We have to reach out to and support people who remain marginalized. Longtime gay activist Pat Hussain warns the work is not done: “We have to use our elbows to make room for others. As Taylor Alxndr points out, “There’s a larger conversation around Pride in general, all over the country, as being white.” And efforts to include all races and sexual orientations have become especially critical in this year of heightened social consciousness. Celebrate diversity and community during a week-long extravaganza with live entertainment, cultural exhibits, the giant Pride parade and the Marketplace featuring more than 200 vendor booths, as well as restaurant and nightlife promotions. This issue of Atlanta traces the strides our LGBTQ+ community has made over the last half-century. With the largest pride festival in the Southeast, Atlanta Pride returns to Piedmont Park each October following National Coming Out Day. Accepting people and honoring their freedom to live and love whomever they choose was simply the right thing to do.” In 2001, the Parade moved to Riverside Drive, was held on a Friday evening and ended with a rally sponsored by the Lesbian and Gay Coalition for Justice beside. Much of Atlanta’s population moved here because they could not be themselves in their small towns. Ambassador Andrew Young says, “For people like John Lewis and myself, the question of gay rights goes all the way back to the March on Washington. King’s hometown, the cradle of the civil rights movement, was known for progressive leaders like Coretta Scott King, Andrew Young, John Lewis, and the city’s new mayor, Sam Massell.įormer mayor and U.S. In the aftermath of Stonewall-the incident that sparked the modern gay rights movement-young gay people from across the South fled their small towns for Atlanta. The American Psychiatric Association wouldn’t remove homosexuality from its catalogue of psychiatric disorders until 1973. In the summer of 1970, few were willing to march on a public sidewalk holding aloft an “Equal Rights for Gays” sign, as homosexuality was both illegal and grounds for termination from most jobs. Newspaper clipping - Speaking Out My time with the Gay Liberation Front: Local historian recalls first Atlanta Pride march by guest columnist Dave. Atlanta’s gathering bore little resemblance to the lavish corporate-sponsored spectacles that have taken over Midtown each October (though going virtual this year due to the pandemic). The first Atlanta Pride was held in Piedmont Park 50 years ago to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which took place after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village.