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Dwight Powell, editor of Clik Magazine, accused a group of local party promoters of ‘trying to destroy' his work by planning a series of Miami parties simultaneously with Powell’s annual ‘Sizzle’ event.
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: RYAN LEE
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Tensions are beginning to sizzle in paradise. A pair of competing, Atlanta-based party promoters are in a war of words in recent weeks as they both try to attract gay crowds to Miami for Memorial Day weekend.
Both sides now hope to downplay the nasty dust-up that included accusations of racism and counter-charges that a national black gay leader is self-serving.
Black Gay Pride in Washington D.C. is a longtime popular destination on Memorial Day weekend for black gay Atlantans. Another Memorial Day option arose about five years ago, when Dwight Powell, editor of Clik, a black gay magazine headquartered in Atlanta, began hosting five days of Miami beach parties known as “Sizzle.”
Powell now worries that a group of promoters from Atlanta, New York and Chicago are trying to siphon off his customers by hosting a series of competing parties in Miami the same weekend.
But promoters of the upcoming “Paradise” event accuse Powell of overreacting and twisting the situation into something that it’s not.
“[We’re] not trying to take over Miami — if anything [bringing ‘Paradise’] is going to boost up the numbers even more,” said Reggie Thomas, an gay Atlanta promoter who is teaming up with Ed Givens of Ozone Entertainment and Maxine Blue to produce “Paradise.”
“He doesn’t own Florida,” Thomas said of Powell. “There is room for everyone.”
Thomas was considering hosting parties in Miami for about two years after he was approached by Art Mann, a manager at Club Nocturnal in Miami. After attending “Sizzle” and witnessing the massive crowds it attracts, Thomas said he knew there was a demand for more parties.
“You still have 2,000-3,000 people standing outside of [‘Sizzle’] parties, and why not give them somewhere to go?” Thomas asked.
But Powell considered the whole motivation behind “Paradise” as dubious.
“[Givens] and his gang are trying to destroy what I have worked for and built for the past five years,” Powell wrote in a widely circulated e-mail to “Sizzle” supporters.
Powell particularly objected to the involvement of Mann, who is white; all of the other promoters involved are black.
“They have allowed a white man, Art Mann, to try to destroy a successful black man, me — a person that's been a strong positive influence for the black gay community,” Powell wrote. “It’s clear that this is not a business move on their part, but rather one of malice and envy.”
Powell’s e-mail also included a sly anti-transgender jab at Maxine Blue, a popular Atlanta drag queen and one of the promoters behind “Paradise.”
“This group of men and ‘women’ has no integrity, vision or creativity,” Powell wrote.
Powell declined to comment for this article, saying he didn’t want to bring any publicity to the dispute. The website for “Sizzle” is plastered with warnings to patrons that there are “a lot more promoters attempting to lure you into their events this Memorial Day weekend.”
But Theirry Jones — who was dragged into the dispute when Powell listed his name as part of the “gang” behind “Paradise,” accused Powell of blowing the entire matter out of proportion. Jones’
only involvement is that he designed the “Paradise” website.
“The stuff Dwight Powell is saying is ridiculous, and to [be] honest, he says that he helps others; I have only seen him help those who he can benefit from,” Jones said. “If he truly was ‘a person that has been a strong, positive influence for the black gay community,’ then why doesn’t he give back and help some of the people who need help in the black gay community who have ideas, need help, or want to be more like him and do events and things?”
Powell responded that he has not attempted to incorporate other party promoters into “Sizzle” “for business reasons.”
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