Local
Looking back on the hoopla
Black couples took pride in being first to wed in D.C.
Revs. Darlene Garner and Candy Holmes were married at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters on March 9. (Photo by Joe Tresh)
On the eve of this weekend’s Black Pride festivities, the Blade checked in with two of the first same-sex couples who wed here in March to find out how they’re doing now that the hoopla has subsided, how they’ve fared as gay or lesbian couples among their black friends and families and their thoughts on the importance of Black Pride.
Three of the first couples to wed in Washington on March 9, the first day it was legally possible, were Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend, Reggie Stanley and Rocky Galloway and Revs. Darlene Garner and Candy Holmes. All three couples exchanged vows and rings at a carefully orchestrated event at Human Rights Campaign headquarters. All three couples are black.
“We were all asked to identify couples we knew locally who were planning to seize the opportunity immediately and we all put feelers out,” says Ellen Kahn, HRC’s family project director.
Garner said she thinks it was a coincidence that all three couples are black, but says it was still significant.
“Washington, D.C. is known by some as a chocolate city, so it was great that the first couples to be married were African-American couples,” she said.
Stanley and Galloway, a couple for six years, said no one would have noticed if all the couples had been white and that although they planned to wed regardless, controversial remarks made by Council member Marion Barry, who’s black and represents D.C.’s predominantly black Ward 8, inspired them to get married as soon as the law would allow. Barry, who’d previously been supportive of gay rights, said last year after voting against a bill to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere in D.C., that his Ward “don’t have but a handful of openly gay residents” and that the majority of his constituents are opposed to same-sex marriage.
“He was basically saying that black gay folks don’t exist in his ward so we thought it was important to be visible and present,” Stanley said. Though he and Galloway live in Ward 4, they said they felt it important to show Barry there are many black gay D.C. residents.
Garner and Holmes, who had dated off and on for 14 years, said they decided to wed immediately for several reasons, some practical, others symbolic. As ordained ministers in the Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a liberal, mostly gay Christian denomination, they felt it was important to make a public stand.
“We recognized in many ways our place as role models as both representative of the black community and the LGBT community locally,” Garner said. “So we were happy to take our stand as a legally married couple standing side by side through the struggles.”
Garner works full-time in ministry but Holmes ministers part-time while also holding a full-time government job. She said that was also a factor in their decision to wed at HRC.
“None of it was lost on us,” Holmes said. “Being a couple and being African American and being lesbian, and with me being a federal government worker and also clergy, that’s a lot and so there are a lot of voices and things we represent, so it’s something we took very seriously and I think that’s significant.”
Stanley knew some HRC leaders through his own LGBT activism work.
“HRC was very forward looking and they were really interested in showing all aspects of what marriage can look like both here and across the country,” he said. “They realized there would be national coverage so I think they realized it was important for this visual to be seen.”
Garner and Holmes initially planned to make themselves available on HRC’s behalf to help field press inquiries and counter the anti-gay marriage stances several local black clergy, such as Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church, had taken.
“We were initially going to fly away somewhere and get married,” Garner said. “But when it became clear that we could get married here, they asked if we’d like to do it with them. It became kind of a collaboration.”
Was there any concern their special day would become a circus? Both couples said HRC handled the day so well, it didn’t feel that way.
“There really was no media barrage at all,” Galloway said.
The women agree.
“We were able to experience the typical giddiness of any engaged couple looking forward to their wedding,” Garner said. “HRC did a phenomenal job and our primary focus stayed on the fact that we were getting married. We did not take into consideration at all that the world might be watching.”
Garner and Holmes plan a religious ceremony during their denomination’s annual conference in Acapulco in June.
The couples met standing in line that morning to get their licenses. They had their ceremonies at HRC in the order they got their licenses.
“We all cried and applauded and supported one another,” Holmes said. “Then when one came back, the next couple marched in so we were all there together, then we had a joint reception.”
“It was lovely,” Garner said. “HRC converted one of their big meeting rooms into a wedding chapel and we were able to create the ceremony we wanted to have from processional to recessional, with music and presiders and everything just as we wanted.”
The couples — Young and Townsend did not respond to interview requests — said life has returned to normal after the barrage of media attention.
“Things are great,” Galloway said. “Just like with any wedding, there’s a lot of activity leading up to it, but we’re back to a normal life now.”
Both couples said they encountered zero negative feedback but were greeted with many cheers, applause and congratulations, both on the day itself and after.
“People have recognized me and stop me in the hall to congratulate me,” Holmes said. “It’s been wonderful.”
And both couples say Black Pride remains important. Some of the reasons why, they said, popped up during the marriage wars, with the Barry incident and elsewhere.
“We were more active with it in our single days than in later years,” Galloway said. “But it’s still important to show diversity among the gay community. It’s a wonderful weekend and continues to be a very important event.”
Garner and Holmes will be out of town this weekend but said they fully support Black Pride. Garner, one of the founders of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays, said misperceptions about black gays persist.
“There’s still this perception that all gay people are white and that all black people are straight and many people really cling to that myth,” she said. “So it’s especially important for black LGBT people to come out, be visible and speak out so we continue to break down the barriers that other people have constructed to keep us all segregated from each other.”
Rehoboth Beach
Celebrate Pride in Rehoboth Beach this weekend
‘A vital space for community, healing, and connection’
Pride in Rehoboth Beach is kicking off this week on Friday, July 17, with events happening throughout the weekend.
“Rehoboth Beach Pride is more than a festival — it is a vital space for community, healing, and connection,” said David Mariner, director of Sussex Pride, which organizes many of the events.
The weekend will begin with the Grand Opening & Community Preview from 1-4 p.m. on Friday, July 17, celebrating the opening of Novus Medical Services and the new Sussex Pride Community Center.
This will be followed by an Interfaith Pride Service at 6 p.m. at the Metropolitan Community Church Rehoboth to gather for healing and the affirmation of queer spirituality with Rev. Carla Christopher, chair of Sussex Pride Faith.
Members of the community are then invited to head over to join the Rehoboth Beach Bears at the Pines to have dinner, mingle, and give back to local initiatives.
End the first night of Pride in Rehoboth at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub with music by DJ Joey P from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. inside the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. A full list of events is available at rehobothbeachpride.org.
Roxy Overbrooke will host on the main stage as live performances take place throughout the day, featuring music from DJ MK and Tribe 9 Entertainment.
The festival will include educational workshops, community meetups, and a raffle dedicated to raising funds for unhoused LGBTQ+ youth across Delaware.
Feature workshops include panels discussing topics such as unhoused LGBTQ+ youth in Delaware, the needs of trans and non-binary youth, as well as the increase in HIV and syphilis diagnoses amid federal budget cuts, in a panel moderated by Blade Editor Kevin Naff.
Saturday night will also feature an evening comedy and entertainment show at the Convention Center presented by the Gay Women of Rehoboth. Performers will include comedians Suzanne Westenhoefer and Karen Mills as well as musician Kristen Merlin. Tickets are available at gaywomenofrehoboth.org.
The Rehoboth Beach Pride Ride will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 19, hosted by the Dykes on Bikes Rehoboth Beach Women’s Motorcycle Club, starting at Lefty’s.
Goolee’s Drag Brunch will also take place on Sunday from 12-2 p.m at Goolee’s Grille. This is a family-friendly event hosted by Regina Cox and Ruby, featuring Aurora Sterling, Michelle Leigh Sterling, Scarlet St. Cartier, and Joanna Blue. Tickets can be purchased online.
Pride in Rehoboth will conclude at 2 p.m. with the official Rehoboth Beach Pride Closing Party at Aqua Bar & Grill, celebrating the venue’s landmark 20th anniversary with DJ Biff until 7 p.m.
Due to an influx of visitors for the summer season, those coming from out-of-town are encouraged to use the Park & Ride.
Maryland
Christa Tichy hopes to preserve LGBTQ representation in Md. House of Delegates
Queer Democrat running to succeed retiring state Del. Bonnie Cullison
When longtime Maryland state Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County) announced she would retire, Christa Tichy immediately saw an opportunity.
The queer Democrat advanced from the June primary and will appear on the November ballot, hoping to succeed one of Maryland’s first openly LGBTQ legislators and preserve LGBTQ representation in Annapolis.
“But when Bonnie made that announcement, I knew right away that that’s what I was supposed to do,” Tichy told the Washington Blade during a recent interview. She always felt connected to Cullison’s background, which she said is very similar to her own.
Some of these shared traits include a background in teaching and a strong connection to Leisure World of Maryland. Cullison has inspired her in the past and feels motivated to take her place. She had always hoped to be her successor.
Besides their shared background, she also understands how important it is under the Trump-Vance administration to advocate for LGBTQ rights, as Cullison had in the past.
“I think there’s a lot of fears with the present administration of losing certain rights. And you know, Bonnie was a big advocate for marriage equality. I want to continue that, and you know, make sure that legislation that protects that is in place,” Tichy said.
Beyond specific policy priorities, Tichy said preserving LGBTQ representation in the General Assembly was equally important.
“I mean, of all the candidates that ran, I was the only female. […] I thought we needed that voice. We could not just let that voice be forgotten,” Tichy said.
Tichy said she believes serving in the Maryland General Assembly is where she can have the greatest impact on the issues she cares most about; including education, labor, and working families.
“I knew that this was my passion, and I felt this is where I could be most effective on a state level when it came to education, labor, for working with families,” Tichy said.
Throughout the campaign, Tichy said one unexpected source of enthusiasm came from her personal life. She and her now-wife, Jodie Bekman, were married during the campaign, and constituents closely followed their journey.
“A lot of my constituents knew that I was engaged in getting married, and they met my now wife, and our marriage was like part of the campaign,” Tichy said. “So, like our ring, the date, […], Jodie would come along with me just about at every event, so people got to know her and couldn’t help but like her.”
She believes that openness helped voters connect with her campaign on a personal level.
“I think there was an energy and an excitement to seeing two people that much in love that actually could win. I think that all contributed to it,” Tichy said.
Tichy also credited support from other LGBTQ elected officials, including state Del. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County), who chairs Maryland’s LGBTQ+ Caucus, and Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass. She said Fair was among the first elected officials to publicly endorse her campaign.
She also praised the volunteers who helped propel her through the primary election, from canvassing neighborhoods to enduring rainy weather on Election Day.
“When I think of how they stood out […] in the rain on election day with raincoats and umbrellas pouring down, holding walk cards that were like just folding over. They were so wet and damp. That’s the type of dedication that we had,” Tichy said.
Outside of politics, Tichy has built a career breaking barriers in the skilled trades. She became Maryland’s first female licensed Master Electrician and now teaches electrical trade courses, helping students prepare for careers in the field.
She said many of her students come from underserved communities and that helping them find stable careers has reinforced her commitment to workforce development.
A lot of her policies focus on workforce development and encouraging more women to join career trades.
Her experiences in the electrical trade also shaped many of her policy priorities. Tichy said she has advocated for better workplace conditions, including properly fitting equipment for women and paid time off for workers who were often reluctant to take leave.
Working in a male-dominated profession, she said, was not always easy.
“I remember how many times I wanted to say, ‘I’m going to give up. I’m not going to do this. It’s too hard,’ and I always thought — I’m a mom. I have, you know, four boys now, but they needed me, and I was all they had, right?” Tichy said.
Looking ahead to November, Tichy said she hopes to continue the success of her campaign thus far and to keep reaching out to her community for support.
“Our diversity is our greatest strength, and by working together, there is no challenge we cannot overcome,” she said in a statement after winning the Democratic primary.
Other LGBTQ candidates also advanced to the general election, which can be found here.
Rehoboth Beach
Suzanne Goode wants efficient spending, better infrastructure for Rehoboth
Mayoral candidate has clashed with colleagues over city finances
(Editor’s note: This is the second installment in a three-part series profiling the candidates for mayor of Rehoboth Beach, Del.: Commissioners Suzanne Goode, Susan Stewart, and Craig Thier; a fourth candidate, William Raak, filed to join the race but has not responded to Blade inquiries.)
Rehoboth Beach City Commissioner Suzanne Goode, a candidate for mayor, told the Blade she’s running on a platform prioritizing efficient spending, improving infrastructure, and increasing affordability.
A Maryland native, Goode became a full-time resident of Rehoboth Beach with her husband in 2016. The two have been homeowners in Rehoboth since 2006. Goode became involved with Rehoboth politics soon after moving to town full time.
“I started attending meetings back in 2018 right after we moved here full time. I feel that the city needs to change desperately. They really are in trouble.”
“I never expected to get involved, but once I saw how dysfunctional everything was, that’s what inspired me.”
Goode said that her background in economic consulting makes her qualified to oversee how the city spends taxpayer dollars.
“I’m an economist, that’s my background. I present data at some of these meetings, but no one is willing to analyze the data or even respond as to why we aren’t doing things differently,” said Goode.
“We have other commissioners who are so unwilling to make the hard decisions and cut spending,” said Goode.
“We have so much wrong with the way money is being spent to defend the bureaucracy and not to give back power to the voters, the taxpayers,” said Goode.
But the city’s budget numbers contradict Goode’s claims about financial mismanagement.
The city reported that it ended fiscal year 2025 with a $1.21 million surplus. The 2027 budget was adopted in March and projects an operating surplus of about $875,000.
Elected as a city commissioner in 2024, Goode says she has made an effort to limit spending. She has had multiple public disagreements with fellow commissioners, in particular, Susan Stewart, who is also running for mayor.
In a March 9th commissioner’s meeting, Stewart publicly disclosed a series of Goode’s emails, outlining allegations of misconduct and harassment, all of which Goode denied and claimed were false.
The emails alleged racially and sexually demeaning remarks from Goode about city staff and officials, including City Manager Taylour Tedder.
Goode has criticized the city’s decision to give Tedder a $750,000 forgivable home loan and a $250,000 salary, which is $90,000 more than the previous city manager.
“Under his stewardship, he has handed out excessive pay packages, including benefits to his immediate deputy administrators, all with taxpayer money,” Goode said.
The Blade has reached out to Tedder for comment.
Goode spoke against the decision to hire City Solicitor Lisa Borin Ogden and has made attempts to reduce her $200,000 annual salary.
Goode also disagrees with Tedder’s hiring of consultants for the city: “My goal is to cut the endless stream of consultancies that the city manager contracts, which do not seem to improve the quality of life for the average resident or visitor to Rehoboth Beach.”
“I don’t believe we need additional advice about how to run things,” said Goode. “We just need to improve infrastructure at this point, cut back on some of the excessive compensation packages, not to the working class among our employees, but to the executives and the administrators,” said Goode.
Goode also disapproves of Tedder’s ‘Reimagine Rehoboth’ master planning initiative and says that it “would come to an immediate halt” if she were elected mayor.
“You have to hope that we make better decisions going forward. It would be a benefit to everyone, to visitors, to homeowners, both second homeowners and full-time residents.”
Goode’s platform focuses on expanding and improving the infrastructure throughout Rehoboth. She says she would like to work to “improve infrastructure to include replacement of crumbling and uneven sidewalks.”
She shared that as a resident, she has experienced hazardous conditions when trying to walk or bicycle at night due to what she calls an insufficient amount of streetlights.
Goode also has her sights set on improving Rehoboth’s wastewater treatment system.
“We have complex issues with wastewater treatment. I will continue to advocate against Rehoboth Beach becoming the destination where treated wastewater is sent from areas outside Rehoboth.”
“I want to fully support the working class, the line people, the sanitation workers, the people on city staff who keep the city running and who are the most important workers in many ways,” said Goode.
Goode also addressed her approval of efforts to construct a venue for Clear Space Theatre Company in town, saying, “I think it’s a wonderful use of some city-owned land.”
However, she is cautious about talks to give Clear Space money toward construction of the theater, saying the decision should go to public referendum.
The Blade asked Goode if maintaining Rehoboth’s perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Index would be a priority as mayor. She said that it would be a priority and that she is proud of Rehoboth’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. However, she bemoaned the lack of racial diversity among Rehoboth homeowners.
“While we have LGBTQ+ diversity, we have little racial diversity among the property owners with very few African Americans owning homes in Rehoboth. That is, in my view, a bad thing.”
“We want diversity of demographics and race. In order to do that, in order to make Rehoboth more affordable to everyone.”
Goode also responded to claims that she opposes the rainbow sidewalks in town by saying that she thinks they are “attractive” but is worried that they “necessitate more labor.”
“My priorities are safety and affordability,” said Goode. “Unfortunately, the rainbow crosswalks have potentially reduced the upkeep of the conventional crosswalks. But the rainbow crosswalks are attractive in and of themselves, and they do add to our recognition of Rehoboth’s longstanding status as a gay-friendly town.”
Goode said that she noticed recently at the intersection of First Street and Baltimore Avenue that the two rainbow crosswalks were freshly painted for the spring while the two white crosswalks were “faded and unsafe.”
The election will take place on Aug. 8, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Convention Center.
Advocacy groups join Venezuela earthquake relief efforts
Celebrate Pride in Rehoboth Beach this weekend
Rehoboth’s Aqua to celebrate 20th anniversary Sunday
Christa Tichy hopes to preserve LGBTQ representation in Md. House of Delegates
Mexico’s first openly gay mayor killed
Calendar: July 10-16
Gay librarian to discuss new novel at Green Lantern
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Lindsey Graham dies at 71
