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them to send two buses of supporters to the rally. Explaining his actions, Fambro stated that “we
did not have enough people brave enough,” attesting to the level of fear that came with
supporting gay rights in Macon at that time.16 The organizers intended the rally as a stand against

the anti-homosexual sentiments of Bryant and to address the recent assassination of Harvey

Milk. The day after the rally the Telegraph reported that a group of seventy people attended the
peaceful rally and picketing demonstration.17 This rally was a demonstration of unity amongst

the gay community and their supporters in Macon. Fambro determined that it would not be the

last.

Fambro an Advocate for all Human Rights

After the rally, the Macon Coalition for Human Rights was disbanded and Fambro

became the vice president of the Society for Individual Rights in Macon. According to Fambro,

the Society for Individual Rights was formed as an offshoot of the Macon Coalition for Human
Rights, which had been created solely for the purpose of staging the anti-Bryant rally.18 He

gained notoriety for his activism as a representative at the rally. He was featured in articles in

Gay News Atlanta and gained national attention in a Time article that discussed how conservative

Judeo-Christians and Bryant's rhetoric caused suspicion, hostility, and occasionally violence

towards LGBT individuals. Describing the situation in Macon, George Church wrote in Time,

two gay bars compete for customers with no police harassment. But the only proclaimed
homosexual in town is Disc Jockey Johnny Fambro, who came out last fall to help
organize opposition to an Anita Bryant rally. "Susan," a lesbian who works at nearby
Robins Air Force Base, attended the anti-Bryant demonstration but would not carry a
picket sign because she feared she would not get a security clearance.19

16 “Johnny Fambro receives Guiding Star Award,” YouTube Video, 5:57, award speech on Jun 24, 2011, The Georgia Voice,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QFD1NNioOQ.
17 Sidney Hill, "Bryant Not Only Issue In Quiet Gay Protest," Macon Telegraph (Macon), December 10, 1978, 1A.
18 Marti Elliott, "Bryant protest catalyst for Macon gay group," Gay News Atlanta, January 1979, 3.
19 George Church, ""How Gay Is Gay? Homosexual men and women are making progress toward equality."," TIME, April 23,
1979, 72-76.

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