Why is Pride Month in Atlanta held during October? (And other significant queer events over the last 40 years)

Atlanta Pride has always been a political rally for hard-earned queer rights, but it’s a celebration of being in the South as well. We’re the 6th most LGBT-friendly city in the United States, and a 2021 report by the UCLA Williams Insitute identified 194,000 LGBT+ people in the Atlanta-Metro area. But why do we celebrate Pride in October instead of June? The answer is so classically southern — the climate was too hot.

Piedmont Park, where the biggest events happened, suffered from a drought in 2008 due to low rainfalls. The festivities were then moved to October for its mild weather and coinciding with National Coming Out Day. There’s more to this month than meets the eye.

1970-1979

• Rathskeller Bar hosts the first Miss Gay Atlanta drag pageant.
• Four buses of gays and lesbians march together for the first Gay & Lesbian march in Washington DC — a landmark event for queer visibility. 
• Black gay author James Baldwin uses Atlanta as the backdrop for his prolific novels.

1980-1989

• AIDS reaches the United States. While Ronald Reagan doesn’t acknowledge the pandemic for another two years, the Georgia CDC and Department of Human Resources keep track of the rising cases. During this time, the Atlanta Business and Professional Guild helps the queer community with legal and financial services.
• Piedmont Park hosts a candlelight vigil for the AIDS deceased while businesses and social groups support the living.
• State and national governments oppose discriminatory rhetoric by striking down bills that would prevent queer business advertisements or teachers from mentioning LGBT+ topics in the classroom.
• The ACLU, Human Rights Campaign and local universities, such as Georgia State and Morehouse, combat AIDS misinformation.
• Nurse Cathrine Woodruff’s quilts decorate the Atlanta Gay Center to memorialize her AIDS patients. The legacy of quilt making continues in Washington, DC to be seen by over 600,000 attendees at the Lesbian and Gay Rights march.
• National Coming Out Day begins.
• Congress rejects a Gay Rights Bill over fifteen times.

1990-1999

• More scientific literature proves that AIDS transmits beyond gay male communities, and the Atlanta Lesbian AIDS program extends support to female communities.
• Cobb County proposes homophobic legislation. As a result, the United States Paralympics team withdraws their events in solidarity with the LGBT+ community.
• Southeastern Arts, Media & Education hosts an annual LGBT film festival.
• Atlantans raise 1.5 million for AIDSWalk charities.

2000-Present

• Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola offer benefits to employees in domestic partnerships before Georgia approves state funding to these couples.
• Atlanta Pride adds a Transgender March.
• Creator of the transgender flag, US navy veteran Monica Helms founds the Transgender American Veterans Association. She moves to Marietta with her wife and donates her original flag design to the Smithsonian Museum.
• Gay and lesbian bars open and become an important part of the local economy and nightlife.
• Emory, Planned Parenthood and Druid Hills Primary Care offer transgender healthcare.
• Businesses adhere to equal opportunity policies regarding sexuality and gender.
• Same-sex marriage becomes legal.

A Recap of Pride 2022

Atlanta Pride pulls off the parade with success in 2022, beginning at City Hall and ending in the Piedmont Park area where several queer vendors await. Local organizations to large corporations show their support, and democratic candidates Stacy Abrams, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff attend the parade. Over 4.5% of Georgia voters are LGBT, and around 27% of them have children. Those percentages matter in battleground states. And thanks to COVID-protection efforts, thousands can celebrate in style.

Families crowd roadway barriers to watch the floats and performers fly rainbow flags. A child dressed in glitter embraces her inner sparkle while her moms talk behind. Dogs wag their tails in delight as they receive enough love to last a lifetime — their owners are just as happy to oblige. Middle-aged, sunglass-clad gay men crack jokes under a poster that says “FREE MASSAGES CALL BELOW” that someone pasted on the telephone pole. It’s more amusing than the impact-font signs the homophobic protesters wave around. Even misanthropes can’t miss a Pride event.

There’s always so much to learn, mourn and celebrate in October, but no matter what, love wins. It always wins.

Atlanta Pride Photography by Jackson Williams.