August 31st, 2011
Today the Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) announced the Official Entertainment Lineup for the 2011 Pride Weekend. Along with the parade, marketplace and a full weekend of festivities, the festival will once again feature 2 stages of entertainment.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to bring some of our community’s most talented artists as well as some other recognizable names to the Pride stage this year,” said APC Executive Director, JP Sheffield. “People often ask how we choose our entertainment. We do our best to offer a little something for everyone over the course of the weekend.” Sheffield added.
This year, the APC partnered with Clear Channel’s WiLD (105.7 and 96.7 FM) to bring some exciting up-‐and-‐coming talent to the Festival. Those artists include Alexis Jordan, Wynter Gordon and Kim Sozzi. The Station was also involved with adding Debora Cox to the line up. Sheffield said of the relationship, “Atlanta Pride works very hard to establish and maintain great relationships that benefit everyone involved. We are excited to add Clear Channel and specifically, WiLD to the list of those positive and productive partnerships.”
View Full Entertainment Lineup
View Event Sponsors
View Full Press Release
Posted in Atlanta Pride 2011
July 8th, 2011
After an open nomination period of 4 weeks that was open to the entire community, The Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) has selected the 2011 Grand Marshals. These community leaders will be featured in the annual Parade that takes place at 1p on Sunday, October 9th.
2011 Grand Marshals are:
Lynn Barfield – Known to many as “Mama Lynn,” Lynn Barfield has been a staple with a variety of community organizations. While serving as a mother figure to those at Blake’s on the Park, she has volunteered for several groups, including YouthPride, Chris Kids, AIDS Walk, Project Open Hand, and many others. She has also served as the Executive Director of Enlight Atlanta, which was a organization dedicated to starting up Gay-Straight alliances in schools in and around Metro Atlanta.
Dee Dee Chamblee – Dee Dee has been a mentor, life coach, and spiritual counselor for members of the transgender community and its allies. She currently utilizes her 18+ years of solid community-based organizing experience and expertise on issues that involve Transgender Rights and health in her role on The Center of Excellence for Transgender Health Advisory Board. The Obama Administration recently honored with Dee Dee as a “Champion of Courage”.
Duchess Claud – “The Duchess” came out in Atlanta in 1959, a time in which the LGBT community was largely underground. Throughout the years, she has served as a mentor to and has played an active role in the Leather Community. The Duchess has also worked with Touching Up Our Roots, an organization committed to preserving LGBT history, as well as the annual MondoHomo Queer Arts Event.
Paulina Hernandez – Paulina is an artist, political organizer, and self-proclaimed “queer femme cha-cha girl & trouble-maker-at-large” from Veracruz, Mexico. She is the Co-Director of Southerners on New Ground (SONG). Paulina has been actively involved with the fight against HB-87 by mobilizing an LGBTQ response to the legislation.
Topher Payne – Topher is a witty and colorful character that is well-known and well-liked through Atlanta’s creative and gay communities. He is a local columnist, actor, and playwright. Topher has been a part of several award-winning shows and often produces plays that benefit local nonprofits.
Rick Westbrook – Rick is a long-time activist in the LGBT community known by several different names. As a Co-Founder of the Chuck Jenkins Foundation, the organization that produces the annual East Point Possums Show, Rick is known as Shenitta Lott. When he is participating with the Atlanta Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, he is known as Sister Rapture Divine Cox. As the winner of Dragnique Season 2, Rick’s finale performance acknowledged healthy living with a positive HIV status. He is active with the Queer Justice League and is also a Community Outreach Coordinator for the AIDS Service organization Positive Impact, and is the Office Manager for the First Existentialist Congregation.
Grand Marshal Group of Honor – In recognition of the 30-year anniversary of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Atlanta Pride will be honoring numerous individuals affiliated with AIDS Service Organizations together as one group. This will include representatives from larger scale agencies to smaller community led organizations. Fighting this devastating disease has truly been a grassroots movement made up of thousands people, providing countless hours of work. Over the course of the next several weeks, APC will be contacting ASO’s throughout the state and asking each to identify an individual to participate with the group.
Atlanta Pride Executive Director, JP Sheffield said of the selections, “We are so proud of our 2011 Grand Marshals. It is going to be really exciting having such a diverse group of individuals representing the LGBT community at the Atlanta Pride Festival this year.”
Regarding the Group of Honor Grand Marshal designation, Sheffield continued, “Given the 30 year history of the epidemic, it seemed impossible to select just one representative to serve as Grand Marshal to mark the anniversary. Selecting a group provides the opportunity to honor individuals, while providing a visual impact to our patrons that shows the magnitude of community involvement. This also provides the ASO’s with an opportunity to have control over who is selected, as they see the work individuals put in every day.”
About Atlanta Pride: The main purpose of the APC is to promote unity, visibility and self esteem among lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons and to promote a positive image in the Atlanta area and throughout the Southeastern United States through community activities and services.
The main mission of the APC is to provide lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons with cultural and educational programs and activities which enhance mental and physical health, provide social support, and foster an awareness of the past and present contributions of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender persons, through community activities and services, including an annual Pride event.
Media Contact:
Q&A Events
Sheila Merritt
smerritt@QandAEvents.com
404.762.5665 x302
Posted in Atlanta Pride 2011
April 22nd, 2011
The Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) is pleased to announce the following events as part of their Official Annual Stonewall Celebration Calendar:
Saturday, June 18th
East Point Possums Show
Outdoor Charity Drag Show
Presented by: The East Point Possums
Location: Downtown East Point
Site opens 7:30pm, Show at 8pm
FREE Event
All tips and donations benefit Atlanta Pride & Positive Impact
Wednesday, June 22nd
StoryCorps: Out and OutLoud
A celebration of stories from the LGBTQ community
Presented by: WABE, Radial Café, and The Atlanta Pride Committee
Location: The Phillip Rush Center (1530 Dekalb Ave NE, Suite A, Atlanta GA 30307)
Doors open 6:30pm, Program at 7pm
Host: John Lemley from WABE’s City Cafe
FREE Event
Thursday, June 23rd
7th Annual Evening for Equality
Featuring the Equality Awards & Silent Auction
Presented by: Georgia Equality
Location: The Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center
Doors open 6pm VIP, 7pm General Admission
Additional details, including Honorees and Ticket Prices TBA
Friday, June 24th
Pride Seder
A spiritual celebration of the LGBTQ Liberation Movement
Presented by: Congregation Bet Haverim
Location: Central Congregational UCC (2676 Clairmont Rd NE, Atlanta 30329)
Service begins at 6:30pm
Free Event
Saturday, June 25th
2nd Annual Sylvia Rivera Stonewall Community Event
Event featuring fellowship, food, and a panel discussion with Trans community
members.
Presented by: Juxtaposed Center for Transformation, TILTT, and The Atlanta Pride Committee
Location: The Phillip Rush Center (1530 Dekalb Ave NE, Suite A, Atlanta GA 30307)
Doors open 11:30, Program at Noon
Free Event, $5 suggested donation
Additional details, including Panel discussion topic TBA
Official Stonewall Celebration Party
An evening of performances and music to commemorate Stonewall
Presented by: Jungle Club Atlanta
Location: Jungle Club Atlanta (2115 Faulkner Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30324)
Doors open 6pm
18+ Event
Additional details, including cover charge and DJ TBA
Sunday, June 26th
Brunch & A Movie
Viewing of “March On!” with food and cocktails
Presented by: Out on Film and The Atlanta Pride Committee
Location: The Phillip Rush Center (1530 Dekalb Ave NE, Suite A, Atlanta GA 30307)
Additional details, including ticket price TBA
Please note that event information is subject to change. Additional events may also be added to the schedule.
Posted in General
April 18th, 2011
The Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) is pleased to announce that the Atlanta Pride Festival will be returning to Piedmont Park in 2011. The Southeast’s largest Pride Festival will be hosted October 8-9, which coincides with National Coming Out Day.
“2010 was a tremendous year for APC and we are looking forward to building on those successes in 2011,” said James Parker Sheffield, Atlanta Pride Executive Director. APC views a consistent event timeframe and location as being key to continuing that success. “Having a consistent event timeframe will allow APC and community members, organizations and businesses to create continuity in their own planning leading up to Pride,” said Sheffield.
The Atlanta Pride Festival is currently the largest event in the United State to coincide with National Coming Out Day, which is observed on October 11th. Other established community events that take place around the same timeframe include The ALHI Garden Party, Out on Film and the Atlanta AIDS Walk.
Leading up to The Atlanta Pride Festival, APC will be organizing events and activities throughout 2011 to build enthusiasm for the festival, including special events during the month of June to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Partnerships with the Georgia Aquarium and Chris Coleman Enterprises, for the Kickoff Party and the Closing Party respectively, will continue as a part of the 2011 Pride celebrations. A full schedule of programming and parties is still being developed for Atlanta Pride Week. For updates and information about events throughout the year, please visit www.AtlantaPride.org.
APC would like to acknowledge that for 2011, the Pride Festival overlaps with Yom Kippur. To read more about how this occurred and what APC is doing in regards to the subject, please click here.
Posted in Atlanta Pride 2011
February 17th, 2011
I once asked a reluctant professor for a make-up Calculus test which had been scheduled on Yom Kippur. Surprised by his resistance, I uttered in exasperation, “You wouldn’t have scheduled a test on Christmas.” Defensively he replied, “Of course not, school is not in session.”
It is a privilege to have one’s heritage, gender, race, class, faith or sexual orientation represented as normative in the mainstream culture. While there is richness in distinction from the norm, it often alienates and creates conflict between a person and her community and conflict within himself.
As American Queer Jews, we live with at least three distinct identities that each have a cultural aspect to them which frequently collide and rarely coalesce. Our Pride celebration is one of the places where one hopes to celebrate the richness of all of one’s identities. For many Jews, the scheduling of Pride on Yom Kippur creates a conflict of identities and painfully highlights our difference. It raises the question that many people feel: Am I a valued and a legitimate member of the LGBTQ community?
When I heard the rumor that Pride weekend had been scheduled and it overlapped with Yom Kippur, I said to those around me, “Well, I guess that’s going to change.” I prepared myself to wade through the defensiveness. I prepared myself to listen to the privileged positions. I prepared myself to hear the benign ignorance. Most of all, I prepared to make a much better argument this time than to my college professor.
Two things happened. First, I recognized that my initial response lacked curiosity. It lacked humility by making assumptions of how the decision was made and how it would be justified. In reflection, I felt I needed to be more open. Could I have forgotten to a check a calendar for an event? Yes. Do I make mistakes? Yes. Are there blind spots where I have privilege and ignorance? Yes.
This did not change my need to communicate the significance of this oversight, but it modulated my tone. I remembered the folks at Pride are my community too. I had to think about how I wanted to engage my communities when they are in conflict. The Jewish value of dan caf z’chut, judge with favorable merit, reminded me to begin the conversation giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Secondly, [Pride Executive Director] James Sheffield and [Pride Board Chair] Cain Williamson’s response to me was earnest, contrite and forthcoming. They owned their mistake and expressed regret and embarrassment. Even with modifications, they knew this was not something that would easily be forgotten or undone. We met each other with concern and openness. We quickly settled on convening a larger group of LGBTQ Jews to discuss options.
At that meeting we explored the possibilities of moving the date for quite a while. As we looked at each obstacle that impeded a possible move, we began to think of how to live with this unfortunate overlap. People in the room began to work together to see how some aspect of Pride could be salvaged for the LGBTQ Jewish community. In part, it will mean elevating activities that occur during the traditional Pride month of June and to bolster the parts of Pride that do not conflict and create new opportunities.
We recognized that Yom Kippur means different things to different Jews. Some solutions that may be off-putting to some Jews will appeal to others. After making the mistake of overlooking the Jewish community, none of us wanted to worsen it by representing Jews as a monolith. Certainly Bet Haverim does not speak for all LGBTQ Jews, nor do I represent all of our members. I imagine as more people express their ideas Pride will be able to provide for the far-reaching needs of our diverse community.
For me Yom Kippur takes precedence over everything. When Yom Kippur fell on my 16th birthday, as much as I complained about it, I knew I would not have missed services, even if my parents had allowed me to get my driver’s license on that day.
While the purpose of each observance seems contrary to the other, there are ways to bring in spiritual aspects of Pride into the reflection, cleansing, and realigning of Yom Kippur. I invite the community, particularly LGBT Jews to spend Yom Kippur with us.
Though I remain disappointed, I grow clearer that the day of Yom Kippur itself instructs us how to respond to the most challenging moments in life. Yom Kippur dictates us to:
• Ask for forgiveness
• Forgive in the face of true remorse
• Cultivate humility and gratitude
• Be honest
• Seek restoration and healing
• Let compassion and mercy temper justice
• Do not give into temptation
• Aspire to be one’s best self
The hardest part of Yom Kippur is realizing that when we stand communally recounting our transgressions, we do so because each of us shares the responsibility for mistakes made. We are accountable for each other’s well being. This is true for my Jewish community and my Queer community.
We read on Yom Kippur from Chapter 58 in Isaiah, where it says that if we challenge oppression, if we ensure that people do not go hungry, if we respond to our kin in need , turn away from manipulation and evil speech, then we will be called the repairers of brokenness and restorers of the path. This is Yom Kippur’s compass directing us how to live at our best.
I hope we can repair and restore. Learning from the very values of Yom Kippur, I realize that I can listen to the pain of my community and then work to make this oversight and overlap meaningful. Won’t you join me?
Posted in Atlanta Pride 2011
