Local
Smithsonian acquires Academy drag group’s archives
Museum will house photos, program books
Members of the Academy joined Mame Dennis, center front, for the organization’s 50th anniversary in 2011. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History announced on Tuesday that it has acquired through a donation the archives of the Academy of Washington, D.C., an LGBT organization that produced nationally recognized extravaganza drag pageants.
“The Academy was a leading private organization in the Washington, D.C., metro area presenting, mentoring and championing female and male impersonation in the nation’s capital for 54 years,” a statement released by the history museum says.
“The collection of 16 boxes containing photos, program books, newsletters and organizational history will be housed in the museum’s Archives Center,” the statement says.
Valeska Hilbig, a spokesperson for the American History Museum, said the museum has no immediate plans for displaying some of the Academy’s archival material in an exhibit. She noted that only 2 percent of the museum’s vast collections are on display at any given time.
But she said like all of the museum’s collections, the Academy of Washington, D.C. collection will be available to researchers and authors who may wish to explore its documents and other materials that provide a rich history of one aspect of the LGBT community.
“The collection expands the breadth of the museum’s entertainment and LGBT collections and adds another component to how these artifacts document history and experience,” said Bob Horton, chair of the museum’s Archives Center.
“The collection includes programs from 54 years of ‘Golden Boy’ awards (formerly known as the Oscars, a take on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), the Miss Gaye Universe (D.C.) and Miss Gaye America (D.C.) pageants, the events of member houses and all of the performance events of the organization, as well as internal newsletters and organizational history,” according to the statement released by the museum.
Members of the Academy’s board, which donated the archival material to the history museum, announced in 2015 that the organization was disbanding after having the distinction of being D.C.’s oldest continuously operating LGBT organization with a 54-year history.
The announcement that the group was ending its operations came eight months after one of its two co-founders, Carl Rizzi, died at the age of 74. Rizzi, who was known by his drag performance name of Mame Dennis, served as president of the Academy from 1973 until the time of his death in February 2015.
As part of its LGBT collections, which date back to the 19th century, the American History Museum currently has on display two exhibits that include protest picket signs prepared by the late D.C. gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny for 1960s-era protests outside the White House. One of the picket signs is on display in the museum’s The American Presidency exhibition and the other is part of its The American Democracy exhibition.
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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