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Atlanta Shows Pride In The Life

Black Gay Pride is back, bringing thousands of African-American queers to the ATL starting tonight. Produced by In the Life Atlanta (ITLA), Black Pride festivities will include a film festival, a Healthy Living Conference, a marketplace, a fashion show, a pride march, and of course plenty of parties, picnics and people-watching opportunities.

Atlanta Black Pride is billed as the world’s largest Pride event for people of African descent. Event organizers point out, however, that Black Pride is open to anyone who wants to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQ community.

A Celebration of Life candlelight vigil will light up the First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta to start things off, beginning at 7:00 p.m. A complete schedule is available on the ITLA Website.

In contrast to the multicultural, multiracial Pride Celebration in June, Black Gay Pride is as much a conference as a party, with workshops and forums addressing social, religious, cultural and health issues of interest to the queer community. Black Pride central is moving out of midtown this year to the Sheraton Atlanta Downtown on Courtland Street, due to construction at the previous location at the Sheraton in Colony Square.

Black Pride continues through Labor Day at multiple venues around the city. ITLA’s mission is to promote unity, pride, self-empowerment and positive visibility within Atlanta’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community of African descent through education, advocacy and coalition-building activities.