October 2020
Features
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The AIDS Memorial Quilt remains a powerful symbol
Friends, family, lovers, and strangers stitched colorful, personal, and heartfelt tribute panels measuring three feet by six feet—the approximate measurements of a grave, Jones says—that when stitched together create a 1.3 million square foot symbol as iconic as the red ribbon worn to raise awareness about the disease.
How a tiny gay activist group defied the odds to push the Olympics out of Cobb County
I was told by many friends not to get involved in this because there was no way we could possibly win. This was a global entity. It would be like kicking a giant in the toe. That response mystified me. I said, “I didn’t know we chose our battles according to the ones we knew we could win.”
Bulldogs: Atlanta’s little gay bar that could
Just one story tall and tucked between 7th and 8th streets on Peachtree, a tiny gay bar has built a reputation that towers over many of the skyscrapers that surround it.
The rise of Atlanta’s Black Gay Pride
Atlanta has reigned supreme on the national Black LGBTQ+ Pride circuit by attracting stars like Nicki Minaj and Brandy and by evolving into a bona-fide summer festival with food and retail vendors in Piedmont Park—as LGBTQ+ families sprawl across picnic blankets like they once did in Henri McTerry’s backyard.
A half-century of LGBTQ+ milestones in Atlanta
The first Atlanta Pride was held in Piedmont Park 50 years ago to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. Our LGBTQ+ community has made many strides over the last half-century. But we have far to go.
Backstreet: An oral history of Atlanta’s most fabled 24-hour nightclub
Backstreet’s infamous 10,000-plus nights of dancing, drag, drugs, and debauchery, spanning the years from 1975 to 2004—recounted by the people who owned the club, worked there, documented its life span, and, of course, partied inside the legendary Atlanta nightspot.
Reminisce your days partying at Backstreet with this ultimate playlist
With the help of the nearly 10,000-person Facebook group I Partied at Backstreet who served as curators, we’ve assembled this massive three-decade, nearly 12-and-a-half-hour Backstreet playlist for our readers.
Why Southern Voice, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ newspaper, meant so much
Co-founder Chris Cash recalls why she founded Southern Voice, and why having an independent queer news outlet remains imperative in 2020.
Remembering Atlanta Pride’s radical roots (or why early organizers got thrown out of gay bars)
Activist Dave Hayward recalls his time with the Georgia Gay Liberation Front in the early 1970s.
Founders of Atlanta Black Pride work to “reclaim” their brand
The nearly 25-year-old organization has a mission to serve year-round, not just on Labor Day weekend.
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The Connector
The Pansy Patrol blocks out hate
In 2012, Thom Baker and Don Purcell found a novel way to counter the anti-gay protesters who spit hateful chants at Atlanta Pride revelers: making out in front of them.
Wussy’s Jon Dean on Atlanta’s queer arts scene and the importance of representation
Today, in addition to covering local and national queer art and culture, Wussy hosts events across the city, like drag shows, dance parties, and movie screenings—and founder Jon Dean doesn’t plan to stop there.
It’s time for Atlanta Pride to live up to its central promise of inclusion
Atlanta Pride. It is as much an aspiration of what Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community can be as it is an articulation of what it is today. It is an emblem of queer visibility and power. It has strived toward worthy ideals—yet it has reneged on its central promise of inclusion.
Meet the Navy veteran who created the trans Pride flag
“I didn’t start to feel like a woman at a certain age—I started to feel like a girl. I was five years old, growing up in Arizona, and I prayed to God to turn me into a girl. You can’t tell me that this is a choice.”
My road to marriage and parenthood was confronted with challenges straight couples never face
While there’s nothing “step” about any LGBTQ+ parents who are present from conception onward, we are still subject to the terminology of the government and the whims of the people who run it.
Atlanta remains a hotspot for new AIDS/HIV cases
For years, Georgia has been near the top of states with the highest rates of HIV/AIDS cases. In parts of Atlanta and the metro region, rates are as much as eight times the national average, and researchers say they rival levels found in some developing countries.
The Bite
The verdict on 4 new Atlanta restaurants: Delbar, Buena Gente, Hero Doughnuts, and Perc Coffee
Frenzy over a Cubano, nostalgia-inducing doughnuts, a star baker’s new project, and the best rice I’ve ever had.
Don’t let the name fool you—Floral Park Market is one of the best places to grocery shop
The store looks like it belongs in a quaint country town. I passed through tiny rooms crammed full of Tunisian towels, letterpress cards, and other carefully curated items and eventually ended up in a huge open space where tables are piled with attractive displays of baked goods and jarred pantry staples and walls are lined with refrigerator and freezer units loaded with items you won’t find anywhere else.
Atlanta needs its gay bars now more than ever
While the AIDS crisis brought the gay community and its bars together, COVID is driving them apart.
The Goods
Farewell, Jeffrey: A look back at Atlanta’s most iconic boutique
Perhaps no clothing store has had more of an impact on Atlanta than the luxury boutique founded by Jeffrey Kalinsky 30 years ago, which put Atlanta on the fashion map and introduced designer lines like Manolo Blahnik, Prada, and Dries Van Noten to the city.
Atlanta-based O. Studio wants to design a new daily outfit for everyone
Universal, comfortable, high-tech, versatile. If ever there were a time for El Lewis’s new line of knits, built around wear-anytime (or all-the-time), uniform-style dressing, it’s now.
My Style: Rigel Gemini, influencer, music artist, director of analytics and SEO
Born on the first day of Gemini, the data director by day/influencer by night epitomizes cosmic duality in his life and style.
Room Envy: A groovy game room designed for energetic breaks
A ping-pong match provides an energetic break in the day, so Atlanta-based real-estate company MountainSeed hired interior designer Kristen Fountain Wilson of KFD Designs to transform its game room into a winning destination.
