In 1999, Kecia Cunningham was the South’s first, openly lesbian African American elected to office, winning a seat on Decatur, Georgia, City Commission.

SONG cofounders, left to right, Mandy Carter, Suzanne Pharr, Joan Garner, Pat Hussain, Mab Segrest, and Pam McMichael. Few pictures of the whole group together exist, and this picture, taken in 2013 by Edie Daly, is no exception. Mab Segrest has been added (with her permission).

Southerners on New Ground (SONG) is an organization formed in 1992 to establish coalitions for social change. Interviews with all six founders are online.