Local
Catania earns top GLAA rating
D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At-Large) received a +10 rating from the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance on LGBT issues, placing him alongside fellow Council members Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who also received a +10, the group’s highest possible rating.
GLAA released its ratings Wednesday for candidates running in the city’s Nov. 2 election.
Catania, who is gay, and Mendelson are competing in a four-person race for two at-large seats where the highest two vote getters win under the city’s election rules. The other two candidates competing for the seats are David Schwartzman, the Statehood-Green Party nominee, who received a GLAA rating of +6, and same-sex marriage opponent and religious right figure Richard Urban, who received a GLAA rating of -3.5. Schwartzman, a strong supporter of LGBT equality, said he is challenging Catania on economic issues.
The group gave City Council Chairman and mayoral candidate Vincent Gray (D-At-Large) a +8.5 rating, the same rating the group gave Gray for the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, in which he defeated Mayor Adrian Fenty.
GLAA gave a “0” rating to each of the three candidates running against Gray in the general election — independent Carlos Allen, Statehood-Green Party Candidate Faith, and Socialist Worker Party candidate Omari Musa. GLAA said the three failed to return a candidates questionnaire and their records on LGBT issues were unknown to the group, a development that automatically results in a “0” rating under the group’s rules.
In the race for City Council Chairman, Democratic nominee Kwame Brown received a +5.5. His sole opponent, Statehood-Green Party candidate Ann Wilcox, received a “0” for not returning the questionnaire.
Graham, who’s also gay, maintained the +10 rating he received during his campaign for the Sept. 14 primary. Marc Morgan, a gay Republican running against Graham for the Ward 1 Council seat, received a +6.5 rating on Wednesday, an increase from the +3 rating Morgan received for the primary campaign. GLAA said the increase was due to a revised questionnaire that Morgan submitted that provided far more details on his LGBT rights record, which GLAA said was significant.
The third out gay candidate running in the election, Ward 5 Republican Tim Day, received the same +1.5 rating he received in the primary. He’s running against Council member Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5), who received a GLAA rating of +6. Thomas voted for the same-sex marriage bill last year and is a strong supporter of LGBT rights. GLAA said he lost points by opposing a bill that allowed gay and non-gay adult clubs displaced by the new baseball stadium to relocate in other non-residential areas.
Ward 5 independent candidate Kathy Henderson, who is also running for Thomas’s seat, received a +2 rating.
In other races, GLAA gave a +8.5 score to Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and a “0” Republican challenger Dave Hedgepeth, who failed to turn in a questionnaire. In the Ward 6 Council race, GLAA gave incumbent Council member Tommy Wells (D) a +8.5 rating. His GOP opponent, Jim DeMartino, received a -0.5 rating.
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)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
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