pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 43 No. 21 May 24-30, 2019
Family Portrait: Marc Dickstein IBA communicator PAGE 37
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM The Road to Stonewall: Barbara Gittings
LGBTQ Fertility Conference PAGE 2
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New director for Philadelphia Gay Mens’ Chorus PAGE 4
Arrest made in transwoman’s City reacts to LGBTQ primary results A mixed night for LGBTQ primary candidates as North Philadelphia murder By Laura Smythe laura@epgn.com Police arrested a suspect in last weekend’s murder of a transwoman and commnity advocate in the city’s Franklinville section. Michelle Washington, a transwoman of color, was shot to death in the early hours of May 19 on the 3400 block of North 11th Street. Police responded to the scene at approximately 5:07 a.m. Washington, 40, suffered gunshot wounds to the head, body and buttock, according to police. She was transported to Temple University Hospital and pronounced dead at 5:33 a.m last Sunday. Homicide detectives arrested Troy Bailey, 28, a resident of the 1100 block of West Venango Street, around 9 p.m. May 20. Bailey was charged with murder, possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer’s number and violations for carrying a firearm as a former convict and without a license, among other offenses. Police believe Washington didn’t know her attacker and that the shooting stemmed from a robbery, Capt. Sekou Kinebrew said in a May 20 email. Washington’s gender identity “doesn’t appear” to have motivated the shooting, Kinebrew added via email. “However, the investigation is still in the early stages, and it would be premature to rule out the possibility of a hate crime,” he
wrote. Washington was known as Tamika, said Deja Lynn Alvarez, trans advocate. The victim also was a longtime advocate for the city’s transgender community. Washington was a “no-nonsense” person who “didn’t take s--t from anyone,” said Alvarez, who knew her for more than 20 years. Alvarez said the issue surrounding Washington’s murder affects the trans community more than it does the LGBTQ community at large. “It’s very important that we stress that because we’re not seeing LGB people murdered every other day,” she added. “It’s time that we say this is happening to transwomen, it’s happening to black transwomen, it’s happening to transwomen of color. …It’s time that we shift the focus to that.” In a statement, Amber Hikes, executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs, said Washington was a “brilliant and outgoing member of Philadelphia’s transgender community” who will be “profoundly missed.” “The epidemic of violence that continues to plague the transgender community, disproportionately impacting trans women of color, is heartbreaking, frightening, and infuriating,” she added. “The Office of LGBT Affairs will continue combating hate and providing support for the LGBTQ community in Tamika’s memory.” Mayor Jim Kenney PAGE 15
Tiffany Palmer took home a win and others came up just short.
THE DECISION COMES IN: Judicial candidate Tiffany Palmer and Katey McGrath, vice chair of the friends of TIffany campaign committee, realize with 83 percent of votes reported, Palmer’s definitively won the primary. Friends and supporters gathered for an election-night celebration at Earth Bread and Brewery in Mount Airy.
By Laura Smythe laura@epgn.com Tuesday proved to be a difficult night for LGBTQ candidates in Philadelphia’s primary election. Tiffany Palmer, a lesbian who lives in Mount Airy, prevailed in the Court of
Common Pleas judgeship race. Meanwhile, Republican candidate Daniel “Duke” Orsino proceeds with his unchallenged District 1 bid. But all the Democratic City Council candidates — Deja Lynn Alvarez, at-large; Lauren Vidas, District 2; and Adrian RiveraReyes, at-large — lost. PAGE 24
Philly Pride Parade will be televised for first time ever By Laura Smythe laura@epgn.com For the first time in its 31-year history, the Philly Pride parade will be aired on TV. Local network 6abc will film the June 9 procession and air a one-hour segment June 30 at 1 p.m. The broadcast will include an approximately 20-minute segment of the Penn’s Landing celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. It will follow a 30-minute history special on Philadelphia’s LGBTQ-rights movement, which will air at 12:30 p.m.
The history special is produced in partnership with 6abc’s sister news station, New-York based WABC-TV. The program will highlight Philadelphia’s Gayborhood, key locations and players in the city’s gay-rights movement and the 50 years after Stonewall. John Morris, 6abc’s vice president of content development and innovation and the station’s programming director, said Pride is “the missing gem” in the parades already televised by the company. The network broadcasts the Puerto Rican Day Parade, Polish-American celebration Pulaski Day Parade and Juneteenth, an annual celebration com-
memorating the end of slavery, among others. “We always try to represent the entire community and for a few years we tried to see if we could add this parade to our year-round representation of what’s happening in the community,” Morris said. “With the 50th anniversary [of Stonewall] this year, we stepped up that effort.” Morris grew up in Center City and said he witnessed the evolution of Philadelphia’s “rich” LGBTQ history over the decades, and how the city accepted what was not well-received in mainstream culture. He hopes the broadcast will expose viewers to other communities, Morris added.
Bernie Prazenica, 6abc president and general manager, said he also aims to show the city’s diversity. “[The station] has a long heritage of community involvement and support,” Prazenica told PGN. “We are so delighted to celebrate with our LGBTQ community by broadcasting the Pride march on 6abc. We look forward to showcasing this event and bringing our community a bit closer together.” This year’s parade will feature 130 marching groups, said Franny Price, executive director of Philly Pride Presents, the event organizer. It’s the largest lineup PAGE 14 ever, compared to 96