Local
‘Worldwide’ marches set for D.C., Baltimore
no mainline national or DC-area LGBT organizations have committed to support
A screen shot of the group's Facebook page
D.C. and Baltimore are slated to be among at least 30 cities in the United States, Europe and Asia in which a “Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March” is scheduled to take place on April 21.
The marches were initiated and are being organized by a Facebook group called “Let’s Reach 1 Million People Campaign…It’s a Start! LGBT Equality.”
Richmond, Va., gay activist Curtis Sledge, who was named lead organizer of the D.C. march, told the Blade this week that participants are scheduled to assemble for a kick-off rally at 10:45 a.m. at Upper Senate Park, located at Constitution and Delaware avenues across the street from the U.S. Capitol.
Sledge said he recently obtained permits arranging for the march to begin about 1 p.m. from Upper Senate Park, where it will travel west on Constitution Avenue, N.W., to 15th Street, N.W. The march will turn right on 15th Street and head toward Pennsylvania Avenue, Sledge said. He said it will turn right on Pennsylvania Avenue and continue along Pennsylvania Avenue to Third Street, N.W., near the Capitol, where it will end.
A website set up by organizers says the Baltimore march is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m. on April 21 at War Memorial Park and travel to its destination at the Inner Harbor via Fayette, North Gay, Pratt, and Conway streets. The website doesn’t say whether a rally is planned for the Baltimore march.
High school student and Dundalk, Md., resident Brian Rohrbaugh is listed as the lead organizer of the Baltimore march.
With the exception of the national LGBT direct action group Get Equal, which has said it would provide an as-yet-undisclosed role of support for the marches, no other mainline national or D.C.-area LGBT organization has said it is taking part in the marches.
“Our core mission is to achieve full LGBT equality mainly through proper and peaceful channels employing many different vehicles among the way,” Worldwide March organizers say in a statement posted to their website.
“Strong emphasis is placed on enlightening and educating society in order to achieve the ample understanding and acceptance that is necessary to garner the support we need to win at the polls and in Washington,” the statement says.
Further details of the marches and a list of cities in the U.S. and abroad where organizers say marches will take place can be found at letsreachonemillionpeople.com/locations_36.html.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
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