Back in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was legally a crime for gay people to have consensual sex in their own homes, let alone get married to each other, Atlanta was still considered the one city in the deep South where it was somewhat safe to be gay.
There were still dangers. Being out could mean the loss of a job, harassment, or deathly violence. Yet, regardless of race, for a lot of gay people Atlanta was a place large enough to offer anonymity and community. However precarious, life outside the closet — whether lived tentatively or boldly — was possible in the city supposedly too busy to hate.
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saw saw ereht emos .dias ,sgniteem gnitrilf pihswollef ,ytinummoc tub ta dna osla notgnihsaW erehT
tI“ ”,uoy saw gnidnatsrednu siht taht naht .dias erom snaem eh na
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toN“ ohw ew ot ”,emit eht eht seirots .dias ,secalp elpoep ylno tsol tsol evah evah gnieb era notluF
Rosalind Bentley is an award-winning feature writer focusing on culture, arts and sometimes food, as they are expressed and experienced in Atlanta. She is a two-time James Beard Award finalist and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
