At Q magazine, we make it our business to celebrate and hold accountable LGBTQ locals, but while we relish our niche of queer culture, we also try to square it with what we all can contribute to the greater good. In an environment with so many options for our coverage on any given week, it can be a difficult balancing act.

We take example from people like local lesbian luminary Melissa Scott. She weilds her roles as business owner, event promoter, reality TV star and civic advocate with grace and swagger under pressure. We get to know her a little better in our Q Cover Story and photo shoot this week.

Part of a busy few days in queer Atlanta is also a packed slate of events for MLK Weekend. This issue lays out the best of them showing both reverence and revelry for the national holiday named for a native son. Dr. King himself inspires this week’s 10 Queer Things, where we offer 10 actions that every queer of every race can take every day to chip away at racism.

Speaking of events, local icons and queer/bigger issues, as well as our ever-present balancing act of worthy coverage, we also celebrate four decades of one of the oldest drag troupes in America. If you only think of fun and fundraising when you think of Atlanta's own Armorettes, let their amped up 40th anniversary weekend of “laughter and tears” offer a different story.

Elsewhere,Q Voices exposes queer-against-queer “death matches” that are none too cute, and the Q advice column finds LGBTQ busybodies who get even uglier than that. 

On the pretty side, though, check out the smiles in this week’s Q Shots photo galleries, and the ever-more things to do in the Queer Agenda events calendar. We also run down the best Q News you can use from Project Q Atlanta.

Enjoy, and reach out if you need me at [email protected]. Flip through the latest edition below.

Pick up a new issue of Q magazine each week at queer and LGBTQ-friendly venues around town.