The rise of Atlanta's Black Gay Pri - Atlanta Magaze

Contents:

• ATLANTA HAS BEE MAG FOR BLACK GAYS
• THE RISE OF ATLANTA’S BLACK GAY PRI
• NENE AND HER GAY BOYIEND
• ‘RHOA’ REP: DREW’S ASSISTANT ALLEGEDLY SPREADS GAY MOR ABOUT HER HBAND
•  RHOA SEASON 14 EPISO 3 DREW'S ASSANT ANTHONY SPREADS MOR ABOUT HER HBAND RALPH BEG GAY
• MISS LAWRENCE GETS REAL ABOUT ATLANTA HOEWIV : I WAS THE TOKEN GAY
• KIM FIELDS' HBAND HAS STRONG WORDS FOR KENYA MOORE AFTER REAL HOEWIV OF ATLANTA GAY ALLEGATNS
• IS KIM FIELDS' HBAND GAY? KANDI BURSS WEIGHS IN

ATLANTA HAS BEE MAG FOR BLACK GAYS

Dm Sista's members pound and rs the sks, bondg through the rhythm an atmosphere of like-md women — activists and artists, all Ain-Amerin, all is no accint that they found one another cy and s suburbs have, recent years, bee attractive ci for black gays and lbians. ‘I was blown away’Though black Atlantans generally reflect Ain-Amerins natnwi — many are relig, socially nservative and cril of homosexualy — lbians and gays town are urted by elected officials and they have accs to some of the natn's bt HIV-fightg rourc geared toward Ain-Amerins.

Each year, the cy hosts what anizers say is the biggt black gay ftival the world. "I had never seen that many black gay folks my life, and I was blown away, " said Dunn Teague of his first vis, a two-week vatn om Kansas Cy 1985.

THE RISE OF ATLANTA’S BLACK GAY PRI

"Gag clout as a statnCens data on same sex upl show that the metro areas of New York, Washgton-Baltimore and Chigo have more gays than Atlanta. But lol rints and experts say the boomg southern cy is growg as a years ago, about 15, 000 attend Atlanta's annual black gay ftival over Labor Day weekend. "In Atlanta, you n stand out on Peachtree ont of a gay bar and very rarely is someone gog to say somethg to you, " he said.

Several of the natn's most vol black lears supportg gay rights are based Geia, cludg Rep. For example, the Ponce Center serv 7, 000 people, most unsured and black, who are battlg AIDS, the top killer of young black 's still the SouthDavid Malebranche, a physician who teach at Emory Universy and works at the Ponce Center, said many black lbians and gays settle Atlanta bee they "feel ostracized om the whe gay muny bee of racism.

NENE AND HER GAY BOYIEND

"Ined, many agree that Atlanta's gay muny remas largely racially separated. "And then we have mega-church and mega-preachers, " he said, referrg to tensns between black gays and some black December, Bishop Eddie Long, whose New Birth Missnary Baptist Church Atlanta reports 25, 000 members and unsels gays to bee heterosexual, led thoands a march agast gay marriage. Another lol black mister last year lled gay marriage "a threat to who we are and what we stand for.

‘RHOA’ REP: DREW’S ASSISTANT ALLEGEDLY SPREADS GAY MOR ABOUT HER HBAND

"Tensns wh the raceBishop Wellgton Boone of The Father's Hoe church Atlanta said an e-mail terview that he do not hate homosexuals but feels morally bound to speak "strongly agast the liftyle. "Of Atlanta's black gays and heterosexuals, he wrote: "Other than geographilly, the two populatns do not exist. There is a gay lobby, a gay culture, and gay clubs.

In 2002 at Atlanta's Morehoe College, the natn's only all-male black universy, a stunt suffered a actured skull after beg beaten wh a baseball bat by another stunt who spected he was cints help expla "why so many fluential Ain-Amerins ( Geia) who are gays and lbians have not e out, " said Chuck Bowen, executive director of Geia Equaly, a statewi advocy group that lobbied unsuccsfully agast a new state law rervg marriage for heterosexuals. Outsi Atlanta, he said, Geia's generally nservative polics make gay advocy Polil mcleBut even so, two small Geia ci, Man and Albany, have some of the natn's largt proportns of black gay upl relative to all gay upl, acrdg to a study by the Natnal Gay and Lbian Task Force.

"In Atlanta, we have a large gay populatn that vot, " said Adams of Zami, which awards natnal scholarships for black gays and lbians. "There are bread and butter issu that the black gay muny r about.

 RHOA SEASON 14 EPISO 3 DREW'S ASSANT ANTHONY SPREADS MOR ABOUT HER HBAND RALPH BEG GAY

"I like women, I'm gay. Photograph by Phillip Bigby/GEORGIAVOICEDunn Teague was feelg cute after primpg for his but Atlanta’s Black gay social scene Augt 1984, but the recent llege graduate om Kansas soon learned he was unrdrsed for a backyard soiree hosted by Henri McTerry. “I had never seen an outdoor event durg the daylight somebody’s backyard wh this many Black gay men— was astoundg.

”Photograph by Phillip Bigby/GEORGIAVOICEPhotograph by Phillip Bigby/GEORGIAVOICEPhotograph by Phillip Bigby/GEORGIAVOICETeague would learn McTerry’s piic was one of many Black gay gathergs occurrg across the cy every Labor Day, and those parti created a 40-year legacy of Black queer folks om across the untry flockg to Atlanta durg the fal weekend of the Life Atlanta (ITLA) was the first group to formalize the Labor Day celebratns to Black Gay Pri 1996, by supplementg the weekend of partyg wh health workshops, poetry slams, panel discsns, and, ocsnally, a march through Atlanta’s streets.

“We weren’t different or better than people who clearly me here for the bathhoe or clubs, but we really me for the whole cultural experience of what Black Gay Pri was about, ” says Raymond R. NeNe And Her Gay BoyiendPreviewNeNe updat her gay boyiend on "what's gog on wh the bch.

MISS LAWRENCE GETS REAL ABOUT ATLANTA HOEWIV : I WAS THE TOKEN GAY

Drew Sidora’s assistant Anthony allegedly spread a mor that her hband, Ralph Ptman, is gay on Sunday night’s episo of “The Real Hoewiv of Atlanta. After Whfield, 52, vehemently nied the allegatn, her pal Fatum stepped to ask, “Isn’t [Anthony] the same guy who told you her hband is gay? “She didn’t want to hire [Anthony] bee he’s talkg about you and he said that your hband his gay and all of that, ” Fatum said, which censed Sidora.

“I was engaged two years ago to a proment lawyer the cy, ” he Atlanta, a cy known for s high populatn of gay and mored down low Black men, keepg real remas an important part of a relatnship. “Most of the men around here are gay, lyg to their wiv, slippg and dippg and all that, but is what is.

KIM FIELDS' HBAND HAS STRONG WORDS FOR KENYA MOORE AFTER REAL HOEWIV OF ATLANTA GAY ALLEGATNS

Many have speculated that is was due to the homophobia that some of the ladi showed, but acrdg to Lawrence, that is not te. But rt assured, ’s not bee of any homophobic hoewiv, at least acrdg to Lawrence – sort of, that is.

In the most recent episo of 'RHOA, ' she disvers that her tsty assistant has been spreadg gay mors about her spoe, Ralph Ptman. On Sunday night's episo of 'The Real Hoewiv of Atlanta, ' Drew Sidora's assistant Anthony allegedly spread a story that her spoe, Ralph Ptman, is gay.

After Whfield strongly disputed the accatn, her iend Fatum terjected, “Isn’t [Anthony] the same guy who told you her hband is gay?

IS KIM FIELDS' HBAND GAY? KANDI BURSS WEIGHS IN

Acrdg to Fatum, Shereé refed to hire Anthony bee he was gossipg about Sidora and said that her hubby was gay, which furiated slammed Fatum for brgg up her hband's name that light bee she had only recently met her. But this realy show seems to nsistently bmirch the cy’s priste reputatn wh the way paras s ma male st member, Dwight, and all of his flamboyance along wh other male “assistants” who also happen to be homosexual. There’s nothg wrong wh the men beg homosexual, the issue is that their promence on the show pats a picture of Atlanta that may or may not be accurate.