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D.C. paid McClurkin $5,000 for cancelled appearance
Gospel singer assailed for ‘ex-gay’ advocacy
Mayor Vincent Gray asked Donnie McClurkin to withdraw from appearing at an MLK-related concert. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities paid anti-gay gospel singer Donnie McClurkin $5,000 for his cancelled appearance at a city-sponsored concert held on Aug. 10 at the Martin Luther King Memorial, according to the commission’s executive director Lionell Thomas.
Thomas told the Blade this week that the Commission also had to pay for McClurkin’s airline ticket and for one of the two nights that he was booked to stay at a D.C. hotel due to the abrupt cancellation of McClurkin’s appearance. He said the city made these payments directly to an airline company and a hotel, not to McClurkin.
Mayor Vincent Gray directed the Commission to ask McClurkin to withdraw from appearing at the concert, saying McClurkin’s past public statements condemning homosexuality and his role as an “ex-gay” leader would be inappropriate for an event commemorating Martin Luther King’s call for equality for all people.
Thomas said the Commission was obligated to pay McClurkin his full $5,000 performance fee under a contract that a producer retained by the Commission had entered into with McClurkin. Thomas said both the Commission staff and the 17-member commission appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the D.C. Council did not play a direct role in selecting McClurkin for the concert, which was entitled, “Reflections on Peace: From Gandhi to King.”
“This was part of a much larger performance contract that we have with a producer to present approximately seven shows over a period of time, and this is one of the shows that we were presenting,” Thomas said.
“He was invited to be a part of the program by the producer,” Thomas said of McClurkin. “It typically doesn’t go through the Commission for that level of detail.”
But Thomas acknowledged the Commission was ultimately responsible for the selection. He said the Commission staff was not aware of McClurkin’s controversial statements about gays and homosexuality at the time the producer booked his appearance.
The mayor’s office said Gray had not been informed in advance of McClurkin’s booking to appear at the concert.
“No disrespect to Mr. McClurkin, but Mayor Gray thought it best that he withdraw from the concert in the name of not having his appearance be a distraction at an event about peace, love and justice for all,” mayoral spokesperson Doxie McCoy told the Blade.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
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