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Former big city mayors Lightfoot and Parker on 2024 campaign, PAGE 10
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An embarrassment of riches in Delaware’s District 14 House race
Gay, lesbian candidates and an ally competing in Sept. 10 primary
By JOE REBERKENNY
As summer draws to a close, attention is increasingly focused on the upcoming primary and general elections.
In Delaware’s 14th District, which includes Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, and southern Lewes, three candidates are running to replace state Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, a longtime LGBTQ ally.
Kathy McGuiness, Claire Snyder-Hall, and Marty Rendon are all hoping to win the seat of the former speaker of the House, who announced he would not run for reelection after 20 years in office.
It’s an embarrassment of riches for the local LGBTQ community. Of the three running for the seat, two — Claire Snyder-Hall and Marty Rendon — identify as members of the LGBTQ community. McGuiness is a strong LGBTQ ally.
Snyder-Hall, a lesbian, has a long history in the 14th District and in politics. Drawing from her leadership at the Delaware office of Common Cause, a national organization dedicated to protecting and strengthening democracy, and her 20 years as a political science professor at George Mason University, she has extensive experience in politics.
“I’m representing the district, but I’m also representing our whole community,” Snyder-Hall said in an interview with the Washington Blade. “The LGBTQ+ community is so large — it’s not just Rehoboth Beach proper, which is one-mile square, or even unincorporated Rehoboth. We’re spreading out into western Sussex, going south. A lot of people don’t have any representation in the General Assembly because they have, I’ll say it, Republicans, representing them. I see myself as representing the entire community.”
Snyder-Hall said she has spent her entire life fighting for this community.
“I’ve spent decades working on LGBTQ+ rights,” she said. “My wife and I were lobby captains in Maryland for Equality Maryland before we moved to Rehoboth. I ran the phone bank with Chris Beagle at CAMP Rehoboth for months.”
This experience, she said, in tandem with how the current national political system is moving, is why she decided to run.
“This is the most important election of our lifetime. Choice is on the ballot. LGBTQ+ rights are on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot, and indeed, the American Dream itself is on the ballot as we face a series of crises that are threatening our prosperity and quality of life.”
The complex community of the 14th District, Snyder-Hall explains, is diverse, and requires a represen -
tative who understands the nuanced issues of the area. Of these issues, healthcare in Delaware is a major focus of her campaign.
“Healthcare, including both reproductive healthcare and protections for gender-affirming care, are critically important across Delaware,” the former professor said. “We’re having a severe shortage of healthcare providers in eastern Sussex, and that’s something that I hear at the doorsteps all the time. I’ve knocked on thousands of doors, and it’s a common thing. We also have to make absolutely sure that reproductive choice is protected, and I favor a constitutional amendment to protect abortion, protect reproductive freedom, including abortion access.”
In addition to abortion protections, Snyder-Hall highlighted another aspect of healthcare policy she wishes to address: gender-affirming care. As states across the country begin to pass more laws restricting and regulating transgender healthcare, she is in favor of protecting the right to gender-affirming healthcare.
“We’re starting to become a state that’s receiving a lot of so-called ‘refugees’ from other states that are persecuting trans people,” she said. “I think it’s really important that we extend the protections that we already have in place for reproductive care to providers of gender-affirming care. So for a variety of reasons, healthcare is really pressing.”
Snyder-Hall added she encourages the state to pass legislation enshrining protections for the LGBTQ community.
“I would like to see a constitutional amendment that protects sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression and disability,” she said. “That’s something that was filed a couple years ago and didn’t move, but now we have a new speaker of the House, Valerie Longhurst, and she was the sponsor of that bill, so that makes me optimistic about its future.”
Marty Rendon, who is also running for the seat, highlighted protecting LGBTQ Delawareans as a major issue for his campaign. Rendon, who is gay and Mexican-American, worked in Washington for most of his career as a congressional aide and director for congressional relations for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund).
Rendon remembers when Rehoboth was less welcoming of the LGBTQ community.
“I can remember when signs used to be up saying ‘Keep Rehoboth a family town’ and there were attacks on gay people, physical attacks, and there were slurs and things,” Rendon recalled. “It was not necessarily a welcoming place, but over time, thanks to the efforts of
groups like CAMP Rehoboth and other groups like the Washington Blade, they helped plant the flag for us … We’re now a very viable part of the community. I think it shows you how far we’ve come, the fact that an openly gay man like me has a really good chance of winning the seat and representing everybody, not just our community, but everybody.”
Rendon added that an openly gay candidate winning the seat would be a welcome step in the right direction.
“It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to send somebody from the LGBTQ+ community to an elected position, particularly in Rehoboth Beach which has a very, very strong LGBTQ+ community,” Rendon said. “Why not send someone from our community?”
The Movement Advancement Project, which tracks more than 50 LGBTQ-related laws and policies in every state in the U.S., ranked Delaware as “Medium Overall LGBTQ Policies.” The project explains there are protections for gay couples to get married, but they are not as exhaustive as other states when it comes to other LGBTQ matters, including healthcare, adoption, and anti-bullying laws.
In addition to advocating for LGBTQ protections, Rendon also said that climate change and healthcare are his two biggest issues, as he explains they impact everyone regardless of sexuality, income, and background.
“One of the biggest issues we’re facing here as a coastal state is the effect of climate change,” Rendon began. “Right now, we’re worrying about tornadoes coming in every time there’s a hurricane alert. We worry that our shoreline is very low, and we worry about the ocean rising. We worry about our inland waterways that close. Climate issues are very, very concerning to us here, and I think everybody’s affected by that.”
His opinions on the issue of healthcare echoed Snyder-Hall’s views, and particularly highlighted accessibility in Delaware.
“The healthcare costs are important, but when I knock on doors here and I talk to people, the biggest issue is access to healthcare,” he said. “How do we, particularly, when you’re down here in southern Delaware, [get access]? Let’s say you need a specialist. Well, do you have to go to Wilmington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, D.C.? Where do you find the specialist? We need to attract specialists, but then the regular primary health care providers, the physician’s assistants, the nurses, we need more of those people, and we need to get them to come here.”
His solution, he told the Blade, is already in the works and is achievable if the work is put in. This would benefit everyone in the community, he explains, but particularly some of Sussex County’s most vulnerable (and growing) demographic — people who come to the beach to retire.
“One of the ways that a lot of folks have thought might be a part of the solution is this idea of getting a medical school here, particularly in Sussex County. And now that idea is not a pipe dream…There are people working on that, the Sussex development folks are working on it.”
CONTINUES ON PAGE 08
CLAIRE SNYDER-HALL
MARTY RENDON
Pannell withdraws candidacy for Ward 8 Council seat
Longtime activist backs another candidate challenging arrested incumbent
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Two days after he said he would run as a write-in candidate to challenge Ward 8 D.C. Council member Trayon White (D), who was arrested earlier this month by the FBI on a bribery charge, longtime gay and Ward 8 community activist Phil Pannell withdrew his candidacy on Aug. 23 and announced his support for another candidate.
According to the Washington Informer newspaper, Pannell said he is now backing Ward 8 political activist and former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Markus Batchelor, who ran against White in the Democratic primary earlier this year before dropping out of that race.
When he first announced his write-in candidacy to challenge White, Pannell said he would withdraw from the race if another credible candidate entered the race. On Aug. 23, after learning that Batchelor, 31, had announced his write-in candidacy, Pannell said he was stepping aside, the Washington Informer reports.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately reach Pannell and Batchelor for comment.
Batchelor has expressed support for LGBTQ rights in his past political involvements.
Like a number of other Ward 8 community activists, Pannell has called for White to resign. White and his Council staff have declined repeated requests by the news media for comment regarding the arrest and his plans going forward.
In an arrest affidavit filed in federal court, prosecutors allege that White accepted tens of thousands of dollars in cash payments and agreed to receive a total of at least $156,000 from a business owner in exchange for urging city official to approve a multi-million-dollar contract for the owner’s business The FBI has yet to publicly identify either the owner or the business.
Under D.C. election rules, if White does not drop out of the race before Sept. 12 his name will remain on the November election ballot for the Ward 8 Council seat. Currently, the only other candidate on the ballot for the Ward 8 Council seat is Republican Nate Derenge.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 06
3 Democrats vie to replace Schwartzkopf in Delaware’s 14th
“We also should think about incentives to encourage people to come to areas that are less medically served than others,” Rendon added. “We don’t want to send people to Philadelphia to school and then they stay there to pay off their medical school debts.”
Kathy McGuiness, the third candidate running for the state house seat also explained healthcare in District 14 is central to her campaign. McGuiness, who is a third-generation local resident of Rehoboth Beach, studied biology and DNA research in college, eventually going to Northeastern in Boston for a degree in pharmacy. After getting her degree, she returned to Rehoboth, started her family, and “bought an old dying pharmacy.”
McGuiness eventually turned to local government
after working in medicine for 30 years. She was a City of Rehoboth Commissioner from 2000-2012 and in 2014-2018. This experience, she explained, allowed her to see the issues in her community up close and ways to address them.
“I think the most pressing issues are bringing the resources to the 14th District,” she said. “If I’m speaking for the 14th District, we need money here for infrastructure, for transportation. We were an underserved area in the healthcare world 30 years ago, and now we’re still underserved even more so actually. We’re federally recognized as being underserved. We don’t have enough healthcare professionals. We’re in a crisis. As a pharmacist, I see that firsthand.”
“I see a lot of folks that move here without an advocate. “‘[Delaware] has low taxes. Let’s go retire,’ and they’re still having to go back to New York or New Jersey or Maryland or Virginia to see their doctors because they can’t get an appointment here.”
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, the incumbent, endorsed McGuiness. Schwartzkopf has a long history of supporting LGBTQ issues despite not being a part of the community himself. McGuiness told the Blade this is why he chose to endorse her campaign.
“I think that’s why Pete has endorsed me, because he knows I’m aligned with his thinking. He knows that I will continue the good work and champion and be supportive of the LGBTQ community, and that that includes the trans youth and gender iden -
tity, you name it, I am there as a supporter, and I will be a fierce advocate. I will continue to champion or co-champion, or assist those who are bringing forth good legislation for our protections.”
Rendon says his independence is why he is the best fit for the job.
“At this point in my life, I’m retired,” Rendon said. “It’s my full job. I don’t have anything to distract me. I don’t have any special interests. I’m kind of dangerous because nobody controls me. No PAC controls me. No special interest. I’m not doing this for my law firm, my insurance company or my real estate, none of that stuff. I’m just doing this to serve.”
Snyder-Hall emphasizes that having experience within the community is what will make her a good representative. She pointed out that sometimes people don’t agree when writing laws, but that’s where the work starts.
“There’s no shortcut when you’re trying to pass legislation. You have to try to reason with people. You try to appeal to their humanity. You try to appeal to their hearts — like when we did the marriage equality fight. Try to appeal to reason, to people’s hearts, to their humanity, and to their interests.”
The primary election is Sept. 10. For more information about the election visit elections.delaware.gov and for information on each candidate you can visit their websites at: mcguinessfordelaware.com, martyrendon.com, and clairesnyderhall.com.
PHIL PANNELL (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
KATHY MCGUINESS
EXCLUSIVE: Annise Parker, Lori Lightfoot outline path to victory for Harris
Former Houston, Chicago mayors emphasize importance of big cities
By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com
CHICAGO — Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker and former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke exclusively with the Washington Blade last week in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.
Among other topics, they discussed their impressions of the convention, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s path to victory in November, the Democratic campaign’s efforts to mobilize voters in key battleground states, the candidates’ proven track records of fighting for LGBTQ rights, and the ways in which their administration would build on this work of expanding freedoms and protections for the community.
This year’s DNC was the last Parker will attend as president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBTQ candidates to public office, and the LGBTQ Victory Institute, which coordinates placement of LGBTQ federal employees and administers training and networking events.
“It’s not my first convention, but I have to say it is the most exciting and energetic convention,” she said. “There’s an energy around Kamala — the surprise, the sense of change and possibility that I’m not used to, and it feels really great.”
Prior to President Joe Biden’s announcement on July 21 that he would step aside to clear the path for Harris’s nomination, Parker said that “respectfully, some of us were slogging through” because “we knew he was the better candidate than Donald Trump, and we were going to support him because of that reason.”
“Now we’re excited because we have somebody new and different,” she said, “a shift in personality and also a shift in energy, and that works its way through the campaign.”
Lightfoot agreed that “there is a tremendous amount of energy and excitement,” but hedged that “if that doesn’t translate to butts at the polls, it doesn’t matter.”
“So, everywhere I’m going and talking to folks, it’s like, this is great; step one, get the base reunified, because it was very fractured, I think, even a month ago,” she said. “The level of excitement, consolidating the votes for the nomination, positive press, the amount of money that’s being raised — that’s all good stuff, but it’s got to have a significant ground game, because people need to show up.”
Lightfoot noted that folks from Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois, a deep blue city in a largely blue state, are traveling to Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota because “no one wins in November unless they win the Midwest, so we’re reaching out to our friends, our neighbors, and saying, ‘you got to plug in; you got to pay attention, educate yourself and get to the polls.’”
Parker echoed those remarks. “Our job is to bring in those who are not the regular Democratic rank and file,” she said, “the independents, and even disaffected Republicans, and there are a lot of those out there.”
The former mayors agreed that Trump’s narrow electoral college win in 2016 was made possible in part by the decision of many voters to stay home because they believed Hillary Clinton’s victory was not just likely — but certain.
The 2024 presidential election will be very close. Harris’s emergence as the nominee has put some states in play for the Democrats that were out of reach when Biden
was leading the ticket, but even as she pulls ahead, recent polls in key battlegrounds show the candidates are in a near-dead heat.
In this race, Parker is counting on the “push-up” effect. Down-ballot candidates can expect a boost from Harris, she said, but likewise “we’re going to turn people out to vote for their school board candidates,” or in city council and statehouse races “and they’re going to vote at the top of the ticket as well.”
Lightfoot said that part of the task before the Harris-Walz campaign will be to engage a “broad cross section of Americans who, frankly, are still disengaged, disenchanted, angry, frustrated, scared” and otherwise struggling as they recover from the “traumatic shocks” of COVID.
The pandemic worsened preexisting skepticism toward the government, she said, so the candidates must “talk about why they are the solution to a lot of the concerns that the average voter has” particularly by “speaking to those incredibly important swing voters in the seven or eight states that are in play.”
As Democrats, Lightfoot said, “we have a great propensity, sometimes,” of “trying to make the perfect be the enemy of the good” but “we need to win first, right?”
“This is one of those Bill Clinton-Al Gore moments back in the ’90s,” she said. “It’s like, I get it, I get it, but let me get there first, let me win, and then we can accomplish great things together.”
Parker and Lightfoot, both out lesbians, agreed that LGBTQ issues are not necessarily what Harris and Walz need to be talking about on the campaign trail with little more than two months until the election.
Rather, the focus must be on “the issues [that are] top of mind for the American voter,” Parker said, because the candidates “need to be talking to that great middle America out there that needs to show up to vote.”
Of course, she and Lightfoot said, it is important for LGBTQ folks, especially those who have a seat at the table, to make sure the community’s policy agenda is understood by the candidates, and likewise for the campaign to remind voters of Harris and Walz’s pro-LGBTQ backgrounds — even if, as Parker said, “that’s not how she’s going to win this election, talking about that.”
With respect to their commitments to advancing
LGBTQ rights, the former mayors repeatedly stressed that the vice president and the governor have nothing to prove. “They don’t have to promise anything,” Parker said. “They’ve already done it.”
“We are working with folks who have a proven track record of understanding the importance of our community,” Lightfoot said. “They’ve hired, they’ve appointed, they get it.”
Expanding freedoms and protections for LGBTQ people has been a through line of Harris’s career in public service. For example, well before it would have been politically advantageous, she fought for same-sex marriage when serving as district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California, defying legal restrictions to perform some of the country’s first gay and lesbian weddings.
Additionally, the past four years have cemented the Biden-Harris administration’s legacy as the most proLGBTQ presidency in American history, in no small part thanks to the work of the vice president.
And for his part, practically from the moment he was chosen as Harris’s running mate, Walz has been attacked by Trump and his conservative allies over his pro-trans record as governor. Before he entered public life, Walz was a high school teacher and football coach who served as faculty adviser to the student-led gay-straight alliance club in the 1990s, an anecdote that was shared by Harris when she appeared with him for the first time on stage at a rally on Aug. 6.
The campaign has also made outreach to and engagement with LGBTQ constituents a major priority. During an Aug. 21 meeting of the LGBTQ Caucus at the DNC, Harris for President National LGBTQ+ Engagement Director Sam Alleman outlined plans for additional activity and investment in Out for Harris, the LGBTQ national organizing push.
Putting aside the looming election, when asked whether there are specific LGBTQ policies she would like to see in a Harris-Walz administration, Parker said those conversations will be possible in earnest only if Democrats are able to win not just the White House but also flip control of the House and hold onto their majority in the Senate.
Then, she said, “we’re going to want to make sure” that LGBTQ appointees are picked to serve in key positions throughout the federal government, noting that historic numbers — 15 percent — were nominated and confirmed under the Biden-Harris administration.
“I expect that to continue,” Parker said.
Congress will play a critically important role in effectuating the Harris-Walz agenda, including on LGBTQ issues, she said, but policy is implemented “in the departments and in the bowels of government” which is why representation in these spaces matters, too.
The Democratic candidates’ support for LGBTQ rights is of a piece with the positive and inclusive spirit of their bid for the White House, which stands in stark contrast with the approach seen from their opponents.
“There is a joy, truly, about Kamala Harris’s campaign,” Parker said, and while it is unclear whether and to what extent the good vibes will be sustained until Election Day, “you get the sense that she’s really, emotionally, she’s all in it.”
Continues at washingtonblade.com
LORI LIGHTFOOT and ANNISE PARKER at the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute’s Victory at the DNC event at theWit Hotel in Chicago on Tuesday (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Activists considering ‘kissing protest’ at Dupont Circle Shake Shack
Still no arrests in attack of gay man caught on video
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Local LGBTQ activists are considering staging a kissing protest outside the Dupont Circle Shake Shack restaurant following the report that as many as four or five Shake Shack employees assaulted a gay man at the restaurant on Aug. 17 after he and his male partner kissed each other while waiting for their food order.
D.C. police and the Office of the U.S. Attorney say they are continuing to investigate the incident as a suspected hate crime, but they have declined to say when or if they plan to make one or more arrests for an assault captured on video and witnessed by at least several Shake Shack customers.
Joey Minervini, one of the activists planning a possible protest, told the Washington Blade he staged his own one-person protest on Aug. 20 by drawing with chalk several “KISS HERE” kissing stations on the sidewalk outside the Shake Shack restaurant along with chalk drawn rainbow flags.
He said he made the chalk drawings at about 4 a.m. and learned that they were washed away prior to Shake Shack’s opening at 10 a.m. He provided the Blade with a video he took of the chalk drawings.
D.C. resident Christian Dingus, 28, told the Blade the attack against him came after he tried to defuse an argument between his partner and one of the Shake Shack employees who told the two men not to kiss each other. Dingus said it started inside the Shake Shack and moved out a side door where several employees knocked him down onto the sidewalk and repeatedly punched him.
The incident was captured on video taken by another Shake Shack customer on their cell phone, which has been posted on social media. Although the faces of the attackers and of Dingus and his partner cannot be clearly seen in the video, it provides a dramatic view of a man being attacked and assaulted by several male employees dressed in Shake Shack uniforms.
A D.C. police report says one of the alleged attackers
identified only as Suspect 1 told police that Dingus, who is identified in the report as Victim 1, “placed his hands” on the suspect’s neck. “Suspect 1 advised that he was defending himself,” the report says.
Dingus called that claim a complete falsehood, saying he never touched any of the employees who attacked him. He told the Blade he raised his arm and pointed at the employees who were confronting his partner, calling on them to “leave him alone.”
In response to a request by the Blade for comment, Shake Shack released a statement saying the company was cooperating with the police investigation and it has “suspended the team members involved pending further review.” The statement did not say how many employees were suspended but added that the company has “a zero-tolerance policy for any form of violence.”
Minervini said he contacted D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes most of D.C. LGBTQ Pride events, to join him in organizing his proposed “kissing” protest at Shake Shack. He said he agreed to Capital Pride’s suggestion to hold off on setting a date for the protest, which Minervini initially set for Sept. 7, until more information could be learned about the details of the incident.
Capital Pride Alliance President Ashley Smith told the Blade he and other Capital Pride officials want to obtain more information about the incident, including a confirmation that it was in fact a hate crime before going forward with a protest.
“It has been brought to our attention that there may have been more to the issue than what is being broadcast
on the news,” Smith said. “So, we’re just trying to get to the bottom of it and get the facts.”
Minervini said someone from Capital Pride Alliance told him at least one source familiar with the incident said it may have started as a “lover’s quarrel” between Dingus and his partner that drew the attention of the Shake Shack staff. Dingus has said he and his partner stood up for each other in response to the directive by the Shake Shack employee not to kiss each other.
“I’ve been very direct with the individuals that I’ve been in communication with about whether it was a hate crime or not,” Smith said. “And if it was, if it’s being deemed as a hate crime, that’s one reaction. If it’s not being deemed as a hate crime and it’s something else, that is a totally different situation,” he said.
Smith noted that the police report lists the incident only as a suspected hate crime, and he would like more information from the police before Capital Pride Alliance moves forward with a protest. Minervini said he agrees with that assessment.
According to Minervini, the protest he and other activists were considering would be called C.H.A.L.K , which stands for “Can Have An LGBTQ+ Kiss.” He said he had planned to have a DJ play music, including the song “Kiss” by the late singer-songwriter Prince, at which time the protesters would begin kissing.
“It will have drag and it will have kissing sessions with consent,” he said. “And whenever Prince’s ‘Kiss’ song comes on that’s going to be the signal when everybody kisses and demonstrates that you can kiss publicly,” Minervini said.
National Trans Visibility March returns to D.C. amid rising attacks
Community members, advocates, and LGBTQ leaders came together for the annual National Trans Visibility March on Aug. 24 amid a weekend filled with workshops and events focused on transgender rights and advocacy. It was the first time the march returned to D.C. since its inaugural event in 2019.
About 400 people attended the march, which began with a rally at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters at 1 p.m. Hope Giselle, president of the National Trans Visibility March, took the stage to demand respect for the
transgender and non-binary community, and emphasize the power the community wields.
“We stand tall because that is power; the ability to influence the people that say that they were un-influential, the ability to speak life into people who have had their very existence crushed by the folks that were supposed to nurture and honor them,” Giselle told the crowd.
The crowd was energized with call-and-response refrains of “Trans — power, trans — power,” as other speakers took the stage, including Rev. Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey, who led an empowerment service at National City Christian Church the Friday before the rally, and Jay Jones, Howard University’s first trans student president. The president of the Human Rights Campaign, Kelley Robinson, also spoke, connecting the fight for transgender rights to broader LGBTQ causes.
“You can’t get to equality where Black trans women are being killed in the streets. You can’t get to equality where our trans and non-binary kids are under attack,” she said. “Y’all, none of us is free until all of us are free.”
Giselle then honored Robinson with a Torch Award, which Robinson had missed receiving at the ceremony on Friday evening due to being at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she spoke. The National
Trans Visibility March presents the award to “individuals whose work has impacted the lives of Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming and Non Binary (TGNCNB) communities across the nation.”
At 1:30 p.m., the crowd began to make its way down 17th Street, N.W. before turning onto P Street, N.W., toward Dupont Circle. Marchers held signs proclaiming “Trans rights are human rights,” “Protect Trans Siblings” and “Trans Lives Matter.” The march then circled back toward the HRC headquarters.
Jordan Alexander, who was crowned king in the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition’s Pageant in May, reflected on the importance of visibility for the transgender and gender non-conforming community.
“This march makes sure that people like us see people like us. A lot of the time we don’t see positive images of ourselves,” Alexander said.
The march took place against the backdrop of continued legislative attacks against the transgender community. The transgender legislation tracking organization translegislation.com has tracked a record-breaking 642 anti-trans bills considered across 42 states this year, of which 45 have passed.
ERKKI FORSTER
A protester drew images in chalk outside the Dupont Circle Shake Shack this week.
The 2024 Trans Visibility March was held on Aug. 24. (Blade photo by Erkki Forster)
Harris makes case against Trump in DNC speech
CHICAGO — Closing out the Democratic National Convention last Thursday night, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a rousing acceptance speech in which she laid out the case against Donald Trump and touched on a number of high-priority policy issues.
Harris began by describing her immigrant parents and their family’s middle class life in the Bay Area, detailing how a formative experience in her girlhood — helping a friend who was being sexually abused — had shaped her decision to become a prosecutor.
“Kamala Harris for the people,” she would tell the judge each day in the courtroom, while Trump, by contrast, has only ever looked out for himself, she said.
From the courtroom to the San Francisco district attorney’s office to the California attorney general’s office to the Senate and vice presidency, Harris detailed her journey to become her party’s presidential nominee — explaining how she was serving the people every step of the way.
In keeping with the theme of many speeches during the convention this week in Chicago, Harris explained how she would chart a new, brighter way forward as commander-in-chief, working to uplift Americans regardless of their differences.
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” she said. “A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
She repeatedly made the case against Trump, detailing how he is not only “unserious” but also dangerous — a
threat to world peace, America’s democratic institutions, the rule of law, women’s rights, and more.
The vice president presented another argument that had been a throughline in remarks by other primetime speakers, the “fundamental freedoms” at stake in this election, and how she would protect them while Trump has vowed to take them away.
She ticked off “the freedom to live safe from gun violence — in our schools, communities, and places of worship” as well as “the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride” and “the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.”
Harris noted that the “freedom to vote” is “the freedom that unlocks all the others,” retreading some of her earlier remarks about Trump’s efforts to undermine American elections.
The vice president’s second reference to LGBTQ rights came with her proclamation that “America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home.”
CHRISTOPHER KANE
Walz rebuffs Trump and Vance’s anti-LGBTQ attacks
CHICAGO — Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz rebuffed Republican attacks against the LGBTQ community, reproductive freedom, and other foundational, fundamental liberties in an electrifying speech at the Democratic National Convention last Wednesday night.
“While other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours,” said the former teacher and football coach, who agreed to serve as faculty advisor to his high school’s gay-straight alliance club in 1999.
“We also protected reproductive freedom, because in Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make, even if we wouldn’t make those same choices for ourselves,” Walz said. “We’ve got a golden rule: Mind your own damn business. And that includes IVF and fertility treatments.”
The governor discussed his family’s struggles with infertility. He and his wife had children through IVF.
“Some folks just don’t understand what it takes to be a good neighbor,” Walz said, pointing to the Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees. “Take Donald
Trump and JD Vance: Their Project 2025 will make things much, much harder for people who are just trying to live their lives.”
“They spent a lot of time pretending they know nothing about this,” he said, “but look, I coached high school football long enough to know, and trust me on this, when somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re going to use it.”
Walz added, “here’s the thing, it’s an agenda nobody asked for. It’s an agenda that serves nobody except the richest and the most extreme amongst us. And it’s an agenda that does nothing for our neighbors in need. Is it weird? Absolutely. But it’s also wrong, and it’s dangerous.”
“We’ve got 76 days,” he said. “That’s nothing. There will be time to sleep when you’re dead. We’re going to leave it on the field. That’s how we’ll keep moving forward. That’s how we’ll turn the page on Donald Trump. That’s how we’ll build a country where workers come first, where health care and housing are human rights, and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom.”
“That’s how we make America a place where no child is left hungry,” Walz said, “where no community is left be-
hind, where nobody gets told they don’t belong. That’s how we’re going to fight. And as the next president of the United States always says, when we fight [crowd: we win!] When we fight, [crowd: We win!] When we fight [crowd: We win!]” CHRISTOPHER KANE
Buttigieg contrasts 2024 tickets in speech
CHICAGO — During a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention last Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg drew a stark contrast between the Republican and Democratic presidential tickets to illustrate the choice voters will face in November.
The gay former mayor of South Bend, Ind., has emerged as among the most high-profile surrogates for the Harris-Walz campaign.
Buttigieg said Donald Trump’s decision to choose, as his vice presidential candidate “a guy like JD Vance,” the U.S. senator from Ohio, sends the message “that they are doubling down on negativity and grievance, committing to a concept of campaigning best summed up in one word: darkness.”
“The other side is appealing to what is smallest within you,” he said. “They’re telling you that greatness comes from going back to the past. They’re telling you that anyone different
from you is a threat. They’re telling you that your neighbor or nephew or daughter who disagrees with you politically isn’t just wrong, but is now the enemy.”
By contrast, he said, “I believe in a better politics, one that finds us at our most decent and open and brave, the kind of politics that [Vice President] Kamala Harris and [Minnesota Gov.] Tim Walz are offering.”
Buttigieg explained that when he and his husband Chasten are struggling to get their young children seated and ready for dinner, “It’s the part of our day when politics seems the most distant — and yet, the makeup of our kitchen table, the existence of my family is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago, when an anxious teenager growing up in Indiana wondered if he would ever find belonging in this world.”
“This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from
possible to real, from real to almost ordinary in less than half a lifetime,” he said — adding that it was, at least to some extent, thanks to politics.
“So this November, we get to choose,” Buttigieg said. “We get to choose our president. We get to choose our policies, but most of all, we will choose a better politics, a politics that calls us to our better selves and offers us a better everyday.”
He continued, “That is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represents. That is what Democrats represent. That is what awaits us when America decides to end Trump’s politics of darkness once and for all.”
The transportation secretary concluded his remarks by urging Americans to “embrace the leaders who are out there building bridges and reject the ones who are out there banning books.”
CHRISTOPHER KANE
Vice President KAMALA HARRIS speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ speaks at the DNC in Chicago on Aug. 21. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
VINCENT SLATT volunteers as the director of archiving at the Rainbow History Project.
KAREN HOLL is a member of RHP. See www.rainbowhistory.org to get involved.
Pride’s day at the beach After success of 1970s, events moved to larger P Street space
In conjunction with WorldPride 2025 the Rainbow History Project is creating an exhibit on the evolution of Pride: “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington.” In “Pride’s Day at the Beach,” we discuss how the success of the 1970s block parties created the need for a new organizer, a new location, and a new threat to the community –the onset of the AIDS crisis.
The Gay Pride Day Block parties of the 1970s had grown so successful that they outgrew the capacity of the actual streets and of the original organizers, Deacon Maccubbin and his Lambda Rising bookstore. In 1980, Maccubbin handed off the reins of Gay Pride Day to an umbrella corporation of more than 110 businesses and community groups that sought to take the popular block parties into a larger sphere.
P Street Beach had long connections with the gay community, with proximity to gay bars and other gay-friendly establishments between 20th and 24th Streets. The P Street Festival, Inc., was established as a standalone entity to organize Gay Pride Day. Its board of directors included individuals from media, political groups, restaurants and bars, women’s community, and Third World groups. They moved the festival to the grounds of Francis Junior High School at 23rd and N St., N.W. With their feet firmly underneath themselves a year later, the first Gay Pride Parade took place in June 1981. This parade route began at 16th St., N.W., and Meridian Hill Park then marched down Connecticut Avenue to Dupont Circle.
Media reports for Gay Pride Day festivities certainly describe a party and carnival-like atmosphere. A 1981 Washington Post article likened the scene to a beach party where attendees “spread blankets and towels on the grass, wore sunglasses and visors, flipflops and sneakers, shorts and halters.” An anonymous attendee in 1984 declared in another article from the Post, “This is our Fourth of July.”
In 1983, Carlene Cheatam became the first woman and first person of color to become chief coordinator of Gay Pride Day. She sought to bring much needed diversity to an organization primarily headed by white men. One of her main goals was to “bring the Black kids out, make sure Black faces were on that stage, make sure that Black drag queens were on the stage,” she stated in a 1998 oral history interview with RHP. Cheatam was also the co-chair of the Hughes-Roosevelt Democratic Club who organized the first AIDS vigil as part of the ‘83 events.
Pride Day celebrations also grew in participation with more families, straight allies enjoying the atmosphere, and more women and people of color. Nancy Roth, vice president of Pride Day ‘84 remarked they had “the biggest turnout of women ever” and Thom Bell, chairman of Black and White Men Together, said “our people came out in force.”
In 1985, as the AIDS crisis began to impact the community, the discussion turned again to what should be the place of Gay Pride Day — should the festival be canceled so that funds could go toward combating AIDS, should the events be a fundraiser for AIDS services and other community needs, or does the community need the festival to be a “day of good times” amid the sorrow?
Co-chairman Jay Chalmers was of the latter opinion. He reassured people that Pride Day ‘86 was still on. “I think our community needs to go out and celebrate, and we need to do it in the open, for the whole world to see.”
In 1986, P Street Festival, Inc. experienced some financial difficulties – with a debt of about $6,000. The directors decided to establish a new corporation to run the event - Gay and Lesbian Pride of Washington. By Gay Pride Day ‘86, Pride of Washington were the primary organizers going forward. This change in leadership ushered in a new era of D.C. Pride history.
Rainbow History Project’s exhibit centers the voices of the event organizers, includes dissenting opinions on Pride, and highlights the intersections with other movements for equal rights and liberation. If you have any images and input contact us and get involved.
CHRISTOPHER T. CONNER
is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Missouri. His latest book, ‘Conspiracy Theories and Extremist Movements in New Times’ is available from Bloomsbury Press/Lexington.
Log off, touch grass, and self care Social media companies are in business to keep us logged on
Among the “Terminally Online,” someone who is so involved with internet culture that they have something of an obsession with it, is a phrase known as “touching grass.” To touch grass means to log off, engage with the real world, and prioritize one’s offline relationships. While this conjures up all kinds of images of young adults playing video games in a room full of dirty laundry, piled up pizza boxes, and crusty socks hanging everywhere—the truth of the matter is that all of us could do well to “touch grass.”
Since COVID-19 use of the internet and social media has skyrocketed. In fact, what COVID did was merely accelerate our ongoing migration into the digital world. The LGBTQ community has always been at the forefront of this migration due to the marginalized status we occupy in society. Despite what some may argue, only recently have public displays of affection become acceptable, and even today some of those exchanges are met with hostility and discrimination. With the rise of social media has come increased use of social media apps, and one of the number one social networking sites—outside of big three (Facebook, X formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram)—are dating apps. Grindr specifically has ranked as one of the most downloaded apps in iTunes (#25 at time of writing) and in the Google play store. It is particularly interesting to consider how much of our lives we have entrusted to apps of all varieties—ranging from our favorite moments with our families, to our most intimate details. Sharing these kinds of moments might have seemed unfathomable to us in earlier decades, but today this has become second nature to most.
What many fail to realize, or chose not to acknowledge, is that social media companies are well aware of the destructive tendencies that their products tap into. Nearly every aspect of these platforms has been intentionally designed to increase user engagement, and tap into our unconscious fears and desires. We fear missing an important event, we desire romance and intimacy, and worry about missing an important email that could change the trajectory of our careers.
For decades, companies from Grindr to Facebook have employed social science researchers to harness the addictive qualities of apps. Think about it, that all too familiar “Brrrrup” notification from Grindr. It’s almost Pavlovian in the way it causes us to immediately reach for our phones wondering who has contacted us, or what pic we’ve just been sent. This sound has intentionally been designed to be distinct from other apps, and thus to attach itself to a specific part of our brain. Researchers have shown we get a dopamine hit from getting a like, retweet, share, or other response—imagine what happens to our brains when we think a romantic encounter looms around the corner.
This strategy is highly effective. Grindr has one of the largest daily returning user bases of any social media company, and its users rank among the highest for time spent on the app. That downward motion to refresh the grid of profiles in proximity to you, that’s also been engineered to increase engagement. It’s like the pull of a Las Vegas slot machine with each swipe down offering the possibility that the next grid will be the one with your soul mate. While I’ve met several gay friends who met their partners on apps, and I’ve used the app to connect with a member of parliament who gave me a private tour while in London, I’ve also met many other men with an unhealthy, if not anti-social, relationship to the app.
My own reliance on these apps was reflected back to me recently, after becoming the victim of an internet scam artist. He had used several fake social media profiles to find out my interests, learn about me, and find out how I could be best manipulated. Gay romance scams are an understudied topic, one in which only a few researchers like Carlo Charles has studied. In speaking with him I have come to understand my story is not unique, and follows an all-too-familiar pattern. I was left wondering after engaging with his work how this happened, and why it happened to me.
While in Montreal this past summer for a conference I was given an answer, and had a mirror put up in front of my face. A very attractive young man messaged me, and he was also a fellow academic. He thought he recognized me from elsewhere, but looks can be deceiving—especially amid a grid of pixelated images. I had already decided after nearly becoming the victim of a scam I wasn’t interested in hooking up, dating, or anything other than being friends—plus I was there to work and had early morning appointments. Despite my encouragement to get out there and that he’d have no problems finding someone to make out with he decided to stay on the apps, “Everyone will just pass me by, so I’ll stay here on the apps, and maybe I’ll go to the gay sauna later.”
PETER ROSENSTEIN
is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.
Elect Kamala Harris — for all the people Eloquent DNC speech highlights stark contrast to Trump
On day four of the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris told the nation why they should elect her president. In a strong and eloquent speech, she shared her background, and her vision for the future. She talked about her family, her immigrant parents, how she grew up, her career as a prosecutor, attorney general, senator, and now vice president. She told us how she will govern, and her goals for the nation. She talked of her plans to move forward on issues including: affordable healthcare for all, affordable housing for all, affordable food, and quality, affordable education. She spoke of national security, and ensuring a strong military, of her support for our allies, and working for a safer, healthier, world.
In a perfect world every voter would read both Trump and Harris’s convention speeches before they vote. If they did, I believe Harris would win in a landslide. But this will be a close election. There are still third-party candidates like Cornell West and Jill Stein, who have no chance of winning, but their being on the ballot will only help Trump. Then there is the crazy RFK, Jr. who has now endorsed Trump. We pretty much know who will win 43 states. Only in seven: North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, is there a question. Whoever wins those, or at least enough of them to reach 270 electoral votes, will be our next president.
One feels a sense of joy when listening to Harris. She speaks clearly and positively, when sharing her approach to the world. She proudly said about her career, “every day, in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: Kamala Harris, for the people. And to be clear, my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.” She reminded us of what we all know, Trump also only ever had one client, but in his case, it was himself. She told us how she will govern, and what we can judge her success on saying, “we are charting a new way forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success, and building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.” She went on to say to women, and the LGBTQ community, “America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart, and home.” She reminded all “too many women are not able to make those decisions. Donald Trump handpicked members of the U.S. Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. And now, he brags “I did it, and I’m proud to have done it.”
She reminded us “As vice president, I have confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances, and engaged with our brave troops overseas. As commander in chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.” She went on to say “I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence. That America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies.”
She spoke of the Israel/Hamas war and her commitment to Israel saying, “I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas, caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.” But she also gave her commitment to the Palestinian people saying she will work to ensure that, “the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”
She closed saying, “We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children, and our grandchildren, and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American.” I ask everyone to join Kamala Harris in fighting for the ideals she is fighting for. By defeating Trump, and electing Kamala Harris the nation’s 47th president, we will make both the United States, and the world, better and safer places for us all.
CAMP Rehoboth’s Sunfestival to feature comedy, DJs, auction
Annual Labor Day fundraiser a highlight of summer at the beach
By JOE REBERKENNY
CAMP Rehoboth is preparing for a weekend of celebration and fundraising, featuring comedians, auctions, and DJs. Proceeds will support future projects essential to the LGBTQ community center’s work in Delaware.
CAMP Rehoboth will host its annual Sunfestival Labor Day celebration from Aug. 31 through Sept. 1 at the Rehoboth Convention Center.
The weekend kicks off with an auction featuring global travel packages, performances by popular gay comedian Joe Dombrowski, and music from renowned DJ Robbie Leslie of Studio 54 fame, alongside gay circuit party DJ Joe Gauthreaux.
Auction items include a seven-day stay at the fourstar Westin Paris-Vendôme, a nine-day all-inclusive LGBTQ Prague and Danube river cruise, a “Choose Your Own Cruise for Two” on Avalon Waterways with itineraries in Europe, Asia, or Southeast Asia, a seven-day 2025 Puerto Vallarta LGBT Experience for two during high season at Almar Resort, and a “Dine Around the World Without Leaving Rehoboth Beach” dinner package featuring gift certificates to 13 local restaurants, valued at $1,900.
In addition to the various worldly excursions, the auction will also feature an electric bike and artwork created by one of CAMP Rehoboth’s co-founders Murray Archibald.
Proceeds from the auction, comedy show, and dance party will go toward funding CAMP Rehoboth, dedicated to fostering inclusivity and providing support through specialized programs, events, and advocacy. Its mission is to create a positive environment for residents and visitors alike, promoting equality and well-being for all.
CAMP Rehoboth supports the Delaware LGBTQ community through various arts and cultural programs, health and wellness efforts (including mental health resources and HIV/STI testing), and LGBTQ community building.
Dombrowski performs Aug. 31 with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. The Sept. 1 “A Night of Dance” kicks off at 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. featuring DJ Robbie Leslie and DJ Joe Gauthreaux. Various ticket packages are available. Tickets for the comedy show start at $50 and tickets for the dance party start at $70.
For more information on the weekend’s events and tickets, visit camprehoboth.org and tickets can be purchased at give.camprehoboth.org/events/sunfestival-2024.
BLADE BLAST
Sunfestival returns to Rehoboth Beach during Labor Day weekend.
CALENDAR |
By TINASHE CHINGARANDE
Friday, August 30
“Center Aging Friday Tea Time” will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email adam@thedccenter.org.
GoGayDC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Happy Hour” at 7 p.m. at DIK Bar. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Saturday, August 31
GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ community, including allies, together for food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
“The Healing Space Series - Lover & Friends: Redefining Platonic, Romantic and Sexual Relationships” will be at 1 p.m. at 1803 Connecticut Ave., N.W. This is an empowering and healing gathering exclusively for Black queer men. Explore the rich and varied landscape of relationships—platonic, romantic, and sexual—through the lens of our unique experiences. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Sunday, Septmeber 01
GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Dinner” at 6:30 p.m. at Federico Ristorante Italiano Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. Guests are encouraged to come enjoy an evening of Italian-style dining and conversation with other LGBTQ folk. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
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.
Monday, Septmeber 02
Center Aging: Monday Coffee & Conversation will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of their choice. For more details, email justin@thedccenter. org.
Tuesday, Septmeber 03
Pride on the Patio Events will host “LGBTQ Social Mixer” at 5:30 p.m. at Showroom. Dress is casual, fancy, or comfortable. Guests are encouraged to bring their most authentic self to chat, laugh, and get a little crazy. Admission is free and more details are on Eventbrite.
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.
Wednesday, Septmeber 04
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.
Center Aging Women’s Discussion & Social Group will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This group is a place where older LGBTQ+ women can meet and socialize with one another. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Thursday, Septmeber 05
The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. 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 with Sarah M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.
OUT & ABOUT
DC JazzFest is back
Don’t miss the annual DC JazzFest, a showcase of national and local musicians taking place now through Sept. 1. This is the city’s biggest celebration of jazz held in various venues across D.C. Many of the concerts are free. The Wharf hosts ticketed events 12-10 p.m. Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Visit dcjazzfest.org for details and to purchase tickets.
National Symphony plays free concert Sunday
The National Symphony Orchestra’s free annual Labor Day weekend concert returns to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday, Sept. 1. The performance is free and tickets are not required. Seating is fi rstcome, fi rst-served.
The Wharf hosts various jazz artists this weekend.
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Mosaic kicks off 10th anniversary with ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill’
Play set in nightclub where Billie Holiday gave one of her last performances
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Throughout a big career, jazz icon Billie Holiday experienced tremendous highs and lows. Unapologetically herself and openly bisexual, she made her mark with songs like the very popular “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)” and successfully stepped into social activism with her performances and recording of “Strange Fruit,” a searing protest anthem inspired by the photograph of a lynching.
On the downside, she was dogged by addiction and fell prey to users of various stripes (more often than not male), but fans and music experts agree that it’s these less-than-sanguine life experiences that helped to shape the emotional content of her inimitable take on the blues.
Currently Mosaic Theater Company is kicking off its 10th anniversary season with Lanie Robertson’s “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,” a play with music set in a seedy Philadelphia night spot where Holiday gave one of her last performances just months before dying from heart disease at just 44 in 1959.
Mosaic’s immersive production is directed by the company’s out artistic director Reginald L. Douglas and stars D.C. favorite Roz White. At 90 minutes, the one-woman show features about a dozen of Holiday’s songs, and tucked in between are book scenes touching on personal and political themes including racism, sexism, domestic abuse, and drug use. In many ways, says Douglas, it’s the history of what Black female singing stars have had to endure to achieve success.
For Mosaic’s season opener, a black box space at Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street, NE, is being reconfigured as a nightclub with café seating and drinks. White as Holiday (affectionately nicknamed Lady Day by famed saxophonist Lester Young) sings with a standard jazz tiro: pianist (William Knowles), bassist (Mark Saltman), and drummer (Greg Holloway).
An avowed Holiday admirer, director Douglas says staging the production has only increased his devotion: He describes her as an all-gender loving woman, who possessed a love of life, and an openness about her struggle.
“Without a doubt, she was a force of nature that queer audiences respond to and admire. Particularly for queer Black people, legends like Billie Holiday are vital for our ability to see ourselves.”
And as a theater maker who goes in as a Billie fan, Douglas already knew the show’s classics like ‘Strange Fruit’ and ‘God Bless the Child,’ and now he’s excited to be learning more from her canon like ‘What a Little Moonlight Can Do,’ ‘Crazy He Calls Me,’ and ‘Easy Living’ which has become a special moment in the show.
And working with the powerful White as Holiday is proving “a dreamy collaboration.”
“The core is respect,” says Douglas who began his tenure with Mosaic in November of 2021. “I trust the experts and Roz is an expert. She knows how to command a stage and she is Billie Holiday’s biggest fan. She has a depth of knowledge about the artist and her music, jazz, the blues. I just want to listen and soak that up and elevate it and amplify it on stage.”
The experience is filled with trust and admiration and give and take, he adds. And along with wonderful choreography and movement consultant Sandra L. Holloway who is a queer Black woman, the three of them are having a great time.
White recently returned to D.C. after completing a two-year national tour of “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical.” And now with “Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill,” she marks her return to Mosaic where, among other performances, she is remembered for her com-
pelling portrayal of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the queer Black woman who invented rock ‘n’ roll, in “Marie and Rosetta.”
Holiday’s voice is unmistakable. With its wonderfully unique phrasing and a gravel and hoarseness resulting from years of late nights and strain, it’s often copied, but that’s not what they’re going for here.
Douglas says, “We’re not striving for an impersonation here. We’re letting Roz be Roz; but while honoring the spirit of Billie, you’ll notice some pronunciation and dialect work. Still, Roz brings her own kind of special sauce to the work.”
‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill’ Sept. 5-Oct. 6
Mosaic Theater Company | 1333 H St., N.E. $50–$80 | Woollymamoth.net
REGINALD K. DOUGLAS (Photo courtesy of Mosaic Theater)
Dirty Goose’s final flight set for Sept. 8
Popular U Street bar to close after eight years
By EVAN CAPLAN
The nearly decade-old tri-level U Street corridor gay bar staple The Dirty Goose has announced a closing date in September, according to a message posted to the bar’s social media accounts.
“After 8 years, The Dirty Goose’s flight… will come to an end on Sunday, September 8,” it stated.
The emotional, honest post was authored by co-owners Justin Parker and Daniel Honeycutt. They further stated, “as we look back, we know we were not perfect, but we
always strived to run a space that was truly a melting pot for DC’s LGBTQ+ community and we hope every one of you felt that over the last 8 years.” Parker did not respond to a request for comment.
The Dirty Goose opened in August 2016. The Blade reported on its opening, noting that storied gay DJ Matt Bailer would kick off spinning tunes on opening night.
During its early months, The Dirty Goose served food. It opened with bottomless brunch and dinner service. After reducing and then cutting food service due to lack of interest, the bar became known for various types of signature cocktails with a focus on martinis, including a Godiva martini. It was especially popular for its rooftop, which expanded during its time open; as well as its free Deep Eddy vodka happy hour on Saturday evenings during a quick 30 minutes starting at 11 p.m.
The bar was also known for events like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” watch parties, paint & sip, Sapphic nights, Pride parties, hosting social sports groups, and DJ sets by longtime DJ Farrah Flossett, who wrote, “May we keep your candle forever burning bright as we move the love next door to Shakers like we never skipped a beat.”
In 2021, the erstwhile general manager of The Dirty Goose Keaton Fedak left that bar to open the hugely popular Kiki in 2021, which took over the space occupied by longtime bars Velvet Lounge and Dodge City, adjacent to Dirty Goose.
Just last year, Parker and Honeycutt opened Shakers around the corner, on Florida Avenue. The Blade quoted Parker as saying that, “our first bar, the Dirty Goose, didn’t really allow [us] to hold shows and events for larger groups. This new space is perfect for this. We have already built a stage and are planning on holding events from drag performances to community panels.”
The Instagram note, which was posted on Aug. 20, provided some background on the opening of the bar, without much décor, white-painted walls, and only two floors open to the public. It received more than 2,100 likes.
“Needless to say, this journey has been filled with stress and exhaustion, but those emotions do not even compare to the amount of joy TDG has brought us and, we hope, you.”
“We will walk away with so many wonderful memories and we want to make some more before it’s over,” the post ended, exhorting customers to “join us over the next 3 weeks as we keep it Dirty and Proud.”
The Dirty Goose announced it’s closing early next month. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
True-life prison drama ‘Sing Sing’ celebrates power of art Domingo
delivers Oscar-worthy performance
By JOHN PAUL KING
When Colman Domingo became a frontrunner for last year’s Best Actor Oscar – nominated for his star turn as the titular civil rights hero in “Rustin” – it was big news for the LGBTQ community. He was the first openly gay Afro-Latino to be nominated for the award. Had he won, he would have been the first openly gay actor to take the category, and only the second out queer performer to win in any of the acting categories. It would have been a milestone.
Yet his loss, somehow, didn’t seem much of a disappointment: Colman’s prodigious talent (also on display in last year’s “The Color Purple”) seemed to assure fans that it would get another chance – and “Sing Sing,” now in theaters nationwide after an auspicious debut at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, might very well be the movie that gets it for him.
In it, Domingo portrays John “Divine G” Whitfield, an inmate at New York’s Sing Sing Correctional Facility who has become a pillar of the prison’s “Rehabilitation Through the Arts” (RTA) program, through which he and fellow participants collaborate on the creation and performance of theater presentations for the larger prison population. As the group plans its next play – a fantastical time-travel comedy combining an eclectic mix of classic storylines and characters – he is equally focused on a clemency hearing that might overturn his sentence for a murder he didn’t commit. That doesn’t stop him from reaching out to help a hard-case new recruit (Clarence Macklin) into the fold, despite the newcomer’s chip-on-the-shoulder attitude and a rivalry that threatens his own status as a “top dog” in the company. As both the performance and his hearing draw nearer, the inevitable hardships and humiliations of prison existence take their toll, culminating in a crisis of faith that threatens to undermine not only the upcoming performance, but the unwavering resilience that has allowed him to resist the dehumanizing effects of his incarceration.
ing it. Reinforced repeatedly in the narrative, most obviously in the inclusion of Shakespeare’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy from “Hamlet” but underscored through most of the material we see the inmates perform, it makes the story of Whitfield and his fellow prisoners into an unmistakable metaphor for anyone who has ever struggled to find meaning and peace in a cold and unpredictable world – and let’s face it, that means almost everybody.
Perhaps inevitably for such a film, “Sing Sing” occasionally seems to come off as one of those idealized Hollywood “feel-good” social dramas in which the heartaches and tragedies are overcome by hope and an undeterred spirit; the more cynical among its audience might well see it as “too good to be true,” with conflicts that dissipate a little too easily and plot resolutions we might see coming even before they’re finished being set up. Such judgments, however, become harder to render with the knowledge that – and it almost feels like a spoiler to reveal it, since the movie chooses to do so only when the credits finally roll at the end – not only is it a true story, but most of its cast (including Maclin, who plays himself) are actual alumni of the real-life RTA program, which operates in six New York State prisons. Not only that, the real-life Whitfield (who himself appears in a small role) and Maclin collaborated with Kwedar and Bentley on the story – so that, regardless of any dramatic license that may have been taken, there is an undeniable authenticity that is borne out by the inclusion of so many actual “success stories” from the program in the film’s ensemble cast.
As for that cast, each of them gives an equally compelling performance, even when they only have a few minutes of screen time; Kwedar gives everyone moments to shine, and while some have more of those than others, all contribute equally to the film’s overall power to move us.
As co-written by Clint Bentley and director Greg Kwedar, the screenplay gives us little in the way of expository information, even skipping the formality of opening credits in favor of dropping us directly into the action, and instead allows us to glean the necessary background details as we go. It’s never an obstacle; Kwedar’s simple-yet-eloquent approach to presenting the narrative allows the actors to reveal information through nuance as much as through words, and frames the visuals (with help from cinematographer Pat Scola) in a radiant natural light that lends warmth to the institutional bleakness of the setting, making it easy to be patient as we pick up what we need to know about the characters’ back stories. It also facilitates our engagement with the creative energy of the troupe’s rehearsals – guided by a weathered director (Paul Raci) with a gift for teaching his charges to “trust the process” – and connects us with the theme of personal transformation through art, a thread that runs throughout the film and feels at least equally as significant as the details of any individual character’s personal story. It’s this, of course, that gives “Sing Sing” its most profound and universal impact. Though any viewer might reasonably expect a movie about prisoners – most of them people of color from marginalized and disadvantaged backgrounds – to be geared toward a focus on issues of equity and social justice, Kwedar’s film allows those ideas to remain self-evident while placing its dominant weight behind the premise that art, and particularly those that involve language and performance, can function as both an escape from the suffering of a bleak everyday existence and a means of transcend-
Still, it’s the film’s major figures that have the most standout moments; Raci brings intelligence, compassion, and an air of nurturing authority to his role as the group’s seasoned director, and Maclin burns with the charismatic intensity of an experienced movie star – which he should, on the strength of this remarkable debut alone. Also worth mentioning is Sean San José, a longtime off-screen friend to Colman, mirroring their real-life relationship as a fellow inmate and confidante to add an extra touch of genuine camaraderie to their scenes.
“Sing Sing” ultimately belongs, however, to its lead player. Domingo is a fearless and powerful actor, something he has proven throughout his career and that has aided his rise to acclaim and stardom, and he brings those qualities to this role for an unforgettable star turn. Intelligent, erudite, passionate, vulnerable, and capable of delivering Shakespearean verse or prison slang with equal conviction and command, he gives a performance that elevates the movie while simultaneously blending seamlessly into its larger purpose. There’s nothing about him that screams “awards bait,” which makes him even more deserving of honors.
Whether he gets them or not, “Sing Sing” is a movie to be remembered — a testament to the power of art and the “invincible summer” that keeps us going when all of life seems intent on extinguishing our hope, it leaves us feeling inspired, renewed, and ready to face the world with a refreshed sense of perspective.
It’s the rare movie that can manage that, so don’t miss this one.
COLMAN DOMINGO in ‘Sing Sing.’
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Activist Miss Major speaks at the LGBTQ Caucus of the DNC, pledging her support for Kamala Harris in the upcoming election.
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The artist Common greets fans backstage at the United Center during the Democratic National Convention.
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P!nk performs at the DNC.
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2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Delegates join celebrities and politicians to celebrate the nomination of Kamala Harris
John Legend performs at the DNC.
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U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at the ‘LGBTQ+ Victory at the DNC’ event at theWIT in Chicago on August 20.
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Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination for U.S. President.
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Actor Zachary Quinto speaks at the ‘LGBTQ+ Victory at the DNC’ event at theWIT in Chicago on August 20.
The 2024 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago from August 19-22. Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. President.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Stylish solutions for furry friends
From a cozy dog bed to a chic cat tree, there’s a wide range of options
By VALERIE M. BLAKE
In today’s world, pets are more than just companions; they are family members. I know – I have four dogs.
As pet owners increasingly seek to create comfortable and stylish living spaces for their furry friends, pet furniture has evolved from basic necessities to trendy, functional, and aesthetically pleasing pieces. Whether you’re looking for a cozy bed for your dog, a chic cat tree, or multifunctional furniture that blends seamlessly with your decor, the market offers a wide range of options.
Pet furniture isn’t just about luxury; it’s about improving your pet’s quality of life and making your home more functional. Traditional pet beds, scratching posts, and kennels have their place, but modern pet furniture goes beyond the basics to offer enhanced comfort and durability.
Well-designed pet furniture can provide several benefits.
Comfort and Support: Just like humans, pets need proper support for their joints and muscles. Orthopedic beds and ergonomic furniture pieces cater to the specific needs of aging pets or those with health issues.
Behavioral Benefits: Cats scratch, dogs chew, and pets generally need an outlet for their instincts. Specialized furniture, such as scratching posts, climbing trees, and chew-friendly materials, can reduce destructive behaviors.
Aesthetic Appeal: Gone are the days of unsightly pet beds and clunky kennels. Today’s pet furniture is designed to complement your interior decor, making it easy to integrate into your living space without compromising style. Many furniture pieces are customizable, allowing you to choose colors, materials, and even monogramming to match your personal taste.
Space-Saving Solutions: Multifunctional pet furniture, like beds that double as storage units or cat trees that also serve as bookshelves, are perfect for those living in smaller spaces. They help maximize space while providing for your pet’s needs.
Before diving into where to buy pet furniture, it’s important to understand the different types available. Here are some popular options.
Pet Beds: From plush, cushioned beds to minimalist, elevated cots, pet beds come in a variety of styles. Some are designed for specific breeds or health conditions, such as orthopedic beds for older pets or heated beds for colder climates.
Cat Trees and Scratching Posts: Cat furniture is essential for felines who love to climb, scratch, and perch. Modern designs often feature multiple levels, cozy hideaways, and built-in scratching posts.
Pet Sofas and Chairs: These miniature versions of human furniture are perfect for pets who love to lounge. They often feature stylish upholstery and sturdy construction.
Pet Houses and Tents: Indoor pet houses and tents provide a safe and private space for pets to relax. They come in various materials, including wood, fabric, and even wicker, to match your decor.
Pet Stairs and Ramps: For older pets or those with
mobility issues, stairs and ramps help them reach higher surfaces without strain. In fact, I just bought a set of foam steps so my aging dogs can still
mobility issues, stairs and ramps help them reach higher surfaces without strain. In fact, I just bought a set of foam steps so my aging dogs can still avail themselves of the family sofa. They also have a ramp to get to my deep mattress bed.
Multifunctional Furniture: These pieces serve dual purposes, like a coffee table that doubles as a pet bed or a bench with builtin pet storage. You can even hide food and water bowls in a pull out designed for the toe kick of your kitchen cabinets.
Chewy is a go-to destination for pet supplies, and they offer a wide range of pet furniture options. Whether you’re looking for a simple bed or a designer cat tree, Chewy has a variety of styles and price points. They also frequently offer discounts and free shipping on orders over a certain amount.
bed or a designer cat tree, Chewy has a variety of styles and price points. They also frequently offer
Known for its vast selection of home furnishings, Wayfair also offers a broad range of pet furniture options that are perfect for those looking to match their pet’s furniture with their home decor. Look for options from the PawHut brand.
furniture options that are perfect for those looking to match their pet’s furniture with their home
If you’re looking for unique, handcrafted pet furniture, Etsy is the place to shop. Many independent sellers create custom pieces, such as personalized pet beds, handmade cat trees, and stylish pet houses.
personalized pet beds, handmade cat trees, and
Amazon offers an extensive range of pet furni-
Amazon offers an extensive range of pet furniture, from budget-friendly options to high-end, designer pieces. With fast and often free shipping, it’s a convenient choice for pet owners looking to compare different products.
Petco and PetSmart are also popular pet stores that offer both in-store and online shopping. Their selections include functional and affordable op-
Petco and PetSmart are also popular pet stores that offer both in-store and online shopping. Their selections include functional and affordable options from well-known brands in the pet industry.
Whether you’re on a budget or looking for luxury pieces, your furry friend deserves the best, and with the right furniture, you can create a home that’s comfortable and beautiful for humans and pets alike.
Pet furniture has evolved from basic necessities to trendy, functional, and aesthetically pleasing pieces.
One of a kind. Now two.
Ultra-equipped, finely appointed, meticulously kept apartment homes available now in Lanham, Maryland’s new Harkins District.
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BULLETIN BOARD
Academy of Hope
Adult Public Charter School REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS IT MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER
The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School located in Washington, DC requests proposals for IT Managed Service Provider. Proposals are due 9/6/2024. You can find the detailed requested for proposal and submission information at https://aohdc.org/get-involved/jobs/
Academy of Hope
Adult Public Charter School REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TECHNOLOGY
The Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School located in Washington, DC requests proposals for Technology. Proposals are due 9/6/2024. You can find the detailed request for proposal and submission information at https://aohdc.org/get-involved/jobs/
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UNDERWEAR PARTY!
SUN, SEPT 1, 3 PM - 10 PM
Ready for a stylish weekend at Hill Prince Cocktail Bar? Snag your tickets on Eventbrite for next weekend’s underwear party and fashion show. This inclusive, safe event is for everyone! Shop your fave jockstraps and speedos as our models strut the runway. Feeling competitive? Reach out to compete for great prizes! Email info@daddyanddurango.com for more details. #FashionShow #InclusiveEvent
BUY / SELL
LABYRINTH’S ANNUAL USED GAME SALE
Is Almost Here! Add amazing, gently used board games to your game collection for bargain prices. Our Saturday auctions include many out-of-print, deluxe, & hard-to-get games. Our Sunday rummage sale prices drop to $0 at the end of the day. Saturday, Sept. 7, is Auction Day! Sunday, Sept 8, is our all-day Rummage Sale: Prices drop throughout the day! Come to: Labyrinth, 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003, to participate in this charity event! Learn More: labyrinthdc.com/ugs Proceeds support community initiatives like the Labyrinth Teacher Fund & free community game nights. Thank you for your support! Labyrinth is a safe inclusive space for all.
CLEANING
FERNANDO’S CLEANING
Residential & Commercial Cleaning, Reasonable Rates, Free Estimates, Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/Move-Out 202-234-7050 or 202-486-6183
COUNSELING
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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
This weekly queer-led therapy group, approached from an interpersonal process perspective, aims to create a warm, welcoming, & supportive space in which to foster resilience with other members of the LGBTQ+ community. Members will support each other & learn ways to develop deep, authentic relationships with other queer-identified folks both in & outside of the group space. $10 per session. 202-994-4937 https://psyd. columbian. gwu.edu/clinic
EMPLOYMENT
NEED HELP AT HOME?
I could be your capable, kindly part-time professional care-giver. If you’re an older guy near Dupont or Logan. I’m fit, caring and experienced. jim@newmorningfarm.net. Call 814 599 2777
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Wednesday, Sep 18 & Oct 2
Admission Tour
Lower School: 9 - 10:15a
Middle & Upper School: 11a - 12:15p
Saturday, Oct 19 Fall Admission Program
Lower School: 9 - 10:15a
Middle & Upper School: 11a - 12:15p
Following the program, stay for our annual Fall Festival, 1-4p! Fun for the whole family!
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