Local
Md. campaign features undocumented LGBT students
At the intersection of immigrant, gay rights movements
Edwin (photo courtesy of Equality Maryland)
Gay Silver Spring resident Edwin came to the United States from Guatemala in 2004 when he was 14. His family initially told him after he came out at 19 that he was going to go to hell because of his sexual orientation. Edwin, now 22, only recently disclosed his undocumented status after a friend criticized President Obama’s immigration policy.
“I was never asked to come to the U.S.,” Edwin, who declined to provide his last name, told the Washington Blade during an interview last month. “It was my mom’s decision. I was 14. I couldn’t say yes or no. Knowing you’re in the community but you’re different; it made me seem like I’m less than everybody else.”
Edwin is among those profiled in the Familia es Familia Maryland campaign that Equality Maryland and CASA de Maryland formally launched in August to garner additional support for laws that provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants and marriage rights for same-sex couples ahead of Election Day.
A Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies poll last month shows that 58 percent of Maryland voters would vote for the Dream Act in Question 4, compared with 34 percent who oppose it. The same survey finds that 51 percent of Marylanders would vote for the same-sex marriage law in Question 6, compared to 43 percent who said they oppose it.
JJ from Panamá, who asked the Blade not to use his real name because his parents are Pentecostal ministers, came out to his family last year because he said it “became harder and harder to hide who he is.” He also testified in support of the Dream Act in Annapolis before Maryland lawmakers passed it in 2011.
“Being from Montgomery County, it’s never been an issue to come out as undocumented,” JJ told the Blade before filming a pro-Question 4 ad at CASA de Maryland’s Langley Park headquarters. “It’s something everybody knew. When I was doing advocacy around it, everybody was really proud of me and know that I’ve started doing this.”
JJ (photo courtesy of Equality Maryland)
Silver Spring resident Ivette Roman, who came to the United States from Perú with her brother when she was 10, said during the August press conference at which Equality Maryland and CASA de Maryland officially launched the Familia es Familia Maryland initiative that her immigration status prevents her from receiving financial aid to attend college. She told the Blade that her friends and family remain proud of her activism on both issues, even though she said her mother did not speak to her for months after she came out to her as a lesbian.
“Some of them kind of moved away — they are kind of ashamed about the way that I am,” said Roman, 20. “My mother has been very supportive. She’s been with me on everything I’ve done.”
“Equality Maryland is pleased with the responses we are getting from the LGBT communities on our work with these LGBT youth and the issues impacting them,” said Carrie Evans, the group’s executive director. “People recognize these youth as part of our community in need of support.”
Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA de Maryland, again stressed to the Blade that his group remains committed to ensuring marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state.
“CASA de Maryland’s work in support of marriage equality flows from values and love,” he said. “As an organization with a mission that seeks to create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in low-income immigrant communities, we believe that a more just society includes mutual respect for all human rights, including equality for LGBT communities. And, we do this work out of love for our Latino LGBT brothers and sisters in our families, among our members and staff, and in our communities.”
The intersection of these two issues was the subject of a Sept. 25 panel that Torres moderated during the fifth annual National Immigrant Integration Conference in Baltimore.
Michael Crawford, director of online programs at Freedom to Marry, noted that the plight of bi-national same-sex couples “really connects the immigration and LGBTQ movements and serves as a really stark example of how the Defense of Marriage Act hurts families.” Former Equality North Carolina executive director Ian Palmquist, who is now the director of regional and program support at the Equality Federation, stressed what he described as the need to engage the women’s and other progressive social movements in the fight for LGBT equality.
“Different organizations have gone in different directions with that,” he said, referring to Equality Utah’s work with the Mormon Church to support Salt Lake City’s gay-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance that took effect in 2010. Palmquist further noted the New York Republicans who supported their state’s same-sex marriage bill that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed last year. “It’s something that we all are constantly re-evaluating and trying to figure out how we are going to be true to our values and also how to develop all the programs that we need to win.”
Ivette Roman (photo courtesy of Equality Maryland)
Back in Montgomery County, Roman remains optimistic that Maryland voters will support both the Dream Act and the state’s same-sex marriage law on Nov. 6.
“I’m very positive about it,” she said. “People who are against it [the Dream Act and same-sex marriage] are going to change their minds once they hear the stories about it. Living as a lesbian and undocumented has been very hard for me to achieve my goals. I know there’s many others who are afraid. I’m just trying to help them out because I know how it feels.”
Edwin shared a similar perspective.
“I’m pretty sure there’s a large group of people who support the Dream Act. I’m pretty sure it’s going to pass,” he said. “I think people realize we shouldn’t decide who we should be married to. It should be up to us.”
By JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | Those legendary heavy-handed pours, spirited karaoke and trivia nights, and groan-worthy wall-to-wall patrons on packed nights are back!
Leon’s will live to see another day.
Baltimore’s oldest gay bar, which opened in the 1950s, closed in July following the death of its owner, Ron Singer.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Leigh Miles Jackson, Ph.D., named executive director of The Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker, and Angel Earle, Ph.D. named as chief operating officer, Whitman-Walker Health System.
Upon her appointment Dr. Jackson said, “Under my leadership, I would love for The Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker to be known as a trusted, forward-looking research organization that shapes policies, strengthens practices and creates measurable change for the community.” Dr. Jackson spent 12 years with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, leading national initiatives on minority-serving institutions and economic evidence for investments in children, youth and families. Dr. Jackson holds an extensive educational background, including postdoctoral fellowships in developmental Psychology and Neurogenomics from Vanderbilt University, a Ph.D. in molecular and systems pharmacology from Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Wake Forest University.
Upon her appointment Dr. Earle said, “When we talk about parity and inequities and research, it’s never just about the dollars that are out there. It’s about making sure that we’re cultivating a change that embraces equity at the heart of everything that it does. As the COO for Whitman-Walker Health System I will be working closely to support The Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker and the Whitman-Walker Foundation to drive advancement in research and support the strategic goals of all of the Whitman-Walker Heath System entities.”
Dr. Earle is a genetic epidemiologist and senior executive. She brings a background from the London School of Economics and the University of South Carolina, with expertise in global health, corporate strategy and socioeconomic policy. She has co-authored peer-reviewed research on cancer genetics, nephrology biomarkers and reproductive genomes.
Dr. Heather Aaron, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health System said, “both leaders bring research-driven expertise and operational strength to the organization as it continues expanding research, health care access, and health outcomes for residents across the Washington, D.C., region, including the LGBTQ+ community, people living with and at risk for HIV, and communities experiencing persistent health disparities.”
The Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker is also expanding its research agenda beyond HIV to address the complex health conditions affecting people living with and at risk for HIV, as well as the broader communities The Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker serves.
District of Columbia
Former Capital Pride board member reiterates sexual harassment allegation
Trans activist says resignation of board chair won’t change org’s culture
Taylor Lianne Chandler, who earlier this year resigned from the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors after expressing concern that the board failed to address instances of “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization, said this week she doesn’t believe her concerns will be addressed following the resignation of the board’s current chairperson.
Capital Pride Alliance serves as the lead organizer of D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
Anna Jinkerson, who has served as chair of the Capital Pride board for only 10 months and has served on the board for the past four years, confirmed she is resigning from the board effective Sept. 30.
In a statement to the Washington Blade commenting on the possible impact of Jinkerson’s resignation, Chandler said Capital Pride board member Natalie Thompson would be replacing Jinkerson as board chair, and she didn’t expect that change to impact what she called Capital Pride’s problematic “culture.”
But Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride president and CEO, told the Blade that Thompson had not been selected as the new board chair and that a new chair would not be selected until the board holds an election scheduled for October.
Chandler, who identifies as transgender, said it was a Capital Pride board member who told her that Natalie Thompson had been or would be selected as the new Capital Pride board chair. She didn’t identify the board member.
“My concerns about how Capital Pride has handled serious allegations of sexual misconduct have not disappeared with a change in leadership,” she told the Blade in her statement. “When leadership continues to socialize, smile for photographs, and share spaces with someone facing serious allegations, what message does that send to the people who say they were harmed,” she said.
Chandler has told the Blade a Capital Pride investigation identified an individual implicated in a “pattern” of sexual harassment-related behavior but said she was bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement that applied to all board members and she could not provide further details.
When asked by the Blade to comment on Chandler’s allegations at the time she resigned from the board in February of this year, board chair Jinkerson said Capital Pride acts “quickly and appropriately” to address concerns such as those raised by Chandler. But she and other Capital Pride officials did not at that time or since then specifically acknowledge whether someone associated with the organization engaged in sexual harassment.
“The community deserves transparency, accountability, and leadership willing to make difficult decisions,” Chandler said in her statement to the Blade this week. “Changing the chair doesn’t change the culture,” she added. “Actions do.”
In response to a request from the Blade for an update on its response to Chandler’s allegations about alleged sexual misconduct within the Capital Pride organization, Bos sent the Blade a statement on behalf of Capital Pride.
“The Capital Pride Alliance takes allegations of harassment, misconduct, and unsafe behavior seriously,” the statement says. “The organization follows standard procedures and engages appropriate resources to support a thorough, confidential, and impartial review, when information is reported.”
The statement adds, ”Because these matters require maintaining confidentiality and protecting the privacy of personnel, volunteers, and governance processes, we will not comment on specific individuals, allegations, investigative findings or communications involving law enforcement.”
It concludes by stating, “We remain committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment, appropriately addressing concerns raised, and continuing to strengthen our policies, governance practices, and organizational culture.”
Although the statement refers to “communications involving law enforcement,” Capital Pride has not disclosed whether instances of alleged sexual harassment or, as stated by Chandler, a possible instance of sexual assault, have been reported to D.C. police.
A D.C. police spokesperson, in response to a Blade inquiry, said they have no record of a sexual harassment or sexual assault complaint surfacing from the Capital Pride office, which is located in the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center building at 1827 Wiltberger Street, N.W.
But the Blade has obtained a D.C. police incident report that appears to confirm Capital Pride COO June Crenshaw’s claim in a recent Facebook post that she reported at least one incident of sexual harassment related to Capital Pride to D.C. police.
The report, which was filed on Oct. 11, 2025, states that Crenshaw told a police officer who prepared the report that another person told her “that a board member of Capital Pride Alliance groped his genitals at a Capital Pride event.” The report says Crenshaw told the officer the person who reported being groped “did not want to speak to the police at this time.”
The incident report, which is a public document, says the person who reported the groping told Crenshaw about it on Oct. 8, 2025. It concludes by saying Crenshaw was given “resource information” to provide to the person who said he was groped. It does not identify that person or the board member who allegedly committed the groping.
Officials at Capital Pride recently exchanged testy public Facebook posts with Chandler. Crenshaw criticized Chandler for her social media posts on the matter.
“It is remarkable to watch people publicly accuse others of failing to create safe spaces when, during the time they themselves held positions of leadership and significant volunteer responsibility, they claim to have witnessed deeply troubling behavior, yet never reported what they allegedly witnessed to fellow leaders, law enforcement, the Office of the Attorney General, legal counsel, or staff responsible for addressing such concerns,” Crenshaw wrote. “When I became aware of allegations or personally witnessed conduct that required intervention, I reported what I knew through the appropriate channels, including to law enforcement and other relevant authorities. Investigations were conducted. Those processes created records, documentation, correspondence, timelines, and conclusions.”
Chandler responded, “I was NOT in organizational leadership or fully informed about the scope of these allegations when much of what you reference occurred. I was read into the situation after becoming an executive officer. By that point, the investigation had already concluded, and we were awaiting the final report. … Once that report became available to me, and once I understood the seriousness and scope of what was being alleged, my position was anything but ambiguous: I did not believe this individual should be welcomed at, participate in, or have access to official Pride events.”
Capital Pride’s attorney Nick Harrison then joined the exchange, accusing Chandler of violating confidentiality rules.
“You served on the Board for years. You cannot now present yourself as an outsider with no responsibility for what occurred during your tenure,” Harrison wrote. “When the situation became difficult, you resigned, provided your resignation letter to the media, disclosed confidential organizational matters, and recast yourself as the victim.”
Again, no one has publicly identified the person Chandler references as being welcome at Pride events and photographed with Capital Pride leadership.
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