Arts & Entertainment
Proud and black
Memorial Day weekend events targeted to local African-American LGBT crowd
Raceen Pendarvis and ButtaFlySoul at last year's Black Pride. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Next weekend, in its usual Memorial Day weekend slot, comes D.C. Black Pride celebrating its 21st year.
The local event, which founder Earl Fowlkes used as a springboard to launch the International Federation of Black Prides, has a slightly different schedule this year but is still focused on building a stronger black LGBT community in Washington. The event typically draws about 25,000 attendees from many states on the East Coast and beyond.
Events kick off Thursday and run through May 30 (Memorial Day). The Blade is a sponsor.
The Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel (24th and K streets, N.W.) is the official host hotel for out-of-town visitors.
On Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., the “hospitality suite” is open at the Hamilton. From 7 to 9 p.m., a Black Pride town hall meeting will be held at the hotel. Admission is free. The discussion is entitled “’Til Death Do Us Part: a Discussion of Domestic Violence in the Black LGBT Community.”
On May 27 from 7 to 10 p.m., an opening reception and awards ceremony will be held. Admission is free. The Welmore Cook Community Service awards will be given to out local activists Ron Collins and Khadijah Tribble.
Workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 28. A film festival will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Sphinx Club Grand Ballroom. Admission is $20. A “poetry slam” will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. also in the ballroom hosted by “Buttaflysoul.” Cash prizes will be awarded. Contestants must sign up in advance.
At 10 p.m., a retro dance will be held at the hotel. Admission is $15.
On Sunday, a church service will be held, again at the hotel. It’s free.
Unlike years past, the main festival with booths and entertainment will be held on Memorial Day at Fort Dupont Park. The event will be held in conjunction with Us Helping Us, a local AIDS charity that specializes in the black LGBT community.
Visit dcblackpride.org for more information.
A for-profit event also targeting the local black LGBT community is also slated for Memorial Day weekend called Chocolate City Pride. Its organizers — McGregory Williams, Donald Desprett and Kurtis Perminter of Omega Entertainment — have no connection to Chocolate City Festival, a now-defunct event local gay event promoter Darryl Wilson held a few years ago. Its organizers also say it has no connection to the D.C. gay bar Omega.
Its host hotel is sold out but an overflow hotel has been established at the Hyatt Regency on Capital Hill. It has several events slated for the weekend. Visit omegapartydc.com for details. The Blade is not sponsoring Chocolate City Pride.
The 13th annual Frederick Pride Festival was held at Carroll Creek Park in Frederick, Md. on Saturday, June 27.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival
LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town
The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
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