GLOBES

GLOBES - Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees and Supporters is an organization whose mission is to advocate for, develop and nurture the University of Georgia’s LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) communities. Founded in 1994 by Annette Hatton, then managing editor of The Georgia Review, GLOBES worked for social justice, equity and LGBTQ+ rights at UGA and beyond. In the organization’s early years, members lobbied for campus administrators to address the exclusion of sexual orientation as a protected identity in the institution’s non-discrimination policies. Thanks in large part to their efforts, in 2006 UGA announced the inclusion of sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination policy and the extension of soft benefits to domestic partners.

In 1998, GLOBES hosted a potluck picnic that would forever shape LGBTQ+ culture in Athens. The event expanded and became the spark for Athens PRIDE, a community-based non-profit organization centered on fellowship and support for the LGBTQ+ community. The picnic is now part of Athens PRIDE Week and Festival, an annual celebration of love and creating safe spaces.

Photographs, Athens Pride Picnic, 2006.
GLOBES (Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees and Supporters) Records, Hargrett Library

Gay Rights Protestors March in Atlanta, WSB-TV

Each year, GLOBES publishes Family and Friends, a guide providing the names of places in the Athens community that are LGBTQ+-friendly. These include organizations and their meeting times, mental and physical health service providers, spiritual groups, as well as local restaurants and bars. The guide also includes a calendar of local queer-positive events.