If you ever wonder about the future of gay Atlanta, look no further — it’s here.
As we launch the next generation of Southern Voice and start our 20th year, we begin a two-part series saluting 20 young people in Atlanta who are the next generation of this city’s leaders.
They represent fields as diverse as politics, activism, nightlife, business and the arts, but they have one thing in common: They are already making their voices heard.
Femme Mafia
Rachael Smith, an event planner by day, is “The Donna” of Atlanta’s own Femme Mafia, www.femmemafia.com, during just about every other waking hour. Founded by Smith in January 2005 with a handful of members, the group dedicated to honoring the queer feminine identity — including their love for glitter heels, makeup, sexy dresses — has grown to more than 100 members locally.
Atlanta’s Femme Mafia spurred the formation of chapters in Chicago, Milwaukee, Mississippi, Los Angeles, New Jersey and even Stockholm, Sweden. “Some of our original members had a lot of stories of feeling ostracized by the queer community,” said Smith, who has lived in Atlanta since 2003. “We would go to My Sisters Room and have cigarettes thrown at us and women asking us if we got lost on our way to Buckhead and where are our boyfriends.” But as the Femme Mafia made a name for itself in Atlanta, through its annual Masquerade Ball and participation in Pride and Black Gay Pride, Smith said she noticed a definite change in attitude.
“We don’t experience that [rejection] from the queer community anymore. I just want us to maintain our community, to continue to build bonds and to stay strong and viable
,” Smith said.
AIDS activist
When most kids his age were enjoying their summer poolside or playing around, 15-year-old Thishin Jackson began collecting knowledge about HIV/AIDS during a youth outreach program called Power in his home state of New Jersey.
“It was supposed to be a summer program, but I got so excited about it that I was allowed to stay on board,” said Jackson, who soon became involved in his local Ryan White planning council.
With the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention housed up the street from Jackson’s job at Emory University, he considers Atlanta to be the genesis of AIDS activism. Jackson attended a community forum with CDC director Julie Gerberding in 2004, shortly after he moved to Atlanta, and expressed blunt concern about what the agency and federal government were doing to address rising HIV rates among black gay and bisexual men.
About a week later, Jackson got a call and a letter from the office of the U.S. Health Secretary asking him to serve on its advisory committee on HIV/AIDS.
“To have youth representation, to have LGBTQ representation and to have racial minority representation said a lot about the advisory committee’s focus on making sure all communities are represented,” Jackson said.
OVAH! Productions
RC Searfoss, one-half of the Atlanta party phenomenon known as OVAH! Productions, was inspired to create parties and events by his past work and play in cities like New York and London.
“I wanted to bring the energy and vibe of those events to Atlanta,” he said.
In doing so, Searfoss has helped to up the ante for Atlanta’s party scene, regularly bringing in well-respected DJs like Chris Cox and Eddie Baez for the pleasure of Atlanta’s dancing queens.
Those queens are the reason Searfoss works so diligently to create a fun atmosphere in Atlanta’s nightlife, as he so loves “being part of such a tight knit and supportive community.”
With an eye on the future, Searfoss wants to expand his party empire to include events and tours in other cities as well, much like the Babylon Tour he and partner Will Wenke had a hand in bringing to Atlanta. He doesn’t, however, plan on soon forgetting the city whose party scene he helped to build, he said.
After graduating from Emory as the youngest member of the Class of 2003, Will Wenke wasted no time in making his mark on Atlanta’s nightlife scene with business partner Searfoss.
“When Backstreet and Blu closed, there was a huge void to fill,” Wenke said, “and upon recognizing that gap, we tried our very best to breathe some fresh air into a somewhat stale scene.”
Though Wenke and Searfoss have done a lot to build up Atlanta’s nightlife scene, Wenke sees their work as far from over.
“The scene has once again begun to subside, and with Jungle introducing a lesbian night on Saturdays, we are now having to go back to our roots and find a space that can accommodate the crowd,” he said.
Wenke’s plans for the future include law school in August, but he’s not done with Atlanta nightlife or his time in the spotlight just yet.
“I would love to own a nightclub in Atlanta,” he said, also noting that he is in negations for a reality TV show that may be on the way in late 2007.
YouthPride, Unity Fellowship Church
It used to be unthinkable that someone would sit through a church service on Sunday and go out and lobby on behalf of gay rights on a Monday. But the religious right is losing its monopoly on using scripture to influence public policy, and Drek Brundage thinks that’s a good thing.
“I think it’s absolutely necessary for the progressive movement to [incorporate faith into activism],” said Brundage, who leads the visual ministry at the gay-welcoming Unity Fellowship Church. “We have the same authority to our spirituality as the religious right has to theirs.”
Brundage recently testified about the need for hate crimes legislation in Georgia during YouthPride’s “LGBTQ Youth Day at the Capitol,” and is scheduled to speak at a March 25 reproductive rights rally as part of her work with Georgians For Choice.
“I think activism is a spiritual way of life,” Brundage said. “I think any time you’re willing to liberate somebody else, even when you might not benefit directly, you’ve moved into a spiritual walk.”
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Drek Brundage, 22
