After Monday’s announcement that the Oct. 10 Atlanta Pride parade will feature 120 grand marshals—40 in each of three categories—for its 40th annual celebration, the full list of Community Builder honorees is now official.
Individuals who have made “exemplary” contributions to the movement for LGBT civil rights were chosen in Legislative, Education and Community Builder categories.
The list includes leaders and influential members of non profit groups; religious and political organizations (Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, top photo); fundraising groups; media outlets (Laura Douglas-Brown, editor of GA Voice, second photo, and radio personality Melissa Carter, bottom photo); HIV/AIDS agencies (Craig Washington of AID Atlanta and others, third photo); the arts; and grassroots organizers.
Many of the Community Builder grand marshals will march with their own groups, and some will not be in attendance for various personal reasons, but Pride organizers deemed them worthy to honor, says JP Sheffield, executive director of Atlanta Pride.
“Compiling a list of 120 Grand Marshals was no small task, but we feel like the people selected are a great representation of our City and State,” Sheffield said Monday. “Even though it meant releasing these names later than usual, the end product is worth the wait. What we’ve done is effectively create a march within the parade.”
With the Community Builder list complete, here is the full bunch of 120 parade grand marshals:
LEGISLATIVE 40
Alex Wan
Alisha Thomas Morgan
Brian Bates
Cathy Woolard
Ed Stansell
Gil Robison
Jamie Ensley
Jamie Roberts
Jeff Cleghorn
Jerry Gonzalez
Joan Garner
Julianna Illari
Karla Drenner
Kathleen Womack
Kathy Ashe
Ken Britt
Kyle Williams
Lance Rhodes
Larry Pellegrini
Lawrie Demorest
Linda Lowe
Mary Margaret Oliver
Mike Jacobs
Monica Helms
Nan Orrock
Pat Gardner
Pedro Marin
Simone Bell
Tim Cairl
Vincent Fort
Elizabeth Johnston
Harry Knox
Judy Colbs
Kathie deNobriga
Tyrone Brooks
Michelle Bruce
Paul Horning
Stephanie Benfield
Susan Saleska Hamilton
Kay Young (Posthumous)
EDUCATION 40
Maru Gonzalez
Anneliese A. Singh
Mr. Jesse McNulty
Dr. Corey W. Johnson
Jeannie Senter
Dale Merkle
Dr. Shannon J. Miller
Jillian Ford
Austin Laufersweiler
Irma Starr
Jonah Berkowitz
Lenore Katz
Bob Hill
Emily Graybill
Holiday Simmons
Jessica “Jetta” Allen
Susana Edith Soto
Matt LeBrun
Alex Oxford
Emily Reed
Derrick Martin
Billiee Pendleton-Parker
JD Woodward
Michael Brian Law
Joel Kadish
Ellen Manuel
Tim DeLoach
Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz
Abby Drue
Ken Jackson
Hollande Levinson
Krista Hilton
Cat Morillas
Terence McPhaul
Shelley Rose
Gabriel Haggray
Jennifer Miracle
Yancey Gulley
COMMUNITY BUILDER 40
Danny Ingram (AVER)
Jeff Graham (Georgia Equality)
Linda Ellis (ALHI)
Craig Washington (AID Atlanta)
Laura Douglas-Brown (editor, the GA Voice)
Al Pellenberg (Atlanta Pride Committee)
Kiki Carr (MondoHomo)
Rabbi Joshua Lesser (Congregation Bet Haverim)
Pat Hussain (Activist/Olympics Out of Cobb)
Jon Weaver (Activist/Olympics Out of Cobb)
Bubba D. Licious (Former Armorette, NAMES Project, PALS)
Linda Bryant (Charis Books)
Mary Ann Adams (ZAMI)
Pamm Burdett (Lloyd Russell Foundation)
Tracee McDaniel (Juxtaposed Center for Transformation)
Freddie Styles (The Jolly 12)
Paul Plate (Positive Impact)
Melissa Carter (Gay radio host)
Darlene Hudson (Former ITLA Board/State of Black Gay America Summit)
Michael Brewer (Georgia Equality, Deeper Love, Atlanta Black LGBT Coalition)
Pastor Bradley Schmeling (St. John’s Lutheran Church)
Kathy Kelly (MEGA Family Project)
The East Point Possums (Rick Westbrook, Chesley Thurman, John Jeffrey)
Aida Rentas (Activist, Grassroots Institute)
Rev. Dr. Renee Dubose (Our Hope MCC, first openly gay clergy to serve on board of the UGA Campus Ministry Association)
Isaac Kelly (Augusta Pride Board president)
Ebonee Bradford (In the Life Atlanta)
Raymond Duke (In the Life Atlanta, Our Common Welfare)
Betty Couvertier (host of “Alternative Perspectives” radio host)
Deepali Gokhale (community activist)
Lynn Cothren (Activist/Special Assistant to Coretta Scott King)
Philip Rafshoon (Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse)
Wesley Chenault (Atlanta Historian, author)
Community Builder Posthumous
Robert Eads (Southern Comfort, transgender activist who died after being refused medical treatment)
Greg Barrett (Atlanta Pride Committee)
Billy Jones (1960’s Atlanta drag queen)
Charlie St. John (Journalist, organized first Pride March)
Lloyd E. Russell (Activist, founder of community foundation)
Thelma Natalie Troia (Founder, Armorettes)
Michael Hardwick (Bowers V. Hardwick)
