Is the Owner of Popular Atlanta Drag Bar a Racist?

Features

Jan 19

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cw: Racism and Racist Language

Do you know your local LGBTQIA+ bar owners?

WUSSY was sent some damning screenshots by a former employee of one of Atlanta's most popular drag bars, which appears to be from the Facebook of Burkhart's Pub owner, Palmer Marsh. The posts date back to 2015, and the former employee, who chooses to remain anonymous, said the screencaps were sent to them by a fellow employee.

The screencaps have recently been making the rounds on Facebook, causing many local community members to call for a boycott of the Atlanta gay staple.

Burkhart's, which hosts popular drag nights Thursday-Sunday, boasting some of Atlanta's most legendary queens, has been owned by Marsh for the last thirty years according to Georgia's business registry. Former RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Manilla Luzon and Laganja Estranja are scheduled to appear there in the coming months.

Amber Divine, a former member of Atlanta's oldest drag troupe, The Armorettes, took to Facebook last year to publicly express her feelings about Burkhart's.

"Just so you'll know the group has decided to leave the Hideaway and go back to Burkharts," Divine wrote. "A decision that I did not support due to the fact that Burkharts is a racist bar it condones racism and uses the N-word predominately."