Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights
Atlanta has the third largest gay population in the country, fueled, in part, by its large black gay population. On Wednesday, the city's annual Black Gay Pride organizer, Durand Robinson (pictured middle), was found shot dead in the middle of an Atlanta street.
It hasn't been determined whether his murder is being investigated as a hate crime. Officials say Robinson got in argument with someone shortly before shots were fired. Some reports have claimed that it was a possible carjacking.
According to police reports, a woman called 911 around 1:30 a.m. to report that she heard a loud scream, looked outside and saw a man lying in the middle of the street.
Robinson, co-owner of the popular gay nightclub Traxx, was found dead not long after the emergency call was placed, Atlanta police said. Officers said he had been shot in the chest.
According to FBI hate crime statistics, law enforcement agencies have seen a spike in hate crimes against homosexuals over the last few years.
Robinson, 50, will be honored during a candlelight vigil on Sept. 1, according to In the Life Atlanta, the nonprofit group that organizes Atlanta Black Gay Pride.
"His light will be missed, but his spirit and the shared memories will live on in our hearts and the hearts of his family, friends, loved ones, and those in the community who knew him," said a news release on the group's Website.
The first gay pride parade was celebrated in New York City in 1969, when a group of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people rioted following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the city's Greenwich Village neighborhood. Further protests and rioting continued for several nights following the raid.
Organizers proposed, in commemoration, that a demonstration be held annually on the last Saturday in June in New York City to commemorate the 1969 demonstrations. The gay pride parade in the Village is now a world-renowned event, a festive celebration of inclusion. Other cities around the world have followed suit, and cities with large black populations, like Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, have started their own colorful versions of pride festivals.
It seems the annual Gay Pride festivities will continue, despite the loss of Robinson. The 14th annual Black Gay Pride celebration is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to metro Atlanta over Labor Day weekend. Events will take place at the Loews Atlanta Hotel.
Hate crime statistics show that offenders particularly target male homosexuals. Of course, the motive of this crime has yet to be determined, but if this is a hate crime on the cusp of one of the grandest celebrations of free expression, that would make a distressing scenario that much more tragic.