Local
AIDS groups in dispute over NAPWA trademark rights
AIDS United to challenge plan
NAPWA’s National Gay Men’s AIDS Awareness Day on Sept. 27, 2012 in Freedom Plaza. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A judge with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Maryland on Dec. 23 approved a motion allowing the D.C.-based Community Education Group, which provides AIDS-related services aimed at minority communities, to buy the legal rights to nine names linked to the National Association of People with AIDS.
But Judge Paul Mannes directed the national group AIDS United, which opposes CEG’s purchase of at least one of the NAPWA-related names, to submit draft language for his final order clarifying the extent of the legal rights CEG would have for those names. Mannes was expected to make the final decision on what the order will say within the next week or two.
With more than $750,000 owed to creditors, NAPWA shut its doors in February 2013 after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Laura J. Margulies, the bankruptcy trustee appointed by the court to represent NAPWA’s estate, filed the motion asking Mannes to approve CEG’s request to purchase the trademark rights to the NAPWA name and the names of various programs and projects that NAPWA carried out during its 30-year tenure as a nationally respected group representing people with AIDS.
The names listed in her motion are National HIV Testing Day, National Association of People with AIDS, National Gay Men’s Awareness Day, National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, National Healthy Living Summit, AIDS Watch, Staying Alive, NAPWA and National Association of People With AIDS, Inc.
“This transfer of ownership will guarantee these assets are not lost and continue to help serve those living with HIV/AIDS,” CEG said in a statement released on Dec. 30.
“We hope to continue their mission and look forward to re-establishing partnerships and building new ones around these legacy programs as we push forward for those living with HIV and AIDS,” A. Toni Young, CEG’s president and CEO added in the statement.
However, Michael Kaplan, CEO of AIDS United, said he was troubled that CEG has filed trademark applications for most of the names, including the AIDS Watch name, with the U.S. Office of Patent and Trademarks. Kaplan said NAPWA’s board prior to the bankruptcy filing authorized AIDS United and the Treatment Access Expansion Project, which also advocates for people with HIV/AIDS, to carry out the AIDS Watch project.
The project involves an annual two-day congressional lobbying effort in which AIDS activists from throughout the country come to Washington to visit the offices of their senators and representatives to push for federal AIDS programs.
“We feel it is not a good idea to trademark AIDS-related programs and names,” he said. “I believe they are in the public domain and they should be in the public domain.”
Kaplan said AIDS United will “definitely” challenge CEG’s application to secure a trademark for the AIDS Watch name.
Young said CEG welcomes participation of other groups in the programs and projects represented by the various names. CEG maintains that NAPWA’s board never transferred or assigned AIDS United or any other group the legal rights to the AIDS Watch name.
“CEG hopes to work together with those that have supported and sponsored these efforts in the past while increasing the reach into communities of color and women,” Young 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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