06/04/21, Vol. 12 Issue 6

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(bik-TAR-vee)

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:  Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months, and may give you HBV medicine.

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:  Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section.  Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that may have been hidden in your body. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY.  Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY.  Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.  Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.  The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).

These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults and children who weigh at least 55 pounds. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains:  dofetilide  rifampin  any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you:  Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.  Have any other health problems.  Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY.  Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:  Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.  BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other.

Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

GET MORE INFORMATION  This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.  Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5  If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, KEEP ASPIRING, and LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: February 2021 © 2021 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0369 04/21

BVYC0369_BIKTARVY_B_10X10-5_GeorgiaVoice_Dimitri_r1v1jl.indd All Pages

DIMITRI LIVING WITH HIV SINCE 2018 REAL BIKTARVY PATIENT

KEEP ASPIRING.

Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you.

See Dimitri’s story at BIKTARVY.com.

Featured patient compensated by Gilead.

Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com.

3/31/21 12:27 PM

voice

georgia VOL.12 • ISSUE 6

ABOUT THE COVER: Cover photo by Shutterstock.com / Melinda Nagy

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FINE PRINT

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4 Editorial June 4, 2021

EDITORIAL

Growing Up with the Georgia Voice Katie Burkholder Exactly one year ago, I wrote an editorial titled “It’s Not Me, It’s You,” announcing I would be Deputy Editor of the Georgia Voice. A lot has changed since then.

Now, there’s the obvious matter of that little thing called the coronavirus. In June 2020, the pandemic was at its peak (or at least one of its many peaks), and I was just beginning to grow accustomed to virtual learning and a depleted social life. In June 2021, I’m fully vaccinated and wondering if it’s possible to overdose on serotonin, as the rush I’ve gotten from going out with friends and making travel plans again is even stronger than I expected it to be.

But, even outside of the pandemic, my life has changed drastically. I officially embarked on a brand-new journey, that of a college graduate. A month ago, I graduated summa cum laude (sorry, but publishing that humblebrag is my graduation present to myself ) from Georgia State University with my Bachelor in English Rhetoric and Composition and a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been a bittersweet moment: I loved college a lot. However, what with the agony of online learning, I had been itching to graduate and finally leave jargony theory and mountains of discussion boards in the past for good.

While it’s an exciting enough milestone on its own, my graduation also means three other exciting things (the last of which hinges on the previous two). One, I’m finally a degree holder. Two, 15 to 20 hours of

schoolwork a week has been eliminated from my life, cracking my schedule wide open.

Three, (and this one’s the kicker!) I can drop the “Deputy” in my title and lead the Georgia Voice as Editor full time.

I became an English major in 2017 because I wanted to be in print and digital media. I became a WGSS minor because I’m passionate about gender equality and liberation, on both a feminist and queer front. Needless to say, this is pretty much my dream job.

But it’s more than that; this is a position at a company that I truly love. The Georgia Voice is where I established myself as a writer. I can still remember my first-ever interview for an article on LGBTQ Alzheimer’s caretakers with Dr. Whitney Wharton in 2018. I was absolutely terrified. Now, interviewing incredible community members like Sen. Jon Ossoff; Mary Anne Adams of ZAMI NOBLA; drag queens Tamisha Iman, Miss LaLa Ri, Evah Destruction; and Gwinnett County Board of Education member Everton Blair has become my favorite part of the job.

I have grown tremendously over the past three years because of the people behind the Georgia Voice: the editors that came before me, Berlin Sylvestre and Patrick Colson-Price, both taught me so much about journalism, and the rest of the editorial team — Tim Boyd and Rob Boeger — have shown me invaluable support. I feel so lucky to work with such amazing and dedicated people.

I have grown up with the Georgia Voice, and I plan to move forward with this new position with even more love and dedication.

I will continue on with our mission of covering Southeastern LGBTQ news, but I want to do more with this platform. Being a smaller, independent, and niche media

source, we have the opportunity to highlight and platform marginalized people who are ignored by mainstream media. I want to highlight more queer women and young people of color, up-and-coming artists and activists, trans and nonbinary people, and all others living at the intersection of identity.

I want to use this platform to celebrate the diversity of people that LGBTQ represents.

I’m embarking into for real adulthood, complete with responsibility and freedom — both simultaneously exciting and terrifying concepts. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous to lead this publication, but I know that my love for the Georgia Voice comes with the dedication to doing right by y’all, our readers.

I’m beyond overjoyed to be writing this editorial, celebrating this accomplishment, and honoring the paper that I love. But, like I wrote in my editorial one year ago, this isn’t about me. I’m not interested in sharing anecdotes from my life with y’all. I’m interested in writing editorials and articles that explore the issues you and I care about, the people we admire, and a community grounded in love and acceptance.

I’m so excited for this opportunity. I’m so excited to keep growing up with this paper.

I’m so excited to talk to more inspiring individuals and share their stories. I’m so excited for what the future of the Georgia Voice has to offer all of us.

If you have a story you want to tell, tell it; email me at kburkholder@thegavoice.com.

Keep up with us online: follow The Georgia Voice on Instagram (@thegeorgiavoice), Twitter (@theGAvoice) and Facebook (facebook.com/TheGAVoice).

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

NEWS BRIEFS Staff Reports Atlanta Pride is the Ninth Best Pride in the Country, New Research Shows Atlanta ranks as one of the top ten Pride events in the country, according to research from In My Area (IMA).

Just ahead of Pride month, IMA released research detailing the best cities in the U.S. to celebrate Pride. Atlanta ranked ninth in the country, scoring an average rating of 7.87 out of 10. Atlanta beat out Key West (7.81) but fell behind San Francisco (7.88), Los Angeles (7.89), Boston (7.9), Denver (7.91), Seattle (7.94), Columbus (8.01), New York City (8.02), and the best city to celebrate Pride, Washington, D.C. (8.2).

While Washington, D.C. was found to be the overall favorite, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco performed better when participants were asked to hypothetically choose only one city to attend their next Pride event in. 21 percent of respondents chose New York City, 16 percent chose Los Angeles, and 11 percent chose San Francisco.

Only three percent chose Atlanta.

FILE PHOTO BY ROB BOEGER

negatively impacted their lives.

Other key findings include: 94% of LGBTQ youth reported that recent politics negatively impacted their mental health.

The data was collected from a sample of 1,521 American adults over the age of 18.

Of the people surveyed, 70 percent had ever attended a Pride event. Participants were given a list of fifteen city choices to select from when answering questions.

“The past year has been incredibly difficult for so many LGBTQ young people because of multiple crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the hostile political climate and repeated acts of racist and transphobic violence. This data makes clear that LGBTQ youth face unique mental health challenges and continue to experience disparities in access to affirming care, family rejection, and discrimination,” Amit Paley, CEO & Executive Director of The Trevor Project, said. “We are proud that this survey sample is our most diverse yet, with 45% being LGBTQ youth of color and 38% being transgender or nonbinary. The data speaks to the wide variety of experiences and identities held by LGBTQ youth across the country, and emphasizes the need for comprehensive, intersectional policy solutions to confront systemic barriers and end suicide.”

80% of LGBTQ Youth Reported the Pandemic Badly Stressed Them Out In its third annual survey released late last week, The Trevor Project found that well over two-thirds of the 35,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 24 across the United States interviewed reported that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic have largely

According to the report, 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth.

Additionally, 12% of white youth attempted suicide compared to 31% of Native/ Indigenous youth, 21% of Black youth, 21% of multiracial youth, 18% of Latinx youth, and 12% of Asian/Pacific Islander youth.

New York City was also the most popular parade among participants who had attended two or more Pride events.

Participants were also asked what part of Pride they enjoyed the most. Live music was by far the number one draw, taking the top spot.

Following live music came parades, parties, family-friendly activities, political activism, art exhibits, and celebrity attendance.

6 News Briefs June 6, 2021

Atlanta Pride Parade

70% of LGBTQ youth stated that their mental health was “poor” most of the time or always during COVID-19.

48% of LGBTQ youth reported they wanted counseling from a mental health professional but were unable to receive it in the past year.

30% of LGBTQ youth experienced food insecurity in the past month, including half of all Native/Indigenous LGBTQ youth.

75% of LGBTQ youth reported that they had experienced discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity at least once in their lifetime.

Half of all LGBTQ youth of color reported discrimination based on their race/ethnicity in the past year, including 67% of Black LGBTQ youth and 60% of Asian/Pacific Islander LGBTQ youth.

13% of LGBTQ youth reported being subjected to conversion therapy, with 83% reporting it occurred when they were under age 18.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

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June 4, 2021 Ads 7

NEWS

Pride Without Police NYC Pride bans cops from event

NYC Pride

things they aren’t equipped to do.”

PHOTO VIA FACEBOOK

Walker noted that the Reclaim Pride Coalition has “had two unpoliced Queer Liberation Marches with no cops and the only instances of violence to occur were from the NYPD.”

Luke Gardner Still, today in the U.S., mass shootings and white supremacist terrorism are horrifyingly common.

Read the full article online at thegavoice.com.

The New York City Pride committee recently decided to ban police from all Pride events until 2025. The decision comes after years of activists calling for the removal of police from the annual event.

NYC Pride released a statement explaining that the event “will transition to providing increased community-based security and first responders, while simultaneously taking steps to reduce NYPD presence at events.”

In making the choice to ban cops, NYC Pride cited the violence and danger people of color and trans, Black, and Indigenous communities face from police. Seeking to eliminate “an atmosphere of fear or harm,” the ban maintains that police stay at least one block away from the parade except in cases of absolute emergency.

Last summer, on the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, police assaulted protesters with pepper spray and batons during the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and against police brutality. Jay Walker, organizer and co-founder of the Reclaim Pride Coalition, the organization that organized the march, was there, and recalled the incident in an interview with Georgia Voice.

“The officers who were lurking around the area are called the strategic response group,” Walker said. “[The SRG] was founded to fight terrorism — like to attend to suitcase bombs — [yet] with rise of Black Lives Matter, NYPD decided that they would redeploy SRG to focus on BLM 8 News June 4, 2021

protests and immigrant protests.” Weeks prior, on June 2, NYPD boxed in protesters protesting the murder of George Floyd at the Manhattan Bridge.

“A friend of mine had his arm broken by NYPD, was given a concussion, and held in holding cells for hours [where he] received no medical care,” Walker continued.

Walker pointed out that NYC is a sanctuary city and contended undocumented people in the city — many of whom immigrated to escape anti-queer violence in their home countries — shouldn’t have to worry about being assaulted or deported by ICE at Pride.

Thus, the community push for this decision is a direct reaction to the multitude of police murders of unarmed people of color, to police violence against queer people and immigrants, and to the intimidation and fear experienced by protesters.

The decision is also likely motivated by the historical origins of Pride itself, as it was the NYPD who raided the Stonewall Inn on that infamous night of June 28, 1969.

What we know as Pride today — although

seemingly a world apart from its origins — only exists because queer people rioted in response to NYPD’s regularly occurring racist and anti-queer bar raids. Last June, 50 years later, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill apologized for the department’s actions at Stonewall.

So, without police, who protects us? It’s a question regularly asked in today’s politics amid the calls from some activists, organizations, and politicians to defund and abolish the police. Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, David Johns, who was thanked directly in NYC Pride’s statement, called out the privilege of this question.

“This response is reflective of how white supremacy works,” he said. “It’s reflective of individuals who have, or think that they have, benefited from an increase in police presence, [but] an increase in police presence is not indicative of lesser crimes.

[There have] always been ways to make communities safer that don’t look like [what] American capitalist colonialist [police] are empowered to do, in particular in non-white queer spaces … Police get resources to do

On June 12, 2016, just hours after the horrific shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, a man was arrested by Santa Monica police with a car full of guns on his way to Los Angeles Pride. Thankfully, the Pride event continued without incident.

In the absolute worst-case scenario of a bomb or mass shooter, Walker raises the point that the NYPD’s usual structure of barricades kettles people in, making it hard if not impossible to run to safety.

NYPD will likely be just one block away, but not participating in the parade. NYC Pride’s statement explains that security will be handled by “trained private security, community leaders, and volunteers” and that the NYPD can intervene in cases of absolute emergency.

Walker noted that private security firms can often contain former cops, some of whom might have been kicked off the force for any number of reasons.

Some questions remain about how NYC Pride will structure the parade in terms of contingents, barricades, and physical placement of security.

“The irony is that the two entities who are responsible for the dramatic shift, [NYC] Pride and NYPD, worked in concert for years to create the over-corporate, overproduced, over-barricaded Pride, and now those groups have seemingly divorced themselves,” Walker said. “We’ll see if it’s just a trial separation.”

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

COMMUNITY

America the Beautiful?

The Gayly Dose hosts live podcast on June 22 Katie Burkholder For the first time, The Gayly Dose, Atlanta’s podcast by and for gay men, will be recording an episode in front of a live studio audience. They’ll be serving up a dose of politics, and they’ve got a few special guests to help them out.

On June 22, the cast will join out state representatives Sam Park and Matthew Wilson, as well as the City’s Director of LGBTQ Affairs, Malik Brown, to discuss all things LGBTQ politics and the gay agenda.

“Considering the year we’ve had and even politics aside, we definitely saved this episode and our distinguished guests and legendary moderator for this exciting and first-ever live format,” said The Gayly Dose founder Helmut Domagalski. “The Gayly Dose seeks to have a meaningful conversation about the topic of politics, which is something people felt very strongly about over COVID and the election season. The topic needs to not end as we come out of COVID; it needs to be reignited.

Our leadership in the gay community isn’t going to come from somewhere else; it needs to come from within the community.”

The panel will discuss workplace equality, conversion therapy, outcome-driven governance, the Equality Act, trans issues, and more, all moderated by out journalist Rich Eldredge.

“We’re going to talk about everything as general as, ‘What does being gay in politics mean to you in 2021?’ to the recent Supreme Court ruling on workplace equality and what is and isn’t protected,” Eldredge said.

“We’re going to talk about trans rights and the [anti-trans] bills that keep marching through state houses and the ongoing issue of violence against trans women. It’s going to be a wide-ranging conversation.”

10 Community June 4, 2021

The Gayly Dose crew COURTESY PHOTO

The episode, which will air a week after the event on June 29, will be taped and recorded in front of a live audience at Out Front Theatre Company (999 Brady Ave). The event begins at 6pm with a cocktail reception and meet and greet with the cast and guests, then the podcast kicks off at 7pm. The conversation will conclude with a Q&A of questions submitted by listeners during the cocktail hour and via social media.

“Out Front is excited to host this important panel of speakers and local representatives here at our theater,” said Paul Conroy, Out Front’s founder and artistic director.

“It’s a great opportunity to bring together ambassadors of Atlanta’s gay community in one safe space to discuss these topics and issues.”

Eldredge told Georgia Voice that, following

the events of 2020, this in-person event couldn’t come at a better time.

“This is the perfect time for this conversation,” he said. “There are so many things that are happening here that indicate what Georgia’s future might be. We’re at a really interesting intersection in state politics right now. I think last November and the runoffs in January certainly told us that there are changes afoot in the state of Georgia. That’s what’s really exciting for me. I try not to focus on the darkness of the last few years and instead on what’s shining ahead of us.”

“It’s a really exciting time,” Eldredge continued, “and when you couple that with a lot of smart people in the same room with an audience that is coming together — not on our living room couches — to spark dialogue, it’s definitely going to be a great time.”

This event is completely free to attend, but seating is limited to comply with CDC guidelines. You can register for America the Beautiful?: A Dose of Politics via Eventbrite at eventbrite.com/e/america-the-beautiful-adose-of-gay-politics-tickets-155856628371.

Based and recorded in Atlanta, The Gayly Dose is a weekly podcast for gay men who seek an elevated conversation. The show’s mission is to help gay men define themselves as part of an evolving community that seeks healthier and more meaningful connections.

The podcast features cast members Helmut Domagalski (@helmut_smile), Dante Rhodes (@thedanterhodes), and Bennett Schnyder (@gaylybennett). They can be found at thegaylydose.com and on social media @thegaylydosepod. You can listen to The Gayly Dose wherever you get your podcasts.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

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

Ellie, Age 57 Her partner, Karen Florida

IN MEMORIAM

He Did Not Equivocate: Remembering Activist Winston Johnson Dave Hayward, Coordinator, Touching Up Our Roots

Winston Johnson FILE PHOTO

Legendary activist Winston Johnson, 79, passed away May 11, 2021. For once fully recognized, Winston was the subject of a major tribute in the Atlanta JournalConstitution on May 14th, “Cancer claims ‘quiet but fierce’ advocate for LGBTQ.” Some folks are pillars of our community and of our city, and Winston is one such person.

When wondering how to respond to the all too frequent assaults on our rights, I would look to Winston, and his strategy was always both pungent and practical. Although he didn’t become a gay activist until his 40s, Winnie was sharp about the best course to take and adamant we are first class citizens, fully and incontrovertibly equal.

He did not equivocate.

As someone who came out about the same time as the Stonewall riot, I’m moved by what Winston and his late husband Leon Allen endured in the not-so-fabulous 1940s and 1950s. Growing up in Greenville, Florida, Winston was all too aware of the Johns Commission campaign in Florida to publicly expose gay men and hound them out of their jobs and homes. Our late friend Richard Rhodes actually fled Florida to escape being picked up by the police for simply going out to gay bars. In 1967, Winston and Leon decamped for friendlier turf in Atlanta.

I can’t imagine what it was like to flee your home just to stay out of jail.

Living with Leon but encased in the closet in his job at Eastern Airlines, Winston successfully deflected his supervisor’s charge, “I hear you are a homosexual,” and immediately transferred. His new assignment involved escorting VIPs, and so he was chaperoning Abigail McCarthy on 12 In Memoriam June 4, 2021

April 5, 1968, when she was campaigning for her husband Senator Eugene McCarthy, who was running for president. Eastern employees informed Mrs. McCarthy that Coretta Scott King was arriving from Memphis carrying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., home to his final rest. Winston escorted Mrs. McCarthy to Mrs. King, who he reports was composed despite her loss, and Mrs. King invited them to her house for Dr. King’s wake.

What I love about Winston is how regular a guy he was. “Harry Belafonte was in the kitchen!” he exclaimed when I asked him about the wake. Even in tragedy, he still managed to be starstruck. Gleefully irreverent, Winston enjoyed his rep as “the upgrade queen” and religiously booted Mrs. King up to first class as she continued Dr. King’s work. Over the years, Winston and Leon helped Mrs. King build the King Center and secure the King holiday and eventually became part of her extended

family — even while some of Mrs. King’s family spoke gay slurs about them and Mrs. King’s longtime aide Lynn Cothren.

However, it wasn’t until 1986 that Winston officially came out to Mrs. King. When the Supreme Court decided in the Bowers v. Hardwick decision that outlawing samesex relations was allowed, Winston called his new friend Vic Basile at the Human Rights Campaign Fund. “I have a famous friend who could speak up for us,” Winston confided, and Vic said, “Oh yes, please!”

“Well, the problem is, I have to come out to her” Winston added.

So, in a late night phone conversation, Winston finally told Mrs. King that he and Leon were a couple. “Winston, I knew you and Leon loved each other,” Mrs. King said.

I revel in the fact that Winston did not miss a beat. “Well I’m going to ask you to

“What I love about Winston is how regular a guy he was. ‘Harry Belafonte was in the kitchen!’ he exclaimed when I asked him about the wake. Even in tragedy, he still managed to be starstruck. Gleefully irreverent, Winston enjoyed his rep as ‘the upgrade queen’ and religiously booted Mrs. King up to first class as she continued Dr. King’s work.” do something then,” he exhorted. A simple “where and when” from Mrs. King and, poof! She became keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign dinner in New York in September 1986 and remained our steadfast ally until her passing in 2006.

It’s remarkable how personal connections impact history, even if most of us don’t know celebrities. The civil rights movement and the LGBTQ rights movement coalesce in two people. Because of them, there is a direct line from the ongoing struggle for civil rights to the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ rights.

At a time when our rights were on the ropes, Winston changed our future, enlisting powerful advocates for us, such as Mrs. King and Julian Bond and John Lewis, among others.

I am honored to know him and strive to emulate him.

Winston Johnson’s personal archive now resides at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript Archives and Rare Books Library (MARBL) at Emory University.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Find Your Way Home!

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

June 4, 2021 The Pink Page 13

PRIDE

From Sea to Shining Sea: Pride Celebrations are Back Across the Country Olivia Martin As the opportunity for gatherings becomes safer due to the U.S. vaccine rollout, Pride events are starting to pick back up after largely being canceled for the past year. Though travel restrictions may make it hard to cross borders for Pride, you can attend these events without going too far. Many of them can even be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home, with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic bringing about expanded virtual elements. Wherever you may be and whatever your comfort level with in-person events, there is ample opportunity to celebrate and show your Pride this month and beyond!

Check out these events to see what’s available to attend both from home and across the country: Boston, Mass.: June 4–13 The 50th anniversary of Boston Pride has been met with challenging circumstances, including the need to move many events online and postpone in-person elements due to city and state guidelines. Though there is not yet a rescheduled date released for the parade, Bostonians near and far can attend events such as a flag-raising ceremony and a Pride lights ceremony online. Learn more at bostonpride.org.

Los Angeles, Calif.: June 11–12, 26 Christopher Street West/LA Pride organized the world’s first permitted gay rights march over 50 years ago in 1970, and now, in a year like no other, it’s still going strong. Alongside a broadcast Pride event on June 12, LA Pride will sponsor two exciting in-person ticketed events: a Pride Night at Dodgers Stadium and an LGBTQ+ Movie Night at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Learn more at lapride.org.

San Francisco, Calif.: June 11–12; October 10 Year after year, San Francisco hosts the largest 14 Pride June 4, 2021

Capital Pride FILE PHOTO BY ROB BOEGER

Pride festival in the country. Though the Pride Expo slated for the month of June was canceled, SF Pride will be hosting a movie night at Oracle Park showcasing In The Heights and Everybody’s Talking about Jamie on June 11 and 12 as well as a Black Liberation Event at the African American Art and Culture Complex on June 18. And there is more to come! In October, SF Pride will hold its inaugural National Coming Out Day festival in the Castro. Learn more at sfpride.org.

COVID-19 pandemic by offering a range of virtual and in-person experiences throughout the month of June. Rounding out the exciting in-person events is PrideFest, an annual LGBTQ street fair, which is in its 27th year.

And culminating events on June 27 include the NYC Pride Broadcast special as well as a virtual March experience that features some of the organizations that would typically march in a physical parade. Learn more at nycpride.org.

Washington, D.C.: June 11–13 Rated the best Pride in the country by In My Area, D.C.’s Pride is not going anywhere this year: the Capital Pride Alliance offers both inperson and virtual events this June. In place of a typical parade, Capital Pride will debut the “Colorful Pridemobile Parade” on June 12, featuring the DC Pride-staple Pridemobile trolley as well as automobiles decorated by organizations and businesses. The yearly Capital Pride Honors will be a hybrid event, with a limited number of tickets on sale for in-person attendance and a livestream for those who can’t make it to watch from home.

Learn more at capitalpride.org.

Columbus, Ohio: June 19 Forty years after the first Columbus Pride march, typical events have been curbed by COVID-19 guidance and requirements, and yet, Stonewall Columbus Pride still has a plethora of exciting things in store. In addition to a virtual Pride livestreamed event on June 19, there will be Pride-related events throughout the month, including a virtual Stonewall Pride 5K and Pride Bike Ride.

Learn more at stonewallcolumbus.org.

New York City, N.Y.: June 17–27 There’s no better place to attend Pride than the very city of its origin. Including everything from movie nights to a virtual human rights conference, NYC Pride has adapted to the

Chicago, Ill.: June 26–27; October 3 The Windy City has a lot to offer in terms of exciting in-person events. Though Chicago’s Pride events typically all occur during Pride month, Chicago Pride is changing shape this year in order to prioritize being able to gather in person. It has set a date of October 3 for a one-time-only postponed parade and

plans to safely host Pride in the Park events in Chicago’s Grant Park in June. Learn more at chicagopride.gopride.com/info.cfm.

Denver, Colo.: June 26–27 Denver is serving the Rocky Mountain region with a mix of virtual and in-person events to celebrate the occasion. The parade will be completely virtual as a livestream featuring “units” submitted by the organizations and businesses that would normally march, but the yearly Denver Pride 5K will have both virtual and in-person ways to participate. And people will be welcome to gather safely at certain designated venues dubbed “Pride hubs” around the city. Learn more at denverpride.org.

Seattle, Wash.: June 26–27 In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle will be having a completely virtual 2021 Pride, with an online event featuring speakers and performers. Even though it’s completely online, the event is sure to be far from dull.

Big Freedia, also known as the Queen of Bounce Music, is set to headline the virtual event. Learn more at seattlepride.org.

Austin, Texas: August 14 Austin’s annual Pride Festival and Parade is scheduled to take place in person later this summer. Featuring live music and fun family-friendly events like drag queen story times, the Pride Festival will take over Fiesta Gardens on August 14, with a Pride Parade to take place the same day, traversing the streets of the Texas capital. Learn more at austinpride.org.

Orlando, Fla.: October 9 The local professional soccer teams are not the only Pride active in Orlando this year! Come Out With Pride, Orlando’s Pride organization, plans on a completely in-person parade in October of this year. Additionally, the city will be hosting the National Trans Visibility March and anticipates thousands of transgender and nonbinary individuals in attendance. Learn more at comeoutwithpride.org.

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NEW EPISODES WEEKLY! FEATURED PANELISTS

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June 22, 2021 - 7:00 pm

Join the Gayly Dose and our panelists as we discuss workplace equality, conversion therapy, outcome-driven government, record-breaking anti-trans legislation, and racism in the gay community.

Out Front Theatre Company 999 Brady Ave NW Atlanta, GA Cocktails 6:00 - 7:00 pm

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MALIK BROWN

SAM PARK

Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs, City of Atlanta

GA State Representative, 101st District

MATTHEW WILSON

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GA State Representative, 80th District

The best, new PODCAST that invites VULNERABLE AND HONEST dialogue about EVERYDAY AND TABOO topics that gay men don’t necessarily discuss with each other in traditional GAY SETTINGS … BUT SHOULD. Listen in and then get your friends together and continue the conversation with them.

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June 4, 2021 Ads 15

PRIDE

Best Bets: Pride Month in Atlanta Katie Burkholder

“Jerker” PHOTO VIA FACEBOOK

Happy Pride month, Atlanta! While official Atlanta Pride isn’t until October, that doesn’t mean you have to wait to celebrate. All month long, check out some of the best Pride events Atlanta has to offer, from virtual plays to baseball games and everything in between. There’s something for everyone!

Out Front Theatre June Streaming Content: June 1 Out Front Theatre is celebrating Pride month by offering five productions for streaming at only $10 a show, which include two re-releases and two cabarets from last year.

The selections include “Jerker,” a twocharacter production touching on the HIV/ AIDS epidemic of the ’80s; “warplay,” a funny and poetic reimagination of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus of Ancient Greece; “Role Reversal Cabaret,” including more than 15 performers in gender-bending productions of classic tunes and modern hits; “Chromatic Cabaret,” a themed cabaret including songs with color themes ranging from sultry jazz to upbeat pop; and “Nearly Naked Cabaret,” with performers in the bare essentials (don’t worry, it’s PG-13) performing sexy, sultry covers of show tunes and pop.

All shows will be available for streaming via the Out Front website, outfronttheatre.com, starting June 1. Proceeds from sales go directly to the nonprofit theater.

Atlanta Braves Pride Night: June 15, 5:20pm Celebrate LGBTQ Pride and team pride at the same time at Truist Park as the Atlanta Braves take on the Boston Red Sox. Head to the pregame party at the Coca-Cola Roxy to enjoy the musical stylings of DJ Kimber from Nonsense ATL and receive a Braves Pride cooler bag as a souvenir. Then, head over to the ballpark to cheer on the Braves at 7:20pm.

A portion of ticket sales will benefit LostN-Found Youth. Buy tickets at mlb.com/ 16 Pride June 4, 2021

braves/tickets/specials/pride.

Evening for Equality: June 17, 7pm Join Georgia Equality to celebrate another year of fighting for LGBTQ equality. This free virtual event will honor Georgia Equality’s progress and review their plans for the future.

Learn more at georgiaequality.org.

YAAAAAAS Broadway! Concert: June 18 and 19, 8pm The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus brings musical theater magic to the comfort of your home with its third virtual concert.

The category is Broadway realness: enjoy show tunes from classic shows like “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Wiz,” and “Hello Dolly” as well favorites like “Avenue Q” and “Once on This Island.”

Buy tickets for $20 at voicesofnote.org.

Together Again! Concert: June 19, 6pm Join Atlanta Freedom Bands at The

Gazebo Lawn at Historic Grant Park (759 Boulevard SE) for this performance featuring all of AFB’s performing ensembles: the MetroGnomes Stage Band, Atlanta Freedom Color Guard, and the Marching and Concert Bands. Bring a blanket or chairs, soak in the spring sunset, and dance along to a program that includes Disney classics, Fillmore marches, and bops from the likes of Queen and Lizzo.

This concert is free, but donations are gladly accepted at atlantafreedombands.com. If there is rain, the show will be pushed to June 20 at the same time and place.

Southern Fried Queer Pride Festival: June 24-27 Southern Fried Queer Pride is celebrating seven years of community engagement and mutual aid with a weekend of amazing events. Enjoy an art exhibition at The Bakery; a queer dance party, variety show,

and movie night at Best End Brewing; virtual mutual aid workshops; a pop-up thrift shop and artist market, and a plant potluck and swap!

Learn more about each event and RSVP at southernfriedqueerpride.com.

Out Night at the Georgia Aquarium: June 25, 7pm Let’s reunite over cocktails and fish tails!

This 21+ event is the first in-person Atlanta Pride event in over a year, and it promises to be amazing. Enjoy a one-of-a-kind, socially distanced night at the Georgia Aquarium with extended hours, three complimentary cocktails, dining options for purchase, and music by LGBTQ DJs Seth Breezy and Ree De La Vega.

To maintain social distancing, this event is limited capacity, so grab your tickets ASAP! Tickets are $60 and can be purchased at georgiaaquarium.com/outnight.

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YOUR VOICE

Branding and Self Image Michael Dubin, M.A., Counselor at Living Skills

For over a decade, it has become a “thing” to think about and talk about oneself as a brand. You are encouraged to protect your brand and grow your brand and promote your brand, especially in regard to business relationships. I bring my brand and its services to your business, and I expect us to be on a more or less equal footing.

In addition to this being total B.S., I find it deeply offensive and unhealthy.

Humans are not objects to be branded and sold. We are complex, sentient beings, and each of us is unique and multifaceted. We are not a series of transactions. The idea that all interactions are transactional, that we are each supposed to “get” something out of the transaction each and every time, precludes the higher parts of our nature, like altruism, compassion, understanding, caring, intimacy, and even love.

Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, we heard the idea that, especially in personal relationships, we were to become the right kind of product that “people would want to take off of the shelf.” Become the right product and you will succeed. People will want you. You’ll find the relationship or job you are looking for.

I like and use certain products regularly, but is that the way I would want to be treated — like a paid-for product that is used by the purchaser however they see fit?

The right product/brand wears the right clothes, goes to the right places, knows the right people, watches the right TV shows, likes the right music, and has the right way of thinking. No dissent or divergence or diversity of thought is tolerated. The danger here is that these things that we are supposed to do and be begin to warp our self-image.

If my identity — what I do, say, think, and 18 Columnist June 4, 2021

“Humans are not objects to be branded and sold. We are complex, sentient beings, and each of us is unique and multifaceted. We are not a series of transactions. The idea that all interactions are transactional, that we are each supposed to ‘get’ something out of the transaction each and every time, precludes the higher parts of our nature, like altruism, compassion, understanding, caring, intimacy, and even love.” feel — is that of a product or brand, then I am focusing only on what I need to do or be to please other people professionally or personally. This leaves out important questions, like: Who are you? What do you believe? What matters to you? What brings you joy? Who are you becoming? What fulfills you?

My self-image is how I see myself, and that starts with the components of selfvalue, self-awareness, knowing who I am, knowing my beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and choices. Having a positive selfimage gives me a sense of agency over my own life instead of being something that others use to fulfill their purposes. My selfimage determines my self-worth and how I acknowledge and honor my emotions and their complexity, my self-esteem and

self-confidence, and ultimately, how I love myself. When these values are properly developed, nobody can take them away from you.

When I relate to other people, whether in a business, personal, or intimate relationship, I need to have a real good idea of who it is that I am asking them to relate to. If I have fallen into trying to be the right product or the right brand, then there’s the potential trap of letting others define who I am. I may be a good brand for making your teeth whiter and stronger, but what about my own teeth?

Self-image and self-identity are important issues in our lives and should not be trivialized. Yet with this branded way of thinking, that is exactly what we wind up doing: trivializing ourselves.

Why am I making an issue of this? Because products and brands aren’t authentic. They may be good or bad quality. I may or may not like them. But they are only good for one purpose. They either work or they don’t.

We are all so much more than that. You are so much more than that.

If you have to play the Brand Game at work, that’s okay. But don’t let those narrow confines define who you are and are becoming.

Living Skills offers positive psychology counseling, spiritual counseling and life coaching services in Atlanta for the LGBT community. Also available by Skype. If you have questions, comments or want to find out about our services, please email us at livingskillsinc@gmail.com.

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June 4, 2021 Ads 19

MARÍA HELENA DOLAN REELING IN THE YEARS

Pride Watchlist María Helena Dolan

I say “Pride” into my remote, and Xfinity tries very hard to engage or even grab me.

The screen displays five tiles: L, G, B, T, and Q. Click on a tile, you find a great many selections, some quite satisfying. It would be a shame to let this queer moment pass in the blink of an eye.

I came up with some interesting stuff.

Generally, Xfinity hands you over to a thirdparty app, such as YouTube, Amazon or even Tubi. But you can drill down and down for music, movies, TV series, podcasts, etc.

Somehow, I found “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016, Netflix, Amazon Prime). The incomparable James Baldwin is by turns elegiac and then furious in this documentary.

He wrote the manuscript that became this film, and he wants people to know about oppression, how its corrosiveness seeps into every part of life, and the toll it takes daily.

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There is some amazing spliced-in movie footage not seen since the ’30s and ’40s.

We see Baldwin lecturing at Harvard and debating a Yale professor on the very existence of discrimination on “The Dick Cavett Show.” He is unequivocal when he says “I did not become a Black Panther nor join the Nation of Islam, because I did not believe all white people were devils.”

“Aimee and Jaguar” (1999, Netflix, in German with subtitles) is a true love/hard love story. Two wildly improbable lovers seal a bond in Berlin during World War II. Lily Wurst, soon to be Aimee, has done her duty to the Fatherland by birthing four sons.

She is the wife of a decorated officer, and she dates high German officers while her husband 20 Columnist June 4, 2021

Clockwise from above left: “I Am Not Your Negro,” “Aimee and Jaguar,” and “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.”

is away at the Eastern front. Suddenly, a young woman named Felice is brought into her life by the vagaries of war. The hopelessly smitten Aimee: “All I had in mind was Felice and her wonderful perfume.”

Much later, Lily learns that Felice is Jewish.

Lily nearly turns her out. But they can’t do without each other. They stay together day and night.

When they return from a lakeside bathing trip, the Gestapo is waiting. Deadly unpleasant. Felice (Jaguar) tries to bolt, but she is caught. Lily goes to Gestapo headquarters the next morning and asks after her woman, sealing Felice’s fate.

We see Lily in wartime and then in 1999. She still holds the memories of the two of them as the best life ever offered, and apparently has had no lovers since.

“The Watermelon Woman” (1996, Showtime) put Black lesbian filmmaker Cheryl Dunye on the map. Some great storytelling about a 1940s Black actress and what her life, including racist challenges, was about (warning: Cheryl says, “She isn’t real. I made her up.” Some people insist(ed) that they’ve heard of or actually seen the Watermelon Woman).

“Check It” (2016, Tubi) tells the story of a group of D.C. trans teens from the streets

who’ve banded together for protection and family. They played this film at our Out on Film festival a few years back.

“The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson” (2017, Netflix) should be seen by every queer and all allies, so that life in the cold days can make us appreciate our current times and places, even the darker ones. Coming Out: The LGBT Cultural Revolution before Stonewall is another important bit of history swirling.

“First Dates: The Most Awkward, Adorable and Funny Moments” (2019, CONTINUES ON PAGE 22 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

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June 4, 2021 Ads 21

MARÍA HELENA DOLAN REELING IN THE YEARS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 UK, clips are on YouTube) includes an Asian lesbian, looking comfortably butch, on a date with a femme in a posh London restaurant. The butch lesbian’s companion explains why she recently had a relationship with a man. Why go there? “It was totally on the rebound! I ….”

“So, you fell backwards onto a dick?”

In the same restaurant, there’s a transgender woman on a first date with a cisgender man. She states her truth, and his toothy grin widens.

It’s a relatively modest film. Some of the accents are awfully thick, but I certainly loved the dyke who complained, “I don’t know. You go out on one date, and they want you to go to Ikea with them, to move in together!” (This is apparently a transnational phenomenon … just saying).

The “Queer” tile also serves up some other great stuff, including “Screaming Queens: The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot” (2007, Netflix, Amazon Prime), a documentary covering the riot and what led to it (you can read my column detailing the life of the riot and its aftermath online).

The “gay” tile has a few interesting choices.

I just had to see “The Celluloid Closet” again. Worth the $3.95 rental. There’s also a documentary on Vito Russo (who wrote “The Celluloid Closet”). The splashy Hollywood and Hollywood-ish movies are all here: “Frida,” “Victor/Victoria,” “Blue is the Warmest Color,” “As Good as It Gets,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “The Hours,” etc.

“The Bold Type” (2017, FreeForm) may be dismissed as a trio of gal pals who are a lower-rent “Sex and the City,” but one important difference involves the fact that the character Kat is Black, and she begins a relationship with Adena, an out and proud Muslim lesbian artist. They split up, but Kat formally comes out and gets with other women. Two dykes on one show! Imagine.

“Chavela” (2017) is a documovie about the life of Chavela Vargas (1919–2012) She was a tequila-drinking, gender nonconforming 22 Columnist June 4, 2021

Publicity photos

Clockwise from above left: “The Bold Type,” “Chavela,” and “Pretend It’s a City.”

person who had more lovers than Carter’s has pills. There are home movies here (unseen until now) of her with Frida Kahlo at Frida’s home, Casa Azul. As an ex of hers says, Chavela “was much more than a great love.

So much more. She was a vital experience that transcended everything.” Good enough epitaph for anyone, no?

“Feel Good” (2020–2021) TV series follows the careening life of Mae, a Canadian comedian now relocated to England, her anemic career, her brand-new British girlfriend, and her crazy parents.

“In Now You Know: The History of LGBTQ” (2019, Ellentube), Wanda Sykes breezily presents Queer History in five cartoon minutes. There’s an ahistoric moment, but I did not know about August 31, 1512, in Florence. Apparently, it was the very first Pride march. Who knew?

“Pretend It’s a City” (2021, Netflix) a fun New York series with the one and only Fran Lebowitz dishing to beat someone’s band.

Love me some of this quintessentially acerbic New Yorker. And yes, a lesbian. In uniform.

“All hail Pose” (2019–2021, FX). The first 20 episodes are on Netflix. I revisit from time to time season 2, episode 6 (2019), where Billy!

Fucking! Porter! sings what Judy Garland immortalized with 24–carat heartache:

“There’s nothing sadder than a one man woman, looking for the man that got away.”

Billy rips the song to pieces and queerly stuffs it back together: “A one man man, looking for the man that got away.” He performs this in a hospital AIDS ward, and his audience consists of men we saw early on in the AIDS epidemic, bruised and broken, somehow clinging to life. The men gratefully accept his love offering (and Porter absolutely rocks that silver lame, long-tailed, forever tux).

each other’s brains out, strapped and all. And as fearless computer lionesses, they are central to much of the ensuing action.

“Star Trek: Discovery” (2017, Paramount+) has a gay male couple, one of whom is the gorgeous Wilson Cruz. There are transgalactic, trans-species, and trans-shipboard conflicts, but the two men try to get back to each other — despite Cruz’s character having been murdered and somehow revived.

“Station 19” (2018–, ABC) includes lesbians, gays, and hets living, loving, firefighting, and dealing with patriarchal/racist crap. One recent episode had a quartet of trans women who needed saving — and the burly Black queen who’s a volunteer firefighter carries her sister out of the burning building. Yes, please.

“In P.R.I.D.E. — a Very Gay Documentary” (2019) you get to see and hear Marsha and Sylvia recounting Stonewall and making a place for themselves as “T” people. It includes gag-inducing moments from “documentaries” made by established news entities of the early/ mid-’60s. And then there’s Harvey Milk. And Harvey’s assassination and the night of the protest riot. Clinton and DADT, plus the unbelievable “Defense of Marriage” Act. The Stonewall 25 march (I proudly attended).

Ellen’s coming out. Matthew Shepard and Ellen speaking for him. Lawrence v. Texas, leading (eventually) to same-sex marriage.

And then the stats re: the realities, officially and not, in other countries, vis a vis queer life.

FX has a created number of entertaining, historic, and useful vids, but their piece de resistance is the six-episode “FX PRIDE Docuseries.” It presents six different decades (1950s–2000s) crafted by six different queer filmmakers. This stuff is by turns riveting, exhausting, elating, enraging. They impart knowledge and bodies and theory and historic perspectives, which bring us to the present day.

In episode one of “Sense8” (2015–18, Netflix) you meet Freema Agyeman (best known from Doctor Who) as Amanita and her trans girlfriend Nomi (Jamie Clayton) as they fuck

Other local Pride content worth checking out includes the ZAMI NOBLA podcast and videos, online stories, and podcasts from the Counter Narrative Project.

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June 4, 2021 Ads 23

BUCK JONES THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Space Cowboy

PHOTO BY EAS / JIM GUILLON

Buck Jones My husband has long had a fascination with space, perhaps inspired by his favorite musician David Bowie’s iconic songs, “Starman” and “Space Oddity,” from his Ziggy Stardust phase. So, when the evening news had a segment announcing that the European Space Agency was recruiting astronauts for the first time in 11 years, our ears perked up.

They said they were looking for men and women who have a master’s degree in science, engineering or mathematics. Some of the criteria the agency is looking for in their candidates include having a driver’s license (check), the ability to swim (not a strong swimmer, but okay), works well in a team environment (um, my last job evaluation scored me as “room for improvement,” but the truth of the matter is that Darren in Accounts 24 Columnist June 4, 2021

Payable is a bitch), be able to scuba dive for up to eight hours a day to simulate microgravity in space (all right, I’m done), participate in parabolic flight operations to simulate zero gravity conditions (nope, I throw up on roller coaster rides), and have demonstrated skillful risk assessment in extreme conditions (on the other hand, I have survived Black Fridays at a Best Buy superstore).

While I am probably not the ideal candidate for going up into space as an astronaut, another gay man is breaking the glass ceiling as possibly the first gay space tourist. You might remember Jon Carmichael from the amazing photo he took during the Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 titled, “108.” He is one of the finalists for a planned Elon Musk-branded SpaceX flight in 2023, and while nothing is certain, Carmichael stands a good chance of joining a handful of others as the rocket travels for a week-long “cruise” around the moon.

This is not to be confused with the exciting

Breakthrough Starshot project. While Elon Musk is sending space tourists into orbit and on moon cruises, Mark Zuckerberg and Israeli capital investor Yuri Milner have created a space exploration initiative called “Breakthrough.” With their $100 million initial investment, they anticipate spending up to $10 billion devising nanotechnology to send mini spaceships travelling at 15% – 20% of the speed of light to the nearest star system that has Earth-like planets: Alpha Centauri.

Alpha Centauri is a little over four light years away, so (... doing some quick math ...) it will take around 20 to 30 years for the cluster of spacecraft to arrive. These tiny vessels, by the way, are truly miniature. Weighing only a couple of grams and about the size of a square centimeter, each would be powered by solar wings that extend up to 5 meters in diameter. In zero gravity of space, these 1,000 “Starchips” would be launched by a powerful laser that would give each of them the acceleration needed to speed away

toward the Alpha Centauri star system.

To give you some perspective of how far these little satellites will need to fly once launched, consider this: if our sun were the size of a basketball, the Earth would be the size of a pebble about 106 feet away (a third of a football field). But the next closest star system, Alpha Centauri, would be the distance from Atlanta to El Paso, Texas — from our pebble of Earth to another basketball-sized sun.

The Starchip vessels that arrive — hopefully, several out of the 1,000 will survive the long, perilous flight — would send back photos from their micro cameras (a delay of a little over four years) of the planets in the Alpha Centauri system.

The goal is to launch the Starchips around 2036, just in time for RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 30 (and Miss Vanjie’s twelfth appearance as a contestant on All-Stars 20).

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June 4, 2021 Ads 25

JIM FARMER ACTING OUT

A Trio of LGBTQ Treats

Interviews with cast and crew of “Straight-Jacket,” “Girls Will Be Girls,” and “The Retreat” Jim Farmer

In the last few weeks, more and more movie theaters have opened or expanded their capacity, and all signs point to a welcome return to the cinema. Yet the streaming world continues to be the giant for new LGBTQ releases or features available for the first time.

Strand Releasing, one of the leading distributors of LGBTQ films, has restored and made four of their classics available on demand. That quartet is Adam Salky’s “Dare,” Maria Maggenti’s “The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love,” and Richard Day’s tandem of “Girls Will Be Girls” and “Straight-Jacket.”

“Straight-Jacket” is a 2004 comedy in which a movie star (Matt Letscher) marries his secretary Sally (Carrie Preston) so no one will find out he is gay. Preston was part of the play that Richard Day originally staged and was thrilled when she found out he was turning it into a movie. “It’s such a crackling good script,” Preston said. “When Richard asked if I wanted to join, I said, ‘Are you kidding?’

We were able to do it full justice with all those beautiful sets. Richard was really able to capture the theatricality we had onstage.” The actress got to work with her husband Michael Emerson (“Lost”) on the project, and the two also collaborated again on the LGBTQthemed “Ready? OK!” together.

Preston, who hails from Macon, Georgia, won an Emmy for her work in “The Good Wife” and has been seen in countless movies and TV projects, such as Alan Ball’s “True Blood,” where she played Arlene. Preston 26 Columnist June 4, 2021

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Clockwise from above left: Clinton Leupp stars as Coco Peru in “Girls Will Be Girls,” Carrie Pretson stars in “Straight-Jacket,” and a scene from “The Retreat.”

vividly recalled the days of “True Blood,” where everyone would watch it on a Sunday night and spend the next morning talking about it with their friends. She is currently seen in another wildly popular series, TBS’ “Claws,” which is in its fourth and final season, and she has long prided herself on being an LGBTQ ally. Her first feature film was “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

“Girls Will Be Girls” brought together the delicious threesome of Jack Plotnick (Evie Harris), Clinton Leupp (Coco Peru) and Jeffery Roberson (Varla Jean Merman). “It started as a TV pitch,” Day said. “Socially, Jack and I and friends would go watch Coco and Varla in shows. Watching them, I thought about ‘The Golden Girls’ with three drag queens.” He got an emphatic “no” when he pitched it to TV executives, so he made it himself.

Plotnick was doing sketch comedy, and Evie was a character inspired by an infomercial from the ’80s. “She kept on returning — and Richard had this brilliant idea to put all three

of us together,” Plotnick recalled. “They bounce off of each other so well.”

showing what it’s really like to be a queer person going into the country.”

Those who love horror films will cherish a new release, “The Retreat.” In it, female couple Renee and Valerie, who are early in their relationship but having some difficulties, decide to spend the week at a remote cabin with friends. When they venture outside of the city, however, their friends are gone, and soon the two women realize they are being hunted by a group of militant extremists determined to exterminate them. The film is directed by Pat Mills (best known for “Guidance” and “The Christmas Setup”) and written by Mills and Alyson Richards, who based this film loosely on her experiences. Richards and Mills have long been horror fans and wanted to make this film LGBTQ positive.

The director sees an eerie parallel with the film’s villains and what is going on today.

“What I loved about it is the two leads don’t turn on each other,” said Mills. “They help each other. I find in the horror genre the queer characters can turn on each other.

This was working against those tropes and

“With the rose of social media, a lot of people who don’t like us are able to bond together and become stronger as a group,” he said. “We call them trolls, but they are very dangerous, especially in the United States.

They are threatened by equality and want to take rights away from other people or get rid of them because they think it’s taking away from theirs.”

While “The Retreat” is Mills’ first horror film, he said he would happily return to the genre.

MORE INFO “Straight-Jacket” and “Girls Will Be Girls” are now available On Demand “The Retreat” is now available On Demand and on Prime Video

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Restaurant GUIDE

YOUR GUIDE TO LOCAL EATERIES

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June 4, 2021 Restaurant Guide 27

JIM FARMER ACTING OUT

Legendary Director Cheryl Dunye Visits the ‘70s in New Series Jim Farmer

our community. I wanted folks to see how relevant that was still today.”

Some powerhouse directors are behind the scenes in the new FX docuseries “Pride,” but none are more iconic than Cheryl Dunye. Her 1996 “The Watermelon Woman” was the first feature film directed by a Black lesbian, and 25 years later she is just as prolific, tackling the ’70s in the new series. Her episode is titled “1970s: The Vanguard of Struggle.”

The director thinks now is ideal for the sixpart series to air. “I think this is the right time with so many social justice issues frothing up from so many walks of life, all these hashtags and social justice concerns such as voting,” she said. “We have to recognize what can easily be taken away from us. Around issues such as Black Lives Matter, this is the first time we’ve been able to put language to it and respect each other’s differences. After the ’60s, the LGBTQ community was able to look at that mobilization and bring it into how to create community.”

When Dunye’s long-time friend, producer Christine Vachon — who the director had always wanted to work with — approached her about coming aboard, Dunye knew the ’70s was a great fit for her. “I think it was more conscientious of me to — as a lover of archives — know that this is the decade filled with archives that hasn’t really been explored, so I wanted to dig in to those,” she said. “I think they are very moving and still alive really.”

Dunye and her crew shot some scenes locally at the Atlanta Eagle, but they didn’t make the cut. Her episode looks lovingly at the era and all its activities, including Pride parades in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco and later the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979. “I cornered the episodes that way and went in to fill in the middle and try to think of who was there that I cared about,” Dunye said. “Two of my icons — Barbara Hammer and Audre Lorde — were there, so I focused on them and used them as a mechanism to story tell about all the events.”

Both Lorde and Hammer have been instrumental in Dunye’s life. She got to see Lorde speak once at a conference in the early ‘90s before she passed. “She was really the first person whom I saw use multiple terms to describe themselves and say that they were all 28 Columnist June 4, 2021

Cheryl Dunye COURTESY PHOTO

equal,” she recalled. “Black, lesbian, woman, mother etc. — she considered each of those parts the lens that she looked through. Her book Zami: A New Spelling of My Name was amazing and a gift to my baby dyke self.”

Hammer came to visit Dunye’s graduate school, and the two later became friends while at a film festival together.

“Pride” also incorporates footage of activists Anita Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly. “Every

show needs an antagonist,” Dunye said.

“These were the folks who were there.

They laid the groundwork for what we are struggling with — Christian rights, the concept of the bathroom which has moved to a conversation about trans folks in the bathroom. They were as grassroots and organizing as the LGBTQ activists, so you see two sides start forming. Not to say I’m a fan of those groups or people but this is the first time we start to see the Christian right really become organized as well as

“The Watermelon Woman” — about a young Black lesbian trying to make a film about a ’30s Black actress known for playing the stereotypical roles given to Black actresses at the time — has left a legacy and opened doors for many other filmmakers. It changed Dunye’s career in many different ways. “Not finding anybody who wanted to make it when I originally conceived, it gave me the strength and skin to do it myself,” she said. “As a young person with an idea — we are always waiting to get permission to do something. That made me realize I did not have to wait for permission anymore. I have to remember this as I move through these episodic doors — I might be on someone else’s show, but I can have my own mission and do my own work. That muscle I got from making it and capturing so many lives of people I cherish. I put my whole cultural community in it.”

Since “The Watermelon Woman,” Dunye has stayed busy in both film and TV. One of her next projects is an adaptation of the novel, “The Wonder of All Things.”

MORE INFO “Pride” is now airing on FX on Hulu

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

MELISSA CARTER THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

PHOTO BY ISTOCK.COM

“You Have Two Moms?”

Melissa Carter Mr. Carter is officially a first grader. It’s a bittersweet moment, since he has been remote learning since pre-K. I was fortunate enough to have the choice to place him in remote learning at his school due to my kidney transplant, and while he still had a few months of pre-K left, Zoom school began. He and several other classmates continued learning online in kindergarten with a dedicated teacher, and I became accustomed to the wonderful messages taught to these young minds of inclusion, kindness and belief in oneself. But it’s the lesson he taught to his classmates that may be my favorite experience of all.

Our pod has all been vaccinated, so I was comfortable attending an end-of-year event for my son’s entire school at a nearby park.

It was a great way for Mr. Carter to see some of his friends again in person and for me to slowly ease back into the real world again, slower than others since I can still be found wearing a mask everywhere. Katie Jo was there too, and we each navigated our son through the joyful children and their parents to the bouncy houses, the concession stands and finally came to rest in a shaded area with our son and his friends.

One of his classmates saw us both sitting nearby and through conversation realized we were his family.

“You have two moms?!” She wore an expression of shock and confusion.

30 Columnist June 4, 2021

I had a mixture of immediate reactions upon hearing her. First, there was the familiar ignorance I’ve seen so many times and the muscle memory of tension against what I expect to be rejection.

Then there was a motherly instinct of wanting to protect my son from anyone ready to make fun of him. Finally, there was an internal eye roll of frustration that the child had obviously not been exposed enough to the LGBTQ community in her young life.

But my son didn’t hesitate before saying, “I’ve got extra love in my heart, and that’s how I have two moms.”

Katie and I looked at each other charmed, since Mr. Carter had never been taught any reaction to the question of having lesbian parents. We were also satisfied that he had taken care of things, and the girl moved on to another subject as if he had just described the color of the sky.

Instead of being defensive over one child’s awkward question, I should be grateful that we were her first experience with a gay family.

Questions should be welcomed, and the correct responses can change the trajectory of a person’s treatment of others.

I’m proud of my son for understanding on his own that he grows in an environment of love and open communication. Katie and I have made concerted efforts to provide that for him, taking knowledge from our own lives and attempting to give him the best chance for a joyful existence. To see a result like that, that he has no reason to feel threatened by someone else’s questioning of his world, gives me a relieved feeling that we may be doing something right.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com