Local
GLAA celebrates 47th anniversary
Group honored as nation’s oldest continuously active LGBT civil rights group
D.C. Council member Robert White, left, joins Council members Mary Cheh and Jack Evans in presenting GLAA President Guillaume Bagal with a Council proclamation recognizing GLAA’s 47th anniversary. (Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro Jr.)
Five D.C. Council members, the director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, and D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham joined about 100 people Thursday night for the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance’s 47th Anniversary Reception.
The event, held at Policy Restaurant on 14th Street, N.W., highlighted what many of the group’s longtime members and supporters say is its role as the nation’s oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization that later expanded its mission to advocate for transgender rights.
It was founded in 1971 by a group of gay activists who worked that year on D.C. gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny’s election campaign for the city’s non-voting representative to Congress. Kameny lost the election but his highly visible campaign drew attention to the city’s emerging gay rights movement.
Guillaume Bagal, the group’s current president, said the turnout for the reception reflected the efforts by a new crop of officers who took charge of the group last year to expand its ranks.
“Just looking into the crowd I saw many of the old faces but so many new ones as well, which is really what we tried to achieve beginning last year – to bring in new members and even younger ones with fresh ideas,” Bagal said. “It gives me hope for the future of GLAA.”
Bagal and other GLAA officers presented the group’s annual Distinguished Service Award to one organization and two individuals that the group said advanced the cause of LGBT equality as well as helped uplift marginalized communities beyond just the LGBT community.
Among the recipients of the award was Check It Enterprises, formerly known as the Check It Gang, which was started by a group of young LGBT people that came together as a street gang to protect each other from being bullied and attacked because of their identities as gay, lesbian or transgender.
With the help and encouragement of D.C. youth advocate Ron Moten, Check It members transformed themselves from a gang into a fledgling business enterprise in which they produce, market and sell a line of clothing. Since the transformation began five years ago they have held several fashion shows that began in public spaces but are now held, along with other events, at their own headquarters office and production space in historic Anacostia.
“They also use the building as a safe haven and conduct activities and programming for LGBT youth and young adults,” according to a GLAA write-up about the group, which notes that Check It became the subject of an award-winning documentary film.
The two individuals receiving GLAA’s Distinguished Service Award on Thursday night were D.C. Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), and Whitman-Walker Health Executive Director Don Blanchon.
GLAA noted that Cheh, among other things, has been a longtime supporter of LGBT rights and introduced and pushed through a bill in the D.C. Council in 2013 that prohibits so-called conversion therapy seeking to change people from gay to straight from being practiced on people younger than 18 years old.
Other accomplishments of Cheh cited by GLAA include the Death with Dignity Act of 2015, which she authored; her advocacy for legislation to protect the environment, improve the health of D.C. residents, efforts to combat homelessness and prosecute bias crimes against homeless people; and an effort to eliminate the statute of limitations for the prosecution of sexual assaults.
In presenting its Distinguished Service Award to Blanchon, GLAA said he has played a key role for the past 11 years as executive director of Whitman-Walker Health in providing “an affirming and safe healthcare environment to gender and sexual minorities and other marginalized communities in the District.”
In addition to Cheh, members of the D.C. Council who attended the GLAA anniversary reception were Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), Robert White (D-At-Large), Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), and Elissa Silverman (I-At-Large). Also attending were former D.C. Council member and longtime LGBT rights supporter Carol Schwartz and D.C. Council candidate Ed Lazere, who’s running against Mendelson for the Council Chair seat in the June 19 Democratic primary.
Evans presented GLAA with an official proclamation unanimously approved by the D.C. Council recognizing GLAA’s anniversary. Sheila Alexander-Reid, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, presented the group with an official proclamation issued by Mayor Muriel Bowser honing GLAA on its 47th anniversary.
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham also attended the event along with Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the department’s special liaison units, and Sgt. Jessica Hawkins, who serves as supervisor of the LGBT Liaison Unit.
District of Columbia
Second trans member announces plans to resign from Capital Pride board
Zion Peters cites ‘lack of interest in the Black trans community’
Zion Peters, a member of the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors who identifies as transgender, told the Washington Blade he plans to resign from the board “due to the lack of interest in the trans community, specifically the Black trans community.”
Peters continued, “Nobody has checked on me in the last two months so that shows their level of unprofessionalism towards their board members and the community as a whole.”
If he resigns, Peters would be the second known trans person to resign from the Capital Pride board since February, when longtime trans activist Taylor Lianne Chandler informed the board of her resignation in a detailed letter that was sent to the Blade by an anonymous source.
Chandler, who served as chair of the Capital Pride Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex Committee, stated in her Feb. 24 letter that she resigned from the board out of frustration that the board had failed to address instances of “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization. The organization’s and the board’s transgender-related policies were not cited in her letter as a reason for her resignation.
The Blade learned of Peters’s plans to resign from an anonymous source who thought Peters had already resigned along with four other board members identified by the anonymous source. The others, who Capital Pride confirmed this week had resigned, include Anthony Musa, Bob Gilchrist, Kaniya Walker, and Dai Nguyen.
Musa and Gilchrist told the Blade they resigned for personal reasons related to their jobs and that they fully support Capital Pride’s work as an organization that coordinates the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
The Blade has been unable to reach Walker and Nguyen to determine their reasons for resigning.
Capital Pride CEO Ryan Bos and Board Chair Anna Jinkerson didn’t respond to a Blade question asking if they knew why Walker or Nguyen resigned.
In response to a request by the Blade for comment on the resignations and the concern raised by Zion Peters about trans-related issues, Bos and Jinkerson sent separate statements elaborating on the organization and the board’s position on various issues.
“We can confirm that the individuals you referenced, except for Zion, no longer serve on the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors,” Jinkerson said in her statement.
She added that following the WorldPride festival hosted by D.C. last May and June that was organized by Capital Pride Alliance, the group anticipated a “significant level of board transition,” with many board members reaching the end of their terms. But she said many board members chose to extend their service or apply for an additional term, showing a “powerful reflection of commitment.”
Without commenting on the specific reasons for the resignations of Peterson, Walker, and Nygun, Jinkerson noted, “As with all volunteer leadership roles, transitions occur for a range of personal and professional reasons, and we appreciate those transitions with both understanding and gratitude.”
In his own statement, Bos addressed Capital Pride’s record on transgender issues.
“The Capital Pride Alliance is committed to supporting and uplifting the Trans community through our work with the Trans Coalition under the Diversity of Prides Initiative, our partnership with Earline Budd on the LGBTQ+ Burial Fund with a focus on our Trans siblings, our collaboration with the National Trans Visibility March, and our ongoing investment in programming for Transgender Day of Visibility and Transgender Day of Remembrance,” Bos said in his statement.
“We also recognize there is always continued work to be done, and we always welcome feedback from our community to ensure our commitment remains unwavering,” he said.
At the time of her resignation in February, Chandler said she could not provide specific details of the instances of sexual misconduct to which she referred in her resignation letter, or who allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct, saying she and all other board members had signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement preventing them from disclosing further details.
Board Chair Jinkerson in a statement released at that time said she and the board were aware of Chandler’s concerns but did not specifically address allegations of sexual misconduct.
“When concerns are brought to CPA, we act quickly and appropriately to address them,” she said. “As we continue to grow as an organization, we’re proactively strengthening the policies and procedures that shape our systems, our infrastructure, and the support we provide to our team and partners,” she said.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
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