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Kameny honored in memorial service on Capitol Hill

Members of Congress join LGBT community in remembering pioneer activist

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14 years ago

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John Berry

Director of the Office of Personnel Management, John Berry, addresses the attendees at the memorial service for Frank Kameny. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

In a memorial service on Capitol Hill Tuesday night, three members of Congress, an Obama administration official, and a Yale Law School professor described the late gay rights leader Frank Kameny as a major figure in the U.S. civil rights movement who changed the course of history for LGBT Americans and the nation.

More than 200 people turned out for the service, which was held in the historic caucus room at the Cannon House Office Building across the street from the U.S. Capitol.

“His life cleared the path that I and countless others followed into public service,” said John Berry, the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, who in 2009 became the Obama administration’s highest-level gay appointment.

“His unrelenting and unceasing fight for gay rights enabled other Americans to step out of the closet and into the full light of equality,” Berry told the gathering. “But most importantly, his long battle and eventual triumphs show the miracles that one person wrought upon the world.”

Berry’s sentiment was echoed by gay U.S. Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and Yale Law School Professor William Eskridge Jr. Each told of how Kameny’s 50-year tenure as the nation’s preeminent gay rights strategist and advocate changed the course of the nation’s history and improved the lives of LGBT people and other Americans.

Rep. Barney Frank

Rep. Barney Frank also made remarks at the service. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Gay rights advocate and Kameny friend Charles Francis said he and others who organized the memorial service chose to hold it on Nov. 15 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kameny’s co-founding of the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C. Gay historians consider Mattachine of Washington to be D.C’s and the nation’s first homosexual civil rights organization.

Francis noted that Kameny and fellow activist Jack Nichols started the organization in 1961 not long after the Cannon Caucus Room, where Kameny’s memorial service was being held, was the site of the House Un-American Activities Committee’s widely publicized hearings in which communists and homosexuals were said to be a threat to the nation.

Eskridge praised Kameny’s role as a legal strategist and noted that Kameny waged one of the first effective efforts to repeal state sodomy laws, which classified gay sex as a crime. Eskridge and Norton, who called Kameny a civil rights champion, each compared the gay rights leader to American civil rights heroes in the black civil rights movement such as Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall.

Norton said that Kameny’s decision to become the first known gay person to fight his dismissal on grounds of homosexuality from his federal government job as an astronomer in 1957 was similar to Rosa Parks’ refusal to sit in the back of the bus as an act of defiance of the South’s segregation laws.

“He wore that dismissal as a badge of honor,” Norton said. “It is Frank’s lonely act of defiance that sets him apart” at a time when it was unthinkable for gays to stand up for their rights, she said.

Eskridge said Kameny’s work to advance legal rights for LGBT people in the early years of his activism in the 1960s was especially remarkable because he wasn’t a lawyer.

He said that in 1961 Kameny became the first in the U.S. civil rights movement to argue that sexual orientation should be treated the same as race in connection with laws and policies that ban discrimination.

“Those were remarkably good arguments,” said Eskridge. “Today they can get you tenure at a university. But back then they could land you in jail.”

Rep. Frank said Frank Kameny was an inspiration and role model for him at a time when he grappled with how his own status as a gay man would impact his plans to enter the realm of politics and run for public office in Massachusetts.

Frank said one of Kameny’s many accomplishments in the gay rights movement was his self-confidence and aggressive and assertive demeanor in informing the world that his cause was just and right.

“He was certainly the opposite of the stereotype of a gay person as a shrinking violet,” Frank said.

Baldwin said she, too, considered Kameny a role model in her own coming out as a lesbian interested in becoming involved in public affairs and politics.

“My own introduction to Frank came when I was in college,” she said. “I was just coming out. I sought everything I could find to read about our LGBT leaders… And what I learned about Frank Kameny, the Mattachine Society and so many other pioneers made me incredibly proud,” she said.

Attendees of Frank Kameny's memorial

Attendees of Frank Kameny's memorial. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Berry, who delivered the main eulogy for Kameny at the memorial service, said he had the honor as head of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to extend to Kameny a formal apology on behalf of the government for Kameny’s dismissal from government service in 1957.

“The apology closed an important cycle in his life’s work,” said Berry, who noted that it came more than 50 years after Kameny has been credited with initiating and living to see a long list of changes that have improved the lives of LGBT people.

An end to a government ban on granting security clearances to gays, the end of the ban on gays from serving in the military, the elimination of anti-gay sodomy laws, and the removal of the psychiatric profession’s classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder are all actions that Kameny played a key role in bringing about, Berry said.

“We have lost one of the great champions of truth. His life was long and full, his victories many and great. He has left his mark upon the world, and its stewardship falls to us now,” Berry told the gathering.

“The end of Frank’s avenue must not be the end of ours. We must continue on the journey forward. It is up to us to carry on the battles yet un-won, to write history and guard the future and to morn this great soul.”

Among those attending the Kameny memorial service were gay U.S. Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who, along with Norton, Frank, and Baldwin, served as official congressional hosts for the event. Also attending were Gautam Raghavan, associate director of public engagement at the White House, who serves as White House liaison to the LGBT community; White House press spokesperson Shin Inouye; and D.C. Council members David Catania, Jim Graham, and Mary Cheh.

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Comings & Goings

Whitman-Walker honors Rep. Sarah McBride

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3 days ago

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May 8, 2026

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U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected]. 

Congratulations to Congresswoman Sarah McBride (D-Del.) on being honored with this year’s Stonewall Award from Whitman-Walker Health. Amy Nelson, senior director of Legal Services, said, “Congresswoman Sarah McBride is working to make healthcare accessible to all, and this award recognizes her support of healthcare as a human right. Our legal program supports families facing unprecedented challenges to stay healthy and safe – families that Congresswoman McBride champions with a deep understanding of the issues they face and the legislative expertise of how to support them.”  

McBride, in a press release, said, “I am honored to accept this year’s Stonewall Award from Whitman-Walker Health — an organization that has spent 40 years doing vital work to ensure every person can access the dignity of care. In the wealthiest and most developed nation on earth, the ability to receive care should not be a matter of luck—it should be the law of the land. I am proud to be recognized as a partner in this work and to support Whitman-Walker Health in their mission to build a healthier society for all.”

Congratulations also to Wes Drummond who will join Clear Space Theatre Company in Rehoboth Beach, Del., as its third artistic director. Managing Director Joe Gfaller said, “This is an exciting moment of growth for Clear Space as we welcome Wes to join our remarkable team. I am confident he will be an excellent partner as we work with our entire staff, board, and committed team of volunteers, to ensure Clear Space can achieve its full potential in pursuit of our mission to unite and enrich our community through every production on stage, and every arts-based learning program we offer throughout our community.” 

On accepting the position Drummond said, “I’m honored to join Clear Space Theatre Company as artistic director, and beyond excited for what we’re about to create together. Clear Space has established itself as a vital and vibrant part of the cultural life of coastal Delaware, and I feel incredibly fortunate to step into this next chapter alongside such a passionate and dedicated team. Rehoboth Beach is a place defined by creativity and community, and I look forward to listening, learning, and building meaningful relationships across the region in the months ahead. My vision is to help Clear Space continue to grow as a bold, forward-thinking, cultural force, that champions fearless storytelling.”

Wes Drummond

Drummond served in leadership roles at Duluth Playhouse in Duluth, Minn., from 2021 to 2026, including four years as executive director followed by one year as executive producing artistic director, guiding the organization through a period of significant transformation and stability in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a director, he has worked extensively in New York City, Chicago, and at regional theaters across the country, directing both musical theater and plays with a focus on storytelling that bridges classical works with contemporary perspectives. He has collaborated with leading figures in the industry, including Tony Award-winning director Matthew Warchus, and Tony-nominated director Michael Greif. He is an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Wes earned his MFA in directing, Penn State University, where he studied under Tony-nominated director, Susan H. Schulman. 

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Virginia

Va. Supreme Court invalidates Democrat-backed redistricting plan

Voters narrowly approved new congressional districts last month

Published

3 days ago

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May 8, 2026

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Virginia Supreme Court (Photo by sainaniritu/Bigstock)

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Democrat-backed redistricting plan that voters approved last month.

Ten of 11 of Virginia’s congressional districts favor Democrats in the plan that passed by a 51-48 vote margin in last month’s referendum.

The Human Rights Campaign PAC is among the groups that support it. The court by a 4-3 majority invalidated the referendum results.

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District of Columbia

Maren Morris to headline Capital Pride Concert

Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter came out as bisexual in 2024

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3 days ago

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May 8, 2026

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Maren Morris (Photo by Debby Wong/Bigstock)

Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced on May 7 that nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Maren Morris, who identifies as bisexual, will be the headline performer at this year’s Capital Pride Concert scheduled for June 21.

The concert takes place as part of the annual Capital Pride Festival held on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., usually between 3rd Street near the U.S. Capitol and 9th Street.

“Morris, known for her genre-blending sound and outspoken support of LGBTQ+ rights, will be joined by a standout lineup, including acclaimed queer rapper Leikeli47, pop icon Lisa Lisa, Juno-nominated producer and DJ from the ‘Heated Rivalry’ soundtrack, Harrison, and ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 18 winner Myki Meeks,” according to a statement released by Capital Pride.

“In a moment when LGBTQ+ people are being challenged across the country, the Capital Pride Concert is a space where our community is fully seen and heard,” Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride Alliance CEO and president, said in the statement. “Bringing Maren Morris to the stage reflects this year’s theme: Exist, Resist, Have the Audacity,” Bos said.

The statement notes that the concert takes place as part of the annual D.C. Pride Festival, which is open to the public free of charge, with tickets available for purchase for specific areas listed as the Capital Stage Pit Zone and the VIP Concert Zone.

It says the festival takes place from 12 –10 p.m. and points out that in addition to the music performed by multiple other performers on several stages, festival attendees “can explore hundreds of exhibitors, community organizations, and artisans, along with multiple food courts and beverage gardens throughout the festival footprint.”

Information on the Capital Pride Alliance website shows that the festival takes place one day after the annual Capital Pride Parade, scheduled for June 20 and which is expected to travel from 14th and T Streets, N.W., to Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., where it is expected to end at 9th Street.  

The statement adds that following the stage performances during the June 21 festival, which are expected to conclude around 8 p.m., “the celebration will continue with the Capitol Sunset Dance Party, closing out the evening against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol.”  

The online publication Today, which is part of the NBC “Today” television show, reported that Morris came out as bisexual in a 2024 during Pride. It reports Morris “shared several images of herself holding a Pride flag to mark the occasion, writing, ‘Happy to be the B in LGBTQ+’” 

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