Local
D.C. AIDS Walk raises $600,000
Eleanor Holmes Norton among those who took part.
From left, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Mitchell Gold, Bob Williams and Joe Izzo. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton were among the estimated 5,000 people who attended the event that began on Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington. NBC anchor Eun Yang emceed the AIDS Walk for the second consecutive year, while Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams served as grand marshals.
“This morning we walk to free ourselves completely and absolutely from HIV/AIDS,” Norton said.
Both Norton and Gray discussed the progress D.C. has made in fighting the epidemic.
The latest HIV/AIDS epidemiology report that D.C. officials released last month noted newly diagnosed HIV cases in the nation’s capital decreased 46 percent from 2007.
The report noted the number of HIV/AIDS-related deaths in D.C. dropped from 425 in 2007 to 251 in 2011. It also said 80 percent of those who learned they were living with the virus in 2011 were linked to HIV-specific care within three months of their diagnosis.
“Given the complexity and the severe consequences of a condition like AIDS, for us to say that 30 years later we have made the enormous progress that we have made is absolutely phenomenal,” Gray said, noting the city’s needle exchange program has reduced new HIV cases among intravenous drug users by 80 percent from 2007 to 2011. “It gives absolutely the confidence to those who have this condition or who have family members who have this condition to know that America is working hard to be able to beat this condition.”
In spite of this progress, D.C. continues to have one of the country’s highest HIV/AIDS rates.
Roughly 15,000 Washingtonians — or 2.4 percent of D.C. residents — were living with the virus at the end of 2011. Men who have sex with men and heterosexual sexual contact were the two leading modes of transmission among newly diagnosed HIV cases.
“We know we’ve made tremendous progress, but in recent years D.C. still faces a serious HIV epidemic,” Yang said. “We have to get those numbers down to zero as the mayor said. And we have a lot of work to do.”
Megan Eluhu of Peer Health Exchange, an organization comprised of college students who teach health workshops in D.C. public schools, took part in the AIDS Walk with three of her colleagues.
“This is a really fantastic cause,” Eluhu told the Washington Blade as she walked along Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. “We just wanted to come out and visibility support it.”
D.C. resident Lakisa Blocker talked about her uncle who has lived with HIV for 21 years as she and 11 other members of her group walked near the U.S. Capitol. Another uncle lost his battle with the virus.
“I’m very passionate about finding a cure,” Blocker said.
Whitman-Walker Health CEO Don Blanchon posthumously honored Sean Sasser, an HIV/AIDS advocate who married Pedro Zamora of MTV’s “The Real World: San Francisco” in 1994.
Sasser passed away in August after a battle with mesothelioma.
“He spent 25 years as Don said living with HIV, but his story is not unique,” Sasser’s husband, Michael Kaplan, said after he accepted the award. “What he gets the courage award for was not unique either, and that is about living his life out and openly as an HIV-positive individual.”
AIDS Walk 2013. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
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].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, landed an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a new job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Maryland
Md. groups receive state grants to fight hate crimes
Pride Center of Maryland among recipients
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy are awarding a total of $10 million in grants in the 2027 fiscal year to nonprofit organizations that work to prevent hate crimes in the state.
The funds will be used to support those who feel targeted or discriminated against because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.
The Pride Center of Maryland is among the recipients. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and LGBTQ organizations are all eligible to receive grants
“The safety and security of all Marylanders is my top priority, so we are drawing a hard line because we have no tolerance for hate,” said Moore, according to media reports. “We are committed to protecting and ensuring safe and sacred spaces stay that way by investing in non-profit organizations, houses of worship, and community centers to protect and honor every community that makes our state so diverse and special.”
“Protection Against Hate Crime funding has strengthened the Pride Center of Maryland’s ability to protect, educate, and support the communities we serve … at a time of heightened concern associated with the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ/SGL (same-gender-loving) policies and pressures,” Pride Center of Maryland CEO Cleo Manago said. “PAHC funding helps us do more than improve physical security — it strengthens our community’s knowledge, preparedness, connection to resources, and ability to respond to hate with greater awareness and support.”
Maryland’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The state’s nondiscrimination statute is also LGBTQ-inclusive.
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
‘Thelma and Louise’ remains landmark of unspoken queer rebellion
Comings & Goings
LGBTQ Military Happy Hour set for Sept. 15
Calendar: September 11-17
Multi-billion-dollar 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to continue until 2090
Md. groups receive state grants to fight hate crimes
Nominate your favorites for the Blade’s 25th annual Best Of LGBTQ DC Awards
Gloria Steinem’s life of substance and consequence
PHOTOS: SUNFESTIVAL
