Arts & Entertainment
Queery: Monique Hall
The Task Force board member answers 20 gay questions
Monique Hall (Blade photo by Michael Key)
When a friend invited Monique Hall to a National Gay & Lesbian Task Force event a few years ago, she was immediately impressed.
“I was just amazed,” she says. “OK, I do a lot of events around D.C., I know we all do. But I was just surprised at how many people of color there were. I love HRC, don’t get me wrong. I’m on their mailing list, I support them and the Victory Fund too. I don’t want this to come off as a slam to any of them, but whenever I go to their events it’s a lot of men and a lot of white men. That’s fine — I love all those organizations, but I just felt at home with the Task Force … they’re really at the crossroads of all the policy issues in D.C. but also giving grants to the states — it’s really inclusive to all segments of the LGBT community.”
It’s a big weekend for the organization — this year’s Pink & Purple Weekend kicks off Friday with Pink & Purple Sunset: A Women’s Event from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on the rooftop of the Capitol Hill Liaison Hotel. Then from 10 to 3 a.m., a dance will be held at Cobalt. An awards brunch is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Mayflower Hotel honoring entrepreneurs Ingrid Duran and Catherine Pino and filmmaker Dee Rees. Visit thetaskforce.org for prices, tickets and more information.
“It’s really about the people and the community, not some elected official or all the usual pomp and circumstance of D.C. It’s about honoring people and causes that are important to the growth and structure of the LGBT community,” says Hall, who joined the Task Force board of directors in January.
She works by day as a communications consultant as vice president of the DCI Group, an independently owned public affairs group. After growing up and going to school in her home state of North Carolina, Hall, 30, came to D.C.
“I just knew I wasn’t a small-town girl,” she says.
Hall is single, travels a lot for work and lives in Arlington, Va. She enjoys watching sports in her free time. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
Who said I was out? Guess I am now … just joking. Since 2005. The people I haven’t told.
Who’s your LGBT hero?
Although she never officially came out, Barbara Jordan and I love the courage of James Baldwin’s words.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
The Wet — damn you Nats’ park!
Describe your dream wedding.
Destination ceremony with a woman who is as passionate about politics as me.
What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?
It’s not an issue, but working to make sure President Obama is re-elected.
What historical outcome would you change?
The assassination of MLK, Jr.
What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?
The rise of hip-hip and its transcendence into mainstream culture.
On what do you insist?
Acceptance and respect in spite of our differences.
What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?
A quoted Tweet re: potus and former president clinton campaigning together – i think president clinton will be an essential part of the president’s re-election campaign.
If your life were a book, what would the title be?
“Determined to Win”
If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?
I’d be open to the discovery.
What do you believe in beyond the physical world?
A spiritual world — heaven.
What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?
Think beyond marriage and be more inclusive.
What would you walk across hot coals for?
My family.
What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?
There are many, but the butch/femme roles we embrace — just be who you are.
What’s your favorite LGBT movie?
“Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom”
What’s the most overrated social custom?
The overuse of email, text, etc. in place of talking to someone.
What trophy or prize do you most covet?
I’m not that kind of person. I want to make a difference by working hard for the community. I don’t have to get an award for it.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
That hard work will pay off.
Why Washington?
I love the political banter and all the pomp and circumstance of this town.
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages
They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.
You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.
When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.
Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.
That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”
She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.
Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.
She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.
And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.
And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”
“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.
If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.
These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
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