Local
1 year later, Kameny’s ashes still not buried
Dispute over burial site remains unresolved
Pioneering gay rights activist, Frank Kameny died on Oct. 11, 2011, which happens to be National Coming Out Day. (Washington Blade photo by Doug Hinckle)
One year after gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny’s death in his Washington home at the age of 86, LGBT advocates said they would remember his legacy as they celebrate National Coming Out Day this week.
Kameny died of natural causes on Oct. 11, 2011, the day LGBT advocates have designated as National Coming Out Day.
His friends and admirers, while saddened by his loss, said it was befitting that Kameny departed on a day commemorating an action he may have been among the first to take part in in the late 1950s — a proud and open declaration that one is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
“His accomplishments for our community are immeasurable,” said veteran D.C. gay activist Paul Kuntzler
Kuntzler spoke to the Blade about Kameny during a candidate endorsement forum Tuesday night sponsored by the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, an LGBT organization that Kuntzler and Kameny helped found in January 1976.
But Kuntzler and others who worked with Kameny said they remain troubled that an ongoing dispute between Timothy Clark, the heir and personal representative to Kameny’s estate, and the D.C. gay charitable group Helping Our Brothers and Sisters (HOBS) has resulted in the indefinite postponement of the burial of Kameny’s ashes.
A headstone once marked the the spot where advocates intended gay activist Frank Kameny to be buried, but legal action has halted the interment and the headstone has been removed. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
In August, an official with D.C.’s historic Congressional Cemetery, where Kameny’s ashes were to be buried, said an urn bearing the ashes remained in a storage vault at the cemetery’s headquarters near Capitol Hill while the estate dispute dragged on.
When asked if the ashes were still in storage at the cemetery, Congressional Cemetery President Paul Williams told the Blade on Wednesday, “There has been no substantial change in the case. That’s all I’m going to say.”
Both sides acknowledge that the dispute is over a disagreement about how to transfer the ownership of the cemetery plot from HOBS, which bought it earlier this year, to the Kameny estate, which is under the control of Clark.
HOBS executive director Marvin Carter has said HOBS is willing to sell the plot to the estate at the price the group paid for it earlier this year. The estate, through one of its attorneys, Glen Ackerman, has said HOBS bought the plot through donations from members of the LGBT community who knew and admired Kameny and that HOBS should transfer the title to the plot to the estate.
Earlier this year, Ackerman said Clark was troubled that some of Kameny’s longtime friends worked with HOBS to buy the plot and make arrangements for the burial without consulting Clark, who has legal authority over the ashes. Ackerman said then that Clark was concerned that HOBS might seek to bury others in the plot along with Kameny’s ashes since the plot can accommodate at least two coffins and three urns.
HOBS has said it has no intention of burying anyone else in the plot.
“The estate of Franklin Kameny is currently in negotiations in an effort to settle outstanding matters related to the estate,” Ackerman said in a statement released on Tuesday. “We cannot comment on these negotiations or the status of the various matters as doing so may compromise the progress that has been made thus far,” he said. “All involved are hopeful that resolution may be reached in the near future.”
“HOBS is working diligently and in good faith to resolve all issues concerning the plot at Congressional Cemetery and the final burial of Frank’s ashes at the Cemetery in a manner and under circumstances that will protect and advance Frank’s reputation in and contributions to the LGBT community,” Carter said in a statement issued to the Blade.
Records in the D.C. Superior Court’s civil division, where the Kameny estate case remains pending, show that at least one creditor filed suit against the estate on Aug. 7 to challenge a decision by the estate to reject the creditor’s request for repayment of a $12,000 loan and $3,075 of accrued interest on the loan for a total of $15,075.
The suit says the loan was made by D.C. gay activist and longtime Kameny friend Craig Howell in two increments in 2003 and 2004, according to Mindy Daniels, Howell’s attorney.
Court papers filed by the estate challenge the legal authority of Howell’s claim for the loan repayment on several grounds, saying, among other things, that Howell waived a requirement that Kameny make interest payments on the loan prior to Kameny’s death.
The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT political group that organizes Coming Out Day activities, included a remembrance of Kameny on its website this week.
“One year ago, the LGBT community lost equality pioneer Frank Kameny, a man whose tireless activism blazed a trail for the entire LGBT community,” the HRC web posting says. “This National Coming Out Day, we remember Frank Kameny by honoring his legacy as a forerunner of the modern LGBT rights movement.”
Kameny, a D.C. resident since the 1950s, is credited with playing a key role in laying the foundation for the modern gay rights movement beginning in the early 1960s, nearly a decade before the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York’s Greenwich Village.
He began his fight for LGBT equality in 1957 after being fired for being gay from his job as an astronomer at the U.S. Army Map Service. After losing administrative and lower court appeals, Kameny took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he wrote his own petition urging the high court to hear the case in 1961.
The Supreme Court denied his petition and left standing a lower court ruling upholding his firing. But LGBT advocates and historians have said Kameny’s petition, or brief, filed with the high court represented the first known time anyone submitted an unapologetic and legally reasoned argument before a court of law in support of equal rights for gay people in the United States.
A short time later, Kameny co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington, the city’s first gay rights organization. Although Mattachine Society groups had formed in other cities beginning in the 1950s, the D.C. group under Kameny’s leadership took on a far more assertive posture in pushing for gay equality, laying the groundwork for the post-Stonewall Riots LGBT rights movement in the years ahead, according to author David Carter, who is currently writing a Kameny biography.
Maryland
‘Girlfriends’ wanted for murder in Silver Spring, Md.
Montgomery County police say two charged with killing mother of one of them
The Montgomery County, Md., Department of Police announced on June 4 that it is seeking the public’s help in locating two women, who they identify as a couple, who are charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing the mother of one of them.
In a statement police identified the two women as Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson of Clarksburg, Md., and her girlfriend Samantha Raebel of Phoenix, Ariz. The statement says the two are charged with the murder of Hilde Henderson, 67, the mother of Vanessa.
According to the statement, officers with the department’s 3rd District found Hilde Henderson deceased on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at her home at the Charter House apartments in the 1300 block of Fenwick Lane in Silver Spring after being called to check on the resident’s welfare.
“Henderson was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, where an autopsy was conducted,” the statement says. “The cause of death was ruled a homicide.”
It adds, “Through the course of the investigation, detectives identified Henderson’s daughter, Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson and Vanessa’s girlfriend, Raeble, as the suspects.” It says detectives obtained an arrest warrant against the two women, charging both with first-degree murder.
“Anyone with information regarding the location of these suspects or this crime is asked to call 911 or to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, Md. website at crimesolversmcmd.org,” the statement says, or to call the tip line at 1-866-411-8477.
“Tips with information leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward from $250 up to $10,000,” it says, adding that tips may remain anonymous.
A spokesperson for Montgomery County police didn’t immediately respond to a request from the Washington Blade for information not disclosed in the police statement, including the physical-medical cause of death for Hilde Henderson and whether detectives have determined a motive for the murder.
District of Columbia
D.C. Latinx Pride celebrates culture and heritage
Your guide to events throughout June
Organizers with the Latinx History Project have planned a host of events this Pride season with parties, poetry, drag and more.
The festivities begin with the DC Latinx Pride 2026 Kickoff at Crush Dance Bar (2007 14th Street, N.W.) on Friday, June 12 from 6-10 p.m. The party will include a coronation ceremony for the 2026 Royal Court: Ms. DC Latinx Pride Vida Rangel and Mx. DC Latinx Pride Steph Niaupari. RSVP at latinxhistoryproject.org. The event is free, though donations are accepted.
An outdoor event is planned for Sunday, June 14 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Anacostia River Park (1500 Anacostia Dr., S.E.). Cultivating Queer Outdoor Joy is a “peaceful outdoor community event focused on grounding, connection, and queer joy in nature.” The event is free.
A panel discussion is planned for The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Rd., N.W., 2nd floor) on Monday, June 15 from 6-8 p.m. La Plática: The Future of 2 Spirits and Trans Natives will focus upon the “stories, leadership and vision of Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer and Trans Native people.” RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
A sex-positive poetry workshop, “Hoetry: Writing Erotic Poetry,” is planned for Wednesday, June 17 from 6-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). The event is free.
The workshop So You Wanna Do Drag? is planned for Thursday, June 18 from 5:30-8 p.m. at The Festival Center (1640 Columbia Road, N.W.). Featured guests Ricky Rose and Mari Con Carne will hold a style showcase to discuss the basics of developing a drag persona. RSVP to the free event at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project is collaborating with Rumba Queer DC to produce an official Latinx Pride Party: Sin Vergüenza. The event is at the multi-level venue, Transmission (1353 H Street, N.E.) on Thursday, June 18 from 7 p.m.-1 a.m. There are dance lessons, vendors and three different music experiences in the sprawling venue. There will also be a drag showcase from 10-11 p.m. The event is 21+ and tickets are available at shotgun.live/en/events/sin-verguenza. Tickets are $15 for entry into the party. Tickets to participate in the dance lesson are $29.98. Participants may choose between a bachata lesson or a salsa lesson from 7-8 p.m.
La Fiesta: Official DC Latinx Pride Party is planned for Friday, June 19 from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. at Bunker (2001 14th Street, N.W.). Serena Morena from “Drag Race México” and “Drag Race UK vs The World” is slated to headline the 21+ event. Early tickets are available for $15 (plus $0.38 service fee) until June 16. The door cover charge without early tickets is $20. Attendees can also purchase a meet and greet experience with Serena Morena for $30. Tickets are available at latinxhistoryproject.org.
The Latinx History Project plans to march in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday, June 20 and to have a table at the Capital Pride Festival on Sunday, June 21. Visit latinxhistoryproject.org to register to march alongside LGP in the parade or to staff the table at the festival.
The DC Latinx Pride 2026 Closing Event is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural Institute (2829 16th Street, N.W.). The free event is a panel discussion “centering the experiences of immigrants who have lived in Latin America and now call the United States home.”
Visit latinxhistoryproject.org for more information.
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
‘Girlfriends’ wanted for murder in Silver Spring, Md.
Queer Magic dance party planned
NLGJA-DC Pride happy hour at Trade
DC Front Runners Pride Run 5K set for Saturday
Calendar: June 5-11
Advocates push back on proposed FCC warning labels
Why Michelle Visage needs you to get ‘PrEP Wise’
D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony
White House Correspondents’ Dinner rescheduled after shooting
Campaign to support Va. marriage amendment repeal launched
-
Federal Government4 days agoAdvocates push back on proposed FCC warning labels
-
Celebrity News4 days ago
Why Michelle Visage needs you to get ‘PrEP Wise’
-
District of Columbia4 days ago
D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony
-
National4 days ago
White House Correspondents’ Dinner rescheduled after shooting
