Local
Community celebrates Kameny’s 85th birthday
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club to host Friday reception
At least three events were set to take place this week to celebrate the 85th birthday of D.C. gay activist Frank Kameny, who is credited with founding the LGBT rights movement in the District of Columbia and playing a key role in starting the modern gay rights movement nationwide.
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group that Kameny helped found in 1976, is hosting a reception in Kameny’s honor Friday, May 21, at the LGBT Community Center at 1810 14th St., N.W., from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The event was to include a special presentation on Kameny’s role in the D.C. LGBT community by fellow activist Paul Kunzler, also one of the founders of the Stein Club.
The National Stonewall Democrats was to hold another birthday celebration for Kameny on Thursday at the AFL-CIO building on 16th Street, N.W., near the White House.
And a group of Kameny friends and fellow activists was scheduled to hold a separate event honoring his life’s work on behalf of gay rights on Wednesday night at the Artist Inn Bed & Breakfast at 1824 R St., N.W., near Dupont Circle.
The event, which was sponsored by the local gay-oriented foundation, Helping Our Brothers & Sisters, was asking for donations by attendees to go toward a special Kameny fund that will “help support Frank Kameny in his later years of life,” according to a Facebook announcement of the event.
David Bradberry, lead organizer of the event, said local artist Don Patron, who was also helping to organize the event, has made about a dozen oil paintings of Kameny. Bradberry said some were made from photos of Kameny taken in years past, including during his service in the Army during World War II. The paintings were to be sold in a silent auction at the event to help raise money for the Kameny fund.
“Kameny is the father of the modern gay movement, and his achievements are legend,” the announcement says.
“He was one of the leaders of the first gay rights demonstrations at the White House, State Department, and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall — four years before Stonewall,” it says. “He founded or co-founded the D.C. chapters of the Mattachine Society and Gay Activists Alliance and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force.”
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Maryland
Md. groups receive state grants to fight hate crimes
Pride Center of Maryland among recipients
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy are awarding a total of $10 million in grants in the 2027 fiscal year to nonprofit organizations that work to prevent hate crimes in the state.
The funds will be used to support those who feel targeted or discriminated against because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.
The Pride Center of Maryland is among the recipients. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and LGBTQ organizations are all eligible to receive grants
“The safety and security of all Marylanders is my top priority, so we are drawing a hard line because we have no tolerance for hate,” said Moore, according to media reports. “We are committed to protecting and ensuring safe and sacred spaces stay that way by investing in non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and community centers to protect and honor every community that makes our state so diverse and special.”
“Protection Against Hate Crime funding has strengthened the Pride Center of Maryland’s ability to protect, educate, and support the communities we serve … at a time of heightened concern associated with the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ/SGL (same-gender-loving) policies and pressures,” Pride Center of Maryland CEO Cleo Manago said. “PAHC funding helps us do more than improve physical security — it strengthens our community’s knowledge, preparedness, connection to resources, and ability to respond to hate with greater awareness and support.”
Maryland’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The state’s nondiscrimination statute is also LGBTQ-inclusive.
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Historiography with heart
