Local
Gay & Lesbian Chamber honors locals
22nd Annual event will honor six local business leaders on April 20
The Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC) will honor six local business and community leaders on April 20 at its annual awards gala at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel, where it will also celebrate its 22nd anniversary, the group said in a statement.
“Each year the Chamber recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that have contributed to the economic, social and cultural fabric of the LGBT community in the metro D.C. area,” the statement says. “Awardees display exemplary business success and have been strong leaders within the LGBT community based on philanthropy, advocacy and awareness.”
Recipients of this year’s awards include:
- Excellence in Business Award — Chef Art Smith: Known as a celebrity chef, Smith served as personal chef to Oprah Winfrey for 10 years. He regularly appears on popular TV shows, authored three award-winning cookbooks, founded a non-profit group that teaches children about tolerance, and oversees the operation of several restaurants, including the D.C. restaurant Art and Soul.
- Business Leadership Award — D.C. Allen, owner of the Crew Club, a gay-oriented gym and spa located in D.C.’s Logan Circle area on 14th Street, N.W. In opening the Crew Club in 1995 Allen has been credited with helping to revitalize the 14th Street corridor as a thriving neighborhood and business area. He has made the Crew Club available for on-site testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases; funded a $40,000 advertising campaign in local LGBT media to promote awareness of a resurgence of syphilis, which has been credited with reducing the rate of syphilis infections among gay men in D.C. He has also supported the DC LGBT Community Center’s Took Kit safer sex campaign.
- Emerging Entrepreneur Award — JD Warford DVM and Jessica Serensits-DC MetroVet: Warford and Serensits are business partners and spouses who operate a veterinary medicine business that specializes in veterinary house calls. They service more than 130 patients in D.C. and Maryland, with a large majority of their clients in the LGBT community. The two serve as volunteers with feral cat organizations, have plans for seminars for dog and cat owners and for helping the local group Pride of Pets.
- Volunteer of the Year Award — June Crenshaw: An IT project manager for Coventry Health Care company, Crenshaw has been a volunteer at Whitman-Walker Health since the 1980s. She serves on the Whitman-Walker board and is a former board chair. She has served as board co-chair for Rainbow Response Coalition, a local group that addresses domestic violence in the LGBT community. She has also helped victims and survivors of domestic violence, rape and child abuse as a volunteer for more than six years with the local group Heartly House.
- Community Advocacy Award — Joe Solmonese. For the past seven years Solmonese has served as president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights group. CAGLCC says that in addition to overseeing legislative and political efforts to advance LGBT rights on the national and state level, Solmonese played a key role in launching new programs and projects in the faith and business sectors.
- Corporate Ally of the Year Award — Signal Financial Federal Credit Union. A long-time member of CAGLCC, Signal Financial has provided “consistent and valuable support” for CAGLCC’s programs and events, the group says. It has also “worked hard” to help CAGLCC members expand their businesses through loans, mortgages and merchant services.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
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.”
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
Calendar: March 21-26
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
