Atlanta Pride AIDS Vigil: HIV @ 30
St. Mark United Methodist Church
October 5, 2011
“I check the mirror for spots, telltale signs, irregularities.” And so begins “It Begins”, a poem from The Adodi Muse, a gay Negro ensemble. Nine words that capture the fear, the turning point, the holy shit moment after which life would never be the same.
It is a peculiar anniversary that marks a generation, a span from birth to full grown, three full decades, since the dawn of the greatest public health issue of our time.
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Let the Music Play:
Remembering The Paradise Garage
“Disco, that’s where the happy people go.” - from The Tramps That’s Where the Happy People Go (1976)
The Paradise Garage was one of the most influential discotheques of its era as it had an immeasurable impact on dance music, the offspring clubs it inspired, the renowned djs it schooled, the throngs who spent thousands of hours on its floor, and subsequent generations who have only heard about it and strive to resurrect its spirit.
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Up in Our House – The Atlanta Eagle Raid
September 19, 2009
Once upon a time 40 years and 3 months ago in a hamlet known as New York City raids were not uncommon. Cops would shut down Fire Island and other watering holes quite routinely. This wasn’t the first time the police hit this unassuming dive known as the Stonewall. They had no idea what they were in for. But they found out, didn’t they? read more>>
Picture It
presented for the
CDC National HIV Prevention Conference 2009 Opening Plenary
Sunday August 23, 2009
Picture it! 1981 in the Black and Latino Brooklyn village known as Fort Greene. It was a year of many firsts as I was very young and possessed of a boldness I mistook for courage. I lived with two roommates in my first apartment, a brownstone flat on Cumberland St. I was crazy in love with my first boyfriend and quite pleased to have escaped the looming shadow of my father's raised brow. It was during those days when I warned our friend Ricky about traipsing over to Man's Country, one of the hottest bathhouses in midtown. read more>>