(For full bios and pictures of the 2016 Grand Marshals, click here.)
Atlanta, Georgia. – The Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) is pleased to announce that the 2016 Atlanta Parade Grand Marshals have been selected!
The Grand Marshals are comprised of individuals and organizations, residing or based in Georgia who are recognized for their outstanding working advancing LGBTQ equality in the metro Atlanta area and across all of Georgia.
The 2016 Atlanta Pride Parade Grand Marshals are:
- Anne “Sarge” Barr
- Simone Bell
- Cheryl C. Courtney-Evans
- David Hayward
- For the Kid in All of Us
- Leo Martinez
- Out on Film
- PFLAG Atlanta
- Estrella Sanchez
- Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC
- Southerners On New Ground
- The Solutions NOT Punishment Coalition
Atlanta Pride Committee Committee Executive Director, Jamie Fergerson, said, “The selection of Grand Marshals not only allows us to recognize the people and organizations who have made and are making contributions to the Atlanta LGBTQ community; it also allows us to enact Atlanta Pride’s mission by bringing attention to the causes that are important to our organization and community.”
Six years ago, the Atlanta Pride Committee chose to expand the categories and criteria by which Grand Marshals were selected. About that development Fergerson stated, “When we chose only two Grand Marshals (one male identified and one female identified) – there was no way to fully recognize the richness of identities and causes that are important to Atlanta Pride. We are so much bigger and more colorful than two binary categories could ever showcase, so we invited more people to the party!”
Fergerson continued, “This year, among our Grand Marshals, we are so proud to name people, organizations, and causes as diverse as the rainbow we represent. We acknowledge the work of allies, immigrants, people of color led organizations, artists, transgender individuals, grassroots activists, and leaders in their professional fields. We honor people who have been in the struggle for decades and those who have answered recent and pressing calls for justice.”
She noted, “The Atlanta Pride Committee has a mandate to capture and compliment the wide range of diverse activists among us. The Pride Festival is a celebratory space, and our community deserves to be celebrated, but the work of a Pride organization is more than throwing a party. I am so pleased not only to honor the work of these Grand Marshals not only by asking them to lead our fabulous parade but also by supporting their work year-round.”
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About Atlanta Pride:
OUR VISION
We envision a world where persons with widely diverse gender and sexual identities are united, visible, and equal.
OUR PURPOSE
The main purpose of the Atlanta Pride Committee, a 501(c)(3) organization, is to advance unity, visibility and self-esteem among lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender and queer persons and to promote a positive image in the Atlanta area and throughout the Southeastern United States through community activities and services.
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Atlanta Pride Committee is to advance unity, visibility, and wellness among persons with widely diverse gender and sexual identities through cultural, social, political, and educational programs and activities.
OUR VALUES
We value social justice, culture, self-esteem, history, health and wellness.
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