Southern Stonewall

Atlanta is located 331 miles east of Oxford, MS. Queer Mississippians know the social life Atlanta offers, but Atlanta's relationship with Mississippi and the South is much more complex. Atlanta has the unique role of serving as the Stonewall of the South. In August 1969, the Atlanta Police Department raided the Ansley Mall Mini Cinema while screening Andy Warhol's Lonesome Cowboys, which featured gay sex scenes. Atlanta police used the raid to photograph attendees and identify individuals with prior sex offenses. The raid occurred weeks after the Stonewall riots and jumpstarted Atlanta's gay rights movement.

Atlanta's queer community and bar scene have attracted people from across the South for decades. For example, Mississippi native P.J. Newton relocated to Atlanta in the 1980s to become active in Atlanta's drag scene at Backstreet, The Armory, and Sweet Gum Head nightclub. The Sweet Gum Head has produced many figures famous in queer culture, most notably drag performers RuPaul and Lady Bunny. Newton eventually returned to northern Mississippi to manage Rumors Bar in Shannon and continue promoting drag as an art form. Based in the Tupelo area, Newton has remained connected to a national drag network known for hosting drag pageants on a national level.

Activism in Atlanta

In June 1971, the Georgia Gay Liberation Front organized the first gay pride march in Atlanta's Midtown. Organizers called for the end of sodomy laws, workplace discrimination, and housing discrimination. The following year the Atlanta Feminist Alliance mobilized to serve the members of the LGBTQ+ community. The mobilization of these early organizations would give rise to organizations such as AID Atlanta, The Metropolitan Community Church, and the Charis Feminist Bookstore, which serve the queer community today.

AID Atlanta serves as a model for community health projects in the South. Because of the standard set by programs like AID Atlanta, even the University of Mississippi Student Health Center now offers LGBTQ+ health services. The Student Health Center has also outlined the steps to create a more inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ students. For example, the Student Health Center has partnered with the Open Arms Health Care Center in Jackson, Mississippi, to provide counseling services, reproductive sexual health services, and hormone therapy to the University of Mississippi students.

Today Atlantans enjoy a seat in local political discussions after former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms created the Division of LGBTQ Affairs. The division's goals include HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, trans rights, and employment. In addition, Atlanta serves as a beacon of hope for the queer community in the South as state houses pass anti-LGBTQ legislation and queer spaces disappear in Mississippi and across the South.