Local
Baltimore mayor honors LGBTQ leaders at reception
Celebrating ‘42 years of rallying together’
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (center) with this year’s Pride honorees. (Blade photo by Steve Charing)
About 50 people attended a reception at City Hall on June 12 in which Baltimore Mayor Catherine F. Pugh bestowed mayoral medallions upon leaders of the LGBTQ community. The event, which kicked off the final week before Baltimore Pride, was the first LGBTQ awards ceremony to take place at City Hall in connection with the annual celebration.
After preliminary introductions that included Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, the 2017 Queen of Pride Dee A. Diamond, and executive director of the Center for Black Equity Baltimore Carlton Smith, Pugh noted “42 years of rallying together” in displaying the mayor’s proclamation celebrating Pride month.
“The more we understand that that we have more in common than we are different, the better we will be,” Pugh said. “LGBT residents are invaluable to our city. How wonderful your contributions have been to our society.”
Pugh presented the medallions to the following:
Lillian Amaya, co-founder of IRIS (Individuality, Respect, Integrity, Sexuality), an organization that promotes unity among the various Baltimore Latino LGBTQ communities; Sgt. Kevin Bailey, a gay officer serving as the Baltimore Police Department’s LGBT liaison; Ian James, who works with STAR TRACK, an organization which seeks to improve the health of youth and young adults in the city and the state; and Del. Maggie McIntosh of Baltimore’s 43rd legislative district, the first openly LGBTQ member of the state legislature and who has been in the forefront of the movement to expand LGBTQ rights in Maryland.
In addition, medallions were given to: Mark McLaurin, the political director for SEIU Maryland and D.C. and is co-chair of Police Commissioner Davis’ LGBT Advisory Committee; Merrick Moise, the LGBTQ Community Liaison for the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office; Kenneth Morrison, co-executive director of the GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB); Ava Pipitone, executive director of the Baltimore Transgender Alliance, the only peer-run transgender advocacy organization in Baltimore; and Steve Ziger, who serves on several boards including the Baltimore Community Foundation where he is co-chair for the LGBTQ focus group.
“I am incredibly honored to receive this award,” Merrick Moise, the only transgender African-American man who was a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, told the Blade.
“The City of Baltimore is showing its commitment to our community. We have a long way to go but we are making strides,” he 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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