State of Black Gay America summit
Aug. 30, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Luncheon: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., $20
Summit: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., free
Renaissance Downtown
590 West Peachtree St.
Summit panelists:
• Gwen Thomas, author
• Simone Bell, Lambda Legal representative
• Earl Fowlkes, President, International Federation of Black Pride
• Rev. Kathi Martin, community “Bridge Builder” and staff pastor for Multicultural Outreach for First Metropolitan Community Church in Atlanta
• Tracee McDaniels, transgender activist and founder of the Juxtaposed Center for Transformation
• Rev. Kenneth Samuel, Pastor of Victory Church
• Joseph Merritt, YouthPride member
• Jasper Merritt III, National Black Justice Coalition
• George Kevin Jordon, writer
• Maurice Jamal, writer, producer, director and actor in films including “Dirty Laundry”
• Officer Darlene Harris, LGBT Liaison for the Atlanta Police Department
• Dr. Paula Frew, spokesperson for The Hope Clinic of Emory University
• Anwar Robinson, actor and finalist during season four of “American Idol” in 2005
• Marquise Vilson, transgender activist
• Rev. Troy Sanders, founder of web ministry preach2me.com, who will serve as moderator
• Entertainment provided by Yolo.
With
political
fever
sweeping
the
country,
organizers
of
Atlanta’s
Black
Gay
Pride
are
hoping
to
inject
some
social
consciousness
into
this
weekend’s
line-up
of
parties.
Xtreme
Enetertainment,
the
promotion
group
best
known
for
its
Lion’s
Den
parties,
is
partnering
with
In
The
Life
Atlanta
to
produce
the
second
annual
State
of
Black
Gay
America
Aug.
30.
“It
will
celebrate
our
accomplishments,
but
at
the
same
time
it
deals
with
challenges
and
issues
that
impact
us,”
Gregory
Allen
of
Xtreme
Entertainment
said.
The
daytime
summit
includes
panel
discussions
on
topics
such
as
healthcare,
religion,
economics,
relationships
and
popular
culture.
Actress
and
AIDS
activist
Sheryl
Lee
Ralph
is
set
to
deliver
the
keynote
speech
at
the
summit,
which
also
features
a
discussion
with
lesbian
activist
Mandy
Carter,
who
is
part
of
Democratic
Sen.
Barack
Obama’s
presidential
campaign.
“What
we
really
wanted
to
impress
upon
our
guests
and
visitors
is
with
it
being
a
historical
election
year,
we
really
want
people
to
move
from
dialogue
to
action,”
said
Anaré
Holmes,
board
secretary
for
ITLA,
the
non-profit
that
helps
organize
Black
Gay
Pride.
“Of
course,
people
highlight
the
party
aspect
of
what
goes
on
here
[during
Black
Gay
Pride],
but
there
are
a
lot
of
things
that
are
going
on
dealing
with
empowerment
and
community
upliftment,
and
things
like
that.”
Organizers
are
especially
hoping
to
target
young,
unregistered
voters
to
attend
the
summit,
which
is
free
to
the
public.
A
luncheon
before
the
summit
costs
$20.
“The
entire
summit
will
be
driven
by
politics
for
the
most
part
—
how
do
we
make
the
best
political
decisions
for
the
LGBT
community,”
Allen
said.
“And
they
will
also
get
good,
substantive
information
that
they
can
take
back
to
their
community
to
empower
their
community.
“We
have
to
begin
to
take
our
place
in
society
and
not
be
afraid
to
stand
up
and
be
who
we
are,
and
live
truthful
lives
in
our
community,”
he
continues.
“Part
of
this
weekend
is
making
people
more
comfortable
living
their
life.”
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
