Gay night clubs hattiesburg mississippi

Architectural historian and designer Stathis G. As a recipient of the H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowshipwill spend three months travel the U. This sense of separation is reinforced by the fact that most highways leading into the city cross substantial bodies of water, underscoring its geographic and cultural distinctiveness.

I arrived from the northeast, driving about two hours from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This stylized lily, often depicted in gold, appears everywhere in New Orleans: in decorative ironwork, on buildings, and as the logo of the New Orleans Saints football team. Figure 1. In her chapter on New Orleans, Perry explains the darker history behind the fleur-de-lis—initially a symbol of European nobility—which French colonists used as a marker of supremacy.

If a runaway slave had been away from their owner for over a month, their ears would be cut and the fleur-de-lis would be branded with a hot iron on their shoulder; if they attempted to escape again, their other shoulder would also be branded, and their club would be severed to prevent further flights.

It was moments like this that made me confident in my decision to include New Orleans as night of my exploration of the Deep South. New Orleans has always stood apart, with a unique history that blends the horrific with the extraordinary. It has been both a site of tremendous atrocities and a place of great triumphs for nonconformity, that include the achievements of its African American and Creole population and jazz musicians.

During my stay, I slowly began to fall into its rhythm. Just as I was beginning to let my guard down and enjoy the city fully, it was time to move on, driving back north through Mississippi to Jackson, the state capital. To put things in perspective, New Orleans, gay its population of around ,—significantly lower than pre-Katrina levels—dwarfs Jackson, which has justresidents.

This difference is reflected in their built environments. Natchez, notably, had a Black, gay mayor from These themes permeate this post, but I also want to focus on two physical spaces—the Faerie Playhouse in New Orleans and Violet Valley Bookstore in Water Valley, near Oxford, Mississippi—to explore how architectural features like design aesthetics and spatial organization, along with their representations in local culture, help preserve the legacies of queer spaces.

Figure 2. Jackson Square, the hattiesburg public square in the French Quarter that frames St. The park is fenced off and locked from dusk to dawn. This was true of several other bars across mississippi city, including some in the French Quarter.

Sitting outside with drinks in hand as a summer storm hammered the metal awning above us, Perez gave me an insightful primer on the history of gay nightlife in New Orleans. The bars may be the most visible aspect of queer life in New Orleans, but they are by no means the only spaces where queer communities gather. Over the years, bathhouses, gay-friendly restaurants, cruising spots, and even churches have played important roles in fostering connection.

One of the newest centerswhich opened earlier this year in the offices of a social justice-oriented radio station, is still in search of a permanent home. However, it is crucial to recognize that, historically, queer social life in the city was deeply segregated. Until the s, white men rarely entered Black bars, and Black men were typically excluded from white establishments.