Washingtonblade.com, Volume 51, Issue 31, July 31, 2020

FROM SURVIVAL TO ACTIVISM Iya Dammons is honoring trans lives in Baltimore PAGE 8

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Annual drag volleyball event cancelled With the cancellation of the 32nd Rehoboth Beach Drag Volleyball Extravaganza, another summer tradition has fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The game, which draws thousands of spectators, is known for its extravagant costumes and entertaining hijinks — as well as a high level of play.

Brent Minor, who has played each year since the beginning, tells the story of the game’s origins.

“There was a group of us who played on the weekends, and one time this guy brought A group shot at one of the previous drag volleyball down nine women’s swimsuits and we just put matches. them on right there at the beach and just went (Photo courtesy of Brent Minor) out and played. We couldn’t even get a ninth person,” Minor says. “All of a sudden a group of lesbians came and challenged us to a game and it just went on from there. The second year, another person got a group of players to oppose us and since then it’s been a planned, competitive game.”

For Minor, a particularly memorable game included when “My Best Friend’s Wedding” (starring Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney) inspired his team to dress as a wedding party and hide all sorts of things, including a garden hose and even another player, underneath the wedding gowns.

Minor also recalls the year his team had a “Sound of Music” theme and went as the “Von Tramp” family.

“I’m the nun and the little girl says ‘Where’s Fraulein Maria?’, and I point up toward the hills because Myrna, who also plays every year, comes tumbling down one of the sand dunes dressed as Julie Andrews,” Minor says.

Organizers have avoided making the game a charity event.

According to Minor, this year was going to be the final game for him and many other players.

While this year’s cancellation may push his retirement back, Minor hopes that the spirit of the game will stay alive if younger players decide to continue the tradition.

“We just want it to be fun,” Minor says. “It’s so joyous out there.”

JOSHUA KELLER

Rehoboth’s Sundance goes virtual

Sundance, the annual fundraiser for CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBT community services organization in Rehoboth Beach, Del., will go on virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CAMP Rehoboth founders Murray Archibald and his late husband Steve Elkins held the first Sundance in 1988 as both a celebration of their 10th anniversary as a couple and as an AIDS fundraiser at the height of the epidemic.

“With all of our friends dying, everybody wanted to do something,” Archibald said.

Since the initial event that raised $6,000, Sundance has grown to raise over $150,000 The Sundance dance party is a Rehoboth Beach annually to support CAMP Rehoboth. In spite Labor Day tradition. This year’s events will be virtual. of a lack of in-person events, Archibald hopes (Blade photo by Daniel Truitt) Sundance 2020 raises close to that figure.

This year, Sundance will take the form of a week-long fundraiser under the theme “United in Love.”

Sundance will run from Aug. 30 through Sept. 6 and include an online auction. While there will not be a virtual dance party, DJs who typically perform at Sundance, including Robbie Leslie, who rose to prominence at Studio 54 and The Saint in the 1970s and 1980s, will create special music podcasts for people to dance to.

Even though Sundance 2020 may lack events such as the Twilight Tea that make the fundraiser so popular in normal years, Archibald says that this year is about “supporting CAMP Rehoboth through this really difficult time.”

“Sundance has always had an amazing base of support,” said Archibald in a press release. “More than ever, we need our sponsors, supporters, and hosts to continue to provide crucial funding for the event.”

JOSHUA KELLER

Comings & Goings Meloy elected to DNC

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

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

The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us.

If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.

Congratulations to Sean Meloy on being elected to the Democratic National Committee from Pennsylvania. He is the first open member of the LGBTQ community and first Young Democrat elected from Pennsylvania.

Upon his election he said, “I was inspired to run for the DNC after having worked there and for Keith Ellison’s DNC Chair Race. It was clear to me we needed younger voices who are willing to ask the question: ‘How do we want to grow and sustain our party in these uncertain times?’ Additionally, working under the Victory Fund mantra of ‘Representation is Power’ I felt compelled to run to provide representation for LGBTQ people, young people, and people living in western Pennsylvania.”

Meloy is currently senior political director of the LGBT Victory Fund. Prior to that he was deputy national outreach director for the Keith Ellison for DNC Chair Campaign. Before that he worked for the DNC as director of LGBT Engagement. He has worked on a number of congressional elections, including those for Kristin Cabral in Virginia and Mike Doyle in Pennsylvania.

He also served as a legislative aide for Congressman Mike Doyle (D-Penn.).

Meloy serves on several boards, including the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs and as chair of the Pennsylvania Democrats LGBTQ Caucus.

He was treasurer and president of the Penn State College Democrats and received the College Democrats of America Alumni Spirt of Joey Hanzich Award, and is an Eagle Scout.

Meloy earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in history and a BS in Secondary Education – Social Studies from The Pennsylvania State University.

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Trans woman targeting gay bar patrons for assault: witnesses Suspect falsely claims to be raising money for Casa Ruby

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com A 30-year-old transgender woman who was arrested earlier this month for allegedly threatening to kill a gay man outside the D.C. gay bar Larry’s Lounge on June 9 after he refused her request for money has been targeting bar and restaurant patrons for assault and harassment in the 17th Street and 18th Street business corridors near Dupont Circle for the past several months, according to several sources familiar with the incidents.

Witnesses say the trans woman, Sissy Gracie, tells people she approaches that she is raising money for the D.C. LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby and urges them – sometimes under great pressure – to make their “donation” in cash or by credit card through a credit card scanner linked to her cell phone.

Ruby Corado, founder and CEO of Casa Ruby, has posted messages on Facebook saying Gracie neither works for nor has been designated as a fundraiser for Casa Ruby and appears to be fraudulently pocketing large sums of money she receives from unsuspecting donors.

“If people want to give her money, that’s their business,” Corado told the Washington Blade. “My issue is that she is using violent behavior and that is reflecting on Casa Ruby.”

Corado and others familiar with Gracie say they have learned from members of the community that D.C. police have arrested her several times in recent weeks for threatening or assaulting people mostly in the 17th Street restaurant and bar strip between R and P Streets, N.W. Police arrest records show she was arrested on July 19 outside the 17th Street gay bar JR.’s for allegedly assaulting JR.’s bartender and bar back Gideon Blum.

Blum told the Blade that Gracie intentionally struck him with a Segway motorized scooter on which she was riding in an outdoor area on Church Street, N.W. where JR.’s has placed tables and chairs for customer seating.

Blum said a witness told him and D.C. police that Gracie was facing in a different direction but when she saw Blum she turned the two-wheeled Segway scooter around and drove it directly into Blum, knocking him over.

He said he managed to just barely fall in a direction away from a grill used for cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.

Had he landed on the grill he would have suffered serious burns, he told the Blade.

A D.C. police report of the incident says police charged her with a single count of simple assault.

Wayde Taylor, the Larry’s Lounge customer who told D.C. police Gracie threatened to kill him during the June 9 incident, told the Blade this week that Gracie approached him again on Sunday, July 26, while he was sitting at an outdoor table at the 17th Street restaurant Brick Lane and threatened him a second time in violation of a court approved order to stay away from him while awaiting trial for the June 9 case.

“She threatened me after getting out of an Uber,” Taylor said. “She made a slit throat gesture,” while looking directly at him, he told the Blade. Taylor said he immediately called D.C. police, who arrived on the scene

within minutes and arrested Gracie after he informed police of the stay away order.

Gracie’s arrest for threatening Taylor for the second time came less than a week after gay bartender Dito Sevilla told the Blade that police arrested Gracie near Floriana’s restaurant on 17th Street where Sevilla works after he said she assaulted him.

Taylor, meanwhile, said to his dismay he learned this week that Gracie was back on 17th Street the day after police arrested her for threatening him a second time, indicating a judge or prosecutors decided not to hold her in custody.

Court records obtained by the Blade show that although witnesses and D.C. police records show Gracie has been arrested at least three times in the past few weeks, there were no records filed in D.C. Superior Court for any of those arrests except the one for the June 9 threats against Taylor at Larry’s Lounge.

A spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, which prosecutes criminal cases in D.C., did not respond to a request from the Blade for an explanation of why the U.S. Attorney’s Office had not prosecuted Gracie for the other arrests.

Blum said he has been cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and didn’t know why the office had not filed charges against Gracie in court in connection with his case.

Charles Haskell, a court appointed attorney representing Gracie, had not returned a call from the Blade as of late Tuesday offering him and Gracie an opportunity to respond to the allegations against Gracie.

Court records indicate that Gracie was living at the time of her arrest for the June 9 incident at an address in Southwest Washington that is the location of the city’s King Greenleaf Recreation Center at 201 N St., S.W. A list of the city’s emergency shelters shows that the King Greenleaf facility has been used as a nighttime emergency shelter for homeless people.

In an incident unrelated to the 17th and 18th Street incidents, the Daily Caller, a conservative media outlet, on June 23 released a video showing Gracie running toward D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton on Black Lives Matter Plaza, where Norton was being interviewed

by NBC News anchor Andrea Mitchell. The video shows a man standing near Norton jumping into Gracie’s path, appearing to block her from running into or assaulting Norton. The video shows the man grabbing Gracie and forcibly pulling her away from Norton, who looked startled.

There are no records in D.C. Superior Court or the U.S. District Court for D.C. of an arrest of Gracie for attempting to harm Norton in Norton’s role as a member of Congress, which would be a federal offense.

A spokesperson for Norton’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request from the Blade for comment on the incident and whether Norton’s office knows whether or why Gracie may have been attempting to harm Norton,

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SISSY GRACIE was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill a gay man outside the D.C. gay bar Larry’s Lounge.

who has been a longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights.

An affidavit in support of Gracie’s arrest for the Larry’s Lounge incident filed in D.C. Superior Court says Gracie threatened complainant Wayde Taylor after Taylor told her he knew she did not work for Casa Ruby.

The affidavit says Gracie had been telling customers seated in the Larry’s Lounge patio that she was associated with Casa Ruby and was raising money for the organization. “The complainant stated that when the defendant asked for money he refused and confronted her by saying that she does not actually work for Casa Ruby in front of patrons,” the affidavit says.

“The defendant then stated that she was going to wait outside for the complainant to leave the bar and kill him,” the affidavit says, adding that the defendant, referring to Taylor, called 911 seeking help from police.

Court records show that following a police investigation, Gracie was arrested for the incident on July 6 on a charge of attempting to make threats to do bodily harm.

Corado told the Blade that Gracie came to Casa Ruby as a potential client last year during the winter before any of the allegations of her making threats and assaulting people in the Dupont Circle area surfaced. Corado said it was a one-time visit and Gracie has not returned to Casa Ruby since that time.

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RUBY CORADO (left) and IYA DAMMONS at an event in Baltimore.

Activists painted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ on Charles Street.

(Photo by Philip Van Slooten)

(Photo courtesy Baltimore Safe Haven)

From survival to trans activism in Baltimore Iya Dammons’ group painted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ on Charles Street

By PHILIP VAN SLOOTEN On a humid Friday afternoon on Charles Street earlier this month, Baltimore Safe Haven founder Iya Dammons sweated alongside local artist Jaime Grace-Alexander and scores of volunteers to paint the words “Black Trans Lives Matter.”

For a Black trans woman who once worked in this area to survive, and who has seen too many others die here, it was a labor of love.

“We’re in a state of emergency,” said Dammons, whose organization provides food, shelter and other services to the transgender community. “We marked in stone that our lives matter along with the Black Lives Matter movement.”

Dammons’s group previously held a Black Trans Lives Matter rally and march in Baltimore on June 2, during the early wave of protests following George Floyd’s death.

The group’s protest was featured on the June cover of Time magazine.

“I am human,” Dammons said after mentioning a trans girl who was shot in the face last week but survived. “This is where I was born. This is where I live. Am I an equal in the city I was born in?”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on June 5 commissioned artists to paint Black Lives Matter a few blocks north of the White House on 16th Street, and more than a dozen other cities have installed their own murals to support anti-racism protests across the country.

For Dammons, Baltimore’s Black Trans Lives Matter mural is a memorial in an area of Charles Village where trans women gather.

“Hot spots for trans women of color are Eastern Avenue and Charles Street,” she explained. “They come from one stroll to the next and do survival sex work. Both areas have had girls killed.”

Dammons’ leadership on this issue comes from experience performing sex work in both Baltimore and D.C. to survive. In a recent interview, she said the mural and the protests are personal for her as a Black trans woman who has lost too many friends like Ashanti Carmon, who was murdered in Fairmount Heights last year.

“I stopped tricking and hung up my boots when she was killed,” Dammons said. “I had to understand where I was going and what I wanted to do. Around that time I created Baltimore Safe Haven, right there along Eastern Avenue. I didn’t have a choice.”

Dammons used money saved from her work as well as lessons from her mentor, Ruby Corado of D.C.’s Casa Ruby, to found Baltimore Safe Haven, which provides many of the services she wished she had when she was surviving on the streets.

“Name change, legal advice, AIDS testing, pharmacy — those kinds of things that can give people a sustainable future,” she said. “A shower, clothes ... things that get you out of survival mode.”

She is particularly worried about trans youth who are put out of their homes once they start expressing their authentic selves.

The mural is located in an area where Bailey Reeves, a Black trans woman and rising high school senior, was murdered last year. The tragedy of losses such as Reeves is why Dammons spends most of her time working for her nonprofit with little free time of her own.

“A typical work day for me starts at 5 a.m.,” she said in an email. “Where I immediately start checking the news, emails and reports received from our transitional housing staff.”

Dammons said the height of the coronavirus pandemic in March and April were especially hard because while others were under lockdown orders, she was out helping trans people who were still living on the streets, partially due to less than affirming shelter situations.

“We were in the streets masked up trying to help our people who didn’t have a place to stay,” she said. “We were boots on the ground when there was no one out there and it was still deadly. We gave money support, we gave out hotel rooms along with other organizations. We gave out hair and hair cuts. We served our population because who was going to be there for us? Everyone closed their doors when it was either them or us.”

Dammons said the work is important and saves lives, but too often Black trans voices are lost in the current Black Lives Matters discussion. Others in the community agree.

“If you want to say that all lives matter, that is an ideal that we have not reached yet,” said Diamond Stylz, executive director of Black Trans Women, Inc., a Dallasbased organization. “What we are screaming for from the top of our lungs when these things happen, what we are saying is that the ideal has not happened yet. When the

0 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J ULY 31, 2020 • LOCA L NE W S

police break the community trust and their expectations — when you breach that contract that all lives matter, you breach that trust. And that is what is happening now.”

But there has been some backlash. Forbes reported many Black Lives Matter murals have been defaced and repaired in many cities and President Trump on July 1 said that a mural painted on a Manhattan street would be “a symbol of hate.”

The mural was completed anyway.

“Nothing that comes out of his mouth surprises me and he has blood on his hands,” Charley Burton, a founding member and Virginia chapter leader of Black Trans Men Incorporated, said of the president’s comments. “He has blood from George Floyd and Tony McDade.”

Tony McDade was a 38-year-old Black trans man killed by a Florida police officer on May 27.

Still, the recent anti-racism protests have shed light on Dammons’ and others’ efforts for the trans community, and more organizations are supporting their work.

“FreeState Justice stands in strong support and is grateful for the work of Baltimore Safe Haven to boldly state and display for all to see that Black Trans Lives Matter,” said FreeState Justice Development Director Eli Washington. “Recent racial violence has once again brought to light the harsh reality of how far we are from equity and justice for the Black community.”

“In recognition of this plight, it is important to lift up the voices of all those within the Black community and this mural does just that,” he said.

Trans Maryland Finance Director Andy Ross identifies as a Black trans man and he stated his organization’s support of and solidarity with Baltimore Safe Haven.

“The Black Trans Lives Matter mural is important for our community because it is a visual representation of our voices,” he said. “Oftentimes our voices go unheard during times of injustice. To me, the mural reflects our resilience and strength. It reflects that we are here, proud and we aren’t going anywhere.”

Dammons sees her journey from survival sex work to executive director as an example of that resiliency, but emphasizes her organization needs financial support to continue its work and save lives.

“We need support for the work that we do,” she said.

“Partner with us; don’t overlook us.”

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Lewis defended gay marriage in 2004 House speech Civil rights icon honored this week at U.S. Capitol

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com Members of Congress and the public paid tribute to the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) this week at the U.S. Capitol in both a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, where his American flag draped coffin was placed, and on the steps outside the East Front of the Capitol, where members of the public also paid their respects to the civil rights legend.

Lewis, who was serving his 17th term in Congress, died July 18 at the age of 80 from complications associated with pancreatic cancer.

LGBTQ rights advocates, who considered Lewis a strong ally in the cause of LGBTQ rights, may remember that Lewis’s commitment to LGBTQ equality was on full display at the Capitol nearly 16 years ago when on Sept. 30, 2004, Lewis delivered a speech on the House floor strongly opposing a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

It was at a time when more than a dozen states had passed their own laws or state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Lewis’s floor speech also took place in the midst of the 2004 presidential election when then-President George W. Bush backed the proposed federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in what political commentators called an attempt to create a wedge issue to boost support for his re-election.

Even Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry of Massachusetts, while opposing the constitutional amendment, said he did not support same-sex marriage but supported civil unions for gays and lesbians instead.

Lewis’s floor speech opposing the constitutional amendment came during a two-and-a-half-hour House debate on the proposal in which several supporters of the amendment submitted petitions from black churches backing the amendment and denouncing same-sex marriage.

This reporter, who watched the debate from the House Press Gallery, observed Lewis using his skills as an orator with his characteristic booming voice to refute arguments in favor of the amendment. The vocal emphasis he gave in saying why he opposed the amendment isn’t completely reflected in the written transcript of his speech, which the Blade is publishing today.

Among other things, Lewis referred to the famous 1965 civil rights protest he led across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in which he suffered a concussion when he and other protesters were beaten by state troopers. He said he was demonstrating then to “end discrimination, segregation and separation” and his opposition to the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment was based on his longstanding opposition to discrimination.

“To pass this legislation would be a step backward,” he told his House colleagues. “The institution of marriage is not begging this Congress for protection,” he said. “No

Rep. JOHN LEWIS in 2004 called for defeat of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

one is running around this building saying protect us.”

At the conclusion of the debate the House defeated the proposed same-sex marriage ban by failing to reach a required two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment. But the proposed amendment nevertheless received a majority vote of 227 in favor and 186 against, with 22 House members not voting.

Congressional Record September 30, 2004 House of Representatives Debate on the Marriage Protection Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage in the United States.

The proposed amendment stated, “Marriage in the United States shall consist solely of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution, nor the constitution of any State shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than a man and a woman.”

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, over the years, this Nation has worked hard to take discrimination out of the Constitution, and today, we want to put it back in.

I can recall just a few short years ago that there were laws inscribed in some State constitutions saying that blacks and whites could not marry. We changed that.

Today, we look back on those days, and we laugh.

There will come a time when generations yet unborn will look back on this Congress, look back on this debate, and laugh at us. This is not a good day in America. This is

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a sad day in the House of the people.

For one who faced death, who was beaten and left bloody and unconscious at the Greyhound bus station in Montgomery, Alabama, in May of 1961; for one who had a concussion at the bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965, demonstrating, trying to end discrimination, segregation and separation, this is not the way.

This is unbelievable. It is unreal. I thought as a Nation and as a people we had moved so far down the road toward one family, one House, one America.

To pass this legislation would be a step backward.

The institution of marriage is not begging this Congress for protection. No one is running through the halls of Congress. No one is running around this building saying protect us.

Whose marriage is threatened? Whose marriage is in danger if two people, in the privacy of their own hearts, decide they want to be committed to each other?

Whose marriage is threatened?

Whose marriage is in danger if we decide to recognize the dignity, the worth and humanity of all human beings?

The constitution is a sacred document. It defines who we are as a Nation and as a people. Over the years, we have tried to make it more and more inclusive. We cannot turn back. We do not want to go back. We want to go forward. Today it is gay marriage; tomorrow it will be something else.

Forget about the politics; vote your conscience. Vote with your heart, vote with your soul, vote with your gut.

Do what is right and defeat this amendment.

Torres makes history after declaring victory in N.Y. race Likely to be among first gay black men elected to Congress

By CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com and our largest expenditure in any race outside the presidential this cycle,” but he With Ritchie Torres declaring victory in the Democratic primary for New York’s declined to give an exact figure.

15th congressional district, the New York City Council member appears on his way to Initial polling found Diaz Sr. was favored to win the primary. A Data for Progress poll becoming one of the first openly gay black men elected to Congress — but progressive earlier this month showed Díaz receiving 22 percent of the vote from likely voters and advocates say that took a dedicated campaign to flip the script on his anti-LGBTQ, antiTorres with 20 percent. The next three closest competitors, all progressives, received abortion opponent. support from just six percent of likely voters.

Claims the New York City Council is “controlled by the homosexual community” Bronx United, a political action committee, had similar data in April, finding Diaz and LGBTQ people are “cursed” were among the anti-LGBTQ views Bronx City Council was favored to win the primary by at least double digits, taking home nearly one-third member Ruben Diaz Sr. have expressed, making him a rare breed among Democrats. of the vote.

As a state senator in New York, Diaz Sr. was the chief Democratic opponent of But a subsequent memo on the primary results from Bronx United noticed a change legalizing marriage equality in 2011. In addition, Diaz Sr. called New York the “abortion in Diaz Sr.’s trajectory as the race went on, crediting that with negative press on the capital of the United States” and voted against pro-choice bills. candidate’s anti-LGBTQ views.

Although Diaz Sr. was initially in the lead in the crowded primary per early polls, “This relentless onslaught of negative press and active social media pushback the trend was reversed shortly before the primary, which cleared the way for Torres. on his events and antics helped freeze any last-second political support Diaz Sr. may Although the Associated Press has yet to call the race and the results aren’t official, Diaz have picked up during the home stretch of the race,” the memo says. “The effort Sr. has announced his retirement from politics in the wake of the primary and Torres has also exposed his shady tactics. In the end, Diaz declared victory.

Sr. could not hold a single event without Bronx “The counting is all but over,” Torres tweeted.

United monitoring it and hammering him for “On Primary Day, we were ahead by 4516 votes. improprieties.”

As of yesterday evening, our lead had grown to The shift became apparent on the night of the 7803 (far larger than the # of uncounted ballots). election, when early results showed Torres had Even if our nearest rival were to win every single won the primary and media outlets predicted one, we would remain ahead by a wide margin.” he was on his way to Congress. According to Progressive groups trumpeted the declared initial results with 40,791 ballots cast, Torres has win by Torres as a victory for their values, won with 30.5 percent, followed by New York asserting grassroots and digital efforts were Assembly member Michael Blake with 19.4 responsible for changing the outcome of the percent and Diaz Sr. with 14.8 percent. race, which by early indications looked like a win Needham said with primary voters disaffected for Diaz Sr. with Diaz Sr., they naturally were drawn to Torres, Ben Needham, director of strategic initiatives in part because of the charismatic way he in the policy and political affairs department at engaged with the district amid civil unrest over the Human Rights Campaign, said in an interview the death of George Floyd. with the Blade the interest of progressive groups “I think if you just saw Ritchie Torres out in the in the race “started a lot longer before the polling streets with advocates, calling for reforms to the came out.” policing and saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ really sort “We were looking at the candidates and of resonated with voters in that district,” Needham where they stood on issues as they related to said. “And so I think it was a combination of LGBTQ equality,” Needham said. “And we came everything, but I do think that we had to tell the to the decision that Ritchie Torres was just the RITCHIE TORRES won the NY-15 primary after a social media campaign highlighting the anti-LGBTQ views of his opponent. story of Diaz’s record but also tell the story of why best candidate, as it related to the issues that we (Photo via Twitter) Ritchie Torres was the better choice.” want to advance like the Equality Act, and other But the results are still not yet official. A New York Board of Elections spokesperson LGBTQ issues in Congress, and so that led to us making a decision to endorse Ritchie.” told the Blade about two-thirds of ballots cast in the state primary were absentee ballots, After a conversation with independent expenditure partner groups, Needham said which is an unprecedented amount, and when counting will be done is “impossible to progressive groups concluded Torres had a path to success, but a campaign against say.” An Associated Press spokesperson said Friday the media outlet is awaiting the Diaz Sr. was necessary because it “didn’t seem that people fully understood that he was “results of mail-in ballots from the Bronx, which have yet to be released” before making a Democrat in name only.” the call.

A coalition of groups — Planned Parenthood Action Fund, LGBTQ Victory Fund, Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, was among the NARAL Pro-Choice America, Latino Victory Fund, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus progressive activists nonetheless saying it’s clear based on the known results that the BOLD PAC, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, pro-choice candidate has come out on top.

Human Rights Campaign, Equality PAC and People for the American Way — launched in “New York primary voters delivered a resounding message: When politicians come May a social media-focused campaign on the record of Diaz Sr. for our reproductive rights, we’ll leave them behind at the ballot box,” Lawson said.

A chief component of this campaign, Needham said, was a background document “Rubén Díaz Sr.’s record of opposing abortion and LGBTQ+ rights is way out of step on Diaz Sr.’s’ “bad rhetoric and bad votes around LGBTQ issues around women’s with the voters of New York’s 15th congressional district.” reproductive rights” developed by the Human Rights Campaign’s research team, which New York’s 15th congressional district is heavily Democratic, so the winner of the was highlighted in video ads on social media. primary is basically assured the seat in the U.S. House. As a result, Torres, who’s Afro“We had a ton of equality voters in the district, and these are people that said they Latino, seems on his way to becoming one of the first openly gay black men elected would vote for a candidate based on their stance around LGBTQ issues,” Needham to Congress. Upon claiming his seat, he’ll share that distinction with Mondaire Jones, said. “And so, we took the process of communicating with Diaz Sr. and making sure that who’s on his way to Congress after a win in the Democratic primary to represent New people understood his record, but also making sure people understood that Richard York’s 17th congressional district.

Torres was going to be an advocate for the LGBTQ community, not just because he was While a change in the trajectory of the NY-15 primary is apparent, which factors part of our community, but because of his record as well.” exactly are responsible for the result are up for debate. One political analyst had a Lucas Acosta, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, said the social media different take on the primary and said the fall of Diaz Sr. was more the result of his ties post from the campaign had 1.1 million imprints and 417,000 on Facebook alone. to President Trump, rather than his anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice views.

The amount of money allocated for the campaign, Acosta said, was a “5-figure buy NATI ON A L N E W S • JULY 3 1 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 1 1

Dems vow to push EqualityAct in 2020 platform

Party also commits to trans health protections

By CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com

Vows to protect transgender health, pass the Equality Act and undo the anti-LGBTQ policies of the Trump administration are among the LGBTQ highlights of the party platform Democrats have proposed for 2020.

A copy of the draft platform made public in recent days reveals the document affords entire paragraphs to addressing LGBTQ issues in addition to weaving LGBTQ people into other aspects of the document.

The Democratic Platform Committee met remotely Monday to approve the document and adopt amendments, including additional language bolstering support for LGBTQ people. The next step is a vote by convention delegates during the voting period Aug 3-15.

One section with the header “Protecting LGBTQ+ Health” repudiates the recent rule change from the Trump administration enabling health care providers and insurance companies to turn away transgender patients.

“We condemn the Trump administration’s discriminatory actions against the LGBTQ+ community, including the dangerous and unethical regulation allowing doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to discriminate against patients based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the draft platform says.

“Democrats will reverse this rule-making and restore nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in health insurance.”

The same paragraph also calls for ensuring LGBTQ people have “full access to needed health care and resources,” including access to PrEP for HIV prevention, hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery.

The language also recommits the federal government to beating the HIV epidemic by 2025, taking an implicit knock at the Trump administration for setting 2030 as the target date to end the epidemic.

Another section titled “Protecting LGBTQ+ Rights” praises the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which determined anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, thus illegal in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but also calls for passage of the Equality Act to prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination more extensively.

“We will fight to enact the Equality Act and at last outlaw discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in housing, public accommodations, access to credit, education, jury service and federal programs,” the draft platform says. “We will work to ensure LGBTQ+ people are not discriminated against when seeking to adopt or foster children, protect LGBTQ+ children from bullying and assault and guarantee transgender students’ access to facilities based on their gender identity.”

But Democrats also weaved into other aspects of the draft platform language pertaining to the LGBTQ community, such as a commitment to LGBTQ human rights overseas in a section on foreign policy, a nod to LGBTQ homeless youth in a section devoted to ending homelessness and recognition of Planned Parenthood’s care for LGBTQ patients in a paragraph committing to federal funds for the organization.

A detailed list of amendments adopted by the platform committee on Monday, as provided to the

If JOE BIDEN is elected president, the Democratic Party has committed to a series of pro-LGBTQ policies.

Blade by the DNC, shows LGBTQ language was added more extensively in a series of amendments. Among the additions was language for a gay blood donation policy based on science, support for LGBTQ elders and recognition LGBTQ people suffer disproportionately from medical health disorders and substance abuse.

In contrast, the Republican Party has simply renewed its 2016 platform — which calls for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, supports widely discredited conversion therapy and repudiates transgender protections under the law — by approval from Republican National Committee leadership without convening its platform committee amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a prepared video to the platform committee shared with the Blade the 2020 Democratic draft platform is “the most pro-LGBTQ agenda in the history of the Democratic Party,” but the real work lies ahead on Election Day. “For us to advance these policies and to achieve a fully inclusive future, we must elect a president and a Congress that will protect all LGBTQ people from discrimination, including by passing the Equality Act, and by signing it into law,” David said.

David also called for “federal judges from diverse backgrounds who will uphold the principle of equal justice under the law” and to “restructure existing systems” to address problems facing minority communities, including LGBTQ people.

The inclusion of LGBTQ issues comes as some

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progressives have expressed displeasure with the platform, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors who called on Democrats to make “sea changes” in the platform to address more boldly police brutality and racial injustice, according to a report in Axios.

One notable omission from the draft Democratic platform is any mention of same-sex marriage for the first time since 2008, nor do any of the amendments. The LGBTQ movement had to wage a significant battle to get the Democratic Party to include a marriage equality plank in the 2012 platform, when the issue was on the ballot in four states, and Democrats renewed that endorsement in the 2016 platform.

Evan Wolfson, founder of the now closed LGBTQ group Freedom to Marry who led a campaign to get the Democratic platform to endorse same-sex marriage in 2012, said via email to the Blade he “would be happy to see a mention of the freedom to marry win in the platform,” but at the end of the day the important thing is electing Biden.

“I think what is much more important is that the Party’s prospective nominee is a champion who has committed to be the most pro-LGBT president in history (outstripping the administration he served as vice president),” Wolfson said. “Joe Biden has backed up his pledge with a highly detailed campaign program and strong and diverse team, and I have no doubt that he and the Democrats up and down the ballot in federal, state, and local races represent the best choice for advancing LGBT progress and, even more urgent, getting our country back on track.”

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JULY 3 1 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 1 3

Trans Cuban woman builds new life in Florida ‘Thank you to the people who have welcomed me without discrimination’

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS & YARIEL VALDEZ GONZALEZ Correctional Center, a privately run detention center in Milan, N.M., that once had a unit for JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A transgender woman who spent nearly eight months in U.S. trans ICE detainees. The friend with whom she entered the U.S. was eventually deported Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody won asylum in the U.S. last August because back to Cuba. of the persecution she suffered in her native Cuba.

ICE transferred Mena to the Tallahatchie County Correctional Center, another privately Dayana Mena López on July 25 noted to the Blade during an interview at a restaurant run prison in Tutwiler, Miss. in Jacksonville, Fla., where she now lives that she suffered persecution in her homeland The Southern Poverty Law Center lawsuit notes Mena “again identified as trans” and because of her gender identity and her opposition to the Cuban government. she was held in solitary confinement for a month while she waited for her credible fear Mena, who is of African descent, is from the town of Placetas in Cuba’s Villa Clara interview. province.

Mena told the Blade she was isolated “supposedly for my protection, to not suffer She told the Blade she came out as trans when she lived in Cienfuegos, a city in Central violations, etc.” Mena said she was able to speak with fellow detainees through the glass Cuba. Mena said her family supported her. window of her cell’s door. She also said a “I would have been able to consider guard of Puerto Rican descent allowed her myself lucky and happy in this regard DAYANA MENA LÓPEZ spent nearly eight months in ICE detention.

(Blade photo by Yariel Valdéz Gonzaléz) to leave her cell and did not close the door because my entire family accepted me: my when he was on duty. parents, my grandparents,” she said. “My ICE initially placed Mena in the general entire family always accepted me and I never population when it transferred her to the had any problem in my neighborhood with Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center, another my neighbors in this sense. In this sense I privately run detention center in Pine Prairie, lived well, with respect to this part of my life.”

La. The Southern Poverty Law Center lawsuit A federal lawsuit the Southern Poverty notes ICE placed her back into solitary Law Center filed on behalf of Mena and confinement for “several days” after she told other ICE detainees who had been denied a psychologist she is trans. parole that would have allowed her to pursue “The prison warden had me placed in her case out of detention notes she “refused the hole for four days when, after a medical to complete compulsory military service” and psychological evaluation, I said that I in the Communist country, but “authorities identified as a transgender person,” Mena misidentified her as a gay man and attempted told the Blade. “I was detained together with to force her to serve in the military.” another companion.”

Mena told the Blade the men in the Mena said Southern Poverty Law Center unit to which she was brought insulted her lawyers raised the issue with the warden because she is trans. Mena said she could and challenged the decision. not wear a female uniform and was unable “They then freed us from the hole and to do her make up or hair. they made us sign a paper that said it was our responsibility if something happened,” Mena “The environment was very tense,” she said. told the Blade. “They also gave me another paper to present to officials saying that they The Southern Poverty Law Center lawsuit further details her life in Cuba. couldn’t check me or even touch me.”

“Due to her political beliefs and identity, Cuban authorities have beaten her, taunted “I never had problems with anyone,” she said. “I was not a victim of homophobia, to the her with homophobic slurs, locked her in a frigid chamber for hours, and held her under contrary. The Cubans were always defending me.” arrest,” it reads.

Mena’s attorneys in May 2019 asked ICE to transfer her to the Cibola County Correctional Mena said she received death threats. She also told the Blade that police officers harass Center’s unit for trans women, but the request was not granted. trans women who gather along Havana’s oceanfront promenade known as the Malecón Mena’s final hearing in her asylum case took place on Aug. 1, 2019, which took place because they think they are sex workers. against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policy that, Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro who directs the among other things, seeks to drastically limit the number of asylum seekers allowed into country’s National Center for Sexual Education, spearheads LGBTQ-specific issues on the the U.S. Mena told the Blade her hearing lasted upwards of six hours. island.

“I had a super bad time with the [government] prosecutor, who treated me badly,” said Her supporters note Cuba provides free sex-reassignment surgery under its health care Mena. “He called me a liar, even as an expert the day before my court hearing examined my system. They also point out that Mariela Castro, who is a member of the Cuban National body to verify the injuries and scars that I had on my body were real.”

Assembly, in 2013 voted against a proposal to ban anti-gay discrimination in the workplace The judge granted her asylum, but ICE did not release her until Aug. 5, 2019. because it did not include gender identity.

“The day that I saw my name on the list to leave I cried more than anyone in this world,” “She is something very, very fake,” said Mena in response to the Blade’s question about Mena told the Blade. “I cried more than when I left Cuba. I cried because I had a happiness Mariela Castro. “She is something created, (they are creating something) fake to sell an image.” that many other people crave.”

Mena left Cuba on Dec. 22, 2018.

“I couldn’t eat that day and I saw people next to me crying,” she added. “The entire pod, “I left Cuba to flee persecution and physical and psychological abuse I also suffered 140 people, clapped for me when I left through the door. It is something gratifying, but at because I am a trans woman,” she said. the same time it hurt a lot.”

Mena said a friend helped her pay for the flight from Havana to Panama. The Panamanian A friend of Mena’s father picked her up and drove her to Jacksonville. government granted Mena a visa that allowed her to travel to the country, but she told the Nearly a year later, she is working two jobs. Mena told the Blade her life in Jacksonville Blade she could not return to Cuba. “has been awesome for me,” even though none of her relatives live in the city.

“I had to stay there in Panama because they would have detained me if I returned to “Thank you to the people and the city who have welcomed me without discrimination, Cuba,” she said. who have given me support and helped me get ahead in a country as difficult as this,” she Mena and a gay man from Cuba asked for asylum in the U.S. at a port of entry in El said.

Paso, Texas, in January 2019. Mena presented herself as a gay man, as opposed to a trans Mena further described the U.S. as “free.” woman, because her friend did not want to be separated from her.

“I am hopeful that the new laws that allow people like me to live free don’t change,” she “He was very afraid to be alone,” said Mena. “That’s why I asked for asylum like this.” added.

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

John Robert Lewis, the ‘Boy from Troy’ His fight for civil rights included LGBTQ Americans

We remember John Robert Lewis who died on July 17 at the age of 80 as an icon of the civil rights movement.

A congressman who Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others have called the ‘moral conscience’ of the United States Congress.

It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave him the nickname, “The boy from Troy.” Lewis said when he first met him: “Dr. King said, ‘Are you the boy from Troy? Are you John Lewis?’ And I said, ‘I am John Robert Lewis,’ I gave my whole name. And he still called me ‘the boy from Troy.’”

That was 63 years ago in Montgomery, Ala., at King’s First Baptist Church. Over the years we know how much John Lewis did to further the rights of African Americans in this country. He was president of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He wanted to motivate other young people like himself to get involved in the fight for civil rights. But he, like King, tried to make it a non-violent fight. When riots erupted like the one at the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, it was others who started those riots. John Lewis did nothing but try to walk across that bridge to demand his rights when he was nearly beaten to death on what became known as Bloody Sunday. He always said that when he got into trouble it was ‘good trouble.’

Edmund Pettus, whom the bridge was named after, was head of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan, and a U.S. senator. He was honored for his role in supporting slavery and racism. Because of that there is a movement today to rename the bridge.

One suggestion is to name it the John Robert Lewis Bridge.

In the six days of remembrances planned for Congressman Lewis, the changes he and those who fought in the civil rights movement made can be plainly seen. He is being accompanied on his last trip over the Pettus Bridge

by Alabama state troopers whose

predecessors were the ones who nearly beat him to death on Bloody Sunday.

His body will be taken to the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery where he will lie in state. His body will be met and welcomed by Gov. Kay Ivey in the place where in 1963 after being elected governor George Wallace stood and said in his inaugural address, “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”

Lewis was an amazing man who lived many lives in his 80 years. From his humble beginnings, his parents were sharecroppers in Troy, Ala., to the heights of power and respect in the United States Congress. In his lifetime he witnessed the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He saw the Supreme Court issue its unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, ruling that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. He saw the nation slowly move forward on the promise of equal protection under the law promised in our founding documents. But he always knew there was much more to do. Then he saw the nation elect Donald Trump, a racist, who made racist statements and gave tacit permission for others to do the same.

In his last days he saw the shooting of George Floyd and the strengthening of the Black Lives Matter movement. One of the last things he witnessed was the spectacle of a president using federal troops to shoot rubber bullets and tear gas at peaceful protesters in front of the White House, which must have brought his thoughts back to Bloody Sunday.

Then shortly before his death he stood with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Black Lives Matter Plaza.

He knew what he had accomplished and surely he trusted the next John Lewis’s, whoever they would be, to continue the fight for full equality, a fight he made for all people including women and the LGBTQ community. I am sure John Lewis felt confident there are young men and women who will take the torch he passed to them and lead the way to a better future for all.

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KATHI WOLFE is a regular contributor to the Blade and winner of the 2014 Stonewall Chapbook competition.

ADA at 30 years: ‘Hey, we’re here’ Visibility for disabled people is increasing

(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series on the Americans with Disabilities Act 30th anniversary.)

In the late 1980s, white cane in hand, I walked from my office in Manhattan to grab a burger for lunch at McDonald’s.

“Sorry, ma’am,” the guy behind the counter said, “blind people can’t eat here.”

After I said I wouldn’t leave until I was served, I was allowed to order. The cheeseburger was delicious! But there wasn’t much I could do to hold McDonald’s legally accountable for its attempt to exclude me because of my disability.

Why am I telling you this story? Because, 30 years ago this month, life changed for people like me. On July 26, the Americans with Disabilities Act became law. From the moment that President George H.W. Bush signed the landmark legislation, there was hope for the one in five Americans, queer and non-queer, with disabilities.

Restaurants and hotels could turn us away. Hospitals could refuse to provide sign language interpreters for deaf patients. A library (as had once happened to me) could tell us that we shouldn’t be out in public alone. But though the discrimination would be hurtful or even life-threatening, we could fight back with the ADA. I’ll never forget hearing Bush at the ADA signing say, “Let the shameful walls of exclusion finally come tumbling down!”

At that moment, a feeling of power began to bubble within me. The struggle would be long – we’d lose battles along the way. But, we had a legal weapon in our fight for justice.

Sometimes, I almost forget what it was like before the ADA. Until memories come back. My (late) mother, who had diabetes, was part of the World War II generation.

She worked as a lab technician when my Dad was in veterinary school. She didn’t disclose her disability to her employer, and said, “If I did I would have been fired.”

I wish I could tell you that with the ADA the walls of exclusion had totally tumbled down. That ableism with its prejudice and lack of disability accessibility had 1 6 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA D E.COM • J ULY 31, 2020 • V I E W POI N T

completely melted away. That the LGBTQ community had left its ableism behind to welcome and celebrate queer and disabled folk. If only.

The ADA, in many ways – from curb cuts to closed captioning – that have transformed the landscape for disabled and non-disabled people. (Think moms and dads pushing their babies in strollers over curb cuts. Turning on closedcaptioning when you’re watching TV in a noisy place.)

Yet, 70 percent of people with disabilities of working age are unemployed.

“If history is a guide, one of the surest ways to get an Oscar is by being a nondisabled person playing a disabled character,” the New York Times said in its series of articles marking the ADA 30th anniversary.

Some 80 percent of characters with disabilities on TV were played by nondisabled actors, according to a report released by the Ruderman Family Foundation released early this year. How ironic, when most of us either are disabled, have a loved one with a disability or will likely to become disabled as we age.

The fear of disabled people – the desire to keep us hidden away, closeted — is similar to how society historically viewed LGBTQ people. “The psychological longing to keep disabled bodies invisible– much as with trans bodies – is still so strong, Sheila Black, co-editor of the anthology “Beauty Is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability,” said in an email.

Yet, there’s hope! Visibility for disabled people, queer and non-queer, is increasing.

Ali Stoker, an actress with a disability, won a Tony in 2019 for her role of Ado Annie in “Oklahoma.” Ryan O’Connell, a gay actor and writer with cerebral palsy, is editing season 2 of the fab Netflix series “Special.”

The LGBTQ community is beginning to become inclusive toward its queer and disabled members. More gatherings have sign language interpreters. Festivals, such as OutWrite, are having readings and performances by disabled writers and artists. “There’s been a greater awareness of our existence,” Raymond Luczak, editor of “QDA: A Queer Disability Anthology,” emailed me, “We just have to be steadfast and remind them, ‘Hey, we’re here.’”

The Blade Foundation was founded in 2010 to promote the accurate reporting of issues related to the LGBTQ community around the world.

Our mission: To support, train and encourage diversity in the next generation of LGBTQ journalists by investing in students and enterprise journalism projects focused on LGBTQ and other underrepresented communities.

In furtherance of that mission, the Blade Foundation in 2020 is offering a $3,000 scholarship to a student who has received their acceptance to a fouryear accredited university journalism program and will begin that program in the fall of 2020 or a student who is already enrolled in such a program.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE You may submit the following via email or postal mail: • • • •

A letter explaining why you should receive this scholarship and why LGBTQ issues are important to you; Proof of acceptance or current attendance in an accredited journalism program; A letter of support from either a professor if you are currently in a program or from a teacher or mentor if you are about to enter a program; A one-page resume and three published clips or links to published material.

Send application by email to knaff@washblade.com (no phone calls) or mail to: Blade Foundation Attn: Kevin Naff, Executive Director 1712 14th St., NW Washington, D.C. 20009 Deadline for applications is

Sept. 15, 2020

and the recipient of the award will be announced by Oct. 1, 2020.

JULY 3 1 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 1 7

‘Streateries’ and other ways D.C. is helping businesses survive COVID DDOT’s Marootian on reopening city — and that rainbow crosswalk

By EVAN CAPLAN ideas that emerged from that process and the mayor tasked several agencies to work together to develop a plan to implement them.

BLADE: Can you explain how the process works for cafes, bars, and restaurants?

MAROOTIAN: We have worked hard to make the process as simple and streamlined as possible for restaurants and businesses. The link to the registration form is available on the coronavirus.dc.gov website and our staff is available to work with businesses to identify the best ways to repurpose public space to support their expansion.

BLADE: Where in the city has the project been most successful?

M A R O OT I A N : We have collaborated with many partners on ANCs, BIDS [business improvement districts], and civic associations across the entire city to operationalize streateries.

As the city continues with its phased reopening, I expect that several more will come online. Most of them so far have been successful and we are all learning together as we go.

JEFF MAROOTIAN, director of the District Department of Transportation (far right), kneels BLADE: What kind alongside the new rainbow crosswalk at 17th and P streets, N.W. (Photo by Mario Sessions/DDOT) of reception have you received from customers and businesses?

MAROOTIAN: We have had an overwhelmingly Prior to joining DDOT, he served in the Obama positive reception from both businesses and the public. administration as the Assistant Secretary for Management

and White House Liaison at the United States Department BLADE: Let’s focus on Dupont and Adams Morgan. of Transportation. He previously held various roles at the Has the “gayborhood” been especially involved in Democratic National Committee where he was the LGBT the process?

Outreach Director during the 2012 election.

MAROOTIAN: Several ANC commissioners, BID The Blade talked to Marootian about coronavirus leaders, and civic associations have partnered with and some of his efforts at DDOT to assist businesses and us to stand these up across the District. Dupont Circle residents as the city continues its cautious approach to and Adams Morgan were the first two neighborhoods reopening after the long quarantine. to approach us and they helped lay the foundation for

others.

WASHINGTON BLADE: How did DDOT begin

the idea of the “streatery?” What prompted the BLADE: How has the city supported LGBTQdiscussion? owned restaurants and small businesses?

JEFF MAROOTIAN: Mayor Bowser convened the MAROOTIAN: We continue to partner with Reopen DC Task Force to identify ways to support the many businesses since the start of the public health District’s phased reopening. Streateries were among the As D.C. works to stem the spread of coronavirus, government officials and business owners have had to get creative to keep businesses open and customers safe.

One solution for local restaurants has been to work with the city to designate public spaces like parking areas for use as outdoor dining spaces.

Jeff Marootian, director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), who’s gay, was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in August 2017 and has played a key role in that effort.

1 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J ULY 31, 2020

D.C. Mayor MURIEL BOWSER with DDOT’s JEFF MAROOTIAN. (Photo by Mario Sessions/DDOT)

emergency to ensure they have as much support from the city as possible. We created a pickup and dropoff zone concept for food deliveries and upwards of 400 businesses, including several LGBT-owned and operated, have taken advantage of that.

BLADE: Similarly, what is your opinion of the rainbow-painted barriers outside Pitchers as part of the expanded sidewalk initiative in Adams Morgan?

MAROOTIAN: I think the rainbows look great. We encourage businesses to be creative with the barriers.

DDOT has published design guidelines on our website to assist businesses that want to paint them.

BLADE: Finally, let’s discuss the rainbow crosswalk at P Street and 17th Street, N.W. How did this idea come about? Is it permanent?

MAROOTIAN: Many in the community, myself included, have wanted to do a rainbow crosswalk installation for some time. My team and I worked to develop a concept that reflected the history and diversity of our city. We partnered with the ANC to install it at 17th and P and will be adding other locations along 17th Street in the coming months.

BLADE: Are there other similar initiatives that we can look forward to in the summer or fall months?

MAROOTIAN: We have seen the incredible power of art in public space over the past few months. DDOT recently launched the Art in the Right of Way program and will be partnering with communities from across all eight wards of the District to identify other opportunities to install art on roads, sidewalks, and other public spaces.

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Rainbow Families holds a Virtual Family Conference Aug. 8-9

CALENDAR

By KAELA ROEDER

TODAY

Wednesday, August 5

Saturday, August 1

Thursday, August 6

OutWrite, D.C.’s annual LGBTQ literary festival, starts today and finishes on Sunday. Admission is free, but registration is required. Literary workshops and author panels are set to take place. Details at OutWrite DC’s Eventbrite page.

The Palm Collective, along with more than 65 local and national grassroots partners, are set to protest in demand for systemic changes in Washington today at 3 p.m. The group is meeting at the African American Museum of History and Culture.

Details at palmcollective.org.

Sunday, August 2

Summer Drive-In Movie Nights, presented by the Capital One Center, will screen “Footloose” tonight at 7 p.m. at the McLean Metro Lot. Admission is free, but pre-registration is required. Attendees are encouraged to donate $25 to Second Story, a charity partner and local nonprofit providing food, shelter, and emergency support for community members impacted

by COVID-19.

Monday, August 3

The Sculpture Garden has reopened daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily with social distancing and required face coverings.

The available monuments are located along Constitution Avenue NW between 7th and 9th Streets N.W. The East and West buildings are currently closed to the public. Visit nga.gov for more information.

Tuesday, August 4

Politics and Prose Bookstore will host André Aciman, the author of “Call Me By Your Name,” to discuss his book, “Find Me” streamed through P&P Live! tonight at 8 p.m. Admission is free, but a donation is encouraged. Learn more by visiting politics-prose.com/event.

2 0 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA D E.COM • J ULY 31, 2020

The DC Center will host a Job Club tonight and every Wednesday at 7 p.m. to help job entrants and seekers to improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking. Details at thedccenter.org/ events.

Pride in the Livingroom and the Israeli Association for LGBTQ Equality will host Elad Strohmayer, the spokesperson of the Embassy of Israel to the United States, today at 3 p.m. via Zoom. Pride in the Livingroom was founded in memory of the 2009 Tel Aviv Gay Center shooting victims and the Jerusalem Pride parade stabbing in 2015. The event will spotlight stories of Jewish LGBTQ individuals worldwide.

Admission is free. Visit the respective Facebook page for more information.

OUT&ABOUT

Rainbow Families hosts Virtual Family conference

Rainbow Families’ Virtual Family conference is Aug. 8 and 9. The conference offers more than 25 workshops on varying topics, including pathways to parenthood, race and diversity in families, guidance for parents, financial, legal and other important subjects. Registration is $35. Learn more at rainbowfamilies.org.

Yoga for Black Lives Matter

Yoga for Black Lives Matter is hosting an outdoor power Vinyasa-style class focused on traditional yoga postures and foundational and grounding poses on Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Tickets are $25, but attendees can donate as little as $5.50. Proceeds from this session will be donated to Movement for Black Lives. More classes are scheduled to be held every few weeks until Sept. 27. Details at the respective Eventbrite page.

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DARREN VANCE (right) with husband JOHN PAUL (left) and son ALEXANDER PAUL. (Photo courtesy Vance)

followed by “Pose.”

Movie: Too many, but would “Funny Girl” count?

What’s your social media pet peeve?

Promoting anti-racism and queer rights as ‘sponsored content’ to boost corporate image.

QUEERY Darren Paul-Vance

What would the end of the LGBTQ movement look like to you?

There should never be an end to our movement.

What’s the most overrated social custom?

“How are you?” (Do people really want the answer?) And hand-shaking. Can I throw in reply-all, too?

What was your religion, if any, as a child and what is it today?

Favorite response from someone I care for very much: “I believe Jesus was a historical figure.”

QUEERY: Darren Paul-Vance

The Rainbow Families director answers 20 queer questions FROM STAFF REPORTS Darren Paul-Vance is executive director of Rainbow Families, which since 2004 has held its “Family Conference and Gathering,” a day of workshops and opportunities to connect with businesses that serve the community. Things are bit different this year, given the coronavirus restrictions.

“With the pandemic we considered cancelling this year, but our members spoke up and said they wanted a conference, even if it looked a bit different,” he said. So, a virtual Family Conference will be held Aug. 8 and 9.

“We realize many are in online meeting overload, so we positioned it for people to come and go — attend the discussions important to them, if even just for an hour or two,” he added. Registration is just $35; visit rainbowfamiliesconference.org for information.

Darren Paul-Vance married his husband John Paul-Vance in 2010, as soon as it was legal in D.C. They’ve been together since 1997 and have a son named Alex.

“My husband John and I adopted our son at birth from Guatemala 14 years ago and quickly felt a need to connect with other LGBT families,” Darren Paul-Vance said. “We saw a post for a Rainbow Families picnic; we were struck by the power of having our son — and us — be among other families like ours.”

He became executive director in June of 2018. “I try to listen to our members as I want to be certain we’re providing the services and programs they want through all life stages, yet carefully navigate that growth so we never forget our history and our mission.”

The family lives in Waldorf, Md. Darren Paul-Vance enjoys cooking, music and travel in his free time. The family normally takes yearly vacations to Lake Michigan and to Hawaii to visit his husband’s family, but those plans are on hold due to coronavirus.

Otherwise, the couple enjoys “hanging out with our hysterical, fabulous teenage son.”

(These opinions are my own and not of Rainbow Families.)

2 2 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA D E.COM • J ULY 31, 2020

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

I came out as a process in my mid 20s in the midst of the AIDS crisis. The best thing I did was join the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, where I finally felt safe, part of a community, and where I could learn.

Hardest to tell? My parents. And the girl I was dating. Who then came out to me as a lesbian. That conversation went better than anticipated.

Who’s your LGBTQ hero?

Harvey Milk.

What LGBTQ stereotype most annoys you?

I used to have several. Then I realized that was my internalized homophobia.

What’s your proudest professional achievement?

Leaving 25 years of solid corporate work, to run a small-but-mighty nonprofit and to feel like finally, what I’m doing matters.

What terrifies you?

Four more years of Donald.

What’s something trashy or vapid you love?

Reruns of Mom, Big Bang Theory, Frasier. And Spam, but my husband is Hawaiian so . . .

What’s your greatest domestic skill?

Cooking.

What’s your favorite LGBTQ movie or show?

Show: Team “Schitt’s Creek” all the way,

What’s D.C.’s best hidden gem?

Del popolo’s pizzas and their burrata appetizer.

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

Queen at Live Aid tops my list. Watching “Saturday Night Fever” for the first time. Oh, and “Spartacus” — I knew I was gay right there. Thank you, Kirk. I don’t follow instructions well, I know I’m supposed to be providing one answer to these.

What celebrity death hit you hardest?

Matthew Shepard. Perhaps Rock Hudson if only because that represented the onslaught. John Lewis has me thinking so much about courage, persistence, grace.

If you could redo one moment from your past, what would it be?

Not throwing a couple bucks into Apple 30 years ago? I think I’ll keep the real answer close to the vest.

What are your obsessions?

Cars - especially huge 1970s American ones, the “Graham Norton Show,” the “Mary Tyler Moore” show, “Pose,” seeing my teenager’s eyes roll when I replicate Doja Cat’s moves.

Finish this sentence — It’s about damn time: for Donald to be away from power and influence.

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

It all goes by in a flash. Let s**t go.

Why Washington?

Its vibrancy, activism, diversity, architecture, history and our envied, cool, dry summers.

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ANTONIO BANDERAS in ‘Pain and Glory.’

‘Camp’ explores puppyish first love A cute story with a strong message

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

You didn’t need the extra heat.

No, the evening was balmy; it had been all day, but you needed to watch the embers. There’s something about a campfire that’s relaxing, isn’t there?

Something romantic about it, too, which means things can heat up or, as in the new novel “Camp” by L.C. Rosen, things can go all up in flames.

Sixteen-year-old Randall Kappelhoff had been thinking about his plan all winter.

This year at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens, everything would be different. He’d cut his hair and change his name – no more “Randy,” he’d be “Del” at camp. He’d act totally masc, sign up for sports, and he’d reluctantly give up performing in the annual play.

And at the end of the four weeks of camp, Hudson Aaronson-Lim would be Randy – um, Del’s – boyfriend.

He’d been hot for Hudson every summer for years. This plan had to work.

And it does. At first.

By L.C. Rosen Hudson is everything Del wants: he’s c.2020, Little, Brown solid, sweet, and his kisses are ah-may374 pages zing. And as much as Del wants to “get naked” with Hudson, he knows he has to $17.99 wait. Every past summer, while he lusted after Hudson, he watched Hudson find some random boy, let the boy fall in love with him, and then he’d dump said boy within two weeks. That was not going to happen to Del. Hudson would be permanent; he just didn’t know it yet.

But staying in character was not easy. Del’s cabin-mate, George, brought nail polish to camp but while Randy would wear nail polish, “Del” could not. Everyone in Del’s cabin was really into theatre and they were all looking forward to the camp show but “Del” was too masc for singing and dancing. Still, Hudson was worth it.

Almost everyone in camp knew about Del’s rom-com plans – everyone, that is, except Hudson. Del knew that he’d eventually have to tell Hudson the truth but by that time, he was sure Hudson would be in love with him and nothing else would matter.

The plan had to work.

Until it didn’t.

OK, this: “Camp” is adorable. It’s all puppyish first love and awkward kisses and fumbling virginity loss. It can also feel long.

That may be the first thing you notice, since author L.C. Rosen jumps right into the beginning of Randy’s first week at camp, and the plan. That doesn’t leave much literary foreplay and it makes for a rough opening; fortunately, it doesn’t last and it doesn’t drag.

To the good, the teen angst inside this book is perfect, as is the authenticity of its language. There’s also a great mix of LGBTQ+ characters but the story’s neon-sign is the thing most readers will celebrate: to wit: be true to yourself... but be careful.

Read the book. As if the ending of it isn’t surprise enough.

Beware: this is a cute story with a strong message, but also contains some pages of explicitness. For older queer teens who need to read, though, “Camp” is just right, with a little heat.

‘Camp’

2 4 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA D E.COM • J ULY 31, 2020

FROM THE VAULTS: Taking the plunge

Movies you might have missed with a water theme

By BRIAN T. CARNEY

As temperatures soar all over the country, it’s time for a refreshing and revitalizing dive into the water. Here’s a collection of recent queer movies where characters take the plunge, both literally and metaphorically.

“Stranger by the Lake.” This award-winning French film was billed as an erotic gay thriller and it lived up to that description. The action unfolds on the banks of a lake where men meet for sex, which is shown in graphic detail. The thriller starts when the seemingly innocent Franck watches Michel swim out into a lake with a man and swim back to shore alone. Director Alain Guiraudie skillfully captures the mundane yet thrilling rituals of cruising and the inscrutable passion that arises between Franck and Michel. (In French with English subtitles).

“End of the Century.” Ocho, an Argentinian poet, is visiting Barcelona. He goes to the beach and sees Javi. As Ocho wanders the city, he keeps noticing Javi. When the two finally meet, they realize they have met each other before, and that they may have a future together.

To say any more would spoil the intriguing twists and turns that out Argentinian director Lucio Castro magically weaves into his debut feature film. Castro writes and directs with the confident flair of a master filmmaker, making bold and innovative choices that gently support the cinematic magic realism of his epic love story. (In Spanish with English subtitles).

“Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” This sumptuous French period drama tells the story of a young female artist who falls in love with her subject. The movie is largely set on an isolated wind-swept island in Brittany at the end of the 18th century. Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is a struggling young artist who is hired by La Comtesse (Valeria Golino) to paint a wedding portrait of her daughter Heloise (Adèle Haenel). There’s only one catch: Heloise must not know that Marianne is painting her.

The richly sensuous and thoughtful exploration of art and romance won the Queer Palm at Cannes where lesbian filmmaker Céline Sciamma also won the screenwriting award. (In French with English subtitles).

“Pain and Glory (Dolor y Gloria),” the latest movie from queer auteur Pedro Almodóvar, starts with an amazing (and somewhat disturbing) shot of Antonio Banderas sitting at the bottom of a pool. In this deeply moving story based very loosely on the filmmaker’s own life, the long-time Almodóvar collaborator plays gay filmmaker Salvador Mallo whose physical and psychological ailments have kept him away from the camera. Banderas won the Best Actor prize at Cannes; Almodóvar veterans Penelope Cruz and Julieta Serrano and a great supporting cast turn in richly nuanced performances. (In Spanish with English subtitles).

“Rocketman.” When you end up at the bottom of your swimming pool during a glamorous pool party, you may have reached the end of your yellow brick road. Using the pop superstar and gay icon’s own music, director Dexter Fletcher leads audiences on a fantastic journey through Elton John’s early life, including his childhood, his rise to international stardom, his coming out, his addictions and his decision to enter rehab. Taron Egerton is fantastic as Elton and the costumes by Julian Day are, of course, fabulous.

Finally, the power of water (both literal and metaphorical) is at the center of “The Shape of Water,” a visionary queer retelling of Cold War-era paranoid monster movies like “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.” The film centers on a cleaning woman who discovers that a gentle creature is being tortured at a government research lab. She falls in love with “Amphibian Man” and with the help of her friends, she develops a plot to free him.

The movie won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Guillermo del Toro), Best Production Design and Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat). Academy Award nominee Sally Hawkins stars as Elisa Esposito; the outstanding supporting cast includes Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Shuhlbarg, Doug Jones and Richard Jenkins as Giles, Elisa’s gay best friend.

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CHRISTIAN DENICE performs a solo dance in ‘Sarabande.’ (Photo by Owen Scarlett)

Creative ways to keep dancing Chamber Dance Project debuts films featuring outdoor performances

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

In what’s become a hotly anticipated annual event, Washington’s Chamber Dance Project’s (CDP) summer dance concert brings together a far-flung lineup of accomplished artists to perform an exciting program of new works and repertory favorites. Using both dance and live music, the contemporary ballet company connects different worlds and reinvents how we view dance and listen to music.

Of course, the pandemic has made live performance impossible. But rather than scrap it all, CDP’s dynamic artistic director Diane Coburn Bruning requested dancers stay home and work with remote choreographers and local videographers to produce dance filmed outdoors and in public spaces.

The result is a trio of repertoire films: “Berceuse” (Milwaukee), “In The Silence” (Columbus), and “Sarabande” (Los Angeles), a solo dance performed by Christian Denice, 32.

Calling via phone from Greece where Denice is spending three weeks with his Greek boyfriend, the amiable and determined Los Angeles-based dancer/choreographer takes time from sunning and swimming to talk about his career and introduction to CDP. He’s particularly smitten with the company’s innovative infusion of both dance and live music seen on stage.

The screening will be presented nationally on Friday July 31st at 7 PM EST with free tickets available at https:// chamberdance.org/beyond WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re in Greece!

CHRISTIAN DENICE: I am. And I feel a little guilty because I’m here and none of my American friends can travel. I have dual citizenship. My mother was born in the Netherlands.

BLADE: If it were normal times, you’d be in Washington dancing “Sarabande.” Can you describe the ballet?

DENICE: It’s about an old man at the end of his life. He’s looking back on the past and coming to grips with her current fragility. There’s a lot of nostalgia to the piece but Diane [Coburn Bruning], the choreographer, wanted me to find my own way around it. It’s a minimal movement solo, very internal.

BLADE: And the filming?

2 6 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA D E.COM • J ULY 31, 2020

DENICE: It was up to me to find a location. While driving in L.A. I saw the Sepulveda Dam in Van Nuys – it’s a great big industrial structure used a lot for filming. I liked the idea of an increasingly fragile man juxtaposed with this permanent, intimidating structure that’s weathered so much. I absorbed the energy and the vastness, and felt alone and at peace being alone. It was the best way to honor the piece.

It was me and a videographer. I’d never have thought to dance in the dirt and grass without COVID-19. It pulled something out of us. Unfortunately, I missed out on CDP’s use of live music – another time.

BLADE: How did you initially connect with CDP? DENICE: As a freelancer, I’m always looking for new opportunities, and CDP popped up on my radar. I love how its centered around project-based summer gigs for dancers at the peak of their careers. And I love that it’s a platform where dance and music collide together.

BLADE: What drew you to dance?

DENICE: It’s the classic story – I watched through the window of my younger sister’s class and fell in love with dance. I was 10 years old – very energetic but not skilled at sports – and my parents signed me up. Almost immediately, dance wrapped its arms around me and I was hooked.

BLADE: What kind of dancer are you?

DENICE: I’m athletic. I can blast a lot of energy really fast.

I spent most of my professional life at Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. The aesthetic was balletic and that challenged me a lot. I learned a lot of subtle interpretive movement, and discovered that I can be both a physical and nuanced artist.

Leaving the company after four and a half years was a big decision. Scary but necessary. I love dancing on stage but working on a new piece in the studio is where I’m happiest.

I knew I needed choreography in my future.

BLADE: And will there be more CDP in your future?

DENICE: Yes, I’m slated to choreograph some new work for them. If all goes well it will be performed in 2021. Knock on wood.

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2 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA D E.COM • J ULY 31, 2020

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Preparing your child’s at-home classroom Fall 2020 could bring more distance learning amid pandemic

By JEFF HAMMERBERG This year has been full of many unexpected challenges for everyone, and that’s an understatement.

It has been a year full of uncertainty and unpredictability, and it has required sudden and significant changes to our daily routines, in more ways than one. Many parents with school-aged children are facing their own unique set of challenges, particularly when it comes to how to continue ensuring that their children continue to thrive and grow as they should during a time when so much is far different from normal.

Without question, education is a critical component of a child’s development, and figuring out how to ensure that those educational needs continue to be adequately met during a pandemic is no easy task. Many schools have made the decision to keep their doors closed, at least for the first part of the upcoming 2020-21 school year. Even in cases where schools are open, many parents still feel that it’s best, for whatever reasons, for their children to stay home and learn virtually for the time being.

Even though many parents and schools feel that this decision is for the best, it doesn’t come without its share of anxiety, especially for parents who have no teaching background, and who may be trying to work from home at the same time they’re educating their children. While there are no easy answers, or a one-size-fits-all solution, the good news is that there are ways to make the most of the home learning experience, and to create a learning atmosphere that works well for you and your children.

If you’ve made the decision to teach your children at home for the time being, consider the following helpful tips: 3 0 • WAS H I NGTO NB LA DE.COM • J ULY 31, 2020

• Stick to a schedule: Without question, there are sometimes when life simply doesn’t allow us to stick to a schedule, and that’s understandable. We should never be a slave to any sort of schedule, but on the other side of the coin, having a schedule can be helpful in providing structure and predictability for children who are learning at home. Most children thrive on routines and do well when they have a sense of what to expect.

This is, after all, why many teachers put class agendas on the board each morning. Children like to know what’s coming next. The same is true of learning at home. The schedule does not need to be overly complex - simply writing down the general outline of your day is enough.

Post it in a place where children can see it and rely upon it. You’ll probably also find that it helps keep your day moving along which will be beneficial to you too.

• Don’t stress unnecessarily: Some parents, as they begin the journey of homeschooling, feel pressure to create a “traditional” classroom environment. While this temptation is understandable, it can quickly become stressful and overwhelming. In fact, instead of trying to re-create a traditional classroom setting, it is actually recommended to celebrate the flexibility that the athome space offers. Does your child learn best outside under his or her favorite tree in the yard instead of sitting at a desk? Go for it! Is it helpful to your child to take movement breaks by riding their bike around the block or playing a game of tag with their siblings in the yard?

Why not? Would your child rather relax on a beanbag than sit in a chair at the table? Try that as well. Take advantage of the opportunities that your home offers in terms of what works best for your child’s learning style.

• Pursue your child’s interests: One of the wonderful things about educating your child at home is that you have flexibility in terms of what you teach. Certainly, many parents will have a curriculum provided by their school, and it is of course important to help your child through that material. Beyond that, however, if you notice your child is particularly interested in one class or one topic, you have the freedom to explore that topic together. Let your child’s interest be your guide, and don’t be afraid to explore.

• Realize you may have to push the “reset” button: Lastly, and most importantly, have reasonable expectations for both your child and yourself. Keep in mind that this is new territory for both of you, and that there are going to be some bumps in the road. You have never been a teacher before, and your child has not had you as a teacher before. It will require some adaptability and flexibility for both of you, and sometimes there might be moments of difficulty. Instead of allowing these moments to be frustrating, it is better to recognize them for what they are – valuable learning opportunities, and to work through them together. You’ll be glad you did.

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