Local
Gray joins advocates at D.C. Transgender Day of Remembrance commemoration
Police highlighted three unsolved trans murders at event
Ruby Corado and Mayor Vincent Gray (Washington Blade photo by Tyler Grigsby)
Hundreds of people gathered at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington on Wednesday to commemorate the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
“The Transgender Day of Remembrance really marks another day in the struggle to be able to protect the rights of people who are transgender in the District of Columbia,” D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said.
Transgender advocates Earline Budd, Charles Hastings and Jeri Hughes; Wanda Alston Foundation Executive Director Brian Watson; Nico Quintana of the D.C. Trans Coalition and Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado are among those who also spoke.
Organizers of the event honored Gender Rights Maryland Executive Director Dana Beyer, Alison Gardner and her late-husband, Dan Massey. Shirli Hughes, Ovation, the Unity Fellowship Church DC Agape choir and members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington also performed.
“Tonight we gather here in light and love,” Hastings said. “That light and love is radiating from this building, going all over the city even into the darkest and hate-filled corners.”
Gwendolyn Ann Smith organized the first Transgender Day of Remembrance as a way to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman murdered inside her Boston apartment in 1998.
The D.C. event was one of dozens of Transgender Day of Remembrance commemorations, vigils and other gatherings held across around the world.
Those who gathered at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington read the names of the 12 trans D.C. residents who have been killed since 2000. They also honored known victims of anti-trans homicides from around the U.S. and the world.
“Each and every one of us is important to our community,” D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe, who apologized on behalf of the department during last year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance commemoration for the way emergency medical personnel treated Tyra Hunter after a car accident in 1995. She subsequently died from her injuries. “Our commitment to each and every one in this city is important.”
Assistant D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham highlighted the unsolved murders of Stephanie Thomas and Ukea Davis in 2002 and Elexius Woodland in 2005. He said seven of the 12 trans homicides that have taken place in D.C. since 2000 remain open.
“The Metropolitan Police Department does not intend to forget these victims or their families,” Newsham said. “MPD will not be satisfied until all the people responsible for these homicides are brought to justice.”
Gray highlighted the passage of the JaParker Deoni Jones Birth Certificate Equality Amendment Act of 2013 that allows trans Washingtonians to legally change their birth certificates without sex reassignment surgery during his remarks.
He said no trans Washingtonian has lost their life to violence in D.C. so far this year, but there have been a number of attacks he said should be classified as hate crimes.
“We have a long ways to go,” Gray said.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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