What do you do when you can’t go home for the holidays?

Written by Piper Smith

For some members of found families in queer contexts, they are unfortunately the victims of poor coming out stories amongst their blood family. Around the holidays, this is an especially difficult topic and conversation; there’s nowhere for these individuals to go, so where exactly do they return to? Simple – to their communities. Many queer spaces in major cities have now created programs to celebrate the holidays in a found family context, rephrasing it to be “Friendsgiving” and informing attendants of the true, decolonized history of Thanksgiving. This section seeks to explore a few of these events in the metro Atlanta area.

“Thanksgiving dinner with Charlie Brown” presented by Emory University.

Emory is just one of several universities to host Thanksgiving-themed found family events. The event is open to all members of the Emory community, and offers an alternative for queer students to spend time with each other in a found family context. It also uses familiar content in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving to bring its attendants together, and provides a potluck-like space for the students to gather in. These spaces provide a space for the students to spend time together when their blood family is unavailable, and is one example of holiday gatherings in the metro Atlanta area.

Maya Wiseman talks at a Friendsgiving Potluck hosted by Southern Fried Queer Pride in November 2022.

Southern Fried Queer Pride, an Atlanta-based community organization focused on uplifting QTBIPOC, is one of many organizations and communities that host found family Thanksgiving gatherings. Maya Wiseman, at its head, is pictured above at a 2022 potluck; the idea was borne from her own desires to create a community space that allowed club and party goers to develop deeper connections with each other. Wiseman’s potlucks extend beyond the Thanksgiving season, however, and are held monthly on Sunday afternoons in Chamblee. The event retains its primary goal as it operates: finding community amongst all generations of Atlanta’s queer community. “It feels like going to a family meal on Sunday, except not at all because this is safe people,” said one attendee at the November 2022 event. The potluck is just one of many community events that Southern Fried Queer Pride hosts throughout the year.

Bibliography:

Anteau, Alex. “What Do You Do When You Can’t Go Home for the Holidays?” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 22 Nov. 2022, www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/what-do-you-do-when-you-cant-go-home-for-the-holidays/AUCT56C75RBZ5H2AQT7CEMTVHY/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

Veliz, Jacqueline. “Thanksgiving Dinner with Charlie Brown.” Lgbt.emory.edu, 2021, lgbt.emory.edu/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D156606068. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.