Local
Congress to probe Library of Congress discrimination charge
Schumer promises to see that ‘justice is done’

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who chairs a joint congressional committee that oversees the Library of Congress, said on Tuesday that the committee would look into allegations that the library engaged in discrimination by firing an employee because he’s gay.
“We certainly believe that there should be no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” Schumer told the Blade Tuesday following a news conference on an unrelated issue. “So we’re going to look into this specific case and make sure that justice is done.”
Peter TerVeer, 30, former management analyst at the Library of Congress’s Office of the Inspector General, charges in a discrimination complaint that he was fired on April 6 after allegedly being harassed for more than a year by a supervisor who repeatedly cited passages from the Bible condemning homosexuality.
A spokesperson for the library declined to comment on the allegation, saying it never discusses pending personnel matters. The spokesperson, Gayle Osterberg, declined to confirm whether the library still has an internal personnel policy prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The library adopted such a policy in the late 1990s, but it couldn’t be immediately determined whether the policy remains in effect.
“That’s something I’ve stood for my whole career,” said Schumer in referring to policies aimed at barring job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“I’m head of the committee on the library, and so we will make sure we get to the bottom of this,” he said.
An official congressional directory of committees on the House and Senate websites shows that Schumer is chair of the Joint Committee on the Library, which has jurisdiction over “the affairs and administration of the Library of Congress.”
Other senators on the committee include Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). House members include Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), who serves as vice chair; and Reps. Daniel Lungren (R-Calif.), Robert Brady (D-Pa.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), and Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.).
TerVeer and his attorney, Thomas Simeone, were scheduled to hold a news conference to discuss the case outside the Library of Congress’s Madison Building where TerVeer worked at 11 a.m. Wed., April 11.
TerVeer charges in a complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that he was elevated from a temporary to permanent position and promoted twice since he was hired in 2008. He said the alleged harassment by his supervisor began immediately after the supervisor discovered he was gay in August 2009 and continued through October 2011, when TerVeer says in his complaint that severe emotional stress caused by the alleged harassment forced him to take disability leave from his job.
District of Columbia
Bowser: No credible threats to D.C. Pride events
Mayor spoke with the Blade after flag-raising ceremony at the Wilson Building

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday said authorities have not received any credible threats to upcoming Pride events.
“We don’t have any to report,” she told the Washington Blade.
“MPD is constantly working with all of our agencies to make sure we have safe special events and we’re going to keep going with our planning, like we do every year,” added Bowser. “There’s always a scan for any threats to the District.”
Bowser spoke with the Blade after she joined D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Council members Anita Bonds, Charles Allen, Kenyon McDuffie and Zachary Parker, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, D.C. Mayor’s LGBTQ Affairs Office Director Japer Bowles and other officials and activists in raising the Progress Pride flag in front of the Wilson Building.
The Blade last month reported D.C. police are investigating a bomb threat a Twitter user made against the annual District Pride concert that will take place at the Lincoln Theater on June 29. Bowles in a May 19 statement said his office reported the tweet, but further stressed that “no credible threat at this time has been made.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday proclaimed June as Pride month in recognition of “the contributions, resilience, courage and joy of LGBTQIA+ Marylanders,” according to a press release.
“In Maryland, we lead with love and inclusion. I want everyone in our LGBTQIA+ community to know that they deserve to be seen for who they are, and our administration will stand with them in the fight for equality and equity,” Moore said. “We need to elevate the stories, embrace the courage, and celebrate the humanity of our LGBTQIA+ community — and as long as I am governor, we will take the steps forward to protect and celebrate all Marylanders.”
Moore on March 31 became the first governor in Maryland history to recognize the Transgender Day of Visibility and last month he signed into law the Trans Health Equity Act into law, which requires Maryland Medicaid to provide coverage for gender-affirming care beginning next year.
“This month is a celebration of the beauty and uniqueness of the queer community, but it’s also a time to reaffirm our commitment to uplifting LGBTQIA+ Marylanders and continuing to fight against hatred, discrimination, and bigotry,” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said in the same press release that Moore’s office released. “LGBTQIA+ Marylanders deserve to be who they are, to live their pride — without fear or having to hide. This administration will always stand alongside and protect the rights of all Marylanders.”
District of Columbia
Point Foundation offers growing range of scholarships, support
‘Resources to succeed and thrive rather than just make it through’

Many in D.C. know the Point Foundation for its longstanding scholarship program and its popular Taste of Point fundraiser each spring. But the nonprofit is offering a growing range of services to its young scholars, including mental health resources and social media support.
This year’s Taste of Point brought mixologists, restaurateurs, and donors together on May 3 at Room and Board for the annual celebration. With a number of local businesses and organizations donating to the silent auction, the event both raised money for Point Foundation’s scholarships while recognizing scholarship recipients and program alumni.
Among the lineup of featured speakers was one of the foundation’s flagship scholarship recipients, Rio Dennis, a dual master’s and law candidate at Georgetown University.
“I applied for the Point Foundation Flagship Scholarship because I believed in its mission of helping LGBTQ+ students achieve their academic goals while also providing training and resources so we can become better leaders within the LGBTQ community during school and long term,” Dennis said in her speech.
The Taste of Point celebration began in 2013, born from another event called the Cornerstone Reception. Originally planned as a normal fundraiser with hor d’oeuvres, the foundation transformed it into the current Taste of Point celebration that facilitates partnerships with new, local restaurants.
Some restaurants, like Compass Rose and Hank’s Oyster Bar, partnered with Point Foundation for their first celebration. They have been catering at the fundraiser ever since.
“It really gives you the sense of the amount of love and the amount of community that we have around the Point Foundation and mission,” said Celina Gerbic, a member on the foundation’s board of directors. “They really see, with hearing from the scholars, what the effects can be if we’re raising money for those scholarships and mentoring opportunities.”
The event also allows the foundation to showcase new offerings, such as the Community College Scholarship that was rolled out just before the pandemic in collaboration with Wells Fargo. The community college program gives scholars a financial scholarship each year of their community college experience as well as coaching and admissions counseling for students planning to transfer to a university.
Meanwhile, the foundation is also expanding its new BIPOC scholarship, which announced its next round of recipients on May 22. The scholarship is currently supporting between 500 and 555 scholars across the country.
Omari Foote, one of the current BIPOC scholarship recipients, appreciates how the scholarship recognizes her as a Black queer student. She is even encouraging other queer students and friends to apply to receive similar assistance.
However, Point is even more than that, Dennis notes.
Before the school year started, the Point Foundation sent Dennis and all of the new flagship scholars to Los Angeles for a leadership development conference. Scholars discussed how to become active leaders on campus, how to ask for certain resources, what is offered by their campuses, and what tutoring programs are available.
This year, Point also did a joint partnership with an online therapy program to offer discounted prices for all scholars.
“I have anxiety and depression and I struggled a lot in undergrad with trying to balance that with my having to support myself financially,” Dennis said. “So I was definitely grateful that Georgetown did have a program that is specifically for people of color to get free therapy and Point definitely helped with… asking those questions because it is one of those programs that isn’t as well publicized.”
Point even provided Dennis with a mentor who was also a Point Scholar in law school. Meeting monthly on Zoom and texting all throughout the month, Dennis’s mentor provides academic support that helps her use the right resources and make decisions about her career.
Foote finds the scholarship unique in other ways as well. As a recipient of a handful of other scholarships outside of Point, Foote’s interactions with her scholarship programs mostly stop after they send instructions for writing donor thank you notes. But Point keeps reaching out to maintain a relationship with scholars long after that.
“They’ve reached out to me to spotlight me on Instagram,” Foote said. “They reached out to me even for this dinner, paying for my transportation to and from the dinner … It’s like they’re not just there to give you the money. They’re there to really help you navigate the college world and to be that caring supportive system that a lot of us just don’t have anymore now that we are living by ourselves.”
Last November, the foundation also held an Out in Higher Ed Week, wherein they teach scholars how to be LGBTQ+ advocates on campus. These resources help students navigate the ins and outs of discussing LGBTQ+ issues in university settings.
After graduation, Dennis has even thought about returning to the Point Foundation as a mentor to help future Black queer students, especially first generation law students, balance their mental health and financial situations.
“Point has connected me with fellow scholars who have become my friends. Point has provided me with resources and support to succeed and thrive rather than just make it through,” Dennis said. “I definitely plan on continuing to be involved with Point.”
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