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Donna Summer, the "Queen of Disco," succumbed to cancer at the age of 63. (Photo by Harry Wad via Wikimedia)

Summer rose to prominence in late 1975 when she stepped out of her career as a back-up singer for acts like Three Dog Night, and released her expansive erotic anthem “Love to Love You Baby,” helping generate enthusiasm for the “new sound” now called Disco, as well as popularize the 12″ single format.

Dubbed “The Queen of Disco” at the time, Summer helped popularize the dance genre popular at nightclubs and gay bars throughout the late 70s and early 80s known for its funk, soul and latin influence. Summer’s biggest disco hits include “Love On & On,” “I Feel Love,” “Heaven Knows,” “Dim All the Lights,” “On the Radio,” and “Last Dance.”

In 1979, Summer cooled to the disco sound and embraced a heavier rock sound, working with some of the recording industry’s biggest producers, most notably openly gay producer David Geffen and Quincy Jones, releasing hits “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff,” “This Time I Know its for Real,” and her last major hit in 1983, “She Works Hard for Her Money.”

Though known as a gay icon, Summer’s born-again-Christian status began alienating the diva from her gay fans, and in the mid-1980s, a false report that she’d called AIDS “the wrath of God” on gay people began circulating widely, an allegation she has flatly denied since. According to Jet Magazine, in 1989, she wrote to the New York chapter of ACT UP calling the entire thing a “terrible misunderstanding”

“I was unknowingly protected by those around me from the bad press and hate letters. …If I have caused you pain, forgive me.”

Summer is survived by her husband of 32 years, Bruce Sudano, and their two daughters, Brooklyn and Amanda Grace. She also has a third daughter, Mimi Sommer, from her first marriage.

Appropriately, here is “Last Dance.”

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Whitman-Walker Health held its annual spring affair at the Carnegie Institution of Science on Thursday. This year’s event, called “Be the Care,” was emceed by Gwen Ifill. Whitman-Walker Chief Medical Officer Dr. Raymond Martins presented Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius with the Partner for Life Award. Whitman-Walker Health was presented with a check from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield for $150,000.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Vann Chen, a longtime D.C. resident and self-employed tailor and clothing designer, died March 31 at his Dupont Circle area apartment. He was 52.

Danny Aviance, his close friend and roommate for 17 years, said Chen died in his sleep. He said the city’s Medical Examiner’s office was still in the process of determining the cause of death.

Aviance said Chen was the youngest of nine children born and raised in Vietnam to Chinese parents. He said Chen arrived with family members in the U.S. in 1979 or 1980 on the West Coast. Aviance said Chen initially moved to the D.C. area to help his sister operate a family-run restaurant in Falls Church, Va.

During the years that Chen shared an apartment with him on 16th Street, N.W., near Dupont Circle, Aviance said Chen established a following as an acclaimed clothes maker who enjoyed making a living sewing.

“He had a style like nobody else,” Aviance said. “He did everything from wedding dresses to throw pillows. He literally threaded his way into people’s lives.”

Aviance and Chen’s friend Eileen Rappoport said Chen also was well known in the 1990s and early 2000s as a popular figure at D.C. gay nightclubs, including Tracks and later Velvet Nation before the two clubs closed to make way for real estate development.

Rappoport called Chen an “icon” in the D.C. area to those who were regulars at some of those clubs, especially Tracks.

“When Vann arrived, it was a party,” she said. “His talent in bringing life and light to anywhere he went is legendary.”

Rappoport added, “He was also a talented designer and seamstress. Many a bride walked down the aisle in a Vann Chen original. And like his work with fabric, Vann weaved himself into my life and the life of many creating a family that celebrated the best of life and grieved when the worst occurred. He was there to support each and every one of us and made us better people along the way.”

Aviance said he remembers Chen as “the funniest, kindest, sweetest person” he ever knew.

Chen’s friend David Delatour said Chen excelled in interior design as well as clothing design and the term “tailor” by itself wouldn’t do him justice.

“Vann was a high-end artist. His canvas was the human body and the home, and his paint was fabric and the needle,” said Delatour. “I have never seen anyone do what he did with his craft.”

Delatour and Mark Lee, a nightlife advocate and former owner of the gay nightclub Lizard Lounge and other venues, said Chen was also a generous supporter of community fundraisers at the clubs, especially those for AIDS- and LGBT-related causes.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, April 28 at 9 p.m. with midnight toast on Chen’s birthday, at Townhouse Tavern Upstairs (next to Cobalt), 17^th and R streets, N.W. In accordance with his wishes, Chen was cremated, with his ashes to be sent to Vietnam, where they will be buried at the site of his parents’ interment, Aviance said.

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Actress Dot-Marie Jones is scheduled to speak Saturday in Richmond. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia)

Actress Dot-Marie Jones, who portrays a high school football coach in the popular TV series “Glee,” was to be a featured speaker at the statewide LGBT group Equality Virginia’s 9th Annual Dinner in Richmond on April 14.

Joining Jones as a featured guest and speaker was David McFarland, interim executive director and CEO of the Trevor Project, a national group that organizes programs to curtail LGBT teen suicide.

“The Annual Commonwealth Dinner is Equality Virginia’s signature event and Virginia’s largest black-tie gala gathering for the Commonwealth’s GLBT community and their supporters,” according to a statement on the group’s website.

In addition to live entertainment and a silent auction, the dinner will include the presentation of Equality Virginia’s annual “OUTstanding Virginians” award to five people in recognition of their “courage and dedication to equality” for the LGBT community.

The five are Nicholas Benton, editor and publisher of the Falls Church, Va., News-Press and a longtime advocate for LGBT rights causes; Sally Baird, a member of the Arlington, Va., school board since 2006 and the state’s first out lesbian elected to public office; Hugh Copeland, founder of the Norfolk-based theater company The Hurrah Players and a highly acclaimed teacher of theater; Jean Elliott, communications manager at Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and a recognized advocate for LGBT equality; and Edward Strickler, a Charlottesville-based public health advocate who has worked to fight AIDS through programs supportive of the LGBT community.

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‘Weekend’ took top honors in the third annual Dorian Awards, given by gay and lesbian critics. (courtesy photo)

Gay critics pick ‘Weekend’ as best film

HOLLYWOOD — The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association announced the recipients of its third annual Dorian Awards this week, which included the much buzzed about film, “Weekend.”

The British film about a brief love story won the top prize in the awards, given by a panel of 50 critics and entertainment journalists. Other honorees included AIDS chronicle, “We Were Here,” television series “American Horror Story,” and “Modern Family,” and performances by Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady,” and Michael Fassbender in “Shame.” Betty White was honored with a “timeless” actress award.

A tie in the “TV Musical Program” of the year was shared between “Glee” and “Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour.”

N.J. lawmaker under fire for anti-gay tweet

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A New Jersey lawmaker has released a hasty apology after sending out an anti-gay tweet on Sunday, according to OutSports.com.

“We are not going to just lay down, we come to play,” tweeted assemblyman and Jersey City police officer, Charles Mainor. “Who the hell do you think we are the DALLAS COWGIRLS OR THOSE GAYBIRDS FROM PHILLY…NO WE ARE THE NEW YORK GIANTS.”

Mainor claims that a friend sat down at his computer, where he was logged into Twitter, and posted the message under his account.

“I have to take full responsibility because it was under my name,” Mainor told The Star-Ledger on Monday. “I have no excuse, other than me not looking before he did send the post.”

Trans candidate in bid for Fla. commission

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gina Duncan, a transgender woman who serves as the Orlando-area Metropolitan Business Association president, has decided to seek a seat on the Orange County Commission.

“I have been interacting with so many business owners and major corporations, and it showed me there’s a need for new voice in Orange County government,” Duncan said. “Someone who knows how to create a welcoming environment to attract corporations.”

Illinois law targets ‘cyber bullying’

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A law has gone into effect in Illinois that will allow school administrators to intervene in cases when one student is harassing or threatening another on the Internet, according to the Advocate.

LGBT students are often the target of ‘cyber bullying,’ which was brought to national attention in 2010 with the suicide of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clemente.

Illinois gay activists are also examining the possibility of expanding the state’s civil unions law to allow for full marriage rights for same-sex couples. Since passage, organizations have expressed confusion over the law, including the Illinois Department of Revenue in the case of filing joint taxes, as well as employers offering spousal insurance benefits to employees in civil unions.

“I do not delude myself into thinking this will be an easy process. But we need to take the first step,” said gay state Rep. Greg Harris, who believes the marriage legislation will not be introduced until 2013, at the earliest. “We have to be ready to stand up and defend the gains that we’ve made and to look toward the next steps,” he told the Advocate.

As an example of the confusion over civil unions, the Springfield Joint Labor/Management Insurance Committee unanimously voted this week to offer spousal insurance benefits to employees in civil unions, reversing an earlier decision not to do so.

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Though he is opposed to equal benefits for same-sex couples, Donald Trump’s next ‘Celebrity Apprentice‘ could be gay ‘American Idol’ Clay Aiken or married Star Trek star George Takei.

In March, when the Des Moines Register asked the then-rumored potential candidate for the G.O.P. Presidential nomination about whether or not same-sex marriage ought to remain legal in Iowa, Trump responded with a sound declaration against maintaining the law.

“They should not be able to marry,” the television host and casino magnate told the paper.

When pressed as to whether or not same-sex couples should have access to the same rights as opposite-sex couples, Trump responded his “attitude on it has not been fully formed.”

“As of this moment, I would say no and no,” he told the paper.

But the icon of wealth may be forced to reevaluate his position this February when openly gay former Star Trek star George Takei — who married his long-time partner Brad Altman in California in 2008 — joins the cast of the NBC show in its fifth season this year. Takei will be raising money and awareness on the show for the Japanese American National Museum, to which he will donate his winnings if he takes the top spot.

Aside from Takei, gay ‘American Idol’ runner up Clay Aiken will also join the cast. Aiken is a native of North Carolina which is facing a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to bar same-sex unions in that state. Aiken, who is an outspoken advocate for curbing LGBT youth bullying, came out in People magazine in 2008 after years of speculation. He will appear on the show to raise money and awareness for his charity, the National Inclusion Project, which promotes inclusive classrooms and playgrounds for children with disabilities.

Takei and Aiken will also be joined by prominent straight allies singer Deborah Gibson, Former ‘Danity Kane’ singer and ‘Making the Band’ cast member Aubrey O’Day, who is appearing on the show to raise money for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and long-time outspoken LGBT activist, comedian Lisa Lampanelli, who is playing for AIDS charity Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Two other scheduled cast members playing for AIDS charities will be TV personality Arsenio Hall, playing for the Magic Johnson Foundation and Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza, playing for the Latino Commission on AIDS.

Also joining the cast will be racer Michael Andretti, talk show host Adam Carolla, ‘Incredible Hulk’ actor Lou Ferrigno, magician Penn Jillette, ‘Twisted Sister’ front man Dee Snyder, ‘American Chopper’ cast member Paul Teutul Sr., actress Tia Carrere, ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ cast member Teresa Giudice, ‘Growing Up Gotti’ cast member Victoria Gotti, 70s supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, and model Patricia Velasquez

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The nation’s capital marked World AIDS Day with a number of events on Thursday, beginning with a forum at George Washington University entitled “the Beginning of the End of AIDS” hosted by ONE and (RED). Speakers at the event included Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton as well as AIDS advocates Alicia Keys and Bono. The discussion was moderated by CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta. Later in the day, Whitman-Walker Health held the annual World AIDS Day candlelight vigil at Dupont Circle. Speakers at the vigil included Whitman-Walker executive director Don Blanchon and D.C. Mayor Vince Gray.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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President Barack Obama renewed the goal to eliminate AIDS forever. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

With an international audience watching through a live Internet broadcast, President Barack Obama included mention of the high HIV infection rate among black gay men in the United States in a World AIDS Day speech on Thursday at George Washington University.

“Today is a remarkable day,” he said. “Today we come together as a global community, across continents, across faiths and cultures, to renew our commitment to ending the AIDS pandemic once and for all.

“But the fight is not over – not by a long shot,” he said. “The rate of new infections may be going down elsewhere, but it’s not going down here in America. The infection rate here has been holding steady for over a decade.”

He added, “When new infections among young black gay men increase by nearly 50 percent in 3 years, we need to do more to show them that their lives matter.”

The president spoke at an internationally broadcast World AIDS Day event sponsored by ONE, a global grassroots organization dedicated to fighting poverty and disease; and (RED), an organization of businesses and corporations that raises money for the United Nations Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Joining Obama at the event through a satellite hookup was former President George W. Bush, who spoke from Tanzania, African, along with Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete; and former President Bill Clinton, who also spoke via satellite transmission.

The gathering in Washington took place in an auditorium on the George Washington University campus a few blocks from the White House.

Alicia Keys and Bono joined President Obama in addressing how to end AIDS on World AIDS Day this year. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

After Obama spoke, CNN medical editor and physician Sanjay Gupta moderated a panel discussion that included U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.); Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.); lead singer of the rock group U2 Bono, who co-founded the groups ONE and (RED); and artist and co-founder of the group Keep the Children Alive, Alicia Keys.

Also speaking on the panel were Dr. Patricia Nkansah-Asamoah, director of the PTCT Clinic at Tema Hospital in Accra, Ghana; Florence Ngobeni, HIV educator and Ambassador for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; and Elizabeth K. “Kay” Warren, founder of the HIV & AIDS Initiative of Saddleback Church, and wife of well-known pastor, Rick Warren.

The panelists, including Rubio and Lee, who often are at odds with each other on partisan political matters, each pledged to work cooperatively in a bipartisan fashion to seek an end to the AIDS epidemic.

Bush and Clinton expressed praise for one another on the AIDS front. And Clinton and Obama each praised Bush for starting the highly acclaimed U.S. global AIDS assistance program known as PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The program, under Bush and now under Obama, has been credited with saving the lives of millions of HIV infected people in Africa by providing the financing and delivery of life-saving AIDS drugs to countries that can’t afford the drugs.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta moderated the World AIDS Day panel. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Obama announced in his speech that his administration is “committing an additional $15 million for the Ryan White program that supports care provided by HIV medical clinics across the country.” He said he was also committing an additional $35 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, or ADAP, a part of the Ryan White CARE Act that helps states pay for AIDS drugs for patients who don’t have medical insurance or whose insurance is insufficient to pay for the drugs.

“The federal government can’t do this alone,” he said in discussing the ADAP program. “So I’m also calling on state governments, and pharmaceutical companies, and private foundations to do their part to help Americans geet access to all the life-saving treatments.”

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One year from now, American voters will return to the polls to elect their next president. It seems like just yesterday that Barack Obama took the stage in Chicago’s Grant Park after handily defeating John McCain to win the White House.

Obama’s victory represented a historic and iconic moment. And, for the first time, LGBT Americans were along for the ride in a meaningful way. Indeed, one of the Obama administration’s first acts was to post an LGBT section to the official White House website almost immediately upon Obama taking the oath of office. Since then, Obama has mostly honored his promises and commitments to LGBT voters and his support has grown from the symbolic (White House website upgrades) to the bold (refusing to defend DOMA).

Three years later, the 2012 campaign is already well underway, with fundraisers, GOP debates, wildly swinging polls and scandals of the week playing out. Sadly, as Obama and his administration have rolled out pro-LGBT advances — and as Obama himself slowly inches toward an inevitable embrace of marriage equality — his GOP counterparts have moved backward.

From Michele Bachmann’s twisted endorsement of “reparative therapy” to Herman Cain’s schizophrenic views on marriage to Mitt Romney’s laughable flip-flops on our issues, the GOP still doesn’t get it. Just three years after Sen. John McCain granted an interview to the Blade — a first for a Republican presidential nominee — and spoke movingly of his gay role models, the GOP hopefuls aspire to roll back the clock and reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and push for a federal ban on same-sex marriage. This isn’t progress; it’s pandering to the lowest common denominator, something the GOP has turned into a sick art form.

Despite the GOP’s sorry homophobic record, a solid 25 percent or more of gay voters regularly support the Republican presidential candidate on Election Day. As we start the process of evaluating Obama’s record in preparation for November 2012, it’s instructive to look back at candidate Obama’s 2008 promises and words.

Back then, in September 2008, Obama granted the Blade an interview in which he outlined his views. A few highlights follow. Obama:

• criticized President Bush’s record on combating the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and promised to implement a “comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies.”
• promised to “make sure the voices of LGBT people are heard in the White House” and criticized Bush for eliminating the position of liaison to the LGBT community.
• vowed to “work to pass a fully inclusive version” of ENDA and to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act and to enact a federal hate crimes law inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity.

How does Obama’s record stack up? As Obama noted in his interview, much of what he hoped to accomplish hinged on Democratic control of Congress and its priorities. Obama and the Democrats succeeded in passing the hate crimes expansion and, with key Republican support, in repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” ENDA, sadly, is another matter. It stalled amid assertions that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t want to subject conservative Democrats to more than one gay-related vote at a time. When “Don’t Ask” repeal turned into the drawn out debacle it did, scheduling an ENDA vote was a non-starter as the clock ran out. Congress should have adopted a more aggressive posture on ENDA and taken better advantage of its large Democratic majorities early in Obama’s term. Once the Republicans retook the House, pro-LGBT initiatives were dead in the water. DOMA repeal never happened, either, but Obama’s Justice Department took the bold and welcome step of refusing to defend the statute in court.

On other promises, Obama did lay out a national HIV/AIDS strategy after holding 14 town hall events in cities around the country that drew several thousand attendees. The strategy is LGBT-inclusive from the very first page in which sexual orientation and gender identity are included in the vision statement. Unfortunately, the nation’s AIDS Drug Assistance Programs have seen a spike in patients stuck on waiting lists. The ADAP waiting lists made national headlines last summer, when, for the first time, the number of people on such lists topped 9,000. ADAP is part of the federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program authorized by Congress.

Obama has appointed a record number of openly LGB and, yes, even T people to administration positions, most notably John Berry as head of the Office of Personnel Management. DNC official Brian Bond was named to the role of LGBT liaison, though his job was broader than just LGBT concerns. Bond left that post and Gautam Raghavan took over last month.

Perhaps more importantly, Obama has included LGBT issues in his broader agenda, including extending hospital visitation rights to partners of LGBT patients. One of the most memorable and impactful moments I’ve been fortunate to witness during his term occurred during Obama’s 2009 Pride month commemoration at the White House. In remarks to LGBT attendees, Obama said, “Welcome to your house.” It was a simple gesture, but one that made a huge impact on those in the room, including me. And it neatly sums up Obama’s approach. We are part of his agenda and welcome in his administration. The same cannot be said of the Republican field, with the possible exception of Jon Hunstman, who’s mired in the back of the pack and last week polled at just 2 percent support in Iowa.

But this isn’t a Bill Clinton/John Kerry moment in which LGBT people are stuck voting for the Democrat not because they are true advocates but because the alternative is so much worse. This time around, in Barack Obama, LGBT voters have a presidential candidate who truly supports them and backs up the words with action. Is Obama perfect? Of course not. But he’s battled a severe recession, multiple wars and an opposition party that has said its No. 1 goal is not to fix the economy or find jobs but rather to limit Obama to one term. In that environment, Obama has performed well on LGBT issues and will surely endorse marriage equality in 2013. The Republican nominee remains to be determined, but if it’s any of the announced candidates, then voters concerned about LGBT equality will have an easy decision one year from now.

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Ellen DeGeneres, newly named U.S. Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness. (Photo by Alan Light)

In a speech outlining U.S. policy on global AIDS issues at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., Clinton said DeGeneres’ connection with a large television audience would make her especially well suited to promote U.S. AIDS policies at home and abroad.

“Ellen is going to bring not only her sharp wit and her big heart, but her impressive TV audience and more than 8 million followers on Twitter, to raise awareness and support for this effort,” Clinton said. “I know we can look forward to many contributions from Ellen and her loyal fans across the globe.”

The State Department released a letter that Clinton sent earlier to DeGeneres discussing why the Obama administration believes her accepting the appointment would benefit the cause of fighting AIDS.

“By lending us your energy, compassion, and star power to serve as our Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness, your words will encourage Americans in joining you to make their voices heard in our campaign to achieve an AIDS-free generation,” Clinton said in the letter.

In a statement released Tuesday, DeGeneres said she’s honored to accept the post.

“The fight against AIDS is something that has always been close to my heart,” she said. “And I’m happy that I can use my platform to educate people and spread hope. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go look up what ‘envoy’ means.”

In her speech, Clinton discussed U.S. plans going forward to fight AIDS on the international front through the U.S. programs started during the Bush administration and continued by Obama called the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR.

When President George W. Bush proposed the program in 2003 he called for Congress to approve $30 billion for international AIDS assistance for mostly third-world countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean over a five-year period.

Clinton noted that when the program started, only 50,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving life-saving anti-retroviral medication and other AIDS related drugs. Now, more than 5 million people receive such drugs as well as an addition one million people in other parts of the world through PEPFAR and the United Nations initiated Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, Clinton said.

She said the goal of the Obama administration is to bring about an “AIDS-free generation” across the globe.

“Now, by an AIDS-free generation, I mean one where, first, virtually no children are born with the virus; second, as these children become teenagers and adults, they are at far lower risk of becoming infected than they would be today thanks to a wide range of prevention tool,” she said. “And third, if they do acquire HIV, they have access to treatment that helps prevent them from developing AIDS and passing the virus on to others.”

Among other things, Clinton said PEPAR would fund programs in Africa and other locations that promote “voluntary medical male circumcision,” which she said studies show has lowered the risk of female-to-male transmission of HIV by 60 percent.

Clinton did not mention in her speech specific budget figures the Obama administration has proposed for funding PEPFAR in fiscal year 2012 and beyond or the amount of funds the U.S. plans to contribute to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Some U.S. and international AIDS organizations have criticized the Obama administration for not expanding the funding for the two entities as much as the president promised he would at the time he took office in January 2009.

Clinton noted he her NIH speech that while budget constraints are always a concern during the current economic environment, the U.S. has contributed far more than any other country to international AIDS relief programs, both through PEPFAR and the Global Fund.