A Fractured Past: Out, Black and Gay in 1970's Atlanta--Tony Holland in conversation with Rev. Duncan E. Teague

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Charis welcomes Tony Holland in conversation with Rev. Duncan E. Teague for a discussion of A Fractured Past: Out, Black and Gay in 1970's Atlanta. This is a true life account of what it was like growing up a young, black gay man in the largest southeastern city in the Bible Belt. This event is co-hosted by Abundant LUUv and the Counter Narrative Project. Abundant LUUV is a West End Unitarian Universalist congregation in Atlanta, centered in the African American religious tradition, where we welcome your authentic self to join us in community-centered work. The Counter Narrative Project seeks to shift narratives about Black gay and queer men to change policy and improve lives. We stand in the tradition of  Marlon Riggs, Essex Hemphill, Joseph Beam, James Baldwin, and Bayard Rustin. 

Atlanta, GA; 1960's and 1970's... A city that was the focal point of growth in the Southeastern United States, which then; just as today, was saddled with trying to grow into a world class city while attempting to minimize or even hide its shameful undercurrent of racism, sexism, classism, and overall prejudice. It was, and is a very conservative place at its core. In the early days in Atlanta when I was growing up, the African American community definitely felt it had something to prove. What with being the centerpiece of the Civil Rights Movement, the community recognized that this was an opportunity for its black citizens to make a true stand for independence and growth that was denied elsewhere in our nation as a whole. 

We were onstage and the entire nation knew it. To that end, the church played a very big part in the development of the community. From Holland's first realization that he had same sex interests, there was no doubt that to disclose that fact with anyone would at the very least cause him to be ostracized. The pain and conflict that this caused him were nearly unbearable, and was the catalyst which gave direction to much of his life from puberty on. Much has been written about this period in Atlanta from a racial angle. There has also been a great deal written about the early years of gay liberation in Atlanta. However, Holland has never encountered writings that adequately equated or depicted the relationship of both. 

In this book, author Tony Holland will attempt to give one man's account of what it was REALLY like trying to straddle both worlds and keep them from crashing into one another, for he was sure that were that to happen it would guarantee his personal destruction. Ironically, what he found was that danger to him existed in both communities. Though coming from different directions, in many ways the dangers were very similar.

Tony Holland is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. The youngest of four children, he spent much of his childhood with his head in a book! When not dreaming of faraway places and beautiful landscapes, the remainder of the time was spent learning to sew and design clothing. That remains his primary vocation today. Though he has always been impassioned about art in any form, A Fractured Past; Out, Black and Gay in 1970’s Atlanta, is his first published book.  He is currently working on a second work; a collection of short stories to be released by the end of the year.