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Whitman-Walker, GWU to host Truvada forum
Sept. 29 event to showcase pros, cons of drug
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is scheduled to speak at a Truvada forum on Sept. 29. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Whitman-Walker Health and George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health are scheduled to host a Sept. 29 forum on the pros and cons of the controversial use of the HIV drug Truvada as a daily HIV prevention pill.
Among those scheduled to speak at the forum are Dr. Richard Elion, Whitman-Walker’s director of research, who supports the use of Truvada as an HIV prevention medication, and Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Weinstein has spoken out against the use of Truvada as a “pre-exposure prophylaxis” drug, citing studies showing that large numbers of people didn’t adhere to the daily dose requirement, subjecting them to the risk of infection that he says could better be prevented by condom use.
Elion has said “non-adherence” to the drug is lower than critics claim and that Truvada has the potential for significantly lowering the HIV infection rate among people in high-risk groups, especially men who have sex with men.
Others scheduled to speak at the forum are Dazon Dixon Diallo, founder and CEO of the Atlanta-based SisterLove, Inc., a group that advocates for AIDS-related services for women; and Christopher Chauncey Watson, clinical research site director for GWU’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.
The event is scheduled to take place at the Institute’s first floor auditorium at 950 New Hampshire Ave., N.W. on Sept. 29 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Go here to RSVP.
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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