News & Opinion
EXCLUSIVE: GLAAD Presents: 'State of Change - Georgia'
The second in a six-part series of short documentaries showcasing the stories of LGBT Southerners.
June 23 2015 7:49 AM EST
November 04 2024 11:23 AM EST
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The second in a six-part series of short documentaries showcasing the stories of LGBT Southerners.
Pictured: Terry Guest performs in Tarell Alvin McCraney's 'Marcus' in Atlanta
The 20-minute original documentary, "GLAAD Presents: State of Change - Georgia," highlights stories of trial and triumph from the LGBT community in Georgia and was produced as part of GLAAD's Southern Stories program, which aims to accelerate acceptance of LGBT people in the American South.
Among the many people interviewed and profiled in the doc is Terry Guest, a young African-American gay man who performed in Marcus at Actor's Express this spring, a theater in Atlanta, by gay playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. In the documentary, he talks about a gay uncle who contracted AIDS in the early '90s and died -- and how important he was to him, inspiring him to become an actor. As he explained in a separate interview what the play means to him about being gay and Southern:
"Marcus is a stellar Southern story because everything about it is so darn Southern. So many of the characters remind me of my uncles, grandmothers, and cousins. Everything from the dialogue to the head wraps and hoop earrings scream home for me. And just wait until you hear Bernadine Mitchell sing. Her voice is thick and bright as Georgia red clay."
GLAAD screened the documentary in Atlanta, GA last week as part of the organization's Southern Stories Summer Tour, a six-state, 10-city tour across the American South, throughout which GLAAD is meeting with LGBT and allied southerners to spotlight their stories in local and national media.
Watch the full 20-minute documentary below: