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GEORGIANEWS

Transgender Day of Remembrance events lined up in ATL Vigil, day of resilience mark especially violent year for transgender community

Details

Transgender Day of Remembrance ‘We Will Not Be Denied’ Vigil Friday, Nov. 20 Reception: 6 p.m., Vigil: 7 p.m.

Saint Mark United Methodist Church www.stmarkumc.us

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com The transgender community is having a moment this year, for reasons good and bad. On the one hand you have the high profile coming-out of Caitlyn Jenner this past July, which shined a spotlight on and sparked a dialogue about transgender issues across the country.

On the other hand, far away from the Malibu mansion, the fashion spreads and the reality TV cameras, you have this: 22. That’s the number of transgender or gender nonconforming homicide victims so far this year in the U.S., 19 of whom were transgender women of color, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. Nearly half of the murders took place in the South.

That’s why this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance, taking place across the world on Nov. 20, will be even more somber than usual. The event will be recognized locally with a vigil at Saint Mark United Methodist Church, featuring a keynote speech from state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta).

Georgia one of five states without hate crime law Tracee McDaniel shudders every time she sees another headline about a transgender murder victim.

“I’m angry, I’m outraged about it. And I’m numb,” says the founder and CEO of the Juxtaposed Center for Transformation. “So I just choose not to write or respond to those because it just takes a lot out of me to do that because I’m so tired of the everyday situation.”

As to what needs to be done to help solve the problem, McDaniel, the organizer behind Atlanta’s Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil, says, “There needs to be a change to what is described as a hate crime. It’s obvious that trans people are being targeted and being murdered. I don’t understand why we don’t have hate crime protections here locally.”

Transgender Day of Resilience Sunday, Nov. 22 at 5 p.m.

Phillip Rush Center www.rushcenteratl.org

Tracee McDaniel, organizer of Atlanta’s Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil, at the 2014 vigil. (File photo)

“We’re not looking forward to adding the names to the list but we want to make sure that we memorialize trans people because they’re not being memorialized by their families in most cases. They’re dying and just being discarded, so we want to say their names and we want to put their energy into the universe because we do care about them.”

—Tracee McDaniel, organizer of Atlanta’s Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil No surprise, then, that the keynote speaker for the vigil will be Sen. Fort, who has tried and failed to pass a hate crime law here in Georgia, one of only five states without such a law on the books. The Anti-Defamation League recently announced its 50 States Against Hate campaign to remedy that, and Fort tells Georgia Voice he plans to be part of that effort locally.

“The approach to hate crimes legislation is in process now,” Fort said. “I know the Anti-Defamation League has a campaign that they are looking at. I have talked to them a little bit about it. I’m reaching out to them and want to meet with them. I want to be involved and help where I can with that.”

And while Fort says he’s looking forward to speaking, the magnitude of the event weighs on him.

“It is one of the most painful, difficult events that I participate in,” he says. “I’m not a robot, you know? This is real stuff.”

But he agrees it is very necessary, this year more than ever.

“We’re not looking forward to adding the names to the list but we want to make sure that we memorialize trans people because they’re not being memorialized by their families in most cases,” McDaniel says. “They’re dying and just being discarded, so we want to say their names and we want to put their energy into the universe because we do care about them.”

A look forward with Transgender Day of Resilience While Transgender Day of Remembrance will be a day to mourn and reflect, there is an-

other local event taking place that will focus on looking forward and celebrating the transgender community. The Transgender Day of Resilience will take place Sunday, Nov. 22 at the Phillip Rush Center and include food, films, performances and conversations.

It’s the second annual event, organized by transgender activist and Lambda Legal director of community education and advocacy Holiday Simmons. So far the evening’s lineup includes a screening of the first episode of “Eden’s Garden,” the first trans-men-loving-trans-men web series, followed by a Q&A with the show’s director, Seven King. There will also be performances by Houston spoken word and performance artist Dee Dee Waters and genderqueer cellist Monica McIntyre, who hails from New Orleans. Local performers and more entertainment are to be announced.

“I think it’s important for communities, as we’re struggling and fighting for various rights and a place at the table, to reflect and see where we’ve come and also to take a moment and celebrate who we are, celebrate our creativity outside of our struggles and our fight for justice,” Simmons explains. “I think that’s important for all communities, but especially for trans communities. We’re just so oversaturated with the violence that is inflicted upon us, so it’s especially important for trans communities to remember that we’re resilient, that we’ve come a long way even if we have a long way to go, and that outside of all that, we’re brilliant, creative creatures that are artists, that are storytellers, that are musicians and to show the world that we’re more than statistics and we’re more than survivors or victims.”

4 News November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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GEORGIANEWS

Transgender woman lands victory in Immigration Court Marisela Castro allowed to remain in U.S. after physical, sexual abuse, deaths of LGBT friends in Honduras

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com A transgender woman’s longtime quest to live in the United States after fearing for her life in her native Honduras is finally over. On Oct. 22, the Atlanta Immigration Court granted a withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture, ruling that Marisela Castro would “more likely than not” suffer persecution if she returned to her home country.

The case dates back to early 2012, when the Georgia Asylum Immigration Network referred the matter to the law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, who agreed to take it on pro bono. But Castro’s journey to escape Honduras and live in America began long before the matter ever landed in a courtroom.

Physical violence, rapes escalate to murder Castro was 13 or 14 and living as a boy when she realized she liked boys, which was a problem in Honduras for her and her other gay friends.

“We were always being chased or being called a ‘faggot’ or ‘gay’ or derogatory terms like that,” Castro tells Georgia Voice through a translator.

Physical violence and the rapes of Castro and her friends occurred in the years ahead, until escalating another level in 1999, when she was 21. She and two friends were at a carnival when they were confronted by gang members who shouted death threats and anti-LGBT slurs. The three attempted to flee, with only two succeeding.

“Unfortunately, one of my friends was captured and dragged away, but I was able to get away from them,” Castro says.

A few months later, the friend was found, impaled with a sharpened stick up his anus and his neck broken. Castro was too afraid to go out after that, and while her church made efforts to take her in and protect her, it wasn’t enough, and she fled the country for the Unit-

Marisela Castro fled Honduras for the United States multiple times to escape the country’s anti-LGBT climate. (Courtesy photo)

“I found out that my other friend had been beaten up so bad that his guts were basically just hanging out. I felt I wasn’t going to survive because both my friends had been killed … so I fled the country …”

—Marisela Castro ed States in 2005. But immigration authorities on the Texas border arrested and deported her after trying to cross into the country illegally.

There was another grim discovery upon her return home.

“I found out that my other friend had been beaten up so bad that his guts were basically just hanging out,” Castro says. “I felt I wasn’t going to survive because both my friends had been killed and I had been identified by the gang members as one of the three [from the carnival], so I fled the country again and ended up in North Carolina the same year.”

This time she made it over the border, staying under the radar with stints in Florida and Virginia over the next few years before

ending up in North Carolina, where she was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking in 2011. The charges were later dropped, but because she was undocumented, she was put in deportation proceedings.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement eventually sent her to the North Georgia Detention Center in Gainesville, Georgia, and soon after, the attorneys at Sutherland came on board the case.

Appeals and transitions The attorneys at Sutherland, led by Associate Samuel Casey, had to prove to the Atlanta Immigration Court that Castro would more likely than not be subject to persecution or torture if she returned to Honduras. They lost

in the initial trial in 2013, but appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

During the appeals process, Castro was undergoing counseling and came to understand that she identified as female. She began hormone treatment, began going by the name Marisela, and transitioned to life as a woman.

The case then ended up back in Atlanta Immigration Court for a retrial in September, where her attorneys were able to prove what Castro’s fate would likely be were she to be sent back to Honduras.

Judge Madeline Garcia ruled in favor of Castro and told her to “be good,” since certain crimes could render her ineligible for protection. Castro and her attorneys left the courthouse shortly thereafter.

“I reflected back on all those struggles I had experienced,” Castro says of her reaction to winning the case. “I was very content and happy that I could stay in this country, but the main thing is I miss my mother because there’s nothing I believe I can do about protecting her or going to her. But now I’m at the point where I start a new chapter of my life.”

‘Once that is done she just gets to live her life’ Castro’s new chapter is one that comes with its own set of challenges. She scratched and clawed her way to get to where she is now—a transgender woman of color in the American South. Those are better circumstances than being a transgender woman in Honduras, but not ideal by any means, considering the escalating number of transgender women of color killed in the United States in the past year, nearly half of whom were killed in the South.

The now 33-year-old Castro lives in Durham, North Carolina. Sutherland’s Casey and the National Immigrant Justice Center’s Keren Zwick continue to work to get her get a work permit and an official name change.

“However, once that is done she just gets to live her life,” says Casey.

“I’m not sure which direction I want to go as far as a career and am still in the process of getting my documentation finalized,” Castro says. “Until I get that all worked out and have it in my possession, that will be a different story.”

6 News November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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GEORGIANEWS

Frustration mounts for Lost-N-Found Youth Permitting process delays LGBT homeless youth group’s new shelter

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com Rick Westbrook was driving back to Midtown Atlanta from the Cobb County Adult Detention Center one Friday morning in June. He was visiting the mother of a youth who is a client of Lost-N-Found Youth (LNFY), the LGBT homeless youth organization for which he serves as executive director. And then he heard the news—the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down samesex marriage bans nationwide.

He had to pull over to the side of the road because he was so overjoyed by the news. But then it hit him.

“I realized that it’s probably going to cause a backlash for our kids,” Westbrook says. “And sure as shit, within the next month we went from 75 kids a month in the drop-in center to 300.”

That decision, coupled with Caitlyn Jenner coming out as a transgender woman in April, led to a surge in LGBT youth coming out, a backlash, and then a number of kids getting kicked out of their homes. It couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the organization continues to work with the city on getting permits approved for its future shelter in Midtown Atlanta.

When LNFY announced plans for the new facility last February, it had expectations of opening by that November. Flash-forward a year after that hoped-for opening and the facility, which will hold three times as many beds as the current shelter in the West End, plus add office space and a new drop-in center, remains empty. The group is holding off on all major fundraising efforts until the permits are ap-

Lost-N-Found Youth’s 2015 State of Atlanta LGBTQ Homeless Youth report shows a spike in calls to its crisis hotline after Caitlyn Jenner came out in April and the U.S. Supreme Court struck down same-sex marriage bans nationwide in June. (Via Lost-N-Found Youth)

Lost-N-Found Youth executive director Rick Westbrook (center, in hoodie) speaks to supporters at the group’s 48 Hours of Homelessness Vigil. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

proved, and the frustration is starting to show.

‘Any time you deal with the government it’s not easy’ It’s a damp, chilly Saturday night in November in Ansley Square Shopping Center and Westbrook is homeless. It’s just for the weekend, though, as he takes part in LNFY’s annual 48 Hours of Homelessness Vigil, living on the street for the estimated amount of time it takes for the group to reach homeless youth before they engage in high risk and/or criminal behavior.

Staff members and supporters drop by throughout the weekend to visit Westbrook, take him food and drop off clothes, gift cards and donations at the LNFY truck parked in front of Brushstrokes. The vigil will end up generating $10,000 in gift cards and donations, the group’s best haul yet, but Westbrook says the exposure and reminding people about that 48-hour window is even more valuable.

“People have come by to make sure I’m taken care of and people are always looking in when I’m sleeping to make sure I’m safe,” he says with a hoodie drawn tight around his face. “That’s just me being an old queen and knowing a lot of people, but our kids don’t have that.”

Westbrook is at a loss to explain why the permitting process has taken so long in order to enact the plans that will serve those kids. He says minor changes remain to be made here and there, but that each time the group resubmits the plans with the agreed-upon verbiage, new changes are requested and the process continues.

“I wish there was a speedier way to do it,”

“I wish there was a speedier way to do it. This has taken longer than I would have liked for it to. And for people that know me, I’m playing very very nice. But I’m getting at the end of my rope, plain and simple.”

—Rick Westbrook, executive director of Lost-N-Found Youth he says. “This has taken longer than I would have liked for it to. And for people that know me, I’m playing very very nice. But I’m getting at the end of my rope, plain and simple.”

Westbrook enlisted the help of and makes a point of recognizing the efforts of Atlanta City Councilmembers Kwanzaa Hall, Mary Norwood and Alex Wan, and says that Michael Nagy, interim zoning manager of the city’s Office of Buildings, gave him his personal cellphone number. Nagy did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

“The people that I work with at the city are all very understanding. I’m sure there are things that they have to adhere to. The customer service is there but it definitely needs to be expedited,” Westbrook says. “It’s frustrating and we deal with the same people each time we go in. It may be that they’re overworked and just missed something. Any time you deal with the government it’s not easy.”

8 News November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NEWSBRIEFS Chick-fil-A franchisee angers conservatives over LGBT event Chick-fil-A is catching major heat online from conservatives for its role as a sponsor of the LGBT film festival, “Level Ground.”

Billed as the world’s first film festival connecting lesbian, gay and transgender sexuality with faith, Chick-fil-A’s role as sponsor has spurred a a change.org petition demanding an official response and clarification of the company’s “corporate stance regarding previously stated Christian values on marriage and stewardship.”

The petition has been signed by nearly 800 supporters, with a goal of 1,000 at press time.

The Advocate warns not to get too excited about Chick-fil-A’s move toward embracing LGBT people: Just hours after the article went live, a spokesperson for the Southern Baptist, family-owned fast food chain swiftly issued a clarification, telling [foodie website] Eater Chick-fil-A itself was never a sponsor of “Level Ground.” The actual sponsor is a franchise owner in Nashville. A similar case happened last November when a Hollywood franchise donated 20 percent of its one-day proceeds to the LGBT student group, Campus Pride.

A Chick-fil-A representative told Eater, “The operators make decisions on local sponsorships.”

Chick-fil-A first caught the ire of gay customers in 2012 when CEO Dan Cathy alienated just about everyone who wasn’t a straight evangelical homophobe when he responded “guilty as charged” to a question posed by a Baptist state newspaper editor about the company’s support for groups that oppose same-sex marriage.

AID Atlanta CEO out after eight months The Board of Directors of AID Atlanta announced on Oct. 30 that James Hughey will be resigning as CEO after less than nine months at the helm. AID Atlanta Director of Client Services Nicole Roebuck will be taking over as acting executive director.

“Hughey led the organization through a financially difficult era in 2015, turning it around to become a more stable entity financially and operationally,” read a statement released by AID Atlanta’s board. “He, organizational leadership and staff and the Board of Directors, helped shepherd the organization through an affiliation with the AHF Federawww.thegeorgiavoice.com

Atlanta LGBT activists held a kiss-in in 2012 to protest Dan Cathy’s anti-gay statements.

(File photo)

tion, a consortium of AIDS service organizations (ASOs) and community groups committed to HIV/AIDS education, prevention, advocacy, medical treatment and support for underserved populations across the United States. The recent affiliation of the two organizations has expanded the resources for HIV-positive patients in Metro Atlanta, including the ability to provide more testing and to get more people into care.”

Roebuck, a 15-year veteran of the organization, said, “We are committed to getting 100 percent of all positive Georgians into care regardless of their ability to pay for those services.”

Hughey took over from former CEO Jose Diaz, who resigned in February due to health reasons after one year at the helm. AID Atlanta became an affiliate with AIDS Healthcare Foundation in June, with Hughey telling Georgia Voice that “significant debt” was one of the reasons.

Global-Local Connection for LGBT Rights event stirs up conversation When the programming board of the LGBT Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights walked out of its August meeting, it carried a list of three areas to focus on in the years ahead: criminal jus-

tice and safety, education and employment, and public health and wellness. On Nov. 2, the Institute held its first public event addressing those areas, The Global-Local Connection for LGBT Rights.

The event, which drew roughly 100 people, featured a wide-ranging panel discussion with Mandy Carter, co-founder of Southerners On New Ground and the National Black Justice Coalition, and Ruth Messinger, president and CEO of American Jewish World Service. It was moderated

by Institute programming board member Tim’m West.

If many aren’t familiar with the American Jewish World Service and wonder about its inclusion in such an event, it helps to know that it is the fourth-largest U.S.-based funder of international LGBT work.

Carter provided a regional and national perspective and Messinger provided a global perspective on LGBT rights; the local perspective was provided by those in attendance.

The evening’s conversation covered an array of topics, including but not limited to anti-LGBT laws across the world, bullying, the school-to-prison pipeline, Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, the role of social media in activism, HIV/AIDS and LGBT elders.

November 13, 2015 News 9

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10 Outspoken November 13, 2015

“Kill yourself. You embarrass us. I threw the phone down and started crying. What could I say? Who are you talking to like that? She has feelings. I’m her dad. All I could say was, you’re right. To all of my kids, I’m sorry and I’m still gonna be your father regardless of who I am.”

—Boxer Yusef Mack on his daughter’s reaction to his porn scandal and coming out as gay. (FOX 29, Nov. 5); (Screencap image)

“This was a campaign of fear-mongering and deliberate lies. This isn’t misinformation. This is a calculated campaign of lies designed to demonize a little understood minority and to use that to take down an ordinance that 200 other cities across America and 17 states have successfully passed and operated under.”

—Houston Mayor Annise Parker on opponents who successfully repealed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). (KPRC 2, Nov. 3)

“How about we have a transgender bathroom?”

“It is not fair for them to make everybody else uncomfortable. It’s one of the things that I don’t particularly like about the [LGBT] movement.

I think everybody has equal rights, but I’m not sure that anybody should have extra rights— extra rights when it comes to redefining everything for everybody else and imposing your view on everybody else.”

——Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson during an interview with Fusion’s Jose Ramos.

(Fusion, Nov. 5); (Screencap image) www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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OUT IN THE WILD

By Simon Williamson

Empty sails Simon Williamson lives with his husband in heteronormatively-assimilative fashion in Athens, after a year of surviving rural Georgia.

Last week’s elections, especially the nondiscrimination ordinance failure in Houston, upset me. But before we deal with being on the wrong side (again!) of a bullshit way of getting rights for a small group of people (referenda), we need to make sure we don’t do in our community what others are doing outside it.

I was skeptical when people predicted it, much like when I was told just how good Adele’s new song would be, but it seems we did indeed see the oomph of the fight for equal rights die with the marriage victory.

In Houston last week a nondiscrimination ordinance got an absolute thumping at the ballot box, something we have seen multiple times across this nation, but like butt-sex, it hurts a little every time, depending on the severity.

“My beautiful friends, they were boywarriors. And yet there will never be streets named after them. They will not be recorded in history books. Their names will never be spoken at academic conferences. Their faces will never be placed on stamps. Their lives will never be depicted in the cinema. It’s as if they never existed.”

We became big brothers without first being little brothers. Elders without first being youth.

This is how I think about those early years. We were still kids and yet we weren’t. In my circle of young black gay men: activists and artists, not even 25 years old, we fought and survived homophobic families and academic institutions, being marginalized, being invisible, poverty, and the racist white gays. However, the one battle that we were never quite prepared for was when we had to go to war against each other.

My beautiful friends, they were boy-warriors. And yet there will never be streets named after them. They will not be recorded in history books. Their names will never be spoken at academic conferences. Their faces will never be placed on stamps. Their lives will never be depicted in the cinema. It’s as if they never existed. And this is why I insist upon writing about www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Texas may have a reputation as Conservative Heaven, but Houston itself is not. So it wasn’t unreasonable to think the good people of Houston would follow in the footsteps of other major US cities like Miami, Atlanta, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Phoenix, St Louis, Salt Lake City, Charleston (the one in WEST BLOODY VIRGINIA EVEN) and state-mates Austin and Dallas.

Yet again, the entire slate of ordinances was pushed aside to quibble over the sensedefying argument about which bathroom transgender people should be forced to use.

I am not going to litigate it here because it is so incredibly easy to Google, and also ridiculously silly, and ridiculously repetitive and supported by the worst people in the world.

It is the Fast and Furious of gay rights debates.

To complement the fact that people against us, who outnumber us, are still motivated enough to go out and vote on that basis alone, a bit of introspection is also worth doing here. There is some vile petition doing the rounds across the backwaters of the gay parts of the Internet which calls for the Human Rights Campaign and other gay rights organizations to drop transgender people from the movement.

Why they bothered including the HRC, which is doing a magnificent job on that front itself, I don’t really know.

Maya Angelou, who said back in 2000, “I’m convinced that the negative has power ... It lives. And if you allow it to perch in your

“The LGBTQIA+ grouping was not formed because we are all the same thing. It is because we are locked in similar fights— we are asking for the right to live as we please, rights that don’t affect anyone else.” house, in your mind, in your life, it can take you over. So when the rude or cruel thing is said—the lambasting, the gay bashing, the hate—I say, ‘Take it all out of my house!’”

The LGBTQIA+ grouping was not formed because we are all the same thing. It is because we are locked in similar fights— we are asking for the right to live as we please, rights that don’t affect anyone else. I spent the week raging at the complete injustice of the Houston nondiscrimination ordinance being voted in a referendum, mostly by people who have no dog in this fight, and rely on the turgid inanities I referenced earlier. But we all need to direct a little rage inwards, to make sure we’re not doing to ourselves what they did to us.

THE ICONOCLAST

By Charles Stephens

Language of Trauma is Silence: Part 2 Charles Stephens is the Director of Counter Narrative and co-editor of ‘Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call.’ them. Not just because I want to remember, but because I won’t let you forget.

Of those early battles that we endured and that we witnessed, the one that haunts me to this day was one of the last times I saw Keiron. I was in Midtown; the old Midtown. This was fall 1999.

It’s important to make a distinction between the old Midtown and the new. The old Midtown was dark, dangerous, fun, mysterious, alive and sexy; back then we named buildings things like “Vaseline Towers.” The new Midtown is gentrified and sterile, with condos, strollers, yuppies and such. But in the old Midtown I happened to be walking by the Atlanta Lambda Center (which was where many of our LGBT meetings took place), and as I was walking past the building, Keiron happened to be walking out.

Keiron Williams had been one of the founders of My Brother’s Keeper, the young black gay

men’s group I had been politicized in, and also a student at Morehouse College. Did I speak first?

I don’t remember. Maybe he did. I do remember him saying “I just got fired.” Second Sunday was the black gay men’s discussion group that was the sort of “parent organization” to My Brother’s Keeper. Apparently during its board meeting, that he was leaving when I met him, they fired our entire leadership, including Keiron. The leadership positions were volunteer, though I think Keiron might have received a small stipend. The stated reason for the firing, I believe, was an administrative error. Keiron sent a report to a funder without first getting Second Sunday to review it.

I think the real reason Keiron was fired was that he was a feminine, brilliant, defiant, black sissy and many of our elders despised him for it.

He was a big mouth. He refused to be invisible

and he refused to assimilate into absurd notions of respectability activism. As he told me about the firing, his face looked calm, even serene, but now I know that face well, because it’s also a face I’ve learn to make. A mask I’ve learned to wear.

This is the mask you wear when your brothers hurt you and you try to conceal it. Trauma isn’t just about silence; it’s also a performance.

He then told me that he was leaving activism to focus on his life’s purpose (which I imagine he no longer saw as activism). He was, I think, 25. He would die maybe two years after we had this conversation, and it still haunts me to this day.

So this is why I write about the past. Not just to remember, but to memorialize. So as I finish this, my last column for Georgia Voice, I’m thinking not about death, but about life, about how language is life and life is memory.

November 13, 2015 Outspoken 11

CATCHING UP WITH …

Sher Pruitt The photographer looks back on documenting a generation of Atlanta’s LGBT community

By PATRICK SAUNDERS Thirteen thousand. That’s how many events Sher Pruitt estimates she has photographed in her 25 years covering Atlanta’s LGBT community. She did 14 alone during Pride weekend this year, from Out On Film to the bars to the park to the Pride parade, plus a same-sex wedding to top it all off. And she’s done it all while never being on staff at an LGBT publication, working entirely freelance.

The single Columbia, South Carolina native lives in Marietta, but considers herself a Midtown girl at heart, which makes sense considering she’s basically an honorary resident with all the events she shoots in the area.

Pruitt looks back on documenting a generation of Atlanta’s LGBT community, from the early days shooting for Etc. and Southern Voice, through the worst of the AIDS epidemic and numerous benefits, bar nights and protests, to the present day in which she shoots for David, Fenuxe, Project Q, Pocket Rocket and Georgia Voice.

What was it like growing up in South Carolina?

It was completely different because I look Asian but I’m not, it’s a little American Indian. People didn’t look like me so people were always asking me to teach them kung fu. Even when I went to college, guys would come up to me at bars and say, ‘Would … you … like … to … dance?’ like I didn’t even understand English. So I completely felt like a minority in South Carolina whereas here in Georgia I never felt like that.

How did you make it to Atlanta?

I had never even been to a gay bar, or even thought I was gay, I just knew that I was different. I would come home and say, ‘Momma, I meet all these nice guys. How come I don’t want to go out with any of them?’

I was a late bloomer, so my first girlfriend was when I was 23. I met her in Columbia

“There were benefits but back then it was a lot more bar shots. It got really depressing because I would photograph people and it wouldn’t be much later and they had died, and I didn’t know they were HIV positive. It was really sad.”

—Sher Pruitt on photographing Atlanta’s LGBT scene in the early 1990s

and she ended up moving here because she had family here so that’s how I ended up moving here in 1987.

How did you get involved in photography?

I have a picture of me from when I was a kid with one of those Kodak cameras around my neck. My dad got me a professional camera when I was 14 and I just started taking pictures of my family. Then I ended up being on the annual staff at my high school as a photographer. Then about 1989 or 1990 I saw that Etc. was looking for a photographer and I went and took them some photos I had taken and that’s how I started.

What kind of assignments were you shooting back then?

There were benefits but back then it was a lot more bar shots. It got really depressing because I would photograph people and it wouldn’t be much later and they had died, and I didn’t know they were HIV positive. It was really sad.

I was seeing things change. Things are much better than they used to be but I remember during the Cracker Barrel discrimination and the marches. I photographed everything.

I usually work every weekend and I have private events that I do. Also during that

Sher Pruitt estimates she has photographed 13,000 events in her 25 years covering Atlanta’s LGBT community. (Courtesy photo)

time I used to freelance in the marketing department for Atlanta Magazine. So photography’s a passion for sure.

What was it like watching the community grow and change over the years?

What I do love is being gay is much more accepting. Atlanta has such a large gay population and it’s just good to see people being who they are. We have so many benefits, much more than we used to. The only bad thing is there doesn’t seem to be as many dance clubs or tea dances as there used to be.

But as far as being gay it’s much better.

What was your most memorable photograph or assignment?

I’ve loved so many. Wow. I think this was a really fun one, not that it’s necessarily that gay but I love [Jeffrey] Fashion Cares, and part of the money goes to HIV. And just seeing it grow, because I used to go when not many people would show up and now it’s like 500 to 700 dollars a ticket and it used to be like 25 dollars.

I photographed a benefit that had Elton John, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and some other people. That was a super

nice event at [Kennesaw State University].

To watch them play and be in there for the press conference was really fun. I pretty much enjoy everything I do.

What is it you love about photography?

What makes you want to keep doing it?

It’s weird because when I was getting ready to photograph Elton John at Music Midtown [this year], just bringing my camera up before I even snapped, my heart rate goes up. I get excited. That’s it. And I do like the part of photographing history. I also love going to the different bars and benefits and all the people that get excited that want their photo taken.

I get lots of hugs and they like their photos.

And now that gay marriage is legal, I’ve photographed a few gay weddings a month so far. I’ve done two in the last week. I love that people can marry who they love and these couples that I photograph, some of them have been together for 25 years.

How much longer do you want to do it?

I’m not a spring chicken but I want to keep doing it as long as I’m able to and they want me. I’m young at heart so I’m expecting to go at least until I’m 80-something.

12 Community November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

WORK

IT!

Mychel ‘Snoop’ Dillard lives up to her reputation as a serial entrepreneur

By DARIAN AARON daaron@thegavoice.com It’s hard to imagine that Mychel “Snoop” Dillard is capable of getting the recommended eight hours of nightly sleep with her schedule. The busy Atlanta lesbian entrepreneur is the brain behind two successful businesses: The Hookah Hideaway, a popular downtown hookah bar, and Party Bus Kings. And as if those weren’t enough to keep her busy, Dillard is weeks away from opening Posh Ultra Lounge, a new upscale lounge in Macon, and Girl Talk, a dating app designed specifically for women who love women.

Georgia Voice managed to catch up with the Vanderbilt University alumna in between making final preparations for the grand opening of Posh Ultra Lounge and ongoing talks for Escobar, a joint nightclub venture with Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz that is sure to make waves in 2016.

Georgia Voice: How did the collaboration with 2 Chainz come about?

Mychel “Snoop” Dillard: I was looking to expand and I always wanted to be on Peters Street. The current venue I have is called the Hookah Hideaway (at 43 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive NE). It’s a very intimate spot. I wanted to expand because we’ve really outgrown it due to its popularity. My realtor initially introduced us and then 2 Chainz and I got together to see if we would be a good fit and we found that we were and formed a relationship. The rest is history.

Have you faced any resistance as a lesbian woman in a heavily male-dominated industry?

Surprisingly, I haven’t faced any resistance at all. I get a lot of respect in our community and the straight community as well. I think people just look at me as a businesswoman who happens to be gay. I think being in a city like Atlanta definitely helps. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“I never really had a lot of fear. I was always a risk-taker. One of things I tell people is that if you don’t take that risk you’ll never have the opportunity to see if you can do it.”

—Mychel “Snoop” Dillard Where did the idea for the party bus come from?

When I was trying different hustles to figure out what I was going to do next, one of the ideas was to promote parties for party buses. I was going to rent the party bus from someone else who had one and the woman I was seeing at the time suggested I take it a step further and get my own bus. Party Bus Kings has been in business since 2012.

What type of customer usually rents a party bus?

Any and everybody. We do tailgates, we do kids birthdays, sweet 16s, retirement parties. We’ve had babies on the bus who were just picked up from the hospital. It’s a wide variety. People use them a lot for holidays. Even if you have friends coming into town and you don’t want to drive.

Tell us about your new app Girl Talk.

I have a lot of friends that are gay males who use Grindr and I thought it was so messed up that I didn’t have an app to get on to find me somebody (laughing). Even though I’m in the nightlife industry, I don’t really enjoy going to clubs and parties. I always thought it would be cool to come up with an app for women to connect with women all over the world. It will embody Instagram, Snapchat,

Mychel ‘Snoop’ Dillard is launching a new lounge and dating app in addition to operating two successful Atlanta businesses. (Photo by Ashley Woods)

Details

The Hookah Hideaway 43 Jesse Hill Jr. Dr NE Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 713-4225 www.thehookahhideaway.com Party Bus Kings (678) 561-7813 www.partybuskings.com and Facebook all in one. There will be a section to chat, send messages, and create profiles. You’ll be able to upload videos and create forums. It’ll also have a GPS feature. I think it’s going to be phenomenal! It’ll start out as

a free app when it launches in late November and will most likely be $1.99 to download by the end of January.

There’s a quote on your website that says, “Overcoming obstacles is the best tool for success.” There are a lot of people who’d like to start a business but they’re gripped by fear. How did you overcome your fears?

I never really had a lot of fear. I was always a risk-taker. One of the things I tell people is that if you don’t take that risk you’ll never have the opportunity to see if you can do it. And a part of success is failure. We learn a lot from our failures. When you do overcome those failures it makes you a much better leader and businessperson because you realize that you can get through difficult things.

November 13, 2015 Community 13

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide

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WHY YOU ARE SO HOT, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT US Each spread contains a fill in the blank line describing some aspect for a loved one. A personalized gift to be read by lucky recipients again and again.

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide

HOLIDAY TURN UP

FISHS EDDY ARTIST PALETTE CHEESE BOARD Paint the town red, blue, green and yellow! The artist palette cheese tray is a colorful way to serve up anything!

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide KITCHEN

GOODS COOK’S WAREHOUSE East Cobb 770-565-8005 / Midtown 404-815-4993 / Decatur 404-377-4005 www.cookswarehouse.com

CRAFT BREWING & DELUXE BOTTLING KIT This brewing kit makes outstanding craft beer right out of the box. Designed to turn beer lovers into beer brewers on their first attempt in the comfort of your own kitchen.

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CORKCICLE CANTEENS & TUMBLERS These stainless steel tumblers are designed to keep beverages cold for over 9 hours, even in the sun, and hot for 3 hours.

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THE SIMPLE ART OF SALT BLOCK COOKING Craft upscale and creative meals with this popular guide for using the Himalayan salt block. It includes tips on prepping and caring for salt blocks.The co-editor of this book, Jessica Harlan, is an Atlanta resident.

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November 13, 2015 Ads 21

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide NAUGHTY & NICE MR. S-LEATHER NEOPRENE BULLDOG HARNESS This Neoprene Bulldog features smooth black neoprene banding flanked with contrasting color trim throughout. With black snaps and hardware, the vibrant trim color really pops.

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TECH’S

BEST DJI PHANTOM 3 ADVANCED QUADCOPTER WITH 4K CAMERA The drone era is officially here, and Showcase Photo & Video is the local hotspot with a wide selection of options to choose from. This bestseller is tops on our list with up to a 1.2 mile radio range, GPS-based stabilization system and a fully integrated camera that shoots 1080p video.

Price: $999.00 SHOWCASE PHOTO & VIDEO 404-325-7676 www.showcaseinc.com

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M50X PROFESSIONAL HEADPHONES with FiiO E6 Fujiyama Portable Headphone Amplifier These critically acclaimed headphones consistently end up on “best of” lists throughout the headphone industry, and for good reason. Pair them with FiiO’s sleek E6 amp and you have an unstoppable combo to play your holiday hits—or Adele’s “Hello” for the millionth time.

Price: $189.00 www.amazon.com

WEMO + OSRAM LIGHTIFY FLEX RGBW STARTER SET Belkin is redefining how to light up your home with its WeMo line of lighting products. Add colorful accent lighting to your home with this self-bonding, flexible strip lighting set, and best of all? You can control it seamlessly with your mobile device.

Price: $119.99 www.belkin.com WITHINGS ACTIVITÉ POP ACTIVITY TRACKER WATCH Who says activity-tracking wearables have to look so dull? Not Withings, whose Activité Pop line of watches will turn heads wherever you may roam. This coral pink number is just one of the color choices to track your steps, runs, swims and sleep in style.

Price: $149.99

BLUCUBE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER The tech accessory titans at Triple C always know how to design high-quality products that make a fashion statement, and look no further than this adorable Bluetooth technology speaker as proof. The cute compact cube in American Aztec designs will be the talk of your holiday party.

Price: $49.95

BEST BUY 404-827-0137 (Edgewood) www.bestbuy.com

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide BOY NEXT DOOR

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GOORIN BROS. OLD TOWN FLAT CAP Price: $40; Color: Black Goorin Bros.

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November 13, 2015 Holiday Gift Guide 33

FASHION

FORWARD Ellen DeGeneres’ new clothing line provides the perfect comfort and style for gift giving

ED QUILTED CREW NECK This fitted crewneck is an Ellen favorite!

A limited edition, special attention is given to the rib detail for a slimmer fit.

Colors: Black and Oatmeal Sizes: XS-XL Price: $95.00 www.edbyellen.com

HOLIDAY Gift Guide ED ITALIAN MINI FLORAL PRINT The perfect button-down to take you from day to night. Inspired by Ellen’s love of vintage design, this cotton woven shirt can be worn tucked in or out.

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ED WAFFLE SWEATER PULL-ON PANT Warmth, comfort, and style. What more can she ask for? This knit pant comes in a wool/ cashmere blend with a drawstring waist.

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide

ZIGGY PET BOWL We love French Bull’s ability to make common household items look uncommon, and that includes their line of pet bowls, available in three different patterns. Extra durable, dishwasher safe and a standout way for your four-legged friends to sip and savor.

Price: $29.99

PET

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PLEASURES GWEN STEFANI’S HARAJUKU LOVERS DOG CLOTHING & TOY LINE That’s right, she sings, she coaches “The Voice” contestants, she has a (human) clothing line and now she has a dog clothing and toy line. It offers more than 30 products, including cozy Union Jack sweaters, colorful toys, snazzy fedora hats and more.

Price: $6.99-$19.99 PETCO (404) 521-1762 (Edgewood) www.petco.com

EARTHBATH ALL NATURAL DEODORIZING DOG SPRITZ Even Fido deserves to smell fresh and fancy.

Earthbath’s line of all natural deodorizing spritzes includes meadowfoam seed oil, colloidal oatmeal, aloe vera and vitamin E to condition, rehydrate and soothe your dog’s skin while giving a shiny coat with no oily residue.

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ETHICAL COLORFUL SPRINGS Is your cat giving you that look again like they’re sooooo over it? Spring for this colorful cat toy sure to drive any felines crazy as they bounce and pounce all over the house. They’ll have fun batting and bobbling, and the price is just right.

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MAJESTIC PET WALES COLLECTION 3-STEP PET STAIRS Make things easier for those furry ones with joint problems, aging issues or other disabilities and pick up this set of pet stairs to make it easier for them to navigate onto beds and other areas throughout the house. The faux sheepskin Sherpa steps provide comfort, and the slipcover zips off for easy cleaning.

Price: $69.99 PETSMART (404) 872-2363 (Midtown) www.petsmart.com 36 Holiday Gift Guide November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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November 13, 2015 Ads 37

HOLIDAY Gift Guide

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Available: Learning Express Toys in Toco Hills Price: $12.99 404-636-4000; www.learningexpress.com B) MAGFORMERS RAINBOW 30 PIECE SET Built-in magnets and rainbow colors are the draw for this 30-piece set that boasts 18 different squares and 12 different triangles. Expect hours of imaginative play. Suitable for ages 6 and up.

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THE KID IN US

D) UNICORN RAINBOW PENCIL HOLDER It’s the perfect stocking stuffer, and the beautiful rainbow colors will light up any desk. Kids will love it, but this one is for the kid in you!

Available: Junkman’s Daughter Price: $14 404-577-3188; www.thejunkmansdaughter.com E) ADULT COLORING BOOKS Relive your childhood love of coloring with these great coloring books designed specifically for adults. Kaleidoscope, Mandala and Secret Garden are just three of a myriad of titles to choose from.

Available: Binders Ponce City Market & www.peterpauper.com Price: $4.95 and up 404-682-6999; www.bindersart.com F) CHEW BEADS NECKLACE This teething necklace is as much for the cool parent wearing it as it is for the adorable baby that will love to chew on it. It’s safe for your little one to touch, tug and of course, chew.

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38 Holiday Gift Guide November 13, 2015

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HOLIDAY Gift Guide

AMSTERDAM ASPEN

GIVING THE GIFT OF

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Must-visit destinations for the gay traveler

cafes. The city is also a great destination for families, with attractions like the Montreal Biodome and La Ronde Amusement Park.

Where to stay: Sir Montcalm Bed & Breakfast

MIAMI Beautiful beaches, Caribbean climate and nonstop nightlife attract LGBT folks to South Beach year-round. Now, there’s a “Same-Sex in the City” package being offered to gay travelers that includes complimentary “his & his” or “hers & hers” monogrammed beach towels and a bottle of sparkling wine and chocolatecovered strawberries upon arrival along with a custom-curated itinerary of recommended cultural events and activities.

Where to stay: The Dream Hotel South Beach

ASPEN High in the Rockies, Aspen has long been known as a glamorous winter getaway for the jet set. Gay and Lesbian Ski Week has served to make Aspen a popular gay getaway as well.

Throughout the year, gay travelers will find Aspen a charming and friendly place to visit and are welcomed with the luxurious service and class that Aspen is known for.

Where to stay: Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa

PUERTO RICO You’ll forget that you’re still in U.S. territory. Enjoy the exotic paradise of Puerto Rico, the shopping, restaurants, outdoor experiences and nightlife. Condado Beach and Santurce provide the perfect spots to mix with locals and tourists alike. There are plenty of gay guesthouses as well as upscale resorts to stay in to get the full Puerto Rico experience.

Marriott is at the forefront of LGBT hospitality here with #LoveTravels.

MONTREAL Where to stay: Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino on Condado Beach AMSTERDAM The city of Amsterdam has earned its long-standing reputation as a gay haven.

The first nation to recognize marriage equality, Amsterdam offers an unmatched climate of openness and tolerance. Visitors are engulfed in a plethora of bookshops, record

stores, museums, bicycles and governmentsanctioned “coffee shops” (for legal highs).

Where to stay: Gay-owned Amistad Hotel MONTREAL Canada and the city of Montreal is as logical a destination as any for the LGBT tourist. The Village—or “le Village”—is the center of Montreal’s gay scene. Montreal offers innumerable restaurants, shops, bars, and

CHICAGO If you don’t mind the cold weather this time of year, then Chicago is a great place to vacation. From the world-class theater district to the bustling shopping on Michigan Avenue, Chicago has it all, including one of the most vibrant LGBT communities in the country.

Most of the action revolves around Lakeview’s Boystown, but the lesbian-popular Andersonville and emerging Wicker Park should be on every LGBT tourist’s radar alongside popular attractions Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier.

Where to stay: Thompson Chicago

40 Holiday Gift Guide November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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November 13, 2015 Ads 41

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DANCING OFF THE WALL Choreographer and Shaping Sound creator Travis Wall is dominating the dance industry

Photo by Matthew Murphy

By DARIAN AARON Travis Wall is proving that you don’t have to win the show to be the show. By all accounts, the 28-year-old choreographer and Virginia Beach native was supposed to disappear into obscurity, or at the very least end up a nameless dancer in music videos, after he failed to take home the crown as America’s favorite dancer during season 2 of the hit FOX reality show, “So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD).” Even Wall couldn’t have imagined that the title “Emmy Award winner” would eventually precede his name in print. But clearly, the universe had other plans.

Atlanta audiences will have a front row seat to his visionary work as the curtain rises on “The Shaping Sound: Dance Reimagined Tour” on Nov. 17 at the Fox Theatre. “Shaping Sound” is an onstage reunion of sorts for Wall and company. The dancers are many of Wall’s industry friends and “SYTYCD” alumni.

First and foremost a choreographer, Wall tells Georgia Voice that his return to the stage may not have happened if he hadn’t been able to tour with his extended family.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 45

44 A&E November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 44 “I don’t necessarily fully enjoy performing. The only reason why I perform at this stage is because I’m with my best friends, my family,” says Wall. “I love being onstage with them. And if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be onstage anymore. I would definitely hang those shoes up, because I’d much rather be the creator.”

Since his “SYTYCD” exit, Wall’s choreography has not only been in high demand on the show that launched his professional career, but his work has been featured on “Dancing With The Stars,” MTV Video Music Awards and even his own 2012 reality show “All The Right Moves” on the Oxygen Network. It was during “All The Right Moves” that Wall says the seed for “Shaping Sound” was planted.

“I knew I was handed an opportunity with exposure and I knew I wanted to choreograph,” says Wall. “I know for a fact when we got off that stage from the (SYTYCD) tour that I wasn’t gonna go to LA and audition to be this person’s backup dancer. I threw myself into a dance studio and I worked on who I was as a choreographer and what I wanted to say. I knew that that was my journey. I didn’t want a career as a broke dancer.”

Leave it all on the floor Wall also wanted to elicit more than applause for his choreography. As an openly gay man whose life experiences influence his work, he wanted to make a statement.

Either one witnessed the contemporary pas da deux (a dance for two) between male dancers Neil Haskell and Kent Boyd, choreographed by Wall during season 7 of “SYTYCD” or they were privy to the online chatter about the nature of the relationship between the two characters portrayed by Haskell and Boyd during one of the show’s most unforgettable moments. Were they a gay couple? Or did the “SYTYCD” judges play it safe by avoiding the politics of same-sex relationships by labeling the two men best friends?

Wall confirms that if it was about anything, it was about friendship and betrayal.

“It was a very interesting relationship I

Details Shaping Sound:

Dance Reimagined Tour Nov. 17 7:30 P.M. Fox Theatre $35.50-$96.50 www.foxtheatre.org www.thegeorgiavoice.com

had with somebody and I was betrayed by that person,” says Wall. “I had to release my frustration in some way. I can’t put labels on anything because I don’t know exactly what it was. It wasn’t about boyfriends because that’s not what we were labeled. It was betrayal between two people who were really close.”

The positive reception of a would-be gay relationship on “SYTYCD” didn’t quell the speculation of censorship by those in charge at Fox. Wall says any implication of gay censorship couldn’t be further from the truth.

“In 2006, I would have said absolutely there is censorship because I was told to censor it, but that’s not the case anymore. For the past five or six years they’ve (contestants) all been open, they’re not hiding anything.

They’re not literally coming out and saying here’s a picture of me and my boyfriend, but they’re being themselves,” says Wall.

No longer a nominee So what has changed now that Wall has taken home a 2015 Emmy award for Out-

standing Choreography for his work on “SYTYCD?” Not much.

“The only thing that changes is that instead of Emmy nominee it’s Emmy award winner,” says Wall. “Life is exactly the same.

There’s new opportunities every day I wake up. It just sounds a lot nicer (laughing).”

The opportunity to go on the road with “Shaping Sound” is what Wall is excited about right now.

“Come see us on tour. It really is an amazing show!”

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Offer ends 12/31/15. Limited to new residential customers. Not available in all areas. Requires subscription to Starter XF Triple Play with Digital Starter TV, Performance Internet and XFINITY Voice Unlimited®. Early termination fee applies. Equipment, taxes and fees, including regulatory recovery fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $3.50/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $1.00/mo.) and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the promo. After 12 months, regular monthly charge applies to Blast!® Internet service. After promotional period, or if any service is cancelled or downgraded, regular rates apply. Comcast’s current monthly service charge for Starter XF Triple Play is $136.99–$141.99 and for Blast!® Internet is $12 (pricing subject to change). TV and Internet service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers.

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8/12/15 10:31 AM

November 13, 2015 A&E 45

ACTING OUT

By JIM FARMER

Actor Harold Leaver lets loose in ‘Santaland Diaries’ It was never intended to be a franchise.

When Horizon Theatre artistic director Lisa Adler rounded up actor Harold Leaver for a reading and later a run of the comic “The Santaland Diaries,” neither knew it would be a holiday perennial. Yet the show—out writer David Sedaris’s examination of a Christmas season he spent as a department store elf, adapted by Joe Mantello—opens next week for the 17th straight year. We caught up recently with out actor Leaver, who stars as the Sedaris alter ego Crumpet, as he, director Jeff Adler and co-stars Lala Cochran and Enoch King prepare for another season.

Georgia Voice: Did you all have any idea this would run so long?

Leaver: We thought it might run five or six years and then wear itself out, but our audiences continued to grow. We had more shows last year than any year.

How do you compare the current versions to that first year?

Well, I’ve aged 17 years! I think I’ve reached maximum comfort level and something else deeper happens. I think it might be that I have fewer shits to give, as I get older. It makes it more relaxed. All this stuff about the sweet Santa, the way the show ends, it has more and more meaning. The value of love in our lives—that is more important than anything else.

Have there been years when you resisted coming back?

There has been years where at the very end I questioned whether I wanted to come back next year. And that’s just exhaustion, because it is a really big commitment. We have six shows a week beginning the week before Thanksgiving, all the way through New Year’s. It takes a lot out of my life and a lot from the life of me and my husband John. But I miss it and John, every single year, wants me to be happy and loves that I am in the show. And his 96-year-old mother wants me to continue.

Compare the rest of your year to the craziness of this season.

The cast of ‘Santaland Diaries.’ (Publicity photo)

Details

‘The Santaland Diaries’ Horizon Theatre Nov. 20–Dec. 31 www.horizontheatre.com It’s a seven-week gig. It’s a week and a half of rehearsal, then five and a half of the show.

I work in an office job with the tie and the nametag and it’s straight-laced. And then— it explodes. Ten months out of the year I am repressed and then this happens. That’s the truth. In the office environment, even though there is a nondiscrimination policy in place, you really can’t be an out elf. You can’t be mischievous. You can’t say what is on your mind. But in “Santaland,” I get to do all of that.

What kind of ideas and references do you expect to bring in this year?

Each year everyone comes in with their ideas. I start making mine in July. I am excited about gay marriage, Donald Trump and “Cher: The Musical.”

During the run has there been a favorite year or performance?

Christmas Eve is always a special night.

The show itself ends on Christmas Eve and that is when Crumpet has the encounter with the secret Santa. It feels extra sweet to talk about that on that day.

46 A&E November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

Folk Art presents artwork on a plate Considering that I’ve reviewed restaurants in Atlanta for 30 years, I have no explanation for why I’ve never visited Folk Art (465 N. Highland Ave., 404-537-4493), a popular diner of sorts that has been open about three years in Inman Park.

The place is picturesque. The interior more resembles a barbecue joint than a diner. Brick walls are layered with colorful irreverent signs and tchotchkes. Upon entering, you see what looks like a maze of tables and booths, none of which seem to provide seating for more than four. Tables are bolted to the floor, so you can’t move them together. Our party of five had to pull up a folding chair that virtually blocked the aisle. I have no idea how you would accommodate more than five diners. The good news is that we scored a booth up front, beside a large window whose garage-style door had been thrown up to give us a breath of cool air and a view of passersby.

Most of them were on their way to Wisteria, a few doors down. Its chef/owner, Jason Hill, also owns Folk Art, and both restaurants feature Southern flavors. Folk Art is open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. My impression is that brunch is the most popular meal. Friends have often raved about the fried chicken here, and you can order it in various forms—for brunch on a waffle with whiskey-peach compote, for example. While I didn’t try the chicken at Folk Art, I can vouch for Hill’s skillet-fried version at Wisteria.

We visited on Friday night, when the lunch-dinner menu offers sandwiches, burgers, salads, entrees, and an abbreviated selection of all-day breakfast faves. We stuck to sandwiches and entrees. By far the best on the table was a special of chicken pot pie—a deeply flavored, creamy broth full of chicken, carrots, and peas, topped with two flaky, flat biscuits. Next best was a huge po’boy heaped with fried shrimp over romaine drizzled with house-made tartar sauce.

Two of us ordered the muffuletta, the New Orleans classic I can never resist when I find www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Fried chicken sandwich with collard green cole slaw and macaroni and cheese (Photo via Facebook)

it on a menu. I give Folk Art’s version a B. Its layers of mortadella, Genoa salami, ham, provolone, mozzarella and olive salad were piled on a classic, somewhat thick round bun cut into quarters. The problem? I like my muffuletta bread to soak up some of the olive salad’s oil and I like the bread to have a bit of crispness. These are small complaints.

My least-favorite dish on the table was the blackened flounder. I’m reluctant to say so, because it’s mainly reflective of my personal dislike of flounder—a fish I was forcefed throughout childhood. Happily, this was not my mother’s overcooked flounder amandine, but a blackened version. But there again, I was never very impressed by Paul Prudhomme’s blackening technique. Putting all that aside, the fish itself was cooked just right and the friend who ordered it liked it.

Sides were less impressive than other dishes on the table. By far the best was mac and cheese. It was the real deal.

Service was great, prices are lowish, and, in case you’re worried, parking is easy.

“What I like best about Pine Street Market are the fresh sausages they make - whether it’s bratwurst or a classic American hotdog.

They are made with hogs grown and processed here in Georgia.

Rusty and his crew are proud of what they do and stand behind their products. They are just happy to do what they do and I appreciate that. It comes through in the end product.”

– Kevin Gillespie

404.296.9672 4A PINE STREET AVONDALE ESTATES, GA 30002

Cliff Bostock, PhD, is a longtime Atlanta food critic and former psychotherapist who now specializes in collaborative life coaching (404-518-4415), www.cliffbostock.com.

November 13, 2015 Columnists 47

B

T ES

Our Guide to the Best LGBT Events in Atlanta for Nov. 13-26

BETS

A T N TLA

A T B LG

EVENT

S

SATURDAY, NOV. 14

Steve Yockey’s new play, “The Thrush & the Woodpecker,” a suspense thriller offering mystery, power and theatricality, directed by Melissa Foulger, runs in rotating repertory with Yockey’s play, “Blackberry Winter,” through Nov. 22. 8 p.m. tonight, Actor’s Express, www.actors-express.com (Photo courtesy of Actor’s Express)

FRIDAY, NOV. 13

The Third Annual National Trans Health Symposium continues today from 8 a.m.–6 p.m. with a full day of events at the Loudermilk Conference Center, www.someonecaresatl.org Blake’s hosts DJ Bill Berdeaux and the Deadly Vixens drag show, 11 p.m., www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

SATURDAY, NOV. 14– SUNDAY, NOV. 15

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

If you need some post-Halloween gore in your life, check out the Buried Alive Film Festival, featuring a slate of independent horror films, Synchronicity Theatre, www.buriedalivefilmfest.com

SATURDAY, NOV. 14

SATURDAY, NOV. 14

Oscar Velasquez spins at Jungle Atlanta, www.jungleatl.com (Photo via Facebook)

48 Best Bets November 13, 2015

Come out tonight as “Manly Men” compete to crown P.A.L.S. Manly Miss America. This is not your typical drag show—contestants raise money for

P.A.L.S. (Pets Are Loving Support) by putting on wigs and makeup. 6 p.m., Jungle Atlanta, www.jungleatl.com The Levi-Leather Edition of Manshaft is tonight at 9 p.m. with DJ Neon and DJ Diablo Rojo taking over at 11 p.m., Heretic Atlanta, www.hereticatlanta.com Bear Night at the Atlanta Eagle promises plenty of cubs and otters and other wildlife, 10 p.m.–3 a.m., www.atlantaeagle.com

SUNDAY, NOV. 15

The PFLAG Atlanta support group meets today from 2:30–4 p.m. at the Spiritual Living Center, 1730 Northeast Expressway NE Atlanta, GA 30329

MONDAY, NOV. 16

Trans and Friends is a youth-focused group for trans people, people questioning their own gender, and aspiring allies.

Charis provides a facilitated space to discuss gender, relevant resources and activism around social issues. This is a project of the Feminist Outlawz and is co-sponsored by Charis Circle’s Strong Families, Whole Children. Donations are accepted. 7–8:30 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Brush up on your Cher and Katy Perry as Kyle Kirkland hosts Blue Monday Karaoke, 10:30 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

TUESDAY, NOV. 17

Under the artistic direction of Travis Wall, and co-created with Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson, “Shaping Sound” is an electrifying mash-up of dance styles and musical genres brought fully to life on stage by a dynamic company of contemporary dancers seen on the likes of “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing With the Stars.” Audiences of all ages will experience the exhilarating collaboration

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LGBT EVENT Submit your LGBT event for inclusion in our online and print calendars by emailing event info to editor@thegavoice.com of these visual musicians whose explosive choreography, dynamic rhythm, speed and physical strength give shape and form to sound. 7:30 p.m., Fox Theatre, www.foxtheatre.org

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18

DJ Stan Jackson hosts Warp Zone Wednesdays at the Heretic, 7 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

THURSDAY, NOV. 19

SAGE Atlanta hosts its weekly social hour and potluck, 10 a.m., Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.com Expand your professional circle at MAAP’s (Metro Atlanta Association of Professionals) monthly networking at TEN Atlanta, 6 p.m., tenatlanta.com Enjoy Country Night at Woofs tonight, 7 p.m., www.woofsatlanta.com Charis and Cliterati pair up to present an inviting and fierce open no-mic & reading series on the third Thursday of every month.

November’s featured performer is groundbreaking artist and activist Tim’m West.

Tim’m will share works from his brand new record, “ICONography,” as well as his new book of poems, pre|dispositions: affirmations on loving. 7:30–9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

FRIDAY, NOV. 20

Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Sarah Paulson star in the acclaimed lesbian drama, “Carol,” directed by out director Todd Haynes, TBD theaters.

The Transgender National Day of Remembrance “We Will Not Be Denied” 2015 Vigil is today, sponsored

by Lambda Legal, Human Rights Campaign, EM Design Group, Transgender Housing Atlanta Program, Peach State Conference, Extreme Entertainment Catering, Alternative Perspectives Radio and Juxtaposed Center for Transformation, 7 p.m., Saint Mark United Methodist Church, www.stmarkumc.org

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

THURSDAY, NOV. 19

The Alliance Theatre opens “A Christmas Carol,” running through Dec. 27, with a 7:30 p.m. performance tonight, www.alliancetheatre.com (Photo courtesy of Alliance Theatre) Join Charis in welcoming a rising voice in contemporary literary fiction: Dasha Kelly, author of “Almost Crimson.” In the book, CeCe has taken care of herself for as long as she can remember. With her father gone and her mother broken by chronic depression, CeCe struggles to find fulfillment in the sacrifice required to keep their lives together. As her mother’s condition worsens, CeCe is forced to stay close to home and stifle her dreams. 7:30–9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com It’s a holiday tradition: David Sedaris’ “The Santaland Diaries,” the autobiographical tale of a gay man working as a department store elf opens at Horizon Theatre starring Harold Leaver, with an 8 p.m. performance tonight, through Dec. 31, www.horizontheatre.com The Pilgrims and Turkeys event at the Atlanta Eagle will be a fundraiser for Leather Heart Foundation, 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com

SATURDAY-NOV. 21 SUNDAY, NOV. 22

The LGBT Institute hosts the two-day Teach for America Deep South LGBTQ Education Summit, featuring LGBTQ-inclusive professional development,

community engagement, social networking, and brave testimonies. 9 a.m. each day, www.lgbtinstitute.org

SATURDAY, NOV. 21

Jungle Atlanta hosts the Fantasy Girls event, with Destiny Brooks, Dynasty St James and many more, 9 p.m., www.jungleatl.com Celeste Holmes hosts the festive Boys of BJ’s event, 9 p.m., BJ Roosters, 2043 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324 Enjoy Taboo at Lips Atlanta with the immortal Charlie Brown at a midnight show, www.lipsatl.com

SUNDAY, NOV. 22

Dee Martello, aka Twisted Dee, spins at Xion Atlanta, 3 a.m., www.facebook. com/Xion-162659260451683 Eat and drink (heavily) at Sunday Funday Brunch, with $3 mimosas and $5 Bloody Marys, noon to 4 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com

MONDAY, NOV. 23

Join KJ RoseMarie for Karaoke Monday,

CONTINUES ON PAGE 50

EVENT SPOTLIGHT FRIDAY, NOV. 20

Adult film director and DJ Chi Chi LaRue presents Mo Circus of the Stars, with Brent Star, Angelica D-Page, Wild Cherry Sucret, adult star Boomer Banks and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, benefiting prostate and testicular cancer, 10 p.m.–3 a.m., Heretic Atlanta, www.hereticatlanta.com (Photo via Facebook)

November 13, 2015 Best Bets 49

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 49 7–11 p.m., Faces Lounge, 138 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta, GA 30060

TUESDAY, NOV. 24

Phoenix hosts Jungle’s Got Talent on Tuesdays with a wide array of talent, 10 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

Monday night is the Pride kickball after party event at Blake’s at 7:30 p.m. followed by trivia at 10 p.m. with weekly guest hosts, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 25

Come watch Monday night football at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA, 30308

THURSDAY, NOV. 26

It’s Piano Night as well as Happy Hour evening from 4–9 p.m. at Mixx Atlanta, www.mixxatlanta.com Not bloating on turkey and stuffing today?

Come jam with the Dance Floor Divas

at Burkhart’s, beginning at 11:30 p.m., www.burkharts.com

UPCOMING FRIDAY, NOV. 26 SATURDAY, NOV. 27

In anticipation of December’s worldwide release of “Star Wars—Episode VII: The Force Awakens,” the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Delta POPS! series presents three performances of “Star Wars & More: The Music of John Williams,”

including scores for “Superman,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Jurassic Park,” “Saving Private Ryan” and other favorites with Principal Pops conductor Michael Krajewski. The Saturday matinee performance is a 75-minute family-friendly event for all ages. Both evenings at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. Saturday performance, www.atlantasymphony.com

MONDAY, NOV. 29

The queer-inclusive Atlanta Bar Church meets tonight for Bar Church, Word and Sacrament, Smith’s Olde Bar, 7 p.m., www.atlantabeerandhymns.com

TUESDAY, DEC. 1

Join Georgia Equality in commemorating World AIDS Day in 2015 with a policy-focused luncheon at the Center for Civil & Human Rights. This year’s theme is “Getting to Zero: Zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.” At this luncheon, the Youth HIV Policy Advisors, who are youth living with HIV in the Metro Atlanta area, will present their 2016 Youth HIV Prevention & Care policy agenda to elected officials, community leaders and the media. 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., www.civilandhumanrights.org

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 2

The 2015 Dave Koz and Friends Christmas tour will feature Dave along with three special guests: Jonathan Butler, who has earned accolades in the R&B, contemporary jazz and gospel fields, Dutch saxophone star Candy Dulfer, who was introduced with the smash pop single, “Lily Was Here,” and the legendary Bill Medley, co-founder of The Righteous Brothers, who will be touring with Koz for the first time.

8 p.m., Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, www.cobbenergycentre.com The fourth annual Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC) Out in the Kitchen event is tonight, featuring bites and tasting from some of Atlanta’s best chefs, including Shean Suter from Trace and Patric Bell-Good, as well as a live DJ, 6 – 8 p.m., Atlanta W Midtown, www.atlantagaychamber.org

THURSDAY, DEC. 3

Passion for Paws and Two Tailz Rescue present their “Jingle Tailz Holiday Celebration & Fundraiser” tonight.

The evening will be full of fun and FUNdraising and will include live music, drinks, hors d’oeuvres, silent and live auctions, and a wine pull, all benefitting Two Tailz Rescue, which rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes abandoned, neglected and homeless dogs in Georgia. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at Atlanta W Midtown, www.twotailzrescue.org/event/jingletailz

50 Best Bets November 13, 2015

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November 13, 2015 Ads 51

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By MELISSA CARTER

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WORK Are you a Georgia business owner or run an LGBTfriendly business? Were you recently promoted or made a big career change? We’d like to brag about you in our new business section Work It! Send all tips to editor@thegavoice.com

52 Columnists November 13, 2015

#holidaydecaturga visitdecaturga.com 11/9/15 3:29 PM

IT!

As in a bank heist movie, you’ve strategically mapped out how to find the best deals for the holiday shopping season, rolling up your blueprints and firing up your getaway car. But before you head out the door, make sure not to ignore the finds that are right at your fingertips. Here are a few apps I use that will not only help you find some great buys, but will also make sure your pantry is wellstocked for guests.

Whether you prefer online or in-store shopping, you need to visit www.bradsdeals. com before heading to the checkout. It’s basically a one-stop source for coupons and deals from thousands of leading retailers. I have saved money on name-brand clothes, makeup, jewelry, and kid’s toys through this one app alone.

It can be such a hassle to organize—let alone remember—all the loyalty cards you’ve signed up for. www.keyringapp.com stores them all in one place and will update you on any current sales or rebates from each of those stores. Just the fact I no longer have three times as many little plastic cards as keys on my actual key ring is reason enough to have this app.

Even if you are just browsing, you can still get rewarded by www.shopkick.com simply for walking into the store. Their points are called “kicks,” and you get them for entering a store, scanning product barcodes, and making purchases. Those kicks can be redeemed for gift cards, iTunes song downloads, movie tickets, and Facebook credits.

You have limited time to get your holiday shopping done, so why not have someone else do your grocery shopping while you take care of the rest? I am obsessed with www.instacart.com, which has saved many a day juggling my crazy schedule and an infant. The app works with Kroger, Whole Foods, Costco, and Petco, and for a small delivery fee you can get what you need delivered straight to your door. Cooking and forget an ingredient? Instacart will save

“The holidays are a time for family and friends, but preparing for them can be like putting together a puzzle as you figure out how to fit your budget and time together.” your holiday meal.

If you prefer to go to the grocery store yourself, then make sure to sign up for both www.checkout51.com and ibotta.com.

Each offers weekly rebates on a variety of items from grocery and drug stores, and collects those rebates in an account. The increase is incremental, but over the course of just a few months I have made over $30.

The apps will each cut you a check for your earnings after you reach a certain amount.

Hint: If hosting a party, these apps have great rebates on alcohol.

The holidays are a time for family and friends, but preparing for them can be like putting together a puzzle as you figure out how to fit your budget and time together.

These apps will certainly help put those pieces in place, and add to your master plan of conquering the shopping frenzy.

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

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margie.archer@wellsfargoadvisors.com Vice President - Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager Four steps same-sex couples should take to help ensure your intentions are protected No one enjoys thinking about the day when they or a loved one will pass away. But if you care how your estate will be dispersed after you’re gone, it’s a topic you need to consider. And for same-sex couples, it can be more complex than for others.

Fortunately, there’s a way to ensure that your intentions to leave your assets to your partner are protected — regardless of where you live or your relationship status: Clearly name your beneficiary.

How to take action If you’re concerned about your account beneficiaries, the following are a few steps you can take for increased peace of mind.

#1) Talk to your bank about making your accounts pay-on-death (POD).

your brokerage accounts, stocks, and bonds.

Your Financial Advisor can guide you through TOD registration. Then, be sure to regularly review your beneficiaries to determine if changes are needed. That review is especially important since TOD or POD beneficiaries trump any distribution that might be listed in a will.

#3) Check your retirement accounts.

When you first opened your retirement accounts, such as a 401(k) or IRA, you probably completed a beneficiary designation form. However, this step can be overlooked, particularly during account transfers between employers. So it’s essential to review all paperwork to make sure it’s complete. If you need to make a change, you’ll need to notify the account administrator in writing.

It’s also a good idea to stay abreast of changing beneficiary designation rules. For instance, the 2013 Windsor decision changed how qualified retirement plans must treat legally married same-sex couples. Now, if one partner in the marriage wants to leave a 401(k) or pension to a non-spouse beneficiary, such as a child from a previous marriage, the current spouse must provide written consent.

You can choose to make any banking account — typically checking, savings, and certificates of deposits (CDs) — a POD account. This step ensures that the only person to receive the assets from your accounts after your death is the person you name as the POD beneficiary. It’s a straightforward process that involves completing a bank-provided form. Usually, there are no fees for this and no limitations on the amount of money that can be designated POD.

#4) Reach out to experts.

#2) Contact your Financial Advisor about transfer-on-death (TOD) securities registration.

Wells Fargo Advisors does not offer legal or tax advice.

Nearly every state has adopted a law based on the federal Uniform Transfer-on-Death Securities Registration Act. Like the POD process, this allows you to name the person you want to inherit

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November 13, 2015 Ads 53

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

By RYAN LEE

Fetish of fear in the ‘new ATL’ I’m sure I’ll be killed a few days after this column is published, shot in the face while walking to my Midtown apartment, and everyone will sneer, “Told you so!” Not much is more satisfying than when an exaggerated fear is validated.

A growing majority of Midtown residents seem surprised to learn that bad things sometimes happen in good neighborhoods. Specifically, the chorus woefully sings about the “new boldness” exerted during the “crime that has plagued the area since midsummer.”

This is at least the third purported “crime wave” that has terrorized Midtown in the 12 years I’ve been a resident. Listening to my neighbors, one would think the neighborhood is steadily descending into twilight, instead of rapidly evolving into the most prosperous, and enviable, area of Atlanta.

Atlanta Police Department Zone 5, which includes Midtown, ranks an average of fourth out of six police zones in major crime categories in 2015, including being fifth in car thefts and homicides, and last in residential burglaries and robberies. Only in car break-ins is Midtown the most dangerous part of Atlanta.

I don’t belittle the trauma of being violated by criminals, as I remember how shaken I was after being mugged twice within a six-week period when I was 15. Crime victims have every right to believe their surroundings are more dangerous than ever, but it’s insulting for city officials to indulge such paranoia.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and police Chief George Turner vowed last month to activate overtime patrols, install more surveillance cameras and hire more officers to restore safety to Midtown. Residents of more dangerous parts of the city might wonder what makes their Midtown counterparts more deserving of police responsiveness and resources, although anyone paying attention to American history since 1619 can form an educated guess.

It’s the reason our country needs constant reminders that black lives matter, because a handful of incidents in a mostly white neighborhood

“It’s the reason our country needs constant reminders that black lives matter, because a handful of incidents in a mostly white neighborhood constitute a more dire emergency than the daily crisis lived in some parts of the city.” constitute a more dire emergency than the daily crisis lived in some parts of the city.

It’s easy and reassuring for Midtown residents to believe expanded policing is the solution to their woes: jail answers everything, at least the questions worth asking. No need to consider the disproportionate development Midtown has enjoyed for two decades, aesthetically and economically, while poorer neighborhoods are neglected until they are razed or their residents replaced.

Atlanta has a long reputation as a black mecca, but there is a new ATL emerging, and it is wholly uninterested in the parts of the city that originated and exported the cultural brand. And because a walk through Piedmont Park or along the Beltline would yield few hints of being in the heart of a “chocolate city,” the popular narrative about crime in Midtown fosters the suspicion and fear of any young, unfamiliar black male in the neighborhood.

My nephew is such a young man, having moved to Midtown from the South Side of Chicago. I’ve yet to develop the facial muscles to tell him, without laughing, about how dangerous our neighborhood is, but I’ve tried to make sure he understands, without fear, how his new neighbors may perceive him.

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

54 Columnists November 13, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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