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D.C. LGBT youth group rebrands itself

Regional GSA network part of SMYAL’s new strategic plan

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SMYAL, Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders, gay news, Washington Blade
SMYAL, Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders, gay news, Washington Blade

(Image courtesy of SMYAL)

SMYAL on Thursday unveiled a new logo and acronym as part of its ongoing rebranding efforts.

The organization retired the blue, spiky-haired logo affectionately dubbed “Shannon” and replaced it with one that contains SMYAL in magenta print above a rainbow-colored banner and a slogan that reads “empowering LGBTQ youth.”

SMYAL, which had previously stood for Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, is now Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders.

SMYAL Executive Director Andrew Barnett told the Washington Blade in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that young people whom the organization serves and local groups with which it works increasingly found the term “sexual minority” out of touch.

“We want a name that when people see it they say ‘oh, this is something that I see myself in,” Barnett said. “The actual spelling out of the acronym was not something that people identify with anymore.”

SMYAL has worked with 7,500 young LGBT people since 1984

Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, SMYAL, Andrew Barnett, LGBT youth, anti-bullying, gay news, Washington Blade

Andrew Barnett, executive director of SMYAL (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A group of advocates and those who work with young people founded SMYAL in 1984 after they organized a conference on LGBT youth issues after they learned cross-dressing students had been admitted to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in D.C. The organization has subsequently provided direct services to more than 7,500 young LGBT people from the nation’s capital, Prince George’s County in Maryland and other parts of the Washington metropolitan area.

SMYAL in March 2012 adopted a new strategic plan that Barnett said during his organization’s annual Fall Brunch last October would allow it to identify key issues facing LGBT youth and how the organization can most effectively respond to them.

Barnett told the Blade the process of speaking with board members, staffers, clients, funding partners and donors about the new strategic plan began in July 2011. He said SMYAL also sought feedback and suggestions from other community organizations and agencies with which it partners.

“We really wanted to get an accurate and comprehensive picture of SMYAL and LGBTQ youth in the region and what makes sense for us as the next step for our organization,” Barnett said.

Barnett said it quickly became clear SMYAL’s after school programs were providing “really great support for youth.” He added his organization has heard from a lot of young people who said they were interested in attending them.

“At SMYAL we’re providing really great opportunities for youth to engage in social activities with their peers and engage in positive youth development,” Barnett said. “They feel like they’re part of the community [and] ultimately they can grow into happy, healthy and productive adults.”

The average age an LGBT person comes out is 13; but many of them cannot attend SMYAL programs that take place at the organization’s youth center on 7th Street, S.E., near Eastern Market because they are involved with other after-school programs, cannot get to a Metro station or are not ready to come out to their parents.

“We also want to expand our ability to provide programming outside of the four walls of SMYAL,” Barnett said. “We want to bring those safe spaces and opportunities for youth leadership development to other places in our community.”

Barnett further pointed LGBT young people continue to experience disproportionate rates of bullying and harassment in school.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s 2011 National School Climate Survey reported 81.9 percent of students said their classmates verbally harassed them because of their sexual orientation. Nearly a fifth of them said they were physically assaulted on campus because they are gay.

The GLSEN report also found roughly two-thirds of LGBT students had experienced verbal harassment because of their gender identity and expression — 12.4 percent of them said their classmates physically attacked them at school. Nearly 30 percent of LGBT students said they skipped class at least once because they did not feel safe at school.

GLSEN and other advocates also note LGBT students are more likely to face suspension or other disciplinary actions in school than their straight classmates.

SMYAL launches regional gay-straight alliance network

SMYAL, Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders, gay news, Washington Blade

SMYAL youth (Photo courtesy of SMYAL)

One of the ways SMYAL hopes to expand beyond the organization’s drop-in center near Eastern Market is through its D.C. Regional GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network it launched last month.

Working in collaboration with the San Francisco-based Gay-Straight Alliance Network that coordinates more than 900 GSAs throughout California, the SMYAL initiative seeks to support and strengthen the 77 groups in the D.C. metropolitan area. The organization hopes to achieve this goal through an activist camp in August, its annual GSA conference that takes place each fall and trainings with individual clubs and their members at their schools.

SMYAL in 2011 hosted a GSA Network gathering that drew more than 75 young LGBT advocates and GSA sponsors from 20 states. The organization last November also hosted 78 student leaders from across the region at its first GSA conference.

Barnett is also a member of D.C. Public Schools’ LGBTQ Steering Committee.

“We know that GSAs or gay-straight alliances are really effective ways for us to make schools safer for LGBTQ students,” Barnett said.

He added the D.C. Regional GSA Network takes into account the goal set forth in its new strategic plan to expand its programming beyond its youth center.

“We also saw that there was a huge unmet need throughout our region for youth who weren’t able to access programming at SMYAL,” Barnett said. “They didn’t have access to any other programming.”

Barnett said he feels SMYAL’s rebranding efforts will better position it to expand its reach in the D.C. metropolitan area in the years to come.

“It’s a chance for us to take a big step forward in better meeting the needs of LGBT youth throughout the region, which is at the heart of our mission,” he said.

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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards

Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

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Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington as well as local drag artists joined hosts Mike Millan and Felicia Curry with other performers for a WorldPride dance number at the Helen Hayes Awards on Monday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.

A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.

The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals

Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade

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Deacon Maccubbin attends the 2024 Capital Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.

The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.

Laverne Cox (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.

Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.

Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”

“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”

“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.

The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.

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PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride

Schuyler Bailar gives keynote address

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D.C. Trans Pride 2025 was held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on May 17. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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