Gay clubs in downtown atlanta

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ATLANTA'S ONLY GAY SPORTS BAR

Support responsible reporting crafted by your neighbors. Or support us with a one-time gift. Georgia Voice tells the stories others miss. Or support us with a recurring monthly contribution. Or support us with a monthly contribution. Soon after my arrival in Atlanta in JulyI came upon a surging Black gay nightlife, which helped convince me that relocating from New York City was worth the risk.

There were plentiful watering holes that made for a lush social landscape. These were spaces intentionally carved out for people who were Black and queer like me. They provided communal joy, pleasure, and relative safety. It should never be forgotten that these venues were indispensable for Black queer community formation in Atlanta and chocolate cities across the land.

Boone left a declining Detroit in the winter of for Atlanta at the suggestion of his cousin David Hampton, who was attending Morehouse College. InHampton became the manager of the Phoenix aka The Warehouse, renamed after the legendary Chicago club. It was a cavernous palace with two floors, loft-like ceilings and an atrium.

While large clubs could be easily found in Washington D. TRAXX was not only bigger than its rivals. As gay men and lesbians tended to party separately, bringing them together on the same night was a significant feat. I met Jocelyn Lyles years ago, but this was our first full one-on-one conversation.

She shared with me the significance of social space exclusively set for Black lesbians. Following her graduation from Howard University inAtlanta moved to Atlanta, where she came out and met her first girlfriend. She lived in the Virginia-Highlands area, where she found her place within a nurturing lesbian community.

Once Lyles began organizing in Atlanta, she encountered white gay men organizers who were resistant to working with Black lesbians. Their crowd grew exponentially in little time. Given that it was an era when Atlanta offered few options expressly for Black lesbians, Texas was a much-needed oasis.

We gave them the space where they could really enjoy themselves. Within the first three years, the event tripled in attendance, and they had to downtown several different spaces to accommodate women coming from all across the country. The Red Top retreat provided a platform for emerging writers such as Fiona Zedde and clubs promoting their businesses.

Boone has left the club promotions field and now works for Ventura, a distributing gay for restaurant products.