STAND UP & REPRESENT
Honoring the work of Anthony Antoine through an online photo exhibit of his LGBTQ+ activism in the early-00's in Atlanta.
All images presented here are from the archive of Anthony Antoine, and are shared with his permission.
What can I say about The Adodi Muse: A Gay Negro Ensemble? We performed poetry and more woven together in a theatrical presentation. It was in your face art as activism. I’m huge fans of the elusive malik m.l. williams and incomparable Duncan Teague as solo artists and activists. To get to share the stage and my writing with them and our audiences is one of few times in life I knew I was working in purpose. This is where art, activism, HIV intervention, sexuality, self-esteem and LGBTQ+ empowerment was married in performance. Our audience were changed by our work. I was changed, even healed by my work with Adodi Muse.
Initially the Stand Up & Represent March began at the State Capitol and ended at The King Center but we transformed the march to Atlanta’s West End. We wanted to intentionally walk-through Black neighborhood to highlight that Black LGBTQ+ people are a part of the neighborhood. We wanted to represent ourselves and the concerns of organized Black LGBTQ+ people. Quite a few of the people in the images have passed on and a great many of them are still impactful activists today. We are a part of Atlanta’s history, our contributions are relevant and must be preserved.
This is a picture of then candidate for Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin attending one of the early Stand Up & Represent marches (likely 2001). It was our march that started as a literal dream that me and my activist friends (Jimmie Scott, malik m.l. williams, Nikki Young and Shane Johnson) ensured unfolded beautifully for three consecutive years. We often aligned the march with the political landscape at the time and this picture documents how Franklin recognized and showed up for the concerns of Black LGBTQ+ people. She would soon after become the mayor of Atlanta.
This is a pic in my Deeper Love t-shirt that many of us wore circa 1999. The Deeper Love Project was founded in 1997 by Craig Washington and housed at AID Atlanta. I was the Deeper Love coordinator from 1999 (after Craig Washington) until 2002 (maybe). I passed the coordinator baton to malik m.l. williams who then passed it to Nasheeda Bynes and then to Charles Stephens. The coordinator lineage is rich with powerful and impactful activist friends who were centered in the well-being and empowerment of Black gay men. The Deeper Love Project was a four week sexual health and social justice intervention that hosted hundreds of Atlanta-based gay men.
“Danté’s Got a Man Too” was a tongue-in-cheek response to “Chanté’s Got a Man” – one of my favorite songs EVER by one of my favorite artist of all time Chante Moore. This song solidified my activism in music and my commitment to the importance of LGBTQ+ people being able to discuss their lives in song without having to change pronouns or sing and rap in code. I knew in 1999 the importance of being out in music, and I was driven to prove our stories were necessary to tell in song. I see “Dante’s Got a Man Too” as one of the cracks in that glass ceiling that lands us at Lil Nas X breaking that ceiling wide open with his 2021 "Montero" release.
Awwww, I love this picture of my daughter Vogue and I. What this represents for me is the journey and success of being an out and proud, involved father who didn't hide my sexuality from my child. Not only didn't I hide it, but I actively engaged her with my life and activism. At this particular march, which was covered by news media, my daughter was asked, "How do you feel about your Dad being gay?" Vogue replied like it was the dumbest question, slicing homophobia and stigma with the spirit of a child, "What do you mean? That's my Dad! I love him. He's my Dad." I was so proud of her then and now. She's a compassionate, embracing ally to the LGBTQ+ community and I know that's because of some of the teachings of her being present in her father's activism.
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