12/18/20, Vol. 11 Issue 19

voice

georgia VOL.11 • ISSUE 19

ABOUT THE COVER: Cover photos courtesy of candidates

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kburkholder@thegavoice.com

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4 Editorial December 18, 2020

EDITORIAL

Gratitude in the Midst of Anguish Katie Burkholder Here’s the understatement of the century: 2020 was a difficult year. It was a year of loss, hurt, confusion, isolation, and darkness for all of us, myself included.

It’s been the longest year of my life — the time between now and New Year’s feels like decades — but simultaneously, the days and weeks have blended together so that months fly by in the perceived span of seconds.

As the end of 2020 — a day I sometimes doubted would ever come — rounds the corner, I find myself reflecting on this hellhole of a year and what all has changed since the clock struck midnight on January 1. Upon this reflection, I have come to this conclusion: we have endured so much change that was so inconceivable at the birth of the decade that I’m hesitant to be excited for the new year.

However, as I continue to reflect on this year and the anxieties I have about the future that unfolds in front of me, I find myself coming back to a lesson I learned from “Big Mouth.”

Yes, “Big Mouth,” the often horrifyingly raunchy Netflix show about teenagers going through puberty. As goofy and controversial as the show is, there’s one character introduced in season four that has resonated with a poignancy I never expected to experience while watching (warning: light spoilers ahead!).

The character in question is the Gratitoad, one of the horde of internalized creatures the characters interact with while navigating their emotions. Gratitoad is introduced as the enemy of Tito, the anxiety mosquito, and he reminds characters like Jessi and Nick to practice gratitude when they’re feeling anxious.

While I think this is an oversimplification of anxiety disorders and how to effectively address them, I do think there’s something radically healing about practicing gratitude.

I tried being grateful for the coming new year,

PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK.COM / TURGAYGUNDOGDU

the fresh start and the opportunities that come with it (like a new president and a COVID-19 vaccine). But something didn’t feel right about that, because I know there are some things that 2021 won’t bring. 2021 won’t bring George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, or Ahmaud Arbery back to life. 2021 won’t diminish the loss of 300,000+ lives to COVID-19. The truth is, 2020 brought with it tragedy that can never be undone; to pretend that tragedy will disappear with a new calendar year is irresponsible and disrespectful to those victimized by the most extreme hardships this year had to offer.

Instead, I find myself feeling grateful for this year. Yes, for 2020! I’m grateful for the life-changing lessons this year has taught me: that community is bigger than self; that the only thing you’re guaranteed is your own presence, so you should learn to enjoy it; that perspective gets you through hardship. I’m grateful to still have my job.

I’m grateful to still have my friends and family. I’m grateful to still have my health. I know many can’t say the same.

Gratitude has such an innate healing power because it forces you to appreciate where you are, what you’ve been through, and who you are because of it. Feeling grateful for what you have — even if it’s far less that what you had in the past — reminds us that there are people who are not as fortunate who deserve our

compassion and, more importantly, our help.

As 2020 turns into 2021, I urge you to reflect on what you’re grateful for: the lessons you’ve learned, the people you still have, the good fortune of being unaffected by 2020 in the ways you have, or the mere fact that you are here, right now, reading this paper.

These are all things to be radically and intentionally grateful for. And as you practice your gratitude and feel the warmth and comfort that comes from being content with where you are, extend this feeling outward toward others, especially those who don’t have the things you’re so grateful for. Donate to the GoFundMe of someone from your hometown who lost a family member and can’t afford the funeral. Make and deliver food (safely) to someone who’s sick. Call your friend who just lost their job. Donate to one of these organizations providing COVID-19 relief in Atlanta and nationwide: • Hands On Atlanta (handsonatlanta.org) • Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (cfgreateratlanta.org) • Action Against Hunger (actionagainsthunger.org) I know 2020 was hard. I know it was painful. But if you’re reading this, that means you’re getting through it, and that’s something to be grateful for. I’m grateful for it, and I’m grateful for you.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

NEWS BRIEFS Staff Reports

LGBTQ Questions Missing from Senatorial Debate Between Loeffler and Warnock Despite efforts from LGBTQ advocacy organizations to get LGBTQ issues on the docket at last night’s Senatorial debate between Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock, there was no mention of Georgia’s LGBTQ community during the entire hour-long debate.

Loeffler and Warnock took the stage December 6 after Democrat Jon Ossoff debated an empty podium because his opponent, Republican David Perdue, declined to take part in the only debate before the runoff election in January.

In the debate between Loeffler and Warnock, the two candidates discussed topics like the presidential election and their respective COVID-19 responses. However, despite efforts from Georgia Equality and GLAAD, neither candidate was asked about their LGBTQ records.

In an email, GLAAD told Georgia Voice that they had contacted debate moderators imploring them to ask the candidates about their LGBTQ records and issues important to LGBTQ Georgians. The LGBTQ community wasn’t mentioned once, despite evidence that LGBTQ Georgians tipped the scale in President-elect Joe Biden’s favor in November’s general election.

The Atlanta Press Club, the organization behind the debate, released the following statement to the Georgia Voice regarding the lack of LGBTQ questions: “The Atlanta Press Club and our debate panel was contacted by many different people and groups suggesting questions to ask the candidates during Sunday’s debates for the U.S. Senate runoff election. Although we would have loved to ask all of them, it simply was not possible within our time constraints. Although the debates did not address questions specific to the LGBTQ community, please be assured it does not diminish the Atlanta Press Club’s support of the LGBTQ community and its importance in Atlanta and in Georgia.”

The candidates did discuss, however, their COVID-19 responses, one of the top issues LGBTQ voters considered when casting their ballot in November. Warnock targeted 6 News Briefs December 18, 2020

Screenshot photo

There was no mention of Georgia’s LGBTQ community during the entire hour-long debate between Dem. Raphael Warnock (l) and Rep. Kelly Loeffler (r) on December 6.

Loeffler over stock transactions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

“You dumped millions of dollars of stock in order to protect your own investments and then weeks later when there came an opportunity to give ordinary Georgians an extra $600 of relief, you said you saw no need and called it counterproductive,” Warnock told Loeffler.

Loeffler responded by saying this was a “lie perpetrated by the left-wing media and Democrats to distract from their radical agenda” without addressing how the statement was a lie. She further contended that since she was appointed to the Senate by Governor Brian Kemp after the retirement of Johnny Isakson, she’s “worked hard to deliver relief to Georgians during this pandemic.”

Warnock concluded the debate by claiming all Loeffler was interested in was dividing the country, saying: “It’s dark right now. But morning is on the way. It’s our job, Georgia, to put our shoes on and get ready because there are those engaged in the politics of division. They have no vision, and so they engage in division.”

Kelly Loeffler Donated Senate Salary to Anti-LGBTQ and Anti-abortion Organizations Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is running against Raphael Warnock in the upcoming runoff election, has donated portions of her Senate salary to anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ organizations, according to Buzzfeed News.

Loeffler, the wealthiest member of Congress, donates her $174,000 congressional salary to local charities each quarter. Over the last two financial quarters, the Senator donated $26,6000 to seven anti-abortion pregnancy centers and $3,800 to Covenant Care Adoptions, a non-profit adoption and counseling agency requiring adoptive parents to be “husband and wife.”

On Covenant Care Adoptions’ website, they include a Statement of Faith which says that “the term ‘marriage’ has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union.” The statement also contends that “any form of sexual immorality (including…homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct…) is sinful and offensive to God” and “rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.”

Loeffler has only served in the Senate for less than a year but has already managed to maintain a staunch anti-LGBTQ record. In September, she submitted a bill attempting to rewrite civil rights law to bar transgender students from participating in school sports aligning with their gender identity.

Loeffler’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Buzzfeed News on whether or not she agrees with Covenant Care’s anti-LGBTQ beliefs.

Read these stories and more at thegavoice.com.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

NEWS

Ossoff and Warnock are the Choice for LGBTQ Georgians Katie Burkholder

to advance LGBTQ rights.

Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock are on the ballot in January to unseat Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively, from the U.S. Senate. While this runoff election represents an opportunity to take Democratic control of the Senate, therefore empowering the new BidenHarris administration to pass pro-equality legislation, it also represents an opportunity to replace anti-LGBTQ politicians with allied public servants.

“Raphael Warnock has fought every day of his life for people who are downtrodden and essentially left in the margins,” he said.

“LGBTQ people are in those margins. We’ve come a great distance, but there’s much work left to do. Kelly Loeffler isn’t the right person to do it … Kelly Loeffler is guided by her balance sheet, not by morals.”

Furthermore, McCranie said that proequality moves to be made by the BidenHarris administration, like “passage of the Equality Act, appointing pro-equality Supreme Court justices, [and] any work around HIV/AIDS advocacy,” will be stymied if Loeffler and Perdue continue to serve on the Senate.

In an interview with Georgia Voice, Ossoff expressed his explicit support of the LGBTQ community, saying his allyship was a personal reflection of the convictions he was raised with and taught by mentors like the late civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis.

Ossoff agreed.

“My first exposure to public service was working as a very, very young man with Congressman John Lewis, and his philosophy of human rights and building the beloved community where we recognize and respect and uphold and protect the fundamental dignity of every person is essential to my own world view,” Ossoff said. “That’s why I’ll fight to strengthen civil rights legislation, to pass the Equality Act, to ensure that sexual orientation and gender are protected classes in federal civil rights statutes and to ensure there is no discrimination against people on the basis of their gender [identity] or sexual orientation.”

By contrast, Ossoff ’s opponent, Perdue, has a staunch anti-LGBTQ record. Ossoff condemned this record and Perdue as a politician, claiming he cared more about “enriching himself in office” than “tak[ing] care of the rest of us.”

“David Perdue represents, in my view, everything that is wrong with Washington,” he said. “In terms of the issues of particular TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Courtesy photos

Jon Ossoff (l) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (r) are on the ballot in January to unseat Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively, from the U.S. Senate.

concern to the LGBTQ community, David Perdue has been an advocate for allowing discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. He has been a critic of marriage equality. David Perdue is not committed to universal human rights, and he has been too busy enriching himself in office to take care of the rest of us.”

While Warnock was unable to speak with Georgia Voice due to time constraints, Reese McCranie, former Georgia Deputy State Director for the Biden-Harris campaign and a national board member of GLAAD, spoke on his behalf. As a member of the LGBTQ community himself, McCranie vouched for Warnock’s allyship and commitment to equal rights.

“Rev. Warnock really comes from a place of LGBTQ love, acceptance, and equality, and you can hear it in his sermons and when he’s speaking to voters.” McCranie told Georgia Voice. “For years, he’s been preaching a message of equality and acceptance. I know him personally, and I know that’s just part of his genetic makeup. As a pastor at Ebenezer, he’s at the front lines of social justice issues, and underneath [the umbrella of ] social justice issues, LGBTQ equality is a big part of that. I know from personal experience, because I’ve actually attended his church a few times, that he’s spoken very passionately about LGBTQ rights.”

McCranie said that, by comparison, Loeffler lacks a “north star” and isn’t the right person

“The only way the incoming presidential administration is going to be able to enact the legislation necessary for recovery, to empower public health experts to fight the virus, to get immediate financial relief to ordinary people and small businesses, to invest in infrastructure and clean energy to jump-start our economy is if they can govern, and that requires winning these two Senate races,” Ossoff said.

As McCranie concluded, “Electing Kelly Loeffler [and David Perdue] would essentially extend Donald Trump’s terrible reign from the past four years.”

The runoff elections will be held on January 5, and early voting began December 14. Until the end of the election, Ossoff urges everyone to get the word out and encourage friends and family to vote, while McCranie suggests getting involved with Ossoff ’s and Warnock’s campaigns by canvassing, phone and text banking, and signing up for volunteer shifts.

December 18, 2020 News 7

NEWS

Out On Film Closes Busy Year, Looks Ahead to 2021 “This was a tough year for us all, and I am immensely proud of the work our team did to adapt and provide positive LGBTQ programming throughout Georgia and the country.”

Out On Film In a year when COVID-19 had a significant impact on businesses and non-profits across the world, Out On Film navigated tough waters and had a tremendously productive season. In addition to a mostly virtual film festival, Out On Film held events all throughout the 2020 calendar year.

Thanks in part to a $50,000 CARES Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and continued support from presenting sponsor WarnerMedia, Out On Film was able to transform its live festival into a virtual event in 2020 and offer screenings and Q&As with filmmakers across the world.

“This was a tough year for us all, and I am immensely proud of the work our team did to adapt and provide positive LGBTQ programming throughout Georgia and the country,” said Jim Farmer, Out On Film’s executive director/festival director. “With help from funders, sponsors, filmmakers and patrons, we were able to have a full schedule this year and give back to the community as much as we could. We were very lucky this year and I am relieved and excited that we did not have to scale back because of COVID.” In all, Out On Film attracted more than 15,500 patrons in 2020.

Highlights of 2020 • Designation as an Oscar® qualifying film festival, meaning that the film that wins Out On Film’s Jury Award for Best Drama Short is now eligible for consideration for the Live Action Short Academy Award® • A successful 11-day film festival with more than 125 films and more than 30 live and pre-recorded Q&A sessions • Winner of the Pivot of the Year award from the Out Georgia Business Alliance, given to an organization that that not only navigated COVID-19, but one that did an exceptional job of adapting its business and positively impacting its community 8 News December 18, 2020

• A panel discussion on the intersection of art and business as part of Out Georgia Business Alliance’s Business Summit

Jim Farmer, Out On Film’s executive director/festival director COURTESY PHOTO

• Film series collaborations with Atlanta Pride, Georgia Equality and Wussy MAG • A virtual evening with actor/producer Wilson Cruz, featuring a screening of the Apple TV+ documentary series “Visible: Out On Television” and an awarding of the 2020 Trailblazer Award to Cruz • In Conversation events with filmmakers and performers such as Margaret Cho, Kevin Williamson, Alan Ball, Paul McCrane, and Irene Cara • Two online arts showcase events as part of the Atlanta Queer Arts Alliance • Collaborations with the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, the Atlanta Film Festival, the Decatur Book Festival, Out Front Theatre Company and Turner Classic Movies

• An in-person screening of the Apple TV+ documentary series “Visible: Out On Television” with a Q&A with director Ryan White and producer Jessica Hargraves • Stand-alone screenings of “Lingua Franca” before its Netflix debut, “Pier Kids” as part of Transgender Day of Remembrance (with Wussy MAG) and Alan Ball’s “Uncle Frank” as well as Q&A conversations with each film • Special presentations of “Song Lang,” “Olympia,” “And Then We Danced” and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”

• A special weekend of Horror Short Films and a conversation with British filmmakers in collaboration with the British Consulate • A 40th anniversary drive-in screening of “Fame” in conjunction with Lexus

• Festival director Jim Farmer was named to the Atlanta Magazine Atlanta 500 list of Most Influential City Leaders, the Out Georgia Business Alliance list of the 100 Most Influential LGBTQ Georgians and was awarded the 2020 Community Impact Administrator Award from Emory’s Creativity & Arts Awards A slate of 2021 programming is already being planned. In addition to the 2021 film festival — tentatively scheduled for September 23 - October 3 — the year will also include monthly In Conversation With events with directors and performers and a Gay Movie Trivia series. “We won’t know our in-person capabilities until sometime next year, but our top priority will continue to be the safety of our patrons. We very much want to return to live events, but the support of our 2020 virtual events means that we will also need to find a way to offer and expand online fare.”

Out On Film kicks off its 2021 schedule in January with a conversation with Oscar-nominated director Heidi Ewing of the new gay-themed film “I Carry You With Me.” TheGeorgiaVoice.com

YEAR IN REVIEW

Biggest Georgia News of 2020 Staff Reports

From an historic LGBTQ win by Kim Jackson to lesbian police chief Erica Shields stepping down from her position, 2020 was a news-making year for LGBTQ Georgians.

Take a walk down memory lane with us as we reminisce on the biggest local news stories of 2020.

Atlanta’s Launches First-ever Biennial LGBTQ Report January 31, 2020 Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ office and the City of Atlanta launched the city’s first-ever biennial report on LGBTQ affairs, detailing the city’s accomplishments, LGBTQ-related priorities over the past two years, and funds allocated towards the LGBTQ community over the past two years.

Atlanta (iStock); Erika Shields (public domain)

Left: Atlanta’s launches first-ever biennial LGBTQ report. Above: Out Atlanta police chief Erika Shields (pictured) resigned following police shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

The month-by-month review listed a number of huge accomplishments, including Mayor Bottoms establishing the first-ever Mayor’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in January 2018; naming Malik Brown as Atlanta’s first LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator in March 2018; hosting the first citywide recognition of the Stonewall Inn riots in June 2018; and sitting down for an interview with the Georgia Voice in April 2019 to discuss her plans to combat HIV/AIDS in Atlanta.

schools, and massage therapists were allowed to reopen on Friday, April 24 “due to favorable data and more testing,” Kemp said.

These achievements stem from the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board focus on five priority pillars related to the LGBTQ community. These pillars, as detailed in the report, are LGBTQ youth; LGBTQ arts, entertainment, and culture; trans affairs; LGBTQ health; and LGBTQ economic and community development.

The decision garnered ample criticism against Kemp. “Georgia is already lagging behind on testing and our health care providers don’t have enough [Personal Protective Equipment] because Kemp has failed again and again at handling this crisis,” the Georgia Democrats tweeted. “Today’s choice will endanger more Georgians’ lives.”

Gov. Brian Kemp Releases Coronavirus Reopening Plan April 21, 2020 Governor Brian Kemp announced that several businesses would be allowed to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Out Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields Resigns Following Police Shooting of Rayshard Brooks June 14, 2020 Out lesbian Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned from her position following the police killing of Rayshard Brooks in Downtown Atlanta.

Gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, estheticians and their respective

Additionally, movie theaters, private social clubs, and dine-in restaurants were allowed to reopen on Monday, April 27. These businesses will remain subject to social distancing and sanitation mandates, however.

Bars, nightclubs, amusement parks, and live performance venues will remain closed.

Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, was shot

10 Year in Review December 18, 2020

and killed by police on June 13 after falling asleep at the wheel in a Wendy’s drive-thru.

After failing a field sobriety test, officers attempted to place him in custody. According to the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Vic Reynolds, Brooks then ran away “four, five, six, seven parking spaces” before turning around and pointing a Taser at the officer. “At that point the officer retrieves his weapon from his holster and discharges it, striking Brooks,” Reynolds said.

“Chief Erica Shields has been a solid member of APD for over two decades and has a deep and abiding love for the people of Atlanta,” Bottoms said in a statement. “And because of her desire that Atlanta be a model of what meaningful reform should look like across this country Chief Shields has offered to immediately step aside as Police Chief so that the city may move forward with urgency and rebuilding the trust so desperately needed throughout our communities.”

“For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest men and women in the Atlanta Police Department,” Shields said in a statement following her resignation.

“Out of a deep and abiding love for this City and this department, I offered to step aside as police chief. APD has my full support,

and Mayor Bottoms has my support on the future direction of this department. I have faith in the Mayor, and it is time for the city to move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

Advocates Say Georgia’s New Hate Crimes Law is Tainted by Police Protection Bill June 30, 2020 Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a landmark hate crimes bill into law, which includes language protecting LGBTQ victims.

HB426, which was passed by the Georgia legislature last on Jun 23, mandates enhanced sentencing for people convicted of targeting a victim due to their “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental disability, or physical disability,” The law went into effect on July 1.

Prior to the bill’s passage, Georgia was one of only four states without a hate crimes law, along with South Carolina, Wyoming, and Arkansas.

The bill comes after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery by two white men in Brunswick, as CONTINUES ON PAGE 11 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

YEAR IN REVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 well as the murder of Rayshard Brooks by Atlanta police. However, according to a statement released by the Georgia NAACP, an additional bill was passed in the same legislative package as HB426 that creates enhanced penalties for people who allegedly target law enforcement and first responders for their employment status.

The NAACP said the police protection measure would “further create a toxic divide in our state while further fueling the criminalization and violence against Black people.” Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, also stands in opposition to the inclusion.

“Though we stand in full support of all law enforcement, we believe that HB838 is more dangerous to our community than HB426 is good,” Cooper-Jones said. “To see the legislature prioritize HB838 instead of repealing citizen’s arrest is heartbreaking and does not do justice for my son.”

Coronavirus Pandemic Moves Atlanta Pride 2020 Online July 1, 2020 The Atlanta Pride Committee announced that the 2020 Pride Festival, originally scheduled for October 10 and 11, would not be held in person due to the coronavirus pandemic. The in-person festival, one of the largest in the Southeast, moved online with virtual programming centered around the scheduled dates in October.

“We regret to announce that we will not be able to hold the 2020 Pride Festival in person, due to the ongoing pandemic,” said Jamie Fergerson, the executive director of the Atlanta Pride Committee. “The health and wellbeing of our community is always our top priority, especially for the most marginalized in our community including queer and transgender folks who we know are less likely to have access to safe and competent primary care, LGBTQ elders, those living with HIV, cancer, or immunodeficiencies who are at increased risk.

This was the main factor in our decision.”

“By moving the Atlanta Pride Festival online, we will ensure that LGBTQ people can still experience the joy and togetherness of our 50th Annual Pride Festival, and we hope to welcome new people to take part TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Asbury Memorial Church (Public domain photo); Lewis (Courtesy photo)

in wherever they are,” Fergerson continued.

“We will continue to develop online programs throughout the year, culminating in our first virtual Pride Festival to bring us together to celebrate.”

LGBTQ Ally and Civil Rights Hero Rep. John Lewis Dies at 80 July 18, 2020 Civil rights hero and staunch LGBTQ ally John Lewis died at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Lewis, who served 17 terms in Congress as a Democratic Representative of Atlanta, was born to sharecroppers in Troy, Alabama in the ’40s. He was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and helped organize the March on Washington, the civil rights march where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Lewis was the last survivor of the “Big Six,” a group of history-making civil rights activists led by Dr. King.

A church in Savannah, Georgia, became the first in the country to officially disaffiliate itself from the United Methodist Church over LGBTQ rights.

Left: Savannah church is first in country to leave Methodist denomination over LGBTQ issues. Above: LGBTQ ally and civil Rights hero Rep. John Lewis died in June.

The new Asbury Memorial Church (formerly Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church) is now nondenominational.

The disaffiliation came after a vote by the congregation back in September 2019, where 309 members voted in favor of leaving the denomination, widely defeating the seven members in opposition.

the choir and things like that, so we became known as a very safe place for people to land.

That’s how it started growing.”

The South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church voted to officially allow the disaffiliation of Asbury from the denomination in a virtual meeting on August 15.

In his later years, Lewis cosponsored and advocated for a number of LGBTQ rights bills, including the Employment NonDiscrimination Act, Respect for Marriage Act, and the Early Treatment for HIV Act.

The church has been long known to be a safe space for LGBTQ folks. Rev. Billy Hester came to Asbury in 1993 to breathe new life into the church and consequently solidify the church as being LGBTQ-friendly by introducing theater. Asbury began blocking, staging, and performing dozens of religious musicals, including the popular “God on Broadway” show, with auditions open to the Savannah community.

Savannah Church is First in the Country to Leave the Methodist Denomination over LGBTQ Issues September 5, 2020

“A lot of those folks were gay, and so most of them didn’t have a church home,” Hester told USA Today. “So, when these people came to do the shows, they started singing in

Kim Jackson Becomes First LGBTQ State Senator in Georgia November 4, 2020 Rev. Kim Jackson won her election, making history as Georgia’s first ever openly LGBTQ State Senator. Jackson, who represents District 41, took home the victory in a landslide, winning 79 percent of the votes and beating out her Republican opponent William Freeman, who won just 21 percent.

With her win, Jackson becomes the third Black LGBTQ woman to serve on a state senate in the country.

Jackson, who was the first out person of color to be ordained as an Episcopal priest in Atlanta, ran on a platform of fighting for a comprehensive anti-discrimination bill, which would protect Georgians from discrimination on the bases of race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, religion, and ability.

She also promised to introduce criminal justice reform, expand Medicaid, and protect voter rights.

December 18, 2020 Year in Review 11

YEAR IN REVIEW

Biggest National News of 2020 Staff Reports

2020 was historic for the entire country, particularly LGBTQ Americans. Along with the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement, 2020 was the deadliest year on record for transgender people, LGBTQ employment discrimination was blocked by the Supreme Court, and Donald Trump’s presidency came to an end. Think back on the most significant year of late with us as we recount some of the biggest national news stories of 2020.

Methodist Church Announces Plan to Split over LGBTQ Beliefs January 4, 2020 Leaders from the United Methodist Church announced that the denomination would split because of “fundamental differences” over same-sex marriage.

The separation came after a controversial vote to uphold the church’s “Traditional Plan” to oppose homosexuality in February 2019, for which 53 percent of church leaders voted.

After the split, “all administrative or judicial processes addressing restrictions in the Book of Discipline related to self-avowed practicing homosexual or same-sex weddings” were temporarily suspended.

Pete Buttigieg Suspends Presidential Campaign March 2, 2020 After an historic campaign, Pete Buttigieg suspended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Buttigieg made the announcement in South Bend, Indiana, the city he served as mayor before running for president.

To his crowd of supporters in South Bend, Buttigieg reflected on his campaign, saying he was proof America was changing.

“It proved that Americans really are hungry for a new kind of politics rooted in the values that we share in cities and suburbs and rural communities, in crowds that spilled out of venues from Salt Lake City to Raleigh to

Buttigieg (Gage Skidmore/WikiCommons); Supreme court building (Daderot/WikiCommons)

Left: Pete Buttigieg suspends presidential campaign. Above: SCOTUS ruled federal civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers.

Arlington,” he said. “We saw Americans ready to meet a new era of challenge with a new generation of leadership.”

“We sent a message to every kid out there wondering if whatever marks them out as different means they are somehow destined to be ‘less than,’” Buttigieg continued, “… that someone who once felt that exact same way can become a leading presidential candidate with his husband by his side.”

Buttigieg’s decision came after he took home a fourth-place finish in the South Carolina primary February 29, following behind winner Joe Biden (48.4 percent), Bernie Sanders (19.9 percent) and Tom Steyer (11.3 percent), who also suspended his campaign, with 8.2 percent of the votes.

SCOTUS Rules Federal Civil Rights Law Protects LGBTQ Workers June 15, 2020 The Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers, a loss for the Trump administration.

The landmark ruling extended discrimination protections to millions of works nationwide by contending that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on sex,

12 Year in Review December 18, 2020

includes gender identity and sexual orientation.

“An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the 6-3 decision.

“Sex plays a necessary and undistinguishable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids … [A]n employer who discriminates on these grounds inescapably intends to rely on sex in its decision-making.”

The decision encompassed three cases the Court heard together — Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In the former two lawsuits, gay men sued after being fired for their sexual orientation.

In the third case, Aimee Stephens, who passed away this May, was fired after informing her employer that she is a transgender woman.

“The court’s decision today makes clear what we have said all along — people should not be fired from their jobs simply because they are gay or transgender,” said Jeff Graham, the executive director of Georgia Equality. “But today’s win is one step in the right direction of outlawing all forms of discrimination against marginalized communities. This

decision should only fuel our urgency to see Georgia pass discrimination protections for all Georgians.”

More Trans People Were Murdered in 2020 than All of 2019 August 8, 2020 After only eight months, the number of trans people killed this year surpassed the number for all of 2019.

In the U.S. last year, 26 trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people were known to be murdered. By August, at least 28 transgender people had been murdered so far. Now, that number has reached at least 41, solidifying 2020 as the deadliest year for transgender people on record.

The full list of trans people murdered in the U.S. this year, compiled by the Human Rights Campaign, includes Dustin Parker, Alexa Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Yampi Méndez Arocho, Monica Diamond, Lexi, Johanna Metzger, Penélope Díaz Ramírez, Layla Pelaez Sánchez, Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Nina Pop, Helle Jae O’Regan, Tony McDade, Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, Riah Milton, Jayne Thompson, Selena Reyes CONTINUES ON PAGE 13 TheGeorgiaVoice.com

YEAR IN REVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Hernandez, Brayla Stone, Merci Mack, Shaki Peters, Bree “Nuk” Black, Summer Taylor, Draya McCarty, Tatiana Hall, Marilyn Cazares, Tiffany Harris, Queasha D. Hardy, Brian “Egypt” Powers, Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears, Lea Rayshon Daye, Kee Sam, Aerrion Burnett, Mia Green, Michelle Michellyn Ramo Vargas, Felycya Harris, Brooklyn Deshuna, Sara Blackwood, Angel Unique, Skylar Heath, Yunieski Carey Herrera, Asia Jynae Foster, Chae’Meshia Simms, and Kimberly Fial.

“Transgender people — and particularly Black and Latina transgender women — are marginalized, stigmatized, and criminalized in our country,” said Rodrigo HengLehtinen, the deputy executive director for NCTE. “They face violence every day, and they fear turning to the police for help.”

To combat this epidemic of violence, the National Center for Transgender Equality, suggests access to safe and affordable housing be increased and policies that protect transgender people from discrimination and increase economic opportunity be introduced.

“This crisis demands change to improve policing and hold the police departments accountable for their failure to protect transgender people,” Heng-Lehtinen said.

“But reforms must go further to disrupt the systemic racism and transphobia that push so many transgender people of color into vulnerable situations, shut out of stable housing, secure jobs, and loving homes.

No one should be forced to live in fear.”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies September 19, 2020 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the justice with the most pro-LGBTQ voting record in the history of the court, died following a long struggle with cancer.

According to numerous news reports, Justice Ginsburg dictated a statement to her granddaughter, Clara Spera, just a few days before her death. The statement said: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”

But U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Biden (Gage Skidmore/WikiCommons); Ginsburg (Public domain photo)

Left: Joe Biden wins the presidency.

Above: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died this year on September 19.

McConnell, who denied President Obama a hearing on his nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia when Scalia died nine months before the 2016 presidential election, issued a statement Friday evening saying, “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Senate Confirms Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court October 27, 2020 The U.S. Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 52-48, solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority on the bench and President Trump’s lasting impact on the judiciary.

No Democrat voted in favor of confirming Barrett, whom President Trump selected to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the LGBTQ media watchdog GLAAD, said in a statement Monday prior to Barrett’s confirmation the appointment “is alarming for LGBTQ people and for all Americans whose fundamental rights should never be up for debate.” ”Barrett’s time at a school that discriminated against LGBTQ families and hurt LGBTQ youth is disturbing and should disqualify her from the Court. Her stated views against marriage equality, rulings against access to abortion, and her public criticism of the Affordable Care Act are out of step with fair-

minded Americans and threaten the progress our country has made to become a stronger and more equitable home for all,” Ellis said.

“Her record against LGBTQ families and rights has no place in American life, let alone the highest court in the land.”

Biden Wins Presidency November 7, 2020 After days of thorough ballot counting, former Vice President Joe Biden emerged as the victor of the 2020 presidential election on Saturday, ousting President Trump from the White House as a one-term president.

The Associated Press called Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral votes, in favor of Biden, giving him 284 votes in the Electoral College, surpassing the 270 threshold needed for him to win the presidency.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Biden’s running mate, was also elected as vice president, making her both the first woman and the first woman of color elected as part of a presidential ticket.

Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement the victory by Biden and Harris “proves once again that equality is a winning issue.”

“The Biden/Harris ticket is the most proequality ticket in history. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are not just willing to be our allies, but they are true advocates for equality,” David said.

“And they’ve done it for decades.”

David name-checked numerous aspects of Biden and Harris’ pro-LGBTQ record, including their early support for same-sex marriage.

“From Biden’s work championing hate crimes protections in the 1980s to Harris performing some of the first marriages for LGBTQ couples after Prop 8 was overturned, these leaders have a clear vision that centers unity over division,” David said, “A vision where LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination and are afforded the freedoms and rights we should all have. A vision where transgender and gender non-conforming people don’t fear for their lives walking down the street. A vision where LGBTQ children are loved, embraced and protected from bullying.”

Following news of Biden’s win, Trump in a statement refused to concede and said he’d fight the election results in court.

“We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: They don’t want the truth to be exposed,” Trump said. “The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.”

December 18, 2020 Year in Review 13

YEAR IN REVIEW

Q&A with Kim Jackson:

2020’s Person of the Year Rose Pelham Every year, Georgia Voice honors one brave LGBTQ Atlantan who’s changing the landscape for LGBTQ people and making a difference. This year, the honor goes to State Senator Kim Jackson.

Jackson is a history maker. In the November election, she became the first out LGBTQ person ever to be elected to the Georgia Senate. Nationwide, she’s the third black lesbian to serve in a state Senate. A graduate of Emory’s Candler School of Theology, she is an Episcopal priest known for her activism on behalf of criminal justice reform — particularly for the abolition of the death penalty — and in support of unhoused Atlantans, among many other causes. We sat down with Jackson to discuss her plans for using the next two years of her term to enact racial and social justice.

Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.

Could [we] start by talking about some of your objectives for the next two years?

I came with a deep commitment to criminal justice reform — I’ve been doing that work for the last ten years, and I will continue to do that in the Senate. I am deeply committed to making sure we lower our prison population, especially since we are one of those states with the highest number of people under state supervision in the nation. I also come with a grave concern for public education and wanting to make sure our public schools are fully funded. I don’t just mean funding the formula, the GDE, that’s older than I am, but actually fully funding public education with a new formula that’s updated based on where we are now.

“Fundamentally, I am rooted in a theology that calls us to respect the dignity of every person. And this theological notion that all of us live with a divine spark within us. So, what that means on the ground is that we treat people fairly. That we recognize, whether you believe the same thing that I do, there is good in you, and therefore I am going to treat you with dignity and decency.”

Why [do you believe it is] so important that the state [abolish] the death penalty?

There are a few reasons.

This is not the best argument in terms of morality, but it is important in a state like Georgia where we need more money. Executing people is expensive. It’s extraordinarily expensive. So, when we want to do things that promote a better life in Georgia, like increasing our funding of public schools, or increasing access to medical and mental health services, there is money that we’re using to still life instead of money that we’re using to advance life. That’s one argument, but not the moral argument.

I think [an]other reason is that we know — without a shadow of a doubt the data reflects this — the death penalty is imposed in ways that reflect racial disparities and economic disparities. If you are white and wealthy, you are not going to get executed. But if you are poor and Black, the likelihood of you [being

14 Year in Review December 18, 2020

State Senator Kim Jackson COURTESY PHOTO

sentenced to death is much higher].

Finally, for me … I believe people can get better … To quote Brian Stephenson, we are not the worst thing we have ever done. And so, I believe that we need to give people an opportunity to be better. In Georgia ... by the time we strap somebody down to execute them, they are not the same person that they were when they may or may not have committed a crime.

You have talked about being a faith leader in opposition to the so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts ...” [What is] your theological argument against [them]?

Fundamentally, I am rooted in a theology that calls us to respect the dignity of every person. And this theological notion that all of us live with a divine spark within us.

So, what that means on the ground is that we treat people fairly. That we recognize, whether you believe the same thing that I do, there is good in you, and therefore I am going to treat you with dignity and decency.

I think that is the same principle grounding in multiple religious faiths and not just the Christian faith. And so what RFRA seeks to do is say that you can be a person of faith and because you are a person of faith you are

not going to serve someone else… What that ultimately does is it protects religious bigotry … and I think it is in fact antithetical to what it means to be a person of faith.

I think some of the desire to pass [RFRAs] is misinformed … We [faith leaders] already have protections [to marry only who we want to marry]. The federal Freedom of Religion Act already establishes [that protection]. So, I think we’re trying to fix a problem that doesn’t actually exist.

Before we run out of time, [if you could pass any legislation], what, ideally, would you want to do?

I would very much want to see us move toward being a state in which we only imprison the people who are actually dangerous to us. Another piece of legislation I would love to see would be [to] expand Medicaid, and especially for women ....

This also includes money being no object, right? So, my wife is a former public-school teacher. We should give our public-school teachers raises! Full stop! If COVID-19 has taught us anything else about [anything] it is that it is very hard to educate children! We need to pay [teachers] more.

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YEAR IN REVIEW

The Best of 2020 Conswella Bennett

cancer, Lewis influenced many, and his legacy will continue on. One of his proteges, former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, picked up his fight for fair elections and voting rights, and Senate Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff is in a runoff election against Republican candidate David Perdue.

The year 2020 is a year we won’t soon forget — a global COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests against police brutality and systemic racism, a stock market crash, presidential election and deadly wildfires in California and Washington state are just a few of the apocalyptic events that will be forever linked to 2020.

As election season grew near, the tides began to shift. Abrams and her fellow voting rights activists were instrumental in helping to put President-elect Joe Biden into the White House as the country’s 46th president. She was instrumental in flipping Georgia blue.

Biden also made history by choosing Senator Kamala Harris as his vice president, as she has become the first Black and the first Asian American to become vice president.

The world as we knew it began to unravel with the arrival of the coronavirus around March. Schools, businesses, gyms, clubs and restaurants all closed as the number of cases of people contracting the highly infectious virus began to rise.

The government was at odds under the divisive leadership of the 45th President, Donald Trump, who along with most Republicans failed to see the pandemic as real and did little to promote and support masking, social distancing and cities going on lockdown.

Abrams and her fellow voting rights activists are working again to get people to vote early or to vote by mail to cast their votes for Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, the two Democratic Senate candidates in the January 5 runoff election.

Photo by Shutterstock.com

The state of Georgia went on lockdown in April with Governor Brian Kemp’s shelterin-place mandate. Businesses, restaurants and bars were impacted. Jobs were lost and food insecurity was at an all-time high nationwide.

Some relief finally came when lawmakers agreed to a stimulus package that sent out $1,200 for individuals who earned $75,0000 or less and $2,400 to married couples earning up to $150,000 and an additional $500 per child. Unemployment insurance was also expanded by 13 weeks and included a four-month enhancement of benefits — an additional $600 per week in addition to what state unemployment programs pay.

Then came the summer season — but this time it was a summer of a different kind of fun. Family vacations and air travel were discouraged. Summer family reunions, BBQs, weekend dinners and barhopping weren’t happening — at least not without consequences. Instead of the typical TheGeorgiaVoice.com

Black Lives Matter (BLM) groups led peaceful demonstrations pleading for fairness and accountability.

vacations, people got creative. Bikes sold out everywhere as family members got out and rode around their neighborhoods, people pulled out their old skateboards and roller skates, drive-in movie theaters made a comeback and concerts were held online.

For months, COVID-19 was the hot topic of many news outlets, but just when it couldn’t get any worse, there were deadly wildfires burning through millions of acres from California to Washington state.

But, those wildfires wouldn’t be the only fires that would erupt. Racial tensions and police brutality were at an all-time high, and enough was enough. The continued policeinvolved killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor sparked a wave of peaceful and sometimes violent protests

and riots across the world in an effort to end police brutality and racial injustice.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) groups led peaceful demonstrations pleading for fairness and accountability. While some alternate groups infiltrated the BLM protests, BLM remained on course to bring attention and change to the racial injustices that Black people and people of color face on a day-today basis.

It was a movement headed by young people reminiscent of the 1960s Freedom Riders, who rode buses through the South fighting the segregation laws of that time.

Although we lost Atlanta icon and civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis, one of the original Freedom Riders, this summer to pancreatic

After the election season began to fade, the much-anticipated holiday season took center stage. As we enter the holiday season and await the New Year, we’re still encouraged to mask up, social distance and stay away from large gatherings, especially indoors. The 2020 holiday season has been different, but families and friends have found ways to be together for the holidays with the help of Facebook Live, Facetime and Zoom. Some are holding smaller outdoor family gatherings to celebrate and spend time together. People have begun to realize the importance of families, friends and connecting to check in on old friends and long-distance family members.

In the face of tragedy, people bounced back.

In the face of uncertainty, people adjusted. In the face of hatred, people chose to fight against it. 2020 has been a horrible year, but there has been success among the adversity. This year revealed the true strength of the human spirit, and I think that’s something to celebrate.

December 18, 2020 Year in Review 15

YEAR IN REVIEW

Goodbye to 2020 and Trump Bill Kaelin

TRUMP PHOTO BY WIKICOMMONS / GAGE SKIDMORE

Writer’s block. It’s a real thing. I suffer from it more often than not, and when the Georgia Voice editorial team asked me to write a humorous, satirical column about 2020, I was stumped. What could I find funny about this year? Are there really any endearing qualities about living through a global pandemic while simultaneously having a complete psychopath run our country?

I suppose unless you have an affinity for comics like conservative D-list celebrity Tim Allen, there probably isn’t a whole lot to laugh about when talking about 2020 — unless you count my own “Home Improvement” I attempted during lockdown: witnessing me with a toolbox is comedy gold. I seem to recall an afternoon where I spent hours reorganizing an entire section of safety pins in my tool bag. It felt so good to finally get them in order, but I really could have used some help with the bigger projects I took on.

Where were my lesbians when I needed them the most? Most likely, they were holed up in their own homes, tending to their organic gardens and stockpiling healthy food to prepare for the worst-case scenario. I’m sure our girls were taking quarantine much more seriously than some of our gay brothers who were heedlessly hanging out at the bars on 10th and Piedmont or attending maskless circuit parties. Bless those circuit queens’ hearts; this coronavirus must have been really hard on them. The combination of LA Fitness, tanning salons and waxing parlors all being closed had to have been horrific.

In 2020, the passage of time was like living in some altered universe. It was like a time warp or being in the middle of a “Twilight Zone” episode. Mondays felt like Sundays.

We drank alcohol on Wednesdays like it was Saturday. Happy hours started at noon, and the increase of gunfire and rogue firework displays made Halloween feel like

the 4th of July. Even now it doesn’t feel like Christmas. The weather is warm, the leaves are still on the trees and I’m craving pumpkin pie since I never got a slice over Thanksgiving — or was that Easter? Who knows? The only thing we can really rely on is that Father Time will keep marching on no matter what. Tick tock goes the clock, and we are finally only days away from 2020 finally being over and weeks until the one-term “Liar in Chief ” is gone.

I think most of us can agree that the very idea of not seeing the hateful orange turd’s face anymore will be just as big of a Christmas miracle as the release of a new vaccine, which will hopefully put an end to this heartbreaking global pandemic.

The fact that we will no longer have to hear the lies of his blonde Stepford wife during press conferences makes me want to dance in the streets. Just imagine when we will no

16 Year in Review December 18, 2020

longer have to see the horrible talking heads at the bottom of the dumpster pile, like Stephen Miller, Betsy DeVos, William Barr, Rick Perry and Rudy Giuliani.

The only humor I can muster in 2020 is the thought that we will finally get the chance to see the Narcissist-in-Chief truly suffer as he loses everything. There are currently many indictments waiting to meet him the minute he leaves office. I truly believe we will witness the fall of the worst president in United States history, and I will laugh so hard that I won’t be able to breathe. But his fall, unfortunately, won’t undo the damage he’s done.

As we say goodbye to this year, we will never forget all the innocent lives we lost due to the hate, intolerance and racism of this administration, including George Floyd, Heather Heyer, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks. We will commit to love, tolerance

and true change in this new year. To all our frontline workers who helped us fight this pandemic: 2021 is for you. To the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives to COVID-19 while Republican leadership did nothing, claimed it was a Democratic hoax and said that masks weren’t important: this vaccine and new birth of 2021 will be for you.

You all did not die in vain.

To everyone else who has survived 2020 as well as the last four years of this real-life American Horror Story: we finally have the last laugh. Love won, science won, empathy won, democracy won and, most importantly, we won. Let’s finish the job by electing Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to the Senate and finally say goodbye to 2020 and Mitch McConnell for good.

I hope 2021 brings you lots of light and tons of love. May the sound of laughter be the only thing that is infectious in the new year to come.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

YOUR VOICE

Peak RuPaul Buck Jones

Economists have a term for when one arrives at the point of maximum production for a commodity. For instance, it has been said that as a planet we have already reached “peak oil,” meaning while continuing to drill for this limited resource is obviously still valuable, the demand for it has reached a saturation point. In technical parlance, after one reaches peak oil, the cost of extraction exceeds the price consumers are willing to pay If any of you are still with me after that eye-glazing first paragraph, bear with me.

I believe we have reached “peak RuPaul.”

Yes, our beloved drag queen goddess has reached her saturation point. It might be anathema to speak ill of our queen RuPaul, certainly in Atlanta where she began her career working at the Plaza Theater in Virginia Highland and then flourished in the underground club scene before emerging in the early 1990s as one of the pioneers in the revival of drag culture.

But over the past few years, RuPaul has created her own cottage industry, long since expanding from dance music productions to

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include a daytime talk show in the late 1990s (“The RuPaul Show”), a trade show for the drag community (DragCon), and then the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” franchise. But wait, there’s more — a podcast, spin-offs such as “All-Stars” and the unwatchable “Celebrity All-Stars,” World of Wonder-produced tours, and various international versions in Thailand, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, and soon, Spain. I am certain I’m forgetting a show (oh yeah, there was “Drag U,” oyvey) or film in the mix, but you get the idea.

It was the announcement this past week of the extension of the franchise into Spain that raised my eyebrows. I had vaguely remembered that last year RuPaul had launched a new talk show, called “RuPaul,” which was widely panned by critics (and fans) as out of her lane. RuPaul is great in a scripted “reality” series, but once let loose from that path, he stumbles into self-fulfillment-meditation-weirdness territory that is not what most of us are signing up for. Around the same time as the now-cancelled talk show, the wheels of the bread and butter “RuPaul’s Drag Race” seemed to be coming off the rails with the train wreck that was season 11. One word: Vanjie. Okay, six words: Miss Vanjie, Miss Vanjie, Miss Vanjieeeee. It was funny once, and it was slightly humorous to bring her back in season 10. By season 11, it was symptomatic of having drained every last

PUBLICITY PHOTO

drop from the well.

Which brings me to Spain (ha, I wish!). The announcement was that this new version of the standard “Drag Race” format would only be available for viewing in Spain on the premium viewing application for Spanish station Antena 3 (for only 2.99/month, which is roughly $3.50). So, it won’t be on a broadcast or cable channel, but it will be available on a premium channel.

Time will tell, but it seems to me like this latest “Drag Race” installment will be going the way of Vanjie.

Along with the noticeable diminution of quality in season 11, there was the various controversies swirling around

RuPaul, including the still-simmering antitrans stance he has repeatedly taken, the ferocious dressing down and preaching of “respectability politics” directed at the Vixen, his silence on the Black Lives Matter protests, and his apparent fracking endeavors at his Wyoming home. Yes, fracking, the extremely controversial oil extraction technique that destroys the water table, creates pollution, and releases methane into the atmosphere.

Due to sketchy casting and production decisions, dubious spinoffs that stretch the limits as to what “RuPaul’s Drag Race” actually is, and questionable moralizing about love and empowerment all while polluting the Earth, I think I am pretty much done with the series — at least until the next World of Wonder show comes to town (bonjour Sasha Velour!).

December 18, 2020 Your Voice 17

YEAR IN REVIEW

A Year in Quotes

Remember 2020 through quotes and tidbits your favorite LGBTQ and allied celebs and public figures shared throughout the year.

“The only reason I have any idea what day of the week it is is because ‘Survivor’ is on Wednesdays and ‘Drag Race’ is on Fridays.”

—Gus Kenworthy on the pandemic (Twitter)

“We must stop centering cisgender heterosexual men and their needs.

If black lives matter, then black trans lives should matter as well. We are here. We been here.”

(PHOTOS VIA FACEBOOK)

—Janet Mock (Instagram)

“You can deposit a check and have the funds available in under 60 seconds with your phone, so why is election voting such a raggedy ass tumble weed of a charade?”

—‘Drag Race’ alum Katya (Twitter)

“Being Black in America should not be a death sentence. I’m tired of typing ‘Rest in Peace.’

I wish black men could live in peace… this must end.”

—Lena Waithe (Twitter)

18 Year in Quotes December 18, 2020

“Shout out to all the medical professionals who are literally outing their lives on the line while having very little resources and N95 mask[s] to ensure their safety while treating sick patients.”

–‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ winner Shea Coulee (Twitter)

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December 18, 2020 Ads 19

JIM FARMER ACTING OUT

Colman Domingo Part of Terrific Cast in New Film, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” Jim Farmer

worked with. “You’re working with actors all in their prime,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal cast that you want to play off of. I watched the film again last night, and I thought everyone was doing phenomenal work. You can’t do it alone. It is truly an ensemble. You need every member to make it work.”

It didn’t take actor Colman Domingo long to say yes to the film version of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

“I received an offer, a beautiful offer for an iconic role in this incredible August Wilson play,” he remembers. “All I heard was George C. Wolfe was directing, Denzel Washington was producing and Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman were starring, and I said yes, I’d love to be a part.”

Domingo feels that not enough people know the history of legendary artist Ma Rainey, who was involved romantically with other women. “There are many parts to our heroes. The history books can leave that out so it’s nice to be able to film this. Whether it was Ma Rainey or James Baldwin, being gay is part of who they were, why they were pioneers and breaking barriers.”

In the film version of the celebrated 1982 stage drama — which later went on to win a Tony Award for Best Play — Domingo plays Cutler, the leader of legendary blues singer Ma Rainey’s band. As the band members wait for Ma to arrive for a recording session, personal and professional tensions brim over in the studio as the session goes past its scheduled time and the white producers grow increasingly upset. “Cutler is doing a balancing act between Ma and the establishment, trying to navigate a lot and get the job done that day, the job he had been handed,” Domingo said. “Everyone is coming in with their sort of pressure cookers that day, even Cutler. It’s a hot day and they are trying to get this job done and everything bubbles up and brims over.”

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” marks Boseman’s last film role after an unexpected death earlier this year. It’s a role that could very well win Boseman a posthumous Academy Award.

“No one on the set had any idea he was sick,” says Domingo. “He was very strong and courageous and private. He had a crew of people around him who loved him who I realize in hindsight were taking care of him.”

Domingo was seen in 2018’s Oscar-winning “If Beale Street Could Talk” directed by Barry Jenkins, and is also a regular in the series “Fear the Walking Dead,” which he claims he had no idea would be the hit it has become. The actor is also in several episodes of “Euphoria.”

Netflix publicity photo

Colman Domingo stars as Cutler in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Domingo, who is gay, feels the material holds up beautifully today. Although it was written roughly four decades ago, it feels especially timely. “These characters are dealing with the exact same things they are dealing with now — systemic racism and institution-wide racism, trying to have agency with their talent and voice to make sure it is appreciated and follow what is laid out contractually for you,” he said.

his ten-play [Pittsburgh] cycle — which spans many decades — you see AfricanAmerican needs and wants and strives and heartbreaks. It’s fascinating that he did this work. He was an acute listener. With August it’s like a fly on the wall — you get a sneak peek into black lives and black truths.”

The actor calls playwright Wilson “the black Shakespeare of our time.” “What he wrote was so very relevant,” Domingo said. “Over

Wolfe, who is also gay, was very selective about his actors. “He’s a genius in every way,” says Domingo. “He handpicked each

20 Columnist December 18, 2020

of us to be part of this, and I feel blessed.

He is a master director and innovator. He is a great brain trust of African American culture, and I was excited to work with him.

He curated the National Center for Civil and Human Rights museum [in Atlanta], and that curation is emotional and visual, stunning and brilliant. It’s everything about the civil rights struggle.”

Domingo is excited by the rest of the cast he

Next year will be another big year for Domingo. He will appear in the films “Candyland” (delayed from this year), “The God Committee” and “Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse.” Despite his success in TV and film, Domingo is still passionate about theater. His play “Dot” was produced at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company here in Atlanta a few years ago.

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is now in theaters and begins streaming on Netflix December 18.

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YOUR GUIDE TO LOCAL EATERIES

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December 18, 2020 Restaurant Guide 21

RYAN LEE SOMETIMES ‘Y’

In Defense of 2020 Ryan Lee There may be one last epidemic to deal with during the final days of what is widely considered the most insidious year in human history: survivors’ guilt. Almost every morning of 2020 has felt like a freshly torn page from an Existential-Threat-A-Day calendar (Leap Year edition!), but when reflecting on the last 12 months, many Americans may be forced to admit things weren’t as awful as we processed them in real-time.

A sense of privilege overwhelms me when I consider the bright side of a year when hundreds of thousands of Americans died, lost their jobs, worried about feeding their families, quaked at state-sponsored racism or watched their life’s investment burn in wildfires or rioting. But rather than the rolling thunder of the apocalypse, 2020 may simply amount to post-Baby Boom generations finally having their 1968.

Two of my family members passed away over the summer, but neither was stricken by coronavirus and both had endured years of suffering, so I don’t ascribe any grief caused by their death to 2020; and my fulltime job was on the brink of closure weeks before COVID-19 arrived in the U.S., with the timing of widespread lockdowns making me eligible for pandemic-enhanced unemployment benefits.

Instead of sitting behind a desk for eight hours, I was suddenly going on midday bicycle rides, partaking in outdoor, masked cruising (which, if not listed among CDC-recommended precautions, certainly embraces their spirit), and enjoying the first summer break I’ve had since college. The federal relief made my unemployment income comparable to the salary I had been receiving and led to countless working-class Americans drawing more money than they’d ever made — a sort of backpay for the exploitation that’s convinced us an hour of any human being’s labor is worth less than an extra-value meal at McDonald’s.

22 Columnist December 18, 2020

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We are programmed to worry about people receiving money for doing nothing, but the most significant victim of COVID-19 should be capitalism. Americans have viewed our economic rules with the absolutism of the Ten Commandments, but anti-capitalism measures — eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, food banks, payroll protections, and unemployment compensation that strongly resembled a universal basic income — have saved our nation from descending into a failed state.

The theory that being tethered to an office, restricted from friends and family during daytime hours, and working in pursuit of possessions is the optimal way for humans to spend their time on earth, or the only way a society can function, has been on a ventilator for much of 2020. Proudly earned assets were flipped into burdens overnight this year, and many of the standards by which we measure satisfaction and success also toppled.

I think about anyone once devastated over being unable to have children, and wonder whether there was any relief in virtual schooling not being among their stressors in 2020. Many young gay men have been mocked by their degreed or sanctified peers for being amateur porn stars, but one of the most stable jobs in our emaciated workforce has been an OnlyFans page.

On several occasions in 2020 I swatted at bees in a way I haven’t had to in several summers. Their resurgence after years of concerns about dwindling bee populations is probably beneficial to our ecosystem, despite the terror, discomfort and potential fatality caused by their sting.

TheGeorgiaVoice.com

MELISSA CARTER THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

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Lessons from Kindergarten Melissa Carter The eye of the hurricane is a place of calm in the center of the storm.

If we compare the events of 2020 to such a system, then the eye for me has been doing remote learning with Mr. Carter and his Kindergarten class.

We start the day with a Good Morning song, with lyrics such as “Good morning to you, there’s so much to do.” The children sing along, and the sweet voices give you a sense that the day is going to be a great one and that you can accomplish anything.

Then we work on the various subjects that you and I take for granted, like math and reading. There’s even Spanish, which I admit is a struggle for me at times, having forgotten most of what I learned in my three years of study at a much older age than six.

In fact, I don’t remember learning as much as Mr. Carter is learning at this age, but I realize it has been over four decades since I was in his position, and education has naturally evolved in that time.

We end the day with a Goodbye song, which gives me the same feeling as the end credits of a favorite show. I’m sorry to say goodbye to this cast of characters. Woven throughout these lessons is the education of following rules, respecting the other students, and taking responsibility for the things you do well and those you do incorrectly. How ironic it is for my son to learn these things in our home at the same time people outside our home do not? The very fact that we are at TheGeorgiaVoice.com

home is a testament to the disrespect others continue to show during this pandemic.

Those who have been in the eye of a hurricane know that it doesn’t mean the storm isn’t over; another round of difficulty is yet to come.

Schools across the metro area have had to shut down classes or entire schools following Thanksgiving. That’s because the holiday proved too much for people who didn’t want to sacrifice travel and spending time with friends and family in order to, quite frankly, do what was right and stay home.

You see, when anyone contracts COVID-19, that is a direct result of someone not following the rules, respecting other citizens, or taking responsibility for what they do incorrectly. If everyone wore a mask, washed their hands, and stayed six feet away from each other, things wouldn’t be this bad. Those are the rules told to us in March when the pandemic was declared a national emergency.

It’s an incredibly contagious virus that can cause not only terrible discomfort but also chronic conditions in patients who survive. Every time you forget your mask or take a quick selfie with buddies where you lean in next to each other unprotected, you’re risking infection. Add to that the travel and blatant disregard for safety, and you will see these tragic numbers rise more dramatically after Christmas and New Year’s.

When future generations ask me what it was like to live through a pandemic, I will immediately answer that it is a privilege to live beyond it. However, I will also give the cautionary tale of the “every man for himself ” attitude we adopted and say that I wish things we learned in kindergarten stuck with us as adults.

December 18, 2020 Columnist 23