The Atlanta City Hall atrium was illuminated with the all the colors of the rainbow last week as the city celebrated Global Black Pride — marking the first time the international event has been hosted in the U.S.
The swanky event at City Hall raised money for the mayor’s Youth Scholarship Fund while highlighting Atlanta’s role as a safe city for both residents and LGBTQ individuals around the world.
First-term Mayor Andre Dickens called Atlanta the “global Black LGBTQ headquarters of the world.”
“This is where pride happens, this is the home of the Civil Rights Movement, this is also where human rights exist,” he said on the red carpet at the event. “Atlanta influences everything and Atlanta includes everyone.”
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
But the liberal-leaning capitol of Georgia is often at odds with the GOP-controlled state legislature that has in past years tamped down on LGBTQ rights. In 2022, the Georgia General Assembly passed a law that allowed the Georgia High School Association to regulate transgender women’s participation in sports.
Our friends at The Associated Press also recently reported that a Georgia Senate committee is looking to push the law even further toward an outright ban of transgender women competing in women’s sports.
Dickens told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that city leaders want the community to be supported in Atlanta, despite anti-LGBTQ policies passed by the state.
“We want them to feel that in City Hall and across the city, no matter how any other group feels about them — any other agency or government — we set the standard in Atlanta to show our pride,” he said.
Last year, Atlanta City Council authorized the city’s largest donation to organizations that provide for the transgender community, much of it aiding LGBTQ youth who face a heightened risk of mental health challenges.
“Atlanta is such a special place for so many people, and so being able to welcome Black, LGBTQ people from all across the world is really incredible,” said Malik Brown, director of the mayor’s division of LGBTQ affairs.
“There’s no better place to do it in Atlanta,” he told the AJC. “We have the culture, we have the hospitality, we have the innovation, and we have the paperwork to back it up. You know, we have policies that really move the needle for our community.”
Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
At the Global Black Pride reception at City Hall, the mayor announced a new partnership with Rainbow Railroad, a nonprofit organization that helps LGBTQ people escape violence and persecution within their home countries.
“If you think about like a Chechnya or Uganda, where you could literally die for being LGBTQ,” Brown said. “We are partnering with them to make Atlanta one of their four key cities to welcome LGBTQ refugees from all across the world.”
Over the weekend at Piedmont Park, thousands gathered for the 12th annual Pure Heat Community Festival ― one of the more popular events of Atlanta Black Pride. Award-winning actor and singer Billy Porter headlined the weekend of festivities.
“I feel at home,” Porter said on CNN.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
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