Washingtonblade.com, Volume 51, Issue 25, June 19, 2020

VICTORY!

Gorsuch pens landmark ruling for LGBTQ workplace rights Page 11

JUNE 19, 2020 • VOLUME 51 • ISSUE 25 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

R E A DY TO OW N, R E A DY TO L I V E AT N AT I O N A L H A R B O R ?

VA LOA NS WITH $0 DOWN AND ALL CLOSING COSTS PA I D *

TOM GAFFNEY

SENIOR LOAN OFFICER NMLS ID #182206

703.307.5877 tgaffney@fhmtg.com www.GaffneyLoans.com

C U RR E N T I N C E N T I V E S * *

$30K in Closing Costs* *with use of preferred Lender and Title **not valid on previous contracts and must settle on or before 6/30/20.

FIRST HERITAGE MORTGAGE, LLC 3201 JERMANTOWN ROAD, SUITE 800 FAIRFAX, VA 22030 First Heritage Mortgage, LLC | Company NMLS ID #86548 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) This is an advertisement and not a guarantee of lending. Terms and conditions apply. All approvals subject to underwriting guidelines. Prepared: 09/05/2018. *Closing costs paid when using First Heritage Mortgage and does not include pre-paids.

Pricing and terms may change, please speak with Loan Officer.

0 2 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

POTOMAC OVERLOOK BROWNSTONES FROM THE $600’S 503 HALLIARD LANE, NATIONAL HARBOR, MD 20745 SALES@INTEGRITYHMW.COM | (703) 955-1187

STAY SAFE ?

? montgomerycountymd.gov/COVID19 311 311

montgomerycountymd.gov/COVID19

STAY SAFE/ STAY SAFE/ BE COUNTED BE COUNTED Complete your Census survey today Complete your Census survey today CUÍDESE/HÁGASE CONTAR CUÍDESE/HÁGASE CONTAR

2020census.gov 2020census.gov EVERYONE COUNTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY www.montgomerycountymd.gov/census

EVERYONE COUNTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY www.montgomerycountymd.gov/census

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 0 3

Thank you to our sponsors and partners of the Washington Blade.

Style Guide v.1 | February 2018

FULL LOGO (Preferred)

WASHINGTON DC

Text Only Stack

Text Only Inline

VOLUME 51 ISSUE 25 ADDRESS PO Box 53352 Washington DC 20009 PHONE 202-747-2077 E-MAIL news@washblade.com INTERNET washingtonblade.com PUBLISHED BY Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. PUBLISHER LYNNE J. BROWN lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075 EDITORIAL EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com ext. 8088 FEATURES EDITOR JOEY DIGUGLIELMO joeyd@washblade.com ext. 8081 SR. NEWS REPORTER LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079 NEWS REPORTER CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com ext. 8083 REPORTER & INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR MICHAEL K. LAVERS mlavers@washblade.com POP CULTURE REPORTER JOHN PAUL KING PHOTO EDITOR MICHAEL KEY mkey@washblade.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PETER ROSENSTEIN, MARK LEE, LATEEFAH WILLIAMS, KATE CLINTON, KATHI WOLFE, RICHARD J. ROSENDALL, ERNESTO VALLE, NICOLÁS LEVY, FELIPE ALFACE, YARIEL VALDÉS GONZÁLEZ, LYNARE ROBBINS, RACHAEL ESPINET, PHILIP VAN SLOOTEN, ESTEBAN GUZMÁN, ALEX COOPER, KATLEGO K. KOL-KES, VICTOR MAUNG CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION AZERCREATIVE.COM SALES & ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING STEPHEN RUTGERS srutgers@washblade.com ext. 8077 SR. ACCT. EXECUTIVE BRIAN PITTS bpitts@washblade.com ext. 8089 ACCT. EXECUTIVE JOE HICKLING jhickling@washblade.com ext. 8094 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION PHILLIP G. ROCKSTROH prockstroh@washblade.com ext. 8092 NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA 212-242-6863; sales@rivendellmedia.com For distribution, contact Lynne Brown ext. 8075. Distributed by MediaPoint, LLC

at

202-747-2077,

All material in the Washington Blade is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Washington Blade. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although the Washington Blade is claims made by advertisers. Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Washington Blade, but the paper cannot take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. A single copy of the Washington Blade is available from authorized distribution points, to any individual within a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C. Multiple

Community Partners

you are unable to get to a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 52-week mailed subscription for $195 per year or $5.00 per single issue.

Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Phil Rockstroh at prockstroh@ washblade.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Washington Blade, PO BOX 53352 Washington, DC 20009. The Washington Blade is published weekly, on Friday, by Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. Individual Subscriptions are $195 per year for 52 issues (only $3.75 per issue mailed to you USPS). Rates for businesses/institutions are $450 per year. Periodical positions of the Washington Blade are expressed in editorials and in editors’ notes as determined by the paper’s editors. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Washington Blade or its staff. To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words; commentaries should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include e-mail to knaff@washblade.com.

For more information on getting involved contact Stephen Rutgers at srutgers@washblade.com 0 4 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

©2020 BROWN NAFF PITTS OMNIMEDIA, INC.

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 0 5

Comings & Goings Fiser named CEO of American Geophysical Union

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

Delaware considers ‘Justice for All’ agenda Proposed reforms include ban on knee holds

By JOSHUA KELLER

The Comings & Goings 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 Randy Fiser on his new position as CEO and executive director of the American Geophysical Union. According to its website, AGU’s mission is “To support and inspire a global community of individuals and organizations interested in advancing discovery in Earth and space sciences environment. As we look to the decade ahead, our mission is focused on endeavors and on convening groups interested in working together on discovery and solution-based science.

RANDY FISER We are also dedicated to educating and (Photo courtesy Cedric Terrell) inspiring the next generation of scientists needed to advance this mission.”

AGU President Robin Bell and AGU President-elect and Council President Susan Lozier said in a statement, “We are excited AGU’s mission and vision, has a demonstrated ability to creatively lead organizations executive with strong collaborative and administrative skills, has a proven track record of working with membership organizations to advance their mission and has worked throughout his career to advance sustainability practices and goals.”

generations around the world.”

American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) where he was the CEO and president.

He has also worked for Achieve where he was vice president for Management, Finance and Operations; Burson-Marsteller, where he was a director, Corporate Practice with clients such as Coca-Cola, Thomson Reuters, McGraw-Hill and Freddie Mac. Before that he worked for the Fannie Mae Foundation as director of strategic planning and management and as a senior associate with | Booz Allen Hamilton.

Fiser has his bachelor’s in business administration from Northern Arizona University; his master’s in student personnel in higher education from the University of Georgia; and his MBA in international business from Georgetown University.

In response to national calls for police reform that have followed the killing of George Floyd, Delaware’s Legislative Black Caucus has introduced the Justice for All Agenda.

Among reforms such as banning knee holds, requiring body cameras to suspects and removing some immunity misconduct, the agenda also amends the state constitution to explicitly ban racial discrimination and includes establishing The killing of George Floyd inspired an African-American Task Force to mostly peaceful protests across Delaware, make “restorative investments” in black including this one in Rehoboth Beach. communities.

Sen. Darius Brown of Wilmington, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, sees the agenda as “a continuation of the work [the legislature] has already done” on issues of justice.

Because the agenda includes a constitutional amendment, it will need to pass in two successive legislative sessions in order to become law. As a result, the bill won’t Mike Brickner, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware, worries that these Brickner said. “In many cities, I have seen well-intentioned civilian review boards not Among the policies contributing to Delaware’s large per capita prison population is crime” neighborhoods to look for people with minor probation violations and send them back to prison.

now is a time for us as a state to question if we want to get back to our previous system of mass incarceration, or if we want to lessen the role of police in our communities.”

Brown agrees that the legislature “should look into how Operation Safe Streets is being conducted, especially in the city of Wilmington.”

The removal of the Christopher Columbus and Caesar Rodney statues in Wilmington demonstrates how these reforms are made possible by the cultural shift resulting from a moment in Delaware and in the country where people are looking at issues that once seemed untouchable with fresh eyes.”

While protests in Delaware have remained largely peaceful, Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen only lifted the city’s curfew on Saturday morning, nearly a week after Minneapolis, ground zero for the unrest, ended its curfew. The Delaware ACLU questions whether the extended curfew was necessary to maintain public safety, or if it

WE DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF D.C. ELDERS. LGBTQ FRIENDLY

Legal Counsel for the Elderly provides free legal services to eligible D.C. seniors, 60 and older. We can help with: • Foreclosure • Eviction • Obtaining Social Security, Disability, Food Stamps, *Income Eligibility Applies.

Call our Hotline at 202-434-2120 Legal Counsel for the Elderly is an affiliate of AARP.

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 0 7

Casa Ruby threat is federal offense; FBI declines to say if it’s investigating Gay candidate enters At-Large D.C. Council race

RUBY CORADO called police last week after someone threatened a violent attack on Casa Ruby.

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Gay Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Alexander Padro, who has represented his ANC district in the city’s Central Shaw neighborhood for 20 years, announced he is running as an independent candidate for one of two At-Large D.C. Council seats in the city’s Nov. 3 general election.

Padro becomes one of 18 independent candidates

Threats made earlier this month in a Facebook posting and in a text message by the ex-husband of a transgender woman to commit a “massacre” at D.C.’s Casa Ruby LGBTQ community services center where the trans woman is a client constitute a federal crime similar to those often investigated by the FBI, according to a statement on the FBI’s website.

A spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington, D.C. Field

running for the two At-Large seats, one of which cannot be held by a Democrat under the city’s Home Rule Charter.

Padro’s announcement comes two weeks after gay Ward 7 D.C. Council candidate Anthony Lorenzo Green and gay Ward 2 Council candidate John Fanning, both of whom are ANC commissioners, lost their races in the June 2 D.C. Democratic primary.

In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Padro said he will emphasize the successes he has had as an ANC member and in his dual role as executive

incident, in which the ex-husband also threatened to kill the trans woman. He compared the threat he made in his Facebook posting to the mass shooting massacre at the

development organization.

“I’ve led the effort to transform Shaw from a neighborhood that outsiders only visited to buy drugs and sex to a world-renowned dining and entertainment

“Issuing a threat – even over social media, via text message, or through email—is a federal crime (threatening interstate communication),” the FBI states on its website. “Those who post or send these threats face state or local charges,” the FBI’s website says.

Casa Ruby founder and executive director Ruby Corado told the Blade she immediately called D.C. police to report the threat after the trans woman, who has been a Casa Ruby client for over a year, showed up on June 7 seeking help. Corado posted on her own Facebook page a screenshot of the ex-husband’s Facebook post, written in Spanish, making the threats.

Corado said she and the trans woman client provided D.C. police with the name and address of the ex-husband, who the trans woman says lived in Herndon, Va. Corado said she was hoping D.C. police would obtain a warrant for the ex-husband’s arrest to ensure he doesn’t carry out his threat. He stated in his Facebook posting he would do to Casa Ruby what a lone gunman did in the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in which 49 mostly LGBTQ Latino patrons were shot to death and 53 others were wounded.

D.C. police spokesperson Sean Hickman declined to provide information on the status of the case, including than to say the case remains “under active investigation.”

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

American landmarks, adding thousands of new residents while maintaining the neighborhood’s economic and ethnic diversity,” Padro said.

“I’m also proud that Shaw was voted ‘Best Gayborhood’ by the readers of the Washington Blade,” Padro said. “I want to help other District neighborhoods that are still waiting for brighter days to get the new development, businesses, and civic improvements that others already enjoy, without displacement,” he said.

Also entering the At-Large D.C. Council race as an independent around the same time as Padro is former D.C. Council member Vincent Orange. Orange held the At-Large seat as a Democrat until he lost his re-election Robert White (D). White, who was unopposed this year in the June 2 Democratic primary, will be on the November general election ballot along with Libertarian and Statehood-Green Party candidates, bringing the total number of candidates for the two At-Large seats so far to 21.

Under the city’s election rules, all At-Large candidates are on the same ballot, with voters given the option of voting for two candidates. The highest two vote-getters are declared the winners. In a city whose registered voters are overwhelmingly Democratic, White is considered the strong favorite to win the so-called “Democratic” seat.

Padro and the other 20 candidates will in effect be competing for what political observers consider to be the “non-Democratic” At-Large seat on the ballot this year.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

0 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 202 0 • LOCA L NE W S

murder of trans woman postponed again In a little-noticed development in February of this year, of D.C. transgender woman Deeniquia “Dee Dee” Dodds was postponed from June 22 to Jan. 11, 2121.

D.C. police have said Dodds was shot to death by one of four men who attempted to rob her during the early morning hours of the July 4 holiday at a location where transgender sex workers were known to congregate.

Police said the four men had committed armed robberies of at least three other transgender women in different locations on the same night they targeted Dodds.

Following what police and prosecutors said was an intense investigation that led to four arrests, prosecutors armed in connection with Dodds’ death.

Two of the four men charged in the case went on trial in February 2019. But the jury became deadlocked and D.C. Superior Court Judge Milton Lee declared a mistrial.

At the request of prosecutors, Lee agreed to schedule a second trial for the two men — Monte Johnson, 23, and Jolonta Little, 28 — for Feb. 25 of this year.

The other two men charged in the case, Cyheme Hall, 23, and his brother, Shareem Hall, 25, pleaded guilty government witnesses against Johnson and Little at the Court records show that the Feb. 25, 2020 date for the start of the second trial was postponed sometime last year to June 22 of this year. The records show that at a Feb. 10, 2020 status hearing, before the coronavirus restrictions were put in place, the trial was postponed again until Jan. 11, 2021.

The public court docket that shows all developments of pending cases does not provide a reason for the postponements of the trial. A spokesperson for the U.S. clerk for Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson, who is now presiding over the case, declined to disclose the reason for the postponements. Attorneys representing the two men awaiting trial did not respond to calls from the Blade seeking the reason for the postponement.

Legal observers have said that long delays in trials, prosecutors to obtain a conviction because memories of key witnesses often become faulty several years after the crime was committed.

About 70 transgender activists and their supporters staged a protest outside the D.C. Superior Court building last year shortly after they learned the jury had become deadlocked and a mistrial was called for Johnson and LOU CHIBBARO JR.

WHEN IT’S HARD BELLY (EXCESS VISCERAL ABDOMINAL FAT)

IT MAY BE TIME FOR EGRIFTA SV

TM

IF YOU ARE LIVING WITH HIV AND LIPODYSTROPHY ASK YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER ABOUT EGRIFTA SV TM.

FIND A SPECIALIST AT EGRIFTASV.COM

Actual patient living with HIV.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS ABOUT EGRIFTA SV (TESAMORELIN FOR INJECTION) TM

What is EGRIFTA SV (tesamorelin for injection)?

• EGRIFTA SV is an injectable prescription medicine used to reduce excess abdominal fat in adult patients living with HIV and lipodystrophy. EGRIFTA SV is a growth hormone-releasing factor (GHRF) analog.

• EGRIFTA SV is not for weight loss management.

• The long-term safety of EGRIFTA SV on the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular) is not known.

• It is not known whether taking EGRIFTA SV helps improve how well you take your antiretroviral medications.

• It is not known if EGRIFTA SV is safe and effective in children, do not use in children.

TM

TM

TM

TM

TM

TM

TM

You should not take EGRIFTA SV if you: • Have a pituitary gland tumor, surgery, or other problems related to your pituitary gland, or have had radiation treatment to your head or head injury.

• Have active cancer.

• Are allergic to tesamorelin or any of the ingredients in EGRIFTA SV .

• Are pregnant or become pregnant. If you become pregnant, stop using EGRIFTA SV and talk with your healthcare provider.

• Are less than 18 years of age.

TM

TM

TM

Before using EGRIFTA SV , tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had cancer.

• Have problems with blood sugar or diabetes.

• Have scheduled heart or stomach surgery.

• Have breathing problems.

• Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

• Are taking any other prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

TM

EGRIFTA SV may cause serious side effects including: • Increased risk of new cancer in HIV positive patients or your cancer coming back (reactivation). Stop using EGRIFTA SV if any cancer symptoms come back.

• Increased levels of your insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).

Your healthcare provider will do blood tests to check your IGF-1 levels while you are taking EGRIFTA SV .

• Serious allergic reaction such as rash or hives anywhere over the body or on the skin, swelling of the face or throat, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, feeling of faintness or fainting, itching and reddening or flushing of the skin. If you have any of these symptoms, stop using EGRIFTA SV and get emergency medical help right away.

TM

EGRIFTA SV is a trademark of Theratechnologies Inc. THERA patient support is a registered trademark of Theratechnologies Inc. © 2020 Theratechnologies Inc. All rights reserved.

789-01-04/20 – 9,5x10,5

TM

TM

TM

• Swelling or fluid retention. Call your healthcare provider if you have swelling, an increase in joint pain, or pain or numbness in your hands or wrist.

• Increase in blood sugar (glucose) or diabetes.

• Injection site reactions. Injection site reactions are a common side effect of EGRIFTA SV , but may sometimes be serious.

• Increased risk of death in people who have critical illness because of heart or stomach surgery, trauma of serious breathing (respiratory) problems has happened when taking certain growth hormones.

TM

The most common side effects of EGRIFTA SV include: • Pain in legs and arms • Muscle pain These are not all of the possible side effects of EGRIFTA SV . For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or to THERA patient support® toll-free at 1-833-23THERA (1-833-238-4372).

This information is not intended to replace discussions with your doctor. For additional information about EGRIFTA SV , go to: www.egriftasv.com for the full Prescribing Information, Patient Information and Patient Instructions for Use, and talk to your doctor. For more information about EGRIFTA SV contact THERA patient support® toll-free at 1-833-23THERA (1-833-238-4372).

TM

TM

TM

TM

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 0 9

Biden praises Supreme Court ruling lands job in White House

loses seat JOE BIDEN

Saturday.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee in the November U.S. presidential election, called Monday’s Supreme Court ruling

GREGORY T. ANGELO has landed a job at the White House.

gay, bisexual, and transgender people in its prohibition against employment discrimination based on someone’s gender or sex.

statement.

Tuesday.

Representatives since 2019.

endorsed, has challenged the convention results.

gender identity discrimination are prohibited under Although Log Cabin declined to endorse Trump in

said.

said.

election.

extreme Republican at a chaotic nominating convention

cover, such as discrimination in housing and public accommodations.

LOU CHIBBARO JR. t Tell didn’t respond to a request to comment.

CHRIS JOHNSON 1 0 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 202 0 • N ATI ONA L NE W S

election, but the district remains majority Republican.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Historic ruling affirms protections for LGBT workers Plaintiff ‘ecstatic’ over Supreme Court’s Title VII decision

By CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com In a historic development, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that existing federal law bars discrimination federal protections for LGBTQ people in the workplace.

trans discrimination is a form of sex discrimination is

of sex discrimination, thus prohibited under Title VII of the

Supreme Court ruling now guarantees those protections nationwide.

The Trump administration, through U.S. Solicitor workers for being LGBTQ is permitted under Title VII. It remains be to seen how the Trump administration will implement the decision now that the court has ruled

actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” Gorsuch writes. “Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer.

The ruling doesn’t merely uphold the status quo,

didn’t immediately respond to the Blade’s request for comment.

The surviving plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case GERALD BOSTOCK speaks to reporters on the steps of the (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Kavanaugh, who elected to write his own dissent, said sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace is now illegal in those places and nationwide.

The decision was issued in three consolidated cases, a form of sex discrimination, and Harris Funeral Homes

“In the face of the unsuccessful legislative efforts (so far) to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, update the law merely because they think that Congress

discrimination was sex discrimination.

Congress is likely to do it soon anyway.”

Stephens, a funeral home director, passed away last month before she could learn of the decision to come from the Supreme Court. The gay worker in the Zarda case, Donald Zarda, a skydiver, had passed away before his case reached the Supreme Court. The gay worker in the Bostock case, Gerald Bostock, is still living.

In each of these cases, LGBTQ workers argued they

Dictionary to dispute the meaning of “sex” includes LGBTQ people, then forecast dire consequences for the Supreme Court reading too much into Title VII. consequences of its decision, we will not be able to avoid

but the employers argued that was perfectly legal because

reach of the Court’s reasoning.”

LGBTQ rights advocates, many of whom had been

Court Congress didn’t intend to include LGBTQ people

protections at the federal level, hailed the Supreme Court ruling as a historic milestone.

throws cold water on that argument. time after would have anticipated today’s result,” Gorsuch Title VII complaints, so at least some people foresaw this potential application.”

Gorsuch cites several cases establishing precedent on in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. — a workers amounts to sex discrimination under the law.

amicus brief supporting the LGBTQ workers, said the

amicus brief to the Supreme Court employ millions of workers, comprise over $5 trillion in revenue, and share a common interest in equality because they know that ending discrimination in the workplace is good for the In terms of federal law, the decision dramatically expands civil rights protections by assuring Title VII prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people.

words, I pretty much went into shock,” Gerald Bostock told the Blade during a telephone interview from his home in Georgia, referring to the part of the ruling he read on SCOTUSblog shortly after its release. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we did it!”

Clayton County, Ga., after his supervisor learned he had because he is gay. Bostock two years later petitioned the Supreme Court to hear his case after lower courts ruled against him.

“I didn’t ask for any of this, but I was willing to be the said Bostock.

“I never would have imagined I would have lost my

Bostock noted the recent protests against racism and police brutality when he spoke to the Blade about Monday’s Supreme Court ruling.

“Ironically, one of the gay symbols is the rainbow and after a bad storm we get that reminder of hope and the case here because everything going on in the world groundwork of many more steps and actions that need to take place.”

Bostock told the Blade that he will consult with his lawyers about the next steps in his case. He also said he will support efforts to enact a hate crimes law in Georgia orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights laws.

“In this world today, there is absolutely no room for discrimination or racism,” he added.

Michael K. Lavers contributed to this report.

Court ruling may force Trump retreat on anti-LGBTQ policies

By CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com is based on a narrow interpretation of Title IX. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has said — publicly and reportedly in private meetings — the policy would continue until Congress or the Supreme Court says otherwise.

Eliza Byard, executive director of the LGBTQ student group GLSEN, said DeVos told her the policy was dependent on the courts during a March 2017 meeting, so now the time has to come to make a change.

“Secretary DeVos must immediately reverse her attacks on transgender students’ rights, which began with

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling this week in terms of the immediate protections it granted LGBTQ people in the workplace, but the decision may soon provide more victories by forcing President Trump to retreat on much of his administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies.

After all, many of the Trump administration rule changes in enforcement of civil rights law to exclude “sex” didn’t include them. That has been undisputedly rejected in the ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which gay or workers like Aimee Stephens for being transgender violates the ban on sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

On issues ranging from housing and health care to transgender kids’ access to school restrooms, the Trump administration may be forced to roll back many of its antiLGBTQ policy changes. If the Trump administration fails to reverse these policy moves, the U.S. government could be subject to costly lawsuits.

Shannon Minter, national legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the decision is “bound to have far-reaching implications in the full range of other sex discrimination cases involving LGBTQ people.”

“Those include pending challenges to the transgender military ban, a Fair Housing Act case on behalf of a lesbian couple excluded from a retirement community in Missouri that has been stayed in the Eight Circuit pending the resolution of the Title VII cases, a number of Affordable Care Act cases challenging denials of care to LGBTQ individuals, and every policy that the Trump administration has promulgated that is based on the false view that sex discrimination laws do not protect LGBTQ people,” Minter said.

Ironically, that would be because of a decision written

by U.S. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee LGBTQ rights advocates vigorously opposed.

Omar Gonzales-Pagan, senior attorney for the LGBTQ legal group Lambda Legal, said in an interview with the Blade “so many administrative pronouncements” would be subject to reversal as a result of the Bostock decision.

“All of these are situations in which the administration relied on a cramped reading of sex discrimination and should be directly impacted by the decision, aside from the countless other cases laid out in the great roadmap by Justice Alito,” Gonzales-Pagan said.

Top of the list for reversal is former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ memo in 2017 declaring the U.S. Justice Department won’t apply Title VII to cases of antitransgender discrimination in the workforce. That memo Court has explicitly determined anti-transgender discrimination is prohibited under Title VII. Also on the list are policies explicitly interpreting laws against sex discrimination other than Title VII to

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S various attacks on the LGBTQ community were seriously undermined by this week’s Supreme Court ruling.

(Screen capture via ABC7 WJLA Facebook livestream)

exclude transgender people, such as the Affordable Care Act, the Fair Housing Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. last week undoing Obama-era regulations determining Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act applies to cases of anti-transgender discrimination of sex stereotyping.

Although a federal court had already enjoined the U.S. government from enforcing the Obama-era rule, the Trump administration by reversing the regulations in the back end effectively enabled health care providers to refuse services to transgender people, including transition-related care and gender reassignment surgery.

Now that the Supreme Court has determined antitrans discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, the framework of the HHS policy is contrary to the law.

Minter said the reasoning the behind the HHS rule change can’t hold up in the wake of the Supreme Court’s determination in the Bostock case.

“The ruling is also an extremely forceful rebuke to the lengthy analysis published by HHS Friday, in conjunction with issuing its new rule attempting to strip protections from LGBTQ people under the Affordable Care Act, which argued that sex discrimination does not protect ether LGB or transgender people,” Minter said. “The Court’s opinion eviscerates that analysis.”

Anti-trans policies from the Department of Education, which were made by interpreting Title IX to exclude transgender people, are also poised for reversal in the aftermath of the Bostock decision.

One is the policy of refusing to take up cases from transgender kids in school that are refusing them access to the restroom consistent with their gender identity, which

1 2 • WAS H I NGTO NB LA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 202 0 • N ATI ONA L NE W S

she can no longer hide behind the claim of waiting for the courts. Trans girls are girls. Trans boys are boys. And the law protects them from discrimination ‘on the basis of sex.’

Like all children, they deserve to learn and grow free from fear and in community with their peers.”

Also legally suspect now is the recent determination from the Department of Education based on Title IX against the participation of transgender girls in school sports, which was made as a result of a complaint from Connecticut girls who lost to transgender athletes in a track event.

The Department of Education came down on the side of the girls who said the victory of the transgender athletes unfairly pitted males against females in a system designed to separate athletes by gender, but that reasoning is at odds with the Bostock decision.

Trickier are other anti-LGBTQ rules from the Trump administration that weren’t based on narrow powers of the U.S. government.

Among them is the Department of Housing & Urban Development’s proposal to carve out an Obamaera rule prohibiting homeless shelters from turning away transgender people based on the ban on sex discrimination in the Fair Housing Act. The reversal under HUD Secretary Ben Carson, which transgender people stay consistent with their gender identity based on various factors, including, privacy, safety, practical concerns and religious beliefs.

Also in this category is the rule change from various departments undoing an Obama-era regulation issued federal grantees from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Because the Obama-era policy was based on the inherent power of the U.S. government, the Trump administration invoked the same authority to reverse it, not any interpretation of “sex” under the law.

Gonzales-Pagan, nonetheless, said the Bostock decision could provide fuel for legal challenges to the HUD proposal and rollback of non-discrimination requirement for federal grantees.

CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

CHRISTINE ROLAND GARNER

Weichert, Realtors®

2019

LIBERTY ROW/ OLD TOWN - 649 First St, Alexandria, Va - $1,849,000

TORPEDO FACTORY $599,000

ROSEMONT - UNDER CONTRACT - $1,055,000

SEMINARY VALLEY - UNDER CONTRACT - $635,000

DEL RAY - UNDER CONTRACT - $775,000

DEL RAY - UNDER CONTRACT - $999,000

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 1 3

Orlando marks 4 years since Pulse massacre

Protests after White House rescinds trans health protections

Last Friday marked four years since a gunman killed 49 people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. “Four years have now passed, but our community’s commitment to honoring the 49 angels and supporting the survivors,

violence’s impact on LGBTQ people. The

remains strong,” tweeted Orlando Mayor

David in a statement.

This year’s commemorations of the massacre are taking place amid continued protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

Equality Florida has announced it plans

The onePULSE Foundation, a group founded by Pulse owner Barbara Poma that is planning to build a permanent memorial, on Friday will hold a virtual ceremony to honor the massacre’s victims.

The coronavirus pandemic prompted organizers not to hold an in-person commemoration this year.

“We are grateful for the tremendous support of the community and would love nothing more than to have our community members join us in remembering our 49 Angels, and honoring our survivors and health and safety of the public, the Pulse community, and our employees,” said Poma in a statement. “We ask the community to join together again, in a different way this year, as a symbol of strength and solidarity in the face of tragedy, forever proving: We will not let hate win.”

Nearly half of the massacre’s victims were LGBTQ Puerto Ricans.

of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, a Puerto Rican LGBTQ advocacy group, on Friday visited Transgender rights activists protested in front of the U.S. Department of Health and Human (Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Dozens of people gathered in front of the U.S. Department of Health and administration’s decision to remove transgender protections from the Affordable “ “Not only are we not seen as less than human, but we’re really denied our basic human rights.”

Everyone who participated in the protest wore masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus. Several people who drove past the protest also honked their horns in support. determined discrimination based on sex applied to trans people. The Trump administration previously said it planned to reverse the regulation, but HHS on Friday “There’s nothing like being told that you can be refused medical service, that your life doesn’t count as much as other people’s lives, that you could be literally left

the victims.

“Love always wins — always,” said Serrano in a tweet that shows him visiting the memorial.

An interim memorial has opened at the nightclub, which is less than two miles from downtown Orlando.

Scott Bowman of the onePulse been raised for the permanent memorial that will have three components: The National Pulse Memorial, the Museum Health Survivors Walk. Bowman told the Blade the Orlando Health Survivors Walk’s groundbreaking will take place next April.

The Orlando Sentinel on Friday reported U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), who represents portions of Orlando, has introduced a bill that would designate Pulse as a national memorial. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis designated Friday as “Pulse Remembrance Day” and ordered

percent of Black transgender women who death.

“Gun safety is an LGBTQ issue, plain

state of Florida with the goal of ensuring they have updated registrations, resources to educate themselves on where candidates stand on equality, and sign up to receive their ballots by mail.”

“When we set out on this journey four years ago, Equality Florida promised to do the work of uprooting hate and violence,” said Equality Florida Senior release. “Dismantling systems of racism and homophobia requires that pro-equality voters make our voices heard and ensure our votes shape who represents us and what policies they champion.”

“We live in the most important political real estate in the country and pro-equality voters are positioned to make the difference between a state that will be won or lost by MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Biden, Trudeau added to Global Pride lineup star Kesha are among the additional world leaders, allies and celebrities who are set to Organizers are also working with the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement to “amplify black voices, acknowledging the international response to the death of George Floyd and the unprecedented demand for racial justice,” according to a press release issued on Friday.

Natalie Thompson, the co-chair of the Global Pride organizing committee, talked about how important this partnership with Black Lives Matter is to her personally. systemic racism and violence facing my Black brothers, sisters and non-binary siblings, in

the fourth anniversary of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that left 49 people dead.

The massacre, which happened during the gay nightclub’s Latino night, at the time was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

“This administration is openly and blatantly racist, homophobic and transphobic and we just can’t sit down and not say anything about that,” said Van Pelt.

The massacre at the time was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, and it renewed calls for gun control in the country.

Equality Florida — along with the Human

community,” she said in a press release.

All of the funds raised by Global Pride will be distributed to Pride organizations

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

— issued a report that documents gun

KAELA ROEDER

organizers. The event can be viewed online

Century 21 NEW MILLENNIUM Contact: Brenda Rich

5234 Sweetbriar Farm Lane, Midland, Va 22728 $1,299,000

Paved circular driveway leads to a gorgeous setting waiting for you.

Outdoors Patio with arbor over sized exercise hot

Main level master with huge sitting area. Master bath with ceramic tile

with electric and water. Barn with possible 8 stalls. End load. 3 fenced pastures.

ADVER TISING PROOF #2

ISSUE DATE: 200619

PROOF

SALES REPRESENTATIVE:

REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. Proof will

REVISIONS REDESIGN TEXT REVISIONS IMAGE/LOGO REVISIONS NO REVISIONS

will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties.

ADVERTISER SIGNATURE

By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the washington blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to placement, payment and insertion schedule.

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 1 5

EARL D. FOWLKES, JR.

We are RENEWPR, a DC-based national

Center for Black Equity, Inc.

Juneteenth Tensions will ease when America deals with legacy of slavery This Friday is the American holiday known as Juneteenth although this holiday is largely unknown to many Americans as it commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger announced federal orders

info@renewpr.com, @RENEWPRAgency www.facebook.com/renewprllc.

Proclamation, which was issued by

formally freed slaves who resided in the states in rebellion almost two and a

clothes on their backs and with only a that freedom brings. meaning Juneteenth as America wrestles with the legacy of slavery, the failure of Reconstruction and agony of Jim Crow. America has never are many who behave as through the South won the Civil War. America must deal with unrest and division as the result of turning law enforcement into and Brown communities rather than our transgender siblings. America must deal with its failure to dismantle every fabric of our nation. America

The Leading Systems Integrator, FedRAMP Hosting, and Back Office Provider for the GovCon Community Grow Ahead...We’ve Got Your Back Office

! Enable

Systems Integrations & Implementations

" Run

Accounting & Finance

# Secure

Managed Security

of

the

former

Confederacy

states

been slow and uneven. There were stories where many slave owners were slaves. The remaining slaves, those in the North, were freed by state action, or Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution One can only imagine the joy and

other former slaves felt when they GovCon heard the news of their freedom.

Human Capital Community Cloud A DVERTISI NG PR OOF Financial Planning Services ISSUE DATE: 200605 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: SSAE SOC1/SOC2 thanks to a merciful God who brought & Analysis IT Services them out of bondage and the answer REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof.

FISMA Moderate Extensibilities date of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content& and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is Recruitment responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users & Web Services ITAR can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of On-Boarding

IONS GO REVISIONS NS

any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties.

FedRAMP Ready Compliant Hosting

the unknown. How would they survive

NIST 800 ADVERTISER 171 FAR,SIGNATURE in a hostile environment? Where would By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to placement, DFARS washington payment and insertion schedule. they live or eat or earn a living? Would

Contact us today!

$ info@neosystemscorp.com | % 1-888-676-6367

1 6 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020 • V I E W POI NT

they be hunted down and enslaved again? How would they find their these

incredible

odds,

thousands

of freedom given to an enslaved on Juneteenth 1865 to live, work and determine their own destiny with the

by America’s institutions.

Finally every few years, America seems to be at war with itself when it comes to dealing with race and continue until we, in the words of Lincoln, God wills that it continue until all the hundred and fifty years of unrequited of blood drawn with the lash shall be as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” Internal tensions will cease when America deals with the legacy of slavery.

+ Largest LGBT owned title company + Billions of dollars in transactions closed annually + 6 in house attorneys + Residential and commercial transactions + + Licensed in DC, DE, MD, NJ, VA & WV

garden center lifestyle boutique landscape design

Store Hours: 9am-5pm daily

5258 River Road Bethesda, MD 20816 A DV E RTI SI N G ISSUE DATE: 171208

ONS O REVISIONS

P ROOF

SALES REPRESENTATIVE:

REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of the date of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties.

Staycation

ADVERTISER SIGNATURE

By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the washington blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to placement, payment and insertion schedule.

7405 River Road Bethesda, MD 20817 Landscape Design/Build/Maintain call for appointment 301.762.6301 americanplantlandscape .com americanplant.net

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 1 7

WE CELEBRATE PRIDE EVERY DAY! Windows 10 Laptops!

As low as $129 LCD MONITORS From $29 Windows 10 PC s

From

$69

HP Prodesk 600 G1 i3 3.2Ghz 8GB DDR3 1TB HD DVDRW Win 10

$179

4926-D EISENHOWER AVE 22304 703-370-5440 LAMBRO_INC 1 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

www.LambroInc.com

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

Trump screws us; court gives us a win

HHS rule is latest attack from administration

While the Trump administration once again worked to set back the rights of the LGBTQ community on the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre the Supreme Court gave us a huge win with a 6-3 decision ruling the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination, applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity when it comes to employment.

Whether this will impact last Friday’s Health and Human Services (HHS) saying the federal government no longer will sex discrimination in health care remains to be seen. HHS overturned a decision by the Obama administration. As explained in a column in the Washington Post “The Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law often known as Obamacare, established broad civil rights protections in health care, barring discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in “any health program or activity” that Obama administration interpreted the provision about sex discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of “gender identity.” Under the original 2016 rule, health care providers and insurers cover medically appropriate treatment for transgender patients.”

In 2019 ProPublica listed 31 areas in which the Trump administration took adverse actions against the LGBTQ community including employment, schools and youth, healthcare, public housing, and foster care and adoption among others.

We have seen over the past three years the Trump administration systematically roll back the rights of the LGBTQ community agency by agency. They have supported anti-LGBTQ legislation in the Congress and submitted amicus briefs opposing our rights to the courts.

Even worse for the community in the long run is Trump’s appointment of farright judges to the federal judiciary who can keep screwing us for generations to come. Justice Neil Gorsuch voting with the majority on employment rights is welcome but we can’t count on him. Brooke Sopelsa

of NBC news wrote about a Lambda Legal report saying, “A third of the more than 50 circuit court judges nominated

by President Donald Trump since he demonstrated history of anti-LGBTQ bias.”

One example of the anti-LGBTQ to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco who according to Sopelsa, “As recently as 2012, as Montana solicitor general, argued against samesex marriage in two cases and in favor of allowing photographers to deny wedding services to gay couples.” Others with similar are Steven Menashi to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York and Allison Jones Rushing to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court

Living Large in The DMV My Living Large logo comes from my combined passions of real estate and spacial design. Helping my clients envision how space can be used helps them right size their next home. Regardless if you are downsizing or buying a home your family can grow into rightsizing is key and possible the most important consideration when searching for a home in your dream location.

only 37 and Sopelsa wrote, “She made headlines for becoming one of the youngest and least experienced members of the federal judiciary, but also for her decade-long association with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal LGBTQ rights.”

Day after day we see the rights of the community trampled by Trump, supported by his sycophants in the administration and Congress. We know the LGBTQ community is not alone in having their rights threatened or taken away. Every minority community is facing the same issues and the racist, sexist, homophobic, pig in the White House. We as a community need to support the Black Lives Matter protests and stand with them. Those suffering the most in the LGBTQ community today are transgender women of color. Just this past week two more trans women, Riah Milton in Ohio and Dominique “Rem’Mie” Fells about this from the Trump administration, which surprises no one.

If we are to stop back-sliding on our rights and begin to move forward we must defeat Trump on Nov. 3. To do that we must ensure every voter eligible votes and every vote is counted. There is no perfect candidate. Reality is either Joe Biden or Trump will win the presidency. If Trump and Republicans win, then we all lose. If Biden and Democrats win we have the chance to move toward a better future.

Rob Johnston | Realtor® 202.680.4904 rob@livinglargedc.com livinglargedc.com Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 1313 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 | 202.386.6330

V I E W POI NT • JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 1 9

Your dedicated accounting team and much more.

ENJOY YOUR BUSINESS AGAIN CFO Services Group is your dedicated accounting team and much more.

From bookkeeping cleanup to managing

CALL US: (888) 759-5333

KATHI WOLFE

managerial accounting services are

info@cfoservicesgroup.com

provide insight and free you to get back www.cfoservicesgroup.com to business. Our services include: Outsourced Accounting Department Payroll Management Special Financial Projects

Visit Us Online: www.cfoservicesgroup.com

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

Celebrating a historic Supreme Court win Then let’s get back to the struggle for our full equality Recently, my cousin and I chatted.

She’s hetero, but progressive. She wished me “happy Pride,” and marveled at how much progress had been made in obtaining equality for queer folk. Yet, she was shocked to learn that LGBTQ people they were queer.

I thought of our chat on June 15, when, surprisingly, a Supreme Court ruling brought good news. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects people from employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Court ruled that same-sex marriage is Stonewall uprising, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the 6-3 ruling, “Today, we must someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear. An law,” Gorsuch added.

Unless you’re queer, you won’t feel in your solar plexus how vital this Supreme Court ruling is. Many people from progressives to conservatives don’t know that until the court’s decision came down than half of the states.

ISSUE DATE: 200605

A D V E R T I S Last I N Gmonth, P R OI O F my straight friend told

Dana, a staunch Republican, about a queer buddy of mine, a nurse, who was

SALES REPRESENTATIVE:

REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof.

NS O REVISIONS

date of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties.

Dana said, “that’s not fair!”

I cheered when the Supreme Court By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligationsof with the ruled in favor same-sex marriage! washington blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to placement, payment and insertion schedule.

Marriage equality has given dignity, respect and expanded numerous legal rights from hospital visitation to Social ADVERTISER SIGNATURE

same-sex couples. My late partner Anne and I would have married in a heartbeat if she’d been alive when same-sex 2 0 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020 • V I E W POI NT

marriage was permitted under the law.

Yet, marriage equality doesn’t address many of the other forms of discrimination that we, queer folk, experience in so many facets of our lives – from housing to health care to employment.

As a writer, I’ve been lucky. Hetero editors have cared only about my work, not about my sexual orientation. But, in advocacy for elders and disabled people. My sexuality wasn’t an issue in some of the groups that I worked for. But I was afraid to be out when I worked with other organizations.

Over the years, queer friends and colleagues, librarians, teachers — lawyers — from all generations (millenials to fears of coming out at work.

You can be single and have a wonderful life. If you have economic security. But unless you’re independently wealthy, your basic needs (for food, housing, clothing, etc.) won’t be met if folk have said, it’s not fab to be married for being queer on Monday.

Suzanne B. Goldberg, a Columbia University law professor, spoke for many of us, when she told The New York Times, “This is a simple and profound victory for LGBT civil rights.”

Yet, though we’ve earned the right to savor this victory, we can’t afford to be the least bit complacent. The struggle for LGBTQ rights is far from over.

I hope LGBTQ advocates will be able to use the Supreme Court’s ruling on employment discrimination to address other forms of discrimination. But, there’s no guarantee of this.

From day one, the Trump administration has set back LGBTQ rights.

Recently, it struck down protections for transgender people in the Affordable Care Act. To fully secure our rights, we must work for the passage of the Equality Act. Let’s celebrate our historic victory, then let’s get back to the struggle for our rights.

sexualbeing.org JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 2 1

SIRIDA GRAHAM TERK is a humanities teacher and

BRING IN THE

SUMMER

Here’s what I tell my students about racism

WITH SOME CASH THIS JUNE WITH DC LOTTERY’S LATEST SCRATCHERS!

Coping with societal challenges through empathy

dclottery.com

a hard battle. We were thrust into distance-learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic and been grappling with how to speak with our students about the even more pervasive pandemic of racism and violence directed toward Black Americans.

This is painful: our students depend on us as educators not only for academic lessons, but also for how to deal with societal challenges through empathy, grace, and strength.

DC scratcher games may continue to be sold even when all the top prizes have been claimed.

in a Jewish independent school in Los Angeles, California, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to teach by example in my journey from student to educator. independent school system of Baton period of de facto segregation. As a student of mixed heritage and one of White school, I felt like I was “too Black to be White and too White to be Black.”

It was an incredibly challenging time for me. I constantly questioned my identity as “the other,” one teacher supported me. He was White and though it wasn’t a secret that he was gay, it wasn’t socially acceptable, either. In that way, we were “others” together. He understood my uncertainty, saw me as who I could be,

Bauhaus-inspired studio, 1 & 2 bedroom lofts in the heart of the Yards, DC.

studying to become an archaeologist and curator, I found out that my favorite teacher had been murdered. He was the victim of a hate crime.

In-person Touring Appointments Now Available.

It brought me right back to middle school and all my vulnerabilities around being

(855) 226-3107 • guildloftsdc.com 1212 4th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003

thrusting the persistence of hatred and ignorance in our world to the forefront of my conscience.

Guild_BladePrintAd4.62x5.12_062020.indd 1

6/1/20 2:50 PM

like me, had that teacher helped? Who would be there for them now? And then it occurred to me: it would be me.

way they integrated the humanities with issues of identity, privilege, and civic responsibility. I knew: this is where I belong engagement is all “Facing History.”

Facing History and Ourselves is an organization that gives teachers the resources to use the lessons of history to examine the breadth and depth of injustice to build a future without it. It anything like that, and it was like walking into a lesson on my own life story. intersection between the perspectives of individuals and the narrative of human history has never been so important as right now. It is crucial that all students understand the need for empathy, the difference between by-standing and upstanding and who falls within their universe of obligation — because the cycle of history that they are just starting to witness is at a turning point. surreal — until it’s at your front gate.

Which for us, it is. moments of vulnerability to look closely at different elements of “anti-other” sentiment, what connects us, and how we can use those connections to expand our universe of obligation. With Facing History’s help, we are harnessing this otherness and vulnerability to build a bridge to solidarity, to humanity. increasing at all levels of society, harming even our young people in their schools and communities. What I’ve come to realize is this: only by seeing each other’s realities as just that, pieces of a complex, interwoven, communal reality, will we ever make progress as a society.

Our children need these lessons, and so do we.

Pride Family Day Saturday, June 27, 10 a.m.

SAAM has moved its family events online!

Join us June 27 on Facebook Live as DC drag queen Ruth Allen Ginsburg reads classic nursery rhymes and tales for the whole family.

FREE. Registration required at AmericanArt.si.edu/pridekids Our website also features step-by-step instructions for rainbow crafting at home and printable coloring pages based on artworks in SAAM’s collection.

Media sponsorship provided by the Washington Blade.

Photo courtesy of Ruth Allen Ginsburg

JUNE 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H INGTONB LAD E.COM • 2 3

D.C. Pride originated in 1975 in front of Lambda Rising Bookstore.

2 4 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 202 0

AIDS brought new meaning to the Pride commemorations of the 1980s.

Turning tide of the 1990s

In the early 1990s, Pride grew and the street festival expanded to about 200 booths.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 27

By 2002, parade contingents reached 200, as the city’s Pride celebration continued to grow.

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 2 5

2 6 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

In recent years, a protest, noise mistaken for gunshots and a global pandemic cast a pall over Pride celebrations in D.C.

The tipping point ‘10s The event reached its 35th anniversary in 2010 and continued to expand its offerings with about 60 events held over a 10-day period and a record high of 250,000 attending the street festival. About 100,000 watched the 2013 parade.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington

Editor’s note: Information taken from various sources such as previous Washington Blade

Let’s power on.

At Pepco, we’re committed to maintaining a strong energy grid to deliver reliable service for our customers.

We want to make sure you have what you need to keep powering on, so if you’re facing financial challenges, we have programs to help you now and for the future.

Learn more at pepco.com/Help

© Potomac Electric Power Company, 2020

2 8 • WAS H I NGTO NB LA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 202 0

Pride becomes celebration of Black LGBTQ lives in LA Thousands join Hollywood-WeHo march to create change

By KAREN OCAMB The aerial shot took your breath away. “All Black Lives Matter” painted in huge rainbow letters across Hollywood Boulevard, “the street of dreams” that too often leaves LGBTQ dreams broken and tattered. nervous but raucous Gay Liberation-lead Christopher Street West Pride parade — injustice of racism and wanton police brutality.

That “ conscience and conviction since the 8 minute 46 second May 25 videotaped murder of a counterfeit $20 bill. “ standing by as the black man, beloved by his family, friends and neighbors, called out for his mother then stopped breathing. two minutes, including a full minute after paramedics arrived at the scene, according to a New York Times analysis.

Floyd’s death followed the shocking fatal shooting of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor during a “no-knock” police raid on her Louisville, Kentucky house six weeks earlier; 10 weeks earlier 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, a jogger was tracked down by a white father and son and shot in Glynn County, Georgia.

One murder after another and another — and then, two days before the All Black Lives Matter march, Rayshard Brooks, 27, who had fallen asleep in a Wendy’s drive-thru, was fatally shot by Atlanta police after a long, mostly peaceful encounter during which he asked if he could just please walk to his nearby home.

After more than 400 years of explicit and implicit oppression with silent societal assent, a new generation living through the ugly racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, being toppled, demands for police reform are being heeded, and a new awakening is taking hold. included in the reckoning.

LGBTQ people of color have long been the victims of not only systemic racism and police brutality but also degrading humiliation, even in death, in the abject banality of evil oppression. The Human Rights Campaign has named at least 13 trans people, mostly trans women of color, who have been murdered just this year.

Stop. Take that in. 13 trans murders since January 1, 2020. That’s an epidemic on top of the coronavirus pandemic that is disproportionately impacting the lives of black and brown people in America.

But on this day, Sunday, June 14, mostly masked men, women and children of all ages, races, ethnicities and beliefs from the farthest regions of Los Angeles County diverse coalition of the Rainbow spirit, convinced that a change is going to come.

And on this day, June 14, as 25,000 people and numerous dogs peacefully marched “I look around me and just keep crying. I am just so moved. I never in my life thought this could happen,” 37-year old Juliana from Inglewood told the Los Angeles Blade. “ around justice and equality and in support of my community.”

In many ways, Juliana symbolizes the intersectionality of the LGBTQ community and the diversity of the rest of society. “ me and I keep crying. I keep thinking about my cousin who lives in a white neighborhood who still gets reported by her neighbors and followed home by the cops. And the stories my mom used to tell me about my great grandmother in Mississippi — she was born a slave and somehow made it to 101 years old. I think of George Floyd and Breana cry now — but because this is so damned beautiful.”

Something happened on this day, on Sunday, June 14, once reserved for the fun and Even public policy is changing.

But most importantly, as the LGBTQ community celebrates the shocking victory at the US Supreme Court on June 15, the thousands and thousands of blacks and whites who marched and interacted with LGBTQ people on that day in LGBTQ history, have had their hearts and minds changed and have come to believe – here on earth or viewed from above — that All Black Lives Matter.

Now comes the hard part — to make that change work and last. And that starts with taking the Census and voting in November. But now, as well, anyone who woke up to the ongoing systemic oppression has a role in making sure that LGBTQ coming out is no longer risky but celebrated as a contribution of individual authenticity enhancing the greater consciousness of humankind.

And that matters.

ROB BERGER

Remembering modest origins of D.C. Pride What is the meaning and purpose of LGBTQ+ Pride and Pride celebrations? A primal

r Rooftop u O

Returns!

WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER. WE’VE MISSED YOU, AND

Happy Pride Month

Thu - Sun

1350 OKIE ST NE, WASHINGTON DC, 20002 CITYWINERY.COM/WASHINGTONDC 3 0 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 202 0

@CITYWINERYDC

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 3 1

The divisiveness of ‘Disclosure’

By KAELA ROEDER

LAVERNE COX recalls her thorny history with Hollywood in the new documentary ‘Disclosure’

New doc says trans depictions in pop culture have long been offensive, unfair Dil (Jaye Davidson) disrobes for Fergus (Stephen Rea) in “The Crying Game” and he runs to the bathroom to vomit. The scene is later parodied in “Ace Ventura.”

Candis Cayne makes history as a trans actress in a trans role as Carmelita on ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money” only to discover watching it they’ve lowered her voice Trans is a trope used for cruel comedic effect in dozens of movies and shows from “Soapdish” to “Married … With Children” and used to exploit guests on trashy A new eye-opening and mostly comprehensive documentary on Hollywood’s depiction of the transgender experience titled “Disclosure” created by trans The documentary follows several transgender media industry leaders and their experiences watching transgender representation on screen throughout their lives as Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski and Chaz Bono are featured as well as clips from Cary Grant vehicle “I Was a Male War Bride” to Flip Wilson and Milton Berle to “The Jeffersons,” “Paris is Burning,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “The Crying Game,” “Ace Ventura”

Feder, who directed, and Cox, executive producer, spoke by Zoom Monday about

3 2 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

WASHINGTON BLADE There were two documentaries that really changed my life. One was “The Celluloid Closet,” and that’s about gay and lesbian representation in Hollywood. The other is “Ethnic Notions” by Marlon Riggs, which is about black people with that type of critique and analysis and nuance. Then fast forward to 2014 and trans visibility was increasing and mainstream society was talking about us more than ever before, and I wanted to give trans and non-trans people more context to understand these changes in our culture, this history and how we got to this point of visibility. And, it was really important that we not lose sight of the fact that visibility in itself is not a goal. It is the means to an end. So, I felt like there was more to the story WINDY CITY TIMES: I don’t even know where to start with this one. So the idea that the responsibility of the trans person is to disclose their identity is so pervasive and it is such a violent assumption that anyone owes someone else an explanation of their history. It’s framed in this way, that you have done something wrong if you do not and I think a lot of us have internalized that as well, that we feel this anxiety around foremost, so it really came from the idea that also all the images we see really also

thought I was the best person for the job. I mean, there are other instances too, like FEDER: we still don’t know what’s happening. I’m always curious to know that emphasis on CANDIS CAYNE says she’s played every offensive trans stereotype imaginable in her career in the new documentary ‘Disclosure.’

COX:

rely on the fact that we’re not real. They just say, over and over again, that we’re not who we say we are. Laverne, do you have anything to add to that because that’s you know, I mean, it’s your thing. You came up with the title and I assume it resonated COX: Diddy” and I remember I met a guy at the Duane Reade Pharmacy, I think around number, and then we meet like an hour and a half later or something for drinks at

sometimes meant violence. Unfortunately that is their history of what it means to be trans and so I just — it was so empowering for me to just sit there at that bar and just

to be in this space of full ownership of who you are, for me personally. I’m not

BLADE:

interviews with trans people who have worked on one side of the camera or the other and wanted to gather their memories of transgender representation, and from there accrue the database from which became the primary document of the

amendment right.

TIMES: It takes a casting agent, it takes a showrunner, or a director or a producer.

COX: told me years ago that making positive or negative predictions of the future is not be really interesting and curious and we’ll have a much more educated audience

(Editor’s note: The Blade covered many of these topics last fall in a story on the 20th anniversary of “Boys Don’t Cry” called “Boys Don’t Cry” at 20: rethinking trans actors

Trans activists SYLVIA RIVERA and MARSHA P. JOHNSON have not received the credit they

Statement of Whitman-Walker on the Supreme Court’s Decisions in the LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Cases June 15, 2020

Whitman-Walker is pleased by the Supreme Court’s decisions today in the cases of employment discrimination against a transgender woman[1] and against two gay men.[2] The Court correctly understood what advocates and multiple courts have stated for years – that one cannot understand discrimination against LGBTQ persons without taking into account a person’s sex.

more work to do to ensure that no person experiences discrimination in any area of life.

“Discrimination against LGBTQ people is a persistent, systemic problem throughout this country,” clients tell of many instances of discriminatory attitudes, mistreatment and harassment and outright refusals of care in health care and other settings. Discrimination in employment – which is directly at issue in these cases – is harmful to LGBTQ people’s mental and physical health, as well

The nation is grappling with a health care crisis of an almost unimaginable scale and throughout the country communities are rising up with renewed urgency against systemic racism and the violence perpetrated against Black people. a comprehensive way to protect LGBTQ people and Black and Brown communities from discrimination. “No one

Too many of the people who Whitman-Walker is pledged to serve are suffering and feeling hopeless about the

Read this statement and more at whitmanwalkerimpact.org.

[1] R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

[2] Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia; Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda.

3 4 • WAS H I NGTO NB LA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 202 0

What’s something trashy or vapid you love?

Reality TV!!! I am a junkie.

What’s your greatest domestic skill?

Cooking What’s

your

favorite

LGBTQ

This is hard. It’s between “Tangerine” and “Pose.”

What’s your social media pet peeve?

Constant unsolicited tagging.

What would the end of the LGBTQ

QUEERY Kahlib Barton

It would look like the liberation of Black trans women.

What’s the most overrated social custom?

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

I was raised Baptist. Today, I consider myself to be ancestral.

What’s D.C.’s best hidden gem?

(Photo courtesy Barton)

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

Besides Beyonce’s birth? Hmmm, Blue Ivy’s birthday.

The True Colors United senior program

By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO joeyd@washblade.com

What celebrity death hit you

How long have you been out and I’ve been out since I was a senior in

Kahlib Barton is passionate about his work with True Colors United, the advocacy group co-founded by Cyndi Lauper in 2008 to end LGBTQ youth “My kids’ lives depend on it,” the and I both had rough experiences as queer youth and we don’t want that to be every other queer youth’s narrative.

We both have dedicated our personal and professional lives to combating The organization is also heavily involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Currently we are dismantling white supremacy through policy change, direct advocacy and with a lawsuit against the federal government,”

He says Black trans women are key.

“They’re the only gauge,” he says.

“If they do not have access, then the True Colors United staff believe youth queer homelessness is a community issue and that real change can happen when “people come together with a shared vision.”

Barton joined the organization in October 2017 after coming to Champion-Thompson in Northeast Washington. They’re planning a 2021 Barton enjoys cooking, planting, reading, TV, movies and music in his free time.

had to drag it out of me. After that, I didn’t care about anyone else.

Who’s your LGBTQ hero?

The icon, Dr. Ron Simmons.

What

LGBTQ

stereotype

most

That we are always thinking about sex. We also think about foreplay.

What’s your proudest professional achievement?

When I moved to D.C. without a job (or housing) with a mission to work for

“Scared” cops

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

I would love to go back to mine to love them all over again from the beginning but, better.

What are your obsessions?

My plants and my kids.

Finish this sentence — It’s about damn time: People start recognizing that Black Lives Matter includes Black queer lives, Black trans lives, Black LGBTQ+ people.

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

I wish I would’ve known how to Why Washington?

Because we lead the charge on liberation.

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 3 5

and H Street!

Celebrating 1 Year Years Celebrating 12Year Celebrating 1 Year Serving Capitol Serving Capitol Hill Hill Serving Capitol Hill and and H H Street!

Street! and H Street!

UNLIMITED DAYCARE in June for just $350!

Now taking July 4th boarding reservations at our Street Location NEWH CUSTOMER SPECIAL Buy a 30 day package and get 5 free days of daycare

3 6 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

CALENDAR TODAY

OUT&ABOUT

D.C. Vigils Against Racism hosted by the All Souls Church Unitarian (1500 Harvard St., N.W.) continue today at 5 p.m. The goal of this weekly vigil is to bring people together from various congregations and organizations and backgrounds to take peaceful public action against racism and police violence.

More information in available on its Facebook event page.

Pitch a Queer: Quarantine Edition is tonight at 8 p.m. This online Pride month event invites participants to pitch via a Facebook Live slide presentation why some lucky audience member should date their queer friend. For details, visit this event’s Facebook page.

Cherry’s Bi-Weekly Quarantine Kiki continues tonight at 9 p.m. DJs TWiN and The Cherry Fund host this online event.

For more information, visit cherrydc.com.

BY PHILIP VAN SLOOTEN

Global Pride to ‘amplify’ Black voices Global Pride 2020 will amplify Black voices on Saturday, June 27 during the international event.

Organizers will use the platform to acknowledge the international response to the death of George Floyd and the resurging demand for racial justice by working with the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Other featured guests include former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Laverne Cox, Adam Lambert and more.

For more information, visit globalpride2020.org.

Saturday, June 20 National Pride Inside hosted by the LGBTQ Victory Fund is this evening at 6 p.m. online. Special guests include U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, former and Democratic Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg and more. For tickets and information, visit victoryfund.org.

Sunday, June 21 The D.C. Center hosts a Black lesbian support group today at 1 p.m. via Zoom.

This peer-led group invites participants who either identify as a lesbian or are questioning that aspect of their identity. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

P&P Live! presents Garret Peck to discuss his new book “A Decade of Disruption” today at 3 p.m. This virtual of the 21st century in America from the dot-com meltdown, to the 9-11 terror attacks, to the Great Recession. For more information, visit politics-prose.com.

Monday, June 22 “On the Abolition of Police” presented by Profs and Pints Online is tonight at 7 p.m. This interactive online talk asks what it would mean not to have police and explores policy proposals such as 8Can’tWait. For more information, look for the event on Facebook.

Pride Week Trivia hosted by Red Bear Brewing continues at 7 p.m. tonight trivia for a $10 entry fee. The Zoom call starts promptly at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are

SMYAL for Summer event June 25

Trans pop star KIM PETRAS will appear at a virtual event dubbed ‘Can’t Stop Pride’ on June 25.

available at redbear.beer/store and more information is available on the Facebook event page.

Tuesday, June 23 “Hide/Seek: Portraits for LGBTQ+ Pride Month” presented by the Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia Conversation Series is tonight at 5 p.m. via Zoom. Discussions will include the intent of the exhibition, the process of bringing it to the public and controversies surrounding it. To register, visit smithsonian.zoom.us.

Wednesday, June 24 Queer Book Club Series: Giovanni’s Room is tonight at 7 p.m. with host Lost City Books. Tickets start at $5 for this online discussion of James Baldwin’s 1956 iconic LGBTQ novel. For tickets and information, visit the Facebook and Eventbrite pages.

Thursday, June 25 D.C. Arts Market — Pride Edition hosted by the D.C. Fray is tonight at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

Tickets are $10 for general admission. This event highlights and celebrates many of the to support local LGBTQ-owned businesses as well as a panel discussion on various topics. Visit this event’s Facebook page for more information.

“Can’t Cancel Pride: a COVID-19 Relief ” will be presented virtually today by iHeartRadio’s Elvis Duran and trans actress Laverne Cox. Adam Lambert, Big Freedia, Billy Porter, Katy Perry, Kim Petras, Melissa Etheridge, Ricky Martin, Sia and more are slated to appear for this one-hour stream at 9 p.m. Details at prideradio.com or view it on the iHeartRadio app. Organizers P&G and iHeartMedia will use proceeds to help LGBT folks affected by COVID-19. Donations are being accepted at cantcancelpride.com or text “rainbow” to 56512.

New York City Pride will hold a virtual human rights conference conversation today from 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. EST with Daniel Reyes, Mitchell Kuga, Brooke Sopelsa, Ashlee Marie Preston, Jonathan Van Ness and more. Free registration is available at nycpridehrc2020.eventbrite.com.

The eighth annual SMYAL for Summer event is hosted virtually this year on Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m.

This year’s event features Tatianna from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season two and “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” season two. The winners of SMYAL’s 2020 Youth Leadership Awards will also be announced. Tickets are traditionally $25, but organizers encourage attendees to consider donating that amount or more in support of LGBTQ youth programming.

For more information, visit smyal.org.

Bishop Gene to host discussion The Washington National Cathedral They Know Not What They Do” with Bishop Gene Robinson on Wednesday, June 24 at 8 p.m. via Zoom. A link to local theaters those who register. Prices may vary. features four families who face choices about their religion and their sexuality as they move towards acceptance. The Washington National Cathedral’s LGBTQ at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and was released nationwide on June 12.

Bishop Robinson, the ninth bishop of the New Hampshire Episcopal Diocese, Anglican Communion.

For more information, visit catherdral. org/event.

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 3 7

ORDER ONLINE!

Takomawellness.com/dutchie

100 ft from the Takoma Metro Station on the Redline Free On-Site Parking Wheelchair Accessible

$10 OFF PURCHASE OF $50 OR MORE EXP 6/30/20 *BLADE - VALID ONE TIME - NO DOUBLE DISCOUNTS

3 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

Over 70 STRAINS Over 150 PRODUCTS EXCLUSIVE STRAINS HEMP BLUNTS

To the ‘Victor’ goes the spoils New Hulu series is ‘Love, Simon’ spinoff; it’s wobbly but has potential

By BRIAN T. CARNEY

MICHAEL CIMINO (left) and GEORG SEAR in ‘Love, Victor.’

(Photo courtesy Hulu)

Two years ago, openly gay media tycoon Greg Berlanti (director of “The Broken Hearts Club” and creator of over a dozen LGBT-friendly DC Comic Multiverse series on the CW) hit it big at the multiplex rom-com about gay teens.

This year, Berlanti’s screenwriters, Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, try to recreate the magic with a small-screen reboot called “Love, Victor.”

The new series, now streaming on Hulu, is pleasant but bland.

“Love, Simon” is centered on Simon Spier (Nick Robinson), a senior at Creekwood High School outside of Atlanta. He knows he’s gay, but he’s afraid to come out. He gets caught up in a blackmail scheme and his his dreams on the Ferris Wheel at the Winter Carnival.

The movie was a popular and critical success.

Despite an awkward tone-deafness about class, “Love, Simon” was an important milestone in LGBT cinema.

In addition to Robinson’s charming lead performance, the movie featured a great supporting cast (especially Josh Duhamel as Simon’s goofy dad, Talitha Bateman as his little sister and Natasha Rothwell as a frazzled drama teacher) and a well-deserved feel-good ending.

“Love, Victor” picks up a year later. Victor Salazar (Michael Cimino) has transferred to Creekwood High in the middle of his sophomore year; his family has reluctantly relocated from Texas to Georgia when his father starts a new job. He quickly hears about the

legendary Simon Spier and the two start to message each other.

Victor also meets his geeky neighbor Felix who shows Victor around school and takes him to the Winter Carnival. Everyone is there: Victor’s parents Armando and Isabel, whose relationship is going brother Adrian; and his sullen sister Pilar, who misses her boyfriend back in Texas; the smart and sensitive Mia, who shares a Ferris Wheel ride with Victor; the popular Lake, whom Felix has a secret crush on; the bully Andrew; and the adorable Benji, whom Victor is instantly attracted to.

Their stories unfold over the course of 10 halfhour episodes. Even though Aptaker and Berger have centered the show on the middle-class Catholic Salazar family, the material seems familiar, sticking closely to the movie and to similar teen dramas — and running into some serious roadblocks.

One of the biggest problems is the continued presence of Simon (straight actor Nick Robinson recreates his Simon role as narrator and also produced the series). Victor’s messages to Simon overexplain everything and turn Victor into a much less interesting and appealing character. Simon’s responses become boring and start to sound like empty platitudes.

More seriously, Victor lacks much Simon’s charm and sense of humor. He is also a much more manipulative character than Simon. He purposefully lies to Mia, to Benji and to his parents. It’s not a

ANA ORTIZ and JAMES MARTINEZ in ‘Love, Victor.’

(Photo courtesy Hulu)

pleasant trait.

A lot of guest stars (Ali Wong, Natasha Rothwell, Andy Richter, Mekhi Phifer) are wasted in badly written cameo roles, but overall, the supporting cast turn in Martinez (“One Day at a Time”) are excellent as Victor’s parents. They are dealing with interesting issues in would ever turn their backs on one of their children.

Mateo Fernandez is delightful as Victor’s little brother Adrian, although the character needs much more screen time. Isabella Ferreira is good as Victor’s sister Pilar even if her role gets a little monotonous.

Anthony Turpel and Bebe Wood nearly steal the show every time they’re onscreen. They’re funny, quirky and energetic and have a wonderful chemistry together. George Sear is endearing as Benji and Mason Gooding (“Booksmart”) is surprisingly appealing as a bully with a heart of gold.

“Love, Victor” is a satisfying if somewhat predictable has slick production values and solid pacing and the writers have a great ear for authentic-sounding dialogue. There are some serious problems with the writing, but these may be the result of transferring the material from the big screen to episodic television. (“Dear White People,” for example, had similar Hopefully, the show will have a more successful sophomore year. It will be fun to see these characters move in new directions.

2020

4 0 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

Keep your promise to protect each other.

Wills & Trusts Powers of Attorney • Living Wills Partnership & Prenuptial Agreements

(240) 778-2330 • (703) 536-0220 www.PartnerPlanning.com

Serving the LGBT Community in DC/MD/VA since 1983 Lawrence S. Jacobs/McMillan Metro, PC

We are looking for a few more good neighbors!

PROOF #1

ADVERTISIN ISSUE DATE: 171208

•The first 55+ LGBTQ+ focused cohousing community in the USA •Two single story homes available now starting at $375,000 REVISIONS REDESIGN •In warm, affordable, progressive & culturally vibrant Durham, NCTEXT REVISIONS IMAGE/LOGO REVISIONS •Cohousing is: privacy - community - home NO REVISIONS Learn more - call Margaret at (561)714-8009 or email VillageHearthCohousing@gmail.com

SALES REPRESENTATIVE:

REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of the date of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties.

ADVERTISER SIGNATURE

By signing this proof you are agreeing to you washington blade newspaper. This includes b payment and insertion schedule.

Learn more at VillageHearthCohousing.com JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 4 1

A PA R T M E N T S

WHEN THE NEED FOR TWO HOMES BECOMES ONE. Tour Today and Find Your New Nest at Blackbird, a new fully-amentized apartment community on Capitol Hill.

Schedule your tour and ask about our limited-time 2-months free incentive.* Blackbird features spacious

comforts await you.

202.660.0156 LIVEBLACKBIRDDC.COM

change or cancellation without notice. See leasing manager for full details.

4 2 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

‘Fairest’ of all?

New trans memoir full of unexpected intersections

By KATHI WOLFE

“I contain multitudes,” queer poet Walt Whitman famously wrote in his poem “Song of Myself.”

Meredith Talusan, author of the recently released “Fairest: A Memoir,” who is a Filipino-American, trans and has albinism, contains more multitudes than most anyone you’ll ever meet.

In “Fairest,” a coming-of-age story, Talusan, the founding executive editor of “them,” Condé Nast’s LGBTQ digital platform, takes us on a journey from the Philippines to California.

Talusan toggles between moments in her life — from her childhood as a boy in the Philippines to her arrival as a woman at her Harvard queer alumni reunion. This could have been a muddled mess, but “Fairest” has the beauty and the gender-bending of Virginia Woolf — if Orlando were attuned to our ideas of race, sexuality, disability and gender.

Talusan was born as a boy with albinism named Marc in a village in the Philippines. Her people believed pregnant women shouldn’t spend too much time in the sun, she writes, “for fear that their baby would be born anak araw, a sun child, the strangest creature whose skin was so pale it glowed, and who ... destined to be nearly blind, an affront against nature.”

Yet, Talusan’s grandmother Nanay Coro believed her albinism was a blessing, not a curse. Because, “I was destined to live in America, the richest of countries, where Mama’s father, Lolo Bert, had settled, full of people who looked like me,” Talusan writes.

In some cultures, people with albinism are shunned or killed. Yet, though, Talusan knew early on that she was different, she wasn’t shunned. When Spain and the United States colonized the Philippines, racism flourished. Because of internalized colorism, Talusan was seen as special because her skin is so light. Her grandmother assured her, “that I was meant for a better future than her and our ancestors, farmers who had tiled soil in the fields surrounding our village for generations,” she writes.

“This is because you are fair and beautiful,” her grandmother told Talusan.

As a boy called Marc, Talusan has crushes on other boys. At 11, Marc is “hopelessly smitten” with Sammy but knows that most boys don’t love other

boys. At the same time, Talusan is enthralled by the singer Lea Salonga who performs in the musical “Miss Saigon.” Marc thinks how wonderful it would be to be a woman like Salonga’s character Kim in “Miss Saigon” who is “capable of getting a rugged and kind (American} man to fall in love with her.”

“Fairness” is a complex tale of passing, performance and revelation. As a young boy, Talusan learns English and American mannerisms by watching Ricky Schroder in the 1980s sitcom “Silver Spoons.” Soon, Talusan, age 7, is appearing as the son on “Bisoy: Ang Daddy Kong Baduy,” a Filipino sitcom.

At 15, Talusan and her family immigrate to California. Her father isn’t around much and her mother spends most of her time gambling. A scholarship to Harvard is Talusan’s escape from poverty and parental negligence. At Harvard from 1993-1997, Talusan is an out gay man. Talusan takes seminars that deconstruct queer literature, participates in a “kiss-in” against the religious right and engages in the irony of cool gay 1990s men.

Yet Talusan is aware that she’ll often encounter racism and prejudice if people realize she’s Asian or feel she’s too feminine. “Our looks determined our place in the pecking order and...our lack of attractiveness had so much to do with our race and femininity,” she thinks when she’s at her 1997 Harvard queer alumni reunion.

Talusan finds love and commitment with Ralph, an MIT professor. The most poignant moment in “Fairest” is when Ralph and Talusan break up when Talusan begins to transition. Though they’re still friends, Ralph told her that he “didn’t see the person he fell in love with when he looked at me,” Talusan writes.

Despite this sad moment, Talusan doesn’t regret her transition. She becomes open about being trans.

“I had a hunch that becoming a woman would end up being better and turned out to be right,” she writes.

“Fairest” is a beautiful, riveting read. Perfect for these times.

(Courtesy Viking)

‘Fairest: A Memoir’

By Meredith Talusan Viking May 26 $27 320 pages

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 4 3

BMW of Fairfax | DC Metro’s #1 Center 8427 Lee Highway | Fairfax VA 22031 (855) 527-9457

To reserve your offer or check availability,

please call 855-527-9457!

Speaking of Pride....

BMW of Fairfax is both appreciative and proud to be invited as a sponsor for the entire month of June!

Here are just a few of the exceptional offers going on in June.....

2020 BMW 3 Series

2020 BMW X3 & X3 M40i

2020 BMW X5 xDrive40i

Up to $14,300 off MSRP Up to $12,000 off MSRP

Up to $13,500 off MSRP

2020 BMW M8 Convertible

2020 BMW 5 Series

2020 BMW X7 xDrive40i

Up to $20,000 off MSRP 2020 BMW 7 Series

Up to $13,500 off MSRP

Up to $14,300 off MSRP

Up to $24,750 off MSRP

Disclaimer for offers: Prices do not include government fees and taxes, any finance charge, any dealer document processing charge, any electronic filing charge and any emissions testing charge. Can’t combine this with any other Mailer or Email Specials for Oil Change. Maximum Discount of $50.00. Replacement of filter with Factory BMW Oil Filter. Complimentary multi-point inspection, Check and top off Vital fluids (coolant, washer solvent, power steering fluid), tire pressure check, Oil service light reset(when available), Complimentary Wash and Vacuum. Price plus tax and shop fees. Cannot be combined with any other coupons. Coupon does not apply to prior purchases. Other Restrictions may apply. Excludes diesels and M’s. V8, V10 & V12 models may be slightly higher. Void where prohibited. Does not include sales tax and hazardous waste disposal fees. Not retroactive. BMW Vehicles Only. Valid at BMW of Fairfax Only. Must present coupon at time of service. See advisor for details. -Offer expires on 06-30-2020. Up to $350 maximum discount. Doesn?t apply to shop fees or taxes. Cannot be applied to any other coupons, discounts, extended warranty claim, Insurance repairs, Vehicle Detail or Sublet Repairs. Tire Purchases Excluded. BMW Vehicles Only. Valid at BMW of Fairfax Only. Must present coupon at time of service. See advisor for details. -Offer expires on 06-30-2020

4 4 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

Good time to buy a new car?

Generous incentives unveiled during lockdown are still in effect

By JOE PHILLIPS

Amid the pandemic and protests against systemic racism, the roller-coaster economy continues on its wild ride. It’s hard to even think about writing a car column that is relevant to the moment. Yet vehicles are a major necessity for so many of us, whether first responders, volunteers or anyone making a grocery run.

The good news: It’s actually a good time to buy a vehicle. Automakers rolled out generous incentives a few months ago during the beginning of the pandemic’s economic shutdowns. Many incentives are still in place as well as extra rebates and lease specials.

While many dealerships are now open with safeguards in place, the shutdowns also ushered in a new normal of buying online. And automakers are beginning to increase production to make up for dwindling inventory of certain models.

As for what to drive, affordable crossovers are a good place to start.

automotive awards, has a great reliability rating and is a top safety pick.

MERCEDES GLB $38,000 Mpg: 23 city/31 highway Zero-60 mph: 6.9 seconds

Hyundai Kona

HYUNDAI KONA $21,000 Mpg: 28 city/32 highway Zero-60 mph: 6.6 seconds Hyundai keeps creating fun vehicles that are easy on the eyes and on the wallet. Case in point: the Kona subcompact, with its funky grille, svelte side panels and sporty fastback profile. The daytime running lights and turn signals actually sit above the headlights. And rugged black cladding snakes around the vehicle like a sexy boa on a drag queen.

The base four-cylinder engine is a bit meh, but the turbo is plenty zippy. And the excellent steering is even better when coupled with the optional allwheel drive. Despite all the hard plastic, the cabin is well designed with good sound insulation, lots of storage compartments and high seating for better driver visibility. Back-seat legroom is scrunched, but there’s decent headroom and rear cargo space.

Hyundai always offers gobs of standard features for the money, and that’s true here: remote keyless entry, rearview camera, 7-inch infotainment touchscreen, smartphone compatibility, steering-wheel controls and more.

Step up from the base model for goodies such as a sunroof, push-button start, heated/ventilated seats and a head-up display that shows vehicle speed, route navigation, radio station and other information.

Best of all, even a fully loaded Kona is still less than $30,000. This pint-size ride also boasts numerous

For a little more cargo room and a lot more cachet, there’s the all-new Mercedes GLB. This compact crossover slots between the GLA subcompact and the larger and pricier GLC. Yet the GLB offers something extra: an optional third row.

The boxy design, reminiscent of the automaker’s hulking SUVs, makes it roomier than expected.

While the base model feels fairly bare bones, it does come with a power liftgate, LED headlights, simulated leather and smartphone integration. Most luxury-vehicle buyers will likely want to add some of high-end options, such as keyless entry, powerfolding side mirrors, hands-free liftgate and premium Burmester sound system.

The two large 10.25-inch digital screens, which highlight driving gauges and the infotainment system, are especially fine. For sportier handling, you can toss in the adaptive dampers to firm up the suspension.

VW ATLAS $32,000 Mpg: 20 city/24 highway Zero-60 mph: 7.2 seconds

Mercedes GLB

Compared with other midsize crossovers, the VW Atlas seems downright leviathan. As with the compact Mercedes GLB, there are three rows. But the Atlas is more than 16 inches longer, which makes it feel like you’ve just been upgraded from economy seating to first class.

There’s also 50 percent more storage capacity.

Even though the Atlas only debuted in 2018, it gets a refresh this year, with snazzier grille, bumpers and headlights/taillights. The attractive cabin also gets a spiffier steering wheel, seats and infotainment system.

Alas, VW didn’t upgrade the two engine choices, which are capable but nothing spectacular. Still, the overall ride is enjoyable, with some unexpected surprises like hands-free parallel parking and a nav system that can scan traffic signs.

VW Atlas

JUN E 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 4 5

Just Listed!

Metro accessible walk out level Townhome backing to woods! Fantastic 3 BR brick front townhome with parking in the uber-convenient Montivideo Square

fenced backyard with expansive decking and wonderful park-like setting backing to natural woodlands and stream. Just in time to enjoy your summertime picnics.

David Lloyd Weichert Realtors

4701 Old Dominion Drive, Arlington, VA 22207 703-593-3204 - davidlloyd@realtor.com www.davelloyd.net - facebook.com/david lloyd/realtor/

NoMa apartments designed to achieve the Alchemy of Sanctuary.

For a limited time, enjoy up to 1 month free * on select apartment homes. *Contact leasing staff for details and restrictions.

A DV E RTI SI PROOF #2 REVISIONS REDESIGN TEXT REVISIONS IMAGE/LOGO REVISIONS NO REVISIONS

22 M St. NE, Washington, DC

4 6 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

833-881-1433

ISSUE DATE: 200619

SALES REPRESENTATIVE:

REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties.

LiveResaNoma.com

ADVERTISER SIGNATURE

By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contr blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to schedule.

CELEBRATING PRIDE and

Historic SCOTUS Ruling Khalil Alexander El-Ghoul,

Principal Broker & Owner of Glass House Real Estate

571-235-4821

khalil@glasshousere.com

145 Church St NW #301, Vienna VA 22180 718 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 www.glasshousere.com

A Modern and Affordable Way to Sell a Home.

Licensed in DC, MD, & VA.

JUNE 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H INGTONB LAD E.COM • 4 7

COMING SOON - LAKE BARCROFT CONTEMPORARIES!

WATER ACCESS! 6324 CROSSWOODS DRIVE

3408 GREENTREE DRIVE

JUNE IS STILL Gorgeous fully-renovated 4BR/3BA home with designer touches throughout, expansive chef’s kitchen, multiple decks, and 20-foot easement allows lake access! Offered for $1,295,000

RE/MAX West End 710 W Broad St

Falls Church, VA 22046 703.596.5303

www.chrissyandlisa.com

Fabulous 4BR/3.5BA fully-renovated home with amazing contemporary addition; sited on almost half acre private lot on quiet cul-de-sac! Offered for $949,000

CHRISSY O’DONNELL + LISA DUBOIS chrissy@chrissyandlisa.com | 703.626.8374 lisa@chrissyandlisa.com | 703.350.9595

Top 1% DC Metro Area + Nationwide • RE/MAX Hall of Fame • Associate Brokers, CRS, ABR • Licensed in VA + DC

CELEBRATE WITH US EACH WEEK IN PRINT & VIRTUALLY ON FACEBOOK LIVE

4 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

salutes capital pride 2020

#STILLWESERVEOURCOMMUNITIES dupont-logan office 1617 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 | O. 202.387.6180 J. James Braeu, Branch Vice President coldwellbankerhomes.com/dupont

©2020 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. A Realogy Company. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered servicemarksownedbyColdwellBankerRealEstateLLC.

JUNE 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H INGTONB LAD E.COM • 4 9

Freedom from unfair housing Protection from discrimination when buying, renting

By SHERRI ANNE GREEN

rankings,and other neighborhood resources so you can learn about the areas in which you are considering a purchase.

Are we still seeing fair housing violations today?

Unfortunately, yes. Even ones that aren’t meant to hurt or harm. Even agents are discriminated against as we are often treated differently in a listing presentation or at the buyer agent selection interview process.

June 19. Freedom Day. Jubilee Day. Cel-Liberation Day. It commemorates the end of slavery when on June announcing that all previously enslaved people were free.

It is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Yes, this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s minimal number of Union troops there to enforce the new and strong enough to overcome the resistance.

On this year’s June 19, and with the world focused on equality for all, it is important for us also to talk about equality in the home buying process. Despite being given the freedom from slavery in 1865, it wasn’t until 1968—52 years ago—that protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities.

It prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, Discrimination can come in two forms—direct and indirect.

Direct is purposefully and impermissible basing the sale on applying a requirement or rule in the sale or rental of housing.

Direct is easy to understand. If an agent or mortgage easy to see how that is a violation of fair housing. As a renter, no landlord can refuse to accept a housing voucher if that voucher is applicable to the price point and area assigned.

Certain questions from buyers may seem innocent, but answering them could constitute a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Indirect can be much harder to detect. It can be treating our clients often ask us about schools, crime rates, and the demographic make up of a neighborhood or a building. On the surface, a buyer typically asks these types of questions for a variety of sincere reasons. Many of our clients are relocating to an area and they are looking to their real estate agent as a trusted source of information—and they know agents love to be helpful. As innocent and sincere as these questions may be, your agent should never answer them. Why you may ask?

Answering these could steer a buyer toward an area, or away from a home, toward or away from a condo building, or even toward or away from an entire neighborhood. Answering questions on crime, schools, and regarding people are violations of fair housing even if the intent was to be helpful to you as a buyer. What your agent should do instead is assist you to sites that track crime, sites that offer insights on school

equal respect and dignity is paramount. Everyone deserves a wonderful place to call home in the neighborhood of their choice. Homeownership is more than shelter; it is a gateway to emotional and economic opportunities. Homeownership enriches lives, supports communities, strengthens culture, and enhances society. Additionally, owning a home is a wealth builder as a home is often the largest asset of a homeowner’s net worth.

At Coldwell Banker, we are proud to stand up for Fair Housing. Our company has designed an entire education module that includes training, a pledge for all employees and that takes the education and that pledge even further.

Equality, respect, and dignity—three tenants that are of the utmost importance in housing, and on this June 19.

Sherri Anne Green Residential Brokerage having earned the prestigious International President’s Circle Award designating her among the top 5% internationally. She provides impeccable, high-touch service tailored to her clients’

We understand that buying or selling a home may not be top of mind at the moment but if you do have real estate needs or just have questions about real estate, we’re always here to help.

Check out our virtual tours while staying safe and sound at home at www.HagenBergstrom.com.

You can also schedule a virtual, or safely distanced in-person, showing of one of our properties below!

2339 Massachusetts Ave NW #4 Kalorama $3,795,000

2330 S Pierce St Arlington $1,195,000 2029 Connecticut Ave NW Kalorama | $4,500,000

2101 Connecticut Ave NW #23 Kalorama Kalorama $1,650,000

| $750,000

Fairfax Station | $4,100,000

2810 Battery Pl NW 1111 Orren St NE KentTrinidad | $599,000 $1,245,000

2101 Connecticut Ave NW #62 Kalorama $2,895,000 Kalorama | $2,325,000

2025 Hillyer Pl NW #4 Dupont Circle $1,195,000

4301 Massachusetts Ave NW Cleveland Park | $415,000

Marin Hagen & Sylvia Bergstrom L I F E T I M E TO P P R O D U C E R S • $ 1 B I L L I O N + I N C A R E E R S A L E S •

Marin and Sylvia specialize in DC'saKalorama neighborhood, home to both Sylvia Bergstrom has been top producing agent since starting real estate in 1973, and of them.Hagen Kalorama features historic and "one and only" real properties; Marin joined her mother’s successful estateluxury practice in 2007. They count among homes,clients condos,Presidential co-ops and everything in between, priced Members from $200,000 their candidates, Senators, of Congress, Cabinet secretaries, to $22,000,000 and beyond.

Their business is nearly 100% repeat and referral, a testament to their high ethical standards, “They are, quite simply, the best! Their knowledge of the DC real estate strong negotiating skills, energy and discretion. Sylvia and Marin consistently rank among the market is extensive and they treat each client as though they had no other clients. Selling or buying, you will be well served if you work with them!”

- Client Testimonial SYLVIA BERGSTROM

MARIN HAGEN

202.471.5216 sbergstrom@cbmove.com

202.471.5256 mhagen@cbmove.com

HAGENBERGSTROM.COM © 2015 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

JUNE 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H INGTONB LAD E.COM • 5 1

Celebrating Pride 2020

5 2 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM • JUNE 19, 202 0

From Historic to Contemporary, There’s No Place Like Lewes!

JUNE 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H INGTONB LAD E.COM • 5 3

COUNSELING COUNSELING FOR LGBTQ

COUNSELING - TRAUMA, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY

relationship issues, parentchild issues; Adults, adolescents, children.

Walking distance to Wiehle Ave. Metro in Reston. Mon & Wed afternoon & evening hours; Sat morning & early afternoon hours. Dr. Theodore A. Hoch, LPC, LBA, BCBA-D. Call 703-987-8928. https://bit.ly/2TGDluF .

EMPLOYMENT The Potomac School is seeking a full-time lower/ middle school math coordinator. For details visit our careers webpage or contact us at employment@ potomacschool.org.

WHOLISTIC SERVICES, INC. Seeking Full Time Direct Support Professionals to assist intellectually disabled adults with behavioral health complexities in group homes & day services throughout D.C. Requirements: Valid Driver’s License, able to lift 50-75 lbs., complete training program, become 6 months of hire, pass security background check. (Associates degree preferred) For more information please contact Human Resources @ 301392-2500.

RCM of Washington, Inc. Direct Support Professional.

Online applications only. To apply, please visit: https://bit. ly/2N9gWmA.

LEGAL SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT BRITISH REMODELING HANDYMAN Local licensed company with over 25 years of experience. Specializing in bathrooms, kitchens & all interior/exterior repairs.

Drywall, paint, electric & wallpaper. Trevor 703-3038699.

LIMOUSINES KASPER’S LIVERY SERVICE Since 1987. Gay & Veteran Owner/Operator. 2016 Luxury BMW 750Li Sedan.

Properly Licensed & Livery Insured in DC. www.

KasperLivery.com. Phone 202-554-2471.

CLEANING FERNANDO’S CLEANING: Residential & Commercial Cleaning, Reasonable Rates, Free Estimates, Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/Move-Out. (202) 234-7050, 202-4866183.

PLUMBERS DIAL A PLUMBER, LLC - FULL SERVICE JUST SAY: I NEED Bathroom Sinks, Tubs, Vanities, Kitchen Sinks, Disposals, Boilers & Furnaces, Hot Water Heaters, Drain Service. Licensed, Bonded & Insured.

DC Plumbers License #707. 202251-1479.

MOVERS AROUND TOWN MOVERS. Professional Moving & Storage. Let Our Movers Do The Heavy Lifting. off of our regular rates. Call

PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

aroundtownmovers.com.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Results-Oriented • Affordable

Larry Cohen, LICSW

32 years serving the LGBT community

202-244-0903 socialanxietyhelp.com

See website for NPR story on my work

SIMPLE AFFORDABLE PROVEN RESULTS

CALL TODAY TOPLACE YOUR AD

202.747.2077

DAVE LLOYD & ASSOCIATES Top 1% Nationwide NVAR Life Member Top Producder

703-593-3204

WWW.DAVELLOYD.NET ENTHUSIASTICALLY SERVING DC & VIRGINIA

5 4 • WAS H I NGTO NB LA DE.COM • J UNE 19, 2020

REAL ESTATE / WV

Place your HOUSING TO SHARE ad online at washingtonblade.com and the ad prints free in the paper and online.* *25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word.

PERFECT WEEKEND $190,000Beautiful serene wooded mountain retreat with stocked Koi pond & lots of outdoor space for entertaining situated on more than 2 acres in the gated community of Somerset in Paw Paw, WV. 3BR openconcept home 2,000+ square feet of one-floor off-the-grid living Come check out this unique property on Wild Apple Lane and find out precisely why West Virginia is considered Almost Heaven.

Contact Jill Pivovarov at (304) Steve DuBrueler, Broker, Coldwell Banker Premier, Martinsburg, WV

BODYWORK THE MAGIC TOUCH: Swedish, Massage or Deep Tissue. Appts 202-486-6183, Low Rates, 24/7, In-Calls.

THOMAS & TALBOT REAL ESTATE Opening the door to Hunt Country for generations Bolinvar

100 acres

LAUGH, LOVE, LIVE HERE! The joy of living in Hunt Country is something to be shared with the one you love. In business since 1967, Thomas & Talbot’s number one ranking in Hunt Country comes as no surprise based on our long-standing relationships in the area. In addition to locating your perfect home, we introduce you and those you love to a most desirable way of life. Please have a look at the properties shown here and visit our website today for more. And, if you’re interested in seeing a particular property, please contact us. Join us for a relaxing day envisioning your future.

We are here and pleased to show properties with social distancing in mind.

Muster Lane

$8,495,000

108 acres

$7,250,000

Middleburg – The stone house boasts 22 rooms, 9 fireplaces, high ceilings – all superbly detailed and beautifully appointed. Brilliant gardens, heated pool. 11 stall stable with 2 staff apartments, riding ring and green house, all in pristine condition.

Additional 227 acres are available.

The Plains – Minutes from Middleburg in prime Orange County Hunt Territory. Exceptional rideout to both wooded trails and open pasture. The Stately Manor House, with it’s grand proportions and terraces, has been host to many events including charity balls and political benefits.

Jim McGowan | 703-927-0233

John Coles | 540-270-0094

Holly Hill

37 acres

The Grange

$3,299,000

18+ acres

$2,675,000

Middleburg – Stone manor, just 2 miles from town.

37 private acres in 3 parcels. Historic property has been meticulously renovated with luxury finishes and upgrades throughout. 4 bedrooms, 4 ½ bathrooms. Chef’s kitchen, library, 6 fireplaces.

Guest house and pool. 2 barns and 2 riding arenas.

The Plains – Complete renovation with exquisite details throughout. Custom designed Jan Forte gourmet kitchen. Features 4 bedrooms and 3 ½ baths. Includes 2-car garage, pool, guest house, 4-stall barn and paddocks on 18+ acres. Convenient to I-66, Rt. 50 and Dulles Airport.

Emily Ristau | 540-454-9083

Cricket Bedford | 540-229-3201

Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed. For more information and more property options please go to thomasandtalbot.com.

2 South Madison Street | PO Box 500 | Middleburg, VA 20118 | Office: 540-687-6500 | Fax: 540-687-8899 | thomasandtalbot.com JUNE 1 9 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H INGTONB LAD E.COM • 5 5 Washington Blade_Listing Ad.indd 1

6/16/20 2:29 PM