12/23/16, Vol. 7 Issue 22

GEORGIANEWS

Gay Atlanta peer mentoring group launching in January Details

Rainbros to offer peer coaching, group activities as alternatives to typical scene

Rainbros Launch Party Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 2 to 4 p.m.

Industrious Atlanta at Ponce City Market 675 Ponce De Leon Ave. NE, Suite 8500 www.rainbros.us

By DALLAS DUNCAN In the digital age, it’s easier to meet a onenight stand than it is a lifelong friend. That’s a trend Atlantans James Brian Yancey and Mike Duffy want to change.

“If I was coming out in the late ‘90s there were groups like YouthPride and there was also Outwrite Bookstore, which was a community gathering place,” Yancey said. “One of the things Atlanta doesn’t have, sadly, right now is a center for the gay community. We found that although there were sports clubs and religious groups and different kinds of bars and clubs to go to, there was no really good way and place to meet people outside of a sexual context.”

Rainbros, a new organization co-founded by Yancey and Duffy, fills that void. The organization has two simultaneous components: one-on-one peer coaching and group activities.

“Though we’re more connected than ever before with all these opportunities sexually, there’s sort of a lack of technology to connect each other to people solely for the goal of helping each other,” Yancey said. “What we wanted to do was create a safe environment, again, completely platonic, fully dedicated to helping each other out.”

Fitness, personal finance, other topics lined up Each quarter of the year will have a different group activity focus, with the first being “Launch Fitness.”

“Every single month we’ll have a single group session for people who are afraid to, or haven’t had the opportunity … to connect with other people who want to get into fitness,” Yancey said. “Those can be sessions of 20 to 50 people where we’re talking about a theme or ways to get involved in life.”

Future quarters will focus on topics such as personal finance, career building and health.

Each instance of peer coaching will be www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Atlantans Mike Duffy (l) and James Brian Yancey (r) are launching gay peer mentoring group Rainbros in January. (Courtesy photos)

“Though we’re more connected than ever before with all these opportunities sexually, there’s sort of a lack of technology to connect each other to people solely for the goal of helping each other.

What we wanted to do was create a safe environment, again, completely platonic, fully dedicated to helping each other out.”

—Rainbros co-founder James Brian Yancey different. Some may pair a Rainbro — the catch-all term for members, regardless of gender or sexuality — with a coach for one session for advice about a specific topic, and some may turn into long-term regular sessions and friendships, Yancey said.

For now, Rainbros and coaches are manually paired up after filling out online

questionnaires. Rainbros must be at least 18 years old, and coaches must be at least 21. Rainbros is geared at mentoring those ages 18 to 25.

“That age range is absolutely critical and as a community we should be doing more to ensure, as much as we can, that they get to that place of ability and achievement,” Yancey said.

Counselor stresses importance of role models Nicki Robbins, licensed associated professional counselor and certified sex therapist with Cornerstone Family Services in Marietta, said it can be difficult to find someone in the LGBT community to ask for life advice from, especially for transgender individuals or gays looking to come out to colleagues, friends and family.

“That’s the young adult age when you’re trying to figure out who you are, what your identity is going to be as an adult,” Robbins said. “It’s extremely important that they have role models, that they have someone they can relate to on the same level.”

Robbins said there are groups for younger people, such as high school and college GayStraight Alliances, but it’s harder for those beyond college age to find those role models.

“A peer coach or peer counselor or peer mentor, they’re going to be able to relate to you on the same level, as far as a friend.

‘Look, this is what I did,’ and don’t have to be all professional,” she said.

The growing group of peer coaches is primarily gay men, but Yancey said as Rainbros grows, so will the diversity of its coaches and members. They look to have a racially, culturally and sexually varied group to make for better, more personalized coaching experiences to serve the LGBT community.

“You have a lot of people with an immense amount of experience who have really strong desires to connect,” Yancey said. “Younger guys can feel comfortable knowing everything is altruistic. The coaches, it is beneficial and therapeutic for them to have the ability to give back to the community and acknowledge the wisdom and value they have.”

Activist and historian Dave Hayward; Zaxby’s franchisees Dustin Mullis and his partner Brian McBrearty; along with drag queen Nicole Paige Brooks have all applied to be peer coaches with Rainbros.

December 23, 2016 News 3

GEORGIANEWS

Georgia lesbian takes potentially historic case to federal court Jameka Evans appealing ruling in discrimination case against Georgia Regional Hospital

its discrimination based on gender-nonconformity and there is no justification for immunizing such discrimination if the gender non-conforming trait is an employee’s attraction to those of the same sex rather than a different sex. Even more fundamentally, when a woman is fired for her romantic interest in women while men are not, it is plain that discrimination ‘because of such individual’s … sex’ has occurred.”

Evans’ attorneys also cited the court’s landmark decision Loving v. Virginia, which held that discrimination against an employee in an interracial marriage is discrimination based on the employee’s race.

“Because Title VII treats all covered traits the same, discrimination against a woman in a relationship with a woman must be discrimination because of her sex if she would not have been treated adversely if her relationship had been with a man,” the appeal stated.

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com A downtown Atlanta courtroom was the scene of a Dec. 15 hearing in a case that could change the landscape for LGBT employees across the country. A panel of three judges with the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Lambda Legal’s case on behalf of Jameka Evans, a Savannah security guard who was forced to leave her job because she is a lesbian. The Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with jurisdiction over the district courts in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital is the latest Title VII case, in which (typically) LGBT and progressive legal groups like Lambda Legal and the ACLU argue that discrimination based on their client’s sexual orientation should be ruled a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which includes a provision that prohibits discrimination based on the sex of an individual. The Eleventh Circuit agreed with Lambda Legal’s argument in 2011 that the Georgia General Assembly violated Title VII when Vandy Beth Glenn was fired for being transgender.

“The overall news is I think we’ll win — eventually,” said Greg Nevins, Lambda Legal Counsel and Workplace Fairness Program Director, in comments following the hearing. “This was just to get her day in court.”

Chai Feldblum, a commissioner with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was on hand as well, saying, “When the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, it should have been clear right there that it covered gay people and trans people.” Feldblum, who is the EEOC’s first openly lesbian commissioner, added that when it comes to getting LGBT people covered under Title VII, “we are now in an era of legal correction.”

Landmark interracial marriage ruling cited Evans filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Jameka Evans (l) and Lambda Legal Counsel and Workplace Fairness Program Director Greg Nevins (r). (Photo courtesy Lambda Legal)

“It is heartbreaking to know that no matter how good I was at my job, being a lesbian with a short haircut meant I would never be good enough. I’m here today because I believe you shouldn’t be afraid of being fired simply because of who you are and who you love.”

—Jameka Evans, on her appeal to the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals of Georgia in April 2015, arguing that Georgia Regional Hospital violated Title VII by discriminating against her because of her sexual orientation and her nonconformity with gender norms of appearance and demeanor.

In her complaint, Evans alleged that she was targeted by her workplace supervisor “for termination due to the fact that [she] do[es] not carry [her]self in a traditional woman manner” and because she is a self-described “gay female” and “ … it is evident [she] identif[ies] with the male gender because [she] presented [her]self visually (male uniform, low male haircut, shoes, etc.).” Evans further alleged that she was “punished because [her] status as a gay female did not conform to [her] department head’s … gender stereotypes associated with women.”

The district court dismissed Evans’ complaint, arguing that Title VII doesn’t protect employees from such discrimination. Lambda Legal filed an appeal with the Eleventh Circuit in January, stating in their brief that the district court’s ruling must be reversed because the court’s conclusion that Evans cannot bring a Title VII claim based on discrimination against her due to her sexual orientation, gender-nonconforming appearance and demeanor conflicts with decisions of the Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit court and other federal courts, and the EEOC. “Numerous Supreme Court cases hold … that Title VII is violated when an employee suffers mistreatment that would not have occurred had the employee been of the other sex,” Lambda Legal stated in Evans’ appeal.

“It is now settled law that Title VII prohib-

‘It is sex stereotyping and against the law’ Thursday’s hearing was the group’s first crack at arguing their case in federal court.

Georgia Regional Hospital chose not to present its arguments.

“For too long, LGBT employees have been forced to hide who they are at work for fear of backlash and discrimination. It is time for employers to recognize that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination, and is unlawful,” Nevins said in a statement issued after the hearing. “Georgia Regional Hospital targeted Jameka Evans for harassment and eventually forced her out of her job because she is a lesbian who doesn’t fit an employer’s stereotype about who women are — that is sex stereotyping and against the law.”

Evans said, “My supervisor at Georgia Regional Hospital did not like that I was a lesbian who didn’t fit his stereotype of how a woman should look. It is heartbreaking to know that no matter how good I was at my job, being a lesbian with a short haircut meant I would never be good enough. I’m here today because I believe you shouldn’t be afraid of being fired simply because of who you are and who you love.”

It is unclear when the three-judge panel will issue its ruling.

December 23, 2016 News 7

NEWSBRIEFS Former state lawmaker under fire for anti-gay comments A former state House Representative in Albany is facing criticism for anti-gay comments he made about a fellow Democrat involved in local party politics.

It began the week of Dec. 12 when 20-year-old Andrew Niquette, a delegate to this year’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, announced via email his intention to run for a committee seat with the Dougherty County Democratic Party. Democratic Party of Georgia Executive Director Rebecca DeHart responded back expressing excitement over the openly gay Niquette’s announcement.

The Albany Herald reports that former state Rep. John White got word of Niquette’s announcement and sent an email to DeHart and two others with photos showing Niquette kissing his partner and including the message, “Rebecca, is this what you are thrilled about? I can’t say ‘I am thrilled about all you are doing.’ Andrew Niquette can do his whatever in Florida. I have zero tolerance for this lifestyle.”

Niquette reportedly responded back to White, who in 1974 became the first black person from Albany elected to the Georgia House, writing, “Such a shame that a reputable former Democratic Representative who was an advocate for Civil Rights has the audacity to judge me for whom I choose to love.

I do hope that you get together with the 21st Century, Rep. White, and you can be sure that it will be known of your homophobia.”

DeHart also responded criticizing White for his comments. Niquette failed in his bid to nab a seat on the committee.

Georgia among worst in new state LGBT equality index The 2016 State Equality Index, an annual legislative report released Dec. 14 by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, listed Georgia in the lowest-rated category: “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality.” According to a news release from the foundation, Georgia lacks “explicit state-level workplace protections for all LGBTQ employees.”

“State governments have a clear choice between sowing the seeds of division and discrimination or building an economy that works for everyone by fostering fairness and inclusion,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in the release. “Unfortunately, too many lawmakers have decided to target LGBTQ

Georgia ranked in the lowest-rated category in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2016 State Equality Index, released Dec. 14. (File photo)

people for state-sanctioned discrimination and to interfere with local protections for workers, customers and residents. Now more than ever, it is crucial that legislators across the country stand on the right side of history and ensure full equality for all their citizens — nothing more and nothing less.”

Georgia, along with the other Southern states, are noted in the lowest-rated category for existing laws, such as those that criminalize HIV and sodomy and laws that allow for religious-based discrimination — though it is important to note that Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a proposed “religious freedom bill” in Georgia earlier this year. According to the report, Georgia also lacks non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and gender identity protections, as well as laws that protect LGBT individuals from hate crimes. Georgia does have anti-cyberbullying laws as well as “good” health data collection, but stands to improve in all other areas, the report shows.

Top Georgia Democrat: Pass civil rights bill protecting LGBT people State Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta), the House Minority Leader, called on lawmakers to pass a statewide civil rights bill that includes protections for LGBT people.

The comments came in a Dec. 14 interview with WABE’s Denis O’Hayer, when Abrams shot down the idea of sexual orientation or gender identity being left out of such a bill so it would pass the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

“If we are going to extend and protect civil rights in the state of Georgia in 2017, we should cover every group that is vulnerable to discrimination and Georgia has demonstrated that there is an extraordinary vulnerability for people based on their sexual identification,” Abrams said.

Abrams also warned against passing a civil rights bill now without those protections, then going back later and adding them once the political climate is more palatable.

“Normally I think that that type of incrementalism is actually helpful. In this case, there are sufficient federal laws to cover most of the groups that would be vulnerable and exposed, which is one of the reasons Georgia has been allowed to not take action,” Abrams said.

“But I think to refuse to take action when it comes to the LGBTQ community is dangerous and wrongheaded, and what it does is sends a signal that we do not believe that that community deserves the protection of our laws,” she added.

8 News December 23, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

2016: A YEAR IN REVIEW

2016 Georgia Voice People of the Year: The Bill Killers The fight against the anti-LGBT House Bill 757 was massive and unforgettable

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com On June 27, 2015, Georgia’s LGBT community awoke hoarse from screaming, wiped the sleep from their eyes, brushed a rainbow flag or two off their chests and made certain the previous day’s events weren’t a dream: it was true, marriage equality was the law of the land.

As the celebration continued for some, there were many both in and outside of the community that began preparing for the inevitable backlash. And oh, did it come.

State Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville) came out of the gate fast by introducing two bills on Day Three of the 2016 legislative session – one that would allow business owners to refuse service to same-sex couples on religious grounds, and one that would ensure no faith leader would be forced to perform a same-sex wedding. Despite some initial concerns about overly broad language in that second bill, it was deemed fairly innocuous, with that version of the bill passing unanimously in the House – even garnering a yes vote from lesbian state Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates). The number assigned to that bill? House Bill 757.

Little did Drenner and others know what that bill would turn into just a few short days later on Feb. 16, when it was combined with state Sen. Greg Kirk’s (R-Americus) state version of the federal First Amendment Defense Act, creating a hybrid anti-LGBT bill met with immediate backlash locally and across the nation.

Here are the players that stepped up over the following 41 days to kill the bill.

LGBT and Progressive Groups and Activists Statewide LGBT advocacy organization Georgia Equality was front and center on fighting the bill, helping organize press conferences and rallies and speaking at various committee and subcommittee hearings on the bill. But a number of organizations throughout the state took part in the fight alongside Georgia Equality, most under the umbrella of LGBT rights coalition Georgia Unites Against Discrimination.

Leaders like Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham (above), faith leaders like Rev. William Flippin and Rev. Josh Noblitt and political allies like state Sen. Vincent Fort (right, l-r) all contributed to defeating HB 757. (File photos)

A number of local and national LGBT groups signed onto a letter to Gov. Nathan Deal and leadership in the state Legislature urging them not to pass HB 757. The letter was signed by Georgia Equality, Georgia Unites Against Discrimination, Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, Equality Federation, American Unity Fund, Freedom For All Americans, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality and National LGBTQ Task Force.

Several groups helped deliver 75,000 anti-HB 757 letters and emails to the governor’s office on March 2.

Other groups that joined in the fight included Better Georgia, Anti-Defamation League, ACLU, Georgia Republicans for the Future, GLAAD and the NAACP. And gay constitutional scholar Anthony Michael Kreis was a frequent presence in committee and subcommittee hearings speaking out against the bill.

Faith Leaders and Groups Hundred of of faith leaders and faith

groups spoke out in opposition to HB 757 throughout the session, disrupting any notions that the bill’s backers hoped people would have that all people of faith support the legislation.

Several faith leaders, including Rev. William Flippin of Emanuel Lutheran Church, Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah, Rev. Josh Noblitt of Saint Mark United Methodist Church and Pastor Molly McGinnis of Central Presbyterian Church held a press conference in the Central Presbyterian courtyard on March 8 calling on Gov. Deal to veto the bill, with Heller calling the bill a “disaster” in its current form and adding, “It makes our faith into a bludgeon to beat up other people.” And SOJOURN was in the middle of the conversation throughout.

The Business Community Both the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Georgia Chamber of Commerce came out before the session started voicing their support for a “religious freedom”

bill only if it included anti-discrimination language protecting the LGBT community. And the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau published separate studies showing an economic hit in the billions if the Legislature adopted a bill without it – foreshadowing the business backlash to come once the hybrid HB 757 bill was revealed.

Another business group that ended up playing a huge role in the bill’s defeat was Georgia Prospers, a coalition of over 300 businesses across the country formed in January and headed up by former state Senate majority leader Ronnie Chance, a Republican.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff was a major critic of the legislation, going on CNBC to rail against the bill (he scrapped his company’s

10 News December 23, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

2016: A YEAR IN REVIEW

Legislators, including Gov. Nathan Deal were inundated with phone calls, emails and letters from the community throughout the debate over HB 757. (File photos)

And 11 Republicans in the House voted against the bill in its final form.

But of course there was one more Republican whose voice that carried the most weight in the fate of the bill.

events from Indiana the previous year when a similar bill passed there). He later met with analysts to talk about scaling back operations in Atlanta as well, where the company employs several hundred people. And Benioff and state Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) faced off on Twitter in the days that followed.

On Feb. 26, the New York Times editorial board jumped into the fray, calling the bill “nothing more than a legal shield for discrimination.” Business leaders nationwide noticed, and many, including Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell, retweeted it. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Unilever CEO Paul Polman and Microsoft President Brad Smith piled on from there.

Things snowballed from there, with Disney, Marvel, The Weinstein Company, Fox, Viacom, AMC, Starz, Lionsgate, Time Warner, CBS, NBCUniversal, Discovery and MGM all vowing to pull up stakes in Georgia if the bill passed, which would have been a major blow to the state’s constantly growing film and television industries.

The negative economic impact the bill could bring the state was quite likely the www.thegeorgiavoice.com

most influential argument against passing it.

LGBT and Democratic Lawmakers … Plus a Few Republicans LGBT state Reps. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), Keisha Waites (D-Atlanta) and Park Cannon (D-Atlanta) weren’t the only ones under the Gold Dome standing up against HB 757. They were joined throughout the fight by allies like state Sens. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) and Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta), and state Reps.

Taylor Bennett (D-Brookhaven) and Dee Dawkins-Haigler (D-Lithonia).

And while the vast majority of Republicans supported the bill, there were detractors within the GOP, starting with Georgia Prospers leader Ronnie Chance.

Former Georgia Attorney General, federal prosecutor and US Justice Department official Joe Whitley submitted an analysis of the bill to Deal and House Speaker David Ralston on Feb. 25 saying it permits discrimination and denies equal protection of the laws and that the bill “would lead to real harm to many people.”

Gov. Nathan Deal If anyone who supported HB 757 was surprised that Gov. Nathan Deal ended up vetoing it, they shouldn’t have been. Deal made public comments on Feb. 29 warning lawmakers away, not only from discriminatory legislation, but any legislation that could be “perceived as discrimination.” Several days later he said he would reject any bill that “allows discrimination in our state in order to protect people of faith” and called on his fellow Republicans to “recognize that the world is changing around us.”

In comments in early March, Deal gave a teaser for the biblical argument against discrimination he ended up making when announcing his veto. Those comments drew a swarm of criticism from the religious right, with the anti-LGBT Family Research Council, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and others bashing the governor (a Southern Baptist) in the following days.

Not to be forgotten: Deal’s comments laid out a roadmap for Republicans who wanted to come out against the bill but needed political – or in this case, biblical – cover to do so.

However, it wasn’t enough to keep the bill from passing in the Senate on March 16 and hitting the governor’s desk for his signature.

It would take another 12 days for Deal to

announce his decision: veto.

You Community leaders, faith leaders, business leaders and political leaders can only do so much. But the fight gets taken to another level with the support of the masses. And the LGBT community and the community’s allies made their voices heard in a big way.

All of those LGBT rights groups wouldn’t have had anything to drop at the governor’s desk if those 75,000 emails and letters weren’t sent in.

Tying up phone lines and inundating voicemail boxes with calls to legislators sticks out.

Political leaders wanting to (and wanting fellow legislators to) vote against the bill would have had an infinitely tougher time making their case if they looked out the window of the Capitol and saw only a handful of people rallying against it in Liberty Plaza – instead of the hundreds and hundreds who actually did show up.

Business leaders likely would not have stepped out in opposition to the bill if they hadn’t heard from so many of their employees concerned about its effects.

Faith leaders answer to a higher power, but they also couldn’t ignore the faces in front of them in their various congregations and temples.

And having the will of the people behind you is a good reason for a governor to veto a bill.

HB 757 isn’t the first and it won’t be the last effort to strip Georgia’s LGBT community of its rights. What remains to be seen is if that massive effort against it can be duplicated in the future.

December 23, 2016 News 11

2016: A YEAR IN REVIEW

Anti-LGBT bill’s failure, community mourning color chaotic year locally Hope found in diverse young leadership in Georgia Legislature

By DALLAS ANNE DUNCAN Park Cannon wins Georgia House District 58 in runoff Following the resignation of Rep. Simone Bell in November 2015, there was concern about the falling number of LGBT voices in the state Legislature. But the community could rest a little easier after January’s special election to fill the seat. Park Cannon, who identifies as queer, beat former state Rep. Ralph Long III in a runoff.

Following the election, Cannon was invited to speak in July at the Democratic National Convention, where she announced, “I’m Park Cannon. I am a woman. I’m African-American. I’m queer. And I am the newest member of the Georgia House of Representatives.”

Gov. Deal vetoes anti-LGBT HB 757 Georgia’s conservative lawmakers introduced and passed the anti-LGBT House Bill 757 in mid-March, a move the Human Rights Campaign called “shocking.” The bill had provisions saying no pastor could be forced to perform a same-sex wedding ceremony and allowed faith-based organizations to discriminate against groups or employees that “violate such faith-based organization’s sincerely held religious belief.”

Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the bill.

“I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia,” Deal said in his veto remarks.

Georgia Department of Corrections under investigation In April, Georgia Voice broke the story that the US Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office opened an investigation into how the Georgia Department of Corrections treats LGBT prisoners.

“We’re looking at potential violations of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), which deals with the constitutional

Elation over Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s veto of HB 757 in March was followed by mourning over June’s Pulse massacre.

(File photo)

rights of prisoners in institutions like prisons,” said John Horn, US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “What we can say is that we have received some complaints relating to allegations of abuse in Georgia prisons.”

One of the high-profile cases related to the investigation is that of transgender woman Ashley Diamond, a Rome, Georgia, resident who alleged mistreatment, sexual abuse and denial of medical treatment. The Justice Department said this is the first investigation it’s ever conducted that is focused on LGBT prisoners.

Mourning with Orlando Atlanta’s LGBT and allied communities came out in force to mourn the loss of 49 lives and support the 53 injured in a June 12 domestic terror attack against Pulse nightclub, a LGBT mainstay in Orlando, Florida.

In the days and weeks after, Atlantans organized a plethora of vigils and fundraisers, and there was an increased interest in active shooter survival training from the Atlanta Police Department.

“I am heartbroken, angry and determined to fight against any senseless acts of violence and hate, especially when it targets a strong and loving community,” lesbian Georgia House Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) said following the attack. “Terrorism, gun violence and homophobia have no place in our society.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with

12 News December 23, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

2016: A YEAR IN REVIEW the victims and LGBT community.”

Pride School proudly opens its doors After two years of planning, Pride School Atlanta opened its doors at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta in July.

The K-12 nonprofit school for LGBT educators, students and families, is the brainchild of transgender educator Christian Zsilavetz.

“There’s a difference between being openly affirming and acting as if everybody has a great time with your kid being gay or gender diverse. We know that every parent struggles.

All of our parents have struggled. And if you hang out with people who get it, then you’ll get it faster,” Zsilavetz said. “When you walk in, there’s nothing in there that would typically push out folks, especially those in the LGBT community.”

A chaotic week at Lost-n-Found Youth As part of a late-August leadership reorganization at Lost-n-Found Youth, a homeless LGBT outreach organization, Executive Director Rick Westbrook’s title was changed to

A glimmer of hope came with Sam Park’s election to the state Legislature. (File photo)

“co-founder and director of outreach.” The announcement was met with a wave of criticism and was followed by the resignations of numerous board members. Former board members came out against Westbrook, but at the end of the week in a contentious board meeting open to the public, he was reinstated as executive director, though that decision, too, wasn’t met without criticism: an eighth board member resigned on the spot.

The organization restocked its board of directors in the coming weeks, but questions about diversity resurfaced after it was

revealed that the new board was 80 percent male and 100 percent white.

The group later announced that they were abandoning a years-long plan to renovate an aging Midtown building and turn it into their new shelter. Instead, LGBT-friendly Saint Mark United Methodist Church – which owns the building and land around it – is seeking a developer to turn it into an office building or tower and provide space to Lost-n-Found Youth upon completion.

LGBT community loses three idols Atlanta and the greater Georgia LGBT communities celebrated the lives of three activists, idols and role models this year.

Beloved drag queen Diamond Lil passed away at age 80 on Aug. 9. The Savannah-born queen overcame the adversity of being gender non-conforming in the 1950s South to become the “Queen of the Jukeboxes” on Atlanta’s LGBT scene. Fellow Savannah native The Lady Chablis passed away on Sept. 8 at age 59.

Chablis, a transgender performer, gained worldwide fame for her roles in the book and movie versions of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” and was an integral part

in the city’s Pride festivities.

On Oct. 2, cancer took the life of Cheryl Courtney-Evans, an Atlanta transgender activist and co-founder of Transgender Individuals Living Their Truth. Courtney-Evans was a fixture in the metro’s LGBT community and spoke out on a number of issues.

For more, see our In Memoriam tribute on page 15.

Georgia elects first openly gay man to Legislature Amidst the disbelief over the 2016 election results on Nov. 8, Georgia did have a glimmer of hope: Gwinnett County voters elected Sam Park to the state House. Park, 31, upset Republican Rep. Valerie Clark, and became Georgia’s fourth LGBT lawmaker.

Park is the first openly gay man to get elected to the state Legislature, and he’s also the only Asian-American representative in the 2017 state House. Park follows in the footsteps of former legislator Rashad Taylor, who came out as gay while in office and did not get re-elected afterward. Over a dozen gay men have run for legislative seats, and Park is the first to succeed, beating a three-term Republican incumbent to do so.

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GLBT National Help Center NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE,

LGBT elders now have a place to call when they need peer counseling, information and local resources.

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

December 23, 2016 News 13

2016: A YEAR IN REVIEW

Few bright spots in a year dominated by LGBT setbacks nationally Tammy Baldwin’s new role, Eric Fanning promotion pale in comparison to Trump win, Pulse shooting

By LISA KEEN Keen News Service 2016 will go down in the LGBT history books as a year of sobering pushback against the many gains won in the years prior. In the space of 12 months, the community has gone from having the most pro-LGBT president in history to bracing for a new president who has, so far, nominated a line of cabinet secretaries who are mostly hostile to equal rights for LGBT people. It has seen the largest mass shooting in U.S. history target an LGBT nightclub and an unprecedented number of anti-LGBT bills in state legislatures.

Here’s a look back at the most momentous events in LGBT history for 2016: 1. Donald Trump was elected president.

Despite being called the most pro-gay Republican presidential candidate in history and even embracing the LGBT community in front of a hostile Republican convention, Trump’s election has left the community stunned with trepidation. At stake are not only myriad regulations that have sought to curb discrimination against LGBT people in federal workplaces, hospitals, and the military, but also the likelihood of one or more extreme conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court.

2. LGBT support was largely behind Clinton. From the beginning of the 2016 campaign, all signs pointed to most LGBT support marshaling behind Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton. And she made clear she valued that support, appointing an openly gay campaign manager and liaison to the community and by speaking out for LGBT equality in many, if not most, of the speeches she gave.

3. 49 killed in Orlando mass shooting.

In what has been called the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, American citizen Omar Mateen, 29, entered an LGBT nightclub in Orlando at 2 a.m. Sunday, June 10 and shot 102 people, killing 49 before police killed him. While Mateen called 911 during the

Donald Trump’s win and the Pulse shooting shook the nation’s LGBT community, and Eric Fanning broke a barrier by becoming the first openly LGBT person to serve as the head of a U.S. military branch. (File photos)

attack and declared his allegiance with the Islamic State (aka ISIS or ISIL), President Obama said there was no “clear evidence” that the shooter was “directed externally” by any terrorist organization.

4. Justice Antonin Scalia died. Antonin Scalia, the U.S. Supreme Court justice most hostile to equal rights for LGBT people, died suddenly and unexpectedly, giving President Obama an opportunity to nominate a more moderate replacement. But even though Obama still had 11 months left in office, the Republican-dominated Senate took the position that the next president –not the current one— should get to choose Scalia’s replacement.

5. Supreme Court agrees to take up transgender case. With only eight justices on the bench, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would review a federal appeals court ruling that favored allowing a transgender student who was denied access to a school bathroom consistent with his gender identity. The case, Gloucester v. Grimm, asks the court to decide the validity of a U.S. Department of Education interpretation of Title IX, a federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education. The Department says the law also prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

6. Unprecedented number of anti-LGBT bills. Almost 200 anti-LGBT bills were introduced into state legislatures around the

country, a number the ACLU said was “more anti-LGBT bills this year than in any other time.” One that passed into law in North Carolina, HB 2, garnered national attention, largely because of its scope. The law prohibited transgender people from using a public restroom for the gender they are living and barred any local government from having an ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

7. Backlash against HB 2 was swift and powerful. Reaction to North Carolina’s boldly discriminatory new law HB 2 quickly turned against the legislators who ushered it into being, including North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. McCrory helped get the law passed and vigorously defended it in the media once it passed. But many corporations and major sporting events announced they would move out of the state because of the discriminatory law. The U.S. Attorney General filed suit against the law. And by year’s end, McCrory found himself losing his re-election bid to a challenger who opposed the law. It was, overall, a message to legislators pushing anti-LGBT legislation in the future that they could not count on the public in general to stand by and let them.

8. Jeff Sessions nominated Attorney General. While the current U.S. Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, jumped in quickly to stop anti-LGBT discrimination, in North Carolina and elsewhere, President-elect

Trump’s nominee to replace her represents her antithesis. Sessions has spent years opposing equal rights for LGBT people, including his time as U.S. Senator. He voted for every anti-LGBT measure and against every pro-LGBT measure. He also once claimed, “Gays and lesbians have not been denied basic access to things such as health or schooling or to the ballot box.”

9. Senate confirms gay man as Secretary of the Army. In May, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of an openly gay man to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Army — the first openly gay person to serve as the head of any military branch. The confirmation of Eric Fanning, by voice vote, came very quickly after U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) lifted a hold he had put on the nomination.

10. Tammy Baldwin wins leadership role.

The U.S. Senate’s only openly LGBT member, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), was selected for one of the Democratic Party’s top leadership positions in the Senate, following the November 8 elections. The Senate’s new Minority Leader, Charles Schumer of New York, chose Baldwin to serve as Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference (aka Senate Democratic Caucus).

The position is the fourth ranking position among the Democrats. Beyond that, however, the position ensures that Baldwin will have a strong influence in Democratic actions in the Senate and, perhaps, positions her to seek even more important roles in the future.

14 News December 23, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

2016: A YEAR IN REVIEW

2016 In Memoriam A number of notable LGBT deaths throughout the community

By RYAN LEE From the January death of David Bowie, to the passing of Zsa Zsa Gabor earlier this month, 2016 will be remembered as the year we mourned the loss of so many iconic celebrities, politicians, journalists, activists and sports figures. And LGBT Georgia was not immune to this trend, as the state was rocked by unexpected accidents, cold-blooded murders and the natural transition of some of its most beloved leaders. Here’s a brief look back at some of the brothers and sisters we said goodbye to in 2016: Adam Bailey, 33 Cordel Fowler, 24 Esu Manzano, 36 Less than two weeks into 2016, Atlanta awoke to the horrifying news that three friends who were vibrant and endearing fixtures in the gay Atlanta nightlife scene – Adam Bailey, Cordel Fowler and Esu Manzano – died after the car they were riding in veered off an Interstate 75 ramp and crashed onto the pavement 50 feet below. Their untimely deaths in the early hours of January 9 sent grief throughout social media, and the trio was honored by openly gay CNN Anchor Don Lemon at the close of his January 11 show.

“Gentlemen, there are a lot of people grieving your loss, from Los Angeles to Atlanta to New York,” Lemon said. “They love you guys very dearly, and our hearts go out tonight to you, to your families and your friends. Corky, Esu and Adam – gone too soon.”

Nick Wiltgen, 39 Nick Wiltgen had a love for weather that made him stand out as a meteorologist, but personal storms became too much for the gay Midtown resident to handle on the evening of Jan. 24. The car that Wiltgen was driving crashed into a parking garage at Colony Square; investigators initially suspected that Wiltgen had suffered a heart attack, but later concluded that the incident was likely a suicide.

Although Wiltgen worked mainly as a behind-the-scenes meteorologist at The Weather Channel, he was renowned in the www.thegeorgiavoice.com

industry, and was widely mourned by his peers, including Al Roker of “Today.”

“His smile, expertise and camaraderie will be missed,” Roker Tweeted.

Barney Simms, 70 Barney Simms devoted much of his life to making Atlanta the city it is today, working as a community activist to improve neighborhoods, and serving on several city boards and commissions to help guide the strategic themes of Atlanta’s growth. On April 9, Simms was robbed and gunned down in his southwest Atlanta home in a murder that rocked the city.

More than 2,000 people attended Simms’s funeral at Antioch Baptist Church North, where Simms was a member for 45 years, and was eulogized by U.S. Rep. John Lewis and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

“I don’t think he ever realized how significant he had become,” Antioch pastor Cameron Alexander said at the service. “He wasn’t an elected official so he didn’t try to become important. He just became that because he cared about people.

“Some people come into a room and you forget they were ever there, “ Alexander added. “Other people come into a room and they never leave. Barney never left.”

Michael Smith, 22 Just before the break of dawn on July 7, security guards found a young black man hanging from a tree near in Piedmont Park.

The grisly discovery, which occurred amid a string of police killings of black men and ensuing protests, resulted in a viral rumor that the death was racially motivated. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed forcefully attempted to quash that suspicion, as Atlanta police ruled the hanging a suicide.

Michael Smith, who also went by the name London Jermaine, used social media to chronicle his adventures as a young gay transplant from New Jersey, as well as his conflicts with his family about his sexual orientation.

“I see y’all in the next life,” Smith wrote in his final Facebook post, about an hour before security guards found his body. “Father forgive me.”

Clockwise from top left: Diamond Lil, Cheryl Courtney-Evans (File photos) and Lady Chablis (Photo via Facebook)

Diamond Lil, 80 Born in 1939, the drag performer known as Diamond Lil had witnessed her native Georgia advance by light years when it came to accepting LGBT culture, and she played no small part in that growth. Diamond Lil performed her first drag act at the age of 18, gained fame regaling the sailors docked at the Savannah port in the late ’50s, and was part of the gritty queer Atlanta scene that birthed RuPaul and Lady Bunny, and set Midtown on course as the hippest neighborhood in the South.

“No longer will I lie upon a tear-stained bed, staring through burglar bars in a basement hovel, while a world gone mad passes me by,” read the Facebook post that announced that Diamond Lil had succumbed to lung cancer. “You can have your drabness, loneliness, bleakness, desperation; but hang it all up; for I, DIAMOND LIL, will not be caged in the twilight zone any longer.”

Lady Chablis, 59 The godmother of Georgia drag took her final bow September 8. Brenda Dale Knox, appearing as her drag persona The Lady Chablis, became an international superstar after appearing in the based-on-real-life franchise “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil.”

As the book of that name was being turned into a movie, Chablis reportedly quipped, “If I’m not cast as myself in the movie, there won’t be a movie.”

Chablis served as a mentor and role model for countless transgender women and drag performers in Georgia and far beyond.

“She’ll be remembered for her outrageous profanity-laced spontaneity and for being one of the first up-front transsexual personalities to be accepted by a wide audience,” author John Berendt said upon Chablis’s passing, noting that she is the “Midnight” character about whom he’s received the most audience feedback and questions.

Cheryl Courtney-Evans, 64 Pioneering Atlanta transgender activist Cheryl Courtney-Evans, who co-founded and led Transgender Individuals Living In Their Truth (T.I.L.T.T.) and was a passionate voice for social justice issues, died October 2 after a courageous battle with cancer.

If there was a trans issue in Atlanta, Courtney-Evans was usually at the center of it, whether it be a now former Georgia ACLU leader’s stance on bathrooms and gender identity, trans voter disenfranchisement, trans inclusion at Atlanta Pride and Atlanta Black Gay Pride, attacks on trans and gender nonconforming people on MARTA and in Little Five Points, violence against trans women of color, passage of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the CDC’s handling of rising HIV rates among gay men and trans women. Her death came just days before she was to be honored as a grand marshal of the Atlanta Pride Parade.

“Cheryl was a giant in the transgender community,” the Rev. Paul Turner of Gentle Spirit Community Church told Project Q. “She was direct, without filter and a fighter when it came to standing up and protecting her people. She was courageous beyond all measure and her love for our community knew no bounds. It was an honor to have worked with her and humbling to call her a friend. We have lost a December 23, 2016 News 15

What is TRUVADA for PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis)?

TRUVADA is a prescription medicine that can be used for PrEP to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection when used together with safer sex practices. This use is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This includes HIV-negative men who have sex with men and who are at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex, and male-female sex partners when one partner has HIV-1 infection and the other does not.

Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV-1. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP?

Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: uYou must be HIV-negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not

already have HIV-1 infection. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. uMany HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: uYou must continue using safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. uYou must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. uTo further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: • Know your HIV-1 status and the HIV-1 status of your partners.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months or when your healthcare provider tells you.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV-1 to infect you.

• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior.

• Have fewer sex partners.

• Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. uIf you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: uToo much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach-area pain, cold or blue hands and feet, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or fast or abnormal heartbeats. uSerious liver problems. Your liver may become large and tender, and you may develop fat in your liver. Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach-area pain.

uYou may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you

are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking TRUVADA for a long time.

In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions. uWorsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and take TRUVADA, your hepatitis may become worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider. If your healthcare provider tells you to stop taking TRUVADA, they will need to watch you closely for several months to monitor your health. TRUVADA is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP? Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you also take lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) or adefovir (HEPSERA).

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: uKidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA for PrEP. uBone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. uChanges in body fat, which can happen in people taking TRUVADA or medicines like TRUVADA. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? uAll your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or

have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

uIf you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can

harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Pregnancy Registry: A pregnancy registry collects information about your health and the health of your baby. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take medicines to prevent HIV-1 during pregnancy. For more information about the registry and how it works, talk to your healthcare provider. uIf you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. The medicines in TRUVADA can pass to your baby in breast milk. If you become HIV-1 positive, HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. uAll the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. uIf you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA for PrEP, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include ledipasvir with sofosbuvir (HARVONI).

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

Have you heard about

TRUVADA for PrEP ?

TM

The once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when used with safer sex practices.

• TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex.

• You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA. Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.

visit start.truvada.com

IMPORTANT FACTS (tru-VAH-dah)

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP

Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP to help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1 infection. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative.

• Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP" section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Bone problems.

• Changes in body fat.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.

These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP to help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: • You must continue using safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.

• You must stay HIV-1 negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • Tell your healthcare provider if you have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away.

• If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

• See the “How to Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information.

TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Buildup of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach-area pain, cold or blue hands and feet, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or fast or abnormal heartbeats.

• Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach-area pain.

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have HBV and take TRUVADA, your hepatitis may become worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking TRUVADA for a long time.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

• Have any other medical conditions.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you become HIV-1 positive because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• You must practice safer sex by using condoms and you must stay HIV-1 negative.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP (PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS) TRUVADA is a prescription medicine used with safer sex practices for PrEP to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection in adults at high risk: • HIV-1 negative men who have sex with men and who are at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex.

• Male-female sex partners when one partner has HIV-1 infection and the other does not.

To help determine your risk, talk openly with your doctor about your sexual health.

Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status.

• Take lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) or adefovir (HEPSERA).

TRUVADA, the TRUVADA Logo, TRUVADA FOR PREP, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and HEPSERA are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Version date: April 2016 © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0067 10/16

• Know your HIV-1 status and the HIV-1 status of your partners.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months or when your healthcare provider tells you.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV-1 to infect you.

• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior.

• Have fewer sex partners.

• Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV-1 infection.

• Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.

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

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“My family is kind of a big target. I have a transgender sister and so a lot of hate goes towards us.”

—Opera prodigy Jackie Evancho on the Twitter bullying she has faced since announcing she would be singing the national anthem at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. (People, Dec. 15)

“We especially loved the portrait of Avery — strong and proud.

We thought that, in a glance, she summed up the concept of ‘Gender Revolution.’”

—National Georgraphic Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg on why they chose 9-year-old Avery Jackson to be the first transgender person on the magazine’s cover. (National Georgraphic, Dec. 18)

“Not only is Taylor different from anything we’ve seen on television before, but I am something new, too. I’m here to change the game.”

—Actor Asia Kate Dillon who, with their casting as Taylor on Showtime’s “Billions,” becomes the first gender non-conforming actor to portray a gender non-conforming character on mainstream television.

(Huffington Post, Dec. 16)

December 23, 2016 Outspoken 19

OUT IN THE WILD Creepoftheweek

By Simon Williamson

In 2017, put out wisely Simon Williamson lives with his husband in heteronormatively-assimilative fashion in Athens, after a year of surviving rural Georgia.

“May your fancy be tickled by those who believe we can make the world a better place by spreading both wealth AND legs.”

Among us walk Trump supporters. Right within our community — if they aren’t supporters, they are perhaps enablers: the Milo Yiannopouloses of our people, who think that all this political claptrap is annoying and merely wish to enjoy their middle- or upperclass comfort without having to worry about all the shit our community and other groups in America, face. And it is about time they know this is unacceptable. For, come 2017, we shall bang but socialists.

Being white, male, cisgender and having money while living in a big city can help mitigate much of the blowback us and other marginalized groups of people get from the hordes who hate us. These folks have now been boosted by Trump, former (thank god) North Carolina governor Pat McCrory, Senator Ted Cruz, and everyone else who doesn’t care to at least stake a claim against the murder of innocent black people by untouchable police, or treat the perpetual transgender bathroom stupidity for what it is: a pretty blatant plan to vanquish trans people from public life. Trans and gender-non-conforming folks struggle mightily with basic things like housing and staying alive, especially when race is added to the picture, and the lazy sods who live among us and tell us they don’t care do not deserve anything you can mete out to them with what positions itself between your legs, or what you can do with what sits between theirs.

If black lives don’t matter to them, if they don’t thoroughly embrace freedom for trans people, if they refuse to acknowledge that racism plays a massive role in modern-day America, if 20 Outspoken December 23, 2016

they back a Muslim ban, or tell you to calm down or change your tone when you are angry at injustice, then do not fuck them in 2017.

May they undergo a 2017 limited to selfpleasure and may all the batteries in their toys go flat, while those of us that care about our community and believe in a collective effort against the incoming president use our ideal of spreading wealth to spread joy with what we have been given. If we want the billionaires’ excess wealth to be shared, then why should we not share some other resources we have? If you’re good at head, don’t keep it to yourself: redistribute that talent like we should redistribute all the one-percent’s gains since the recession. All the recovery went to the top. Why should the tops not give us our fair share?

If someone says “both sides do it” and they aren’t talking about being versatile, then close up shop and move on with your talents to a more deserving person. If, when you scream “Oh God,” they ask if it is Christian or Muslim, get off them and go and find someone else. If they call something reverse racism, and they aren’t driving backwards into David Duke, then go to another table. If they say people should just work harder, and they don’t mean “werk”, then shut that shit down.

In 2017, may your genitals be pleased by those who believe in the common good, in combinations of resources, and in sharing.

May your fancy be tickled by those who believe we can make the world a better place by spreading both wealth AND legs.

People, I urge you, if someone says “I am not political” then no dick for them. Aluta Continua. In 2017, go fuck a socialist.

NOM President Brian Brown is taking his anti-LGBT fight global

By D’ANNE WITKOWSKI They’re baaaaaaack. The National Organization for Marriage, that is. And now that the United States has elected a bigoted rage-baby to be our next prez, NOM President Brian Brown can’t wait to get the anti-gay engine restarted.

In fact, Brown has such a raging boner for hurting LGBT people that he’s taking his fight global.

Brown announced on International Human Rights Day (because of course) the formation of the International Organization for the Family (IOF). According to Brown, IOF is “a coalition of allies to take the worldwide lead in fighting for marriage, religious liberty, parental rights, the truth of gender and other issues central to the pro-family movement.”

In other words, it’s a coming together of smaller hate groups across the globe to form one big hate group.

“With the advent of IOF,” Brown wrote in a message on NOM’s blog, “NOM will be able to focus all our efforts here in America, where we have tremendous opportunities to reshape the culture and legal climate for marriage. We look forward to working

with Presidentelect Trump, the Congress and our allies in Washington and the states to pursue a wide ranging agenda on behalf of our Brian Brown issues.”

Now, I don’t know if Trump will actually work with NOM to dismantle LGBT rights because I’m not sure Trump cares that much. But it really doesn’t matter. Congress is full of NOM’s friends as are many state governments. We will no doubt see a sustained effort to erode LGBT gains. Most likely transgender and genderqueer people will be hurt the most as “the bathroom wars” continue to rage. Whether you’re the butchest gay man or the most lipstick of lesbians, this is your fight, too.

LGBT people and our allies must remain vigilant. What Brown and his anti-gay ilk aren’t counting on is that their fight to take away our rights will be much harder than their fight against us ever gaining them in the first place. Be the resistance you want to see.

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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Far, Far a Gay Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence on queer plumbers in space, LGBT equality and surviving cosmic travel with Beyoncé

By CHRIS AZZOPARDI Take it from Chris Pratt, who recently experienced being shipped off to a new world: The future is full of promise for the queer population.

“If you’re a member of the LGBTQ community and you’re really good at plumbing, then you know, they’ll send you, I’m sure,” quips one of the hottest actors on Earth regarding whether the hibernating pod people aboard the Starship Avalon in his latest action-adventure, “Passengers,” are of varied sexual orientations.

“Anyone who’s valuable to the homestead company and (who) would be worth money to the homestead company would go,” the 22 A&E December 23, 2016

37-year-old “Guardians of the Galaxy” star continues, speaking from the Beverly Hills Four Seasons, “so that would include all people from all — the whole spectrum, anyone who could essentially provide a service that’s an old-world service.”

Imagine a world of gay plumbers who aren’t defined by their sexuality but by their ability to unclog toilets. Or one in which Chris Pratt, as Jim Preston, and his “Passengers” co-star Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Aurora Lane, aren’t contemplating anyone’s sexuality. Perhaps sexuality will be but a footnote among the more important qualities that characterize persona, even as Jim prematurely wakes up 90 years ahead of schedule.

“Hopefully we’re well into the future where none of these things are even a conversation anymore, where they’ve gone from issues to conversation to hopefully (being) forgotten about, and everybody is treated equally,” says Lawrence, 26. “So, yes. Of course I would assume there’d be diversity.”

Sex scenes and ‘Imitation Game’ controversy Naturally, director Morten Tyldum shares that sentiment. Not only does he have a gay stepdaughter, the filmmaker was behind the camera for the Oscar-winning “Imitation Game,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as gay computer scientist and famed WWII codebreaker Alan Turing.

“I think, very shortly, it will become a non-issue,” Tyldum says. “As Chris said: If he’s a good plumber, he would be on the ship. Nobody would care if he’s gay, straight, whatever.”

That, he notes, was his approach to 2014’s “Imitation Game,” which was controversial for its absence of gay sex scenes.

In an interview with Variety in 2015, the director explained why his Turing wasn’t romantically or sexually engaged with another man: “It was not because we were afraid it would offend anybody,” he said at the time.

“If I … had this thing about a straight char-

acter, I would never have a sex scene to prove that he’s heterosexual. If I have a gay character in a movie, I need to have a sex scene in it just to prove that he’s gay?”

In “Passengers,” Pratt and Lawrence, known for her Oscar-winning performance in “Silver Linings Playbook” and as Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” franchise, do go at it. But Tyldum, who admits sex scenes in films are “very complicated,” explains this sexy scene is necessary for character development.

“The sex scene in ‘Passengers’ is there because it’s a relationship — it’s between the two main characters — and there’s a sex moment because it’s about these two characters,” he says. “I think to have a sex scene it needs to have a story moment, going from the two strangers to becoming a couple.”

The difference, the director points out, is that “to have a sex scene in ‘Imitation Game’ would be to sort of prove that Alan Turing is gay,” which, like the hypothetical gay pod www.thegeorgiavoice.com

people, would minimize more qualifying human attributes.

For “Counterpart,” an upcoming espionage-themed thriller Tyldum shot for Starz, the filmmaker reveals one of the leads is gay “for no other reason than that person is gay.”

“It’s not made an issue,” he adds. “He just happens to be gay.”

Conversations with his stepdaughter led to him underplaying the gay character’s sexuality both in “Imitation Game” and “Counterpart.”

The sex in “Passengers,” on the other hand, builds upon Pratt and Lawrence’s chemistry.

Hypothetically, could a movie this blockbustersized involve two queer lovers in space?

“I think that that will come sooner than we think,” he says. “But there’s always going to be the challenge that the more an audience can identify with the character — there’s a bigger group of heterosexuals than gay people, but I think we’ll be seeing more and more.”

Getting jealous of Beyoncé in space Meanwhile, you decide if “Passengers” benefits from a hetero sex scene and — bonus! — two shots of Pratt’s bare bottom.

Lawrence relishes the fact that “we could just keep diving in” — no, she wasn’t exactly

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Jennifer Lawrence (l) and Chris Pratt (r) star in ‘Passengers,’ opening in Atlanta and theaters nationwide Dec. 23. (Photo courtesy Sony Pictures)

talking about sexy time with Pratt. She was referring to the “original script.”

“It’s really rare that you get to be so intimate with filmmaking,” she says, not meaning “intimate” in the way most of us do when we refer to Chris Pratt. “It’s normally an ensemble. I’ve never worked with so few actors before. I was very excited to be stuck in space in Atlanta with them.”

Shot on a 1,000-foot-tall, four-story concourse adorned with eight miles of LED lights, Pratt likens the confined set to a stage play, and says, “It did feel more intimate than anything I’ve ever done.”

What other celebrity would they be keen on sharing such close quarters with?

“Oprah! Beyoncé!” Lawrence blurts. “No, I’d get jealous of Beyoncé after a while and,

like, probably rip her hair out.”

Pratt, on the other end, wants “someone really funny.”

“Well, my wife (Anna Faris) is famous, so I’m gonna say, of course my wife. I would take my wife. But I would try to do someone really funny, maybe like George Carlin.”

Unless, of course, you know any famous gay plumbers.

December 23, 2016 A&E 23

ACTING OUT

By JIM FARMER

All-gay ‘Naked Boys Singing’ cast hitting Atlanta in January The last time “Naked Boys Singing” ran in the ATL, it was anything but smooth sailing. The production was temporarily shut down by the Atlanta Police Department. 12 years later, the tune-filled production is back hoping to steer clear of trouble. Georgia Voice caught up with openly gay performer Anthony Masorotto and the man responsible for the new engagement, Tim Evanicki, to dish about the musical and its balls-out sensibility.

How did you get involved in the show, Anthony?

I saw an audition notice. I went into a general open call then we had some singing auditions. After a call back and a round of cuts, we had to come in in groups of five for a completely nude version of it. I got cast later that day. It was very exciting.

Were you familiar with the show?

I had heard about it. Living in New York, it was always one of those shows I had always wanted to see. I knew it was kitschy but I didn’t know the story or the songs. I knew it was going to require nudity, singing and dancing.

Do you have a favorite number?

We all have solos and group numbers.

My solo is “Perky Porn Star.” I love doing it.

It’s so out there, with its subject matter. It’s non-PC but funny and light. It’s also a dance number, with very high energy. I have a blast

Details ‘Naked Boys Singing’

‘Naked Boys Singing’ returns to Atlanta 12 years after being temporarily shut down by the Atlanta Police Department.

(Courtesy photo)

Jan. 4 – 22 7 Stages 1105 Euclid Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307 www.RonnieLarsen.com

doing it. I also love the opening – it’s fun to see the audience react to seeing us nude the first time. We don’t ease into it; there’s no taking our clothes off. We are naked from the start and we are hoping the audience is ready to take in what we are showing them.

Were you hesitant about the nudity?

It’s always been on my bucket list to be in a show that involves nudity in some capacity. There is something so liberating and freeing about being naked in front of people without it being sexual. I didn’t expect my first nude experience on stage to be a show where I am nude the majority of the show. I was a little nervous but excited about the opportunity.

What is the show’s appeal?

Naturally musical theater has such an appeal for the gay community. This show has vignettes geared for a gay audience – one in a bathhouse, one about an erection in a locker room, situations that gay men have been put into.

Is this cast mixed?

No. This cast is completely gay.

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Tim, how did you decide to bring this back?

I took over the Parliament House in Orlando last year and it’s the first show I did.

I wanted a show that would put butts in seat. In the process I met (creator) Ronnie Larsen and we sat down and thought this show had legs. We realized that there hadn’t been productions in most cities in 10 years.

We picked Atlanta because we thought it was a great market. We didn’t know when we picked it, it had been shut down (before) but the tone of the community has changed

quite a bit. I wrote a show, “Bathhouse: The Musical,” that played Atlanta in 2007.

Is this a new version?

The show has not changed much, but we have tried to modernize it with some of the references. There aren’t many costumes to change up but we want to change the look. The hook is the nudity but most people after the first number don’t notice it anymore. The people we hire don’t just look good – they have to be good at singing and dancing.

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24 A&E December 23, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

Taco Cantina’s authentic Mexican food impresses in Smyrna My Friday dining pals dragged me to the suburbs once again last week. Our destination, Taco Cantina (2517 Spring Road SE #101, 678-424-1826), is located in a shopping center in Smyrna. Getting there from a civilized location like Midtown requires driving through a labyrinth of hideous architecture, including the rear of Cumberland Mall.

The chef-owner is Adolfo Gonzalez, who immigrated from Mexico when he was 15.

His story would make Donald Trump sweat.

Gonzalez worked as a dishwasher at Atlanta Fish Market and ended up as sous chef by the age of 18. He continued working at other pricey, often-groundbreaking restaurants in the Buckhead Life Group. Then, in the summer of 2015, he and his wife Brianna opened Taco Cantina, which has been widely lauded.

There’s no doubt that the flavors of his dishes are authentic Mexican. But it’s also true that he brings unusual precision in the way he presents and plays with those flavors.

In a recent interview with Brad Kaplan of Creative Loafing, Gonzalez noted: “People ask about authenticity, but my approach is a mix of growing up in Puebla and working in restaurants with chefs like Robert Holley, Pano Karatassos, and Kevin Rathbun — it’s authentic to me, to the way I cook, the way my mother used to cook.”

Thus, for one example, his al pastor torta (sandwich) is astonishing. To my chagrin at first, I learned his al pastor is not the traditional pork slow-cooked on a spit in a bath of pineapple juices. The sandwich, made with crisped white hoagie bread, instead contains chopped marinated pork with grilled pineapple. I can live with that, since it’s common most everywhere these days. But what totally shocks the palate is the unexpected combination of the pork with melted Swiss cheese. To that, Gonzalez adds grilled onions, chipotle mayo, and a bit of lettuce and tomato. It’s the best version of this torta I’ve ever had.

Probably the most popular torta here is not Mexican. It’s a delicious riff on the traditional Cuban sandwich. You get your usual ham and Swiss cheese, but Gonzalez adds his slowcooked pork, carnitas, to the mix, along with www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Taco Cantina’s al pastor torta is, in Cliff Bostock’s words, ‘astonishing.’ (Photo by Cliff Bostock)

a relish, mustard, and chile de arbol mayo.

If you like nachos — I don’t usually — you can order a gigantic plate for $8.95. It’s easily adequate for a table of six. You get to choose the meat, like the juicy, shredded brisket (barbacoa). Gonzalez also heaps the chips with beans, white cheese, grilled corn, guac, and pico de gallo. The dish is “cleaner” in all its ingredients but what really makes the difference is the quality of the meat.

There are plenty of tacos. The “regular” ones cost $1.85 and include, for example, carne asada (steak), chorizo, chicken, or al pastor. There are also “super tacos” for a dollar more that feature mainly seafood like squid, shrimp, and grilled fish. You anoint these with selections from the salsa bar where choices range from, among others, a scorching red to a cooling avocado and a tart tomatillo.

My main disappointment here was the tamales. They were almost inedibly dry. I also sampled the restaurant’s black beans and found them virtually tasteless. I was irritated that they had sold out of their one dessert, tres leches cake. The décor, by the way, is your expected hole-in-the-wall.

You’ll otherwise be stunned. It’s totally worth the journey through the architectural heart of darkness.

Cliff Bostock is a former psychotherapist now specializing in life coaching. Contact him at 404-518-4415 or cliffbostock@gmail.com.

Love, hope, success, family, security.

Cleo Meyer, Agent 1776 Peachtree St NE Atlanta, GA 30309 Bus: 404-817-0960 cleo@cleomeyer.com

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Our Guide to the Best LGBT Events in Atlanta for Dec. 23–Jan. 5

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TUESDAY, DEC. 27

It’s an Atlanta holiday tradition. “Garden Lights, Holiday Nights” continues tonight through Jan. 7 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, starts at 5 p.m., www.atlantabg.org (Courtesy photo)

FRIDAY, DEC. 23

The Unwrapped Femme and Stud Revue is tonight at My Sister’s Room, with DJ Tina V. Doors open at 6 p.m. with a midnight performance, www.mysistersroom.com Join the Atlanta Ballet’s version of “The Nutcracker” and witness the magic unfold as young heroine Marya faces off in an epic battle with the Nutcracker against the Rat King before embarking on an astonishing journey to a world of dazzling delights. Today at 7 p.m., through Dec. 24.

Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.foxtheatre.org The festive musical “Plaid Tidings,” a sequel to “Forever Plaid,” closes tonight at ART Station, 8 p.m., www.artstation.org

SATURDAY, DEC. 24

Central Presbyterian Church’s annual Christmas pageant offered by the Children’s Ministry will take place today at 5 p.m. in the church sanctuary.

26 Best Bets December 23, 2016

The Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service will follow at 8:30 p.m., 201 East Washington St., Atlanta, GA 30303

SUNDAY, DEC. 25

Enjoy light Christmas Day complimentary appetizers and $4 Bloody Marys and mimosas at TEN Atlanta today, 990 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. GA 30308 Every Sunday at Blake’s join Raquell, Evah, Shawnna, Nichelle and host Peaches for the rowdy Midtown Rouge, 8:30 p.m., www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

MONDAY, DEC. 26

Get ready for a special holiday tradition – the Fifth Annual Beards, Bears, and Otters on Ice. All are welcome. Come skate or just hang out to celebrate the season with a fantastic group for a great cause. Entry fee is an unwrapped LEGO set between $15 and $20 to help out the Little Bricks of Hope program. When purchasing tickets, enter “BBO” in the promo code

field for $5 off the regular ticket price.

To purchase visit www.xorbia.com/e/ therink/20161226/xt/?referral=xt-buy-tix, Park Tavern Ice Skating Rink, 500 10th St., Atlanta, GA 30309

TUESDAY, DEC. 27

Get ready to have a good time and work your brain as Laura Gentle leads Tuesday Trivia at The Hideaway Atlanta beginning at 8:30 p.m., www.atlantahideaway.com

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 28

Grab a meal at the lesbian-owned Twisted Soul, which has just re-opened in West Midtown, 1133 Huff Road, Atlanta, GA 30318, www.deborahvantrece.com Every Wednesday in December the Dragettes present a razzle dazzle holiday show with dinner available and $5 cosmos all night long, Lips Atlanta, www.lipsatl.com

THURSDAY, DEC. 29

SAGE Atlanta’s social hour begins at

EVENT SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, DEC. 24

The Atlanta Eagle hosts the Naughty & Nice Ball tonight with DJ Mister Richard and no cover, 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com (Photo via Facebook)

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 10 a.m., followed by a program/meeting at 11 a.m., Phillip Rush Center Annex, www.rushcenteratl.org The Pretty Girl Hideout Thursdays is tonight, hosted by Mook Dahost, Soul Bar at Pal’s Lounge, 254 Auburn Ave., Atlanta, GA 30303, www.traxxgirls.com

FRIDAY, DEC. 30

Out actor Harold Leaver returns to Horizon Theatre’s gay themed “The Santaland Diaries” – starring as the David Sedaris alter ego – tonight at 8 p.m. running through Dec. 31, www.horizontheatre.com Enjoy pool and darts and a live DJ tonight, as well as the infamous men of the club, at BJ Roosters, 12043 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324

SATURDAY, DEC. 31

SUNDAY, DEC. 25

On the heels of an amazing year, out musician Michelle Malone plays two shows tonight to ring in New Year’s Eve at Eddie’s Attic, at 7:30 p.m. and at 10 p.m. The 10 p.m. show will feature special guest Hannah Thomas, www.eddiesattic.com

Come out for karaoke at Cockpit tonight, beginning at 9 p.m., and then stay for a champagne toast at midnight, 465 Boulevard SE, Atlanta, GA 30312

Hang out with the crowd at Woofs and ring in the new year, with festivities starting at 7 p.m., www.woofsatlanta.com

Ladies, don’t miss the New Year’s Masquerade Ball, presented by the Belles of Burlesque with DJ K2. Masks, hats and noisemakers will be available while supplies last. The evening features a champagne toast at midnight and a complimentary breakfast buffet. Doors open at 8 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com The Heretic Atlanta and Ready4Hope, in association with Scruff, presents the White Party.

Casual white attire requested. New Year’s countdown emceed by Angelica D’Paige. Doors open at 9 p.m. with a $10 general admission. www.hereticatlanta.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Atlanta’s own Janelle Monae is part of a terrific ensemble cast — including Jim Parsons — in the drama “Hidden Figures,” about three African-American women working for NASA, opening today in metro Atlanta theaters. (Publicity photo)

Celebrate the New Year with DJ Pat Scott at the Atlanta Eagle, with a champagne toast at midnight. The festivities begin at 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com TASTE and Wussy Mag present B I Z A R R E — New Years Wonderland Edition, a night where all of your wildest dreams will come true as the hosts play off of the theme Alice in Wonderland.

The event features an open bar, DJ Robert Ansley, DJ King Atlas, AASHA, and is hosted by Riot, Brigitte Bidet, Ellisorous Rex, Biotch Puddin’, Dax Exclamationpoint, and Abhorra Arrohba. Other treats include a champagne toast and featured artist Naked Headless, 10 p.m. – 4 a.m., 115 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30303-3503, www.facebook. com/events/383346845339949

The timeless Charlie Brown hosts the Glitz & Glam Ball at Lips Atlanta tonight, with a three-course dinner, a midnight celebration and a champagne toast, and plenty of drag, www.lipsatl.com Spend New Year’s Eve at Swinging Richards tonight. A $65 ticket gets you free parking, an open bar and a free 15-minute VIP room/experience — and lots of hunks to ogle. www.swingingrichards.com NYE17 is an evening to dress up and dress down. DJ Joe Gauthreaux hosts this festive event at Jungle Atlanta, www.jungleatl.com Come watch the balloon drop and join in on other surprises, including a champagne toast at midnight, at Oscar’s, www.oscarsatlanta.com The Model T hosts a New Year’s Eve party with a free champagne toast, www.modeltatlanta.com

SUNDAY, JAN. 1

Alex Cohen spins as part of late night New Year’s festivities, 3 a.m. Xion Atlanta, www.facebook.com/XionAtlanta/?fref=ts If you have no other plans today, come to Woofs and root on the Atlanta Falcons as they finish their season against the New Orleans Saints and (hopefully) make a playoff run, 1 p.m., www.woofsatlanta.com

MONDAY, JAN. 2

The PFLAG support group for parents and families of LGBTQ children meets today from 7:30 – 9 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 1605 I-85 Frontage Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, www.uuca.org

TUESDAY, JAN. 3

Got those Tina Turner numbers down?

Angelica D’Paige — everywhere these days! — hosts Drageoke at 10:30 p.m.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 28 December 23, 2016 Best Bets 27

at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

shows, “Elf Jr.” and “Dear Edwina Jr.” through Jan. 28 with four performances today, www.onstageatlanta.com

WEDNESDAY. JAN. 4

SUNDAY, JAN. 8

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

They’re back! The half-dozen performers of “Naked Boys Singing” leave nothing to the imagination, amidst a backdrop of campy songs, 8 p.m. 7 Stages, www.7stages.org Enjoy free pool and rotating DJs at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309

The gay-themed “Moonlight” is up for a slew of prizes at tonight’s Golden Globes awards, as are other LGBT-themed movies and TV shows, 8 p.m., NBC

FRIDAY, JAN. 13

Atlanta Black Pride hosts an MLK Day weekend of events, with a lineup being announced soon, www.atlblackpride.com

THURSDAY, JAN. 5

MONDAY, JAN. 16

The new Topher Payne play opens at Georgia Ensemble Theatre tonight.

“Greetings Friend Your Kind Assistance is Required” follows a retired school teacher reading an email from her spam folder and embarking with a friend on an international adventure. 8 p.m., running through Jan. 22, www.get.org

SATURDAY, JAN. 21

Thursday night is country dancing at the Heretic Atlanta, with free dance lessons from 8 – 9 p.m. and open free dancing at 9 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

It’s Ladies Night at Friends on Ponce.

Play Texas Hold’Em at 8:30 p.m. and then Regina Simms takes over at 10 p.m., www.friendsonponce-atl.com

UPCOMING SATURDAY, JAN. 7

Still in the Christmas spirit? OnStage Atlanta is staging two holiday-themed

HRC and Lost-n-Found Youth invite you to the Martin Luther King Day of Service, transforming this national holiday into a “day on, not a day off” with a service project benefiting homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth. You can make a difference in our community by donating items and volunteering your time. Lost-nFound Youth, 2585 Chantilly Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/ events/1779542232311075 Mark your calendar to join the Atlanta Bucks for what promises to be a truly beautiful mess of an evening at their annual Miss Ruck N Maul drag competition at Jungle. General admission and VIP tickets are on sale now so start making plans to attend and throw some dollars at your favorite performer. A silent auction will also be on tap. Tickets available at www. eventbrite.com/e/miss-ruck-n-maul-a-beautiful-mess-tickets-30056349350.

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

28 Best Bets December 23, 2016

SATURDAY, DEC. 31

America’s favorite dance show is back on the road with “Dancing with the Stars: Live! — We Came to Dance,” giving fans the opportunity to see the best dancers in the business perform live in Atlanta. This all-new production showcases every type of ballroom and modern dance seen on ABC’s hit show, including sizzling group performances, romantic duets, contemporary numbers and original pieces created specifically for the nationwide tour. Among the traveling dancers are Artem Chigvintsev and Val Chmerkovskiy, 7 p.m., Fox Theatre, www.foxtheatre.org (Publicity photo)

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THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

By MELISSA CARTER

The downside of being part of the media I have worked in media my entire career, and the beauty of that choice is the ability to share my experiences and be familiar with my audience. When a listener comes up to me and says they feel like I am one of their friends because they have heard about my life on air, I let them know they are correct and it’s okay for us to feel close in the moment. However, there is a downside to being part of media and it’s the ability for people to feel comfortable with me.

I was at an appearance the other day at a local grocery store and a man walked up to me and asked if I was Melissa Carter. I said yes, and despite confirming his suspicion he still appeared confused. Here it comes, I thought, since I recognize that expression. It usually means something insulting is on the way, and the person’s comfort with me has dissolved any filter she or he may have with another stranger.

“I thought you were gray,” he said.

I smiled and said, “Nope, just blonde.”

He continued his argument that my hair was the wrong color, saying that pictures of me look gray. I wasn’t sure what to say and just smiled, and after a few awkward seconds I finally thanked him for stopping by. The hint finally worked and he shook my hand and went shopping.

It happens all the time. Mostly when people let me know that they either don’t listen to my particular radio station or don’t listen to radio at all when they meet me. Seriously, do you even realize how insulting this is? It is the equivalent of my telling a Coke employee that I prefer Pepsi, or an accountant that I really prefer doing my own taxes. Regardless if these facts are true, you simply don’t say it to the person. It is rude, and there are plenty of rude people to those of us who work in radio or television.

There was a time I was at an appearance with my entire morning show team and as one listener went down the line to shake all our hands she stopped in front of me, refus-

“I love my job, and my favorite part of the job is talking with listeners. Those odd moments with certain loosed-tongued folks don’t ruin my affection for them, but when they do happen I am fascinated at these individuals’ need to be candid.” ing to take mine. Leaning in, she whispered, “I’m not gay,” and walked away. Oh yes, I forgot gay people only shake other gay people’s hands.

I have been guilty of passing judgment on those far more famous than myself. For some reason I have felt completely in the right analyzing a celebrity’s life and made choices in what I watch and listen to based on it.

The difference is I would never say the negative things I think to their face. Of course if I ever met one of these celebrities I likely wouldn’t say anything at all because I would be awestruck.

I love my job, and my favorite part of the job is talking with listeners. Those odd moments with certain loosed-tongued folks don’t ruin my affection for them, but when they do happen I am fascinated at these individuals’ need to be candid. It brings to mind age-old advice from youth: When you have nothing nice – or flattering – to say, please, please don’t say anything at all.

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

30 Columnists December 23, 2016 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

ATLANTA’S FIRST URBAN WINERY, INTIMATE MUSIC VENUE, RESTAURANT & PRIVATE EVENT SPACE

By RYAN LEE

A tale of two years As deplorable as 2016 has been – from the overcast of death that permeated the year, to white supremacists enjoying their happiest days since Plessy vs. Ferguson — it’s terrifying to realize that eventually, and possibly as early as the end of January 2017, these will be remembered as the good ol’ days.

In the same way that children who hate homework grow up to be adults who wish that their biggest responsibility was writing their spelling words five times each, when we’re in the throes of the second civil war or third world war we’ll be comforted by memories of when the most newsworthy assassination target was a zoo gorilla and the biggest explosion we had to worry about was a Samsung Note 7.

About the best I can say about 2016 is that it’s not as bad as it’s about to be. Sure, it’s felt like sitting on a cold toilet seat for 365 days, but pretty soon the shit will start to flow.

Sweet baby Jesus in a manger, be a plunger.

It’s hard to reconcile the overall awfulness of world affairs in 2016 with the year being one of the most contented for me, personally. Specifically, my relationship with my family, from whom I’ve periodically been detached to the point of estrangement, is closer to what I’ve hoped for than ever before.

At 36, I’m settling into being undeniably adult, and have undergone visceral growth in my role as a family member.

It had been more than a decade since my mother’s side of the family got together for a simple meal or special occasion, and so it felt special to suggest and plan a celebration for my grandmother’s ninetieth birthday in July, to lobby cousins and other family members to put aside grudges and prejudices, to endure the logistical awkwardness of posing for a large family photo. Memories of Christmas Eve with the Lees have made Dec. 24 the most emotionally difficult day of my adulthood; but I don’t feel that angst this year, knowing the spirit of those gatherings is not bygone, and that my niece www.thegeorgiavoice.com

UPCOMING SHOWS 12.23

“It’s hard to reconcile the overall awfulness of world affairs in 2016 with the year being one of the most contented for me, personally.” and nephew now have childhood memories similar to the ones I cherish.

In February, my 20-year-old nephew and his 18-year-old girlfriend, who had relocated from Chicago into my bachelor pad to try to launch a new life, moved into their own apartment in College Park. Then and throughout the year, I’ve offered my wisest advice, which they’ve summarily ignored, and 2016 has been a brutal initiation into grown folks’ life.

Still, I’m immensely proud of the resolve and grind they’ve shown to keep their dreams from collapsing, and perilous as their day-today lives remain, it touches me to know that they know they are not operating without a safety net. I’ve witnessed my nephew’s audacious commitment to our family, and have aspired to match his devotion.

This led me to spending parts of 2016 at the Wright Street jail, on the streets of Midtown with a Grady mental health team and in the probate court of Fulton County, reciting an oath of guardianship for my 7-yearold nephew. Through all of that, I never doubted that everything would be alright, was already alright.

And all I want for Christmas is to feel the same way about 2017, but, as my young nephew has defiantly reminded me in recent weeks, “Santa Claus is not real.”

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

12.26

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12.30

Wasabassco Burlesque

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1.10

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12.24

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12.27

CHARLIE SINGLETON OF CAMEO

12.28

DR. RALPH STANLEY TRIBUTE SHOW FEAT. NATHAN STANLEY

12.29

MARCUS JOHNSON FOR THE LOVE OF...

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12.30

WASABASSCO BURLESQUE

12.31

INDIGO GIRLS: EARLY & LATE SHOWS

1.1

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1.2

COREY GLOVER (LIVING COLOUR) & FRIENDS

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1.11

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1.12-13

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO W/ PETER BUCK (R.E.M.) & THE MINUS 5

1.13

BEER SCHOOL WINTER SERIES, USA: BEER BREWING 101

1.14

THE MACHINE PERFORMS PINK FLOYD

1.15

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1.15-16

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1.18

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1.19

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