ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Runners, walkers and supporters filled Piedmont Park on Sunday for Pride Run ATL, a community-focused event celebrating LGBTQ+ pride, visibility and togetherness.

“I like to find causes to walk/jog for, not run just yet, but this is dear to my heart, I have friends, family, I have coworkers, just people in general who all should experience love,” said Koreena Atkins, who has been on a fitness journey in the last year.

Organizers say the run is designed to welcome participants of all levels — from competitive runners chasing a personal best to families and first-timers looking to show support and enjoy a morning in the park.

“This is basically a pride parade that happens to be 3.1 miles,” said Nick King, Pride Run ATL’s Director.

A morning of community and celebration Piedmont Park has long served as a gathering place for Atlanta’s biggest community events, and Pride Run ATL adds a fitness-forward kickoff to the day’s Pride energy.

“I have so many friends who identify in this community. Me as an ally, I just want to make sure I’m giving back any way I can,” said Johnathan Carey, with Union Fit Hub who led the warmup Sunday.

The largest pride run in the southeast was emceed by Atlanta News First’s very own Andy Pierrotti.

Shannon Sweat said he’s been running in this race for the last three years.

“Obviously show my pride, it’s a great month, it’s a great to have all these people out here, it’s a lot of fun,” said Sweat.

The event blends wellness with celebration, bringing people together for a shared start line and a shared message: everyone belongs.

King said this year’s theme is “Free To Be” and it’s all about being yourself.

All of the money raised goes towards LGBTQ+ organizations in the community, and King said this year, they’ve raised more money than ever before.

“Seeing people cross the finish line and it’s almost like this overwhelming sense of freedom to just be free to whoever they want to be,” said King.

For Onaje Henderson, co-owner of Zucot Gallery and Saturday’s keynote speaker, being a Black man comes down to one thing: showing up.

“It is doing things like this, showing up for one another, in community,” Henderson said, “but it’s also providing and looking out and taking care of people.”

June is Black Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and the Atlanta Hawks and Kaiser Permanente brought that observance to life Saturday, gathering more than 90 men of color at State Farm Arena for the second annual “Real Talk, Real Strength: Men of Color Health Summit presented by Kaiser Permanente,” a partnership event featuring three panel discussions, a keynote address and additional programming throughout the day. The event is part of a broader three-part wellness series launched this year by the organizations, targeting different demographics across the Atlanta community.

Brandon Gardner, community relations manager for Kaiser Permanente, said the event reflects the organization’s commitment to whole-person health.

“If your mental health, your emotional health, your spiritual health is not intact, that kind of puts all that together with the physical health,” Gardner said. “Creating this space, providing a space where black men can be their authentic selves, means the world to me.”

The day’s programming centered on themes the organizers described as long-overlooked among men of color, including what Henderson called “the invisible weight that men carry.”

“My business became my identity, but that’s not who I am as a person,” Henderson said. “With the rate of suicides that are happening right now, the rate of brothers who are just unhappy in life, I also matter. I think that’s what we’re talking about today.”

Psychologist Dr. Curtis D. Jasper, a panelist, delivered one of the summit’s most candid moments, recounting a period between 2009 and 2013 during which he lost his mother to lung cancer, went through a divorce, and watched his financial life collapse.

“I literally had to surrender,” Jasper said. “I couldn’t achieve my way out. I couldn’t borrow any more money my way out. I couldn’t thug my way out. I couldn’t speak my way out, teach my way out, accumulate my way out.”

Jasper said two things kept him grounded during that period: going to the gym and changing his diet. Conrad Hall, a data analyst and University of West Georgia alumnus who attended to support a friend, said Jasper’s account put language to something he hadn’t fully considered before.

“A season can actually be years,” Hall said. “People don’t realize that. The most important thing to take away is how to maneuver through a season when it can be that long.”

Jasper told attendees that recovery, not the avoidance of failure, is the skill worth developing.

“Don’t avoid falling and taking L’s,” he said. “Just get good at recovery.”

According to the American Heart Association in a 2026 study, high blood pressure affects more than 62 percent of non-Hispanic Black men, one of the highest prevalence rates in the world, and the reality of that statistic was present in the room. Former NBA champion Josh Powell discussed how two decades of professional basketball have left a physical toll he continues to manage, while Dr. Aaron Cooper disclosed that he is currently navigating a high blood pressure diagnosis of his own.

“There are things that I’ve put my body through that are now starting to catch up to me,” Powell said, “so it’s just really being mindful and making sure that I’m doing the proper things.”

The summit is the third event in a series that began in May with “The Whole Women: Women of Color Wellness Experience,” which drew nearly 100 women to the Andrew Young and Family YMCA, followed by “The Wellness Huddle: A Youth Mental Wellness Summit,” which served nearly 70 middle school students. The Hawks and Kaiser Permanente launched their partnership in 2024 and surveyed more than 50 men of color ahead of Saturday’s event to shape the panel topics around what attendees actually wanted to discuss.

Sean Barham, a recruiter originally from Jamaica who was laid off last year, said a panelist’s framing of ego as a barrier to healing directly reflected his own experience.

“Dr. Jones said that ego is the killer, and it can hold you down and not bring you up,” Barham said. “You have to be acceptable to being vulnerable, and you can’t do it alone.”

Related

The Atlanta Braves and their offense kept rolling last night as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates. They will attempt to do it again as Spencer Strider takes on Braxton Ashcraft. The one area that was concerning is that Michael Harris was removed near the end of the game last night with it being in question if he will play today.

It looked like he was slated to play today, but we did not know until the lineup was officially announced.

The last two days Walt Weiss had a lineup that was almost the same but just flipped a few spots, so today it was interesting to see if he would take the same approach, or possibly have Harris DH to give him a little extra rest to be safe. In the case of Harris DHing or not starting at all, we could assume that Eli White would possibly get the nod for CF. In a bit of sad news, Harris was not getting the start today after all.

One thing is for certain, Mauricio Dubón needed to stay in the lineup with his clutch hitting. So far this season he is hitting .358/.414/.623 with runners in scoring position. Prior to seeing the lineup card we could assume that if Harris was the DH or not in the lineup at all, where Dubón plays would be in the air. CF was on the table with White struggling, and that is the route that Weiss went to allow Yastrzemski to get the start.

Austin Wynns will be making his first start as a Brave today which makes sense since Kim is getting the start at SS and Harris is out. The Braves will need the offensive boost.

The Pirates and their offense have been surprising to say the least. They have scored the fourth most runs in MLB. To put that in perspective, they have scored ten more runs than the fifth best Yankees. The offense has been heavily aided by offseason pickups Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. Lowe has fifteen HRs and an OPS of .864 while O’Hearn has nine HRs and an OPS of .852.

Oneil Cruz is also having his best year offensively as well with fourteen HRs and an OPS of .818.

It was great to see the standing ovation for Marcell Ozuna yesterday, but he will not get the start this afternoon.

First pitch is at 4:10 EDT