Atlanta Since Stonewall, 1969-2009, by Wesley Chenault

Atlanta Since Stonewall, 1969-2009: A Local History brings to life a segment of the city’s LGBTQ past, highlighting nationally recognized and little-known personalities, places, and events. Through photographs, printed materials, ephemera, and links to digital content, it presents diverse narratives of a marginalized people's lived experiences in the South’s gay epicenter. Animated by visual elements, these stories -- of adversity and triumph, struggle and pride, and loss and hope -- are inseparable from the history of the city itself and highlight the ways LGBTQ Atlantans found a political voice and personal fulfillment and dignity.

Atlanta Since Stonewall, 1969-2009: A Local History is a collaborative project between the Atlanta History Center and the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. Located in the Buckhead area, the Atlanta History Center includes one of the largest history museums in the Southeast, a research library and archives, historic homes, gardens, and a nature trail. Anchoring the west end of the Sweet Auburn historic district, the Auburn Avenue Research Library is the first public library in the Southeast to offer specialized reference and archival collections dedicated to the study and research of African American culture and history and of other peoples of African descent.

National Agenda and Local Actions - 2000 to 2009

During the first decade of the twentieth first century, Atlanta’s population continued to grow, including LGBTQ individuals, couples, and families. Between 2000 and 2008, the Metropolitan Atlanta area added over a million residents, making it the ninth largest metropolitan area in the nation and one of the fastest growing. During this time, the city's once biracial composition dramatically diversified ethnically and racially, a change also reflected among Atlanta's queer populace. As 2010 approached, the forces that shaped the city decades before – transportation, suburbanization, educational opportunities and commercial and technological innovation – continued to affect Atlanta in ways both large and small.

At the national level, LGBTQ citizens achieved gains and suffered set-backs during this period, politically and socially. In 2003, Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark United States Supreme Court case, signaled the end of gay criminalization through sodomy laws, while in 2004 numerous states amended their constitutions to recognize heterosexual marriage only, though several states went even further. Georgia, for example, ratified its amendment to ban any recognition of same-sex relationship rights.[1] Locally, a small justice was done to LGBTQ Atlantans, when in 2005, American far-right Christian extremist Eric Rudolph was sentenced to consecutive life sentences in a federal prison. Among his many criminal acts were the bombing of Centennial Olympic Park, an abortion clinic, and the Otherside Lounge, a popular lesbian bar, in Atlanta between 1996 and 1997.

Despite political gains and defeats, locally and nationally, Atlantans continued to live, work, and love in increasingly public ways. In February 2010, a survey in Advocate magazine listed Atlanta as the nation’s gayest city, a claim which shocked some and delighted others. If the city’s queer past remains lesser-known compared to histories of larger metropolises, it serves nonetheless to partially explain why LGBTQ women and men of all creeds and colors continue to make and call Atlanta home.

Pen and certificate, Gender Identity Amendment, 2000. On March 6, 2000, the city's transexual community found reason to celebrate when the Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance to ban discrimination based on gender identity. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Newsletter, Georgia Equality, 2000. Georgia Equality began a campaign to persuade the state's largest employers to offer domestic partnership benefits in 2000. Among the companies targeted were BellSouth, Georgia Pacific, Home Depot, and Wachovia. The same year, Atlanta Gas Light and Delta Air Lines extended domestic partner benefits to its LGBT employees. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Photograph, commitment ceremony, My Sisters' Room, 2001. Pictured center, Donald Shockley, a former chaplain at Emory University, officiated the union between his daughter Allison, pictured left, and Suellen Parker in 2001. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Guide, Atlanta Pride Celebration, 2001. The Grand Marshals for the 2001 Pride Celebration included Kecia Cunningham, who in 1999 became the first openly gay African American to be elected in the Southeast, and Karla Drenner, who's election win in 2000 made her the first openly gay state legislator in the Southeastern United States. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

In 2000, artist Freddie Styles, pictured left, and partner Leroy O'Quinn celebrated their 35th anniversary. Avid gardeners, Styles and O'Quinn were featured on HGTV's A Gardener's Diaryin 2002. Seven years later, in 2009, O'Quinn passed away. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Newsletters, YouthPride, early 2000s. Soon after beginning in 1995, YouthPride, the city's only organization dedicated to the interests and needs of LGBTQ youth, outgrew homes in Candler Park and downtown Decatur. Today, located in historic Inman Park, the thriving organization continues to provide a safe space for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning young people. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

First issue, Fantasia Magazine, 2000. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Venus magazine was joined by other Atlanta-based publications for LGBTQ African Americans, includingFantasia Magazine,published and edited by Montee Jamal Evans. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Newsletter, Charis Circle, 2004. While independent feminist and queer bookstores struggled or folded across the nation during the 1990s and early 2000s, Charis Books and More, the largest feminist bookstore in the South, survived, aided by much community support and Charis Circle, a non-profit established to ensure the continued success of the bookstore. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Photograph, Dixon Taylor, circa 2000. During the 1990s, Dixon Taylor sought to better the lives of the city's LGBTQ community through political advising, corporate consulting, and participating in organizations such as the Atlanta Executive Network, the Human Rights Campaign, and Pets Are Loving Support. In 2000,Atlanta magazine honored Taylor as one of 20 "Women Making a Difference." Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Menu, commitment ceremony, 2005. Despite the ratification of the state's constitution to ban any recognition of same-sex relationships, couples continued to openly and publicly celebrate their unions, including Norford Fahie and Rob McDowell. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Photograph, ADODI Muse members and friends, circa 2004. Around 2004, John Ishmael (second, top left) and ADODI Muse members (top) met with Mamie Hughley (bottom left) of the Reynoldstown Quilters about panels for Tony Daniels and Eric Spivey. Pictured with them is Aida Rentas (bottom right), who, at the time, was the national voluteer coordinator for the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Flyer, GLBTQ prom, 2003. As part of a 2003 fundraiser, Unity Fellowship of Christ Church held a LGBTQ dance for adult women and men wanting to dress up and recreate their prom experiences. By 2009, high school proms had become battle grounds over LGBTQ equality in Georgia and other states. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Flyer, Southerners on New Ground (SONG), 2003. Founded in 1993 by a group of black and white lesbians -- among them Mandy Carter, Joan Garner, Pat Hussain, Pam McMichael, and Suzanne Pharr -- SONG celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2003 and its commitment to building a progressive human rights movement across the American South. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Newsletter, Georgia Equality, 2003. In its summer 2003 newsletter, Georgia Equality announced that Fulton County, the largest county in Georgia, voted to offer its LGBT employees domestic partnership benefits. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Invitation, AIDS Survival Project, 2006. "AIDS at 25: Honoring Our Heroes" was the theme of the AIDS Survival Project's 2006 awards event to commemorate the work of its many volunteers, colleagues, and supporters. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Poster, Memorial for Coretta Scott King, 2006. In February 2006, LGBTQ Atlantans mourned the loss of one of its greatest advocates for full equal rights, Coretta Scott King. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Postcard, Asians and Friends Atlanta, LYC, 2006. Asians and Friends Atlanta, LYC is a social group whose mission is to “foster an increased understanding between LGBT Asians and non-Asians; promote a sense of community among LGBT Asians and non-Asians; and develop friendships through cultural, social, and educational activities.” Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Funeral program, Dan J. Dunable, 2006. On October 21, 2006, friends and family of Dan Dunable celebrated his life, including his work as an AIDS activist through AIDS Survival Project, the Southeastern Gay Men's Health Summit, the AIDS Research Consortium, and the Emory Hope Clinic. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Exhibit brochure, Atlanta History Center, 2005. In recognition of the city's little-known pre-Stonewall queer history, the Atlanta History Center mounted the 2005 exhibition, "The Unspoken Past: Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History, 1940-1970," based on its permanent holdings of photographs, printed material, and oral history interviews. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Cover, Lesbian and Gay Atlanta, 2008. As follow-up to the popular 2005 exhibition, former AHC staff members Wesley Chenault and Stacy Braukman co-authoredLesbian and Gay Atlanta, a pictorial history that expanded on the exhibit's themes and covered a broader historical range. Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Flyer, Pride rally, 2006. Following the 2006 parade, a rally was held at the state capitol and included speakers representing various queer human rights organizations, among them Deepali Gokhale, founder of the Queer Progressive Agenda, and Cheryl Courtney-Evans, former editor of "LaGender Chronicles" and executive director of TILTT, a transgender service organization. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Article, Swerv magazine, 2009. Pictured bottom right, Kerrie Cotten Williams, Archivist at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, attended Fire and Ink, a writers conference for LGBTQ people of African descent, as part of the panel, "Building LGBTQ Collections for Librarians." There, she discussed LGBTQ collections and community initiatives at and partnerships with AARL. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Photograph, Zandra Conway (left) and Simone Bell, 2010. After a special election in 2009, Simone Bell was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives and became the first African American lesbian to serve in a U.S. state legislature and the second openly LGBT member of the Georgia General Assembly. Another historic win in 2009 included Alex Wan, who became the first openly gay and Asian American man elected to the Atlanta City Council. Photographer Wesley Chenault. Courtesy of the Archives Division, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.

Digital image, "Memory Flash," 2010. In April 2010, Atlanta-based artist collective John Q presented "Memory Flash," a series of installations and performances based on Atlanta's LGBTQ history from the late 1960s, including the 1969 raid on the Ansley Mini Mall Cinema during a screening of Andy Warhol's Lonesome Cowboys. Courtesy of Wesley Chenault.