Washingtonblade.com, Volume 51, Issue 48, November 27, 2020

(Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Virtual holiday fun

Local choruses, theaters find ways to celebrate amid COVID, PAGE 20

NOVEMBER 27, 2020 • VOLUME 51 • ISSUE 48 • WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

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Casa Ruby marks Trans Day of Remembrance Upwards of 100 people gathered in Dupont Circle on Nov. 20 for a Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil.

Casa Ruby organized the event, which was part of the organization’s “Trans Lives Matter” campaign it launched earlier in the week.

The Rev. Richard Weinberg of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado are among those who spoke before Casa Ruby staffers read the names of more than 50 trans people who have died over the last year. They include Alice Carter, a homeless trans woman who died in D.C. last December, and Yunieski “Yuni” Carey Herrera, a Cuban-born trans woman who was brutally stabbed to death inside her Miami apartment on Nov. 16.

A woman interrupted Corado as she spoke, but former D.C. Council candidate Randy Downs intervened and was able to keep the heckler away from the Dupont Circle Fountain where the vigil took place. Everyone who attended was wearing a mask to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

Gwendolyn Ann Smith organized the first Transgender Day of Remembrance as a way to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman murdered inside her Boston apartment in 1998.

President-elect Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among those who acknowledged the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Friday. President Trump made no such public acknowledgment.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Casa Ruby CEO RUBY CORADO speaks at a Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil in Dupont Circle on Nov. 20. (Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Workers remove contents of Baltimore’s Grand Central Any chance of Baltimore’s Grand Central nightclub ever reopening after the pandemic was pretty much wiped out last weekend, as a work crew cleared out its contents to make way for construction of an office building called City House Charles.

The work is a sign that Landmark Partners, which bought the club last year from founder Don Davis, is getting Workers removed the contents of Grand Central last week.

(Photo by Ed Gunts) ready to begin work on an eight-story building that will incorporate the front portions of Grand Central at 1001 and 1003 N. Charles Street, with new construction behind.

From 1991 until this March, Grand Central was one of the largest gay-friendly clubs in Baltimore. It was closed in March when the state shut down businesses to prevent the spread of COVID-19, then reopened over the summer to sell packaged goods and cocktails-to-go. Owners Jon Pannoni and George Watson closed it again in September,

after they were cited for violating a mayor’s executive order prohibiting indoor service.

Gary Grant, one of the men removing items from the building, said it was the 27th bar, restaurant or nightclub that he has cleaned out between Harrisburg, Pa., and Washington, D.C., since the pandemic took hold in March.

Grant left many items on the sidewalk for people to take as souvenirs and packed the rest in a truck to haul away. Before he locked up for good, Grant allowed a few passersby to take one last look at the interior, with the shelves behind the bar empty of liquor and the barstools, tables and other accoutrements removed.

More sad news came this week when word got out that The Mount Vernon Stable & Saloon, a popular gay-friendly restaurant and bar one block south of Grand Central at 909 North Charles, known for its spare ribs and its faux Egyptian sarcophagus hanging from the ceiling, would be not be reopening after the pandemic.

Across the street, owners of The Manor Restaurant and Ultralounge, a gay-owned business that took over the former Elephant restaurant building at 924 North Charles Street, announced that it will reopen on Wednesday, Dec. 2.

That’s one day before the annual lighting of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Place, the unofficial gay start of the holiday season in Baltimore. The lighting ceremony, which provides an excuse for residents all around Mount Vernon to throw parties, has been turned into a “virtual” event this year, viewable only on TV. ED GUNTS

Herring defends Va. non-discrimination law Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring continues to defend a state law that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Herring last week filed an opposition to the preliminary injunction and a memo in support of a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a wedding photographer who says the Virginia Values Act violates his First Amendment rights.

“We are all Virginians and we all deserve to live in this commonwealth without the fear of being discriminated against because of what we look like, who we love, where we come from, or how we worship,” Herring said in a statement. “I will do everything in my power to defend the Virginia Values Act and make sure that it continues to protect Virginia’s LGBTQ community.”

The Virginia Values Act went into effect on July 1 and prohibits anti-LGBTQ discrimination in housing, public and private employment, public accommodations, and access to credit. It was the first southern state to adopt these types of protections for the LGBTQ community. Violations could be met with fines of up to $50,000.

The lawsuit, filed in September by Loudoun County wedding photographer Bob Updegrove, argues the law forces him to photograph same-sex weddings, even though he is opposed to marriage equality because of his faith.

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Jonathan Scruggs, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-LGBTQ legal organization representing plaintiffs in two lawsuits against the law, claims it places the photographer in an impossible position between promoting “views against their faith” and violating the law.

“The government cannot demand that artists create content that violates their deepest convictions,” Scruggs said in a statement posted to the Alliance Defending Freedom’s website.

In his filing, Herring stressed the importance of the law for protecting LGBTQ Virginians, citing a national survey that states one in four LGBTQ has experienced discrimination because of their sexual orientation “Anti-discrimination laws have been adopted and implemented at both the state and federal levels without running afoul of the constitutional guarantee of free speech,” Herring said in the filing. “The Virginia Values Act prohibits specific discriminatory acts but has nothing to say about any particular message or expression. In other words … the Act regulates conduct not speech; it does not compel the plaintiff to engage in speech with which he disagrees; and it is content neutral.”

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D.C. Council committee approves bill to ban LGBTQ panic defense Measure also revises hate crimes law to close ‘loophole’

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The D.C. Council’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously on Monday to approve a bill supported by LGBTQ activists that bans the use of the so-called gay and transgender panic defense in criminal trials, clearing the way for the expected passage of the legislation by the full Council in December.

Supporters of the legislation say it is needed to prevent defense attorneys from inappropriately asking juries to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression is to blame for a defendant’s criminal act, including murder.

The attorneys have argued that their clients “panicked” after discovering the person against whom they committed a violent crime was gay or transgender, prompting them to act in a way they believed to be a form of self-defense.

The measure approved by the Council committee, the Bella Evangelista and Tony Hunter Panic Defense Prohibition and Hate Crimes Response Amendment Act of 2020, also calls for revising the city’s hate crimes law to clarify a provision that prosecutors say has confused juries.

LGBTQ supportive prosecutors say the provision – which is also part of hate crimes laws in other states as well as in the federal hate crimes statute – has been interpreted by judges to require proof by prosecutors that hatred was the sole motive of a crime such as assault or murder rather than just one of other possible motives. Legal observers have said the “sole” motivating requirement is often difficult to prove and has resulted in juries finding defendants not guilty of a hate crime.

The bill approved by the Council committee on Monday clarifies that hatred need not be the sole motivating factor for an underlying crime such as assault, murder, or threats by stating, “A designated act need not solely be based on or because of an accused’s prejudice.”

The Maryland Legislature earlier this year approved a bill making a similar change to the Maryland hate crimes statute. And U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced a bill in February calling for the same clarification of motive in the U.S. Mathew Shephard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The bill has been stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The D.C. bill is named after Bella Evangelista, a transgender woman who was shot to death on a D.C. street in 2003 by a 22-year-old man; and after Tony Randolph Hunter, a gay man who died from a head injury sustained from a fall after witnesses said he was attacked and assaulted by a 20-year-old man while walking to a gay bar in 2008. The men charged

D.C. Council Chair PHIL MENDELSON (D-At-Large) introduced a version of the bill to ban the LGBT panic defense last year.

(Blade photo by Michael Key)

in the two cases attempted to use the panic defense after their arrests.

D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) and Council member David Grosso (I-At-Large) introduced separate versions of the bill to ban the LGBT panic defense last year. The two bills were similar except for a provision in Grosso’s bill calling for expanding the ban on use of the panic defense from a victim’s sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to that of race, color, religion,

national origin, and disability.

The bill approved by the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Monday does not include the expanded categories of hate crime victims in the Grosso bill.

“I’m a passionate supporter of the human rights of criminal defendants, a fair and swift trial, and alternatives to incarceration,” Grosso said in a statement at the time he introduced his bill. “All of that is possible, though, without resorting to a defense that is premised on bias against lesbians, gay, bi and transgender individuals,” he said. “A defense that exploits bias simply should not be acceptable.”

Among those speaking in favor of the bill during Monday’s committee hearing were Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who chairs the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee; and Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2).

“With this important bill, no longer will a defendant be able to justify, excuse or mitigate their violent and egregious and unacceptable conduct,” Pinto said. “With this bill, LGBTQ plus District residents will enjoy the full protection of the law. With this bill, those who commit violence against them will no longer be able to escape criminal liability for their violent act.”

Comings & Goings

Widomski wins prestigious award from DHS

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

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.

Congratulations to Erik J. Raser-Schramm on his new position as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer in New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer’s administration.

Raser-Schramm is leaving his volunteer job as Delaware Democratic Party Chairman to accept this position. He said he is stepping down because “he didn’t want to create a conflict of interest when joining Meyer’s administration.”

“We pledged to hire the best and brightest to run your county government, and we are excited to add Erik to the team. He is an all-star,” Meyer said. “As Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, he’ll be in charge of a lot of the day to day happenings in New Castle County.”

Raser-Schramm added, “I’m excited for the new opportunity, and proud of what we accomplished together as Delaware Democrats. Winning elections is obviously the goal of a political party, but it’s how we did it that I’m proud of the most. We worked hard to open up our Party to hundreds of new activists, donors, campaign staff, and candidates, who now feel at home under the Delaware Democratic Party banner.”

He has worked in a number of areas, including until now being managing partner of The Twelve Seven Group, in Townsend, Del. Other positions he has held include serving as chief of staff to the House Majority Caucus of the Delaware House of Representatives; and as assistant director of the Kelly Heinz-Grundner Brain Tumor Foundation in Wilmington, Del. He began his career as a First Grade Special Education Teacher, Brookside Elementary School, Newark, Del. Congratulations also to Michael J. Widomski who is one of two people named the 2020 CISAzen of the year by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the U.S. 0 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 • LO CA L NE WS

ERIC RASER-SCHRAMM

MICHAEL J. WIDOMSKI

Department of Homeland Security. Upon being named, he said, “I’m incredibly proud to be associated with the leadership and entire workforce at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Working at the agency responsible for a safe and secure election will be one of my proudest moments in government.”

Widomski is an experienced senior external affairs advisor. He is currently chief for workforce engagement at the U.S Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Office of Workforce Engagement. Over the years he has held a number of different positions at the agency.

At one point between jobs at the agency he worked as director of communication and executive affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Weather Service (NWS).

One of his positions at Homeland Security was with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as lead public affairs officer and he served as the direct senior advisor to the Federal Coordinating Officer for the recovery efforts for the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

Widomski earned his bachelor’s in Communication Arts from Gannon University, Erie, Pa. He has a master’s in radio-television-film from the University of Maryland, and a master’s of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College, in Carlisle, Pa.

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Court strikes down bans on conversion therapy Trump judges call measures a violation of free speech

By CHRIS JOHNSON | cjohnson@washblade.com

that the efforts are harmful and doomed to fail: when these efforts predictably fail to A federal appeals court has issued a major blow against bans on conversion therapy produce the expected result, many LGBTQ children are kicked out of their homes.” for youth by ruling they violate the First Amendment, setting up a split within the judiciary Jennings also pointed out the ruling came from Trump-appointed judges, accusing that could lead the U.S. Supreme Court to adjudicate the issue on a nationwide basis. the Trump administration of having packed the judiciary at a time when progressives are In a 2-1 decision written by U.S. Circuit Judge Britt Grant, a three-judge panel on calling for the expansion of the court under the Biden administration, which has been the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta determined municipal bans on criticized by the other side as an attempt conversion therapy for youth in the cities at court packing. of Boca Raton and Palm Beach in Florida “We fear that today’s decision may contravene the freedom of speech under be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the First Amendment. the harm that may come from a federal “We understand and appreciate that judiciary that has been packed for the last the therapy is highly controversial,” Grant four years with dangerous ideologues,” writes. “But the First Amendment has no Jennings said. “The damage done by this carveout for controversial speech. We hold misguided opinion is incalculable and that the challenged ordinances violate puts young people in danger.” the First Amendment because they are Robert Otto and Julie Hamilton, who content-based regulations of speech that have engaged in conversion therapy cannot survive strict scrutiny.” with minors in Florida despite warnings Joining Grant in the opinion was U.S. against the practice, had challenged the Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa, both of municipal ordinances in the litigation and whom are Trump-appointed judges. Logoa were represented by the Liberty Counsel, was on the short-list of President Trump’s an anti-LGBTQ legal group. potential choices to replace the late U.S. Mat Staver, chair of the Liberty Counsel, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on hailed the decision against bans on the Supreme Court before he ended up conversion therapy in a statement as a choosing Amy Coney Barrett. win for free speech and predicting similar Grant takes pain to show bans on Two judges appointed by PRESIDENT TRUMP ruled against bans on so-called conversion therapy. rulings would follow. conversion therapy should be subject to “This is a huge victory for counselors strict scrutiny because they are contentand their clients to choose the counsel of based restrictions, and neither the local their choice free of political censorship from government ideologues,” Staver said. “This government’s insistence their professional regulations nor claims the speech is actually case is the beginning of the end of similar unconstitutional counseling bans around the conduct can lower that bar. country.”

“The First Amendment does not protect the right to speak about banned speech; Conversion therapy for youth is banned in D.C., Puerto Rico and 20 states: Connecticut, it protects speech itself, no matter how disagreeable that speech might be to the California, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New Mexico, Rhode government,” Grant writes. “And what good would it do for a therapist whose client Island, Washington State, Maryland, Hawaii, Virginia, Utah, Massachusetts, Colorado, sought SOCE therapy to tell the client that she thought the therapy could be helpful, New York, Maine and New Hampshire. but could not offer it? It only matters that some words about sexuality and gender are The cities of Boca Raton and Palm Beach have two options to appeal the decision and allowed, and others are not.” could either seek “en banc” review before the full Eleventh Circuit or petition the U.S. The practice of therapy aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or Supreme Court for review. transgender status is considered ineffectual at best and harmful at worst. Major medical Jamie Cole, a partner with Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman P.L. and co-counsel and psychological institutions, including the American Psychological Association, for the City of Boca Raton, said via email to the Washington Blade the legal team is the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association and the American weighing its next steps.

Academy of Pediatrics, widely reject conversion therapy.

“This is a difficult legal issue, as evidenced by the split decision,” Cole said. “The city As a result of the decision, the three-judge panel reverses the preliminary injunction is disappointed with the majority decision, but agrees with the well-written and wellfrom U.S. District Judge Robin Lee Rosenberg in December upholding the bans on reasoned dissent. The city is analyzing the decision to determine how to proceed.” conversion therapy Boca Raton and Palm Beach counties. Further, the appeals court Helene Hvisd, senior assistant county attorney for Palm Beach County, said the remands the case back to Rosenberg for review to deliver a new ruling consistent with municipality “continues to review the majority and dissenting opinions as we weigh our guidance on the First Amendment. options.”

Dissenting to the opinion was U.S. Circuit Judge Beverly Martin, an Obama appointee The Eleventh Circuit decision creates a split among circuit courts on the constitutionality who concluded the majority’s opinion on freedom of speech is off the mark. of bans on conversion therapy. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Ninth “The majority is correct to say this case implicates sensitive considerations about when Circuit Court of Appeals have previously upheld these bans as constitutional. and how government bodies may regulate speech,” Martin writes. “Instances in which a The spilt among the circuits on the issue may prompt the Supreme Court to take speech restriction is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest are deservedly rare. up the issue to resolve the constitutional issue on a nationwide basis — provided the But they do exist. I believe the localities’ narrow regulation of a harmful medical practice municipalities submit a petition for review. affecting vulnerable minors falls within the narrow band of permissibility.”

Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, discouraged Because of the 11th Circuit decision, any state or municipality within the jurisdiction via email to the Washington Blade any attempt to call for resolution of the issue before — which constitutes Alabama, Georgia and Florida — would be unable to enact bans on Supreme Court, which now has a 6-3 conservative majority as a result of Trump-appointed conversion therapy. Moreover, existing bans on conversion therapy in Florida — which picks. exist in around two dozen municipalities, including Miami, Tampa and Wilton Manors — “I do not think this issue is ripe for Supreme Court review,” Minter said. “Today’s ruling are unconstitutional. is an outlier by two Trump-appointed judges. As the dissent points out, the decision Kevin Jennings, CEO of the LGBT legal group Lambda Legal, condemned the decision is not well grounded in precedent and ignores what the dissent rightly describes as a in a statement as “a marked departure from precedent and an incredibly dangerous “mountain of rigorous evidence” that conversion therapy puts minors at risk of serious decision for our youth.” harms.”

“So-called ‘conversion therapy’ is nothing less than child abuse,” Jennings said. “It poses Minter urged the municipalities to take another course of action, saying “because the documented and proven critical health risks, including depression, shame, decreased majority opinion here is so off track, seeking en banc review would be more appropriate self-esteem, social withdrawal, substance abuse, self-harm and suicide. Youth are often than seeking Supreme Court review.” subjected to these practices at the insistence of parents who don’t know or don’t believe 1 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 • NAT I O NA L NE WS

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Melania Trump wanted WH lit up in rainbow colors for Pride Mark Meadows thwarted the plan, sources say

First lady MELANIA TRUMP reportedly wanted to acknowledge Pride month.

By CHRIS JOHNSON | cjohnson@washblade.com

(Screen capture via YouTube)

First lady Melania Trump said she wanted to light up the White House in rainbow colors for LGBTQ Pride Month in June, but the plan never came to fruition at a time when Mark Meadows as chief of staff played a role in blocking any sign of solidarity with the LGBTQ community, according to two Republican sources familiar with her plans who spoke exclusively to the Washington Blade.

Meadows had a significant role, one Republican source said on condition of anonymity, in ensuring the Trump White House ignored Pride Month, which is why President Trump didn’t send out a tweet to recognize the annual LGBTQ celebration as he did in 2019. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Meadows weighed in specifically on shutting down the rainbow lighting proposal at the White House.

Had the first lady succeeded in lighting the White House in rainbow colors, it would have been the first time that occurred since the Obama administration lit up the building after the Supreme Court ruling for same-sex marriage in 2015. Such a move by Trump would have symbolized a tremendous change for the Republican Party, which has a long history of animosity toward LGBTQ people.

Melania Trump ended up signaling support for the LGBTQ community months later just before the election in a video for Outspoken, the media project for Log Cabin Republicans, in contrast to Meadows, who has publicly railed against same-sex marriage and built an antiLGBTQ record in Congress as a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Neither the White House nor the first lady’s office responded to the Washington Blade’s request for comment for this article. The decision against lighting up the White House came at a time when many leaders in the LGBTQ community made the decision to cancel Pride Month parades and celebrations amid the coronavirus pandemic in recognition of dangers to public health and the rising death toll worldwide.

Pride Month this year also came shortly after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, which prompted greater social awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement and drew resources and activism LGBTQ advocates once expended on annual Pride celebrations.

Ironically, in the aftermath of Floyd’s death, some progressives criticized President Trump on social media for his response by sharing misleading memes on social media depicting one image of the White House lit up in rainbow colors during the Obama years, and another image of the White House darkened with no lights said to be taken at a time when Trump had retreated to a bunker. (The image of the darkened White House was later revealed to have

been taken during the Obama administration.)

In the video Melania Trump made for Log Cabin Republicans just before Election Day, she insisted her husband supports gay people and blamed any perception Trump is anti-LGBTQ on the political establishment.

“I was shocked to discover that some of these powerful people have tried to paint my husband as anti-gay or against equality,” Melania Trump said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Donald loves helping people, and he loves seeing those around him and his country succeed.”

The first lady’s claims fly in the face of the Trump administration’s long list of anti-LGBTQ actions, including the transgender military ban and arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court against LGBTQ protections under federal civil rights law.

Although Trump’s supporters say he’s the first president to enter the White House in support of same-sex marriage based on remarks he made after the 2016 election saying he’s “fine” with the Supreme Court decision in favor of it, critics point out those words don’t equate to supporting marriage equality and Trump ran on opposition to same-sex marriage in 2016.

Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes mostly unchanged in 2019: FBI Maryland among states submitting less data

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The number of hate crime incidents targeting gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the United States decreased slightly from 17.0 percent of the total number of hate crime incidents reported to the FBI in 2018 to 16.7 percent of the total number reported in 2019, according to the FBI’s annual Hate Crimes Statistics Report released Nov. 16.

The report shows that the number of hate crime incidents targeting victims because of their gender identity, listed as either transgender or gender nonconforming, increased slightly from 2.4 percent in 2018 to 2.7 percent in 2019.

According to the report, the total number of hate crimes reported to the FBI by law enforcement agencies throughout the country also decreased slightly from 7,120 in 2018 to 7,103 in 2019.

Similar to 2018, the 2019 report shows that hate crimes targeting victims because of their race, ethnicity, or ancestry accounted for 57.6 percent of the total number of hate crime incidents – by far the largest victim category.

The 2019 report shows that victims targeted for hate crimes because of their religion were the second highest victim category at 20.1 percent. Victims targeted for their sexual orientation – listed as gay, lesbian, or bisexual – comprise the third largest victim category at 16.7 percent, the report shows.

The other victim categories in order of the percentage of incidents against them are gender identity, which includes transgender and gender nonconforming people, at 2.7 percent; people with disabilities, 2.0 percent; and victims targeted solely for their gender, at 0.9 percent.

The FBI report says there were a total of 1,195 hate crime incidents targeting victims because of their sexual orientation.

Out of that figure, 746 are listed as anti-gay male, 115 as antilesbian, 17 listed as anti-heterosexual, and 26 listed as antibisexual.

The report says there were 198 hate crime incidents reported by law enforcement agencies targeting victims for their gender identity. Out of that number, 151 are listed as antitransgender and 47 are listed as anti-gender non-conforming.

The report says that in 2019, 15,588 law enforcement agencies participated in the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics program. Of these agencies, the report says, 2,172 reported 7,314 hate crimes incidents involving 8,559 offenses.

It says the law enforcement agencies reported 7,103 “singlebias incidents” that involved 8,302 offenses, 8,552 victims, and 6,268 known offenders. In this separate category of single-bias incidents, the report shows that sexual orientation bias comprised 16.8 percent of the single-bias incidents and gender identity bias made up 2.8 percent of the singlebias incidents. Each of those two categories had a tenth of a percent higher figure than in the category of regular incidents, which could include more than one type of bias.

In a section of the report that breaks down the number of hate crime incidents reported to the FBI in 2019 by all 50 states and D.C., the report shows that Maryland law enforcement agencies reported only 19 hate crime incidents for the entire state. Seven of the incidents targeted the victim because of their race/ethnicity/ancestry, four were targeted for their

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religion, seven for their sexual orientation, one for disability and none for either their gender or gender identity, according to the FBI report.

The report’s data for Maryland shows that no hate crimes were reported in 2019 for the city of Baltimore and that the Baltimore Police Department did not participate in the submission of data.

However, a separate State of Maryland 2019 Hate Bias Report prepared by the Maryland Department of State Police, for which reporting of hate crimes is mandatory under Maryland law, a total of 408 hate crime incidents were reported in 2019 for the state of Maryland. Of that total, 84 were listed hate crimes targeting victims because of their sexual orientation and nine were for hate crimes targeting someone for their gender identity, the Maryland report shows.

A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department didn’t respond to a message from the Washington Blade asking why the department did not submit hate crimes data for the FBI report.

The FBI report shows that D.C. police and other D.C. law enforcement agencies reported a total of 222 hate crime incidents in D.C. in 2019, with 65 targeting victims because of their sexual orientation and 27 targeting victims for their gender identity.

The report says law enforcement agencies in Virginia reported a total of 163 hate crime incidents in Virginia in 2019, with 27 targeting victims for their sexual orientation and three targeting victims for their gender identity.

10

THINGS LGBTQ PEOPLE AND PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV NEED FROM THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION

1.

Repair our federal courts.

2.

Protect marriage equality.

3.

End policies granting “licenses to discriminate” to those opposed to LGBTQ equality.

4.

Reverse executive orders promoting white supremacy and xenophobia.

5.

End the transgender military ban.

6.

Defend, don’t attack, transgender kids.

7.

Promote LGBTQ access to affordable and nondiscriminatory healthcare.

8.

Stop separating immigrant and LGBTQ families.

9.

End the military’s discrimination against servicemembers with HIV.

10. Remove barriers to asylum for people fleeing persecution, including LGBTQ people.

Donations made before December 31st will be matched up to $250,000. To support the fight, visit lambdalegal.org/Challenge21.

NOV E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 3

Unrest in Hong Kong had some wondering about viability of the Gay Games there in 2022, but organizers say the event will be held.

90,000 expected to attend 2022 Gay Games in Hong Kong Contingency plans to assess impact of COVID, social unrest in city

By LOU CHIBBARO JR | lchibbaro@washblade.com

In a live online webinar broadcast from Hong Kong on Nov. 12, organizers of the 11th quadrennial Gay Games celebrated the start of a two-year countdown for the Nov. 12, 2022 opening ceremony at the Hong Kong Stadium for the world’s largest LGBTQ sports competition and arts and cultural event.

Members of the Gay Games Hong Kong 2022 organizing team, which is an arm of the U.S.-based Federation of Gay Games, told the 79 people who joined the webinar from 29 countries that they expect 12,000 participants, 75,000 spectators, and 3,000 volunteers – a total of at least 90,000 from 100 countries — to take part in the Hong Kong Gay Games.

They noted that 36 sporting events are planned, including traditional sports like soccer, wrestling, volleyball, and figure skating as well as sports more common in Asia such as dragon boat racing, dodgeball, eSports, and trail running.

An outdoor Festival Village will be opened near the harbor in central Hong Kong that will showcase art and cultural events and exhibits as well as performing arts events including daily performances by bands, dance groups, and vocalists that have been associated with the Gay Games for many years, according to literature released by organizers.

Members of the organizing team also pointed to what they consider an historic first. The location of the Gay Games in Hong Kong will mark the first time in its 40-year history that the quadrennial event will be held in Asia.

“Unity is the key message of Gay Games Hong Kong,” said Dennis Philipse, a Hong Kong resident and the founder and co-chair of Gay Games Hong Kong.

“Carrying a torch of empowerment and connection in Hong Kong serves to bring our community together in this important time for our city,” he said in a statement.

“We are excited to welcome all the 12,000 participants and 75,000 spectators from 100 countries to the city as the Games serve to boost the local economy by 1 billion Hong Kong dollars,” he said.

Neither Philipse nor the other Gay Games Hong Kong organizers who spoke at the webinar mentioned the political strife and turmoil that has unfolded in Hong Kong beginning several years ago when pro-democracy protesters began a series of almost daily demonstrations, some of which turned violent.

Many of the protesters said they were raising strong objections to China’s growing efforts in recent years to gain control of the local Hong Kong government that protesters say violates China’s international agreement in 1997 with Great Britain to allow Hong Kong to govern itself in domestic affairs for 50 years as a condition for Britain to cede Hong Kong to China.

The protests and virtually all of the episodes of violence appear to have stopped in July of this year shortly after China intervened by enacting a “national security” law that bypassed Hong Kong’s local legislature and which essentially bans demonstrations against the government of Hong Kong or

China. The law defines such demonstrations as “sedition” and “subversion of state power” and calls for punishment of up to life in prison for violating the new law.

Federation of Gay Games spokesperson Shiv Paul told the Washington Blade in a statement that the Gay Games Hong Kong 2022 organizing team has created a contingency planning committee that has developed plans to address “potential scenarios/risks such as an on-going pandemic, social unrest or unseasonal weather events.”

“We are closely monitoring the health, political, sporting, travel, and international events that could impact the delivery of Gay Games 11 in Hong Kong,” Paul said. “Plans are in development so that we have prepared actions that would assist in mitigating the potential impact of any unfortunate circumstances that might arise.”

Paul added that there has not been a recurrence in “protest violence” in Hong Kong since the new national security law took effect in July of this year.

“The National Security Law (NSL) targets activities that endanger national security (secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces),” he said. “It does not have any bearing on LGBT+ affairs or sporting competitions,” Paul stated in his statement. “Based on our assessment to date, we do not expect the NSL will have any direct impact on the Gay Games taking place in Hong Kong.”

Added Paul, “Once the coronavirus pandemic is more settled, we anticipate Hong Kong will deliver a strong program of events to rebuild the tourism industry and Gay Games Hong Kong will be well timed to be a strong event within these plans.”

Philipse and others who spoke at the Nov. 12 webinar from Hong Kong said LGBTQ supportive sports organizations and businesses in Hong Kong have expressed strong support for the Gay Games and have made financial contributions to support the city’s ability to hold the Games. Organizers also point out that local Hong Kong government officials have also expressed support for the Games.

“Becoming Asia’s first city to host Gay Games isn’t just a cause for pride and celebration for Hong Kong,” said Ricky CHU Man-kin, chairperson of Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission. “It drives home the message that the LGBTI community and indeed all in society deserve to be visible, represented and included in sports and other areas of life,” CHU Man-kin said in a statement released by Gay Games Hong Kong 2022.

A 60-minute video recording of the webinar organized by Gay Games Hong Kong can be accessed through this link: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=0uKXYgHSN0o Additional information about Gay Games Hong Kong 2022 can be accessed here: GGHK2022.com.

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Activists call on Biden-Harris to champion LGBTQ rights abroad Advocacy groups are calling for the incoming Biden-Harris administration to make LGBTQ rights a cornerstone of its foreign policy.

The Council for Global Equality in a policy paper it released after the election calls for the new administration to issue an executive order within its first week in the White House that would lay “the institutional groundwork for supporting global LGBTI rights, transgender equality and reproductive rights.”

The advocacy group is also urging the new administration to “direct that gender issues feature prominently in a Biden foreign policy” and to “rethink religious exemptions to policies, with due consideration given to the public funding and purposes employed.”

The Council for Global Equality, among other things, recommends the Biden-Harris administration nominate openly lesbian and transgender people for ambassadorships and “reinstate promptly” the State Department’s special envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ rights at the level of an ambassador.

The Council for Global Equality recommends the U.S. should rejoin both the U.N. Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization. The Council for Global Equality also calls for the Biden-Harris administration to formally renounce the State Department’s controversial Commission on Unalienable Rights that current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo created last year.

“We are excited to work with the Biden-Harris administration to center the rights of LGBTI individuals in U.S. foreign policy after four devastating years under the Trump administration,” Center for Global Equality Chair Mark Bromley told the Blade on Monday.

The Center for American Progress this week made similar recommendations in its own policy paper that it released. The D.C.-based progressive think tank, like the Council for Global Equality, also calls for Congress to pass the Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality (GLOBE) Act, a bill that would require the U.S. to continue to promote LGBTQ rights abroad through its foreign policy.

The Human Rights Campaign and OutRight Action International have also echoed the

President-elect JOE BIDEN and Vice President-elect KAMALA HARRIS (Blade file photos by Michael Key and Tom Hausman)

Center for American Progress and the Council for Global Equality’s recommendations.

President Obama in 2011 issued a memorandum that made the promotion of LGBTQ rights abroad a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.

The Trump administration did not formalize this directive, but some U.S. diplomats have continued to support gay rights abroad.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Pandemic exacerbates inequities for trans people: study

A new global study has found the coronavirus pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on transgender people’s mental health and economic stability.

The study by a team of seven researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University Center for Public Health and Human Rights found 77 percent of respondents expected a decrease in income. And more than half of them reported losing gender-affirming resources; including surgery delays, inability to purchase beauty products and other factors.

The study is one of the first of its kind to analyze the intersections of economy, mental health and gender-affirming care for trans people.

The team was also purposeful in making the work community-based by involving queer scientists in the study, said Brooke Jarrett, an author of the study who is a queer woman of color and a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at the university.

“I think that this topic is something that … is always lit within us,” said Jarrett. “And so whenever I see an area where there’s an opportunity to highlight, to bring out our voices, I

think it’s so important to do that.”

LGBT Foundation CEO Sean Howell, who is the founder of Hornet, a queer dating app, also served as an author of the study.

He disseminated a survey on the app, as well as on the queer dating app Her, from April to August. It received responses from 76 countries that include Turkey, Thailand and Russia.

More than 900 users participated in the survey, which was translated into 13 languages.

Howell said the team was purposeful in releasing and analyzing this data during the pandemic in hopes it will point to the need for changes to help trans and non-binary people economically and health-wise.

The study found positive screens for depression and anxiety are correlated with access to gender-affirming care, and more than 40 percent of respondents reported losing access to mental health counseling. One in six respondents also expected to lose their health insurance.

KAELA ROEDER

Cuban authorities detain Blade media partner’s editor

Cuban authorities on Sunday detained the managing editor of the Washington Blade’s media partner on the Communist island.

Maykel González Vivero in a series of messages he sent to the Blade shortly after 8 p.m. EST said a police car drove him to a “dark road” about 15 miles outside of Havana and released him. González a few hours earlier in a post on his Facebook page wrote he is “a journalist and I am going to get myself detained now by the police. Without force. Without drama.”

González has backed members of the San Isidro Movement, a group of independent artists, who are currently on a hunger strike to protest the rapper Denis Solís’ arrest earlier this month.

Authorities on Sunday also detained Luz Escobar, a reporter for 14ymedio, an independent website founded by Yoani Sánchez, a prominent critic of the Cuban government.

Florida Congresswoman-elect María Elvira Salazar on Sunday in a tweet in response to González’s detention said the “Castro regime continues to arbitrarily arrest, beat-up and persecute all those who dare to speak their minds.”

“This latest wave of repression exposes the barbaric tactics the socialist regime employs to oppress the people of Cuba in violation of all basic human rights,” tweeted Salazar.

The State Department’s 2019 human rights report notes the Cuban government “does not recognize independent journalists” and they “sometimes faced government harassment, including detention and physical abuse.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

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MAYKEL GONZÁLEZ VIVERO (Blade photo by Michael Key)

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KEVIN NAFF

is editor of the Washington Blade.

Reach him at knaff@washblade.com

Even in defeat, Trump has already won Effort to pack courts with right-wing judges bears early fruit

By KEVIN NAFF

As progressives celebrate Donald Trump’s defeat and the end of an anti-LGBTQ administration, the cold, hard reality of his damaging four-year tenure hit home last week.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled that bans on conversion therapy for youth in Boca Raton and Palm Beach violate freedom of speech protections under the First Amendment.

The surprise ruling represents a major setback for the movement to ban so-called “conversion therapy,” the absurd and widely discredited practice of attempting to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It also illustrates that while Trump’s disastrous three Supreme Court picks are bad, his effort to pack lower courts with rightwing ideologues could be worse.

The Eleventh Circuit ruling was a 2-1 decision; both judges who voted to overturn the bans are Trump appointees. Conversion therapy for youth is banned in D.C., Puerto Rico and 20 states. The result of this decision could imperil conversion therapy bans across the country.

Because of the decision, any state or municipality within the jurisdiction — which includes Alabama, Georgia, and Florida — would be unable to enact bans on conversion therapy. Existing bans on conversion therapy in Florida — which are found in two dozen municipalities, including Miami, Tampa, and Wilton Manors — are unconstitutional, as the Blade reported last week.

Legal experts are already warning not to pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, due to its new 6-3 conservative majority. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told the Blade: “I do not think this issue is ripe for Supreme Court review. Today’s ruling is an outlier by two Trump-appointed judges. As the dissent points out, the decision is not well grounded in precedent and ignores what the dissent rightly describes as a ‘mountain of rigorous evidence’ that conversion therapy puts minors at risk of serious harms.”

Trump has appointed about a quarter of all active federal judges in the United States, according to a study by the Pew Research Center, which noted that 85 percent of those picks were white. Although President Obama appointed a higher percentage of federal judges in eight years, Pew notes: “Trump, however, stands out for his unusually large number of appeals court judges — the powerful regional jurists who have the final word on most appeals that do not end up in the Supreme Court.”

Meanwhile, in her first week as a Supreme Court justice, Amy Coney Barrett heard her first LGBTQ-related case. In the case of Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Catholic Social Services argues a First Amendment right to refuse to place children with same-sex couples, despite the city’s laws barring anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Oral arguments didn’t go well for the city. As the Blade reported: “During oral arguments, conservative justices — displaying open animosity toward non-discrimination rules for religious institutions — seemed poised to rule to allow Catholic Social Services to reject LGBTQ couples in foster care services.”

It’s hard to overstate the negative impact of a bad decision in Fulton, which would trigger an avalanche of discrimination against not just LGBTQ Americans, but religious and racial minorities, in areas of life from housing to hospitals.

It may well turn out that 2020 wasn’t the most important election of our lifetime, as many insisted. Instead, that distinction belongs to 2016. Hillary Clinton’s loss will reverberate for decades to come as Trump’s right-wing judges roll back the hard-fought progress of the LGBTQ movement. Today, it’s adoption rights in Philadelphia. Tomorrow, it will undoubtedly be the Obergefell marriage ruling in the crosshairs as the court moves to create the “skim milk marriage” that Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned about.

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PETER ROSENSTEIN

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

Trump’s attempted coup fails Good riddance to bad rubbish

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

President Donald Trump’s attempted coup has failed but will undoubtedly do lasting damage to our democracy. It has already done irreparable damage to the mental health of the nation.

Trump has proven once again he is a sick egomaniac and wannabe banana republic dictator. He has become what he detests the most — a loser. I have written before one of the reasons he is clinging to office by his fingernails is because he is aware of what awaits him when the cloak of the presidency is lifted. Trump is head of a failing crime family and is acting the part.

But he has misread our democracy and our laws are stronger than he is. The battleground states he lost in this election, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin are now having their votes certified and will send Democratic electors to the Electoral College who will vote to make Joe Biden our 46th president. The drama Trump is creating with his lawsuits and tweets will be over on Dec. 14 when the electors meet to cast their ballots.

Each day Trump doesn’t recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect is distressing and dangerous for the nation. It took nearly three weeks for him to finally give Biden access to information he needs when GSA began a formal transition process.

Trump still tweeted he will win.

Acts like that of Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, a Trump sycophant, to end funding agreements with the Federal Reserve will hurt not only business owners and stockholders but more crucially employees who will lose their jobs causing more people to go hungry, lose their homes and even die.

Then there is Trump’s legal team, which even Chris Christie sees as a joke. It is headed by Rudy Giuliani who has turned into a raving lunatic spreading lies and spouting far-fetched scenarios including one that a long dead President of Venezuela was involved in stealing this election from Trump. He held one press conference in a garden center opposite a porno store and a crematorium and another in the lobby of the Republican National Committee where dark dye was running down his face and he spewed one lie after another. Some who remembered his stint in drag at a New York Gridiron dinner suggested in his dotage he has even forgotten how to apply makeup. In all seriousness it is astounding how far he has fallen from what once was a stellar, if unearned, reputation as “America’s Mayor.”

Finally more Republicans are beginning to call for Trump to give up the ghost and to recognize Biden as the president-elect. The holdouts are the dregs of the Republican Party, including Sens. Moscow Mitch (R-Ken.) and Ms. Graham (R-S.C.).

Democrats now need to win both Senate run-off races in Georgia to make sure those two clowns aren’t in the majority.

Nearly every foreign leader including the Pope, with the exception of Putin, has called to congratulate Biden. They are all thrilled not to have to deal with Trump anymore.

Those of us who supported Biden are being rewarded as he names incredible people to his administration. He is keeping his promise to name an administration that looks like America. There are already a couple of firsts with Janet Yellen the first woman to become Secretary of the Treasury and Avril Haines the first woman to be named DNI. Others in his Cabinet include Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant of Jewish descent to be Secretary of Homeland Security, Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Ambassador to the United Nations. I am sure there will be other stellar people named including, Pete Buttigieg to positions in the administration.

The longer Trump keeps saying he can win he becomes more of a laughing stock around the world and he will do grave damage to our national security as our enemies will take advantage where they can. So like many other Americans I just can’t wait for him to go away; good riddance to bad trash.

JULIA SCOTTI

is a nationally headlining comedian, former teacher, author, speaker, and woman of trans experience. She was a quarter-finalist and fan favorite on season 11 of America’s Got Talent on NBC in 2016. She currently has a comedy special on SHOWTIME called ‘More Women of a Certain Age.’

At last, contemplating trans life after Trump Take a deep breath and raise your voices

By JULIA SCOTTI

I don’t know about you, but as a woman of transgender experience, this election scared the hell out of me. If the worst had happened and Trump had won, I was prepared. My ‘go’ bag was packed and I was ready to hop aboard a tramp steamer as a stowaway and get the hell outta Dodge.

I had decided that it would be safe if I relocated to American Samoa because I was 98% sure that Donnie had no idea that it was an American territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and 100% sure that he could never find it on a map.

The whole idea was fraught with fear and doubt. I don’t speak Samoan, am deathly afraid of sharks and I hate the heat. I’m also reasonably sure there are no diners there and I cannot exist without them. I am, after all, from New Jersey.

So now, with my go bag unpacked and comforted in knowing that he will be gone in January, I can exhale on the lanai of my palatial estate in the active adult community in which I reside and contemplate more important things during the recent Trans Awareness Week, like life after Trump.

It would be easy to point to all of the sins he’s tried to commit against our community, but why waste my breath? We know of his hatred for us. No one needs to be made any more ‘aware’ of it than they already are. Instead, I choose to make the world aware of what we have to offer society and ask only one thing in payment; show us your humanity.

Don’t pander to us because it’s required. Instead, see us for our wellspring of talent and utilize it. Don’t hurt us because you believe we are not like you, because we ARE you. Let us live in peace among you and welcome us into your community and you will find in very short order that you have nothing to fear from us. We want the same things you do; a home, a job, someone to love, a family who loves us.

Part of Awareness also means that you know our struggles, especially as they pertain to our minority brothers and sisters. Violence across the board is on the rise.

In the first seven months of 2020, more Trans folks were murdered than in all of 2019, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality U. S. Transgender Survey. On November 20th, we remember those humans who left this world against their will at the hands of another person.

There are also other statistics that are equally chilling. Out of more than 28,000 respondents, 47% of all Black respondents reported being denied equal treatment, verbally harassed, and/or physically attacked in the previous year for the crime of being transgender; 30% of all Latino respondents reported the same. And 57% of ALL respondents were afraid to go to the police when they needed help.

I have lived my truth now for over 20 years. I’ve not let obstacles stop my progress. My goal in life is to make myself visible to those who would deny me the right to do the thing I love more than anything; entertain and make audiences laugh. My blessing is that I’ve achieved that goal. But there are so many others out there who want to share their gifts and humanity with you. Let them. And while you’re at it, share yours with them.

To our new president-we expect a lot from you. You have stood up for us in the past. Your recent appointment of Shawn Skelly as part of the Defense Department transition team is proof that you have our interests at heart.

But more than anything else, Mr. President-elect, I know in my heart and can see in your eyes that your humanity guides you to treat others with respect and dignity.

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Holiday musical productions go virtual Region’s choruses, theaters preparing online celebrations

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

This year’s Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington Holiday Show will stream Dec. 5-20. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

“Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat…”

The holidays are upon us and while the parameters of how we mark the season may have changed, many of the melodic celebrations are still taking place – only differently. Here’s a smattering of virtual offerings.

In honor of its 40th anniversary season, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., presents “The Holiday Show,” streaming Dec. 5-20. The virtual event features some of the chorus’ best tunes from holiday shows past, plus many never-before-seen virtual performances and a virtual holiday sing-a-long. Songs will include “Sleigh Ride,” “The 12 Rockin’ Days of Christmas,” “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy,” “Jingle Bells,” “Boogie Boogie Frosty,” and “Silent Night.”

For further details and ticket information go to Gmcw.org.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is hosting a Pre-Hanukkah Global Celebration Concert, a virtual concert, taking place on Dec. 6. This is a one-of-a-kind program featuring performances by Academy Award-winning film composer Hans Zimmer, Israel Philharmonic Music Director Lahav Shani, and musicians of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

The program is free and accessible to all, streamed via YouTube on AFIPO’s site, and on Facebook. RSVP at Afipo.org/mmm-rsvp/.

In conjunction with George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, Step Afrika! presents “Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show,” on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Spotlighting the African-American tradition of stepping, a percussive, highly energetic art form first developed through the song and dance rituals performed by African-American fraternities and sororities, the family fun show features characters from the Arctic Kingdom— Popper the Penguin along with polar bear twins, Pinky and Polo stepping in time for the holidays. This holiday event can be streamed free of charge at Stepafrika.org.

For many Washington area theatergoers, the holidays aren’t complete without a performance of Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker.” To help ensure that the tradition endures, The Washington Ballet is working on putting together a delightful virtual Nutcracker experience with behind-the-scenes content, interviews, special performances, 2 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 • A &E

and more.

For unfolding details go to washingtonballet.org.

Folger Consort‘s Christmas concert, another beloved D.C. tradition, will be available to stream on-demand from Dec. 11 through Jan. 5. As its centerpiece, the concert features Bach’s cantata BWV140, Wachet auf (Sleepers Wake) along with other German holiday favorites paired with English and American Yuletide music from the early music tradition.

The concert was filmed at St. Mark’s on Capitol Hill. For tickets and further information go to Folger.edu/consort.

Maestro Luke Frazier and The American Pops Orchestra (APO) present “Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas with Vanessa Williams,” premiering Tuesday, Dec. 15 on PBS, PBS. org and the PBS Video App. Filmed in front of a small, socially distanced live audience under strict COVID-19 mitigation procedures at the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C., the concert reinterprets Ella Fitzgerald’s classic 1960 holiday album comprised of American songs of the season like “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” “Sleigh Ride” and “Winter Wonderland.” In addition to the fabulous Vanessa Williams, the cast of stellar vocalists includes Broadway’s Dee Dee Bridgewater, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Morgan James, Norm Lewis, and local favorite Nova Y. Payton.

The Washington Chorus (TWC) is reimagining its annual “Candlelight Christmas: Live at the Music Center at Strathmore” (Dec. 18-20) in a beautifully produced show filmed live at the Music Center at Strathmore with socially distanced performances, guest soloists, and carol sing-alongs.

TWC’s concert is one hour with no intermission and features members of The Washington Chorus with soloists, guest “Side by Side” high school chorus from Duke Ellington School of the Arts, bells, and more. For tickets go to thewashingtonchorus.org With their tour grounded due to the pandemic, The King’s Singers Christmas Concert, an annual favorite for local fans, will stream live from the UK on Dec. 22 with a holiday selection of traditional carols and seasonal songs. kingssingers.com

A scene from a previous Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington Holiday Show.

(Blade photo by Michael Key)

On Christmas Day at noon, the Washington National Cathedral presents its straightforwardly titled “Christmas Day Organ Recital.” Cathedral organists Thomas Sheehan and George Fergus present a program of festive Christmas music on the Cathedral’s Great Organ. The Cathedral suggests you “make a cup of cocoa, wear your holidayappropriate ugly sweaters and socks and celebrate Christmas with them.” Admission is free. For registration and further details go to Cathedral.org.

The Irish Repertory Theatre’s heartwarming musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” streams Dec. 11 through Jan. 2.

This new digital production is an abridged version of the Broadway musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1989), based on the charming 1944 film of the same name starring a young Judy Garland. For further information and reservations go to Irishrep.org On Dec. 29, Coyaba Dance Theater West African Dance Company presents “In Spirit of Kwanzaa,” a highenergy virtual presentation based on the Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba) of Kwanzaa: Umoja, Kuchjichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba, Imani. Kwanzaa is a late December African-American holiday in celebration of families, community economics, and faith. This free virtual event promises to lift your spirits and warm your hearts. For further information go to Danceplace.org.

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World AIDS Day arrives amid another pandemic Local observances go virtual

By PARKER PURIFOY

With COVID-19 cases continuing to spike around the world, most events for World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 have been moved to virtual formats to continue bringing awareness to the AIDS epidemic.

The World AIDS Day organization has scheduled a virtual panel discussion for 9 a.m. on Tuesday with professionals in the field of HIV prevention and treatment to share how communities can reduce the stigma and impact of the disease. On the panel will be Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Richelle Joe, Community Liaison for Janssen Scientific Affairs Samuel Quintero, and Adam Troy, prevention manager at an Orlando-based nonprofit, Hope and Help.

CAMP Rehoboth is slated to hold one of the only in-person events in the region with a World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil and Service of Remembrance and Hope in Rehoboth Beach.

“This event has been a December tradition in Rehoboth Beach since the mid-1990s and no way is COVID going to stop us from remembering this important day,” the organization said in a statement on its website.

The vigil will start at 7 p.m. and attendees can participate in the candlelight drive-up vigil to watch from the safety of their cars. The service and reading of the names will be held under the outdoor portico at Epworth Methodist Church on Holland Glade Road in Rehoboth. The entire event will also be live streamed on CAMP Rehoboth’s Facebook page. If participants would like to add a name to be read during the service, the organization asks that they call them at 302-227-5620.

Several chapters of Delta Sigma Theta are banding together to host a “Rock the Ribbon” virtual panel presentation on Tuesday to commemorate World AIDS Day. Those who wish to attend can register for the 6:30 p.m. event online.

Youth Stop AIDS — a U.K.-based nonprofit — has scheduled a screening of “After 82: The Untold Story of the AIDS Crisis in the UK,” a documentary focusing on personal stories of the AIDS crisis in the UK. The film features interviews with actor Jonathan Blake who lived with AIDS for more than 30 years. The screening is scheduled for Nov. 29 starting at 12:30 p.m. EST. AIDS Delaware will stage a free, virtual panel discussion on Dec. 5 with panelists who are currently living with HIV/AIDS and can speak on how the virus has impacted their lives.

The panel, which starts at 1 p.m., will feature activist and author Tez Anderson, activist and

Don’t expect Trump’s White House to include LGBTQ Americans in any World AIDS Day proclamations.

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

motivational speaker Hydeia Broadbent, and Emmy Award-winning author Marvelyn Brown.

Anderson coined the term AIDS Survivor Syndrome—ASS—to describe the effects of living with HIV/AIDS in the long term. He also founded Let’s Kick ASS, a San Francisco-based group designed to empower long-term HIV survivors and help them connect with one another. He also coined the term AIDS Survivor Syndrome to describe the effects of living with HIV/AIDS in the long term.

Broadbent was diagnosed with AIDS at age three and now spends her time raising awareness of the virus by promoting safe-sex practices. She became a public speaker at age six and over the next thirty years, she’s appeared in the New York Times, People, the Oprah Show, and Teen People. Ebony Magazine named Broadbent one of the most influential African Americans in 2008 and 2011.

Brown has spoken at hundreds of colleges, universities, and conferences around the world to spread her story of contracting HIV when she was 19. She;s been featured on CNN’s Black America, Frontline’s Endgame, and America’s Next Top Model. In 2007, she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding National Public Service Announcement.

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CALENDAR

Freddie’s Follie’s Drag Show starts at 8pm on Saturday.

By Parker Purifoy

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

TODAY

The DC Transmasculine Society is holding its trans art sale starting today. It is an art showcase for trans artists that also helps raise money for trans-led organizations. This art sale goes until midnight on Nov. 29. For more information go to transartsale.com.

Saturday, November 28

Center Women is partnering with artist and therapist Christina Cappelletti to host a SoulCollage session. Cappelletti will guide participants through the creation of their SoulCollage by helping them through an introspective journey to find images and create cards that are intended to help them rediscover their passion and purpose. In order to prepare for the session, it is recommended that participants set up a space where they can feel comfortable and bring with them magazines and other sources of images like books and online printouts. Scissors, glue, tape, and one piece of stiff paper or cardboard is also required to make the SoulCollages. Tickets for this event, which starts at 11 a.m., are $35 and for more information, go to thedccenter.org/events.

Freddie’s Beach Bar is holding its weekly Freddie’s Follies Drag show starting at 8 p.m.

There is a $5 cover charge for the event which will be hosted by Ms. Destiny B. Childs.

Online Yoga at the Garden is being hosted by the U.S. Botanical Gardens today at 10:30 a.m. An instructor from WithLoveDC will guide participants through a one-hour meditation and yoga practice via Zoom. There will only be enough room in the Zoom for 100 participants.

The sessions are free but registration is required. More information can be found on The U.S Botanic Garden’s Facebook page.

Monday, November 30

LGBT Older Adults and friends are invited to join the DC Center at 10 a.m. for a Center Aging Coffee Drop-In. For more information visit thedccenter.org and Center Aging on social media.

Tuesday, December 1

KhushDC is hosting its monthly virtual happy hour today at 7 p.m. KhushDC is a social, educational, and advocacy organization for South Asian LGBTQ people in D.C. The D.C. Transmasculine Society will hold its monthly team meeting today at 7 p.m. to discuss program updates. Transgender and cis volunteers or those who are interested in becoming involved are welcome. Attendees can join the meeting without committing to any volunteer activities.

Wednesday, December 2

Book Men DC is an informal group of men who are interested in both fictional and nonfictional gay literature. They are hosting a meeting today at 7:30 p.m. Attendees do not need to officially join the group or commit to read every book. More information can be found at thedccenter.org/events.

Virtual Job Club meets today at 6 p.m. via Zoom. This weekly support program helps job seekers improve their self-confidence, resilience and motivation needed for effective job searching and networking. Discussions include strategies, techniques and goal plans needed to find meaningful and satisfying employment. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Thursday, December 3

The Queer Book Club meets today at 7 p.m. via Skype. At this meeting, they will discuss “Crying at Christmas” by John Stenson. To join or to ask any questions, email supportdesk@ thedccenter.org.

The Smithsonian is holding a panel discussion today at 3 p.m. to commemorate World AIDS Day. The event, titled “AIDS at the Intersection of Community, Science, and Policy” seeks to examine how current laws and policies impact the spread of HIV infections. Speakers include Supervising Attorney at the Center for HIV Law and Policy Jada Hicks and Vice President and Director of Public Policy at amfAR Gregorio Millet Asian Pacific Islander Queer Society DC is holding a support group meeting for the Asian and Pacific Islander Queer Community at 7 p.m. The meeting is co-hosted by the DC Center and Asian Queers United for Action. Visit thedccenter/org/events for more details.

2 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 2 7 , 2 0 2 0 • A &E

OUT&ABOUT Smithsonian continues virtual tours as museums close As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the D.C. metro area, the Smithsonian Museums have all temporarily closed. In lieu of opening its doors, many of the museums are instead offering virtual tours of their galleries and exhibits. These virtual tours are free and available at any time on the organization’s website. Those who are interested can explore the National Portrait Gallery’s presidential portrait collection, and the Smithsonian Garden’s varieties of plants, among others.

The Baltimore Museum of Art announced Tuesday that its galleries would close Nov. 25 and reopen on Jan. 6 amid rising cases of coronavirus in that city. Gertrude’s restaurant and the museum shop will remain open.

Blue Friday Clean-up event goes online The D.C. chapter of Inland Ocean Coalition and Surfrider Foundation will still hold its annual Blue Friday clean-up but with a virtual twist this year. #BlueFriday is a clean-up campaign to encourage everyone to pick up litter and trash to ensure that the planet’s bodies of water can remain as clean as possible. This year, anyone can join in anywhere. Participants can clean their backyards, neighborhoods, and hiking trails. The organization urges those looking to join to bring separate bags for recycling and trash, along with gloves and a buddy to make the experience safe and enjoyable. Any trash and litter can be disposed of at participants’ homes but the foundation strongly encouraged them to familiarize themselves with what can be recycled and what must be thrown away. To register for the clean-up, go to dc.surfrider.org.

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In recent years, the crop of films that emerges around “awards season” always includes at least one high-profile LGBTQ-themed movie clearly aiming for consideration. You know the type of film I mean: glossy and slick, they usually feature at least one or two “name” actors with prestige value, center around a particular “issue” connected to being LGBTQ, explore progressive ideas while still reinforcing “good old-fashioned” cultural values, and are almost always the kind of heartfelt, sentiment-driven feelgood fare that Hollywood has been so adept at producing for at least the last century.

This year, right on schedule, that movie is “Uncle Frank.”

This Amazon-produced comedic drama is the latest work from writer-director Alan Ball, the out gay film and television icon responsible for creating “Six Feet Under” and “True Blood” for HBO, as well as for penning 1999’s Oscar-winning “American Beauty.” Set in the early 1970s, it follows Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis), a South Carolina teen who goes to New York to attend college at NYU, where her beloved Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) is a respected literature professor. He’s delighted to see her, but when she shows up unexpectedly at his apartment during a party, it leads to an awkward surprise for them both – her discovery that he lives with his longtime male lover, Wally (Peter Macdissi). Beth is fine with the revelation that her “cool uncle” is gay; but soon afterwards, when an unexpected development at home puts them on the road back to South Carolina together, Frank must confront his fears of a less accepting response – and his memories of a traumatic past – in order to find the courage to come out to the rest of his family, once and for all.

Embracing a nostalgic, literary sensibility with palpable echoes of such southern-set coming-of-age novels as “To Kill a Mockingbird” (Harper Lee even gets name-dropped), “Uncle Frank” establishes itself from the beginning as a memory piece; we know right away we are in for a romanticized vision of the past, as seen through eyes that have gained the insight that comes with the distance of years. That allows room for a little forgivable sentimentality, which – because Ball is a superb writer – emerges through the warmth, humor, and humanity of the characters rather than in the kind of forced, cloying payoff moments that turn so many similar stories into unabashed tearjerkers.

It’s that same strong writing that elevates the movie above all the attendant tropes that come with the territory in these kinds of stories – and there are plenty, from a tragic backstory that could have been transplanted from an un-produced Tennessee Williams play, to a family of cartoonish southern stereotypes.

These elements are part of the game that Ball plays so adeptly; he revels in sagas that find the extreme lying hidden within the mundane, and reveal the dynamics that shape relationships between people, especially families. And if the all-too-familiar story of a middle-aged gay man still closeted to his family is not quite as full of the outrageous twists to be found in the banal suburban hellscape of “American Beauty” or the vampire-infested

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Alan Ball deftly avoids stereotypes, delivers compassionate film

By JOHN PAUL KING

bayous of “True Blood,” it still provides plenty of fodder for the writer to explore those themes with his customary intelligence and observational asceticism.

Of course, it helps a lot that he’s graced with a talented cast.

The gallery of caricatures that make up the Bledsoe clan would not be infused with as much humanizing dimension if not for an ensemble of supporting players – led by the always-monumental Margo Martindale in what can safely be described as “the Margo Martindale role” capable of giving us likeable characters we can embrace, warts and all.

Still, there are higher stakes in “Uncle Frank” than the ones in Frank’s relationship with his family. Ball shrewdly centers much of his movie on the effects of his protagonist’s internalized homophobia – the lingering consequence of growing up in the closet – on his relationship with Wally. They are clearly a happy, loving couple; yet as the pressures build toward a confrontation back home, Frank pulls further and further away from his partner, trying to escape with alcohol and other substances, sparking domestic conflicts with projected resentments and a fear-based fight-or-flight mentality, and refusing to accept any offers of help and support. The movie doesn’t lean too hard on these themes – it’s ultimately meant to be uplifting, after all – but it doesn’t ignore them, either, and it’s a telling observation that we are never as deeply invested in the outcome of Frank’s coming out to his relatives as we are in the hope that these lingering demons from a painful past won’t sabotage his relationship with a partner who obviously loves him unconditionally.

Tying it all together, of course, is Beth, the fresh-out-of-thenest fledgling who serves both as an observer and a catalyst in her uncle’s story. She’s the connecting thread between prodigal and family, obviously; but she is also the link between past and present. It is she whose experience shapes the narrative, finding meaning in Frank’s struggles and ensuring that his story is told

with respect and compassion.

The actors in these key roles each do stellar work. Bettany’s performance in the title role is a career best, and not just because he is a straight actor who manages to portray a gay character without resorting to a single stereotypical mannerism; Lillis, known for starring in “Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase” and “It,” is here a revelation of simple, unaffected acting as Beth; and as Wally, Macdissi (Ball’s real-life partner, who is Lebanese) exudes such an air of warmth and authenticity that he easily overcomes the character’s potential for being seen as a kind of idealized vision of “magic” ethnicity. Together, the three have excellent, believable chemistry that goes a long way toward making Ball’s movie work.

“Uncle Frank” is the kind of solid, compassionate, accessible film that pleases, perhaps in spite of having the slick, sanitized feel that comes with being the product of a well-oiled, profit-fueled entertainment machine. In true Hollywood style, its conflicts play out a little too neatly and a little too easily; it allows its audience to walk away at the end feeling like the problems have all been solved; and by couching its observations about homophobia in the quaintness of a bygone era, it makes us feel better about how far we’ve come.

Some might question, of course, if that’s really enough, and if the world really needs another coming out story.

The answer is, sadly, of course it does. If the last few years have shown us anything, it is that intolerance, bigotry, and hatred of the “other” is still very much alive in our culture; we might not all need to see movies like “Uncle Frank” in order to gain a little empathy and enlightenment, but there are a lot of people out there who do.

After all, Hollywood has always been at its best when it gives its artists a chance to change hearts and minds – and when the artists are as gifted as Alan Ball, why should anyone quibble?

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‘Memorial’ is one of the best books of the year A brilliant debut from acclaimed queer author Bryan Washington

By KATHI WOLFE

Many books come out in a year. Often, they’re provocative, absorbing or, at the very least, brain candy. But, like a hastily eaten fast-food meal, they’re quickly forgotten. No matter how worthy, memories of them will vanish as quickly as a fun size pack of M&Ms. “Memorial,” the debut novel by acclaimed queer author Bryan Washington, is unforgettable.

You’ll devour it, feasting on every page. Its flavor — tender, spicy, and poignant – will stick to your palate leaving you hungering for more.

“Memorial” is the story of Ben (short for Benson) and Mike, a queer couple, who live in Houston’s slowly gentrifying Third Ward. They’ve been together for several years, but their relationship is fraying. Ben, who is Black, is a teacher in a day care center. He grew up in a middle-class household. His parents are divorced. His father, an alcoholic, is a former local TV weatherman and occasional substitute teacher. His parents don’t accept his sexuality when he reveals that he’s HIV positive.

Mike, a chef, is Asian. His family was poor. During an argument, Mike tells Ben “you had money.”

Growing up, roaches roamed where he slept, Mike says to Ben. Mike’s family came to Houston from Japan. When he was young, Mike’s parents returned to Japan. As “Memorial” begins, Mike’s parents have been living in Japan for years. His mother, Mitsuko, who’s divorced from his father, Eiju, has just arrived in Houston for a visit. But just as his time with his Mom is about to begin, Mike learns that Eiju, in Osaka, Japan is terminally ill.

Like Ben’s folks, Mike’s parents aren’t comfortable with his sexuality. Eiju, like Ben’s Dad does to Ben, aims homophobic slurs at Mike. Mitsuko, like Ben’s Mom, knows that her son is queer, but can’t bear to talk about it.

Suddenly, Ben and Mitsuko find themselves alone, living for an undetermined amount of time, with a stranger. That would be awkward enough. On top of that, they’re an Asian hetero woman and Black, queer man thrown together in a small space. They have to share not only the bathroom, but the kitchen. Mitsuko, Ben discovers, has rearranged the kitchen. For what seems like eons, she barely speaks to him. Except to say, “so you’re Black.”

Meanwhile, Ben keeps waiting for a text from Mike, while wondering when or if they should break up.

Mike finds himself in Osaka – on the other side of the world – in close quarters with his father

who he hasn’t seen in years. He hasn’t been in Japan since he was a child. He’s trying to be a caregiver for a Dad who he hasn’t connected with for ages. Eiju operates a small bar. One of his caregiving tasks, Mike learns, is to help his Dad manage the bar. He gets to know the regulars while thinking about hooking up with guys.

This is awkward on steroids!

In lesser hands, “Memorial,” would have been a jumbled mix of second-rate sit-com and soap opera. But Washington is a brilliant writer.

“Brilliant” is overused. Yet, “brilliant” is the only apt word to describe Washington’s work.

Washington, 27, who lives in Houston, has won numerous awards. He is a National Book Award 5 Under 35 honoree, winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Washington’s

By Bryan Washington first book, “Lot,” his acclaimed 2019 short story c.2020, Riverhead Books | $27/320 pages collection, was a New York Times Notable Book and on the best-of-the-year lists of Vanity Fair, NPR, and other outlets. He has written for The New Yorker, BuzzFeed, The Paris Review, and many other publications.

“Memorial” is narrated in turns by Benson and Mike. Washington’s style is deceptively simple. Reading it feels like you’re eavesdropping on the couple’s private thoughts and conversations. From the beginning as Ben says, “Mike’s taking off for Osaka, but his mother’s flying into Houston,” you might think, “this is how people talk every day, I could write a story like this.”

Sorry, you’d hit the skids trying.

“Memorial” is one of the best books of this or any year.

‘Memorial’

presents

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Remembrance of Thanksgivings past

Faced with a holiday spent alone, try a Zoomsgiving

By VALERIE M. BLAKE

Usually on Thanksgiving, people drive or fly back to the old homestead to celebrate with family and friends.

My memories of the celebration include a long dining room table that actually fits in the dining room, a place we only visit on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The dining room is now only an option in much of the construction industry, particularly in our large cities.

Preparation of dinner begins at 7 a.m. when the turkey is stuffed and placed in the oven to cook for hours while potatoes and vegetables are prepared, pies are baked, and cranberry sauce is stirred.

This year, the epidemiologists are begging us to stay home and celebrate Thanksgiving only among members of the same household. Since I’m the only one in my household and my Schnauzers can’t set a table or carve a turkey, I thought I would bring you a few tales of Thanksgivings from my life to share if you’re alone.

Picture it: Weymouth, Mass., 1966. My parents and I drive up to a small cottage set among tall trees belonging to my aunt and uncle. There’s an accessory dwelling over to the right; the domain of my grandmother, Winifred: a one-room studio with a jalousied porch and a bathroom where the curtain rod also serves as a clothes rack. I step out of the car, smelling the scent of pine and hearing the dried needles crunch under my feet.

This is my father’s family. My uncles and young cousins are in the living room, my aunts and grandmother in the kitchen, while my mother is on the back porch, stringing together an assortment of mismatched tables and adding a tablecloth. Several card tables are set aside for the children’s area. Two space heaters will keep us warm and soon we are called to the table.

A high caloric dinner ensues, consisting of turkey, stuffing, gravy with giblets, mashed potatoes, squash, turnips, and green bean casserole, complemented by mince and pumpkin pies. After having her fill, my grandmother, the matriarch, rises from her seat at the head of the table and announces, “I got the dinner. You do the dishes.”

Fast forward to Alexandria, Va., 1983. I’m living in a townhouse, for which I paid $83,000, in a subdivision called Windsor Park, one of only two in the immediate area. There’s a 7-Eleven and a fresh vegetable stand nearby and a church down the main road. Years later, the area becomes a cute, little place called Kingstowne.

The other interesting thing to know about this particular Thanksgiving is that I’m in love – dizzying, heart palpitating, feeling high as a kite love. Naturally, I have to impress him with my culinary talents, so I cross my fingers and cook a turkey-for-two and some of the trimmings to share in my 9x9 dining room. My first attempt at cooking a turkey is successful! If I ever fall in love like that again, I might be tempted to cook another.

Washington, D.C., 2012. Since neither one of us wants to cook, my friend, Kathy, and

I start a five-year tradition of having Thanksgiving dinner with Champagne at a different D.C. restaurant each year followed by a first-run movie, with a short dog-walking break in between.

What movie do we see? Who knows? After a big meal and a couple of glasses of Champagne, I usually fall asleep halfway through it anyway. After our last celebration together, Kathy tells me that she’s moving back home to upstate New York in early 2018.

Our five-year run has ended.

Alexandria, Va., 2018. I spend Thanksgiving with other strays (those who have no other place to go) at a Friendsgiving dinner hosted by my friend, Laurie.

Getting off the elevator in her building, I can hear a lot of noise coming from her place at the end of the hall. People are laughing, clinking glasses, and introducing themselves to one another. I am welcomed with pre-COVID hugs all around, although I only know about five people.

Laurie has started with a table in her small dining area and adds multiple tables until they form an L shape from dining room through the living room, seating about 30 people. I’m not sure I would even know 30 people to invite were I hosting the dinner.

Which brings us to today. I’m having a Zoomsgiving this year. Each person cooks one dish and holds it up for the others to see while our mouths water. There’s no dining room required and you don’t have to do the dishes.

VALERIE M. BLAKE

This year’s Thanksgiving will look different for many of us due to the pandemic.

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