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Comings & Goings
Lazar re-elected to Democratic State Committee
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
John E. Lazar
Congratulations to John E. Lazar for his reelection as Ward 2 Committeeman to the D.C. Democratic State Committee. Lazar’s full-time career is as a non-profit executive who has a demonstrated ability in planning and implementing programs that align employee development and productivity with organizational goals. He is currently director of development for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
Prior to that John has worked for a wide variety of organizations, including Global Impact, The American Cancer Society and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office. He is also a pastor having worked for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y. He attended the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and earned his bachelor’s from Saint John’s University and his master’s from Brooklyn College.
Congratulations also to Michael Rogers and his business partner John Byrne, owners of RawStory Media. They recently announced the acquisition of two new websites — AlterNet.org, a pioneer in progressive online journalism, and The New Civil Rights Movement a website focused on politics, civil liberties and the LGBT community.
Rogers spent 15 years as a fundraiser for LGBT organizations, including Harvey Milk High School, the National LGBTQ Task Force and Greenpeace. In 2004, he started a news website focused on the exposure of anti-gay politicians living in the closet. His work was featured in the documentary “Outrage.” In 2008, he founded Netroots Connect. Byrne’s experience includes founding a newspaper at Oberlin College and then doing a stint as an intern at the Boston Globe. He launched RawStory in 2004. Byrne founded Prevention 305, an organization promoting the use of HIV prevention drugs that assists clients in Miami-Dade with a focus on at-risk youth of color and transgender women.
Michael Rogers and John Byrne (Photo of Rogers by Pooja Mehta; photo of Byrne by Ricardo Salazar)
Congratulations also to Lamont Akins, named interim director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs. Akins joined the Bowser administration in January 2015. He manages and provides guidance to the 10 constituent engagement offices reporting to him helping them to implement the Mayor’s Fresh Start vision for constituent engagement and outreach in all eight Wards of the District.
Prior to joining the Bowser administration, he served as director of constituent service for Council member Anita Bonds. He has also served as a program manager in the D.C. Department of Employment Services. Before joining D.C. government he worked in Housing and Community Development for AARP, Fairfax County and the Dallas Housing Authority.
Akins has served two terms as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC 4D01 in the Brightwood Park neighborhood. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and has a master’s degree in community development from Delta State University.
Lamont Atkins
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
Calendar: March 21-26
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
