This week read about Antonio Brown possibly becoming Atlanta’s first LGBT mayor, and New York City Pride banning police presence until 2025.
Atlanta Mayoral Race Adds Black LGBT Candidate
Atlanta could find its first openly LGBT mayor in city council member Antonio Brown, who announced his candidacy on Friday.
Brown, 36, is the first Black LGBT member of Atlanta’s city council, and has championed progressive measures like police reform and loan opportunities for local small business owners. His announcement comes days after current Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she wouldn’t be running for re-election.
Brown joins the race against fellow city councilmembers Andre Dickens and Felicia Moore, as well as attorney Sharon Gay. In July 2020, Brown was indicted on fraud charges by a federal grand jury. The case is still pending, but Brown has pleaded “not guilty” and made a court appearance on April 19.
“I am absolutely innocent,” Brown told 11Alive News, “I would not be running for mayor if I felt like I would not be vindicated from these charges.”
Voters will make their choice for mayor on Nov. 2, with a runoff election scheduled for Nov. 30.
NYC Pride Bans NYPD Presence Until 2025
NYPD vehicles. Photo via Pixabay.
The organizers of New York City Pride have banned the NY Police Department from its annual parade and associated events for the next four years.
In a statement released May 15, event organizers said, “The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason.”
The decision comes after increased calls to reform and defund police departments nationwide, as some communities across the country begin to invest in alternative ways to protect their citizens.
Heritage of Pride spokesperson Dan Dimant told CNN, “There’s always been aggression by law enforcement and it’s been an issue in the community for years. The events of last year, with protests over George Floyd, there have been a lot of run-ins with the NYPD, so we began to think long and hard about this decision.”
This year’s NY pride events will occur between June 14 – June 28, with the annual pride march taking place on June 27.
