Arts & Entertainment
Sia, Rosie O’Donnell pledge to donate to ACLU for LGBT immigrants
Jack Antonoff, Jesse Tyler Ferguson also will give donations


(Screenshot via YouTube.)
A number of celebrities, including Sia, Rosie O’Donnell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jack Antonoff, have pledged to donate to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The donations were in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order that temporarily blocks people from Muslim-majority countries and Syrian refugees from entering the U.S.
Sia pledged to donate $100,000 to help “our queer and immigrant friends” and O’Donnell promised to match Sia’s donation.
help our queer & immigrant friends. send me your donation receipts for the @aclu & I will match up to $100K https://t.co/P9zVRH0WH0#RESIST
— sia (@Sia) January 28, 2017
and i will match your 100K donation sia – #resisthttps://t.co/xkjVGeMWuR
— ROSIE (@Rosie) January 29, 2017
Antonoff urged people to “stand with me for immigrants and the LGBTQ community” and tweeted he will donate $20,000.
stand with me for immigrants and the LGBTQ community. i will be matching donations to the @ACLU up to 20k. tweet me your donation receipts
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) January 29, 2017
Ferguson also tweeted that he will be donating $10,000 for “our LGBTQ immigrant family.”
Incredible! I’ll match your donations to @ACLU in support of our LGBTQ immigrant family up to $10,000 through @TieTheKnotOrg. #NoBanNoWall https://t.co/Xv3ETmWJxI
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) January 30, 2017

The 2025 Baltimore Pride Parade was held on Saturday, June 14.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)








































































You’ve done your share of marching.
You’re determined to wring every rainbow-hued thing out of this month. The last of the parties hasn’t arrived yet, neither have the biggest celebrations and you’re primed but – OK, you need a minute. So pull up a chair, take a deep breath, and read these great books on gay history, movies, and more.
You probably don’t need to be told that harassment and discrimination was a daily occurrence for gay people in the past (as now!), but “American Scare: Florida’s Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives” by Robert W. Fieseler (Dutton, $34) tells a story that runs deeper than you may know. Here, you’ll read a historical expose with documented, newly released evidence of a systemic effort to ruin the lives of two groups of people that were perceived as a threat to a legislature full of white men.
Prepared to be shocked, that’s all you need to know.
You’ll also want to read the story inside “The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick: Sex and the Supreme Court in the Age of AIDS” by Martin Padgett (W.W. Norton & Company, $31.99), which sounds like a novel, but it’s not. It’s the story of one man’s fight for a basic right as the AIDS crisis swirls in and out of American gay life and law. Hint: this book isn’t just old history, and it’s not just for gay men.
Maybe you’re ready for some fun and who doesn’t like a movie? You know you do, so you’ll want “Sick and Dirty: Hollywood’s Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness” by Michael Koresky (Bloomsbury, $29.99). It’s a great look at the Hays Code and what it allowed audiences to see, but it’s also about the classics that sneaked beneath the code. There are actors, of course, in here, but also directors, writers, and other Hollywood characters you may recognize. Grab the popcorn and settle in.
If you have kids in your life, they’ll want to know more about Pride and you’ll want to look for “Pride: Celebrations & Festivals” by Eric Huang, illustrated by Amy Phelps (Quarto, $14.99), a story of inclusion that ends in a nice fat section of history and explanation, great for kids ages seven-to-fourteen. Also find “Are You a Friend of Dorothy? The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped Shape” by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Levi Hastings (Simon & Schuster, $19.99), a lively book about a not-often-told secret for kids ages six-to-ten; and “Papa’s Coming Home” by Chasten Buttigieg, illustrated by Dan Taylor (Philomel, $19.99), a sweet family tale for kids ages three-to-five.
Finally, here’s a tween book that you can enjoy, too: “Queer Heroes” by Arabelle Sicardi, illustrated by Sarah Tanat-Jones (Wide Eyed, $14.99), a series of quick-to-read biographies of people you should know about.
Want more Pride books? Then ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for more, because there are so many more things to read. Really, the possibilities are almost endless, so march on in.
Music & Concerts
Indigo Girls coming to Capital One Hall
Stars take center stage alongside Fairfax Symphony

Capital One Center will host “The Indigo Girls with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra” on Thursday, June 19 and Friday, June 20 at 8 p.m. at Capital One Hall.
The Grammy Award-winning folk and pop stars will take center stage alongside the Fairfax Symphony, conducted by Jason Seber. The concerts feature orchestrations of iconic hits such as “Power of Two,” “Get Out The Map,” “Least Complicated,” “Ghost,” “Kid Fears,” “Galileo,” “Closer to Fine,” and many more.
Tickets are available on Ticketmaster or in person at Capital One Hall the nights of the concerts.