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What’s next for Equality Maryland?
HIV, education issues come to the fore
Carrie Evans, executive director of Equality Maryland, said her group will address HIV/AIDS and schools issues, among others. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
With the Maryland Senate’s passage of the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, which provides protections in employment, housing, credit and public accommodations based on gender identity, and the House of Delegates currently debating the measure, Equality Maryland, the state’s largest LGBT rights organization, has provided a glimpse into its future initiatives.
Last July, the organization developed a three-year strategic plan as reported in the Blade that provides a roadmap for its future. It focuses on “the intersections of the lives as LGBT and as military personnel, as people of color, as immigrants, as we age, as we are HIV+, as we attend school, and as we are persons with disabilities,” according to an Equality Maryland email to supporters.
Carrie Evans, executive director of Equality Maryland, recently acknowledged that future legislative initiatives, while not having the same “stature” as marriage or transgender equality, are important nonetheless.
“Legislative issues around HIV and AIDS and schools come to mind,” Evans told the Blade. “In 2013 and early 2014 we have worked extensively on health care issues, especially on issues surrounding the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. We held several town hall meetings for the LGBT community and what the new law means for the community and people living with HIV/AIDS.”
Evans pointed out that during the current General Assembly, Equality Maryland has been part of the coalitions working to increase the minimum wage, reform marijuana policy and earned sick leave for workers. “These coalitions portend our commitment to focus on ensuring the ‘ands’ of LGBT lives are addressed,” she says. “We are more than our sexual orientation and gender identity, we are black, immigrant, parents, rural dwelling, disabled, young, and senior citizens and Equality Maryland will work on advocating for the whole of a LGBT person’s identity and issues.”
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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