Washingtonblade.com, Volume 50, Issue 7, February 15, 2019

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JUSSIE SMOLLETT ATTACK HIGHLIGHTS GROWING PROBLEM OF HATE CRIMES PAGE 12

F EBRUA RY 15, 2019 • VOLUME 50 • I S S UE 07 • WA S HI NGTON B LAD E.CO M

Cuts to Medicare Drug Coverage Will Put Patient Health at Risk.

New insurance rules come between doctors and patients Millions of people with serious diseases like cancer, epilepsy, mental health conditions and HIV are being targeted for insurance company cuts to their Medicare drug coverage.

A one-size-fits-all approach could deny patients access to the individualized therapies they depend on.

And these new Medicare rules will only lower costs 0.01% over ten years, while today’s treatments are saving taxpayers many billions more by helping patients live healthier lives.

Government restrictions on the therapies a doctor can prescribe will put patient health at risk.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111. Protect Medicare Drug Coverage.

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The alleged attack on Jussie Smollett is drawing attention to the problem of rising hate crimes.

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Looking back:

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Viewpoint

50 years of the Blade

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Gus Van Sant, Hollywood enigma

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Comings & Goings

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Queery: Eleana Figueroa/DJ

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P.G. County denies allegations of

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Electrox

abuse against trans teacher

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Gay ‘missionary’ trip to hinterlands

Will resignations lead to

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Arts & Culture

anti-LGBT GOP takeover in Va.?

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Back to society

‘Black queer people are

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Lady of the stage

victimized every day’

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Hank’s Cocktail Bar moves to

Rep. Kennedy introduces

For distribution, contact Lynne Brown at 202-747-2077, ext. 8075. Distributed by MediaPoint, LLC

Dupont Circle

resolution rejecting trans ban

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SUVs with attitude

ICE confirms 45 trans women

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‘Next’ from Ariana

held in Texas

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Most Eligible LGBT Singles

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Cannabis Culture

45

Low-ball offer or full asking price?

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Health

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Classifieds

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202-747-2077 E-MAIL news@washblade.com INTERNET washingtonblade.com PUBLISHED BY Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. PUBLISHER LYNNE J. BROWN lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075 EDITORIAL EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com ext. 8088 FEATURES EDITOR JOEY DIGUGLIELMO joeyd@washblade.com ext. 8081 SR. NEWS REPORTER LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079 NEWS REPORTER CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com ext. 8083 REPORTER & INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR MICHAEL K. LAVERS mlavers@washblade.com POP CULTURE REPORTER MARIAH COOPER PHOTO EDITOR MICHAEL KEY mkey@washblade.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PETER ROSENSTEIN, MARK LEE, LATEEFAH WILLIAMS, KATE CLINTON, KATHI WOLFE, RICHARD J. ROSENDALL, ERNESTO VALLE, NICOLÁS LEVY, FELIPE ALFACE, YARIEL VALDÉS, LYNARE ROBBINS, RACHAEL ESPINET, KATLEGO K. KOL-KES, VICTOR MAUNG NEWS INTERN JAMES WELLEMEYER CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION AZERCREATIVE.COM SALES & ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING STEPHEN RUTGERS srutgers@washblade.com ext. 8077 SR. ACCT. EXECUTIVE BRIAN PITTS bpitts@washblade.com ext. 8089 ACCT. EXECUTIVE JOE HICKLING jhickling@washblade.com ext. 8094 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION PHILLIP G. ROCKSTROH prockstroh@washblade.com ext. 8092 NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA 212-242-6863; sales@rivendellmedia.com All material in the Washington Blade is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Washington Blade. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although the Washington Blade is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Washington Blade, but the paper cannot take responsibility for its return.

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Frank Kameny one-ups Anita Bryant The Blade continues its 50th anniversary series looking back through our archives with this fun tale of late, great “Gay is Good” activist Frank Kameny hot on the trails of gospel singer, anti-gay activist Anita Bryant from our Feb. 7, 1980 edition.

Kameny was thwarted from coming face to face with Bryant at a D.C. event but still managed to have the last laugh when he let on he knew where she’d be the next day despite the supposedly “top-secret” plans.

On the occasion of our 50th anniversary year, the Blade is looking for couples to profile who met via Blade classified ads and are still together.

If interested, please contact Features Editor Joey DiGuglielmo at joeyd@washblade.com or 202-731-0829.

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Comings & Goings Veteran advocates launch business consulting firm

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: comingsandgoings@ washblade.com.

Congratulations also to Matthew Thorn, Sharon Brackett and Morgan Meneses-Sheets who launched Whetstone Point Consulting. Whetstone Point will bring a creative approach to MATTHEW THORN, MORGAN MENESES-SHEETS & SHARON working with their clients by providing BRACKETT thoughtful, customized and strategic support. The three partners bring years of experience in managing and building effective programs to move the dial on key issues and challenge people to consider new ways of thinking.

The co-founders are renowned on progressive issues and policy from working to pass marriage equality and gender identity non-discrimination protections in Maryland to challenging the Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members and working to ensure access to reproductive health services at the state and federal level.

JAY FISETTE Thorn most recently served as president and CEO of OutServe-SLDN. He was a partner in Beyond the Hill Strategies and served as executive director of the LGBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland and was a director of development and government relations for the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center.

Brackett has started five successful companies in the last 20 years. In 2016, she was named one of Maryland’s Top Women in Tech by the Maryland Department of Commerce. In 2010, she was selected by Washington SmartCEO Magazine as one of Washington’s Smart100 CEOs for 2010 and then again, after her transition, in 2011. She is a savvy businesswoman who has also leveraged her know-how in the policy world. Brackett is a board member of the Point Foundation, a published writer and radio commentator on the movement for LGBT equality. In 2018, she was elected to the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee, becoming the first transgender person in Maryland to be elected to any office.

Meneses-Sheets brings more than 20 years of experience in non-profit strategy and communications. She worked with state and national groups throughout the country to draft, introduce and move legislation and create inventive and impactful communications programs to achieve their goals. She provided media training to help clients maximize their ability to amplify their voice and advance their priorities.

Congratulations also to Jay Fisette managing partner, DMV Strategic Advisors, LLC, a new firm he has opened with Roger Berliner. DMV Strategic Advisors’ mission is to assist businesses, non-profits, and local governments advance projects and policies aligned with the overarching goals of the DMV region. Fisette said, “After 20 years in elected office, I have found a way to continue advancing many of the public policies I worked on over the years.”

He served as member and chair of the Arlington County Board beginning in 1998 until last year. Berliner served for 12 years on the Montgomery County Council. They worked on regional issues together at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments where Fisette served as chair in 2006, Fisette has earned numerous awards for his service to the community, including Public Official of the Year from the Virginia Transit Association in 2009.

Trans March on Washington postponed until September

Organizers say more time needed for fundraising, planning

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. LCHIBBARO@WASHBLADE.COM

‘I am saddened, but not defeated, to have to postpone the first National Trans Visibility March,’ said MARISSA MILLER.

The lead organizer of a National Transgender Visibility March on Washington planned for March 31 announced on Monday that the march has been postponed until an asyet-to-be-announced date in September.

“As the Senior Strategic Director for the National Trans Visibility March, I am saddened, but not defeated, to have to postpone the first National Trans Visibility March, initially scheduled to be held March 31, 2019-April 1, 2019 in Washington, D.C., to be held in September 2019,” said Marissa Miller, a D.C.based trans activist, in a statement.

“As the Lead Organizer, I take full responsibility for not foreseeing time restrictions and overall cost for such an amazing event,” Miller said in her statement. “After re-thinking and looking over our planning, we did not allow ourselves enough time for substantial fundraising and relationship building,” she said.

“I have been speaking with several leaders across the country, very late into the planning of the March, and we realized we could not have the National Trans Visibility March on April 1 in part due to it being recognized as ‘April Fool’s Day,’ which meant re-thinking our route and securing new permits.”

Early last month Miller told the Washington Blade that organizers initially announced the Trans March would take place on April 1, one day after a March 31 gathering to honor longtime trans community leaders and a separate Trans Visibility Ball. She said arrangements initially had been made to hold those two events at the Marriott Gaylord Hotel at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. Two weeks ago Miller said organizers

decided after conferring with supporters and allies that it would be best to hold the march as well as the other two events on March 31, which is a Sunday rather than on Monday, April 1.

Now, according to Miller, a consensus was reached among those planning the march, including all members of the March’s National Organizing Team, to move the date of the march to September.

She said a decision would be made soon on the exact date for the march in September.

One potential date that might be ruled out, she said, was Sunday, Sept. 29, which marks the start of the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashanah.

“The next six months we will continue to raise money and building alliances across the country,” Miller’s statement says. “We will continue meeting with our Policy makers. We will continue working to END HIV by 2030.

And we will continue to Demand Equity and Social Justice,” the statement says.

Last month, Miller told the Blade that organizers planned to begin the march in front of the White House and end it at the U.S. Capitol, where a rally with speakers would be held.

She said organizers were also planning to raise money to pay for transportation and lodging for at least 1,500 trans and gender nonconforming people from different parts of the country to make it possible for them to come to the nation’s capital to join the march.

“Members of the transgender and gender non-conforming communities will take a major stand against hate and discrimination when they rally in the nation’s capital for the first-ever National Trans Visibility March on Washington,” organizers said in a Jan. 11 statement.

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P.G. County denies allegations of abuse against trans teacher Response to lawsuit claims ‘good faith efforts’ made to enforce policies

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. LCHIBBARO@WASHBLADE.COM

JENNIFER ELLER alleges she was subjected to harassment beginning in 2011 when she transitioned.

Photo courtesy of Lambda Legal

Attorneys representing the Prince George’s County Public Schools filed court papers on Monday denying allegations in a lawsuit by a transgender teacher that she was subjected to five years of discrimination, harassment, abuse, and retaliation because of her gender identity.

The lawsuit was filed last November in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and was revised on Dec. 20.

In addition to the county’s public school system, the lawsuit names as defendants the Prince George’s County Board of Education and the school system’s Interim CEO Monica Goldson.

It charges that Jennifer Eller, 37, who began work as an English teacher at a middle school in the P.G. public school system in 2008, was subjected to discrimination and harassment beginning in 2011 when she transitioned from male to female.

“For years, I was aggressively misgendered, attacked and harassed in the hallways and even in my own classroom by

students, peers and supervisors,” Eller said in a statement released by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the LGBT litigation group that’s representing Eller in court along with the law firm Arnold & Porter.

“I woke up each day afraid to go to work because I didn’t know where the next attack would come from, but I already knew full well that the school administrators would do nothing to support me,” she said.

“My pleas for help, for sensitivity training on LGBTQ issues for students and staff, fell on deaf ears,” she said in the statement.

Her lawsuit says she was forced to resign from her teaching job in 2017 after being diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the alleged abuse she faced on the job.

“Defendants permitted and created this hostile work environment by the verbal and physical attacks that Ms. Eller sustained on a continual basis at her place of employment due to her sex, specifically her transgender status,” the lawsuit states.

“As such, Defendants constructively

terminated Ms. Eller’s employment.”

It charges that the treatment to which the school district and its administrators subjected Eller violated Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the federal Education Amendments Act of 1972, the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act, and the non-discrimination clause of the Prince George’s County Code.

In its 22-page “Answer” to the lawsuit filed on Feb. 11, P.G. Public Schools’ attorneys issued a one-word response of “Deny” without further explanation to multiple allegations in the lawsuit of discrimination and harassment.

In response to other specific allegations in the lawsuit pertaining to instances of alleged discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and claims that these actions violated federal, state, and county laws, the school system’s court document repeats 62 times a sentence stating, “Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of this averment; therefore deny.”

Legal observers familiar with civil litigation say that type of boilerplate language is often used by attorneys defending against lawsuits.

John White, a spokesperson for the P.G. County Public Schools, has said school system officials never comment on pending litigation.

There are several places in school system’s answer document where the lawyers gave more than a one word or one sentence denial. In one instance, the court document disputed a claim in the lawsuit that Eller was falsely accused by administrators of acting inappropriately toward students, teachers, and other school employees.

According to the lawsuit, “members of the administration and staff began raising exaggerated accusations against Ms. Eller that were at odds with her demonstrated character during her tenure” at a high school where she taught. Among other things, the lawsuit says she was accused of throwing a pen at a student, shouting at students, and creating an atmosphere of fear in her class – allegations the lawsuit

says were reviewed by a disciplinary committee that chose not to issue sanctions against Eller.

In its answer to the lawsuit, the school system’s court document says Eller “intentionally threw a pen and struck a student on March 17, 2015, and was issued a letter of professional counsel of March 19, 2015.” The court document says Eller “interrupted a staff meeting yelling and threatening the Principal, which resulted in Plaintiff being issued a formal letter of reprimand on September 3, 2015.”

While providing no specific explanation or response other than a denial to the lawsuit’s numerous allegations of discrimination and harassment against Eller, the school system response says the P.G. Public Schools has complied with a policy of nondiscrimination.

“Defendants have adopted antidiscrimination and anti-retaliation policies, have made good faith efforts to enforce these policies, and have made good faith efforts to investigate and remedy any complaint of discrimination, hostile work environment, and/or retaliation,” the court document says.

The document goes on to cite technical grounds for disqualifying the lawsuit’s legal claims against the school system, including the assertion that Eller failed to exhaust administrative remedies required prior to filing a lawsuit and that the lawsuit missed deadlines for certain legal claims.

Eller’s “claims, in whole or in part, may be barred by her voluntary resignation of employment,” the response document also asserts.

“Wherefore, having fully answered the First Amended Complaint [the Dec. 20 version of the lawsuit], Defendants pray that the First Amended Complaint be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice, that judgement be entered in favor of Defendants, that costs, including attorneys’ fees, be awarded to Defendants, and that such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper be granted to defendants,” the response document concludes.

The attorneys representing Eller at Lambda Legal and Arnold & Porter couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the response document.

Anti-LGBT pamphlet found in Blade newspapers Reports from readers have surfaced that an individual or group is inserting religious-oriented, comic book-style pamphlets with messages condemning homosexuality into issues of the Washington Blade at distribution boxes throughout the city.

Lesbian activist Mary Wright told DCist she discovered one of the pamphlets Sunday night, Feb. 10, when she obtained her weekly copy of the Blade in a distribution box. Blade publisher Lynne Brown said the insertion of promotional ads or homophobic literature in Blade editions without permission from the Blade happens frequently.

The 23-page cartoon pamphlet inserted into Blade editions last week entitled “Home Alone” is produced by a California-based company called Chick Publications, which states on its website that it specializes, among other things, in fundamentalist Christian themes condemning homosexuality. The Blade has never accepted advertising from Chick Publications.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

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Will resignations lead to anti-LGBT GOP takeover in Va.?

Lawmakers call for Fairfax, Northam to step down amid scandals

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. LCHIBBARO@WASHBLADE.COM Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, and the state’s Attorney General, Mark Herring, this week continued to resist calls for their resignations following scandals that have rocked the state and the Democratic Party of which all three are members.

Although most political observers think it’s now unlikely, if all three were to resign around the same time, the Republican Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, Kirkland Cox, a staunch conservative and outspoken opponent of LGBT rights, would become governor.

Under the Virginia Constitution, Cox, as governor, would have the authority to appoint the next lieutenant governor and attorney general, who would remain in office until the next general election, according to most political observers.

Cox would likely pick fellow Republicans from the Virginia Senate or House of Delegates who share his hostile views on LGBT issues to fill the Lt. Governor and Attorney General positions, many observers believe.

“That would be a catastrophe,” said Alexandria transgender resident Kris Ammradit, who was among more than 120 mostly Alexandrians that turned out Sunday night, Feb. 10, for a town hall “Listening Session” organized by gay Virginia House of Delegates member Mark Levine (D-Alexandria).

Levine said he called the gathering of his constituents and other nearby residents to give them a chance to inform him of their views on the dramatic developments engulfing the state that are touching on issues of racism and sexual assault.

“I want you to just say what’s in your heart and what’s on your mind,” he said in welcoming the crowd to the event, which was held at the historic black Third Baptist Church in Old Town, Alexandria.

With Northam struggling over how a racist photo appeared in his medical school yearbook page in 1984, he and Herring admitting to having used blackface makeup years earlier, and Fairfax accused of sexual assault by two women on separate occasions in 2000 and 2004, the notion that all three might resign remains possible.

Levine and the four other openly LGBT members of the Virginia General Assembly, all Democrats, have joined their fellow Democrats in the legislature in calling for both Northam and Fairfax to resign, despite the fact that the two — as well as Herring — have strong records of support for LGBT rights.

Under the Virginia Constitution, Fairfax

would be next in line to become governor if Northam should resign and Herring would become governor if both Northam and Fairfax resign.

Levine told the Blade shortly before convening his Sunday night Listening Session that he is confident the “worst case” scenario that Cox would become governor and he would appoint an anti-LGBT lieutenant governor and attorney general will not happen.

He said that with most Democratic officials only calling for Northam and Fairfax to resign, if those two agree to resign, Herring would become governor. And Herring, Levine said, would appoint LGBT supportive and progressive Democrats to serve as lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Levine noted that the state constitution says the governor has authority to appoint a lieutenant governor when there is a vacancy for that office and has authority to appoint an attorney general when that office is vacant only when the General Assembly is in recess. The constitution says the General Assembly, which is currently Republican controlled, is authorized to appoint an attorney general when it is in session.

With Fairfax facing an intense onslaught of women’s rights activists and Democratic leaders across the country calling for his resignation, and with Northam making it clear he will not resign, observers say the most likely development could be a Fairfax only resignation. If that happens, Northam would be expected to appoint another Democrat to replace Fairfax as lieutenant governor.

But not everyone agrees with that line of succession. Experts on the Virginia Constitution point out that the constitution says the governor has authority to appoint replacements for vacancies in all highlevel state offices unless the constitution or state laws call for a different means of succession for a specific position.

University of Virginia law professor A.E. Dick Howard, an acknowledged expert on the Virginia Constitution, has provided information to news media outlets, including the Blade, about the possible succession of the lieutenant governor’s position if Fairfax was to resign.

Howard told the Blade in an email that a state law declares that when there is a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s position “the duties of that office shall be discharged by the President pro tempore of the Senate.” Howard said although it doesn’t say so explicitly, the law suggests that the governor could still appoint a replacement for the vacant position, at which time the state Senate President pro

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tempore would withdraw from carrying out the duties of lieutenant governor.

But others have told the Washington Post that Republican lawmakers interested in retaining GOP control of state government offices could threaten to file a lawsuit to challenge an attempt by Northam or another Democratic governor to appoint his own person to become lieutenant governor.

The current President pro tempore of the Virginia Senate is Stephen Newman (R-Lynchburg), another staunch conservative with a long record of opposition to LGBT rights and progressive causes. In 2006, Newman was one of the lead sponsors of the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which banned same-sex marriage in Virginia. In recent years he was among the Republicans opposed to Medicaid expansion in Virginia.

Levine, an attorney, said he believes the state constitution makes it clear that the governor can appoint a lieutenant governor and attorney general if those two offices become vacant.

“If the governor and lieutenant governor were to leave office, even if they both did it at once, the Constitution of Virginia is very clear,” Levine said. “The Attorney General would become governor – no ifs, whats or buts,” he said. “And the attorney general could then appoint a new lieutenant governor and a new attorney general once he becomes governor,” said Levine.

But Levine noted that the new governor could not appoint a new attorney general until the General Assembly is in recess, which is expected to take place in two weeks.

Levine said he would expect that under the now unlikely event that Northam and Fairfax decide to resign they would wait to do so until after the General Assembly goes into recess so that the new Democratic governor could appoint their replacements.

“So as long as all three don’t leave at once, gay folks don’t have to worry about a terrible situation,” he said.

Except for Levine, the other LGBT members of the General Assembly have remained mostly silent on the controversy swirling around Northam, Fairfax, and Herring. State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria-Arlington) and Del. Danica Roem (D-Prince William County), who became the nation’s first seated transgender member of a state legislature last year, issued short statements on social media last week calling for Northam’s resignation.

They and the other two LGBT Virginia lawmakers – Del. Mark Sickle

(D-Fairfax County) and Del. Dawn Adams (D-Richmond) – joined Levine, Ebbin and Roem along with all other Democrats in the House of Delegates and Senate in signing onto separate joint statements calling for Northam and Fairfax to resign.

A Washington Post-George Mason University poll last week found that Virginia residents were evenly split over whether Northam should resign, with 47 percent of those polled saying he should resign and 47 percent saying he should not.

The poll found that African-American Virginians believe Northam should remain in office by a margin of 58 percent to 37 percent.

The controversy surrounding Northam surfaced on Feb. 1 when the ultraconservative blog Big League Politics published a photo from Northam’s personal page in his medical school’s 1984 yearbook that included a photo of a man in blackface and another person wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe and masked hat.

Northam shocked the state’s political establishment by issuing a statement that same day apologizing for being in the photo. He didn’t say whether he was the one in blackface or wearing the KKK robe.

The next day Northam stated in a nationally televised press conference that he was not in the photo and that someone who helped produce the yearbook 35 years ago mistakenly placed it on his page. But he said that during that same year in 1984 he brushed black shoe polish on his face when he appeared in a dance contest in Texas while impersonating Michael Jackson.

He said he now recognizes the offensive and racist implications of blackface and apologized, saying he is a different person now and has been for many years in his career as a doctor and public official.

Similar to the Post poll, more than two-dozen people who spoke at Levine’s Listening Session event on Sunday appeared to be divided evenly between those who wanted Northam to resign and those wanting him to remain governor.

Armradit, the transgender woman who spoke at the event, said she was concerned about the impact the resignations of the three officials could have on the LGBT community and on efforts to bring about racial equity throughout the state.

“I think definitely the governor and lieutenant governor need to resign,” she said. “I’m not sure about the attorney general. I think we need time to understand.

But definitely I think those two should resign, but not in a way that they would be replaced by people who are even worse.”

‘Black queer people are victimized every day’ Jussie Smollett attack highlights growing problem of hate crimes

By MARIAH COOPER MCOOPER@WASHBLADE.COM

The alleged racist and homophobic attack on actor JUSSIE SMOLLETT is being received differently in different communities.

Stacey Long Simmons, director of advocacy at the National LGBTQ Task Force, vividly recalls the time, as a young college student, she was walking outside of campus and a group of white men slowed down and shouted, “N-word bitch go home.”

Simmons hails from Queens, N.Y., where she admits racist incidents did occur but being verbally attacked like that was a “shock to my system.” While the men harassed her for being a black woman she has no doubt that they could have easily swapped out the adjectives to harass her for being a black, bisexual woman.

“If I had been walking down the street holding my girlfriend’s hand at the time I’m sure it would have been you ‘black dyke B-word’” Simmons said. “I don’t think we ever really know why we get attacked. The point is for us to recognize that in the eyes of many we’re problematic no matter what point they enter into whether it’s the race lens, the sexual orientation or gender identity lens.”

It’s a reality that the black LGBTQ community faces every day but it came to the forefront when it was reported that “Empire” star Jussie Smollett suffered an allegedly homophobic and racist attack. At around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29 in Chicago, Smollett was walking from a Subway restaurant when he alleges that two men dressed in black called him “Empire faggot n—er” to get his attention. The actor alleges that the attackers put his neck in a noose, poured “an unknown chemical substance” on him and ran away.

Smollett also reported to police that the assailants yelled “MAGA country” during the attack. A few days prior to Smollet’s alleged physical attack, an anonymous letter was sent to Cinespace Studios where “Empire” is filmed. The letter read, “You will die Black fag” and contained a white powder, later identified by a HAZMAT unit as aspirin.

Chicago police are currently investigating the incident as a hate crime.

David Johns, executive director of

the National Black Justice Coalition, told the Blade that the LGBTQ black community is “surprised but not shocked” by the attack.

“One of the prevailing sentiments I continue to hear from black queer people generally is how frustrating it is that people seem to be surprised at this occurrence,” Johns says. “Black queer people are victimized every single day. I was just thinking about what we’ve experienced just this year reflecting upon Kevin Hart and the jokes about killing his gay son. I mourned the loss of the life of a young, black boy [Giovanni Melton] in Las Vegas because his father killed him suspecting that he was gay last year. Ed Buck, a white donor in Hollywood, is still walking around free as two gay black men have died at his household in the last year. Many of the media outlets that are covering Jussie’s story now didn’t even acknowledge that earlier this year there was a black trans woman [Keanna Mattel] that was murdered by a pastor in Detroit.”

These aren’t new stories for the black LGBTQ community but Smollett’s story was met with skepticism from some on social media who questioned why Smollett was outside getting food at such a late hour. Smollett also initially refused to hand over his phone to police to corroborate his and his manager’s story that they were on the phone with each other during the time of the attack. He has since handed over redacted phone records to police.

Simmons says she noticed people doubting his story as soon as it made the rounds on media outlets.

“It was just an immediate discounting.

People saying ‘Who would be outside in Chicago at that time of night in the cold?’

It’s like people are out in the cold all the time. If you’re hungry you’re going to get something to eat. It’s almost as if people’s minds wouldn’t allow them to accept the fact that these types of violent attacks happen. I think there is a level of ignorance or refusal to accept the fact that these things happen on a day-to-day basis,” Simmons said.

It’s a reaction that Janaya “Future” Khan, Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder and campaign director of media, democracy & economic justice for Color of Change, is all too familiar with. Khan, who is black, queer and gender non-conforming, says that the race aspect of Smollett’s identity gave him reason to be questioned in the minds of some people.

“Black people historically are not believed when we say something has happened to us, especially when we say something has happened to us because we’re black.

When you have to go to the same policing institutions that have historically not believed you, that criminalizes people that look like you disproportionally, that brutalizes people that look like you based on race, it’s a very impossible moment,” Khan told the Blade.

Although the LGBTQ community has had

its own complicated and sometimes violent history with police, being black is an added layer of discrimination.

“I think people in society have been conditioned to not believe people who look like Jussie, who look like me,” Khan said. “It’s pretty disgusting. People also historically have not believed anyone in the LGBT community when they say these things have happened to them. But there’s a way that they’re able to assimilate into society around whiteness that you just cannot as a black person. The discrediting of Jussie, the need for a particular kind of irrefutable proof, is something that black people and people of color are very familiar with.”

Khan has their own personal story about being torn between two integral identities.

In July 2016, Black Lives Matter was invited to march in the Pride parade in Toronto. Khan and the rest of the group marched proudly in the parade using chants such as “Michael Brown say his name” and taking a moment of silence to sit in memory of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. In what proved to be a controversial move, the group declared to the crowd that they wanted police floats to be removed from the Pride marches and parade. Some in the crowd began to boo and social media became a firestorm of death threats toward Khan.

“I can tell you as someone who lives as a black person and also identifies as nonbinary and queer some of the worst kinds of malice I’ve experienced as a black person have come from the LGBTQ community and it feels like a betrayal,” Khan says. “Now if you’re a black person police continue to brutalize our community and historically that’s also been true of the gay and lesbian community.

Stonewall was a riot and it happened because police were brutalizing the LGBTQ population.

Somewhere along the line because more seats at the table increased there’s a huge tension point because police at Pride made people of color and black people within the LGBTQ community incredibly uncomfortable. A lot of the contradictions and a lot of the biases and racism really came to a head.”

Black lesbian feminist Audre Lorde famously argued that, “There is no hierarchy of oppression.”

“Within the lesbian community I am Black, and within the Black community I am a lesbian.

Any attack against Black people is a lesbian and gay issue, because I and thousands of other Black women are part of the lesbian community.

Any attack against lesbians and gays is a Black issue, because thousands of lesbians and gay men are Black,” Lorde wrote in 1983.

Simmons agrees that trying to separate identities isn’t helpful to make progress.

“It’s almost as if the majority of the country refuses to acknowledge the racism that black

people experience and black people who aren’t as LGBTQ-affirming as we would like them to be want you to not discuss what you experience as a LGBTQ person because they feel like you’re trying to privilege your LGBTQ identity over your black identity. That’s asking people to carve themselves up in many ways that isn’t fruitful or productive,” Simmons says.

Protection for both black people and LGBTQ people has become an increasing concern over the last couple of years as hate crimes are on the rise.

In D.C., the number of reported hate crimes increased from 179 in 2017 to 209 in 2018, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. In 2018, 61 crimes were based on sexual orientation, an increase from 56 in 2017; 49 crimes were based on ethnicity and 39 crimes were based on race, an increase from 47 in 2017.

California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism reports that hate crimes have also increased in big cities like New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

As more hate crimes are reported, both Khan and Simmons say they wish black transgender women were given more media attention as their lives become increasingly at risk. Khan notes that as transgender women of color have become more visible on television with shows like “Pose” and activists such as Janet Mock and Laverne Cox, the reality of trans women of color who do not have access to fame or money is often bleak.

What’s the reason for this increase in hate crimes? Khan said it’s related to the Trump administration.

“I think bigots and racists are emboldened.

They have found a home and community for themselves that no longer requires hiding on the internet. White supremacists are organizing,” Khan said. “They’ve always existed in America they just are no longer in the underbelly of America anymore. We really need to be confronting that reality that these groups of people will exist far beyond the Trump administration’s rule and they exist far beyond the policies that we can fight. There is something far deeper and darker and more insidious in this country.”

Hope isn’t lost. Khan encourages people to vocalize their beliefs and to “come out of the closet as intersectional feminists, abolitionists, freedom fighters and revolutionaries.”

For Simmons, it’s all about allies showing an interest in learning about the issues the black LGBTQ community faces.

People just have to be willing to take the time.

“If you can learn how to cook a new recipe you can learn how to understand society as it is now and figure out how to be an ally to the different issues that communities of color are grappling with right now,” Simmons says.

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Rep. Kennedy introduces resolution rejecting trans ban Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah) promised in 1994 to Log Cabin he’d back gay rights.

Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass.) has introduced a resolution in the U.S. House rejecting President Trump’s transgender military ban as a discriminatory policy based on junk science, the Blade learned exclusively this week.

Kennedy, chair of the Congressional Transgender Task Force, introduced the non-binding resolution against the policy in the U.S. House on Monday. A Kennedy aide said 114 co-sponsors have signed on to the legislation, but that list is expected to grow.

“No one willing to serve in our armed services and sacrifice for this country should be subjected to intolerance and bigotry from their commander-in-chief,” Kennedy said in a statement to the Blade.

The House “strongly opposes” Trump’s ban, the resolution says, and rejects “the flawed scientific and medical claims” in the Mattis implementation plan that justify it. Additionally, the resolution urges the Pentagon to refuse to instate Trump’s ban and to “maintain an inclusive policy allowing qualified transgender Americans to enlist and serve in the armed forces.”

A Kennedy aide said he isn’t sure about timing for a potential House floor vote on the resolution but is hopeful it’ll be soon.

CHRIS JOHNSON

Will Romney forget ’94 pledge to back gay rights?

Advocates wonder if new senator will support Equality Act

By CHRIS JOHNSON CJOHNSON@WASHBLADE.COM Nearly a quarter century ago when Mitt Romney was seeking to unseat the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Republican hopeful made a commitment that stood out from other politicians in the GOP: To be a champion of gay rights.

Now that he’s finally been elected to the U.S. Senate 24 years later, some are wondering whether Romney will conveniently forget about that pledge as Democrats say they’ll make a push to advance the Equality Act, legislation that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include LGBT people. After all, Romney has taken different positions on LGBT rights since 1994 and he’s representing conservative Utah in the U.S. Senate, not progressive Massachusetts.

In a letter dated Oct. 6, 1994 to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts, Romney said he was “not unaware” of Kennedy’s commitment to gay rights, but said as a

Republican in the U.S. Senate, unlike his opponent, he could “make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern.”

Romney said he discussed with Log Cabin the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill introduced at the time by the late Rep. Gerry Studds of Massachusetts that would have banned anti-gay discrimination in employment. Romney said he’d cosponsor the legislation and “if possible broaden [it] to include housing and credit.”

That hypothetical bill as described by Romney is essentially three-sevenths of the Equality Act as it was introduced in the last Congress by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). The Equality Act seeks to ban anti-LGBT discrimination not only in employment, housing and credit, but also in public accommodations, jury service, federal programs and education.

Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr

The bill has yet to be introduced this year, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has signaled it would be a priority under the new Democratic majority.

Also in the 1994 letter, Romney said he’d support a bill to create a federal panel to find ways to reduce gay and lesbian youth suicide. Although he said “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a “step in the right direction” from the military’s administrative ban on gays in the military, Romney called it “the first of a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military.”

Romney, despite the Republican wave that year against then-President Bill Clinton in 1994, lost to Kennedy. But Romney continued to pursue political office, becoming governor of Massachusetts a decade later and unsuccessfully running to become president of the United States in 2008 and 2012.

Over the years that followed, Romney struck a markedly different tone on LGBT rights than the views he articled in the 1994 letter to Log Cabin — many times offering contradictory positions.

Staying true to his reputation as a flipflopper, Romney offered different positions on non-discrimination protections for LGBT people. With regard to ENDA, Romney said in 2006 during an interview with the National Review Online the measure would be an “overly broad law that would open a litigation floodgate and unfairly penalize employers at the hands of activist judges.” In 2007, he had yet another position on “Meet the Press” and said ENDA-like laws should be left to the states.

In his previous position in political office, Romney used his power to undermine gay rights instead of seeking to make them a mainstream issue. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney fought tooth-and-nail against the 2003 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court instituting marriage rights for gay couples in the Bay State.

Romney revived an antiquated law in Massachusetts forbidding non-residents from marrying in the state and called for a U.S. constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage nationwide.

(Romney has never deviated from his support for a Federal Marriage Amendment.)

During the 2012 election, Romney was held accountable for his 1994 letter to Log Cabin by moderator Chris Wallace during the Dec. 11, 2011 Republican primary debate.

Romney clarified he meant in the missive as a Republican he’d have more opportunities than Kennedy to advance gay rights, not be better than Kennedy himself on the issue.

“I do not believe in discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation,” Romney said at the time. “At the same time,

I oppose same-sex marriage. Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.”

Based on the “evolution” of Romney on the issue of gay rights (to borrow a phrase used by Obama on his views on same-sex marriage) support from Republicans on LGBT rights or the Equality Act in the Senate seems unlikely.

Moreover, Romney’s comments in 1994 were based squarely on gay rights and didn’t address the issue of transgender rights. Now the LGBT movement and Democrats insist on transgender inclusion as trans voices have become more prominent, Romney could get out of his 1994 promises under the excuse the issue has changed.

If Romney were to support the Equality Act, he’d be going beyond his state in LGBT non-discrimination protections. In 2015, the state enacted a LGBT non-discrimination law, but — consistent with other protected classes in the state — the law doesn’t cover public accommodations and religious institutions are given broad leeway to engage in anti-LGBT discrimination, even for non-ministerial positions. The Equality Act, in contrast, would make anti-LGBT discrimination in those areas illegal.

Liz Johnson, a Romney spokesperson, had no comment when asked by the Blade if he still holds his 1994 view supporting pro-gay non-discrimination legislation in employment, credit and housing, nor whether he’d now support the Equality Act. Despite the trend in Romney’s views, LGBT rights groups were optimistic about Romney returning to his 1994 position and backing gay rights now that he’s finally accomplished his 24-year-old bid to win election to the U.S. Senate.

Jerri Ann Henry, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, said her organization hasn’t yet met with Romney, but “so far all indications are he will continue to be supportive” of gay rights as he promised Log Cabin in 1994.

David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, was hopeful Romney would support the Equality Act when asked if the organization has reached out to him about his 1994 comments.

“HRC is working to ensure every member of Congress knows the pressing need for the Equality Act,” Stacy said. “For LGBTQ people, discrimination is a real and persistent problem — yet we face a patchwork of protections across the country. No Americans’ civil rights should be determined by their zip code. We hope that Sen. Romney will do the right thing and heed the voices of the business community, Utahns from all walks of life, and the overwhelming majority of Americans who are calling for this crucially important legislation to be passed into law.”

14 • WA S HI N GTONB L A D E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9 • N AT IO N AL N EW S

ICE confirms 45 trans women held in Texas Puerto Rico issues pro-LGBT guidelines to employees

ROXSANA HERNÁNDEZ, a trans woman from Honduras with HIV, had been housed at the Cibola County Correctional Center before she died at a New Mexico hospital on May 25, 2018.

Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week confirmed to the Washington Blade that it is currently housing 45 transgender women at a privately run detention center in Texas.

Danielle Bennett on Tuesday said the trans women are being held at the South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall, Texas. The GEO Group, a Florida-based company, operates the facility that is roughly 60 miles southwest of San Antonio.

The Blade first learned about the trans women at the facility on Feb. 1 during an interview with Estuardo Juárez Moscoso of Asociación Lambda, a Guatemala City-based advocacy group that provides assistance to LGBTI migrants.

Bennett told the Blade that 111 “self-identified transgender individuals” were in ICE custody in 20 facilities across the U.S. as of Feb. 4. She said there were “self-identified transgender individuals” at the Cibola County Correctional Center, a privately-owned prison in Milan, N.M., that has a specific unit for trans detainees, as of the same date.

Roxsana Hernández, a trans woman from Honduras with HIV, had been housed at the Cibola County Correctional Center before she died at a New Mexico hospital on May 25.

Moscoso said Hernández received medication from Asociación Lambda when she at its Guatemala City headquarters before she and a group of other migrants traveled to Mexico.

U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) in a letter they sent to Acting ICE Director Ronald Vitiello and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan on Dec. 5 cited reports that indicate Hernández “endured freezing temperatures and was denied adequate food, water and medical care” while in custody at the San Ysidro Port of Entry south of San Diego and “vomited” while ICE transported her between facilities. The initial cause of Hernández’s death was listed as cardiac arrest, but the results of a second autopsy the Transgender Law Center commissioned shows Hernández was beaten before she died.

“When I found out the news (that she had died) it was very impactful,” Moscoso told the Blade.

Immigrant and LGBTI rights advocates over the years have sharply criticized ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, over its treatment of those who are in their custody. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen continues to face calls to resign over the implementation of President Trump’s immigration policy that includes the separation of migrant children from their parents and demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Bennett has previously described allegations that Hernández was abused while in ICE custody as “false.” Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, the openly gay deputy assistant director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Custody Programs, defended his agency’s treatment of trans, lesbian, gay and bisexual detainees when he spoke with the Blade at ICE headquarters in D.C. on Dec. 18.

“LGBTI care is of paramount importance to us,” he said.

Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado told the Blade that her organization is working to provide housing to eight of the trans women who ICE detained. Corado said they are from El Salvador and Honduras.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s administration on Feb. 8 issued guidelines that are designed to make the U.S. commonwealth’s public employees more sensitive to the needs of transgender people and same-sex couples and their children.

The guidelines specifically refer to trans Puerto Ricans who want to change the gender on their birth certificates and children whose parents are legally married same-sex couples.

A press release that Rosselló’s administration released notes the governor’s Advisory Council on LGBTT Affairs visited Puerto Rico’s Demographic Registry on Dec. 18, 2018, “in order to inspect how the process of changing genders on birth certificates were carried out and how the transgender people who went in to have the said change done were treated.”

“We decided to make these guidelines, in order to address any possible event that may arise and to be able to provide the necessary tools to our public employees about how to treat this population with the utmost respect,” said Alberto J. Valentín, executive director of the Advisory Council on LGBTT Affairs, in the press release.

“It is as a result of this view that we decided to make these guides, in order to address any possible event that may arise and to provide the necessary tools to our public employees on how to treat this population with the utmost respect,” he added.

All of the Demographic Registry’s employees on Feb. 5 attended workshops and trainings that Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission Executive Director Ever Padilla moderated.

“These workshops allow Demographic Registry employees to have the necessary understanding about the application of these guidelines; about how to treat members of the LGBTTQIA community with respect every day, understanding there are times when they are afraid to go government agencies to receive different services because they are afraid of being judged or mistreated,” said Padilla in the press release.

I N T E R NATI O NAL NEWS • FEBRUA RY 15, 2019 • WA S HI NGTON BL A DE . COM • 15

Trans people in Puerto Rico have been able to legally change the gender marker on their birth certificates since July 2018.

Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of three trans Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, a local advocacy group, against a 2005 Puerto Rico Supreme Court decree that said trans people could not amend the gender marker on their birth certificates. A federal judge in 2018 ruled the provision was unconstitutional.

The governor’s press release says 104 Puerto Ricans have changed their gender marker on their birth certificates. It also notes more than 1,000 same-sex couples have received marriage licenses in Puerto Rico since 2015.

Advisory Council on LGBTT Affairs President Johanne Vélez told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview from San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, the new guidelines go “hand and hand” with policies implemented by the Puerto Rico Department of Health and other government agencies that are designed to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Vélez said the new birth certificate and marriage license policies were “new” for Demographic Registry employees when they took effect. She told the Blade that many of them simply did not understand them or know how to react when a trans person asked to change the gender on their birth certificate or a same-sex couple asked for a marriage license.

“We realized there was a need for sensitive training,” said Vélez, specifically referring to the birth certificate policy.

Puerto Rico’s nondiscrimination and hate crimes laws include both sexual orientation and gender identity.

Rosselló on July 5, 2017, signed an executive order that created the Advisory Council on LGBTT Affairs. The council, which includes activists, advises Rosselló and his administration on LGBTI issues.

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Cannabis Culture that 53 percent of respondents acknowledged substituting marijuana for opioids, and 22 percent did so for benzodiazepines.

The studies’ findings are consistent with numerous other papers documenting patients’ use of cannabis in place of a variety of prescription drugs, particularly opioids and anti-anxiety medications.

Oral CBD aids children with autism: study

Taxes on adult-use cannabis sales surpassed $1 billion last year.

Retail cannabis tax revenues surpass $1 billion State and local excise tax collections on retail adult-use cannabis sales surpassed $1 billion in 2018 — a 57 percent increase over 2017 levels, according to data compiled by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Annual excise tax revenues on adult-use cannabis sales ($1.04 billion) rivaled those for all forms of alcohol $(1.16 billion), the group reported. State-specific sales taxes on retail cannabis purchases also yielded an addition $300 million in revenue in 2018.

Authors of the report estimated that cannabis-specific taxes would raise an estimated $11.9 billion annually if the product were legally available at retailers nationwide.

Patients substituting cannabis for anti-anxiety drugs HALIFAX, Canada — Patients authorized to legally use medical cannabis frequently substitute it in place of benzodiazepines, according to a pair of new studies. Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs primarily used for treating anxiety. According to data compiled by the US Centers for Disease Control, benzodiazepines were attributed to over 11,500 overdose deaths in 2017.

In the first study, Canadian researchers assessed the relationship between cannabis and benzodiazepines in a cohort of 146 patients enrolled in the nation’s medical marijuana access program. They reported that 30 percent of participants discontinued their use of anti-anxiety medications within two months of initiating cannabis therapy and that 45 percent did so by six months.

“Patients initiated on medical cannabis therapy showed significant benzodiazepine discontinuation rates after their first follow-up visit to their medical cannabis prescriber, and continued to show significant discontinuation rates thereafter,” authors concluded.

In the second study, investigators at the University of Michigan surveyed over 1,300 state-registered medical cannabis patients with regard to their use of opioids and benzodiazepines. They reported H E A LT H • FE BR UA RY 15, 2019 • WA SHINGTONB L A DE . COM • 17

TEL AVIV — The administration of plant-derived oral extracts containing cannabidiol (CBD) is associated with overall improvement in subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to clinical trial data published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.

Israeli researchers assessed the use of oral cannabinoid extracts in a cohort of 53 patients (median age of 11) with ASD over a period of at least one month. Oral extracts contained a 1 to 20 ratio of plant-derived CBD to THC. Subjects had no experience with cannabinoid treatment prior to the study.

Seventy-five percent of subjects reported “overall improvement” in their ASD symptoms, specifically in the domains of hyperactivity, sleep, self-injury, and anxiety. The most frequently reported adverse effects associated with treatment were somnolence and changes in appetite.

Investigators concluded: “Children with ASD commonly have comorbid symptoms such as aggression, hyperactivity and anxiety.

There is an increase in the use of cannabidiol in children with ASD. Based on parents’ reports, our findings suggest that cannabidiol may be effective in improving ASD comorbid symptoms.”

The findings are similar to those of other recent trials reporting that the use of CBD-dominant extracts reduces symptoms of ASD and is well-tolerated.

3 of 4 veterans would consider using medical cannabis NEW YORK — Seventy-five percent of military veterans say that they would consider using either “cannabis or cannabinoid products as a treatment option,” according to member survey data compiled by the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). The organization represents over 400,000 veterans nationwide.

Under existing federal regulations, physicians affiliated with the Department of Veteran Affairs are forbidden from providing medical cannabis recommendations, even in jurisdictions that legally permit private practitioners to do so.

Overall, 83 percent of respondents expressed support for legalizing medical cannabis access, and 68 percent believe that the Department of Veterans Affairs “should allow for research into cannabis as a treatment option.” Proposed federal legislation to direct the agency to conduct clinical trials on the use of cannabis for PTSD and for other conditions is currently pending in the US House and Senate.

Twenty percent of veterans surveyed acknowledged having previously used cannabis for medical purposes. Other studies have estimated that as many as 41 percent of veterans acknowledge having consumed cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Available data documents that cannabis is effective in the treatment of chronic pain and may potentially mitigate symptoms of post-traumatic stress, along with other conditions veterans commonly face.

(Cannabis Culture news in the Blade is provided in partnership with NORML. For more information, contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at paul@norml.org.)

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ACLU advocates for trans Colo. man FROM STAFF REPORTS NEW YORK — The ACLU has asked the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to review the complaint of a man who was denied access to health care.

Dashir Moore, a transgender man from Georgia, wanted a fresh start in life. So at the age of 31, he packed up and moved to Colorado, a state that offered both a great lifestyle and trans healthcare. He hoped he could finally be himself, the ACLU announced in a press release.

Things went well at first. Almost immediately after Dashir arrived in Colorado, he was able to update the gender marker on his driver’s license. He got a job as a customer service rep.

Then he scheduled chest surgery. No stranger to our byzantine insurance system, Dashir called his benefits line to check if the procedure was covered and was told it would be. He also confirmed that he didn’t need prior authorization before the surgery.

But shortly after the surgery, he found out his insurance would not pay for the procedure and he soon found himself saddled with medical debt and out of a job.

Two days after the surgery, his care coordinator called and told him that his insurance company had refused to pay after all. Dashir learned that his employer had selected a health insurance plan that excludes medical expenses incurred for “Gender Transition: Treatment, drugs, medicine, services and supplies for, or leading to, gender transition surgery.”

Dashir began to receive bills from the hospital, which eventually totaled almost $30,000. His anxiety skyrocketed and Dashir couldn’t continue to work.

Insurance carve-outs for transitionrelated care are illegal. But as Dashir learned the hard way, that hasn’t stopped some from continuing to deny transgender people the care they need. Here’s the truth about transition-related health care.

Myth: Transition-related care is optional.

Reality: Transition-related care is anything but optional.

Many transgender people experience gender dysphoria, the medical term for incongruence between a person’s gender identity and their sex assigned at birth where such incongruence results in clinically significant distress. Medically accepted standards of care for gender dysphoria include social transition, hormone treatment and surgery. The goal of treatment for gender dysphoria is to alleviate distress by

helping patients live in accordance with their gender identity. In Dashir’s case, medically necessary care for his gender dysphoria included surgery to remove breast tissue and create a male chest.

If not addressed, gender dysphoria places patients at great risk for depression, anxiety, self-injury and suicide. In other words, failure to treat gender dysphoria can mean the difference between life and death.

Myth: Insurers don’t have to cover transition-related care.

Reality: Insurers can’t deny patients otherwise covered services because they are part of gender transition.

Insurers can limit coverage to care that is medically necessary, but they can’t deny medically necessary care based on who a patient is. For example, the surgery Dashir needed — a mastectomy — is routinely covered by insurance companies to treat patients with cancer or a genetic predisposition to cancer, such as the BRCA genes. But Dashir was denied coverage for the same procedure because he is transgender and needed it to treat his gender dysphoria. That’s discrimination.

Myth: Coverage for transition-related care is too expensive.

Reality: Coverage for transitionrelated care costs just pennies per insured.

Opponents of transgender equality, including President Trump have used cost to justify denying transgender people medically necessary care, but their objections don’t stand up to scrutiny.

An expert hired to defend the state of Wisconsin’s exclusion for transitionrelated care recentlyestimated the cost of coverage would be between four and 10 cents per insured per month. That represents less than 0.1 percent of overall medical costs.

It’s hard to imagine Wisconsin claiming it was justified in denying medical coverage for treatment for other conditions, like depression or diabetes, to save pennies per month, yet that’s exactly what it did in denying coverage for transition-related care. That sends a deeply disturbing message about the value placed on transgender people’s lives.

Dashir may be down, but he’s not out. Together with the ACLU, he filed a charge of discrimination against his former employer to end the discriminatory denial of health care. We’re standing with Dashir and transgender people across the country so that all of us have the freedom to be who we are.

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20 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

MARCOS MARTINEZ

writes for his blog, Men Who Brunch, a lifestyle website and event blog geared toward LGBT readers.

VI E WPO I NT • FE BRUA RY 15, 2019 • WA SHINGTONB L A DE . COM • 21

BROCK THOMPSON

is a D.C.-based writer who contributes regularly to the Blade.

MARK LEE

is a long-time entrepreneur and community business advocate. Follow on Twitter: @ MarkLeeDC. Reach him at OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Democrats must step back from demanding the perfect

To win, heed Pelosi’s call for diversity and unity After Trump caved to the Democrats in Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “Our diversity is our strength; our unity is our power.” She couldn’t be more right and it is my hope the various wings of the Democratic Party understand that.

Democrats will win in 2020 if we stick together in the next two years and don’t become what humorist Will Rogers said about us, “I am not a member of any organized political party, I am a Democrat.”

We need to be organized and we need to pull together when it’s important and there is nothing more important for the nation than for Democrats to keep the House and take back the Senate and the White House in 2020.

To do that we may all have to give a little and not give up the chance for progress while demanding the perfect. In all of history we have never seen the perfect, it is not attainable. There is no perfect candidate and clearly no perfect solution to a problem we all see differently. But for anyone who believes we must fight for both social and economic equality it has become increasingly obvious members of the Democratic Party will fight for them more enthusiastically and have a better chance of achieving any success than the current Republican Party. If we turn over the reins of government to Democrats there will be progress on attaining equal justice, civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, cleaning up our environment, and the rights of dreamers and other immigrants.

Over the next 18 months in the Democratic primary we will and should have a robust debate over how the party deals with each of these issues.

Candidates will be fighting for the heart of the party. It will be a fight between the farleft, progressives, and the more moderate wing of the party. And appropriately it will be a generational fight between the old guard and the new and upcoming leaders. Let’s hope Bernie Sanders does not repeat what he did in 2016 when he entered the Democratic primary, used Democratic voting lists, participated in the

debates, then lost buy four million votes, and blamed the Democratic National Committee for hurting his chances.

To avoid even the perception of this, the DNC should continue to demand impartiality of its staff and implement what they voted for after 2016 and require any person who enters the Democratic primary to be registered as a Democrat, run as a Democrat and serve as a Democrat.

More than that, they should require each candidate who qualifies for their primary to release 10 years of their tax returns and sign a pledge to support the winner of the primary as soon as one candidate has the required delegates to win the nomination.

In addition, because winning is so crucial in 2020, Democrats in Congress should not support primaries against their colleagues. While there are some Democrats threatening to do so we must work to help them understand 2020 is not the year to do that. It will only serve to pull the party further apart and help Republicans. Democrats must focus all their attention, time and money on primaries in Districts where a Democrat will be elected to run against an incumbent Republican.

We are living in dangerous times and it’s crucial Democrats stand together in the upcoming elections. Trump and his sycophants in Congress are working to take our nation back to the dark ages.

Democrats must unite and say no to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and anti-Semitism. We must be united in saying no to scapegoating immigrants and the Muslim community for the ills in our country. While never giving up our principles we must be ready to take a step back from demanding the perfect if we are to move forward into 2021 with the hope of making real progress.

We must take to heart what Pelosi meant when she said: “Diversity is our strength and unity is our power,” and heed her warning that if we are not united we lose the power to move our ideas and goals forward and we lose the chance to make things better.

22 • WA S HI NGTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9 • V IEWP O IN T

MARCOS MARTINEZ

琀栀攀

writes for his blog, Men Who Brunch, a lifestyle website and event blog geared toward LGBT readers.

NewYork needs its gay black nightclubs Closing of Langston leaves painful gap in social scene There are more than 50 gay clubs in New York. However, not one of them is black owned.

Club Langston was the last blackowned gay club in New York.

The recent attack against actor Jussie Smollett signifies society’s ongoing struggle with race and sexuality. Given the racial and sexual prejudices that he and many other LGBTQIA men of color have faced it’s important to have inclusive, safe spaces catered to our community.

In the past couple of decades there have been many clubs in New York catering primarily to LGBTQ men of color.

Better Days, Octagon, Lenox Lounge, Peter Rabbit Tracks, and Buttermilk Bottom are prime examples. The value of theses spaces were two-fold: they provided a safe haven and a social life. Many LGBTQ people of color have been kicked out of their homes once their families discovered their sexual identity. Once out in the streets they were often excluded from sanctuaries including churches and shelters. Gay black clubs provided safe, welcoming environments where gay men of color were able to meet and forge friendships with each other; some of these connections even turned into long-lasting relationships. The Warehouse was one of the most popular gay black clubs in the 2000s. The venue was located in the South Bronx and provided fun, cultural experiences. Patrons would hear hip hop and house music and face off in vogue dance competitions, which were unique experiences among LGBTQ men of color.

Most importantly, in those spaces gay black men could dance, schmooze, and flirt with one another without fear of verbal assault and physical violence.

From the 1990s to the 2000s the number of spaces for gay men of color dwindled. Cultural icon Calvin Clark organized about four or five parties for gay men of color that were hugely successful in bringing the LGBTQ community together.

However, he wanted something more.

During his generation and even till now white-owned establishments would only allow certain nights for event promoters to host events catered to LGBTQ men of

color. In an interview Clark stated, “If it was a slow night the white gay clubs would let us throw a party.” Ironically, even in white gay clubs he and men of color sometimes felt excluded.

In 2001, Calvin Clark and Eryk Albury opened Langston in Brooklyn, named after the legendary poet Langston Hughes. The owners’ goal was to create a space for LGBTQ people of color to hang out, dance and enjoy themselves without feeling discriminated against or harassed.

Langston was regarded as one of the most enjoyable LGBTQ nightclubs. At Langston you’ll experience the popular culture of LGBT men of color. You will hear some of the best hip hop, dancehall, and house music that you wouldn’t hear at other gay venues in New York.

The most significant value of Langston is that it allowed cultural groups to do outreach and provide community services.

The transmission of STDS is prevalent among the LGBT community, especially among gay men of color. On certain occasions Langston has been a test testing site for STDs and HIV. Every other week a club or lounge is shut down. Rising rents and other economic factors have forced some of the most popular venues to close. And gay black clubs have closed at a faster rate. Better Days, Octagon, and Paradise Garage were popular gay black dance clubs but all of them shuttered mainly due to gentrification.

It saddens me even more that Club Langston recently closed. My initial experience with LGBTQ nightlife was at Langston. I didn’t come out of the closet till my early adulthood so I was unfamiliar with the gay social scene. When I went to Langston, I made the decision to stay out of the closet.

Today, there are many gay clubs and lounges where you’ll find mixed crowds.

However, gay black clubs in New York are still needed.

There is a fundraising campaign underway to bring Langston back.

Whether it’s $5 or $50 your donation counts. So please donate. We need our gay black clubs.

VI E WPO I NT • FE BRUA RY 15, 2019 • WA SHINGTONB L A DE . COM • 23

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BROCK THOMPSON

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is a D.C.-based writer.

He contributes regularly to the Blade.

Will we ever have a gay president?

At this rate of progress, it’s an inevitability Will we ever have a gay president?

Probably, at some point, right?

And I know what some of you are thinking? We had James Buchanan. The guy just before Lincoln who kind of tapped out of the whole thing right before the Civil War, the one who Andrew Jackson referred to him and the man he lived with as “Miss Nancy and Aunt Fancy.” He’s generally regarded as our worst president, Buchanan that is. So, let’s not rush to name any LGBT centers after him.

Fast forward to last month, when 37-year-old, and sadly taken, mayor of South Bend, Ind., Pete Buttigieg threw his hat into the ring of Democratic contenders to take on Trump. On paper, Buttigieg has it all — a degree from Harvard, he’s a Rhodes Scholar, a veteran, a last name school children will ruthlessly mock for a generation. But will it ultimately be Buttigieg? Probably not. It’s a crowded field. And his last name is just not what we need right now. But it’s interesting that his candidacy isn’t bigger news. Maybe the whole ‘the first openly gay person to …’ just isn’t that big of a deal anymore?

And while I think most of us agree that it won’t be Buttigieg, it seems generally assumed that one day we will have an openly gay president. An informal poll on my Facebook page saw that a majority of folks out there, almost four out of five, believe that one day we will have one of ours sitting in the Oval Office.

Two things sort of point to this inevitability. First, let’s look to Colorado.

That state, one I would consider by no means reliably blue in its political make-up, elected its first openly gay governor, Jared Polis. I’m guessing if you asked Coloradans

just 10 years ago if that were possible in their state, the majority would have said no. Asked then if they would like Polis to be governor, I’m sure the majority would have asked if there was anyone else available. But besides Polis, there’s Oregon’s Gov. Kate Brown and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both winning statewide elections recently. I mean, it will take a while for say, Mississippi, to elect an LGBT politician, but when have we ever held our breath for states like that to do the right thing anyway?

Beyond what Colorado has shown us, it seems that liberal ideas over time just ultimately win out. And it’s just not that they win, people come around on them, from seemingly very little support to outright majorities in the span of a generation. Two of those — marijuana, and gay marriage — seem to be the best examples here. Then you have non-political, just general queer visibility in America; queer entertainment like “Drag Race” is now mainstream.

Buttigieg himself remarked on this trend.

Telling reporters at one of his Washington events that “when I came out, Mike Pence was the governor of Indiana, when I joined the military, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was the law of the land, and when it first crossed my mind that I might run for office someday, I believed that coming out would be a career death sentence.” Coming out certainly hasn’t been a death sentence for him. But, in some ways, it wasn’t the headline grabber it once was either.

Americans can move surprisingly fast on social issues, especially it seems on LGBT issues. And if we carry on at this rate, a gay person in the White House is not just a question to kick around on social media, but an inevitability for sure.

Virginia, D.C. confront punishment and redemption

Scandals roil commonwealth’s top 3 officeholders; D.C. deals with violent offenders In Virginia, scandals have roiled the reputations and threatened the tenures of the commonwealth’s top three elected officeholders. In D.C., an increase in violent felony gun crimes by repeat offenders has led to a change in how defendants will be prosecuted.

In both jurisdictions, officials and residents are confronting issues of punishment and redemption.

Two weeks ago, Virginia’s Democratic governor Ralph Northam stumbled through an admission and next-day retraction of appearing in either blackface or a KKK costume on his 1984 state medical school student yearbook page. He did, however, admit to putting shoe polish on his cheeks while winning an out-of-state dance contest dressed as Michael Jackson the same year.

There were immediate and ubiquitous statewide and national calls for Northam’s resignation, including by nearly every state party official or officeholder and announced Democratic candidate for president, civil rights organizations, and the LGBT national group Human Rights Campaign.

The assumption was that the Democratic lieutenant governor, an African American, would ascend to the top spot. That politician, Justin Fairfax, was himself quickly embroiled in allegations by two women of sexual assault and rape, which he denied as false, occurring in 2000 at college and at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

Fairfax’s tenuous incumbency is legally more serious, solely subject to both criminal charges and possible impeachment.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, also a Democrat and third in line to become governor, who had previously announced that he intended to run for governor in 2021 following the statutorily limited one-term tenure of Northam and called for the governor to step down, next went public with his own blackfacedonning incident at a college party. Although fewer in number, pervasive calls for Herring’s similar resignation or ouster from office ensued.

The widespread and reflexive political outcry and calls for swift remedy through departure from office reflect a growing intolerance toward politicians thought culpable of offenses either political in nature or illegal as

crimes. Little consideration for reflection and even less regard for due process seems to be the new national standard of punitive public reaction overwhelmingly in vogue.

A conflicted citizenry now faces how to quickly and decisively mete out punishment for both perceived political and actual legal offenses, and whether to even factor redemptive statements or, as in the case of Fairfax, specific denials.

This mirrored a simultaneous development in D.C. regarding criminal prosecution designed to combat escalating violence.

Under an agreement signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser and long advocated by police chief Peter Newsham, many local violent gun offenses will now be prosecuted as federal crimes in federal district court. It is part of a city crackdown in response to a 40-percent increase in shootings taking place in the District, 40 percent of which are committed by repeat offenders.

This revised approach to handling violent felony crimes is anticipated to include up to 400 annual cases. Also affected will be younger adult offenders often not subject to mandatory minimum sentences by the local court, an option unavailable under federal prosecution. Convicted felons will also face sentences of up to 10 and 15 years, longer than now typically imposed and without the same diversionary sentencing options.

Although there was scant public objection to the plan, the action raises significant policy questions regarding the ongoing political viability of city politicians placing an emphasis on softer sentencing designed to maximize second chances and re-entry redemption.

The lack of outcry likely indicates diminished patience with the approach when contrasted with growing public safety concerns.

Both the turmoil in Virginia over racist behaviors or potential sexual crimes of politicians and the shift in prosecution of violent offenders in D.C. raise fundamental questions regarding punishment and penitence whether involving officeholders or offenders.

These attitudes portend that calls for stricter and rapid penalty, whether in the statehouse or on the street, reflect a shifting political zeitgeist.

Forgiveness may be falling out of fashion faster than we fathom.

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JACK BLACK (left) and JOAQUIN PHOENIX in ‘Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.’

Photo courtesy Amazon Studios

Gus Van Sant, Hollywood enigma Out director revives Robin Williams recovery drama with Joaquin Phoenix

By BRIAN T. CARNEY

Despite a long and distinguished career as a writer and director, out filmmaker Gus Van Sant remains somewhat of a Hollywood enigma.

He’s been openly gay for decades, yet remains a little reclusive and guards his private life carefully. He didn’t start making movies (and didn’t come out) until his 30s.

Unlike other LGBT celebrities in Hollywood, he says his coming out probably didn’t have a big impact on his career.

“I don’t know, actually,” Van Sant says in a Blade phone interview. “You can never really tell. I’m sure it has affected some things, but none that I can see.”

Van Sant’s sexuality also does not seem to have directly impacted his work as a filmmaker.

“I’ve done lots of different types of stories,” he says.

While he’s often cited as one of the founders of the New Queer Cinema movement, not all of his movies have LGBT characters or themes.

While certain themes (alienation, isolation and unrequited love) and character types (loners, hustlers and thieves) keep popping up in his work, his movies have covered a dizzying array of subjects and styles. They range from mainstream Oscar contenders like “Milk,” “Finding Forrester” and “Good Will Hunting” to indies and cult classics like “To Die For,” “Drugstore Cowboy” and “My Own Private Idaho,” and to esoteric art house fare like “Promised Land” and “The Sea of Trees” that were openly jeered when they opened at European festivals like Cannes.

Despite some bankable stars and funding from Amazon Studios, Van Sant’s latest movie, “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot,” now available on Amazon Prime, seems destined to be one of his cult classics. When the movie was released last summer, it received positive reviews, but failed to find an audience in a crowded release schedule.

“Don’t Worry” is based on the memoir of the same name by quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan (1951-2010). Callahan became a quadriplegic at the age of 21 as the result of a car accident following a night of bar hopping. Callahan’s friend, who was driving, walked away without a scratch. Callahan would never walk again.

After years of AA meetings and physical therapy, Callahan became sober and gained partial use of his arms. He learned to draw by holding a pen between both hands. His sense of humor was very dark and his drawing was often rough and simple; his work is reminiscent of artists like

26 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

Director GUS VAN SANT has thrived in both mainstream and more indie-leaning cinematic fare.

Photo courtesy Amazon Studios

Gahan Wilson, Charles Addams, William Steig and James Thurber. His cartoons were published by the Willamette Week newspaper in Portland, Ore., and often resulted in boycotts and protests against the paper.

Van Sant became aware of Callahan’s memoir through his friend Robin Williams who played the wily therapist in “Good Will Hunting” (1997).

“Robin Williams had optioned the book and wanted to play John Callahan,” Van Sant says. “In the ’90s, I developed a couple of screenplays for him, but by the time a final script was ready, he chose to do other projects.”

Van Sant is not sure why Williams never played Callahan.

“Possibly he thought this one was too risky. Thinking of his career, he needed to play it safe. Or he might not have liked the script. Or he might not have known how to approach the character.”

After Williams’ tragic suicide in 2014, Van Sant returned to Callahan’s story.

“I started over after Robin’s death. The original script was focused on Callahan’s search for his lost mother. He had a lifelong obsession with finding her (and) would drive around looking for her.”

All he knew about her was that she was a red-haired Irish Catholic schoolteacher

who gave him up for adoption when he was born. Callahan did discover her name, but never located her.

Van Sant refocused the story on Callahan’s efforts to reclaim his life after the accident.

“It’s an alcohol recovery movie,” he says. “I tried to match up some of the ideas of the Twelve Steps to things that happened in his life.”

The final script tells Callahan’s redemption story in a fluid non-linear fashion that freely moves back and forth between his life before and after the accident.

“I tried to keep things logically and thematically connected so that audiences wouldn’t get lost,” the filmmaker says.

Van Sant also decided to highlight the character of Donny, the openly gay man who was Callahan’s AA sponsor.

The deep friendship between a straight man and a gay man, free of sexual tension, is something not often seen in mainstream movies.

“According to Callahan’s book,” Van Sant says, “John really credited him with saving his life. Donny was a gay man in Portland, Oregon from a wealthy family. We couldn’t locate his family, but we know he died in 1985 or so. He’s sort of lost to history.”

To play the challenging role of John Callahan, Van Sant turned to his old friend

F EB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 19 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 27

Joaquin Phoenix. Van Sant had directed Phoenix in his break-out role of the delightfully dim-witted Jimmy Emmett in “To Die For” (1995). A close friend of the Phoenix family, Van Sant had also directed Joaquin’s brother River in “My Own Private Idaho” (1991) and sister Rain in “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” (1993).

Joaquin Phoenix had started his Hollywood career as a child actor with appearances in “Murder, She Wrote,” “Hill Street Blues” and other television series, including an ABC Afterschool Special.

“He had also made some movies when he was younger, most notably ‘Parenthood’ and ‘Space Camp,’ but after that he decided to quit acting. By the time I worked with him, he was 20 and newly coming back to acting.”

“To Die For” was a success for both star and director, but Van Sant and Phoenix didn’t get the chance to work together again until “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot.”

“It was over 20 years between our movies together,” Van Sant says. “By then he had done so many giant things in different movies. He was a very outstanding, developed actor.”

Working together again was interesting, Van Sant says, “because he was way more experienced and yet he was

still somebody I knew as a friend. It was sometimes funny.”

Van Sant rounded out the cast of “Don’t Worry …,” with a combination of rising stars and Hollywood veterans. He cast Jonah Hill in the pivotal role of Callahan’s sponsor Donny. Rooney Mara (“Carol”) plays Callahan’s girlfriend Annu; Carrie Brownstein (“Portlandia”) is Callahan’s frustrated caseworker; and Jack Black is Dexter, the drunk driver who was behind the wheel when Callahan suffered his lifechanging injuries.

There are also delightful performances from the members of Callahan’s support group, including Beth Ditto, Udo Kier, Kim Webber, Mark Gordon and especially Ronnie Adrian as Martingale, a gay artist who recites his poetry about penises.

After watching “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot” on Amazon Prime, it may be time to schedule a Gus Van Sant retrospective.

Every LGBT movie fan should see “Milk,” the rousing and insightful biopic of assassinated gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Star Sean Penn and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black won Oscars for their work. Van Sant was nominated for Best Director and the film was nominated for Best Picture.

After that, a Van Sant retrospective is a matter of personal taste.

In the mainstream mode, there’s “Good Will Hunting” which introduced Van Sant to Robin Williams, who won an Oscar for his bravura performance, and made stars of newcomers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who won Oscars for their screenplay. Van Sant was nominated for Best Director but did not win.

The delightfully campy thriller “To Die For” helped introduce American audiences to Nicole Kidman, She plays an aspiring television personality who enlists two hormonal teens (Joaquin Phoenix and Matt Dillon) to help her in her schemes. The final image of Kidman is a haunting one.

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” the queer classic “My Own Private Idaho” stars Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix as hustlers struggling to survive on the streets of Portland (Van Sant’s adopted hometown and a frequent setting for his movies).

The Van Sant retrospective can include some of the music videos he’s directed for artists like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Elton John, Tracy Chapman, Chris Isaak, k.d. lang and some of the Beat Poets.

What’s next? Van Sant says he’s “working on a screenplay, but there’s nothing ready to shoot yet.”

QUEERY Eleana Figueroa/DJ Eletrox Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

QUEERY: Eleana Figueroa/DJ Eletrox

The BLOWOUT party DJ answers 20 gay questions

By JOEY DIGUGLIELMO JOEYD@WASHBLADE.COM

Eleana Figueroa, who performs as DJ Eletrox, first saw drag queen Bombalicious Eklaver (aka Ed Figueroa) performing at Night OUT at the Nationals and was instantly smitten.

“She was doing one of her amazing performances and we instantaneously became friends,” Figueroa says. “I really love working with her. She really knows how to make every member feel appreciated for their performances and unique skills.”

The two are collaborating on the new Bombalicious party BLOWOUT, a new LGBT dance party. It launched last weekend in Baltimore. A Washington version debuts on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 11 p.m. at Songbyrd Music House (2475 18th St., N.W.). Tickets are $7 at eventbrite. com or look for the event on Facebook.

Figueroa says the Baltimore show was “amazing.”

“It was a very fun opening party,” the 31-year-old Tegucigalpa, Honduras native, says. “All the performers and DJ … were on point.”

Figueroa plans to perform monthly at both events. She spins top 40, throwback, hip hop, punjabi, Latin, deep house, EDM and more. She got started DJing six years ago to fulfill a teen dream. She spins mostly every weekend at various parties — mostly queer events — and this is her full-time work.

Figueroa settled in Maryland upon coming to the U.S. and moved to Washington eight months ago for work.

She is in a relationship and lives on Capitol Hill. She enjoys painting, cooking, Netflix, hiking, the beach, photography and more in her free time.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

In 2007, I was talking with my best friend Fer, and we ended up coming out at the same time. During one of our conversations, we both realized how we always felt attracted to the same gender. I came out of the closet during my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. I feel so lucky that my family and friends have always been supportive of me. The hardest person to tell was my mom.

Who’s your LGBT hero?

Sylvia Rivera was a queer, Latina, self-identified drag queen who fought tirelessly for transgender and gendernonconforming people’s rights.

What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?

The best past night spots were Apex and Town. Now we have so many options. My favorite places to go are A League of Her Own/Pitchers, Trade and many others. Every fourth Saturday of the month, the Ivy Project at Big Chief, which I started with my best friend, and the Blowout every first and second Saturday at the Crown.

Describe your dream wedding.

A wedding on the beach with everyone wearing beach white clothes and flower crowns on their heads.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?

Pro-immigration. Stop deportations.

What historical outcome would you change?

Donald Trump becoming a president.

Because it feels wrong to see how one person can encourage people to hate each other, do hate crimes and also help authorities to separate families, partners and friends out of this country.

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

Madonna!

On what do you insist?

Loyalty should be always applied by people we trust.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?

My last post was about the Blowout & Ivy Project party.

If your life were a book, what would the title be?

People wouldn’t be able to finish reading about my life because I have so many stories to tell, but it would be called “The 100 Lives of Eleana.”

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

I would make all the homophobic Republicans LGBT.

28 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

presented by

What do you believe in beyond the physical world?

I believe in heaven and karma.

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?

Work together and do not leave out or non-binary or asexual or any gender identities.

What would you walk across hot coals for?

For sushi!

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

Nothing annoys me.

What’s your favorite LGBT movie?

“Blue is the Warmest Color” What’s the most overrated social custom?

That everyone assumes that a woman only can be happy with a man.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

My championship soccer trophy and my double ninja sword.

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

That it’s OK to be gay.

Why Washington?

Because mostly everyone here hates Donald Trump.

F EB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 19 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 29

Nominate a change agent that is a queer woman under 40 and making a difference in Washington, D.C.

Clockwise from top: LP performs at The 9:30 Club Tuesday Photo courtesy Lorne Clarkson MNEK is at Union Stage Wednesday Photo by Darren Craig; courtesy BB Gun PR and a still from the movie ‘A Year in Transition.’ Photo courtesy

Lorne Clarkson

Gay ‘missionary’ trip to hinterlands D.C. Gay’s Missionary Trip to Freddie’s Beach Bar (555 23rd St., S Arlington, Va.) is Thursday, Feb. 28 from 7:30-10:30 p.m.

People in D.C. are invited to travel to Freddie’s for a special night welcoming D.C. gays. James Quinn and Dito E. Sevilla will host the party. Their version of happy hour, known as crazy hour, kicks off from 4-8 p.m.

Karaoke follows from 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

For more details, search “D.C. Gay’s Missionary Trip to Freddie’s Beach Bar” on Facebook.

DCATS to screen trans film The D.C. Area Transmasculine Society (DCATS) presents a screening of the documentary “A Year in Transition” at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode

Island Ave., N.W.) on Friday, Feb. 22 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

“A Year in Transition” chronicles the journey of a 20-year-old Arab-American transgender man’s first year in transition.

RSVP seating is from 6-6:45 p.m. and open seating begins at 7 p.m. The screen will be filmed from 7-8:15 p.m. After the film, there will be a post-screening conversation with the documentary’s director Lorne Clarkson. Light fare will be served. ASL interpretation will be provided. Admission price is a suggested $10 donation but no one will be turned away for a lack of funds.

All proceeds will be given to DCATS Binder

Exchange which provides chest providers to those in need. People with tickets can pick early seating until 6:45 p.m.

For more information, visit facebook. com/dcatsociety.

CTRL offers Qwerty Feb. 23 CTRL hosts Qwerty, a gay dance party, at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.) on Saturday, Feb. 23 from 10 p.m.-2:15 a.m.

30 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

TODAY

DJ Adam Koussari-Amin, DJ Dvonne and DJ Jeff Prior will spin a mix of vogue house, hard-pop, queer-step, disco and more. Vagenesis, the winner of D.C. Drag Wars season three, will perform. No cover.

For more details, visit facebook.com/ ctrldc.

LP plays 9:30 Feb. 20 LP performs at the 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.

The lesbian singer-songwriter is best known for her singles “Lost on You,” Muddy Waters” and “When We’re High.”

Her fifth studio album “Heart to Mouth” was released in December. LP is also the songwriter behind tracks for artists such as Cher, Rihanna and Christina Aguilera. Rock musician Korey Dane opens the show.

Tickets are $25. For more information, visit 930.com.

Skyler Moore Thrillers hosts a happy hour with “The Maine Nemesis” author R. Scott Wallis at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) today from 5:30-7:30 p.m. For more information, visit facebook.com/ skylermoorethrillers.

Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) hosts a “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4” finale viewing party tonight from 8-10 p.m.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” season three alum Stacy Layne Matthews will appear. There will be a meet and greet with Matthews at 7 p.m. Meet and greet tickets are $10.

Local queens Brooklyn Heights and Iyana Deschanel will host the event. Stoli cocktails will be $6 during the show. For more details, visit facebook.com/nelliesdc.

The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) hosts a Valentine’s Day edition of its Birds of Prey drag show tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Delta Work from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will be the guest performer. There will also be performances by Brooklyn Heights, Iyana Deschanel, Sasha Adams Sanchez, Crystal Edge and Evon Michelle.

Ba’Naka hosts the show. DJ Icy Funk will play music. General admission tickets are $10. Meet and greet tickets are $15. For more information, visit dceagle.com.

La Fantasy presents No Strings Attached Underwear, a gay underwear dance party, at L8 Lounge (727 15th St., N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-4 a.m. DJ Marco Da Silva will play music for the night. Coat/wardrobe check is $5. Tickets are $25. For more details, visit lafantasyproductions.com.

Ottobar (2549 N Howard St., Baltimore, Md.) hosts a Beyonce vs. Rihanna dance party tonight at 9 p.m. DJ Mills will play the best of Beyonce and Ottobar owner Craig B will spin the hottest Rihanna jams. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. For more information, visit theottobar.com.

Trans-Latinx DMV hosts Amor/ Comunidad — Love/Community at Emergency Community Arts Collective (733 Euclid St., N.W.) tonight from 7-10 p.m. This will be a multilingual night celebrating love in and for the transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming community. Food will be served. A donation is suggested but not required. For more details, visit facebook.com/translatinxdm.

Saturday, Feb. 16 Queer MoCo, a group of multiracial queer people, hosts a potluck gathering today from 6-9 p.m. The group aims to prioritize LGBTQ voices from minority groups. Allies are asked to not attend this meeting as it is just for queer community members.There will be veggie samosas and drinks. Attendees can bring a dish to share potluck style but it’s not required. Admission

F EB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 19 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 31

is free but RSVP is required to receive the potluck’s location. For more information, visit facebook.com/queermoco.

Peach Pit hosts a ‘90s dance party at DC9 (1940 9th St., N.W.) tonight from 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. DJ Matt Bailer will play ‘90s music all night. Cover is $5 before midnight and $8 after. Tickets range from $5-$8 at the door. For more details, visit dc9.club.

Bears Can Party host the Bear Cave: #LoveorLust at the Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Go-go bear Roman will dance for the night. DJ Popperz will spin tracks. There is no cover. For more information, visit greenlanterndc.com.

Blowout, a new LGBT-inclusive party, is at Songbyrd Music House & Record Cafe (2475 18th St., N.W.) tonight from 11 p.m.-3 a.m. There will be performances from LGBT artists, surprise DJs and more.

Tickets are $7. For more details, visit songbyrddc.com.

Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.) hosts Gay/ Bash tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Donna Slash, Jaxknife Complex, Ana Latour, Jane Saw and Summer Camp will perform. The Barber Streisand will play music. There will be a show at 11:30 p.m. and a second show at 1 a.m. No cover. For more information, visit facebook.com/gaybashdc.

Sunday, Feb. 17 Bears Invade Spa World is today from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. at Spa World (13830 Braddock Rd., Centreville, Va.). Interested attendees are encouraged to check Groupon for deals. This is a public event.

Attendees are free to invite friends and can drop in anytime during the day. For more details, search “Bears Invade Spa World” on Facebook.

The Imperial Court of Washington hosts Mr. D.C.’s Royale Drag Rolette at Freddie’s Beach Bar (555 23rd St., S Arlington, Va.) tonight from 8-10 p.m. Mr. D.C. Royale Jacque Basil will make an appearance. Deedee Amor Did and Leilani Masters will host the show. Funds raised will be donated to the Imperial Court’s Reign VII Charities. For more information, visit facebook.com/imperialcourtdc.

Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.) hosts Church tonight from 10 p.m.-1:45 a.m.

Geneva Confectionn will host the party.

AndroJennie, Vagenesis and Buhnana Gunz will perform in the drag chorus.

Wessthedj and DJ Jesse Jackson will spin tracks. For more details, visit facebook. com/tradebardc.

Bishop Gene Robinson preaches at St. Thomas’ Parish (1810 16th St., N.W.) today at the 9:30 a.m. service. Robinson was the first priest in a major Christian

denomination to be in an openly gay relationship and consecrated a bishop. For more information, visit stthomasdc.org.

Monday, Feb. 18 The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W..) hosts coffee drop-in hours this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community.

Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Tuesday, Feb. 19 The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) hosts its Packing Party from 7-9 p.m. tonight. Volunteers will assemble safer sex kits to distribute to the LGBT community.

For more details, visit thedccenter.org.

Wednesday, Feb. 20 MNEK performs at Union Stage tonight at 7:30 p.m. Raja Kumari opens the show.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $17 in advance and $19 day of show. Premier Plus tickets, which includes reserved seating, are $35. For more details, visit unionstage.com.

HerHRC: The Preview is at A League of Her Own (2319 18th St., N.W.) tonight from 6-9 p.m. This will be a teaser event for HerHRC’s main event in the spring. There is a suggested $10 donation at the door or online. The donation includes or renews annual HRC membership. All proceeds go towards HRC. There will also be drink and food specials and free entry into a raffle.

For more details, visit facebook.com/ hrcgreaterwashingtondc.

Bookmen D.C., an informal gay men’s literature group, discusses “From Macho to Mariposa: Gay Latino Fiction” edited by Charles Rice-Gonzalez and Charlie Vasquez at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.

Thursday, Feb. 21 Tagg Magazine hosts a financial planning seminar for LGBT women at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6:30-8 p.m.

The seminar will discuss how to combine finances with your partner and LGBT family planning. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Admission is free. For more details, visit facebook.com/taggmagazine.

This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com WORLD STAGES: NeoArctic. Thru Feb 16.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. Feb 15-Feb 17. She A Gem. Feb 15-Feb 24. Tap Dogs. Feb 19-Feb 24.

Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

DANCE Farruquito.

Feb 21.

Strathmore. strathmore.org.

Ourchestra. Feb 18. Arts on the Green at Arts Barn. gaithersburgmd.gov.

Urban Bush Women. Feb 16-Feb 17.

Dance Place. danceplace.org.

MUSIC National Ballet of China: Raise the Red Lantern Thru Feb 16. Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

The renowned company returns with the award-winning ballet, performed with full orchestra as the cornerstone event of our 2019 Lunar New Year festivities.

Virginia Opera: The Elixir of Love Feb 16-Feb 17. Mason’s Center for the Arts. cfa.gmu.edu.

Gaetano Donizetti’s infectiously charming bel canto opera sparkles with effervescent melodies, comedic misunderstandings, and endearing characters who are seeking an elixir for one of life’s greatest ills: love!

Once Thru Mar 10. Olney Theatre. olneytheatre.org.

This unlikely gem of a musical delighted Broadway in 2012 with its emotional folk-rock ballads and an ensemble that plays its own instruments, winning 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical. Set in contemporary Dublin, a thirty-something street guitarist is about to give up on his musical dreams when he meets a curious woman who wants to know all about him.

Jowita Wyszomirska: The Distance Of Blue Thru Mar 9. gallery neptune & brown. galleryneptunebrown.com.

For several years Wyszomirska has used weather data from NASA’s satellite imagery for creative inspiration. She transforms the imagery she collects to reflect the effects of climate change with regard to freak winter storms, extreme weather changes, and highly fluctuating temperatures. The transformed image becomes the basis for sketching, cutting, and layering large sheets of mylar to create installations and mixed media drawings.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE KENNEDY CENTER

THEATRE Admissions. Thru Feb 17. Studio Theatre. studiotheatre.org.

Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Show. Thru Mar 10. Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org.

The Old Man, the Youth, and the Sea. Thru Mar 3. GALA Hispanic Theatre. galatheatre.org.

The Hub Theatre’s Emerging Writers Festival. Feb 17. If You Could See Me: Life, Motherhood, and the Pursuit of Sanity. Feb 21. JCCNV. jccnv.org.

Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite. Thru Feb 24. Arts on the Green at Arts Barn. gaithersburgmd.gov.

Nell Gwynn. Thru Mar 10. Folger Theatre. folger.edu.

Adoration of Dora. Feb 16. Avant Bard at Fred Schnider Art Gallery. Three Suitcases. Feb 15. Ada and the Engine.

Feb 17. Avant Bard at Gunston II. wscavantbard.org.

Shame. Thru Feb 17. Mosaic Theater Company at Atlas. mosaictheater.org.

Shear Madness. Thru Jun 19. Kennedy Center. shearmadness.com.

Twelve Angry Men. Thru Feb 17. Ford’s Theatre. fords.org.

1964 The Tribute. Thru Feb 15. Masters of Hawaiian Music. Feb 16-Feb 17.

Cherish The Ladies. Feb 19-Feb 20. The Barns at Wolf Trap. wolftrap.org.

Carpe Diem-Revels Community Sing.

Feb 21. Washington Revels at Seekers Church. revelsdc.org.

Discovery Artist in the KC Jazz Club: James Francies. Feb 15. KC Jazz Club: Pedrito Martinez and Alfredo Rodríguez.

Feb 16. Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

Do Re Mi, les amis!. Feb 16. Alliance Française. francedc.org.

Gregory Porter. Feb 15. Verona Quartet.

Feb 21. Strathmore. strathmore.org.

Lara St. John, violin, and Matt Herskowitz, piano. Feb 17. National Gallery of Art. nga.gov.

Latin Passion. Feb 15. Victoria Vox. Feb 21. BlackRock. blackrockcenter.org.

Living the Dream, Singing the Dream. Feb 17. Washington Performing Arts at Kennedy Center. washingtonperformingarts.org.

Mnozil Brass. Feb 15. Renaud Capuçon, violin & Guillaume Bellom, piano. Feb 19. Library of Congress. loc.gov.

Noseda conducts Berlioz’s Romeo & Juliet. Thru Feb 16. NSO Pops: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (film with live orchestra). Feb 21-Feb 23. NSO at Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org.

Rosa Lamoreaux, Michael Bard, Andrew E. Simpson: A Feast of Love. Feb 16.

Dumbarton Concerts at Dumbarton United Methodist Church. dumbartonconcerts.org.

MUSEUMS AU Museum at the Katzen. Jiří Kolář (1912-2002): Forms of Visual Poetry - From the Collection of Museum Kampa, Prague.

Thru Mar 17. Michael B. Platt + Carol A. Beane: Influences and Connections. Thru Mar 17. Nancy at Ninety: A Retrospective of Form and Color. Thru Mar 17. american.edu.

Anderson House. A Revolution in Arms: Weapons in the War for Independence.

Thru Mar 24. societyofthecincinnati.org.

Dumbarton Oaks. Juggling the Middle Ages. Thru Feb 28. doaks.org.

Folger Shakespeare Library. First Chefs: Fame and Foodways from Britain to the Americas. Thru Mar 31. folger.edu.

Library of Congress. Baseball Americana.

Thru Jun 29. loc.gov.

National Gallery of Art. Gordon Parks: The New Tide, 1940-1950. Thru Feb 18.

Dawoud Bey: The Birmingham Project.

Thru Mar 17. nga.gov.

National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Ambreen Butt—Mark My Words. Thru Apr 14. New York Ave Sculpture Project. Thru Sep 20. nmwa.org.

Smithsonian Anacostia Museum. A Right to the City. Thru Apr 20. anacostia.si.edu.

Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire. Thru Jun 1. Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World. Thru Sep 30. americanindian.si.edu.

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian.

Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now. Thru Mar 10. Orchids: Amazing Adaptations. Feb 16-Apr 28. npg.si.edu.

Postal Museum. Alexander Hamilton: Soldier, Secretary, Icon. Thru Mar 3.

Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks. Thru Mar 3. postalmuseum.si.edu.

GALLERIES Arlington Cultural Affairs. Spectacularly Solid. Thru Mar 31. arlingtonarts.org.

DC Arts Center. lineation. Thru Feb 17. Lush: Reinvention. Feb 15-Apr 7. dcartscenter.org.

Del Ray Artisans. New Beginnings Art Exhibit. Thru Feb 24. delrayartisans.org.

District Architecture Center.

Transforming Cities, Transforming Lives: The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme.

Thru Mar 29. From Architect to Artist: Public Art by Charles Bergen, AIA. Thru Mar 29. aiadac.com.

Gallery Clarendon. Places Real and Imagined Art Exhibit. Thru Feb 28. arlingtonartistsalliance.org.

Gallery Underground.

Shades of Red Art Exhibit. Thru Feb 22. arlingtonartistsalliance.org.

Glen Echo Park. Out of the Woods: Julia Purinton. Thru Feb 24. Persona Practice: Melanie Ruston. Thru Feb 23. What Words Can’t Say: Irene Clouthier. Thru Feb 24. glenechopark.org.

Hill Center. Hill Center Galleries Regional Juried Exhibition. Thru Mar 2. hillcenterdc.org.

JCCNV. Listen to Her. Thru Feb 21. jccnv.org.

Korean Cultural Center DC. Tradition Transformed: Bojagi, the Traditional Korean Wrapping Cloth. Thru Feb 22. koreaculturedc.org.

Takoma Park Community Center. The Beauty of Decay Art Exhibition. Thru Mar 6. takomaparkmd.gov.

Waverly Street Gallery. Waverly Street Gallery Invitational Exhibition. Thru Mar 2. waverlystreetgallery.com.

32 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE BAND WA S H I N G T O N , D . C .

Colonel Don Schofield, Commander and Conductor

Courtesy Algonquin

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER has been reading since she was 3 years old. She lives in Wisconsin with two dogs and 12,000 books. Reach her at bookwormsez@yahoo.com.

Back to society

Lesbian-themed novel ‘Sugar Run’ flawed but compelling It was right where you left it.

Nothing had been moved or altered.

Things had stayed the same and whatever you were looking for was right where you left it. That goes for keys, eyeglasses, coffee cup and, in the new book “Sugar Run” by Mesha Maren, it could also include a life.

She’d been told she’d spend decades behind bars.

But there she was, ready to leave after only 18 years inside Jaxton Prison, a ticket in her hand and four hundred dollars borrowed from her brothers. Jodi McCarty was going home to West Virginia.

But first, she had to find Ricky. He was in Georgia, and she had time.

Ricky was Paula’s brother — Paula being Jodi’s lover and the woman she killed — and it had always been Paula’s dream to get him far away from their abusive father. Jodi knew that that was something she had to do now, so she headed to Chaunceloraine before restarting her life on her grandmother’s farm.

And in her search for Ricky, Jodi found Miranda.

When Miranda left her husband, she really only wanted attention but she got a surprise instead: he took their three boys and left her with no money. She had no home either, so she was staying the run-down motel near where Jodi had landed. Half-drunk one night, she ended up in Jodi’s room and stayed.

Days before her first meeting with a parole officer in West Virginia, Jodi gathered Miranda and the boys she’d helped steal back and she headed home, having talked Ricky into leaving with her.

Jodi loved Miranda and the cabin where

she’d grown up was a good place to raise kids. It was in rough shape, but it was home.

But, as it turned out, it was someone else’s home: the land was sold for back taxes while Jodi was in prison, and frac sand miners were buying up the area. Jodi didn’t know what to do and, as the pressure to care for her makeshift little family grew, she realized that she didn’t know Ricky or Miranda very well, either.

With the slam of a door, “Sugar Run” starts out with a stunned shiver and it sprints.

Author Mesha Maren perfectly captures the surrealness of being snatched from an unwanted reality and hurled into one that doesn’t make sense. Even if you’ve only just driven past a prison, you’ll know the crush of it.

Back and forth the story goes, as we learn what happened when Jodi was just 17 years old. That’s a mandatory part of the tale and it’s also, sadly, the cause of some disorientation since things begin to unravel as it’s populated with more and more people. Readers are rewarded with a gauzy, delicate ending but the last dozen pages make it tough getting there.

And that’s too bad, since there’s more overall-positive things to say about this book than not. Try “Sugar Run,” linger, and you might love it but beware: you might also just as soon wish you’d left it.

‘Sugar Run: A Novel’

By Mesha Maren Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill $26.95 320 pages

F E B RUARY 15, 2019 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 33

2019 ConcertBand F R E E CO N C E R T!

Schlesinger Concert Hall | Alexandria, Virginia

euphonium virtuoso

David Childs

THURSDAY, FEB. 21 AT 8 P.M.

SAVE THE DATE! Thursday, Apr. 18, 2019 at 8 p.m. featuring Joe Lulloff, saxophone

for FREE tickets, please visit: www.usafband.eventbrite.com

ALISON LUFF as Nell in Folger Theatre’s production of Jessica Swale’s comedy Nell Gwynn.

Photo by Brittany Dilibrto; courtesy Folger

Lady of the stage

1660s-set comedy ‘Nell Gwynn’ is madcap backstage story

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

Nell Gwynn. The name is more than a theatrical history footnote. She was the longtime lover of a king and among the first women to stride the English stage.

It’s the 1660s. After a dozen years of Puritan rule, monarchy is restored. And under theater-loving King Charles II, London show biz is in full swing again. A part of that means allowing women, not just men, to play female characters. Pretty, witty Nell Gwynn is in the right place at the right time.

Her story (or close to it) is currently being told at Folger Theatre in Jessica Swale’s 2015 comedy with music, aptly titled “Nell Gwynn.”

After sumptuous crimson curtains part, we meet our lowborn heroine selling oranges, and sometimes herself, at King’s Theater. Feisty and good looking, she catches the eye of the company’s handsome leading man Charles Hart (Quinn Franzen).

Whether impelled by lust or interest in incipient talent, Hart deigns to teach Nell the fundamentals of hammy acting. She’s a natural: Luff’s Nell cries on command.

At Duke’s Theater (the competition), ticket sales skyrocket after a woman is cast in their latest offering. In response, King’s Theater’s seasoned manager Thomas Killigrew (Nigel Gore) pushes saucy Nell on the boards. Her propitious debut prompts Hart to exalt: “They’ve never seen anything like it. You were luminous. And you were real.

A real woman. … It changes everything.”

And indeed, it does. Never one to overlook a pretty woman, King Charles (a gloriously bewigged R.J. Foster) wastes no time in meeting Nell and makes her an offer she eventually cannot refuse.

And as her acting star rises, Nell demands dim, derivative resident playwright John Dryden (reliably funny Michael Glenn) write more significant parts for women.

As played by lovely Luff, it’s easy to see why both king and audience are smitten. There’s none of the confusion that surrounds Edward’s obsession with Mrs. Simpson, or another Charles’s attraction to the woman whom his first wife dubbed the rotteweiler, but I digress. Graceful with a flair for the ribald, Luff radiates warmth and intelligence.

Swale’s play, a big hit across the pond, is a double-barreled backstage story.

Madcap happenings and debate in the theater’s dressing room include former leading lady Edward Kynaston, played by local out actor Christopher Dinolfo, who rails against his relegation to playing female walk-ons, skimpy parts he endows with elaborate backstories. Also, on hand for Nell’s meteoric ascent are faithful costume mistress Nancy (Catherine Flye), Nell’s scrappy sister Rose (the excellent Caitlin Cisco) and happy-go-lucky young actor Ned Spigget (Alex Michell).

Meanwhile at court, King Charles, insatiable cocksman and circumspect politician, successfully juggles an angry Queen Catherine (Zoe Speas), ambitious mistress Lady Castlemaine (Regina Aquino) and scheming advisor Lord Arlington (Jeff Keogh). Unexpected visitors include Nell’s gin-soaked mother (again Flye) and a new French mistress (also Aquino). Despite the insanity, Nell finds love.

The humor is broad, bawdy and rife with innuendo. The King’s Theater acting troupe might have easily been played by the cast of British TV’s “Are You Being Served?” with a young Lulu guest starring as Nell.

Though some gags are interminably milked, it’s a mostly light but engaging work whose enjoyable score sets racy lyrics to catchy melodies.

Through the laughs, Swales portrays Nell as a groundbreaking player who helps define women’s role in theater. Director Robert Richmond’s able staging includes haunting sequences that reveal the other Nell — an artist with an inner life, enormously loyal and capable of falling in love.

‘Nell Gwynn’

Through March 10 Folger Theatre 201 E. Capitol St. SE $42-85 202-544-7077 folger.edu/theatre.org

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F EB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 19 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 35

‘We’re just getting very excited and everybody is really happy,’ says Jamie Leeds of the JL Restaurant Group about the new bar space.

Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

Hank’s Cocktail Bar moves to Dupont Circle

Former Petworth spot takes over upstairs space at Hank’s Oyster Bar

By JOEY DIGUGLIEMO JOEYD@WASHBLADE.COM

Hank’s Cocktail Bar is moving from Petworth where it was formerly located on Upshur Street, to the upstairs level of Hank’s Oyster Bar in Dupont Circle, the franchise’s original and “flagship” location at 1624 Q St., N.W. The JL Restaurant Group will unveil the relocation/redesign on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 17th and Q streets with what it’s calling a “boundary-pushing cocktail playground that serves guests seasonal, sustainable and thought-provoking drinks, many of which incorporate flavors found in the kitchen.”

Categories include We Reinvented the Remix (their spin on classic cocktails), “Beertails,” Size Matters (large and small offerings from shooters to shared drinks).

There will be about 40 selections on the menu including the Coca-Americano, Upshur Street Familia, We’re Having a Tea Party, Yam Thale, She Who Lives in a Shell and more.

“We’re just getting very excited and everybody is really happy,” says Jamie Leeds, the lesbian owner/founder of the JL Restaurant Group. “It’s an opportunity to make more use of that space and also get that concept more exposure and give the guest another level of quality of cocktail.”

Hank’s Cocktail Bar was open in Petworth about two years and closed in late 2018. Leeds says Petworth was “a great neighborhood, with great loyal

customers,” but says the concept deserved “a wider audience and we’ll be able to do that here in Dupont.”

Bar Program Manager Hunter Douglas and Ian White, staff at the former location, are coming to Dupont. There was previously a bar upstairs at Hank’s Dupont but the space has been renovated to resemble the Petworth location. Customers will be able to order hot dogs — the only food that was sold in Petworth — or off the regular Hank’s menu.

The new bar — previously known at Hank’s Dupont as simply the “up bar,” shares the floor with a private dining room, the Yacht Room, which is also getting a makeover with hightop tables, new lighting and what Leeds calls an overall “more cohesive” look. The upstairs space is about 1,000 square feet, part of Hank’s Dupont’s roughly 2,400 square feet total space. The bar will seat 30.

Leeds, a Chevy Chase, Md., resident and married mother of two, opened Hank’s Dupont (named after her father) — where her offices are located as well — in May, 2005. She also has locations in Capitol Hill, Old Town Alexandria and The Wharf.

There’s also a Hank’s Pasta Bar in Old Town.

From 2007-2009, she ran Commonwealth, a gastropub in Columbia Heights, a concept she says was a bit “ahead of its time.” She sold it 10 years ago. The Wharf location is by far the largest, a venture she says has been “fantastic.”

Leeds employs about 50-60 employees at Hank’s Dupont and about 300 total. She’s hesitant to guess how many of her staff are LGBT but says “it’s a good amount.” She doesn’t miss being in the kitchen herself.

“It’s a young person’s sport,” she says.

“I’ve done my time lifting pots and working 18 hours over a hot stove. It did that for many, many years. I don’t miss it but I enjoy getting into the kitchen once in awhile and coming up with new dishes with the chefs, talking ideas, shooting back and forth, I enjoy that.”

Hank’s Cocktail Bar will have happy hour specials Tuesday-Friday fro 4-7 p.m.

It’s open Tuesday-Thursday from 4 p.m.-1 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Full details at jlrestaurants.com.

36 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

Jacket: Aldons – 50375250 $575 Trousers: Hartleys – 50375293 $228

Full name: Ted Buckley Occupation: Public Affairs Favorite local restaurant: Guajillo (first date with Sam!) Favorite local bar/lounge: 18th & U Duplex Diner Favorite vacation spot: Can’t choose just one Favorite Charity: Capital Caring (Hospice) Favorite thing to do on a weekend: Hiking

Ted is wearing the latest items from the Spring 2019 collection.

Georgetown • 1517 Wisconsin Avenue NW • Washington, DC 20007 • 202.625.2677 Mention this editorial and receive a 20% discount on your regular price purchase only at HUGO BOSS Georgetown.

F EB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 19 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 37

Today’s cushy sport-utility vehicles, especially compact crossovers, are killing it in showroom sales. But with so many models to choose from, automakers are doing everything they can to offer SUVs with attitude. Here are three of the best.

HYUNDAI TUCSON ULTIMATE $34,000 MPG: 21 city/26 highway Zero-60 mph: 8.8 seconds

From top: HYUNDAI TUCSON ULTIMATE, JEEP CHEROKEE TRAILHAWK, MAZDA CX-5 GRAND TOURING

SUVs with attitude

Hyundai, Mazda, Jeep Cherokee offer spiffy ’19 models

By JOE PHILLIPS

Hyundai seems to have an inferiority complex, but in a good way. How else to explain why the compact Tuscon, already a stellar seller, would get a refresh so soon after undergoing a rad redesign less than three years ago?

Whatever the reason, the plucky look is more Katy Perry than Perry Ellis, with a flared grille, hypnotic-spiral wheels and wraparound headlights and taillights.

The interior, impressively quiet, now has better seats, a classy dash and easy-to-use touchscreen infotainment system. While there’s too much cheap plastic in the base model, the top-of-the-line Ultimate trim level feels rich.

It also boasts heated/ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel and even heated rear seats, as well as panoramic sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, upgraded Infinity stereo, wireless smartphone charging, and more. The backseats, by the way, can be reclined back to 18 different positions, which has to be some sort of first. All models have more standard safety devices, including forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist.

While the putt-putt engine in the $25,000 base model is underpowered, I found the up-level engine perfectly capable tootling around town. Unfortunately, fuel efficiency wasn’t as impressive. But despite the Tucson’s relatively few downsides, it’s hard to beat the price, abundant features and super-long powertrain warranty (10 years/100,000 miles).

MAZDA CX-5 GRAND TOURING $32,000 MPG: 24 city/30 highway Zero-60 mph: 8.7 seconds Mazda has never been a wallflower.

The scrappy automaker long ago carved out a natty niche, catering to drivers itching for less-mainstream fare: modish, affordable vehicles with austere interiors and sportster handling. The compact CX-5 is no exception, striking a pose somewhere between a Jaguar F-Pace and Volvo XC60 (two ritzy rides that cost a heckuva lot more).

While the $25,000 base model CX-5 is fine, it’s simply too bereft of creature comforts. A new top-tier Signature trim boasts all the bells and whistles — and a hefty $39,000 price tag to match. But the mid-level Grand Touring is just right: economical, with good gas mileage and a decent number of amenities.

This includes keyless entry/ignition, heated side mirrors, adaptive headlights, navigation system and satellite radio. An optional premium package adds a head-up display, power-folding mirrors, windshield wiper de-icer and more. All-wheel drive is available on any trim level for $1,400. I’ve always enjoyed how Mazdas handle the road with crisp steering and solid braking and the CX-5 doesn’t disappoint.

There’s plenty of grip on slick roads, and the suspension is firm but tush-friendly. Alas, cargo space is less than many competitors, and the infotainment system is a bit dated (at least it now offers smartphone capability).

But these quibbles are easy to overlook on such a rakish and reliable ride.

JEEP CHEROKEE TRAILHAWK $35,000 MPG: 20 city/26 highway Zero-60 mph: 7.6 seconds While luxe-leaning crossovers are becoming much more refined, Jeep wants the Cherokee to remain rugged. Sure, this compact hauler can be ordered with all the convenience and safety options of a fully loaded Hyundai Tucson or Mazda CX-5.

And the cabin is just as tony, if not more so.

But the Cherokee’s exterior styling is still cocky, despite a slew of shapely curves added this year. And then there’s the brawny Trailhawk, which looks downright menacing. This trim level boasts aggressive fenders and body cladding. Wheels and tires are extra wide. Tow hooks are blood red. And a dark hood, which reduces glare while driving, adds to the edgy appearance.

A standard V6 and optional fourcylinder turbo are both assertive but smooth. With skid plates and hill ascent/ descent controls, the Trailhawk can handle off-roading as well as a heppedup Wrangler. For anyone toting camping or athletic gear, the reversible rear-cargo floor has carpet on one side and easy-toclean rubber on the other.

The cargo area isn’t as large as expected, but rear-seat legroom is almost two inches more than the Grand Cherokee. If you don’t need to express your inner Wolverine, there are four other trendy trim levels. These range from the entry level Sport to the top-end Overland. They’re all fine, but the Trailhawk really sets my pulse racing.

38 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT MASON 2018/2019 SEASON

Virginia Opera

The Elixir of Love Saturday, February 16 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, February 17 at 2 p.m.

ff

Cirque Mechanics 42FT– A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels

Friday, February 22 at 8 p.m. ff This performance is also at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on Sat., Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. Information at HyltonCenter.org

EN AR JO TS Y A AT LL CF THE A!

Mark Morris Czech National Symphony Orchestra Dance Group 100 Years of Leonard Bernstein

with the MMDG Music Ensemble

John Mauceri, conductor

Friday, March 1 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 2 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, February 23 at 8 p.m.

Family Friendly performances that are most suitable for families with younger children

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Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway exit 54, at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123.

SPEAK WITH OUR PREPLANNING ADVISOR, JAMIE ARTHURS AT (202) 966-6400 OR EMAIL JAMIE.ARTHURS@DIGNITYMEMORIAL.COM ARIANA GRANDE is out with a new full-length album just six months after her last. ‘Thank U, Next’ is a stylistic inverse of her 2018 album ‘Sweetener.’

Image courtesy Republic

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‘Next’ from Ariana New album features Broadway, trap, pop, R&B and more

By THOM MURPHY

It’s hard to imagine someone more on top of music world than Ariana Grande right now.

It’s been less than six months since the release of “Sweetener,” which just won the Grammy for best pop vocal album of 2018, and Grande is already out with a follow-up. “Thank U, Next” is the fifth album from the 25-year-old singer and focuses on a darker side of her relationships.

The album’s release around Valentine’s Day is no doubt a strategic choice, but an interesting one at that. “Thank U, Next” is a breakup album and functions as the B-side of the more cheery “Sweetener.” The album cover art suggest as much, which, like “Sweetener” features an upside-down picture of Grande, but this time in black in lieu of pastels and platinum blonde.

In between the release of the two albums came Grande’s widely publicized break-up with SNL cast member Pete Davidson. But shortly after the split, Grande released the new album’s titular single, “Thank U, Next,” which became her first Billboard no. 1 single in the U.S. If we’ve learned anything from Taylor Swift, it’s that break-ups are an inexhaustible source of song material.

But Grande has none of Swift’s vengeful hyperbole. Instead, she treats her past relationships with playful sarcasm that nonetheless celebrates her independence.

ADVERTISING PROOF “Thank U, Next” does this in a clever way: ISSUE DATE: 03.20.15 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: PHIL ROCKSTROH (prockstroh@washblade.com) “Plus, I met someone else/We havin’ better discussions/I know they say I move on too REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of fast/But this one gon’ last/’Cause her name the date of proof.

Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts NS omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users GN is Ari/And I’m so good with that.” can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or EVISIONS any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any At this point the high quality of Grande’s copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair /LOGO REVISIONS competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, musical output is a given and “Thank U, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the ADVERTISER SIGNATURE SIONS washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred washington blade newspaper. This includes but isdoesn’t not limited to placement, Next” disappoint. But her ability to by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations payment and insertion schedule. and warranties.

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Truly.” But even if R&B carries the day, she still pulls from a variety of places, including Broadway show tunes and trap music.

“NASA” is another excellent track. It starts with a play on Neil Armstrong’s famous phrase, spoken by none other than drag performer and three-time “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Shangela: “One small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind.” And the song is full of clever wordplay. “Baby, you know time apart is beneficial/It’s like I’m the universe and you’ll be N-A-S-A” goes the pre-chorus, followed by the line “You know I’m a star; space, I’ma need space” in the chorus.

“Ghostin” begins with sweeping synth sounds, creating a spacy, ethereal effect. Like the rest of the album, the production value on this track is extraordinary. It’s too slow for radio, but is not to be overlooked. “Bloodline” is another great track and hearkens back to her sound on the 2016 album “Dangerous Woman.”

The video for the most recent single “Break up with your boyfriend, I’m bored” has gained attention for Grande’s almost kiss with the girlfriend of her love interest in the video. It’s a suggestive choice for an artist who is particularly admired in the gay community.

What’s missing from “Thank U, Next” are the big dance tracks that have featured prominently on her last three albums — “Into You,” “Break Free,” “One Last Time,” “Problem” and “no tears left to cry” all come to mind. The single “7 rings” perhaps comes closest. The tune is adapted from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things,” but with a trap-influenced twist. Like much new pop music, getting into it requires more than one listen but it quickly becomes a ruthless earworm. The song is innovative, but far from the best track on the album.

The album shines brightest on tracks like “Bloodline,” “Ghostin,” “NASA” and “Needy.” But it struggles to measure up to “My Everything” (2014) and “Dangerous Woman,” which have set an almost impossibly high bar. Nonetheless, it’s a great complement to “Sweetener” and has more than enough substance to keep us hooked until the next one.

40 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

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Most Eligible LGBT Singles The Washington Blade held a party for its 2019 Most Eligible LGBT Singles at Soundcheck for ‘Avalon Saturdays’ on Feb. 9.

Washington Blade photos by Michael Key

42 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

F EB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 19 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 43

“

I love wandering through Smithsonian museums, eating on H Street with friends, and going to shows at Howard Theatre.

I’m a transgender woman and I’m part of DC. Please treat me the way any woman would want to be treated: with courtesy and respect.

Discrimination based on gender identity and expression is illegal in the District of Columbia.

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OFFICE OF

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44 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • FEB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

Low-ball offer or full asking price?

Confused about how to make the right offer? Consult a good Realtor for best results.

Photo courtesy of Bigstock

Your Realtor knows the right strategy when making an offer

By JOSEPH HUDSON Today we are going to talk about some interesting negotiation techniques. When you work with a real estate agent to buy your home, you are building a team to work on your behalf and your financial interests in a real estate transaction. Sometimes your Realtor will advise you, given the

context of the home sale, to go in under asking and try to help you save money. But other times, your Realtor will advise you to give the seller what they are asking for, or even maybe go over the asking price.

But why? Well, there’s this little phenomenon called “competition” that makes buying a home, especially on a sunny day in the spring, fun.

Context is everything as they say, right?

If you want a home that’s 60 days on the market versus one that looks great and just went on the market, chances are you are going to have different approaches.

Knowing the context is what the Realtor can do for you. A good Realtor will understand this and will know where to direct you in these instances. A good

F EB R UARY 1 5 , 2 0 19 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 45

Realtor will also do investigations and their homework to try to find out what the seller’s motivations are. Are they looking for a quick sale? Are the terms as important as the sale price or even more?

A good Realtor will help you know what protections you need to include or waiver, but also coach and guide you to get a winning offer in. There is no need to be foolish with our money. But if you want something, as a popular shoe company says, “Just Do It.” Transactions have so many idiosyncrasies.

The personalities involved. The negotiation tactics used.

Sometimes the good intentions or emotions of one buyer or seller can carry more weight than gold. Additionally,

being a Realtor with a good reputation for being straightforward and honest, and not “playing games” can sometimes get the deal signed. People want to work with people they know they can trust and rely on. And that in itself has value, too.

Let me know how I can help you frame your best self with a winning offer. I will be hosting a homebuyer seminar at Nellie’s Sports Bar on U Street on Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. Sign up on Eventbrite if you would like to attend.

Joseph Hudson is a Realtor with The Oakley Group at Compass. Reach him at 703-587-0597 or Joseph.hudson@compass.com.

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