Why Atlanta Is the Perfect Place to Celebrate NOH8

By Brandon Miller  -

The NOH8 Campaign is one of my favorite gay equality endeavors. Not only does it promote acceptance and love for LGBT people, but it does so in a visually engaging and artistically beautiful way.
Photographer Adam Bouska is going to Atlanta for his next round of NOH8 subjects. On January 16th, he will host a three-hour photo shoot for local gay rights activists and the general public, too. Photos cost a small fee, but the impact is priceless.
“I see this event as part of a long term process for me and for the greater Atlanta community to heal and to transform hate into love as part of the historic 25th anniversary celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday,” says Josh Noblitt, one of the local organizers. “I am thrilled to be a part of bringing the NOH8 campaign to Atlanta.”
Noblitt is a gay social justice minister at Saint Mark United Methodist Church. He is organizing the event along with Carlton Mackey, of the Emory Center for Ethics, and Nikki Note, a member of V-Day, a group that works to end violence against women. Noblitt was robbed and assaulted in July, hosted a community picnic at the scene of the crime, and has spoken with police commanders and publicly at the re-opening of several recreation centers. He now serves on the Atlanta Police Department's LGBT Advisory Committee.
The NOH8 Campaign was launched in 2008 as a response to Proposition 8. Photographer Bouska calls it a "silent photographic protest." In each shot, models are duct-taped at the mouth. While the celebrity photographs (of which there are many) gain the most exposure, the campaign has thousands of faces. More than 6,000, actually. And that's not including celebrities or group photos.
Visit NOH8 and browse the images. I especially recommend the "Be Heard" section, which features people telling stories of why they posed. And, if possible, show up in Atlanta and join the photobook.

-end-