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O’Malley to headline Equality Md. event
Equality Maryland to honor Lt. Gov. Brown, A.G. Gansler and more along with the Gov. at fundraiser
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will be honored by Equality Maryland next week. (Blade file photo)
Equality Maryland has an event slated for Wednesday in which several local elected officials will be honored including Gov. Martin O’Malley who said in July that getting a same-sex marriage law passed next year is among his legislative goals.
Dubbed “Celebrate and Honor,” it will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Chevy Chase Town Hall (4301 Willow Lane in Chevy Chase) with cocktails and presentations. Aside from O’Malley, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman will be honored.
Lisa Polyak, interim board chair for the organization, said the board decided whom to honor and was in agreement in its decisions. The organization has typically held a gala-type event but scaled back this year as it attempts to stabilize the organization after the departure of former director Morgan Meneses-Sheets, whom they fired in April after a disappointing 2011 legislative session that saw a marriage bill fail.
O’Malley, criticized by some Maryland gays for previously supporting civil unions over marriage, changed his tune after a marriage bill passed with strong gubernatorial support this year in New York. Did the board fear some criticism would emerge for their decision to honor O’Malley so quickly when for years he did little to help their cause?
Polyak said no.
“I think it’s a good idea to honor people who come out publicly in their support and pledge to put the strength of their office fully behind us,” she said.
Tickets are $50. Sponsorship levels are available ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Go to equalitymaryland.org and look under “events” for details.
Polyak said Equality Maryland has stabilized in recent months. She said the organization is operating in the black again after a shaky start to the year and a full board — bylaws say the C-4 arm can have 15 members — by month’s end. Many qualified candidates have applied for the executive director position, she said, which they hope to fill “no later than November.” She credits the five current board members for “working their fingers to the bone” to stabilize the organization this summer.
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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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)
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