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.
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.
Virginians for Marriage Equality on Monday launched a campaign in support of repealing Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former state Del. Mark Sickles, and American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer are among those who spoke at the launch that took place in Richmond. State Del. Kirk McPike (D-Alexandria), who co-chairs the campaign, also participated.
“This amendment is about making clear that the government has no business deciding which marriages or which families are worthy of recognition,” said Bauer. “The ACLU of Virginia has been fighting for Virginians’ right to marry who they love since the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage. Now we are proud to carry that legacy forward by standing with our coalition partners in the fight to pass this amendment and finally enshrine the right to marriage equality in the commonwealth’s constitution.”
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is a Republican, in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger in February signed a bill that finalized the referendum’s language.
The referendum will take place on Nov. 3.
Rehoboth Beach
CAMP Rehoboth’s new director shares plans for busy summer
Dr. Robin Brennan on joyful approach to leadership role
Dr. Robin Brennan, CAMP Rehoboth’s new executive director, has been getting adjusted to her role and connecting with the Rehoboth community.
In March of this year, Brennan took on the role of executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBTQ+ community center in Delaware working to Create A More Positive (CAMP) environment, following the retirement of Kim Leisey.
When asked about her first few months with CAMP, Brennan said that she’s “in the listening and learning phase.”
“The first few months have been overwhelmingly beautiful, with such warm wishes from so many really diverse groups,” said Brennan.
“The more time that I’ve been at CAMP, it’s almost like I have more questions and more admiration for the solid foundation that it has,” said Brennan. She explained that she is taking her time to listen and connect with the Rehoboth community during these crucial first months.
She spoke to the stressful nature of this work, saying, “This work takes a lot of resiliency, especially being in a front-facing position as executive director of an organization. There’s so much pressure on this to be successful.”
Brennan is no stranger to high-pressure work environments, having worked in the public health field during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brennan earned a doctorate in public health from Drexel University and has spent nearly two decades working in higher education, which she says greatly influences her approach to her work.
“I am always giving back to and mentoring students, that’s always been a part of who I am,” said Brennan. She said that the adaptability and flexibility she practiced during her time as a professor influences her work, noting, “I think that to be flexible is a key to success.”
Aside from her tenure in academia, Brennan has worked for nonprofits, including with organizations such as Redeemer Health and Nemours Children’s Health.
Leslie Ledogar, president of CAMP’s board of directors, said that Brennan’s joyful approach to this work made her stand out in the search for a new executive director.
“I think that I’ve always naturally been positive and joyful because if I don’t, I will burn out,” said Brennan.
For Brennan, honoring CAMP’s legacy remains a top priority in her role at CAMP. “For me, legacy is so critical, so I want to honor the legacy that this foundation was built on.”
When asked about DEI funding cuts by the Trump administration, Brennan shared how she is navigating an administration that is targeting organizations like CAMP.
“This administration doesn’t open doors for opportunities. As a nimble nonprofit organization, we have always had to be creative,” said Brennan.
She said that she “would never want CAMP Rehoboth to rely on federal dollars, regardless of what type of political administration we’re in. I think relying on any kind of dollars or funding is problematic.”
“We need to stay creative and innovative, not chase money, and also our ears need to be listening to what our community needs,” said Brennan.
As younger members of the LGBTQ+ community grow disheartened by the growing attacks on queer rights, Brennan shared her thought process behind helping younger members of the community.
“I think my number one thing is to listen to them, to ensure that they know their voice is valuable. That’s the most important thing before giving advice is to listen to their concerns, their needs, their fears, their struggles,” said Brennan.
“They may not be your struggles, but ultimately, as a human being, they’re all of our struggles.”
Brennan brought up PRISM, CAMP’s social group for young LGBTQ+ adults to gather in community and experience new activities with likeminded young adults. This group offers a safe space where members can form connections with one another to build a sense of belonging.
Throughout the interview, Brennan reiterated her admiration for CAMP and the community it has brought to Rehoboth for decades.
“There is no place like CAMP Rehoboth, and what it has done for Rehoboth or what it has done for countless individuals who see it as an escape and a place of freedom, visibility, belonging, and hope,” said Brennan.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Brennan said that she first visited Rehoboth in 1996 as a young gay person. “I felt at home. I could breathe,” said Brennan. She said that she has been a frequent visitor ever since and bought a house in town three years ago.
Brennan shared how happy she is to have her teenage daughter growing up with Rehoboth in her life. She said that her ideal day in Rehoboth involves going to the beach, trying new food, and enjoying time with her friends and family that live in the area.
As the summer season commences, Brennan shared that there is a plethora of upcoming events for members of the community to attend and enjoy.
Brennan highlighted the CAMP Women’s Golfing League, which is getting started on June 4 with tickets on sale now for CAMP Rehoboth members.
The CAMP Rehoboth Chorus is singing to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. on June 19 with tickets on sale now.
This year also marks the 35th anniversary of CAMP, which will be celebrated with Pride in the Courtyard on June 26.
Brennan was excited to promote CAMP’s new partnership with Beebe Healthcare starting this summer. The partnership is designed to expand access to patient-centered health services in downtown Rehoboth Beach.
“Relying on this partnership will be critical to the success of the health of our community,” said Brennan.
Brennan also talked about SUNFESTIVAL, which will be held during Labor Day weekend and will feature David Archuleta as the headliner.
Lastly, Brennan highlighted CAMP’s annual Block Party, which is held each October. “We shut down several streets, we have 100 vendors, and it’s a beautiful way for the whole community to come together to wrap up the summer,” said Brennan.
Federal appeals court rules White House illegally banned trans troops
Outright International honors Cyndi Lauper at annual NYC gala
Results from key Tuesday primary races
AIDS Healthcare Foundation announces 3 million people globally in its care
10 HIV/AIDS activists arrested on Capitol Hill
Time travelers from the AIDS era
Books for a pre-Pride celebration
Barney Frank’s powerful legacy for LGBTQ federal employees
Claudia López comes up short in Colombian presidential election
