Local
Barry Smythers-Wieczorek dies at 34
Memorial set for Wednesday for beloved hairstylist
Barry Smythers-Wieczorek, left, with husband Tom Wieczorek. (Photo courtesy Facebook)
Barry Smythers-Wieczorek, 34, a D.C. hairstylist, sports enthusiast and advocate for AIDS-related causes, died May 21 in Washington. Friends said he took his own life.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that on Saturday afternoon our beloved friend and family member Barry Smythers sent himself home to heaven,” a message posted by friends on a Facebook page says.
Father Rich Vitale, a priest at D.C.’s Church Of The Holy City and longtime friend of Smythers-Wieczorek, called Smythers-Wieczorek a warm and caring person who “touched the lives of every single person he met.”
Vitale said in addition to his role as a popular hairstylist at the Logan 14 Aveda Salon and Spa on 14th Street, N.W., Smythers-Wieczorek was an avid participant in the city’s gay sports scene, especially the Stonewall Kickball Club.
He said Smythers-Wieczorek also was active with the AIDS LifeCycle bicycle riding events, which raise money for AIDS-related causes.
According to Vitale, Smythers-Wieczorek was born and raised in La Plata, Md. Smythers-Wieczorek’s Facebook page says he graduated from Henry E. Lackey High School in Indian Head, Md.
On Facebook, Smythers-Wieczorek wrote that an important milestone in his life happened in 2007, when he met Thomas Wieczorek, to whom he became engaged in 2009 and married in 2011.
Molly Ryan, manager of the Logan 14 Aveda Salon and Spa, said Smythers-Wieczorek attended the Graham Webb International Academy of Hair in Arlington, Va., and became a licensed hair stylist in 2007 or 2008. She said he worked at other D.C. hair salons before joining the staff of Logan 14 in 2015.
“He just truly was someone to light up any room he walked into,” Ryan said. “He was just so generous and thoughtful with everybody,” she said. “His clients had such an amazing relationship with him. He was passionate about his craft. He was inspirational and a leader to others within our salon.”
Ryan said Smythers-Wieczorek was also highly committed to social justice and public health causes, including fundraising for AIDS prevention efforts, public education and research.
“He definitely brought that passion to his co-workers and he got everybody involved with fundraising,” she said.
“He was just pure joy and love and just a wonderful, wonderful person,” Vitale said. “He will be missed terribly because he was just so loved.”
A celebration of life/memorial service for Smythers-Wieczorek is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 25, at Church Of The Holy City at 1611 16th St., N.W., beginning at 4 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at the church at 6 p.m. immediately following the memorial service.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
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