The Center for Black Equity, the organizer of D.C. Black Pride, the nation’s first and one of the largest annual African-American LGBTQ Pride celebrations, announced this year’s event will take place Memorial Day Weekend from May 24-27.

The announcement, released April 16, says that most 2024 D.C. Black Pride events will take place at the Westin Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel at 999 9th St, N.W.

“With the theme Black Pride Forever, the event promises a weekend filled with vibrant celebrations, empowering workshops, and a deep exploration of Black LGBTQIA+ history and culture,” the announcement says.

It says events will include as in past years a “Rainbow Row” vendor expo at the hotel featuring “organizations and vendors created for and by the LGBTQIA+ community” offering products and services “that celebrate Black excellence.”

According to the announcement, other events include a Health and Wellness Festival that will offer workshops, demonstrations, and activities focused on “holistic well-being;” a Mary Bowman Poetry Slam “showcasing the power and beauty of spoken word by Black LGBTQIA+ artists;” the Black Pride Through the Decades Party, that will celebrate the “rich history of the Black LGBTQIA+ movement;” and an Empowerment Through Knowledge series of workshops that “delve into various topics relevant to the Black LGBTQIA+ community.”

Also, as in past years, this year’s D.C. Black Pride will feature its “Opening Night Extravaganza” reception and party that will include entertainment and live performances.

The announcement notes that D.C.’s annual Black Pride celebration, started in 1991 as a one-day outdoor event at Howard University’s Banneker Field, has inspired annual Black LGBTQ Pride events across the United States and in Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, Africa, and the Caribbean. More than 300,000 people attend Black LGBTQ Pride events each year worldwide, the announcement says.

Full details, including the official schedule of events, can be accessed at dcblackpride.org.

A transgender woman has filed a discrimination complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights charging that officials with the Community for Creative Non-Violence homeless shelter refused to allow her to stay in the women’s section of the shelter, forcing her to stay in the men’s sleeping section.

The shelter, located at 425 2nd St., N.W., is one of the city’s largest privately operated homeless services facilities organized by the Community for Creative Non-Violence, which is known as CCNV. It was founded by nationally acclaimed homeless services advocate Mitch Snyder, who passed away in 1990.

The complaint, filed last week by Stephon “Lashawn” Jordan, states that Jordan and a cisgender female friend arrived at the CCNV shelter around 2:30 a.m. on March 22 after they obtained a ride to the shelter through the city’s Emergency Shelter Hotline.

“Upon arrival we were informed that we would have to complete an intake once upstairs at the female housing unit,” Jordan states in the complaint. “Once we arrived a staff member came out. The staff member stated to me that we don’t house transgender individuals in this unit and that I would have to go down to the male shelter unit,” the complaint says.

It says Jordan’s female friend told the staff member she was not going to leave her friend, who identifies as female, by herself in another location at the shelter. “The staff member did not want to hear it and said that both of you can go downstairs too,” the complaint says. “Once we got downstairs to the male shelter unit we asked to speak with a supervisor,” it says.

“Someone came, but the decision was that myself and my friend could go and sleep in the male housing unit,” the complaint states. “During our stay it was very humiliating especially using the restroom,” it concludes.

A spokesperson for the CCNV shelter did not immediately respond to a phone and email message left by the Washington Blade asking for a response to the complaint.

Transgender rights advocates, including D.C. trans activist Earline Budd, who assisted Jordan in filing the complaint, have said the denial of placement of a transgender woman in the female section of a place of public accommodation such as a homeless shelter is a violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act’s ban on gender identity discrimination.

The Office of Human Rights website explains that under its policy for responding to discrimination complaints, the complainant and the accused party are required to enter mediation to determine if the complaint can be resolved. If the mediation fails, the OHR website statement says, a full investigation is conducted that can take up to six months to complete. It says upon completion of the investigation, the office makes a determination of whether probable cause exists that discrimination occurred.

If probable cause is found, the case is sent to the D.C. Commission on Human Rights, which holds a public evidentiary hearing with witnesses before making a final decision on whether discrimination occurred.

Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, the Arlington, Va. LGBTQ establishment, has announced it is hosting a “Love Fest” celebration on Saturday, May 4 that will include a Drag Queen Story Hour brunch in response to a bomb threat that interrupted the first Drag Story Hour event it hosted four weeks earlier.

“Help us stop the hate,” a flier announcing the May 4 Love Fest event says. “Join us for our next story time brunch, dressed in your favorite Rainbow/Hippie outfit,” the flier says. “Carry your homemade signs of support.”

Freddie Lutz, Freddie’s Beach Bar owner, said a portion of the proceeds of the event will be donated to local LGBTQ charities.

Lutz has reported that separate email messages with a bomb threat were sent to the Freddie’s in the Crystal City section of Arlington, the Freddie’s Beach Bar in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and to him personally with a threat targeting his and his husband’s house located near the Freddie’s in Crystal City.

He said the first threat arrived about an hour before the April 6 Drag Story Hour was scheduled to begin, with drag queen Tara Hoot scheduled to read children’s stories to what Lutz said was a large turnout of kids with their parents and family members. After asking all patrons to exit the bar into its rear outdoor seating area and parking lot, Arlington police conducted a thorough search of the premises with a bomb sniffing dog and found no trace of a bomb.

All customers, including parents and their children, were invited back inside and the show took place as planned, with drag performer Hoot describing the event as a display of “fun and love and joy.”

Lutz has said the May 4 Love Fest event, which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., is intended to show the community and those responsible for bomb threats at many of the past Drag Story Hour events, that these events enjoy strong community support.

“They’re trying to scare us and intimidate us, and I just don’t think as a community we can allow that to happen,” he told WUSA 9 TV News. “It emboldens me to just carry on,” he said.

He told the Washington Blade he and his staff are honored that they have received an outpouring of support from community organizations, other nearby businesses, and government officials.

The Arlington County Board, which is the governing body of the county, voted unanimously on April 9 to approve a statement supporting Freddie’s Beach Bar and the LGBTQ community in response to the bomb threat incident.

“Arlington County and the County board unequivocally support the LGBTQ+ community,” the statement says. “Arlington County Police Department’s swift response ensured the safety of patrons and staff, and the fortitude of Freddie and drag queen Tara Hoot allowed the show to go on,” the statement continues.

“With protests, threats, and violence targeting the LGBTQ+ community – and drag shows in particular – on the rise across the country, expressions of hatred and bigotry have absolutely no place in our community, and the Arlington County Board condemns these threats of violence and attempted intimidation of our community,” it says.