Unabashed. Unashamed. Unapologetic. It's with a boldness LGBTQ Atlantans claim our place in local history, and it can be as simple, and as complex, as living our lives for the world to see.

You doing you is critical to progress of the movement, and it's our prime directive at Q to celebrate and amplify all you beautiful creatures doing just that in queer Atlanta. This week's issue brings more gorgeous examples to the fore for Labor Day Weekend.

Of course, coverage includes the 22nd annual Black Gay Pride Weekend, one of the largest events of its kind in the world. Our preview takes you from day to night and from Thursday through Monday with more than two-dozen opportunities to show your pride and celebrate the intersectionality of civil rights movements.

Q contributor Eric Paulk puts it into perspective in a Q Voices column about how just the simple act of celebrating can be a powerful statement.

Speaking of making statements, if of a totally different kind, the alternaqueer cool kids at Mary’s are playing dress up again, only this time it’s for us and one of our favorite contributing photographers, Jon Dean. In their typical loud and proud style, the staff and owners of East Atlanta’s queer bar show off beach looks as only they can interpret them to help us say so long to summer.

Showing off elsewhere in the mag this week, find Q Shots from recent events, the Queer Agenda of Labor Day Week happenings, and a special edition of 10 Queer Things as our home site Project Q Atlanta celebrates its first-decade anniversary. The Q advice column takes on a special topic this week as well, tackling how to help a friend who’s stepped beyond indulgence and into danger with drugs. 

Click page-by-page through the full issue below, pick up your copy around town, and if you have ideas for people you think we should profile, drop me a line at [email protected].