Local
GLOV elects new co-chairs
Members of Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence, also known GLOV, voted at their monthly meeting Jan. 29 to elect D.C. residents Kelly Pickard and Joe Montoni as the group’s new co-chairs.
The two succeed outgoing co-chairs Chris Farris and Tod Metrokin, who are credited with reactivating GLOV a little more than a year ago after it had been dormant for nearly 10 years. The group serves as the local LGBT community’s advocate on crime and law enforcement issues. It also monitors and tracks anti-LGBT hate crimes.
“Tod Metrokin and I couldn’t be happier with the group’s choice,” Farris said of the election. “We’ve accomplished a lot in the past year and I look forward to continuing our work under the new leadership.”
In the time since Farris and Metrokin took on leadership of GLOV, the group has operated as a project of the D.C. Center, which recently moved to 1810 14th St., N.W.
Pickard and Montoni take the helm of GLOV at a time when the group has had strained relations with D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier. The group has criticized Lanier’s efforts to restructure and decentralize the department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, saying she had nearly dismantled the unit before putting in place GLLU affiliate officers in each of the seven police districts.
Capt. Edward Delgado, who oversees the GLLU and three other special liaison units, announced two weeks ago that an expanded GLLU now includes 24 affiliate officers and at least six officers and supervisors associated with the unit’s headquarters in Dupont Circle.
“We know there remains a tremendous amount of work ahead of us, and we’ll continue to work to build confidence within the LGBT community that the issue of hate crimes is being handled with the seriousness it deserves,” Pickard said in a statement.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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