MAY 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 4 8 I SSU E 21
COM
The last LGBT march on Washington was the National Equality March on Oct. 11, 2009.
Black leaders speak out;
inclusion in mainstream
orgs called insucient
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
Strong concerns raised earlier this month
by a local LGBT group that D.C.s Capital Pride
Alliance, which organizes the citys annual LGBT
Pride parade and festival, has not adequately
addressed issues of concern to people of
color came as a surprise to some in the LGBT
community.
During a May 8 meeting of the Capital Pride
Alliances board of directors, members of a
newly formed coalition called No Justice No
Pride said the board included only a few token
members who were people of color and the
board as a whole, according to No Justice No
Pride members, remains insensitive to the
needs and issues of people of color, especially
transgender people of color.
Capital Pride ocials, who dispute that
AM E RI C A S LGB T NE W S S O URCE WASHINGTONBLADE.
Organizers appeal for donations; rally
on Mall uncertain due to lack of funds
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
The LGBT march on Washington scheduled for Sunday, June 11,
which is ocially called the Equality March for Unity and Pride, will
travel in front of the White House before heading south on 15th
Street, N.W. to Constitution Avenue and end on the National Mall
at 7th Street, N.W.
Organizers for the rst time disclosed the route of the march
and made an appeal for donations to help pay for what they say
will be an historic demonstration for LGBT equality and diversity in
a statement released to the Washington Blade.
With the Equality March for Unity and Pride less than three
weeks away, the National Co-Chairs are also calling on members
of the LGBTQ+ communities, their loved ones, and all those who
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY CONTINUES ON PAGE 04
I think what youre seeing is that folks are
BLACK PRIDE WEEKEND
no longer waiting for these establishment or
mainstream organizations to get it, said ANGELA
PEOPLES, executive director of Get Equal.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Where are the woke white queens? PAGE 20
assessment, said they nevertheless welcome the Why we need Black Pride, PAGE 23
views of everyone in the LGBT community and Meet volunteer Genise Chambers, PAGE 29
promised to redouble their eorts to be more
Schedule of events, PAGE 30
inclusive and to better represent people of color
The work of Black, Gifted & Whole, PAGE 32
CONTINUES ON PAGE 13
0 2 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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0 4 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 LO CA L N E W S

Equality March organizers appeal for donations

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

stand in solidarity to register and help

contribute funds for the march, the
statement says.
In order to have a truly impactful
March and get our mission heard, we
need the help of everyone to make sure
this march is successful, said David
Bruinooge, the founder and one of 13 co-
chairs of the march.
We are asking that you take a
moment to go to our website and make
a contribution, Bruinooge added in the
statement. This march will give voice
to our concerns, to support and bring
attention to our communities who are
targeted due to immigration status,
ethnicity, religion, skin color, gender, and
disability, he said. Its time to march and
we can only do it with your help.
Bruinooge told the Washington Blade
that a rally at the end of the march on
the National Mall is being considered
but remains uncertain because sucient
funds have yet to be raised to pay for the
logistics of such a rally.
The statement released by march
organizers doesnt say how much money
has been raised so far or how much will
be needed to carry out the march and a
possible rally.
The process for guring out what the
nal event will look like is still ongoing, begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 11, at the have been cooperating with Equality this arrangement all donations made to
Bruinooge said. A rally ending on the Mall intersection of 17th and I streets., N.W., March leaders. Bos has said Capital the Equality March are tax deductible.
is a possibility if additional funding comes with participants assembling on I Street Pride organizers anticipate that march In an earlier statement released in April,
in soon. Logistically, we can proceed with between 14th Street and 17th Street. participants will walk to the festival site at Equality March organizers announced
a rally with sucient funds. The statement and map shows that the the conclusion of the march and possible the names of the marchs co-chairs,
He said both D.C. police and the National marchers will walk south on 17th Street march rally on the Mall. which organizers said include some of
Park Serve were expected to approve and turn left on Pennsylvania Avenue, Volunteers are also needed for a the nations most prominent and diverse
permits for the march, which will involve where they will walk past the White variety of tasks but most importantly we LGBT rights advocates.
street closings along the march route. House before turning right on 15th Street need help the day of to ensure that all of The earlier statement also announced
National Park Service spokesperson and travel to Constitution Avenue. The our community members can participate that numerous solidarity marches and
Mike Litterst told the Blade on map shows the march proceeding east as safely and positively as possible, rallies in support of LGBT equality were
Wednesday that march organizers on Constitution Avenue to 7th Street, Bruinooge said in the statement released expected to be held throughout the
submitted a permit application in April N.W., where it will turn right and proceed by the Equality March. country on the same day as the national
and have been in discussion with NPS onto the National Mall. He said donations for the march Equality March.
ocials. He said march organizers were At the time most march participants can be made on the marchs website, The march website shows that as of
expected to present their nal plans for reach the Mall at 7th Street, D.C.s annual equalitymarch2017.org. Wednesday, solidarity marches or rallies
the march at a meeting with NPS ocials Capital Pride Festival, which takes place a Mickey MacIntyre, an ocial with a were scheduled to take place in more
later this week. few blocks away on Pennsylvania Avenue charity consulting organization called than 60 U.S. cities, including New York, Los
Litterst said NPS routinely issues a between 3rd and 7th streets, will likely Resource Impact, which is a non-prot Angeles, San Francisco and Ft. Lauderdale.
nal permit for events like this during the have begun. The festival is scheduled to arm of the gay-owned communications Activists in many cities, large and small,
week the event is scheduled to take place. begin at noon on June 11. rm The Raben Group, said Resource including Rehoboth Beach, Del., have also
According to the statement released Ryan Bos, Capital Prides executive Impact is serving as the scal agent for arranged for buses to bring people to
to the Blade, the march is scheduled to director, has said Capital Pride organizers the Equality March. He said that under Washington for the June 11 march.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 0 5

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Texas lawmakers advance anti-LGBT bills
An unconscionable
act of cruelty
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Under a threat from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
of being called into a special session, the
Texas Legislature late Sunday advanced
two anti-LGBT measures one pertaining
to adoption, the other transgender
students with days remaining before
lawmakers were set to adjourn.
The Texas Senate voted 21-10 to pass
House Bill 3859, which would allow
taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to
refuse to place children in homes over
religious objections. Given that many of
these agencies are religious in nature,
that could lead to them refusing to place
children withLGBT families.
Marty Rouse, national eld director for
the Human Rights Campaign, said in a
statement the measure is a dangerous,
discriminatory bill that represents anti-
LGBT animus coloring so much of the
Texas Legislature this session.
This Slate of Hate that the Texas
Legislature has made a priority harms
LGBTQ Texans, Rouse said. It is
unconscionable that a bill would prioritize
discrimination over the best interest
Court: Trans people can sue under ADA
Judge allows case
to proceed despite
gender-identity exclusion
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
A federal court for the rst time has
ruled transgender people can sueunder
the Americans with Disabilities Act,
despite the laws explicit exclusion of
claims based on gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Gleeson, an
Obama-appointed judge in Pennsylvania,
determined in a six-page decision a case
led by transgender plainti Kate Lynn
Blatt led against Cabelas Retail, Inc.,
can proceed because she meets the
conditions of the 1990 law.
[I]t is fairly possible to interpret the
term gender identity disorders narrowly
to refer to simply the condition of
identifying with a dierent gender, not
to exclude from ADA coverage disabling
conditions that persons who identify
with a dierent gender may have
such as Blatts gender dysphoria, which
Lt. Gov. DAN PATRICK (R-Texas) has sworn
to make an anti-trans bill a priority for his
state.
PHOTO BY GAGE SKIMORE;COURTESY OF FLICKR
of kids in the child welfare system, but
Texas lawmakers have done just that.
As HB 3859 heads to Gov. Abbotts desk,
we hope he does not buy into a hateful
agenda over the best interest of some of
his most vulnerable constituents Texas
children looking for loving, stable homes.
The Texas House already approved
HB3859 by a 93-49 vote earlier this month.
It now heads to the desk of Gov. Greg
Abbott for his signature. The Washington
substantially limits her major life activities
of interacting with others, reproducing,
and social and occupational functioning,
Gleeson writes.
The decision rejects calls from Cabelas
Retail over the course of the litigation to
block claims on the basis of the ADA from
going forward over the course of the lawsuit.
In 2014, Blatt sued alleging
discrimination she faced at work at
the Hamburg, Pa.-based outlet in
Pennsylvania for being transgender.
Although she was initially allowed to
use the womens restroom, a human
resources director subsequently forced
her to use the mens room, which her
complaint says created a situation that
was extremely uncomfortable for her,
as she identied as female. Blatt was
forced to work the third shift at all times
in an eort she believes was intended to
keep her out of sight of customers, the
complaint says.
The human resources director also
allegedly refused to give her a name
tag identifying Blatt as Kate Lynn and
instead gave her one reading James.
Other employees were allowed to wear
name tags displaying a nickname and
Blade has placed a request with his oce
seeking comment on whether hell sign
the legislation.
The Texas measure is similar to
religious freedom adoption laws in
Michigan, South Dakota, North Dakota,
Virginia and Alabama. South Dakota Gov.
Dennis Daugaard and Alabama Gov. Kay
Ivey signed the anti-LGBT adoptions laws
in their states this year.
Meanwhile, the Texas House by a
vote of 91-50 added an amendment
to Senate Bill 2078 a bill related to
emergency operations plans for school
districts that would bar transgender
students from using the public restroom
consistent with their gender identity. If a
transgender student didnt want to use
the room, the school would be required
to oer a single-occupancy facility the
student could use provided no one else
was in the facility.
The measure now heads to the Senate,
which will have to concur with the Houses
added amendment, but when that chamber
will vote on the bill is uncertain. The Senate
does not put up a formal schedule of the
bills it will consider, so that could take
place any time this week. However, the last
day they could pass it is Sunday when the
legislative session expires.
The Texas Legislature advanced the
bathroom bill after Patrick threatened to
Groves instructed employees to refer to
Blatt as James or risk termination, the
complaint says.
According to the complaint, fellow
employees commonly referred to Blatt
as he/she, ladyboy, fag, sinner from disabilities transsexualism as well
and freak. Blatt was also subjected
to questions, such as Do you have a
penis? Although Blatt complained to a
supervisor, no action was taken.
In 2007, Blatt was involved in an
altercation with Mercedez Ramirez, a
maintenance technician. The complaint
says Blatt amicably asked her a question,
but Ramirez responded with a tirade of
obscenities and told Blatt, Youre not
a real woman and you never will be!
Afterward, Blatt was terminated on the
basis that she threatened Ramirezs son,
although Blatt maintains she never made
a threat and didnt even know Ramirez
had a son, the complaint says.
In 2014, Blatt sued under Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which has a
provision barring sex discrimination in the
workplace that courts have interpreted
to apply to transgender people, as well
as ADA and the Pennsylvania Human
Relations Act. The court decision allows
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
return lawmakers to a special session if
Senate Bill 6, a standalone bathroom bill,
and Senate Bill 2, a property tax bill, werent
passed, according to the Texas Tribune.
If we must go to a special session, I will
respectfully ask the governor to add both
of these bills plus other legislation he
has voiced support for in that special
session call, Patrick said during a press
conference at the Capitol. If the bills
dont pass in the special and theyre
blocked again, I will ask the governor to
call us back again and again and again.
Kasey Suredini, acting CEO for
Freedom for All Americans, said in a
statement the advancements of the
anti-LGBT measures demonstrate poor
judgement in Texas and called on Abbott
to veto the legislation.
There is just chaos in Texas right now,
and rather than focusing on initiatives that
can improve Texas communities and the
lives of hardworking families, lawmakers
are exhausting themselves by exploring
new ways to make life more challenging
and even dangerous for LGBT people,
Suredini said. We urge Gov. Abbott to
take a deep breath before acting, and think
about the real people this bill will hurt. It
will devastate families and explicitly expose
kids to harmful practices like conversion
therapy. Signing HB 3859 would be an
unconscionable act of cruelty.
the lawsuit to proceed on the basis of all
three laws.
The ADA includes language that
seemingly prevents transgender people
from ling lawsuits. The 1990 law excludes
as gender identity disorders not resulting
from physical impairments.
The court determination that the ADA
allows transgender claims is a major
breakthrough. In fact, in this very case,
the U.S. Justice Department in 2015
(under the Obama administration) asked
the court to hold o on determining
whether the ADA applies to transgender
people until the question is resolved on
whether Title VII was violated.
In the decision, Gleeson ruled Blatt can
sue under the ADA despite the gender-
identity exclusion based on legislative
history in Congress and precedent in the
Third Circuit, citing in a 2008 decision the law
must be broadly construed to eectuate its
purposes. As a result, Gleeson concludes,
any exceptions to the statute...should be
read narrowly in order to permit the statute
to achieve a broad reach.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 0 7

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0 8 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7
At Victory Fund brunch, a search for relief from Trump fatigue
This administration is
no friend to the gays
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Amid a seemingly endless string of
news reports on White House scandals,
speakers at the Gay & Lesbian Victory
Funds annual brunch in D.C. on Sunday
sought to rally the crowd with victories
wherever they could nd them.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.),
predicting a dicult campaign for re-
election to keep her seat in the 2018 race,
envisioned achieving another milestone.
Come 2019, we can nd ourselves back
in the day when our community didnt
have a voice in the United States Senate,
or I could be standing here as the rst
openly LGBT person to be re-elected to the
United States Senate, Baldwin said.
Despite discontent with the Trump
administration, Baldwin pointed to
instances in which President Trump
not once, but twice considered an
anti-LGBT religious freedom executive
order, but ultimately didnt issue it, as
minor victories and evidence of the LGBT
communitys strength.
Was it Ivanka and Jared to the rescue
again? Maybe, Baldwin said. But we
should understand that its our activism
that created the environment in which
even President Trump felt he needed
to tread lightly and carefully, and that
these victories as unfullling as they are
compared to the ones weve won in the
Buttigieg backs Notre Dame walkout during Pence speech
Gay mayor contrasts
protest with 09
treatment of Obama
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
said Sunday he supports the students
at the University of Notre Dame who
walked out on Vice President Mike
Pence during his commencement
speech over his anti-LGBT views and
the Trump administrations approach to
marginalized communities.
Buttigieg, the gay mayor who came to
national prominence duringhis run to become
chair of the Democratic National Committee,
made the remarks to the Washington Blade
about students within his city at the Gay &
Lesbian Victory Funds annual D.C. brunch
when asked about the walkout.
What I appreciate about it is its
Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.) spoke at the
Victory Fund brunch.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
past, these are worth celebrating.
Victory Fund CEO Aisha Moodie-Mills
during her remarks told the estimated
650 attendees after this crazy news cycle
that we all just had, I think we all deserve
a drink or two just to keep from losing our
damn minds.
While we were busy electing LGBTQ
people who are committed to safeguarding
our community and making the nation a
more equitable place for all Americans, this
administration was busy banning people,
and sanctioning licenses to discriminate
against us, and most disgustingly, stripping
clear that the students want to express
their commitment to tolerance and
the values that they believe a Catholic
University ought to uphold, and that this
administration is not compatible with
those values, Buttigieg said. And at
the same time, I think they found a very
respectful way to do it.
Buttigieg added he does respect the
oce of the vice presidency, too, and
each student should make his or her
own decision on the walkout, but the way
demonstrators chose to protest was an
appropriate way to speak out against the
Trump administration.
You go to a university in order to form
your conscience and theyre expressing
their conscience in a way that I really
respect and admire, Buttigieg said.
Asked to clarify if hes supporting the
action, Buttigieg replied, Of course I am.
I think every students wrestling with this
issue: What do you do when you respect
the oce and you also think that the
protections for transgender youth and
leaving our young people even more
vulnerable than they already are, Moodie-
Mills said. So please, whatever you do,
dont believe the hype: This administration
is no friend to the gays.
As evidence of her organizations
success, Moodie-Mills said
organization has helped elect eight LGBT
ocials in Trumps rst 100 days in oce.
The Trump White House has appointed
zero high-level openly LGBT appointees.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg,
whos gay and recently a candidate for
Democratic National Committee chair,
said he resisted the idea his state, which
voted to elect Trump and Mike Pence as
governor, was homophobic.
Which ones the real Indiana? Buttigieg
said. A state of acceptance consistent
with our motto, Hoosier Hospitality, or a
state trying to turn back the clock to a less
inclusive time? And the answer of course
is all of the above. Thats my message
today. Every community, every state, is
full of people, often the same people,
capable of great love and openness and
capable of smallness and backwardness.
Buttigieg said he just came from University
of Notre Dame, where Vice President
Mike Pence was prepared to deliver the
commencement speech, and said the
campus was covered in Pride ags.
Calling for a renewed American
solidarity, Buttigieg said concerns of
Trump voters and those of marginalized
communities arent that dierent.
That sense of concern that motivates
a blue-collar worker wondering if hes
oce is doing something thats horribly
wrong? And I just want to point to the
way that theyre doing it as the most
important feature of this protest.
Buttigieg drew a contrast between the
Pence walk-out and anti-abortion protests
at former President Obamas Notre Dame
commencement speech in 2009.
Its not anything like the way President
Obama was treated, and I think thats to
their credit, Buttigieg said.
The South Bend mayor made the
remarks as the commencement ceremony
was taking place and admitted he hadnt
seen yet whats going down. According
to the Indianapolis Star, more than 100
students among the estimated 3,000
graduates quietly got up from their seats
and left Notre Dame Stadium in protest
of some of Pences policy positions.
Pence during his speech called
Notre Dame a vanguard of freedom
of expression and the free exchange of
ideas, commending the university at
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
going to have a job in three years is not
that dierent from whats on the mind of
an undocumented mother fearing that
she could taken away from her children
or a junior in high school in Indiana who
just needs to use the bathroom like
everybody else, Buttigieg said.
her Connecticut State Comptroller Kevin
Lembo told attendees he had opened an
exploratory campaign to run for governor
in his state, which could lead to him
being the rst openly gay person elected
governor in the country.
My state, the state that I love faces real
challenges, but the fact is across America,
we are facing real challenges both
threats coming from state capitols and
from the nations capitol put us at risk,
Lembo said. And now, its more important
than ever to support LGBTQ leaders,
to give our resistance an even stronger
voice and to show the next generation
that theres a place for them in public
service, too, because representation is
powerful and it matters.
Highlighted at the brunch were two
transgender candidates who would make
history if they succeed in winning seats in
the upcoming election.
Danica Roem, whos running to
unseat anti-LGBT Del. Bob Marshall
(R-Prince William County) in the Virginia
House, said his defeat at the hands
of a transgender person would have
particular signicance, referencing his
remarks calling transgender people
gender confused.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
a time when he said free speech and
civility are waning on campuses across
America, the Star reported.
Ahead of the speech, student organizers
said they intended to walk out over
his anti-LGBT views, citing his decision
to sign a religious freedom law in
Indiana, and the administrations hostility
toward undocumented immigrants and
sanctuary cities.
Also commending Notre Dame students
decision to walk out on Pence was Sarah
Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, who called the
demonstration an act of bravery.
Graduates around the country deserve
commencement speakers who inspire
them to propel our diverse country forward,
and these Notre Dame students bravely
told the world that Vice President Pences
anti-LGBTQ actions y in the face of unity
and inspiration, Elli said. These Notre
Dame graduates should be applauded
for demonstrating true leadership and
standing up for freedom and acceptance.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 0 9

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1 0 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7
President Pence: Worse than Trump for LGBT people?
Amid cries for
impeachment, some fear
whats next
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Imagine: President Trump has been
impeached and removed from oce
after investigations reveal illegal collusion
between his 2016 campaign and Russia,
prompting Vice President Mike Pence to
take the Oath of Oce. Do you know how
anti-LGBT your new president is?
Ongoing revelations about the Trump
campaigns connections to Russia and his
ring of FBI Director James Comey as he
was investigating those ties have led to
some scattered calls for impeachment,
including from LGBT rights supporters.
But impeachment could lead to a
potentially worse place if Pence becomes
president and his administration is
consistent with an anti-LGBT record that
dwarfsTrumps.
Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, said the
LGBT community would only need to look
to Pences past as a member of Congress
and Indiana governor to realize he seeks
to harm LGBT people.
Mike Pence has made it a priority to
use religion as a weapon to harm the
LGBTQ community ever since his rst
congressional campaign in 2000, Ellis said.
By being the key inuencer to President
Trumps religious exemptions executive
order, supporting so-called conversion
therapy practices, and signing his anti-
LGBTQ Religious Freedom Restoration Act
(RFRA) as Indianas governor, Pence will
do whatever he can to scale back LGBTQ
acceptance and erase our community
from the fabric of America.
Pences anti-LGBT history prior to
becoming Trumps running mate is
well-documented. Most prominently,
Pence in 2015 as Indiana governor
signed a religious freedom bill allowing
businesses and individuals to refuse
services and discriminate against LGBT
people. After pressure from LGBT
advocates and the business community,
Pence was forced to sign a x to the law
signicantly limiting its scope.
Pences record goes back to 2000 when
he was rst seeking a U.S. House seat
and his campaign materials stipulating
he would support HIV/AIDS funding on
the condition that resources are directed
to institutions that provide assistance
to those seeking to change their sexual
behavior. That has been interpreted as
support for ex-gay conversion therapy,
although Pence through a spokesperson
has denied he ever supported the
practice.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
As a House member, Pence backed
a U.S. constitutional amendment that
would have banned same-sex marriage
nationwide and was a vocal opponent
of pro-LGBT initiatives, including hate
crimes protections legislation, Dont Ask,
Dont Tell repeal and a version of the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
Pences opponents have taken him
to task for his anti-LGBT record. Shortly
before Inauguration Day, a group of
dance protesters in D.C. twerked their
way to Pences house in a protest over
his anti-LGBT views. Just this weekend,
more than 100 students at the University
of Notre Dame walked out on Pence
during his commencement address
over his anti-LGBT views and the
Trump administrations approach to
marginalized communities.
Given Pences extremely anti-LGBT
record, theres a cleardistinction between
the vice president and Trump, whom
some supporters maintain is relatively
pro-LGBT despite the administrations
actions, such as revoking guidance
assuring transgender students have
access to the restroom consistent with
their gender identity.
Twice so far during the new
Would a President MIKE PENCE be worse than Trump for LGBT people?
administration, Trump once in
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
January and again earlier this month
considered, but ultimately declined
to sign, a religious freedom executive candidate and said hed protect them but hasnt made a call for enabling anti-
order that would allow discrimination on from a foreign, hateful ideology. LGBT discrimination in the name of
the basis of religious objections to same- I think throughout the campaign, religious freedom. Instead, Pence has
sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion President Trump made it clear that generally armed the importance of faith
and transgender identity. If Trump were discrimination would have no place in our and, in terms of policy, stated the Trump
removed from oce and Pence was administration, Pence said. I mean, he administration pledge to repeal the Johnson
inaugurated as president, that executive was the very rst Republican nominee to Amendment, a 1954 law that bars churches
order would get a fresh pair of eyes and mention the LGBTQ community at our from making political endorsements.
new perspective. Republican National Convention and was A speech that Pence gave earlier this
Dan Pinello, a political scientist at the applauded for it. And I was there applauding month in D.C. at the World Summit
City University of New Yorks John Jay with him. I think the generosity of his spirit, in Defense of Persecuted Christians
College of Criminal Justice, said Pence has recognizing that in the patriots heart, theres denouncing persecution of any kind, of any
accommodated his more conservative no room for prejudice is part of who this faith, any place, any time could just as easily
views as vice president to avoid alienating president is. apply to LGBT people as Christians overseas.
Trump advisers like Ivanka Trump and David Benkof, a gay columnist for the (The Human Rights Campaign distributed
Jared Kushner, but would revert to his old conservative Daily Caller, said Pence hasnt a copy of that speech as part of an eort
ways if Pence were president. said anything that I know specically on gay to encourage Trump to speak out against
After all, Trump recruited Pence as issues as vice president, making the case reported anti-gay violence in Chechnya.)
vice president precisely for the purpose Trump is a gay-friendly president and has Pences relative silence on LGBT issues as
of appeasing hard-core conservatives, had a mitigating impacton Pence. vice president could change soon. The Faith
Pinello said. So meaningful softening To me, his silence is more than I might & Freedom Coalition, an anti-LGBT group,
by Pence of his posture on LGBT issues have expected from Ted Cruzs vice announced Tuesday Pence would deliver
would be both counter-intuitive and president, Benkof said. Donald Trumps the keynote address in D.C. at its annual
counter-productive as a political matter. overall gay-friendly approach has muted Patriots Gala. Thats the same day Pride is
Thus, a President Pence would probably be evangelical opposition to gay rights, and set to take place in D.C. and the day before
worse for our community than what Trump Pence is evangelical, and its really good the Equality March for Unity & Pride.
himself is, sad to say. news for queers. Faith & Freedom Coalition Executive
But has Pence moderated his approach to Benkof identied himself as a Hillary Director Tim Head said in a statement
LGBT issues since becoming No. 2 to Trump? Clinton supporter and supporter of LGBT announcing the speech Pence has
During an interview in February on ABCs rights, although he said he backsa religious consistently served as a champion for the
This Week, Pence said he was among those freedom carve-out allowing bakers and pro-life, pro-family, pro-economic growth
applauding when Trump mentioned LGBT orists to opt out of facilitating same-sex movement in his various roles, including
people during his nomination acceptance weddings. vice president.
speech at the Republican National As vice president, Pence has delivered
Convention a rst for a GOP presidential numerous speeches to religious groups, CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
I N T ERNA TI O N A L NEWS
A suicide bomber who blew himself up at an ARIANA GRANDE concert in Manchester,
England on Tuesday has left 22 people dead.
PHOTO BY MELISSA ROSE; COURTESY OF FLICKR
Bombing at Ariana Grande
concert kills 22
A suicide bomber who blew himself up at an Ariana Grande concert in
Manchester, England, on Monday has killed at least 22 people and left 59 others
injured.
The Greater Manchester Police said it received reports of an explosion at
Manchester Arena shortly before 10:35 p.m. local time. (5:35 p.m. EST). Grandes
concert had just ended when the suicide bomber blew himself up.
This is the most horric incident we have had to face in Greater Manchester
and one that we all hoped we would never see, said Greater Manchester Police
Chief Ian Hopkins on Tuesday in a statement.
Families and many young people were out to enjoy a concert at the
Manchester Arena and have lost their lives, he added. Our thoughts are with
those 22 victims that we now know have died, the 59 people who have been
injured and their loved ones.
Grande was not hurt during the attack. She wrote on her Twitter page that
she is broken.
British Prime Minister Theresa May in a statement said authorities are
working to establish the full details of what is being treated by police as an
appalling terrorist attack.
All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of those who have been
aected, she said, according to the Independent.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Grin on his Twitter page said his
heart is with everyone in Manchester tonight.
We stand with you and against hate, he said.
The explosion took place less than a month before the rst anniversary of the
massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that left 49 people dead and
more than 50 others injured.
Barbara Poma, who owns the Pulse nightclub, on Monday posted onto her
Facebook page a picture that said, We will not let hate win. It was written with
colors of the British ag.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also expressed her condolences to the victims and
their families.
Tonight, #Paris stands with #Manchester. My thoughts go out to the victims
and their families. Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) May 23, 2017
Three gunmen killed 89 people inside the Bataclan concert hall in Paris 10th
arrondissement on Nov. 13, 2015. The siege was part of a series of attacks on the
same day that left more than 100 people dead in the French capital.
The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks. ISIS on
Tuesday claimed responsibility for the Manchester bombing.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 1 1
Two men in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesias Aceh province, on Tuesday received 82
lashes after a sharia court convicted them of having sex.
Indonesian police arrest 141 at gay sex party
Indonesian police on Sunday arrested 141 men during a raid on a sauna in the countrys capital
of Jakarta.
Reports indicate authorities claimed the men were taking part in a gay sex party at the time
of their arrest.
The Jakarta Post on Monday published a statement from Arus Pelangi, an Indonesian LGBT
advocacy group, and 14 other organizations that said those who were arrested were stripped
naked and transported in public transportation. The statement also notes the men were naked
while facing [police] interrogation.
The Jakarta Post on Monday also reported pictures of the men who were naked went viral
after they were leaked.
A spokesperson for the Indonesian National Police on Tuesday told reporters the men were
arrested and charged under the countrys 2008 anti-pornography law.
Anyone exhibiting pornography actions will be arrested, said the spokesperson, according to
the Jakarta Post. The fact that those arrested are gay males is a coincidence.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations are not criminalized in Indonesia.
President Joko Widodo told BBC Indonesia last October that he opposes discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The arrests at the Jakarta sauna on Sunday
nevertheless took place against the backdrop of an ongoing LGBT rights crackdown in the worlds
most populous Muslim-majority country.
Two men in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesias Aceh province, on Tuesday received 82
lashes after a sharia court convicted them of having sex. Reuters reported hundreds of people
gathered to witness the canings.
The Indonesian government in 2005 granted Aceh the right to govern itself. The region adopted
sharia law in 2015.
A commission in the Indonesian House of Representatives in March 2016 urged the countrys
Ministry of Communications and Information to consider a bill that sought to block websites
promoting so-called LGBT propaganda. The Constitutional Court of Indonesia last August heard
testimony in a lawsuit that seeks to criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Indonesian authorities in February 2016 shut down an Islamic school for transgender people
in the city of Yogyakarta.
The board of directors of Nahdlatul Ulama which is the worlds largest Muslim organization
with more than 40 million members in February 2016 urged the Indonesian government
to take immediate measures to stop all propaganda against LGBT normalization and deviant
activities and ban parties campaigning for LGBT rights.
Lembaya Kesehatan Nahdlatul Ulama, which is part of Nahdlatul Ulama, received a $2.6
million from the U.S. Agency for International Development in order to bolster its ability to detect
tuberculosis cases and treat them. The grant began in 2012 and will continue through this year.
What started as hateful rhetoric and criminalizing legal (relations) last year is turning into a witch
hunt, Dd Oetomo, an LGBT rights advocate from the city of Surabaya, told the Washington
Blade on Tuesday. LGBT people are a cheap target to boost conservative Islamist credentials.
OutRight Action International Executive Director Jessica Stern in a statement she released after
the Jakarta arrests said what is happening in Indonesia is dangerous and scary.
Ocials are using their own personal biases on morality to oppress dierent groups and
especially LGBTIQ people, she said. In the past, the LGBTIQ community has experienced more
tolerance in Indonesian society, but particularly over the past 18 months crackdowns have
increased and the situation has become much worse for LGBTIQ people.
LGBTIQIndonesiansare equal citizens and must not be singled out and oppressed simply for
who they love or who they are, added Stern.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

1 2 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7
HATZEL VELA in Havana on May 14.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
First Cuba-based local U.S.
TV reporter worked in D.C.
HAVANA The rst reporter from a local U.S. television station who is based in Cuba
once worked in D.C.
Hatzel Vela, who is a reporter for WPLG, a South Florida television station, and
photojournalist Brian Ely have been based in Havana since January.
Vela who was a reporter at WJLA from 2012-2014 and Ely must return to the U.S.
once a month as part of the agreement that WPLG has with the Cuban government. Vela
told the Washington Blade on May 17 during a telephone interview from Havana that
he is hopeful WPLG will be able to open a permanent bureau on the Communist island.
That is our biggest hope, said Vela. We are hoping that eventually this becomes a
permanent post where WPLG Local 10 can have a bureau and can report live here on
the island.
But for now we are very appreciative of what we have, he added.
Vela who was born in Nicaragua and grew up in Miami has reported
extensively on Cuba since then-President Obama in 2014 announced the U.S. would
begin the process of normalizing relations with the Communist country.
Vela spent more than two weeks traveling across Cuba for a series of stories that
aired on WPLG in 2015. Pope Francis visit to Cuba in September 2015, Obamas trip to
the island in March 2016 and former Cuban President Fidel Castros death late last year
are among the stories that Vela has covered.
Vela noted to the Blade that he and Ely arrived in Havana a couple of days before
Obama ended the so-called wet foot, dry foot policy, which allowed any Cuban who
reached U.S. soil without a visa to remain in the country a become legal residents after
a year.
Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Ral Castro who spearheads LGBT-
specic issues as director of the National Center for Sexual Education, sat down with
Vela late last month for an exclusive interview. He has also sat down with Berta Soler,
the leader of the Ladies in White, and other high prole critics of the Cuban government
who live in Cuba.
Freedom House in its 2016 report notes Cuba has the most repressive environment
for the media in the Americas.
Vela told the Blade that he and Ely have been able to report freely in Cuba. He
said the Cuban government told them we could do whatever stories we wanted to
do as long as we are fair and the stories are a true depiction of whats happening
on the island.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S
HRC President CHAD GRIFFIN speaks at a protest against the arrest of gay men in Chechnya
earlier this month in D.C.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
HRCs Griffin urges U.S. to grant visas to Chechens
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin on Monday described reports
that the U.S. has discouraged Russian LGBT rights advocates from helping men who
have fled anti-gay persecution in Chechnya apply for visas as greatly disturbing.
Griffin in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wrote that while he
understands it is indeed difficult for them to obtain U.S. visas, it is imperative that
the U.S. immediately take every possible step to help the victims find their way
safely and to clearly communicate that the U.S. is pursuing every option, so that
the victims do not lose hope.
No door should be shut prematurely, wrote Griffin. Whether that be through
humanitarian parole or through the refugee system or through other countries
that can process them more quickly, the U.S. must show leadership in helping
people who face such grave threats to their fundamental human rights.
The people fleeing Chechnya are being persecuted because of who they are
and who they love, and it is our responsibility to step up and protect them from
despotic leaders who seek to harm them, he added.
Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper, last month reported authorities
in Chechnya, which is a semi-autonomous Russian republic in the North Caucuses, have
arrested more than 100 gay men since February.
Novaya Gazeta has said at least three of the men died after their arrest, while
others have been beaten and tortured. Reports also indicate Chechen authorities
have sent them to secret prisons that have been described as concentration
camps.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir
Putin, and the Kremlin have sought to downplay or even dismiss the reports that gay
men have been arrested. Novaya Gazeta on Monday reported the Russian government
has launched an investigation into the allegations.
BuzzFeed last week reported the U.S. has denied visas to Chechen men who are
eeing persecution because of their sexual orientation.
A spokesperson for the Russian LGBT Network, which is providing assistance to those
who have left the semi-autonomous Russian republic, later told BuzzFeed the U.S.
has not formally denied any visa applications. The spokesperson nevertheless said an
ocial at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow told the Russian LGBT Network there was no
political will to issue visas to the Chechen men.
BuzzFeed reported only two of the Chechens who have ed anti-gay persecution have
received visas that allowed them to legally travel to other countries.
The Russian LGBT Network has said dozens of men who have ed Chechnya remain
in hiding inside Russia. Grin in his letter to Tillerson points out that Chechen women
have begun to come forward with reports of their own mistreatment due to suspicions
that they are lesbians, or know of gay men.
There is simply no safe place in Russia for them, wrote Griffin. Even Europe can
be dangerous since Chechen communities there have strong networks, capable of
tracking them down and bringing them back to Chechnya.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), former
Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are among
those who have publicly condemned the arrests in Chechnya.
The State Department last month urged the Russian government to investigate
them. President Trump and Tillerson have not publicly commented on the arrests or
the secret prisons in which the gay men have reportedly been held.
Grin in a letter he sent to Tillerson on April 4 urged him and the Trump
administration to stress to their Russian counterparts that such lawless detentions,
arrests, torture and murders are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
LO C A L NEW S
Black LGBT leaders denounce slow pace of change
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
and the full diversity of the community.
In interviews this week, the Washington
Blade asked four prominent black LGBT
leaders who head local and national LGBT
organizations to talk about how they see the
current state of race relations within the LGBT
community and within LGBT organizations.
The Blade also interviewed a prominent
African-American ocial who spoke on
condition of anonymity because the activist
is not authorized to speak to the media.
Do the concerns by people of color
that surfaced at the Capital Pride Alliance
meeting earlier this month go beyond
Capital Pride and touch on other local
and national LGBT organizations?
Guillaume Bagal, the recently elected
president of D.C.s Gay and Lesbian
Activists Alliance, whos black, said the
answer is yes.
While race-related issues are at the
forefront of the Capital Pride dispute, it is
simply a manifestation of what has been
brewing for decades in local and national
LGBTQ organizations, Bagal said.
Take the District for instance, he told
the Blade in a statement. Despite our
richness in both social and advocacy
LGBTQ groups, there remains an air of
segregation many have either grown
accustomed to or continue to justify
rather than addressing head on. The
call to address Black and Brown issues
within the LGBTQ community will only get
louder, and I hope LGBTQ organizations
at the local and national level begin
to reect the needs of people living at
the intersection of multiple societally
marginalized identities.
He said local and national LGBT
organizations need to come to terms
with the reality that unless race is
specied, its white.
By this I mean that unless you are
intentional in addressing the needs of
people of color or other minority groups,
you are likely catering to the same white,
cisgender, middle and upper-class gay
men, he said. Furthermore, using
words like diversity and inclusivity is
problematic when your leadership does
not reect the community you claim to
serve, and your organizational decisions
are perceived as shallow and tone-deaf
by communities of color.
Earl Fowlkes is executive director of
the Center for Black Equity, a national
D.C.-based group that advocates for
African-American LGBT people and helps
organize Black Pride events in the U.S.
and abroad. He is also president of D.C.s
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and chair
of the Democratic National Committees
LGBT Caucus.
The reality is in our community, the
LGBTQ community, we still struggle with
I think there are always issues of inclusion that have to be dealt with. And we have to struggle
with those, said longtime advocate EARL FOWLKES.
issues of race and class and age and
gender identity, and they all intertwine,
he told the Blade. Its very complicated.
He noted that while Capital Pride
continues to encounter problems related
to people of color he feels things have
improved in recent years.
Ive noticed an increase in black
participants in the parade of anity
groups and organizations, he said in
discussing the Capital Pride events. And
also people who were watching the
parade there are more people of color
watching the parade, Fowlkes said.
But we have to look at this more
holistically and understand that its not
just the three days where we have to
be better about race for Pride, Fowlkes
continued. It should be the whole year.
We dont socialize together. There are
very few places where black and white
socialize together, which is the basis of
relationships and friendships, the basis
of understanding, he said.
And until we start doing that and
creating those spaces to do that were
going to have misunderstandings and a
lack of sensitivity toward issues of race,
Fowlkes said.
He added, Its dicult because if you
focus on three days of the year as opposed
to looking at the entire year there are
tensions as we have gentrication, where
people of color, particularly blacks who
lived in D.C. for many years are forced
to move out because of the increase in
housing costs. And a lot of those people
are LGBT too.
Angela Peoples, executive director of
the national LGBT direct action group Get
Equal and a member of the No Justice No
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Pride coalition, said she is surprised that
members of the LGBT community would
be asking at this time whether there are
shortcomings among LGBT organizations
and LGBT events pertaining to racial
justice and people of color.
Im sorry Im a little taken aback
by the question because this is part of
the premise of the entire No Justice No
Pride campaign, she said. Its part of the
reason that there is a Black Pride, Latino
Pride, etc. in the rst place, Peoples said.
Its because the LGBT community
historically and today has been racist and
at best has encouraged people of color,
particularly black folks, to fall in line.
Most importantly, Peoples said, none
of this is a new development in the LGBT
community.
So yes, there are issues. There have
been issues for decades. This is not new.
This is not the rst time, she said.
And I think what youre seeing,
especially all across the country, is
that folks are no longer waiting for
these establishment or mainstream
organizations or for the mainstream
movement to get it, she continued.
Among other things, Peoples said more
LGBT organizations and advocates need
to undertake a serious conversation
about who the leadership should be, who
we put our resources in, and who should
be involved in these conversations.
And it seems to me that the
mainstream movement time and time
again is not willing to do that, she said.
Weve called on HRC to divest from Wells
Fargo because of their treatment of black
and brown communities. Weve called
on the Task Force and Creating Change
MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 1 3
to divest from Wells Fargo because of
their relationship with the Dakota Access
Pipeline and to private prisons.
And these groups dont want to
respond. They dont want to hear truth,
Peoples said.
She was referring to the Human Rights
Campaign, the nations largest LGBT civil
rights group, and the National LGBTQ
Task Forces selection of Wells Fargo Bank
as a corporate sponsor. Creating Change
is a national LGBT conference organized
by the Task Force.
Wells Fargo has not been a direct
sponsor of Creating Change in years and
as of July 1, 2017 they will no longer be a
national corporate sponsor of the National
LGBTQ Task Force, said Russell Roybal, the
groups deputy executive director.
They remain the presenting sponsor
of the Task Force Gala-Miami as they have
for the last several years, Roybal added.
A spokesperson for HRC couldnt
immediately be reached for comment.
HRC has said Wells Fargo Bank
has consistently received the HRC
Foundations highest rating for a
corporation on internal personnel
policies for LGBT employees.
Isaiah Williams, external aairs director
for the National Black Justice Coalition,
another D.C.-based group that advocates
for the black LGBT community, said
mainstream LGBT rights organizations
have historically not focused on many of
the issues deemed important for LGBT
people of color.
In thinking about the last decade,
marriage equality was the ght, said
Williams. We were very much in support
of that ght, but that was a very privileged
ght, he said. It doesnt take into
consideration the most marginalized
within the LGBTQ community and our
issues. And when we look at those issues
were just trying to survive. Were just trying
to get employment where we can be our
authentic selves and that were protected
and that we cant be red just because of
who we are as LGBT people who happen
to be LGBT people of color, Williams said.
There has always been this issue
around what are the issues were ghting
for. And do those issues come from a
place of privilege? Its incumbent upon the
movement to always center on the most
marginalized, the most left behind, he said.
In pointing to the issues that matter
most to many LGBT people of color, Wilson
added, If you dont have employment
protections, if you dont have housing
protections, if you dont have access
to health care that is accessible and of
quality then who cares about a marriage
certicate when your quality of life is still
marginalized, its still oppressed?
1 4 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

BA L T I MO RE N E W S M A Y 26, 2017 15
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is right given the uncertain times and the BYRON MACFARLANE is running for
County Council in Howard.
water $ Wood-Look Tile
coarsening of the political system. PROOF sq ft sq ft
After 18 years of political activism, I WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO

can tell you that each of us does, indeed,

have the power to make positive change,
he said. In the 2018 election, we can and must stand together for our shared
55+ flooring
varieties 20+ flooring
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progressive values, and choose the future that we want for ourselves and the
North American Wood-Look Prefinished
and European
next generation.
Tile Hardwood
Laminate
Macfarlane, a Democrat, was elected as Register of Wills in 2010, narrowly from from from

59 69 1
defeating the six-term Republican incumbent Kay Hartleb. He won re-election in
2014 running unopposed.
His tenure at that position has been marked by a technological overhaul of
water $ 49
sq ft PROOF sq ft
his oce and legislative initiatives aimed at making the probate process more sq ft
streamlined and less expensive for Maryland families.
I stepped out of my formal role to advocate for progressive causes, such as
marriage equality, protecting the immigrant population from Donald Trump,
and campaign nance reform that would get big money out of local elections,
Macfarlane told the Blade.
Keep your promise to protect each other.
His campaign for County Council will ocially kick o on June 10.

Md. LGBT Chamber of Commerce to launch

After a year of organizing and planning, the Maryland LGBT Chamber of Commerce
will debut on June 14. The newly formed chamber brings together LGBT and allied
businesses, professionals and individuals throughout the state of Maryland.
The chamber will oer networking opportunities, business development
eorts within the LGBT community, and educational programming to its
members. The goal is to create more business opportunities for the LGBT+
community by connecting corporations with suppliers, teaching how to navigate
within the federal and state government for contracts, and ensuring that
workplaces are safe and welcoming.
Our mission is to empower and promote LGBT professionals and business
owners in the Maryland marketplace, said Betsy Cerulo, president of the
Maryland LGBT Chamber of Commerce, in a statement. Our goal is to connect
LGBT and gay-allied businesses in the state with government and provide
economic opportunities for our members. If all our diverse businesses and
Wills & Trusts
business groups win, ultimately, Maryland wins. Powers of Attorney Living Wills
The event marking the launch will take place on June 14 at 6 p.m. during Wined
Up Wednesday an ocial Baltimore Pride event at Flavor (15 East Centre
Partnership & Prenuptial Agreements
St. in Baltimore). Cerulo and David Imre, the chambers founders, will introduce
the newly formed chamber, its mission, goals and its upcoming programming.
(240) 778-2330 (703) 536-0220
There will be entertainment, wine, hors doeuvres, silent auction and raes while www.PartnerPlanning.com
networking with LGBT business owners, allies and supporters. Tickets benetting
the GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB) are $30 in
advance and $35 at the door. Serving the LGBT Community
Maryland LGBT Chamber of Commerce, an aliate of the National Gay & Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce, oers individual memberships beginning at $100 and small
in DC/MD/VA since 1983
businesses starting at $250. There is a $65 discount for students.
Information can be found at mdlgbt.org.
STEVE CHARING Lawrence S. Jacobs/McMillan Metro, PC

16 M A Y 26, 2017
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TO ALL WHO MADE CAPITAL TRANS PRIDE
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
H E A LT H N E W S
GMHC opens mental health clinic
NEW YORK A new mental health clinic is open in Manhattan with the goal of serving
New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS, Spectrum News NY 1 reports.
The Gay Mens Health Crisis has been active in the city since the early days of the AIDS
epidemic, but only recently has it been licensed by the state to provide outpatient mental
health services.
The new Carl Jacobs Mental Health Clinic in Chelsea is designed for 24-hour emergency
support. With a goal of wiping out AIDS in New York State by 2020, the organization says
mental health support is critical, Spectrum News reports.
We know that untreated mental health issues is a driver of the epidemic. Because
mental health issues can lead someone to not stick to their medication regimen, or
prevent someone from taking their prevention drugs, said GMHC Ceo Kelsey Louie,
according to Spectrum News.
GMHC oers services to adult New Yorkers of all sexual orientations, gender identities,
income levels, and HIV statuses. To learn more, check out gmhc.org.
Nevada guv signs conversion therapy ban
WASHINGTON The Republican governor of Nevada has become the latest to sign
into law a statewide ban barring the widely discredited practice on youth of ex-gay
conversion therapy.
Gov. Brian Sandoval on May 17 signed into law Senate Bill 201, which makes it illegal
for any licensed medical or mental health care provider to provide sexual orientation or
gender conversion therapy to anyone under 18 years old.
Conversion therapy has been disavowed by medical experts and is considered a non-
eective method of treatment that can cause harm to an adolescent, Sandoval said in a
statement. This law will help protect some of our states most vulnerable youth.
The measure was approved in the Nevada Assembly earlier this month by a 31-8 vote
and in the Nevada Senate in April by a 15-5 vote. The legislature amended the bill to clarify
it still allows licensed health care professionals from engaging in expressive speech or
religious counseling with minors if the licensed health care professionals are acting in
their pastoral or religious capacity.
As a result of Sandoval signing SB201, Nevada has joined D.C. and 10 states to ban
conversion therapy for youth. The other states are California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon,
Vermont, New York, New Mexico and Connecticut. New Yorks ban is uniquely the result
of an order signed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and not legislation.
The practice of therapy aimed at changing an individuals sexual orientation or
transgender status is considered ineectual at best and harmful at worst. Major medical
and psychological institutions, including American Psychological Association, the World
Health Organization, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of
Pediatrics, widely reject conversion therapy.
Gender-conrmation procedures up 20 percent
NORWALK, Conn. Since starting to collect statistics on gender-conrmation surgeries
two years ago, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports a nearly 20 percent increase
in the procedures, HealthDay News reports.
More than 3,200 gender-conrmation surgeries of all types were performed in 2016,
the plastic surgeons group reports. That represents a rise of nearly 20 percent from 2015,
HealthDay News reports.
About 1.4 million adults in the United States, or about 0.6 percent of the adult population,
identify as transgender, according to a 2016 analysis by the Williams Institute at University
of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
Experts attribute the increase in gender conrmation surgeries to more widespread
insurance coverage, as well as growing discussion and acceptance surrounding transgender
people.
With the ACA (Aordable Care Act) and some legislation that bars discrimination
against transgender people, those patients are now having their surgeries covered by their
insurance plans, resulting in quite an increase in numbers requesting surgery, said Dr.
Debra Johnson, president of the plastic surgeons society, according to HealthDay News.
So part of it was that (surgeries) are now covered, and there was a pent-up demand,
if you will, of patients who once couldnt aord to have surgery who now can, she told
HealthDay.
Gender-conrmation surgeries range from sex reassignment altering a patients
genitals to breast augmentation or reduction, facial and neck contouring and even hair
transplants. Comprehensive care surrounding gender transition may also involve hormone
therapy and psychological counseling.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

F I T NES S M A Y 26, 2017 17

Summers here, you ready?

Switch gears slightly to maintain
your beach bod all season
This weekend marks the ocial
start to summer for most of us. Educated at Brown, Harvard,
Whether its a trip to the Rehoboth
Beach or staying in the city to and Johns Hopkins
celebrate Black Pride, its unocially
summertime.
Washingtonian Magazine Top Doc
With that comes less clothes US News & World Report
and more times to be out and
GERARD BURLEY is a D.C.-based personal trainer. Top 1% of Doctors in USA
Reach him via @CoachGFit or coachg@coachgt- about. Ideally, were just putting the
ness.com. nishing touches on our workout
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routines. If so, its a great time
to switch gears slightly to maintain your summer body throughout the next Facial Plastic Surgery
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something that will keep you turning heads all summer.
Cut it out: In your journey to the more t, healthier, sexier you, you have
probably noticed that as you get in better shape, its harder and harder to lose
more fat. Now youre at the hardest part. Ask any bodybuilder about their
routine as they plan to cut down for a competition. Maybe up until now you
have only been working out and eating healthy, but not strictly pulling back on
your calories. Now you need to!
I suggest you start a calorie counter like mytnesspal.com or Lose It. They
both have apps and put in a setting to lose two pounds per week. This way if
you have any slip ups, youll still be good to go. The best ways to cut calories is
to add more produce, especially green veggies. Fill up on veggies at every meal. I
dont want you to be hungry, just full on the right things. Protein-wise, stick with
white sh and chicken breast. They pack the most protein with the least amount
of fat and calories.
Second, cut the cheese. Its a good source of protein and calcium but usually
packs lots of calories and salt, so its just not worth it. Last, pump the water hard.
Many food cravings are really water cravings masked as food. Every time you
feel hungry, rst drink at least 20 ounces of water and wait 15 minutes to see if
the cravings go away.
Charge the circuit: Now that the diet is in order, its time to blast this fat in the
gym. Youve been packing on muscle, strengthening your core and burning calories,
but now we need to go into overdrive. We are now entering operation out of Laser Liposuction
breath. Your workouts now should be done all in a circuit type form of ve or six
exercises in a row without any rest until the end. All your exercises should also be
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By working in the end range of your heart rate, 85 percent or higher, you will
cause your body to burn fat throughout the day. Remember to change up your
circuits. The body responds to changes so keep it guessing.
More reps, less time: Lastly, start to increase the reps of your workout but try
CALL TO ASK
not to increase how long youre working out. So if you normally train in the gym ABOUT OUR
LASER LIPO SPECIALS
for an hour doing 12 reps of each exercise, see if you can increase every exercise
to 15-20 reps and still complete your workout in the same amount of time.
This will be a motivator to work harder than normal, which will result in you
burning more calories and stimulating more muscles bers in a shorter amount
of time. Its a good way to push yourself into working harder without realizing it.
Once you can complete 20 reps in the same amount of time as before, you then
can start to increase the weight for each exercise.
As we enter this weekend and summer season, remember it all starts with
nutrition and that by changing up your normal weight-lifting routine you can see
the results you want in no time. Most importantly know that the hard work you
put in all winter has paid o and there is no perfect body, so just enjoy and be
proud of yours. Stay safe this season.

1 8 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7
You could use a laugh
Join me June 9 in D.C.
for some knock-knock
classic humor
KATE CLINTON is a longtime humorist. She
writes regularly for the Blade.
My brain hurts. I dont mean it to sound
like whining ennui. Totalitarianism is such
an inconvenience. Sigh. Besides its im-
possible to out-narciss the cis-narcissist-
in-chief. In my head I actually say, My
brain hurts in the barking bray charac-
ters used to do in Monty Pythons Flying
Circus skits.
At least I hope Ive been using my inside
voice.
You can Google the classic Monty Py-
thon comedy bit faster, but my eorts
at description will be a pleasurable trip
down a memory lane crowded by stiy
prancing top-hatted Ministers of Silly
Walks, with y-overs by undead pining pi-
geons, to a galaxy long ago and far away.
On their heads the Pythons wore white
handkerchiefs knotted into four corners.
They stood in rigidly arched postures,
arms tight to the body, sts clenched
tightly, and with lots of lower jaw action,
they shouted over and over, My brain
hurts! I once dislocated my jaw doing
an imitation during a high school English
class. And I was the teacher.
My brain hurts. I realized it the other
day, as I was trying to write yet another
analogy for Trump: Hes like. . . I dont
know what exams colleges use for en-
trance anymore or if its all just legacy
admissions, but I loved studying for the
Miller Analogy test. I basically still read
the world as a multi-colon-ized analogy:
This is to this as that is to that. Lately its
been a double-bind binary hell.
In the Trump Y2K17 Singularity, some
writers feel a huge pressure to say the
one thing that will be the hidden key that
hacks open the golden door that will be-
gin the hoped-for disintegration of the
Trump Tower of Babel. That can hurt a
brain. I worry for example about the won-
derful NYT op-ed writer Charles Blow. He
might just blow the top of his head o.
You can feel the pressure in meme-land
as well. Everybody is going for the game-
changing, I Have a Meme speech. Its a
lot of pressure on the Metaphor Maker
area of the brain.
E DIT OR IA L C A R T OON
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
C OM MU N I KA T E
Yes, yes, I must have lots of mate-
rial these days, as many people remind
me every day. But a comedy set cant
be much longer than 90 minutes unless
the audience is fully catheterized. Some
comedy triage is in order. Should I do the
Comey/comedy stu? The Melania and
the Golden Belt stu? Or the chocolate
cake bit: I cant eat the most beautiful
piece of chocolate cake youve ever seen
without seeing 29 tomahawk missiles
dropping on Syria. MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Its not a material problem. Ive got
hundreds of Amazons at my fulllment
warehouse in Hart, Mich., driving forklifts,
expertly forking up full palettes of shrink-
wrapped material. 24/7. And we oer full
medical/dental.
The problem is the comedy delivery sys-
tem. It can get overwhelmed, like myself.
So with a team of volunteers from Les-
bians Who Tech, Ive developed a whole
new sophisticated algorithm for comedy
delivery. After many attempts, you wont
believe it, but it turns out the most ef-
cient delivery system is the Knock,
Knock joke! Talk about fulllment!
Everybody loves knock-knock jokes. It
was the rst joke we really got as kids:
Knock, knock. Whos there? Boo. Boo
who? Why are you crying? It killed. For
some a knock-knock was the rst joke
they ever told. Theyre fun and fast. They
dont dwell. They cause groans. Dont be
judgey. Groaning can be sexy. Since the
set up is so non-sensical and the punch-
line so unpredictable, the joke teller gets
to feel a certain amount of agency and
competence. And these days, thats a real
nice feeling.
My show this year is thus called: Knock
Knock. Whos There? Zombie Apoca-
lypse. Ive explained the knock-knock
part. The Zombie Apocalypse needs no
explanation.
But if youd like an explanation, the
ne people at the Washington Blade are
bringing me to town to Katesplain!
The show is Friday, June 9 at 7 p.m. at
the Studio Theatre. And if you dont mind
my saying it, you look like you could use a
laugh. Come to the show its early and
were fully catheterized! enjoy some
new unforgettable knock-knock classics
then go mingle/hook up with all the peo-
ple in town for Capital Pride.
Knock, knock. Whos there? I hope you
are. For ticket info: washingtonblade.
com/Kate
VOLUME 48 ISSUE 21
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
V I E W PO I N T
Emily D, the Lady Gaga of poetry
New lm on Dickinson
disappoints, but her
writing still enthralls
KATHI WOLFE, a writer and poet, is a regular
contributor to the Blade.
Egomaniacs, beware!
Fame is a bee/It has a song/It has a
sting/Ah, too, it has a wing, Emily Dick-
inson, who lived from 1830-1886, tartly
warned 19th century wannabe celebs.
Fleeting fame wasnt a worry for Dick-
inson during her lifetime. Only 10 of her
poems were published while she lived.
Today, Emily D is the Lady Gaga of poetry;
and were her Little Monsters, gobbling
up her poems which sound like syncopat-
I N S I DE LGB T W A S HING TON
Fighting for a seat at the table
Democrats must
speak to voters across
spectrum of society
PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights
and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly
for the Blade.
Sunday was the Victory Funds annual
National Champagne Brunch. It seemed
low key compared to previous years. It
is an o year for major races with LGBT
candidates. The welcome was delivered
by Kim Hoover, chair of the Victory Fund
board. She spoke well as usual and I say
that not only because I was a guest at her
table. Hoover and her wife Lynne Hack-
ney have dedicated countless hours and
money to promoting the values of our
community and supporting candidates
across the country who share a vision for
ed, razor-sharp Tweets.
In the Trump era, these poems, written by
a single woman who didnt submit to religious
orthodoxy and is thought by some scholars
to have been queer, speak to us more than
ever. If I can stop one heart from breaking/I
shall not live in vain, Dickinson wrote. Listen-
ing to the news of civil rights setbacks, Dickin-
sons words echo in my brain.
Truth is so rare that it is delightful to
tell it, Dickinson wrote. If only, Dickinson
could be here in this time of fake news!
Emily Ds spirit is everywhere. The Morgan
Library & Museum exhibition Im Nobody!
Who are you? The Life and Poetry of Emily
Dickinson just closed. In 2013, the online
Emily Dickinson archive combined manu-
scripts of Dickinsons poems from Harvard
University, Amherst College, the Boston
Public Library and other institutions.
A Quiet Passion, a movie about Dick-
inson starring Cynthia Nixon (as Dickin-
son) and directed by Terence Davies, is
the latest in Emily D buzz. If only, this pic-
ture had buzz.
Theres much that we dont know about
Dickinson. We dont know for sure if Em- about to be asked to leave Mount Holy-
ily D ever had a male or female lover
equality. She had the honor of introduc-
ing Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) who
delivered the keynote.
Baldwin was great as always and spoke
of how we need to stand together and
continue to speak out, especially in these
dicult times. She spoke of the fact that
our wins in this Congress and with this
White House may be simply managing to
maintain what we have won before. Bald-
win is a target of the GOP in her 2018 re-
election bid and you can help ensure her
voice continues to be heard.
It was a monied crowd at the Omni
Shoreham Hotel ballroom. It is crucial
everyone there contribute to the max if
we are to fund the work of organizations
like Victory Fund. But maybe in the future
they could drop the word Champagne
from the name of their brunch. Somehow
it just reeks of elitism. Now, it is an elite
group and, of course, not everyone can
aord to attend, but I think the public im-
age of the organization is also really im-
portant. I remember when HRC was HRCF
and colloquially called the Human Rights
Champagne Fund. They got away from
that long ago and while it may not change
the organization, image does matter.
A number of other candidates aside
(though she had intense friendships with
women). Any poet will tell you that Dick-
inson and Walt Whitman are the greats
the geniuses of American poetry. But I
defy any bard to say, with certainty, what
her poems mean. Thats the fun of read-
ing Dickinson. Its you and Emily D surng
the mysterious waves.
Yet, we do know one thing: Dickinson
wasnt boring. Until A Quiet Passion. Cyn-
thia Nixons fab as Emily D. Its lovely to hear
her read Dickinsons poetry. Nixon has great
acting chops. This year, shes a Tony Award
nominee for Best Featured Actress in a Play
for her performance in The Little Foxes.
Nixon played Miranda in Sex and
the City. (Who could forget the funky
spunk?) I wouldnt want Emily Ds story to
morph into SATC. But, A Quiet Passion
could use some funky spunk! The lm
doesnt have the sentimentality of The
Belle of Amherst, the popular play about
Dickinson. Some scenes (about 45min-
utes) of this movie are engaging. (The lm
runs for two hours and ve minutes.) We
see young Emily D (Emma Bell) as shes
oke College, a womens Christian school,
from Baldwin were introduced and spoke
but to many the highlight of the after-
noon was South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete
Buttigieg. My friend Jerey went as far as
calling him the Gay JFK. He is a dynamic
young man and we will hear much from
him in the future. Even though he lost he
made a good impression on Democrats
nationally when he put his hat into the
ring for the position of chair of the Demo-
cratic National Committee.
Except for Buttigieg who compared
us to other communities and said our
common suering is greater than our
dierences what I missed from most of
those who spoke was the recognition we
wont be successful if we dont join with
others also ghting for their full civil and
human rights; women, African Americans
and other minorities, and immigrants.
The work we must do to bring our own
divided community together. To me one
of the goals of promoting and electing a
diverse group of LGBT candidates must
be that when they win they use their seat
at the table to ght for those who are the
most marginalized in our own commu-
nity along with the poor, workers and the
middle class.
My experience attending political fun-
MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 1 9
for thumbing her nose at the religious or-
thodoxy of the day.
In a great scene in A Quiet Passion,
a pastor (Miles Richardson) tells her that
shes being impious. Will you not kneel
and give yourself to God? he asks her.
No, sir, I will not kneel, Emily D tells
him, Though, I think that God has already
given Himself to me.
Though the movie provides glimpses
of her spirit and lively mind, too much of
Passion presents Dickinson as an un-
happy recluse. Emily D lived in one room
in her Amherst home for most of her
life. But, that one room gave Dickinson
what Virginia Woolf called a room of her
own, where she could write. Emily D cor-
responded with hundreds of people. My
friends are my estate, she wrote.
Dickinson lived through the Civil War,
grieved when her friends died and suf-
fered from Brights disease. Because
I could not stop for death, He kindly
stopped for me, she wrote.
But, Dickinson wasnt mournful or pas-
sive. I dwell in possibility, she wrote, and
Fortune befriends the bold.
Be bold. Take a poetic ride with Emily D.
draisers began many years ago with the
Democratic Party. For years, no event like
this would have concluded without the
workers and waiters who helped make
the event a success being thanked from
the stage. A friend sitting at a table that
was purchased by a union brought my at-
tention to the fact none of the organiza-
tions speakers did that.
Baldwin counseled us to focus on the
future. To understand that we must be
prepared when our turn to control the
levers of government comes again, and
it will. To win, LGBT candidates will not
only have to focus on the future when
talking to their constituents but also learn
to speak to voters across the broad spec-
trum of society. It will be incumbent on
the Victory Fund in its candidate trainings
to remind candidates of this and in many
cases teach them what it means. It is
speech that should be modeled by those
who work for all our LGBT organizations
when they stand in front of an audience.
It is ne at these events to speak to
each other but it may be just as important
and productive in the long run to speak to
those who are serving us our meal so they
believe we also really care about making
life better for them and their families.

2 0 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7
We need more woke white queens
Until then, stay strong
and give yourself the
love awful gays wont
By ROBERT JAMES
Racism, transphobia and discrimination are
alive and well in the gay community. It is no big
secret. Washington, D.C. is about as divided
as it gets when it comes to social strata. Youd
have to be as tone-deaf as a Pepsi ad suggest-
ing Kendal Jenner and the sugary beverage as
the cure to all social ills to not see it.
Hell, we have two separate Pride cel-
ebrations; Black Pride for black folks and the
catch-all, Capital Pride for everyone else. As
someone who is often outspoken on social
issues, especially those concerning race, I
was asked to address our nations capitals
gay community. Excited about the prospect
of challenging peoples thinking and aecting
positive change, I jumped at the opportunity.
I sat down at my laptop and I eagerly began
writing. Something was o. It wasnt working.
I stumbled from one sentence to the next and
somehow cobbled together a semi-decent
article. It was sucient, but it lacked the soul-
bearing, in-your-face, unabashed tone and
quality for which I am known.
D.C. moves primary election but fails to end voter ban
Political parties should
pay cost of primaries while
independents excluded
MARK LEE is a long-time entrepreneur
and community business advocate. Follow
on Twitter: @MarkLeeDC. Reach him at
OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.
Last week the D.C. Council voted without
dissent to again shift the date of the citys pri-
mary elections, permanently establishing the
second Tuesday in June for all future balloting.
Local legislators, however, failed to x the
Districts arcane and exclusionary election
system that bars all non-party-aligned voters
from participating.
Unlike most states, many of which do not
require voters to register by party, D.C. con-
tinues its outdated system that prohibits
independent voters from casting a ballot in
the determinative primary elections. Under
I found myself admonishing white gay men,
trying desperately to get them to understand
that the responsibility of turning this ship
around lies largely on their shoulders. I found
myself taking to task the awful white gays, you
know, the ones who think simply because they
dont use the n word or go to drag brunch
once a month that they are championing
equality. But then I remembered that people
dont respond positively to reproach, especial-
ly when it comes from someone from outside
of their own tribe (read: someone black). So
instead of submitting something that wasnt
authentically me, I scrapped it! This is me start-
ing over.
Instead of pandering to the oppressor, let
me minister to those they oppress. Let me
focus my attention where it stands to do the
most good. Let me talk to the gays of color, the
transgender people, the poor gays, the bisexu-
als, the lesbians, and everyone else made to
feel less than and inferior. It boggles my mind
that for a marginalized community, some
could nd it in themselves to turn around and
further marginalize others. But that is the sad
reality of the world we live in and an even sad-
der truth for the gay community of which we
are asked to be proud.
The solution isnt getting awful white
queens who thrive on discrimination to see
the error of their ways. They will still patronize
this scheme, fully one-fourth of voters are ir-
relevant due to Democrats enjoying an over-
whelming registration advantage.
As a result of the citys closed primary
restriction, voters not registered with a party
are permitted to cast a ballot only in general
elections when the winner is almost always a
foregone conclusion and voting little matters.
Although residents fully understand that
not registering with a political party results in
not being allowed to fully participate in select-
ing city oceholders, a total of one-in-ve, or
more, in half the citys political wards select No
Party when signing up, and nearly an equal
number citywide do the same.
Almost 80,000 registered residents in D.C.
are excluded from voting.
A near-majority of voters, and a majority
of those 35-and-younger, now self-identify
as independents nationwide. In D.C., the
old-fashioned price for exercising the right
to vote in primary elections remains limited
to those willing to align themselves with a
political party.
If local political parties desire to conduct pri-
maries as a restricted activity of private clubs,
it should be required that they nance the
nearly half-a-million-dollar cost to taxpayers,
prorated according to party registrations.
Receiving a District government invoice of
the establishments in which weve been made
to feel unwelcome. They will still put white
only on their Grindr proles. They will still
erase our contributions from history and take
credit for the backbreaking work we put in.
(The Stonewall riots, credited as the birthplace
of the modern LGBT movement was started
by a black transgender woman, but that fact
is largely left out of the story, including in the
lm Stonewall released in 2015), and they
will still see themselves as better than us in
every aspect of life. But you know what? Who
cares? Some of them stay so busy saying you
cant sit with us that we never stop to really
ask ourselves, bitch, do I even want to? The
solution isnt to convince them they are awful,
the solution is to see that you are not. Focus
on your own beauty. Turn your attention to
your unique, wondrous, and magical qualities.
You are still alive, you are still thriving in spite of
adversity, you are beautifully created and you
deserve to be loved and appreciated in spite
of what they say.
Now, there are some woke white queens
out there and Id be remiss if I didnt give them
a shout out! You all exemplify what allyship in
action looks like. You take your privilege and
use it for good. You speak out against injustice
when you see it. You bitches rock and you de-
serve to be applauded. If you think you belong
in that category, calm down, you dont! Woke
approximately $350,000 for each party-mem-
ber-only primary election might convince the
local Democratic Party, as well as minor par-
ties with correspondingly smaller cost-shares,
that it is time to allow independent voters
equal access.
Taxpayers should neither be forced to fund
elections in which all registered voters are not
eligible to participate or directly subsidize re-
stricted party activities. If a political party cant
aord, or chooses not to pay, a fair share of
the cost of conducting a closed primary to
nominate candidates, party members can
utilize an alternate method. A party could
choose, for example, to conduct a private
election, as is done for selecting delegates to
national conventions, or hold a private nomi-
nating convention open only to its members.
Elected oceholders from D.C.s dominant
Democratic Party, of course, avoid acknowl-
edging or discussing this issue. They like the
current system that essentially limits the rel-
evant voting pool for election or re-election to
only party members, with the general election
a mere perfunctory exercise.
An unfair system that prohibits all voters
from exercising their franchise grants estab-
lished majority-party politicians special path-
way privileges and distinct electoral advantag-
es. Local ocials prefer preserving a restricted
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
VIEWPOINT
queens know they are woke. They are the
ones that wont sleep with you because their
best friend is trans and you threw them shade
whilst trying to get their number. They are
loyal as fuck and you should take notes from
them on how to be a decent gay.
If the gay community has taught me any-
thing, its how to foster a ferocious love of self;
how to see my beauty and my own worth.
That didnt come from being a part of a loving,
accepting, tolerant, and open-minded com-
munity because as I see it, that community
doesnt exist. It came because I had the forti-
tude and wherewithal to discover those quali-
ties within myself. Capital Pride is around the
corner. Before we go o celebrating gay pride,
ask yourself, am I contributing something to
the community of which I can be proud? Am
I exhibiting acceptance before I demand it
from others? Ultimately, it is my hope that ev-
eryone engages in that level of introspection;
thats what separates the awful gays from the
good ones. But until that point, to my margin-
alized friends, stay strong and give yourself the
love awful gays wont.
ROBERT JAMES has been a resident of the D.C.
area for more than 25 years. Hes a political
adviser, theologian, lifestyle consultant, event
planner and professed socialite.
O U R BU SI N E SS MA T T E RS
election system that necessitates only winning
among party members to prevail.
Incumbent politicians dont want to com-
pete against all others, and new ideas, in a
non-partisan top-two primary open to all
voters, as in California and other states. They
dont even want to allow voters to choose to
participate in an open primary party nomi-
nating election of their choice, as in neighbor-
ing Virginia and other states.
Elected oceholders like the citys outmod-
ed and antiquated primary election system
and the many ways it inhibits the political mar-
ketplace and suppresses public policy debate.
Candidates should be required to, prefer-
ably, compete in non-partisan elections in
which all candidates collectively seek to ad-
vance toward a two-candidate general election
or, alternately, compete in an open primary
system in which independents are allowed to
vote in a party primary of their choice.
Reforming the Districts elections would
remedy both the community perception
and the practical reality that local ocehold-
ers are required to seek the votes of, and
represent, only a portion of permitted-to-
participate voters.
D.C. would benet from conducting mod-
ernized elections made fair by allowing access
to all voters.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 2 1

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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM VOLUME 48 ISSUE 21 MAY 26, 2017 PAGE 23

Two men embrace during Black Gay Pride Day, May 28, 1994.

WASHINGTON BLADE ARCHIVE PHOTO BY DOUG HINCKLE

Do we still need D.C. Black Pride?

ACTIVISTS WEIGH IN ON RELEVANCE OF ANNUAL EVENTS IN TRUMP ERA
By MARVIN BOWSER

In 1991, I was a 30-year-old Air Force
captain and closeted. I had worked hard to
earn my degree and commission and loved
the Air Force.
But Dont ask, Dont Tell was the was dealing with. It was uplifting, refreshing
law and I was always looking over my
shoulder. Living two lives was physically
and spiritually exhausting. I did go to the
numerous bars that existed in D.C. at the
time they were fun, exciting and even
dangerous. Gay bashing and HIV/AIDS
were real hazards to living your life
I remember walking onto Banneker Field
for the rst DC Black Pride on Saturday, May
25, 1991 alone. It was the rst time I was out
in public, outside of the gay bar havens, with
a group of black gay people, who looked like
me and were dealing with the same issues I
and empowering. I bumped into a colleague
from my oce in the Pentagon who was in the
Navy. We were not out to each other before.
We laughed out loud, hugged and have been
great friends ever since.
Now, 26 years later, LGBTQ people serve
openly in the armed services. We have
marriage equality at the federal level; and D.C.
has some of the most LGBTQ positive laws
in the world. Do we still need Black Pride? I
posed this question to several LGBTQ leaders
and activists. Heres what they had to say:
Ernest Hopkins, co-founder of D.C. Black
Pride, legislative director, San Francisco
AIDS Foundation: Yes Answer the
question with a question, What is DC Black
Pride to you? It still raises money to combat
HIV/AIDS. It still provides a safe space, builds
community and annual events that focus on
black LGBTQ issues. The question answers
itself Yes! Hopkins added, There is one
misconception that I must clear up. DC Black
Pride was never a response or an alternative
to Capital Pride. The original, Black and
Lesbian Gay Pride Day, was established as a
tool to sensitize the black gay community to
the problems we were having with HIV/AIDS.
Our friends were getting sick and needed
money for rent, food and burial expenses.
Chuck Hicks, community organizer,
LGBTQ leader and historian. Yes
Absolutely. The rst Black Pride was held in
D.C. as a fundraiser to help people struggling
CONTINUES ON PAGE 46
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
Q U EE RY: 2 0 Q UE STIONS FOR G ENISE C HAMBE R S
The D.C. Black Pride volunteer
answers 20 gay questions
GENISE CHAMBERS
How long have you been out and who
was the hardest person to tell?
Ive been out since my junior year of college
when I was living with my then-girlfriend.
The hardest person to tell was my mother
whom I told rst. I think its often the
hardest to tell the very rst person.
Whos your LGBT hero?
Ellen. Shes done so much amazing
LGBT charitable work and has changed
the hearts and minds of many people.
Bayard Rustin is a close second though.
Whats Washingtons best nightspot,
past or present?
Phase 1. We really need more lesbian
spaces in D.C.
Describe your dream wedding.
If I describe it then it might not happen.
Stop trying to jinx me.
What non-LGBT issue are you most
passionate about?
Almost every issue is an LGBT issue,
from D.C. statehood to human rights,
there are just too many to choose from.
What historical outcome would you
change?
The election of Trump. I dont think
anyone is prepared for or can predict
the massive amount of harm he is going
to do and has already done.
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
The death of Princess Diana and Elton
John singing new lyrics to Candle in the
Wind at her funeral. All the tears!
On what do you insist?
Respect and kindness.
What was your last Facebook post or
Tweet?
Thanking the people of France for
electing Macron as president and
restoring my faith in humanity.
If your life were a book, what would
MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 2 9
the title be?
The Little Engine That Could
If science discovered a way to change
sexual orientation, what would you
do?
Not a thing.
What do you believe in beyond the
physical world?
Energy WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Whats your advice for LGBT
movement leaders?
Work together, not against each other
and diversify your sta and board in By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
every sense of the word. joeyd@washblade.com
What would you walk across hot coals Genise Chambers discovered D.C. Black Pride 27 years ago when her
for? grandmother took her to the event at Banneker Field.
Chocolate. Its a necessity. Now 39, Chambers has attended as an adult every year since she was 17
and is a volunteer organizer.
What LGBT stereotype annoys you D.C. Black Pride means the world to me, the native Washingtonian says.
most? Its a time when we come together and celebrate all the trials that we have
Which one of you is the man in the been through as a unit, when we get to share information and receive it in
relationship? Ugh! Expand your order to live healthy and prosperous lives.
horizons people. Full details about D.C. Black Pride are online at dcblackpride.org.
Chambers works by day with her own business, Making U Fierce, LLC, a skin
Whats your favorite LGBT movie? care, waxing and makeup agency. Shes online at makinguerce.com.
Cloudburst. If you watch it and dont laugh She has three children: Andre, 21; Genae, 18; and Taihai, 13. She and
theres something very wrong with you. her wife, Lavonne Woods, live in Brookland. Chambers enjoys shopping,
decorating, makeup, modeling and photography in her free time.
Whats the most overrated social
custom?
I dont think social customs are
overrated. I think things like shaking
hands or opening the door for other
people are really just small acts of
kindness that are important.
What trophy or prize do you most
covet?
Success
What do you wish youd known at 18?
It gets better. Trite but true.
Why Washington?
Its home and I cant imagine living
anywhere else. Plus I love the little
bubble of its liberalism.
202.747.2077

30 M A Y 26, 2017
Last years Black Pride D.C. event.
Black Pride celebrates
Ties That Bind
Seminars, parties, concerts,
picnics and more on packed
schedule
By MARIAH COOPER
The 27th annual D.C. Black Pride is at
various locations in Washington this weekend.
Black Prides 2017 theme is The Ties
That Bind: Twenty Seven Years of Black
Pride, in celebration of the strong bonds
within the LGBT community.
On Friday, May 26, there will be an
opening reception at the Grand Hyatt
(1000 H St., N.W.) from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
LGBTQ Speed dating and networking
will follow from 8:30-10:30 p.m. Omega
Entertainment hosts The Annual 5,000
Men Pride Mega Party at Bliss Nightclub
A GLAM SLAM! (2122 24th Pl., N.E.) from 9:30 p.m.-4 a.m.
R&B singer K. Michelle will perform.
NEW YORK POST On Saturday, May 27 there will be
the Grown Folks Speak Out 2017, a
discussion about growing older in the
June 13July 2 | Eisenhower Theater
black LGBT community, at the Grand
Hyatt from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Admission
is free. Continental breakfast and lunch
will be served.
There will also be workshops
throughout the day including
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! resume writing and interview prep,
KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG | (202) 467-4600 overcoming hurt in the black church,
understanding the trans-attracted
Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400. man and more. A film festival,
For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540. screening films such as Moonlight
and Check It, runs from 2-7:15 p.m.
Theater at the Kennedy Center
is made possible by
Major support for Musical Theater
at the Kennedy Center is provided by
Kennedy Center Theater
Season Sponsor
Comedy at the Kennedy Center
Presenting Sponsor
Omega Entertainment hosts The
Grandiose Fantasy Mega Pride Party at
the Washington Marriott (2660 Woodley
Rd., N.W.) from 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m. featuring
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
BLA CK P RI D E
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO
a live performance by Lil Kim.
There will be an interfaith worship
service with guest speaker Pastor Mitchell
Jones on Sunday from 9-11 a.m. at the
Grand Hyatt. D.C. Black Pride Brunch is at
Dirty Martini (1223 Connecticut Ave., N.W.)
from noon-6 p.m. with unlimited food and
mimosas. Admission is $40.
On Monday, the annual Us Helping Us
Picnic in the Park will be at Fort Dupont
Park (3600 Minnesota Ave., S.E.) from
noon-7 p.m. There will be food and live
performances. Admission is free.
For a complete list of events and prices,
visit dcblackpride.org.
OTHER EVENTS OF NOTE INCLUDE:
Big Boy Pride hosts its Big Boy Party at
Living Room (1008 Vermont Ave., N.W.) on
Friday, May 26 from 6-11 p.m. There will be
drink specials and door prizes. Cover is $10.
For more information, visit bigboypride.com.
Jaywalking Productions and Makers
Lab host Black Planet: A Black Pride
Celebration at Tropicalia (2001 14th
St., N.W.) on Sunday, May 28 from
4-8 p.m. There will be performances
by the CooLots, Pretty Boy Drag and
Pinky KillaCorn. Music will be a mix of
hip-hip, trap, house, 90s and more.
Early bird tickets are $10 and regular
admission is $15. For more details, visit
jaywalkingproductions.com.
Monday Night Skating, an LGBT skating
group, hosts a Black Pride Skate at
Laurel Skate Center (9890 Brewers Ct.,
Laurel, Md.) on Monday, May 29 from
7:30-10:30 p.m. There will be a conga line,
raes and games. For more details, visit
facebook.com/mondaynightskating.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 3 1

32 M A Y 26, 2017
New York City
Ballet Peter Martins,
Ballet Master in Chief
Two thrilling programs of
Balanchine, Peck, GUY ANTHONY, left, and GEORGE JOHNSON, founders of Black, Gifted & Whole.
Ratmansky & Wheeldon
Black, Gifted & Whole provides
nancial, emotional support
Founder hopes to save
others from hell I went
through in college
By MARIAH COOPER
Jauan Darbin, 18, who loves
experimenting with dierent makeup
Daniel Ulbricht with Ensemble in Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, photo by Paul Kolnik
looks and sharing them on social media.
In April, his makeup artistry went viral
after he posted screenshots of a text
conversation with his mother who
threatened to disown him.
Wth is wrong with u. I am so
disappointed. U are a male wth do u have
on eyelashes, eyebrows and makeup. Im
completely done, his mother texted him.
Darbin responded with a simple, OK.
Besides being a makeup acionado,
Darbin is a freshman at Morehouse
College in Atlanta. He and his mothers
relationship is strained but he has two
men on his side oering both nancial
and emotional support.
Guy Anthony and George Johnson, co-
founders of the non-prot organization
Black, Gifted & Whole (blackgiftedwhole.
org), have made it their mission to give aid to
young, gay, black men like Darbin who aspire
A whirlwind of exhilaration... is any to continue their education.
other ballet company as fit and athletic While attending an HIV/AIDS conference,
Anthony says he felt intimidated by the other
as this one? The Washington Post attendees because he didnt have the same
background in public health as they did.
June 611, 2017 | Opera House Around the same time, Anthony watched
Black Girls Rock on BET and was inspired by
with the New York City Ballet Orchestra the way black women uplifted each other.
Anthony wanted the same for gay, black
men and started an awards ceremony in
their honor. He met Johnson, who had a
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! strong background in higher education and
historically black colleges and universities
KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG | (202) 467-4600 (HBCUs), and the pair decided to turn
Tickets also available at the Box Office. the awards ceremony into a non-prot
organization that would give nancial aid to
Groups call (202) 416-8400.
gay, black men who want to attend HBCUs.
For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
The initiative started in 2016 and this year
they are working towards aiding six men.
Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and Michael Kojaian.
While the need for helping gay, black
men has always been great, Johnson
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
BLA CK P RI D E
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
says the urgency has increased under the
post-Trump administration.
You have a president who went on TV and
basically said that giving funding to HBCUs
may be unconstitutional, Johnson says.
Its just interesting because in the rhetoric
thats coming from the administration to
even think that something designated
specically for a minority population could
be unconstitutional when the very same
constitution had an amendment for those
same people just to be recognized as
citizens. Its like how far do you go? How
much further do you continue to go to
attack marginalized populations?
Johnson says hes concerned about the
possible reduction of the Pell Grant and other
cuts to housing and urban development.
These budget cuts would have a signicant
impact on whether members of the
community will be able to choose college.
Now youre going to have black families
having to decide, Well do I want to keep a
roof over my childrens head or do I want to
send them to college? Johnson says. And
thats going to be a real conversation that
kids are going to have at home. The fact that
LGBTQ homelessness is around 40 percent,
so many LGBT students are already coming
from broken homes. When you have enough
intersections of oppression like that its why
suicide rates are so high in our community.
The ght is a year-round eort for
Black, Gifted & Whole. Every week the
organization spotlights a candidate
and attempts to raise funds for them
to attend college. In September, the
organization will have a scholarship gala.
Details are still tentative but the plan is
to raise money for the current six men
they are supporting as well as for future
candidates. The gala will also reward
a few community members who have
helped black, gay men over the years.
Helping these men in any way is an
achievement for Anthony and Johnson,
but Anthony says their greatest joy is
being the emotional support for men
like Darbin.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 3 3

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 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

LIVE
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
34 MA Y 26, 2017 O U T & A BO U T

JOHN
MAYALL
W/ BILL CARTER
FRIDAY MAY 26
By MARIAH COOPER
TDC SHOWS PRESENTS

AMEL
LARRIEUX
7PM & 10PM WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO

SATURDAY MAY 27
Get your Pride on
WED, MAY 31
JOHN NEMETH AND D.C. gets into the spirit of Pride early with events occurring all over the city.
DANIELLE NICOLE BAND 18th & U Duplex Diner (2004 18th St., N.W.) hosts its D.C. Pride kicko
party on Saturday, June 3 from 2-6 p.m. Brock Thompson, Jonathan Shields
THURS, JUNE 1 and Beaumont Brackeen will guest bartend for the night. All tips benet the
THE NEW STEW FEAT. Wanda Alston Foundation. DJ Thomas Hernandez spins tracks. Goldie Grigio
JASON ESKRIDGE & hosts. There will be celebrity cocktails named after local members of the D.C.
ROOSEVELT COLLIER community. For more information, visit facebook.com/duplexdiner.
PERFORMING THE ALBUM Story District hosts Out/Spoken: Queer, Questioning, Bold and Proud at
9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 3 from 6-8 p.m. Storytellers will
BILL WITHERS share eight true stories based around the LGBT experience. Rayceen Pendarvis
LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL hosts. Storytellers include Mike Boyd, Elyse Hannah, Robin Katcher, among
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO

W/ PARIS MONSTER others. Doors open at 6 p.m. and show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $22. Purchase
tickets at 930.com. GMCW oers
FRI, JUNE 2 Mauther Project hosts the ocial Capital Pride Womens kicko party
CHUBBY CARRIER in the parking lot of the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center (1701 14th St., N.W.)
Tony tribute show
& THE BAYOU SWAMP BAND on Saturday, June 3 from 6-10 p.m. There will be liquor and beer provided by Gay Mens Chorus of Washington hosts
W/ THE GET RIGHT BAND Denizens Brewing Co. and Republic Restoratives. Latin and barbecue-style street And the Tony Goes To , a performance
food will be served. BOOMscat will DJ the dance party. All are welcome. General of gay Broadway hits, at the Lincoln
SAT, JUNE 3
admission tickets are $15. Entry including two free drink tickets is $35. Tickets Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) for a two-night
OLD EBBITT GRILL PRESENTS that include two entries, open bar and all-you-can-eat food is $150. For more engagement on Saturday, June 3 at 8 p.m.
details, visit whitman-walker.org/give/special-events. and Sunday, June 4 at 3 p.m.
AUSTRIAN WINE TOUR Latino GLBT History Project hosts La Fe: Resisting with Faith, the kick- The chorus will perform Broadways
o to the 11th annual D.C. Latino Pride, at Metropolitan Community Church gayest songs from musicals including
SAT, JUNE 3
NEWMYER FLYER PRESENTS of Washington (474 Ridge St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 3 from 6-8 p.m. The Applause, A Chorus Line, Kinky
non-denominational faith service is for LGBT individuals and allies. For more Boots, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
PAUL MCCARTNEYS information, visit facebook.com/latinoglbthistory. and more. Songs that will be performed
75TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE River Tea D.C. hosts a tea dance on the Potomac at the Boomerang Party will be I Hope I Get It, Seasons of
Yacht and Private Ship Company (1072 31st St., N.W.) on Sunday, June 4 from Love, Willkommen, If You Were
SUN, JUNE 4 4:15-6:30 p.m. The party cruise will feature a cash bar, music by DJ Say What? Gay, Wig in a Box, I Am What I Am,
AN EVENING WITH and a large, open upper-deck on the second level. Tickets are $15 in advance among others. The June 4 performance
MARK G. MEADOWS and $20 at the dock. Boarding begins at 4:15 p.m. and the yacht will sail from will have an ASL interpretation. Tickets
FEAT. BRENT BIRCKHEAD 4:30-6:30 p.m. For more details, visit facebook.com/riverteadc. range from $25-65.
D.C. Brau and Washington Blade host #PridePils launch happy hour at For more information, visit gmcw.org.
FRI, JUNE 9 Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) on Wednesday, June 7 from 6-9 p.m. The event
THE DEVON ALLMAN BAND will celebrate the launch of the #PridePils beer can. There will be prizes
for best rainbow or unicorn custom on your pet. For more details, visit
W/ THE PETERSON BROTHERS
washingtonblade.com/dcbrau.
Fantom Comics celebrates
SUN, JUNE 11
Wonder Woman
Fantom Comics (2010 P St., N.W.)
WALLY KINGS & DOCTOR DREAD PRESENT LGBT Wedding Expo is June 4
REGGAE FOREVER FEAT. celebrates the lm release of Wonder
Woman and the comic book heroines
ETANA W/ ANJAHLA & ILAVIBEZ BAND The 2017 Say I Do LGBT Wedding Expo takes place at the American Institute 75th anniversary on Saturday, June 3
AND CULTCHA SOUND
of Architects (1735 New York Ave., N.W.) on Sunday, June 4 from noon-4 p.m. from 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
The event will have cake and dessert tasting from more than two dozen Wonder Woman cosplay is encouraged.
THURS, JUNE 15
vendors. There will also be workshops, drag bingo hosted by Nellies Sports The celebration continues with Femme
A-WA Bar and giveaways. The rst 100 couples will receive a swag bag valued at $75. Night: Amazonian Edition, a meet up for
VIP tickets are $30 and include entry for one couple, access to drag bingo with queer women, from 8-11 p.m. Femme
complimentary wine and a guaranteed swag bag. Solo Rock Star tickets are $10 Night guests are invited to bring food
and give admission for one person. Love Birds tickets admit two people for $15 and drink to the potluck-style gathering.
and Squad Goals tickets admits four people for $25. Admission for both events is free.
For more information, visit sayidoexpo.com. For more details, visit facebook.com/
THEHAMILTONDC.COM
fantomcomics.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 3 5

The BeachBus by BestBus

begins Friday May 26th

202-332-2691 or 1-888-888-3269 info@bestbus.com www.bestbus.com


36 M A Y 26, 2017
NICHOLAS EDWARDS as Jesus and ARI McKAY WILFORD as Judas with the cast of Jesus
Christ Superstar at Signature Theatre. It runs through July 2.
Photo by Krystal Harfert
Photo by Teresa Wood
All the
Way Live! BANDALOOP Holy Jesus?
Kennedy Center
Signature breathes new life
into classic rock musical
Open House
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Since seeing Signature Theatres Jesus
Christ Superstar last week, Ive been
humming I Dont Know How to Love
Celebrating JFK at 100 Him, Mary Magdalenes moving ballad
about her complicated relationship with
Jesus. Yes, its one of the best and most
Dance covered songs from the iconic rock
BANDALOOP Company E FLEXN The Washington Ballet operas familiar score by Andrew Lloyd
Dance & Bmore with CJay Philip Webber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), but
its Natascia Diazs breathtaking rendition
Music at Signature thats responsible for the
National Memorial Day Choral Festival Alec Mackaye current earworm.
Mista Cookie Jar & The Chocolate Chips Javier Starks John Reeves Accompanied mostly by two acoustic
Donvonte McCoy and Third Floor Ron Allen with Quim Cardona guitars, she makes the song her own.
Voces Veracruzanas The JoGo Project DJ A Ayes Cold Diaz is that actor who can both sing
Chuck Berry Tribute with Daryl Davis The Messthetics and act a song exquisitely. And here
shes absolutely terric as the prostitute
Young Audiences turned apostle whose intense love for her
All the Way Live! Mouth Open, Story Jump Out spiritual guru manifests as both a joy and
NSO Instrument Petting Zoo WNO Costume Trunk
a quiet torture.
When Jesus Christ Superstar opened
Mosby the Kennedy Center Cat Maestro Mouse
on Broadway in 1971 it was noted for
Participatory Activities its contemporary take on the Gospels.
An account of the last week of Jesus life
Skateboarding Yoga Tai Chi Fan Dance Native American Movement
focusing on his tetchy relationship with
Boogie Woogie Dance Lessons from GottaSwing D.C. Bluegrass Union Jam
disciple Judas Iscariot, the sung-through
Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation Jam
musical ends with the crucixion. Staged
and more! by Joe Calarco, Signatures production
doesnt have a particularly revolutionary
feel, but what the out director conveys
so well is the enduringly divisive eect
of religion, money and power. He
FREE! Saturday, May 27, Noon10 p.m. interestingly emphasizes the concept
Part of JFK Centennial WeekExplore more at jfkc.org/openhouse of the Word with all of Jesus followers
carrying black books, their conduit to a
new way of living.
The rock score, played by an o-stage,
The 35 Days of Giving Centennial Challenge is your opportunity to play hard-driving, seven-person band led by
an active role in promoting President Kennedys legacy! During the 35 days
musical director William Yanesh, gives the
leading up to President Kennedys 100th birthday on May 29, your contributions
will be matched two-to-one by Shelley and Allan Holt of the Hillside Foundation, talented ensemble an opportunity to shine
helping to raise vital funds to support the Centers ongoing and future artistic with Whats the Buzz, Hosanna and
and educational activities. Learn more and get involved at jfkc.org/35days
more. Standout moments include Nicholas
Edwards very human Jesus grappling with
his fate in Gethsemane and Awa Sal Secka
adding shades of powerful gospel with
Support for JFKC: A Centennial Celebration of John F. Kennedy is provided by Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem.
Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, Chevron, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Target.
Luciana Stecconis elegant white
cruciform set is beautiful in its simplicity.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
THEATER
PHOTO BY C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
Images reminiscent of Jerusalems Old City
architecture, segments of Renaissance
art depicting the Last Supper and later
contemporary images of all that ails the
world today are projected on its bare
walls. Further heightening the experience
is Jason Lyons emotive lighting thats at
once striking yet not showy.
But the usually faultless Frank Labovitz
serves up some confusing costume
design garments appear to have been
pulled from a grab bag of not-great
street clothes, and the result adds little.
There are a couple exceptions. Out actor
Bobby Smith is handsomely suited up as
a smooth Pontius Pilate and Diazs Mary
makes sense in attering basic black.
Theres another Holy Land-set work
in town. Mosaic Theater Company is
kicking o its Voices From a Changing
Middle East Festival marking 50 years of
the Occupation with Israeli playwright
Gilad Evrons Ulysses on Bottles. Its the
account of an Israeli-Arab ex-teacher,
nicknamed Ulysses (Michael Kevin
Darnall), who attempts to sail into Gaza
on a raft made of plastic bottles, bearing
with him a cargo of Dostoyevskys Crime
and Punishment. He never makes it.
Arrested en route, Ulysses returns to Israel
where he must face charges. An Israeli-Jewish
lawyer Izakov (Matthew Boston) agrees to
take on his case pro bono and from there the
mens two very dierent worlds intersect. Its a
universal tale told with sympathy and humor.
The cast includes out actor Sarah Marshall as
an Israeli army secret service agent, Liz Perotti,
and Chris Genebach.
Winner of Israel Theater Prizes Best Original
Play in 2012, Ullyses on Bottles was inspired
by real-life events.
Jesus Christ Superstar
Through July 2
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington
$40-114
703-820-9771
Sigtheatre.org
Ulysses on Bottles
Through June 11
Mosaic Theater Company
Atlas Performing Arts Center
1333 H Street NE
$15-60
202-399-7993 ext. 2
Mosaictheater.org
 Queer your beer.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 3 7

&
2017 #PridePils
Purchase at these locations starting June 7th

1 West Dupont Circle DC9 Little Miss Whiskeys Rock & Roll Hotel
1905 Dodge City Modern Liquor Schnieders of Capitol Hill
Ace Beverage Duplex Diner Number 9 Scion Restaurant
Bar Pilar El Camino Odd Provisions The W
Boundary Stone Emissary Passenger Town Danceboutique
Brookland's Finest Fado Irish Pub Pizzeria Paradiso Trade
Connecticut Ave Wine Five to One
Fi Pub and the People Tryst
Craft Beer Cellar Glens Garden Market (Shaw) RFD Walter's Sports Bar
Dacha Beer Garden Jimmy Valentine's Rodman's Whole Foods (DC)
DC Reynolds JR's Caf Saint-EX Yes Organic 14th Street

All prots of can sales to benet SMYAL and the Washington Blade Foundation.
Visit washingtonblade.com/dcbrau for more information.
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

38 MAY 26, 2017 A RT S & CU LT U RE

This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com

MUSIC
Corky Siegels Chamber Blues. May
26-May 27. AMP.
ampbystrathmore.com.
Kennedy Center Open House. May
27. JFK Centennial Celebration. May
29. NSO: Mahlers Second Symphony.
Jun 1-3. Kennedy Center.
kennedy-center.org.
U.S. Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz
Band. May 26. National Gallery of Art.
nga.gov.
National Memorial Day Concert. May
Hir 28. West Lawn US Capitol.
Thru Jun 18. Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Freddie Dunn. Jun 1. Dance Place at
woollymammoth.net. Monroe Street Market. danceplace.org.
Obie Award-winner Taylor Macs audacious, uproarious black comedy (The Martin Babjak, baritone; Daniel
New York Times) ips the script on gender power dynamics and asks a key Buranovsky, piano. Jun 1. The
question: does destroying the past really free you from it? Its a sly kitchen-sink Embassy Series. Embassy of Slovakia.
drama covered in glitter. embassyseries.org.
Brown Bag Chamber Music Series.
Audra McDonald Jun 1. Goethe-Institut. goethe.de.
May 26. Strathmore. Fifth Harmony. May 27. U.S. Marine
strathmore.org. Band with Fireworks! May 28. Wolf
Winner of a record 6 Tony Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, an Emmy, and many Trap. wolftrap.org.
more prestigious accolades, actress and singer McDonald has thrilled Live Blues featuring Anthony
Broadway audiences in The GershwinsPorgy and BessandLady Day at Swamp Dog Clark. May 26. A Waverly Street Gallery. Glasswork
Emersons Bar & Grill and earned millions of lm and TV fans (Private Practice; Tribute to the Soul Divas. May 27.
The Sound of Music). Her soprano is absolutely thrilling, unfurling in ever-richer Publick Playhouse. arts.pgparks.com.
textures as she imbues songs with a sense of bursting possibility.
GALLERIES
District Architecture Center. Bees
in the City. Thru Jun 3. The Pollinator-
friendly Garden. Thru Jun 3. aiadac.com.
gallery Neptune & Brown. Jowita
Wyszomirska: Vanishing Point. Thru
May 29. galleryneptunebrown.com.
Glen Echo Park. Six Artists Return to
Glen Echo Park. Thru May 29. Vessels
Great and Small 2017. Thru May 29.
glenechopark.org.
Goethe-Institut. FORTY out of ONE
MILLION by Kai Wiedenhfer. Thru Jun
16. goethe.de.
Hill Center. Hill Center Galleries. Thru
Jun 25. hillcenterdc.org.
ISAAG. Julio Valdez (Dominican
Republic). May 30-Jun 20.
idbstaassociationartgallery.org.
Korean Cultural Center DC.
Integrated: Korean Clay and Paper
Heritage in Contemporary American
Art. Thru May 31. koreaculturedc.org.
The Art League Gallery. Lesa Cook:
Gods, Heroes, and Fools. Thru Jun 4.
theartleague.org.
by Jill Tanenbaum. Thru Jun 3.
waverlystreetgallery.com.
Zenith Gallery. Works by Hadrian

Guided Garden Tours

MUSEUMS Mendoza. Thru Jul 1. zenithgallery.com.
Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery.
May 26. Tudor Place Historic House and Garden. Folger Shakespeare Library. Painting Paula Ballo Dailey and Brian Dailey.
tudorplace.org. Shakespeare. Thru Feb 11. folger.edu. Thru Jun 24. smithcenter.org.
Enjoy an expert guided tour of the 5 -acre landscape, and learn about the people Kennedy Center. JFKC Exhibit: Elaine BlackRock. Alexandra Chiou: Mirage.
who created and cared for it. History and horticulture meet in this beloved garden, de Kooning Sketch of John F. Kennedy. Thru Jun 3. blackrockcenter.org.
which grew and changed over two centuries and six generations. Thru May 29. kennedy-center.org.

Frdric Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism
Kreeger Museum. RE-VISION: Looking
anew at the art of Philip Johnson and
AND MORE...
Thru Jul 9. National Gallery of Art. the design of The Kreeger. Thru Jul 29. Washington Jewish Film Festival.
nga.gov. kreegermuseum.org. Cabaret. May 27. Jerry Lewis: The Man
Despite his contributions to the birth of impressionism, Frdric Bazille (1841- Library of Congress. Tour: Echoes of Behinf the Clown. May 27. Visionary Award:
1870) remains relatively unknown. A thematic presentation of 75 works the Great War. Thru May 30. Baseballs Agnieszka Holland. May 27. 1945. May 27. A
including paintings by contemporaries such as Claude Monet and Auguste Greatest Hits: The Music of Our Jew Must Die. May 27. To Be or Not To Be.
Renoir bring to light Bazilles place as a central gure in the movement. National Game. Thru Jul 22. loc.gov. May 28. Stefan Zweig, Farewell to Europe.
National Archives. Amending May 28. In Between. May 28. Scarred
PHOTO COURTESY OF WOOLLY MAMMOTH THEATRE COMPANY America. Thru Sep 4. Hearts. May 28. AFI Silver Theatre. wj.org.
archivesfoundation.org. Folger Theatre. Brews & Banter:
National Gallery of Art. East of Timon of Athens. Jun 1. folger.edu.
the Mississippi: Nineteenth-Century National Archives. American Experience:
THEATRE 27. Catch Me! Mayower Hotel.
catchmeshow.com.
American Landscape Photography.
Thru Jul 16. The Woodner Collections:
JFK (Part Two). May 31. Congressional
Review: Can Congress Function at its
Timon of Athens. Thru Jun 11. Folger Proof. Thru Jun 18. Olney Theatre Master Drawings from Seven Highest Level? archivesfoundation.org.
Theatre. folger.edu. Center. olneytheatre.org. Centuries. Thru Jul 16. nga.gov. Arlington Cultural Aairs. Color Your
Inside Signature: Nicholas Edwards. The Father. Thru Jun 18. Studio National Geographic. Earth Explorers. Future Garden with artist Marcella
Jun 1. Jesus Christ Superstar. Thru Jul 2. Theatre. studiotheatre.org. Thru Sep 10. Sharks. Thru Oct 15. Kriebel. May 30. Crystal City Farmers
Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org. Theater J 2017-2018 Season. Thru Sep nglive.org. Market. arlingtonarts.org.
Whoopi Goldberg. May 27. 1. Theater J. theaterj.org. National Museum of Women in National Gallery of Art. Film: The Miracle
Strathmore. strathmore.org. Ulysses on Bottles. Thru Jun 11. the Arts. From the Desk of Simone of Tekir. May 27. Film: Back Home. May 27.
In the Heights... In Spanish! Thru Mosaic Theater Company. Atlas. de Beauvoir. Thru Jun 2. The Women Film: Sunset Song. May 28. nga.gov.
May 28. GALA Hispanic Theatre. mosaictheater.org. Arrive: From Masonic Temple to NMWA. Gallery Talk: Collection
galatheatre.org. Fear Eats the Soul. Thru Jun 4. SCENA Womens Museum. Thru Jun 9. Selections. May 31. nmwa.org.
Outside Mullingar. Thru May 28. Theatre. Atlas. scenatheater.org. nmwa.org. The Smithsonian Associates. An
Keegan Theatre. keegantheatre.com. King Lear. Thru Jun 25. WSC Avant National Portrait Gallery. Double Take: Introduction to Islamic Art and
Shear Madness. Thru Jun 11. Kennedy Bard. Gunston II. wscavantbard.org. Daguerreian Portrait Pairs. Thru Jun 4. Architecture: 4-Session Evening
Center. shearmadness.com. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Thru The Face of Battle: Americans at War, Course. May 31. Ripley Center.
Catch Me! The Magic Duel. May Jun 11. Synetic Theater. synetictheater.org. 9/11 to Now. Thru Jan 28. npg.si.edu. smithsonianassociates.org.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 3 9

A FLAVORFUL COCKTAIL HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER.

JUST ADD SODA.

SPARKLING, FRESH, AND LIVELY.
June 13July 16, 2017 | Opera House
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! (202) 467-4600 | KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG
Tickets also available at the Box Office. Groups (202) 416-8400
For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540
Theater at the Kennedy Center
is made possible by
Additional support is provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
Los Angeles Times
Major support for Musical Theater
at the Kennedy Center is provided by
40 M A Y 26, 2017
JENNIFER KNAPP says shes still a Christian but doesnt record gospel music
exclusively anymore.
Knapp comes
Back Around
Singer/songwriter preps
new album, her third since
leaving gospel music
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
For several years in the late 90s and early
00s, Jennifer Knapp was one of the darlings of
contemporary Christian music.
Though only starting out in the eld, her
major label debut album Kansas sat at no. 80
in a 2001 ranking by CCM Magazine of the 100
greatest albums in Christian music. Not just
albums for that year of all time. Her single
Undo Me was a No. 1 hit on Christian radio
and came in at no. 94 in CCMs ranking of the
100 greatest songs in Christian music history.
All that changed after she took a seven-
year break and came out as a lesbian upon
returning to the music scene in 2010. Now
when the CCM world gathers or takes stock of
its own history, signicant artists like she and
Ray Boltz are ignored.
Shes now touring just ahead of the release
of new album Love Comes Back Around, out
June 23, her third solo album since returning
to music. She plays Jammin Java in Vienna, Va.,
Kennedy Center Theater
Season Sponsor on Saturday, June 3. Knapp touched on many
topics during a phone chat en route to a May
22 concert in Washington state.
Jennifer Knapp on:
Keeping fans engaged with new
material: If everybodys on board and paying
attention, Ill go with it. Otherwise Ill go, OK, its
time to move on to something else. I always
have an escape plan. Its a little bit like choose
your own adventure.
Her new album: I thought it was going to
be more folky and acoustic and very bare bones
but it ended up being really lush. Theres a lot
of beauty on this record even though it has a
very simplistic feel to it. There are so many
subtle layers. Its not a typical pop record that
some people may have been anticipating.
This phase of her career: I dont feel like
Im having to spend all my time on stage kind of
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
MU SI C
PHOTO BY GINA R. BINKLEY
trying to explain whats going on or feeling like
Im being investigated by the audience. Now its
more about coming together and enjoying the
music we all know and less about trying to
gure out what our footing is in this new story.
Her fans: It depends on where I go. There
are some pockets where they remember me as
a Christian music artist and are denitely going
to the show to have that kind of experience.
And then the next show you go to, they may
be familiar with the longer version of my story
and arent really tied to any sort of religious
experience at all. Sometimes its a whole
room of people estranged from the religious
experience. Im happy to have either one. Its
just about connecting.
Going back to school for a masters in
theological studies: I just want to be very
educated and informed and not just having
the faith for myself personally but (considering)
what are the implications to us as a community.
I want to talk about the conuence of LGBT
issues and religious organizations with a lot of
wisdom and patience.
Being written out of CCM history:
Its kind of passive aggressive. One day its
all, Where have you been, weve missed
you so much , then you come out of the
closet and theyre like, Oh, never mind. Or
they dont even say that, they just back away
really quietly. I have shed a few tears on that
but I dont really want to participate in that
industry anymore. Im not writing about
my faith, although it does show up in some
respects in my music now. But Im not
there anymore. They can stay silent if they
want but that silence says a hell of a lot.
An Evening with Jennifer Knapp
Saturday, June 3
Jammin Java
227 Maple Ave.
E. Vienna, Va.
Tickets: $18
6:30 p.m.
jamminjava.com
jenniferknapp.com
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 4 1

Quick-witted, clear-spoken She has

developed a bizarrely logical, seemingly
free-associating style of delivery [and] had
this critic in tears from laughing so hard.
New York Times
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

4 2 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 CA LE N D A R

E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.

com two weeks prior to your event. Space is lim-
ited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.

TODAY
D.C. Rawhides and D.C. Bear Crue host
Bear Happy Hour at Town (2009 8th St.,
N.W.) tonight from 6-11 p.m. Dance lessons
are $5 and start at 6:30 p.m. Open dancing
is free until 9:30 p.m. There will be drink
specials until 11 p.m. Free pizza will be served
at 7 p.m. No cover. For more details, visit
facebook.com/dcrawhides.
SMYAL hosts a queer prom at Eastern
Market (225 7th St., S.E.) tonight from 6:30-10
p.m. The theme is Masquerade in Paris. The
event is for guests ages 16-24. There will be
a step-and-repeat and a Strike-A-Pose and
gif photo booth. Admission is free. For more
information, visit smyal.org.
Broadway legend Audra McDonald
performs at the Music Center at Strathmore
(5301 Tuckerman Ln., North Bethesda, Md.)
tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $45-105.
For more details, visit strathmore.org.
Gay singer/songwriter Brett Gleason
comes to Ebenezers Coeehouse (201 F St.,
PHOTO COURTESY WOLF TRAP
N.E.) for his Manifest album release party
tonight from 6:30-8 p.m. Gleason will perform Fifth Harmony performs at Wolf Trap Saturday night.
an acoustic set debuting his new album.
Admission is free. For more information, visit
facebook.com/brettgleasonfan.
Women in Their 20s, a social discussion
group for LBT and all women interested in Va.) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $35- St., N.W.) today from 4-8 p.m. Charity Joyce WEDNESDAY, MAY 31
women, meets today at the D.C. Center (2000 65. For more information and to purchase Blackwell and Patience Sings host. There will
14th St., N.W.) from 8-9:30 p.m. All welcome tickets, visit wolftrap.org. be performances by the CooLots, Pretty Boi Metro Stage (1201 North Royal St.,
to join. For details, visit thedccenter.org. Book Reading Uplifts His Spirit Drag and Asha Boomclak Santee. Tickets are Alexandria, Va.) presents Master Class
GAMMA, a peer-supported, self-help (B.R.U.H.S.) hosts Brother to Brother 3 at $15. For more details, visit makerslabdc.co. tonight at 8 p.m. The play tells the story of
group for gay or bisexual men who have the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) today renowned diva Maria Callas as she battles
been involved with women, meets at Luther from noon-4 p.m. Gay, black authors will will MONDAY, MAY 29 the stage, her marriages and her students.
Place Memorial Church (1226 Vermont Ave., read and discuss their work including Craig The show runs through June 11. Nick Olcott
N.W.) tonight from 7:30-9:30 p.m. For more Stewart, Rashid Darden, Daniel Holback, The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W..) hosts directs and Ilona Dulaski stars as Maria Callas.
details, visit meetup.com/gammaindc. Rae Monet, David Maurice Parker and more. coee drop-in hours this morning from 10 Tickets are $55. For more information, visit
Admission is free. For more details, visit a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community. metrostage.org.
SATURDAY, MAY 27 thedccenter.org. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight
complimentary coee and conversation at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th
The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) SUNDAY, MAY 28 with other community members. For more St., S.E.) for duplicate bridge. No reservations
hosts All the Singlet Ladies, a summer tea information, visit thedccenter.org. required and new comers welcome. If you
dance, today from 3-7 p.m. DJ Say What spins Distrkt C hosts DC1 Mykono Beach Party Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave., need a partner, call 703-407-6540.
tracks. There will be drink specials and food. at the D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) N.W.) holds a support group for gay black
Cover is $5. For more details, visit facebook. tonight from 10 p.m.- 8 a.m. DJ Dani Toro and men to discuss topics that aect them, THURSDAY, JUNE 1
com/eagledc. DJ Jack Chang will play music. One guest will share perspectives and have meaningful
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts CTRL: win a pair of bracelets for entry into all Xlsior conversations. For details, visit uhupil.org. The fth annual Metro D.C. PFLAG
Trappist-1, a space-themed, gay dance Mykonos events from Aug. 23-30. Event is cocktail party is at Vidas Penthouse Pool
party, tonight from 10:30 p.m.-4 a.m. with DJs free from 10-11 p.m. for guests wearing TUESDAY, MAY 30 & Lounge (1612 U St., N.W.) today from 6-9
Adam Koussari, Devon Trotter and Je Prior. swimwear. Tickets are $25. For more details, p.m. There will be an auction with items
Guests can also enjoy a ashing photo booth visit distrktc.com. SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts a from prizes from Level One Restaurant,
by Kalorama Photography. Cover is $15 from African-American Collective Theater transgender and non-binary group today Signature Theatre, Gay Mens Chorus of
10 p.m.-midnight and $12 after midnight. (ACT) hosts its 25th anniversary LGBTQ from 5-7 p.m. The group oers resources Washington and more. Tickets are $50. All
Drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. For more Theater Showcase at Undercroft Theatre (900 in the D.C. area for transgender and non- ticket sales and donations benet Metro
information, visit towndc.com. Massachusetts Ave., N.W.) today from 3-11 binary youth. The group also will have D.C. PFLAG. For more information, visit
GeeksOut hosts a Queer Book Club at p.m. The show is in observance of D.C. Black opportunities to go to museums, shows pagdc.org/penthouse.
Fantom Comics (2010 P St., N.W.) today Pride. The festival will have LGBT-themed and movies. For more details, visit smyal. Bachelors Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) holds
from 2-4 p.m. The group will discuss the play performances running in intervals from org. a happy hour today from 5-7:30 p.m. All
manga My Brothers Husband by Gengoroh 3-5 p.m., 6-8 p.m. and 9-11 p.m. Tickets range Republic (6939 Laurel Ave., Takoma drinks are half price. There will be pool,
Tagame. For details, visit facebook.com/ from $15-30. For more information, visit Park, Md.) hosts Alegre Happy Hour, an video gaming systems and cards. Admission
fantomcomics. a-act.org. LGBT happy hour, from 5-7 p.m. For is $5 after 9 p.m. DJ Bling, DJ Freaky and DJ
Fifth Harmony performs at the Filene Makers Lab hosts Black Planet: a Black more information, visit republictakoma. Tim-Nice will play music for the night. For
Center at Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Rd., Vienna, Pride Celebration at Tropicalia (2001 14th com. more information, visit bachelorsmill.com.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 4 3

JOIN GLOE AT 2017 DC CAPITAL PRIDE

NATIONAL
PRIDE SHABBAT
Friday, June 9 | Sixth & I
6:15 PM Happy Hour | 7:15 Joyous Shabbat service
8:30 PM Dinner - advance registration &
payment required for dinner only)
On Erev Pride (the night before the Capital Pride
Parade), Rabbi Shira Stutman of Sixth & I, Rabbi
Laurie Green of Bet Mishpachah, and members
of GLOE lead an inclusive service celebrating
the diversity of our community. Celebrate Pride
with the entire Jewish communityLGBTQAI and
our friends and allies.

More info & registration at: sixthandi.org/pride

want a quickie?
44 M A Y 26, 2017
quick & free hiv testing
free safe sex kit
info about PrEP
locations in baltimore,
columbia, glen burnie, & New lease on life?
easton
Couples memoir is poignant
but tough to navigate
By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER
Your hair is grayer than it was back then.
Youve both packed on pounds here and
there, too. A few wrinkles surround your
smiles, but thats OK youre not fresh-faced
kids anymore. Youve aged, youve softened
and, in the new book Transitioning
Together by Wenn & Beatrice Lawson,
youve changed quite a bit.
Long before they met, Wendy and Beatrice
had a lot in common: both came from families
of similar sizes. Both had fathers that didnt
have a head for gures and mothers who ran
the family businesses. Wendy and Beatrice
are both on the autism spectrum. The main
dierence: Wendy was a married woman.
They met one afternoon when Wendy, her
husband and their four children were living
in the home of a well-to-do family that had
just hired an au pair. The shy young woman
didnt speak English and Wendy didnt speak
Swiss German, but when Wendy was asked
to help the girl to settle in, Beatrice proved
to be a quick study. She easily learned a new
language and she and Wendy forged a close
friendship.
Both seemed only a little surprised when
that friendship turned into love.
chasebrexton.org/POWER
Wendy, whod had health issues most of
her life, never considered falling in love with
another woman, but it felt right. Beatrice
had an inkling that she was a lesbian but she
410-837-2050 x8813
shunned the word, afraid that it would be an
embarrassment to her family. Even so, she
settled into a relationship that was tender
and fragile from the start.
Wendy and her family moved from
England to Australia as her abusive
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
BO O KS
PHOTO COURTESY JESSICA KINGSLEY PUBLISHERS
marriage was crumbling. Beatrice was
unable to make the move with her beloved,
due to Australia s immigration laws. They
ultimately gured out a way to be together
physically; once Wendys divorce was nal,
they knew theyd be together legally as well.
But even after their wedding, Wendy
wasnt happy. Never comfortable in her body,
she felt sure that something was missing, so
she sought her tribe before understanding
that she needed to transition to become the
man hed always known he was.
And that was something Beatrice wasnt
sure she could handle.
From its very beginning, Transitioning
Together is a tough read.
Theres a lot of preliminary to wade
through to get to the start of the actual story
here, and then theres a lot of confusing set-
up that identies authors Wenn and Beatrice
Lawson by their relative ages, rather than
by name. While its helpful, later, to have a
change in font to delineate who is weighing
in, you might continue to be baed by the
semi-linear nature of what is mostly Mr.
Lawsons version.
Yes, tenacious readers who can bear
with this dual memoir will get a double-
edged peek at the emotional process of
transitioning for both partners, through
the added perspectives of autism and age.
Thats worth the patience if you
have it.
Indeed, this book could be more for
professionals than anyone else; general
audiences may enjoy Transitioning Together,
but it takes eort.
Transitioning Together: One Couples Journey
of Gender and Identity Discovery
Wenn and Beatrice Lawson
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
$19.95
214 pages
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 4 5

4 6 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7
Activists on why we need Black Pride
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23
with HIV/AIDS. Welmore Cook took a leave of
absence from Best Friends of DC Inc. to form
the rst black gay HIV/AIDS organization in
DC to combat the disease. The Black Lesbian
and Gay Pride Day Inc. eventually became
DC Black Pride. Memorial Day weekend was
chosen in homage to The Childrens Hour
celebrations held at D.C.s Club House. Black
Prides became an expression of our lifestyle
and culture that has spread worldwide. This
wonderful result was completely unplanned.
Black Prides also give black LGBTQ artists and
entrepreneurs an opportunity to prosper.
Sheila Alexander-Reid, director, Mayors
Oce of LGBTQ Aairs, Washington, D.C.
Yes People want to celebrate themselves
with their own community and still do not
see a lot of their community at Capital Pride.
She followed up by applauding Capital Prides
eorts to make its board more diverse by
including Ashley Smith and Savana Wanzer
who are both African American. If the
leadership is not diverse, then outreach is not
diverse, then attendance is not diverse.
Dr. Anika Simpson, co-chair, Equality
March for Unity and Pride. Yes we
need safe places for Black LGBTQ people
to come together to refresh and recreate;
to come together in joy, solidarity and
protest. The Equality March (set for June
11 in D.C.) intentionally has a majority of
person of color leadership team, which
has shifted the focus of the march. The
mission centers very explicitly on those
LGBTQ people who have been silent and
neglected. There are 12 co-chairs: nine
are black, Latino or Native American;
the remaining three are white. Four are
transgender or gender non-conforming.
Simpson added that this organization
shows the possibilities of where queer
movements should go in the future.
Ryan Bos, executive director, Capital
Pride. Yes, DC Black Pride oers that
safe space for black LGBTQ people to
learn and celebrate. Capital Pride is and
will continue to help sponsor DC Black
Pride. Ryan stated that, Capital Pride
has a good relationship with DC Black
Pride and that hed continue to look for
ways to foster partnerships.
Earl Fowlkes, executive director,
Center for Black Equity. Yes, Black
Prides are annual events driven by
attendance. If they were not relevant,
no one would come. Our Prides provide
an opportunity to celebrate being black
and LGBTQ a duality that has to be
addressed and acknowledged. Black
Prides have workshops, poetry slams,
plays and visual arts. Black Prides are
also social. Social media doesnt replace
socializing face-to-face. The big parties
are important too as we lose black bars
and clubs.
The Center for Black Equity supports 32
member Black Prides that include major
cities across the U.S., DC Black Pride and
London. Im encouraging the other Black
Prides to come to support the Equality
March. All hands on deck. Fowlkes is an
Equality March honorary co-chair and he
also feels that the march is important and
must not fail due to lack of local support.
David Bruinooge, founder, Equality
March for Unity and Pride. Yes, people
should celebrate anyway they want. So
yes. Communities can come together
in many dierent ways. The various
Prides celebrate their unique identities.
Communities should come together
to celebrate their uniqueness and see
themselves. Asked what motivated his
interest in the Equality March, he said,
It is even better when we can all come
together and celebrate together. The
Equality March centers the margins to
highlight those that have been forgotten
and neglected. More people must be
educated to support [LGBTQ] people who
live in the margins. We need to mobilize
our community and allies and rally
behind the voiceless and poor. It is time
that those issues are centered. We need
to stand together as one.
Khadijah Tribble, Ground Game,
organizer, Equality March for Unity
and Pride. Yes, we need safe spaces and
we need to be visible. We need DC Black
Pride as long as we have people who are
challenged about coming out and need
resources. DC Black Pride has social as
well as political consciousness and focus.
Local D.C. politicians nd some way to
connect to DC Black Pride. Tribble said
she would like to see DC Black Pride
workshops put more focus on building,
and rebuilding organizations, to create
pipelines for new leaders, activists and
entrepreneurs. She would also like to see,
a method to pass national-level issues
identied by Black Pride organizations to
the DNC and Congressional Black Caucus
for resolution.
Devin Barrington Ward, president,
Impulse Group DC. Yes, we need Black
Prides now more than ever. As DC and the
country change, it is more important than
ever to have spaces created by and for
black people to contribute to Chocolate
City. DC is changing and gentrication is
a fact not just a discussion. Its harder for
black folks to have black spaces, which is
so important. Asked if DC Black Pride was
missing anything for younger people, he
said, As the president of Impulse group
DEVIN BARRINGTON WARD
DC, I have the luxury and responsibility
to create the things that are missing.
Ward recognizes his privilege as a cis-
gender black queer man. Trans people
will think dierently. Our spaces will
always be inclusive of trans and gender
nonconforming folks. Impulse Groups
mission is to educate gay, bisexual and
queer men about HIV.
Peter Rosenstein, LGBTQ activist,
planning committee member, Equality
March for Unity and Pride. Yes, DC
Black Pride is still needed as a safe place
for black LGBTQ people to come together
and celebrate. Its important that all
voices are heard. On June 11, everyone
needs to come together for the Equality
March and resist be unied to support
and protect full civil rights for everyone -
leaving no one behind.
Abdur-Rahim Briggs, president and
CEO, Project Briggs. Yes, we still need
Black Prides because of racism in the gay
community. I do not see Capital Pride
reaching into the black community.
Briggs does participate in Capital Pride.
He has judged oats in the past and
loves to march in the Pride Parade. He
commented, I would like to see more
whites participate in Black Pride to build
more bridges. Hed also like to see more
corporate funding to support Black Pride
but he is wary of corporate control.
Dr. Ron Simmons, executive director
emeritus, Us Helping Us. Yes, the initial
purpose of DC Black Pride was to raise money
for HIV/AIDS organizations. Black gay men
and lesbians need to be armed and see
themselves as part of empowerment. You
dont see yourself at white pride. The events
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A RT S & E N T E RT A I N ME N T
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
they have may not be what you need. It is like
the dierence between going to a white club
and a black club. Asked about the Equality
March, he replied, I think people must
participate in the national march. We must be
seen as part of the national community. As a
young person, going to the gay march showed
me I was not alone. Everyone should actually
march and go to the rally.
Jamil Fletcher, publisher, SWERV
Magazine. Yes, we still need to celebrate
Black LGBTQ Pride. We actually need it now
more than ever given the state of the world
today. At the root, Black Prides are about
building community. A community that is
empowered, healthy, nancially strong,
educated, and vibrant. Those of us living at
this unique intersection of being black and
queer know too well the challenges within our
community. Pride aords us an opportunity
to come together in a way that embraces all
of our identities without condition.
It was a unanimous, resounding yes,
we still need DC Black Pride for the health
and vitality of black LGBTQ communities.
As the White House submits its budget to
Congress this week, its clear that health and
social services programs are being reduced
to levels that threaten LGBTQ communities,
particularly those already living in the margins.
Moreover, several states are pushing anti-
LGBTQ legislation, bringing a renewed sense
of urgency to both Black Pride and the
upcoming Equality March for Unity and Pride.
MARVIN BOWSER is a lifestyle blogger and
Blade contributor. Follow him on Instagram
@FirstBroDC.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 4 7

Spend Summer 2017

in a Beach Home Call
us
of Your Own explo to
your re
optio
ns!

COASTAL LIVING AT ITS BEST | 35588 Peregrine Road, Lewes, DE

Offered at $1,399,900 MLS # 719645

Welcome to this exceptional custom-built 4,000-square-foot Hawkseye residence. Exquisite design and
high-end nishes set the scene for your best beach life! Stunning oorplan grants ample space both for
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state-of-the-art kitchen with granite counters, ceramic farm sink, and stainless steel Wolf and Subzero
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easily doubles as a guest suiteadd in gorgeous landscaping on a private lot minutes to downtown Lewes
and Rehoboth Beaches.

CENTERPIECE OF LEWES | 115 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE

Offered at $1,595,000 MLS# 720214

Interested in starting a business in Lewes? Heres a twofold opportunity to own an

award-winning architectural showstopper in the Downtown Historic Lewes shopping
district with a retail business space on the rst level. Or live above and lease the space!
Impeccably restored and new construction 4,400 SF Victorian sits steps to the Lewes
shopping district, Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, trail to Rehoboth, and the beaches! Stylish
in-town living offers three master bedroom suites, an open gourmet kitchen and living
area, and ne appointments such as rich hardwood ooring, classic ceramic and Saltillo
tile, exposed beams, three-oor elevator. Amazing private rear deck features Victorian
cupola. The restoration includes a full basement, two-car garage and ample off-street
parking, and miles of sought-after Lewes views!
FURNISHED & READY FOR BEACH LIFE | 59 Maryland Avenue, Rehoboth Beach
Offered at $443,900 MLS# 717246

Lake views from Gerar Place await you in this perfect beach escape! Enjoy high style and low maintenance
from this beautifully and ideally located third oor, one bedroom fully furnished condo. Just two blocks
to the sands of Rehoboth Beach, the famous boardwalk, and shopping and dining of Rehoboth Avenue, yet
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SPRING INTO BEACH LIFE | 20860 East Drive, #547, Rehoboth Beach
Offered at $379,900 MLS# 719757

Living is easy in this spacious three bedroom townhouse in desirable Spring Lake! Enjoy a fantas-
tic oor plan with high-quality ooring throughout, an inviting living room with wood-burning
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HISTORIC HOME LOVERS, REJOICE! | 313 Mulberry Street, Historic Lewes
Offered at $949,900 MLS# 720052
Authentic Lewes opportunity awaits you on a favorite Lewes street. Captivating classic home offers the perfect
setting for your antiques and contemporary style, too! Deceptively large, home delivers 5 bedrooms (2 rst-
oor and 3 second-oor), upstairs living area, sizeable yard and off-street parking! Original charm permeates
throughout with exposed wood beams, exposed brick, Gambrel roof with exposed beams upstairs, eat-in
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16698 Ki ngs H i ghway S t e . A , L e w e s , D E 19958 ( 3 02) 645- 6 66 4 L e e A n n Gr o u p . c o m

 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

4 8 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 P H O T O S BY MI CH A E L K. LA V E RS & D A N I E L T RU I T T

The Washington Blade held its 11th annual Summer Kicko Party at the Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del. on Friday, May 19. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) gave the keynote address.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

P H OTO S B Y M I CH AEL KEY MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 4 9

Capital Trans Pride was held at Studio Theatre on Saturday, May 21. The day-long event included panels, lm and networking.
5 0 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

Live performance by women-duo BOOMscat, Latin and BBQ-style

street food, dance party in our city-gardenscape outdoor lot and more!
Premium Admission | $35
*Includes two drink tickets!

General Admission | $15

Note: Prices will increase at the door to $40 and $20

This years Mautner Celebration also celebrates the life of longtime Mautner Project friend and client, Georgette Krenkel and her beloved army
of dedicated and loving volunteers led by Janet Redman who worked tirelessly to ensure that womens health is and always will be a priority.

Roberta Theis

Just Listed theishomes@gmail.com

m 202.538.7429

Mount Pleasant Luxury Duplex

o 202.448.9002

Erin Sobanski

2515 Ontario Road NW, Unit 1 sobanski.realtor@gmail.com

m 301.922.4618
o 204.448.9002
3 BD | 2.5 BA | 3,100 SF Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not
guaranteed. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Compass is licensed as
Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 1313 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 | 202.386.6330

Serving Our Community for 35 years

a d v i C e m e d iat i o N L i t i G at i o N a P P e a L S C o L L a B o r at i o N

SPEAK WITH OUR PREPLANNING ADVISOR,

JAMIE ARTHURS AT (202) 966-6400 OR EMAIL
FamiLY | eState PLaNNiNG | emPLoYmeNt | immiGratioN JAMIE.ARTHURS@DIGNITYMEMORIAL.COM
ComPLeX LitiGatioN | CiviL riGHtS | LGBt | adoPtioN | BuSiNeSS

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ackermanbrown.com
W A SH I NGTO N B LA DE.C OM
REALESTATE
After scare, rethinking home security measures
D.C. oers incentives
to homeowners who
install cameras
By VALERIE M. BLAKE
Last Saturday morning at 8 a.m., I was
sitting on the sofa and enjoying a bowl
of Cheerios when my doorbell rang. Im-
mediately thereafter my second doorbell,
consisting of three very barky Miniature
Schnauzers, announced insistently that
there was someone at the door.
I looked out the window behind me
to see a man I didnt recognize standing
on my front porch, holding a mop and a
pail lled with cleaning supplies. I opened
the door a crack to speak to him and he
stepped back to avoid the dogs.
(Something unintelligible) handy, he
said, to which I replied, Im sure you are
very handy but I already have someone
who does my handyman work. He pro-
ceeded to tell me that he was there to
clean my house based on the service I
had ordered through handy.com.
Well, you guessed it! I had never placed
that order. I sent him on his way and con-
tacted Handy, who had never heard of
me, just as I had never heard of them. As
an added safety measure, I made a police
report and contacted my nextdoor.com
community listserv as well as my immedi-
ate block mates.
During the rest of the day I spent a lot
ACCORD
TRANSLATION:
SMALL CAR DRIVEN
BY AGENTS WHO
CANNOT AFFORD
MERCEDES.
VALERIE M. BLAKE, Associate Broker, GRI, Director of Education & Mentorship
Dupont Circle Office 202-518-8781 (o) 202.246.8602 (c)
Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com www.DCHomeQuest.com
Attorneys that are OUTthinking |OUTspoken |OUTdoing
Cameras and other home security measures
can buy you some peace of mind.
of time thinking about home security and
how this experience could have turned
out very badly had I been slightly less
cautious. All this prompted me to start re-
searching how I might feel more safe and
secure in and around my home.
Upon the purchase of a new house,
buyers are likely to be bombarded with
postcards from dierent vendors oering
to install a security system, often for free
if you sign up for their monitoring service
ranging from $35-50 per month.
More sophisticated systems, however,
are becoming popular, with a cost of $450
To be used at the top of collateral:
To be used at the bottom of collateral:
and up. They feature internal cameras,
digital touchpads and mobile apps that
allow you to arm and disarm them, lock
doors, turn on lights and monitor your
home from afar.
Relatively unknown is D.C.s Private Se-
curity Camera System Incentive Program,
which has a nite amount of funding
available for rebates based on the pur-
chase of equipment for exterior secu-
rity. The program, which applies to D.C.
homeowners and tenants (with landlords
permission), allows for a rebate of up
to $200 per camera with a maximum of
$500 for residences and $750 for com-
mercial properties. The cost of installa-
tion is not included.
The cameras must be registered with
the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)
and there is an application process to ob-
tain the rebate, so I recommend visiting
ovsjg.dc.gov to learn more. There are both
minimum and recommended specica-
tions for cameras, so make sure you have
the specications available for review when
you make a purchase.
Automatic lighting a set-it-and-for-
get-it option is always good. You may
prefer an outdoor motion sensor ood-
light that comes on when someone walks
by. Add to that a programmable switch
for lighting over the doors. Install solar-
powered lighting along walkways and
steps. Finally (and especially for those of
us who work irregular hours), use individ-
ual programmable receptacles for lamps
THINKING OF BUYING IN REHOBOTH?
Now is the time. Call Joe, Your Working Broker.
LICENSED IN DELAWARE & MARYLAND
MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 5 1
so they will turn on and o at dierent
times during the day and evening.
You may also want to consider a water
overow alarm for your water heater to
alert you if it begins to leak. A simple ver-
sion that chimes when water is detected
is available for as little as $13 while D-Link
makes one that can alert you to a leak via
your mobile phone for as little as $60.
Montgomery County now requires that
a seller provide the results of a radon gas
test to a buyer unless the buyer chooses
to do his own test as part of the home in-
spection process. A First Alert radon test
kit is available on amazon.com for only
$12, where a continuous monitoring sys-
tem can be purchased for under $150.
The District of Columbia instituted car-
bon monoxide alarm regulations for resi-
dential properties this year and will be-
gin issuing violations on October 1st, so
check dcra.dc.gov for the latest require-
ments before you build, renovate, or sell
your home.
When it comes to home safety and secu-
rity there are many options to choose from.
The one I prefer, however, sounds an alarm
throughout the entire neighborhood. If you
want to use it too, just call 1-800-Rent-a-
Schnauzer and Ill be right over.
VALERIE M. BLAKE is a licensed Associate Bro-
ker in D.C., Maryland and Virginia and Director
of Education & Mentorship at Real Living| At
Home. Call or text her at 202-246-8602, email
her at Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com, or follow
her on Facebook at TheRealst8ofAairs.
5 2 MA Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

2017 CAPITAL PRIDE

GRAND MARSHALS

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SATURDAY, MAY 26
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