04/29/16, Vol. 7 Issue 5

New Odefsey is now available 速

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Actual Size (15.4 mm x 7.3 mm)

One small pill contains rilpivirine, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF).

Ask your healthcare provider if ODEFSEY is right for you.

To learn more visit ODEFSEY.com

Please see Brief Summary of Patient Information with important warnings on the following pages.

4/7/16 3:27 PM

Brief Summary of Patient Information about ODEFSEY ODEFSEY (oh-DEF-see) (emtricitabine, rilpivirine and tenofovir alafenamide) tablets Important: Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with ODEFSEY. There may be new information about ODEFSEY. This information is only a summary and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your medical condition or treatment.

What Is the most Important Information I should know about ODEFSEY? ODEFSEY can cause serious side effects, including: • Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis may happen in some people who take ODEFSEY or similar medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: – feel very weak or tired – have unusual (not normal) muscle pain – have trouble breathing – have stomach pain with nausea or vomiting – feel cold, especially in your arms and legs – feel dizzy or lightheaded – have a fast or irregular heartbeat • Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems may happen in people who take ODEFSEY. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large and you may develop fat in your liver. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: – your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) – dark “tea-colored” urine – light-colored bowel movements (stools) – loss of appetite – nausea – pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking ODEFSEY or a similar medicine for a long time.

• Worsening of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. ODEFSEY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and take ODEFSEY, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking ODEFSEY. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before.

– Do not run out of ODEFSEY. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your ODEFSEY is all gone.

– Do not stop taking ODEFSEY without first talking to your healthcare provider.

– If you stop taking ODEFSEY, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking ODEFSEY.

OdefseyB_GeorgiaVoice_10x10.5.indd 3-4

What Is ODEFSEY? ODEFSEY is a prescription medicine that is used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older: • who have not received HIV-1 medicines in the past and have an amount of HIV-1 in their blood (“viral load”) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL, or • to replace their current HIV-1 medicines in people who have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months, have a viral load that is less than 50 copies/mL, and have never failed past HIV-1 treatment.

It is not known if ODEFSEY is safe and effective in children under 12 years of age or who weigh less than 77 lb (35 kg).

When used to treat HIV-1 infection, ODEFSEY may help: • Reduce the amount of HIV-1 in your blood. This is called “viral load”.

• Increase the number of CD4+ (T) cells in your blood that help fight off other infections.

Reducing the amount of HIV-1 and increasing the CD4+ (T) cells in your blood may help improve your immune system. This may reduce your risk of death or getting infections that can happen when your immune system is weak (opportunistic infections).

ODEFSEY does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. You must keep taking HIV-1 medicines to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses.

Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others. Do not share or re-use needles, injection equipment, or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them. Do not have sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.

Who should not take ODEFSEY? Do not take ODEFSEY if you also take a medicine that contains: • carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®) • dexamethasone (Ozurdex®, Maxidex®, Decadron®, BaycadronTM) • dexlansoprazole (Dexilant ®) • esomeprazole (Nexium®, Vimovo®) • lansoprazole (Prevacid®) • omeprazole (Prilosec®, Zegerid®) • oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®) • pantoprazole sodium (Protonix®) • phenobarbital (Luminal®) • phenytoin (Dilantin®, Dilantin-125®, Phenytek®) • rabeprazole (Aciphex®) • rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater ®, Rimactane®) • rifapentine (Priftin®) • the herb St. John’s wort or a product that contains St. John’s wort

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking ODEFSEY? Before taking ODEFSEY, tell your healthcare provider if you: • have liver problems including hepatitis B or C virus infection • have kidney and bone problems • have had depression or suicidal thoughts • have any other medical conditions • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if ODEFSEY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking ODEFSEY.

Pregnancy registry: there is a pregnancy registry for women who take HIV-1 medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry.

• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take ODEFSEY. – You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

– At least one of the medicines in ODEFSEY can pass to your baby in your breast milk.

It is not known if the other medicines in ODEFSEY can pass into your breast milk.

– Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Some medicines may interact with ODEFSEY. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

• You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with ODEFSEY. • Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take ODEFSEY with other medicines.

How should I take ODEFSEY? • Take ODEFSEY exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it. ODEFSEY is

taken by itself (not with other HIV-1 medicines) to treat HIV-1 infection.

• Take ODEFSEY 1 time each day with a meal.

• Do not change your dose or stop taking ODEFSEY without first talking with your

healthcare provider. Stay under a healthcare provider’s care when taking ODEFSEY.

• Do not miss a dose of ODEFSEY. • If you take too much ODEFSEY, call your healthcare provider or go to the nearest

hospital emergency room right away.

• When your ODEFSEY supply starts to run low, get more from your healthcare provider

or pharmacy. This is very important because the amount of virus in your blood may increase if the medicine is stopped for even a short time. The virus may develop resistance to ODEFSEY and become harder to treat.

What are the possible side effects of ODEFSEY? ODEFSEY may cause serious side effects, including: • See “What is the most important information I should know about ODEFSEY?” • Severe skin rash and allergic reactions. Skin rash is a common side effect of ODEFSEY. Rash can be serious. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get a rash. In some cases, rash and allergic reaction may need to be treated in a hospital.

If you get a rash with any of the following symptoms, stop taking ODEFSEY and call your healthcare provider right away: – fever – skin blisters – mouth sores – redness or swelling of the eyes (conjunctivitis) – swelling of the face, lips, mouth or throat – trouble breathing or swallowing – pain on the right side of the stomach (abdominal) area – dark “tea-colored” urine

• Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have

any of the following symptoms: – feel sad or hopeless – feel anxious or restless – have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself • Change in liver enzymes. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus infection or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening liver problems during treatment with ODEFSEY. Liver problems can also happen during treatment with ODEFSEY in people without a history of liver disease. Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with ODEFSEY. • Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The exact cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known.

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking ODEFSEY. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking ODEFSEY if you develop new or worse kidney problems.

• Bone problems can happen in some people who take ODEFSEY. Bone problems may include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones.

The most common side effects of rilpivirine, one of the medicines in ODEFSEY, are depression, trouble sleeping (insomnia), and headache.

The most common side effect of emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide, two of the medicines in ODEFSEY, is nausea.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

• These are not all the possible side effects of ODEFSEY. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

• Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about ODEFSEY. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about ODEFSEY that is written for health professionals.

For more information, call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.ODEFSEY.com.

Keep ODEFSEY and all medicines out of reach of children.

Issued: March 2016

ODEFSEY, the ODEFSEY Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and GSI are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. ODEC0005 03/16

4/7/16 3:27 PM

GEORGIANEWS

Church of Scientology makes major expansion in Georgia Church founder’s controversial views on same-sex couples haunt modern teachings

has been denounced by the Church.

But Hubbard’s teachings remain, including this passage from his “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health,” which is credited with launching the religion: “The sexual pervert (and by this term Dianetics, to be brief, includes any and all forms of deviation in Dynamic II [i.e. sexuality] such as homosexuality, lesbianism, sexual sadism, etc., and all down the catalog of Ellis and Krafft-Ebing) is actually quite ill physically... he is very far from culpable for his condition, but he is also far from normal and extremely dangerous to society.”

He repeated these views in subsequent books throughout the rest of his life, and those unaltered books remain the foundation of the Church’s current teachings and are available at their new Atlanta facility.

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com The Church of Scientology has opened up a 45,000-square-foot facility in a highly populated area of metro Atlanta, making for the Church’s largest footprint in the state of Georgia since the religion’s founding in 1954.

The Atlanta Ideal Church of Scientology is five times the size of their previous facility in Doraville and strikes an imposing figure on the busy corner of Roswell Road and Glenridge Drive in Sandy Springs.

“Today honors a tale of Ideal Org creation that epitomizes Ideal Org spirit,” said David Miscavige, worldwide leader of the Church of Scientology, at the April 2 ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It’s all the more inspiring for the fact yours is a city of enduring inspiration, a city of grace and magic, a city where even oaks and magnolias possess souls; and a city of remembrance that also foretells of the future.”

But the Church has landed in the headlines in recent years, with some questioning its practices and in particular the views of founder L. Ron Hubbard, who among other things called homosexuality an “illness” and a “sexual perversion.”

Dianetics and becoming a ‘Clear’ To understand the Church of Scientology, one has to understand Hubbard, whose teachings are the basis of everything the Church’s members do on a daily basis. Hubbard was a science-fiction and fantasy author before developing a system called Dianetics in the 1950s.

The basis of Dianetics is that people have an analytical mind—the conscious mind— and a reactive mind, which keeps a record of all of the pain, negativity and trauma one has endured in their life. Hubbard claimed to have developed techniques that will “erase” the contents of the reactive mind, i.e. rid someone of the pain and negative thoughts holding them back. If someone manages to

The Atlanta Ideal Church of Scientology’s 45,000-square-foot facility facility opened on April 2. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

“The sexual pervert is actually quite ill physically...he is very far from culpable for his condition, but he is also far from normal and extremely dangerous to society.”

— The late L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, from the book that’s credited with launching the movement erase the contents of the reactive mind, they are considered a “Clear.” Becoming a Clear is the goal of all Scientologists.

Scientologists work to erase the contents of the reactive mind by practicing something called “auditing,” in which a Church-designated auditor acts in what’s similar to the role of a therapist to another individual, known as a “preclear.” The preclear uses an invention of Hubbard’s called the Hubbard Electropsychometer, or “e-meter,” which Scientologists believe measures the changes in one’s reactive mind.

The e-meters and space devoted to audit-

ing take up a large portion of the Church’s new Atlanta facility, where Hubbard looms around every corner, be it in the large portrait or timeline of his life in the lobby, the bust of his likeness in the chapel, his more notable quotes posted on numerous walls, or the office the Church included for him as a tribute, complete with desk and nameplate.

But it’s Hubbard’s central role in the Church’s teachings, and Church leaders’ subsequent practices in the 30 years since his passing, that have also led to much of the criticism.

Most notably, there was last year’s Emmy-award winning documentary “Going Clear,” which

Church downplays anti-LGBT teachings The modern Church has disputed claims of being anti-LGBT, and when asked about their stance on LGBT people, the Atlanta Church’s community affairs director Deborah MacKay tells Georgia Voice, “We don’t get involved in any political agenda of any kind or any discrimination of any kind.

What we’re looking for is to improve the spiritual well being of a person. We don’t define for you what that is, and we have many members who are of all different persuasions in their moral and political beliefs so we offer to you what you believe needs to be handled about you.”

MacKay did say that if someone came in that felt their same-sex attraction was “contributing to their unhappiness and spiritual failing,” then the Church would help them “address” that, but that they don’t force people to try and change their sexuality. “The goal is a person who is not haunted by life’s darker experiences and who can be causative, creative and productive in life,” MacKay says.

MacKay also says they don’t have a position on same-sex marriage and when pressed on whether they would allow same-sex marriages to be performed at the church, she says, “If it was from someone from the community, for sure. They could come and use our chapel. It’s open to the community always for anything.”

6 News April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

IF YOU WANT A SINGING CAREER, STAY AWAY FROM SECONDHAND SMOKE.

Ellie, Age 57 Her partner, Karen Florida

Ellie’s severe asthma attacks were triggered by secondhand smoke at work.

She and her partner have to live with its effects forever. If you or someone you know wants free help to quit smoking, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. #CDCTips

www.cdc.gov/tips

GEORGIANEWS

Group tackles Atlanta’s transgender housing problem Details

Trans Housing Atlanta preparing for fundraiser, survey, shelter

Trans Housing Atlanta 404-458-7948 transhousingatlanta@gmail.com www.transhousingatlanta.org www.facebook.com/ groups/243445159149974

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com It’s been shown that lesbian, gay and bisexual people are much more likely to end up homeless than their straight counterparts, but it can be even worse for the transgender community. A joint study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force showed that one in five of the over 6,000 respondents had been denied housing because they were transgender or gender nonconforming. One in ten had been evicted for the same reason.

That, coupled with discrimination in employment and other factors, often leads them to wind up homeless, where the abuse continues. “We know from experience that Atlanta’s no different, that there’s a lot of hostility,” says transgender activist Jamie Roberts.

“They don’t respect the dignity of trans folks, they’re constantly misgendering them, requiring them to change their clothes, they’re offering only housing that’s consistent with the gender they were assigned at birth.”

That’s why in 2014, Roberts and other activists started Trans Housing Atlanta, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide safe housing for transgender and gender nonconforming people in the metro Atlanta area. And things are beginning to heat up for the organization, with a fundraiser coming up, plans to conduct a survey on homelessness in Atlanta’s transgender and gender nonconforming community and a goal of procuring a shelter at some point in the future.

Over half harassed at homeless shelters Trans Housing Atlanta not only aims to provide emergency, intermediate and longterm housing and assistance for transgender and gender nonconforming Atlantans, but also to help change the way they are treated once they get there.

According to the national study mentioned above, which was published in 2011, nearly one in three reported being turned

Trans Housing Atlanta’s Reverse Role Variety Show April 29, 2016 at 6 p.m.

The Mammal Gallery 91 Broad St. SW Atlanta, GA 30303 $10.00 in advance (via PayPal or the group’s website) $15.00 at the door

Tracee McDaniel (l) and Jamie Roberts (r) serve on the executive committee of Trans Housing Atlanta. (File photos)

“We know from experience that Atlanta’s no different, that there’s a lot of hostility. They don’t respect the dignity of trans folks, they’re constantly misgendering them, requiring them to change their clothes, they’re offering only housing that’s consistent with the gender they were assigned at birth.”

— Trans Housing Atlanta executive committee member Jamie Roberts on the treatment of transgender and gender non-conforming people at local shelters away from homeless shelters, and if they got in, 42 percent were forced to stay in facilities designated for the wrong gender. A startling 55 percent reported being harassed in shelters, with 25 percent saying they’d been physically assaulted and 22 percent saying they’d been sexually assaulted.

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) stopped short of mandating a national policy on the issue, instead publishing guidance for treatment of such individuals seeking shelter.

But that hasn’t appeared to have much effect.

“It still continues, it’s just utterly ridiculous,” says transgender activist Tracee McDan-

iel, who serves alongside Roberts and three others on Trans Housing Atlanta’s executive committee. “There are still people who are treating trans people like they really don’t care.”

McDaniel says the organization has been working closely with local shelters, including the Salvation Army, to educate them on the issue and connect transgender and gender nonconforming people with them, and that so far the shelters they’ve worked with have been receptive.

Fundraiser, survey and long-term goals The all-volunteer organization is making final preparations for a fundraiser to

be held April 29 at The Mammal Gallery downtown. The Reverse Role Variety Show will include singing, guitar, poetry, dramatic readings, comedy and more as participants compete for cash prizes.

“It’s a space where you can come and perform either as yourself or your alter ego or an alter gender or however you want to be seen and express yourself,” Roberts says. Performers get in free and proceeds from ticket sales will go toward serving the housing needs of Atlanta’s transgender and gender nonconforming community, as well as the needs of friends and allies.

The group is also in the beginning stages of working with Georgia State University to create a survey to gather more information locally about the housing experiences of Atlanta’s transgender and gender nonconforming community. “That helps with data, that helps with getting funding. There’s really just not a lot of statistics as far as trans people and homelessness,” McDaniel says.

And the goal is to eventually open up a shelter of the organization’s own. “It’s designed to be a cooperative housing organization where eventually the members who reside in the house have a vote in the democratic running of the house,” Roberts says. “That’s ultimately our long-term vision is to be a trans housing co-op where it’s trans and gender nonconforming folks and our friends and allies who are providing housing for ourselves.”

8 News April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NEWSBRIEFS Anti-gay health official sues GA for ‘religious discrimination’ Dr. Eric Walsh, the anti-gay pastor who once said that gay people’s sexuality comes from the “pits of hell,” filed a federal lawsuit on April 20 against the Georgia Department of Health (GDPH) for rescinding a job offer over his controversial views.

Walsh was the Pasadena Public Health Director in early 2014 until videos surfaced of his sermons in which he made discriminatory comments about LGBT people, Muslims, Catholics and other groups. He was put on paid administrative leave that May and two weeks later, the GDPH hired him to lead its North Georgia Health District, leading to an uproar from LGBT groups, HIV/AIDS organizations, the Democratic Party of Georgia and others.

The job offer was rescinded within days, with GDPH spokesperson Ryan Deal saying in a statement, “The Georgia Department of Public Health has retracted the conditional offer of employment to Dr. Eric Walsh for the position of District Health Director of the North Georgia Health District. Today’s action by the Department follows a thorough examination of Dr. Walsh’s credentials and background as well as consultation with the six local Boards of Health which comprise the district.” Walsh later filed an EEOC complaint against the GDPH. The First Liberty Institute, which is representing Walsh in the federal lawsuit along with Atlanta law firm Parks, Chesin & Walbert, released a statement saying Walsh has been unable to get a job in public health since then.

Via the AJC: “I couldn’t believe they fired me because of things I talked about in my sermons,” Walsh said. “It was devastating.”

GA State study: Trans students’ suicide risk significantly higher when denied bathroom access A Georgia State University study published recently in The Journal of Homosexuality found that transgender university and college students are at a significantly higher risk for suicide attempts when they are denied access to bathrooms and gender-appropriate campus housing.

“An alarmingly high proportion of the transgender individuals participating in this study – 46.5 percent – had a history of attempted suicide,” said Kristie Seelman, assistant professor of social work in the Anwww.thegeorgiavoice.com

Dr. Eric Walsh has filed a federal lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Public Health after his job offer was rescinded due to anti-LGBT comments. (File photo)

drew Young School of Policy Studies in a statement.

That attempted suicide rate jumped higher for those denied access to bathrooms (60.5 percent) or gender-appropriate campus housing (60.6 percent).

“Hostility, harassment, discrimination, invisibility and marginalization are common experiences for transgender students,” Seelman said. “The institutional and social supports that may contribute to their resilience, coping and academic success are often lacking. Taken altogether, these experiences often tear down their psychological well-being.”

Seelman paired data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), a study of more than 6,000 transgender adults, including more than 2,300 individuals who self-identified as transgender while in college, to come to the conclusions in her study.

Republicans censure Nathan Deal over Georgia anti-gay ‘religious freedom’ bill veto Conservative Republicans are still smarting about Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto

of House Bill 757, the controversial anti-LGBT so-called “religious freedom” bill passed by both chambers of the state legislature. And they showed it as they censured Deal at one of the district conventions held on April 16 to select delegates to this July’s Republican National Convention.

The Third District, which covers parts of west Georgia and is represented by U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, made the move per the AJC: “Though it is purely symbolic, it’s a startling sign of the conservative backlash to Deal’s decision to reject the legislation – and another reminder that the debate over the measure never really ended.”

But one key figure in the debate over socalled “religious freedom” bills the past three years, state Sen. Josh McKoon, spoke out against the move.

“I said that it was not constructive for the GOP to lash out at the governor, and that if we want to pass conservative initiatives next year, we need to make a positive case for their adoption,” he told the AJC after the vote.

The censure of Deal passed overwhelmingly despite McKoon’s objections.

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April 29, 2016 News 9

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10 Outspoken April 29, 2016

“As the very proud mother of a gay child I can’t imagine anything less Christian than using the law as a weapon against others. Because of my career as a performer and the privilege that has brought to our family, my son will be all right, but the pain you’re causing LGBTQ Mississippians is devastating, especially the transgender folks and LGBTQ people of color who will be most directly impacted by these attacks.”

— Singer Belinda Carlisle in a letter to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on HB 1523 (Apr. 19/Publicity Photo)

“If your definition of gay and straight is who I sleep with, then I guess you could say I’m a gay cock tease. It’s where my allegiance lies, where my sensibilities lie, how I define myself.”

— Actor James Franco in an interview with New York Magazine on media speculation regarding his sexuality. (Apr. 18/Instagram)

“I’m fighting for you. I believe in you. I think that I’m just as outraged as you are. I think you’re worthy of every right that ever human being in this country, in this world, has been afforded.”

— Actress Viola Davis speaking in support of LGBT families at The Tribeca Film Festival.

(Apr. 17/Screencap image)

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

on m)

IN THE MIDDLE

Creepoftheweek

Reconnected (aka ‘How I stopped hating everyone’)

Hey, Ryan Anderson: LGBT folks have our own families

By Kim Riggins

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

“By the time I got around to telling my aunt I was gay, I was almost completely disconnected. I isolated myself and I was free, finally, but alone. I could not be happy living a lie, but I wasn’t happy living in my truth, either” I came out to my aunt over the phone the day after Christmas. I knew she would tell everyone else, so that made it easier. It was less dodging and more delegating, really.

I considered doing it the day before during Christmas dinner because—why not? What better memory could a large, southern family from a small town in Alabama ask for?

But after a dozen plates of food, listening to my uncle’s creative (to say the least) racial epithets and some pretty nice gifts (Egyptian cotton towels and a Crock-Pot), I never quite found just the right opportunity.

So, I made the call. I don’t have parents, so there was no need to stand on any kind of ceremony. I just told her and that was that.

While holidays are sometimes lonely and childhood memories are bittersweet, it had been that way for me for a long time. I was very young when I learned that nowhere is it written that family will always love you, no matter what.

Several years earlier, I came out to my friends. That proved to be more difficult.

I valued their opinions. I found my significance in their perceptions. I sought their advice. They were my family and I loved them.

I spent many sleepless nights crying and agonizing over what to say, how to say it and when. For every one person who accepted me, there were two who turned their backs.

Something inside me broke. I cut off everyone around me and refused to let anyone else in. I concluded, going forward, that I was the only one whom I could trust. I came to dewww.thegeorgiavoice.com

spise family-centric holidays while sullenly refusing invitations from friends to spend those days with them. I did not need people. I did not need friends. I did not need family.

There is a danger in putting faith in people who have not earned it. Unfortunately, the act of conception does not fulfill any kind of qualification. That validation only comes through time. Those who celebrate our victories and carry us through our trials, those people are our families. Placing faith in the wrong people, though can do some damage. It affected how I saw myself. I filtered my self-worth through them. I saw myself as unworthy, unlovable, and lost. It affected my relationships with other people. By the time I got around to telling my aunt I was gay, I was almost completely disconnected. I isolated myself and I was free, finally, but alone.

I could not be happy living a lie, but I wasn’t happy living in my truth, either.

“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” In other words, those people we trust – our comrades, our friends, the ones who hurt when we hurt, who won’t let us travel our dark paths alone – our bonds with them are much stronger than those of a group of people we just happen, by chance, to share DNA with.

We cannot allow ourselves to become disconnected. I had to learn that there are people who love me. I did have a family. And my childhood self, that sad little girl, was happy to learn that family will always love you. She just needed to learn what family meant.

By D’ANNE WITKOWSKI Speaking at Cleveland’s Right to Life: Bringing America Back to Life Convention in early March, Ryan Anderson, author of “Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom,” basically said, “Hey, we’ve got crisis pregnancy centers to stop pregnant women from getting an abortion.

What would the functional equivalent look like for people with same-sex attractions?”

Let me just stop and point out that he says “people with same-sex attractions” in order to make clear that “gay” is something people do, not something people are. It’s an important distinction when your goal Ryan Anderson is to dehumanize.

Anderson continues, “If we’re not in favor of same-sex marriage, what are we in favor of for people with same-sex attractions and how are we helping them live out their vocations?”

An interesting question. Particularly be-

cause he’s implying that gays need help from straight people, anti-gay straight Christians especially, to live their lives. It’s a weird claim. But when you see gays and lesbians as isolated perverts trying to make their way through this world one hookup at a time, it makes a kind of sick sense. You don’t need legal protections for your family.

“When Thanksgiving comes around, when Christmas comes around, are you inviting a same-sex attracted colleague or friend or member of your church who isn’t married and doesn’t have a family of his or her own; are you inviting them into your family to share Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner? Are there ways in which we can show that there are other forms of community that matter, that are important, that are meaningful, without having to redefine marriage?”

In other words, silly gay or lesbian, marriage is for heteros. You don’t need a family at all!

To everyone who thinks Anderson has a great argument here, I say please, please, oh please invite me to Thanksgiving. Because I would have to decline since I have my own very real family, fuck you very much.

April 29, 2016 Outspoken 11

WORK Khafre K. Abif named new community organizer of SAC The Birmingham, Alabama-based Southern AIDS Coalition has named Khafre. K. Abif as its new community organizer.

Abif is an Atlanta resident, author of “Cornbread, Fish and Collard Greens: Prayers, Poems & Affirmations for People Living with HIV/AIDS” and founder of “Cycle for Freedom,” a 2,028 mile bike trip designed to raise awareness of the seriousness of HIV/AIDS in black communities by retracing the path of those who fled slavery along the Underground Railroad. He says his life journey has prepared him for this new role.

“I believe my 27 years of living with HIV in eight different states provides me with valuable insight into how different communities are affected by HIV and how these communities respond to the needs of people living with the disease,” says Abif. “We must grow a broader coalition of people living with HIV and provide them with the tools to successfully advocate for policy change.”

“Khafre’s local, regional, and national service as an activist, writer, author, blogger and educator made him a natural choice to lead this effort,” says SAC Executive Director Nic Carlisle.

ART Station to offer summer youth performance camp ART Station is gearing up to present its annual summer arts camp for youth ages 5-13. The two-week performance program is scheduled to run from June 6-17 for students age 7-13. This professional program introduces students to technical theater elements as well as performance coaching through daily drama classes, singing, dancing, theater games, poetry and visual arts.

The two-week session will culminate with an original show, created and performed by the campers on Friday, June 17.

According to Creative Loafing, “…summer camp at ART Station in Stone Mountain is like the Julliard of summer camps.”

“The mission of ART Station Summer ARTS CAMP is to involve the campers age 5-13 in a variety of artistic activities in the performing, literary, and visual arts, allowing the students to explore their creativity with their peers in a fun, safe, and nurturing environment,” says founder and associate pro-

IT!

Khafre. K. Abif is the newest community organizer for Southern AIDS Coalition.

(Photo by Duane Cramer)

ducer Michael Hidalgo in a statement.

Parents can find more information for their talented kids and apply for registration and scholarship opportunities online at www.artstation.org.

U.S. SBA to hold small business event in Atlanta The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) will recognize and award outstanding small business owners in several cities around the country, including Atlanta, on May 3.

SBA Deputy Administrator Douglas Kramer will appear at Georgia Tech Research Institute to lead a discussion on trends for small business and the current business industries that are experiencing a boom in Georgia.

Featured panelists will include Jeff Patterson with the Georgia Small Business Development Center, Art Slotkin with Georgia SCORE, Lee Baker with Georgia AARP, Tisha Tallman with the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Robert Pinckney with the University of Georgia.

National Small Business Week will kick off in Washington D.C. before heading to Atlanta, Denver, and Phoenix. The week will wrap up with visits to Oakland and San Jose, California.

The Atlanta event will be live-streamed and is open to the public. More info can be found at www.sba.gov/NSBW.

12 Community April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

CREATING LGBT FAMILIES

A gift from Guatemala Decatur couple Jeffrey Roach and Ken Manford share their journey to fatherhood in new memoir ‘Pop Daddy’

By DARIAN AARON daaron@thegavoice.com When Ken Manford, 54, sat down to write the truth about his sexual orientation in a letter to his parents, he made certain they were prepared for the real possibility that he wouldn’t be able to provide an opportunity for them to be grandparents to his offspring.

After all, he was deeply in love with Jeffrey Roach, 51, and was certain they were going to spend the rest of their lives together despite Roach being incapable—yet willing—to create a child with him in the natural progression of their 25-year relationship.

“This doesn’t mean anything to you as my parents, except for the fact that you may not get grandchildren from me,” wrote Manford in his coming out letter.

In hindsight, his use of the word may turned out to be a small sliver of hope for Manford, his parents and eventually Roach, now his husband and father to their adopted son Jackson.

“Deep down I always knew I wanted a family and children, even though I maybe never vocalized it,” says Manford.

“I always knew that I was gay and I always just thought—I’m never gonna be married, I’m never gonna have kids. I actually thought I was always going to be on my own,” says Roach. “There was no ‘Modern Family.’ There were no examples that this was all possible.”

“Pop Daddy,” the recently released memoir written by Roach, chronicles the couple’s journey towards becoming parents via an international Guatemalan adoption of their son Jackson, now 14, proving that the Decatur couple’s desire to create a fam-

“There’s a lot of waiting and hoping. Adoption is one long act of faith and devotion. You’re putting your faith in the system that it’s all going to work out for you and it did for us.”

—Jeffrey Roach ily as gay men was not only possible but it was happening.

The road to Jackson But where would they start? Manford admits he didn’t have a clue when he and Roach caught baby fever—literally—from Marti, a co-worker in the Dallas, Texas office where the pair worked after she announced her pregnancy in 2001. Would surrogacy, fostering or adoption be the best choice for their family? If they chose adoption, would they go the domestic or international route?

“Someone gave us the advice to hire a social worker. We did some research and I found a lesbian couple in Dallas that worked for child protection services who suggested Guatemala,” says Manford.

“The country has completely opened up adoptions right now, they’re not really scrutinizing, they’re letting single men adopt and there’s been some significant success in that,” he recalls the advice of the social worker.

“The timing is really good right now and we think it’d be a good avenue for you.”

“Their counsel was spot on,” he says.

What followed was a series of home visits to ensure the couple’s living quarters were conducive for raising a child, background checks, filing fees, endless paperwork and what felt like an eternity of waiting for Jack-

Ken Manford and Jeffrey Roach welcomed son Jackson into their family through an international adoption in 2002. (Courtesy photos)

son to join their family.

“There was no morning sickness, no baby bump, no Lamaze classes, no swollen feet and no tiny little kicks to remind us of the prize at the bottom of this particular Cracker Jack box,” writes Roach in “Pop Daddy.”

It all seemed so impersonal and void of any human connection for this amazing human being that he and his husband would be responsible for loving and providing for over the next 18 years of his life.

“There’s a lot of waiting and hoping.

Adoption is one long act of faith and devotion. You’re putting your faith in the system that it’s all going to work out for you and it did for us,” says Roach.

Becoming a trio It was life-changing for the new parents the day the waiting game ended and the distance between Jackson and his dads became no more than a few steps away from their bed to his crib.

“The minute Jackson arrived we became a trio,” says Roach. “We’d waited so long that we didn’t want babysitters, we didn’t want nannies. Beyond our family trying to help us transition, we wanted to be with Jackson. “ But how would people in conservative Texas react to two men raising a baby? And how would Manford and Roach address the truth about their family to total strangers who felt their awesome trio was actually harmful to

14 Creating LGBT Families April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Clockwise from top: The family on vacation at White Rock Lake in Dallas during the summer of 2002. Ken, Jackson and Jeffrey in Antigua, Guatemala. The cover to Jeffrey Roach’s book ‘Pop Daddy.’

Details

‘Pop Daddy’

By Jeffrey Roach $12.99 250 Pages Pop Daddy Press www.tinyurl.com/getpopdaddy Jackson’s well being? A simple trip to the grocery store as a gay dad would prove to be a test.

“When you have a kid and you go to the grocery—you’re out. Every single checker in the world would say, ‘How sweet that you let mom have the day off and you’re doing the grocery shopping,’” he recalls a store clerk commenting.

“You can never hide that [sexual orientation] because your child will see that you’re embarrassed by your lifestyle. It forced me to say, ‘Oh actually he has two dads and his other dad is at home right now.’ The shocked look www.thegeorgiavoice.com

on people’s faces in Dallas, Texas was priceless.”

We are a family It’s clear that in a spiritual sense, Jackson chose Manford and Roach as much as they chose him. He assures his parents that he’s not ashamed that he has two dads and would never hide it. The pair has no plans to expand their family now that they’re older and have settled into the groove of their current family dynamic. But there is one last order of business to complete. They’d like the state of Texas to reissue Jackson’s birth certificate with both their names as his parents—currently Manford’s name is the only name listed.

As for Manford’s parents, specifically his mother, she continues to uphold the belief that mother knows best.

“I knew that letter was false. It was something about that that didn’t ring true,” she’d later tell her son. “And here you are telling us that you are going to have a grandchild for us!” Indeed.

April 29, 2016 Creating LGBT Families 15

CREATING LGBT FAMILIES

Tens across the board: The iconic House of Mizrahi The legendary Andre Mizrahi on ball culture, misconceptions and surrogate families

By DARIAN AARON daaron@thegavoice.com If there’s one thing black and Latino gay men have mastered, it’s the creation of surrogate or chosen families as a means of support and survival when faced with rejection from blood relatives. There’s arguably no greater example of chosen family than in the underground ballroom community dominated by LGBT people of color and taken mainstream during the early ’90s in the award-winning Jennie Livingston documentary “Paris Is Burning.”

Xtravaganza, Dupree, Pendavis, LaBeija: some of the fiercest houses to ever exist, that birthed fearless “children,” who on one night several times throughout the year walked balls for grand prizes, legendary status and affirmation, which for many proved to be elusive outside of the walls of the now defunct Elks Lodge on 137th Street in Harlem.

“When someone has rejection from their mother and father and their family—when they get out into the world, they search for someone to fill that void. I’ve had kids come to me and latch hold of me…like I’m their mother or like I’m their father…because their real parents give them such a hard way to go,” said the late Pepper LaBeija, legendary mother of the House of LaBeija in “Paris Is Burning.”

The father, the icon Brooklyn, New York native turned Atlanta resident Andre Mizrahi understands LaBeija’s sentiment as the founder and overall father of the international House of Mizrahi.

Considered an icon and master voguer in the ballroom community, Mizrahi, 48, is no stranger to being a lifeline for the members of his house, which he opened in 1992.

“If anyone has a problem, it’s only one person that they call. They’ll call me before

“I used to take in kids for over 10 years who had no place to go. They lived with me and I did everything for them from taking them to the doctor to feeding them. If I were in the street I’d want someone to take me in.”

—Andre Mizrahi they call anyone else,” says Mizrahi. “I used to take in kids for over 10 years who had no place to go. They lived with me and I did everything for them from taking them to the doctor to feeding them. If I were in the street I’d want someone to take me in,” he says.

It was this selflessness by Mizrahi that caught the attention of Georgia state Rep. Keisha Waites (D-Atlanta) in 2012. Waites, one of the three openly LGBT members of the legislature, honored Mizrahi for his “commitment to care for the lives of young black gay men and transgender individuals, who oftentimes have been abandoned by their biological families, leaving them no place to call home.”

Above: Members from the Atlanta and New York chapters of House of Mizrahi pose for a family photo at the ‘Legends Exhibition’ in 2013. (Photo by Elle Jota/BFA Images); Left: Andre Mizrahi vogues down at the Kamaro Blahnik mini-ball in Atlanta in 2012. (Courtesy photo)

The other side of ballroom The “children” who populate the ball scene and the culture itself have no shortage of detractors or stigma associated, with one being too heavily involved in the scene.

Mizrahi readily admits that the prevailing perception is that ball participants are “club hoppers with no life that are all living with HIV and are ready to fight” at a moment’s notice. He refutes this line of thinking.

“Everybody thinks that this is just bullshit when it comes to houses. I’m the man that I am for two reasons: my mother and ballroom have taught me everything from styling clothes to choreography. There’s nothing that they have in the entertainment industry that’s not in ballroom,” says Mizrahi.

Transcending the ballroom floor and taking his talent for fashion, dance and choreography mainstream is something Mizrahi and his ballroom predecessors, Jose Xtravaganza and the late Willie Ninja, accomplished with Madonna and other mainstream pop acts.

It’s something Mizrahi’s protégé, June Mizra-

hi, 45 and overall grandfather of the House of Mizrahi, has also tapped into.

“I wanted to be in fashion. I love clothes.

When I branched off into the ballroom scene, I got under the right people and they guided me into the scene to make a name for myself,” he says.

The New Jersey native turned Atlanta resident recalls the importance of the annual balls in the lives of the participants and the lengths they’d go to snatch a trophy.

“Kids used to save their money just to go to a ball. They probably wouldn’t eat or whatever, but they’d get themselves together to go live the fantasy,” he says.

Like his mentor, Andre Mizrahi, both men are well into their 40s, which by insane gay standards is considered to be a qualifier for an AARP membership. But both are focused on running the House of Mizrahi and being a father and grandfather to children who otherwise may not have parental figures. June Mizrahi insists: “Age ain’t nothing but a number. As long as I can still pump and walk that runway, I’m going to do it.”

16 Creating LGBT Families April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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CREATING LGBT FAMILIES

So you want to have a baby...

Navigating the world of adoption, surrogacy and more

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com So you want to bring children into your life but don’t know where to start? Here’s a brief guide on your options and how to navigate them.

Fostering If you’re wanting to care for a child but not willing or ready to make the legal commitment to adopt one, then fostering is for you. You’re opening up your home to allow young people who are in the foster care system to be a part of your family, and you’ll be expected to work in partnership with the child’s birth family and act as a mentor whenever possible.

To do so, you have to become an approved foster parent through the state of Georgia, which requires a 23-hour pre-service training and multiple home evaluations by a case manager. If single, you need to be at least 25 years of age and at least 10 years older than the child, and if married, you must be at least 10 years older than the child. There’s also a criminal background check, medical examination, drug screen and a list of references required.

Be prepared to pay for the background check, medical exam and drug screen, and while foster parents are not paid in Georgia, the state provides a yearly clothing allowance for the child as well as a reimbursement per diem to assist in meeting the daily needs of the child.

There are no laws in Georgia against LGBT individuals or same-sex couples fostering children.

Adoption If you’re ready to make the commitment to care for a child permanently and establish a new legal family, then adoption is one of the options for you.

“Working through the approval process to become an adoptive or foster parent is a journey that takes effort and vulnerability on a parent’s part, everyone grows while you are working through this process, and it is important that parents and families receive that support from their case worker.”

—CHRIS Kids adoption and family specialist Kalie Lounds-Giovanni.

There are a few different ways this can be done in Georgia. You can do a public adoption through the Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Family and Children Services, or go through a private agency who is licensed in the state to place children for adoption, or do an independent adoption where there is no agency involvement prior to the placement of the child.

The requirements to adopt are roughly similar to the ones listed above for fostering, and as far as costs go, be prepared to pay for the medical exam and drug screen, a home study fee, as well as legal fees so that the petition for adoption can be drawn up and you’ll have representation when you go to court for finalization of the adoption. But the state does offer adoption assistance, which includes financial and medical benefits, and there’s also an adoption tax credit of $2000 from the state, plus the federal government will provide an adoption tax credit for a special needs adoption.

There are no laws in Georgia against LGBT individuals or same-sex couples adopting children. However, finding organizations that are willing to work with LGBT people and are well-educated on the issues they face can sometimes be difficult. CHRIS

There are many options available for LGBT individuals and couples in Georgia who want to bring children into their lives. (Stock photo)

Kids is one local private agency where that won’t be a problem, and in fact their client base is currently around 75 percent self-identified same-sex couples or LGBT individuals.

“Working through the approval process to become an adoptive or foster parent is a journey that takes effort and vulnerability on a parent’s part, everyone grows while you are working through this process, and it is important that parents and families receive that support from their case worker,” says CHRIS Kids adoption and family specialist Kalie Lounds-Giovanni.

Lesbians who want to have their own child If you’re a lesbian or part of a lesbian couple and you want to have your own child, you first need to complete a fertility workup to help establish the best treatment plan.

The testing done on each partner depends on who will be carrying the baby. That person will have bloodwork done as well as a hysterosalpingogram to assess the uterus and fallopian tubes.

Next you need to select a sperm donor.

Donors may be anonymous and chosen from an accredited sperm bank, or you may pick the donor. If the donor is known, make sure to address important legal issues like establishing legal parentage—this will increase the costs involved as well.

Then there are two options for treatment—intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF). IUI is when the donor’s sperm is placed directly into the uterus when the woman is most fertile, prior to ovulation. IVF is the fertilization of an egg by sperm outside the body. Once fertilization and embryo development occurs, a number of embryos are transferred to the uterus in order to develop within the person carrying the pregnancy.

Expect a round of IVF treatment to cost around $12,000 before medications, which can run another $3,000 to $5,000.

Gay men who want to have their own child If you’re a gay man or gay male couple and want to have your own child, the one who plans to be the genetic father first needs to complete a semen analysis to assess the fertilization potential of the sperm. However, some couples may both want a genetic relationship to the child, in which case sperm is used from both partners for fertilization of donor eggs.

Next, you need to select an egg donor, who may be anonymous and chosen from an egg bank or the donor may be known.

If the donor is known, make sure to address important legal issues like establishing legal parentage—this will increase the costs involved as well.

18 Creating LGBT Families April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

From Charles randolph-Wright, director of Motown the Musical a new a Merican Musical

“We’re all born for a purpose. this musical celebrates the journey of finding it.”

By Ch A r les r A ndolph -Wr ight a nd B e B e Win A ns Mus ic a nd lyr ics By B e B e Win A ns dir ec ted By Ch A r les r A ndolph -Wr ight

—six-time grammy Award winner BeBe Winans

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April 13– M Ay 15

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has the ‘POWER!’ ‘Glee’ star on questioning his gender, touring and his idol Beyoncé

By CHRIS AZZOPARDI Maybe Alex Newell’s star-making moment – the “Dreamgirls” showstopper “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” which the 23-year-old gloriously belted out on “The Glee Project” before nabbing a spot on Fox’s “Glee” – was meant to be. After all, as a fiery kid in church choir, Newell was not about to let some lesser singer steal any church-choir solos from him. To get his point across, he would scream “at the top of my lungs.”

He would throw things. Until that solo was his, no, Newell was not going.

With a new EP, “Power,” to his name, Newell opens up about his reputation as a diva, being mistaken as transgender and his meltdown over nearly missing out on singing a “Sister Act” song.

Which church solo are you most proud of stealing?

What was that stupid song that I wanted... oh my god, yes! It was “Oh Happy Day” from “Sister Act.” I wanted that solo and they gave it to someCONTINUES ON PAGE 21 20 A&E April 29, 2016

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

ALEX NEWELL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

one else and I was soooo livid. I was like, “She can’t even sing it! I can sing it so much better than her!” I remember yelling at my aunt in the sanctuary after everybody left and she was like, “You need to calm down,” and I was just like, “NO! I’m not gonna calm down. That solo is mine. I should have it,” and I got it. (Laughs)

VOTE MAY 24

th

Beyoncé – she’s one of your all-time favorites.

Oh, she’s my idol.

What is it about her? How does she inspire you as a performer / singer / fashionista?

Honestly, she’s so just so… she’s made herself a verb, she’s made herself an adjective, she’s made herself such an entity – a force of nature.

She literally almost fell (during the halftime show) and without missing a beat got right back up and didn’t miss a single count – that in itself makes anyone want to look up to her.

ember, n Proud M Bar Associatio all Stonew

Alex Newell is currently the opening act on Adam Lambert’s ‘The Original High Tour.’ (Photos by Brian Ziff/Q Syndicate)

What do you make of people who refer to you as a diva?

Sometimes it’s a compliment. But it doesn’t mean best in their craft anymore. It has this attitude about it, like “I’m a diva because I’m fierce at what I do” not because “I’m the best at what I do.” So, that bothers me a little bit. It doesn’t mean prima donna anymore; it means, “I can wear a leotard on stage and give a subpar show,” rather than, “I can get on the stage and murder everyone”– not murder everyone in the sense of killing them, but murder my performance and be the best at what I do.

a woman, but when I think about 30 years in the future, I don’t see myself transitioning into a woman. I see myself as a gay male with my husband and my children and living that life. I guess that’s how I’ve confirmed it with myself, which could change. I don’t know.

Who knows? I could have another cathartic self-discovery down the line.

You broke a lot of ground as Unique on “Glee,” which helped to start a conversation regarding gender and trans issues, both of which are now in the forefront.

What does it mean to have been one of the first trans characters on television?

It was a great platform and such a great show, but to have a role come into your life that means something – that actually changes the way people view society – it’s just great. Just to know that I was a part of something that’s bigger than me makes it even better. Sometimes you get those roles twice, sometimes once, so I’m just happy I had mine so early in my career.

What can people expect?

Two hours of screaming the entire time and just singing in your face and just great vocals and runs. We might just explode by the end of the night every day.

Did the show have you questioning your own gender at all?

I guess I’ve never really seen myself as a woman. Yes, I physically have seen myself as www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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You and Adam Lambert are touring, which has to be the gayest billing of the year.

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Two gays on the road! How fabulous!

What about incorporating a Beyoncé cover? Which song of hers would you do?

I mean, I’m literally about to sing “Formation” wherever I go now because I just want to say (a la Beyoncé), “If you fuck me right, I’ll take you to Red Lobster.”

Do you eat at Red Lobster?

I’ve never been to Red Lobster a day in my life.

But you’ll eat there now?

Unless Beyoncé is there herself, no.

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ACTING OUT

By JIM FARMER

Drag, camp on deck in Process Theatre’s production of ‘Tribute Artist’

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Process Theatre opens a new show this weekend courtesy of a playwright who has put them on the map – drag sensation Charles Busch. The company has staged his “Die, Mommie, Die!,” “Psycho Beach Party” and “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom” before, so it’s natural they would stage his new show “The Tribute Artist.” Directed by Suehyla El-Attar, the comedy stars out performers DeWayne Morgan, Topher Payne and Cathe Hall Payne.

This is the first regional production of the comedy, following its off-Broadway run in 2014. “We were apparently the first ones who asked for it,” says Topher Payne. It was produced by Primary Stages, the same theater that staged Payne’s “Perfect Arrangement” in the fall. That was how Payne became familiar with it and he brought it to the attention of Morgan, Process’s artistic director.

“Artist” stars Morgan as Jimmy, a female impersonator that has worked for the last 10 years in a Vegas review bringing famous women such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Marilyn Monroe to life. As the show opens he has been fired from his job.

“He is a little over the hill with it; everyone wants him to do younger, like Beyoncé” says Morgan.

Eventually, with an assist from his best friend Rita (Payne), Jimmy takes on the identity of his landlady (Payne) when she passes away in order to keep her townhouse in Greenwich Village.

Morgan jokes that it didn’t take long to get into character. “He is a lot nicer than me,” he laughs. “He is very naïve and childlike. He trusts everybody.”

Payne met Busch while he was in New York last fall. “I got to thank him for everything he’s done to keep me working,” laughs Payne.

“Artist” as a comedy retains Busch’s trademark sense of humor, according to Payne.

This production is also one of the few times Busch has written a role for himself where he is playing a man. The piece cuts deeper.

“The comedy of this one has a social message underneath it – really exploring gender, the face we put out to the world vs. what may be going on inside. It’s as witty as ever but it’s smart.”

Morgan and Payne change it up a bit here from their usual roles. “I get to be the funny best friend in this one,” says Payne. “I am

The cast of Process Theatre’s ‘Tribute Artist’ performs April 29 through May 15 in Decatur. (Publicity Photo)

Details ‘The Tribute Artist’

Through May 15 The Process Theatre at OnStage Atlanta 2969 East Ponce De Leon Ave. Decatur, GA 30030 www.onstageatlanta.com finally getting to play the sidekick role. Normally, I am the one front and center dealing with all the problems and DeWayne gets to come in and toss off a few good one-liners.

This time we have shifted that dynamic.”

The two actors have developed a similar sense of humor after working together for so long. “That’s the incredible gift,” says Payne.

“We have been doing shows together for 16 years, which is extraordinary to me. DeWayne has progressed into such amazing nuanced roles. We can switch back and forth. I think that’s what makes the dynamic work in ‘Designing Women’ as the Sugarbaker sisters. Sometimes one has the lead story and the other is lending support.”

Both men also love working with Cathe Hall Payne. “The basic set up of the show – a ‘Weekend at Bernies’ in drag – is centered on her character dying. Suehyla knew she wanted someone who could make a strong impact on the audience with a fairly minimal amount of stage time. Cathe could do that.”

22 A&E April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

Neighborhood restaurants you may have overlooked, but shouldn’t have This week, we’re going to visit a couple of my longtime favorites.

Grant Central Pizza & Pasta: I live about three blocks from this virtually historic spot in Grant Park and eat there so frequently I have dreams of my brain turning into lasagna. The restaurant is a classic neighborhood type. The food is always reliable and served by lunatics (in the best way). The menu never changes except for a daily special – and even those are the same from week to week.

Honestly, I practically never eat pizza here.

It’s New York-style with a hefty crust. My personal favorite, when I do order it, is the white pizza with a few toppings. Occasionally, the kitchen produces a special Thai pizza and it’s always good – a bit spicy and a bit fruity.

My favorite special here is chicken piccata, served on Mondays. It’s a classic of two chicken-breast halves sautéed until glossy. It’s lemony, scattered with capers, and served atop a generous mound of mashed potatoes. Like most specials here there’s a side of broccoli.

If I miss a special, I order Miss Jean’s Pasta. She’s the bartender-manager who created the dish for herself. I’d never tasted it until a bowl was brought to my table one night by mistake. The contents: penne pasta, creamy marinara, Italian sausage, calamata olives, and fresh basil. People started ordering it regularly after I wrote about it elsewhere.

Tuesday night’s chicken parmesan is another zillion-calorie favorite. Some nights, chicken manicotti and shrimp linguine are available. Desserts, alas, are pretty mediocre.

The restaurant has a sizable dining room, but I like to eat in the bar area where I can read trash on my Kindle and phone while watching the staff. Their leader is Jessy, who has taught me how to watch television for the first time in my life. Amanda is a pregnant go-go dancer. Adam is a musician who is considering becoming a music therapist.

I don’t know anything about the newest server, Josh. Miss Jean, by the way, holds a PhD and commiserates with me about the impracticality of such an expensive degree.

Prices are low. Specials rarely cost more than $12. (451 Cherokee Ave., 404-523-8900) www.thegeorgiavoice.com

The chicken picatta served with capers on a mound of mashed potatoes at Grant Central Pizza & Pasta. (Photo by Cliff Bostock)

Havana Sandwich Shop: I was recently headed toward a favorite taqueria on Buford Highway when I noticed that this simple, iconic lunch spot that opened in 1976 and burned in 2008 has been rebuilt and reopened. I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed earlier.

I was a frequent customer for years, in part because I was married briefly to a Cuban woman. (My love of her country’s food outlasted our love for one another. I’m gay, after all.)

The place looks eerily the same as it did from the beginning, as does the menu. The simple Cuban sandwich – pork, pickles, ham, mustard, and cheese between layers of crunchy grilled bread – will probably reascend to its longtime place as best in the city. The pork is gloriously flavorful. You can further amp up the flavor of this and any other dish with a squeeze of garlicky mojo from a bottle on every table.

Order half a sandwich with a bowl of black beans like none you’ve tasted and a pile of yellow rice topped with tomato sauce.

Spoon the beans over the rice. Also back are the stews of ropa vieja and picadillo and you can eat them straight up or on sandwiches too. I could go on, but just go yourself.

(2905 Buford Hwy., 404-636-4094) Cliff Bostock is a longtime dining critic and psychotherapist turned life coach. www. cliffbostock.com.

April 29, 2016 Columnists 23

B

T BETS ES

Our Guide to the Best LGBT Events in Atlanta for April 29-May 12

TA N A L T LGBT A EVENTS

SATURDAY, APRIL 30

Caroline Aiken performs at Eddie’s Attic with special guests Shadow Cab and the Pussywillows, 9:30 p.m., www.eddiesattic.com (Official photo)

FRIDAY, APRIL 29

The seventh annual Thriving Children Gala Fashion Show benefits Lost-nFound Youth. The gala includes performances by a live orchestra, a live auction, silent auctions, food, and drinks. Entertainers this year include Chad Michaels, Cher impersonator of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame, and the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus Panache Ensemble, 6:30 – 10:30 p.m., Fox Theatre, www.foxtheatre.org

EVENT SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, APRIL 30

World class DJ powerhouse Cindel returns to Atlanta for the One Magical Weekend DJ Tour, Jungle Atlanta, www.jungleatl.com (Official photo)

24 Best Bets April 29, 2016

The Trans Housing Atlanta Program Reverse Role Variety Show is tonight, 7 p.m., Mammal Gallery, 91 Broad St., SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 Come join Ladies Night Out with DJ Rapko and a drag show at 11:30 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com

SATURDAY, APRIL 30

The 29th Atlanta HRC Gala Dinner and Auction is tonight. This year’s gala theme is “Beyond Marriage, All

Rights for All People” and celebrates the recent success of marriage equality and acknowledges HRC’s next big fight, comprehensive LGBT civil rights and nondiscrimination bills. 5 – 9:30 p.m., Hyatt Regency Atlanta, www.facebook.com/ events/198998630464987/ The Nashville-based band Old Crow Medicine Show — consisting of members Kevin Hayes, Chance McCoy, Cory Younts, Ketch Secor, Morgan Jahnig, and Critter Fuqua —will return to Atlanta with Brandi Carlile at 7 p.m. at Fox Theatre, www.foxtheatre.org “Dreamgirls” cast member Terry Burrell stars in “Ethel,” a one-woman show about legendary Ethel Waters, tonight at 7:30 p.m., running through May 1 at the Alliance Theatre, www.alliancetheatre.org

SUNDAY, MAY 1

DJ Lydia Prim spins beginning at 3 a.m. at Xion Atlanta, www.facebook.com/

events/1523865064574968/ Lesbian singer/songwriter Maia Sharp will be performing at Eddie’s Attic this evening. Maia’s latest album, “The Dash Between The Dates,” features notable contributions from Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart, who co-wrote and plays guitar on “Maybe Tonight”; acclaimed solo artist Lizz Wright, singer-songwriter Gabe Dixon, and legendary vocalist Arnold McCuller. 6 p.m., Eddie’s Attic, www.eddiesattic.com

MONDAY, MAY 2

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

by Charis Circle’s Strong Families, Whole Children, 7 – 8:30 p.m.,

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LGBT EVENT

Submit your LGBT event for inclusion in our online and print calendars by emailing event info to editor@thegavoice.com www.charisbooksandmore.com The PFLAG support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people and their parents and family meets from 7:30 – 9 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (Room 209/210), www.uuca.org

TUESDAY, MAY 3

Make your lunch break a networking opportunity and connect with business professionals, small business owners, job seekers and community supporters to expand your circle of influence and grow your business at Connecting Atlanta, a networking lunch

by MAAP (Metro Atlanta Association of Professionals). The lunch is held at Egg Harbor Café the first Tuesday of every month from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There is no set price, just pay on your way out for your meal. The event is limited to 20 participants. Please preregister by emailing Todd Cosper at tcosper@maapatl.org.

Art It Out Therapy Center is now offering an Expressive Art Therapy Group for LGBTQ Teens on Tuesdays. Through art, the group will explore self-identity, coping with stress, intimate and parental relationships, and coming out. 7 p.m., 255 Village Parkway (in Paper Mill Village), Suite 580, Marietta, GA 30067 Enjoy Tuesday Trivia with Jason Walker, and drink specials, tonight at 8:30 p.m. at The Hideaway Atlanta, www.atlantahideaway.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4

Play bingo and be entertained by some of the ATL’s best drag performers at Bitchy Bingo at Lips Atlanta, www.atldragshow.com Come enjoy hump day specials and karaoke at the newly re-opened Cockpit, 465 Blvd. SE, Atlanta, GA 30312

THURSDAY, MAY 5

SAGE Atlanta hosts a social hour at 10 a.m., followed by a program/meeting at 11 a.m., Phillip Rush Center Annex, www.rushcenteratl.org

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SATURDAY, APRIL 30

Legendary Children presents “ROSEBUD” with Bob the Drag Queen from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” celebrating the one-year anniversary of Wussy magazine. The event is hosted by Brigitte Bidet with appearances by other local queens. DJ Male and a best butt contest will also be on tap, Heretic Atlanta, 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., www.hereticatlanta.com (Screencap image) The new Cirque du Soleil show “Kurios” has opened at Atlantic Station, with several openly gay performers, with an 8 p.m. curtain tonight, running through May 8, www.cirquedusoleil.com Viva la Fiesta! Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Friends on Ponce, www.friendsonponce-atl.com The Pretty Girl Hideout Thursdays is tonight, hosted by Mook Dahost, Soul Bar at Pal’s Lounge, 254 Auburn Ave., Atlanta, GA 30303, www.traxxgirls.com

FRIDAY, MAY 6

Join Charis in celebrating Atlanta author Brandon Wick’s debut novel, “American Fallout.” In the book, Avery Cullins, a library archivist, former teenage runaway, and a gay man from a small Southern town with a live-in boyfriend and a surly turtle, has to deal with the aftermath of his father’s suicide. That means dealing with the decades-long estrangement he has had with his mother. Wick will read from the book and sign copies. The suggested donation is $5. 7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Atlanta’s best queer comedians come together on one stage to make you laugh and raise money for “Queer Moxie,” the documentary celebrating queer artists.

Come out, toast the creator of the film, Heather Provoncha, for her birthday, support local art and laugh your ass off! Featuring Ian Aber, Brent Star, Bob Killough, Caroline Schmitt and hosted by Julie Osborne. 8 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com Googie Uterhardt plays Hollywood queen Bette Davis in “Me and Jezebel,” tonight at 8 p.m. and running through May 15 at ART Station, www.artstation.org Atlanta Eagle presents the ONYX Southeast “Come Baring All” night at 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com

SATURDAY, MAY 7

Topher Payne, DeWayne Morgan and Cathe Hall Payne star in Charles Busch’s comedic “The Tribute Artist,” presented by The Process Theatre and staged at OnStage Atlanta, at 8 p.m. tonight with performances through May 15, www.onstageatlanta.com Come with The Atlanta Opera as they venture to Verona, and meet Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers “Romeo and Juliet,” whose deaths ultimately reconcile feuding families. Not seen on the Atlanta Opera stage since 2007, Charles Gounod’s opera in five

CONTINUES ON PAGE 26

EVENT SPOTLIGHT TUESDAY, MAY 3

Atlanta author Amber Brock reads from her book “A Fine Imitation” tonight.

7:15 – 9 p.m., Georgia Center for the Book, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur, GA 30030 (Official photo)

April 29, 2016 Best Bets 25

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 acts, sung in French, reexamines the story through a decidedly French romantic lens.

8 p.m., with various performances through May 15, www.cobbenergycentre.com If it’s 9 p.m. at BJ Roosters, hot boys will be on the bar, bartenders will be pouring strong drinks, and DJ Tommy will be spinning fun tunes, 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324

SUNDAY, MAY 8

Politics, sex, religion, loss, and beauty – all of the topics that you can’t talk about over dinner but can at a museum – are open for discussion in “Art AIDS America,” an exhibition that reveals for the first time how the AIDS crisis forever changed American art. Its stop at Kennesaw State University’s Zuckerman Museum of Art is the only Southern stop on its national tour, through May 22, zuckerman.kennesaw.edu.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT WEDNESDAY, MAY 20

The acclaimed, gay-themed “Viva” – shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language film at this year’s Academy Awards – opens at the Midtown Art Cinema today, with various showtimes, www.landmarktheatres.com (Official photo)

DJ Rob Reum spins inside and DJ Robert Ansley spins on the patio at TEN Atlanta tonight, www.tenatlanta.com

MONDAY, MAY 9

Come hang out with the Pride kickball players tonight at Blake’s

Join Malka Packer and InterfaithFamily/ Atlanta for our monthly book club!

May 15th • 3 PM Charis Books & More • 1189 Euclid Ave, Atlanta

Rabbi Malka Packer

This month, we’ll be reading Mychal Copeland’s “Struggling in Good Faith” and discussing the religious struggles and celebrations for LGBTQI inclusion across the American religious landscape. We welcome ALL your voices and stories.

Coming Soon!

Don’t miss our newly forming queer parenting group! Email us today!

To RSVP or if you have questions about this event or our other great Atlanta activities, please email

Atlanta@interfaithfamily.com 26 Best Bets April 29, 2016

www.interfaithfamily.com/Atlanta

and watch “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

TUESDAY, MAY 10

and many more musical acts comprise the Shaky Knees Festival, Centennial Olympic Park and International Plaza, www.shakykneesfestival.com

Get those Cyndi Lauper tunes down!

Angelica D’Paige hosts Drageoke tonight at 10:30 at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

OutlantaCon is an Atlanta-based event for the Queer Geek audience! You’ll find all the usual convention fare here—discussion panels, gaming, costuming, special events—but the difference is that it all has a queer ‘bent’ to it. Here you can enjoy all the convention trappings in an atmosphere where you’re free to be yourself! Marriott Century Center, www.outlantacon.org

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE ON PAGE 31

J’s Lounge is the home for Rainbow Tuesdays, with Dymond Onasis and Nicole Paige Brooks leading the fun and DJ Destin providing house music, 1995 Windy Hill Road #1, Smyrna, GA 30080

Every Wednesday is Bear Hump Hour, 6 - 9 p.m. Woofs Atlanta, www.woofsatlanta.com

THURSDAY, MAY 12

3 Legged Cowboy night at Heretic Atlanta features free line dancing lessons at 8 p.m. and then an open dance from 9 p.m. – 3 a.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

UPCOMING FRIDAY, MAY 13 – SUNDAY, MAY 15

Florence + the Machine, Jane’s Addiction, Huey Lewis and the News

Me and Jezebel April 28th - May 15th

For ticket information: Visit artstation.org or call (770) 469-1105 ART Station is located in Historic Stone Mountain Village

Starring Aretta Baumgartner.

Featuring Geoff “Googie” Uterhardt as the irascible queen of Hollywood, Bette Davis. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

By MELISSA CARTER

䄀吀䰀䄀一吀䄀ᤠ匀 䘀䤀刀匀吀 唀刀䈀䄀一 圀䤀一䔀刀夀Ⰰ 䤀一吀䤀䴀䄀吀䔀 䴀唀匀䤀䌀 嘀䔀一唀䔀Ⰰ 刀䔀匀吀䄀唀刀䄀一吀Ⰰ ☀ 倀刀䤀嘀䄀吀䔀 䔀嘀䔀一吀 匀倀䄀䌀䔀

⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀

圀䄀匀䄀䈀䄀匀匀䌀伀 䈀唀刀䰀䔀匀儀唀䔀 䨀唀一䔀 ㄀㄀

⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀ 圀䤀一䐀匀吀伀刀䴀 倀刀伀䐀唀䌀吀䤀伀一匀 ☀ 䌀䤀吀夀 圀䤀一䔀刀夀 倀刀䔀匀䔀一吀

䄀一䤀 䐀䤀䘀刀䄀一䌀伀 䨀唀䰀夀 ㈀

⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀ 䄀一 䔀嘀䔀一䤀一䜀 圀䤀吀䠀

䴀䄀䌀夀 䜀刀䄀夀

䨀唀䰀夀 ㄀㠀 ☀ ㄀㤀 ⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀⸀

䈀伀伀䬀 夀伀唀刀 倀刀䤀嘀䄀吀䔀 䔀嘀䔀一吀 吀伀䐀䄀夀℀

䈀䔀䌀伀䴀䔀 䄀 嘀䤀一伀䘀䤀䰀䔀 䴀䔀䴀䈀䔀刀 䘀伀刀 䔀堀䌀䰀唀匀䤀嘀䔀 伀䘀䘀䔀刀匀 㘀㔀 一伀刀吀䠀 䄀嘀䔀一唀䔀 倀伀一䌀䔀 䌀䤀吀夀 䴀䄀刀䬀䔀吀Ⰰ 䄀吀䰀䄀一吀䄀Ⰰ 䜀䄀 㘀㄀㔀⸀㌀㈀㐀⸀㄀ ㄀

䌀䤀吀夀圀䤀一䔀刀夀⸀䌀伀䴀⼀䄀吀䰀䄀一吀䄀

One last ‘kiss’ for Prince When you think of family, the bloodline of your parents or siblings may come to mind. As members of the LGBT community, we are often forced to broaden that definition to those who love and accept us for who we are. As a society we are expanding the definition of family to those who take care of you and who you take care of.

I credit the sudden death of Prince last week for inspiring me to see family as those who are there for you through the ups and downs of your life, and based on that definition, Prince was a member of my family.

I was 12 years old when the album “1999” was released, and I was very excited to receive my vinyl copy of the iconic work.

My older sister was visiting and instead of being excited at the new gem I had to show her, she was appalled. By what? The phallic “1” in the title on the cover. As a blossoming lesbian just entering into puberty, I had no idea or interest in what that was or meant.

However, my sister was so protective of my virgin mind she immediately took nail polish from the bathroom and painted over the graphic symbol. I still have that album, gold painted penis and all.

I was 16 when I experienced my first sexual relationship, and the song I would sing to my love was Prince’s newly-released single “Kiss.” So distracted was I by that song and who it made me think of, I locked my keys in my car right in front of my high school one morning. Singing it loud and proud as I pulled into Central High School, I parked the car and gleefully got out and locked it up. What I failed to realize that in my romantic bliss I had not only left the keys in the car but the radio blaring as well. Since this was before cell phones I had to make the walk of shame into the school office to call the cops to come help unlock my car. I’m sure my classmates got a kick out of watching me through the classroom window as I stood next to the officer who jimmied my

“I credit the sudden death of Prince last week for inspiring me to see family as those who are there for you through the ups and downs of your life, and based on that definition, Prince was a member of my family.” door open, all while the radio is still blasting.

My door’s lock never worked right after that.

When my girlfriend broke up with me the next school year, leaving me for a guy, Prince’s movie “Under the Cherry Moon” was released. I remember sitting outside my friend Robin’s house, not quite ready to take my heartbreak into her house to socialize, instead pining in my car to the title track, “I Wonder U,” and “Sometimes It Snows in April.” How could she do that to me? Prince was there to help ease that pain.

That’s just the beginning of a lifetime of memories triggered by Prince lyrics and melodies. I’m sure much of your life’s soundtrack was provided by Prince as well, and that is why so many online profiles were changed to purple rain in the last week. You just always assume that a family member, who has been part of your world for your entire life will always be there. I never realized how prophetic Prince was when he sang: Sometimes it snows in April, Sometimes I feel so bad Sometimes I wish life was never ending, And all good things, they say, never last Shame.

Melissa Carter is one of the Morning Show hosts on B98.5. In addition, she is a writer for the Huffington Post. She is recognized as one of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta and one of the few in the country. Follow her on Twitter@MelissaCarter

28 Columnists April 29, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

By RYAN LEE

Appreciating the flimsy faith of America’s Christian leaders My friend has been experimenting with organic mixology lately, and after a sip of one of his latest creations, the most encouraging review I could offer was, “It’s not as bad as I expected it to be.”

“Well then, ‘Cheers!’” he said, gleefully raising his glass for a toast. “But it still won’t become a regular recipe -- it’s hell trying to keep the Gouda liquefied.”

The only folks more desperate for a compliment than Atlanta’s worst bartender are America’s Christian leaders, which is understandable given how lovelorn they’ve been in recent years. After being coldly scorned by the courts, pop culture and big business regarding LGBT rights, they’ve become desperate for any praise they can get, as evidenced by an emerging talking point among Christian conservatives.

“Do you know where gay people are being persecuted right now?” GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz asked actress Ellen Page after she confronted him at a campaign stop last year. “ISIS is executing gay people, Iran is executing homosexuals, and on the left, you hear complete silence about Iran hanging homosexuals.”

The recent uproar over “religious liberty” bills has prompted Republican politicians from Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant to Georgia state Sen. Josh McKoon to decry the supposed hypocrisy of LGBT folks and liberals for not condemning Islamic homophobia with the same force that they criticize Christian bakers.

This is of course untrue, since neither Cruz nor McKoon would know about LGBT people being thrown off buildings in the Middle East were it not for liberal and LGBT activism. And it’s telling that the religious right is not condemning the brutality LGBT folks endure in Islamic cultures, but rather that it goes uncredited for not beheading homosexuals in the U.S. So let me formally thank American Christians for their flimsy adherence to their faith, and for pretending their god does not proscribe the same punishment for homowww.thegeorgiavoice.com

“Throw $5 into a collection plate, or make it through two months of a page-a-day calendar of Bible verses, and many are ready to claim righteousness and justify any bias.” sexuals that we see being administered by Muslim fundamentalists. For if they followed their lord’s commands as faithfully as some Muslims do, Christians would be as barbaric and abominable as the “radical Islamic extremists” they regularly denounce.

A solid majority of American Christians couldn’t begin to offer a theological explanation for why gay people should no longer be stoned or otherwise “put to death.” Most would probably guess, “Because it’s in the Old Testament,” reducing half of their god’s word to a rough draft.

There are benefits to the superficiality of American Christianity, but it also makes it easy for believers to be exploited by opportunistic bigots. Throw $5 into a collection plate, or make it through two months of a page-a-day calendar of Bible verses, and many are ready to claim righteousness and justify any bias.

While Christians are begging government to protect their “sincerely held religious beliefs,” what they really want is for policy to enforce the incoherent exercise of their faith. One’s religion does not have to be perfect to deserve constitutional protection, but it shouldn’t permit folks to opt-out of public accommodations laws (i.e. civil decency codes) when they believe the Bible affirms their popularly held prejudices.

And Christian leaders should stop invoking Islamic homophobia as proof of their own virtue, because all it does is expose their spiritual envy of a group that loves and honors their god more than they ever could.

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

April 29, 2016 Columnists 29

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LAST WORD QPuzzle AMERICAN HORROR STORY

ACROSS 1 Put a head on cappuccino 6 A man named Connie.

10 DeGeneres voice role 14 Sinister-looking Peter 15 Pertaining to most students 16 Sherman Hemsley religious sitcom 17 *She played Amazon Eve 19 k.d. lang record label 20 Feeling of hitting rock bottom 21 Haul ass 22 Thomas of “That Girl” 23 Trick 24 *Sarah, who played Billie Dean Howard 26 Anne Frank account 29 Producers of rainbows 31 “Man ___ Mancha” 32 Atmospheric prefix 33 Place for a light meal 38 *He played Will Drake 41 It helps you go up and down with your partner 42 Fruitcake 43 Shakespeare’s foot 44 Big-top employee 46 Do a facial in a porn film, e.g.

47 *Quinton, who play Chad Warwick 51 Part of YSL 53 One that lies on the bottom

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54 56 59 60 62 63 64 65 66 67

Hangout for Natalie Barney “The Advocate”, briefly Village People’s “In the ___” *He played Larry Harvey Frasier’s response to a client Lodge members Beat off Game groups, to Mauresmo “___ first you don’t succeed ...”

Come together

DOWN 1 Killed, to King James 2 Mower brand 3 Canal traveled by New York ferries 4 Boat with a pair of bears 5 Pathetically small 6 Robin’s gay guys 7 Edison’s middle name 8 Lab primates 9 Family 10 Like a pair of orifices 11 Eastern positions 12 Tennessee Williams’ lover Frank 13 “There’s a single runner” to Billy Bean 18 “The Name of the Rose” writer 22 Area of the boys in the band 23 Asks for it on one’s knees 25 Chance to get a hit 26 “Before Stonewall” and others

27 “___ Walked Into My Life” (“Mame”) 28 Protected, to seamen 30 Cara of “Fame” 32 Nobelist Sadat 34 Bounds gaily 35 Peter the Great, e.g.

36 Caesar’s city 37 “Walk ___” (Warwick hit) 39 Patronize, as a Rubicon restaurant 40 Roster for those who may be really hung?

45 Threesome member, with “me” and “I”?

46 Frida Kahlo’s woman 47 Pueblo builders 48 Bring down 49 Want thy neighbor’s ass, for example 50 Sean of “Will & Grace” 52 Your, to Proust 55 “Diana” singer 56 Alec of “Desperate Housewives” 57 Deity on “Xena” 58 Gets hard 60 Opus ___ (“The Da Vinci Code” group) 61 Line of Todd Oldham dresses?

Answers on page 26

April 29, 2016 Last Word 31

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