Local
Firefighters oppose ‘FEMS’ logo on shirts and jackets
D.C. fire chief postpones order for design change
Almost no one has talked about it in public, including the news media and the union representing D.C. firefighters.
But in response to inquiries from the Washington Blade, D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe acknowledged that his decision to postpone an order that firefighters place the initials “FEMS” on the shirts and jackets they wear while on duty was based, in part, on that acronym’s perception as a possible derogatory reference to gay men.
FEMS stands for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, the name the city adopted more than a decade ago to replace the name D.C. Fire Department. Officials said the name change was aimed at better reflecting the important role members of the EMS, or Emergency Medical Services unit, play within a department better known for putting out fires.
Openly gay D.C. firefighter Tim Bennett said gay and straight firefighters know that the term “fem” has long been used as a derogatory reference to effeminate men or gays. He said he and some of his fellow firefighters expect the FEMS logo prominently displayed on the back of their jackets and shirts will subject them to ridicule.
“I was speaking to another member,” Bennett told the Blade. “I’m not sure if he knows I’m gay or not, but he was just relating a story. He didn’t mean any offense by it, but he was saying how his grandmother heard about this and her quote was, ‘FEMS? What’s that sound like, a bunch of faggots?’”
“And I think that’s the kind of terms and judgments it will elicit,” said Bennett. “In the perfect world, that wouldn’t be the case, but unfortunately we’re not in a perfect world yet.”
Although the name change has long since been in effect, department officials allowed firefighters and other department personnel to continue to use the longstanding logo “DCFD” on their shirts and jackets.
That policy changed earlier this year when Ellerbe issued an order requiring firefighters to replace all garments bearing the DCFD logo with the department’s officially designated logo or insignia “FEMS.”
Ellerbe told the Blade on Tuesday that he placed his order on hold for 120 days in response to concern over the FEMS logo. He said most of the concern was about the desire to retain the tradition-bound “DCFD” logo. The department and the firefighters’ union are in discussions over a possible compromise logo that will continue to reflect the important role that the EMS plays in the department.
“We are preparing a proposal to address the issues of sensitivity in our community,” he said, in referring to concerns similar to those expressed by Bennett.
“I’m from Washington, D.C. and I have members of my family who walk in all types of communities in this city and the metropolitan area, which heightened my awareness and my opinion and my sensitivity to how people are treated,” Ellerbe said.
“I’m proud to be a D.C. fireman,” said Bennett, who noted that he has been out as gay during most of his 18 years at the department. He said his fellow firefighters have treated him with respect and he has never encountered discriminatory treatment or negative comments, even when he brings his partner to social events among firefighters.
“But I can say the whole FEMS thing is a pretty poor choice of an acronym,” he said. “I just think it invites distasteful comments, even if unintentional.”
Bennett said that while he and many of his firefighter colleagues, both gay and straight, are troubled over the FEMS logo, they join the firefighters’ union president, Ed Smith, in citing two other reasons why the FEMS logo is a mistake.
The most frequently cited reason, Smith has points out, is that the logo DCFD has a long and esteemed tradition in the city and has become a well-known “brand” for the department. The other reason cited by Smith and others in favor of retaining the DCFD logo is that FEMS is often confused with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which coordinates the federal government’s disaster relief programs.
“The union’s concern is what’s recognized, and we believe that FEMS would lead to confusion about who we really are,” Smith said.
D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) agrees with the union’s position and introduced a bill last month called the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Logo Clarification Act of 2011.
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the official logo of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department shall remain DCFD,” the bill states.
As of this week, Evans’ bill had no co-sponsors. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), who chairs the committee with jurisdiction over the bill, has said he opposes the measure and had no plans for holding a hearing on the bill.
Smith said his union, Local 36 of the International Association of Firefighters, has been aware of the possible gay-related connotation of the FEMS logo and the concerns firefighters have about it. He said he has been reluctant to discuss that concern in public because it could be offensive to the LGBT community.
“I’ve encouraged those members with concerns about this to discuss it with representatives of their community,” Smith said.
LGBT activists had mixed views on the issue when contacted about it this week.
“FEMS has nothing to do with gay people,” said gay activist Bob Summersgill, who added that he doesn’t consider the term “fem” a negative reference to gay people “unless you consider women to be inferior. I do not.”
Gay activist Peter Rosenstein said there were “many reasons to debate the use of the acronym FEMS for the Fire Department but I don’t think anyone would see it as applicable to a member of the department,” gay or straight.
“The last thing anyone thinks of when they think of a firefighter is a person that is effeminate,” Rosenstein said.
Lesbian activist Barbara Helmick said the firefighters should be allowed to pick the acronym they like best.
“While there may be in our community some history of how the word fem is used, it’s really irrelevant,” she said. “I think this is an issue of what’s best for the firefighters and the public, and I have to side with the union on this one.”
District of Columbia
D.C. LGBTQ community to gather for post-election dialogue
Dec. 12 event to address federal workers’ rights, immigration, more
Several leading LGBTQ organizations in D.C. are coming together to make sense of the recent election and to discuss the future of advocacy and resilience as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
With Republicans in firm control of the federal government after winning majorities in the House and Senate, many are concerned about attacks on the LGBTQ community, including Trump’s pledge to ban trans people from serving in the military. In addition, many LGBTQ federal workers have expressed concerns about being targeted for reassignment or termination, as outlined in Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint for Trump’s second term.
In response, D.C.’s LGBTQ community is coming together for an event on Thursday, Dec. 12, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.) featuring an array of speakers who will address issues, including: anticipated policy shifts; community resilience strategies; legal rights; immigration advocacy; and federal workers’ rights.
The event, titled, “Charting Our Future: LGBTQ+ Advocacy & Resilience in a Changing Landscape” is free; visit washingtonblade.com/future to RSVP.
The event is being hosted by the Washington Blade and includes community partners: the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, HME Consulting & Advocacy, Eaton DC, DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, Capital Pride Alliance, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs. Heidi Ellis of the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition will moderate. A list of speakers will be released later this week.
District of Columbia
Casa Ruby receiver files for bankruptcy
Jan. 21 deadline set for creditors, former employees to apply for reimbursement
In a little-noticed development, the Wanda Alston Foundation, which assumed control over the operations of the D.C. LGBTQ community services group Casa Ruby in August 2022 under a court-appointed receivership role, filed a petition on Aug. 27 of this year to place Casa Ruby in bankruptcy.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, says Casa Ruby has estimated liabilities to at least 50 creditors of more than $1 million and estimated assets of between $0 and $50,000.
Nick Harrison, an attorney representing the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services to homeless LGBTQ youth, said Casa Ruby currently has no known financial assets, including cash.
He said the bankruptcy petition’s estimated assets of up to $50,000 are based on a pending lawsuit that the Alston Foundation filed against eight former Casa Ruby board members and Casa Ruby’s founder and former executive director Ruby Corado in December 2022. The lawsuit accuses the board of violating D.C.’s nonprofit corporation law by failing to exercise oversight over Casa Ruby’s operations that led to its financial collapse and shutdown in 2022.
The lawsuit calls on the court to require Corado and the former board members to pay “restitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, receivership fees and expenses, court costs, attorneys’ fees, and expenses, and any other relief the court deems necessary and proper.”
A D.C. Superior Court judge on May 1, 2023, dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Alston Foundation against all but one of the former Casa Ruby board members but did not dismiss the case against Corado.
The Alston Foundation has appealed the ruling dismissing the lawsuit, and the case is now pending before the D.C. Court of Appeals.
The lawsuit also alleges that the board failed to adequately oversee the actions of Corado, who pleaded guilty in July of this year to a charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors.
The charge to which Corado pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for D.C. says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 “in taxpayer-backed emergency COVID relief funds” awarded to Casa Ruby to “private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Corado, who initially denied the allegations against her, is currently staying with a family member in Rockville, Md., in a home detention arrangement following her arrest by the FBI on March 5 of this year. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson stated that her decision to dismiss the lawsuit against seven of the eight former board members was based on her interpretation of D.C. law. She said she believes the law holds that members of an organization’s board of directors can only be held liable for harming an organization like Casa Ruby if they “intentionally, rather than negligently, inflicted harm on Casa Ruby.”
The judge said she did not dismiss the case against one of the board members because the lawsuit presents evidence that the board member received some financial benefits from Corado.
In a legal brief filed with the appeals court, the Alston Foundation attorneys state that evidence shows the Casa Ruby board members “were deliberately indifferent or ‘willfully blind’ to the alleged wrongful conduct of the nonprofit’s executive director amounting to actual knowledge on their part that inaction would harm the nonprofit, ultimately and forcibly leading to its financial inability to continue operation.”
The former board members have declined requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Harrison, the attorney representing the Alston Foundation in the bankruptcy filing, said anyone who is owed money by Casa Ruby has until Jan. 21 to file a “proof of claim” form with the bankruptcy court to be eligible to be compensated if funds become available.
At the time of Casa Ruby’s shutdown, the organization’s employees were among those who said they were not paid in the months or weeks prior to the shutdown.
Asked what prompted the Alston Foundation to file the bankruptcy petition on behalf of Casa Ruby, Harris said, “Filing the bankruptcy petition ensures that a trustee with the appropriate expertise can wrap up the remaining issues while allowing the Wanda Alston Foundation to stay focused on its core mission.”
U.S. Bankruptcy Court records show that one of the officials in charge of collecting proof of claim forms for those owed money is Mark E. Albert, a court appointed Trustee for the bankruptcy filing. Court records show he can be reached at 202-728-3020.
Rehoboth Beach
Adult suspect pleads guilty to Rehoboth Beach hate crime
Case pending for five juveniles charged in targeting women for harassment
A 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct in connection with an Aug. 17 incident in which five juveniles and one adult were arrested for allegedly targeting three women for harassment on a street in Rehoboth Beach based on their perception of the victims’ sexual orientation.
Lt. Mark Sweet, a spokesperson for the Rehoboth Beach Police Department, said the adult suspect in the case, Jerome Charleston, was sentenced to a fine of $100 plus court costs at a Sept. 18 arraignment in which he pleaded guilty to a single count of disorderly conduct.
A statement released by Rehoboth police at the time of the incident says it occurred on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 2 a.m. at Baltimore Avenue and Second Street. The statement says three women flagged down a police officer after a vehicle drove past them and then came to a stop.
According to the statement, five juveniles exited the vehicle and approached the women, making statements that their behavior in public was not appropriate. During the exchange, the statement continues, one of the juveniles fired an Airsoft gun at the women and all five returned to the vehicle and fled the area.
Airsoft guns are replica guns designed to shoot non-metallic projectiles. No injuries were reported in the incident.
The police statement says officers in nearby Dewey Beach located the vehicle and apprehended the five juveniles and an adult driving the vehicle.
“Once in custody, it was determined that the only reason the suspects stopped to confront the victims was due to their perception of the victims’ sexual orientation,” the Rehoboth police statement says.
The police statement says three of the juveniles arrested in the case, two of whom were 15 years old and the other 14, were from Rehoboth Beach. It says another youth, age 14, was from nearby Lewes, and the other, at age 15, was from nearby Blades, Del.
The statement says each of the juveniles was charged with Aggravated Menacing, a felony; and the misdemeanor counts of Offensive Touching, Conspiracy in the Third Degree, Disorderly Conduct, and a Hate Crime.
Charleston, the only adult in the case, was charged with Disorderly Conduct, which is a misdemeanor.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine the status of the case against the juveniles. Police spokesperson Sweet said those cases were still pending and Rehoboth Police could not comment further on those cases.
In most jurisdictions, including Delaware, juvenile cases are kept confidential and are not part of the public court records.
LGBTQ asylum seekers, migrants brace for second Trump administration
D.C. LGBTQ community to gather for post-election dialogue
Casa Ruby receiver files for bankruptcy
Adult suspect pleads guilty to Rehoboth Beach hate crime
