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D.C. mayor’s office apologizes for anti-gay group’s award

Staff error blamed for ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ to PFOX leader

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A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty issued an apology Thursday for a mayoral Certificate of Appreciation awarded to the leader of the anti-gay group Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays known as PFOX.

PFOX characterizes homosexuality in its literature as a psychological disorder and says gays can change their sexual orientation to become heterosexual through “reparative therapy.” LGBT organizations have pointed to scientific literature refuting such claims and have denounced reparative therapy, saying it’s harmful and based on “junk science.”

“A staff level error was made when the request for the certificate in question was fulfilled,” Mafara Hobson, Fenty’s communications director, told the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance in an e-mail.

“The mayor is proud of his ardent support of the LGBT community as illustrated in his championing of the Marriage Equality legislation he signed into law on December 18, 2009,” Hobson wrote in her e-mail.

Hobson’s apology on behalf of the mayor came after GLAA and other LGBT groups learned of the November certificate from a PFOX press release. PFOX issued the press release Wednesday — some six months after the mayor’s office issued the certificate.

The certificate says, “Government of the District of Columbia — Certificate of Appreciation is hereby awarded to Regina Griggs — In recognition of your dedication, commitment and outstanding contributions as Executive Director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays.” The document bears Fenty’s signature.

Hobson told the Washington Blade on Thursday that similar to the hundreds of honorary certificates and proclamations that the mayor’s office issues each year, the mayor’s signature was affixed to the PFOX award by an “auto pen.”

She said Fenty neither saw nor knew anything about the matter until activists brought it to the attention of the mayor’s office Wednesday.

GLAA Vice President Rick Rosendall noted that in 2007, the mayor’s office issued a ceremonial proclamation to an organization calling for abstinence until marraige as a policy for curtailing AIDS in the city. In response to complaints by LGBT and AIDS activists, the mayor’s office acknowledged the award application was not properly vetted and noted the office processing such awards would tighten its vetting process.

One District government source familiar with the newest misstep, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a staff person within the Mayor’s Office of the Secretary, which processes ceremonial certificates and proclamations, failed to follow the standard vetting procedures required for such documents.

The source said the staffer apparently treated the PFOX application for the award for Griggs as a request to honor a private citizen for an occasion such as a 90th birthday or graduation, which calls for a less rigorous vetting.

According to the source, procedures established in the Office of the Secretary call for including the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs in the vetting of all LGBT-related applications for certificates and proclamations. Christopher Dyer, the head of the GLBT Affairs Office, was never contacted about the matter, which amounted to a breach of the procedures, said the source.

On its web site, GLLA noted that Fenty pledged during his 2006 mayoral campaign not to issue awards or ceremonial tributes to individuals and groups that advocate discrimination against minorities, including LGBT people.

Gay activist Bob Summersgill posted a message on the GLLA web site forum saying the mayor’s office did not go far enough in its apology. He noted that Hobson’s public statement did not answer GLAA’s specific questions of who in the mayor’s office approved and processed the certificate and what actions have been taken to prevent a similar development from happening again.

GLAA members also called on Fenty to issue a statement denouncing the so-called ex-gay movement that Griggs represents.

A separate District government source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the media said the mayor’s office has issued numerous ceremonial tributes to LGBT organizations and events, including the Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend events.

“Our record is clear on where we stand on the LGBT community,” said that source.

But mayoral candidate and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray called the decision by Fenty’s office to issue an award to the leader of anti-gay group an “embarrassment” to the city.

“For the mayor to issue a certificate of appreciation honoring an organization that has done so much to alienate so many is not only an insult to the LGBT community, it is yet another example of the insensitivity of his administration,” Gray said in a statement.

“It is an embarrassment to our city that he would make such an offensive mistake,” he said. “It was the mayor’s signature on the certificate, not a staff-member’s, and I hope the mayor will personally take responsibility.”

Gray’s decision to weigh in on the situation was expected to interject the matter into a mayoral campaign in which the LGBT community is expected to be divided between Fenty and Gray. Both politicians have strong records of support for LGBT rights.

Griggs did not return calls from the Blade seeking comment, but she told the Washington Post, “I obviously didn’t nominate myself. This was brought to the mayor by a D.C. resident, and I was given an award.”

She told the Post that ex-gays “have a right to self-determination.”

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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards

Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

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Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington as well as local drag artists joined hosts Mike Millan and Felicia Curry with other performers for a WorldPride dance number at the Helen Hayes Awards on Monday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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)

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Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals

Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade

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Deacon Maccubbin attends the 2024 Capital Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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.

Laverne Cox (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

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.

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PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride

Schuyler Bailar gives keynote address

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D.C. Trans Pride 2025 was held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on May 17. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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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