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GLAA honors local leaders & more
Eleven individuals and one organization were recognized Tuesday at the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance Distinguished Service Awards. The recipients included DC Agenda senior news reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. GLAA described Chibbaro as “the standard-bearer for gay-focused journalism” in D.C. who has spent more than 30 years “chasing down leads to get to the bottom of all manner of stories related to the LGBT community.” Awards also went to Joan Biren, Sean Bugg, Michael Crawford, Rev. Monique Ellison, Brian Flowers, Mark Levine, David Mariner, Nick McCoy, Brian Moore and Sultan Shakir. D.C. Clergy United for Marriage Equality, co-chaired by pastors Dennis Wiley, Christine Wiley and Rob Hardies, also won recognition. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)
Armed robbers steal cash from Nellie’s bar
A gun wielding male suspect and a man accompanying him forced the owner of Nellie’s Sports Bar at 900 U St., N.W., to turn over several hundred dollars in cash Monday afternoon while the bar was closed to the public, according to owner Douglas Schantz.
Schantz said the two suspects fled the premises after grabbing a container he was carrying bearing the cash, which was to be used to make change for customers’ purchases of drinks and food and which he believes was under $500. He said the suspects entered the bar between noon and 1 p.m. through an unlocked rear door that construction workers had used to enter the bar earlier in the day to do renovation work.
According to Schantz, the entire incident was captured by the bar’s video surveillance system and D.C. police have a “very good” image of the two suspects. Police planned to release photos made from the video this week. Schantz said he would send copies to the news media, including DC Agenda, for publication, with a request that anyone recognizing the suspects contact police.
The police’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit was assisting in the investigation of the incident. Schantz said all officers responding to the scene were cooperative and helpful, and did a “thorough job” of searching for evidence, including a hat that one of the suspects left behind as he fled the bar.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
GLLU probes domestic violence, carjacking incidents
Officers assigned to the D.C. police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit provided assistance to regular patrol officers in two separate incidents on April 16 — a reported carjacking at 3rd and K St., N.W., and an alleged domestic violence assault on the 2300 block of 24th St., S.E.
According to GLLU supervisor Sgt. Carlos Mejia, both incidents involve members of the transgender community. He said officers with the Seventh Police District arrested a man identified as the boyfriend of a transgender woman, who reported that the man punched and pushed her.
Mejia said the second incident involves a police investigation into an alleged armed carjacking that took place in the early morning hours of April 16 in a location known as a place where transgender prostitutes congregate.
“The complainant reports that he was approached by four individuals who assaulted him and took his vehicle,” Mejia said in a statement. “GLLU officers and affiliate officers were called to the scene. The suspects are possible members of the transgender community.”
Mejia’s statement, which he sent by e-mail to activists on the GLLU’s e-mail list, did not provide additional details, and he could not immediately be reached for comment.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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