Just as the country tries to recover from the recent tragedy in Orlando, a new group continues their fight for rights and recognition for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the DeKalb County area.
Queer Youth for Equality attended a Doraville city council meeting in protest Monday to ask officials to declare June 26 LGBT Equality Day, also known as Gay Pride Day.
More than 25 people joined the protest, including both college-aged men and women as well as supportive parents. The group carried signs outside City Hall and chanted, “We stand with Orlando – stop the hate!”
Queer Youth for Equality was formed within the last three months by Haseena Peera, a senior at Georgia State University who identifies as a lesbian. As a sociology major, she took courses that inspired her to begin advocacy work now to help her community.
"Atlanta is the only city in Georgia to recognize June 26 as Gay Pride Day," Peera said.
Currently, that is the group’s focus — to encourage more cities in metro Atlanta to adopt a resolution declaring June 26 LGBT Equality Day. On that same date in 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States, a milestone in the LGBT movement, and the group wants to start gaining traction with cities before eventually taking the issue to the state level. According to Peera, they have spoken at city council meetings in Sandy Springs and made progress there.
“As with any civil rights movement, you should pay homage to it and those in it,” Peera said. “It really doesn’t take much effort … to put that on the agenda and make it a thing.”
The vote was not on Doraville's agenda for Monday night, however. After speaking during public comment at the previous week's council meeting and reaching out the the mayor, the group hoped their protest would inspire a last-minute addition to the schedule.
Before the city council meeting began, there were visits from Captain T.K. Gordon of the Doraville Police Department, who constantly assured the group that their safety was his first priority. Officers were stationed at different corners of the building, including the side where the cars were parked.
“If everything goes well today, but someone’s car gets broken into, I consider it a failure,” Gordon said to the group. “Not in my city.”
Doraville Mayor Donna Pittman also paid the group a visit while they waited outside for the doors to open. She explained that the push to adopt LGBT Equality Day had never been discussed with her directly and that there was some miscommunication, though Peera told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that several emails had been sent directly to the mayor.
Pittman also told the crowd that the resolution would not be on the agenda until October.
“They [the city council members] reached out to our community, and our community said please wait,” she explained. “We are honoring what our community wants to do.”
Many in the group, however, were unhappy with this explanation. Nichole Ethridge, a Doraville resident, asked why the resolution was a not a priority, considering the events in Orlando.
“I am only going by what my council asks,” Pittman reiterated. “That’s the best I can do.”
Later, after the mayor left and the crowd dispersed, Ethridge expressed concern over her statements.
“If it’s that much of a priority and it’s going to be on the agenda, why wait?” Ethridge asked, adding that she does not believe the council reached out to citizens to make their decision.
Another supporter of Queer Youth for Equality was also unhappy about the delay in the vote. Mimi Pham lives outside of Doraville, but she has family in the city.
“I feel like the sooner it’s done, the better,” Pham said. “Especially after everything that happened in Florida, this is the perfect time to make this happen.”
To start the council meeting, the mayor read a proclamation that would be sent to officials in Orlando, expressing Doraville’s condolences for those families of the victims.
“This body cannot refrain from conveying its deepest sympathies to the victims’ families and to the entire community of Orlando, Florida,” Pittman read from the proclamation, followed by a moment of silence.
After the city council meeting, Peera, the organization’s founder, reflected on the results of the protest.
“I’m a little bit satisfied because I know we got through to them,” Peera said. She admitted, however, that there was no victory in a promise to put the vote on the October agenda, and she intends to speak at future council meetings and continue sending emails.
Despite the struggle with Doraville, Queer Youth for Equality is pushing onward to other cities in the metro Atlanta area, approaching Chamblee and Brookhaven next — two more cities with large LGBT communities.
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