Arts & Entertainment
Samira Wiley, Gloria Carter, ‘CMBYN,’ honored at GLAAD Media Awards
Halsey, Ava DuVernay also received recognition

Samira Wiley accepting the Vito Russo Award at the GLAAD Media Awards (Screenshot via YouTube)
The 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards continued in New York City on Saturday hosted by Ross Matthews.
D.C. native Samira Wiley was presented the Vito Russo Award by her “The Handmaid’s Tale” co-star Alexis Bledel. Wiley recounted when she first came out to her parents in 2008 while accepting the speech.
“I heard the words, ‘I like girls’ come out of my mouth,” Wiley says. “When I was finished I looked up and I said, ‘OK, I’m done.’ I waited, and my father looked at me and said, ‘Cool.’”
Jay-Z was honored with the Special Recognition Award for the track “Smile,” included on his latest album “4:44,” which features his mother Gloria Carter coming out. Carter accepted the award on her son’s behalf.
“‘Smile’ became a reality, because I shared with my son who I am. Not that people didn’t know. It was someone that they didn’t talk about but they loved me anyway.” Carter explained in her speech. “But to me, this was the first time that I spoke to anyone about who I really am.”
“Call Me By Your Name” won Outstanding Film which was accepted by screenwriter James Ivory and producer Peter Spears. Outstanding Music Artist was awarded to Halsey for her album, “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.”
Ava DuVernay was also presented the Excellence in Media Award by Sen. Cory Booker.
“We were never meant to survive,” DuVernay says in her speech.“I thank my LGBTQ comrades for your fight, for your resilience, for your daring, for your dignity, for your declaration of self, and I dedicate this award tonight to those of every pronoun.”
Read the complete list of winners below.
Outstanding Documentary: “Gender Revolution: A Journey With Katie Couric” (National Geographic)
Outstanding Music Artist: Halsey, “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom”
Outstanding Talk Show Episode: “Australian Marriage Equality,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
Outstanding TV Journalism — Newsmagazine: “The Pulse of Orlando: Terror at the Nightclub,” “Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Murders Raise Alarm for Transgender Community,” “NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt” (NBC)
Outstanding Newspaper Article: “The Silent Epidemic: Black Gay Men and HIV” by Gracie Bonds Staples (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Outstanding Magazine Article: “Forbidden Lives: The Gay Men Who Fled Chechnya’s Purge” by Masha Gessen (The New Yorker)
Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: Billboard
Outstanding Digital Journalism — Multimedia: This Is How We Win’: Inside Danica Roem’s Historic Victory,” by Diana Tourjée (Broadly.Vice.com)
Outstanding TV Journalism — Newsmagazine (Spanish Language): “Pulse, Huellas de la Masacre,” “Docufilms” (CNN en Español)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment (Spanish Language): “Comunidad LGBTQ Vulnerable Bajo Nuevo Gobierno,” “Perspectiva Nacional” (Entravision)
Out & About
Equality Chamber hosts Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours
Entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals to meet at Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs
The Equality Chamber of Commerce is bringing together LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals, advocates, and community partners on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the D.C. Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ Affairs (899 N. Capitol Street, NE).
This is an afternoon and evening focused on one essential question: How do we build businesses and a business community that can thrive? The Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours with Stephanie will create a powerful forum for connection, practical knowledge, and economic opportunity at the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The Pride in Business Expo, taking place from 4-7 p.m., brings the region’s LGBTQ+ business community together to showcase businesses, build relationships, discover resources, and create new opportunities.
Out & About
Learn more about Virginia’s queer history
‘The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes’ event scheduled for Wednesday
Queer Virginia Contributor Amy Bertsch will host “The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes” on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at Sprouse Rare Book Room inside the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library (717 Queen St., Alexandria, Va.).
Amy will share the story of Hannah Nokes, an African-American transgender woman who made headlines in 1933 when she testified in a high-profile murder trial. Learn about Nokes’s life, her place in history, and the broader social context of her remarkable story. Her story is among those featured in the book “Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion.”
Register at the Alexandria Library website.
Out & About
Annapolis Pride arrives this weekend
Sixth annual LGBTQ celebration held in Maryland capital
The Sixth Annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. on the streets adjacent to St. John’s College.
The theme of this year’s Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival celebration is “United in Pride, Together We Thrive!” Saturday’s parade will begin on St. John’s Street adjacent to St. John’s College, continue along Calvert Street to Northwest Street, to Church Circle, and onto West Street. The parade route then turns onto Amos Garrett Boulevard and eventually ends on Constitution Avenue near Maryland Hall.
Those with disabilities will be able to watch the parade from a special viewing porch at the Graduate Hotel at 126 West St. An Annapolis Pride volunteer will be there and available to assist.
For more details, visit the festival’s website.
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