Last April, Georgia Voice and the John Q Collective collaborated on “Memory Flash,” an interactive, multimedia art walk through several of Atlanta's gay history landmarks.

I photographed the event and several hundred shots later, my work was finished. I was satisfied with my contribution, but nothing could have brought it all together quite like experiencing the living catalogue the event produced, which is now on display at Atlanta's Museum of Contemporary Art.

You'll have to read more about it here and here, but the scope of the project reminded me of the power of history in our movement.

Participating in the actual event taught me so much about Atlanta's rich gay history. I didn't know anything about the Jolly 12 or the Joy Lounge, much less the genesis of our lesbian communities playing out on the softball diamond or the police raids during the screening of “Lonesome Cowboy.”

I'm positive that many of my friends still don't.

Walking in the footsteps of our gay fathers and mothers allowed me to create my own bit of history, and John Q's living catalog asked me to relive my own experience in the context of the history itself.

Hearing the audio from the softball field, reviewing the footage from the Joy Lounge and counting those 24 empty boots gave me sudden pause: this isn't their history or my history. It's our history, still living and breathing as we create more.

Our collective “gay community,” is absolutely as diverse as the “straight community.” While we spend a lot of time letting tangents of inequality unite us, it is really our history as one people that truly defines us.

We should be inspired by the work of John Q Collective, as we search our past for inspiration and create new memories and milestones of our own.

Here and here are our videos from the Memory Flash event. You can find our photo gallery here.

I thank John Q: Wesley Chenault, Andy Ditzler and Joey Orr for their invitation to be a part of this project.

Top photo: Shadows cast by anonymous walkers during a Memory Flash exhibit (by Bo Shell)