Local
OBITUARY: Roger Bergstrom, 90
Long-time Gay Men’s Chorus singer dies in New Mexico
Roger “Pearl” Bergstrom died from the flu and heart disease at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., on Jan. 20. He was 90. He had retired to Santa Fe after many years in Arlington, Va. His partner of 30 years, Barry Baltzley, was at his side.
Bergstrom was born in Rhinelander, Wis., on Nov. 1, 1929, just days after the October 1929 stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression. He was small for his age when he started school. He recalled walking to school in the winter when the snow was piled so high to either side that all he could see was the narrow, shoveled path he was walking on and the sky above.
He attended the University of Wisconsin-Superior. In the summers, he worked as an assistant cook aboard Great Lakes ore boats, which were working vessels that carried iron ore from Minnesota to the steel mills. This began Bergstrom’s lifelong love of cooking and fine dining.
Bergstrom completed a bachelor’s degree with college exemptions from the draft, but upon graduation, he knew it was time to enlist or be drafted, as the Korean Conflict was taking place. He decided to volunteer for the United States Air Force, and he soon shipped out to Korea. An excellent typist, he was assigned to a typing pool in Korea.
After four years of military service, Bergstrom applied to Catholic University of America in Washington to get a master’s degree. He remembered being interviewed by Father Gilbert Hartke, the so-called “show-biz priest,” who had founded school’s department of speech and drama. Bergstrom graduated with a master of fine arts specializing in theater and film. He taught English, drama and advanced placement/accelerated courses at high schools in Virginia for many years, in both Alexandria and later in Fairfax County. Bergstrom was pleased to have the opportunity, in 2012, to congratulate former student Angus King on the occasion of his election as U.S. Senator from Maine.
During his teaching years, Bergstrom supplemented his salary by working weekends and summers as a salesclerk for the upscale men’s clothier Britches of Georgetown, founded in 1967. Upon retiring from teaching, Bergstrom worked full time at Britches. At the request of the owner of the Britches stores, Rick Hindin, Bergstrom wrote a manual and set up a training program for the store’s salesclerks, to meet the expectations of the kind of clientele that a high-end men’s clothier attracts. This led to Hindin hiring Bergstrom to be majordomo at his home on Chain Bridge Road in McLean, Va.,, where he used his gourmet cooking skills.
He joined the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington in 1984 and remained for 22 seasons.
By the fall of 1989, Bergstrom had adopted his signature identity. At the GALA Choral Festival in Seattle that summer, a young singer from New Orleans flirted with Bergstrom by putting a string of Mardi Gras pearls around his neck. Bergstrom became “Pearl” and typically wore a string of real pearls at Chorus events for the rest of his life.
Over the years, Bergstrom landed numerous leading roles that showcased his many musical and dramatic talents. Some memorable ones include Auntie Em in the all-male version of “The Wizard of Oz”; “Pearl Ives” in a holiday show, dressed as a spitting image of the snowman portrayed by Burl Ives in a famous animated TV special; Ship of Pearl; Phyllis Diller, complete with long cigarette holder and one-liners; and a hilarious impersonation of First Lady Bess Truman. Within the chorus, Bergstrom could be counted on to be a costume hit at any party and during the fall campout retreat of the chorus. He was fun-loving, with a distinctive laugh.
At the height of the AIDS epidemic, Bergstrom volunteered to lead the Chorus Care Corps in making countless home, doctor and hospital visits to help relieve the suffering of the many chorus members who were suffering. Bergstrom was inducted into the chorus’s Circle of Excellence in 1996.
Bergstrom co-chaired an ad team that persuaded more than 100 local businesses to support the chorus with program advertising. He developed the travel specifications for the chorus’s first foreign tour to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. In recognition of this work, he was honored in 2005 with the Harmony Award, the chorus’s highest honor for long-time outstanding contributions to the mission of the chorus.
At its year-end party, the chorus also gives out Crystal Awards for various funny, embarrassing and heroic moments in the previous year. One of Bergstrom’s Crystal Awards celebrated the time he was stuck in a small elevator with fellow singers wearing his large “Pearl Ives” snowman costume.
Bergstrom and Baltzley traveled to Chile and Peru, with time at Machu Picchu; the Greek Islands and Israel; Western Europe; and most recently, a cruise vacation on the Baltic Sea with a private tour of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In 2006, the couple moved from the Washington area to Rainbow Vision in Santa Fe, N.M., for retirement. Rainbow Vision was the first LGBT retirement community in the country to be completed. Bergstrom continued to express his love of music by singing for a time with the New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus and by volunteering with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.
In 2008, when same-sex marriage rights were beginning to be recognized in many States across the country, Bergstrom and Baltzley visited Palm Springs and exchanged vows at Palm Springs City Hall in a ceremony officiated by then-Mayor Steve Pougnet.
Bergstrom is survived by his husband, Barry Baltzley; son Eric Christopher (Anne), of Tampa, Fla.; daughter Jenni Treadwell, of Richmond, Va.; grandchildren Lindsey, Shawn and Lara; and two great-grandchildren.
Bergstrom’s ashes will repose in the columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery. A military funeral ceremony at Arlington and of a celebration of life are being planned.
Donations in honor of Roger “Pearl” Bergstrom may be made to the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, 1140 Third St., N.E., second floor, Washington, D.C. 20002. Condolences may be sent online to Baltzley via email at [email protected].
Maryland
Md. Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs released updated student recommendations
LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, suicide
The Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs has released updated recommendations on how the state’s schools can support LGBTQ students.
The updated 16-page document outlines eight “actionable recommendations” for Maryland schools, supplemented with data and links to additional resources. The recommendations are:
- Developing and passing a uniform statewide and comprehensive policy aimed at protecting “transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive students” against discrimination. The recommendation lists minimum requirements for the policy to address: name, pronoun usage, and restroom access.
- Requiring all educators to receive training about the specific needs of LGBTQ students, by trained facilitators. The training’s “core competencies” include instruction on terminology, data, and support for students.
- Implementing LGBTQ-inclusive curricula and preventing book bans. The report highlights a “comprehensive sexual education curriculum” as specifically important in the overall education curriculum. It also states the curriculum will “provide all students with life-saving information about how to protect themselves and others in sexual and romantic situations.”
- Establishing Gender Sexuality Alliances “at all schools and in all grade levels.” This recommendation includes measures on how to adequately establish effective GSAs, such as campaign advertising, and official state resources that outline how to establish and maintain a GSA.
- Providing resources to students’ family members and supporters. This recommendation proposes partnering with local education agencies to provide “culturally responsive, LGBTQIA+ affirming family engagement initiatives.”
- Collecting statewide data on LGBTQ youth. The data on Maryland’s LGBTQ youth population is sparse and non-exhaustive, and this recommendation seeks to collect information to inform policy and programming across the state for LGBTQ youth.
- Hiring a full-time team at the Maryland Department of Education that focuses on LGBTQ student achievement. These employees would have specific duties that include “advising on local and state, and federal policy” as well as developing the LGBTQ curriculum, and organizing the data and family resources.
- Promoting and ensuring awareness of the 2024 guidelines to support LGBTQ students.
The commission has 21 members, with elections every year, and open volunteer positions. It was created in 2021 and amended in 2023 to add more members.
The Governor’s Office of Communication says the commission’s goal is “to serve LGBTQIA+ Marylanders by galvanizing community voices, researching and addressing challenges, and advocating for policies to advance equity and inclusion.”
The commission is tasked with coming up with yearly recommendations. This year’s aim “to ensure that every child can learn in a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment.”
The Human Rights Campaign’s most recent report on LGBTQ youth revealed that 46.1 percent of LGBTQ youth felt unsafe in some school settings. Those numbers are higher for transgender students, with 54.9 percent of them saying they feel unsafe in school.
Maryland’s High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey reveals a disparity in mental health issues and concerns among students who identify as LGBTQ, compared to those who are heterosexual. LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, feelings of hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. Nearly 36 percent of LGBTQ students report they have a suicide plan, and 26.7 percent of respondents say they have attempted to die by suicide.
The commission’s recommendations seek to combat the mental health crisis among the state’s LGBTQ students. They are also a call for local and state governments to work towards implementing them.
Virginia
Va. lawmakers consider partial restoration of Ryan White funds
State Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million from Part B program
The Virginia General Assembly is considering the partial restoration of HIV funding that the state’s Department of Health cut last year.
The Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million — or 67 percent of total funding — from the Ryan White Part B program.
The funding cuts started with the Trump-Vance administration passing budget cuts to federal HIV screening and protection programs. Rebate issues between the Virginia Department of Health and the company that provides HIV medications began.
Advocates say the funding cuts have disproportionately impacted lower-income people.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a federal program started in 1990, provides medical services, public education, and essential services. Part B offers 21 services, seven of which remained funded after the budget cuts.
Equality Virginia notes “in 2025, a 67 percent reduction severely destabilized HIV services across the commonwealth.”
Virginia lawmakers have approved two bills — House Bill 30 and Senate Bill 30 — that would partially restore the funding. The Ryan White cuts remain a concern among community members.
Both chambers of the General Assembly must review their proposed changes before lawmakers can adopt the bills.
“While these amendments aren’t a full restoration of what community-based organizations lost, this marks a critical step toward stabilizing care for thousands of Virginians living with HIV,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “Equality Virginia plans to continue their contact with lawmakers and delegates through the conference and up until the passing of the budget.”
“We appreciate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who recognized the urgency of this moment and will work to ensure funding remains in the final version signed by the governor,” added Rahaman.
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
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