Local
Baltimore mayoral candidates talk LGBT issues
Emotional forum tackles HIV, homelessness
Catherine Pugh addresses the crowd at Tuesday’s forum. (Washington Blade photo by Steve Charing)
More than 100 members of the Baltimore’s LGBT community and allies attended an emotional mayoral forum hosted by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB) on March 8. The event, which took place at the University of Baltimore’s H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons, featured a dozen mayoral candidates out of the 29 vying for the office held by outgoing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Democratic candidates who participated included: Elizabeth Embry, chief of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office criminal division; Patrick Gutierrez, former operations manager; DeRay Mckesson, a gay civil rights activist; Council member Nick Mosby; State Sen. Catherine Pugh; Council member Carl Stokes; academic researcher Cindy Walsh; and engineer Calvin Allen Young III.
Former Mayor Shelia Dixon, a Democrat and who is perceived as the frontrunner, did not attend.
Other participants who will compete in the general election only include: Green Party candidate and activist Joshua Harris as well as unaffiliated candidates dispute resolution manager Nicholas Caminiti, state employee LaVern Murray and activist Andre Powell.
None of the five Republican candidates attended.
The candidates, following opening statements, fielded pre-determined questions regarding their records on advancing LGBT rights, what they would do to stop police profiling and violence against LGBT people, particularly transgender people of color, what they would do to support homeless LGBT youth, and what they would do to ensure equal education and employment opportunities for LGBT people, particularly youth, seniors and transgender people of color.
In addition to responding to those questions, the candidates explained other matters relating to governance, such as the need for new leadership for opportunity, education and the ills of crime and poverty.
Each candidate offered their personal commitment to LGBT equality with some more familiar with the issues than others. Stokes said he has a long history with LGBT rights. “I am not a friend of the community but am a part of the community,” he said.
Sen. Pugh cited several legislative initiatives she led, including group life insurance policies for domestic partners and co-sponsoring the Religious Freedom and Civil Rights Protection Act.
Walsh said she has fought for equal protection for many years. “We have gay rights but not equal protection,” she explained.
On the other hand, both Caminiti and Murray indicated that while they support full equality for all, they admit to not having much experience with LGBT issues.
The forum was interrupted by activist Akil Patterson who questioned why none of the candidates have addressed the HIV/AIDS crisis among young black gay and bisexual men. Lynda Dee, founder of AIDS Action Baltimore criticized the current and past administrations for not overtly publicizing HIV/AIDS in Baltimore and demanded that each candidate pledge to use a public information campaign to call attention to HIV/AIDS.
Another audience member, Kinji Scott, who is running for City Council, said, “We have to do something about HIV in the African-American community.”
Mosby responded to Patterson’s question by pointing out the issue is preventable and treatable. “We must take the trajectory of young African-American men seriously,” he said.
Harris added that there was $6 million being held up by the city’s Health Department earmarked for the Ryan White program, which recently had to fold due to lack of funding. He also said that sexual orientation and gender identity ought to be taught in schools as part of the sex education curriculum.
The candidates fielded questions from the audience on a variety of matters. Longtime activist Monica Yorkman, a trans woman, emotionally described being fearful of police because of her experiences of being harassed by police and how she, as a homeless person, had been afraid to go to a homeless shelter even more so now as a 62-year-old transgender person of color.
Many candidates decried lack of management and accountability in the current city government. “This city is corrupt,” Stokes said. When asked what issue left behind by the current mayor that she would like to tackle, Embry pointed to “so little accountability.”
Jabari Lyles, president of the GLCCB was pleased with the forum.
“The candidates provided enough insight to their platform to where our community can make an informed decision at election time,” Lyles told the Blade. “We have 29 candidates running for mayor. Only one will win but based on tonight, we should have 28 leaders that can still be held accountable.”
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, landed an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a new job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Advocate, Out parent company adds Trump supporter to board, prompting outrage
78th annual Emmy Awards recapped
Indonesia’s top Muslim clerical body proposes criminalizing LGBTQ people, advocacy
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
LGBTQ issues, attacks on Democrats dominate unusual RNC midterm convention
Multi-billion-dollar 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to continue until 2090
LGBTQ Military Happy Hour set for Sept. 15
Calendar: September 11-17
Comings & Goings
