Local
D.C. Police LGBT unit ‘greatly diminished’
Head of anti-violence group says improvements needed
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said LGBT Liaison Unit affiliate officers have been responding to calls for LGBT-related matters during the midnight shift and at other times.(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The chair of the D.C. Anti-Violence Project, which formerly was called Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence or GLOV, told a City Council hearing on March 2 that the presence of the police department’s LGBT Liaison Unit has been “greatly diminished” in recent years.
D.C. AVP Chair Stephania Mahdi presented the group’s concerns over the current direction of the LGBT Liaison Unit in testimony before a police oversight hearing conducted by the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary.
“In January 2016 the D.C. police department made the problematic decision to end the LGBT Liaison Unit’s midnight shift,” Mahdi told the committee. “The midnight shift has often been the unit’s busiest time period; higher rates of violent crime and domestic violence occurs during late-night hours,” she said.
“The unit has also seen a sharp reduction in its full-time staff,” she continued. “Furthermore, liaison officers are being tasked to unrelated patrol duties for a majority of their shift. One could deduce that officer response time and focus on LGBT-related calls for service has been greatly diminished,” she said.
Added Mahdi in her testimony: “The truth of the matter is the LGBT community does not feel the same level of support from the Liaison Unit that they have received in previous years.”
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, who also testified before the committee, said LGBT Liaison Unit affiliate officers have been responding to calls for LGBT-related matters during the midnight shift and at other times. The affiliate officers are assigned to each of the department’s seven police districts.
Lanier also said that the full-time LGBT Liaison Unit officers are on call at all times and have responded to LGBT-related calls during the midnight shift. During the past year Lanier has said the department was facing a shortage of officers due to a “retirement bubble” and she has had to reassign officers in various specialized units to street patrol duties during part of their daily shifts.
LGBT activists, including officials with the DC AVP, have expressed concerns that the LGBT affiliate officers may not have received the training needed to enable them to carry out liaison unit duties. Activists have said the department may also have cut back on the number of officers taking a longstanding LGBT cultural competency course.
“The department’s support of a robust dedicated liaison unit, carefully vetted and trained liaison officers, support of the LGBT cultural competency course, and finally the restoration of the LGBT Liaison Unit’s midnight shift” are actions the department should take in the coming months, Mahdi said.
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
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