Local
Lesbian files bias complaint against Silver Spring diner
Tastee Diner manager allegedly asked her to leave the establishment because of her sexual orientation
Aiyi'nah Ford and Torian Brown at the Tastee Diner (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A lesbian from Laurel, Md., has filed a complaint with the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights accusing the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, Md., of discrimination for allegedly asking her to leave the establishment because of her sexual orientation.
The complaint filed by Angel Cox comes two years after a lesbian couple filed a similar complaint against Tastee Diner, saying a manager asked them to leave because they were displaying too much affection for a family-oriented restaurant.
The two women, Aiyi’nah Ford and Torian Brown, said they were merely leaning against one another and displayed much less physical affection than heterosexual couples at the diner who were not asked to leave. Ford noted that the dispute occurred about 2 a.m. on a weekend evening.
Cox’s complaint, which was accepted by the Human Rights Office on Aug. 2, says several of the diner’s managers entered the dining room and began to stare at Cox and her female partner as the two women sat at a table at Tastee Diner on July 16.
“I asked one of the other waitresses why the managers were starring at us and she said, “They don’t like our kind here,’” Cox says in her complaint.
Cox states that her partner, who works at the diner, left the table to begin her shift and Cox ordered more food before moving to a different location to use one of the slot machines at the diner.
“After finishing desert, I played poker on the slot machine again,” she said. “The manager of the restaurant, a man named Romanee, came over to me and asked me to leave the restaurant. I was not told why I was asked to leave,” she wrote in her complaint. “I believe that it was because of my sexual orientation.”
John Littleton, general manager of Tastee Diner, told the Blade on Wednesday that the diner had not been contacted by the Montgomery County Human Rights Office about the complaint.
When asked about Cox’s allegation, Littleton said his manager named Romanee told him that Romanee noticed that Cox had been sitting at the counter for about two hours socializing with her partner Kisha while Kisha was performing her duties as a counter waitress.
“He said he called Kisha to the back and said ‘Kisha, I’m sorry, you’ve been talking for two hours now and I need you to get to work and pay better attention to the customers,’” Littleton told the Blade. “He said he told Kisha she needs to ask [Cox] to leave or, if she’d like, she can sit in the dining room if she wants to be a customer,” Littleton said.
According to Littleton, Romanee never spoke directly to Cox. He said the management considers Kisha a good employee and the diner is happy to have her as a waitress.
“I clearly state that we don’t discriminate against anybody in any way,” Littleton said. “She’s welcome to come down here and talk to myself or Romanee, and I’m looking into the situation,” he said.
When asked to respond, Cox acknowledged that Romanee never talked to her directly, saying he asked her through Kisha to leave the diner or move to a table.
“That’s their alibi,” Cox said. “They know I was not distracting Kisha. I was sitting there as a customer, ordering food and playing the slot machine. And I will request that they turn over their video that they have from their camera to prove that I wasn’t distracting Kisha. They did this out of prejudice.”
Esther Greene, the intake officer at the Office of Human Rights, who signed a copy of Cox’s complaint, said the office would send the diner a copy of the complaint as soon as Cox completes the final paperwork for the document.
Virginia
Black transgender woman murdered in Va.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray killed in Petersburg on March 13
A Black transgender woman was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate she was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray, 42, shot to death inside a home in Petersburg. These initial media reports also misgendered her.
“My heart is shattered and heavy with grief at the news of Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray’s murder — the first trans life stolen from us this year,” said Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs for the National Black Justice Coalition, in a statement.
Kirby York in her statement also criticized the media coverage of Sanchez-McCray’s murder.
“The early reports of Shyyell’s death stripped her of her identity by misgendering her, a deeply damaging and persistent failure by law enforcement and media that haunts these cases again and again,” she said. “Misgendering doesn’t just erase a person’s truth — it can derail justice entirely, or worse, bury a case in silence as investigators chase the wrong identity, the wrong face, the wrong name.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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