Local
More than a dozen local LGBT Dems to attend convention
17 delegates from D.C., Maryland and Virginia headed to Charlotte
Lateefah Williams, president of the Stein Club, is one of five openly gay and lesbian D.C. Democrats headed to the party’s national convention. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
As Democrats prepare for their party’s upcoming convention in Charlotte, local LGBT delegates stress they look forward to representing the community at the quadrennial gathering.
“I’m excited to be going to the convention and I’m honored to represent D.C. in Charlotte,” said Lateefah Williams, president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. She is among the four openly LGBT delegates who will represent the nation’s capital at the Democratic National Convention that will kick-off on Sept. 4. Gay labor activist Gregory Cendana is among them, while Democratic activist David Meadows will serve as an alternate. “My goal is to provide a voice for all D.C. residents, particularly the LGBT community.”
Office of GLBT Affairs director Jeffrey Richardson (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Jeffrey Richardson, director of the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs and the former vice chair of the D.C. Democratic Party, has attended two previous conventions as either a delegate or a volunteer. He told the Blade that this year is different in part because the presumptive nominee is the incumbent president.
“We’ll be focused on how we will unite the party, unite the base to ensure that President Obama gets re-elected,” Richardson said.
Earl Fowlkes, CEO of D.C. Black Pride and a member of the Democratic National Committee, will attend his first convention as a delegate. “I’m glad I’m going with all these people from D.C., which is wonderful,” he said. “I’m really very happy because this administration, this president has been so forthright in his skill in really creating a better environment for the LGBT community. He started slow, but he gained momentum and he’s come full circle and he supports the things that we all support that we believe will make us full citizens of the country.”
Members of Maryland’s LGBT delegation echoed Fowlkes.
“President Obama has stood up for us in so many ways in the face of a very strong and virulent opposition,” said state Del. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City,) who will attend the Democratic National Convention for the first time. “Now it is time that our community and our allies protect him at the ballot box.”
Salisbury Mayor James Ireton (Photo courtesy of city of Salisbury)
Gay Salisbury Mayor James Ireton is also a first-time delegate.
“I am excited and proud to be representing the First Congressional District and my hometown, Salisbury, Md., at the Democratic National Convention,” he told the Blade. “I am also proud to be a small part of the diversity that is, in my opinion, one of America’s and Maryland’s greatest strengths.”
In addition to Ireton and Washington, state Dels. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) and Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County), Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin, transgender activist Dana Beyer and Mitch Case of Ellicott City are also members of Maryland’s LGBT delegation.
Beyer, a member of the convention’s Credentials Committee who is among the 11 openly trans delegates to this year’s convention, told the Blade she feels it remains important for out LGBT people to attend the convention.
“The more of us that exist out there, the better we can do our jobs and lay the groundwork for the next four years,” she said.
Gay Virginia state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) is among the four openly LGBT members — Peter Owen of the Arlington County Democratic Committee, Joel McDonald of the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee and Edmund Turner of Richmond — of the commonwealth’s convention delegation. He echoed others who pointed out what they maintain is Obama’s pro-LGBT record as president.
“There is no question that the president is 100 percent,” said Ebbin, who is also a member of the Credentials Committee. “Bill Clinton had said some of the right things and appointed some of the right people, but President Clinton did do some things that were regrettable and not acceptable to the community when he was president. We have nothing to apologize for. We have everything to be proud of and we have a president who not just on LGBT issues, but issues in general we can be proud of.”
National Stonewall Democrats data indicates that at least 470 of the 5,963 delegates slated to attend this year’s convention are openly LGBT — nearly double the 277 delegates who attended the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. They will also vote on a proposed platform that includes a same-sex marriage plank.
“This historic act by our party affirms that Democrats and President Barack Obama intend to continue to play a significant role in advancing civil rights for our LGBT community,” Washington said. “This is in stark contrast to that of the national Republican Party, which is clearly set on articulating a platform that seeks to turn back the clock not only for LGBT people, but for women and working and middle class [people] across the country.”
Williams agreed.
“It sends a message that the Democratic Party is inclusive,” she said. “For equality-minded people it does matter to see the party taking a strong stance in support of valuing all families.”
A Harris Interactive poll that Logo TV commissioned earlier this month found that the economy, unemployment and health care rank among LGBT voters’ top concerns going into the presidential election. Nine percent of respondents listed gay rights as their top priority, while only six percent said marriage rights for same-sex couples is the most important issue.
Only one percent of non-LGBT respondents identified gay rights and nuptials for same-sex couples as their top priorities.
Richardson conceded that he feels conservatives could potentially use marriage as what he described as a wedge issue among people of faith and communities of color in specific geographic areas. He stressed, however, that the economy will remain the dominant issue going into November. “The economy is just such a big issue,” Richardson said. “If I don’t have a job, I’m not all that concerned about who you marry.”
Williams was more optimistic.
“I don’t think it’s going to have an adverse effect because a lot of the people who have been strong supporters of President Obama do not support marriage equality still strongly support his ideas and his agenda on other issues,” she said. “I really don’t see those individuals backing away from him on the basis of one issue.”
In the end, local LGBT delegates remain optimistic that Obama will be re-elected in November.
“I think he’s going to win. I know he’s going to win,” Fowlkes said. “Fundamentally, the president’s a decent man, a good man. And his administration has done a good job at keeping this country from falling apart.”
Ebbin agreed.
“When the American people focus on his accomplishments and his role as president and what would have happened if we hadn’t had him, compared to the alternative, I think that people will support the president,” he said, further noting that Obama continues to poll well in Virginia and other battleground states. “That’s something that we’re really proud of, but it’s something that we can’t take for granted.”
Arts & Entertainment
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District of Columbia
Imperial Court of Washington drag group has ‘dissolved’
Board president cites declining support since pandemic
The Imperial Court of Washington, a D.C.-based organization of drag performers that has raised at least $250,000 or more for local LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ charitable groups since its founding in 2010, announced on Jan. 5 that it has ended its operations by dissolving its corporate status.
In a Jan. 5 statement posted on Facebook, Robert Amos, president of the group’s board of directors, said the board voted that day to formally dissolve the organization in accordance with its bylaws.
“This decision was made after careful consideration and was based on several factors, including ongoing challenges in adhering to the bylaws, maintaining compliance with 501(c)(3) requirements, continued lack of member interest and attendance, and a lack of community involvement and support as well,” Amos said in his statement.
He told the Washington Blade in a Jan. 6 telephone interview that the group was no longer in compliance with its bylaws, which require at least six board members, when the number of board members declined to just four. He noted that the lack of compliance with its bylaws also violated the requirements of its IRS status as a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c) (3) organization.
According to Amos, the inability to recruit additional board members came at a time when the organization was continuing to encounter a sharp drop in support from the community since the start of the COVID pandemic around 2020 and 2021.
Amos and longtime Imperial Court of Washington member and organizer Richard Legg, who uses the drag name Destiny B. Childs, said in the years since its founding, the group’s drag show fundraising events have often been attended by 150 or more people. They said the events have been held in LGBTQ bars, including Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, as well as in other venues such as theaters and ballrooms.
Among the organizations receiving financial support from Imperial Court of Washington have been SMYAL, PFLAG, Whitman-Walker Health’s Walk to End HIV, Capital Pride Alliance, the DC LGBT Community Center, and the LGBTQ Fallen Heroes Fund. Other groups receiving support included Pets with Disabilities, the Epilepsy Foundation of Washington, and Grandma’s House.
The Imperial Court of Washington’s website, which was still online as of Jan. 6, says the D.C. group has been a proud member of the International Court System, which was founded in San Francisco in 1965 as a drag performance organization that evolved into a charitable fundraising operation with dozens of affiliated “Imperial Court” groups like the one in D.C.
Amos, who uses the drag name Veronica Blake, said he has heard that Imperial Court groups in other cities including Richmond and New York City, have experienced similar drops in support and attendance in the past year or two. He said the D.C. group’s events in the latter part of 2025 attracted 12 or fewer people, a development that has prevented it from sustaining its operations financially.
He said the membership, which helped support it financially through membership dues, has declined in recent years from close to 100 to its current membership of 21.
“There’s a lot of good we have done for the groups we supported, for the charities, and the gay community here,” Amos said. “It is just sad that we’ve had to do this, mainly because of the lack of interest and everything going on in the world and the national scene.”
Virginia
LGBTQ groups to join Spanberger inaugural parade
Virginia Pride among more than 25 orgs to march in Jan.17 event
Virginia Gov.-Elect Abigail Spanberger’s inaugural committee announced on Jan. 2 that at least two LGBTQ organizations will be among more than 25 state-based organizations, including marching bands, that will participate in her inaugural parade on Jan. 17.
A statement released by the inaugural committee says the parade will take place immediately after Spanberger is sworn in as Virginia’s 75th governor and delivers her inaugural address in Richmond.
The statement lists the LGBTQ groups Virginia Pride and Diversity Richmond as two groups participating in the parade, although the two groups merged in 2021, with Virginia Pride becoming a project of Diversity Richmond. Among other things, Virginia Pride organizes Richmond’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
“A display of the impressive talent and beauty of every corner of Virginia, our inaugural parade will be a celebration of all that makes our Commonwealth strong,” Spanberger said in the Jan. 2 statement. “I’m excited for attendees in the stands on Capitol Square and families watching together at home to see this incredible showing of Virginia pride,” she said.
James Millner, who serves as director of Virginia Pride, told the Washington Blade about 75 people are expected to join the Virginia Pride-Diversity Richmond contingent in the parade. He said among them will be members of other Virginia LGBTQ organizations.
“We’re going to invite our staff, our board, our volunteers, and our community partners to join us,” Millner said.
“We are thrilled and honored to have been invited to participate in Abigail Spanberger’s inauguration festivities,” he added. “I think this represents a marked change from the previous administration and demonstrates what she campaigned on – which is she sees the diversity of the Commonwealth as a strength that needs to be celebrated,” he said. “And we are very happy that she has invited us to represent the diversity of the commonwealth.”
Millner appeared to reflect on the sentiment of the large majority of Virginia’s LGBTQ community in its support for Democrat Spanberger over Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the November 2025 Virginia election and the end of incumbent GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s term in office on Jan. 17.
“After what we’ve been through with the Younkin administration, especially in its treatment of LGBTQ folks, especially transgender and nonconforming folks, I think we are all breathing easy and excited about what opportunities will exist in working with Abigail Spanberger,” he told the Blade.
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