Local
Capital Pride, Black Pride plans coming together
Lambda Rising owner among this year’s honorees
Deacon Maccubbin, a veteran D.C. gay activist and former owner of Lambda Rising bookstores, will be recognized as this year’s Capital Pride Super Hero. (Photo by Joe Tresh)
Singer and actress Mya will headline this year’s Capital Pride and the D.C. City Council will receive special recognition at Black Pride, according to newly released event schedules.
Mya, who hails from the D.C. area, will appear on the Capital Pride festival’s main stage June 13. Best known for singing “Lady Marmalade,” a collaboration with Pink, Christina Aguilera and Lil’ Kim in 2001, Mya went on to win a Screen Actors Guild award for her role in the film “Chicago.”
Separately, Black Pride is set to honor the City Council during the annual event’s opening reception May 28. An award will recognize the role that Council members played in enacting same-sex marriage in Washington. Additional awards will be given that night to Jeffrey Richardson, president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, and posthumously to Charlotte Smallwood, a longtime LGBT activist.
Top honors from this year’s Capital Pride will go to Deacon Maccubbin, the former owner of Lambda Rising bookstores and a veteran D.C. gay activist. He’ll receive the Capital Pride Super Hero award for his years of service to the LGBT community.
Maccubbin, among other things, initiated and organized the city’s first Gay Pride celebration in 1975 on the Dupont Circle neighborhood street where he first opened Lambda Rising. Maccubbin and his domestic partner of 32 years, Jim Bennett, closed the popular bookstore in January after announcing Maccubbin’s retirement.
This year’s Capital Pride parade and festival, scheduled for June 12 and 13, mark the 35th anniversary of D.C. Pride events, which began with the street festival that Maccubbin organized in 1975. Black Pride, which runs May 27-31, marks its 20th anniversary this year.
Maccubbin is among five Capital Pride Hero honorees and five Capital Trans Pride Engendered Spirit honorees selected this year for work that has “positively impacted the local LGBT community” and “greatly contributes to the transgender community,” Capital Pride officials said in a statement.
Other hero honorees are Marta Alvarado, for her work in support of the local Latino LGBT community; Rick Legg, for fundraising and other work in support of local LGBT causes and his role as female impersonator Destiny Childs; Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, for her ministerial work associated with D.C.’s Metropolitan Community Church and the MCC Conference for African-American Leaders; D.C. Clergy United for Marriage Equality, a gay-straight alliance of local clergy who called on the City Council to pass the District’s same-sex marriage law last December; and D.C. for Marriage, a group of local residents committed to same-sex marriage in the District.
Trans Pride Engendered Spirit honorees are Anthony Hall, executive director of the D.C. social services group Transgender Health Empowerment; Revs. Ruth Hamilton and Brian Hamilton, co-pastors of the LGBT-supportive Westminster Presbyterian Church and host of the city’s first Trans Pride event in 2007; Sadie-Ryanne Baker, a leading member of the D.C. Trans Coalition; Thomas Coughlin, patient advocate for transgender-related health care services at the Whitman-Walker Clinic; and Leandrea Gilliam, a staff member for the D.C. Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League.
District of Columbia
Billy Porter, Keke Palmer, Ava Max to perform at Capital Pride
Concert to be held at annual festival on June 9
The Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced this week the lineup of performers for the Sunday, June 9, Capital Pride Concert to be held during the Capital Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
Among the performers will be nationally acclaimed singers and recording artists Billy Porter and Keke Palmer, who will also serve as grand marshals for the Capital Pride Parade set to take place one day earlier on Saturday, June 8.
The Capital Price announcement says the other lead performers will be Ava Max, Sapphira Cristal, and the pop female trio Exposé.
“The beloved pop icons will captivate audiences with upbeat performances coupled with their fierce advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, echoing the vibrant spirit of this year’s theme, ‘Totally Radical,’” according to a statement released by Capital Pride Alliance.
“With Billy Porter and Keke Palmer leading the parade as Grand Marshals, we’re not only honoring their incredible contributions to the LGBTQ+ community but also amplifying their voices as fierce advocates for equality and acceptance,” Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said in the statement.
“The concert and festival serve as a platform to showcase the diverse array of LGBTQ+ talent, from the chart-topping hits of Ava Max to the iconic sounds of Exposé and the electrifying performances of Sapphira Cristal,” Bos said in the statement. “Capital Pride 2024 promises to be a celebration like no other.”
The concert will take place from 12-10 p.m. on the main stage and other stages across the four-block long festival site on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier and fireworks show returning June 8
The annual Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show presented by the Leonard-Litz Foundation will take place on Saturday, June 8 at 9 p.m.
The Washington Blade, in partnership with LURe DC and The Wharf, is excited to announce the 5th annual Pride on the Pier and fireworks show during D.C. Pride weekend on Saturday, June 8, 2024, from 2-10 p.m.
The event will include the annual Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show presented by the Leonard-Litz Foundation at 9 p.m.
Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Southwest waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older. Local DJ’s Heat, Eletrox and Honey will perform throughout the event.
3 p.m. – Capital Pride Parade on the Big Screen
3:30 p.m. – Drag Show hosted by Cake Pop!
9 p.m. – Fireworks Show Presented by Leonard-Litz Foundation
The event is free and open to the public. The Dockmasters Building will be home to a VIP experience. To learn more and to purchase tickets go to www.prideonthepier.com/vip. VIP tickets are limited.
Event sponsors include Absolut, Buying Time, Capital Pride, DC Brau, DC Fray, Burney Wealth Management, Infinate Legacy, Leonard-Litz Foundation, Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, MISTR, NBC4, The Wharf. More information regarding activities will be released at www.PrideOnThePier.com
Maryland
Trone discusses transgender niece
Blade interviewed Md. congressman, Angela Alsobrooks last week
Editor’s note: The Washington Blade last week interviewed both U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. The full interviews with both Democratic candidates for retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)’s seat will be on the Blade’s website later this week.
Maryland Congressman David Trone last week discussed his transgender niece during an interview with the Washington Blade about his U.S. Senate campaign.
Trone, who is running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), on May 1 told the Blade during a telephone interview that his niece transitioned when she was in her early 20s. Trone also noted she attended Furman University, a small, liberal arts university in Greenville, S.C.
“I was concerned about how she would be able to transition there,” said Trone.
Trone, who founded Total Wine & More, attended Furman University as an undergrad and is on the school’s board of trustees. Trone told the Blade he donated $10 million to the university to “build out their mental health capacity, which I felt was a way that she could have the best mental health care possible when she worked her way through (her) transition.”
Trone’s niece graduated from the university after she spent five years there.
“She had a great relationship with Furman,” said Trone.
Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks are the leading Democrats running to succeed Cardin. The winner of the May 14 Democratic primary will face former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in November.
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