Bre, D. Woods & Danity Kane, and Bobby Blake are just a few of the celebrities flocking to Atlanta for Black Gay Pride. (Bre photo by AP, Woods photo courtesy danitykane.com, Blake photo courtesy Running Press)
Stars shine at Black Gay Pride From R&B sensation Danity Kane to porn stud Bobby Blake, annual celebration has something for everyone
Black
Gay
Pride
comes
to
the
city
in
full
force
this
weekend
with
dozens
of
celebrities
to
wow
the
estimated
75,000
people
expected
to
pack
the
clubs
for
the
annual
fest,
considered
the
largest
event
of
its
kind
in
the
world.
And
after
you’ve
spent
the
day
with
community
and
cultural
events
like
summits
and
workshops
(see
related
stories,
pages
28
&
32),
what
better
way
to
heat
up
Labor
Day
weekend
than
with
R&B
sensation
Danity
Kane,
slated
to
perform
for
the
women
as
well
as
the
men?
Wanita
Woodgette,
better
known
as
D.
Wood,
is
one-fifth
of
the
hot
all-girl
group
sensation
Danity
Kane.
Wood,
who
grew
up
in
Atlanta,
attended
Tri-Cities
High
School
and
performed
at
7
Stages
in
Little
Five
Points
while
also
dancing
with
the
Alvin
Ailey
American
Dance
Theater.
She
still
lives
in
the
city,
and
plans
on
playing
tour
guide
to
her
band
mates
—
Aubrey
O'Day,
Shannon
Bex,
Dawn
Richard
and
Aundrea
Fimbres
—
by
taking
them
to
her
favorite
spots
in
Atlanta
before
the
parties
begin,
including
Little
Five
Points,
the
Castleberry
area
and,
yes,
Lenox
Mall.
“I
know
Lenox
Mall
will
be
off
the
chain
this
weekend,”
Wood
tells
SoVo.
“We’ll
probably
get
mobbed,
but
it
will
be
worth
it.”
The
R&B
group
is
currently
up
for
two
MTV
Video
Music
Awards
and
is
appearing
on
the
current
season
of
MTV’s
“Making
the
Band”
reality
series
created
by
Sean
Combs.
The
band
formed
in
2005
during
the
third
season
of
“Making
the
Band”
and
released
its
self-titled
debut
album
in
2006.
It
included
two
hit
singles,
“Show
Stopper”
and
“Ride
for
You.”
Their
second
album,
“Welcome
to
the
Dollhouse,”
came
out
in
March
2008
with
the
top
10
single
“Damaged.”
Wood,
who
lives
in
the
Austell
area,
attended
her
first
Black
Gay
Pride
last
year
and
had
so
much
fun
she
wanted
to
come
back.
“I
performed
last
year
at
Fever
and
we
did
a
cat
walk
at
Traxx.
But
[actress]
Eva
Pigford
showed
us
up!”
she
says,
laughing.
Pride
parties
bring
out
Danity
Kane’s
most
devoted
fans,
Wood
adds,
giving
special
props
to
the
men
who
go
all
out
with
their
impersonations
of
the
female
band
members.
And
while
she
has
gay
and
lesbian
friends,
Wood
says
she
is
probably
more
“boy
crazy”
now
than
when
she
was
a
kid.
However,
she’s
married
to
her
career,
she
says.
And,
she
adds,
she’s
depending
on
gay
Atlanta
to
show
Danity
Kane
how
this
city
parties.
The
group
performs
Aug.
30
at
Traxx
Atlanta
for
the
men
and
also
the
same
night
at
the
Georgia
Freight
Depot
for
the
women.
“As
an
entertainer,
you
are
being
entertained
by
the
crowd.
Gay
Pride
brings
out
our
most
die-hard
fans,”
she
says.
“The
more
and
more
we
go
out,
we
just
found
out
[gays]
are
the
livest
crowd.
So
don’t
hold
back,
Atlanta!”
THE
LARGEST
CROWD
ON
Sunday
night
will
likely
gather
at
Club
Europe
in
Doraville,
where
R&B
singers
Truth
Hurts
and
Anwar
Robinson
headline
a
party
that
attracts
around
5,000
people.
Robinson,
who
was
a
finalist
during
season
four
of
“American
Idol”
in
2005,
is
also
scheduled
to
speak
at
the
second
annual
State
of
Black
Gay
America
summit
Aug.
30.
Robinson's
sexual
orientation
first
became
the
subject
of
chatter
when
fans
discovered
an
online
profile
of
Robinson
that
indicated
he
was
gay.
Robinson
was
openly
gay
since
high
school,
friends
said,
although
some
critics
believe
that
the
reality
TV
show
“re-closeted”
Robinson
by
encouraging
him
to
downplay
being
gay.
Robinson
recently
played
the
role
of
the
gay,
HIV-positive
character
Tom
Collins
in
a
touring
version
of
“RENT,”
but
has
remained
publicly
coy
about
his
sexual
orientation.
Robinson
could
not
be
reached
for
comment
by
press
time
and
does
not
appear
to
have
spoken
to
other
press
outlets
about
being
gay,
making
the
State
of
Black
Gay
America
summit
one
of
his
first
public
appearances
as
a
gay
singer.
Also
making
an
appearance
this
year
is
Bre
Scullark,
23,
of
New
York,
who
made
it
to
the
final
three
in
Season
5
of
“America’s
Next
Top
Model”
before
being
eliminated
in
the
season
finale.
And
while
she
may
have
some
regrets
about
some
of
her
antics
during
the
2005
season
(remember
charges
of
stolen
granola
bars?),
the
model
and
actress
says
she
learned
a
lot
from
the
experience.
“It
helped
me
a
lot.
I’m
not
going
to
blame
it
on
editing.
I
was
pretty
crazy
on
the
show,
but
I
had
to
own
up
to
it,”
she
tells
Southern
Voice.
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