Washington Blade, Volume 54, Issue 19, May 12, 2023

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D.C. man convicted of assaulting gay man sentenced to 18 months

A D.C. Superior Court judge on Tuesday handed down a sentence of 18 months of incarceration for a man convicted of Assault with Significant Bodily Injury for fracturing the nose and breaking several teeth of a gay man while shouting anti-gay slurs during a May 2022 attack near Logan Circle.

Judge Lynn Leibovitz also sentenced the man charged in the case, D.C. resident Anthony Duncan, 42, to three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term and ordered him to pay a fine of $100 for the Victim of Violent Crime Compensation Act program.

Court records show Leibovitz gave Duncan until May 9, 2025, to pay the fine.

The sentencing took place two and a half months after a Superior Court jury on Feb. 27, at the conclusion of Duncan’s trial, found him guilty of the assault charge but not guilty of committing the assault as a hate crime based on the victim’s sexual orientation.

During the May 9 sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared English, the lead prosecutor in the case, pointed to charging documents alleging that the attack against the victim was unprovoked and was clearly linked to Duncan’s display of hatred toward the victim based on his perceived sexual orientation.

In a written sentencing memorandum that English filed in court, the prosecutor pointed out that under legal precedent, the judge could still take into consideration Duncan’s homophobic action in considering the sentence, even though a jury acquitted him on the charge of committing a hate crime.

An arrest affidavit filed by police and prosecutors at the time of Duncan’s arrest says the victim “was wearing a Stonewall Bocce shirt, which is a well-known LGBTQ sports league” at the time Duncan allegedly confronted him as the two men crossed paths while walking along 15th Street, N.W., at the intersection of V Street at about 4:50 p.m. on May 21, 2022.

Charging documents say Duncan allegedly punched the victim in the face and head, fracturing the victim’s nose in several places and breaking three of the victim’s teeth while shouting the words “fag” and “faggot.” He was taken by ambulance to a hospital for emergency

treatment, court records show.

Quo Mieko Judkins, Duncan’s attorney, argued during the sentencing hearing that Duncan became angry during the incident, which she says Duncan believes was a fight, when the victim allegedly touched himself in a way that Duncan interpreted as a provocation.

Police charging documents quote Duncan as claiming at the time of his arrest that the victim “grabbed his nuts at me,” which police interpreted to mean he accused the victim of making a sexual gesture toward him.

The charging documents say the victim strongly disputed that assertion, saying he attempted to walk away from Duncan after Duncan began calling him a “faggot” and punched him in the back of his head.

In a development that LGBTQ activists have said further confirmed Duncan’s hostile motive, the charging documents say Duncan used his phone to make a video recording of his assault of the victim, which police obtained and used as evidence. One of the charging documents says Duncan can be heard on the recording yelling the word “fag” as he assaulted the victim.

Judkins asked Leibovitz to hand down a sentence that did not include incarceration or a sentence of 180 days at most. She said Duncan had a troubled childhood that led to some earlier convictions, as English pointed out, but that since the time of his arrest in this case he has started his own business with a working website. He is productive in his community, Judkins said.

“The defendant was offended by a gesture of the complainant,” Judkins told the judge. “This was not completely unprovoked,” she said. “There was something that set this off. I’m not saying this was right,” Judkins argued.

Leibovitz disputed that argument before handing down her sentence. She said it was “not reasonable” for Duncan to have punched the victim with a metal object in his hand, referring to charging documents that said Duncan was holding a metal object at the time of the attack.

“He made angry, homophobic statements,” Leibovitz said, adding that the victim may have adjusted his pants in the area of his private parts, but that did not justify Duncan committing an assault.

“This was unprovoked,” Leibovitz said.

Duncan had been released pending his trial and sentencing shortly after the time he was arrested.

Immediately after Leibovitz handed down her sentence of 18 months incarceration at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, two U.S. Marshals placed Duncan in handcuffs and escorted him out of the courtroom as his sentence was to begin at that time.

Before handing down her sentence, Leibovitz said she had read a community impact statement submitted by the victim, who did not attend the sentencing hearing, and an impact statement by at least one LGBTQ organization, the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commissions’ Rainbow Caucus, which consists of LGBTQ ANC commissioners.

“The effect this case has had on the LGBT community in the District of Columbia cannot be understated — rising violence scares all Washingtonians, but attacks against LGBT individuals scares other LGBT people even more so,” the Rainbow Caucus impact statement says.

“In this particular case, the assailant recorded his crime for future purposes — including possibly celebrating it publicly and taunting and terrorizing other gay people,” the statement continues.

“Your Honor, calling someone homophobic slurs is one thing and it is something that all LGBT individuals experience,” the statement says, adding that going on to break the victim’s nose and three of his teeth “takes this crime to an entirely new and terrifying level for our community.”

It calls on Leibovitz to “take the fears of the broader LGBT community into account in sentencing and acknowledging this attack’s impact not just on the victim, but on his entire community.”

Vogel announces run for Congress from Md.

Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) on Monday announced he is running for Congress.

“We need a new generation of leaders in Washington who understand exactly what’s at stake in this moment,” said the Montgomery County Democrat in his campaign announcement. “We just can’t wait to end gun violence, secure our rights, protect our democracy and save our planet.”

Vogel, 26, was born in Uruguay.

The gay Democrat has represented District 17 in the Maryland House of Delegates in January. Vogel would represent Maryland’s 6th Congressional District if he were to win election in 2024.

Democratic Congressman David Trone, who currently represents the district, last week announced he is running for retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)’s seat.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Maryland state Del. JOE VOGEL (D-Montgomery County) at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch in D.C. on April 23. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

(Bigstock photo)

Dramatic increase in LGBTQ-supportive companies on Nasdaq: report Out Leadership survey shows 50% have inclusive board policies

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

A gay-owned organization called Out Leadership that advises corporations in the U.S. and abroad on how to adopt LGBTQ-supportive policies has released a report showing that the number of companies trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market that have adopted such policies for their boards of directors increased 1,556 percent from 2022 to 2023.

The actual number of companies trading on the Nasdaq that have adopted LGBTQ-supportive policies for their boards increased from 113 in 2022 to 1,871 in 2023, which the report describes as “astonishing.”

Todd Sears, founder and CEO of Out Leadership, called the report “a clear indicator that executives are responding to the opportunity to expand the diversity of their boards, and fully embracing the power of inclusion to fuel their companies’ success in today’s marketplace.”

In a statement released at the time the report was released on April 19, Sears added, “We’re proud to share today’s global report, which shows that for the first time in history, over half of all Nasdaq companies have adopted board diversity policies – and done so at a record-breaking pace.”

He concluded by saying, “We look forward to working with the other exchanges and companies around the world to continue this exciting momentum.”

An announcement by Out Leadership, which Sears launched in 2010, says the report showing the dramatic increase in LGBTQ supportive corporate board policies was its third annual report on this subject, called “LGBTQ+ Board Diversity: Progress & Possibility.” The announcement says the report was prepared by one of Out Leadership’s projects called OutQUORUM.

The report includes these findings:

• 50% of Nasdaq companies now have LGBTQ-inclusive board policies – a record-shattering 1,556% increase in one year (113 in 2022, compared to 1,871 in 2023).

• 61% of Nasdaq companies now have gender-inclusive board diversity policies, a 206% increase since 2022 (750 in 2022 compared to 2,298 in 2023).

• 59% (2,197) of Nasdaq companies now have inclu-

sive board policies based on race, a 318% increase since 2022 (526).

• The 2023 OutQUORUM report also shares for the first time data on LGBTQ board inclusion across the global stock exchanges of the FTSE, the ASX, and the Hang Seng.

Sears told the Washington Blade that corporate boards are important because the CEO of a company reports to the company’s board.

“They are responsible for the governance of the company itself,” he said. “They cannot do day-to-day hiring decisions,” he told the Blade. “But they are responsible for setting the strategy for the company and holding the CEO and the CEO’s leadership team accountable for the success of the company.”

He said his Out Leadership company is known as a Certified B corporation. The company’s website provides details of what it does, including projects it pursues in other countries as well as in the U.S.

“A global LGBT+ business advocacy membership company advocating LGBT+ equality by creating positive economic and societal impact through the power of business,” the Out Leadership website describes its mission as including.

“Our network of nearly 70 multinational companies and 450+ CEOs entrust us to leverage their platforms for social change while working alongside policymakers to publicly advocate for LGBT+ equality in order to positively impact the economy and their bottom lines, employees, customers, partners, and community,” it says.

Sears said many of Out Leadership’s 98 member companies, including Wal-Mart, Microsoft, IBM, and Coca-Cola, are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, which is the world’s largest stock exchange. He noted that Nasdaq follows closely behind the New York Stock Exchange as the second largest stock exchange.

But Sears said Out Leadership has not yet had any official interactions with the New York Stock Exchange itself.

“As it relates to board diversity requirements, in contrast to the Nasdaq new rules, the NYSE has taken an approach that ‘advocates diversity’ without either suggesting new disclosure requirements or recommending diversity goals,”

Sears told the Blade in a statement.

“It is worth noting that nowhere in NYSE’s public discussions about diversity is LGBTQ mentioned or included in any definition,” he said. “They only speak about diversity in vague terms of gender and ‘diversity,’” Sears said.

Sears has been credited with being among the first to emerge from within the corporate world to advocate fulltime for LGBTQ supportive policies among businesses large and small.

He describes himself as a “recovering banker” and a “bit of a serial entrepreneur” who started his career in the investment banking industry in 1996 as an analyst in New York with Schroders, the British multinational asset management company.

From there, according to his LinkedIn page, he served from 1999 to 2001 as vice president of business development for DeSilva & Phillips, an investment bank focusing on media, technology, and marketing industries, before joining Merrill Lynch, the internationally known investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America, where he became Head of Strategic Initiatives at the firm’s Office of Diversity during his close to seven years there.

Finally, before launching Out Leadership, Sears served just over two years with Credit Suisse, a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland with offices in major financial centers around the world, including in New York City.

Sears makes no apologies for launching Out Leadership as a for-profit corporation with a business model of advocating for LGBTQ equality in business and beyond. He notes that, among other things, Out Leadership helped arrange for 65 business leaders to speak out against a proposed anti-LGBTQ law in North Carolina five years ago and helped line up 60 Wall Street banks to sign an amicus court brief in support of the Obergefell marriage equality case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“My philosophy is every place in the world these companies do business, LGBT people should be protected, respected, and legal,” Sears told the Blade. “We are still illegal in 67 countries. But in all of those countries our companies do business,” he said.

“And so, the goal of our leadership is to use that kind of power that these companies have to roll back all 67 sodomy laws around the world as well as all the anti-trans laws obviously that we’re seeing here in the U.S.,” he said. “The idea is that the economic power that these companies have is in my opinion how we will also win equality.”

Justice Department charges George Santos

Federal prosecutors have charged U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) with criminal violations of federal statutes.

Originally reported by CNN on Tuesday, the exact nature of the charges couldn’t immediately be learned but the FBI and the Justice Department’s public integrity prosecutors in New York and D.C. have been examining allegations of false statements in Santos’s campaign finance filings and other claims.

CNN also reported that the congressman’s attorney declined to comment. Spokespeople for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, the Justice Department and the FBI also declined to comment.

Santos was expected to appear as soon as Wednes-

day at the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., where the charges have been filed under seal.

Santos has been under fire for months after a series of exposés revealed the congressman has lied about virtually every aspect of his biography. Additionally, a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center alleges a wide scope of campaign finance law violations by the gay freshman lawmaker and his 2022 campaign committee, Devolder-Santos for Congress.

Allegations of campaign financial malfeasance are thought to have triggered the federal probe by the U.S.

Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI’s New York Field Office.

The U.S. House Ethics Committee announced in March that it had voted unanimously to open an investigation of Santos over the allegations of financial and an incident of sexual misconduct.

The subcommittee’s inquiry will evaluate whether the embattled congressman’s required financial disclosures as a candidate contained illegal omissions or conflicts of interest, as well as an allegation by an applicant to his congressional office that Santos made unwanted sexual advances toward him.

BRODY LEVESQUE

TODD SEARS (Photo courtesy of Sears)

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EXCLUSIVE: 200+ community centers issue letter denouncing state anti-LGBTQ bills

Details ‘tidal wave’ of legislation, threats, and harassment

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

At least 222 LGBTQ community centers and groups aligned with them across the country have issued a joint letter denouncing the record number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures this year.

The one-page letter was prepared by CenterLink, the national coalition of LGBTQ community centers, which says the nation’s LGBTQ centers collectively serve more than 51,800 people each week or nearly 2.7 million people each year.

“We, the undersigned centers, denounce the tidal wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation that lawmakers are hurling at our community,” the letter says. “We continue to stand united as safe havens for LGBTQ people and as pillars against hate and discrimination,” the letter continues. “We will not relent until these attacks stop and LGBTQ people are treated fairly and equally under the law.”

Denise Spivak, CenterLink’s CEO, told the Washington Blade the letter on Tuesday morning, May 9, was being sent to the White House, several federal government agencies, and the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus in Congress.

Spivak said CenterLink would not immediately send copies of the letter to state lawmakers who have been supporting the anti-LGBTQ legislation.

“But we will be posting it publicly and we will be providing it to all of our centers,” she said. “They’ll have a copy of the letter to post as well and to send to those that they feel it makes sense to send to locally and regionally.”

Among the D.C. groups that signed on to the letter are Rainbow Families and SMYAL, which represents LGBTQ youth and operates group homes for homeless LGBTQ

youth.

Also signing the letter were CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community center in Rehoboth Beach, Del.; the Delmarva Pride Center in Easton, Md.; the Roanoke Diversity Center in Roanoke, Va.; the Shenandoah LGBTQ Center in Staunton, Va.; and Us Giving Richmond Connections, a Richmond, Va.-based group that has organized Black LGBTQ Pride events.

The D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, the largest LGBTQ community center in the D.C. metro area, did not sign on to the letter as of Monday, May 8. A spokesperson for the D.C. Center couldn’t immediately be reached.

Spivak said CenterLink is leaving the letter open for signing by LGBTQ centers that have not done so as of Tuesday, May 9, when the letter was scheduled to be officially released.

“We had two that just came in this morning,” she said in referring to Monday, May 8. “So, even those who you don’t see on there doesn’t mean they won’t or that they don’t support the spirit of the letter,” she said. “It’s just that they have not yet signed on.”

The letter points out that state lawmakers have introduced more anti-LGBTQ legislation this year than in the previous five years combined.

“With 470 anti-LGBTQ bills on state dockets, and 362 of them specifically attacking the transgender community, LGBTQ people are literally fighting for their lives,” the letter says.

“These bills enforce discriminatory bathroom bans, censor drag shows or even make them illegal, stop trans-

gender students from participating in sporting activities at school, force teachers to out students, eliminate school curriculum around LGBTQ and racial issues, attempt to allow states to put restrictions on same-sex marriages, erase LGBTQ people from schools and public life, and prevent transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care or even force them to de-transition,” the letter states.

“And despite almost three quarters of centers having experienced anti-LGBTQ threats or harassment over the past two years, the community of LGBTQ centers has remained stalwart in their missions,” according to the letter.

Spivak said many of the LGBTQ centers serve as the lead organizer of LGBTQ Pride events in their area, and most if not all of the centers provide support for Pride-related events. She said she was not aware of any specific threats targeting Pride events this year but said she believes organizers of those events, including LGBTQ centers, would be arranging for appropriate security measures.

Among other things, the CenterLink letter calls on members of the LGBTQ community and allies to find the local LGBTQ community center near them and support its services by volunteering or making a donation.

It concludes by adding, “Make sure you’re registered, then when the time comes, vote for lawmakers who support equality for all Americans.”

The CenterLink letter and the list of the LGBTQ community centers that signed on can be accessed at CenterLink’s website.

Jury deadlocked in trial of National Black Justice Coalition

CEO Sharon Lettman-Hicks faces conspiracy, fraud charges

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

A trial that began on April 17 in a federal court in Tallahassee, Fla., for Sharon Lettman-Hicks, the CEO and board chair of the D.C.-based LGBTQ group National Black Justice Coalition, ended in a mistrial on Thursday after a jury became deadlocked and could not render a verdict on 19 specific charges.

But the jury handed down a verdict of not guilty on one of the 19 charges against former Tallahassee mayor and unsuccessful Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum who was on trial together with Lettman-Hicks. The jury acquitted Gillum on a single charge of providing false statements to the FBI.

Federal prosecutors announced they plan to bring Lettman-Hicks and Gillum up for another trial on multiple charges where the jury was unable to render a verdict.

The trial began about 10 months after a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Florida on June 7, 2022, handed down an indictment charging both Gillum and Lettman-Hicks, who served as a campaign adviser to Gillum, with conspiracy and multiple counts of fraud.

The indictment alleged that Lettman-Hicks and Gil-

lum engaged in an illegal political corruption scheme that began in 2015. It says Lettman-Hicks allegedly helped Gillum improperly funnel money solicited from FBI agents posing as real estate developers with a promise of providing something “very significant in return” for Gillum’s support for the developers in his role at the time as mayor of Tallahassee.

The indictment made it clear that Gillum and Lettman-Hicks became ensnared in an FBI sting operation that prosecutors said was part of an investigation into what they claimed was ongoing corruption in local government. Prosecutors alleged that much of the money Gillum received from the FBI sting operation went for his personal use through a company Lettman-Hicks operated called P&P Communications.

The indictment charged both Gillum and Lettman-Hicks with 19 counts of wire fraud and one count of attempt and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Lettman-Hicks has called the charges against her “baseless” and politically motivated. At the time she was indicted, Lettman-Hicks was running as a Democratic

candidate for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives. She withdrew her candidacy, saying, “I must now focus on fighting for my continued freedom.”

A news report this week by the television station WTXL in Tallahassee quoted Lettman-Hicks saying the final week of the trial and much of the trial focused on Count 1, the false statement charge, for which the jury found Gillum not guilty.

“As far as I’m concerned, they realized two through 19 were bogus,” the TV station quoted her as saying. “Hopefully we can get our lives back, when the government decides to stop wasting its money, our money, our tax dollars…on a false positive,” she was quoted as saying.

The National Black Justice Coalition describes itself on its website as a “civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGA) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS.”

At the time the indictments were handed down the NBJC website listed Lettman-Hicks as the organization’s CEO and board chair. It listed and continues at this time to identify David Johns as the organization’s executive director, who runs the organization’s day-to-day operations out of its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A spokesperson for the NBJC couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether Lettman-Hicks is still serving as the NBJC’s CEO and board chair.

SHARON LETTMAN-HICKS (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Incoming AMA president: ‘We will not stand’ for anti-trans healthcare restrictions

Organization will use ‘every avenue available’ to push back

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

Doctor Jesse Ehrenfeld sat down with the Washington Blade on Tuesday, weeks ahead of the start of his tenure as the American Medical Association’s first openly gay president and amid an onslaught of legislative attacks targeting trans Americans’ access to healthcare.

“We see the attack on reproductive care, reproductive access, and transgender healthcare as a continuum of government overreach into patient-physician decision making,” Ehrenfeld said.

“We simply will not stand for the government coming in to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship,” such as by passing these laws that “outlaw what we know to be appropriate, evidence-based clinical guidelines-based care,” he said.

An anesthesiologist who serves as the Joseph A. Johnson Jr. Distinguished Leadership Professor of anesthesiology, surgery, biomedical informatics & health policy at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine, much of Ehrenfeld’s professional background has been focused on matters of healthcare access, particularly for LGBTQ patients.

like to state unequivocally that there is no medically valid reason—including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria—to exclude transgender individuals from military service.”

Last year, far-right anti-trans pundit Matt Walsh targeted Vanderbilt’s Transgender Health Clinic on his podcast, leading conservative lawmakers in Tennessee to call for investigations of the institution based on information the university claims was “misrepresented” or taken out of context.

“

It’s deeply personal for me,” Ehrenfeld said. “Almost everybody that I helped recruit and hire at Vanderbilt, their personal information was shared online. Their names were on TV. And that has had a chilling effect [both] there and in many places across the country, as there have been attempts to intimidate and threaten practitioners who are providing what we know is evidence based appropriate care.”

A big moment for Ehrenfeld and the AMA

Ehrenfeld will be inaugurated as AMA president on June 13, midway through Pride month. It will be an exciting time, he said. “ The AMA will have our first contingent walking in the Chicago Pride Parade…so, my husband and the family and the kids will all be there with a bunch of AMA colleagues celebrating at the end of June.”

“It’s an exciting moment for the organization, but I think also for the community for a bunch of reasons,” Ehrenfeld said. “One is, you know, to be an out person in a very visible role, I think sends a message to patients in the community as well as LGBTQ physicians and other healthcare workers, that their needs are being heard in a way that hasn’t always happened,” notwithstanding “challenges that are happening in many places on the legislative level.”

Six states have passed laws criminalizing certain healthcare interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria, which carry the specter of felony charges for healthcare providers. These, Ehrenfeld said, are the most “heartbreaking” for him personally.

Survey data says one in five physicians is experiencing signs of burnout, with an increase beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic, Ehrenfeld said. “That burnout is only exacerbated when you find yourself practicing in a place where a law is passed that tells you how to practice or [tells you] that you can’t practice.”

“That causes moral injury to a physician who finds an untenable choice: provide the care that they know is in the patient’s best interests, or break the law and [potentially] go to jail,” Ehrenfeld said. “And that stress is real. There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t hear from a colleague who says I can’t take it anymore.”

Ehrenfeld directs a $560 million philanthropic organization, Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment, while also serving as a consultant for the World Health Organization’s Digital Health Technical Advisory Group. He was special adviser to former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who served during the Trump administration.

For his research on “understanding how can we use technology to work better for LGBTQ people,” in 2018 Ehrenfeld became the inaugural recipient of the NIH’s Sexual and Gender Minority Research Investigator Award.

He and his team did much of the work for that project at Vanderbilt’s Program for LGBTQ Health, which he co-founded and led for several years “before I took on my current clinical role in Wisconsin.”

“At the end of the day,” Ehrenfeld said, “we’re really about improving access to health care for LGBTQ people, which is a lot of the work that I have been involved in at the AMA and is a core piece of what we’re trying to do nationally through our policy activities.”

In testimony before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee in 2019, Ehrenfeld told lawmakers: “I would

On a personal level, he said, “growing up, I didn’t have a lot of LGBTQ role models in college and medical school who I saw as defining a career pathway for me.” This meant “I would often question, ‘would I have a role? Was there a place for me as an out person in medicine, in leadership, doing policy work, trying to make the community healthier and improve access to health care?’”

Ehrenfeld said his leadership of the AMA marks an “important moment ” in the organization’s history, demonstrating what is now possible for LGBTQ people who historically were denied these types of opportunities.

“The AMA opposes any policy “that creates a barrier between a patient and their doctor making a decision that’s in the patient’s best interests,” Ehrenfeld said, which includes “efforts to ban care for transgender people” at the state and federal level. “We stand for the science, the evidence, [and] the clinical guidelines that we know lead to better outcomes for patients.”

Even beyond healthcare restrictions that are passed legislatively, “we have a lot of backseat drivers trying to tell doctors what to do,” Ehrenfeld said, like “insurance companies who put up barriers around prior authorization for getting approval for care and services.”

“Those things are real and they cause people to give up trying to get the care they need,” he said.

Beyond impacts felt by individual healthcare workers, “we’ve seen a drop in the number of physicians who are applying for training positions in states where care is being restricted,” he said. “When, suddenly, you don’t have specialists and internists and primary care providers working in a state, that impacts care for everybody.”

Anti-trans legislative restrictions on healthcare are increasingly targeting adults, too. Florida’s S.B. 254, which would allow the state to take children away from parents who facilitate their access to best-practices treatments for gender dysphoria, would also bar all Floridians from accessing gender affirming care via telehealth, or that which is administered by nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants.

“Telehealth is particularly important for a lot of LGBTQ people because of access distance challenges and the need to seek care in places that often is not immediately local,” Ehrenfeld said.

“There’s this cascading effect of, unfortunately reducing access to care that’s very concerning to me and to the AMA,” he said.

When laws proscribe healthcare interventions that “ we know to be appropriate,” Ehrenfeld said, “ we use every avenue available” – from pressuring the National Governors Association to filing lawsuits and amicus briefs in coordination with other stakeholders as well as “work on the policy side at the federal level and with our state partners.”

Incoming American Medical Association JESSE EHRENFELD at the AMA’s Washington, D.C. office (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Will King Charles III address LGBTQ rights?

In a solemn ceremony dating back to the Dec. 25, 1066, when William the Conqueror was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, and 70 years after his mother was crowned monarch on June 2, 1953, Charles III was anointed king by the Archbishop of Canterbury last Saturday.

The king’s coronation included investiture of his wife Camilla as queen consort. The ceremony is principally a religious recognition as the Archbishop of Canterbury, surrounded by the high-ranking principals of other religious orders placed St. Edward’s Crown upon Charles’ head after first giving him the other two symbols of the monarchy, the Orb, which represents the world under Christ, and the Sovereign’s Ring, symbolizing the marriage of a monarch to his people. Charles wore the Coronation Glove and held the Scepter with Cross, a symbol of earthly power, in his right hand.

Coronation Day began with the King’s Procession in which the king and Queen Consort Camilla traveled from Buckingham Palace to the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach, which has been used at every coronation since William IV’s in 1831.

Leaving Buckingham Palace, accompanied by the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, the route took the royals past a guard of honor, comprising about 160 members of the three armed services. The 1.42 mile route was also flanked by 1,000 members of the military from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Upon return to the palace under cloudy grey rainy skies the king and the royal family gathered on the balcony to greet the thousands of well-wishers gathered along the Mall. Of note, only members of the working royals were on the balcony with Prince Harry and the king’s brother, Prince Andrew, noticeably absent.

Dignitaries from around the world including world leaders had gathered for the coronation. The U.S. delegation was led by first lady Jill Biden, and in a tweet the president noted: “Congratulations to King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their coronation. The enduring friendship between the U.S. and the U.K. is a source of strength for both our peoples. I am proud the first lady is representing the United States for this historic occasion.”

Of interest to the LGBTQ community will be the new king’s stance on the issues that impact the community. PinkNewsUK reported that Queen Elizabeth’s 70-year reign saw

transformative changes in the U.K., including major laws that advanced LGBTQ rights including the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act in 2014.

However, the late queen avoided commenting publicly on LGBTQ rights. She kept herself out of social and political issues, and it seems that LGBTQ rights, even in the 21st century, were considered just that.

wealth.

“Things don’t happen overnight. You can’t change a culture and people’s way of thinking over night. But you can certainly step in the water and have a good go. If you don’t step in the water, nothing’s ever going to get done,” John said in 2018, the Gay Times reported.

“I think Prince Charles, when he is made head of the Commonwealth, will do those kind of things.”

Homophobia is one of the many lingering legacies of the British Empire that carried over into the Commonwealth of Nations headed first by Elizabeth and now by her eldest son.

Emma Eastwood, head of strategic communications for Human Dignity Trust, an organization that works with local activists to overturn laws criminalizing LGBTQ people around the world told PinkNewsUK in a May 2 interview: “Around the world LGBT people are outlawed by legislation criminalizing same-sex sexual activity and through so-called ‘cross dressing’ laws and public order offences, which disproportionately affect trans people,” said Eastwood.

“Many of these laws remain virtually unchanged since they were first introduced in 19th century. The British Empire first tested modern forms of criminalization in its colonies, in India and Australia for example, before introducing them in the U.K. itself,” she explained.

LGBTQ rights advocates in the U.K. and in the Commonwealth of Nations that the king will now head are waiting to see if the he will more vocal about LGBTQ rights. PinkNewsUK noted that Charles has largely followed in Queen Elizabeth’s footsteps, and there is no record of him speaking on LGBTQ rights.

For the U.K.’s transgender community, especially in Scotland, which passed an updated Gender Recognition Law only to have it blocked by the conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, barring it being signed into law by the king in the process known as “royal assent,” the king remaining silent has become problematic according to LGBTQ rights advocates and organizations.

Elton John has previously vouched for Charles, expressing his confidence that the king would use his influence to decriminalize homosexuality in all Commonwealth states. Same-sex relations remain illegal in many countries once colonized by Britain — many of which now form the Common-

Throughout Elizabeth’s reign, as the British Empire gradually fell away and was replaced by the Commonwealth, many of those former British colonies — now independent countries, have begun working to recant anti-LGBTQ laws.

While some, such as the example of India where samesex marriage is now being argued before the country’s high court, and in Uganda where a draconian law was passed to essentially imprison LGBTQ people and in neighboring Kenya expel LGBTQ- refugees, there have also been advances. Recently the premier of Australia’s Victoria state castigated anti-LGBTQ groups and in New Zealand lawmakers recently banned so-called conversion therapy and recognized self-identity for trans New Zealanders.

“LGBTQ+ rights across the Commonwealth are changing rapidly, though unevenly,” Eastwood says.

“While a number of countries have recently de-criminalised homosexuality, others, such as Uganda, have introduced legislation to enhance existing laws,” she noted.

BRODY LEVESQUE AND PinkNewsUK

Former Brazilian congressman, husband of Greenwald, dies

Former Brazilian Congressman David Miranda died in a Rio de Janeiro hospital on Tuesday.

Media reports indicate Miranda, 37, had been in the intensive care unit for nine months with a gastrointestinal infection. His husband, journalist Glenn Greenwald, announced Miranda’s death on his Twitter page.

“His death, early this morning, came after a 9-month battle in ICU,” tweeted Greenwald. “He died in full peace, surrounded by our children and family and friends.”

Miranda, who would have turned 38 on Wednesday, was born in Rio’s Jacarezinho favela.

Greenwald on his Twitter account noted Miranda’s neighbor adopted him after his mother died when he was 5.

“That gave David the chance to live his full potential in a

society that often suffocates it,” said Greenwald. “He was key to the (Edward) Snowden story, became the first gay man elected to Rio’s City Council, then federal Congress at 32. He inspired so many with his biography, passion and force of life.”

Miranda and Greenwald met on a Rio beach in 2005. The two men in 2017 adopted two brothers.

Miranda in 2016 won a seat on the Rio Muncipal Council. His friend, bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were assassinated on March 14, 2018, in the city’s Lapa neighborhood.

Miranda in 2019 succeeded Jean Wyllys, who is openly gay, after death threats prompted him to resign from Congress and flee Brazil. Miranda last year announced he would not seek re-election.

“My condolences to Glenn Greenwald and relatives for

the loss of David Miranda,” tweeted Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. “[He was] a young man with an extraordinary trajectory who left too soon.”

Michelle Seixas, the national political coordinator of Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas (Brazilian Articulation of Lesbians), a group that advocates on behalf of lesbians in Brazil, told the Washington Blade that Miranda’s death is “still hard to believe.” Other Brazilian activists, advocacy groups and politicians also mourned the late-congressman.

“I just received the sad news of the death of colleague David Miranda, a former federal congressman for the PSOL (Socialism and Liberty Party) and LGBT activist,” said Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a transgender woman who represents São Paulo. “My love and solidarity with your family and friends. Rest in peace, David!”

Gui Mohallem, co-founder and director of VoteLGBT, a group that seeks to increase the number of LGBTQ and intersex people in Brazilian politics, also mourned Miranda.

“It’s a great, great, great loss,” Mohallem told the Blade on Tuesday.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Former Brazilian Congressman DAVID MIRANDA (Photo via Twitter)

KING CHARLES III is crowned as British monarch at Westminster Abbey. (Screenshot/YouTube NBC News)

KEVIN NAFF

is editor of the Washington Blade. Reach him at knaff@washblade.com

Fears for Pride season amid rising attacks against

LGBTQ community

A frightening year of mass shootings, legislative assaults

The mass shooting in Colorado Springs last November that killed five people inside an LGBTQ nightclub served as a tragic reminder that the hate directed at our community can have deadly consequences.

In the wake of the killings, anti-LGBTQ right-wing figures celebrated on social media and advocated for copycat attacks, prompting bar owners around the country to step up security.

Instead of inspiring lawmakers to pass pro-LGBTQ measures, the shooting turned out to be a precursor to an unprecedented slew of legislative attacks, with more than 450 bills introduced targeting trans healthcare, drag shows, and affirming library books in state houses around the country.

This legislative assault on our equality has consequences beyond restricting the rights of queer people in those states. I recently heard from a mother in progressive, blue Maryland who said her trans daughter wants to sleep with a gun under her pillow because she fears a physical attack despite living in a supportive home.

As state legislatures finally wind down for the year, the ACLU reports that 15 states introduced more than 10 bills each targeting the community.

For trans people, the prospect of having to flee their home states “doesn’t feel theoretical anymore,” Ari Drennen, LGBTQ program director for Media Matters for America, told the Blade last week. “And it’s hard to not be alarmed about the direction that this is all heading,” she said.

The Blade has also been on the receiving end of recent attacks and threats. A few weeks back, I wrote an op-ed criticizing Fox News for its homophobic smear of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Immediately after it was published, I began receiving the usual hate mail filled with anti-gay slurs. But then things escalated. The Blade’s website was hacked and taken down for several hours. The next day, the Blade’s phone system was hacked. Later, we received an email that contained a threat against gay people, which we reported to the D.C. police. Hacker attacks on the Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade websites have since exploded, resulting in down time and resources spent to restore service and upgrade security.

All of these coordinated, well-funded attacks on LGBTQ equality are culminating just as our community prepares to celebrate Pride month in a few weeks. And it all comes amid the backdrop of a frightening rise in mass shootings, the latest claiming eight lives this weekend at a shopping mall in Texas. As of Monday, we have seen 202 mass shootings in 2023; more than 6,000 Americans have been killed so far this year in homicides, murders, or unintentional shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Those numbers will be higher by week’s end.

As Pride season arrives, community leaders must work with local police and other law enforcement officials to take sensible steps to protect our celebrations. Activists have rightly questioned the presence of uniformed police at some events, but we must explore all avenues to protect ourselves from these growing threats.

In the meantime, elected officials — mostly Republicans — must reconsider their anti-LGBTQ invective. Their legislative attacks and transphobic propaganda endanger lives and frighten queer youth, exposing them to discrimination and violence.

And if you think these attacks on queer youth are only happening in far-flung places in the rural South, think again. I spent Saturday at the Howard County Rainbow Conference in suburban Maryland, where queer youth and their parents attended book readings, enjoyed outdoor activities, and explored an exhibition hall filled with supportive resources from area non-profits. Just beneath the festive atmosphere, many parents I spoke with expressed fear for their children’s futures. One teacher reminded me that in neighboring Carroll County, officials have banned the display of Pride flags on school property. Right-wing figures disguised as “concerned moms” are infiltrating local school boards in counties all over the country, pushing ever more restrictive policies targeting our youth.

So let’s use Pride month to celebrate our progress, but also to commit to another generational fight to preserve and expand on those wins and to counter all the dangerous attacks from our enemies.

The Department of

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

D.C. Council needs to start getting it right

Members should support mayor’s ‘Comeback Plan’

The D.C. Council needs to start getting things right and they aren’t doing that at the moment. They should immediately get on board with asking the federal government for the 191 acres at RFK stadium. They need to wake up to reality about what is needed to bring D.C. fully back after the pandemic. That includes projects to ensure a future tax base to support all the things they claim they would like to do.

This week the Washington Commanders have said they are supporting efforts by the District of Columbia to get control of the RFK Stadium site. “A team spokesperson said Thursday that officials are communicating with stakeholders at the federal and local levels about the RFK site.” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) confirmed they are lobbying to get it for the District. There are two points the mayor and many of the Council members can agree on: one is when Dan Snyder sells the team, which he is doing, the team would be welcome back in D.C. The second is D.C. will not pay for a new stadium. I agree with both points. If met, owning the site and having the team in D.C., would be a big positive. There could be new housing, including affordable housing; a great new recreation center; open spaces, and more. After all, this is 191 acres of prime land.

The intransigence of the D.C. Council on this issue is unacceptable. Unfortunately, it is how they are handling so many issues these days. They are proposing, and fighting for things, that make no sense at all and nixing projects that could help to rebuild D.C.’s downtown. The reality we face in D.C. is money is drying up. Downtown commercial buildings are empty producing no property taxes, and small businesses downtown are dying. The federal pandemic money is drying up, which adds to the problem for D.C., as it does for so many other cities. The Council keeps fighting for a ludicrous plan to make all busses in D.C. free. To subsidize, at a cost of $42 million annually, fares for Maryland and Virginia commuters, and for people like myself who can easily afford to pay for the bus. To pay for this folly they are taking money from valuable projects like the K Street Transitway project. They propose adding a $2 surcharge for downtown and the wharf on Uber rides. They want to keep people from where we really want them to go, in addition to adding a zoned fare. We finally got rid of zoned fares years ago.

Mayor Muriel Bowser was joined by Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, business leaders and community partners, at a recent press conference where they called on the Council to pass a budget that supports D.C.’s Comeback Plan. That plan includes funding the K Street Transitway, which many in the area have called a “transformational project” for the future of public transportation in downtown. When the mayor announced her ‘DC Comeback Plan’ she explained it was a three pronged approach and her budget dealt with all three prongs necessary to make it work.

The three prongs are as follows. First there is Filling the Space and the budget calls for a $10 million Vitality Fund to attract and retain businesses in targeted sectors that make commitments to locate in D.C.; Grow Penn West Equity and Innovation District; Grow University and Innovation activity footprint downtown; and provide a $1.5 million enhancement to enable the District to retain tech/innovation companies through a Creative and Open Space Modernization rebate program. The second prong is Change the Space. This includes the Housing in Downtown program implementation; a Pennsylvania Avenue Initiative with the National Capital Planning Commission; downtown public realm study and action plan; downtown housing capacity analysis; federal government real estate portfolio engagement; the K Street Transitway Project; Increasing Housing Downtown program from $6.8 million in FY27 to $41 million in FY28; and $9.8 million to design and construct an updated Farragut Square Park.

The third prong is Bringing the People. It includes a Tourism Recovery District to increase marketing for tourism by $20 million from FY24-27; $6 million DC Family Fun Destinations; $1.5 million Special Event Relief Fund for Local Outdoor events; $3 million to support large-scale non-profit events; $1.4 million Streets for People program to support public space activations; and $1.5 million Festival Fund Recovery to offset costs for community organizations hosting an event in DC.

The plan is real and exciting. The Council, instead of fighting it, should get on board. The future of the District hangs in the balance.

MAXIMILIAN SYCAMORE is a D.C.-based media producer who is originally from London.

The day Penny Mordaunt became gay culture

Former Tory prime minister candidate steals show at King Charles III’s coronation

“Can we all agree that Penny Mordaunt is gay culture today?” The declaration was made in a crowded Soho bar, made slightly less gay by the revelers from the coronation that had taken place an hour earlier. By Sunday the former Tory candidate for the premiership had become the Pippa Middleton of the day, completely ignoring that our new king had been crowned.

The epitome of Britishness.

hen told m friends in the tates that would be crossin the pond and finall heading back to Blighty they were rather excited. But when I said it was for the coronation some faces changed, “Why would you celebrate that man after what he did to Meghan?”

“Wait, are you actually going to the service?” Their eyes studied me, did they have a secret Lord in their midst?

The truth of the matter was that I just wanted to be home in South London for this event. Sure, I’d be swapping one sofa for another, and instead of the dog napping it would be my father, but CNN aren’t a patch on the Beeb during big events. Plus, I’d have my mum’s running commentary on the most obscure of guests, giving Cherie Blair short shrift.

The British just have this special way of doing things, a result of both loving some pomp and circumstance but also being slightly embarrassed about making a fuss. I think that’s why we invented bunting.

I had barely been in the country for a couple of hours when I found myself sitting with mum supervisin dad as he filled the bac arden with nion ac s husband had succumbed to the jet lag that I was staving off with copious cups of tea. earest m father called out to m mum would it be bad to use the a s from the jubilee?”

ust put them up the top no one will see replied mother before returnin to put ting the world to rights.

“And what about the ones from the last Olympics?” ust shove them in with the pansies ou honestl can t et more ritish than that My own experience of the coronation, or cor-re-nashe as the locals “huns” have christened it, will be very biased toward the royals. My parents’ home is in the southernmost point of London, a deliciously rural village that celebrates every big event with street fairs and a special hat for the red post box knitted by the Cupcakes, a local women’s group.

On Friday we dared to leave the village and head into the local town. The entire bus journey we could see the school children wearing paper crowns, but the coronation barely got mentioned by our friends that evening. Any grumbles were soothed with the reminder of an extra day off but its intended use as a day of service will no doubt be sidelined in favor of a day of recovery.

The British really don’t need an excuse to drink, though it probably hasn’t helped that many have predicted we’ll be doing this again very shortly.

King Charles’s reign was never meant to be as illustrious as his mother’s, but he’s in danger of beating her record of 16 prime ministers. He’s kept things as unoffensive as possible, though Harry may disagree with that. The most controversial decision so far has been choosing quiche as the celebratory dish, a far cry from the British staple that is coronation chicken.

“I’m just not sure about the broad bean element,” muttered mother as she opened up the Quiche Lorraine.

And there we have it, because even though this is all about welcoming in a new era the coronation is also about reminding ourselves of the traditions that make us British.

Don’t try anything new.

As Saturday’s coverage made way for a news report on the event we just watched, my mum recomposed herself, having gotten a little emotional as Charles had his quiet chat with od he screen filled with the epublican protests in rafal ar uare

“Oh, for God’s sake,” said mother with disdain, “if they want a republic so much then why don’t they just bugger off to France?”

And I think that just about sums it all up.

Pride season arrives!

LGBTQ community events planned across region

By MICHAEL KEY

Pride season has already begun. Last month’s Roanoke Pride filled the Virginia city’s Elmwood Park with rainbow flags. Pride events begin in D.C. this month and continue through June. Regionally, some cities have opted to hold their Pride events as late as the fall.

MAY

Organizers of Trans Pride D.C. (transpridewashingtondc.org) plan a full day of workshops and events on Saturday, May 20 at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library (901 G Street, N.W.). These events are currently listed on Facebook and Eventbrite as running from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The HIV/PrEP Programs at the Charles County Department of Health are hosting PrEP for Pride 2023 at 4545 Crain Highway in White Plains, Md. on Saturday May 20 from 12-7 p.m.

The festival is free, though those who RSVP will be entered into a door prize drawing. PrEP for Pride’s Eventbrite page advertises a pride walk, a PrEP Mini Ball, music, art, health & wellness information, food options and other vendors.

Equality Prince William Pride (equalitypincewilliam. org) will be held on Sunday, May 21 at the Harris Pavillion (9201 Center Street, Manassas, Va.) from 12-4 p.m., according to its Facebook events page.

The event is billed as a family-friendly event with music, vendors and kids activities. Performers include musician John Levengood, BRUU Band & Choir and the drag artists Coco Bottoms, Muffy Blake Stephyns and Ophelia Bottoms.

D.C. Black Pride (dcblackpride.org) events are held throughout the city May 26-29 primarily at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel (999 9th Street, N.W.).

Official events include a Unity Ball, a vendor expo, a talent showcase, forums, parties and the annual Pride Festival in the Park at Fort Dupont Park on May 29 from 12-7 p.m.

JUNE

Baltimore Trans Pride (baltimoresafehaven.org/ transpride) kicks off the month at 2117 North Charles Street in Baltimore on Saturday, June 3, according to Baltimore Safe Haven’s Facebook event page.

The Baltimore Trans Pride 2023 Grand March is to be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday along North Charles Street between 22nd and 23rd. The Block Party continues at 3 p.m. with performances beginning at 4 p.m.

Afterparties are scheduled at The Crown (1901 North Charles Street) and Ottobar (2549 North Howard Street). Baltimore Safe Haven also hosts a kickoff ball on Friday, June 2 at 2640 Saint Paul Street at 6 p.m.

5-8 p.m. at Bennetts Creek Park (3000 Bennetts Creek Park Road, Suffolk, Va.), according to the Facebook event page.

Portsmouth Pride Fest ‘23 (portsmouthprideva.com) is the second annual LGBTQ community celebration in Portsmouth, Va. The festival is to be held on Saturday, June 3 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Portsmouth Festival Field next to Atlantic Union Pavilion, according to the Facebook event page.

The Alexandria LGBTQ Task Force presents the sixth annual Alexandria Pride (alexandriava.gov/LGBTQ) at Alexandria City Hall in Market Square of Old Town Alexandria, Va. (301 King Street) on Saturday, June 3 from 1-5 p.m.

Newport News, Va. has its first I Am What I Am (IAWIA) Pride Festival on Sunday, June 4 from 12-7 p.m. at Tradition Brewing Company (700 Thimble Shoals Boulevard, Newport News, Va.), according to the Facebook event page.

Annapolis Pride (annapolispride.org) holds its annual parade and festival on Saturday, June 3 from 12-5 p.m. on Inner West Street in Annapolis, Md. according to the Facebook event page.

The 2023 Cumberland Pride Festival (cumberlandpride.org) will be held at Canal Place (13 Canal Street, Cumberland, Md.) Sunday, June 4 from 12-4 p.m., according to the Facebook event page.

The third Caroline County Pride Festival (carolinepride.com) “A Carnival Adventure” will be held in downtown Denton, Md. (301 Market Street) on Saturday, May 27 from 3-8 p.m. according to the group’s Facebook event page.

Reston Pride (restonpiride.org) holds its annual festival at Lake Anne Plaza (1609 Washington Place) in Reston, Va. on Saturday, June 3 from 12-6 p.m., according to the Facebook event page.

Ellicott City, Md. holds OEC Pride (visitoldellicottcity. com/events/oec-pride) on June 3-4 in Old Ellicott City. Events include a mascara run up and down Main Street and a movie presentation of “Pricilla, Queen of the Desert.”

Suffolk, Va. holds its third annual Suffolk Pride Festival (facebook.com/SuffolkPrideVA) on Saturday, June 3 from

Culpepper County in rural Virginia will be getting its very first Pride celebration with Culpepper Pride Festival (culpeperpride.com) on Sunday, June 4 from 12-5 p.m. at Mountain Run (10753 Mountain Run Lake Road, Culpepper, Va.). An after-hours 21+ drag show will be held.

Equality Loudoun’s “Across the Decades” 2023 Loudoun Pride Festival (eqloco.com) will be held on Sunday, June 4 from 1-7 p.m. at Claude Moore Park (21668 Heritage Farm Lane, Sterling, Va.). This is a ticketed event with a $5 general admission.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 24

A scene from the Us Helping Us Black Pride Festival at Fort Dupont Park on May 30, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Hundreds lined the streets of downtown Annapolis for the Annapolis Pride Parade on June 4, 2022.

(Photo by Jaime Thompson courtesy Fleur de Lis Photography)

The Cumberland Pride Festival was held at Canal Place in Cumberland, Md. on June 5, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Baltimore Trans Pride March was held on June 5, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Linus Berggren)

Roanoke Pride 2023 was held at Elmwood Park in Roanoke, Va. on Sunday, April 30. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

Pride season arrives!

Delaware Pride (delawarepride.org) is being celebrated as a festival on Saturday, June 10 at Legislative Hall (411 Legislative Avenue, Dover, Del.) from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. according to the Facebook page.

town Easton, Md. Other events include a drag show and a Sunday brunch, according to the Pride Center’s Facebook page.

The Ghent Business Association presents Ghent Pride “Party at the Palace Shops” on Tuesday, June 20 from 6-10 p.m. at The Palace Shops and Staton (301 West 21st Street, Norfolk, Va.), according to the Facebook event page. This is a ticketed event with general admission $13.

The Human Rights Commission of the City of Rockville holds the seventh annual Rockville Pride (rockvillemd. gov/2276/Rockville-Pride) on Saturday, June 24 from 1-4 p.m. at Rockville Town Square (131 Gibbs Street, Rockville, Md.).

The Salisbury Pride (salisburyprideparade.com) Parade and Festival is on Saturday, June 24. The Parade begins at 2 p.m. at West Main Street and Camden Street. The parade moves along Main with the festival following the parade at 2:30. Magnolia Applebottom is the headliner and grand marshal, according to Salisbury Pride’s Facebook page.

The “Break Free 23” Hampton Roads Pride (hamptonroadspride.org) is set for Saturday, June 24 at Town Point Park (113 Waterside Drive, Norfolk, Va.) and includes the famous boat parade.

D.C.’s massive Capital Pride (capitalpride.org) includes the 2023 Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 10 and the 2023 Capital Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue on Sunday, June 11. On top of the many official events, there are a great number of parties in venues throughout the city over the week, including the not-tobe-missed Pride on the Pier and Fireworks Show, held 2-9 p.m. on Saturday, June 10 at the Wharf. There are two timed VIP sessions that include catered food and open bar. The region’s only Pride fireworks display, sponsored by the Leonard-Litz Foundation, takes place at 9 p.m. Visit prideonthepierdc.com for tickets and information.

The third annual Pride in the ViBe, will be held at ViBe Park (1810 Cyprus Avenue, Virginia Beach, Va.) on Sunday, June 11 from 1-6 p.m., according to the Facebook event page.

Scenic Chesapeake, Va. is the backdrop for Pride in the ‘Peake 2023 at City Park Section B next to the basketball courts on Sunday, July 11, according to an allevents.in posting.

Eastern Panhandle Pride is to be held on Saturday, June 17 from 12-5 p.m. in downtown Martinsburg, W.Va., according to EPP’s Facebook page.

The Delmarva Pride Center presents DELAMRVA Pride (delmarvapridecenter.com) with events from June 16-18. The DELMARVA Pride Festival is to be held on Saturday, June 17 along South Harrison Street in down-

Arlington Pride (arlvapride.com) holds events from June 23-25 that include a pageant, a brunch, a festival, and an afterparty. The Arlington Pride Festival returns for its second year on June 24 from 12-7 p.m. at the Rosslyn Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway, Arlington, Va.), according to the Eventbrite listing.

Fredericksburg Pride (fxbgpride.org) holds events throughout the month, but everything culminates in the Pride March and then Festival on Saturday, June 24. The Pride March is held at Riverfront Park (705 Sophia Street, Fredericksburg, Va.) at 10 followed by the Festival at 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at Old Mill Park (2201 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Va.).

The 10th anniversary Frederick Pride (frederickpride. org) is to be held at Carroll Creek Linear Park on Saturday, June 24 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. with food, music, drag, vendors and more, according to the Facebook event page.

The Pride Center of Maryland hosts a number of Baltimore Pride (baltimorepride.org) events June 19-25. The big events include the annual parade and block party on Charles Street on Saturday, June 24 and the festival at Druid Hill Park on Sunday.

You can look forward to LGBTQ pride celebrations in Harrisburg, Pa. and the Maryland towns of Hagerstown and Westminster as well as Black Pride RVA in Richmond, Va. in July. Other municipalities have decided to hold their celebrations a little later in the year. These events include Winchester Pride in Winchester, Va. (Sept. 9), Shenandoah Valley Pride in Harrisonburg, Va. (Sept. 16), SWVA Pridefest in Vinton, Va. (Sept. 16), Virginia Pridefest in Richmond, Va. (Sept. 23), TriPride in Johnson City, Tenn. (Sept. 23), Staunton Pride in Staunton, Va. (Oct. 7), Upper Chesapeake Bay Pride in Havre de Grace, Md. (Oct. 7), Pride Franklin County in Chambersburg, Pa. (Oct. 8) and Laurel Pride in Laurel, Md.

(Oct. 14).

JERRY HOUSTON and ELIZABETHANY of HOT 99.5 serve as emcees of the Capital Pride Festival on June 12, 2022.

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

CHASITY VAIN performs at Frederick Pride on June 25, 2022.

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2022 Baltimore Pride Parade was held on June 25. (Washington Blade photo by Linus Berggren)

Soft Masculine Pride by John Paradiso Portico, Studio #4

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rans militar advocac or ani ation nominates

new president

av mdr. mil hillin read for new role at R

By KAELA ROEDER

R a nonprofit advocac or ani ation representin trans ender militar service members in the nited tates has nominated its new president and board chair mdr. mil hillin of the . . av .

hillin who has served in the militar since 2 has had a full and eventful ears in the av . he s completed more than combat missions and now serves as an erospace n ineerin ut fficer where she oversees ac uisitions. he previousl wor ed as the director of membership at R . hillin rew up movin from place to place around the nited tates and abroad with her father who was a pilot durin the ietnam ar era and then a doctor for the . . av for two decades. he traveled around the nited tates and abroad rowin up includin in ensacola la. ir inia each a. and celand. he was infatuated with all thin s science fiction and of course planes.

hin s li e tar re tar ars an thin that was showin futuristic fast in hu e inspirations to me hillin said. hat s what wanted to do. wanted to do somethin with airplanes or spaceships.

hillin oined the av to ive bac and ive freedom bac to women and fi ht for educational ri hts for people she said. ut she sta ed for the people and the lifelon connections with fellow service members.

have to sa han the service for lettin me serve. he have iven me so much. he ave me a lifetime of e perience hillin said.

hen hillin came out as trans in pril 2 to friends and famil the rump era e ecutive order that barred trans people from servin openl in the militar and prevented trans people from enlistin had ust ta en effect.

ver bod loo s at me li e h m od ou ot horrible timin . h didn t ou ust come out before wasn t read she said.

hillin would put on her uniform and o to wor as her old self for several months. t was disenfranchisin aw ward and depressin she said. n the fall of 2 2 she had enou h. hillin came out to the av even thou h the e ecutive order was still in place. he was willin to throw out ever thin includin her pension. needed to o live m own life she said.

hillin too out her phone and crafted a comin out messa e which she copied and pasted to ever contact. o her surprise almost ever one she wor ed with was incredibl supportive.

nd the 2 2 election went her wa resident oe iden was elected and he repealed the e ecutive order shortl after he was sworn in.

ut she s still uneas . f the ne t presidential election doesn t o blue she could be forced to leave.

m still beholden to an e ecutive order hillin said. he 2 24 timeframe ma es me ver nervous.

hillin founded R in 2 online and immediatel reached out to the communications director and now previous president ree ram. he nonprofit has provided connections friends and support for hillin and the more than 2 other members of the or ani ation. utside of Reddit threads and iscord servers there was not a safe space for trans militar members to come to ether and find peer support. R chan ed that hillin said.

his t pe of communit is incredibl important especiall if trans militar service is outlawed once a ain.

WED-SUN 3-10PM

WED-FRI 11:30-2:30PM

WED-FRI 2-6PM

n steppin into this new role hillin wants to foster relationships with non trans aspects of the militar and brin in more allies to the movement. he also wants to increase involvement in the diversit action teams and the initiative teams at the enta on to ensure representation when craftin polic .

he worst thin that happens is when people write polic for trans troops and there s not a sin le trans troop in the meetin hillin said. o continuin to row those relationships and ma e sure that we have a seat in the room when people are ma in polic .

ut most of all she s oin to eep pushin laws ensurin trans inclusive service be on the boo s and to demonstrate how e uipped trans people are to serve.

ltimatel our bi est power as an or ani ation is to continue to thrive as trans individuals in service provin that we are both mentall and ph sicall full ualified to do some of the most e treme obs in the militar hillin said.

Navy Cmdr. EMILY SHILLING

OUT & ABOUT CALENDAR

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Friday, May 12

Center Aging Monthly Yoga & Lunch will be at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Lunch will be held in the climate-controlled atrium at the Reeves Center. To RSVP for this event, visit the DC Center’s website. Women in Their Twenties and Thirties will be at 8 p.m. on Zoom. This event is a social discussion group for queer women in the D.C. area and a great way to make new friends and meet other queer women in a fun and friendly setting. For more details, join WiTT’s closed Facebook group.

Saturday, May 13

Virtual Yoga Class with Charles M. will be at 12 p.m. online. This is a weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. Guests are encouraged to RSVP on the DC Center ’s website, providing your name, email address, and zip code, along with any questions you may have. A link to the event will be sent at 6 pm the day before.

Universal Pride Meeting will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This group seeks to support, educate, empower, and create change for people with disabilities. For more details, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org or the group’s facilitator andyarias09@gmail.com.

Sunday, May 14

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Coffee & Conversation” at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for those looking to meet new faces in the LGBTQ community. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

“Largest LGBTQIA+ Singles Flamingle” will be at 7 p.m. at THRoW Social DC. Guests can enjoy signature cocktail and wine specials, food, games, and live music while mingling with single people in the local LGBTQ community. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Monday, May 15

Center Aging Monday Coffee and Conversation will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. LGBT Older Adults — and friends — are invited to enjoy friendly conversations and to discuss any issues you might be dealing with. For more information, visit the Center Aging’s Facebook or Twitter.

Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100% cis. For more details, visit www.genderqueerdc.org or Facebook!

Tuesday, May 16

Bi Roundtable Discussion will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This event is an opportunity for people to gather in order to discuss issues related to bisexuality or as bi individuals in a private setting. For more details, visit Facebook or Meetup.

Out in Tech will host “An Evening with AI” at 6:30 p.m. at Axios HQ. This event will be an All-Star panel discussion on tech ethics, AI, and ChatGPT— everything ranging from the ethical considerations of artificial intelligence to new cutting-edge advancements in the field of AI and the potential unconscious bias that comes with them. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, May 17

“XTreme Hip Hop” will be at 7 p.m. at The Fituation Room. This step aerobics class will be done with popular music. It is beginner-friendly and all fitness levels are welcome. Tickets cost $12 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email centercareers@thedccenter.org or visit www.thedccenter.org/ careers.

Thursday, May 18

Poly Group Discussion will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is designed to be a forum for people at all different stages to discuss polyamory and other consensual non-monogamous relationships. For more details, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

Janet Jackson brings new tour to Baltimore

Pop icon Janet Jackson brings her acclaimed “Together Again” tour to Baltimore’s newly renovated CFG Bank Arena on Saturday.

Ludacris opens the show at 7:30 p.m. Jackson’s set reportedly includes 40 songs and spans two hours filled with iconic choreography, over-the-top costume changes, and a hit parade spanning four decades. Some scattered tickets remain at ticketmaster.com starting at around $150.

Rap legends to perform at Baltimore Pride

Baltimore Pride has announced the headliners for its annual Pride parade and celebration on Sunday, June 25 at 12 p.m. at Druid Hill Park.

Chart-topping rappers Remy Ma and K. Michelle will headline Baltimore’s Pride in the Park Celebration. There will also be a variety of vendors, music, drag performers, food, and more entertaining activities.

To RSVP, visit Baltimore Pride’s website.

D.C. poets to light up local stage

There will be a free poetry reading on Thursday, June 29 at 6 p.m. at the Arts Club of Washington in honor of National Pride Month.

A group of five talented poets, who were inaugurated as the Arts Club’s first group of poets-in-residence, will perform their work as a capstone event to their residency. Since January, the group has met privately to create a supportive community for one another and work together on issues of craft. Each writer also offered a free, public poetry workshop.

This event is free and advance registration is encouraged on the club’s website.

JANET JACKSON plays Baltimore on Saturday.

Local book festival features Chasten Buttigieg, Blade editor Seventh annual Books in Bloom slated for Saturday in Columbia

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

A YouTube video shows Nikki Giovanni leaning on the armrest of a brown leather chair with her layered purple-beaded necklaces reaching past her waist and closer to her knees. Her perfectly manicured afro tilted backwards as she gazes into the eyes of James Baldwin, seated opposite her, as they had a conversation about the state of affairs between Black women and men on a 1971 episode of “Soul!,” a variety show about African-American music, dance, and literature.

“Jimmy, I’m really curious, why did you move to Europe?” she began their segment.

Giovanni, who has been honored with many awards, including the NAACP Image Award, will co-headline this year’s Books in Bloom Festival on Saturday, May 13 at Color Burst Park in Columbia, Md. She will join a host of other authors on the main stage, including co-host and LGBTQ rights activist Chasten Buttigieg, sociologist Eric Klinenberg, and Blade Editor Kevin Naff. Buttigieg is author of the new book, “I Have Something to Tell You.”

feminism, equality, and culture, according to the festival’s website.

“Each year we highlight books that can highlight timely conversations that are happening nationally,” said Casey Jones, festival organizer and marketing director for the Howard Hughes Corporation. “One of those speakers is Eric Klinenberg, [and this] is very timely in downtown Columbia as the county executive just announced plans for a beautiful new central library that will be designed by Thomas Heatherwick.”

Klinenberg’s session will center on his book “Palaces for the People,” which focuses on libraries as community anchors. He will also participate in a panel that includes Stuart Wood, a senior designer at Heatherwick Studio.

Though Books in Bloom may follow the template of spearheading relevant discussions each year, this year’s edition is unique because the festival has engaged its local partners “more authentically.” The festival’s theme is “Building Community Through Empathy and Understanding One Another.”

“In prior years, we’ve [asked] our local partners to help market [the festival],” said Phillip Dodge, executive director of the Downtown Columbia Partnership. “Whereas this year from the get-go we sat down and asked what value Books in Bloom can bring to them, and what can we offer them that could raise their profile in the community and help them do their jobs better.”

An example is Howard County Public School System Pride, which will participate in some of the programming and also launch its “Rainbow Vision 2023 Literary Magazine.” Students who contributed to the publication will also read their works, including poems and personal essays, in front of an audience.

“Incorporating our partners makes sure that conversations exist beyond the event,” said Jones. “Libraries aren’t just houses for books, they’re opportunities to hear different perspectives.”

In line with uplifting the LGBTQ community in programming, Kevin Naff, editor and co-owner of the Washington Blade, will be in conversation with film critic and culture writer Manuel Betancourt, discussing his new book, “How We Won the War for LGBTQ Equality — And How Our Enemies Could Take It All Away.”

“I grew up in Columbia, so it’s quite a thrill to be asked back years later as a published author,” said Naff. “I can’t wait to talk about the important and grave issues facing the LGBTQ community in a city with such a long, progressive tradition.”

This progressive tradition dates back as far as the 1970s when Baldwin answered Giovanni’s question on “Soul!”

The festival, a collaboration between the Downtown Columbia Partnership and the Howard Hughes Corporation, began in 2017 to facilitate cutting edge discussions about diversity and inclusion in Columbia, Md. Authors, chefs, activists, and poets, among many others, have since gathered in the town to participate in programming about race,

“I was trying to become a writer and couldn’t find in my surroundings in my country, a certain stamina, a certain corroboration that I needed,” said Baldwin “As far as I knew when I was young, as far as my father knew, there’d never been anything called a Black writer.”

CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG will appear Saturday at Books in Bloom in Columbia, Md.

Actors radiate chemistry in Constellation’s delightful ‘School for Lies’ Reinvigorating a revered work with lots of new laughs

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

A lot can happen in a Parisian drawing room.

With David Ives’ “The School for Lies” (now at Constellation Theatre Company), 100 minutes of nonstop amusement unfold solely in the busy salon of popular young society widow Célimène archly assayed by Natalie Cutcher.

Ives’s play is a “translaptation” (transaction + adaptation) of Molière’s 1666 “The Misanthrope,” a classic comedy of manners in verse. And while at the top of the show, the playwright credits Molière with having mixed “the batter for tonight’s soufflé,” he’s crammed his play with his own elegantly constructed, often funny, and sometimes raunchy verse, reinvigorating a revered work with lots of new laughs and contemporary references.

Now back to Célimène’s crib. Rife with fops and frenemies, the widow’s posh playpen is ordinarily a whirlwind of gossip, fashion, and sometimes scandal, but on this day it’s a little different.

Today, Frank (Constellation vet Drew Kopas), a dourly dressed Frenchman returning from England, finds his way to the party. And as his name suggests, Frank (all other characters retain the names that Molière originally gave them) is a stickler for candor and truth. Unlike le tout Paris, he’s averse to frivolous talk, bad poetry, and the vicissitudes of the demimonde.

For kicks, Frank’s pal and crossdressing scenester Philinte (Dylan Arredondo) puts out a spicy rumor about Frank and Célimène involving romance and social status. Alas, even sharp-witted Frank, not immune to the prospect of true love, is taken in (as evidenced by a new dreamy demeanor and sartorial switch from bland duds to something infinitely snazzier).

Others in the house, including the comely widow’s ragtag suitors: the aptly named Clitander (Jamil Joseph); Oronte (Jacob Yeh), a litigious poet; and Acaste, a leopard-print wearing, most contentedly self-involved aristo played by Ryan Sellers. Also darting about are Éliante (Ría Simpkins), Célimène’s cordial relation who’s both naïve and amorous, and Arsinoё (Gwen Grastorf), a hypocritical scold eager to assist in her friend’s ruin.

And memorably, there’s Dubois (Matthew Pauli), Célimène’s poker-faced footman who’s assigned the thankless job of serving canapés to his boss’ bumptious and clumsy guests. Pauli doubles as Frank’s uncouth valet.

Director Allison Arkell Stockman delivers a fast-paced, well-timed and delectably camp entertainment. At times, the cast is at odds – while some actors are chewing the

scenery, others allow Ives’ astonishing dialogue to do the heavy lifting.

The best scenes are those featuring Cutcher and Kopas as Célimène and Frank. They are a well-matched pair seemingly equal in both barbs and curiosity. What’s more, the actors radiate chemistry.

While Ives’ play might be set in the time of Louis XIV, Constellation’s delightfully designed production isn’t moored to an era. The widow’s showy digs compliments of Sarah Reed are salmon-colored, festooned with outsized flying cranes and lit by a pink feathered fixture, simultaneously reading both Harlow than DuBarry. The minimal seating includes a purple chaise and big pink pouf. There are upstage nooks for the requisite vanity and bunches of floral tributes. Frank Labovitz’s wildly colorful, pitch perfect costumes give a nod to a period, but

just a nod.

With its dizzying onslaught of clever rhyming couplets, Ives’ script is a marvel. (And it’s worth noting, the matinee I attended, the admirable cast didn’t flub a single line.) It makes you wonder about the writing process. Did the playwright wrack his brain in pursuit of the next smart rhyme or in a state of artistic fecundity, did the words readily flow? Whatever the case, it’s a good time. And it’s here to be enjoyed.

‘The School for Lies’

Through May 28

Constellation Theatre Company in residence at Source 1835 14th St., N.W. | $20—55 | Constellationtheatre.org

DREW KOPAS and NATALIE CUTCHER (Photo by DJ Corey Photography)

By Alfredo Sanzol

Directed by José Zayas

Genres blend and genders bend in ‘Broadway’

Another

To read Greek writer/director Christos Massalas’s comments in the “official” notes included within the press material for his debut feature film – “Broadway,” which opened a limited theatrical run on April 26 and drops on DVD and VOD platforms May 16 – is to wonder what kind of abstract, experimental, hallucinatory vision he must have been following as he crafted it.

example of VOD as a platform for smart, artfully crafted films

By JOHN PAUL KING

Describing the gestation process for his movie as he experienced it within his own mind, Massalas says that “The colors were saturated, and the feelings were sometimes red, sometimes blue, and sometimes they smelled of gasoline. There were dancers, there were thieves, and Athens was a sunlit stage where monuments of the 20th century stood glorious and rusty.” All that sounds very raw and haphazard, and perhaps more than a little pretentious, like a fledgling author’s ambitious-but-unfocused vision for the “Great American Novel” (or, in this case, the “Great Greek Novel”) they are passionately planning to write.

Yet incredibly, it’s a description that captures to perfection the essence of the film he crafted from that vision, and perhaps even conveys more useful information about it than any plot synopsis might ever be able to do.

Nevertheless, simply as a matter of form, we’ll venture to offer one. “Broadway” is the story of a band of performers, pickpockets, and small-time thieves who form a little family of outcasts living in an abandoned entertainment complex – the “Broadway” of the title – while putting on shows in the streets and stealing unbeknownst from the audiences who gather to watch them. It’s told from the perspective of Nelly (Elsa Lekakou), a strip club dancer on the run from her wealthy and controlling family who is drawn into the group by its charismatic mastermind, Markos (Stathis Apostolou), and finds a heaven from her “pitbull” of a stepfather and the gang of thugs he employs to keep her in check.

Nelly, however, is no naïve victim in need of rescue – though she claims to be accustomed to playing that role – but a resourceful and headstrong young woman more than capable of surviving by her own wits in the mean streets of an economically-ravaged Athens. Her talents as a performer quickly make her invaluable to the ragtag cadre under her new protector’s autocratic reign, and though she assumes and accepts the special status afforded to her as lover and muse to her new protector, she also wins the loyalty and affection of her new cohorts as easily and completely as she gains the trust of Lola, the allegedly vicious and rabid monkey they keep locked in a cage as a sort of unofficial and unappreciated mascot.

Lola is not the only confined member of the Broadway clan, however; a mysterious, badly beaten fugitive named Jonas (Foivos Papadopoulos) is being kept in a storage room, locked away as he recovers from his injuries and hides from the powerful underworld kingpin who wants him dead. As he returns to health, his presence becomes a dangerous liability – until Nelly hits upon an idea to keep him hidden in plain sight by turning him into Barbara, her partner in a two-woman dance act and the newest member of their troupe.

From there, “Broadway” launches into an ambitiously sweeping narrative that feels like equal parts film noir and Charles Dickens as it takes us into a colorful and morally ambiguous underworld, created by economic disparity and filled with shadowy figures and secret alliances, then bursting improbably forth into a gender-bending musical before

finally moving into Hitchcock territory for a thrilling third act “caper” scenario made even more suspenseful by the shifting loyalties between its leading players. We don’t like spoilers, but we’ll just say that the question of whether there is “honor among thieves” is key to the story’s endgame. Massalas, a London-educated Greek filmmaker with an impressive catalogue of short films, has scored a long list of prizes at international festivals including Cannes, AFI Film Fest, and Locarno, where in 2016 he was selected as one of the most promising new directors in the world. For his feature debut, he received support from the Greek Film Center and the Sundance Institute; with that kind of artistic pedigree behind it, it’s no surprise that “Broadway” is a deeply, almost ecstatically cinematic piece of work.

Richly visual, it evokes filmic echoes not only from the influences cited above, but from directors like Fellini, Jodorowsky, Godard, and Marcel Carné – whose epic theatrical romance “Les Enfants du Paradis” seems almost baked into its core. Yet while it may contain plenty of nods, intentional or otherwise, to past masters of the medium, it never feels stodgy or over-reverent, and audiences coming at Massalas’ movie from a less scholarly perspective will find plenty to appreciate in his own bold, artfully eclectic style – and everyone is sure to approve of his abilities as a storyteller, which enable him to pack an entire epic’s worth of plot, complete with nuanced layers and deeply-drawn character development, into a just-over-90-minute movie without ever making it feel rushed.

Yet even with all that art packed into it, the thing that makes “Broadway” a standout entry in the VOD film market is its queerness. Not only does it hinge on a cis male character donning drag, it also features a gay couple (Rafael Papad and Salim Talbi) in significant roles as members of the gang. More important, perhaps, it never uses its potentially offensive “man-hiding-out-in-drag” premise to get cheap laughs or set him up for humiliation or ridicule. On the contrary, it quickly becomes clear that Barbara is more than a disguise for Jonas; she’s an empowering influence, and he blossoms with the transformation. Is he straight or gay? Trans, gender fluid, or just a drag queen? The movie never really tells us, and in fact seems to disregard it as irrelevant. It’s an ambiguity that feels comfortable rather than challenging, and makes his romance with Nelly – along with the steamy sex scenes that come with it – somehow even more hot.

There are a few quibbles that could be made about Massalas’ film; there’s some heavy-handed foreshadowing that makes a few of its twists more predictable than they might be, and it sometimes wallows a bit too much in its symbolism. Still, in context these elements are part of the cinematic ride he takes us on, and he provides enough unexpected surprises in other areas to make up for any perceived missteps along the way. With a universally excellent cast, grounded by Lekakou’s solid, confident turn at the center of it all, “Broadway” is yet another example of the growing promise of VOD as a platform for the kind of smart, sophisticated, artfully crafted film content that just doesn’t get shown in movie theaters in post-pandemic America.

That said, “Broadway” would undoubtedly look great on the big screen, and if you’re lucky enough to be in a place where it’s on one, it’s worth making the effort. If not, don’t let that stop you – it looks pretty great on the small screen, too.

The stars of the new film ‘Broadway.’

FIRSTBAPTISTDC.ORG

JEFF CHU

Gay Day at the Zoo DC Center sponsors annual LGBTQ community outing

The DC Center held its annual Gay Day at the Zoo at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo on Sunday, May 7.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

By JOSEPH HUDSON

A successful real estate transaction involves multiple parties all working toward the same goal. The goal is “purchase the house” or “get the house sold.” It is not a confusing or vague goal. One of the most satisfying aspects of being a real estate agent is to see a client reach their goals.

What can really help a client to achieve their goal is to have a team of people seamlessly working together to help them reach the goal. The team can include, but is not limited to, a lender, a title company, a home inspector, the agents involved, and sometimes a spouse, a family member, a best friend, an estate attorney, or an appraiser. When all these parties involved are working together toward the goal, the goal can be easily achieved. “Working together” can mean:

• Recognizing that time is of the essence – returning phone calls, emails, and texts in a timely fashion.

• Blocking out time in their day to see properties, attend inspections, or finding a suitable stand in (family member or a friend) should work obligations get in the way.

• Taking the time to explain any confusing concepts more than once, and sometimes to multiple people.

• Ensuring that needed documentation and funds arrive at the desired location by the agreed upon time and date.

• Having a shared communication style that helps the others involved in the transaction to feel comfortable.

• Paying close attention to the details specified in any addenda, disclosures, or wiring instructions, etc.

There is no magic potion or wand to make a real estate transaction smooth and easy. But when many of these guidelines are followed by all parties involved in the transaction, any issues that do arise can usually be worked out. As in most exchanges in life, a little grace can go a long way. If you have more questions about achieving your real estate goals, don’t hesitate to reach out.

LEGAL NOTICE

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION

2023 ADM 000488

Name of Decedent: Morgan Stanley Norris

Notice of Appointment, Notice to Creditors and Notice to Unknown Heirs

Crystal Rhinehart, whose address is 2017 Newton St. NE, Washington, DC 20018 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Morgan Stanley Norris who died on October 14, 2022 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, NW, Building A, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001, on or before 11/05/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or to the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 11/05/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of the notice by mail within 25 days of its publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of first publication: May 05, 2023

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ADULT PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Security Staff

The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School located in Washington, DC requests proposals for security staff. Proposals are due June 8th, 2023. You can find the detailed request for proposal and submission information at https://aohdc.org/get-involved/jobs/

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MOVERS

A Dream Come True! This beautiful Old Town Key West estate has recently been meticulously reimagined from top to bottom! Enjoy classic Conch architecture with a 2-story main house, a charming guest house, and a stunning pool/waterfall/spa on a 7100+ SF lot with an unrivaled indoor-outdoor lifestyle. Interested? Follow the link for more info https://bit.ly/1017MargaretKHN or call me: 305-587-9230, Juan Benitez, Real Estate Agent

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

COUNSELING

COUNSELING FOR LGBTQ

People Individual/couple counseling with a volunteer peer counselor. GMCC, serving our community since 1973.

202-580-8661

gaymenscounseling.org  No fees, donation requested.

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PROFESSIONAL MOVING & STORAGE

Let Our Movers Do The Heavy Lifting. Mention the Blade for 5% OFF of our regular rates. Call today 202.734.3080

www.aroundtownmovers.com

BODYWORK

THE MAGIC TOUCH

Swedish, Massage or Deep Tissue. Appts. Low Rates, 24/7, In-Calls. 202-486-6183

Crystal Rhinehart, Petitioner Nicole Stevens, Register of Wills, Clerk of the Probate Division