Ready to rally
Jan. 15 — Hi, y’all, and welcome to the first Crosswalk by Georgia Voice newsletter. I’m Dyana, a lesbian who collects all brands and flavors of lip balm (cherry ChapStick is my go-to, however) and regularly wears black Dansko Professional clogs. Flannel is my fave fashion, even when Atlanta is not covered in snow.
🗞️ Rough Draft acquired Georgia Voice in December, marking a bit of a full-circle moment in my career. I worked in LGBTQ+ media for a decade and was editor of Georgia Voice when marriage equality became the law of the land. I covered numerous protests and many celebrations at 10th and Piedmont, the “gayest corner in Atlanta,” where the rainbow crosswalk is now a permanent fixture of LGBTQ+ pride.
👨🏾💻 Read our first issue online here! And for those who like to hold a newspaper in their hands, pick one up at any of these locations.
🏛️ In this issue, we report how the Georgia General Assembly is positioned to follow the same route as Washington, with GOP-led bills to ban trans students from competing in school sports at the top of lawmakers’ priorities. Activists are vowing to fight back.
💭 Why are so many elected officials afraid of young trans people? There is no record of trans athletes swarming school sports in Georgia. There are many children in our state harmed by gun violence and inadequate access to health care. There are also more than 555,000 children who don’t have enough to eat.
🏳️🌈 Check out our story about former President Jimmy Carter, who died last month at the age of 100, and his legacy of LGBTQ+ support. And we also have a story about three Georgians who recently competed in the Miss International Queen, the world’s largest transgender pageant.
🌱 Friday is the two-year anniversary of the death of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, who was killed while protesting the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, known as “Cop City.” Paez Teran, who identified as nonbinary and used they/them pronouns, was fatally shot by Georgia State Patrol troopers on Jan. 18, 2023.
✊ Got tips for stories? Let me know. When we fight, we win.
Dyana (she/her)
😂 Marie Antoinette is a product of unadulterated extravagance and indulgence. In this hilarious take on history’s most provocative icon, this young queen’s survival will hardly be a piece of a cake. Come see “Marie Antoinette” this February at Actor’s Express! SPONSOR MESSAGE
LGBTQ+ activists rally as Georgia lawmakers introduce first anti-trans bill
🏳️⚧️ Senate Republicans wasted no time in targeting transgender people on day one of the Georgia General Assembly’s legislative session. The first bill introduced Mon., Jan. 13, would ban transgender students from participating in women’s sports in middle and high schools and colleges.
Outside the Gold Dome on Monday, more than 100 LGBTQ+ activists gathered at Liberty Plaza, for a “Stand Up for Trans Georgians” rally against the anticipated anti-trans legislation. They also rallied to show support for transgender Georgians who face attacks by a GOP-led General Assembly emboldened by the re-election of Donald Trump, whose anti-trans attacks were central to his campaign.
🪧 Click here to read the full story.
Come Symphony with IN UNISON
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
🎼 Make your night memorable with the Atlanta Symphony’s IN UNISON, where the LGBTQ+ community comes together to experience symphony concerts. Thurs., Jan. 23 at 8 p.m., head to Symphony Hall as the ASO kicks off the Beethoven Project, celebrating the genius of the great composer. Maestro Stutzmann leads the ASO through Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, and Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”. Afterward, gather with ASO artists & friends for drinks & discussion.
🎟️ Bring a friend! Grab premium seats for the concert and enjoy the post-concert reception; tickets are available online.
Remembering Jimmy Carter’s LGBTQ+ legacy
🎗️ Former President, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Georgia native Jimmy Carter passed away on Dec. 29 at the age of 100, leaving behind a legacy of progressive values, racial advocacy, and early – albeit imperfect – LGBTQ+ support.
Carter was an early supporter of the civil rights movement and became a leading voice within the Democratic Party for the end of racial segregation before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During his presidential campaign, Carter established what would be a longstanding allyship of the LGBTQ+ community when asked if he would sign the Equality Act into law if it passed the legislature and landed on his desk as president.
👉🏼 Read more about the 39th president’s history on LGBTQ+ issues here.
New Meta guidelines allow anti-LGBTQ+ speech on Facebook, Instagram
📱 New content moderation policies governing hate speech on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads that were enacted by parent company Meta last week contain a carveout that allows users to call LGBTQ+ people mentally ill.
According to the guidelines, which otherwise prohibit use of such insults on the online platforms, “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’”
➡ Click here for more details from our partners at the Washington Blade.
Trans women find sisterhood in pageantry
⭐️ The world of trans pageantry is much more than glitz and glamour to the women who participate. For transgender pageant queens, the competition also represents advocacy, education, and sisterhood – crucial given the political turmoil likely in store for the trans community with the upcoming administration.
Miss International Queen, the world’s largest transgender pageant, has been bringing trans women together for more than 20 years. Last month, three women from Georgia competed: pageant newbies Bella Bautista and Jasmine Basanes and long-time pageant girl Kimora Elizabeth.
🏳️⚧️ Find out more in Katie Burkholder’s story.
😂 Marie Antoinette is a product of unadulterated extravagance and indulgence. In this hilarious take on history’s most provocative icon, this young queen’s survival will hardly be a piece of a cake. Come see “Marie Antoinette” this February at Actor’s Express! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Best Bets
Bang, Bang
🎤 Wussy and City Winery at Ponce City Market are hosting the Ariana Grande Drag Brunch on Jan. 18 at noon featuring performances by Brigitte Bidet, Christina Leon, Cici Nicole, Drew Friday, and Eros Étoile. Get tickets here.
Mass matrimony
👰🏽 Charis Books & More is hosting a Matrimony for the People Mass Wedding event on Jan. 19 at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be officiated by Charis Circle Executive Director E.R. Anderson.
Breaking bread
🥞 The Southern Unity Movement hosts the 24th annual Bayard Rustin/Audre Lorde Community Breakfast on Jan. 20 at 9 a.m. at the Loudermilk Conference Center, 40 Courtland St. NE. The event honors the legacies of Bayard Rustin, a gay man who was a civil rights architect and one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest advisers, and lesbian feminist and poet Audre Lorde. Following the breakfast, attendees are invited to participate in the The King Day March & Rally.
Vroom, vroom
🏎️ Celebrate a brand new season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” at My Sister’s Room on Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. with special guests Crystal Envy and Hormona Lisa. Information: mysistersroom.com.
Midtown movie
🎬 Midtown Art Cinema is hosting a screening of “Boss Up, The Musical” at 7 p.m. on Jan. 29 followed by a reception. The filmmaking debut Tony Talks is based on his glam character Cassandra, who suddenly finds herself fired from her prestigious job. Tickets and information: outonfilm.org.
Social Follow of the Week
📸 Be sure to follow LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Georgia Equality for all your legislative updates.
