08/31/18, Vol. 9 Issue 14

FOREVER

PROUD

WELCOME ATLANTA BLACK GAY PRIDE LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2018 INTHELIFEATLANTA.ORG

OCTOBER12-14,2018 atlantapride.org

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

PO Box 77401 • Atlanta, GA 30357 P: 404-815-6941; F: 404-963-6365

EDITORIAL

Editor: Berlin Sylvestre bsylvestre@thegavoice.com Editorial Contributors: Cliff Bostock, Katie Burkholder, Melissa Carter, Aidan Ivory Edwards, Conner Emery, Jim Farmer, Dawn Felton, Morgan Nicole Fletcher, Cemberli Grant, Elizabeth Hazzard, Ryan Lee, Joseph Miller, Allison Radomski, Jamie Roberts, Catharine Romero, Dionne Walker, Craig Washington

An Annual & Most Welcome Issue

PRODUCTION

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

ONLINE

Digital Content Manager: Jason Rhode jrhode@thegavoice.com

BUSINESS

Managing Partner/Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

SALES

Sales Executive: Dixon Taylor dtaylor@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Jim Brams jbrams@thegavoice.com Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

FINE PRINT

All material in Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of Georgia Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by Georgia Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject, or edit any submission. Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

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The editorial positions of Georgia Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Georgia Voice and its staff.

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Berlin Sylvestre bsylvestre@thegavoice.com

enthused to hand a mic to someone who feels his/her/their voice isn’t being heard.)

It is with great pride that we bring you our latest issue which revolves around not only the 2018 celebration of Atlanta Black Pride, but the struggles and triumphs of LGBTQ persons of color in general.

I can’t help it: I’m impulsively looking at other LGBTQ magazines on the constant — especially the big, national ones — and while I find that they pay lots of lip service to diversity, you’d be hard-pressed to find more than shirtless, white men and rich, celebrity women gracing their covers. (Am I throwing shade?

Damn right I am.) I’ve asked these folks at journalism conferences, “What’s the deal with the one-trick-pony covers?” Their response?

“That’s what pays the bills.” I call bullshit, but what would I know, right? I’m just the lowly Asian editor of some newspaper they’ve never heard of. I’ll tell you what, though: If we actually wanted to go national, we’d bring the flavor they’re afraid to, best believe, and we’d

Naturally, as we live in a culturally enriched city, we at Georgia Voice ensure that voices of all backgrounds are heard. From those who wish to speak on their ethnicity and experiences in their skin to those who write us asking if we’d be interested in sharing their events in our calendar that may touch on issues of race, gender, and inequality, my answer is always, “Yes! Bring the noise!” (Ask any of our writers — I’m almost a little too

show them that the world of LGBTQ gives way more of a damn than they think it does, white-dude nipples or not.

But for now, we’re always thrilled to display local voices and love to our readers (and writers!) who represent, much like the rainbow, just about every color you can think of that humankind comes in. We find it all quite beautiful, in much the same way we love making diversity a part of who we are here at Georgia Voice. If you’d like to add your voice, feel free to write me. You already know what I’d say: “Bring the noise!”

Best believe.

Much love from the team at GV, eva berlin sylvestre.

August 31, 2018 Editorial 3

NEWS

Mayor’s LGBTQ Board Holds First Public Meeting Jason Rhode jrhode@thegavoice.com Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ LGBTQ Advisory Board has big plans. The first public meeting of the board was held at City Hall on the morning of August 17. An earlier, private meeting was held in July. The event, which took place behind closed doors, was widely criticized for an alleged violation for Georgia’s open meeting laws.

According to Project Q Atlanta, “Officials with One Atlanta — which encompasses the city’s equity, diversity and inclusion office — initially announced that the first hour of Friday’s twohour session would be closed to the public. But the board’s co-chairs decided at the beginning of the meeting to open it up for the entire session.”

Last Friday’s meeting primarily focused on structural concerns. The board divided itself into working groups to address problem areas and devise solutions of interest to the entire community.

MAYOR’S LGBTQ ADVISORY BOARD MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS 60th Mayor of Atlanta

CO-CHAIR KIRK RICH Principal Advisor, Avison Young

CO-CHAIR PAM STEWART Board of Directors Chair, GLAAD

BOARD MEMBER BISHOP OLIVER CLYDE ALLEN Founder, Vision Church Atlanta

BOARD MEMBER KIA BARNES Community Organizer

BOARD MEMBER STATE REP. PARK CANNON Georgia House District 58

BOARD MEMBER RICHARD CHERSKOV Owner of Midtown Tavern

BOARD MEMBER GABRIELLE CLAIBORNE Co-Founder, Transformation Journeys Worldwide

BOARD MEMBER PAUL CONROY Founder, Out Front Theatre

BOARD MEMBER TORI COOPER Prevention Specialist, Positive Impact Health Centers

BOARD MEMBER LISA CUNNINGHAM CEO, Atlanta Film Partners

BOARD MEMBER JAMIE FERGERSON Executive Director, Atlanta Pride

BOARD MEMBER JEFF GRAHAM Executive Director, Georgia Equality

BOARD MEMBER COLTON GRIFFIN LGBT Caucus Chair, Democratic Party of Georgia

BOARD MEMBER EMILY HALDEN BROWN Atlanta Coalition for LGBTQ Youth (ACFLY)

BOARD MEMBER ROSHELLE DARLENE HUDSON MSW, Co-Founder, Annual Rustin/Lorde Breakfast

BOARD MEMBER MISS LAWRENCE Actor, Star (FOX)

BOARD MEMBER RABBI JOSHUA LESSER Founder, Southern Jewish Resource Network (SOJOURN)

BOARD MEMBER IVETTE LOPEZ Board of Directors, Latino LinQ

BOARD MEMBER TRACEE McDANIEL Executive Director, Juxtaposed Center for Transformation

BOARD MEMBER JOSH McNAIR Community Activist

BOARD MEMBER DANIEL NEWMAN Actor, The Walking Dead

BOARD MEMBER REV. DR. JOSHUA M. NOBLITT Saint Mark United Methodist Church

BOARD MEMBER MATT PARKEY Board Chairman, AID Atlanta

BOARD MEMBER PHILIP RAFSHOON Former Owner, OutWrite Book Store & Coffeehouse

BOARD MEMBER RYAN ROEMERMAN Founding Executive Director, LGBT Institute

BOARD MEMBER JONATHAN RUSSELL Senior Director of Development, Woodruff Health Sciences Center

BOARD MEMBER BRIGID SCARBROUGH National Board of Governors, Human Rights Campaign

BOARD MEMBER MELISSA SCOTT Owner, Soul Bar At Pals Lounge

BOARD MEMBER FRED SMITH Law Professor, Emory University

BOARD MEMBER RICKI SMITH President, In the Life Atlanta

BOARD MEMBER FEROZA SYED Transgender Activist

BOARD MEMBER ALEX WAN Former Atlanta City Council Member, District 6

BOARD MEMBER CRAIG WASHINGTON Prevention Programs Manager, AID Atlanta

BOARD MEMBER KELLY WENTWORTH Atlanta President, Muslims for Progressive Values

Bottoms founded the official LGBTQ Advisory Board on May 8 of this year.

The Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board (MLAB) was put together as fulfillment of a pledge to the gay community by Bottoms during her campaign. Indeed, LGBTQ support was an important part of the Bottoms coalition.

As a 2017 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article noted, “The demographics of LGBT communities are hard to pin down because the Census Bureau does not ask people about their sexual orientation, but there’s little doubt that LGBT voters have an outsized electoral influence. A 2015 analysis of Gallup survey data found about 4 percent of metro Atlanta’s residents identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Some analysts, including veteran Democratic pollster Beth Schapiro, say the LGBT vote accounts for at least 10 percent of registered voters in the city.”

According to the May press release, MLAB is composed of “citywide leaders and advocates,” and “will help shape the City’s policies and engagements with Atlanta’s LGBTQ communities and serve as a bridge between City Hall and LGBTQ residents.”

4 News August 31, 2018

In addition to the board, Bottoms appointed the City of Atlanta’s first full-time LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator, Malik Brown. Brown, well-known in Atlanta, is a former member of the national leadership of the Human Rights Campaign, the LGBTQ advocacy organization.

During the founding of the MLAB, Bottoms said, “During my campaign, I spoke at length of my commitment to the LGBTQ community. As Mayor, my recognition of that importance has been put into action, as I have made the formation of the LGBTQ Advisory Board and the hiring of a full-time LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator a priority.”

Among the members of MLAB are local notables such as Georgia Equality’s Jeff Graham, city businessman Richard Cherskov, religious leaders Oliver Clyde Allen and Joshua Noblitt, actor Daniel Newman, State Representative Park Cannon, and Georgia Voice columnist Craig Washington.

Official documents report that the most significant issues to be tackled by MLAB include the AIDS epidemic and Atlanta’s homelessness problem, which disproportionately effects LGBTQ youth. As mentioned above, to better address these issues, the Board divided its membership into specific, issue-centered

committees, which will take responsibility for the fields of arts, trans issues, health, economics, among others.

Radio station WABE quoted Pam Stewart, MLAB’s co-chair, as praising the mayor: “[Bottoms] could have come in and said we’ve done enough, we’re already there. She didn’t do that. She said we still have work to do, we want to take it from great to exceptional and not just rest at great.” Other MLAB members chimed in, saying they wanted to hear from all the people.

The mood of the board was reportedly optimistic. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NEWS

Labor Dept. Using Religious Liberty to Discriminate Mary Mangual As part of an ongoing Trump-administration campaign stressing religious freedom, on August 10, 2018 the Department of Justice implemented Directive 2018–03, an addition to Executive Order 11246 that critics call a “license to discriminate.”

The new directive follows a series of executive orders and court rulings in favor of religious individuals and corporations arguing that the government cannot require them to comply with policies that are contrary to sincerely held religious beliefs. The directive cites cases including Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc which held that religious objections to same-sex marriage are sometimes protected forms of expression and that for-profit corporations have rights to free expression respectively.

Executive order 11246 was signed in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. Since then it has been amended to forbid federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, and veteran status.

In a press release, the Department of Labor stated that it “is implementing a comprehensive compliance initiative, which seeks to ensure compliance with equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination regulations in all of its protected groups.”

That said, the new directive instructs the Office of Federal Contract Compliance programs to “take into account” the recent developments via Supreme Court decisions and executive orders to ensure that the office’s activities protect religious freedom.

On May 3, 2018, President Trump issued the Executive Order on the Establishment of a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative.

This initiative will be headed by an adviser who, among other responsibilities, will make recommendations to the president www.thegeorgiavoice.com

protecting our hearts can’t wait one more second. on domestic policy and notify the Attorney General of the concerns of faith-based organizations. Civil rights groups see these measures as giving a “blank check” to religious groups to discriminate without consequence.

The language of the documents uses terms and phrases commonly associated with the evangelical call for family values that often veils hostile, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

Trump’s May 3rd order referred to his support of religious groups engaged in “strengthening marriage and family.” More recently, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of a “Religious Liberty Task Force” citing the growth of an insidious movement “eroding our great tradition of religious freedom.”

The Human Rights Campaign warned that this directive may permit Social Security employees to deny spousal and survivors benefits, federal contractors to withhold services to LGBTQ people, organizations to discriminate with benefits and hiring, and federally funded agencies to refuse to assist LGBTQ youth in crisis and locate children with LGBTQ foster parents.

The American Civil Liberties Union released a statement on the Creation of the Faith and Opportunity Initiative. In May, Daniel Mach, the director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief said, “Freedom of religion is one of our most fundamental and cherished rights. But that freedom does not give any of us the right to harm other people, to impose our beliefs on others, or to discriminate. The ACLU will be watching this initiative closely to ensure that it does not promote policies that violate these core principles.”

Everyone in Atlanta has the right to breathe smoke-free air.

We need your help to ensure their rights are protected.

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August 31, 2018 News 5

BLACK GAY PRIDE

Practically Invisible:

LA LA ZANELL PHOTO BY HEYSHA NAMERI

The Black Trans Community Jason Rhode jrhode@thegavoice.com The African-American Transgender (AAT) experience is not new in history — it’s just new to outsiders. In so many ways, the AfricanAmerican Transgender experience is both like and unlike the daily existence of LGBTQ and African-American people.

The year 2018 has brought tragedy to the AAT community. According to the Daily Beast, nationwide, 17 transgender women have been killed this year along, 13 of them AfricanAmerican. Three AAT killings happened in Jacksonville, Florida.

But we do a disservice if we reduce AAT people to a tragic statistic. LaLa Zannell is an organizer at the NYC Anti-Violence Project.

In a 2018 interview, Zannell asked the press to cover transgender people “not just in the context of death, but [us] living our lives authentically as everyday citizens of this country — showing our struggles, happiness, our pain. Some of us have families. I know a trans woman firefighter. So many stories are not heard.”

“I’m a black trans woman in America,” Zannell added. “Every day I am able to go work and come home and hug my daughter and spend time with her. That is a blessing to me.”

In a Harper’s Bazaar article about AAT women redefining beauty standards, Serena Sonoma wrote: “For centuries, ideals of beauty have been centered around eurocentricity.” Thus, the Black is Beautiful movement was born.

“But,” Sonoma added, “it’s a different story when, even if your blackness is considered beautiful, your gender identity is not. To be black and transgender, to exist in both of these spaces at the same time, means not only being constantly gawked at, but also being put in dangerous situations every day of your life.”

In the book “Black and Transgender: The Art of Body Sovereignty Beyond Euro­ 6 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

I’m a black trans “woman in America.

Every day I am able to go work and come home and hug my daughter and spend time with her. That is a blessing to me.

”

centricity,” Khaleb Brooks asks a key question: “When engaging with the strategic disenfranchisement of the black body how do we develop discourse and action that isn’t driven by paranoia and isolation?” That can be difficult when, according to a report by the National LGBTQ Task Force, AAT persons face “startling levels of discrimination.”

As reported by the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, AAT people are impacted “by the compounding effects of multiple forms of discrimination, and transgender people of color who completed the survey experienced deeper and broader forms of discrimination than white USTS respondents and people in the U.S. population overall.”

agency to sign her. She said that no major brand would work with her “because [she is] black and trans.” Or to put a finer point on it, as African-American news blog The Root put it: “Are Black Transgender Men Invisible?”

The survey found that half of AAT respondents have been sexually assaulted, 13 percent in the past year. A fifth are unemployed, and nearly half have been homeless at some point; 38 percent of AAT respondents were living in poverty. 35 percent of respondents identified as transgender men, 34 percent were nonbinary, and 30 percent were transgender women. However, 75 percent had been to college, and 34 percent had obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Georgia Voice talked with with Sybastian Smith.

Smith is Mr. Black Trans International 2018.

For every AAT celebrity success story, like Emmy-winner Laverne Cox, there is a story like Leyna Bloom’s. Bloom, an AAT model, lamented in May that she could get no major

Smith describes “navigating that dynamic within the AA community at large” as difficult. He says it poses safety issues, as “trans people are not treated as human beings,

“The unique challenges a lot of trans people face in 2018,” Smith tells us, “are insufficient and inadequate healthcare, employment, as well as positive visibility within heteronormative society. As an AA trans person, my blackness always comes first, but there is also my ‘transness’ which is often not respected within the AA community.”

which inhibits our access to the things we need to live happy and successful lives.”

Smith continues: “A benefit, for me, of being an AA trans person is challenging and changing people’s hearts and minds daily as it relates to the trans experience. People so often confuse sexual orientation and gender identity when the two are two totally different things. As an advocate and an educator, I am so happy when my audience expresses how they finally get it and wish me and other trans people nothing but love, respect, and power on our journeys to becoming our true selves!”

Smith’s words articulate virtues important to everybody. Not only truth to self, but the truth of justice. In a world which can do so much to shun transgender people and people of color, self-empathy and empathy for others is crucial. This realization is needed more now than ever. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“

Even though we are in a relationship, it’s still important that we get tested. It’s about making HIV testing routine. If you are sexually active, you should be getting tested for HIV.

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BLACK GAY PRIDE

The Trials of Triumphs of Being a Black Lesbian First, just being a “black woman is tough Jason Rhode jrhode@thegavoice.com

In general, the experience of African-American lesbians tends to be marginalized in the LGBTQ community; Caucasian lesbians are over-represented in media and public spaces.

Additionally, black lesbians deal with the unique challenges of being African-American women in LGBTQ communities, in a society which prefers to commodify identity. This is an era where elected officials like Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll can make unthinking and hurtful comments about black lesbians.

However, it’s also a time when filmmaker Dee Rees can be celebrated for her work.

Georgia Voice interviewed several AfricanAmerican lesbians to gain insight into their lived experience. Each of the women stressed they couldn’t speak for all black lesbians, just for their personal experience.

For Stacy Hartwell of the group black Lesbian Life, the challenges of being an African-American lesbian in 2018 were “the same as they’ve always been.”

“First,” Hartwell says,” just being a black woman is tough enough in America, but being a black lesbian only adds to it.

Although the gay and lesbian community has moved forward with our civil rights, society still views black lesbianism as taboo.

Our own race still can’t seem to grasp that this is not just something white people do.”

For LezIntellect, the pen name of the Atlanta blogger behind the site Diary of a Black Lesbian, “The only difference is our personal relationships revolve around women and not men. Sexism, racism, classism, and every other -ism plagues our lives just as they do our straight counterparts. You can add homophobia to the mix, but that’s the only challenge I see that separates us from other black women.”

“The only advantage I can think of,” writes LezIntellect, “is being a lesbian allows me to look critically at black men (and men 8 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

enough in America, but being a black lesbian only adds to it. Although the gay and lesbian community has moved forward with our civil rights, society still views Black lesbianism as taboo.

Our own race still can’t seem to grasp that this is not just something white people do.

”

period) without the emotions straight black women experience. I’m not looking to black men for understanding and/or affection.

Therefore, I’m not likely to look past the things some of them do that are adverse to the black community, black women, black children, and themselves.”

A Facebook user who goes by the handle “SheLovesSistahs” helped found the Black Lesbian Community group. SheLovesSistahs said she’d started BLC in 2012 when she was “yearning to have a supportive community of Black Lesbians, something I left behind when I moved to a small town.” After negative experiences with other online lesbian groups, she created BLC, and received a lot of positive feedback. She said that Black lesbians “could bring their whole selves to the community ... there [is] not this preoccupation with sex, which was the case in many online Lesbian spaces, not just those catering to Black Lesbians.”

Hartwell voiced similar concerns. “We still have to patronize white dating sites and public social media sites in order to network with our own kind. Hopefully the gap can be filled and I feel that this will begin the conversation for younger black lesbians.”

“What I found to be true about the online hopes of Black Lesbians, also resonated in their offline personal lives,” SheLovesSistahs writes. “They wanted to feel safe, make real and lasting connections with other Black Lesbians, and possibly find love. Safety and acceptance were really important particularly for black Lesbians living in the Bible Belt and/or who were from other countries where they do not have either.”

“I know it might be different for some black lesbians,” LezIntellect adds, “but my sexual orientation rarely intersects with my ethnicity/race. This might be because people don’t look at me and just assume I’m gay the way they look at me and see that I’m a black woman. It’s not like sexism and racism where I experience both from being a black

woman. I’m a woman who is both black and a lesbian. That’s all there is to it for me.”

As for 2018, SheLovesSistahs notes that it’s “very exciting, but also still very dangerous to be a Black Lesbian. Violence against us, against Black women in general, remains grossly high.

The weight of a very homophobic brand of Christianity burdens a lot of Black women.

Many Black women still struggle mightily with a long-standing secret Lesbian identity that is in direct conflict with pressures to be ‘natural,’ ‘a true Christian,’ a ‘real Muslim,’ ‘a good daughter,’ and so on. As you can imagine, this struggle for authenticity is burdensome and adds to the many other stressors we contend with [by] just being women – Black – parents – under-resourced … et cetera.”

She says visibility is key and goes “so far in changing and shaping perceptions of who we are; most importantly for all those Black Lesbians who really struggle with internalized homophobia and are just so afraid to face the world as their beautiful and authentic Selves.” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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BLACK GAY PRIDE

Black Pride Atlanta Does It Again All too often, diversity can be forgotten, and crucial voices stifled.

That’s why Atlanta’s Black Pride is necessary now more than ever.

Jason Rhode Beginning in the ’90s, AfricanAmerican LGBTQ activists began promoting unique Black Pride events to showcase important parts of distinctly African-American gay culture. Black Pride also helps to focus on issues which are crucial for the AfricanAmerican community: homelessness, economic deprivation, and HIV/AIDS. The Atlanta Black Pride celebration began in 1996, and 22 years later, it’s still going strong as one of the three largest black gay pride festivals in the country, and one of the largest (if not the largest) Black Pride Celebration in the entire world. Upwards of 100k guests are expected to attend the extravaganza, which will run Aug. 29 to Sept. 4. This year promises to be a blowout with an exciting entertainment line-up that includes Trina, Tamar Braxton, Ray J, Princess Love Norwood, and more. A portion of proceeds from the weekend’s festivities will benefit homeless LGBTQ youth and those infected/affected with HIV/AIDS via The Vision Community Foundation.

Let’s break down what’s shaking for Black Gay Pride.

FRIDAY AUGUST 31

ATL Pride Wknd Comedy Show Hosted By Queen Sheba Georgian Terrace Hotel 7pm The Naked Hustle Day Party 2018 Magic City 3pm–8pm Friday Night Live Ladies Lounge Truth Lounge 10 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

10pm–3am Grown Folks TakeOver Hosted by Ms Theresa NJ/CJ Jones ATL/Lisa S NYC with DJ Bomshell Boogie 25+ Event 10pm–3am

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 1

Atlanta WETher! Celebrity BLOCK PARTY Opera Atlanta 3pm–8:30pm The Legendary Traxx Girls Big Bang Event Westside Cultural Arts Center 10pm–4am

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 2

The Main Event: The Pure Heat Community Festival The hallmark of Atlanta Black Gay Pride, the Pure Heat Community Festival highlights “market and food vendors, live performances, entertainment, educational forums, prizes and giveaways, all of which brings together the spirit of community,

pride, and vision.” Additionally, the festival offers an opportunity to bring awareness to a community impacted by HIV/AIDS, and advocates campaigning for human rights, education, health & wellness, and homelessness, which greatly impacts the LGBTQ community at large.

Noon-8pm Piedmont Park Soulfood Poetry Slam Jazz Brunch Hosted by Spoken Soul Icon Queen Sheba Georgian Terrace Noon–3pm Culture Club Day Party 421 Edgewood 5pm–Midnight Celebrity Showtime Sundays Tongue & Groove 10pm-3am Men who Brunch Noon-3pm Piedmont Park Community

Festival Noon-8pm

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3

Annual Pride Wknd Booze Cruise Lake Lanier 1pm–5pm Harbor Landing, 7000 Lanier Islands Pkwy Some Like It Hot: Daytime Rooftop Alibi 5pm–9pm Annual Party Bus Ride To Strip Club & White Party 10:30pm DJ M (Traxx Girls Owner) Annual Bday Bash At Strip Club ONYX Atlanta 10pm–12:45am The Annual All White Party Truth Lounge 10pm-3am

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 4

Pride Edition of Spotlite Karaoke Location TBD • 8pm–1am www.thegeorgiavoice.com

BLACK GAY PRIDE

THE CAST OF “BLACK PANTHER” PUBLICITY PHOTO

Words & Sounds Sent From the Afro-Future O’Brian Gunn Afrofuturism has been making quite a name for itself lately, especially with the blockbuster and cultural triumph of Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther.” The concept of the intersection of technology and the African experience was first cemented in public thought in 1993, but only recently has Afrofuturism been spliced into the black, queer experience. Musical artists and writers alike utilize Afrofuturism as a catalyst to deepen and spread their message to the masses, providing audiences with a glimpse of how being black and queer is almost synonymous with alien and otherworldly, yet undeniably human at the core.

Alternative R&B singer Frank Ocean’s classic “Thinkin’ Bout You” is an ethereal track generously dusted with melancholy that suspends listeners across the starry depths of the galaxy as Ocean croons about his first love who was a man (Ocean identifies as bisexual).

The singer/songwriter/producer has been noted for his unique sound and singing style that defy the traditional parameters of R&B. What’s more, Ocean’s musical lyrics are laced with subtle social commentary, much like 12 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

many of the works within the multifaceted spectrum of Afrofuturism. It’s fair to say that there’s never been an R&B singer quite like Ocean, and the fact that he seems to fully embrace the sound in his soul is an act of bravery that allows listeners to slip free of their social and mental constraints.

would have, that not having such discussions and the insight gained from them can kill.

Considering the fact that sex ed doesn’t always do a thorough job of teaching teenagers about sex, especially in the black community, one can’t admit that Delany may be onto something.

Science fiction writer Samuel R. Delany is a titan of the genre, one whose works often explore such subjects as sexuality, class, social position, and perception. Delany identifies as gay and is in an open relationship with a formerly homeless bookseller named Dennis Rickett. Delany’s “Return to Nevèrÿon” series is notable because the reigning civilization is made up of brown- and blackskinned men and women who made slaves of pale-skinned, yellow-haired barbarians.

It’s impossible (and should be illegal) to discuss modern Afrofuturism or black queerness without mentioning Janelle Monae. Monae gyrated her way into mainstream success with the release of “Metropolis: Suite I” (“The Chase”), a time when she was often seen in public swathed in black and white from head to toe. From the beginning, Monae’s music had a heavy sci-fi slant with her alter-ego, an android named Cindi Mayweather, acting as the messiah of the android community as well a symbol for “otherness” in our reality.

In addition to his queer characters, Delany is also known for including explicitly sexual content in his stories and has embraced the fact that some of his stories are considered pornographic. Queer sexuality and queer sex most certainly go hand in hand, and Delany has defended his inclusion of graphic sex in his work by saying that to remove it would limit the discussions children and adults

Monae has spoken widely about her love of science fiction, and practically all her music videos and a great deal of her songs touch on science fiction and Afrofuturism. “Dirty Computer,” her most recent release, even has an accompanying emotion picture that deals with identity, sexuality, police brutality, civil

rights violations, and totalitarianism. Monae has recently come out as being pansexual, a revelation that becomes more of a revel-ation in “Dirty Computer.”

Rivers Solomon is a writer, Afrofuturist, and cyborg, as well as “a dyke, a Trekkie, a wannabe cyborg queen, a trash princex.” Their debut Afrofuturist/sci-fi novel, “An Unkindness of Ghosts,” weaves together a story about a spaceship arranged like the antebellum South where the upper class is white and the lower class is black. The novel has a gender non-conforming main character who is also on the autism spectrum, an effeminate male character who’s of mixed race, and a third character who is a trauma survivor. Solomon has received one award (so far) for their debut novel and has been nominated for another.

As the musical group The Main Ingredient says, “Black seeds keep on growin’.” That growth is magnificently apparent in the lives and works of black LGBTQ artists, musicians, and writers who look to the future as well as the past of Black culture to explore not only themselves, but their histories, as well crushing our culture’s pain into glittering black diamonds. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What Is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).

Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include:

Tired of planning your life around diarrhea?

Enough is Enough Get relief. Pure and simple. Ask your doctor about Mytesi.

Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest What is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).

Should I Take Mytesi If I Am: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant?

• Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother?

• It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you

What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines?

If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi.

What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi?

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

To report side effects or make a product complaint or for additional information, call 1-844-722-8256.

Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 Copyright © Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com

Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested in South America.

Please see complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com.

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• Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

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.

RELIEF, PURE AND SIMPLE

BLACK GAY PRIDE

On Fetishizing Black Men O’Brian Gunn

You see him standing/walking/lounging at the bar, at the gym, in the aisle at the bookstore, at a coffee shop or wherever else you like to frequent. Or maybe you see him while scrolling through Scruff, Tinder, or another app. Where you first notice him isn’t important. What is important is that you’re immediately drawn to this melanin man. You muster up the titaniumlaced nerve to talk to him, and he seems to dig you just as much as you dig him. After a few minutes/messages into the conversation, you feel undeniably compelled to mention something about how you adore black men, have never been with a black man sexually, or something else along those race-infused lines.

His smile drops. The messages stop.

What happened? You just paid him a simple compliment, right?

While there’s nothing at all wrong with letting a person know you’re attracted to them (as long as you do so respectfully), your endeavors can quickly sour into a malignant fiasco when you bring up something that has to do with the other person’s race as one of the leading reasons for approaching them.

Rather than touch on the subject of racism in the gay community, as so many have already, I’d instead like to offer some insight on the unique struggles of black gay men that our … gently-melanated brothers might not be too terribly clear on. Yet. We all have certain types that we’re attracted to, certain physical features and personality traits that send waves of desire threading through us. There’s absolutely no fault in that. The equation starts to become unbalanced when your attraction is molded by stereotypes related to black men’s sexual prowess, cultural upbringing, or physical features (#notallblackmen). We all like to be 14 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

complimented, but none of us like to be/feel objectified, reduced to physical features that some of us have struggled (and sometimes still struggle) to make peace with since we first realized what it means to exist as a person of color in America.

Before offering up what you think are blushworthy compliments or fragrant flatteries, try to dive deeper than the surface of the skin. Even Cupid knew he had to pierce the flesh to make love take root and blossom ... or at the very least make the person want to engage in the dance of the two-backed beast (y’all Shakespeare fans know what I’m talmbout). Trust me when I say a little effort goes a long way when you’re spittin’ game.

Another unique struggle of the gay black community is that of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

While advances in medical technology and medicine have made the virus more manageable, those advances aren’t accessible to everyone everywhere. According to The Guardian, black men in the U.S. who have sex with men have a one-in-two chance of contracting HIV while white men who have sex with men have a one in 11 chance. Read that sentence again; marinate on it.

While the black community doesn’t have a monopoly on toxic masculinity, the expectation for men to be emotionally and psychologically strong and in total control is magnified, which I feel is tied to slavery, a time when we were barely considered human let alone men or women. When you combine that cultural expectation with the black community’s traditional and oftentimes unwavering religious views, realizing that you’re anything other than heterosexual can completely eviscerate your mental and emotional being, especially if you grew up in the South like I did.

Depending on the availability of resources,

gay black men might not know where to go or whom to talk to about using condoms and learning about sex and STIs. And even if those resources are available, the stigma attached to being gay in the black community could prevent someone from seeking accurate and reliable information or treatment, especially if the individual lives in a small town and doesn’t want to be seen going into the only local STI clinic.

There’s also the fact that the amount states and specific geographic areas receive to help treat those who are HIV-positive isn’t equal across the country. This all boils down to the fact that the LGBTQ community and our allies have to become and remain aware that while HIV/AIDS impacts us all, that impact is often more devastating for the more marginalized among us.

One final unique struggle I’d like to touch on is that of representation; specifically, how black

gay love is portrayed in movies. “Love, Simon” and “Call Me by Your Name” have been critically praised, and the same can be said of the movie “Moonlight.” The main difference between the two is that the former films focus more on romance while the latter examines the stigma and mental/emotional turmoil the main character endures. How many movies can you think of with a black, gay male lead and a plot that focuses more on his romantic life and less (if at all) on his personal and familial struggles?

I’m not suggesting that such movies don’t exist, just that they’re rare af for us.

Just as there are struggles unique to the LGBTQ community, there are also struggles unique to the different races and cultures that make up our community. For us to be a true community, to be truly unified, we have to not just understand our brothers and sisters of color, but overstand them. You see and taste the fruit, but can you trace it back down to the roots. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

August 31, 2018 Ads 15

BLACK GAY PRIDE

Black LGBTQ Figures of the Harlem Renaissance O’Brian Gunn As I’ve grown up and learned more about the world and its history than I was taught in high school and college, there’s some information that I, quite frankly, feel cheated, bamboozled, flimflammed, and intellectually swindled that I didn’t learn.

For instance, did you know that the Harlem Renaissance of the 20s and 30s featured several queer musicians, writers, entertainers, and artists? Neither did I! Settle down and getcha learn on to help fill the hole in your black history curriculum (and your heart) that you didn’t know existed.

ANGELINA WELD GRIMKÉ Angelina Weld Grimké wore many hats, including journalist, poet, activist, and playwright. Grimké also has the historic distinction of being the first black woman to have her play performed. Like most members of the black community, Grimké had a religious upbringing, which is why she had to keep her feelings for her friend Mamie Burrill close to her heart and locked between the lines of her unpublished poetry.

GLADYS BENTLEY Gladys Bentley was a blues singer, entertainer, and pianist during the Harlem Renaissance who rose to prominence when she performed at Harry Hansberry’s Clam House dressed in men’s clothing. She was also a headliner at the Ubangi Club, where she was backed by a line of drag queens. If that wasn’t scandalous enough (for the 30s, at least), Bentley openly flirted with the women in the audience while belting out raunchy lyrics. With the arrival of the McCarthy Era, the bombastic Bentley chose to tone down her look, wearing dresses and getting married. She also took female hormones and had a surgical operation, which she said “cured” her of her homosexuality.

LANGSTON HUGHES A well-known figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes was an activist, poet, novelist, and playwright, and 18 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

has been credited with creating jazz poetry.

While Hughes himself never spoke openly about being gay, there are many biographers and academics who believed he was and that he chose to keep his sexuality a secret to remain in the good graces of black churches.

More evidence that Hughes was likely “family” can be found in his poetry, where it was believed that he added gay codes, and where he displayed an affinity for black men (as if we can blame him).

LANGSTON HUGHES

COUNTEE CULLEN Countee Cullen was a novelist, playwright, and poet, and a close friend of Langston Hughes and Alain Locke. What makes Cullen such a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance is the fact that his poetry dug deep into the roots of African culture and twined them together with African-American life during that time. Cullen also ascribed to a movement called “Negritude,” which explored values of the black community and black consciousness.

In regard to his sexuality, while Cullen married the daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, Yolande, he wrote a letter to her soon after their honeymoon expressing his love for men, which led to their divorce. What’s more is there’s speculation that Cullen broke off the wedding because he had fallen for his best man, a man named Harold Jackman who was deemed “the handsomest man in Harlem.” A tale as old as time, huh?

ALICE DUNBAR NELSON In addition to being a poet and activist, Alice Dunbar Nelson has the distinction of being among the South’s first generation of black people who were born free. If that wasn’t enough, Nelson also graduated from Straight University (I’m being sincere) at a time when fewer than 1 percent of the country was attending college. If her name rings a poetic bell, it’s because she was married to famed Harlem Renaissance poet/ novelist, Paul Laurence Dunbar. While the two were married, Nelson had affairs with

ANGELINA WELD GRIMKÉ

GLADYS BENTLEY

COUNTEE CULLEN

other women, which rankled Dunbar. Nelson eventually divorced Dunbar, but went on to marry twice more, her second marriage ending in divorce and her third marriage lasting the rest of her life. That said, Nelson continued to have relationships with women.

These are just a few of the LGBTQ figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Others include

ALICE DUNBAR NELSON

Alain Locke, Ethel Waters, Claude McKay, and Alberta Hunter. Hopefully, you’ve got the itch to explore more of the works and lives of these historical figures who helped paved the way for our modern black LGBTQ community. If you’re ready to go back to school, head to your local library or bookstore to pack on some intellectual muscle and tone up your education. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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August 31, 2018 Ads 19

BLACK GAY PRIDE

Hattie McDaniel & Margaret Mitchell:

HATTIE MCDANIEL PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKICOMMONS

Literature’s Female Ebony and Ivory Aidan Ivory Edwards Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind” is a staple novel for not only Atlanta but for the entire nation. The remarkable debut was well beyond its time in progressiveness, showcasing an alluring retrospect of the South from a strong-willed and independent woman’s perspective. The novel rightfully earned Mitchell the Most Distinguished National Book in 1936 for the work’s exceeding fluidity. The following year, she accepted the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, breaching the maledominated literary world.

For the uninitiated, the story presses on the crisis of Scarlett O’Hara, a Southern belle forced to come to terms with unforeseen trials and tribulations following her family’s fall from financial grace amidst a war-torn country (their plantation got destroyed). It’s a feminist-driven coming-of-age tale, hitting the nail on the head when it comes to the complexities of being forced to make drastic decisions in a pinch. Scarlett knows damn well that feelings are going to get hurt, but she’s okay with it.

It’s believed that Ms. O’Hara reflected Margaret Mitchell’s inner struggles of Southern culture’s expectations of women.

These expectations meant supporting the Confederate flag, facing degradation from men, and the dreadful acceptance that women could never accomplish what men could with relative ease. Similarly to Scarlett, she was raised in a wealthy family with family ties to the Confederacy. However, she was raised by two lawyers who were both abolitionists. She couldn’t allow herself to ignore the grim history of her homeland.

In 1939, “Gone with the Wind” made its way to the big screen. The film debuted here in Atlanta at Loew’s Grand Theater.

20 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

MARGARET MITCHELL PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKICOMMONS

Critical black “actresses in the ‘Gone

With The Wind’ were banned from attending viewings of their own movie when it premiered in the town in which it was written.

as he and Hattie were quite good friends.

Her absence nearly caused him to skip the showing. But at Ms. McDaniel’s insistence, Gable showed up out of r-e-s-p-e-c-t for her.

He arrived stoic with his mustache imperfectly trimmed, a clear sign of distress because that stache was always spot on. Shortly after the film debut disaster in Atlanta, Hattie made another friend — Margaret Mitchell.

The film’s debut went fantastic … for white people. For black people, it may as well not have existed at all — they weren’t allowed to attend. Critical actresses in the film were black, such as Butterfly McQueen who played Prissy, and Hattie McDaniel for her historical performance as Mammy. They, too, were unable to attend viewings of their own movie when it premiered in the town in which it was written!

Still, it seemed that Hattie couldn’t win when it came to anything regarding the film (other than making friends). She received backlash from both the white and black community for her portrayal of Mammy. Her role was deemed as tasteless by the black community, a scathing image that constrained black people as nothing more than “the help.”

She was often called an “Uncle Tom” for her acceptance of the role.

This ban didn’t sit well with Clark Gable,

Things turned out to be just fine for Hattie.

”

She wasn’t a participation trophy winner, but who cares when she went on to become the first black Academy Award winner ever? And guess what? She couldn’t attend the ceremony because she was black. It’s all good though because Hattie McDaniel came out on top.

I knew very little about Mitchell before meeting my wife and her cat, Scarlett. I asked her where the inspiration came from for her cat’s name. It was Scarlett O’Hara.

Her cat’s name fits perfectly, as did the geography. Directly across the street from her apartment stood the Margaret Mitchell House on Crescent Avenue, right off of Peachtree Street. It’s a grand three-story brick house that stands out amongst the skyscrapers, much like Margaret Mitchell’s writing and Hattie McDaniel’s acting stood out among the giants of industry who didn’t have the gumption to “frankly, my dear, [not] give a damn.” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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August 31, 2018 Ads 21

BLACK GAY PRIDE

ILOVEMAKONNEN SCREENGRAB PHOTO

Is There Room For a Gay Man in Hip Hop? Aidan Ivory Edwards Atlanta is the home of trap music. We were the first city to commercially trademark the word a few years before the Y2K scare.

The classic 808 drum machine defines past and contemporary trap. (That’s the drum machine that lays down skittering hi-hats clicks, shrill open hats, heavily saturated kicks, snapping snares, and most importantly, the trunk-shaking 808 basses that have set it apart from the sample-based 90s boom-bap days.) Mainly, its musical formula consists of the breakdowns you can hear in the realms of metal.

Lyrically, the themes explore the nefarious side of the sphere which includes the unsmiling insight of selling narcotics (out of the trap house), impulsive drug consumption, gloating of misogyny, stacking guwap (Gucci Mane), committing felonies, and being subjected to relentless violence.

22 Black Gay Pride August 31, 2018

It’s rapped about like a nonchalant recap of the day.

But trap is also a glimpse into post-traumatic stress disorder and a clear justification for having an unfeigned distrust of the world.

Within the last decade, trap music has found itself in an experimental stage that delves toward psychedelic consumption, eclectic fashion senses, and unorthodox musical deliveries that have set artists apart from one another. It’s been gifted the name “weirdo rap” (amongst other unnecessary pitchfork-esque subgenres). It’s not weird.

In fact, it’s happened before. But there wasn’t the internet to allow a universal movement to flourish.

Although there is a higher influx of liberal perspectives when it comes to fashion — an undeniably gay industry — there is still a significant portion of trap that refuses

to acknowledge that LGBTQs co-exist in their kingdom. It’s as if a person’s sexual orientation devitalizes their susceptibility to the wrongdoings of the world. In any lot, it’s quite the contrary. Watch “Moonlight.”

ILoveMakonnen, Atlanta’s own rapper and singer, became acquainted with the scene in 2008. The Atlanta native rose to prominence with his hit track “Tuesday,” which features Drake and went platinum.

On January 17th of 2017, ILoveMakonnen tweeted that he is, in fact, gay. There have been many rappers who’ve come out before him, but not in the scene that Makonnen entertained. He was the first in the Atlanta trap scene. His tweet was audacious. Makonnen was well aware of the possible consequences that rendered following his revelation. The artist received backlash from fellow Atlanta rappers, Migos — a trio that Donald Glover mistakenly called the “Black Beatles.” This

backlash wasn’t in passing conversation; it was in a Rolling Stone interview, and they were on the cover. The release of the issue was followed up by a truly shoddy apology concocted by their public relations team, presumably after a tiresome compromise. But it’s apparent that the trio — who had the number one record at the time — knocked Makonnen’s reputation down a notch amongst the trap fan base which is a crying shame.

The interview was sheer impertinence toward the steps of progression, especially amongst the black community. When Makonnen was truthful to himself, it was an indirect revoking of all his lyrical credentials and contravening the entirety of his demeanor. It’s an unfortunate way of thinking. ILoveMakonnen has carried on with his musical career as an unsung hero in Portland, Oregon. His tweet showed the true colors of those who extoll in the charts.

What are we doing, folks? www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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ACTING OUT

The Gay Pimp of Old Hollywood Jim Farmer Part of a surprisingly robust summer for LGBTQ films, two new movies are now on tap: one a gossipy documentary based on a tell-all novel, the other a faithful adaptation of a popular book.

Still alive today, Scotty Bowers is the fascinating epicenter of “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.” It’s based on Bowers’ book “Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars” which came out in 2012 and revealed some of Bowers’ run-ins ranging from the 1940s to the 1980s. Discharged from the Army after World War II, Bowers winds up in Hollywood and immediately causes a stir.

He meets Walter Pidgeon at a gas station that he runs, winds up at a pool party, and is soon working at arranging clients for gay and closeted men, many of them high on the movie-making rungs. (Bowers’ own sexuality seems to be fluid).

Although some of these famous men were open with each other, their secrets could not leak out. The film studios, in particular, were nervous about some of their stars.

During his heyday, Bowers claims to have been involved with the likes of George 24 Columnists August 31, 2018

DETAILS

“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” Opens August 31 Midtown Art Cinema “We the Animals” Opens September 7 Midtown Art Cinema

Cukor, Vivien Leigh, Spencer Tracey, even the abdicated Edward VIII. Getting more serious, “Scotty” also covers the advent of the AIDS crisis and Rock Hudson.

It has to be said: Some people may choose not to believe anything that Bowers says, but plenty of others will eat this up. (Gore Vidal himself did back him up, however.)

Although is he 95 now, Bowers is still charismatic and can spin a story.

That said, the film isn’t quite as much fun as it thinks it is. This becomes a talking head movie at times. Director Matt Tyrnauer has made a decent documentary but one not nearly as zippy as some of his other work (“Valentino: The Last Emperor”) or even his other doc of the season, the upcoming “Studio 54.”

Nonetheless, though, this is juicy stuff.

“We the Animals” — which premiered at Sundance this year — is based on Justin Torres’s semi-autobiographical 2011 book. Now it’s a film by Jeremiah Zagar that has its own vibe and emotional heft. The central character Jonah (played by Evan Rosado) is a pre-teen growing up with his brothers Manny and Joel in upstate New York during the 1980s. His parents (Ma, played by Sheila Vand, and Paps, played by Raul Castillo of “Looking”) are struggling to make ends meet. Paps is dealing with depression and has an abusive side.

Trying to deal with all that’s going on around — including his own awareness of his attraction to men — Jonah keeps a journal full of his thought and pictures. One night, he runs off to spend time with a friend.

There are some major changes in the film adaptation, yet it’s all diverting, told in a dreamy style. In a tricky role, Rosado is often heartbreaking as a kid ready with a sense of who he is and what he wants — and doesn’t want — in life. The book (which I have not read) might make for an easier, more linear journey, yet this is a confident debut by Zagar and a subtle one that should resonate with a lot of gay and noon-gay audiences. Its final passages are moving and empowering. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

Noodles Longer Than Your Arms Cliff Bostock

Freshman year in any dormitory is always an adventure. Within 24 hours after my father dumped me at William and Mary, I smoked my first cigarette, drank my first beer, and took my first hit of hashish from a bong. After a few days, a Japanese guy with whom I smoked the hash stopped by my room and asked me to boil some water on my (contraband) hot plate. He dumped some dried-up noodles — ramen — into the water. They tasted great while listening to The Doors and smoking hash. When we tried them again a few weeks later without any dope, they tasted like shit. I literally have never touched packaged ramen while drug-free since then.

In recent years, freshly made ramen has become a really big deal. I think it’s partly because the soupy noodles fuse nostalgia for our youthful midnight munching with our grown-up taste for authentic Asian cooking. A great place to

indulge that is Lan Zhou Ramen in PineTree Plaza. It’s easy to get confused by the place.

Ramen is a Japanese favorite, but Lan Zhou takes its name from a city in China where the dish was allegedly invented. True or not, this new restaurant features noodles different from the super-skinny ones we usually associate with Japanese ramen.

At Lan Zhou, the go-to noodles are the “handpulled” ones. They’re literally arm-length noodles that the owner weaves with his magical fingers out of lumps of dough. They’re silky and mouth melting. The noodles are available in bowls of broth or stir-fried with countless available toppings. The menu includes many other dishes, from dumplings to fried rice.

Two friends and I sampled the menu broadly, ordering only one bowl of noodles with shrimp, squid, and scallops. Yes, one bowl is plenty for three when you’re ordering anything else on the menu. Our server

brought it to the table with scissors. We must have looked confused. He explained that the noodles are very long and we’d need to cut them as we lifted them to transfer to smaller bowls. I said, “Maybe you could show us how to do that?” He ended up doing all the work for us. I have to say that while the noodles and broth were amazing, the seafood itself was unimpressive. I suggest you order one of the menu’s beef bowls, allegedly the favorite in countless noodle shops back home in China. But you have lots of other options that feature pork, chicken, and lamb. A few offal cuts, like tripe, are available too.

Nearly everything else we ordered was shockingly good. Maybe the best substantial dish on the table, after the noodles, was the “Chinese style spicy chicken” which is buried in a section of the menu entitled “Award Snacks.” Award-winning indeed: glossy-red chunks of fried chicken, chilies, and sesame seeds. I love Asian pancakes speckled with chives and Lan Zhou’s are the best

I’ve ordered in a long time, principally because they were obviously just made, crisp, and steaming. Soup buns were delicate and flavorful, but not really filled with much liquid, at least not compared to Chef Liu’s. Their fried potstickers were flat-out amazing; I’ve never seen any like Lan Zhou’s. The eight beauties were served under something like a super-thin crepe, adding an extra mouth-melting crunch on top of the meaty dumplings.

This is going to be my new go-to for noodles.

It’s clear everyone eating there loves the place. (I have no boundaries in restaurants and often ask people what they are eating and what they like most.) Go.

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August 31, 2018 Columnists 25 ATLANTA - GA VOICE

BEST BETS Our Guide to the Best LGBTQ Events in Atlanta for August 31- September 14 FRIDAY, AUG. 31

Midtown Art Cinema Various showtimes

The adorable “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” about Scotty Bowers — sexual procurer to the stars — opens today at the Midtown Art Cinema.

Various showtimes

TUESDAY, SEPT. 4

Trying to make a deep playoff run this year, The Atlanta Dream host the Washington Mystics.

McCamish Pavillion 7pm

One of the biggest local events of the year — Atlanta Black Gay Pride — lasts through Monday, bringing thousands to town.

Various area venues

Out artist Sonia Leigh plays tonight at Eddie’s Attic.

7:30pm

Also opening today and bringing the masses to town is Dragon Con, now in its 32nd year as the universe’s biggest multi-genre conference.

Marriott Marquis Aurora Theatre’s excellent version of the musical “Newsies,” adapted by Harvey Fierstein, continues tonight.

Running through September 2 8pm

SATURDAY, SEPT. 1

The Peach International Tennis Championships, hosted by Atlanta Team Tennis Association, begins today and lasts through Monday, with singles, doubles, and mixed doubles action.

Various venues Come down to the Yard at Ponce City Market for a dunk tank party with Chubbies today. For $1, you get three (maybe four) chances to hit the target and send someone near and dear into the deep abyss. All proceeds from the dunk tank will go to Atlanta’s own Best Friends Animal Society.

1-7pm Start your Saturday night with drinks, fun, games, and prizes with host Arica Love Royal at Tranny Bingo, Felix’s Atlanta.

6–8pm

26 Best Bets August 31, 2018

TUESDAY, SEPT. 4

Out artist Sonia Leigh plays tonight at Eddie’s Attic.

7:30pm “Tales of the City” author Armistead Maupin appears at the Decatur Book Festival two times this weekend, cosponsored by GPB and Out On Film.

Maupin will do a Q and A after a screening of the film “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” tonight at 7pm at the Decatur Public Library, and then read from his memoir “Logical Family” from 1:15–2pm at the First Baptist Decatur Sanctuary. Both events are free, but tickets are needed for the film and Q and A. Come out to AMEN: The Beyonce Show tonight at Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium as the best drag show on Edgewood serves up a show spanning Bey’s entire discography, featuring the talents of Dotte Comm, JayBella Banks, LaLa Ri.Daniel, Molly Rimswell and more.

10:30pm–2am

SUNDAY, SEPT. 2

The High Museum of Art has opened

the major touring exhibition “Outliers and American Vanguard Art.” The show brings together more than 250 diverse works by more than 80 trained and untrained artists, and includes sections and featured works by artists including Greer Lankton, Zoe Leonard, Forrest Bess, and Henry Darger that examine sexuality and gender. Together, the works on view offer an unprecedented overview of the profound impact of American self-taught artists on the evolution of modern and contemporary art over the past 100 years. They also reveal how these artists galvanized the mainstream art world to embrace difference and diversity across race, region, class, age, and gender.

Running through September 30.

MONDAY, SEPT. 3

The acclaimed “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” — directed by Desiree Akhavan, starring Decatur’s Chloe Grace Moretz, and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance — continues in Atlanta today.

Join Charis in welcoming Charlene A. Carruthers and Mary Hooks for an intimate conversation about black, queer, feminist movement building for this moment and for what comes next, and celebrating the release of “Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements” by Carruthers.

Drawing on black intellectual and grassroots organizing traditions, including the Haiti Revolution, the U.S. civil rights movement, and LGBTQ rights and feminist movements, “Unapologetic” challenges all of us engaged in the social justice struggle to make the movement for black liberation more radical, more queer and more feminist.

7:30-9pm Charis Books and More

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 5

TEN Atlanta will once again transform from a crowded dance club into a cozy NYC Cabaret for consecutive Wednesday nights tonight with Boys Night “OUT” on Broadway, a one hour musical and comedy revue written by Broadway veteran performer Robert Ray. 7pm and 9pm TEN Atlanta

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BEST BETS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 In a setting that even Shakespeare himself couldn’t have imagined, the Alliance Theatre will produce a whimsical, outdoor production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Atlanta Botanical Garden tonight, running through October 21.

7:30pm

THURSDAY, SEPT. 6

Five-time Grammy Awardnominated Michael Feinstein joins forces with vocalist Storm Large to present an unforgettable evening of music.

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre 8 pm

THURSDAY, SEPT. 6 – SATURDAY, SEPT. 8

On Sept 8, the Sex Down South Conference provides sexuality workshops taught by educated and amazing presenters from around the world.

Enthusiasts join in the fun and learn from the best — all while doing it in an inclusive and loving environment. This year’s theme is REBEL! Sexual Politics in a New Era. Subjects to be addressed and explored include: sacred/spiritual/tantric sexuality, religion and sexuality, BDSM/kink, costume play, polyamory/non-monogamy, aging and sexuality, trans and genderqueer sexualities, and communication and healthy relationships.

9am Hilton Atlanta

THURSDAY, SEPT. 6

The next Gay Group Happy Hour is tonight at Joe’s on Juniper with free appetizers, door prizes and an art showing

by Ronnie Beets.

6–8pm Building on the activist tradition of consciousness-raising groups, each month Charis Books and More invites community members to join The Personal is Political: Feminist Vent to talk about personal issues or societal issues they are trying to deconstruct. The group will use intersectional feminist strategies as tools to talk through these issues.

7:30–9pm The Process Theatre opens the Terrence McNally play “It’s Only a Play” running through Sept.22.

8pm Out of Box Theatre Five-time Grammy Award-nominated Michael Feinstein joins forces with vocalist Storm Large to present an unforgettable evening of music. Performing music ranging from the Great American Songbook to the music of the James Bond and “Mad Men” era, Michael and Storm will delight you with their brilliant singing

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and amusing anecdotes.

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre 8pm Tonight is a casting call for all transgender entertainers, both FTM and MTF, for ATL Production’s themed shows.

My Sister’s Room 10pm

FRIDAY, SEPT. 7

Another acclaimed film based on a book, “We the Animals” starring Raul Castillo from “Looking” opens today.

Midtown Art Cinema Various showtimes The My Sisters Room family is throwing a beer bust to Celebrate the Woo Woo and help create new video content for the Woo Woo and the women who love her. $10 pays for a wristband to tap the Budweiser Keg all night long.

9pm-3am Every Friday at midnight, it’s time to slip on those fishnets and makeup for the greatest live troupe in the city, Lips Down On Dixie, Inc., for a righteous party in front of the big screen for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Midnight Plaza Atlanta

SATURDAY, SEPT. 8

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with the Atlanta Symphony Associates, invites you to a special gala evening of dinner, dancing, and a highprofile auction benefiting the Orchestra and its education and community engagement initiatives.

6:30pm

SUNDAY, SEPT. 9

The Auburn Avenue Research

Library, in partnership with the Baton Foundation, Inc., will screen a short film: “Man of the House.” The screening will be followed by a moderated conversation about mental health and suicide in the Black community.

3pm An annual party since the opening of the big deck at HENRY’S Midtown Tavern in Atlanta, Canines & Cocktails is an event not to miss. Rain or shine, you’ll enjoy the fun disco/old school dance tunes while sipping on your favorite cocktails. Enjoy Tea Dance at its best with DJ Zack Falls, as well as a silent auction and swag from Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

3-7pm

MONDAY, SEPT. 10

It’s All Music Monday at Blakes tonight with DJ Bill Berdeaux.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 11

Don’t miss Trivia Tuesdays with DeWayne Morgan.

The Hideaway Atlanta 8:30–10:30pm

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12

WUSSY returns with its monthly campy feature fantastico, with the 1994 John Waters classic “Serial Mom.” Prizes will be awarded for the best Homicidal Housewife and Pussy Willow looks. Doors open at 7pm, when patrons can grab a cocktail, grab a snack, and take some photos before the film starts.

Plaza Atlanta 8pm

THURSDAY, SEPT. 13

SAGE Atlanta’s bi-monthly meetings occur from 10:30am-1pm on the second and fourth Thursday of each month.

Phillip Rush Center Annex

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THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

My Eyes Are Up Here Melissa Carter It happens everywhere.

I originally thought what I’d observed the other day at a meeting was something reserved for less-formal environments, like radio. However, it seems even those immersed in what many consider a more “legitimate” corporate environment, like the one I’m currently in, do it too. And that is to have their face buried in their phones during a meeting.

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Dangerously approaching a “back in my day” age, I went to school during a time when no electronics were allowed in the classroom. Yes we had calculators, but they were reserved for when the teacher specifically told us during a lesson to bring them out of our desks or cubby holes. And the calculator watches that were popular with boys at the time? Banned during tests. So I guess there’s a residual effect on my psyche that electronics are not allowed in a formal gathering, such as a meeting, unless there’s a specific reason to bring them out. That’s why I felt rather unsettled at what I observed the other day in our conference room.

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I officially work at a financial company that uses radio as a marketing tool, so even though my workspace is still a radio studio, it’s within a sophisticated business environment. No longer do I don hoodies and jeans everyday, but instead wear dress pants and tops with an occasional skirt thrown in the mix. Comfortable shoes still rule the day, with sandals and Converse a common foot accessory.

My shows air in markets across the county, and on this day we were negotiating with a client in Pittsburgh. My boss and two other men were there with me, and we sat around a speaker for the conference call.

After introductions were made, one of my colleagues began his presentation on audience numbers and the costs involved.

That’s when the other men pulled out their phones and directed their full attention to their individual devices. Of course I didn’t have mine with me, and slowly looked around stunned that instead of a collective

team we had turned into a disjointed gang of internet and email surfers.

Potential dates were given for our upcoming trip to Pennsylvania, and the client mentioned dates in October that wouldn’t work. Later on, I reminded one of the colleagues of those black-out dates, and he corrected me that those days were from September but he would double-check. My first thought was I knew I was correct because I actually listened to the conversation as it was happening, while he had been on the phone. However, I did not verbalize this and was vindicated when he later admitted I had been correct and proceeded with travel plans.

I’m a geek, thus technology is something that I love. However, I’m also a proponent of technology enhancing current customs and even making life easier on the one utilizing it, not adding complications or even confusion as was the case with this meeting.

The person in front of you is always more important than the one on the phone, and if you’d rather be someplace else, then go there. I’d rather be alone and accomplishing something than with another whose phone glare is blinding them to the fact that they’re wasting my time.

One of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta, Melissa’s worked for B98.5 and Q100. Catch her daily on theProgressive Voices podcast “She Persisted.” Tweet her! @MelissaCarter www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

MARTEZ DUBOSE Photo via Instagram

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Our Cry For Friendship Ryan Lee

Paraphrasing the philosophical stoner known as Smokey, some people might ask if they can borrow a cup of sugar or some ketchup, but my folks wonder if I can spare a 5K run.

One of my straight friends called this past Friday evening and asked if I could be an emergency fill-in for a 20K relay Saturday morning after one of his team members had to withdraw last-minute.

My body was sore, and after a month away from my regular fitness routine I doubted I was in the shape required for a 3.1-mile sprint. However, I knew how much my friend had been looking forward to this particular relay race, how much fitness means to his spirit (being riddled with bullets a few years ago inspired him to trade a fast, rough life in the streets for a fast, breezy existence on bicycles and nature trails), and so I felt duty-bound if he trusted me as someone with whom he could go into battle.

Worry overwhelmed my sleep that night, stayed with me as I met my other teammates the next morning, and didn’t fully dissipate until I handed the baton off to my friend, who ran the anchor leg to a second-place finish out of 120 teams. I hadn’t been in a relay race since high school, and had forgotten how a sense of commitment and responsibility toward others could push you, carry you and force you to achieve things that your mind and body tried to convince you were impractical.

I didn’t want to let my friend down. Even though they were strangers, I didn’t want to disappoint my other two relay partners, www.thegeorgiavoice.com

and team competitions are one of the few areas of life where you usually don’t have to worry whether that sentiment is reciprocated.

Friendships – my own, and more generally, platonic bonds among gay men – have been on my mind lately. As a lifelong bachelor, all I have are friendships, so I’ve pursued them with a focus most people reserve for romantic relationships. I have nurtured and neglected them, and taken them for granted. I have been used by some friends and saved by others, while losing all contact with a couple of people I once could never have imagined life without. I’ve been pushed away by people who thought they were unworthy of my friendship, and I have lied (by omission) to those closest to me as a safety buffer for everyone. Friendship is all I have, and it has been as disappointing and messy, as comforting and uplifting as everything else that gives meaning to our days.

The recent suicide of Martez DuBose should amplify conversations about how we, as gay men, care for and pay attention to those we call friends. DuBose, whom I didn’t know, struggled with a public popularity and a private crystal meth addiction, and posted a heartbreaking cry for help to Facebook weeks before he took his life.

I stand in judgment of no one in DuBose’s world, because after a lifetime among addicts, I still know their helplessness. Had I found myself in DuBose’s position, I am almost certain I would have been afraid of most gestures of concern. Few of us are ever in the optimal shape to be a friend. May we find relief, and duty, in remembering we are not running alone.

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AtlantaEvents@CityWinery.com or call 404-WINERY1 August 31, 2018 Columnists 31