Hops at the History Center: Noted author Martin Padgett

DECATUR, GA – Join author Martin Padgett as he presents his book, The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick, and the Atlanta-area LGBTQ movement in the 1980s. 

 The event takes place on Thursday, July 31, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the DeKalb County History Center, 2^nd floor, 101 E. Court St., downtown Decatur.

In The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick, Padgett assembles the complete kaleidoscope of Hardwick’s life—as a child of Stonewall, as an artist, and as one of the many thousands claimed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Blending biography and history, Padgett traces how Hardwick became a political symbol, first by chance, then by his own choice, even when it made him an object of derision and scrutiny.

Martin Padgett is the author of A Night at the Sweet Gum Head. The recipient of a Lambda Literary Fellowship, his writing has appeared in the Oxford American, The Paris Review, and Washington Post, among other publications. He lives in Pensacola Beach, FL. 

Thursday, July 31, 2025

6:30 – 7:30 pm

DeKalb History Center, 2nd floor

101 E Court Square

Decatur, GA 30030 

Tickets: $5 for members, $10 for non-members

Ticket Link: https://dekalbhistory.charityproud.org/EventRegistration/Index/23769