For performer Marshall W. Mabry IV, who has lived in Atlanta most of their life, getting to be in the cast of the new Alliance production of “Fat Ham” is an absolute joy. The play, a Pulitzer Prize winner that played Broadway last year, is about Juicy, a Black Southern college kid who is queer and encounters the ghost of his dead father, who wants him to avenge his murder. Juicy is already dealing with his own issues, such as identity and loss, and now his plate gets much fuller on the day his mother is planning a barbeque. “The play is — to kill or not to,” Mabry said. “What is at stake? Will ..read more

Indigo Girls have never rested on their laurels. Even now, with a new documentary about them out and “Closer to Fine” an integral part of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” Emily Saliers and Amy Ray are taking time to headline the August 28 “Revival” event at the Fox Theatre. It’s a benefit that means much to both women. Hosted by Kevn Kinney of Drivin N Cryin and featuring special guests, “Revival” will raise money to help to restore and preserve historic theaters in Georgia, as well as Fox’s educational programs. They felt honored to be invited, Saliers told Georgia Voice. “Kevn and Drivin N Cryi ..read more

This charging Aries with flaming red hair was born in Poland and grew until she reached 4’9” tall. Her tailor father and seamstress mother, unlike many Orthodox Jews, prioritized education for daughters. Precocious, Rose eventually learned to speak and write in four languages (English, Yiddish, Hebrew, and Russian). The family immigrated to the gritty tenements of the Lower East Side when she was five, joining the eventual two million Jews, Italians, etc. who landed there, largely to enter the garment manufacturing industries. Her father died when she was 10 and the four children went into an ..read more

Editor’s note: Lyons uses he/they pronouns. If you’re anything like me, you tend to take your impulsivity out on your hair. Whether you’re doing it yourself or going to the professionals, nothing feels better than a new hairstyle that looks as good as you thought it would. Hair has the power to completely transform, and it can be vital to affirming one’s gender. For someone seeking gender affirmation, a barber shop or hair salon can be the first stop. At least, it was for one transgender stylist. Lyons Parker-Shockley, a stylist at Cortex Hair Studio in Virginia-Highland, was inspired to go to ..read more

Delivering a keynote address at the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality in Action event Friday, First lady Jill Biden warned former President Donald Trump is “a bully” who is “dangerous to the LGBTQ community.” Her appearance at the three-day volunteer and board gathering at the Sheraton Pentagon City in Arlington, Va., comes as part of the Biden-Harris reelection campaign’s “Out for Biden” program, which aims to “mobilize LGBTQ+ voters, communities, and leaders across the country.” “Today, this community is under attack,” Biden said. “Rights are being stripped away. freedoms are eroding. More an ..read more

Atlanta has been announced to be the host city for Global Black Pride 2024, the world’s first and only Pride event dedicated to Black LGBTQ communities worldwide. This is the second ever in-person Global Black Pride and the first held in the United States, making Atlanta the first American city to host. The event will be held from August 26 to September 2. “Atlanta proudly stands as the LGBTQ capital of the South and a champion for human rights, not only in our region but on a global scale,” Malik Brown, the City’s Director of LGBTQ Affairs, said in a statement. “We are honored to welcome the ..read more

The Food and Drug Administration is planning to lift its ban on sperm donations from men who have sex with men, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The report also says the FDA would simultaneously lift the ban on donations of other tissues and organs from gay and bisexual men. The Wall Street Journal report suggests that the FDA could put out a draft of the new policy for public comment by the summer, with a final rule in place by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the FDA would not confirm the Wall Street Journal story, bu ..read more

Accounting for seven percent of the general youth population, young LGBTQ people are overrepresented in Atlanta’s homeless population. Covenant House Georgia reports that a staggering 40 percent of homeless youth in Atlanta identified as LGBTQ. Black/African American people are also disproportionately experiencing homelessness, making up 48 percent of Atlanta’s resident population and 83 percent of its unhoused population. The Trevor Project found that nearly 4,600 young LGBTQ people experienced homelessness or housing instability after being kicked out of their homes. Transgender and nonbinar ..read more

According to my grandmother, it’s time — time for spring terms like trowel, transplanter, cultivator, and tiller. For condo dwellers, there are containers, and for owners of large homes, it’s portions of their backyards. My grandmother advised us never to plant seeds until after Easter, when the chance of frost has vanished, so here we are in the season of the green thumb. If you really do get an A for effort, then I am at the top of my class when it comes to gardening. The truth is, I can kill a cactus. In fact, I already have. Friends have gifted me plants in the past, from spider plants to ..read more

Two new films by out directors are on tap now, both well worth the audience’s time. In the new, “Problemista,” Julio Torres (who also writes and directs the feature) stars as Alejandro, who is from El Salvador, but now lives in New York. He wants to make toys for a living, but is having a problem sustaining a work visa — and the only solution he can come up with is working with Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), an art critic on a mission. In a recent interview, Torres said “Problemista” is very much based on his life. “I went through similar experiences going from a student visa to a work visa and it ..read more