Charles Stephens, Author at Georgia Voice - Gay & LGBT Atlanta News

Charles Stephens: Queer activism for introverts: A user’s guide

For some reason, people are surprised when I come out as an introvert. I suppose my work doesn’t lend itself to being an introvert, and yet here I am. Charisma does not come naturally for me. It’s something ...

Charles Stephens: A look at black gay men living in Atlanta

Every year young black gay men, and some not so young, make their way to Atlanta for adventure, for romance or to follow their dreams. Many of them come here for school: Morehouse or Clark Atlanta or even Emory...

Charles Stephens: On the Deeper Love Project

This is how I often begin the story: The Deeper Love Project was founded in 1997 at AID Atlanta by Craig Washington. He needed a name for the program, which would reach African-American gay men across Atlanta. ...

Charles Stephens: On Essex Hemphill and my black gay identity

When I was about 19 or 20 and starting coming out publicly, or rather politically, I began to doubt the path I had taken. I had been doing interviews in the local press. Going to conferences. Sitting on panels....

Charles Stephens: My two ‘gay mothers’

We say “coming out” even still—well, some of us do—to describe the naming of one’s sexual identity, publicly, outside of heterosexuality. In this sense, “coming out” is a step, a process, a series of ...

Charles Stephens: Black gay men and mental health justice

Being a black gay man in this culture can feel like being constantly at war: at war with yourself, at war with other black gay men, at war with the dominant culture. Walking out the door can feel like walking o...

Charles Stephens: Black gay boys and dreams of a future

Black gay boys are forbidden to dream and forbidden to desire. Our dreams and desires, the source of our magic, are beaten out of us or stolen away. I am reminded of this as I think about my own black gay boyho...

Charles Stephens: How AIDS service organizations fail black gay men

As we continue to grapple with the impact of HIV among black gay men, we must will the courage to ask the kinds of questions that will reverse the path we have been bound to. One such question is, in what ways ...

Charles Stephens: Building bridges between black fathers and their gay sons

My father would never have attended a PFLAG meeting. Not in a million years. He was not an ally in the way we think about heterosexual allies. He was at best ambivalent. He did not understand my being gay, nece...

Charles Stephens: Black gay men must face the crystal meth enemy in their midst

If you were paying attention, a few years back, about 2006 and 2007, you could already see a rising problem for black gay men on the horizon. No one talks about it, but it’s true. Even then the conversations, s...

Guest editorial: Lessons learned from Black Pride

Everyone’s first Black Pride is their favorite, and mine is no exception. For black gay men who came out in Atlanta around a certain era, late 1990s to early 2000s I suppose, our Black Pride memories are shaped...

A time of reckoning: Atlanta's LGBTQ community addresses racism problem

U.S. Airlines to Offer Non-Binary Gender Option on Tickets

Bernie Sanders Announces Bid for 2020 Presidency

Report: Trump Admin to Launch Global Effort to Decriminalize Homosexuality

Is gay Atlanta rapper Anye Elite about to break out?

Karl Lagerfeld Dies at 85

Actor Don Cheadle Sports Pro-Trans T-shirt on Saturday Night Live

Ghost Story-Themed Play Makes Magic