ODS S1:E6 Sam Park
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Sam Park
Georgia’s First Openly Gay State Representative
In this episode, we hear from Sam Park, who is both the first Asian-American Democrat and the first openly gay (male) lawmaker to serve in the Georgia State Legislature. The grandson of refugees and the son of Korean immigrants, Sam has been a powerful voice for Georgia’s Asian-American community and an affordable healthcare advocate for all Georgians. In addition to his legislative duties, Sam serves as general counsel for Positive Impact Health Centers, which works to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Georgia.
Out Down South is brought to you by the Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project and is part of the WUSSY Podcast Network.
Hosted by Rachel Garbus (@goodgraciousrachel).
Produced by Jon Dean (@jondeanphoto), Rachel Garbus, and Sam Landis(@iam_samlandis).
Episode 6 was edited by Jonathan Thomas Maiocco (@jonathanthomasmaiocco)
Podcast graphics created by Sam Landis
Photographed by Kenedee Hodges.
Sam Park is pictured on the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta.
Project interns - Alyssa Zhang, Alex Campo, Hunter Buchheit, Kaleb Branch, and Oli Turner.
Our Original Podcast Theme Music was created by our sound designer, Jonathan Thomas Maiocco (@jonathanthomasmaiocco)
The podcast is funded by a Georgia Humanities grant and individual gifts from LGBTQ+ history lovers like you. If you would like to support the project, you can by visiting: atlantalgbtqhistoryproject.org/donate
Stay up to date with the Out Down South Podcast and Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project on social: instagram.com/atllgbtqhisproj/ or @atllgbtqhisproj on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
About the Project:
The Atlanta LGBTQ+ History Project is a multimedia initiative to gather, share, and preserve the history and life stories of LGBTQ+ communities in Georgia and across the Southeast. Through oral history, photography, and archival materials, we bring the voices and stories of LGBTQ+ Atlantans to life.
Explore the project through museum exhibitions, the Out Down South podcast, live and virtual panel series, and online materials. All project materials are archived at Georgia State University Library’s Special Collection & Archives. Find out more at
Learn more by visiting: atlantalgbtqhistoryproject.org
We are grateful for the partners of the podcast and project: WussyMag, The LGBTQ Institute at The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the special collections and archives at Georgia State University Library where all of the oral histories from this project will be archived.
Want to record your own oral history, or interview a friend or family member?
StoryCorps is an organization that provides people across the country with the opportunity to record and preserve the stories of their lives. You can record an interview with a friend or family member at their Atlanta recording booth, or remotely through the StoryCorps app. Find out more here: storycorps.org/atlanta/
You can also reach out to us at hello@atlantalgbtqhistoryproject.org to nominate others you think we should include in the
A full episode transcript to be uploaded at a later date.
Partner recognition:
We are grateful for the partners of the podcast and project: WussyMag, Out Front Theatre Company, and the special collections and archives at Georgia State University Library where all of the oral histories from this project will be archived.
Additional Resources:
To stay informed about legislation impacting Georgia’s LGBTQ, you can sign up for Georgia Equality’s Action Alerts here.
To learn more about Sam Park and his campaign, visit here: samforgeorgia.com