle Monáe stars in “Antebellum.” Inset: Christopher Renz and Gerard Bush are the co-writers and co-directors of the film. Right: Filippo Meneghetti’s “Two of Us.”

“I had this nightmare about this woman, Eden, and it felt to me that she was desperate to reach for help, that she was communicating with me across dimensions. I put it down in notes and the next day we had a discussion about it and we literally put pen to paper and made it into a short story.

From that came the film.” side was being able to reach so many homes and have discussions after virtual screenings.

Being gay, they said, obviously influences their work. “It’s impossible for two gay men to write something and not have it informed indirectly by our own experience,” Bush says. “We are always looking to amplify issues as it relates to having the audacity to live powerfully in the truth of who you are.”

The pair have two more projects coming up.

One is the film, “Rapture,” and the other is the series, “Inkwell” for HBO Max. One of the season’s most acclaimed films is “Two of Us,” Filippo Meneghetti’s drama about two elderly women — Nina (Barbara Sukowa) and Madeleine (Martine Chevallier) — who live next door to each other and have been romantically involved

for years. They are discreet until they can’t be. After a splashy premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in 2019, “Two of Us” won awards at festivals last year (including Out On Film) and is now France’s official submission for the 2021 Academy Awards. It was scheduled for release last spring, but was delayed because of COVID-19.

The director is a fan of using metaphors to show what is going on inside his characters’ heads.

“One day I came across a neighbor of a friend of mine in Verona, and there were two women who became widowed roughly at the same time and they would keep each other company, with the two doors always open, speaking from one apartment to the other,” Meneghetti recalled.

“When I saw that, it clicked that it could be a simple, everyday metaphor to tell a story. I had in mind that the door always open is now suddenly shut. I wanted to tell that story in a

simple beautiful way.” He worked on the film for five years, cowriting it as well.

Sukowa is an international movie star — “it’s scary the directors she has worked with,” Meneghetti laughed — while Chevallier is known more for theater. Since this was a low budget film, there was little time to rehearse.

Yet the time the two women spent together before shooting shows. “I wanted the two actresses to be different, but I wanted them to have chemistry,” Meneghetti said.

He loves the give and take of the two characters.

“Both of them are facing challenges in different ways. I was focusing on the dynamic of the two. Somehow through the film, Madeleine becomes Nina and Nina becomes Madeleine.

“Antebellum” is now available on VOD. “Two of Us” opens in virtual cinemas on Feb. 5 as well as on VOD. TheGeorgiaVoice.com

MELISSA CARTER THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

History Repeats Itself

“The fact that insurrectionists carried the Confederate flag down the halls of the Capitol in 2021 is proof enough that generations of racist parents have passed down the ridiculous mantra, ‘The South Shall Rise Again.’”

Melissa Carter

As a history buff, it pains me to think that history is actually making some things worse.

The purpose of history is to provide case studies of how humans handled a variety of situations so you can take that knowledge and make decisions for the betterment of all involved. However, it seems many want to emotionally hold on to certain events in history as a kind of manifesto for a select group of individuals.

Growing up in Tennessee, I was educated on the Civil War ad nauseam. Every year in junior high and high school, the details of the conflict were analyzed and meant to be memorized until I was sick of hearing about it. Would you believe me if I said that never once did we learn that slavery was the cause? That ugly fact was embedded into the alternate explanation of an industrial versus agricultural way of life.

We did learn a little about slavery, of Harriet Tubman for instance, but my true education in the atrocities committed came from the original television miniseries, “Roots.”

It’s unsettling to realize history is subjective, because it challenges your trust in everything you’ve been taught. For me, the lie is that the Civil War was resolved in 1865. What wasn’t conveyed: the Ku Klux Klan was founded in

20 Columnist January 22, 2021

of the Capitol in 2021 is proof enough that generations of racist parents have passed down the ridiculous mantra, “The South Shall Rise Again.”

Should we not consider the aforementioned education a cause?

Shutterstock / Alex Gakos

Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

my home state in 1865 in response to the Confederacy’s defeat that same year. Despite the abolition of slavery, the white-is-superior attitude wasn’t extinguished, and we saw firsthand this month that the embers are currently alive and well in many Americans, including members of the U.S. military, the New York City Fire Department, and federal law enforcement.

I was livid to see those criminals storm and

loot the U.S. Capitol. Some intended to harm members of Congress and the Vice President, with chants like “Hang Mike Pence” and “Where are they?” questioning the whereabouts of lawmakers. It reminded me of the tiki-torch-carrying protesters from a few years ago and the escalation of anger and resentment fueled by a sitting President over the course of his term to the events of January 6th. The fact that insurrectionists carried the Confederate flag down the halls

Like cancer, if you don’t remove all the abnormalities, they will come back, often more aggressively. This idea that any of us is better or worse than any other is the cancer of humanity that must be eradicated. And I’m not just talking about race. Any division — ethnicity, gender, sexuality, body type, age, what have you — allows an individual to mask their insecurity with an air of superiority at the expense of another. That abnormality can have dire consequences and is the very root of this problem. If we don’t extract that mindset soon, real history will indeed repeat itself, and no one will be able to feign surprise.

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January 22, 2021 Restaurant Guide 21

RYAN LEE SOMETIMES ‘Y’

Win, Lose & Live: Reunion with a Crush Ryan Lee His beauty and aura were potent enough to make someone new fall in love every day, and my turn came during the Taste of Chicago while home for the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. Ambling through the festival, I saw him working in the booth of a radio station, and that first glimpse hit like a punch in the heart.

It hurt knowing I had been on Earth for 20 years without ever seeing such handsomeness and could die without encountering it again. I felt crushed by the weight of the nuptials and empire I had planned for us before he even looked in my direction or knew I existed.

I craved more than a passing glance and found ways to linger without seeming like a lurker. Although there was a femininity in his allure — an eye curvature, radiant and unguarded smile, and shoulder-length locs whose tips were bleached blond — his demeanor made me doubt he was gay.

My infatuation felt futile.

Having thought about his beauty all summer, Iwas smacked by it again a week before returning to school in Alabama. This time I was exiting Market Days — essentially a Taste of LGBTQ Chicago — as he was entering the market grounds, eliminating one barrier that had prevented me from expressing interest.

I immediately reversed course and admired from afar as he and friends stopped at booths, then timed my approach until they reached a vendor selling roses and asked if I could buy him one. He was politely flattered, but my nerves and his itinerary kept our meeting brief. It ended with him accepting my number and me managing the relief and anxiety that come after baring desire.

When I arrived home from lifeguarding the next day, there was a note from my mother: 22 Columnist January 22, 2021

PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK.COM / RAWPIXEL.COM

Mick called, with his number beneath. I still have that message, not only for giddy memories but my mom’s casualness when first confronted with the sexual orientation I had disclosed a year earlier.

We met that night, and I was devastated by a vibe deliberately friendly instead of flirtatious; but he invited me to spend the night at his place and I was so content with proximity I felt no urge to nudge our snuggling toward sex. I slept at his lakefront high-rise four nights, and we hung out every day of my last week in Chicago, my imminent departure protecting me from expecting anything beyond the moments and marijuana we were sharing.

Twelve years older than me, he profoundly brightened my forecast for homosexual adulthood. I most remember his pride and contentment with being single for six years, since I had believed relationships were something to be “won.” He could’ve claimed the prize 25 hours a day, but instead modeled an alternate vision of victory.

Two decades after that lone week together, Mick moved to Atlanta, and we recently ki-ki’d over blunts and brunch. It felt good being the one who knew the hip parts of town and cute date spots, to have made it from fawning child to grown friend.

His eyes and smile remain as stunning as when they were seared in my mind, but while smoking and eating I was thankful my deepest fantasy never came true. Not because of him, but rather because of the gay man he helped me become.

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