Of pride & progress in Cobb.
Attendees and panelists of the LGBTQ+ discussion, hosted by Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, pose for a photo on Thursday. Photo by Isabelle Manders for the Marietta Daily Journal.
With Pride month coming to a close, I wanted to share some notes from a panel discussion Noël Heatherland—Georgia Equality’s statewide outreach manager—and I attended in Cobb County. Hosted by Cobb County Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, the panel focused on how the county has evolved in its acceptance of LGBTQ+ residents and the challenges that remain.
The event began with a humbling account of the 1993 controversy when County Commissioner Wysong introduced a resolution stating that gay people were against family values, their lifestyle was illegal and, they weren’t welcome in Cobb. This action led to the formation of the Cobb Citizens Coalition, an attempted anti-LGBTQ+ bombing in Marietta Square, and the 1996 Olympic Committee's decision to pull events from Cobb and reroute the Olympic torch around the county due to this anti-gay stance.
Panelists and community members also noted recent progress, such as the Smyrna Pride Festival—now the second largest in the state.
But, sadly, there’s still a long way to go before everyone in Georgia is treated equally under the law.
Some participants said they still feel hesitant being themselves in public and often leave the county to get dinner. One panelists reported that this sort of lost economic opportunity has helped some local governments correlate equality with economic health and take action for their LGBTQ+ residents.
For my part—as the parent of a trans teen and a trans adult—I was encouraged by how actively Chairwoman Cupid listened, took notes, and promised to follow up on some of the issues raised. Hers was a refreshing alterative to silence and inaction so many of us have confronted from other representatives, such as notorious inaccessible State Senator, John Albers.
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