Atlanta Black Pride 2025 Uplifts Community [Exclusive]

Atlanta was alive with pleasure and resilience over Labor Day weekend as Atlanta Black Delight introduced 1000’s collectively for a multi-day celebration of neighborhood, visibility, and tradition. Held from August 28 by way of September 1 and introduced by The Imaginative and prescient Group Basis, Traxx Ladies Inc., and Rockstars Manufacturing, this yr’s lineup blended political recognition, inventive expression, and collective care in ways in which underscored why Atlanta stays a hub for Black LGBTQIA+ life.

The weekend started with Mayor Andre Dickens’ sixth Annual Atlanta Black Delight Reception at Metropolis Corridor, introduced by Gilead Sciences. The reception introduced metropolis leaders, activists, and neighborhood members collectively in a second that set the tone for the times forward.

Not solely that, however Da Brat and Jesseca Harris-Dupart obtained the Cultural Affect Award for his or her changemaking work as an influence couple.

“That is Atlanta’s greatest celebration with a objective,” Dickens stated. “That is the time after we get to have fun our id, tradition and the neighborhood. Tonight serves as a reminder that this metropolis remains to be the place the place each a part of who we’re is seen and is revered.”

Dickens additionally emphasised Atlanta’s legacy of advocacy.

“You’ll at all times discover us on the facet of justice and inclusion, and we’re main with love, with pleasure and with compassion,” Dickens stated.

He highlighted that proceeds from the night supported the Mayor’s Youth Scholarship Program, serving to to spend money on the subsequent technology of leaders.

This system additionally featured remarks from Dewayne Queen, Director of LGBTQ Affairs for the Metropolis of Atlanta, who reminded attendees of the motion’s roots.

“We’ve at all times been the primary to talk up, to face up, to indicate up, to behave up and to battle for who we’re and what we consider in,” Queen stated. “That braveness is our legacy and it’s also our duty… in a world the place youth too typically face silencing, erasure, and damaged spirits, they want us now greater than ever.”

The reception stretched throughout three flooring of Metropolis Corridor, with areas designed for mingling, performances, and sponsor activations.

Company have been handled to complimentary bites from AJ’s Catering — together with candy & bitter meatballs, Alfredo pasta with hen and turkey sausage, soiled rice, pork bites, and salads — and an open bar menu that leaned into the theme with names like Yasss Queen (vodka with passionfruit and lemon), Spill the Tea (gin, prosecco, and lemon), and a Delight Punch Mocktail made with contemporary juices.

The night additionally pulsed with stay music, DJ’d by Durand Bernarr, who set the tone all through the night. Mixed with a black carpet, sponsor lounges, and Gilead’s branded picture expertise, the ambiance balanced political acknowledgment with cultural celebration.

The night time wasn’t with out aptitude. Company have been handled to the Exhibition Kiki Ball, introduced by Prince$$, with Da Brat among the many night’s visitor judges. The runway-style showcase underscored how artwork, music, and trend stay central to Atlanta’s Delight celebration.

Melissa Scott, Managing Accomplice of Atlanta Black Delight Weekend, stated her hope was that attendees left “feeling supported, feeling liked, feeling free, and feeling blissful.” For her, Atlanta’s Black Delight stays distinct as a result of it displays the cultural and social wants of the neighborhood it serves.

“Individuals of shade, all of us have totally different monetary wants, now we have totally different academic wants, now we have totally different well being wants… after which, simply on the whole, truthfully, in ATL we vibe totally different. We like totally different music. The tradition’s totally different. In order that’s what makes our Black Delight so particular.”

A Pageant of Pure Warmth

On Sunday, the thirteenth Annual Pure Warmth Group Pageant drew 1000’s to Piedmont Park for one of many metropolis’s most anticipated traditions.

From stay performances to meals distributors to vibrant trend statements, the pageant created a protected area for pleasure, connection, and cultural expression.

Particular company included Diamond from Crime Mob, Saucy Santana, Tiffany Evans, Suki, Terrell Carter, Milan Christopher, Teseki, Ivori, Diamond The Physique, Reco Chapple, Ms. Sophia, Melissa Scott, Steezo, 4N Yardi, and Damez.

One of many afternoon’s excessive factors got here when Saucy Santana took the stage, operating by way of hits like “Stroll ’Em Like a Canine” and “Shisha.” The gang matched his power, turning the park into an open-air dance flooring that embodied each efficiency and neighborhood celebration.

The pageant additionally featured a spread of distributors past the principle stage — with stalls promoting all the pieces from meals and candy treats to trinkets, clothes, and handmade objects. TS Madison was additionally honored with the annual Humanitarian Award whereas Celeb wardrobe stylist Ryan Christopher obtained the annual Trailblazer Award.

The combination of music, meals, and fellowship gave the day the ambiance of a homecoming tailgate, the place outdated associates reconnected, new bonds have been shaped, and the sense of neighborhood was simply as vital because the leisure.

However the pageant’s objective prolonged past procuring and celebration. Distributors additionally lined the park with sources designed to maintain the neighborhood knowledgeable and supported.

Eternity Franks, PREP Program Coordinator for Whitefoord Inc.’s Secure Steps for Prevention Program, defined that their sales space supplied free and speedy sexual well being testing.

“We do all the pieces sexual well being sensible,” Franks stated. “Free HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, trich, BV — the entire testing is free and speedy, so that you get your ends in half-hour. If any check comes again constructive, then we do free remedy.”

Latoya Withers, a Gilead Model Ambassador, echoed the significance of outreach.

“It’s simply getting the phrase out to our folks and to everyone, to, , get examined. Know your outcomes,” she stated. “Gilead gives a system the place you’ll be able to go surfing, search for suppliers, search inside your metropolis, after which there are testing locations in an effort to get a free check, HIV and STD, so that you may be up in your standing.”

These efforts are tied on to Atlanta Black Delight’s bigger mission. A portion of the proceeds from the weekend benefited homeless LGBTQIA+ youth and people impacted by HIV/AIDS by way of The Imaginative and prescient Group Basis.

The visibility of teams like Whitefoord Inc. and Gilead strengthened how Delight is about each celebration and survival. Attendees left not solely uplifted by music, trend, and fellowship but additionally outfitted with data and sources to guard their well being and their futures.

Finally, Atlanta Black Delight was a reminder of the ability of protected areas.

It was a privilege to witness and share in moments that carried each pleasure and which means. From Mayor Dickens’ phrases at Metropolis Corridor to the colourful power of Piedmont Park, the weekend mirrored the resilience and brilliance of a neighborhood that continues so as to add to Atlanta’s cultural id.

Atlanta Black Delight 2025 wasn’t only a sequence of occasions — it was a dwelling testomony to unity, visibility, care, and celebration.