Local
‘I remember being kicked, called faggot’
Victim recalls brutal attack, thanks community
The victim of a brutal anti-gay attack (left) underwent two surgeries in which his badly severed jaw was reattached with two permanent titanium plates. He spoke to the Blade this week on condition of anonymity and is pictured here at home with his partner. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A 29-year-old gay man spoke to the Blade Tuesday through jaws wired shut to facilitate the healing of facial injuries brought about by a brutal beating that extended over several streets near his home in Columbia Heights on March 12.
“It happened so fast,” said the man, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation from his unidentified attackers, who remain at large.
“I remember being dragged. I remember being kicked. I remember being yelled at and being called faggot,” he said. “And my mind wants to say there were three of them, but it’s all flashes.”
Sitting beside his partner at the kitchen table of the couple’s home, the two said they decided to grant a series of news media interviews this week to draw attention to a rash of violent incidents against members of the LGBT community.
Both said their spirits were lifted when they learned one day earlier, on Monday, March 26, that D.C. police arrested a 27-year-old woman in connection with the March 11 shooting of a gay man at the International House of Pancakes restaurant in Columbia Heights.
They say police have told them investigators are hopeful they will soon identify the attacker in the 29-year-old gay man’s case and will make one or more arrests in the case.
The IHOP restaurant is about seven blocks from where the 29-year-old gay man was attacked at Georgia Avenue and Irving Street, N.W., one day later.
The man shot at the IHOP, said to be 31, suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the abdomen. Witnesses said the shooting took place after the woman in custody, LaShawn Yvonne Carson, and two men with her called the victim anti-gay names and a scuffle broke out.
Similar to the incident involving the 29-year-old gay man who spoke to the Blade, police listed the shooting incident as a hate crime related to the victim’s perceived or actual sexual orientation.
The victim's jaw was broken in two places, requiring the insertion of two permanent titanium plates. (Courtesy image)
On the same day the 29-year-old gay man was beaten and robbed, a transgender woman was knocked unconscious at about 11:45 p.m. at West Virginia Avenue and Mt. Olivet Road, N.E. Police said they had insufficient evidence to list that incident as a hate crime, but they were looking into the possibility that it was.
The 29-year-old gay man and his partner said the two were also buoyed by a silent march organized by their friends that took place March 20, the day the 29-year-old beating victim was released from the hospital. As many as 700 people marched past where the attack against him took place after beginning the procession at the IHOP.
The victim said he was too weak to march after having spent eight days in the hospital. He underwent two surgeries in which his badly severed jaw, broken in two places by attackers who kicked him in the face, was reattached with two permanent titanium plates.
“It was stellar. It was reassuring,” he said of the march. “It makes me proud to be where I’m at — friends who I have in my life. And it gave me a lot of strength. It gave me a lot of security. It re-instills my faith in people.”
Although the attack against him began at Georgia Avenue and Irving Street, police said they found the victim four blocks away at Georgia and Morton Street. The victim said he recalls being dragged through an alley a short distance from Georgia Avenue after the initial attack.
The alley where the victim was allegedly dragged before being attacked by a second group and robbed of his iPhone and iPad. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
He said minutes after the attackers appear to have left him alone, he called his partner on his cell phone to tell him he had been attacked and needed help. But the partner said he sounded dazed and couldn’t say where he was.
Seconds later, the partner heard other people speaking to the victim. The victim told the Blade he believes another group of attackers beat and robbed him, taking his iPhone and the iPad he had in the briefcase he was carrying.
“It was really hard to be attacked the second time and think that someone would do that,” he said.
“I just want to give thanks for the amazing support and outpouring that we’ve had from everyone lately,” he said. “It makes me proud to be part of the community that I belong to.”
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)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
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