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Whitman-Walker to honor former White House AIDS czar

Crowley praises Affordable Care Act, despite bumps

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Jeffrey Crowley, AIDS, gay news, Washington Blade
Jeffrey Crowley, AIDS, gay news, Washington Blade

Former White House AIDS czar Jeffrey Crowley. (Photo courtesy of Whitman-Walker Health)

Whitman-Walker Health on April 17 will honor former White House AIDS czar Jeff Crowley at its annual spring benefit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Northwest D.C.

“I’ve had a chance to reflect on this great experience I had and then just to be recognized for my work by Whitman-Walker I think is really special,” Crowley told the Washington Blade during an interview on March 31.

Crowley, who was the director of the Office of National AIDS Policy at the White House from February 2009 until December 2011, spoke with the Blade hours before the deadline for Americans to sign-up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act that President Obama signed into law in 2010.

Crowley described the Affordable Care Act as a “structural intervention that will make it easier to get” people with HIV onto care and keep them in treatment. He further noted Obama signed the law less than four months before the White House released the first national HIV/AIDS strategy.

“I’ve also said there’s no way I could have imagined a transition that didn’t have bumps along the way,” said Crowley, referring to glitches with the Affordable Care Act website and other enrollment-related concerns. “Over time those things will work themselves out. The ACA really creates an opportunity for us to make a lot of progress.”

Crowley acknowledged undocumented immigrants are unable to apply for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. He also said those with HIV below the poverty level who live in states that did not expand Medicaid may not be able to afford coverage because they cannot access marketplace subsidies.

“We have these ongoing challenges,” Crowley told the Blade.

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act remains available to assist uninsured people with HIV and those who are underinsured. The program can also supplement and help reduce drug costs for those living with the virus.

The AIDS Drug Assistance Program under the Affordable Care Act will also be able to cover drugs that Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance will not cover.

“There are issues of the affordability because some of drugs may not be covered and then the co-payments might be too high,” said Crowley. “There’s a lot of advocacy going on right now with some of the HIV advocates in some cases state-by-state with the local advocates to really educate these plans to improve their formulary policy so they don’t put all the drugs in the highest level.”

Crowley, who is the program director of the National HIV/AIDS Initiative at Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute, also applauded D.C.’s response to the epidemic.

He specifically noted the “test to treat” approach to combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the nation’s capital and the D.C. Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Administration (HAHSTA)’s work with local HIV/AIDS service organizations to use a surveillance model to reconnect people with the virus who have stopped treatment to care.

“I’m actually really, really proud of the District,” said Crowley. “In the past they weren’t necessarily the leader on a lot of fronts.”

Crowley, who is a Whitman-Walker client, taught high school science in Swaziland from 1988-1991 when he was a member of the U.S. Peace Corps. He also held various positions with the now defunct-National Association of People with AIDS from 1994 through 2000.

Crowley described the organization’s 2013 bankruptcy as “sad.”

“It’s really important for people living with HIV to have a voice,” Crowley told the Blade. “There’s still a need to be a voice for people with HIV and we’re going to have to look at different mechanisms.”

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

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World Pride 2025

Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride

Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

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Pabllo Vittar (Screen capture via Pabllo Vittar/YouTube)

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.

The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.

Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.

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District of Columbia

$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC

Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

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The long-suffering RFK Stadium will be razed to make way for a new domed facility that could one day host the Super Bowl. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.

With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.

Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.

The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.

“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”

In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.

“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”

He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.

Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.

“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.

At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.

In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.

“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement

Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development. 

So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.

Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports. 

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