Southern Voice—February 15, 1990

This issue of Southern Voice from February 15, 1990, includes a tributary cover honoring Patrick Kelly, Willi Smith, and Alvin Ailey–three Black men who revolutionized the fields of fashion design and dance. These men also served as dedicated social justice advocates for the gay and lesbian communities and other historically marginalized groups.

Southern Voice was an alternative newspaper for members of the LGBTQ+ community founded by Christina Cash and Leigh VanderEls in 1988. The purpose of this Atlanta-based publication was to center voices of the LGBTQ+ community in the media and provide a reliable news source that covered local and national events. Southern Voice began as a bi-weekly newspaper and transitioned to weekly circulation by 1992. The newspaper reached a maximum readership of 100,000. Southern Voice ceased publication in 2010 yet continues to serve as a rich historical resource that documents the lives, stories, and milestones of the LGBTQ+ community during the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century.


JoyEllen Williams is the Special Collections Curator at Kennesaw State University Archives.