Three D.C. women named winners of LGBTQ Legendary Elders Wisdom Award 11

honored by National Black Justice Coalition, AARP

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Veteran D.C. transgender rights advocate Earline Budd and D.C.-based LGBTQ rights advocates Donna Payne-Hardy and Dr. Imani Woody are among 11 prominent African-American women named winners of the National Black Justice Coalition’s 3rd Annual Legendary Elders Wisdom Awards.

The awards were to be offcially given at a virtual ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, May 16.

“The Legendary Wisdom Awards will honor Black LGBTQ+/SGL women elders and their contributions to America, the Black community, and the LGBTQ+ liberation movement,” a statement released on Monday by the NBJC says.

“The award ceremony will premiere live on NBJC’s website, YouTube, and social media platforms,” the statement says.

NBJC spokesperson Brett Abrams said the Wisdom Awards is a joint project of NBJC and the AARP.

“Too often, Black LGBTQ+/SGL elders are rendered invisible, the process of aging is hidden, and our existence is frozen in photos of young people at Pride parades,” said NBJC Executive Director David Johns in the statement. “If we’re supported, in loving community, and protected by policies designed to facilitate participation in democratic processes, we—Black LGBTQ+/SGL people grow old,” Johns said.

“The Wisdom Awards…are designed to give fowers to Black queer, trans, and non-binary/non-conforming leaders; celebrate the process of aging, preserve the lessons learned over time, and facilitate intergenerational connections that enable Black people to get closer to freedom — collectively,” Johns said.

Victoria Kirby York, NBJC’s Director of Public Policy and Programs, called her organization’s Wisdom Awards the Black LGBTQ+ equivalent of Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball.

“Oprah’s Ball, like our event, was an opportunity for legendary icons to be given fowers from soon-to-be legendary icons who benefted from their labor,” York said in the NBJC’s statement.

The NBJC statement announcing the award ceremo- ny listed the awardees in alphabetical order with short biographical descriptions of their contributions to the LGBTQ community and beyond:

• Mary Anne Adams is the founder and Executive Director of ZAMKI NOBLA (National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging, the frst organization in the country building power for Black lesbian elders.

• Simone Bell is the frst Black, openly lesbian legislator to serve in a state legislature in the United States. She was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives four times.

• Earline Budd is the founder of Transgender Health Empowerment, one of the frst transgender advocacy organizations in Washington, D.C., where she has worked in local LGBTQ advocacy for more than 35 years. She played an essential role in challenging systemic abuses against trans sex workers by police and in prisons, and has helped countless people through illness, homelessness, family rejection, and violence.

• Roz Lee is a trailblazer for Black LGBTQ+/SGL people in philanthropy, recently serving as the Vice President of Philanthropy at the Equality Fund, a global organization committed to funding feminist causes. She is the frst-ever Professor of Practice for the gender and women’s studies program at the University of Pennsylvania.

• Darlene Nipper is the CEO of the Rockwood Leadership Institute and the frst Black LGBTQ+/SGL senior executive at a mainstream LGBTQ+ organization in her role as Deputy Executive Director of the National LGBTQ+ Task Force.

• Donna Payne-Hardy co-founded the National Black Justice Coalition and was a trailblazer for Black LGBTQ+/SGL leadership at the Human Rights Campaign within the organization and the broader LGBTQ+ movement. She currently works as the Diversity and Inclusion/Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist at the Federal Reserve board in

Washington, D.C.

• E. Denise Simmons is the former mayor of Cambridge, Mass., and the frst Black, openly lesbian mayor in the U.S. She is a justice of the peace, notary public, photo archivist, and family historian.

• Nadine Smith is the co-founder and Executive Director of Equality Florida, the statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization; a Time 100 honoree, and one of four national co-chairs of the 1993 LGBTQ March on Washington.

• Wanda Sykes is an award-winning stand-up comedian, late-night talk show host, actress, and writer. After offcially coming out, she has been a vocal advocate for marriage equality and LGBTQ rights.

• Beverly Tillery is the Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project and an experienced thought leader, advocate, and national organizer with nearly three decades of experience working in social justice movements.

• Dr. Imani Woody is the President and CEO of Mary’s House for Older Adults in Washington, D.C., and a trailblazing advocate for the needs of Black LGBTQ+LGL elders. She has served on the board of directors of the Mautner Project, the Women in the Life Association, and the Whitman-Walker Health Lesbian Services program. She recently obtained a commitment from the D.C. government of $1.2 million to begin construction of the frst Mary’s House dwelling—a 15-room residence for LGBTQ seniors in Southeast D.C.

The Legendary Elders Wisdom Award ceremony can be accessed nbjc.org/wisdomawards.