Del. Washington awarded fellowship

Openly gay Del. Washington was awarded the David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School in Boston. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Mary Washington, the first ever openly gay African-American legislator in Maryland, was awarded the David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School in Boston. The fellowship was created by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute and the David Bohnett Foundation to send LGBT leaders to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for a three-week training program.

Washington, who represents the 43rd district in Baltimore in the House of Delegates, has been working to defend the Civil Marriage Protection Act in November’s referendum. She offered three suggestions to help secure the victory: “contribute and raise money for the cause, register to vote and vote early and volunteer to get our supporters to the polls.”