|
by Dyana Bagby
|
|
February 03, 2012 00:00 |
|
The closing of Outwrite Bookstore & More should serve as a clarion call to LGBT shoppers who like the idea of having their own spaces, but still don’t shop locally because it isn’t as easy as buying online.
That’s the hope of Sara Luce Look, lesbian co-owner of feminist bookstore Charis Books & More, which opened in Atlanta in 1974, some 19 years before Outwrite’s debut.
“We want people to shop here because they value independent thought and voices,” Look said. “We are all really sad about Outwrite and feel it as a huge loss for our community. It really hits home for us.”
Outwrite closed and declared bankruptcy on Jan. 26 after years of financial struggle. Founded in 1993, the store moved to the corner of 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue in 1995 and become known as an unofficial LGBT community center, hosting frequent author readings.
“In the past nine months, as we first started talking about our financial problems, we have heard from so many people who talked about how important the store has been to them. That was the reason why they come to Atlanta, or moved to Atlanta,” said Outwrite owner Philip Rafshoon.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
by Dyana Bagby
|
|
February 03, 2012 00:00 |
|
Gathered around a table at Avondale Pizza, several young people waiting for their food to arrive joked about school, the different haircuts they want and teased some friends who accidentally went to Savage Pizza down the street.
All utilize the services provided by YouthPride and say they are grateful for the agency and do not want it to disappear.
They understand the nonprofit is facing a financial crisis, can’t pay its rent and is dealing with administrative difficulties. Two community volunteer ad-hoc committees have formed to study YouthPride’s financial and programming viability and are scheduled to make a public report to the community on Feb. 8.
“It’s sad but at same time the people would find ways to continue on [if YouthPride] closed,” said Sean Hussey, 24, who identifies as transfeminine and is a computer science major at Georgia Tech.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
by Dyana Bagby
|
|
February 03, 2012 00:00 |
|
James Sheffield steps down as Atlanta Pride’s executive director Feb. 4 to become the Health Initiative’s new director of organizational development. His goal in the new position is to help expand the agency that is transitioning from being known as the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative.
Atlanta Pride organizers said they won’t rush into hiring a new executive director and will conduct a national search for the person best to lead the largest Pride festival in the Southeast.
Sheffield began volunteering as an intern for Atlanta Pride in 1999 at age 19. In 2001, he started earning an hourly wage with Atlanta Pride. He took the helm of the event after then-Executive Director Donna Narducci resigned in 2008 and was officially named executive director after the 2009 festival.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
by Chris Johnson
|
|
February 03, 2012 00:00 |
|
 Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan announced Jan. 28 a new regulation to protect LGBT people against discrimination in federal housing programs.
“I am proud to announce a new Equal Access to Housing Rule that says clearly and unequivocally that LGBT individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose,” Donovan said. “This is an idea whose time has come.”
The secretary made the announcement during his speech at the 24th annual Creating Change conference at the Hilton Baltimore. He’s the first Cabinet secretary to speak at Creating Change, the annual LGBT gathering hosted by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.
The measure is expected to go into effect starting in March, according to HUD officials.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
by Laura Douglas-Brown and Ryan Watkins
|
|
February 01, 2012 14:16 |
|
The case of a 40-year old man who was denied employment with the Atlanta Police Department over his positive HIV status will return to a U.S. District Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit sent the case back to the lower court to resolve unaddressed issues.
The man, identified as by the pseudonym “Richard Roe,” first applied to the APD in early 2006, but was denied employment due to his HIV status. Roe claims the department called him a “direct threat” to the safety of others.
Roe was represented by attorneys with Lambda Legal, a nonprofit group that works on LGBT and HIV issues. Lambda argued the case before the appeals panel on Jan. 25 in Atlanta.
"This is a great victory for Lambda Legal's client who will now get his chance in court to show how the APD's refusal to hire him was discriminatory and illegal," Scott Schoettes, Lambda Legal's HIV project director, said in a press release this afternoon.
"Before the appellate court, the City of Atlanta admitted that there are already HIV-positive police officers serving on the force; now they need to explain why our client should be treated any differently," Schoettes said.
In an unpublished opinion released today, the three-judge appeals court panel found that the district court erred in siding with the city that Roe had not established he is qualified to be a police officer. “Unpublished” means the opinion is not binding precedent, according to the appeals court web site.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
