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HRC Foundation chief resigns after using N-word

Mary Beth Maxwell served in Obama administration as labor official

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Mary Beth Maxwell has resigned as head of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation over repeated use of the N-word (Photo public domain)

The head of the education arm of the Human Rights Campaign has resigned after a colleague reported she twice used a racist epithet in the workplace, according to a report in Politico Playbook on Wednesday.

Politico Playbook — which first exclusively reported the bombshell news report — posted the internal email Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, sent out to staffers on the incident announcing the resignation of Mary Beth Maxwell, who headed up the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

In the memo, Griffin writes Maxwell used the N-word — which he called “harmful and inappropriate language” — in front of a colleague once when telling an upsetting personal story and again when “describing an external situation that they found horrifying, in which racial and homophobic slurs were used.”

After receiving initial findings from an internal investigation on Monday, Griffin writes he suspended Maxwell without pay, then on Wednesday accepted her resignation.

The memo suggests Maxwell didn’t intend to use the word in harmful way because Griffin writes “the lesson learned here is that not having bad intent in using the word does not make it acceptable.”

“I want to be clear: Intent does not matter,” Griffin writes. “It is impact of the word that matters. It is simply never acceptable for that word to be said by an employee in the workplace, period.”

As a result of the situation, Griffin said he sees the need for a formal policy on expectations for staff in responding to or discussing hate speech. That policy, Griffin writes, will be developed within two weeks and incorporated into mandatory staff trainings.

Maxwell came to the organization in 2015 as senior vice president for programs, research and training as well as head of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Prior to that role, Maxwell served in the Obama administration and held various roles in the Labor Department, including principal deputy assistant secretary for policy. In this role, Maxwell was credited for having a lead in pro-LGBT efforts, such as helping draft President Obama’s 2014 executive order against anti-LGBT workplace discrimination among federal contractors.

Early on the in the Obama administration, Maxwell was also said to be in contention as a possible choice as labor secretary and the first openly LGBT Cabinet member, although that role ultimately fell to other appointees.

In the note to staffers shared by Human Rights Campaign Chief Operating Officer Joni Madison and posted by Politico Playbook, Maxwell writes she has “deep regret” about her use of the racist epithet.

“While in each instance I was conveying something that really happened — in the first I was emotional and scared that it had been said and in the second feeling urgency about addressing a deeply racist and homophobic encounter that a colleague recounted — I realize I should never have said that word out loud,” Maxwell writes.

Maxwell adds she doesn’t want her action or presence at the Human Rights Campaign to jeopardize the organization’s work in support of LGBT rights.

“I fully respect and support HRC taking action to make clear that our commitment to a fair and just workplace is unwavering and that each of us must be held accountable for that,” Maxwell writes.

A Human Rights Campaign spokesperson confirmed the accuracy of the Politico Playbook report and the emails to sent to staffers about the Maxwell resignation, but declined to comment further.

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Federal Government

UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House

University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Screen capture: C-SPAN)

In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”

The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.

“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”

Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”

Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”

“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”

Under former President Joe Biden, the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.

Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.

The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.

According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.

The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.

The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.

In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.

The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.

New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.

“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.

The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”

“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.

Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”

His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.

“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”

“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”

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