ATLANTA’S FINEST
Atlanta is on the rise, as the “The City Too Busy Too Hate” continues to emerge as the best place for Black folks to thrive. Since the Olympics were held there in 1996, the city has grown immensely. Whether in the fields of business, film & television, sports, or the arts, the A.T.L. is the place to be. We wanted to spotlight some of the city’s finest members of the Black LGBT community who are making their mark on this great city.
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PARK CANNON
Georgia State House of Representative (58th District)
All of America watched as Representative Cannon refused to be shut out of Governor Brian Kemp’s quarters as he signed a bill to suppress the votes of Black Georgia residents. Although slight in stature, this mighty stand for justice sparked a national backlash against such laws throughout the country.
Elected in 2016, Canon serves as one of the youngest members of the Georgia State House at 30 years of age. The Georgia native (Albany) spent her formative years in Brooklyn, NY, and is a proud alum of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Hispanic Linguistics.
Besides politics, Canon has a true passion for dance as she shared in an interview with CNN. “When I’m not working, I’m dancing. I love modern dance and use it as a healing practice.”
@PARKCANNON58.C0M
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DAVID ROBINSON
The David Brand
The 15 year veteran communications specialist brings his unique skills in marketing, branding, sales, and public relations both in entertainment and corporate environments to bare through his firm, The David Brand.
Within his agency David has had the privilege of working with many celebrity influencers such as the legendary gospel group The Clark Sisters, actor Malik Yoba, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Trina Braxton and Evelyn Braxton of Braxton Family Values, Terri J. Vaughn of The Steve Harvey Show, TC Carson of Living Single, Fred Jerkins of Dark Child Entertainment, Drea Kelly of VH1’s Hollywood Exes, gospel singer Micah Stampley and managing Grammy-nominated and 7x Stellar Award winning gospel artist Byron Cage, and more.
@THEDAVIDBRAND.COM
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KIA BARNES
Comedian
Kia Barnes, also known as Kia Comedy, is an Atlanta-based comedian, host, and event producer. She’s worked with LOL Network, Netflix, ATT’s “Codes of Culture,” campaign, SVTV Network, and she’s also headlined her signature Lez Laugh Comedy tour and shows with some of the country’s most prominent LGBTQ comedians.
Kia produces and hosts LGBTQ parties, events, and fashion shows across the country, including the Andro Fashion Show. She’s also headlined Clexacon, Atlanta and Philly Dyke March, Sisterspace Women’s Festival, Womxn of Color Weekend, Nashville Gay Pride, Plezzure Island Weekend, Washington, D.C.’s Masculine of Center Conference, and Sweet Heat Miami’s.
With a social media following of over 79k, Kia uses her platform to encourage acceptance, diversity, and unity. She does so by sharing her experiences growing up in church, as an educator, as number 11 of 12 siblings, and as a married lesbian in an interracial relationship in the South.
Kia recently completed a Fulbright Research Fellowship to study abroad in Belize, and her research is published and implemented in American curricula and potentially in classrooms throughout the country. Kia’s work can also be found in The Advocate, Curve Magazine, GA Voice, and more. She has produced events with Georgia Equality, the Human Right’s Campaign, and Gayborhood, and she is an advocate and activist in the LGBTQ community. Simply put, Kia Comedy is not just jokes.
@KIABARNES.COM
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VICTOR JACKSON
As a Black gay man, Victor has committed his life to using art as a tool to shift the perception of people who look like and love like him. A choreographer, vocalist and actor, Victor was born and raised on the Southside of Atlanta, GA with educational and artistic reinforcement from Tri-Cities High School and Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). His point of view and choreography style has dazzled national audiences, allowing him to work with Kandi Burruss, Lil’ Wayne, Iggy Azalea, August Alsina, and Jennifer Hudson and more as a choreographer and creative director.
He has also served as an international teaching artist with The Broadway Dreams Foundation for the past four years and facilitated workshops with the Arts Education Program of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company.
On Juneteenth 2019, Victor produced the inaugural installment of the Pride & Soul Festival in Atlanta, GA. He created this event to celebrate both Black Music Month and Pride Month as well as provide a platform to independent Black queer artists. Deemed a staple in the Black gay community, Victor has also performed as a featured artist for the Pure Heat Community Festival.
He has appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Braxton Family Values, and in guest-starring roles on BET’s The Game, and Step Up: Highwater on YouTubeRed. Most recently, he appeared in the critically-acclaimed “Strange Case” episode of HBO’s hit show, Lovecraft Country. As an R&B artist, Victor has opened for Tweet, Keke Wyatt, Anthony David and Algebra Blessett. The visual for his 2017 single “Layover” won Best Music Video at the 2018 Bronze Lens Film Festival and his latest EP, MAN.MUSE.MAGIC. is available now on all digital platforms.
@MRGLAMROCKSOUL.COM
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TODD MCKINLEY
SOUTHERN ROOTS SPICE SHOP
In 2020, after being laid off during COVID-19, Todd McKinley decided it was now or never to pursue a dream stalled many years ago. “I came to the realization that now was the time to connect my talents, my passion and my skill with the rest of the world.” Thus, the birth for Southern Roots Spice Shop.
Southern Roots Spice Shop is the vehicle by which McKinley shares his love for seasoning. Todd’s hand for blending custom seasoning creations and the innovative seasoning system he developed, gives patrons an easier way to understand and enjoy the world of spice. Southern Roots Spice offers more than 300 spices and herbs, artisan teas and coffee.
His love for cooking was planted as an incredibly young boy, growing up on the south side of Chicago. He has fond memories of helping his mother and aunts prepare family attended gatherings where food, flavor, and good times were endless. Todd recalls Friday nights as Fish and Spaghetti Night. “My mother would season the fish with seasoning salt, paprika, garlic and onion powder which you could smell frying throughout the house. My aunts would make the most deliciously seasoned spaghetti with onions, bell peppers and garlic, I can taste it now.” It was these type of family traditions that shaped his love for cooking and the birth -unknowingly to him- for Southern Roots Spice.
Southern Roots Spice Shop & SRS Coffee Café
3701 Clairmont Road
Chamblee, GA. 30341
Intersection Clairmont Road / Bragg Street
@SOUTHERNROOTSSPICE.COM
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EJ Russell
Prana Body House
EJ Russell is a certified yoga instructor, massage therapist, stretch therapist, wellness coach and entrepreneur. Raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, Russell comes from an athletic background specializing in sports such as track & field, gymnastics, wrestling and soccer. He is also well versed in marketing and production.
Taking a role as a leader in the Atlanta Yoga community, Russell felt it was important to create a safe space for yogis to come together in fellowship. In 2017 he created an event called The OM Brunch. A yoga event once a month with meditation, sound therapy, energy healing and vegan food.
EJ is a Massage School graduate, LMT, and Reiki Master. After receiving his license, he opened Prana Body House LLC, a stretch, massage, energy focused wellness studio in Southwest Atlanta. His specialties are deep tissue, fascial stretch therapy, graston, reiki, massage, sound therapy, Chinese cupping, and manual therapy.
@BYELR.COM
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THE COUNTER NARRATIVE PROJECT
The Counter Narrative Project (CNP) is an organization that stands in the tradition of Bayard Rustin, James Baldwin, Essex Hemphill, and other movement leaders, artists, organizers and visionaries committed to countering narratives and speaking truth to power. The mission of the organization is to shift narratives about Black gay men to change policy and improve lives.
Our Values
- We are the authors of our own narratives.
- Stories inspire activism.
- There is no perfect narrative.
- We must change narratives to change policies.
- We achieve narrative change through visibility.
Key Initiatives
- Annual Leadership Summit
- We Will Be Heard Week of Action
- Revolutionary Health Broadcast
- The Reckoning Magazine
- Burre Lane Online Store
@THECOUNTERNARRATIVE.ORG
