Volume 47, Issue 3, January 15, 2016

ODDITY, HERO, REBEL
The world this week mourned the death

of rock icon David Bowie, who succumbed
to cancer just days after the release of his
nal album. A look back at his legendary
career and essential catalog of music,
PAGE 23. And a tribute from a
gay fan, PAGE 18.
PHOTO BY JEAN-LUC; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
JANUARY
15
2016
VOLUME 47
ISSUE 03
AMERICAS GAY NEWS SOURCE
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
HRCs Chad Grin sees 2016 as

pivotal year for LGBT rights
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
EDITORS NOTE: This is part one of a two-part interview with
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Grin. The second
installment will be posted to washingtonblade.com in the coming
days.
For Chad Grin, 2016 represents a pivotal time when

the LGBT communitys successes after the U.S. Supreme
Court ruling on marriage could continue or face
signicant setbacks.
Weve never had so much at stake in any election than
we have in 2016 as it relates to LGBT rights both in
terms of protecting our gains as well as having advocates
both in the House and Senate as well as in the White
House that will not only protect our progress and our
gains, but also be champions and leaders in order for
us to achieve success in the future as it relates to the
Equality Act and a host of other priorities, Grin said.
The president of the Human Rights Campaign, the
nations largest LGBT group, laid out his vision for the
year ahead in a wide-ranging, 45-minute interview with
the Washington Blade in his ocein Washington, D.C.
At the top of his list of concerns is the expectation that
state legislatures would advance bills aimed at rolling
back progress on LGBT rights. Touting his organizations
new report on the danger of suchbills, Grin said when
asked if he thinks we might see movement on them, I
think not may, I think we will.
Weve been working in coalition, depending on the
state, with state groups, with business coalitions around
the states to ensure that were all in front of us and that
no one is caught o guard and that no one is surprised,
and I think the experience of what we saw this last
CONTINUES ON PAGE 12
I do believe in the 2016 cycle well be on the defensive more than were on the oense, said HRCs CHAD GRIFFIN
of eorts to advance LGBT rights.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
PLOT THICKENS
LAST HURRAH
KINK TIME
New poll suggests

Vince Gray would beat
incumbents for Council seat.
President Obama includes

LGBT references in nal
State of the Union address.
Mid-Atlantic Leather
is back and includes
many millennial devotees.
PAGE 6
PAGE 10
PAGE 23
0 2 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
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0 4 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
LO CA L N E W S
Police Chief CATHY LANIER last week changed the name of the former GLLU; this
week, the department ended midnight shift hours for the unit.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Police LGBT liaison unit

ends midnight shift
Ocers assigned to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Departments LGBT Liaison
Unit are no longer working the midnight shift, according to sources familiar with
the unit.
At least one source familiar with the newly renamed LGBTLU said the midnight
shift has often been the units busiest time period because higher rates of violent
crime and domestic violence occur during late-night hours.
Police spokesperson Lt. Sean Conboy couldnt immediately be reached to
determine why LGBTLU ocers were no longer assigned to the midnight shift
and who made the decision to discontinue the shift for the unit.
For more than a year, members of the LGBTLU and other police liaison units
have been assigned to unrelated patrol duties for half of their daily work shifts
due to a shortage of ocers on the force, police ocials have said.
Last week, Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced in an internal message to all
members of the force that she had changed the name of the unit from the Gay
and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU) to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Liaison Unit (LGBTLU). The department issued a public statement announcing
the name change on Jan. 11.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Gay man protests ring from Md. Catholic church

A gay music minister who was red from a Maryland Catholic church because he is
married to a man on Sunday joined a group of advocates who gathered outside the
parish to protest his termination.
Jerey Higgins and his husband, Robert Higgins, stood outside Mother Seton Roman
Catholic Church in Germantown as parishioners arrived for Mass.
Were standing here to make sure that people in the parish know what happened, that
I was red from my job for being gay and married, Jerey Higgins told the Washington
Blade.
Jerey Higgins mother, Maria Higgins, stood near her son along Father Hurley
Boulevard while holding a sign that read, We are the church and we would not re
Jerey.
I feel very, very sad about the situation, said Maria Higgins, speaking through tears.
I feel very proud of Jerey and Robert and Im very proud to stand here.
At least one driver who drove past the protest honked their horn in support of Jerey
Higgins.
Jerey Higgins told the Blade last month that the parish in June 2014 hired him as a
part-time music minister.
He said that Rev. Lee Fangmeyer, a pastor at the Montgomery County church, on
Nov. 8, 2015, red him after it had been discovered that I was gay and married. The
Archdiocese of Washington upheld Jerey Higgins termination.
The Archdiocese of Washington last month acknowledged to the Blade that Jerey
Higgins had entered into a same-sex marriage, in public violation of Catholic teaching
that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. It further said that his
JEFFREY HIGGINS (second from right) joins a group of his supporters outside Mother Seton
Roman Catholic Church in Germantown, Md., on Jan. 10.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
employment at Mother Seton Parish was terminated after Fangmeyer determined

that he violated the agreed upon terms of his employment in the archdiocese.
The fact that the archdiocese makes such a claim is preposterous, Robert Higgins
told the Blade.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Stein Club to conduct presidential straw poll

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the citys largest partisan LGBT political group,
plans to conduct a presidential straw poll among its members on Feb. 16, club ocials
announced at the groups regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 11.
Stein President Earl Fowlkes said as many as 300 members will likely cast their
votes for one of the three main candidates seeking the Democratic Partys presidential
nomination, including Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin
OMalley.
Fowlkes said the club will waive its requirement that people must be a member of the
club at least 60 days prior to a club vote on an endorsement or the election of ocers.
He said the waiver will allow people to join the club on the day of the straw poll, which
will take place during a D.C. election candidate petition signing party organized by the
club.
Stein Vice President for Administration Martin Garcia said the petitions would be
for candidates running for local D.C. oces, including seats on the City Council, who
must obtain signatures from registered voters to be placed on the ballot. Garcia said
representatives of the three Democratic presidential candidates have been invited to
speak at the event before the voting for the straw poll begins.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Architect chosen for Taylor Medical Center redo

Whitman-Walker Health this week announced it has named Selldorf Architects to
design the redevelopment of the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center site in the 14th Street
corridor.
The site, located at 1701 14th St., N.W., houses select services and sta space
to support the health care operations at Whitman-Walkers other sites, as well as
administrative departments. These functions will continue to operate out of the
Elizabeth Taylor building for the next several years.
That space will give way to a full-block project to include space for Whitman-Walker as
well as ground-oor retail and residential units in the mixed-use development.
We are thrilled that the redevelopment of the 1701 14th St. site will be the rst
design in the nations capital for Annabelle Selldorf and her team, said Don Blanchon,
Whitman-Walkers executive director. We knew we needed an architect who would
take the time to truly understand Whitman-Walkers unique place within metro D.C.s
LGBTQ community and our unwavering commitment to our patients.
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0 6 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
LO CA L N E W S
Gray leads Orange, Alexander for Council: poll

Gay candidate trails former
mayor by 22 points
eld operations our numbers will only

continue to grow.
Orange and Alexander have declined
to comment on the poll, saying they will
campaign aggressively to win re-election
to their respective seats.
The Washington Post reported that the
poll was greatly limited by methodology
because it included in its ndings only
voters who said they would likely vote
in the June 14 primary rather than all
registered Democratic voters. The Post
noted that the poll also limited its reach
to people with conventional phone lines
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.

lchibbaro@washblade.com
Former D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has
a double-digit lead over two incumbent
City Council members hes considering
running against in the citys June 14
Democratic primary, according to a poll
commissioned by Gray supporters.
The poll, conducted by the rm Public
Policy Polling, also found that gay atlarge candidate David Garber was in third
place with 10 percent of the vote in a
hypothetical four-candidate race, trailing
Gray by 22 points. The poll has Gray
in rst place with 32 percent, Council
member Vincent Orange (D-At-Large) in
second place with 20 percent and at-large
candidate Robert White in fourth place
with 6 percent.
Thirty-two percent of the likely
Democratic voters participating in the
poll said they were not sure who they
would vote for in the at-large race, a sign
that a signicant number of voters are
uncertain about whether they would back
Gray over the other candidates.
The poll shows that if Gray were to run
for the Councils Ward 7 seat, which he says
hes considering doing, he would be ahead
of incumbent Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7)
by a margin of 48 percent to 32 percent.
Ward 7 candidate Ed Potillo would receive
6 percent and 14 percent of Ward 7 voters
are undecided, the poll shows.
Last month, Gray announced through
his spokesperson and former mayoral
campaign manager Chuck Thies that he
was considering running for either the atlarge or Ward 7 Council seat.
His announcement came after the oce
of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. disclosed in
December that it had ended a ve-year
criminal investigation into whether Gray
had knowledge of and was responsible
for illegal campaign contributions to his
2010 mayoral campaign. Gray has stated
repeatedly that he had no knowledge of
and played no role in illegal campaign
activity associated with his successful
2010 mayoral campaign, in which he
unseated then-Mayor Adrian Fenty.
A news conference by former U.S.
Attorney Ronald Machen in April 2014
three weeks before the Democratic
mayoral primary suggesting that Gray
was implicated in the illegal campaign
activities and would likely be indicted is
believed by many political observers to
be a key factor leading to Grays defeat
in the election by then-Council member
Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4). Bowser won
election as mayor in the November 2014
general election.
rather than cell phones, despite the fact

that 44 percent of D.C. residents were
only reachable by cell phone as of 2012.
It seems that the Post is incapable
of covering anything about Vince Gray
without injecting controversy into the
story or sullying something, Thies told
the Blade. PPP is a highly rated polling
rm with an excellent track record for
accuracy. I once told National Journal,
If Vince Gray cured cancer, the Post
would come out in favor of cancer. The
Post has proven my theory to be correct
once again.
Former D.C. Mayor VINCENT GRAY is

considering a run for Council.
With the dark cloud of a possible

indictment no longer hanging over Grays
head, many LGBT activists have joined
Gray supporters in expressing support
for Grays return to elective oce. A
number of prominent LGBT leaders have
predicted Gray would win the LGBT vote
if he were to run for either of the two
Council seats hes eyeing.
Among other things, the poll
commissioned by Gray supporters asked
those participating in the poll whether
they viewed each of the declared or
potential at-large candidates favorably or
unfavorably. Forty-two percent said they
view Gray favorably, 37 percent said they
viewed him unfavorably and 22 percent
were unsure.
Asked if they have a favorable or
unfavorable opinion of David Garber,
14 percent selected the favorable
category, 8 percent said they viewed
him unfavorably, and 78 percent said
they were unsure. The large percentage
of those who are unsure of how to view
Garber suggests most voters arent
familiar with him and could move into the
favorable column if Garber is able to wage
an eective, well-nanced campaign.
However, the poll also suggests that it
would be dicult if not highly unlikely for
Garber to win in a race against Gray.
Garber supporters say Garbers 10
percent showing is impressive at this
early stage of the campaign and that his
poll numbers will increase signicantly as
he becomes better known among voters.
Whats evident from this poll is that a
lot of voters have made up their minds
about my opponents, and a whole lot
will be looking for fresh leadership on
the Council, Garber told the Washington
Blade in a statement. Those that know
me and my work overwhelmingly support
me. As a result of our robust support
weve raised a lot of money, and once
we start expanding our media and
D.C. Mayor MURIEL BOWSER was scheduled to announce new nancial support for
local groups assisting homeless youth earlier this week.
Bowser, Verizon announce

support for LGBT homeless youth
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and an executive with Verizon Communications
Company were scheduled to announce new nancial support for local
organizations assisting LGBT homeless youth at a ceremony Wednesday
morning at the oces of Casa Ruby.
According to a statement released by the mayors oce, Bowser and Mario
Acosta-Velez, the state government aairs director at Verizon whos gay, would
be joining Casa Rubys director Ruby Corado, Wanda Alston House director Ken
Pettigrew, and SMYAL executive director Sultan Shakir at the event.
Acosta-Velez is the former president of the D.C. Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.
The changes include an additional six new shelter beds, a $45,000 investment
by Verizon to support the Wanda Alston House and Supporting and Mentoring
Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL) two organizations that serve LGBT youth
experiencing homelessness in the District and the recipients of ve mini-grants
to support community-based organizations involved in this work, the statement
from the mayors oce says.
These investments have come as a result of the End Youth Homelessness
Act and the Homeless Youth Census conducted last summer and exemplify
the Bowser administrations commitment to ensuring equity and increasing
excellence in serving District residents experiencing homelessness, the
statement says.
Other city ocials scheduled to attend the event were Brenda Donald, Deputy
Mayor for Health and Human Services; and Laura Zeilinger, Director of the D.C.
Department of Human Services. For an updated report, visit washingtonblade.com.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
J A N U A RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 0 7
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0 8 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
NATIONAL NEWS
LGBT groups cautious over

decriminalizing sex work
Some say anti-prostitution
laws violate human rights
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.

lchibbaro@washblade.com
Indiana Gov. MIKE PENCE defended religious freedom within the context of eorts to
ban anti-LGBT discrimination.
PHOTO BY GAGE SKIDMORE; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
Pence defends religious freedom measures

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Jan. 12 during his annual
State of the State address again defended religious freedom within the context
of eorts to ban anti-LGBT discrimination.
I will not support any bill that diminishes the religious freedom of Hoosiers or
that interferes with the constitutional rights of our citizens to live out their beliefs in
worship, service or work, said the Republican, according to the Indianapolis Star.
The newspaper reported that Pence said Indiana is already an open and welcoming
state that respects everyone. The Republican added, no one should be harassed or
mistreated because of who they are, who they love or what they believe.
No one should ever fear persecution because of their deeply held religious
beliefs, said Pence, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Chris Paulsen, campaign manager for Freedom Indiana, a group that supports
eorts to ban anti-LGBT discrimination in the state, criticized Pences speech.
This is a complete letdown, said Paulsen.
White House LGBT liaison steps down

WASHINGTON The White House on Jan. 12 announced that its LGBT liaison
is stepping down.
The Washington Post reported that Aditi Hardikar will join former Secretary of
State Hillary Clintons presidential campaign as its nance director for coalitions.
Hardikar joined the administration in November 2014.
The Washington Post reported the White House credited Hardikar with
advancing LGBT-specic issues during her tenure. These include the rst-ever
gender neutral restroom at the Executive Mansion and lighting it up in rainbow
colors last June to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling extending marriage
rights to same-sex couples throughout the country.
Aditis ngerprints are all over many of this administrations most important
steps forward, White House adviser Valerie Jarrett told the Washington Post.
The White House has yet to announce Hardikars successor.
Sports teams back Mass. discrimination bill

BOSTON Four of New Englands professional sports teams on Jan. 11
endorsed a Massachusetts bill that would ban discrimination based on gender
identity in public accommodations.
The New England Patriots, the Boston Celtics, the Boston Bruins and the New
England Revolution back the measure alongside TD Garden, the arena in which the
Celtics and Bruins play. The Boston Red Sox previously endorsed the proposal.
Todays endorsement is just proof that passing legislation to extend full rights
to transgender Bay Staters is an obvious next step for the commonwealth, said
Carly Burton, campaign manager for Freedom Massachusetts, a group that
supports the measure, in a statement.
The Boston Globe reported that Massachusetts law already bans discrimination
based on gender identity in housing, employment, lending and public education.
Advocates expect the measure will easily pass in the Massachusetts Senate.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) told the Boston Globe he remains
condent it will also garner sucient support in his chamber.
It remains unclear whether Republican Gov. Charlie Baker will sign the
measure.
Five prominent national LGBT rights

organizations issued a joint statement
in August expressing support for
a controversial declaration by the
international human rights group
Amnesty International calling for the
decriminalization of prostitution.
The National LGBTQ Task Force issued
a separate statement in December
announcing its support for decriminalizing
sex work but went a step further by urging
law enforcement agencies to immediately
deprioritize eorts to enforce antiprostitution laws.
Lesbian activist Maxine Doogan of San
Francisco who heads an organization that
advocates for the rights of sex workers
said her group welcomes the national
LGBT groups decision to come out for
decriminalization of sex work. But she
told the Washington Blade the groups
dont appear to be taking concrete action
to strike down anti-prostitution laws.
Doogan, who serves as president
of the Erotic Service Providers Legal
Education and Research Project, said the
national LGBT groups have turned down
her organizations request for nancial
support for a potentially groundbreaking
lawsuit seeking to overturn Californias
anti-prostitution
laws
on
federal
constitutional grounds.
The group led the lawsuit in March
2015 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
It is likely to advance to the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, with the potential
of overturning anti-prostitution laws in
California and several neighboring states
within the Ninth Circuit, according to
attorneys representing Doogans group.
Theres no traction at all for repealing
these laws legislatively, Doogan said. We
believe litigation is the best way to go.
In a development that has surprised
some legal observers, U.S. District Court
Judge Jerey White, whos presiding
over the case, has postponed issuing a
ruling on a motion by California Attorney
General Kamala Harris calling for
dismissing the case. White instead has
called on the opposing sides to submit
new briefs taking into consideration the
U.S. Supreme Court decision last June
legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
Although it doesnt say so explicitly,
the National LGBTQ Task Forces call for
deprioritizing anti-prostitution laws suggests
that it, too, doesnt expect lawmakers to
repeal such laws any time soon.
D.C. Council member DAVID GROSSO said

he was reconsidering introducing legislation
to decriminalize prostitution in D.C. because
hes unsure it would pass.
Police departments and prosecutors

must stop enforcing these laws, which
have negative consequences for people
engaged in the sex trade, the Task Force
says in a document called Sex Work
Policy Recommendations. It notes in the
document that LGBT people involved in
sex work out of nancial necessity are
marginalized by the constant threat and
risk of arrest and criminal charges.
Amnesty International announced
in August that its declaration seeking
decriminalization of sex work was
adopted with the full support of its
members throughout the world. The
declaration says criminalization of
prostitution violates the human rights
of sex workers and hinders eorts to
protect them from exploitation.
The ve LGBT groups that issued
the joint statement in August backing
Amnesty Internationals action were
Lambda Legal, the Transgender Law
Center, Gay & Lesbian Advocates &
Defenders, the National Center for
Lesbian Rights and the National Center
for Transgender Equality.
The Human Rights Campaign, the
nations largest LGBT rights group,
didnt sign on to the statement. HRC
spokesperson Liz Halloran said she would
make inquiries to nd out where HRC
stands on the issue but didnt get back as
of late Tuesday.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
1 0 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
NATIONAL NEWS
Another LGBT-inclusive State of the Union

Obergefell, Kim Davis
among attendees
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
President Obama issued a call to believe
in Americas potential during his nal
State of the Union address on Tuesday,
interlacing his words with references to
the LGBT community and the progress it
has made under his administration.
Obama spoke for nearly one hour
before a joint session of Congress on
major issues facing the country, including
climate
change,
defeating
violent
extremism and pushing forward new
scientic initiatives.
America has been through big changes
before wars and depression, the inux
of immigrants, workers ghting for a fair
deal, and movements to expand civil
rights, Obama said. Each time, there have
been those who told us to fear the future;
who claimed we could slam the brakes on
change, promising to restore past glory if
we just got some group or idea that was
threatening America under control. And
each time, we overcame those fears.
The most words Obama devoted to
LGBT people during his speech were
toward the end when he identied
dierent kinds of Americans. The line
could apply to someone identifying as
either gay, bisexual or transgender.
Its the son who nds the courage to
come out as who he is, and the father
whose love for that son overrides
everything hes been taught, Obama said.
In the year after the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled in favor of same-sex marriage,
Obama said the spirit of America is
responsible for how we secured the
freedom in every state to marry the
person we love.
Obama made history last year by
being the rst president to say the words
lesbian, bisexual or transgender
during a State of the Union address. This
year, he enumerated the word gay, but
downplayed the identication in favor of
identifying asan American.
I can promise that a year from now,
when I no longer hold this oce, Ill be right
there with you as a citizen inspired by
those voices of fairness and vision, of grit
and good humor and kindness that have
helped America travel so far, Obama said.
Voices that help us see ourselves not rst
and foremost as black or white or Asian or
Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant
or native born; not as Democrats or
Republicans, but as Americans rst, bound
by a common creed.
Noticeably absent from Obamas
speech was a call for Congress to pass
gun safety measures in the aftermath of
Ocials with the SBA and NGLCC on Jan. 12, at a press conference at the SBAs
Southwest Washington headquarters announced the schedule of meetings for a
campaign designed to help LGBT business owners.
PRESIDENT OBAMA delivered his nal State

of the Union address on Tuesday.
the executive actions he announced on

the issue last week.
Excluding his introduction by the
sergeant-at-arms and Speaker Paul Ryan
(R-Wis.), the Washington Blade counted
roughly 64 applause lines for Obama
during his speech. (A lone audience
member clapped for disagreement on
health care, military spending and Obama
not being able to do things on his own.)
LGBT advocates had called on President
Obama to address transgender visibility
and the Equality Act in his nal State of
the Union address. Although they werent
explicitly mentioned during his remarks,
LGBT rights supporters were quick to
praise Obama after his remarks.
Chad Grin, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, was in the House gallery
for the speech as a guest of Sen. Je
Merkley (D-Ore.) and commended Obama
in a series of messages on Twitter. In nal
#SOTU, @POTUS delivered a powerful
call for courage, optimism, respect and
unconditional love, he tweeted.
Among the White House guests sitting
with rst lady Michelle Obama were Jim
Obergefell, the lead plainti in the lawsuit
that led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule for
same-sex marriage nationwide, and Ryan
Reyes, the same-sex partner of one of the
victims of the San Bernardino shootings.
But anti-LGBT forces were also at work
during the State of the Union. Rep. Jim
Jordan (R-Ohio), a notoriously anti-LGBT
lawmaker, invited Rowan County Clerk
Kim Davis of Kentucky, who made national
headlines after being found in contempt
of court for ignoring the Supreme Courts
decision in favor of same-sex marriage.
SBA reaches out to

LGBT-owned businesses
The Small Business Administration and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber
of Commerce on Tuesday announced the schedule for a series of meetings that
will take place this year as part of an initiative in support of LGBT business owners.
The LGBT Business Builder campaigns rst meeting is scheduled to take place in
Boston on Feb. 17 with the Oce of Access and Opportunity within Massachusetts
Gov. Charlie Bakers administration and the NGLCCs local chapter.
Meetings are scheduled to take place in Houston on Feb. 24 and in Portland,
Ore., on March 9. Additional meetings are slated to occur later this year in
Washington; Minneapolis; Seattle; Milwaukee; Charlotte, N.C. and Nashville, Tenn.
Each meeting will last a day, and will feature a panel on the process through
which LGBT-owned businesses can become certied through the NGLCC.
A second panel will highlight the access to loans and other support they can
receive through the SBA.
It is an attempt on our part to introduce our community to the viable services
that are available to them, said SBA Deputy Associate Administrator for Field
Operations Eugene Cornelius, Jr., during a press conference at his agencys
headquarters in Southwest Washington. As taxpayers they are entitled to the
services that we have.
The SBA and the NGLCC in February 2015 ocially launched the LGBT Business
Builder campaign.
The rst in a series of day-long training sessions took place in San Francisco
last March. SBA and NGLCC decided to initially focus on California because of a
law that requires public utilities to expand minority-owned business provisions
to LGBT-certied business owners.
Baker last November issued an executive order that added LGBT-owned
businesses and those owned by people with disabilities to a program designed
to ensure minority- and women-owned businesses have equal access to state
contracts and procurements.
It was a huge step, said NGLCC Senior Vice President Sam McClure during
the press conference.
The Houston meeting will take place less than four months after voters
rejected a non-discrimination ordinance that included sexual orientation and
gender identity.
It was an awful thing and we all have to nd ways to move forward, McClure
told the Blade during the press conference. Economic power is a critical part of
the journey for the LGBT community everywhere in this country. Houston is one
of the places where thats most painfully obvious at this point.
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
1 2 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
NEWS
Pope addresses gay priest comments in new book

LGBT Catholics react
cautiously to statements
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
Pope Francis in a new book discusses
his 2013 comments in which he said gays
and lesbians should not be judged or
marginalized.
I was paraphrasing by heart the
Catechism of the Catholic Church where it
says that these people should be treated
with delicacy and not be marginalized,
said Francis, according to the National
Catholic Reporter.
Francis during a July 2013 press brieng
told a reporter who asked him about gay
priests,Who am I to judge?
The National Catholic Reporter said
Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli last July
asked Francis about the aforementioned
comment during an interview for his book
that is scheduled for release on Tuesday.
I am glad that we are talking about
homosexual people because before
all else comes the individual person,
in his wholeness and dignity, Francis
told Tornielli, according to the National
Catholic Reporter. And people should
not be dened only by their sexual
These people should be treated with

delicacy and not be marginalized, POPE
FRANCIS says in a new book.
PHOTO BY JEFREY BRUNO; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
tendencies. Let us not forget that

God loves all his creatures and we are
destined to receive his innite love.
The National Catholic Reporter further
reports that Francis said he prefers that
homosexuals come to confession, that
they stay close to the Lord and that we
pray all together.
You can advise them to pray, show
goodwill, show them the way and
accompany them along it, the ponti
says in Torniellis book, according to the
National Catholic Reporter.
Francis made the initial comments
about gay priests less than ve months
after he assumed the papacy. LGBT
Catholics and other advocates at the time

told the Washington Blade the sentiment
was indicative of what they saw as a
change of tone from previous popes.
While the popes comments dont
fully clarify his approach to LGBT people,
these new remarks do highlight some
important points about his thinking on
lesbian and gay issues, said Francis
DeBernardo, executive director of
New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based
organization that advocates on behalf of
LGBT Catholics, in a statement he issued
in response to Francis latest comments.
Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive
director of DignityUSA, a group for LGBT
Catholics, largely echoed DeBernardo.

Pope Francis really is trying to be
pastoral, and to frame a church that is
welcoming to a wide variety of people,
Duddy-Burke told the Washington Blade
on Monday. I believe he wants people to
come in, and that change will follow. There
is denitely a change of tone from what the
Vatican has put out over the last 30 years.
DeBernardo in his statement specically
highlights what is not mentioned by the
pope in Torniellis book.
He
does
not
speak
about
condemnation or moral evaluations,
said DeBernardo. Clearly, this pope is
not as obsessed with sexual activity as his
previous predecessors have been.
Francis has said the church has grown
obsessed with marriage rights for
same-sex couples, abortion and other
social issues. The Argentine-born ponti
who is the former archbishop of Buenos
Aires has also met with several LGBT
people during his papacy, including a
transgender man from Spain who said
his fellow parishioners rejected him after
undergoing sex-reassignment surgery.
The Vaticans critics maintain church
teachings on homosexuality, marriage
rights for same-sex couples and other
LGBT-specic issues have not changed
under Francis.
Griffin sees 2016 as pivotal moment for LGBT rights

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
legislative cycle has really not just

our organization, but the movement as
a whole is more ready than we really
were last round, Grin said.
Grin divided the bills into categories:
Religious freedom bills that would
allow businesses to refuse services to
LGBT people; legislation prohibiting
municipalities from enacting pro-LGBT
non-discrimination ordinances; and antitrans bills aimed at keeping transgender
people from using the public restroom
consistent with their gender identity.
Asked to name the states in which he
thinks such legislation could advance,
Grin said the pre-emption bills could
come in four or ve states while the antitrans and religious freedom measures
could emerge in more than 20.
Grin said the strategy to defeat the
bills would dier from state to state,
but that the business community would
be key in derailing those eorts not
just behind the scenes, but vocally in
opposition to the bills.
In many of these states, its business
leaders and the state chambers its the
largest employers in the state that often
have the grandest impact among elected

ocials at the local and state level, and
so weve been working across the country
in order to ensure that businesses are
organized in ways that we can see defeat,
and you have some businesses that
are willing to be more public and some
businesses that are willing to do things
more privately, Grin said.
But Grin also emphasized the
importance of grassroots organizing,
saying the work of activists in Arkansas
last year was important in mitigating a
religious freedom bill before lawmakers
at the statehouse.
Theres only one route in, Grin said.
They either have to walk up the grand
stairs to the Senate or up the stairs into
the House of Representatives. And in
doing that they have to walk through
hundreds and hundreds of grassroots
folks fromthat state, and I maintain that
that had amongst the greatest impact
of everyday folks who were showing
up to demand equality and to ask their
legislators to oppose that legislation and
ultimately ask the governor to step back.
Grin acknowledged he also sees
opportunities to advance LGBT rights
this year, but was reluctant to specify
where because he doesnt want to tip

o opponents of LGBT rights. Among
the places that he said are no secret
are Charlotte, N.C, and Jacksonville,
Fla., where eorts are underway at the
municipal level to enact prohibitions on
anti-LGBT discrimination.
Its important not to write o
municipalities, Grin said. Before there
were any statewide protections in Utah,
there were 18 cities or municipalities that
had protections. So that meant more than
half the state was already covered by the
time the state legislature nally voted and
some protections were aorded.
In terms of advancing LGBT rights in
the states, Grin identied Pennsylvania
as one place where that could happen,
but said the focus at the state level would
be on derailing anti-LGBT eorts.
I do believe in the 2016 cycle when
were in the midst of primaries well be
on the defensive more than were on the
oense, Grin said.
Ted Martin, executive director of
Equality Pennsylvania, said he agrees
with Grin that his state could seeproLGBT legislation advance this year.
We do share this assessment, Martin
said. Non-discrimination is our top
legislative priority and we intend to do

everything we can in 2016 to see it passed.
In the aftermath of the defeat of
the LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination
ordinance in Houston last year, Grin
had told the Blade weeks ago on Capitol
Hill the result was under review. During
the interview in his oce, Grin oered
additional ideas on the strategy going
forward to counter the anti-trans attacks
at the ballot, but maintained that the
absence of business community support
was harmful intheHouston ght.
Many in the business community hid
behind the local chamber, Grin said.
That is not without a lot of attempts
and organizational appeals by us, by
our partner organizations and others.
And that was a noticeable dierence in
Houston. Business is key to our formula
for success, and weve got to have them
in our battles in the future.
Grin also said there was no
question the response to opponents
ads was insucient, not strong enough
and not well enough resourced.
The folks who were on the ground and
the campaign manager, there was funding
J A N U A RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 1 3
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
1 4 J A N UA RY 1 5 , 2016
NEWS
Griffin: No chance for Equality Act this year

for a single track of ads and a decision was

made to stay on a positive message as
opposed to switching, Grin said. Often
times on a campaign, when I used to be
a campaign manager in a previous life,
your dream was tobe able to aord two
tracks, right? One track of ads that was
your positive, one track of ads that was
your response. We didnt have that level
of funding in that campaign to run two
tracks the entire time.
On the nature of the response to the
anti-trans attacks, Grin said views dier
and the issue will require more testing,
but he believes personally third-party
voices are key.
My own experience tells me
specically what we were missing in the
response were third-party validators that
could lookinto the camera and say why
those ads are wrong and why theyre lies,
Grin said. A good example of someone
like that would be a law enforcement
ocer, a police chief, someone with
credibility thats not seen as political or
partisan or having any interest.
Also key for Grin is generally raising
visibility of transgender people, which
he said is relevant to Houston, but also
the transgender movement as a whole.
Espousing the widely held view that
knowing someone who is LGBT makes a
person more supportive of LGBT rights,
Grin said in 2008, 5 or 6 percent of people
knew someone who is transgender, but
that number now is 22 percent.
And the extent to which we can increase
that number and increase the pace with
which that number goes up, it will beto our
benet in all of these campaigns around
the country, Grin said.
Grin also raised the possibility of a
Bradley Eect in Houston to account
for early poll results indicating a victory
for the ordinance before the loss on
Election Day. Under this political theory,
voters are telling pollsters they will vote
a way thats dierent from the way they
actually cast their ballots.
I think we dont have evidence to know
exactly how to interpret the dierence in
polls and the Election Day results, but I do
think its something that we as a movement
are going to have to be really conscious of
going forward in the future, Grin said.
As the 2016 presidential race
continues, Grin couldnt say when the
Human Rights Campaign would make
an endorsement. He noted the board
and sta continue to discuss the issue
as the organizations questionnaires are
returned by candidates.
Those who are willing to send them
back, who lled them out, we get them
back, Grin said. As you might suspect,
some choose not to ll them out.
HRC President CHAD GRIFFIN said hes

optimistic the Equality Act will pass
eventually, but not this year.
Asked if HRCcould realistically endorse

anyone other than Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Grin said thats a
decision for the board and drew a contrast
more generally between Democrats and
Republicans running for president.
Theres no contested presidential
primary where the dierences have been
grander between the candidates on the
Democratic side and the candidates on
the Republican side, Grin said. You
just look at three Democrats, all of whom
are champions for equality, all of whom
have endorsed the Equality Act, all of
whom have talked about their ideas to
move equality were they to be elected,
and then you look at the other side. And
you look at the other sides positions. Not
only are they not saying they wont move
things forward, theyre doubling down to
say theyll roll things back, that they will
undo our progress.
Grin said the positions Republican
presidential candidates are taking on LGBT
issues are unfortunate not only because
theyre harmful to real-live people, but
also because theyre out of line with the
majority of individuals in the Republican
Party, who as recent polls show support
LGBT non-discrimination protections.
I am condent in the general election
that it is going to be dicult for a Republican
nominee to have such hateful discriminatory
positions against LGBT people because
theyre out of touch with the electorate,
theyre out of touch with Democrats, theyre
out of touch with independents, and theyre
out of touch with Republicans to hold these
views, Grin said.
Grin said before he joined HRC, he
predicted 2016 would be the election in

which the Democratic and Republican
presidential nominees would hold the
same views on LGBT issues, but admits
he was badly wrong.
I do think that day will come because
the Republican Party cant survive as long
as they are espousing such hateful and
discriminatory views, Grin said.
Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin
Republicans, said Grin was making
incredible generalizations about the GOP
candidates for president and that some
have said they want to move on after the
Supreme Courts decision on marriage.
Theres more common ground here than
Democrats want people to think, Angelo
said. I have tremendous respect for Chad
as he heads a supposedly non-partisan
organization, I hope he more carefully
chooses how he describes GOP candidates
as we forge ahead toward Election Day.
At the federal level, one high-prole
LGBT initiative is the Equality Act, federal
legislation that would amend the Civil
Rights Act and Fair Housing Act to include
a prohibition on anti-LGBT discrimination.
Although Grin said he is optimistic
the bill would become law sooner than
many think, when asked if he saw a path
for the Equality Act to become law in this
Congress, he said, No.
This Congress cant agree on how to
keep the lights on much less the Equality
Act, Grin added. What I do think is
that the momentum is going to continue,
we will continue to add co-sponsors, we
will continue to add business endorsers,
we will educate constituents in districts
across the country when the elections
come up as to ones position on the

Equality Act. Anyone who opposes it, I
dont think deserves to be in Congress,
and those who havent yet taken
positions, our job is to work hard to
continue to convince them of why they
should publicly support it.
Grin said he bases his optimism on
the dramatic growth in support for samesex marriage among lawmakers as well
as business support, co-sponsorship and
strong polling in support for the Equality Act.
When the Blade pointed out the Equality
Act doesnt have a single Republican cosponsor, Grin said the situation was
the same for pro-LGBT legislation like the
Respect for Marriage Act and legislation to
repeal Dont Ask, Dont Tell.
But at the end of the day, with a lot of
work, with our allies on the Hill, ultimately
enough Republicans join Democrats to
get deals done, Grin said.
Asked whether the lack of endorsement
for the Equality Act from major civil
rights groups like the NAACP and the
Leadership Conference on Civil & Human
Rights is a problem, Grin said these
groups all have their own processes for
endorsement, which is not unlike what
we went through on marriage.
Congressman John Lewis has been
incredible in bringing on members and
new co-sponsors and has been an early
leader in this process along with...Cory
Booker and others, Grin said. So this
is one of the broadest-based coalitions
that weve ever had for a piece of
legislation, particularly this early on, and
we will continue to grow it and continue
to expand it.
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1 6 J A N UA RY 1 5 , 2016
BA LT I MO RE N E W S
LGBTQ Young Professionals to hold masquerade

HoCo adopts gender-neutral graduation gowns
In a move that has stirred controversy, Howard County school ocials will require
that caps and gowns for graduation be gender-neutral. Instead of boys wearing one
color and girls another, one color will be used. This decision is intended to make
transgender students feel more comfortable.
I understand its going to be hard for some, because its hard to break from tradition
and a lot of parents have strong memories of being in school colors at graduation,
Catherine Hyde, mother of a transgender graduate of Marriotts Ridge High School
and a parent facilitator for the Howard County chapter of PFLAG, told the Sun. This is
a move that will help all of our students feel more comfortable and welcomed.
The Maryland State Department of Education issued non-binding
recommendations in October for providing safe spaces for gender-nonconforming
students, according to the Sun. The Department encouraged school systems to
consider gender neutral dress codes for class or yearbook photos, honor society
ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, or dances.
Not everybody agrees with the decision. Anne-Marie Colgrave, whose daughter is
graduating from Marriotts Ridge H.S. in May, told the Sun, Why take away tradition? Forcing
gender neutral, this causes animosity instead of promoting diversity, she said. Theyre
trying to support the minorities, but youre making yourself stand out because youre a
minority, and there will be backlash. Its not going to help your cause, its going to hurt it.
But Patrick Paschall, executive director of FreeState Legal and Equality Maryland,
believes the action will be helpful. We know that LGBT youth experience
discrimination and bullying and harassment in schools. This decision by Howard
County is an opportunity to remove one more barrier, he told WJZ-CBS Baltimore.
The LGBTQ Young Professionals Network of Maryland, a membership organization

where 21- to 35-year-old LGBTQ folks and their allies can build their leadership
skills as well as their professional networks, will host a masquerade dance party on
Jan. 22. This fundraising event will take place from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Flavor, 15 E.
Centre St. in Baltimore. Guests are encouraged to wear a creative decorative mask.
However, a mask is not a requirement to attend. The cost is $10.
The LGBTQ Young Professionals Network is part of the LGBT Heath Resource
Center at Chase Brexton Health Care.
Frederick health providers seeking LGBT input

To learn how LGBTQ residents of Frederick County obtain health care and if there
is a perception of barriers, Frederick Memorial Hospital and Frederick County Health
Department have asked The Frederick Center to set up focus groups of LGBTQ
community members to answer questions pertaining to health care services. They
are conducting LGBTQ specic focus groups of 10-12 people for about 60-90 minutes
as part of a larger eort to capture representative county data.
The focus groups will address the following: how Frederick County residents obtain
health care; how they perceive their health and health care needs; perceptions that
there are barriers to obtaining or receiving care; language translation services; insurance
issues; needed programs; transportation and other barriers; variety in providers (i.e.,
doctors, nurses); long wait times; feeling respected/heard; satisfaction; and trust.
The focus group sessions are scheduled for Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the C. Burr Artz
Library, 110 E. Patrick St. in Frederick. Interested persons can sign up at doodle.com.
Participants will receive a $15 gift card, and will also be given an additional $10 if
they complete a survey.
For more information, email tfc@thefrederickcenter.org.
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J A N U A R Y 15, 2016 17
Grants bolster HIV care in Deep South

WASHINGTON AIDS United has announced its Southern REACH initiative
recipients, which nd 21 organizations in the Deep South getting $1.4 million
to advance the rights, health and dignity of people aected by HIV, the
organization has announced.
The funding comes through generous support of the Ford Foundation and
will go to organizations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Though home to 37
percent of the U.S. population, residents of the South get 49 percent of new HIV
diagnoses and death rates from HIV are three times higher than in other parts
of the country, the CDC reports.
These striking statistics are fueled by inequality related to poverty, stigma,
racism and homophobia and further compounded by the near universal refusal
to expand Medicaid throughout the region, AIDS United representatives said in
a press release.
The AIDS United Southern REACH Initiative (Regional Expansion of Access and
Capacity to Address HIV/AIDS) shapes eective policies and builds capacity among
local organizations to directly challenge HIV in the South and the disparities and
social injustices that further fuel the epidemic. Building on the strengths of local
leadership and community-based organizations, the initiative supports targeted
policy and advocacy eorts driven by and for people aected by HIV in the South
through strategic grants, technical assistance and by creating a network of advocates
dedicated to the cause. The Ford Foundation has been funding this eort for 10 years.
The 21 grantees were selected out of a highly competitive pool of applicants
and have demonstrated their ability to make signicant change in their
communities. Grantees are focused on issues such as voter mobilization,
expanding legal services in the area of housing and employment discrimination
and combating unjust HIV criminalization laws, AIDS United reports.
I am inspired by the work of theSouthernREACH grantees addressing HIV/AIDS
in the Deep South,said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. We are
proud to support the individuals and organizations working to disrupt inequality,
especially in the American South, where systemic injustice, discrimination and
harmful laws and prejudicial policies are still far too pervasive.
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Group therapy better for gay grievers: researchers
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. Group counseling and systemic interventions can be more

eective with LGBT people, grief experts say.
In a new book called Group Counseling With LGBTQI Persons, Kristopher
Goodrich, a licensed mental health counselor, and Melissa Luke, coordinator of
school counseling at Syracuse University, noticed over a decade of working on
several mental health projects, gaps in the ways group counseling work can help
meet the needs of LGBT people.
A group dynamic can be a powerful setting that induces growth and change
for clients, they said in a press release for the book. Group work is distinctive
in its ability to oer an in vivo space to explore, develop and try out new ways
of being with and relating to others in a therapeutic setting. It allows for the
individual to learn they are not isolated or alone, and the presenting concerns
they may have can be identied and felt by others. In addition, it allows the
individual to role-play and practice new ways of interacting with others, as well as
practice revealing additional aspects of themselves with feedback from others.
Group counseling helps LGBT people learn they are not isolated, gives
opportunities for role play and practice interacting with others and getting feedback.
PROOF
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can be extremely powerful and, in many ways, more inuential for long-term
change processes, the authors said in an interview with Counseling Today.
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VIEWPOINT
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Thank you, David Bowie

Oddity, hero, rebel
challenged stereotypes,
changed the world
KEVIN NAFF is editor of the Washington Blade

and can be reached at kna@washblade.com.
I hadnt gotten around to downloading

David Bowies last album, Blackstar, released just last week on his 69th birthday,
when word came Monday that he died
following an undisclosed ght with cancer.
It was a nal, classic Bowie move releasing an album without fanfare and letting the art stand on its own. No maudlin
pandering for validation or rave reviews.
But the raves came anyway, before we
knew about the cancer.
Make no mistake that without Bowie
thered be no Madonna or Lady Gaga or
any number of acts that have cited him
as a primary inuence. Even Kanye West
tweeted his appreciation. For gay fans,
like me, Bowie was a beacon and a revela-
tion. Though married for 24 years to the

equally stylish Iman, Bowie irted openly
with gay and bisexual themes in the early
1970s, only a few years after the U.K. lifted its ban on homosexual acts. He once
told an interviewer that he was gay, but in
later years played down that claim. His biographers describe a hedonistic, cocainefueled sex life in the 70s and early 80s
that reportedly included romps with men
and women.
ings though with some people it did.

But nothing was quite the same afterwards.
Indeed, the worlds of pop music and
fashion would never be the same after
Bowie exploded into public consciousness after that TV appearance.
I was lucky to see Bowie perform live
twice, rst on the stunning Sound + Vision tour in July of 1990 and later at D.C.s
Capitol Ballroom on the 1997 Earthling
His boldness in subverting gender

norms and declining to identify publicly as
heterosexual gave cover and hope to many
closeted gay fans the world over.
Recalling Bowies iconic 1972 appearance on Britains Top of the Pops, in
which he performed Starman dressed
in full Ziggy Stardust regalia, British GQ
editor Dylan Jones told the BBC that was
the moment his life changed.
He was a dangerous gure on British TV at a point when television didnt
do danger, Jones said. Forty-one years
ago, it was an extraordinary experience.
It didnt immediately ll me with gay longE DIT OR IA L C A R T OON
tour. Whether surrounded by props and

pyro and supporting players or standing
alone at center stage in a simple T-shirt,
Bowie was a showman and you couldnt
take your eyes o him.
His boldness in subverting gender
norms and declining to identify publicly
as heterosexual (despite his many dalliances with famous women) gave cover
and hope to many closeted gay fans the
world over. Bowie showed us it was OK
to be weird and dierent and to not t in
with our conventional teenage contemporaries.
As Tilda Swinton so brilliantly put it in
her tribute to Bowie featured in his recent
exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the freak becomes the great unier.
His vast inuence wasnt limited to the
world of music. Bowie was a prolic visual
artist and acclaimed actor (The Hunger,
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, The
Man Who Fell to Earth). He always embraced technology, launching an internet
service provider, Bowie.net, in the late
90s and giving a startlingly prescient interview in 2000 in which he said, Rock
and roll is now a career opportunity,
and the internet carries the ag for the
subversive and rebellious, chaotic and
nihilisticthe monopolies do not have a
monopoly [anymore]. I think the potential
of what the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable.
I think were on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying.
Bowies music is an indelible part of the
soundtrack of many lives. He was an oddity, a hero and, yes, a rebel.
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V I E W PO I N T
J A N U A RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 1 9
Coming out for Hillary Clinton

She will stand with LGBT
community, rebuild Dem party
By EARL D. FOWLKES, JR.
Like many Democrats, I have spent the last
six or seven months following the campaigns
of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Gov. Martin OMalley
and Secretary Hillary Clinton. I have read their
campaign literature, watched them debate
one another, saw their positions dissected
by political pundits and even had the opportunity to hear each of the three remaining
candidates address the Democratic National
Committee meeting in Minneapolis last summer. I even had brief conversations with
OMalley and Clinton. I have been impressed
by each candidates love for our country and
our Democratic principles as well as their sincerity in their desire to build upon the accomplishments of President Obama and his administration, which have positively impacted
the lives of so many LGBTQ Americans over
the past seven years.
I would also be disingenuous if I did not
confess that I had a broader knowledge of
Secretary Clintons public service than the
other two candidates before the campaign
started. I had to be clear in my mind what
are the important factors for me to support
one of these ne Americans to be my president. Though there are many issues in the
2016 campaign, the issues that are the most
important to me are LGBTQ equal rights, our
economy, Black Lives Matter and the state of
the Democratic Party.
on President Obamas legacy of LGBTQ empowerment and dignity.

Although not always fully embraced by
some Americans, President Obamas economic policies have contributed to 70 consecutive months of private-sector job growth.
President Hillary Clinton will continue to

build on President Obamas legacy of
LGBTQ empowerment and dignity.
I believe that Secretary Clinton has the
most experience and the deepest understanding about how to use the power of the
presidency to signicantly improve the lives
of ordinary Americans. I also believe she will
continue to bring qualied LGBTQ women
and men to into government service, ensuring that an agenda is furthered that genuinely aects the life of our communities. I
know she and her administration will continue to develop policies that provide justice
and opportunity, especially for transgender
Americans who have been so marginalized
and experienced so much indierence as evidenced by a Congress led by deeply homophobic Republicans. I strongly believe that a
President Hillary Clinton will continue to build
Clintons proposed economic policies will

build on this foundation to expand opportunities for our younger people as well as
communities of color through expanded investments in education and in job training to
allow more Americans to achieve their nancial hopes and dreams.
I believe the Black Lives Matter movement
represents a powerful response to the lack
of social, judicial and economic justice that
so many black Americans have been denied
far too long. Its not simply about injustice at
the hands of law enforcement but the generations of systemic social and economic injustice that so many black people have had
to endure. The fact that some black people
have been able to overcome some of these
barriers is more a credit to our endurance as

a people than the fairness of the system. I realize that no leader can change this overnight
but Clinton understands as does President
Obama that policy changes on the federal
level can tilt the scales of injustice to justice as
appointing fair judges and use of the Justice
Department create a legal system of fairness
for all.
Finally, as a Democrat, I believe in fair and
just immigration reform, the right of workers
to earn a fair wage, womens reproductive
rights and a host of other issues that some
would say are progressive. As such, I have
been concerned about my partys inability
to win local and statewide elections in many
parts of our nation. I know that Clinton will
work with the Democratic National Committee to rebuild our Democratic state parties so
we can push back the Republican tide of racism, sexism and homophobia gripping many
parts of America. Who knows? Maybe Bill
Clinton can be our party chairman in 2017. I
will be casting my ballot for Hillary Clinton at
the Democratic National Convention this July
in Philadelphia.
EARL FOWLKES is a Democratic National
Committee At-Large member and chair of the
DNC LGBT Caucus. He is also president of the
D.C.-based Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.
V I E W PO I NT
Carol gives queer characters love and hope

Oscar hopeful a glamorous
escape from 50s-era repression
KATHI WOLFE, a writer and poet, is a regular

contributor to the Blade.
Over Christmas, my brother and I

looked through photos of our late mother
who came of age in the 1950s.
Shes always smoking and in a dress,
I said. Back then, ladies couldnt wear
slacks and they had to get married,
he said, adding, to a man. Recently, I
thought of my Moms era as I watched
Carol, the stunning movie directed by
Todd Haynes and starring Cate Blanchett
as Carol Aird and Rooney Mara as her
lover, Therese Belivet, thats received ve
Golden Globe nominations and generating Oscar buzz.
Though set in repressive, deeply closeted mid-century America, the lm,

based on Patricia Highsmiths groundbreaking 1952 novel The Price of Salt,
is a glamorous, and surprisingly hopeful
story of same-sex love. Viewing Carol, I
couldnt help but wonder: who knew the
old-school 50s were so sexy between
the movie-beautiful cigarette smoke, the
stunning hats, the perfect scarves and
Blanchetts Lauren Bacall-like vibe?
Written when being openly queer
would likely have derailed her career,
Highsmith wrote The Price of Salt, under the pseudonym Claire Morgan. The
title of the volume was changed to Carol
in 1990 when the book was reissued with
Highsmiths real name.
Carol takes place in the early 1950s
when the American Psychiatric Association declared homosexuality a sociopathic personality disturbance, same-sex
love was illegal, the House Un-American
Activities Committee targeted LGBT people and others it deemed subversive, and,
in many cities, a man could be arrested
for seeming too feminine or a woman
jailed for appearing too masculine. Yet,
remarkably Carol is a glam-lled same-
sex romance.
Dont get revved up for explicit lesbian sex, out and proud gay coupledom, or scenes of two queer moms
raising a child in Carol. This movie is
in the mode of a Douglas Sirk 1950s
lm where subversive acts dierences
from the cultural norm were viewed
through the mask of style, taste and
outward normality. This ts the movies
time frame, when same-sex love, however passionate, had to invisibly and unobtrusively slide behind the veneer of
respectability. Even so, Therese glancing at Carol from across a room, or Carol telling Therese, I like the hat are as,
if not more, alluring than many contemporary depictions of queer sexuality.
In the movie, Carol, a 30-something
New Jersey suburban housewife and
mother, shops for a Christmas present
for her young daughter in a New York
City department store. There, she meets
Therese, a 19-year-old photographer. (In
the book, Therese is a set designer.) The
two quickly develop a friendship (fostered by an Old-Fashioned infused lunch)
that quickly becomes a love aair. The
lovers can only talk about their love to a
very few. Carol and Therese never say the

word lesbian. They cant breathe a word
of their relationship to their friends, family or co-workers. Carol, who is in the process of divorcing her husband, must give
up not only custody, but her right to visit
her child, when her spouse learns of the
aair.
Yet, the movie Carol, like the novel
The Price of Salt, isnt a tragedy. Its not
too big a reveal to say that, despite the
restraint of being closeted, Carol and
Therese arent shrouded by shadows
or overcome by sadness. Though Carol
knows shell have to sever ties with her
child, she deantly opts to stay together
with Therese.
Four years before Allen Ginsberg wrote
in his historic, openly queer poem Howl,
of those who let themselves be fucked
in the ass by saintly motorcyclists, and
screamed with joy, Highsmith penned
a novel where same-sex lovers didnt go
to prison, die, repent of their sins or become hetero. The Price of Salt, without
being preachy, was one of a very few novels from that era to give queer characters
love and hope.
Cheers to Highsmith and to Carol.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
2 0 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
VIEWPOINT
Whos doing the planting

The struggle to connect amid
turmoil
RICHARD J. ROSENDALL is a writer and activist.

Reach him at rrosendall@starpower.net.
Public discussions these days seem to

dredge up the nastiest extrusions of our national psyche in a destructive competition.
Withdrawing from the melee would only make
matters worse by conceding the eld to mischief-makers. So how do we gracefully stand
our ground in a contentious environment?
We cannot spend all our time with the
like-minded. At some point we have to leave
our echo chambers and uphold our positions. There is no perfectly safe way to be
true to ourselves.
Twitter is a place of uid boundaries, so I
was not surprised that one source of light on
gun control is actor Jerey Wright (Angels in
America, Boardwalk Empire, The Hunger

Games). He posted a meme on Jan. 7 quoting former Chief Justice Warren Burger: The
real purpose of the Second Amendment
was to ensure that state armies - the militia - would be maintained for the defense of
the state. The very language of the Second
Amendment refutes any argument that it
was intended to guarantee every citizen an
unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or
she desires.
One of Wrights trolls replied, Fuck you,
Buckwheat, & this clueless, liberal judge
legislating from the bench! Wright calmly
noted that he was quoting a Republican appointee, and added, I associate more with
Stymie, another black Little Rascals character. With wit and poise, he kept the upper
hand. It might have been time-wasting had
it been a private message, but he shared the
exchange with his 80,000 followers. There is
a point of diminishing returns, of course, for
which the block button is handy.
Each of us strikes a dierent balance between comfort from comrades and abuse
from adversaries. Some of us enjoy arguing
more than others. The key consideration for
the reality-based is persuasion. Mere insults
appeal only to those already persuaded.
Politics is another word for negotiating

our dierences. But swimming in turbulent
waters is not the same as drowning in them.
Keeping our cool amid the fray improves our
chances of changing the occasional heart
and mind instead of merely venting. Advancing our interests cannot just mean causing
more concussions than our opponents.
A variety of perspectives greeted the news
that a group of insurrectionist ranchers had
taken over a wildlife refuge in Oregon to
protest federal land ownership. Media outlets called them armed protesters in the
latest demonstration of racial double standards. The Burns Paiute Tribal Council said
the occupiers were desecrating sacred land.
The occupiers failure to bring provisions
inspired a variation of the Gadsden ag
replacing Dont Tread on Me with Please
Send Snacks. Comic rivalry erupted when a
second patriot group arrived at the refuge.
The arts sometimes persuade us unawares. Bold inventiveness wins the day in
Lin-Manuel Mirandas hit show Hamilton,
whose racially diverse cast plays white historical gures. Traditional casting would
have undercut the thrust of the show. When
Alexander Hamilton responds to Thomas
Jeersons Enlightenment high-mindedness
with a double entendre regarding his sexual

exploits at Monticello (We know whos really
doing the planting), Miranda and Daveed
Diggs as the rival Founders represent people of color adding an eclectic, rap-infused
perspective on American history.
On the other hand, Miranda supported
playwright Katori Hall when she objected
to a Kent State production of her play The
Mountaintop featuring a white actor playing Martin Luther King, Jr. Miranda said that
authorial intent must prevail. The casting
choice by the director of that production,
however unintentionally, appeared to echo
those who use All Lives Matter as a rebuke
to Black Lives Matter. Racial dynamics and
the legacy of inequality are better illuminated by color-mindfulness than colorblindness.
The nal number in Hamilton asks, Who
tells your story? It reminds us that there
is not only one point of view. Some on the
right feel threatened by our populations
diversity, and seek to erase it by imposing a
single perspective. Those of us who would
rise to diversitys challenge must risk hearing its many voices. That is how we connect.
Copyright 2016 by Richard J. Rosendall.
All rights reserved.
I N SI D E LG BT W A SH I N G T O N
Alleged Congress Heights

violations raise alarms
PETER ROSENSTEIN is a longtime LGBT rights

and Democratic Party activist.
Karl Racine, D.C.s attorney general,

recently led a lawsuit against the owners of buildings in Congress Heights for
violations of housing laws. Racine said,
We believe the owners of these buildings
have done a serious disservice to their
residents and have violated the Districts
housing laws through willful neglect. He
added, Preserving aordable housing for
all of the Districts residents and protecting
public safety are two of our highest priorities at the Oce of the Attorney General.
The owners of these buildings have undermined both of those priorities, and we intend to hold them accountable.
The lawsuit against landlord Sanford
Capital and its subsidiaries over their al-
leged lack of maintenance of apartment

buildings in Congress Heights has been
a long time in coming and landlords who
abuse tenants by not keeping their buildings up to code should take note. There
is no excuse for collecting rent and then
not providing heat and hot water or allowing buildings to purposely deteriorate.
The Washington Post reported the four
buildings involved got 77 new citations for
housing code violations in October in addition to three dozen that had previously
been issued to the buildings landlords.
According to the Post, The four apartment buildings lie at the center of a planned
285,000-square-foot mixed-use development above the Congress Heights Metro.
The project, which Sanford Capital and its
co-developer City Partners say will include
new oces, more than 200 apartments
and ground-oor retail, was approved by
the citys Zoning Commission last year.
Why did the zoning commission approved
this application? Are they so separated
from the reality of the situation they would
approve a new development considering
what the developer is allegedly doing to the
tenants that currently live in the buildings
on the site to be redeveloped? Dont zoning
commissioners or their sta go to the site
to be redeveloped? And, if so, do they turn
a blind eye to what is currently happening

on the site in buildings owned by the applicants for a zoning change?
The Bowser administration deserves
kudos for its commitment to aordable
housing in the District. It will be important the commitment be accompanied by
strong enforcement of housing codes and
regulations. If current law doesnt allow,
or isnt strong enough, for the city to go in
and x code violations the landlord is cited
for and doesnt do anything about, then
the mayor and the Council must consider
making appropriate legislative changes.
The co-developer of the Congress
Heights project is Je Gris, CEO of City
Partners. I know Je as a decent man with
the interests of the District and its people
at heart. In the Post column it is reported
when Gris was informed of this situation he said, change is required. But one
must ask the question of any developer
who gets as far as taking a project to the
zoning commission whether they toured
the site and saw conditions as egregious
as the ones in the buildings in Congress
Heights? If this was done in the case of this
particular project then Griss comments
as reported in the Post story seem to be a
little late. He said, The current condition
of several of the properties are not some-
thing we support. The Post went on to report, Although Gris and his company do
not own or manage any of the properties
in questionHe said that he did not know
how the lawsuit would aect the development plan he had worked on with Sanford
but that he hoped it would eect immediate changes for the residents of Congress
Heights.
There will continue to be gentrication
of neighborhoods in D.C. as there is in
cities across the nation. Prime locations
will continue to be Metro stops because
we want livable, walkable cities. There is
also the continuing trend of people moving back into cities with D.C. seeing nearly
1,000 people a month moving here.
It is clear we need to do more to ensure those living on xed incomes are not
forced out of their homes with nowhere
to go by the intentional neglect of greedy
developers. There is enough money being made by these developers to take into
consideration the lives of the people they
are displacing. Maybe we need a tax on
development projects directed at meeting
the needs of those impacted or other ways
of raising the revenue needed so the city
can ensure situations like the one in Congress Heights arent the norm. We can and
must do better.
J A N U A RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 2 1
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the first year of homeownership. Purchasers must seeSales Consultant for additional program details. Permission has been granted to use the Department of Housing and Community Development
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2 2 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
PRESENTS
M A L W EEK EN D
FRI, JA N 15
9PM - LATE
B L ACK CAT
TH
1811 14 ST N W
TICKETFLY.COM
OTTERJ.COM
ARTS
AND
ENTERTAINMENT
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
VOLUME
47
ISSUE
03
JANUARY
15
2016
PAGE
23
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY DENIS LARGERON
MAL ORGANIZERS SAY THERES NO SHORTAGE OF 20-SOMETHINGS AT ANNUAL EVENT

By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
One thing leather lovers and BDSM
enthusiasts are sure to nd at the 45th
annual Mid-Atlantic Leather event this
weekend is a mix of all ages. While
organizations of all kinds from churches
to fraternity groups and more struggle
to recruit millennials (those born after
1980), local leather club members say
enticing younger people hasnt been a
problem.
We have a very, very even cross section
of all ages, says Todd White, a member of
the local Centaur MC Club, which runs the
event. We still have the 21-year-olds who
will come in reeking of the latest Versace
cologne and run and buy a harness. That
kind of warms my heart because that
was me at one time. Theres still a sense
that this is where everybody is and this is
where I want to be. We still have them
coming in and we all know it because we

all started there. Then as you mature and
grow, you start guring out for yourself if
you just like the feel of leather or if youre
just really a kinkster at heart.
White says the event tends to skew
slightly older in anniversary years when
attendees who used to attend regularly
will come out for special occasions but
maybe not attend every year.
And then other times you see a spike
in the crowd and the lobby feels a little
younger, White says. Im not quite sure
what causes that spike. Its just one of
those events where everyone can feel
comfortable whether youre in a suit and
tie or youre in a jock or a harness or
anything else. You come through here
and you will run into people you could
have a cocktail with and feel comfortable.
Kyle Collins is 26 you have to be 21 to

attend MAL and has been going for the
last four years. Collins is the co-chair for
D.C. Leather Pride and co-planned a party
for Thursday night with the Highwaymen
TNT. His group is also planning the BLUF
party, back for a second year, on Sunday.
Collins says some MAL events draw
older crowds and others tend to skew
younger but its overall a good mix.
Our community has a bit of an age
gap at the moment as a result of losing
so many men to HIV/AIDS, he says. That
age gap can be daunting for younger
men and make it harder to nd ways to
connect.
He also says technology has been a
factor.
Now leather gear and toys can be
bought online without ever leaving your
house, so while many millennials are

interested in the community, we face
more hurdles in nding the best way to
engage and interact with men who are
interested in our community.
White says that can be an MAL
advantage in some ways, however. The
conference will oer thousands who will
attend at least some part of the weekend
(the 836 rooms at the Hyatt Regency
Capitol Hill are, as usual, sold out though
many share rooms) a chance to handle
the merchandise before buying.
MALs vendor mart is a wonderful
place because you can really see and
touch the leather rather than ordering
it online, he says. Thats the one part
of the event where you do tend to see
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
2 4 J A N UA RY 1 5 , 2016
Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R MA RK CH A LF A N T
MARK CHALFANT
PHOTO BY JEFF SALMORE; COURTESY OF CHALFANT
By JOEY DiGULIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
As artistic and executive director of Washington Improv Theater, Mark
Chalfant wears a lot of hats.
Hes seen the organization grow from a non-prot in a church basement to
a city-wide organization that reaches 14,000 patrons a year and has a thriving
training program headquartered out of Source Theatre on 14th Street.
Chalfant can be seen in action in the iMusical Wintry Mix series at the
D.C. Arts Center (2438 18th St., N.W.) on Jan. 15, 22, 29 and Feb. 5 and 12. All
performances at 7:30 p.m. and spontaneously build entire worlds populated
by colorful characters and situations. Each performance is one of a kind.
Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. Details at witdc.org.
Chalfant, a Laurel, Md., native, came to Washington 20 years ago to start a
career after stints in Arizona for school and Russia in the early 90s (he studied
Russian language and literature).
Chalfant and his partner David Steib live in D.C.s Pleasant Plains
neighborhood (near Howard University). Chalfant enjoys gardening,
armchair politics, vegan cooking and Netix in his free time.
How long have you been out and who

was the hardest person to tell?
I came out in college. My dad was the
hardest, so he was also the last.
how the other half lives. If there were no

market for it as a recreational drug, Id
destroy it before some bozos got their
hands on it.
Whos your LGBT hero?

My brother, David. He helped raise my
wonderful sister Julie and me. He came
out to me basically as a mercy ploy once
he gured out I was gay. His care and
generosity have made everything in my
life possible and he has been both a
tremendous inspiration and a wonderful
friend to me.
What do you believe in

beyond the physical world?
The legacy of our actions is the strongest
part of our spirit that remains in this
world.
Whats Washingtons best

nightspot, past or present?
Tracks, back in the day. It had a spirit
and a choose-your-own adventure
quality that has never been replicated.
What would you walk

across hot coals for?
My family. Or just to get a good laugh
Describe your dream wedding.

Short vows, lots of cake and fun and
quirky dance music that cant stop, wont
stop.
What nonLGBT issue are
you most passionate about?
Economic inequality and the way greed
contaminates our culture and our
politics.
What historical outcome
would you change?
In my lifetime I guess Id change the
Bush v Gore Supreme Court ruling so
that, you know, the country could be
governed by the president most of them
voted for.
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
Buy the Vampire Slayer and the rise
of long-form television.
On what do you insist?
Keeping it fun, if at all possible!
What was your last
Facebook post or Tweet?
I lovingly posted a photo of Blot, an
improv group I was coaching.
If your life were a book,
what would the title be?
Finding Out Along the Way
If science discovered a way
to change sexual orientation,
what would you do?
Try to market it as a recreational drug?
Most everyone is a little curious about
Whats your advice for

LGBT movement leaders?
Listen to your people.
What LGBT stereotype

annoys you most?
That gay guys are required to live
some kind of high-end, luxury lifestyle
existence where everything we own is
required to be the latest and greatest.
Its shallow and can distract people from
things that matter more.
Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Pedro Almodovars All About My
Mother.
Whats the most
overrated social custom?
People not speaking up when they know
something is wrong because they dont
want to make a fuss or be that guy.
Be that guy!
What trophy or prize
do you most covet?
I just received a D.C. Artist Fellowship
award, which I prize largely because it
means improv has ascended to a certain
level of familiarity and artistic legitimacy
within the culture.
What do you wish youd known at 18?
That you dont have to live a normal,
o-the-shelf life determined by others
expectations. You can choose your own
adventure.
Why Washington?
My family is here. I like the nerdy and
international aspects of D.C. And all
these smart, type-A workaholics really
need a creative outlet that connects
them to their authentic selves thats
why WITs work resonates so powerfully
here.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
T HE ATE R
J A N U A R Y 15, 2016 25
Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director
ALEXEI RATMANSKYS
The Sleeping
Beauty
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MUELLER; COURTESY OF SIGNATURE THEATRE
ED DIXON in Georgie. The one-man show is a celebration of his friendship with late actor George Rose.
Out actor spins friendship

into art with new
self-penned show
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
GEORGIE: MY ADVENTURES WITH GEORGE

ROSE
Through Feb. 7
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington
$25-45
703-820-9771
sigtheatre.org
Choreography by Marius Petipa

Staging and additional choreography by Alexei Ratmansky
assisted by Tatiana Ratmansky
Music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
A TRIUMPH OF VIVIFYING STYLE

The New York Times
SUMPTUOUS!
A LUSH RETURN TO TRADITION
Los Angeles Times
Christine Shevchenko, Isabella Boylston, and Joseph Gorak in The Sleeping Beauty, photo by Rosalie OConnor
Ed Dixon is a compelling storyteller.

His memoir Secrets of a life Onstage
And O, includes tales of a dicult
childhood, big Broadway success and
overcoming drug addiction. And now
with his new one-man show Georgie: My
Adventures with George Rose, currently
playing at Signature Theatre, Dixon puts
the spotlight on his close friendship with
famed English character actor George
Rose that began with a national tour of
The Student Prince in the early 70s and
ended abruptly when Rose was murdered
by his adopted son at his vacation home
in the Dominican Republic in 1988.
When I met George, I was a dumb kid
from Oklahoma. I didnt know anything,
says Dixon, 67. And he was a powerful,
successful man who was openly gay. That
was life changing for me. Id never seen that
before. And George was openly hilariously
gay. Hed refer to himself that oldest white
woman in show business and things like
that. As a young gay man, it was astounding
to me that he could feel free enough to
express himself in that way, but he could.
After The Student Prince tour ended,
Dixon and Roses paths continued to
cross in New York and summer stock.
Soon, a close friendship forged. When
the established Rose went to Dixon for
voice lessons (in addition to successful
actor, composer and playwright, Dixon is
a highly sought after voice coach) and the
bond further intensied.
And while Rose was a Tony Awardwinning Broadway actor, he was also an
eccentric (he kept a pet lynx in his New
York apartment) and a rst class raconteur,
says Dixon. Hed been everywhere and
knew everyone. He would drop into the
voices of famous friends like Noel Coward,
Gladys Cooper, Laurence Oliver or Ralph
Richardson when theyd show up in his
conversation. Two years ago, Dixon started
putting his memories of Rose to paper.
Told in the rst person, Georgie
recounts 25 years of friendship. Like
Rose, Dixon adroitly slips into the voices
of about 30 characters including Rose

and some of his storied pals.
Ed does all the voices, says Georgies
director and Signatures out artistic
director Eric Schaeer. A longtime voice
teacher and an actor, Ed knows the
instrument and how to manipulate it. He
makes it look easy.
The show is especially interesting
because its so personal, Schaeer says.
Its about George Rose yes, but its also
and the personal friendship and working
and living in the theater. Fittingly the set
is an old back stage with a wall of hemp
lines, ghost lights and a dilapidated
proscenium. Its evocative of that
world. Its also about thinking you know
someone when you really dont. There
are many layers to it and Ed has given it
an unpredictable structure.
Midway through, the play takes a dark
turn. On a visit to Roses Caribbean retreat,
Dixon learns unsettling things about
his longtime friend, which ultimately
contribute to Roses violent death.
Id been quoting George all my life but it
takes time to be in a place where you can
tell this kind of story. Ive lost friends in my
life, but having a close friend be murdered
is an inexpressible thing. And I needed a
place to do it where Id feel comfortable. At
Signature, the rehearsal process has been
so gracious. Eric [Schaeer] and lighting
designer Chris Lee are my good friends.
Im telling my most personal story and get
to do it with people I love. Theres nothing
quite like it.
Dixon doesnt expect all of todays
audiences to be familiar with Rose and
his cast of famous and fascinating friends.
I hope its like when you look at the
characters in the bar in the Star Wars
movie, you dont need to know anything
about them except that theyre interesting
characters. Writing about the past is
truly a healing experience. Its amazing
the details that return and how you reexperience the relationship. Initially I
didnt think Id remember enough and
then the memories came ooding back.
D.C. Premiere
January 2731 | Opera House

with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra
American Ballet Theatres engagement is made possible through generous endowment support of The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund.
KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600

Tickets are also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.
LIVE
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
26 JAN U A R Y 15, 2016
O U T & A BO U T
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
POPA
CHUBBY
W/ KARL STOLL & THE DANGER ZONE
FRIDAY JAN
15
ALL GOOD PRESENTS
ATLAS
ROAD CREW
W/ PEOPLES BLUES OF RICHMOND
SATURDAY JAN
16
WED, JAN 20
DIRTY BOURBON RIVER SHOW

W/ BUMPER JACKSONS
FRI, JAN 22
Furball makes D.C. debut

Furball, a fetish dance party, is Friday, Jan. 15 at 9 p.m. at the Black Cat (1811
14th St., N.W.).
The party is a part of the Mid-Atlantic Leather weekend and is an 18-and-over
event. Leather and fetish wear is encouraged, but not required. Tickets are $10
in advance and $12 day of event.
Furball is a party and celebration of everything furry and fuzzy. Furball,
created by Joe Fiore, has been running for 10 years in New York and has spread
to many other cities and attracted top DJs. This installment is its D.C. debut.
Tickets are $10 and are available at tickety.com.
THE HAMILTON LIVE AND ALL GOOD PRESENT:
DONNA THE BUFFALO

W/ CITY OF THE SUN
SAT, JAN 23
NEW ORLEANS SUSPECTS

W/ GLEN DAVID ANDREWS
FRI, JAN 29
RAYLAND BAXTER
W/ MARGARET GLASPY
THEHAMILTONDC.COM
By MARIAH COOPER
Sneak peek at Capital Pride

Capital Pride hosts its annual Pride
Reveal party at SAX (734 11th St., N.W.) on
Wednesday, Jan. 20 from 7-11 p.m.
The party will unveil this years theme.
There will be cabaret performers,
illusionists,
mimes
and
theatrical
sketches. Aaron Riggins and Ed Bailey
will perform. Tickets include two
complimentary cocktails.
Tickets are $40 online and $50 at
the door. For more information, visit
capitalpride.org/events.
Stone Tape Party opens

with all-female cast
D.C. Tattoo Expo returns
M-Th 11:30aM-10pM F-saT 11:30aM-11pM

suN. bruNch 11aM-3pM / diNNer 3-10pM
322 Mass. ave. Ne 202.543.7656
cafeberlindc.com
The D.C. Tattoo Expo runs this weekend (Jan. 15-17) at the Crystal Gateway
Marriott (1700 Jeerson Davis Highway) in Arlington, Va.
Friday registration is 10 a.m.-noon. Saturdays is 9 a.m.-noon and Sundays
is 10:30 a.m.-noon. The show is open to the public Friday and Saturday from
noon-11 p.m. and Sunday from noon-8 p.m. You can get tattoos and piercings
at the show. The event includes a wide spate of activities from contests to
demonstrations to after parties and more.
Tickets are $25 for a day and $60 for a three-day pass. Children 12 and under
are free with a paying adult. Full details at dctattooexpo.com.
Nu Sass Productions presents Stone

Tape Party at Atlas Performing Arts
Center in Lab II (1333 H St., N.E.). It opens
on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. The show
runs through Feb. 7.
The show follows a lesbian and
her friends, including other lesbians,
bisexuals and cis women, as they navigate
the time between college and adulthood.
The all-female cast play won Best Comedy
and Best Overall Show at the 2014 Capital
Fringe Festival. General admission tickets
are $30.
For more details, visit nusass.com.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
J A N U A R Y 15, 2015 27
Mr. Leather contest has

dwindled in recent years
some straight folks too. Id say less than

one percent of the package holders are
straight, but they do like to come check
out the vendor mart.
Josh Pennington is 31 and one of the
younger members of the Centaur MC
club. He lived in the D.C. area for years but
moved to Newport News, Va., last year
for work. He still comes to Washington
regularly and keeps his membership
active. Hes been attending MAL for about
10 years. He says more millennials attend
than did in his early years.
Its been steadily increasing, he says.
My rst one, I felt like more of a minority
but as time has progressed, theres been
more equal distribution. I think MAL is an
event where people go and word of mouth
travels. Its just a good, well-balanced,
welcoming event and thats what draws
people. As far as the community goes,
thats just the natural evolution. You
have to get younger people as the older
generation moves on.
Some folks who attend leather events
elsewhere report similar experiences.
Neil Maciejewski Johnson, a gay
San Francisco resident, has been to
the Folsom Street Fair, a well-known
San Francisco BDSM event held every
September, many times and says theres
no lack of millennials.
I would say they tend to be more the
spectators than the exhibitionists, he
says. There are some who are showing
skill and getting into the scene, but the
40-and-over crowd is the one really
driving the entertainment.
One area that has struggled a bit at MAL
is the Mr. Leather contest, which White
organizes. Last year only ve competed.
This year eight have registered so far.
White says in the late 80s and early 90s,
when the contest was held at Tracks, it
was not uncommon for there to be 30
contestants. While interest in MAL overall
has not shifted if anything organizers
have worked to keep it at about 800
full-package holders despite oers from
the Hyatt to oer substantially more
why has the contest proven less
popular? White says its an overall shift in
community thinking.
I think by the mid-90s the community
kind of asked the question, Why do we
have all these leather title holders? In
some ways it was easier to be a titleholder
then. There wasnt Facebook, there
wasnt this instant snapshot of what was
going on in your life or what you might
be up to, so the titleholders tended to
be these real muscle gods who looked
like they just stepped out of Tom of
Finland. Then it started to shift more to

community service but thats slowly kind
of backing out too and theres a middle
ground weve nally started to nd.
Theres been a bit of a similar thing with
some of the drag contests as well. Back
in the heyday, contests overall were more
heavily participated in.
Even with overall attendance strong,
its inevitable that trends will continue to
shift over time, regulars say.
The changes reect the way the
community changes, Pennington says.
Like lately weve had way more puppies.
The puppy movement is big right now so
we have more events that cater to that
group. The organizers do a great job
of reading the audience and adjusting
things to t.
MID-ATLANTIC LEATHER WEEKEND

JAN. 15-18
Host hotel:
Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
Other events to be held at Glorious
Health Club (2120 West Virginia Ave.,
N.E.), the D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd.,
N.E.), Green Lantern (1325 Green Ct.,
N.W.) and the 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.).
Full details at leatherweekend.com
FRIDAY, JAN. 15
Registration (3-10 p.m.)
MIRs Rubber Meet and Greet (7-9 p.m.)
Grunt (10 p.m.-2 a.m.)
Impact (10 p.m.-3 a.m.)
CODE (10 p.m.-4 a.m.)
SAT., JAN. 16
Puppy Park 8 (11 a.m.-1 p.m.)
Onyx Fetish Gear cocktails and auction
(1-6 p.m.)
Leather Cocktails (7-9 p.m.)
Parade of Colors line-up (8:15 p.m.)
MAL Uniform League Party
(10 p.m.-2 a.m.)
Primal FxCK (10 p.m.-4 a.m.)
CODE (10 p.m.-4 a.m.)
SUN., JAN. 17
Brunch (10-11:30 a.m.)
Mr. Leather contest (1-4 p.m.)
BLUF (breeches and leather uniform
fan club) (4-9 p.m.)
Dark & Twisted (closing dance)
(10 p.m.-4 a.m.)
Robert Battle
Artistic Director
Masazumi Chaya
Associate Artistic Director
CULTURAL
AMBASSADOR
TO
THE WORLD
Feb. 27 Opera House

All performances
include Alvin Aileys
signature masterpiece
REVELATIONS
PROGRAM A
Tue., Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.
Open Door (Ronald K. Brown)
Exodus (Rennie Harris)
Revelations (Alvin Ailey)
PROGRAM B
Wed., Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.*
Open Door
A Case of You (Judith Jamison)
No Longer Silent (Robert Battle)
Revelations
PROGRAM C
Thu., Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 7 at 1 p.m.
Blues Suite (Alvin Ailey)
Night Creature (Alvin Ailey)
Cry (Alvin Ailey)
Revelations
PROGRAM D
Fri., Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.
Piazzolla Caldera (Paul Taylor)
Awakening (Robert Battle)
Revelations
PROGRAM E
Sat., Feb. 6 at 1 p.m.
*Come early on Saturday to learn a few

steps from Revelations on the Millennium
Stage at 5:30 p.m.!
Explore the Arts is made possible by
Followed by a FREE Explore the Arts

post-performance discussion
ODETTA (Matthew Rushing)

Exodus
Revelations
The Millennium Stage is brought to you by
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600
Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.
Rachael McLaren, photo by Andrew Eccles
A R T S & EN TE RTA I NMENT
2 8 J A NUA RY 1 5 , 2016
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various sources
that maytonot
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subsidiary of NRT, LLC. Real estate agents affiliated with
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Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC.
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Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC.
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
S P O RTI N I N D. C.
J A N U A RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 2 9
Newbie in 14 now gearing

up for third marathon
By KEVIN MAJOROS
This week in the ongoing Blade series
on the rookies and veterans who make
up the LGBT sports teams in the area, we
hit the pavement with two gay athletes
from the D.C. Front Runners.
The Front Runners hosted the third
annual Pride Run 5K this year drawing
more than 1,200 runners as part of the
Capital Pride events. They continue to
oer their walk, run and racing series
Two years ago, a 5K run was too long
for Socrates Tiglao to run. In March, he
will compete in the Shamrock Marathon
in Virginia Beach, which will be his third
marathon since he picked up running
with the Front Runners in early 2014.
A D.C. native, Tiglao was on the crew
team and the swim team while in high
school. While he was earning his degree
at Radford University, he lost interest and
left sports behind.
A weight gain prompted him to begin a
tness craze at the gym at the beginning
of 2014 and after trying all the machines,
he found himself enjoying his runs on the
treadmill.
He joined the Front Runners and had to
overcome a few things before he hit his stride.
It was very scary for me at rst,
he says. I was shy, slow and had no
experience running outside. It took me a
few months to really break into the club.
In June of 2014, he ran his rst race at
the Pride Run 5K. By October of that year,
he ran the Woodrow Wilson Bridge HalfMarathon. He was ocially hooked.
The veterans on the team were very
helpful with advice on pace, diet and
cross training, Tiglao says. They really
made me feel included.
Tiglao, who is 32 and an interior
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CARTER & TIGLAO
LENNIE CARTER, left, and SACRATES TIGLAO in action.
designer, is reaping all the benets from a

healthy lifestyle and being part of a club. He
has competed in multiple races at varying
distance, lost 70 pounds and was elected
to the Front Runners board in September
where he is also a race director. Last year he
started cross-training with the D.C. Strokes
Rowing Club and he will begin competing
with its club program in the spring.
I am gradually improving every month
and gradually running more miles, he
says. One of my life goals is to make the
time cut-o for the Boston Marathon
within the next two to three years.

One year after he joined the Front
Runners, Lennie Carter ran his rst
marathon at the 1998 Gay Games in
Amsterdam. He promptly threw his running
shoes in the trash, cursed his partner Charlie
for encouraging him to join the running club
and vowed never to run again.
Now 62, married to Charlie since
2013 and a recently retired associate
vice president of nancial operations at
Georgetown University, he has run 35
marathons including Boston 12 times.
Luckily, that day in Amsterdam he had a

change of heart.
I started thinking about my next race that
same day, Carter says. I ran back to that
trash can and retrieved my running shoes
which thankfully they hadnt taken yet.
Growing up in Chillicothe, Ohio, Carter
had aspirations to run track and eld, but
spent most of his free time working on his
parents dairy farm. After graduating from
Ohio State, he moved to Baltimore and
then D.C. Sports were never a part of his
life, so after he dropped o Charlie at Front
Runners runs, he would head to the gym.
That all changed in 1997 and he fully
integrated into the Front Runners serving
on the board and as race director. He was
also one of the coordinators of the rst
Pride Run 5K in 2013.
Along with His husband, Carter was
one of the members who helped create
the Race Circuit series for the club. He
proudly states that last years top three
awards went to women.
It became apparent several years back
that we were an aging group of men who
lacked younger runners and women.
Carter says. After some outreach we
have had an inux of young runners
who also pull in their friends. We are still
hoping for more female runners.
He says the rookies are coming in
with more experience than before and
the mentoring works both ways. With all
of the programs that are oered by the
Front Runners there is a great amount of
support for everyone.
As for Carters future, he will continue to
run multiple distances of races including
two marathons a year. He also says he
has one more Boston Marathon in him
and he has been working with a trainer
on speed training. He has brought his 5K
pace back down to 6:59 per mile.
Sometimes at races, you do well. Other
times it is just about the competition, he
says. I just love passing 16-year-olds.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
3 0 J A N UA RY 1 5 , 2016
CA LE N D A R
E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.

com two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.
from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT

community. Older LGBT adults can
come and enjoy complimentary coee
and conversation with other community
members. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave.,
N.W.) holds a support group for gay black
men to discuss topics, share perspectives
and have meaningful conversations. For
details, visit uhupil.org.
TODAY
D.C. Bear Crue hosts a leather bear
party at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight
from 6-11 p.m. Drink specials will include
$4 rail drinks until 11 p.m., $4 Bud Lights
until 10 p.m., $4 draft pints until 10 p.m.
and $8 draft pitchers until 10 p.m. There
will be free pizza at 7 p.m. For more details,
visit facebook.com/bearhappyhour.
Gay District meets at the D.C. Center
(1318 U St., N.W.) tonight from 8:30-9:30
p.m. The facilitated group discussion
covers building understanding of gay
culture and personal identity and
awareness of community events for
LGBT men between the ages of 18 and
35 in the D.C. area. For more details, visit
thedccenter.org or gaydistrict.org.
A LGB support group meets today
from 10-11:30 a.m. at 16220 S. Frederick
Rd., Gaithersburg, Md., for individuals
in Montgomery County. The group
will discuss coming out of marriage,
homophobia, parenting issues, nding
intimate relationships, LGB resources
in the suburbs and more. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
TUESDAY, JAN. 19
Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.)
hosts its weekly FUK!T Packing Party from
7-9 p.m. tonight. For more details, visit
thedccenter.org or greenlanterndc.com.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
hosts its Bi Round Table tonight from
7-9:30 p.m. The group will discuss
issues concerning bisexuality. For more
information, visit thedccenter.org.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts a
transgender and non-binary support
group today from 5-7 p.m. For more
details, visit smyal.org.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20
SATURDAY, JAN. 16
AEG Live presents comedian and LGBT
ally Bridget Everett at 9:30 Club (815
V St., N.W.) today at 6 p.m. Everett has
appeared in the lm Gayby and written
for for the lm Trainwreck. Tickets are
$30. For more information, visit 930.com.
Horse Meat Disco, a U.K.-based dance
party, comes to U Street Music Hall at 10
p.m. (1115 U St., N.W.) as part of MidAtlantic Leather weekend. DJ Lisa Frank
and the NeedleExchange will spin. Drink
specials include $2 Natty Bohs until 11:30
p.m. Tickets are $5 presale and $10 at the
door after midnight. The party is 18 and
over but if guests are under 21 they must
have a presale ticket for admittance. For
more details, visit ustreetmusichall.com.
Bare, a gay dance party, celebrates its
seventh anniversary at Cobalt (1639 R St.,
N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. DJ Rosie
and DJ Keenan Orr will spin tracks. Admission
is $7 before midnight and $10 after. For more
information, visit cobaltdc.com.
Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance
(AGLA) hosts a brunch at Freddies
Beach Bar (555 23rd St., Arlington, Va.)
today from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. There will be
a breakfast buet with made-to-order
omelets and Belgian waes. Coee, soda
and juice will also be available. Cost is
$9.99 for the buet. All welcome.
SUNDAY, JAN. 17
The Washington Balalaika Society
performs at Jewish Community Center
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAM MORRIS
BRIDGET EVERETT plays the 9:30 Club on Saturday, Jan. 16.
of Northern Virginia (8900 Little River

Turnpike, Fairfax, Va.) today at 2 p.m. The
group will perform a concert featuring
Russian, Ukrainian and Eastern European
Jewish music. Tickets are $22 for adults,
$18 for seniors, $12 for guests under 3
and free for children ages 3-8. For more
information, visit jccnv.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts WTF?
Cruise Ship, a dance party, tonight at 1
p.m. Aaron Riggins and Ed Bailey will play
music. JaxKnife, Pussy Noir and Salvadora
Dali will perform. There is no cover before
11 p.m. and $5 cover afterwards. For
more details, visit towndc.com.
Perrys (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts
its weekly Sunday drag brunch today
from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95
for an all-you-can-eat buet. For more
details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.

Nellies Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.)
hosts a drag brunch today with shows
at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. For more
information, visit nelliessportsbar.com.
MONDAY, JAN. 18
The D.C. Center walks in the 10th
annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Parade starting at St. Elizabeths East
(27 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., S.E.) and
ending at 4201 Martin Luther King Jr.
Avenue today. Line-up for the parade is
at 10 a.m. The parade begins at noon. To
sign up to walk with the D.C. Center, visit
thedccenter.org.
hosts coee drop-in hours this morning
Bookmen D.C., an informal mens gay

literature group, discusses Gay American
Autobiography: Writings from Whitman
to Sedaris edited by David Bergman
at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. For
details, visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge
Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the
Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for social
bridge. No partner needed. For more
information, call 301-345-1571.
Woman to Woman, a support group
for HIV-positive women who love women,
meets at the Womens Collective (1331
Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) today from 5:30-7
p.m. There will be light refreshments. For
details, visit thedccenter.org.
Gamma VA, a support group for men
in mixed-orientation relationships, meets
today from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The group is
for men who are attracted to men but
are currently or were at one point in
a relationship with a woman. Meeting
locations are in private residences. For
more information about the group and
location, visit gammaindc.org.
THURSDAY, JAN. 21
Washington LGBT Lawyers & Allies
hosts a January social at Number Nine
(1435 P St., N.W.) from 6:3-8:30 p.m.
There will be a two-for-one happy hour
special. For more details, visit facebook.
com/dclgbtbar.
hosts its monthly Poly Discussion Group
at 7 p.m. People of all dierent stages
are invited to discuss polyamory and
other consensual non-monogamous
relationships.
For
details,
visit
thedccenter.org.
J A N U A RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 3 1
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Renovated Colonial and fully loaded. Four finished levels. Chef Kitchen, marble counter tops,
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WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 27, 2016
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Purchase tickets at
nmwa.org/events/fresh-talk-change-design
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
3 2 J A N UA RY 1 5 , 2016
MU SI C
DAVID BOWIE in Chicago on a 2002 tour. The
singer died this week just days after the release
of a new album.
PHOTO BY ADAM BIELAWSKI; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
Gender-bending
rocker leaves behind
staggering opus
By CHRIS GERARD
The music world mourns the passing
of a legend, as David Bowie died this past
Sunday after an 18-month battle with
cancer.
He kept his illness private, but poured
all of his energy into his musical Lazarus,
currently playing a sold-out run of shows
in New York City, and his brilliant nal
album, Blackstar. Bowie died only two
days after the release of Blackstar, which
was on his 69th birthday. A day prior to
the albums release, Bowie debuted the
haunting video for the track Lazarus,
which in retrospect is clearly a goodbye.
Bowie has left behind an immense and
vastly inuential catalog of timeless music
spanning ve decades.
For someone looking to explore Bowies
catalog for the rst time, the size and scope
of it can be daunting. Hes recorded with so
many dierent personas and characters,
and in so many dierent styles, that it
can be dicult to know where to start.
There are a few excellent compilations,
including last years reverse-chronology
set Nothing Has Changed, a good starting
point. But to really get into Bowies amazing
musical universe, one has to dive into his
28 studio albums. All of them, even his
weakest (Never Let Me Down from 1987)
have worthwhile moments and most are
exceptionally good. So where to begin?
Here is a primer for music fans looking to
dive a bit deeper into Bowies extraordinary
body of work 10 essential albums that
span his entire career and provide a good
overview and starting point. This is just a
taste, of course. Many more of his albums
are essential classics.
Hunky Dory (1971) After the folksy
meanderings of Space Oddity (1969)

and the blazing rock of The Man Who
Sold the World (1970), Bowie took a huge
leap forward as a songwriter with 1971s
superb Hunky Dory. More piano and
acoustic-guitar heavy than its hard-rock
predecessor, Hunky Dory includes some
of Bowies greatest works: Changes,
Life on Mars?, The Bewlay Brothers
and Quicksand.
Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From
Mars (1972) The glam-rock opus
about a dystopian future and an alien
rock star hero who frazzles out before
Armageddon can arrive. Ziggy Stardust
is the album that launched Bowie into
the stratosphere of stardom from which
he never descended. Classic tunes
include the title track, the hard-rock
opus Moonage Daydream, the frenetic
Suragette City and the dramatic
closing track, Rock n Roll Suicide.
Station to Station (1976) Bowies
shift from the soulful inuences of his
Young Americans album toward the
more edgy, experimental vibe hed pursue
on his next three albums, the famous
Berlin Trilogy, is evident here. Station
to Station begins with its epic 10-minute
title track, a locomotive rocker that takes
up a quarter of the album. Golden Years
provided Bowie with one of his biggest hits
in America, and his dramatic take on the
standard Wild is the Wind is one of the
greatest vocal performances of his career.
Low (1977) The rst of the Berlin
Trilogy is the icy, minimalist Low, a
huge left turn for a major artist. Bowie
collaborated heavily with experimental
music icon Brian Eno. Fans and critics
didnt quite know what to make of it at the
time, but it is now considered one of his
nest albums. Side one consists mainly
of short, jagged rock song fragments
loaded with disturbing imagery while side
two is largely ambient instrumentals. Its
a spellbinding listen from start to nish.
The album yielded two classic singles in
Sound and Vision and Be My Wife.

Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
(1980) Bowies rst album of the 80s
was his best of the decade. Working with
producer Tony Visconti, Bowie created
elaborate soundscapes with dense and
complex vocal arrangements that often
sound completely unhinged. Its a clich
that when a new Bowie album is released,
at least one critic will say its his best
album since Scary Monsters. The album
includes one of his all-time classic singles,
Ashes to Ashes, along with key tracks
like Fashion and Teenage Wildlife.
Lets Dance (1983) Working with
producer Nile Rodgers and a young
guitarist named Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bowie
entered the MTV age with a slick dance/
pop album that would represent the apex
of his commercial success in America. The
title track became his second No. 1 single
(after Fame) and both China Girl and
Modern Love also became substantial
hits. Some critics and fans disdain Lets
Dance as a supposed sell-out, but its a
well-crafted collection of rst-rate pop
with some terric vocal performances.
Outside (1995) Bowie renewed his
collaboration with Brian Eno for this dark
song cycle about a grisly murder and
the strange cast of characters caught
up in the circumstances of the crime.
Outside updated Bowies sound for the
90s, incorporating electronic elements
as well as heavier industrial sounds
inspired by artists such as Nine Inch Nails.
Unrelentingly dark but brilliant, Outside
features several standout cuts including
The Hearts Filthy Lesson, Strangers
When We Meet and Hallo Spaceboy.
Heathen (2002) Bowies rst album
of the new millennium is a dense and
richly layered collection of emotional and
intense rock that frequently has a bit of a
retro vibe. The album wasnt a massive hit
upon release and has been overlooked
somewhat as fans and critics tend to focus
on Bowies glory days of the 70s. The
hard-charging soulful rocker Slow Burn

was the rst single, and other key tracks
include the heartbreaking expression of
loss, Everyone Says Hi, the emotional
ballad Slip Away and raucous covers of
the Pixies Cactus and Neil Youngs Ive
Been Waiting For You.
The Next Day (2013) Bowies return
to the studio after a decade-long absence
following a heart scare prompted him
to close the tour in support of his 2003
album Reality before he had planned,
The Next Day was a surprise that nobody
in the public or press knew about until the
rst single, the melancholy Where Are We
Now?, appeared on Bowies 66th birthday.
The Next Day was a staggering return, a
dark and harrowing collection of rst-rate
material. Subsequent singles included
The Stars (are out tonight), which
features a stunning video featuring Tilda
Swinton, and Valentines Day, a chilling
song about a would-be mass shooter.
Blackstar (2016) Released on Bowies
69th birthday, Blackstar, as we know
now, was goodbye. Bowie died only two
days after its release. Its almost as if he
was holding on until the album could be
unleashed, and then was able to let go.
Producer Tony Visconti called it Bowies
nal gift to fans and the entire album was
recorded while Bowie was ill. Its a dark
and experimental collection with incredible
musicianship thanks to the New York Citybased jazz collective that Bowie brought in
to collaborate on the album. The 10-minute
opus Blackstar opens the album with
mystical power, and it never lets up from
there. Lazarus, with its chilling video
of Bowie writhing on a hospital bed and
then disappearing at the end into a large
wardrobe, closing the door behind him,
is clearly a goodbye. In the context of his
passing, its a dicult album to play, but
Blackstar is David Bowie at his best. Its
an honest portrayal of a man facing the
end and a stunning nal for one of the
greatest artists rock n roll has ever known.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A UT O S
J A N U A R Y 15, 2016 33
TOYOTA PRIUS
Toyota Prius, Kia Optima

among years best models
By JOE PHILLIPS
Brrrr. As temperatures dip, how do you
get your blood owing? Theres always
Star Wars or the Super Bowl. You can
even tune into a presidential primary or
two, though that actually may get your
blood boiling. But its also auto show
season, which means oodles of eye candy
rolling into showrooms soon. Heres a
look at three top contenders.
Toyota Prius
$25,000
Mpg: 54 city/50 highway
0-to-60 mph: 9.8 seconds
Tree huggers rejoice: Toyota just
redesigned its eco-chic Prius. This allnew, fourth-generation hybrid has much
sharper styling, including boomerangshaped headlights and taillights. Its also
longer, wider and lower, which means more
cargo room and a smoother ride. Better
yet, the overall handling which felt like
Chewbacca lumbering through the Cantina
Bar is tighter and more controlled.
Alas, acceleration is still at a snails pace.
But tearing up the highways was never
a priority for Prius drivers. Inside, the
barebones cabin has been replaced with
nifty gauges and a futuristic center console
that even Han Solo could appreciate. A
safety package includes lane-departure
warning, adaptive cruise control and precollision warning with pedestrian detection.
Of course, the demand for gas sippers has
dropped with such low fuel prices. But that
increases the odds of getting a great deal
on a green car these days.
Kia Optima
$22,000
Mpg: 24 city/35 highway
If it aint broke, dont x it. Thats how
Kia redesigned the new Optima, keeping
its BMW-like looks and sleek Euro styling
around the dash, center console and even
the air vents. But now this midsize sedan

also corners more like a Bimmer, too.
Theres also a choice of three ne
engines, as well as a hybrid model later
this year. Along with the quieter cabin,
the seats have more upper back and thigh
support. Biggest plus: the pricing stays
the same as last year, though there are
more options than ever. These include
a panoramic sunroof, Harman Kardon
stereo and lots of safety gear: blind-spot
monitor, 360-degree camera, automatic
braking and rear cross-trac alert.
Parents will love the various systems for
teen drivers: geofencing, speed alert, curfew
alert and a driving score, which monitors
how well the teen is driving. Sure, all these
options add up quickly, but the total price is
still about $15,000 less than a comparably
equipped German sport sedan.
Jaguar F-Pace
$44,000
Mpg (est.): 22 city/31 highway
Oh, the horror when Porsche produced
its rst Cayenne crossover back in
2002. Motor mavens bemoaned such a
mainstream move, saying it meant certain
death for the iconic sports-car maker. Yet
Porsche survived and thrived leading the
way for other top-tier automakers.
Now Bentley, Maserati and, yes, even
Rolls-Royce embrace haute haulers. But
its Jaguars new F-Pace that takes direct
aim at Porsche. The sexy styling and
deft handling certainly help, as does the
choice of two snarling V6 engines (though
the supercharged model costs a hefty
$14,000 extra). And a four-cylinder diesel
arrives later this year. Inside, the hoitytoity cabin has an optional 12.3-inch
touchscreen infotainment system with
Internet connectivity, 360-degree Google
Street View and the ability to text your
location and ETA to a friend.
Theres even a waterproof wristband
with integrated transponder, so you can
leave the keyfob securely locked inside
the vehicle when you want to look your
best in skinny-skinny jeans or maybe
traipse around a nude beach.
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WA SH I N GTO NB LADE.C OM
J A N U A RY 1 5 , 2 0 1 6 3 5
REALESTATE
Year in review for D.C. real estate

There are no bargain
zip codes in the city
By TED SMITH
The books are closed on 2015 real estate, so I thought Id devote this months
column to a review of what happened in
District real estate by zip codes in comparison to 2014 data.
The good news is that Washington
real estate is still hot: In 2015, median
prices continued to increase, homes sold
in less time, and for a greater percentage of original list price. In each of the
percent change for the three categories,
percentage comparisons to 2014 data are
represented in green if the percentage
exceeds the Districts median, in black if
the percentage increase is positive but
less than the Districts median, and red if
the percentage is negative over the 2014
data. Now lets drill down into each of the
categories.
The median sold price of District
homes has increased by 31 percent over
the last ve years from $399,000 in
2011 to $523,050 in 2015. Thats an average increase of 6 percent a year. For the
last two years, however, that increase has
been slowing down somewhat, but is still
respectable. In 2015 the big winner for increased median sold price was zip code
20032 (Congress Heights) at 26.1 percent,

followed by zip codes 20008 (Woodley
Park, Cleveland Park) and 20010 (Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant) at approximately 13 percent increase each. Not surprisingly, Congress Heights was also the
zip code with the largest increase in the
ratio of sold price to original list price
a whopping 4.50 percent. In fact, homes
sold in Congress Heights for more than
list price (100.86 percent).
Neighborhoods where median sold
prices actually declined are zip codes
where the home prices are already established as among the most expensive
in D.C.: Logan Circle, Cathedral Heights,
Georgetown. Its worth pointing out that,
while the percentage decline there was
far less (an average of -3.4 percent) than
the huge percentage increase (26.1 percent) in Congress Heights, the dollar value
is not insubstantial a $25,000 decrease
as opposed to a $45,000 increase.
In terms of median days on the market
(DOM), a negative percentage is actually a positive result for sellers because
it means that homes in those zip codes
(and overall in D.C.) are selling in faster
time than the previous year. Ten zip
codes saw a decrease in days on the market, while seven saw an increase. Four
zip codes were unchanged. Interestingly,
there does not seem to be any correlation
between median sold price and DOM:
Sid Binks, PhD, ABPP-CN

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Some zip codes where the median price

increased sold in less time; others sold in
more time.
The ratio of sold price to original list
price (OLP) is a good indicator of the
strength of our real estate market, but
can be discouraging to buyers looking for
bargains. We are still in a sellers market,
and for the last ve years, the ratio of
sold price to OLP has either been climbing (starting at 94.1 percent in 2011), or
hovering close to 99 percent (in the last 3
years). And for 2015, there were at least
3 zip codes (20001, 20010, and 20032)
where sold prices were actually higher
than list price.
Many rst-time buyers are only too
painfully aware of the need to submit
contract oers with escalation clauses

that may take them from $20,000 to
$50,000 (or more) above list price in order
to win the contract. But the good news
for buyers is that we are still in the winter
market, when seasonal prices are at their
lowest and competition from other buyers is minimal. There are still some individual bargains out there.
TED SMITH is a licensed Realtor with Real
Living | at Home specializing in mid-city D.C.
Reach him at TedSmithSellsDC@rlathome.com
and follow him on Facebook.com/MidCityDCLife, www.Youtube.com/TedSmithSellsDC or
@TedSmithSellsDC. You can also join him on
monthly tours of mid-city neighborhood open
houses, as well as monthly seminars geared
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ODDITY, HERO, REBEL

The world this week mourned the death

AMERICAS GAY NEWS SOURCE

HRCs Chad Grin sees 2016 as

For Chad Grin, 2016 represents a pivotal time when

New poll suggests

President Obama includes

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

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