Rememberg Atlanta Pri’s radil roots (or why early anizers got thrown out of gay bars) - Atlanta Magaze

Contents:

• THE UNSPOKEN PAST: ATLANTA LBIAN AND GAY HISTORY
• REMEMBERG ATLANTA PRI’S RADIL ROOTS (OR WHY EARLY ANIZERS GOT THROWN OUT OF GAY BARS)
• DRAG, DGS AND DIS: WHEN ATLANTA WAS A CENTER OF THE GAY REVOLUTN
• GAY CLUBS
• THE 5 BEST ATLANTA GAY CLUBS & BARSSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS ATLANTA
• ONCE UPON A TIME ATLANTA: STAGG REVOLUTN OM THE GAY BAR

THE UNSPOKEN PAST: ATLANTA LBIAN AND GAY HISTORY

In 1975, at the dawn of dis, Backstreet officially opened for bs at 845 Peachtree Street the heart of the begng, the massive, three-level, 10, 000-square-foot space ( had hoed Lang’s Interrs the 1950s), tered almost exclively to the cy’s burgeong whe gay male populatn. Our goal is to have the rmatn piled and available when we wele Amerin Historil Associatn members and members of the Commtee on Lbian and Gay History to a receptn at the Auburn Avenue Rearch Library on Ain Amerin Culture and History on January 6, 2007, om 5:30–7:30 p.

REMEMBERG ATLANTA PRI’S RADIL ROOTS (OR WHY EARLY ANIZERS GOT THROWN OUT OF GAY BARS)

The antipathy lgered throughout the , though the cy’s changg mographics shifted polil weight favor of Maynard Jackson, who had bee not only the cy’s first Black mayor but a termed ally to the gay A Night at the Sweet Gum Head, released this month by W. Norton, journalist Mart Padgett sutur this ntext to the acunts of two ma subjects: Bill Smh, who helped lead the Geia Gay Liberatn Front, worked as a cy missner, and published the South’s leadg gay newspaper, the Barb; and John Greenwell, who rose to drag stardom performg as Rachel Wells at the Sweet Gum Head nightclub. Along the way, the Chhire Bridge Road nightclub self (named after the Florida hometown of owner Frank Powell) emerg as a symbol of the South’s heady gay reverie and revolutn, pturg the sence of a fleetg era bracketed by the Stonewall uprisg and the AIDS the Sweet Gum Head?

I realized that, earlier, there mt have been this time of happs and optimism and excement that I need to know more about the multiple onts of the fely has been this spl the gay muny and the queer muny about how to prs for equaly. For the first few years, there were small acts of liberatn, where people would simply be seen public a gay venue or be seen holdg of the men I terviewed, Gil Robison, a longtime civil-rights and queer-rights activist town, said the 1970s were a time of exploratn and optimism.

DRAG, DGS AND DIS: WHEN ATLANTA WAS A CENTER OF THE GAY REVOLUTN

They explored that—whether that was gog out full drag and “passg” as women or men, or whether was Bill Smh and “an army of lovers” forced to march on a siwalk by the police bee the ACLU wouldn’t help get perms for an official gay-rights prott.

GAY CLUBS

Those small acts of prott end up buildg to this massive prott 1978 outsi of the Southern Baptist Conventn [which was meetg at the Geia World Congrs Center], where between 2, 000 and 4, 000 people protted Ana Bryant speakg si bee of what she had to say about gay people.

Excerpt om A Night at the Sweet Gum HeadJohn Greenwell (aka Rachel Wells) and Burt Reynolds 1975Photograph urty of John GreenwellThe Sweet Gum Head turned four years old 1975, old by gay-bar standards, but still perched at the re of a buddg gay neighborhood along sleazy Chhire Bridge Road, ignored by those who closed their blds to the tract hom that sat jt a few hundred feet straight neighbors had ltle choice but to accept s late-night crowds: Gay clubs had cropped up all along the road, a former dirt path that cut through a Conferate soldier’s farm. Chhire Bridge had bee a wir thoroughfare before World War II; the GI Bill brought hundreds of new fai to the hly paved streets that flanked wh quickly built ranch terstate plowed through the ’60s, and brought the ex ramps that led directly to the first liquor stor that Geians om dry unti uld fd jt si the Fulton County the neighborhood shifted toward the louche, gays and lbians reclaimed , brgg wh them their doctors and teachers and lawyers, the gay newspaper, the gay bookstor, gay church, a gay massage parlor or two, and a half-dozen gay bars, cludg the Sweet Gum bars had bee bright, showy plac that attracted larger crowds than ever: “Gay people like to be awed by their own numbers, ” Peter Wokur, the owner of Atlanta gay bar Mother’s, told Sweet Gum Head unted as one of the 10, 000 diss that had opened across the untry by 1975, but not one that spent thoands on sound systems, luxur bathrooms, and valet Sweet Gum Head relied on talent—$25-a-night drag performers and lots of hard work. On weekends, people cshed to get to the club, built to seat only about three hundred Gum Head had bee an A-list event a B-list town, a mag for visg celebri who themselv beme transmters of gay culture.

THE 5 BEST ATLANTA GAY CLUBS & BARSSEE ALL THGS TO DOGAY CLUBS & BARS ATLANTA

I mted to was another proment good old boy prent, Shelby Cullum, who sndalized his Morngsi fay not only by beg openly gay, but also by liverg petns to the Capol and Cy Hall to abolish Geia’s sodomy law. When he crept to his acuntant’s job at Cy Hall the next day, everyone stared straight ahead, but he kept his staged 1972 wh snt support om the gay bars and even— the Cove on Monroe Drive and Sweet Gum Head at Chhire Bridge—vlent ristance. Pets/Axys — Also started by Gatien, Midtown's Pets was the hippt, hottt dance club town for gay and straight alike right up until s owner went to the slammer for tax evasn the early '90s.

Gordon Wysong — The weaselish Cobb missner who drafted the disastro anti-gay rolutn and ncelled unty arts fundg later anized a Rsian art exhib that went belly up, stiffg dozens of lol bs, the Cobb Galleria and even the unty's nventn bure for more than $2 ln. Club district — In the '70s and early '80s, the few blocks of Peachtree Street on eher si of 10th Street were led wh gay nightclubs and bars, Wh such bar nam as Plumb Butch and s across-the-street unterpart, Plumb Nellie, the district was loud and proud.

ONCE UPON A TIME ATLANTA: STAGG REVOLUTN OM THE GAY BAR

Read the backstoryThat new mographic gave rise to two new phenomena: A vibrant gay rights movement and the proliferatn of gay nightclubs offerg elaborate shows by female impersonators. A new history of the perd by Mart Padgett, “A Night at the Sweet Gum Head: Drag, Dgs, Dis and Atlanta’s Gay Revolutn” was mostly wrten while he was pursug a Master of fe arts gree at the Universy of Geia. It follows a broad st of characters, but foc on two men, activist Bill Smh and drag artist John Courty: Mart PadgettCred: Courty: Mart PadgettGreenwell, who would eventually w a natnal tle for his drag performanc as Rachel Wells, me to Atlanta om Huntsville, Alabama, 1971, and perfected his act at a scffy Chhire Bridge Road club lled the Sweet Gum mpaigned through his fluential gay newspaper, The Barb, and om si cy polics as a member of the Communy Relatns Council, fightg to rce police harassment of homosexuals and to prompt the cy to pass gay rights legislatn.