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Guest Editorial: Long transformation of the black church

The Georgia Voice Editors
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Humility does not come easy to those who believe they are imitating Christ, especially a megachurch pastor whose promotion of his righteousness has netted millions in profits.

Last Sunday, New Birth Bishop Eddie Long vainly tried to be humble during his first public comments on the sex scandal years in the making, replacing the fiery oration that has made him one of the most powerful men in Atlanta with a labored meekness designed to perfect his role as David versus Goliath in his fight against the four teenage boys who have accused him of seducing them.

Editorial: Why we have ‘two Prides’

The Georgia Voice Editors
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The conversation comes up every year, but this time it seems even more distasteful.

As Labor Day nears, it never fails that some Atlantans start questioning the need for one of the city’s largest events over the holiday: Black Gay Pride.

“Why do they want to be segregated?” these white gay people ask. “Why do we have two Prides?”

Guest Editorial: Empowering black LGBT people

The Georgia Voice Editors
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Barbecues, backyard parties and soul-food jams. Summer is a time for family get-togethers. A time when people all over the world take vacations so they can make memories with close friends and loved ones, but in African-American communities only some of us feel comfortable going home.

In our communities, only some of us feel safe enough to be who we are in the company of those who raised us. Only some of us can show up and be all of ourselves all of the time with the people we love most. The pain of moving through our families – closeted, and, in many instances, alienated – is devastating black families everywhere.

‘Summer of Marriage’ tour a bust and a sham

The Georgia Voice Editors
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The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) bus tour comes to Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 7. Let me fill you in on this media-hungry anti-gay marriage group.

Its leadership is Catholic but numerous allegations abound that it is an arm of the Church of Latter Day Saints, which contributed massive amounts of money to the passage of Proposition 8 — the ballot measure that amended California’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Articles in Mother Jones and the Wall Street Journal, among others, have documented this relationship. Founded in 2007, specifically to put Prop. 8 on the ballot in California, NOM has since backed similar measures in Maine, Washington and Iowa. Now the group has taken its show on the road with the “Summer for Marriage Tour.”

Editorial: Roy Barnes for governor

The Georgia Voice Editors
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In the days leading up to the July 20 primary, you couldn’t turn on the television without being inundated with ads from Republicans running for governor who wanted to tell you how anti-gay they are.

This year’s election season has been particularly bad, largely due to the particular Republicans on the ballot.

Karen Handel supported domestic partner benefits and was a member of the pro-gay Log Cabin Republicans during her campaigns for Fulton County Commission. But she denied those stands when she ran successfully for Secretary of State in 2006, and continues to deny her past support in her current bid for governor.

Pride’s history is our future

The Georgia Voice Editors
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Some 41 years ago this weekend, a ragtag group of gay street youth, drag queens, dykes and transgender people fought back against a police raid at New York City’s Stonewall Inn.

The 1969 uprising is widely viewed as launching the modern gay rights movement, igniting a more radical approach than the fledgling “homophile” movement that was already quietly underway.

By the next June, cities began hosting rallies and celebrations to mark the anniversary of Stonewall, creating the Gay Pride events that continue to this day.

It will take more than a breakfast to restore trust in APD’s LGBT liaison

The Georgia Voice Editors
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The image on this week’s cover — a cop offering up rainbow doughnuts — both symbolizes and satirizes the Atlanta Police Department’s efforts to get back in the good graces of the city’s LGBT communities.

Like most police departments, the APD has faced tensions with LGBT residents through the years. The appointment of a full-time LGBT liaison within the department in 2004 was intended to create a direct link between the two sides.

‘People don’t read anymore, do they?’

The Georgia Voice Editors
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When I heard about Southern Voice closing, like many people, I was devastated. I felt as if someone close to me had died; like a friend I loved but with whom I had lost touch. Even though I did not know much about what my friend had been doing or feeling in the past decade my feelings still ran deep and strong.

Like any loss it brought a period of grief and a flood of memories. People and events that had not crossed my mind in a very long time were suddenly at the forefront. I remembered good people, not bad ones; victories, not losses. It surprised me that those memories did not carry a hint of bitterness or regret.