Washington Blade, Volume 53, Issue 20, May 20, 2022

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VOLUME 53 ISSUE 20 ADDRESS PO Box 53352 Washington DC 20009 PHONE 202-747-2077 E-MAIL news@washblade.com INTERNET washingtonblade.com PUBLISHED BY Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. PUBLISHER LYNNE J. BROWN lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075 EDITORIAL EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com ext. 8088 SR. NEWS REPORTER LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079 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 TINASHE CHINGARANDE, DUNIA ORELLANA, REPORTAR SIN MIEDO, PARKER PURIFOY, PETER ROSENSTEIN, MARK LEE, LATEEFAH WILLIAMS, KATE CLINTON, KATHI WOLFE, ERNESTO VALLE, YARIEL VALDÉS GONZÁLEZ, LYNARE ROBBINS, PHILIP VAN SLOOTEN, KATLEGO K. KOLANYANE-KESUPILE, KAELA ROEDER, TREMENDA NOTA, ALBERTO J. VALENTÍN, MAYKEL GONZÁLEZ VIVERO, ORGULLO LGBT. CO, ESTEBAN GUZMAN 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

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Capital Stonewall Democrats backs Robert White over Bowser LGBTQ group endorses Erin Palmer over incumbent Mendelson

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The Capital Stonewall Democrats, the city’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on May 17 that it has selected D.C. Council member Robert White (D-At-Large) over incumbent Mayor Muriel Bowser and political newcomer Erin Palmer over D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson as its endorsed candidates in the city’s June 21 Democratic primary.

With Bowser and Mendelson as well as White having longstanding records of support for LGBTQ rights and Palmer expressing strong support for the LGBTQ community, local observers say the LGBTQ Democratic group’s 163 voting members appear to have based their endorsement decisions on other pressing issues facing the city rather than only LGBTQ specific issues.

In other races, Capital Stonewall Democrats, formerly known as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, which was founded in 1976, voted to endorse incumbent Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau over gay former D.C. police officer Salah Czapary and community activist Sabel Harris who are running against Nadeau.

In the Ward 5 Council race, the group has endorsed gay D.C. Board of Education member Zachary Parker in a five-candidate contest for the seat being vacated by incumbent Council member Kenyan McDuffie, who ran unsuccessfully for the office of D.C. Attorney General.

The group has also endorsed Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who is running unopposed in the primary; D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who’s favored to win re-election against two lesser-known opponents; and D.C. shadow U.S. Rep. Oye Owolewa, who’s also favored over a lesser known opponent.

Council member ROBERT WHITE won the backing of Capital Stonewall Democrats in his bid for mayor over incumbent Muriel Bowser. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Capital Stonewall Democrats announced it did not make an endorsement in the Ward 3 and At-Large D.C. Council races and in the D.C. Attorney General race because no candidate received a required 60 percent of the vote under the group’s longstanding rules for endorsements.

By not endorsing in the At-Large race, the group passed over incumbent At-Large Council member Anita Bonds, a longtime supporter of LGBTQ issues. Bonds is being challenged by Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Lisa Gore, former D.C. shadow House member Nate Fleming, and former D.C. Council staffer Dexter Williams.

In the hotly contested Ward 3 Council race, nine candidates are competing for the seat being vacated by incumbent Mary Cheh, another longtime LGBTQ rights supporter.

0 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • LO CA L NE WS

In the race for attorney general, three prominent local attorneys — Brian Schwalb, Ryan Jones, and Bruce Spiva — are competing for the AG position being vacated by incumbent Karl Racine, who chose not to run for re-election.

Capital Stonewall Democrats’ endorsements follow a series of five LGBTQ candidate forums the group held virtually in which most of the candidates running in the various races attended.

In the group’s mayoral form, Bowser was the only one of the four mayoral contenders that did not attend. Her supporters said she had a conflicting event organized by gay Democratic activist Kurt Vorndran that prevented her from attending the Stonewall event.

Those who attended the mayoral forum were Robert White, D.C. Council member and mayoral candidate Trayon White (D-Ward 8), and former attorney and community activist James Butler.

A detailed vote tally released by Capital Stonewall Democrats shows the vote count for each of the endorsed candidates as well as candidates in the races for which the group did not make an endorsement.

In the mayoral race, Robert White received 120 votes, or 74.5 percent. Bowser came in second place with 37 votes or 23.0 percent; Trayon White received just two votes or 1.2 percent, with Butler receiving just 1 vote at 0.6 percent. One vote was cast for no endorsement.

In the D.C. Council Chair race, Palmer received 89 votes or 60.1 percent, just surpassing the 60 percent threshold needed for an endorsement. Mendelson received 48 votes or 32.4 percent. Eleven votes were cast for no endorsement.

In the Ward 1 Council race, Nadeau received 100 votes or 69.4 percent compared to gay candidate Czapary, who came in second place with 23 votes or 16.0 percent. Candidate Sabel Harris came in third place with 9 votes or 6.3 percent, with a no endorsement selection receiving 12 votes or 8.3 percent.

In the Ward 5 contest, gay school board member Parker received 91 votes or 64.5 percent. Candidate Faith Hubbard came in second with 31 votes or 22.0 percent. The remaining candidates received fewer than 10 votes each, including former At-Large and former Ward 5 Council member Vincent Orange, who received 5 votes or 3.5 percent.

“Since Capital Stonewall Democrats has only 221 members, and only 163 bothered to vote, this is clearly not representative of the LGBTQ+ community in the District,” said gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein, who is supporting Bowser for mayor.

But longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate A. Billy S. Jones-Hennin is among the local activists who view the Capital Stonewall Democrats’ endorsement of lesser-known challengers – most of whom have progressive, left-leaning views – as a reflection of changes in the demographics of the LGBTQ community and the Stonewall group’s members.

“At the forefront for voters is who they feel can address core problems like crime, open drug transactions, and increased homeless populations,” Jones-Hennin told the Blade. “Just asking voters for support based on their support of the LGBTQ+ community in the past does not cut it,” he said. “We are multi-faceted voters looking for new, more progressive and aggressive leadership.”

The Capital Stonewall Democrats list of endorsements as well as races with no endorsement can be viewed below: • Mayor: Robert White, with 74.5% of the round one vote • DC Attorney General: No Endorsement • DC Council Chair: Erin Palmer, with 60.1% of the round one vote • Ward 1 Council: Brianne K. Nadeau, with 69.4% of the round one vote • Ward 3 Council: No Endorsement • Ward 5 Council: Zachary Parker, with 64.5% of the round one vote • Ward 6 Council: Charles Allen, with 83.2% of the round one vote • At-Large Council: No Endorsement • Delegate to U.S. House of Representatives: Eleanor Holmes Norton, with 69.7% of the round one vote • U.S. Representative: Oye Owolewa, with 66.1% of the round one vote

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Pannell resigns in protest from Ward 8 Council member’s LGBT Commission

Longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights activist Phil Pannell announced on May 6 that he has resigned as a member of the Ward 8 LGBT Commission created by D.C. Council member Trayon White (D-Ward 8) on grounds that White does not have an LGBTQ person on his Council staff.

White’s office has said the Council member created the commission to “focus on the specific needs of this community” in his role as a supporter of LGBTQ equality.

“For me, this is a major issue of inclusion, affirmative action and diversity,” Pannell said in an email message announcing his resignation. “I as a Black Gay man cannot in good conscience continue to be a member of my Councilmember’s LGBT Commission when he has no one from my community on his staff,” Pannell’s announcement message continues.

“This is hypocritical at best and structurally homophobic at worst,” he said. “I deeply resent and refuse to be used as anyone’s homosexual prop for any purposes. Therefore, I resign from the commission effective immediately.”

PHIL PANNELL resigned as a member of the Ward 8 LGBT Commission created by D.C. Council member Trayon White.

(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

In response to a request by the Washington Blade for comment on Pannell’s resignation, Julia Jessie, White’s director of communications, said White’s Council office “follows all legal HR procedures and hires based on ex-

perience and skillset.” Jessie added, “As an employer, we do not discriminate or consider a person’s race, color, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity, when making decisions about employment qualifications.”

According to Jessie, “We do, however, harvest a safe and inclusionary work environment where employees who wish to voluntarily disclose their sexual orientation of gender identity feel comfortable doing so.”

White’s office released a statement from the Ward 8 LGBT Commission’s chair, Marvin ‘Rahim’ Briggs, saying the commission “regretfully accepts” Pannell’s resignation.

“The Commission will continue to focus on and address issues affecting Ward 8 LGBTQ,” Briggs says in the statement. “We’ll continue to organize to promote acceptance of LGBTQ community diversity and to foster respect and appreciation for each member of the community residing in Ward 8.”

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Two gay candidates disqualified from D.C. primary ballot

A member of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest LGBTQ local political group, mounted a successful challenge before the D.C. Board of Elections earlier this month that resulted in a gay Republican and a gay Libertarian Party activist withdrawing as candidates for public office in the city’s June 21 primary.

James Harnett, 24, a member of the Ward 2 Democratic Committee and a member of the staff of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), filed challenges to the candidacy of gay Libertarian Party activist Bruce Majors, who was running unopposed in the June 21 primary for the office of both D.C. Delegate to the U.S. House and chair of the Libertarian Party of D.C. The Board of Elections upheld Harnett’s challenge claiming that Majors failed to obtain a sufficient number of valid petition signatures needed to be placed on the ballot for both offices, according to elections board

spokesperson Nicholas Jacobs. Majors withdrew his candidacy for both offices rather than contest the challenge.

The Board of Elections also upheld a challenge filed

by Harnett against the candidacy of gay Republican and D.C. Log Cabin Republicans organization member Andrew Desser, who was running unopposed in the primary for the position of Ward 1 Chairperson of the D.C. Republican Committee.

Desser told the Blade he acknowledged that he fell short in obtaining the needed number of valid petition signatures and would not contest the challenge.

Harnett, who appeared to be acting on his own behalf and not representing the Capital Stonewall Democrats in his challenges to Majors and Desser before the election board, did not respond to the Blade’s request for comment.

Board of Elections records showed that he also suc-

cessfully challenged six other candidates seeking ballot placement in the June 21 primary, one of whom, Lori Furstenberg, was running for mayor as a Republican and another, Corren Brown, was running for mayor as a Statehood-Green Party member.

The others Harnett mounted a successful challenge against were GOP candidates running for the Ward 2, Ward 4, and Ward 7 GOP Chairperson positions; and Leniqua ‘Dominique’ Jenkins, a Democrat running for the at-large D.C. Council seat, who was the only Democrat challenged by Harnett.

Harnett, a former ANC commissioner in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, ran unsuccessfully in 2020 for the nonpartisan office of D.C. Board of Education for Ward 2.

Among the candidates he ran against was gay education advocate Allison Chang, who won that race.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Alexander-Reid, Pendarvis honored as ‘legendary elders’

Longtime D.C. LGBTQ advocates Sheila Alexander-Reid and Rayceen Pendarvis are among nine prominent activists from across the country named as recipients of the second annual Legendary Elders Wisdom Award by the National Black Justice Coalition, the D.C.-based LGBTQ advocacy group.

“The National Black Justice Coalition is proud to present the 2nd annual Legendary Elders Wisdom Awards and Tea commemorating National LGBTQ+ Elders Day on Monday, May 16, 2022, at 1 p.m. EST,” the group announced in a statement.

“This signature event is an opportunity for our community to honor iconic, Black LGBTQ+/SG women and femme elders and celebrate the process of aging while sharing the wisdom accrued by our elders through a virtual event,” the statement says. “This year, we honor Black women and femmes who have blazed trails in the arts and creative fields,” it says.

Alexander-Reid served for six and a half years as director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs before taking on a new job last year as the senior vice president of business development for BiasSync, a Los Angeles-based company that provides online support and resources to address the issue of workplace bias.

In her earlier involvement as an LGBTQ community leader, Alexander-Reid was the founder and executive director Women in the Life Association, for which she served as publisher and national distributor of Women in the Life magazine, which focused on issues of interest to Black lesbians. She later founded and hosted Inside Out, a D.C. LGBTQ radio program and worked as a sales executive for City Paper and the Washington Blade.

Pendarvis, a longtime D.C.-based LGBTQ activist and event moderator, became best known as host of “The Ask Rayceen Show,” an online program that features a wide range of guests, including local artists, musicians, and authors as well as public officials and LGBTQ activists. The show ran on a monthly basis from 2012 until last year, when the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve a ceremonial resolution honoring Pendarvis’ work on the show and her many other endeavors.

The other Legendary Elders Wisdom Award recipients named by the National Black Justice Coalition include Ann Allen Shockley, author, editor; Anita Cornwell, author of writings in the lesbian publication “The Ladder” and author of the 1983 book “Black Lesbian in White America;” Cheryl Clark, poet, essayist, educator and Black feminist activist; Jewelle Gomez, author, poet, critic and playwright;

SHEILA ALEXANDER-REID

(Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Andrea Jenkins, president of the Minneapolis City Council, writer, poet, performer and oral history archivist; Barbara Smith, writer of essays, reviews and short stories and founding member of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and Linda Villarosa, journalist, author, editor, novelist and educator.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

LO CA L NE WS • M AY 2 0 , 2 0 2 2 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 0 9

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Influential LGBTQ activist and author Urvashi Vaid dies

Former National LGBTQ Task Force executive director succumbed to cancer at 63

By BRODY LEVESQUE

My heart is with Kate and all of Urv’s beloveds who have been with her these last years, months and days as she dealt with cancer. My activism has been greatly shaped by the fact that Urv took me seriously as a young leader in our movement. She seemed endlessly excited about the ideas and passion for justice that young activists held. She was one of our movement’s motivators and north stars.

“Whenever Urv called, I’d clear my schedule for the next hour (at least!), pull out a pen and pad of paper and prepare to feverishly write down what were likely to be 10-20 rapid fire ideas of things she thought I should be doing, or doing much better … tomorrow!

“Urv pushed me to see connections, dig deeper, and I was a better activist and leader for it. Her impact within the National LGBTQ Task Force carried on long after she left its staff. The sheer intellectual and strategic hole in our movement’s drive towards liberation and freedom, left by Urv’s death, is hard to grasp.

“Up until her last months she was creating projects, mentoring others, pushing for liberation, gathering data through the National LGBTQ+ Women’s Community Survey.

The only thing I ever saw Urv be more passionate about than her pursuit of freedom and liberation, was her love for Kate, their family, and her energy for her friends.

“The best way we can honor Urv is to continue to fight for justice and the full liberation of all people,” Carey said.

Her time at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in which she held multiple positions for over 10 years, notably media director, then executive director, saw her bring all aspects of LORRI L. JEAN, REA CAREY, URVASHI VAID and MATT FOREMAN (Photo courtesy of the National LGBTQ Task Force) queer life and struggle into the public eye.

While at the Task Force, she co-founded the annual Creating Change conference, for all people.” now in its 33rd year.

“Her leadership, vision, and writing helped shape not “I first met Urv in the early 1980s when we were both only the Task Force’s values and work but our entire queer young attorneys and lesbian activists in Washington, movement and the larger progressive movement. We will D.C.,” said Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. strive every day to live up to her ideals and model the “As we became friends and, eventually, colleagues, I adcourage she demonstrated every day as an activist and mired her leadership and all that she accomplished, both a person. She will be deeply I missed. I miss her already,” within and outside of our movement—for queer people, concluded Johnson. for women, for people of color and against poverty. She Vaid’s impact on the politics of the the AIDS crisis and continued her work to advance equity and justice until the battles over full equality was considerable. During forthe very end. mer President George H.W. Bush’s 1990 address on AIDS, “I’ll always be grateful to Urv for being one of the peoVaid, then the executive director of the National Gay and ple who encouraged me, back in 1992, to accept the job Lesbian Task Force, made a statement with her sign: “Talk running the Los Angeles LGBT Center. And when the NaIs Cheap, AIDS Funding is Not.” Her critique made waves, tional LGBTQ Task Force faced severe financial challengdisrupting the press conference, and shedding light on es in 2001, she played the key role in recruiting me to the failures of the Bush administration. step in and help turn things around, lending her support Another former executive director of the Nationevery step of the way. al LGBTQ Task Force, Rea Carey noted in her post on “Over the years, we spent many an hour laughing and Facebook: “I am deeply sad that Urvashi Vaid has died.

Urvashi Vaid, a powerful longtime influential attorney and LGBTQ activist whose career spanned from the early days of the AIDS pandemic to the contemporary battles over equality and equity for the LGBTQ community died Saturday after a bout with cancer at her home in New York.

Vaid, 63, known for her extensive career as an advocate for LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, anti-war efforts, immigration justice and many other social causes, had served as the executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force from 1989-1992 and served prior to that as the organization’s media director.

“We are devastated at the loss of one of the most influential progressive activists of our time,” said Kierra Johnson, current executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. “Urvashi Vaid was a leader, a warrior and a force to be reckoned with,” continued Johnson, “She was also a beloved colleague, friend, partner and someone we all looked up to—a brilliant, outspoken and deeply committed activist who wanted full justice and equality

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URVASHI VAID with her longtime partner KATE CLINTON. (Photo via Facebook)

scheming about ways to advance the causes we cared so deeply about. Urvashi was a visionary. But she was so much more: Brilliant, hilarious, charismatic, loving, determined and, above all, courageous. She made life better for all of us. Our community and our nation owe her an enormous debt of gratitude. Our hearts go out to Urvashi’s wife, Kate Clinton, and to everyone who loves her.

If there’s a heaven, Urv is already organizing the angels.”

Troy Masters, the founder of Gay City News in New York, and current publisher of the Los Angeles Blade noted upon hearing the news, “On a day when millions march to protect our rights and stand up to a right-wing SCOTUS, we celebrate the life of one of our greatest social justice LGBTQ and AIDS warriors—keep shining on Urvashi Vaid.”

In 1995, after resigning from her position at the Task Force three years prior, she published her first book, “Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation,” in which she criticized the idea of “mainstreaming” what was and is, in fact, a civil rights movement.

Rather than tolerance, she argued, the objective for the movement should be fundamental, actionable change.

It was not an immediately popular notion, as media representation for queer people was just beginning to take shape, though it was, for her, of great moral importance.

In 1996 “Virtual Equality” won the Stonewall Book Award.

In her position as president of the Vaid Group, Vaid advised, mentored, and supported the LGBTQ movement.

In 2012, Urvashi Vaid launched LPAC, the first lesbian Super PAC, and it has since invested millions of dollars in candidates who are committed to social justice through legislation.

Prior to that, Vaid held positions on the boards at the Ford Foundation, the Arcus Foundation (where she served as executive director from 2005 to 2010) and the Gill Foundation.

She was a leader in the development of the ongoing National LGBTQ women’s community survey.

Vaid was the aunt of activist and performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon. She is survived by Alok Vaid-Menon as well as her longtime partner, political humorist Kate Clinton.

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Karine Jean-Pierre on her firsts: ‘I am a Black, gay, immigrant woman’ High praise for first out White House press secretary

Karine Jean-Pierre is no stranger to progressive politics.

She takes on the role of White House press secretary as part of a long career working on building political coalitions and as a spokesperson for advocates before coming to the Biden administration, which has won her close allies and admirers who continue to cheer her on.

Jean-Pierre’s new position as top spokesperson for President Biden — and the first Black, first openly gay person to become White House press secretary — is the latest endeavor she pursues in that broader mission.

Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn.org, knew Jean-Pierre from when she worked at the progressive organization and she quickly became a rising star “because she’s so incredibly skilled at communicating in a way that real people understand.”

“She was incredibly relatable to people that were watching her at home on TV,” Epting said. “And she could speak to you know, she she did that role during the Trump era for MoveOn and she really spoke to the hearts and minds of what people were feeling and thinking during that time.”

It was during Jean-Pierre’s time with MoveOn when she was serving as a moderator for a panel with Kamala Harris and famously rose to block an animal-rights activist who was physically threatening the candidate.

When protests emerged during the Trump era over policies such as his travel ban on Muslim countries, efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the two impeachment votes seeking to remove Trump from office, Epting said Jean-Pierre was key in MoveOn.org being at the front lines of those efforts.

“Karine was on TV and she was representing the movement in ways that sparked or electrified the energy that was actually being felt out there,” Epting said.

Jean-Pierre, 45, has a distinctive story of rising to become White House press secretary as an immigrant from a Haitian family whose parents brought her to the United States, where she was raised in Queens, N.Y., from the age of five. Jean-Pierre cared for her younger siblings growing up as her mother worked as a home health aide and her father worked as a taxi driver.

Despite these humble beginnings, Jean-Pierre nonetheless reached astonishing heights. After receiving her master’s degree from the School of International & Public Affairs at Columbia University, Jean-Pierre went on to work for President Obama, serving as regional political director for the White House Office of Political Affairs during the Obama administration’s first term, before returning to the White House after Biden was elected president.

Michael Strautmanis, now executive vice president for public engagement at the Obama Foundation, worked with Jean-Pierre in the 2008 presidential campaign and at the White House under Obama and said the first thing that came across to him was how she “always had it covered.”

“She never came and asked me for advice on something where she didn’t already have one or two or three possible solutions to the challenge that she always had,”

By CHRIS JOHNSON | cjohnson@washblade.com

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE held her first briefing on Monday.

Strautmanis said. “She was always very, very well prepared, so she just sort of stood out to me.”

Jean-PIerre brings all this background to the role of White House press secretary in addition to achieving many firsts in the appointment as a Black woman, an LGBTQ person and an immigrant. Her partner is Suzanne Malveaux, a CNN reporter and former White House correspondent.

In her maiden briefing on Monday as White House press secretary, Jean-Pierre said the opportunity granted to her in her new role was not just an achievement, but the culmination of work from many who came before her.

“I am obviously acutely aware that my presence at this podium represents a few firsts,” Jean-Pierre said,. “I am a Black, gay, immigrant woman, the first of all three of those to hold this position. I would not be here today if it were not for generations of barriers — barrier-breaking people before me. I stand on their shoulders. If it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me, I would not be here.”

Asked by April Ryan of The Grio, a Black news outlet, about the many firsts she achieved by taking on the role as White House press secretary, Jean-Pierre recognized the signal that sends and brought up an article from a newspaper that went to her elementary school in Hampstead, N.Y. “And these kids wrote me a letter,” Jean-Pierre said.

“And in the letter, they talked about how they can dream bigger because of me standing behind this podium.

And that matters. You know, as I started out at the beginning: Representation matters. And not just for girls, but also for boys.”

A White House spokesperson said Jean-Pierre was unable to make the Washington Blade’s deadline in response to an interview request for this article. Among the questions the Blade planned to ask was whether or not she feels a special obligation to represent and speak for the communities in her role as White House press secretary.

It wasn’t a straight line for Jean-Pierre to get to the position as White House press secretary. Although she worked for Harris in the Biden campaign, she came to the White House as deputy White House press secretary

1 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • NAT I O NA L NE WS

under Jen Psakl, who was responsible for Biden. (At the start of the Biden administration, Politico reported that Jean-Pierre’s relationship with the vice president became strained and Jean-Pierre was effectively estranged in the final five months of the campaign.)

But Jean-Pierre quickly won high praise in her role as a Biden spokesperson. In May 2021, when she gave her first on-camera briefing as a substitute for Psaki, JeanPierre was considered effectively to have knocked the ball out of the park and reportedly won a round of applause from her colleagues upon retuning to the press office.

Ester Fuchs, who was an instructor for Jean-Pierre when she was at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs and later her colleague when she returned as a lecturer, said key to understanding Jean-Pierre’s success in communications is her balance of optimism and realism.

“She showed really a deep understanding of American politics, and particularly divisions in American politics,” Fuchs said. “But she was very much committed to the idea that the American Dream was still real for people like her, but with a kind of realpolitik understanding of what were the roadblocks, and always very committed to equity and fairness and making sure that people who were new immigrants or from high -needs population had a chance to be heard.”

The high praise Jean-Pierre receives from her former colleagues and friends undermines the argument in conservative media she was selected for the role of White House press secretary only because she checks off numerous boxes in the base of the Democratic Party’s coalition. Tucker Carlson of Fox News, for example, aired a segment last week deriding the appointment as the latest example of identity politics. Carlson mocked supporters for saying being LGBTQ is “the only thing you need to know” about Jean-Pierre, essentially ignoring the commitment and achievement she has made in getting there.

But there’s also a boon of having a good personality.

Jean-Pierre’s smile as a means of being effective in disarming and comforting people was one of her features that came up two times independently among the people close to her the Blade consulted for this article.

Strautmanis said he’ll be watching to see whether or not Jean-Pierre’s humor comes out in her new role in White House press secretary as well as her capability to make people around her implicitly trust her, but ultimately predicted she would “kick ass.”

“She just engenders a tremendous confidence,” Strautmanis said. “And so, I think that’s the other thing that people are going to see, which is that as she speaks, you’re just gonna have a sense that, ‘You know, I trust what this person is saying,’ and I think that’s a really hard thing to do in that in the work that she’s done before in that job. But I think that’s why she transitioned from being a political staffer into communications, because she has that ability in communications to be up front, be direct, be honest, and yet still kind of push forward a particular agenda. I think that’s a rare combination.”

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Brian Sims, three other LGBTQ candidates lose races in Pa. Gay, trans hopefuls competing for Philly state house seat lose to straight ally

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

LGBTQ candidates running for the U.S. Senate, lieutenant governor, and a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in Philadelphia’s ‘gayborhood’ each lost their races in the Keystone State’s May 17 Democratic primary.

Transgender community activist Deja Alvarez and LGBTQ rights and economic development advocate Jonathan Lovitz, who ran against each other in a four-candidate race for the 182nd District State House seat in Center City Philadelphia, were thought to have the best shot at winning among the four LGBTQ candidates running in the state primary.

The two were running neck-and-neck to one another but were trailing far behind straight LGBTQ ally and businessman Ben Waxman as of late Tuesday evening. With the votes counted in 52 of 59 of the district’s electoral divisions, Waxman had 41.6 percent of the vote, Lovitz had 19.1 percent, with Alvarez garnering 18.6 percent. Café owner, community activist, and LGBTQ ally Will Gross had 20.5 percent of the vote.

Lovitz and Alvarez along with Waxman and Gross were running for the seat held by gay State Rep. Brian Sims, who gave up the seat to run in Tuesday’s primary as the state’s first out gay candidate for lieutenant governor.

Sims lost that race to fellow State Rep. Austin Davis by a margin of 63.3 percent for Davis and 24.5 percent for Sims with 88 percent of the votes counted. The Associated Press declared Davis the winner early in the evening. A third candidate in the race, Ray Sosa, had 12.2 percent of the vote.

In a development that surprised many observers outside Pennsylvania, more than 40 prominent LGBTQ leaders from across the state endorsed Davis over Sims earlier this year, saying Davis is a strong and committed supporter of LGBTQ rights and has the best chance of winning in the general election in November.

Davis also received the strong backing of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who ran unopposed in Tuesday’s primary for the Democratic nomination for governor. Shapiro, who also received strong backing from LGBTQ activists, said he considered Davis to be his running mate in the primary.

The fourth of the LGBTQ candidates running in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary, State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of the 181st District in North Philly, ran as a longshot candidate for the state’s U.S. Senate seat being vacated by GOP incumbent Patrick Toomey. Kenyatta lost to Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who was declared the winner with 88 percent of the votes counted.

Fetterman had 59.3 percent, with Kenyatta finishing in third place in a four-candidate race with 10.0 percent of the vote. U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb finished in second place with 26.6 percent of the vote as of early Wednesday morning, with IT specialist and former small business owner Alex Khalil finishing fourth with 4.2 percent of the vote.

Kenyatta, who was one of three gay speakers who joined others in delivering a joint

keynote address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, received the endorsement of the Philadelphia Gay News in his bid for the U.S. Senate seat.

The race in which Lovitz and Alvarez competed for the State House seat in the 182nd District, which is believed to have more LGBTQ residents than any BRIAN SIMS lost his race for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor. other legislative dis(Blade file photo by Wyatt Reid Westlund) trict in the state, drew the most attention among LGBTQ activists both in Philadelphia and in other parts of the country.

Both have been involved in LGBTQ rights issues for many years. Lovitz drew support from a wide range of LGBTQ and labor and small business leaders who he knew in his past role as senior vice president of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Alvarez, a widely known transgender activist who led local community-based organizations providing services to the LGBTQ community, would have been the first transgender person to serve in the Pennsylvania General Assembly if she had been elected to the State House seat.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, the national group that raises money in support of LGBTQ candidates for public office, drew criticism from some activists for endorsing Alvarez over Lovitz. Some argued that the group should have remained neutral or backed Lovitz, who had raised far more money for his campaign and appeared to be the most viable of the two candidates. Others expressed concern that two LGBTQ candidates running in a four-candidate race could result in a split in the LGBTQ vote that would help the straight candidates, who were known LGBTQ rights supporters.

As it turned out, the approximate combined share of the vote that Alvarez and Lovitz received — 38.2 percent — still fell short of the 42.6 percent of the vote received by Waxman.

WNBA players ask White House to ‘prioritize’ Griner’s release Phoenix Mercury center detained in Russia in February

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association has endorsed a petition that urges the Biden administration to “prioritize” WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release.

“It is imperative that the U.S. government immediately address this human rights issue and do whatever is necessary to return Brittney home quickly and safely,” reads the Change.org petition that Tamryn Spruill, a freelance journalist and author, created.

Russian state TV has released a photo of WNBA star “The WNBPA and its memBRITTNEY GRINER, who was arrested on drug charges bers proudly join Tamryn in the country after Russian officials say cannabis oil Spruill, the creator of this pewas found in her luggage. (Screenshot) tition, in demanding that lawmakers prioritize Griner’s return,” it continues. “White House and Biden adminsitration, we ask that you take action today—doing whatever is necessary—to bring Brittney Griner home swiftly and safely.”

2 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • NAT I O NA L NE WS

More than 135,000 people have signed the petition.

Spruill on Saturday in a tweet said the WNBPA, a union that represents WNBA players, partnered with them and Change.org “in demanding that our elected officials work urgently to gain BG’s swift and safe release.”

Griner — a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist who is a lesbian and married to her wife — was taken into custody at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February. Russian officials said customs inspectors found hashish oil in her luggage.

The State Department earlier this month determined Russia “wrongfully detained” Griner. A Russian court on Friday extended her detention for another month.

“The Russian system wrongfully detained Ms. Griner,” then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday during her last White House briefing. “We take our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens seriously. And we will continue to press for fair and transparent treatment for all U.S. citizens when they are subject to legal processes overseas.”

“Now, because the State Department recategorized her as wrongfully detained, it means that our Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs — it’s quite a title but a well-deserved one — is going to be overseeing this case and leading the effort,” added Psaki. “Because it’s a deliberative process and we know from experience of bringing other Americans home, we’re just not going to detail what those efforts look like at this point in time.”

Griner faces up to 10 years in prison.

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Poland LGBTQ ‘Free Zones’ tossed; Pussy Riot singer escapes

LGBTQ news from Europe this past week saw a major development in Poland after a court annulled actions taken previously to declare ‘LGBT Free Zones’ by provincial governments.

Large parts of Poland were labelled “LGBT-free zones,” where regional governments declared they were against LGBTQ ideology. Last fall the executive branch of the European Union, the European Commission, sent letters out last week to the governors of five of Poland’s voivodeships, (provinces) warning that pandemic relief funds totaling over 126 million euros ($150 million) will be withheld over anti-LGBTQ measures passed in their jurisdictions.

Poland has seen a resurgence in the past three years of rightwing religious ultra-conservative groups backed by nationalistic extremists in this heavily Catholic country of 38 million, which have led to passage of measures to restrict pride parades and other LGBTQ-friendly events from taking place.

Proponents of these measures claim the necessity of the provinces to be “free of LGBTQ ideology” saying this is mandated by average Poles as well as by the anti-LGBTQ views of the Catholic Church.

The majority of Polish people support LGBTQ rights surrounding marriage and family, according to research

by Miłość Nie Wyklucza (Love Does Not Exclude.)

The survey found 56 percent of respondents believe same-sex marriage should be legal to ensure the safety of their children. Even more, 65 percent, said they felt “a biological parent raising a child with a same-sex partner” fits the definition of family. And 58 percent of people said a same-sex couple is a family even without children.

Lublin Regional Assembly passed a resolution in April 2019 declaring that LGBTQ rights aim to “annihilate” the “values shaped by the Catholic Church” PinkNewsUK reported.

In the same month, Ryki County, a district in Lublin, passed a resolution voting to protect “children, young people, families and Polish schools” from an apparent wave of “homoterror” being unleashed by “left-liberal groups.”

PinkNewsUK also reported that the Provincial Administrative Court in Lublin found the resolutions were “adopted without legal basis and in gross violation of the law” after a legal challenge by the Polish Ombudsman.

They become the eighth and ninth “LGBT-free zones” voided by the courts following interventions by the Polish Ombudsman. Municipal councils in Istebna, Klwów, Serniki, Osiek, Lipinki, Niebylec and the Tarnowski County Council all scrapped such measures in 2019.

Sopot, Poland Vice Mayor MAGDALENA CZARZYŃSKAJACHIM, right, and LGBTQ demonstrators.

(Photo courtesy of Magdalena Czarzyńska-Jachim)

This past June, the leaders of 17 European Union countries had signed a letter that urges the EU to fight anti-LGBTQ discrimination. The EU has also called out the anti-LGBTQ measures taken more recently in Hungary.

ILGA-Europe, a Brussels based advocacy group promoting the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people, at the European level, in a statement it sent to the Blade in June after the EU letter was issued, notes that both Hungary and Poland, another EU country in which lawmakers have sought to restrict LGBTQ rights in recent years are at odds with the EU position on LGBTQ+ people.

“For quite some time now, we’ve been informing EU ministers about systematic breaches of EU law committed by Hungary and Poland, which impact on LGBTI rights and the lives of LGBTI people,” says ILGA-Europe.

ILGA-Europe, which produces a yearly “rainbow map” of 49 countries across Europe, revealed this past week that the United Kingdom had the most significant drop in ranking for LGBTQ equality rights this past year falling from 10th to 14th place.

Leading contributors to the loss in ranking and standing on the ILGA annual listing was due in part to the ongoing battles over transgender rights with a failure by the Tory-led government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to set gender recognition policies especially in regard to a total ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy.

ILGA-Europe’s advocacy director, Katrin Hugendubel, described the UK’s plunging status to The Guardian newspaper as “a sad reminder that when governments don’t stand strong on their commitments to advance minority rights, a powerful opposition can use that space to spread hate and division”.

The chief executive of Stonewall UK, Nancy Kelley,

warned that “years of progress on LGBTQ+ policy that was achieved under successive administrations has been rapidly eroded by a UK government that has taken its foot off the pedal”.

The ILGA highlighted the UK government’s failure to extend a ban on conversion practices to transgender people, as well as abandonment of promised reforms on gender recognition and its equality action plan. It added that the UK also lost points because the government’s equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), was “not … effectively protecting on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity” the Guardian reported.

Kelley called on the prime minister to “step back into the game” as a leader in protecting and promoting LGBTQ rights.

“As we approach the 50th anniversary of the first Pride in the UK, we call for his active leadership to rebuild our human rights institutions and to deliver a strategic policy programme that enables all LGBTQ+ people in the UK to live their lives in freedom and safety.”

In what could be best described as a story worthy of a Cold-War era spy novel, the leader of the Russian activist band Pussy Riot fled Russia disguised as a food-delivery worker. Maria V. Alyokhina in an interview with the New York Times that she was able to get to her girlfriend’s home in Vilnius, Lithuania, after evading Russian Federal Security Services agents.

The queer singer-songwriter musician and human rights activist who was on house arrest at the time of her escape was set to be transferred to a penal colony in the Russian Far East after being arrested six times in the past year protesting the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin and more recently his order for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to the account in the New York Times, Alyokhina left her apartment in the food-delivery worker disguise, and an unnamed friend drove her to the Belarusian border. The problem then became exiting from Belarus to Lithuania as she was turned away at the border twice

by Lithuanian border agents.

The Times reported that Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson eventually helped Alyokhina acquire the necessary travel documents from an unnamed country that in turn assisted her entering into Lithuania, where many Pussy Riot members had already escaped to, including Alyokhina’s girlfriend, Lucy Shtein.

The band has now kicked off its European tour in Berlin.

BRODY LEVESQUE

Greek lawmakers ban conversion therapy for minors Greek lawmakers last week approved a bill that will ban so-called conversion therapy for minors.

Media reports note mental health providers will face fines and prison if they subject a minor to conversion therapy without their consent. The bill will also ban the advertisement of conversion therapy in the country.

“There were some false treatments that stated that when a minor has chosen a different sexual orientation, his parents could supposedly proceed with ‘treatments’ for this child to ‘return to normality’”, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said before the vote, according to Reuters. “Obviously these treatments not only are not a therapy but they are not supported scientifically.”

Laws that ban conversion therapy have taken effect in New Zealand, France and Canada in recent months.

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Where does wrongful detention of Brittney Griner go from here?

She will inevitably be labeled a hostage

I like to use Kyrie Irving as an analogy because he is a highly It seems like years rather than weeks ago that American pocontroversial Black athlete. Obviously, NBA players don’t have litical prisoner, Trevor Reed, was released from Russia in a pristo have second jobs in places like Russia, Turkey, and China, oner swap. It also seems like years since an American citizen, to make ends meet, as the WNBA women do. But just imagine basketball superstar Brittney Griner, was taken into custody in that Kyrie Irving was traveling alone through Moscow airport. If Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for allegedly having hashish oil Irving had been taken into custody by the Russians, I can guarin her possession. antee that this would be front-page news not just in the sports We now know what many of us believed all along - that Britsection but on the front pa e of all si nificant papers practicall tney Griner was, in the far too late proclamation by the U.S. govevery day. That simply hasn’t been the case with Brittney Griner. ernment, “wrongfully detained.” In diplomacy-speak, wrongfulEvery day, I am asked where this goes from here. With Grily detained is synonymous with politically detained, which is ner’s May 19 hearing delayed “one month” (though at the time super close to what will soon enough inevitably happen - callof writing, no date has been set), I remained convinced of two ing Brittney Griner a hostage.

GAYDESERTHOTSPRINGS things: that this goes to a worse place than we are now and that Since the beginning of Griner’s detention, I have done dozit progresses painfully slowly. ens of print, radio, TV, and related interviews, and I have a pretty s to the first point to ma imi e levera e over the nited clear view of how and why we got here.

States, it’s likely that Griner will end up somewhere like a RusAs I wrote around six weeks ago, if we read between the lines sian labor camp before she ever steps back into the United of what’s being said in traditional and social media, we can exStates. While Russia does not follow the Rule of Law, it would tract three key reasons why the Griner situation isn’t getting the be neither legally nor politically expedient to just hold Griner attention that it should be and would be if it was a different in a oscow ail or prison indefinitel he need to ma e her athlete. situation worse to turn up the urgency of the case for the Amerhe first reason is that rittne riner is not a terribl hi h pro ican government. file athlete But this indeed won’t happen overnight. As I’ve also been This is patently untrue. As I have been commenting from saying all along, the next hearing date will also be delayed, OR the minute we learned that she was taken into custody by the we will learn through a TASS Russian media release that Griner ussians riner was absolutel the hi hest profile merican was tried, found guilty of all charges, and sentenced (see labor athlete that Russia could have taken into custody as they were camp, above). preparing for their brutal invasion of Ukraine.

As to what each of us can do, my advice remains the same: he onl other hi h profile athletes pla in in ussia or tran Keep talking about it. Make this Brittney as viral as Britney siting through at that time were the very few American players Spears was a year ago. Just as Britney Spears’ freedom from in Russia’s top hockey league, the KHL. None are superstars in her conservatorship was turbo-charged by the #FreeBritney their sport, as Griner is. hashtag, let’s #FreeBrittney now.

The second argument for why Griner isn’t getting the attenhis is si nificantl less trite than it sounds here is no in tion she should be is that she is LGBTQ. dication that the American government doesn’t want you to I have argued that this is a reasonably good hypothesis. It just forget about Brittney Griner. As former hostage Jason Rezaian seems that a straight athlete would be getting a lot more attendiscussed on an excellent recent Washington Post podcast, he tion and public sympathy than Griner has, in part, yet not in full, always “calls BS” on those parties, saying we should keep debecause of her sexual orientation. That’s a remarkably harsh potentions such as Griner’s out of the public spotlight. He advosition to have to take in 2022, yet it’s clear that Griner doesn’t cates being as loud as we can be on this, which is why I keep fit the mold of what man mericans see as that all merican doing interviews on this issue as much as possible. athlete. That one’s sexual or gender orientation should drive Ultimately, Brittney Griner will be a political prisoner until the the American public’s level of sympathy for one of their own United States and Russia can decide, in crass basketball terms, top athletesAisDaVshame, but here we are.

E RT I S I N G P R O O F on a fair player trade. On Friday, we learned that the two sides The third and most commonly cited reason for Brittany Griner 2-03-25 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS bpitts@washblade.com might actually be in discussions now for a trade involving Grigetting less attention than another athlete in a similar situation ner for notorious convicted arms traffic er i tor out a a the is that she’s Black.

AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of proof. l be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of the proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts This argument holds little weight with me. Yes, it makes sense “Merchant of Death.” dia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is ble for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users Unless this can re-enter and remain in the public spotlight, that in comparison to a hi h profile white athlete some people through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws gihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of along with any pressure on the government, Britney Griner will are simply going to care less about a Black athlete. Again, that’s yright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, ompetition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or ADVERTISER on, or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia not get the treatment she deserves as one of the greatest basa harsh analysis, SIGNATURE yet not unaligned with many things going on the washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the and all liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses blade newspaper. This includes but is not limited to placement, ketball players of her generation. That the massive disparity bein the washington nation today. be incurred by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertiser’s breach of any of the payment and insertion schedule. g representations and warranties. tween how NBA and WNBA players are compensated laid the But I think this is a reductive argument that crumbles under foundation for her to be in this position is the harsh reality these the weight of the analogy that I usually use during TV and radio leagues face today. Yet it pales compared to the uncertain realbroadcasts about the Griner case - and that is, what if this was ity Griner faces today in a Moscow jail.

Kyrie Irving?

2 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • V I E WP O I NT

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is a senior adviser to the Campaign for Our Shared Future, a leading global expert on LGBTQ+ issues in K-12 education and youth development, and served as executive director of GLSEN from 2008-2021.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s recent signing of the “Don’tSay Gay” bill was a body blow to the LGBTQ+ community — particularly for those of us who trust in our schools to provide a safe and welcoming space for our children.

But it was what the governor’s press secretary, Christina Pushaw, tweeted earlier in March that made my heart leap into my throat. “If you’re against the Anti-Grooming bill, you are probably a groomer.”

As the former executive director of GLSEN, I know a dog whistle when I hear it. And I also know that politicians who have ambitions of running for higher office, like DeSantis, choose their words extremely carefully.

DeSantis is deliberately activating a cultural fear tactic to scare schools and educators away from providing LGBTQ+ children and their families with potentially life-saving support. And unfortunately he is far from alone in going down this dangerous path of spouting hate for political leverage.

Throughout the historic Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson, we saw Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and others bring the specter of child indoctrination into the national discussion in the context of race. In doing so, they were following the lead of Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist-journalist known for creating an all-purpose header for all things controversial out of the label “critical race theory” (CRT).

This began to take shape last year with the intentional mischaracterization of schools implementing diversity, equity and inclusion programs as attempts to indoctrinate our kids with divisive leftist ideals. Starting with Hawley’s attacks on Judge Jackson, they upped the ante by accusing schools of “grooming” children to be anti-racist — this time drawing from the QAnon playbook.

Radical politicians push legislation like the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, or vile rhetoric like the insinuations about Judge Jackson, in order to further their agenda of dismantling our children’s access to a good, truly multicultural public education by sowing confusion and distrust, as was openly stated by Rufo at a speaking event at Hillsdale College earlier in April. All the while, they create a deeply dangerous environment for some of our most vulnerable children.

And their timing could not be more dire. This deluge of bad policymaking and shrill rhetoric is happening at the exact moment when we are experiencing a national mental health crisis among our youth. Nearly four out of 10 teens reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless,” according to CDC data — a 40 percent increase from pre-pandemic levels.

Black and LGBTQ+ students in particular are more likely than their peers to have attempted suicide, and when politicians use them as political chips to be played, it compounds those risks. Never mind the fact that schools’ efforts to undo racism and anti-LGBTQ+ bias and violence is itself an investment in these children’s survival. Black adolescents experience multiple instances of racial discrimination every day, one study found, with real consequences for their mental health. Schools need to play an active role in rectifying that.

In my 20 years at GLSEN, I wrote far too many condolence letters to parents who lost a child to suicide. Some politicians see no harm in shaming and stigmatizing vulnerable children.

We’ve seen lately this onrush of harmful, self-centered behavior from those in a position of public trust. But on the other end of the spectrum, is Spencer Cox: the Republican governor of Utah who recently issued a brilliant letter explaining his veto of an anti-trans sports bill passed by the state legislature.

Vetoing the bill, which would have banned trans girls from participating in women’s sports in public schools, was surely a politically unpopular move in a deep-red state. But after thoughtfully considering the issues, reviewing key research, and weighing the competing needs of stakeholders, Cox took a stand in defense of some of Utah’s most vulnerable children.

For all those who rise to the calling of public service, there’s a choice to be made. Gov. Cox made the choice to safeguard the most vulnerable youth in his state despite the political implications. I sincerely hope that in this critical moment, more of our country’s leaders will follow his example.

And should it take more than their own consciences to do so, let us all hold leaders accountable for the impact of their cynical/vicious/immoral self-centeredness on all of our children.

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www.rehobeach.com State Broker of Record is located at 7 N 1st St, Rehoboth Beach, DE, 19971 | Office Phone 302.450.1007 M AY 2 0 , 2 0 2 2 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 3 3

RYAN WEYANDT

is CEO of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance.

Positive signs for LGBTQ homebuyers despite hot market, discrimination

GenZ and Millennials coming out, living more authentic lives

Jim Obergefell walked to the stage at our recent national LGBTQ+ Housing Policy Symposium to a standing ovation. He was speaking just a few blocks and almost seven years removed from the steps of the Supreme Court where he won his landmark June 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage. He was with us on April 28 to share his thoughts on his life after the groundbreaking ruling, which now has him running for a seat for the Ohio State House, and ultimately a continuance of the “Rainbow Wave” we’re seeing in the political arena around the country.

The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, which is one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ trade groups with more than 2,200 members since our June 2020 founding, is also seeing an LGBTQ+ wave in the real estate industry and homeownership. We were proud, but not surprised, when our friends at Zillow shared last year that 12% of all homes sold in the United States were purchased by LGBTQ+ folks. We also know that Millennials and Gen Z’ers are entering (or will soon enter) their prime home buying years – many as first time homebuyers shifting from renters. Why does this matter? Well, GenZ and Millennials are coming out and living more authentic lives at a greater pace than any other generations previously, with overall greater representation from our LGBTQ+ community. The impact this will have on homeownership for our community is unprecedented.

Our most recent LGBTQ+ Real Estate Report (largely focused on discrimination) explored how Jim’s marriage equality win has played a dramatic role in improving home ownership opportunities for our community. Since then, 64% of LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance members have seen an uptick in the number of LGBTQ+ couples as homeowners, with 42% noticing an increase of LGBTQ+ singles entering homeownership. And 40% of our members have recognized an increase in LGBTQ+ homebuyers choosing to live in communities not traditionally known as “LGBTQ+-friendly.” There’s now some supporting data to show that folks are, in fact, moving into the suburbs to expand their footprint, and it’s tied to being able to be legally married and likely starting families.

Moreover, 40% of members reported their number of LGBTQ+ clients has increased over the last three years. That’s outstanding progress, especially given the aggressive market we find ourselves in as a country.

We found that financial concerns are the overwhelming reasons why LGBTQ+ renters continue renting with home prices and lack of down payment funds as the largest barriers to homeownership. We also know that a lack of education and understanding about the buying and mortgage process exist. The fact remains, very few financial organizations or mortgage companies reach out directly to our community and try to being us information or encourage us to dive into the homeownership process. So, and that’s why it so exciting to share that the Alliance will host our second annual free virtual LGBTQ+ First-Time Home Buyer Seminar on June 14 from 7-9 p.m. EST. You can register at realestatealliance.org.

As many of us know first-hand, however, there is still far too much discrimination against community members during the home buying process. In fact, 38% of our members indicated that there has been no change in the amount of discrimination against LGBTQ+ homebuyers over the last three years, while 14% believe discrimination has actually increased. This discrimination can take on many forms including, but not limited to, unconscious bias and blatant discrimination exhibited by real estate professionals, sellers, lenders and the legal forms consumers have to complete like title documents, mortgage documents or even purchase agreements in certain regions.

Thankfully the real estate industry has been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ acceptance. The Realtor Code of Ethics prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which is more than we can say for the protections (or complete lack of) that Congress has continually failed to extended us. Along with National Association of Realtors and local associations, including the D.C. Association of Realtors, the Alliance has some of the largest real estate brands, financial institutions, title companies and insurance firms as partners. They are working closely with us to identify areas of improvement, and we are working with them to ensure they continue to support and push for passage of the Equality Act with their corporate influence.

Thanks to folks like my friend, and true inspiration to so many of us, Jim Obergefell, our community continues to be a force. We will push on. We will continue to fight for equality and equity. We will win our basic human rights!

3 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • V I E WP O I NT

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PETER ROSENSTEIN

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

GLAA has lost its way and should close Their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), once a respected organization, has now lost its way. It once represented all the members of the LGBTQ+ community, clearly no longer the case, as one can tell based on their questionnaire and ratings. They now represent only the far left in the community and are seeking to represent more than LGBTQ+ people as the statement from their current president suggests. That is not the role of GLAA. One of the questions in this year’s questionnaire that candidates were asked to respond to is: “Do you support divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to further invest in vital programs, including anti-poverty, violence prevention, crisis intervention, and reentry?” If you didn’t say yes, you lost points. This shows how out of touch they are as the DC Council just voted unanimously, on a first vote, to raise the budget of the MPD. The approved budget also includes increased funding for other vital programs.

There’s no indication GLAA ever spoke to Council members on this issue.

Its website lists five officers, all men, with a blurb on each. The one for the president, in addition to listing past and current employment, says, “When he is not organizing, he loves asking people about their Myers Briggs Type (he is ENFP, for the record), doing gay crimes (the basics like drugs and public sex), having Spicy Vanilla sex, dancing to hot beats on the dance floor, practicing vulnerability, plotting revolution against capitalism and other forms of oppression.” He is entitled to his views. But I question how his leading the GLAA represents the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Over the years I’ve had issues with some of what GLAA has done and some of the issues they focused on. But the organization always represented the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community in their questionnaire. Candidates getting a rating from the organization could feel it represented a wide range of opinion in the community. I would hope no candidate tries to pawn the current ratings off as any kind of support from the broader LGBTQ + community.

In the past you always knew their officers, including Rick Rosendall, Bob Summersgill and Jeff Coudriet among others, were involved with D.C. government and knew the issues in-depth. They knew the candidates. Responding to their questionnaire over the years was always interesting. Rick often was the one who spent hours drafting the questions. I always wondered why it was never enough to say yes you agree with their premise.

Instead, you had to say it in hundreds, even thousands, of words to earn points. I know as I have filled out questionnaires for many candidates.

Today their website lists nine project areas, none with anything accomplished since 2016. The blog has nothing on any recent budget issues or legislation pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community, only information about the questionnaire. They claim to lobby the Council and monitor government agencies, but there is no indication of any meetings or testimony since 2017.

We can thank GLAA for the fact that today no politician can win office in D.C. without being supportive of the LGBTQ community. However, today their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election. Since this is now the only thing they do it’s time to close up shop. We have moved past the time in D.C. when a small number of people can sit in a room rating candidates they don’t know, on issues that don’t represent the community they are supposed to be representing.

So personally, I say thank you to all the people who worked hard over many years for GLAA to help move the LGBTQ community forward. I recognize there is much work still to be done but GLAA is not the organization to do it. We must work to ensure economic and civil justice for all members of our community; health equity for transgender persons; senior housing for our community; and employment opportunities for all, among other issues. But there are other LGBTQ organizations, and community organizations, doing these things better and the few members GLAA might still have should be directed to those other organizations.

If as their website claims they are planning an anniversary celebration, it should be one to honor all the people who in the past 50 years of the organization, worked hard and were successful in making my life and the lives of so many LGBTQ people in the District of Columbia and around the nation better. That would be an exciting way to say goodbye and celebrate the organization whose time it is to close.

3 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • V I E WP O I NT

FROM GLAA BOARD

This opinion piece was signed by the 2022 Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance board of directors.

Leave no one behind: Building an LGBTQ+ movement for all A just society is only achievable by investing in dignity of the marginalized

Despite the expansion of LGBTQ+ civil rights and liberties in D.C., some of which we proudly attribute to GLAA’s stalwart activism for the past 51 years, the most vulnerable members of our community continue to suffer from poverty, homelessness, criminalization, discrimination, social isolation, and preventable death. A jaw-dropping 40% of homeless youth in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ people experience hunger at twice the rate of straight people, and right here in D.C., the Office of Human Rights reports that employers are more likely to interview a less-qualified cisgender job applicant than a more-qualified transgender applicant.

So for our 2022 candidate ratings, GLAA decided to emphasize that racial and economic justice are LGBTQ+ justice issues. While we recognize the importance of openly LGBTQ+ candidates, we know one’s identity does not indicate where they stand on critical issues.

Something many of us have learned the hard way, and something GLAA leadership recognizes not championing sooner as a mistake. What matters most is a candidate’s demonstrated record and vision to support the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety.

It is not enough for candidates to respond only to the needs of those who historically have held the most power in the LGBTQ+ community, particularly white cisgender gay men, in order to tout support of the entire community. The LGBTQ+ community is so many different people, and it is time we push candidates to consider and address us in our entirety. For too long, many LGBTQ+ people have felt rejected and betrayed by our community’s movement priorities, narratives about what our community stands for, and decisions on who is valued and who is selected to represent or lead us. And, while GLAA understands no one politician or organization can erase these community divides, we aim to be intentional in our approach to dismantle that which stands in our entire community’s way toward liberation. That is why, in 2022 we decided to rate candidates on their responses and records of support on issues that impact the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community.

None of us is free until all of us are free.

Throughout GLAA’s history we have focused on securing LGBTQ+ rights, which have mostly strengthened the legal protections of people privileged enough to take advantage of them. GLAA decided to focus the Leave No One Behind: 2022 Election Guide and questionnaire on racial and economic justice with an LGBTQ+ lens. We did this to build on our victories, such as successfully advocating for the defunding of the Metropolitan Police Department’s vice squad in the 1970s, and to learn from our mistakes.

It is our belief that a just, peaceful, and vibrant society is only achievable by actively investing in the security and dignity of the poor and marginalized members of all our communities. Our questionnaire intentionally acts in solidarity with D.C. anti-poverty, anti-stigma, and anti-overdose campaigns, which are largely led by trans and queer people of color.

Ratings are on a scale of +/-10 points: yes/no responses on questionnaire (+/-2); substance of response (+/-4); and candidate’s public record (+/-4). Candidates earned partial credit for the yes/no category if they partially agreed with the question. Four issues received more than 91% agreement: increasing the affordable housing stock for the poorest residents, housing people using government funded vouchers, fully funding the Office of Human Rights, and better oversight to improve conditions in the DC Jail.

Three issues received 70-79% candidates’ support, and over 90% when including candidates who issued partial support: Repealing the sub-minimum wage, decriminalization of drug use, and reducing the population of D.C. jail by 30%.

Finally, the least supported policies were decriminalization of consensual sex work and divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department and investing in violence prevention and recidivism prevention programs. Even still, there was remarkable consensus: over 2/3 or 66% of candidates who issued total or partial support.

We are encouraged by the remarkable level of consensus on all of our issues, signaling that D.C. is ready for transformative change that at its core addresses the District’s current poverty, unaffordable housing, community and police-based violence, and overdose crises.

GLAA is excited to see more LGBTQ+ people on ballots. More exciting, however, is the number of politicians with fully realized and integrated LGBTQ+ policies in their platforms.

Policies that extend across race and class lines. GLAA firmly believes all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can be stewards of LGBTQ+ liberation. It is our hope that readers find these ratings not as endorsements, but as a starting point to imagine what is possible if local officials are guided by D.C. residents to use their elected power to create new possibilities that leave no one behind.

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

Rehoboth Beach summer 2022: ‘Let’s choose joy!’

Business owners excited for new season

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

Your return to Rehoboth Beach for the 2022 spring and summer season should be exciting as we look to move past all the COVID cancellations and restrictions of the past two years.

Everyone in town has been working hard over the past year to make sure this summer is safe and fun. There are new businesses, over-the-top new dance parties, and other less welcome changes, like the loss of the Dolle’s sign on the boardwalk.

Fewer than 1,500 people actually live in or own property in the town of Rehoboth Beach with the right to vote, yet the population swells to over 25,000 in the summer. Rehoboth wasn’t always the gay-friendly town it is today, but the work of CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community center founded by Murray Archibald and Steve Elkins in 1991, helped changed all that. Now the community is not only welcoming but businesses work hard to attract the LGBTQ community to town. CAMP has new leadership this summer, including Wes Combs as the new president of the board. Executive Director David Mariner recently announced his resignation after three years; the acting director is Lisa Evans.

Combs recently announced CAMP is going through “a strategic planning process to carry the organization into its next chapter. CAMP is delivering critically important and impactful free programming to promote community well-being on all levels; to foster the development of community groups; to develop community space; to promote human and civil rights; to work against prejudice and discrimination; to lessen tensions among the community at large; and to help foster economic growth.”

As you plan your return to Rehoboth, there have been some changes since last year.

Aqua Grill reopened in April on Baltimore Avenue with a new menu. It remains the go-to spot for outdoor happy hour after the beach. Then there is The Pines across the street, a great place for dinner and a show. Plan on being at the beach July 16-17 for Hair and Heels weekend at the convention center, sponsored by The Pines, a dance and drag brunch extraordinaire. As if that’s not enough, The Pines’s owners along with Lion Gardner, former chef at the Blue Moon, are hoping to open Drift on Baltimore Avenue by the end of June.

Lion has already prepared the menu for Drift and you can sample it many Sundays at The Pines in advance of the much-anticipated opening.

If you haven’t been to Rehoboth since last summer, then you missed the grand opening of Freddie’s Beach Bar on 1st Street. Freddie Lutz is planning exciting things for his first full season at the beach and has already hosted the ageless Pamala Stanley, who left The Pines in the off season.

Another hotly anticipated newcomer is Red, White and Basil, which closed its D.C. location in Adams Morgan and is preparing to open on Route 1 just outside of town. It’s owned by Mark Hunker and Jeff McCracken of Duplex Diner fame; the two also own Jam (best avocado toast in town) and Eden in Rehoboth and recently acquired Coho’s Market & Grill on Rehoboth Avenue.

Also this off-season, the long-awaited Agave Mexican restaurant opened on Route 1 in Rehoboth, an offshoot of the ever-popular Lewes location. The huge bar is gorgeous but arrive early as it’s always packed. The authentic mole sauce can’t be beat.

Ava’s Pizzeria and Wine Bar also opened in the off season at 29 Baltimore Ave. It’s part of a small local chain and a comfy spot for good pizzas, wine, and more. Speaking of wine, the new Unwined wine bar is coming soon to the old Azzurro restaurant spot, which closed for good during the pandemic. The second-floor outdoor deck is one of the best spots in town.

Also new this year is Above the Dunes in the old Greene Turtle space on the boardwalk.

Rehoboth has a surprising dearth of outdoor, waterfront dining so the transformation of the old Turtle with its overwhelming number of blaring TVs into the bright, inviting Dunes is a welcome development. The staff here are incredibly friendly and the view is all ocean.

The menu includes some healthful alternatives to all the boardwalk grease and fries, including a tuna poke and Korean salmon bowl. Don’t miss it.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden recently visited their home at the beach and took to the bicycle path. Not sure if they will be able to do what they did in past seasons stopping in at Joe Mack’s Double Dippers on 1st Street, but Joe hopes to see them sometime during the summer. I also know Lori Klein would love to see the first lady back during the 26th season at Lori’s Oy Vey Café in the CAMP courtyard, picking up a sandwich for Joe like she used to. Even if she won’t be there you should not miss Lori’s famous chicken salad.

One of the great old standbys at the beach, celebrating its 23rd birthday, is The Purple Parrot Grill and Biergarten on Rehoboth Avenue. Owners Hugh Fuller and Troy Roberts make everyone feel welcome with consistently good food, entertainment, and a handsome group of friendly bartenders and managers. Fuller said, “The town has an excite3 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

(L-R) BOB SUPPIES, KRISTINA KELLY, TYLER TOWNSEND, and DAVE GONCE of Aqua and The Pines have planned a busy summer of entertainment in Rehoboth Beach.

(Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)

ment about it that has been building since last year. If the last few months are indicative of what’s ahead it’s going to be a record-breaking summer.” He kidded that if you are part of the excitement, then “don’t complain about the crowds, or traffic, sure to be at the beach.”

Then there is the iconic Back Porch on Rehoboth Avenue; as locals know, weekend brunch at the cozy bar is one of the town’s most charming and unforgettable bites. Of course, Meghan Kee’s collection of restaurants, including La Fable, Dalmata, Houston White and the new Bramble and Brine at The Buttery in Lewes, continue to wow local foodies.

“The summers are always too short,” Kee said. “With that in mind, I am looking forward to making this season the best I can for our guests and my staff. Seems that our region will be busy, booming, and bustling come Memorial Day. It’s our duty as business owners and residents to give people what they come here for. Creative thinking and strategy got us all through the past two years, let’s choose joy for this third COVID summer.”

The Blue Moon is back offering some of the best fine dining in town along with drag and other entertainment; talented NYC pianist Nate Buccieri is expected to return for the season. Check Blue Moon’s site for updates.

The gay-owned Port 251 offers drag brunch and a friendly bar where Blade Best Bartender nominee Zane Rego holds court. The fabulous Holly Lane remains behind the bar at Cafe Azafran. Check out Goolees Grill for one of the best breakfasts in town. The Coffee Mill is ready and owner Mel Damascena told the Blade, “We are celebrating 30 years serving the local community. We have special events coming up including fundraising events to help community non- profits at both The Coffee Mill and the Mill Creamery right across from Coffee Mill serving local Hopkins’s ice cream.” Damascena also has Brashhh on 1st street, now celebrating nine years in business. Longtime Rehoboth business owner Steve Fallon has the always fun Gidget’s Gadgets on Rehoboth Avenue and now a second place selling vinyl records, Extendedplay. He invites everyone to Rehoboth and says, “if you stroll the streets, appreciate the diversity and embrace the many shops and eateries, your stay will be memorable.”

Back on Baltimore Avenue don’t forget to stop in at mainstays like Elegant Slumming for exquisite jewelry and Philip Morton Gallery for art, and the delicious Frank and Louie’s for sandwiches and Italian specialties. On Wilmington, Yolanda has remodeled Mariachi.

Don’t leave the beach without a gift for your pet from Critter Beach on Rehoboth Avenue and then further out on Rehoboth Avenue is Rigby’s Bar and Grill and the popular Diego’s Bar and Nightclub with regular entertainment and a bustling outdoor beach bar.

Remember that Rehoboth is also home to a vibrant community theater and here’s hoping the town commissioners will not force it to leave town. Plan to see a show at the amazing Clear Space Theatre on Baltimore Avenue. This season’s productions include “The Submission,” “9 to 5,” “Grease,” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Make your plans early as hotels and rentals are all booking fast.

WE

ARE OPEN

PLENTY

&

READY FOR

YOU!

OF OUTDOOR SPACE!

YEAR ROUND FUN!

THANK

YOU FOR VOTING US

BEST REHOBOTH OUTDOOR DINING! M AY 2 0 , 2 0 2 2 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 3 9

Rehoboth Beach summer events roundup

Stop by local drag shows, musical performances, Pride celebrations

By JACK WALKER rock, blues and R&B in this Rehoboth-based band’s performance at The Pines.

The summer is almost upon us, and the Blade has comDoors open at 7 p.m. piled a list of Rehoboth Beach-area events you won’t want Every Wednesday: Drag Bingo. Play a fun game of bingo hosted by local to miss. Stop by these local bars, restaurants, and commuqueen Ophelia Bottoms at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant, located at 3 S nity centers to keep the season packed with good memo1st St. Event begins at 8 p.m. each Wednesday. ries and fun.

Every Thursday: Karaoke Night. Sing your heart out at karaoke nights MAY at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. Event begins at 8 p.m. each Thursday.

Every Friday: Follies at the Beach Drag Show. Witness spectacular May 4-31: 30 Years in 30 Photos CAMP Rehoboth Visual Arts Exhibidrag performances with special guests each week at Freddie’s Beach Bar & tion. Visit the collection of more than 300 photographs of community-definRestaurant. Show begins at 9 p.m. each Friday. ing events curated from the local LGBTQ community center at 37 Baltimore Ave. and participate in an auction for your favorite pieces.

JUNE May 20: 15th Annual Blade Foundation Summer Kick Off Party.

Join The Blade as it celebrates the start of the summer, featuring a special June 3: The Return of Varla Jean Merman. Comedy queen Varla Jean appearance from Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. Festivities will begin Merman makes her return to The Pines in this night of comedy and fun. Two at 5 p.m. at The Pines, 56 Baltimore Ave. shows will be held, with doors opening at 6 and 9 p.m.

May 20: Kings & Queens of Comedy Variety Show. Come and watch June 3: Royal T Dance featuring Austin Armacost. Come dance on the a variety show hosted by The Pines, filled with skits and stand-up from comepatio at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub in a fun night out, with music provided by dians Kristina Kelly, Gray West, Anthony Brone, Alejandro Morales and Rob DJ Riddle.

Stant. Doors open at 7 p.m.

June 3 to 5: Clear Space Theatre Company presents “The Submission.”

May 20 to 22: Clear Space Theatre Company presents “The Lightning Come watch this impactful one-weekend performance which looks into race, Thief.” Bring your kids to see this musical production of the beloved Percy gender and ignored prejudices.

Jackson book at 20 Baltimore Avenue.

June 5. The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee featuring Austin Armacost. EnFridays beginning May 20: Piano Bar with Doug Repetti. Stop by The joy a night out at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub in its Jubilee Party, which begins Pines each Friday from 6-8 p.m. to sing along to Repetti’s show, which feaat 8 p.m. tures today’s pop hits, 80’s rock, 90’s pop and more.

June 6: Lady Bunny brings her irreverent comedy to the Blue Moon, 35 Second Friday of each month, beginning May 20: CAMP Rehoboth ComBaltimore Ave., 9:30-11 p.m. munity Center Monthly Youth Social. LGBTQ youth are welcome to hang June 8: Milton PRIDE Pre-Party & Art Show. Take a quick drive away from out and play games with other community members through the CAMP Rethe coast and enjoy this Pride Month and Celebration and art show in Milton, hoboth Community Center at 6:30 p.m. on the second Friday of each month.

Del., hosted by Inn the Dog House Tiki Bar at 428 Chestnut St. from 6-9 p.m.

May 21: Cocktails and Candles: Happy Hour. Have a drink at The Pines First Friday of each month, beginning June 3: FURst Friday Happy while enjoying artwork from The Lion’s Den Candle Company, a Rehoboth Hour with the Rehoboth Beach Bears. Enjoy beers and dishes at The Pines in Beach small business. Held from 6-8 p.m. this monthly happy hour from 6-8 p.m.

Saturdays beginning May 21: A Night of DIVA’s, hosted by Mona Lotts June 10: Magnolia Applebottom Drag Show. Watch a drag show at and Kristina Kelly. Share tapas and drinks at The Pines in a night of comedy the Milton Theatre at 110 Union St. in Milton, and enjoy drinks and snacks and fun hosted by local queens. Doors open at 8:45 p.m. each week. while you’re at it.

Sundays beginning May 22: Drag Brunch with Mona Lotts and Kristina June 10: Whitney! The Music Of Whitney Houston. In this stroll Kelly. Wake up with a laugh at The Pines at this weekly drag brunch and comdown memory lane, The Pines is bringing Sheree Marcelle to perform muedy performance. Doors open at 11:15 a.m., and the show concludes around sical renditions of Whitney Houston’s classic hits in a show written and pro2 p.m. each week. duced by Mike Flanagan. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Sundays beginning May 22: Blaqueout Trivia. Bring your friends June 11: Queer Queens of Comedy. Witness the outrageous hilarity to compete and win prizes in a night of hilarious trivia hosted by Rebecca of three comedic powerhouses at the Milton Theatre. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Blaqueout and Jerry B at The Pines. Happy Hour begins at 5 p.m., and trivia June 12: Philadelphia Freedom: Tribute to Elton John Matinee. Remstarts at 5 p.m each week. inisce with this captivating rendition of Elton John’s works at the Milton TheMondays beginning May 23: Flaming Pianos Steak & Show. For just atre. $29, you can pair an 8oz filet with a glass of wine while listening to—and even June 12: 2022 Tonys Party. Celebrate the Tony Awards this year with participating in—the music and storytelling of dynamic duo John Flynn and Clear Space Theatre Company, enjoying cocktails, dinner and entertainment Matthew Kenworthy at The Pines. Doors open at 6 p.m. each week. at The Children’s Beach House, located at 1800 Bay Front Avenue in Lewes, Every other Monday beginning May 23: Flaming Knitters. Open to Del. Festivities will be held 5-9 p.m. those of all levels of experience, come practice or learn knitting at the CAMP June 13: Beloved disco and soul singer Linda Clifford plays the Blue Rehoboth Community Center at 6:30 p.m.

Moon 9:30-11 p.m.

May 25: The Vocal Diva Marcella Peters: One Night Only! Listen to the June 17: Betti and Bruce: Lost in Rehoboth. Have a night of songs musical stylings of singer and Baltimore native Marcella Peters at The Pines. and fun in this musical show at The Pines featuring Betti Blumenthal and Doors open at 6 p.m.

Bruce Delmonico. Doors open at 8 p.m.

May 26 to 30: Memorial Day Weekend Salute. Enjoy a weekend of June 20-Sept. 1: Acclaimed NYC pianist Nate Buccieri plays the Blue music and performances at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, located at 37298 RehoMoon, Mondays-Thursdays, 6-8:30 p.m. Reservations recommended. both Ave. Doors open at 4 p.m., and music begins at 9:30 p.m.

June 24: Have A Gay Old Laugh! Pride Stand-Up Comedy Show. Drive May 27: Memorial Day Kickoff Drag Show. Come enjoy a night of over to the Milton Theatre for a night of laughter. Doors open at 8 p.m. comedy and fashion at The Pines hosted by Kristina Kelly. Doors open at 8 June 24 and 25: Top of the Pines Welcomes Antonio Edwards. Witness p.m. the wonderful vocals of this singer and entertainer at The Pines in a show on May 30: Memorial Day Drag Brunch. Celebrate the long weekend at Friday, June 24 from 8-10 p.m. or Saturday, June 25 from 6-8 p.m.

The Pines enjoying comedy, food and fun with local queens. Doors open at June 24-Aug. 27: Clear Space Theatre Company presents “9 to 5.” Watch 11:00 a.m., and the show concludes around 2 p.m. the local theater recreate this hilarious office satire.

May 31: Can’t Fool The Blues Band. Experience a musical mixture of June 25: Pride Day at the Brandywine Zoo. Stop by the Brandywine

4 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

MISS RICHFIELD 1981 performs at the Blue Moon on June 27.

Zoo, located at 1001 N Park Drive in Wilmington, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a scavenger hunt, crafts, educational opportunities and all-around fun.

June 27: Miss Richfield 1981 performs her new show “Cancel Cultured Pearls” at the Blue Moon, 9:30-11 p.m.

June 28 to Aug. 23: Clear Space Theatre Company presents “Grease.”

Enjoy this beloved musical as recreated by local performers.

JULY

July 1: Del Shores: The Tea is Spilled. Texas storyteller Del Shores is stopping by The Pines to bring you a night of entertainment and drama. Two shows will be held, with doors opening at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

July 1 to Aug. 25: Clear Space Theatre Company presents “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Watch as the local theater takes on a new rendition of this beloved musical comedy.

July 2 to Aug. 20: Saturday Morning Children’s Theatre 2022. Bring your children to another Clear Space Theatre Company show including classics like Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan. All shows held at 11 a.m.

July 4: Lady Bunny returns to the Blue Moon, 9:30-11 p.m.

July 8: Friday Fever Show: The Boys of Summer. Watch special performances and enjoy drinks at The Pines. Doors open at 8 p.m.

July 15: The Dozen Divas Show. Appreciate the amazing costumes and exciting performances of America’s Got Talent Finalist Dorothy Bishop. Show runs from 8 to 11 p.m.

July 16: Hair and Heels Dance Party. Come to The Pines in your favorite wig and pair of heels and dance to the stylings of DJ Chord. Doors open at 9 p.m.

July 17: Hair and Heels Drag Brunch. Wake up with a laugh by heading to brunch at The Pines. Doors open at 11 a.m.

July 17: Hair and Heels Closing Party. Bring your wig and best heels to the dance floor at The Pines. Doors open at 8 p.m.

July 18: Sherry Vine brings her latest show “Potty Mouth” to the Blue Moon, 9:30-11 p.m.

July 22: Big Red Miss Meghan Murphy. Listen to this musical performance covering styles from pop parodies to jazz at The Pines. Seating begins at 7 p.m.

July 27: The Boy Band Project. Allow this musical performance hosted

by The Pines to transport you to the era of boy band craze. Seating begins at 7 p.m.

July 29: A Golden Girls Musical Adventure. Come watch this hilarious revamp of The Golden Girls hosted by The Pines. Doors open at 7 p.m. and show begins at 8 p.m.

AUGUST

Aug. 25: Coco Peru: Bitter, Bothered, and Beyond. Listen to Miss Coco Peru’s take on the world in an evening performance at The Pines. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Aug. 27: The White Party with Chord Bezerra. Dress up in white and stay out late having fun at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub. Music begins at 9:30 p.m.

SEPTEMBER

September 2: Hunks: The All Male Review. Stop by The Pines for a personal and intimate male dance show incorporating lights, choreography, costumes and music. Doors open at 7 p.m.

PRESENT

JUNE 11, 2022

2-9PM

FIREWORKS SHOW 9PM VIP TICKETS AVAILABLE AT PRIDEONTHEPIERDC.COM

M AY 2 0 , 2 0 2 2 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 4 1

‘A piece of heaven’ awaits in Easton, Md.

Historic charm, culture, and fine dining just 90 minutes from D.C.

The Hummingbird Inn offers Victorian charm with modern amenities and the best breakfast on the Eastern Shore.

(Blade staff photo)

By KEVIN NAFF | knaff@washblade.com

If you’ve always zoomed past Easton, Md., on your rush to Rehoboth Beach, then you’re missing out.

Historic and charming Easton offers stylish and friendly accommodations, an array of eclectic shops and galleries, award-winning restaurants, and more in a welcoming environment for LGBTQ visitors.

Indeed, some of the town’s most prominent and successful businesses are gay owned and Easton aims to attract more LGBTQ visitors this year, in part by hosting its first-ever Pride celebration in June.

“This is a welcoming and safe place where people can be who they are and it’s a prime location for a more developed gay community,” said Eric Levinson, owner of the Hummingbird Inn. Levinson is among the organizers of Easton Pride, scheduled for June 17-19.

Levinson moved to Easton in 2017 and opened the Inn. He says he was anxious about being openly gay because there weren’t many gay-identified businesses. When someone stole his Pride flag that year from the Inn’s front porch, Levinson blogged about it and says he had a supportive response from the town. Owners of a nearby bed-and-breakfast bought him a new Pride flag and there haven’t been any issues since.

In fact, on a recent Blade visit to Easton, Maryland gubernatorial candidate Tom Perez was in town for a campaign stop and one of the first questions he faced from the community was about his platform on LGBTQ issues.

“When I talk about jobs, justice, and opportunity, LGBTQ inclusion has been a huge part of it,” Perez said. “One of the privileges of my lifetime has been to work on those issues.”

Easton is home to about 15,000 residents in Talbot County, and was incorporated in 1790, though its founding dates to the early 1700s when the Assembly of the Province of Maryland selected it as the site for a courthouse to serve the pre-Revolution population of sea merchants and farmers, according to Discover Easton. It’s a mere 90-minute drive from Washington, D.C., and about the same from Rehoboth Beach.

Start your visit by checking into the Hummingbird Inn (14 N. Aurora St.), just a short walk from town, which offers six en suite rooms each named for Eastern Shore towns. The Queen Anne Victorian Inn is fully updated with modern baths. Try the newly renovated and spacious Crisfield Room with its contemporary style and multiple seating areas on the third floor. The Inn is dog friendly and in the mornings, Levinson capably assumes the role of chef, wowing guests with an unrivaled, multi-course breakfast cooked to order. He says his experience traveling to 70 countries around the world informs his approach to hospitality.

“I pride myself on our attention to detail,” he says. “I modeled the inn on my travel experience. If I’m going somewhere this is what I’m expecting — I need great products, towels, pillows. That’s where I got the experience to know what’s expected as a traveler.”

And his approach is working — he says at least six former guests have since bought homes in Easton.

Levinson even accommodates those with dietary restrictions at his famed breakfast, noting, “Just because you have a restricted diet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a good time.”

Talking with locals, everyone seems to have enjoyed Levinson’s breakfast feast; it truly is something to behold, starting with a selection of homemade breads. On a recent visit, there was a baked egg dish and a delicious French toast course. Be sure to indulge — you won’t need lunch.

As for Pride, Levinson says he was MARC DEL PINO in his approached

by Delmarva Pride about clothing boutique, planning an event. The 2020 plans were Marc Randall. (Blade staff photo) scrapped due to COVID. But this year’s inaugural event will be a three-day celebration with a drag show, a Pride dance at the Inn, along with a street fair and Sunday brunch. Call the Inn for reservations as special ticket packages will be offered (410-822-0605). The Inn celebrates its five-year anniversary on Aug. 6 with food, drinks, and a band. And if you’re planning a wedding, Levinson is ordained and has officiated at numerous same-sex ceremonies.

“I want people to know it’s not just a B&B and more than just a place to sleep because we do so many events here,” Levinson says.

One of the largest such events is Easton’s 18th annual Plein Air festival set for July 15-24, the largest such festival in 4 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

the country. According to the event site, “Plein air painters produce art from life (as opposed to in the studio)” and this year 58 artists will be juried into the competition. The artwork is for sale and the 2021 event brought nearly $500,000 in sales. Visit pleinaireaston.com for details.

In addition to the Hummingbird, you’ll find all sorts of accommodations from quaint B&Bs to the grand dame of Easton, the Tidewater Inn, a large hotel and conference facility that dates to 1947. Its restaurant, Hunters’ Tavern, is known for the snapper soup, and the bar is cozy with friendly staff.

Once you’re checked in, explore the vibrant scene of shops and galleries. Rediscover the lost pleasure of browsing a bookstore at Vintage Books & Fine Art (4 N. Washington St., vintagebooksmd.com). You’ll discover all sorts of fascinating local history and maritime-themed tomes.

Among the local galleries, Studio B Art Gallery stands out. Owner Betty Huang, herself an accomplished artist, represents many esteemed painters and the gallery will host a plein air workshop with Master Jove Wang on July 11. Visit studiobartgallery.com for details.

Shopping for clothing? Don’t miss Marc Randall boutique (3 E. Dover St., marc-randall.com), offering a mix of classic and edgy women’s clothing with a smaller selection of men’s wear.

Marc Del Pino owns the boutique and sits on the board of Discover Easton. Over drinks at BETTY HUANG’s Studio B represents happy hour, he also seems like the town’s unmany esteemed painters. (Blade staff photo) official mayor as everyone who enters stops by to say hello. Originally from Trinidad, Del Pino moved to New York and then to Easton. He’s been in business in Easton for 29 years.

“I thought I would have a problem moving here but never did,” he says. “I never felt like an outsider or out of place; I felt like I came home when I came here for the first time. … I was tired of New York City, it reminds me of Trinidad here being smaller with a charming downtown.”

All that shopping will leave you hungry and there’s no shortage of restaurants to try. Among the best is Scossa (8 N. Washington St.), owned by Chef Giancarlo Tondin who was born in Italy and began his career at Harry’s Bar in Venice. He later worked for the Cipriani family’s many New York City restaurants, including the Rainbow Room before relocating to Easton. He specializes in Northern Italian cuisine.

Another standout is Out of the Fire (22 Goldsborough St.), a farm-to-table bistro featuring globally inspired dishes and an open kitchen. Try the warm confit salad of chicken and roasted apples or browse an extensive pizza menu, including everything from duck sausage to a vegan option.

The Wardroom (108 N. Washington St., thewardroom.com) offers a market along with lunch and dinner fare like homemade pastas and enticing selections of charcuterie, cheeses, and wines.

After dinner, head to the historic Avalon Theatre. The building dates to the early 1920s but has been renovated and reinvented through the years. Today the Avalon presents musical and dramatic theater, symphony orchestras, national musical acts along with local talent, according to its site. This summer brings a wide array of programming, from “Hamlet” to a free community talk on parenting. Visit avalonfoundation.org for more information.

For a laid back, welcoming getaway without the summer beach crowds, Easton is a relaxing destination full of history, culture, premier dining, and high-end shopping in an LGBTQ affirming town convenient to D.C. As Del Pino put it, “I could go anywhere in the world, but I go across the Bay Bridge and I’m home — a piece of heaven.”

M AY 2 0 , 2 0 2 2 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 4 3

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CALENDAR |

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Friday, May 20

Friday Tea Time and social hour for Older LGBTQ+ adults will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. Feel free to bring your beverage of choice. For the Zoom link or more information, contact Justin (justin@thedccenter.org).

Saturday, May 21 LGBTQ People of Color Support Group will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgment free. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

South Asian LGBTQ Support Group will be at 1:30 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for South Asian-identified LGBTQ individuals to come and talk about anything affecting them. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

Sunday, May 22 Kiki Sundays will be at 6 p.m. at Wunder Garten. This is a monthly drag party featuring hosts Crystal Edge and Katrina Colby. There will also be drag bingo, games, and music provided by a live DJ. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

“MIC CHECK with Gray West: Stand-Up Comedy & Drag Show” will be at 7 p.m. at DC Comedy Loft and Bier Baron Tavern. This is a stand-up comedy and drag show featuring LGBTQ+ comics and drag queens from the D.C. area. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Monday, May 23 Center Aging Coffee Drop-In will be at 10 a.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community and online on Zoom.

LGBT Older Adults — and friends — are invited to enjoy friendly conversations and to discuss any issues you might be dealing with. For more information, visit the Center Aging’s Facebook or Twitter.

Wicked Mondaze will be at 5 p.m. at Bidwell Restaurant. Guests are invited to hang out with friends or mix and mingle to make new connections while enjoying craft cocktails and food bites during the happy hour vibe. There will also be music by DJ Mim and other special guest DJs. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

OUT & ABOUT

Local group to host discussion about socialism Liberation Fridays will host “Socialism and LGBTQ Liberation” on Saturday, May 22 at 3 p.m. at Justice Center.

The event will involve conversation on anti-LGBTQ bigotry under capitalism, liberation through socialism, and its connection to the ongoing struggle for abortion access today. There will also be a baked good fundraiser.

Tickets are free and more event details are available on Eventbrite.

NPR Tiny Desk Contest returns after two-year hiatus NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest will return, after a two-year hiatus, on Tuesday, May 24 at Songbyrd. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert starts at 8 p.m.

The concert will feature 2022 Tiny Desk Contest winner, Alisa Amador, and other Tiny Desk Contest artists in the DMV area— including last year’s winner, NEFFY. Guests are encouraged to pick up some swag and take pictures at the Tiny Desk photo booth before the show starts.

Tickets cost $19.20 and can be purchased on NPR’s website.

Tuesday, May 24 Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This event is for people who identify outside of the gender binary. For more information email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

Live Your Best (Sex) Life: Pleasure-Based Sex Education for Adults will be at 7 p.m. at The Pincus Center for Inclusive Treatment and Education. In this six-week course, sex educator Rebecca Rose Vassy (who also teaches as Diva Darling) shares practical techniques and tools for full-body fun. Tickets cost between $10 and $240 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, May 25 Job Club will be at 6 p.m. in person at the DC Center for the LGBT Community and online on Zoom. The Job Club is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants.”

Asexual and Aromantic Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a space where people who are questioning this aspect of their identity or those who identify as asexual and/or aromantic can come together, share stories and experiences, and discuss various topics. For more information email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

Thursday, May 26 DC Anti-Violence Project Open Meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. The primary mission of the DC Anti-Violence Project is to reduce violence against LGBT individuals (and those perceived as LGBT) through community outreach, education, and monitoring cases to ensure that the rights and dignity of LGBT victims are respected and protected.

For more information, visit the organization’s Facebook and Twitter.

The DC Center’s Food Pantry Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be more fair with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org or call 202-682-2245.

4 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

Genderqueer DC will meet on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

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New Philly production explores AIDS through three characters Ain Gordon’s ‘These Don’t Easily Scatter’ more than a static memorial

By PATRICK FOLLIARD Plaques fail. And a memorial doesn’t need to be an immoveable piece of stone.

It’s this line of thought that formulated “Remembrance,” an alternative multidisciplinary memorial to Philadelphia’s AIDS crisis and its under-mourned deaths, made up of activities throughout May and June in the City of Brotherly Love.

Included is Ain Gordon’s new play “These Don’t Easily Scatter” to be performed in the William Way LGBT Community Center’s freshly renovated ballroom for just four performances (May 20-22). Both written and directed by the three-time Obie Award winning playwright, the work takes inspiration from interviews and stories gathered from individuals affected by HIV/AIDS and follows three imagined characters navigating the early days of the AIDS epidemic in Philadelphia.

Gordon, who is gay, has woven aspects of AIDS into previous plays (“217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous,” “Radicals in Miniature”), but this time he’s focused closely on the crisis. Set during 1982-1987, the play covers five intense years remembered vividly by the playwright, a lifelong New Yorker who was young, sexually active, and on the scene at the time.

Through interviews, he’s unearthed stories of Philadelphia-area community members who passed unnoticed with very little support. Gordon also chronicles accounts of those who selflessly assisted including a Philadelphia funeral director who offered proper burials to the dead when others were too frightened.

“The process was difficult because all interviewing had to be remote, and that’s the antithesis of what I like to do,” he explains. “I prefer to go to the place and talk in person. When you’re on site, meandering can happen and you find out things you hadn’t planned to ask. But it was the reality, so I dealt with it.”

With so many theatrical and film works surrounding HIV/AIDS and the ‘80s, Gordon sought a unique angle. His interviews included faith leaders and family, but he zeroed in on health care workers who administered to early AIDS patients, primarily nurses.

Their stories were both illuminating and timely in context of the current pandemic.

He says, “Infectious disease doctors who were mostly men were the stars of the show.

I’m often interested in the supporting players who stand behind the stars and those were the nurses.”

But how do interviews become a cast of characters?

“To be brutally frank, the budget allowed for three actors,” Gordon explains. “Didn’t know who those characters were for a long time. But I knew that I had a collection of things that needed to get in and I needed to find a container that could hold them.”

An especially revelatory interview with a nurse resulted in a character. An early interview with a faith leader who mentioned a woman who’d been in the choir and volunteered to sing at funerals when no one else would, conjured another. The third was a gay man, because gay men featured predominantly in all of the interviews.

“At that point,” he says, “you stop talking, get rid of your notes, and start writing. And hopefully it all comes together.”

Gordon is grateful to have assembled an A-list cast including Cherene Snow as the nurse, out actor Bill Kux is the gay guy, and the brilliant Kathleen Chalfant best known on Broadway for her part in the original production of Tony Kushner’s seminal “Angels in America,” plays the chorister.

The work’s conceit is monologues resembling interviews. The unnamed gay character, a young man finding his way sexually and having a great time, brings the names he wants to remember – mostly casual sex partners. Some stories are short: He recalls a guy he had sex with in a train station bathroom. He’d forgotten all about him until he saw his obituary photo in the paper.

For the playwright, “These Don’t Easily Scatter” is more than a static memorial.

“I’m interested in how history tends to be promoted in physically inactive objects. I think it can come in other forms and if they’re more fluid history can actively live on.”

A lot of his work is place-based plays – typically he gets a commission to travel to a location and write something specific to the place. And that’s what he’s done in Philadelphia.

“It’s important that the work is freestanding enough so it can be presented as a piece of theater someplace else where nobody knows about the story,” he adds. “It’s also important to give something back to the generous people involved in the process, and to commemorate those who have died, if not by name, then by remembrance.”

4 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

AIN GORDON

(Photo by Paula Court)

‘These Don’t Easily Scatter’ May 20-22

William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St, Philadelphia 19107 $20 | Waygay.org

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Join Joel Kim Booster on ‘Fire Island’ this summer Gay rom com features queer Asian cast

By JOHN PAUL KING It would be an understandable mistake to see Joel Kim Booster on one of the two “Out Traveler” magazine covers he’s gracing this month and assume he was just another sexy fashion model, but the 34-year-old Korean-American comedian is not having a moment in the blazing sun of queer pop culture just because of his undeniable talent for rocking a Speedo.

He is actually in the middle of the publicity push for the upcoming film “Fire Island,” which he wrote and in which he co-stars with (among others) close friend Bowen Yang and comedy legend Margaret Cho, and which begins screening exclusively on the Hulu streaming service just in time for Pride month.

Directed by Andrew Ahn (“Spa Night”), it’s a movie that’s generating a lot of buzz, partly because it’s the first predominantly queer film to be backed by a major movie studio (Disney, through its Searchlight Pictures division). We’ve been burned too many times not to be skeptical about such a project, but anyone already familiar with Booster’s work will undoubtedly tell you it’s not likely to be another watered-down, safe-for-the-mainstream offering designed to check off boxes on the diversity agenda. Since he first made a splash with an appearance on “Conan” in 2016, he has gained a following among queer and straight audiences alike with his unapologetically gay, unabashedly sex-positive comedy, leading to what some might call a meteoric rise to the brink of superstardom through an acclaimed stand-up career, his roles on TV in shows like the short-lived sitcom “Sunnyside” (on which he was a regular), “Shrill,” and “The Week Of, and his popular podcasts (“Urgent Care with Joel Kim Booster + Mitra Jouhari” and “The Joy Fuck Club”).

Now he’s poised to become a movie star with “Fire Island,” a gay romantic comedy set in the titular vacation retreat that dares not only to feature a cast made up entirely of queer characters, but doubles down by putting the focus on queer characters who also happen to be Asian. To top it all off, it gives Booster a chance to show off his literate side with a story – that concerns a group of gay best friends out for sexual adventure, and possibly even romance, on what might be their last trip to the iconic gay getaway – adapted from no less esteemed a literary source than Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

The Blade was fortunate enough to chat with Booster in the middle of this very high-pres-

sure month before his feature film debut, and our conversation was informed by the kind of erudite and compassionate intelligence that has marked the young comedian’s career from the start.

BLADE: In your comedy, you’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from being raised as a Korean adoptee by white American parents in a deeply Christian midwestern community. Does that experience figure into the movie, too?

BOOSTER: Of course! As a transnational adoptee, my entire life I’ve been fighting against this nagging feeling of not quite fitting in – and that’s whether I’m around white people, or Asian people, or even some gay people. It’s tough, and it’s JOEL KIM BOOSTER stars in ‘Fire Island.’ been such a paramount part of my life to find people who make me feel seen and accepted and to keep them close, so it felt really important for the theme of chosen family to stay in the forefront when I was making this movie. As much as it’s a “rom com,” it’s also about friendship – about relationships with people who, like I say in the movie, “fill in the gaps.”

BLADE: How did you hit on using Jane Austen as a source?

BOOSTER: It was really a lucky accident. I brought “Pride and Prejudice” with me on the first trip Bowen and I ever took to Fire Island. I would be lying there on the beach reading it and thinking, “It’s amazing how the things she was writing about are so relevant to what we’re experiencing on this island right now.” It was kinda wild, and it started out as threat, a joke – I would keep saying, ‘I can’t wait to write an all-gay adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ set on Fire Island,’ and people would boo and throw things at me. But after that I would always bring an Austen book with me to read on the island, because it felt like there was something so prescient about what she wrote, and about her observations on class, especially reading it in this place where we had sort of created our own class system, as gay men.

BLADE: When did it stop being a joke?

BOOSTER: Actually, my agent suggested that I should write it, because I was in between projects. I just had a pilot that was passed on by Comedy Central, I was depressed, I had nothing to do – so I ended up writing it as half-hour pilot script. But nobody wanted it until Quibi [the short-form entertainment platform that launched and folded in 2020 after failing to meet projected subscription levels]. Say what you will about them, but they really invested a lot of money and time into new and young voices, and they took a lot of chances. They took a chance on me, and when they folded I had this script that I could point to which I had written and developed with them. This movie was a tough pitch to sell on just a log line, but I had this finished project, this complicated piece of work to show people, that was much more intricate than I think “Gay ‘Pride and Prejudice’” would maybe lead people to believe.

BLADE: Your movie is just one of several big queer titles on deck for 2022, including Billy Eichner’s rom com, “Bros.” How do you feel about that?

BOOSTER: Honestly, it really takes some of the pressure off. When we get, like, one gay movie a year, a lot of attention and scrutiny gets put on that movie and it’s expected to be everything to everyone in our community. And our community is huge, and it’s diverse, and there are so many stories that aren’t being told. I’m so glad Billy’s movie is coming out as well, he was my first comedy boss, and I’m really happy that people in our community are going to have two big gay rom coms to choose from.

BLADE: We haven’t seen “Bros” yet, but we’ve seen “Fire Island.” There’s a review embargo [until May 23], but I think it’s safe to say nobody is going to boo or throw things at you.

Do you feel any sense of competition about it?

BOOSTER: My hope is that people love both, but it’s nice that if somebody goes to see my movie and says, ‘That’s not for me, I don’t see myself there,’ then a couple months later they’ll see Billy’s and they’ll have another shot at it. And I hope both of our movies are successful enough that they create a million clones. I hope it’s just the beginning.

“Fire Island,” which also stars Conrad Ricamora, premieres on Hulu on June 3.

5 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PLAY

THORNTON WILDER DIRECTED BY ALAN PAUL BY

NOW PLAYING ORDER TODAY! ShakespeareTheatre.org | 202.547.1122 Photo of Jake Loewenthal, Maisie Ann Posner, and Holly Twyford by Teresa Castracane Photography.

PRODUCTION SPONSORS:

2021/22 SEASON SPONSORS:

Share Fund

Michael R. Klein and Joan Fabry Harman Family Foundation

Anita M. Antenucci Bonnie and Louis Cohen John and Meg Hauge Maureen and Michael McMurphy

RESTAURANT PARTNER:

M AY 2 0 , 2 0 2 2 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 5 1

Check out final season of ‘Grace and Frankie’ — it ends well Groundbreaking show highlights queer, straight elders

By KATHI WOLFE They make up a fake Jewish holiday (M’Challah) to avoid seeing their friends, lie to their kids about killing their bunny, obsess over playing John Adams in a (very gay) community theater production of the musical “1776” and create vibrators that glow in the dark. Their children sell their house out from under them and make them wear panic alerts.

These people might well creep you out in real life.

But, thankfully, they’re the funny and engaging characters on “Grace and Frankie,” the series, whose seventh and final season has recently dropped on Netflix.

The show, starring Lilly Tomlin, 82, (Frankie) and Jane Fonda, 84, (Grace) as two hetero elders whose husbands (Martin Sheen, 81 as Robert and Sam Waterston, 81, as Sol) leave them to marry each other, is, deservedly, Netflix’s longest-running series.

In 2019, there were 54.1 million people in the United States over 65, according to a Administration for Community Living of the U.S. Department of Human Services report.

Elders, the study says, are expected to make up 2l.6 percent of this country’s population by 2040.

There are nearly three million (2.7 million) LGBTQ people over aged 50 in the U.S. and 1.1 million queer elders 65 and older in this country, according to a 2017 Movement Advancement Project and SAGE report.

Yet aside from “Transparent,” few TV series (broadcast, cable or streaming) have featured, let alone, been centered around, older queers.

“Grace and Frankie” is the rare series that’s focused on the lives of elders (hetero and queer). Unlike some shows that showcase older people, it’s been mostly entertaining, even thought provoking, rather than dull or didactic throughout its run.

Set in San Diego, “Grace and Frankie” throughout its seasons has told the story of how Frankie and Grace have created a life of their own as Robert and Sol have entered a new chapter of their lives as a same-sex couple.

Frankie, Grace, Robert and Sol, who are in their 70s, are affluent. Robert and Sol are successful divorce lawyers. Grace has run a flourishing cosmetics company. Frankie is a new-agey artist who teaches art to ex-convicts.

When Robert and Sol say that they’re leaving them to wed each other because samesex marriage has become legal in California, Frankie says she’s done a fundraiser for that.

The beach house where Grace and Frankie live is breathtakingly gorgeous. Yet these

5 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

JANE FONDA and LILY TOMLIN are wrapping their groundbreaking series.

characters encounter the indignities and dilemmas of aging from learning about social media to coming out in late life to memory loss to end-of-life decisions.

Grace and Frankie run up against the condescension that older women often face. Yet though these are serious concerns, “Grace and Frankie” hasn’t been a downer.

In one episode, as I’ve written before in the Blade, Grace and Frankie, though they’re practically jumping in front of his face, can’t get a store’s sales clerk to notice them. Because he’s paying so much attention to a young woman. Frankie gives up and steals a pack of cigarettes. If “you can’t see me,” Frankie says, you can’t stop me.”

In season two, their friend Babe (Estelle Parsons), who is terminally ill, tells Frankie and Grace that she wants them to help her end her life. Though it’s difficult emotionally for them, the women give their friend Babe a good-bye party that’s joyous without being maudlin.

Robert and Sol deal with Robert being in the early stages of dementia. This narrative is touching, but not sappy. Though you should have a tissue in hand for Robert and Sol’s elevator moment in the show’s finale.

Like many old people, the characters have their ups and downs in relating to their adult children. These off-spring from Brianna (June Diane Raphael), a 21st century Cruella de Vil, to Bud (Baron Vaughn), the often wrong-headed “good son,” would try any elder’s soul.

The main pleasure of “Grace and Frankie” is watching Tomlin and Fonda. The two forces of nature, friends since their “9 to 5” days, make you laugh and cry with the BFFs Grace and Frankie.

TV series, like everything, have to end. Check out “Grace and Frankie.” It ends well.

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‘Once Upon a Time . . .’

Spring Affair The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington holds annual gala at the Ritz-Carlton (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington held its annual Spring Affair gala dinner at the Ritz-Carlton on Saturday, May 14. Miss Richfield 1981 served as the guest host. Honorees included D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Metro Weekly and Robert Boaz.

This year’s theme was “Once Upon a Time . . .”

5 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022

“wastes no time captivating its audience... strong and compelling... poignant performances that transcended any potential language barriers” - DC Metro Theater Arts

$50 regular price tickets Performances of May 19 - 22 Use code OYF online

Thru Jun 5, 2022 In Spanish with English surtitles

Masks & proof of vaccination or recent negative COVID test required

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

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e m o c 2021/22 SEASONWelBack!

Hazel Scott 101st Birthday Celebration: Michelle Cann Recital

MICHELLE CANN, piano

Scot t

WED, MAY 25, 8pm • SIXTH & I

Cann

Tickets

A major American artist of the mid-20th century, Hazel Scott was a virtuosic jazz pianist and exceptional classical musician despite racial discrimination. As part of our 2021/22 Hazel Scott “centenary-plus-one” salute, “compelling, sparkling virtuoso” pianist Michelle Cann pays tribute to Scott and other Black female, classically trained musicians of Scott’s time, including Florence Price and Margaret Bonds.

Special thanks: Billy Rose Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; Pepco, An Exelon Company; Adam Clayton Powell III and Irene M. Solet; and Galena-Yorktown Foundation

$35+

Washington Performing Arts’s Hazel Scott 101st Birthday Celebration is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Lydia Micheaux Marshall, and Barbara Myers and Tom Gallagher.

MORE INFO & TICKETS: WashingtonPerformingArts.org • (202) 785-9727

e m o c 2021/22 SEASONWelBack!

WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS GOSPEL CHOIRS Michele Fowlin & Theodore Thorpe III, artistic directors SAT, JUN 11, 8pm CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS AT PRINCE GEORGE’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Join the Washington Performing Arts Gospel Choirs for an unforgettable evening of inspiration as we celebrate 30 years of powerful and poignant performances and close out the 2021/22 Season.

Tickets

$35+

Special thanks: Jacqueline Badger Mars and Mars, Incorporated; The Edith Glick Shoolman Children’s Foundation; the Beech Street Foundation and Mr. Jeffrey Bauman and Ms. Linda Fienberg; Barbara Myers and Tom Gallagher, in honor of Turnaround, Inc.; Hubert “Hank” Schlosberg and the Schlosberg Family; Bruce Rosenblum and Lori Laitman; Trista L. P. Colbert and Theodore Colbert; the Dan Cameron Family Foundation; Alison Francis; and Mr. and Mrs. Glen Howard.

MORE INFO & TICKETS: WashingtonPerformingArts.org • (202) 785-9727 M AY 2 0 , 2 0 2 2 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 5 7

Rides in all sizes

With sky-high gas prices, how much car do you really need?

By JOE PHILLIPS

With the current surge in gas prices, many potential buyers are taking a hard look at just how much vehicle they really need. Here’s a look at three choice rides in various sizes: small, medium, and large.

SMALL: MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS $24,000 Mpg: 26 city/29 highway 0 to 60 mph: 8.6 seconds

MEDIUM: JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE $41,000 Mpg: 19 city/26 highway 0 to 60 mph: 7.4 seconds

LARGE: CADILLAC ESCALADE $78,000 Mpg: 14 city/19 highway 0 to 60 mph: 5.9 seconds

MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS

JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE

CADILLAC ESCALADE

Introduced in 2018, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross channels plenty of excitement for those of us still pining for the sporty Eclipse coupe produced between 1989 and 2011.

This affordable compact crossover offers similar cocky styling, including a futuristic fascia and tony Lexus-like tush.

But despite the rakish good looks, the acceleration from the four-cylinder turbo is more practical than powerful. And the composed suspension is more amiable than arousing. But the nimble steering and taut cornering are perfect for quick maneuvers during rush-hour congestion and for squeezing into tight parking spaces. The straightforward cabin design comes with faux-aluminum trim and fairly comfortable cloth seats—though the lack of an adjustable lumbar support to cushion my back was a bummer.

Some of the many standard features include 7-inch touchscreen, four-speaker stereo, Bluetooth and lots of safety gear: automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning and rearview camera.

Step up to any of the three other trim levels to add heated seats, smartphone integration, synthetic suede upholstery, power panoramic sunroof, head-up display, additional safety gizmos and more. In other words, despite its budget-pleasing price, the Eclipse Cross boasts plenty of amenities.

Completely redesigned this year, the Jeep Grand Cherokee now looks more luxe-like than rugged. This could have been a disaster, considering the automaker’s reputation for churning out rough-and-tumble rides. Yet despite what is essentially a nod to Land Rover’s boxy yet softedged styling, this midsizer still retains its true Jeep DNA. This is evident in the seamless mix of smooth on-road handling with stellar off-road capability. There are more than a dozen trim levels, from the $41,000 base-model Laredo all the way up to the Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV at $77,000. While that’s quite a price difference, it shows Jeep’s commitment to offering a Grand Cherokee for every buyer personality. Sure, offering so many configurations can be confusing, but it gives drivers the chance to really customize their rides. This includes choice of three powertrains: standard V6, robust Hemi V8 and the fuel-friendly 4xe plug-in hybrid that can travel up to 25 miles on battery power alone.

Inside, there’s so much glam you might think this was a high-end Mercedes. Depending on trim level, you can deck out the interior with quilted upholstery, open-pore wood, dual-pane panoramic sunroof, quad-zone climate control, second-row shades and other goodies. For techies, there’s a Wi-Fi hot spot, various USB ports, smartphone integration, 10.10-inch infotainment touchscreen and 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster. Call me a hedonist, but I especially liked the massaging seats, premium 19-speaker McIntosh stereo and a rear-seat entertainment system that adds dual hi-def screens with built-in Amazon Fire TV.

Introduced in 1999, the Cadillac Escalade received a complete makeover last year. The head-turning styling is daring and dramatic, with a massive prow-like hood, severely creased sheet metal, and bold, vertical lighting treatments that would make Thor proud. This colossus is 6 feet, 4 inches tall and tips the scale at a hulking 5,700 pounds—twice the weight of a Mini Cooper.

Yet it’s surprisingly spry, outpacing the Mini Cooper by 0.3 seconds when accelerating from 0 to 60 mph. While power comes from a thirsty V8, half of the cylinders are automatically deactivated at cruising speed to reduce gas consumption. A more eco-friendly option is the diesel engine, which gets 50% better fuel economy. (And earlier this month, Cadillac announced its all-electric Escalade is expected by 2024.) I test drove one of the top-of-the-line Platinum models, with a hefty price tag of $105,000. To say this large SUV was oozing luxury is an understatement, with high-end finishes everywhere, adjustable ambient lighting, center console refrigerator, night-vision camera, 36-speaker stereo and rear-seat captain’s chairs. Perhaps even more impressive: The front dash has a staggering 38 inches of curved OLED screens, combining the digital gauge cluster, infotainment display and surround-view camera.

5 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • B US I NE S S

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Now Accepting Applications for the 2022-23 School Year

We use a project-based learning approach in our curriculum for grades 6-12, which makes learning come alive for our students.

Ask about our new Fall Expeditions program for Grades 6-12!

Come and learn what sets us apart!

Join us for a campus tour!

Friday, May 27 9 - 10:15am 12 Mos. - Grade 3 Montessori Program 11am - 12:15pm Grades 4-12 Montessori Program (Grades 4-5) Project-Based Learning (Grades 6-12)

RSVP: barrie.org/admission

12 Months to Grade 12 Our dynamic learning environment enables students to develop a deep understanding of core content and use that knowledge to solve problems, think critically, communicate effectively, and be self-reflective about their learning.

13500 Layhill Road • Silver Spring, MD \ Bus Transportation & Extended Day Available \ admission@barrie.org \ 301.576.2800

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barrie.org

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SCHEDULE A MODEL SNEAK PEEK TODAY! NEW HOMES COMING SOON. PRICED FROM THE LOW $ 400S .

aperture U

S T R E E T

C O R R I D O R

As we place the final touches on our new model homes, we encourage you to schedule a private sneak peek to be the first to experience Aperture.

Aperture is a boutique condominium community set in the vibrant U Street Corridor. Stretching up seven stories and hosting a collection of bespoke modern residences wrapped in a facade of sleek glass and steel that effortlessly melds into this historic neighborhood.

LIVEAPERTUREDC.COM 92 3 V ST R E E T NW | WDC 20001 Aperture Condominiums has not yet been registered with the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). This does not constitute an

SAL E S & M AR K E T I NG BY :

offer to sell units and no units in the condominium can or will be offered for sale until the units are registered with DHCD Pursuant To The District Of Columbia Inclusionary Zoning Program, Income-Restricted Units Are Available At This Development. Please Contact The Department Of Housing And Community Development At Www.Dhcd.Dc.Gov Regarding The Availability Of Such Units And Requirements For Registration In The Inclusionary Zoning Program.

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Consider buying a beach house with a group of friends A lawyer can ensure everyone’s rights are protected

By JUSTIN NOBLE

as (1) how you will split up days, weeks A trend that we are seeing across etc., (2) how and who handles/coordithe boards (get it…like boardwalk) as nates repairs to the property, (3) what we head into summer, aside from the happens if you no longer enjoy this perswimsuits getting smaller and smaller, is son or someone wants out of the house friends buying homes together. Buying and they’re on the mortgage? This is a property with another individual is not where a lawyer comes into place and can only an option for those in a relationship, advise on creating an operating agreemarriage, domestic partnership, busiment similar to what a business or corness etc. but also friendships. poration would have in place to ensure With the pandemic and the increase that all parties in the home are protected of people wanting to move out of their and each has their own rights as well as small spaces in the city and leave for common rights for the home. the more bucolic settings, the trend has I know what you’re thinking, this been to ask your roomie, kiki partner or sounds a little dicey, but I know if you’re other friend to go halfsies on your prireading this, that you have likely been in mary residence. Why pay rent when you dicier situations, and for those who really can have an investment and build equity want a beach house to enjoy but might in your home, right? Well why not take not have the capital to do so, this is a that approach for a second home at the great option. Instead of renting a beach beach? You will likely have the beach house for the season and paying high house to entertain and have friends over season beaucoup bucks, why not get for weekends or weeks during the suma few friends together to buy a beach mer so let’s get them on the hook for house together? more than just a few bottles of vodka or Enjoy weekends at the beach? Why not invest with a group of friends? boxed wine. Let’s get their names on that mortgage.

With the rising market prices your borrowing power is stronger as a collective. Think of your group that you head to the beach with. How many of those folks would love to is a Realtor with Sotheby’s international Realty licensed in D.C., Maryland, and Delaware have a space at the beach? Likely all of them. If you can only afford $200k but three of for your DMV and Delaware Beach needs. Specializing in first-time homebuyers, your best friends can also only afford $200k then collectively you can afford $800k. Usdevelopment and new construction as well as estate sales, Justin is a well-versed agent, ing simple terms and numbers here, but I trust you are tracking. highly regarded, and provides white glove service at every price point. Reach him at Now that you have found those select few that you implicitly, or mostly implicitly trust 202-503-4243, Justin.Noble@SothebysRealty.com or BurnsandNoble.com. and are financially stable let’s now consider the actual items that matter in practice such

JUSTIN NOBLE

6 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • MAY 20, 2022 • B US I NE S S

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