Washington Blade, Volume 54, Issue 44, November 03, 2023

New House Speaker Mike Johnson has long anti-LGBTQ record, PAGE 12

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VOLUME 54 ISSUE 44 ADDRESS PO Box 53352 Washington DC 20009 PHONE 202-747-2077 E-MAIL news@washblade.com INTERNET washingtonblade.com PUBLISHED BY Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. PUBLISHER LYNNE J. BROWN lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075 EDITORIAL EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com ext. 8088 SR. NEWS REPORTER LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079 WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT CHRIS KANE ckane@washblade.com extg 8083 INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR MICHAEL K. LAVERS mlavers@washblade.com ext. 8093 POP CULTURE REPORTER JOHN PAUL KING PHOTO EDITOR MICHAEL KEY mkey@washblade.com ext 8084 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DANIEL ITAI, EDICIÓN CIENTONCE, QUORUM, WDG, STEPHANIE MONDRAGÓN, ISAAC AMEND , TINASHE CHINGARANDE, DUNIA ORELLANA, REPORTAR SIN MIEDO, PARKER PURIFOY, PETER ROSENSTEIN, MARK LEE, LATEEFAH WILLIAMS, KATE CLINTON, KATHI WOLFE, ERNESTO VALLE, YARIEL VALDÉS GONZÁLEZ, LYNARE ROBBINS, PHILIP VAN SLOOTEN, KATLEGO K. KOLANYANE-KESUPILE, KAELA ROEDER, TREMENDA NOTA, ALBERTO J. VALENTÍN, MAYKEL GONZÁLEZ VIVERO, ORGULLO LGBT. CO, ESTEBAN GUZMAN, ANDRÉS I. JOVÉ RODRÍGUEZ, WINTER HAWK, ISABELLE KRAVIS, CAL BENN CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION AZERCREATIVE.COM SALES & ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING STEPHEN RUTGERS srutgers@washblade.com ext. 8077 SR. ACCT. EXECUTIVE BRIAN PITTS bpitts@washblade.com ext. 8089 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION PHILLIP G. ROCKSTROH prockstroh@washblade.com ext. 8092 NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA 212-242-6863; sales@rivendellmedia.com For distribution, contact Lynne Brown at 202-747-2077, ext. 8075.

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Celebration of life for Jocko Fajardo set for Nov. 4 Beloved community activist passed away in July

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

A memorial service to celebrate the life of longtime D.C. resident and beloved community activist Joaquin ‘Jocko’ Fajardo is scheduled to be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at D.C.’s Foundry United Methodist Church at 1500 16th St., N.W. Organizers say a “Post-Service Celebration of Life” will follow the church service from 1-3 p.m. at Hook Hall, the popular D.C. bar and restaurant at 3400 Georgia Ave., N.W. “Jocko’s vibrant spirit touched the lives of many and his involvement in various organizations showcased his commitment to equality and inclusivity,” a statement released by organizers of the memorial service says.

“This celebration of life will begin at one of our city’s most visible and inclusive religious institutions and will culminate in a festive gathering to toast memories of his countless contributions to our community,” the statement

JOCKO FAJARDO died in July.

(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

says.

Fajardo, who was known as a skilled chef, florist, and event planner, died at his Dupont Circle residence on July 14, at the age of 45. The D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has listed the cause of death as hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

In recent years, Fajardo operated a D.C.-based business called Jocko Made, which provided services related to the planning of events. He also served on the board of the D.C.-based LGBTQ youth services organization SMYAL and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and was widely known and admired for his support for a wide range of local D.C. and LGBTQ community causes and events.

Organizers of the memorial service and post service celebration of life for Fajardo are asking those planning to attend to submit an RSVP through jockomade.com.

17th Street bars hit with D.C. liquor agency crackdown during High Heel Race Official says no citations issued for patrons illegally carrying drinks on sidewalk

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Investigators with the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) created a stir during the annual LGBTQ Halloween High Heel Race on Tuesday night, Oct. 24, when they showed up at several bars and restaurants located along the two-block stretch of 17th Street, N.W. near Dupont Circle where the race and costume celebration took place.

According to observers attending the event, as thousands of spectators lined the street and sidewalks and capacity crowds filled the restaurants and bars, the ABCA investigators reportedly ordered some of the businesses to stop selling alcoholic beverages in their outdoor areas because they failed to prevent customers from carrying their drinks outside the establishments and onto the street and sidewalks.

An ABCA official told the Washington Blade that under D.C. law, bars, restaurants, and other businesses that sell and serve alcoholic beverages are required to prevent patrons from taking their drinks with alcohol off the premises of those businesses.

The official, ABCA Chief of Staff Jared J. Powell, said the ABCA investigators directed the bars and restaurants not to allow patrons to take drinks with alcohol off their premises, but he said the businesses were not told to stop serving alcohol in outdoor spaces for which they were licensed to sell and serve alcohol.

“ABCA responded to the scene in response to requests for assistance from two District government agencies, including MPD [D.C. Metropolitan Police Department], due to patrons leaving licensed establishments with open containers of alcohol and patrons drinking in the street,” Powell told the Blade in a statement.

“ABCA responded to the scene and observed more than 50 patrons leaving licensed establishments with open containers and drinking alcoholic beverages on the public street,” he said in his statement, adding that the ABCA agents advised the business to stop allowing this to happen.

“D.C. Code 25-113(a)(2)(A)(ii) makes it a violation for a restaurant or tavern to knowingly allow a patron to exit the licensed establishment with an alcoholic beverage in an open container,” Powell said in the statement.

But he said despite what ABCA agents believed were multiple violations no citations or official warnings were issued to any business visited by the ABCA investigators.

Ann Blackwell, executive director of Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets, a business advocacy organization that promotes historic preservation, said the illegal action by some businesses may have been prompted by confusion over whether the law Powell cited applied to a large outdoor event in which the streets were closed to vehicle traffic.

“I’m not quite sure which hand was not talking to the other because the event was Last week’s annual High Heel Race saw a crackdown on public drinking.

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key) set up just like it was in past years,” Blackwell told the Blade. She said she was informed for that extension for the Oct. 24 event. that in past years the city did not enforce reBlackwell said one reason the businesses may not have strictions against taking drinks out of bars and restaurants applied for the extension is because under city rules the exand onto the street or sidewalk because people thought panded area must be enclosed in a fence, which she said the race was an enclosed event. would likely be very expensive to install in the two-block “So, all those same rules applied,” she said. “It’s just that in area where the High Heel Race took place. years past there’s never been a crackdown. So, I’m not quite “ABCA did not advise licensed establishments to stop sure how it happened.” selling, serving or allowing the consumption of alcoholic People attending the event said the businesses visited by beverages on licensed outdoor spaces, including Streetthe ABCA investigators and told to stop allowing customers eries,” Powell said in his statement. “Rather, ABCA advised to take drinks off their licensed premises included Dupont MPD that establishments were legally allowed to operate, Italian Kitchen, which has a gay bar on its upper floor; Ansell, service and consume alcoholic beverages outdoors, nie’s Paramount Steakhouse, which has a large LGBTQ cliincluding on licensed Streeteries.” entele; and JR.’s.

Powell was referring to the extended outdoor spaces, Powell said bars and restaurants under current D.C. law including spaces in city streets, known as Streeteries, that can apply for a one-day “substantial change” to temporarcame into use during the COVID pandemic when indoors ily extend their outdoor drinking areas to public or private spaces were closed. spaces. He said none of the 17th Street businesses applied

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More than a dozen LGBTQ candidates on the ballot in Va. Control of the state Senate hangs in the balance

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

Former state Del. Joshua Cole, who identifies as bisexMore than a dozen openly LGBTQ candidates are on ual, is running against Republican Lee Peters in House the ballot in Virginia on Nov. 7.

District 65. State Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-Virginia State Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) is running Beach), who came out as bisexual last year at Hampton against Republican Bill Woolf in the newly redistricted Roads Pride, will face Republican Mike Karslake and indeSenate District 30 that includes western Prince William pendent Nicholas Olenik.

County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

State Del. Marcia “Cia” Price (D-Newport News), a Black Roem in 2018 became the first openly transgender perwoman who identifies as pansexual, son seated in a state legislature in the is running for re-election in House U.S. after she defeated then-state Del. District 85.

Bob Marshall, a prominent LGBTQ Adele McClure, a queer Demorights opponent who co-wrote Vircrat, is running to represent House ginia’s constitutional amendment District 2 that includes portions of defining marriage as between a man Arlington County. Laura Jane Cohen, and a woman. Roem would become a bisexual woman who is a member Virginia’s first out trans state senator of the Fairfax County School Board, if she defeats Woolf. is a House of Delegates candidate in Woolf supports a bill that would House District 15. require school personnel to out trans Rozia Henson, a gay federal students to their parents. The RepubVirginia state Del. DANICA ROEM (D-Manassas) speaks at the LGBTQ+ contractor who works for the Delican Party of Virginia has highlightVictory Fund National Champagne partment of Homeland Security, is ed this position in ads in support of Brunch in D.C. on April 23, 2023. running in House District 19. Zach Woolf.

(Blade photo by Michael Key) Coltrain, an openly gay Gen Zer, is “Thank you for reminding me why I running against state Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) won three elections in this district in Prince William Counin House District 98. ty, which is the most diverse county in all of Virginia and LPAC has endorsed Jade Harris, a Rockbridge County the 10th most nationally where we welcome everyone Democrat who is running to represent Senate District 3. because of who they are, not despite it, no matter what Harris’ website notes trans rights are part of their platyou look like, where you come from, how you worship, if form. you do, or who you love because you should be able to “Protecting trans rights, repealing right to work, thrive here because of who you are, never despite it,” said strengthening unions and supporting our farmers are just Roem on Sept. 28 in response to a woman who heckled a few of my legislative priorities,” reads the website. “I am her during a debate with Woolf that took place at Metz dedicated to addressing the revitalization of our state’s Middle School in Manassas. infrastructure, fostering a favorable environment for job Gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) is running creation, and supporting our public education system.” for re-election in Senate District 39. State Del. Mark SickRepublicans currently control the House by a 51-46 les (D-Fairfax County), who is also gay, is running for margin, while Democrats have a 21-19 majority in the re-election in House District 43.

state Senate.

Senate Democrats have successfully blocked anti-LGBTQ bills that Republicans have introduced since Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin took office in January 2022.

The Virginia Department of Education in July released new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students that activists and their supporters have sharply criticized. They fear that Republicans will curtail LGBTQ rights in the state if they regain control of both houses of the General Assembly on Nov. 7.

“Time and time again, anti-equality lawmakers and the Youngkin administration have made it clear that they will continue to disrespect and disregard the lives and lived experience of LGBTQ+ people within Virginia,” said Equality Virginia PAC Executive Director Narissa Rahaman in August when her organization and the Human Rights Campaign endorsed Roem, Ebbin and other “pro-equality champions.”

“We must elect pro-equality champions who will secure and strengthen our freedoms,” added Rahaman.

“We have that chance as the eyes of the nation are on us this November.”

The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund has endorsed Fairfax County School Board Vice Chair Karl Frisch and Fairfax County School Board candidates Robyn Lady and Kyle McDaniel, who identify as lesbian and bisexual respectively.

Michael Pruitt would become the first openly bisexual man elected to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors if he were to win on Nov. 7. Blacksburg Town Councilman Michael Sutphin and Big Stone Gay Town Councilman Tyler Hughes, who are both openly gay, are running for re-election.

“Tyler will be a critical voice for equality as the only out LGBTQ+ person on the Big Stone Gap Town Council,” says the Victory Fund on its website.

Cal Benn contributed to this article.

White House climate change adviser makes history

A 21-year-old LGBTQ activist who advises the Biden-Harris administration on climate change-related issues is the youngest White House adviser in history.

Jerome Foster II, works for the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. He told the Washington Blade during a recent interview that climate anxiety sparked his passion for climate work.

“Growing up in Gen Z, our planet was on fire and we’re seeing communities be completely ignored because of politicians prioritizing profit, greed, and money over basic human lives,” said Foster.

Foster, when he was 16, began to skip school to protest in front of the White House to give a voice to concerns for climate change. Foster said the movement’s growing visibility right outside of the White House, along with young activists testifying in front of the D.C. Council, helped spur passage of the Clean Energy D.C. bill.

The experience inspired Foster to continue organizing, which led him to an opportunity to intern for the late-U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). Foster says he deepened his understanding of intersectionality, saying he learned “climate change really exacerbates every slow rolling crisis that we’ve seen so far, and just lights it on fire.”

The intersection between the LGBTQ community and the climate crisis is experienced primarily through homelessness and lack of representation in policy making. According

to the National Coalition for the Homeless, about 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ, despite the community only making up 10 percent of all young people. Members of the LGBTQ community also risk being turned away from shelters, being left exposed to harsh environments as climate change continues.

JEROME FOSTER (Photo courtesy of the White House)

Foster’s journey as an LGBTQ climate activist has had its struggles.

Foster said he wasn’t out for most of it, and when he did come out, it was a “shaking” experience.

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“I remember just crying because I didn’t know how to feel,” he said. “I didn’t even feel safe even as an activist.”

Foster, who met his now husband at COP-26 in Glasgow, Scotland, was shocked to see COP-27 was being held in Egypt, a country that persecutes LGBTQ people.

They wrote a letter to Patricia Espinosa, the former executive secretary for U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change requesting they relocate COP-27. Foster said the response they received was they would be fine as long as they were inside the walls of the conference.

Foster did not accept this response.

“It wasn’t about our lives. It was about the lives of the people that live there every single day […] It’s about punishing a country that’s punishing a community for being who they are,” he told the Blade.

Foster and his partner did not end up going to COP-27 out of solidarity with individuals in Egypt who continue to struggle under their country’s repressive regime.

When it comes to advocating for climate justice, Foster says the best place to start is in the workplace, making sure those around us with power as well as ourselves are “standing up for an interest that is beyond just profit.”

“Activists are instruments of disruption in any space that we’re in,” he said. “The most powerful thing we can do is to shake up the system anywhere we can.”

CAL BENN

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Rachel Levine and AVP on approaching anti-LGBTQ hate as ‘public health threat’ White House LGBTQI+ Safety Partnership ‘ramping up’

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

Admiral Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told the Washington Blade in a statement: “We know that hate — whether fueled by homophobia, transphobia, or racism — is a public health threat.”

“I look forward to a day in the future where hate-fueled violence, is an unwelcome memory of the past and no longer incites fear amongst LGBTQI+ people, and all people who live in America,” she said, adding, “We all deserve to live in communities safe from violence.”

A pediatrician and four-star officer who serves as the highest-ranking openly transgender official in U.S. history, Levine’s statement came in response to an inquiry about her meeting on Thursday with New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) Executive Director Beverly Tillery.

Also in attendance were the assistant secretary’s senior adviser on LGBTQI+ health equity, Adrian Shanker, and Lynn Rosenthal, director of Sexual and Gender-based Violence at the agency.

“We talked about some of the recommendations we have developed specifically for HHS,” Tillery told the Blade during a phone interview on Friday.

These focused on three areas, she said: “more work that will approach hate violence as a public health issue”; incorporating this approach and addressing “the needs of safe spaces on the ground” when implementing the White House LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership; and exploring “opportunities for funding and technical assistance for safe spaces.”

Tillery said that “it was a real honor to be able to have a conversation directly with” Levine, adding that during their meeting, the assistant secretary explained she had made a point of visiting LGBTQ spaces in person.

HHS understands that these groups provide and administer the services it funds, like legal aid and referrals to affirming healthcare providers, she said.

The agency “prioritizes those spaces,” with the knowledge that “we’re talking about a really critical infrastructure in our community,” a network of organizations that “holds our community together in terms of physical and mental health,” Tillery said.

Noting the escalation of violence encountered by LGBTQ individuals and spaces, the White House in June announced plans to create an LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice and HHS. “We are now looking to the beginning of next year, kind of having a plan in place for what we think needs to be happening for next Pride season, really early, and also thinking about the election,” Tillery said. “This is a really critical time where we need to make sure that we get as much information and resources and boots on the ground so they can be actively thinking about safety in a bunch of different ways.”

The White House explained the Partnership will “Provide dedicated safety trainings for LGBTQI+ community organizations and increase federal threat briefings for LGBTQI+ organizations,” “protect health care providers who serve the LGBTQI+ community,” and “support LGBTQI+ communities to report hate crimes and build cross-community partnerships to address hate-fueled

violence” — all while working “to build trust between LGBTQI+ organizations and federal law enforcement agencies.”

So far, Tillery said, “the bulk of the work right now that has been done rests in” the Department of Homeland Security, but “I do feel like, right now, they’re ramping up and figuring out [questions like] ‘who is going to be responsible for this thing and what is it going to look like?’”

She added that during Thursday’s meeting, “One of the things that we asked HHS to think about and help us think about is, ‘could there be some very public, regular cadence of meetings between organizations and the agencies specifically about this Partnership’” such that the public might be kept apprised of its progress?

“We are really hoping,” Tillery said, “to make sure that there’s a process for AVP and other organizations to be in regular communication with [the agencies] involved in the White House Community Safety Partnership.”

Tillery said she also talked with Levine and the other officials about ways that HHS, which unlike DHS and DOJ does not represent law enforcement, can contribute — such as by “having them play a role in data collection,” especially provided how the agency is already “paying attention to” data on sexual orientation and gender identity “across the board” and is well positioned to identify gaps.

For the past few months, Tillery has met with the White House, HHS, and members of Congress to discuss the first of its kind survey conducted by AVP and its corresponding report published in July, “Under Attack: 2022 LGBTQ+ Safe Spaces National Needs Assessment.”

The document contains feedback from LGBTQ groups of all types and sizes from all 50 states on the hate incidents they have experienced and “the critical needs they have for future safety.”

AVP discovered that nearly nine in 10 LGBTQ community centers experienced hate incidents in person or over the phone. The findings are consistent with the increase, from 2021 to 2022, in hate crimes motivated by bias against the victim’s sexual orientation and, especially, gender identity that were reported by the FBI on Oct. 16.

What distinguishes AVP’s report, Tillery told the Blade during a previous interview on Sept. 13, is that “nobody had really looked at this issue of what’s exactly happening with [LGBTQ] spaces across the country.”

She noted the importance of broadening the focus on anti-LGBTQ hate incidents to include not just acts of violence like last year’s the mass shooting at Club Q, but the full range of ways in which LGBTQ people are targeted or made to feel unsafe, and in all types of community spaces from book stores to bars and beyond.

When discussing the report and its findings in meetings on Capitol Hill, Tillery said “people are surprised” to learn the extent of anti-LGBTQ violence as well as “the range of different kinds of incidents that are happening across the country” and “the way these attacks are happening.”

About half of the surveyed LGBTQ groups said they did not report hate incidents to the police, with many respondents explaining that when their spaces were targeted with anti-LGBTQ protests led by white nationalist groups like the Proud Boys, they felt local law enforcement was more closely allied with or sympathetic to the extremists, Tillery said.

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New York City Anti Violence Project Executive Director BEVERLY TILLERY (Screenshot via CBS New York/YouTube)

She noted the “overlay of gun violence with this as well,” especially in communities that do not have strong gun safety laws; places where, in many cases, anti-LGBTQ protesters showed up heavily armed.

Tillery said she was encouraged by how much of her conversation with Levine, Shanker, and Rosenthal concerned issues of intimate partner violence within the LGBTQ community within the context of anti-LGBTQ violence more broadly.

She explained that victims are often made vulnerable by their sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status, and targeted not just with physical violence but also other forms of intimate partner abuse such as forced “outing,” blocking access to medication, or isolation from community and support networks.

The problem was exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, Tillery said, which caused many people to be “stuck at home with people who might be causing them harm.”

Likewise, she said, LGBTQ youth who do not live in affirming, supportive homes in many cases “had to relive some of the homophobia and transphobia while they were in isolation with family members.”

The conversation about intimate partner violence dovetailed into other matters Tillery discussed with HHS, such as areas in which there is a deficit in data collection, she said.

For example, she pointed to the results of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey that were published in April, which had “great data” about experiences with intimate partner violence among gay and bisexual men and women but very little with respect to transgender and gender nonconforming respondents, Tillery said.

Tillery added that strong data is crucial for the Partnership’s work and beyond, carrying implications “down the road for funding and resources and congressional action.”

Another topic addressed on Thursday, Tillery said, was how best to “get out in front” with the work that must be done on matters of community safety and securing LGBTQ spaces ahead of not just the next Pride season but also the 2024 elections.

She said AVP will continue working with the Biden-Harris administration and other partners on implementing measures to protect the various groups, activists, organizers, and volunteers who will be running voter registration programs, participating in “get out the vote” efforts, and campaigning on behalf of candidates.

“We are now looking to the beginning of next year, kind of having a plan in place for what we think needs to be happening for next Pride season, really early, and also thinking about the election,” Tillery said.

Continues at washingtonblade.com

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LGBTQ activist who knows Mike Johnson warns he must be taken seriously New GOP Speaker believes he is on a mission from God

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

Nearly 20 years after he wrote editorials in defense of sodomy laws, does the new Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) still believe that states are not just constitutionally permitted but also morally obligated to criminalize sex acts between consenting adults?

Moving forward, is he willing to downplay or compromise on some of his socially conservative policy positions, perhaps if it means protecting GOP members running in purple districts and, potentially, maintaining the Republicans’ majority control of the lower chamber next year?

Last week, Johnson responded to the pundits and political reporters who were hungry for details about his views and eager to explore their potential political implications by instructing them to “Go pick up a Bible.”

Like others who knew Johnson before the House GOP conference voted to make him the top elected Republican second in line to the presidency last week, Bruce Parker says the evangelical congressman’s words should be taken as he intended them: literally.

His message echoed comments by avowedly anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who said during an interview with NTD Television on Oct. 27, “I’ve known Mike for probably over 25 years, and he operates from his faith, and so that guides what he does…as Christians engage in the political process, who are Bible believing Christians, it’s not difficult to know where we’re going, where we’re coming from.”

“It’s hard for people who don’t believe that way” to understand, Parker told the Washington Blade on Tuesday, but Johnson says God communicates with him directly.

“I think Speaker Johnson would say — or he would have said, to me, when I spoke to him frequently — ‘it’s not my position that has to change, Bruce; it’s God’s.’”

Likewise, with respect to his work on behalf of powerful organizations on the Christian right like Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-LGBTQ hate group monitored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Johnson “would tell

you that was legal work, but also moral work in the sense that I think that he thought he was helping carry out God’s will on Earth,” Parker said.

Now the deputy director of Out Boulder County, in 2015 Parker was engaged in advocacy work focused on LGBTQ and reproductive rights on behalf of Equality Louisiana and Louisiana Progress while Johnson, then a state legislator, was trying to pass his Marriage and Conscience Act. The legislation, which ultimately failed, sought protections for those who objected to same-sex marriage on religious grounds, but it was characterized by critics as a license-to-discriminate bill.

During this time, when he was regularly in touch with Johnson, sometimes speaking with him as frequently as twice per day, Parker said, “I developed a genuine appreciation for parts of who he is” — though it was often difficult to reconcile how this was someone who “is super nice to you,” someone who, for example, “consistently” asked how Parker’s partner was doing, but at the same time “would work very hard to make sure you don’t exist.”

“The Speaker understands himself to be an authentically nice person,” Parker said, but his kindness should not be mistaken for weakness, and “people would be making a severe mistake to underestimate him” because the congressman is “a smart politician” who is strategic in every conceivable sense.

“There’s a correlation between being able to be super nice and polite to a queer activist, and learning how to talk about your values and your mission in ways that are not read as off-putting to the vast majority of the population,” Parker noted.

While he is certainly a lower-profile figure than some bomb-throwing members of the GOP conference like U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Parker said “it’s not that [Johnson] is lesser known, it’s that he has a mild mannered approach that doesn’t feel threatening to people,

MIKE JOHNSON (La.), and Out Boulder County Deputy Director BRUCE PARKER, in 2015 after then Louisiana state Rep. Johnson’s Marriage and Conscience Act died in committee. (Photo courtesy of Parker)

and so he will hug you and be really sweet to you while trying to pass legislation to make sure that you can’t get health care that is essential for saving your life.”

Johnson “has an agenda,” Parker said. “He has had that agenda for a very long time. And he believes that agenda comes from a place bigger than him. And that is overlaid with conservative values and politics, but I think at its core, there is what he would understand as a divine mission.”

So, while he can be expected to lead House Republicans strategically, “I can’t imagine how Speaker Johnson can put social issues on the back-burner because they’re not social issues to him,” he said.

In his 20 years of advocacy work fighting for abortion and LGBTQ rights in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Louisiana, and, now, Colorado’s Boulder County, Parker said he has never encountered someone as convinced as Johnson of the righteousness of his own positions.

Parker suggested the fact that he was raised in the church and conversant in Christianity may have endeared him to Johnson, who, in turn, may have softened his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric if not his anti-LGBTQ policy positions, “which is a part of what good queer activists do in southern and conservative places,” he added, putting a human face on the issue.

Still, “I don’t think that this is a person who will respond to political pressure,” Parker said. “I don’t think it’s a case where the right person can make a pro-LGBT argument and shift his perspective, and, so, I don’t know that that is a useful effort.”

Johnson signals opposition to expelling Santos

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sat down last week with Fox News pundit Sean Hannity for his first one-on-one with a broadcast news outlet.

In a wide-ranging 40-minute interview, the speaker and Hannity broached a plethora of issues including the potential House vote to expel his fellow Republican, New York Congressman George Santos.

Santos, who has been charged with a 23-count felony indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which alleges a bevy of financial crimes, was in federal court last Friday and pleaded not guilty to additional charges in the indictment, including

allegations of identity theft and transferring money to his personal bank account from a supporter’s credit card.

Johnson told Hannity that he had met with the authors of a House resolution to expel Santos. U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), backed by the entirety of the state’s freshman Republican House delegation, U.S. Reps. Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro, Nick Langworthy and Brandon Williams, introduced the resolution.

The resolution will require a two-thirds majority of the House to pass.

When queried by the Fox News personality regarding his stance on the Santos expulsion issue, the speaker sig-

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naled his opposition: “Here’s the reality, Sean. We have a four-seat majority in the House. It is possible that that number may be reduced even more in the coming weeks and months, and so we will have what may be the most razor-thin majority in the history of the Congress. We have no margin for error. And so George Santos is due due process. We have to allow due process to play itself out. That’s what our system of justice is for. If we’re going to expel people from Congress just because they’re accused, that’s a problem.”

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Indian activists urge lawmakers to back marriage equality

The Indian Supreme Court’s ruling against marriage equality on Oct. 17 sparked disappointment and shock among the LGBTQ community and its allies in the country and around the world.

Celina Jaitly, an Indian actress and former Miss India who champions LGBTQ rights as a U.N. Equality Champion, in an interview with the Washington Blade said the decision was overwhelming and disappointing. She nevertheless said she was hopeful the Supreme Court could challenge opposition or at least mandate lawmakers update India’s Special Marriage Act. “Tremendous work went into these petitions, and many hopes and dreams of the queer community were attached to them,” said Jaitly. “Every human being dreams of finding love, and starting a family, it is a basic need for a human being to feel loved and needed.”

Jaitly noted more than 10 percent of India’s population identifies as LGBTQ. “They are also taxpayers and important pillars of society,” she said. “By not recognizing such unions, they are depriving same-sex couples of their right to equality enshrined in the constitution and rights enjoyed by married heterosexual couples, from adoption and medical insurance to pensions and inheritance.”

Jaitly said the ruling seemed to try to please both parties based on technicalities of legal jargon with no clear mandate, directive or timeline for Parliament to act. She further said there is no pressure on Parliament to enact any legislation without these mandates, and this makes the process tedious and not a priority.

“In a massive multi-cultural subcontinent like ours, the court needs to push society to acknowledge same-sex marriage,” said Jaitly.

She noted the “one thing that I have consistently and continuously said as an LGBT rights activist (over) the last two decades is the term ‘LGBT rights’ is convenient but can be misleading.”

“There is no subset of rights or new category of rights

has real-world consequences.” called ‘LGBT rights,’” said Jaitly. “LGBT people are entiSaha further noted there are “real-life case studies from tled to the same rights as everyone else — among them around the world have consistently shown the positive the right to life, the right to be free from discrimination, impact of legalizing same-sex marriage.” rights to privacy and freedom of expression, association “It leads to improved mental health outcomes for and assembly and of course marriage/civil union and the LGBTQ individuals, as they no longer have to navigate right to the institution of family.” a world that marginalizes their relationships. It also “The reality is that these rights, which are universally strengthens the social fabric by recognized and agreed upon, are promoting love, commitment, routinely being denied to peoand family stability,” he said. ple just because they happen to “Moreover, countries that have be — or are assumed to be — gay, embraced marriage equality have lesbian, bisexual, transgender seen economic benefits, includor intersex,” she added. “That is ing increased tourism and a boost something we have to acknowlto the wedding industry.” edge and address in a concerted Saha and other activists have way. Not giving a human being called upon Parliament to quickly the very basic requirement of amend laws to grant LGBTQ peomarriage and the right to the instiple the same rights and privileges tution of family merely because of their heterosexual counterparts their orientation is indeed against CELINA JAITLY (Photo courtesy of Jaitly) enjoy. Saha also urged civil socithe principle of the core values of ety and allies to continue to raise awareness about the a democracy.” importance of marriage equality in India.

Souvik Saha, an activist and prominent member of Negha Shahin, a transgender actress who is the first Jamshedpur Queer Circle, told the Blade the organizatrans woman to win a debut actor award at the 52nd Kertion remains committed to advocating for LGBTQ rights ala State Film Awards that took place in May, noted to the and equality.

Blade that India is sending rockets to the moon, but not Jamshedpur Queer Circle remains deeply disappointaddressing injustices the country’s LGBTQ community ed over the Supreme Court’s decision. Saha said the juscontinues to face and has failed to meet people’s basic tices’ decision to place the onus on Parliament to amend needs. Shahin said marriage is a basic right for everyone. laws to extend marriage equality to same-sex couples is a “If I am a queer or a trans person, the society and the missed opportunity to uphold fundamental human rights law, the medical or the education everything, it feels and promote social inclusion. like injustice to us,” said Shahin. “We should wait, and “This decision fails to recognize the urgency of the let’s fight for this another time, because we do not know matter, given that LGBTQ individuals continue to face about other things. What if the Supreme Court refuses discrimination and prejudice in various aspects of their our human rights in India? Many people from the queer lives, including access to legal recognition of their relacommunity do not know what to do.” tionships,” said Saha. “Denying same-sex couples the ANKUSH KUMAR right to marry not only perpetuates inequality but also

U.S. to remove Uganda from duty-free trade program

The Biden-Harris administration has announced it plans to remove Uganda from a program that allows sub-Saharan African countries to trade duty-free with the U.S. Then-President Bill Clinton in 2000 signed the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows sub-Saharan African countries to access U.S. markets.

President Joe Biden in a letter he sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the president of the U.S. Senate, on Monday

notes the Ugandan government “has engaged in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on May 29 signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”

The Biden-Harris administration last week issued a business advisory for the country in response to the law.

Gabon, Niger and the Central African Republic are the three other countries the White House will remove from the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The decision

will take effect on Jan. 1.

President Barack Obama in 2014 removed Gambia from the program amid growing concerns over then-President Yahya Jammeh’s human rights record that included a crackdown on LGBTQ rights.

Jammeh stepped down after he lost the country’s 2016 presidential election and now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea. Gambia as of 2022 is once again eligible to participate in the African Growth and Opportunity Act. MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Johannesburg Pride for ‘those who cannot march for themselves’

Johannesburg Pride organizers dedicated their annual event that took place on Saturday to LGBTQ people in Uganda and other African countries.

“We marched not only for our local LGBTQ+ community but also in solidarity with our Ugandan and African counterparts who face unique challenges in their fight for equality,” said the organizers in a press release. “Johannesburg Pride was honoured to raise awareness for those who cannot march for themselves, shining a spotlight on the issues faced by LGBTQ+ individuals across the African continent.”

Media reports indicate more than 20,000 people participated in the march that ended at Johannesburg’s Wanderers Stadium.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Johannesburg Pride on Oct. 30, honored LGBTQ Ugandans and other LGBTQ communities in Africa. (Photo courtesy of Johannesburg Pride)

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Gay Prince Eddy, Kind, Caring, Un�it to Murder 20 Million (Part 9 in a series)

RON BLAKE

is a writer based in Phoenix, Ariz.

My hero’s journey after surviving rape

A quest to help others — and to share the experience with Stephen Colbert

My recent visit to Washington, D.C. was timely for October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It was an exhilarating opportunity to speak out as more than a domestic violence victim. I too wanted people to see me as more than an expendable Dixie cup. More than just an LGBT throwaway.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America brought me to the District from Arizona to put this proud, resilient gay man’s uplifting PTSD and domestic violence recovery adventure into a film.

After filming wrapped, I visited Georgetown and the University of Maryland and randomly engaged scores upon scores of students using a social interaction therapy that’s been effectively helping me overcome a brutal incident of domestic violence and the LGBT discrimination that accompanied it.

Those D.C.-area students warmly embraced me and my therapy of engaging strangers and creating social practice artwork on large foam boards, adding to what’s become kind of a modern-day AIDS quilt now at more than 4,200 square feet. On those boards, issues like mental health, abuse, and equity in our LGBT community are being addressed. One dynamic person at a time. One powerful story at a time.

My trauma happened when three men entered my Phoenix loft one night. I was held down, beaten, and raped. One of the guys had been my longtime partner. It was domestic violence too.

Four police officers and the three perpetrators surrounded me in my loft. I was clad only in ripped underwear with semen speckling my body standing in the middle of that bloody crime scene. Later it was officially determined that no arrests were made because the responding officers didn’t know what to do with the awkward situation since I’m gay.

Those officers missed one important detail. LGBT people are still people. I’m still a human being.

I’m a son, brother, spouse, cousin, uncle, friend, nephew, neighbor, grandson, and someday I’m going to be a dad. On that evening, I made a harrowing 911 call. The transcript documents that the 911 dispatcher hauntingly heard the rape live. I was clearly a victim of domestic and sexual violence.

That rape dismissal immensely exacerbated the trauma for me. I was eventually diagnosed with dissociative amnesia in addition to PTSD. This amnesiac condition is extremely rare, associated with experiencing a severe trauma.

It’s the same diagnosis that Matt Damon’s character had in the action thriller Jason Bourne movies. His character has no recollection of what happened to him, providing the chilling theme for the films.

As a result of experiencing the violence coupled with the LGBT discrimination, I couldn’t remember most of that traumatic night. For three years I was in a terrifying place with an abundance of pain, confusion, and constant nightmares. Then a trigger began unlocking memories for me.

The recalled memories from that trauma spiraled me out of control. All was lost until an unexpected moment of laughter from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert stopped me from dying by suicide at 10:44 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2015. That spark started my Hero’s Journey.

This kind of journey is from a literary theme that’s been used in classic movies like “The Lion King,” “Harry Potter,” and “Star Wars.” It begins with a disruption. A call to action. To head out on an adventure. To face down our fears. To overcome challenges. And to return back home transformed and triumphant.

That fortuitous call to action nudged me out of my home so I no longer isolated from the PTSD. It was the muse to get me to meet strangers each day, to learn to talk about and process the trauma with them.

It gave me a purpose in life. To get their written support for healing. And to reach a symbolic goal. To become a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

I’ve now engaged 32,652 complete strangers one by one over eight years on this cross-country odyssey. Those individuals contributed stories of support for my efforts in 94 languages with 27 Sharpie marker colors on 501 giant foam boards, drawing those comparisons to the famous AIDS quilt.

Fingers crossed. One day I’ll get that invitation and proudly deliver this massive collective story of hope, equity, inclusion, triumph, and laugh therapy to The Late Show to inform, entertain, and inspire millions of folks in our LGBT community and beyond to head out on their very own Hero’s Journey.

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PETER ROSENSTEIN

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

Dear Virginians: Please vote We’ll see if abortion and democracy are winning issues

To my friends in Virginia: Please go vote. Every member of the LGBTQ community, every woman, and every member of a minority community, should know this election will make a difference in your life.

It is about equality and personal rights. The rights of women, transgender people, and everyone’s voting rights. I will be out of town on Election Day, but still following this election closely. The results on Nov. 7 will be a good indication of what could happen in 2024.

Both Democrats and Republicans are carefully watching the legislative races in Virginia. The results will tell us whether abortion is a winning issue for Democrats. Though living in D.C., I have been inundated with ads from the Virginia political races because of the media market in which those ads are bought. Every Democratic candidate’s ad is focused on the right of a woman to make her own healthcare decisions, and to keep abortion legal in Virginia. Each Democrat paints their Republican opponent as someone who will vote to ban abortion, and thereby hurt women. Every other issue mentioned comes in a distant second.

On the other hand, all the Republican candidates’ ads focus on crime, with a few mentioning education. Interestingly, not one Republican ad I have seen states their position on abortion, or claims their opponent is misrepresenting their position on the issue. While Democrats link their opponents to MAGA Republicans, they do so without mentioning Trump by name. Republicans in turn suggest their Democratic opponents are left wing, soft on crime, all being supported by those who want to ‘defund the police,’ but none I have seen mentions President Biden. I find that interesting. In fact, none of the ads mentions the candidate’s party affiliation. Clearly, they are going after independent voters, and voters from the other party.

We are hearing Democrats have a lead in mail-in ballots. If that continues, it will be interesting to see if Republicans again have more people voting in person on Election Day. Virginia is one state that makes it easy to get an absentee ballot, and has a long period for early voting. Not quite as easy as in D.C., where every person gets mailed a ballot, but still relatively easy.

In addition to Virginia, the races to look at are the New Jersey legislative races. While I am not as familiar with those campaigns, my understanding is keeping abortion legal is also a major issue Democrats are using. One question we will have answered is whether it will have as much impact as it might have in Virginia, as New Jersey is a bluer state, and voters may not be as afraid of losing this right. Then there is the governor’s race in Kentucky, which Democrats are watching closely. There, the Democratic incumbent, Andy Beshear, is running for reelection in a red state. A state where Trump leads by more than 25 percent over Biden in polling. Beshear is running against the current attorney general, Republican Daniel Cameron, who won a hard-fought Republican primary. Total spending on the race will be about $38 million, a record for Kentucky, with Beshear having a fundraising lead. He also holds a lead in all current polling. The other governor’s race this year was in Louisiana, where Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards was term limited. It has been won by a Trump backed Republican. Not all that surprising in a red state, but nevertheless, a loss for Democrats who held that governor’s mansion for eight years.

One of the positive things Democrats are seeing in these 2023 races is their candidates are either holding their own in fundraising, or raising more than their Republican opponents — a big difference from many years ago when it was more common for Republicans to lead the race for cash. Much of this is due to Democrats being better at raising small online donations. It is always better to get $25 each, from four people, than $100 from one. That way you have potentially four voters to count on, and four who may, with urging, talk to their family and friends.

So, along with the Democratic National Committee, which has contributed big money to the Virginia Democratic Party for use in their legislative races, I wait with baited breath to see the results on Nov. 7. With the world in turmoil, a far-right Republican speaker newly elected, Democratic wins would be something to cheer.

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SAM SCHULTZ

is an accomplished singer, runner and advocate.

They recently found justice after experiencing sexual assault in 2010.

When wolves cry wolf

Reflecting on my experience of being raped by gay couple The voices of sexual assault survivors are typically muted or silenced, particularly in the LGBTQIA+ community. We’ve seen the media and our courts focus on perpetrators without acknowledging the impact on those of us fighting a system and a culture that sweeps victims’ stories under the rug.

Within the queer community there is a familiar similarity in the response (denial and distraction) of powerful men accused of sexual assault. These are sadly not isolated incidents within the queer community. We just don’t talk about them, at least not publicly. A discussion about consent within our community is imperative as society continues to bring attention to this conversation at large.

As young queer people, many of us are objectified and reduced to conquests by often older or more powerful peers. We learn to believe that our primary value to many is sex rather than equal treatment and respect. While society rightly talks a lot about women who are objectified and targeted, we barely acknowledge that sexual assault is an issue in the LGBTQIA+ community.

We’ve seen countless examples in the media in which victims of sexual assault experience more ridicule and hatred than the perpetrators. Sexual predators broadly deny their criminal behavior while their victims spend a great deal of time recovering from the trauma predators cause. With constant denials, predators often receive support from their friends and fans who rush to their defense without any facts about the crime. Victims are demonized and shamed despite evidence and corroboration, even in the face of prosecutions, indictments and convictions.

In an effort to gain equality and respect, the queer community has often turned away from the reality of sexual assault in our own community.

When one of my attackers, David Daniels, was granted tenure at the University of Michigan in 2018, I knew that I needed to come forward about what he and his husband did to me. I felt devastatingly sure that I wasn’t the only person he victimized, and I felt an overwhelming responsibility to prevent future rapes. The #MeToo movement championing accountability was making progress, and I had been in therapy for years to process the assault in ways that honored my dignity and didn’t destroy me. Empowered, I felt confident in my decision to cry foul.

Before I exposed the truth, I thought I knew what coming forward might mean for me. I was reluctantly prepared for media attention and scrutiny, as well as a shadow that would hover over my personal and professional life. I was aware that this news would be uncomfortable for a lot of people, especially since the men who raped me had power, status and wealth.

I wrote a public statement about how being raped impacted my life and career in the years that followed. I spoke with investigators who brought charges against David Daniels and Scott Walters, the men who have recently admitted to raping me. After the District Attorney’s office assigned a prosecutor to this case, a trial date of April 2, 2020, was set. Multiple young men came forward with their own experiences alleging abuse. The University of Michigan completed an investigation into Daniels’ abusive behavior as alleged by 20 students, and the Board of Regents unanimously fired him without severance on the basis of what they found; a rarity at this institution. Yet even after the university’s investigation into the behavior of David Daniels, I remain the scapegoat for his firing by many of his friends and fans in an effort to distract and deflect.

Why are we inclined to believe denials even when crimes are brought to light? Victims face accusations of attention-seeking when we come forward publicly, and we face accusations of cowardice when reporting anonymously. As a society, we see countless examples of predators calling their reckoning a witch hunt, but is the burden placed on victims not exactly that?

The power dynamics that pervade these crimes often include a charismatic and familiar predator and their less-powerful prey. Yet charisma is not synonymous with integrity, even through a queer lens. When one lives with integrity, one understands the potential to reconcile our mistakes. The dominant denial script of predators lacks that integrity. Predators do not want to admit or be held accountable for their actions because of the consequences they might face. Despite any consequences they may experience, rapists do not live with the nightmarish reality they’ve inflicted on their victims.

When a survivor comes forward after years or decades, people often ask “why now and not right away?”. Sadly, it’s because my experience is the devastating norm — coming forward means accepting delayed justice at best.

1 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 0 3 , 2 0 2 3 • V I E WP O I NT

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At DC Vegan, serving up proud, gay, Black, plant-based identity Sargent Nelson crafts ‘experiences that blend flavor and connections’

By EVAN CAPLAN eating.”

Wine, but on his own terms. At DC Vegan, Sargent “Sarg” Nelson is serving up his “Joining the vibrant DC Vegan family felt like finding people that were ready for proud, gay, black, plant-based identity. inclusive hospitality — their commitment to plant-based cuisine aligns perfectly with Nelson didn’t start out yearning to be behind the bar extolling the virtues of funky my belief in conscious consumption.” wines and herb-infused spirits. Yet studying architecTraditionally, winemakers use animal products in ture as an undergraduate, he soon realized that “it the fining process – but vegan wines do not. His next was beverages that I was designing.” challenge is to pair these vegan wines with big, bold He’s found a place to fully build out his raison flavors in the dishes. The hearty marinara sauce goes d’etre crafting and mixing as the beverage director well with a rustic red, he says, while the eggplant at DC Vegan, Dupont’s Italian American-inspired dish matches best with a sparkling wine like Prosecbar/restaurant/deli/fromagerie, “crafting experiencco. And when creating drinks, he likes to add poetic es that blend flavor and connections,” he says. garnish flourishes to cocktails.

The progressive virtues of working at a vegan The creativity and sourcing go beyond the bar. restaurant allow Nelson to embrace his gay identity.

Last year, the restaurant expanded from a deli to a He sees diversity not as a buzzword but as central to full-fledged sit-down restaurant with a liquor license, what makes life interesting. Yet coming up and stepso Nelson has the opportunity to stock the bar as ping into leadership roles as a gay Black man in the well as the wine bottle collection at the deli. DC Veghospitality industry was not easy. an also recently rolled out brunch, another opportu“While our industry has come a long way, I won’t nity to meld vegan ethos to a favorite D.C. pastime. deny facing challenges and barriers because of my The purposeful ethos at DC Vegan’s heart allows sexual orientation. However, those moments have him a space to marry inclusivity in identity with inclufueled my determination to create inclusive dining sivity in the kitchen. It is here where he feels encourspaces where everyone feels valued and heard.” aged to “kiki on the patio.”

In ways loud or quiet, Nelson says he brings his At DC Vegan, he works with the owners – allies – identity wherever he goes. “I’m usually in spaces to let him operate events like drag shows and latewhere I’m not the majority, so I want to show that I night exotic readings, and a huge all-day Pride party have a voice.” At a recent bar competition, he named (the restaurant is right on the Pride parade route). a drink “You Better Work,” in reference to a popular He works with them on purposeful sourcing, like phrase in the LGBTQ community well-known from using vodka from gay-owned distillers and beers RuPaul’s Drag Race. from gay-owned breweries. The rest of the staff is Before DC Vegan, Nelson was the sommelier at diverse, he says. southern restaurant Yardbird, where he relished the Post-pandemic, he sees that both the restaurant opportunity to bring a diversity of wine options to a and LGBTQ community have changed and evolved mostly Black clientele. He grew the restaurant’s wine in unpredictable ways. But they both came out “with list to reflect the globe, but always knowing how to a stronger sense of pride – we have a greater apprepair the best pour with Yardbird’s famed fried chickSARGENT ‘SARG’ NELSON is the beverage director at DC Vegan. ciation for what we have to offer in D.C.” en.

(Photo courtesy Nelson) For now, he loves celebrating beauty in difference Searching for the next step, Nelson had met the at a vegan restaurant through the lens of drinks, DC Vegan owners, falling in love with their concept. whether alcoholic or zero-proof.

“It was a new opportunity for me to work in a space where I can eat [as a vegan],” “There is magic that happens behind the bar,” he says. he says. “I loved meeting people who cared even more about sourcing, conscious

2 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 0 3 , 2 0 2 3

FEATURE

Black Deafhood: A journey at the intersection of sexuality, disability, race Gallaudet’s Bobbi-Angelica Morris on their activism and art

By KATHI WOLFE Like many Deaf/Hard of Hearing people, who go to (Editor’s note: One in four people in America has a disschool when they don’t know American Sign Language, ability, according to the CDC. Queer and Deaf/disabled and there are no ASL interpreters, Morris felt isolated. people have long been a vibrant part of the LGBTQ com“I had no knowledge of the Deaf community or of Black munity. Take two of the many queer history icons who were Deaf history,” they said. disabled: Michelangelo is believed to have been autistic.

Some in Morris’s family and community couldn’t acMarsha P. Johnson, a hero of the Stonewall Uprising, had cept that Morris is Deaf. “Some, not out of maliciousness, physical and psychiatric disabilities. Today, Deaf-Blind prayed for my healing,” they said. fantasy writer Elsa Sjunneson, actor and bilateral amputee What Morris calls her “Black Deafhood,” has been a Eric Graise and Obama administration Assistant Secretary long journey at the intersection of sexuality, Deafness, disof Labor for Disability Employment Policy Kathy Martinez ability, Blackness, gender, activism, and art. are just a few of the people who identify as queer/Deaf/ Deafhood is a “journey that a Deaf person undertakes disabled. The stories of this vital segment of this queer to discover his, her or their identity and purpose in life,” community have rarely been told. In its series “Queer, Crip according to a Deafhood Foundation statement on deafand Here,” the Blade is telling some of these long unheard hood.org. stories.)

Hearing people often perceive of Deafness as a disease that should be cured, and of Deaf people as incompetent, “My ‘coming out’ story looks more like me telling somesecond-class, less-valued, citizens. one my favorite cookie flavor is chocolate chip,” Bobbi-AnJust as coming out helps queer people to affirm their gelica Morris, a Gallaudet University graduate student, acsexuality and connect with the LGBTQ community and histivist, poet, photographer, videographer and visual artist, tory, Deafhood empowers Deaf people to have pride in told the Blade, “than an emotional roller coaster.” themselves – to connect with the Deaf community, history “I’ve always embodied this carefree energy pertaining and culture. to who I am, what my purpose is, and how I show up for As it often goes with finding and loving your queer self, others,” added Morris, who is Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Deafhood is a process. identifies as a Black, nonbinary, queer and abolitionist artIn middle school, Morris watched “Switched at Birth,” ist. the popular TV series. The teen and family drama features Earlier this year, Morris, 23, received the Mary Bowman Deaf and hearing actors and scenes in ASL. Arts in Activism Award from the National AIDS Memorial, The show jump-started Morris’s interest in Deafness the San Francisco organization that displays the internaand the Deaf community. “But, I still didn’t understand my tionally acclaimed AIDS Memorial Quilt. connection [with the Deaf community],” Morris said.

Over the phone and in email, Morris spoke with the Curious to discover something about Deaf culture, Blade about a range of topics – from her “Deafhood” to Morris started an informal class – a club. There, they and how she felt safe at a queer Halloween party. their friends learned signs from YouTube videos.

Morris, who uses she/they pronouns, grew up in differAt the University of Virginia, Morris took a sign language ent parts of the East Coast. They spent most of that time class. They studies abroad for a time in India. in Richmond, Va. At Gallaudet, Morris began to feel connected to the “Growing up, most of the people around me would Deaf community. They are a student in the Master of Soask if I was gay,” Morris said, “because I fit into the stereocial Work program at Gallaudet’s School of Civic Leadertypical realms of present day msc [masculine] presenting ship, Business, and Social Change. Morris will graduate dykes.” with an M.S.W. degree in 2024.

“No one questioned me when I actually came to terms They are equally committed to making art and activwith my queer identity,” they added. ism – to working for social justice for Black, Deaf/disabled, Before enrolling in Gallaudet, Morris spent most of queer, and other marginalized groups. A love of art and their time as a student with hearing people in schools, social change is etched in their bones. where most teachers and students didn’t communicate in “I am an abolitionist and an artist,” Morris said, “I cannot American Sign Language (ASL). Morris was the only Deaf be one without the other.” student in their classes until they graduated from the UniTheir abolitionist identity is connected to how they versity of Virginia in 2022 in Charlottesville. There, they experience intersectionality. Morris sees their life as conmajored in global development studies and minored in nected “to the movement for total liberation of all our ASL with a concentration in disability studies and commupeople, beings, and non-beings in this present day and nity development. beyond,” they said.

Growing up, Morris didn’t know about ASL or the creBecause they are an artist, they have a responsibility to ativity and history of Deaf culture. use their skills to educate, inspire and protect “everyone “It wasn’t until I was in elementary school,” Morris said, and everything that abolitionists fight for daily,” Morris “that an audiologist said I qualified for hearing aids.” said.

In their poetry, Morris, who speaks and signs their work, From early on, Morris loved being creative. During an reflects on their family and their experience of being Deaf. unstable childhood, art helped Morris to express their “I reflect on my own Deafhood:/ my playground fights/ feelings. with uneducated parents,” Morris writes in a poem, “When Fortunately, art ran in Morris’s family. “My bio-mom is little Black Deaf girl doesn’t hear someone speak to her,/ an amazing artist,” Morris said, “so we would draw things that someone thinks little Black Deaf girl is disrespectful.”

BOBBI-ANGELICA MORRIS is a Gallaudet University graduate student, activist, and artist.

together.”

Later, Morris’s god-mom gave Morris materials that sparked their interest in painting and photography.

In middle school, Morris got into spoken word poetry when one of their Boys and Girls Club mentors showed them a spoken word video. At the University of Virginia, Morris participated in poetry slams. In their Gallaudet social work program, they impressively deploy their artistic and activism chops.

Their advocacy projects are numerous. Morris is developing ASL G, a non-profit organization. The group’s mission “is to develop community garden coalitions and programming for art and health wellness through disability justice,” Morris said.

Morris was the former creative outreach coordinator of VOCA, a non-profit that supports BIPOC, Deaf artists.

“I have family members that have been incarcerated,” Morris said. “Because of that, I want to fight the injustice of the prison industry and mass incarceration.”

Morris is the president of Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI), a student club at Gallaudet.

Ableism, audism (discrimination against Deaf people), homophobia and racism are issues for Morris. “The white presence is prominent in many institutions,” they said, “often they’re predominantly white.”

Morris likes being a Gallaudet student. But, “there’s a lack of racial competency at Gallaudet as there is in the whole of America,” they said.

The queer community has provided safe spaces for Morris.

Once, Morris and their partner attended a queer Halloween party in Charlottesville. “Half the people in attendance knew or were learning sign language,” Morris said.

“I think it was then that I realized how connected the queer community was in ensuring no one was left out.”

Morris went to the party as Beast Boy, and their partner went as Raven from Teen Titans.

Follow Morris on Instagram @Blckrainbow5

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CALENDAR

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Friday, November 03

Monday, November 06

Thursday, November 09

Center Aging Friday Tea Time will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. For more details, email adam@thedccenter.org.

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Social” at 7 p.m. at The Commentary. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

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.

The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be fair with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box.

No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org or call 202-682-2245.

Virtual Yoga Class with Jesse Z. will be at 12 p.m. online. This is a weekly class focusing on yoga, breathwork, 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.

Saturday, November 04 LGBTQ People of Color Support Group will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space the strives to be safe and judgement free. For more details, visit thedccenter. org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc.

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including Allies, together for delicious food and conversation. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Sunday, November 05 AfroCode DC will be at 4 p.m. at Decades DC. This event will be an experience of non-stop music, dancing, and good vibes and a crossover of genres and a fusion of cultures. Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Dinner & Conversation” at 6 p.m. at As You Are. Guests are encouraged to come enjoy an evening of Italian-style dining and conversation with other LGBTQ folk on the enclosed front patio. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Tuesday, November 07 Universal Pride Meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

This group seeks to support, educate, empower, and create change for people with disabilities. For more details, email andyarias09@gmail.com.

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Social” at 7 p.m. at HiTide Lounge. This event is perfect if you haven’t been out in a while, want to network, and make some new friends. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, November 08 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.

AnaMarieKing will host “November Collage Night” at 7 p.m. at 3409 Connecticut Ave., N.W. This event is ideal for those who want to cut stuff up, glue it together, make art and friends. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

OUT & ABOUT Tony-winning musical coming to Bethesda

CAMP Rehoboth partners for blood drive

“A Year with Frog and Toad” will start its run at ImaginationStage starting Wednesday, Nov. 15. The opening performance on will be on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m.

The show, based on children’s books by Arnold Lobel, has book and lyrics by Willie Reale, music by Robert Reale, and is directed by Ashleigh King.The musical also tells the funny and heartwarming tale of two best friends, the cheerful Frog and the grumpy Toad, as they embark on a year-long adventure through the seasons.

Tickets start at $12 and can be purchased on Imagination Stage’s website.

CAMP Rehoboth Community Center will partner with the Blood Bank of Delmarva to host a blood drive on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.

This partnership follows the news of the FDA lifting its ban on the ability of men who have sex with men to donate blood earlier this year. The blood drive will include registration options to sign up for a “Whole Blood” or “AR-Double Red” appointment.

Advance registration is required at camprehoboth.org/ blooddrive.

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CAMP Rehoboth hosts a blood drive on Nov. 11.

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THEATER

‘POTUS’ a brash, ballsy farce performed by all-female cast Arena production with Kelly McAndrew funny with political depth

By PATRICK FOLLIARD there’s definitely a freedom that comes with that. The reIn Arena Stage’s “POTUS,” out actor Kelly McAndrew hearsal space becomes a feminist room where you’re not plays Bernadette, the gay younger sister of the president concerned about offending male ego. of the United States. She’s also a convicted drug dealer in And my fellow cast members are amazing. [Naomi Jasearch of a pardon and apt to show up when and where cobson, Megan Hill, Felicia Curry, Natalya Lynette Rathshe’s least wanted. nam, Sarah-Anne Martinez, Yesenia Iglesias].

Penned by Selina Fillinger, “POTUS” is a brash and ballsy farce performed by an all-female cast. In describing BLADE: Do you often play queer characters? the action, McAndrew is careful not to include a single MCANDREW: Increasingly so, which is fantastic. New spoiler: It’s about seven women connected to the presiYork actors Michael Urie and Ryan Spahn have done dent in various ways, some more supportive than others, Pride Plays where they actively sought out gay actors to who find themselves together in the Oval Office, when a play gay characters. possibly deadly screwup kicks off a wild ride of events.

I’m femme presenting so people don’t always see McAndrew who lives in Astoria, Queens with her wife me for queer parts because they have specific tropes in Erin, and two cats Bradley and Basil, has a history with mind, but that’s changing. I know a lot of playwrights and Washington theater. In 2000, she played Annie Sullivan in some have crafted roles for me, which I consider a com“The Miracle Worker” at Arena. plete gift.

“It was my first big job out of school and a fairytale experience,” she says. “It’s a great role, and the stakes of BLADE: How did you get the part of Bernadette? the play are so high because young Helen Keller may not MCANDREW: I was lucky. My wife and I know the dilearn language.” rector, Margot Bordelon.

Also in 2000, she played Eleanor Bachman in Arena’s Last year Margot cast me as Martha in “Who’s Afraid revival production of “The Great White Hope,” and the of Virginia Woolf” at the Denver Center. We gelled as acfollowing year she garnered a Helen Hayes Award nomitor and director and formed an incredible instant bond. nation for her performance in “Holiday” at Olney Theatre She’s a very actor driven director and of course I like that.

Center.

So, when Bernadette came up, Margot messaged me WASHINGTON BLADE: Welcome back to D.C. It’s that there was a part that I’d rock and that we’d have a been a while. good time. She sent me the script and I really liked it. It’s KELLY MCANDREW: It’s great to be back and to have absolutely filthy. It begins and ends with the c-word.

20 years on me and be so much more relaxed. First time I worked here I basically went from housing to the theater.

BLADE: What’s she like?

I was so nervous that I’d be late or lost. Now I’m using MCANDREW: Bernadette arrives as an agent of chaos.

Capital Bikeshare, checking out monuments, doing muShe’s the last character to enter, page 30 of the first act seums; I’m really enjoying the city. to be precise.

She’s been in prison. Her brother has agreed to pardon BLADE: Have you been in many plays both helmed her. She shows up wearing an ankle monitor. She’s a drug and acted exclusively by women? dealer who sells to the White House staff.

MCANDREW: A few times. It doesn’t happen a lot. But

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KELLY MCANDREW in ‘POTUS’ at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater running through Nov. 12.

(Photo by Kian McKellar)

But she does have plans. In addition to getting a pardon, she’s trying to win back her former girlfriend, the White House press secretary, and possibly make a career change. Bernadette says, “I’m trying to go legit and open a tattoo parlor. But it’s a tough economy because someone isn’t delivering on his tax plan.”

BLADE: You’re in Arena’s Fichlander space. Do you like performing in the round?

MCANDREW: It’s great and it’s a challenge. Farces are usually done in proscenium because of all the slamming doors and disappearing into the wings. But they’ve done things like adding freestanding glass door frames and a credenza that serves as a hiding place that works very well.

As farce, “POTUS” is very funny. But there’s some political depth to this too, underlying and dark. You’ll see that it resonates, especially with Washington audiences.

‘POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive’ Through Nov. 12 | Arena Stage 1101 Sixth St., S.W. | Washington, DC 20024 $115 | Arenastage.org

“WASHINGTON IS A BUTTONED-UP PLACE WHERE EVERYONE TAKES THEMSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY.

THE PLEASURE OF “POTUS” IS THAT IT TAKES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AND NO ONE THAT WAY.” — THE WASHINGTON POST

POTUS

OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE

BY SELINA FILLINGER DIRECTED BY MARGOT BORDELON

ONLY THRU NOVEMBER 12 Photo of Kelly McAndrew and Natalya Lynette Rantham in POTUS by Margot Schulman.

ORDER TODAY!

ARENASTAGE.ORG/POTUS | 202-488-3300

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FILM

‘Fellow Travelers’ mixes queer love, politics for sexy history lesson A relationship enduring across the years despite resistance and betrayal

By JOHN PAUL KING In a time when every streaming platform is falling over itself to present the newest “must binge” series, the phrase “Event TV” really has no meaning.

Yet once upon a time – just a few decades ago, in fact, when three major networks and a handful of cable companies highlighted every season with “hot topic of the day” shows from “Roots” to “The Band Played On” – it was something television viewers expected, a standard part of the small-screen line-up that inevitably generated ratings and provided a cultural touchstone (or at least, a good topic of discussion in the break room at work) for millions of people. If that era were still going on today, “Fellow Travelers” would be a perfect fit for the category.

Adapted from Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel of the same name, Showtime’s sweeping eight-episode historical romance, which premiered with its provocative first episode on Oct. 27, checks off all the necessary boxes to pique the zeitgeist of our time. Presenting a fictionalized-but-authentic narrative that weaves real-life history into an intensely intimate love story spanning decades, it touches on issues of hotbed importance to our modern world while spinning an irresistible tale of forbidden romance – tempered by hard reality – that both blends into and epitomizes the lived reality of a generation.

To cement its status as a show that is not to be missed, it casts gay heartthrobs Matt Bomer (“Magic Mike,” “The Normal Heart,” and any number of Ryan Murphy projects) and Jonathan Bailey (“Bridgerton”) as the star-crossed couple at its center, whose love plays out across a period of queer American political experience that spans from the deeply closeted pre-Stonewall era of 1950s America to the cultural trauma of the AIDS epidemic.

Simultaneously telling both the beginning and the end of its story, “Travelers” moves back and forth through time as it follows the love affair between two gay men – war hero turned government man Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller (Bomer) and political idealist Tim Laughlin (Bailey) – through three-and-a-half decades of American history. Juxtaposing the story of their increasingly enmeshed relationship – alongside that of a queer couple of color, a Black journalist (Jelani Alladin) and a gender-bending nightclub performer (Noah J. Ricketts) – with the years-later saga of their reconnection after a devastating betrayal has torn them apart, its dominant throughline is tied to the underreported (though irrefutably documented) history of homophobic discrimination by the U.S. government. That began with the McCarthy “Red Scare” era purge of known-or-suspected homosexuals employed within government service, justified by the presumed security risk associated with anyone participating in a “deviant” lifestyle – that would eventually culminate in the debacle of the nation’s indifference to AIDS and the rising death toll that was taking place in plain sight.

It’s not the first show to tackle this subject matter; America’s response to AIDS, and the deeply ingrained cultural homophobia that laid unabashedly behind it, has been explored so much that it has become almost a thematic trope. As to the topic of queer life in an environment where “passing” as straight is purely a matter of survival, it’s a subject as relevant to queer existence in much of the world today as it has ever been, which we’ve rightly seen it reiterated time and again. But given the current push in American politics to erode the hard-won advancements of the LGBTQ community toward acceptance and equality, it’s hard to complain about a show that wants to explore it on our screens yet again.

Even so, it’s also hard not to go into “Fellow Travelers” without noting the common ground it shares with other dramatic narratives covering the same ground – especially, perhaps, playwright Tony Kushner’s seminal and now-iconic Pulitzer-winning “Angels in America,” with which it invites comparison by virtue of its inclusion of real-life poster boy for internalized homophobia Roy Cohn (played here by Will Brill) and its focus on closeted characters working within the U.S. political establishment – and wondering if it will have anything new or noteworthy to say.

Based solely on its first episode, you might be prodded toward even more skepticism; establishing itself with a broad strokes and a glossy tone, it feels a bit like an old-school tearjerker, evoking the Douglas Sirk-ish social melodramas of its (predominantly) vintage setting even as it moves from past to future and back again. It’s stylish, even lovely, but

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MATT BOMER and JONATHAN BAILEY star in ‘Fellow Travelers.’

seems built on a distancing artifice. And its romantic leads, the characters to which we are supposed to attach ourselves, might be hard to swallow – for some viewers, at least – simply because they are gay men seemingly content to live their real lives under cover while working for a governmental system that facilitates their oppression. To put it simply, it all feels a little too “Hollywood.”

Yet despite this, or perhaps because of it, the show draws us in. Though at first we might think it tends toward the shallow, drawing on familiar formulas and offering up two thinly drawn protagonists in hopes we’ll accept them simply because they are played by a pair of impossibly handsome leading men – but the ideas it presents are important, and the history it documents illuminates a past that has remained obscured for far too long, so we’re willing to jump on board. Besides, those leading men are not only very handsome, they have a winning chemistry together, and the authenticity of the casting pays off by delivering a queer screen couple that feels genuine – and that’s not just because of their unapologetically sexy love scenes. Even if their story doesn’t quite make sense to us yet, we want to see more of them.

That’s a very good thing, because as the series moves along, the tone changes drastically. Though the world of episode one is full of blithe denial and resignation to a status quo that might make our hindsight bristle, it’s a world that quickly changes as the show progresses, a change driven home by the show’s time-jumping framework. The oppression gets worse, the danger gets real, and the effect those things have on the lives of these two men – one a seemingly amoral pragmatist who has accepted and embraced a closeted life as a condition for success and the other a passionate “true believer” naïve enough to fall under the spell of a right-wing political ideology – has an impact. They change, they make choices and suffer consequences; in other words, they deepen, and as they do, the show does too.

That’s because show creator Ron Nyswaner, despite making some changes from the novel, understood the throughline at its core and held tight to it in building the series.

Ultimately, “Fellow Travelers” is not a story about politics, or social causes, or any of the other weighty issues that shape its trajectory. It’s a story about love, enduring across the years despite resistance, opposition, and betrayal; whether it ends happily or not – and you won’t get any spoilers here – it is lived passionately. Because of that, we care, and because we care, those big ideas land even more soundly.

M-F 8am-7pm Sat 9am-6pm Sun 10am-5pm

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BOOKS

Family of trans daughter faces terrifying threat from gov’t Book addresses what happens when lawmakers target youth

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The piece of cake you cut into did not have a pastel center.

There were no pretty balloons in a box, no colorful confetti, no “Team Pink” or “Team Blue” T-shirts or bracelets. You didn’t have a gender-reveal party for your baby because you didn’t want to know. As in the memoir “Letter to My Transgender Daughter” by Carolyn Hays, you’ll let your child tell you in person.

She never expected another baby.

After seven years, Carolyn Hays thought she was done with diapers and late-night feedings but the pregnancy test didn’t lie. This was good news. The whole family was excited to welcome another member into the household.

The baby was a boy – but as soon as he could talk, he told everyone he was a girl.

No problem; Hays’s other children rolled with it; they “saw” their sibling for who she was. Teachers were also nonplussed; they gave the girl a nickname, and extended family members quickly learned to use it.

Hays and her husband balked sometimes, though. They hoped it was a phase. They gave their daughter “girly” things and allowed her to wear girls clothing, but they tried “boy on the outside/girl on the inside” wordage. Their daughter patiently corrected them each time until eventually, they, too, saw the truth. Their youngest child was a girl.

They were, at that time, “a big, loud East Coast family, new to the Bible Belt” but they’d found community in the South, and a support group so Hays could parent her trans daughter better. Everything seemed to work out – until the knock on the door.

The representative of the Department of Children and Families couldn’t tell Hays who’d made a complaint about them, or when. They could only guess who was offended by their personal family matter, or their total acceptance of their daughter.

All they knew, she said, was “We could lose custody. We could lose you.”

If you are someone who loves a child – any child, even a cis child – be prepared to have your heart fall out of your chest. “Letter to My Transgender Daughter” is a nightmare, not because of the book itself but because of what very nearly happened to its author and her family.

Indeed, this “letter” in book form goes from mildly confessional to outright terrified, and author Carolyn Hays susses out all of your emotions and turns them raw. Hers is an honest story, not only of a trans girl but of parents who walk through the steps of acceptance.

Cue the ominous music, though: you know what’s coming but foresight doesn’t diminish the outrage and fear you’ll feel, once you get there – although Hays doesn’t completely let you roll in misery. Readers will be delighted by the precociousness and determination in her daughter’s patient steadfastness, and by Hays’s family memories.

Now out in paperback, “Letter to My Transgender Daughter” is an absolute read for parents and for trans adults. Read it – then check the headlines and see if it doesn’t cut your heart to pieces.

‘Letter to My Transgender Daughter’

By Carolyn Hays

c.2023, Blair Publisher | $17.95 | 282 pages

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES VIRGINIA OPERA

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m.

Rossini’s beloved bel canto operatic comedy

CHANTICLEER

HOLIDAY

A Chanticleer Christmas Saturday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m.

“The world’s reigning male chorus” (New Yorker)

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH RENÉE FLEMING

NATALIE MacMASTER AND DONNELL LEAHY HOLIDAY

Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m.

Featuring one of the most celebrated singers of our time

A Celtic Family Christmas “Nothing short of jaw dropping” (The Guardian)

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

TICKETS: RENÉE FLEMING

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CFA.GMU.EDU

703-993-2787

Located on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University

La Banda Morisca – US Premiere!

Nov 4, 8 pm; Nov 5, 2 pm Mesmerizing melodies bridge cultures and captivate hearts, drawing from the rich fusion of Flamenco origins in old Al-Andaluz with its Moorish and Jewish heritage.

Lo preciso – DC Premiere!

Spain Flamenco Arts + FECACE

Nov 9 - 11, 8 pm; Nov 12, 2 pm Rafael Ramírez explores the realm of idyllic perfection, fusing modern and classical Flamenco traditions.

Enredo – World Premiere!

Flamenco Aparicio Dance Co.

Nov 17 - 18, 8 pm; Nov 19, 2 pm A reflection of the dual nature of the human experience, where individuality and society are in a constant dance with each other.

galatheatre.org | 202-234-7174 3333 14th St. NW, WDC 20010

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BLADE BIZ

Tour guide Kaitlin Calogera bringing marginalized history to life A Tour Of Her Own is first D.C. tourism company to focus on women’s stories

By OMARI FOOTE “At that point, it’s my responsibility as a tour Kaitlin Calogera was a Washington, D.C. tour guide to show that this is democracy in action,” guide for five years but said she saw a need for she said. tours centered on telling the stories of notable figCalogera emphasized that her job is not just to ures who don’t have a statue on the National Mall. yell and point at landmarks but to understand the In 2018, Calogera started A Tour Of Her Own, city that she works in. She and her team know what the first tourism company in D.C. to focus on woma rally is supposed to look like and what it’s not. en’s history.

They will analyze and ask for consent before “Our tours are different than other tours, beproceeding into a heightened situation, but do not cause we don’t only point out what’s right in front immediately turn away from conflict. of you,” she said. “We also help you unlearn history As a part of their analysis, they consider factors and show you what’s not there.” like whether or not people are keeping respectThe tours A Tour of Her Own offers range from ful distances, how police are interacting with the personal to private and even virtual tours. The crowd and if people are beginning to get physicalpublic tour program entitled, “The Lineup”, inly violent, before approaching protests. cludes four women’s history and culture events “Those are all things that a tour guide has knowlper month.

Tour guide KAITLIN CALOGERA edge of because we know our city, we know how According to Calogera, a lot of tour guides are (Photo courtesy of Cynthia Schiavetto Staliunas Schiavetto Photography) it functions, we know how it operates,” she said. trained to shy away from talking about political As Calogera looks to the future, she wants to extopics to avoid offending anyone in the group. pand A Tour Of Her Own to reach a broader audience.

However, Calogera says that at A Tour of Her Own they lean into politics and current “Students who go to school and their books are getting banned in libraries,” she events, without particularly “choosing sides.” said, “they’ll never have access to what feminist history or queer history looks like un“What we try to do is share relevant, historical stories and then open it up for converless they leave their towns.” sation so that the people in the group have a voice,” she said. “It is their tour as much Her goal is to find a way to bring people who don’t have access to marginalized hisas it is ours.” tories to D.C. and give them the opportunity to learn.

In a recent tour, Calogera said she encountered a protest about reproductive rights “What I would like to see with A Tour Of Her Own is expanding access to the most between a religious and queer group. As the groups approached each other with vulnerable in our communities,” she said. “I want to be able to access people who are chants and opposing signs, Calogera took a temperature check and decided to make suffering from not only a lack of education – but a deliberate attack on it.” the tense situation a learning moment.

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REAL ESTATE

Navigating a confusing housing market Should I buy now or wait?

By JEFF HAMMERBERG

budget to the limit; ensure you have a financial cushion.

The housing market, like a complex and intricate puzzle, is shaped by various inter• Long-Term Goals - Beyond the Market’s Fluctuations: locking pieces. Among the key factors influencing it, mortgage interest rates and invenConsider your long-term plans. If you intend to make the purchased home your tory levels are two puzzle pieces that capture the spotlight. Recent times have witnessed primary residence for many years, short-term market fluctuations may have less higher interest rates and a dwindling housing inventory, which often prompt questions impact on your decision. Real estate has historically appreciated over time, makabout the sustainability of soaring house prices. ing long-term ownership a potentially rewarding endeavor.

Let’s delve into the enigmatic world of real estate to understand why house prices may • Market Conditions - A Local Perspective: be on the rise despite these challenges. We’ll also explore the age-old dilemma: should The housing market is not uniform across the country. Local market conditions you seize the moment and buy now, or is it wiser to exercise patience and wait for the can vary widely. Connect with a GayRealEstate.com agent and research the speperfect mortgage rate and opportunity? cific housing market in your area. Some regions may be more competitive than • Strong Demand - The Engine of Price Growth: others, and understanding local The first puzzle piece in our exploration of housing market dynamics is strong dynamics is essential. demand. A multitude of factors, including population growth, employ• Interest Rates - Keep a ment opportunities, and lifestyle and work changes, Watchful Eye: can fuel a surge in demand for homes.

Interest rates play a pivotal role As more buyers enter the market, the scarcity of available homes can create in home affordability. While they may be higher than historic lows, fierce competition, ultimately driving they could still be relatively low up prices. compared to long-term averag• Low Inventory - The Missing Pieces: es. Calculate how changes in Another critical puzzle piece interest rates might affect your monthly mortgage payments. which we are experiencing toI anticipate that mortgage interday is the supply of homes. est rates will decrease in the future, When there are fewer homes although I am skeptical that they on the market compared to the will return to the historically low 3% number of buyers, the result is levels we’ve seen before. It’s more a classic case of supply and delikely that they will hover around mand economics. Low inventory 5% over the next 12-18 months. levels can be attributed to a hesThe key question is whether housitancy to sell, for those homeowning prices will continue to increase, ers locked into low interest rates potentially offsetting the advantagand uncertain economic times.

This scarcity, however, empowers es of lower interest rates, especially when there’s the option to secure a sellers and contributes to rising home prices. home now and refinance later if betTo buy or to wait it out? That is the question. ter rates become available.

• Inflation - The Silent Incentive: (At GayRealEstate.com, we recThe ever-present inflation facognize the significance of this decision for our LGBTQ community members. Whether tor should not be underestimated. As the cost of goods and services rises, invesyou choose to seize the moment and embark on your homeownership journey now or tors often seek to safeguard their wealth by investing in tangible assets such as exercise patience while awaiting the perfect opportunity, our dedicated real estate proreal estate. This pursuit of stability has further reduced inventory and bolstered fessionals are here to support you every step of the way. Let us help you find not just a property prices. house but a place to call home, where you can live authentically and comfortably in a Which leads us to the question; Should I Buy Now or Wait? space that reflects your unique identity and aspirations. Your dream home awaits, and Amidst the intricate puzzle of the housing market, the most pressing question often rewe’re here to make it a reality.) volves around timing. Is now the right time to buy a home, or should you bide your time?

The answer is not one-size-fits-all; it depends on your unique circumstances and goals.

• Affordability - The Key Consideration: First and foremost, consider your financial readiness. Can you comfortably afford a home at current price levels and interest rates? Factor in all the associated is an entrepreneur and broker and founder of GayRealEstate.com. costs, including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Don’t stretch your

JEFF HAMMERBERG

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]CHINCOTEAGUE BAY WATERFRONT ]

COASTAL ELEGANCE

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LIVING ON ISLAND TIME

Chincoteague, VA - Deep water access and flood gates to the intracoastal waterway. Amazing water & sunset views from deck & patio.

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Virtual tours and more details on these amazing, waterfront estates at

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Schedule a private showing with Meghan O. Clarkson, Realtor

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PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

MASSAGE

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BULLETIN BOARD

ACADEMY OF HOPE Adult Public Charter School REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Security System & Cameras The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School located in Washington, DC requests proposals for Security System and Cameras. Proposals are due November 17, 2023. You can find the detailed request for proposal and submission information at https:// aohdc.org/get-involved/jobs/

POLITICAL SUPPORT

LGBTQ+ ATTACKS ARE WORSE THAN EVER!!

FIGHT BACK! Donate a dollar or more to my

campaign. I am John Clayton, an LGBTQ+ candidate, running for county supervisor in Iowa. Please join others to make our voices heard.

Thank you!

www.claytonjc.com

Paid for by Climate Crisis Committee for Clayton

CLEANING

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

202-580-8661 gaymenscounseling.org

HANDYMAN

BRITISH REMODELING

Local licensed company with over 25 years of experience.

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Trevor 703-303-8699 LEGAL SERVICES

ADOPTION, DONOR, SURROGACY legal services. Catelyn represents LGBTQ clients in DC, MD & VA interested in adoption or ART matters.

MODERN FAMILY FORMATION Law Offices, Slattery Law, LLC.

240-245-7765

Catelyn@ModernFamilyFormation.com

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including probate, small estates and foreign estates. Public notices are required to be published in newspapers of general circulation because these venues (now both print and online) reach the largest number of people in the community, while offering an easily archivable and verifiable outlet to make sure the notice was published when and how it was intended.

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Dr. Conor Grey, DO is now with

650 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Ste 310 (202) 350-5000