Stung
by
fierce
criticism
from
a
national
black
gay
magazine
and
its
supporters,
the
Atlanta
Pride
Committee
this
week
reversed
its
decision
to
refuse
the
publication’s
offer
to
sponsor
the
festival
through
free
advertising.
But
the
founder
of
the
magazine
is
now
refusing
the
new
sponsorship
offer,
which
he
deems
"disingenuous"
and
proof
that
reaching
out
to
gay
African-Americans
is
"obviously
not
a
priority"
for
Pride.
"Right
now,
it’s
offensive
to
me
to
even
come
back
and
say
you
can
be
a
sponsor,"
said
Dwight
Powell,
publisher
and
editor-in-chief
of
Clik,
a
monthly
magazine
for
black
gay
men
that
cites
a
circulation
of
54,000.
It
is
distributed
nationwide
and
available
at
bookstores
and
other
outlets
in
most
major
cities.
"There
may
be
a
lot
of
people
who
might
be
offended
if
we
now
become
sponsors,"
Powell
said.
Atlanta
Pride
Executive
Director
Donna
Narducci
said
she
attempted
to
make
amends
with
Powell
this
week,
but
it
is
his
decision
to
not
be
a
sponsor.
"He
has
made
it
clear
that
he
doesn’t
want
to
be
a
sponsor,
and
until
he
changes
his
mind
then
Clik
will
not
be
a
sponsor,"
Narducci
said,
denying
allegations
of
racism.
"It
appears
that
he’s
very
hurt.
That’s
his
decision
at
this
point,"
Narducci
added.
Powell,
who
launched
Clik
in
Houston
nearly
seven
years
ago,
submitted
a
proposal
to
Atlanta
Pride
on
Feb.
24
to
sponsor
the
June
23-25
event.
He
said
he
offered
the
organization
$9,500
worth
of
free
advertising,
including
one
free
full-page
color
ad
for
the
months
of
April
and
May,
a
two-page
color
spread
in
June
and
banners
on
Clik’s
website
for
April,
May
and
June.
Pride
denied
the
proposal
without
any
explanation,
Powell
said.
In
an
interview,
he
stopped
short
of
saying
it
was
turned
down
because
he’s
black,
but
said
he
couldn’t
think
of
any
other
reason.
"I
would
hate
to
think
that
that
[race]
is
the
reason,"
Powell
said.
"I’m
just
surprised
that
[Narducci]
did
it
without
any
explanation."
But
Powell
was
not
as
reluctant
to
cite
race
in
a
mass
e-mail
he
sent
March
15
explaining
why
he
was
saying
"thanks
but
no
thanks"
to
Pride’s
new
sponsorship
offer.
Pride
officials
and
other
Atlanta
leaders,
"both
black
and
white,"
need
to
address
diversity
issues
"immediately
to
bring
about
an
Atlanta
where
overt
racism
isn’t
alive
and
well,"
Powell
wrote.
Narducci
said
Powell’s
sponsorship
request
was
not
denied
based
on
race.
"That
couldn’t
be
further
from
the
truth,"
Narducci
said.
"It’s
unfortunate
that
that
messaging
has
gotten
out
to
the
public."
Narducci
said
she
rejected
similar
sponsorship
offers
from
the
Internet
domain
Out
in
America
and
Just
Living
magazine,
and
it
was
only
because
Powell’s
proposal
would
not
bring
revenue
to
Pride
that
it
was
originally
denied.
"It’s
three
months
before
the
event;
I’m
looking
for
sponsorships
that
can
bring
money
in
to
this
organization,"
she
said.
Narducci
also
said
that
during
her
tenure,
Pride’s
board
of
directors
has
always
included
black
members,
and
noted
that
one
of
the
three
grand
marshals
for
this
year’s
Pride
parade
is
black.
But
she
declined
to
release
the
name
of
the
person,
who
she
said
is
a
well-known
minister,
because
officials
have
not
yet
contacted
him.
"I
don’t
think
it’ll
be
fair
for
him
to
find
out
by
reading
the
paper,"
Narducci
said.
Powell
rejected
Narducci’s
initial
recommendation
that
Clik
instead
become
a
vendor
and
purchase
a
booth
in
Pride’s
market
area,
an
offer
he
said
he
considered
offensive.
The
sponsorship
deal
would
have
benefited
both
parties
by
allowing
Pride
officials
to
reach
what
he
believes
is
their
untapped
demographic
of
black
gays,
while
at
the
same
time
providing
his
magazine
more
national
exposure,
Powell
said.
Realizing
the
intrinsic
value
of
reaching
black
gay
men,
Narducci
said
she
reversed
her
decision
and
wanted
Clik
as
a
sponsor.
"Mr.
Powell,
I
sincerely
apologize
for
the
hurt
caused
to
you
and
others
by
my
failure
to
see
the
greater
good
that
could
have
been
gained
by
partnering
with
Clik,"
Narducci
said
in
a
March
14
e-mail.
"I
admit
to
making
a
mistake
and
wish
to
remedy
my
mistake."
Narducci
noted
in
the
e-mail
that
Atlanta
Pride
has
been
a
financial
supporter
of
Atlanta’s
Black
Gay
Pride
festival,
held
over
Labor
Day
weekend,
and
the
scholarship
fund
set
up
by
Zami,
an
Atlanta-based
group
for
black
lesbians.
She
also
said
the
organization
has
partnered
with
In
The
Life
Atlanta,
sponsors
of
...
