WHAT MAKES A LEADER

Katie Burkholder

As I began working on putting this issue together, I was tasked with finding and highlighting those who lead among Atlanta’s LGBTQ community. As I thought about who to feature, I realized that I was tasked with something far more difficult: to actually define what a leader is.

My first instinct when I thought “leader” was someone we know well, a household name with influence and power. Someone with many followers, perhaps, or maybe someone working with a large-scale entity. As I gathered those people in my mind, people whose names are, at this point, synonymous with LGBTQ Atlanta, something felt off to me. If a leader is strictly someone with a large following or impact, what does that make the little guy? Are the rest of us simply followers, waiting around for those with more power and recognition to make a difference?

No. True leadership isn’t about how many people you impact, or how known you are. True leadership is about integrity. It’s about bravery. It’s about knowing what’s right and acting accordingly. It’s about serving others — whether they be friends, family, your community, or the entire city — and especially those who are disproportionately forced into the “disempowered” side of our power structures.

While there are people in this issue you may know — like Taylor ALXNDR, Atlanta’s busiest drag queen (page 14), or city council member Matt Westmoreland (page 15) — there are others you may not, like Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, the nonbinary environmental activist who dedicated their life to peace and helping others before it was ended by police (pages 10 and 11).

Whether you know their names or not, one thing ties them all together: they’re all normal people, just like you and I, who work to create space for those who need it. They lead through dedication and commitment to what they believe in, and they believe in giving everyone a seat at the table.

In a world dominated by social media, social hierarchy feels ever-present around us. We are constantly reminded where we fall in that hierarchy when we see that digital number indicating how many people are interested in keeping up with us (or, to be more honest, the performance of our digital presence). This hierarchy can easily persist at the forefront of my mind, coloring every thought I have about myself and others — even when I delete or distance myself from social media — and the limit of my impact feels constricting. How can I lead and have an influence on others when I don’t have tens of thousands of followers, when I don’t have the resources to make a huge change?

The people highlighted in this issue remind us that we are all leaders — or we all have the capacity to be. Whether in your social circle, family, workplace, church, nonprofit, club, or community, you can lead the way. If you commit to a belief in acceptance, visibility, inclusion, equality, honesty, and love, and embody that belief in every aspect of your life, you are a leader, just like every person in these pages.

Do not allow perceptions of powerlessness — encouraged by a social ethos that equates worth with influence, power, and above all else wealth — to prevent you from leading. There is no impact too small; we all have the ability to live with honor and integrity and inspire more people to do the same. When we do, we can make a huge difference.

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART ATLANTA | FEBRUARY 24—MAY 21 | HIGH.ORG

This exhibition is co-organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

LEAD SPONSORSHIP IS PROVIDED BY

MAJOR SUPPORT FOR THE EXHIBITION CATALOGUE IS PROVIDED BY THE Andrew Wyeth Foundation for American Art

PREMIER EXHIBITION SERIES SPONSOR

PREMIER EXHIBITION SERIES SUPPORTERS

ACT Foundation, Inc.

Cousins Foundation

Burton M. Gold

Louise Sams and Jerome Grilhot

Sarah and Jim Kennedy

BENEFACTOR EXHIBITION SERIES SUPPORTERS

Robin and Hilton Howell

Staff reports

Read these stories and more online at thegavoice.com

Following another accomplished year for one of the country’s longest running and celebrated film festivals, Out On Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival announced its Call for Entries for its 36th edition, taking place on September 21 through October 1.

“Last year’s 35th Anniversary celebration highlighted what our filmmakers and audiences have come to rely on when they attend Out On Film — a celebration, here in Atlanta of the best in LGBTQ cinema, wonderful conversations on films with our honorees, like last year’s ICON honoree, Colman Domingo, and simply screenings and events that immerse everyone in the joy we all receive from seeing great films and meeting the people who have made those films,” Out On Film Festival Director Jim Farmer said.

As an Oscar® qualifying film festival, short films that win Out On Film’s Best Drama Short award are eligible to enter the Academy’s Live Action Short film competition for the concurrent season, provided their films otherwise comply with the Academy rules.

Two Screenplay Competitions — a Short Film Screenplay Competition and a Feature Film Screenplay Competition were introduced last year. Winners in the Short Film category receive $250 and the Feature Film category receive $500. Both winners receive a staged reading during the film festival.

The submission deadline for the 36th Out On Film festival is June 9, 2023, with late submissions accepted through June 30. For more information on Out On Film, please visit outonfilm.org.

LGBTQ rights groups have largely praised President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech that he delivered on February 7.

“It’s our duty to protect all the people’s rights and freedoms,” said Biden. “Make no mistake: If Congress passes a national abortion ban, I will veto it. Let’s also pass the bipartisan Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity.”

The Equality Act would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights law. The bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives in two previous Congresses, but did not come up for a vote in the U.S. Senate.

“In re-upping his call for Congress to pass the Equality Act and protect transgender youth, the president is leading by example to expand freedom so no one is left behind,” GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis commented on Twitter.

Likewise, Equality PAC, the political arm of the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus, was committed to the president’s vision of a safer U.S. for LGBTQ+ people.

“At a time where LGBTQ Americans, especially those who are trans, are increasingly under attack by right wing extremists, these [legal] protections have never been more dire,” remarked U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who co-chair Equality PAC. “We remain committed to working with President Biden and members of Congress to pass the Equality Act and enshrine additional LGBTQ rights into law.”

The National LGBTQ Task Force in its response to the State of the Union noted how all of the issues on which Biden touched — Social Security, fair wages, Medicaid expansion, access to education, reproductive rights and police reform — have the LGBTQ community “at the center of all the issues.”

“LGBTQ people are often disproportionately impacted because of the discrimination our community faces every single day. LGBTQ people are not fully able to participate or benefit from all that our country has to offer. For too many queer people, the American dream is out of reach,” said National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Kierra Johnson.

Log Cabin Republicans President Charles Moran had a far different take.

“Last night, all Americans heard from President Biden was a laundry list of expensive new spending bills and tired campaign slogans, couched between a series of lies about Republicans and the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, inflation is still wrecking American families, our debt is skyrocketing out of control, and nearly half of American families — including LGBT ones — are worse off financially than they were just a year ago,” said Moran in a statement. “Not surprisingly, we heard nothing from Biden condemning the woke, race-and-genderobsessed forces coddled by his administration. LGBT conservatives are thankful that we now have a Republican House to put a stop to the Democrats’ radical policies and look forward to working with Republican leadership to advance our own pro-America, pro-equality and pro-freedom agenda.”

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