Local
Alston Foundation to celebrate 10 years
Fundraiser planned for Oct. 10
Wanda Alston was a longtime LGBT advocate and government official who was murdered in 2005. (Washington Blade archive photo)
The Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides transitional housing and support services for homeless LGBT youth, is inviting members of the LGBT community and its allies to attend its 10th anniversary celebration and fundraiser scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 10.
The event, called Health Housing Hope: An Evening of Cocktails and Dancing, will be held at Ajax D.C. nightclub at 1011 4th St., N.W. from 6:30-10 p.m.
Among those scheduled to attend is D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and former D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, a longtime supporter of the Alston Foundation. The foundation is named in honor of the late Wanda Alston, a vocal LGBT rights supporter who was appointed by Williams as the first cabinet-level Director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
“For the past 10 years, the Wanda Alston Foundation has provided housing, health, and hope to the most vulnerable LGBTQ homeless youth in the District of Columbia,” a statement released by the foundation says. “Join us to celebrate our legacy, history, and achievement of creating a safe and welcoming home for D.C.’s most at-risk population – its homeless children!”
Among other things, the Alston Foundation operates the Wanda Alston House, which provides temporary housing of up to 18 months to LGBT youth in need along with life skills development training, case management, and connections to medical and mental health care services.
Information related to the purchase of tickets for the anniversary celebration can be obtained via wandaalstonfoundation.org.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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