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].
Virginia
Va. House approves Ebbin resolution to repeal marriage amendment
Proposal passed with Republican support

The Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday approved gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria)’s resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
The resolution passed by a 58-33 vote margin. State Sen. Mark Obenshein (R-Harrisonburg) is among the Republicans who supported it.
“Glad to report that SJ 249, my constitutional amendment to protect marriage equality, has passed the House of Delegates with bipartisan support,” said Ebbin after the vote.
The House last month approved a similar resolution that gay state Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) introduced.
Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
The General Assembly in 2021 approved a resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. It must pass in two successive legislatures before it can go to the ballot.
District of Columbia
Protests against Trump executive orders to take place in D.C. on Thursday
Demonstrations will happen outside attorney general’s office, Kennedy Center

The Trump-Vance administration has taken an aggressive stance against the LGBTQ community by passing executive order after executive order that restricts the ability of transgender people to exist. In response, LGBTQ activists in Washington will take to the streets on Thursday to protest the slew of actions the White House has undertaken.
In back-to-back protests, demonstrators will rally against a federal ban on gender-affirming care for minors, followed by a protest at the Kennedy Center condemning a newly imposed ban on drag performances at the venue.
The first protest of the day will take place outside the D.C. Attorney General’s Office (400 6th St., N.W.) to oppose Trump’s executive order banning gender-affirming care for minors. Originally scheduled for the previous day but postponed due to snow, the protest will run from 12-2 p.m. Organizers aim to pressure D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage to join 15 other states in issuing official public guidance against the order and declaring it unlawful.
Under the D.C. Human Rights Act, passed by the D.C. City Council in 1977, discrimination based on gender identity and expression is explicitly prohibited. The law defines gender identity and expression as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth.” Trump’s executive order, officially titled the “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” order, directly violates this act by banning all forms of gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth, effectively preventing them from accessing medical care necessary for their transition.
The 15 other states’ that objected to the order include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
This protest was organized by the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America Bodily Autonomy Working Group, which focuses on “the fight for queer, trans, and feminist liberation and against systems of patriarchal capitalist oppression that devalue women and LGBTQIA+ people, under the guidance of reproductive justice.”
Organizers encourage protesters to bring friends and signs to get their voices heard.
The second protest of the day will take place in Washington Circle in between the Foggy Bottom and West End neighborhoods to protest Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center. Trump removed all 18 members that former President Joe Biden appointed to the Kennedy Center board and has started installing Trump loyalists into their roles.
The sudden board shake-up was first announced on Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform, as a response to what he called the board’s lack of “vision for a Golden Age in arts and culture.” Many found this statement puzzling, given that Trump has openly admitted he has never attended a performance at the nonpartisan arts center.
The “Trans & Queer Dance Party and Protest,” which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the circle only a few blocks from the Kennedy Center, is an attempt by six DC based organizations to show the Trump administration that “as D.C. residents, we say the Kennedy Center is our house, and we’re not going to let fascists tell us what to do or censor our artists.” The collaborating organizations encourage supporters of art, drag, the Kennedy Center, and the LGBTQ community to show up in “our best (warm) looks” to let the administration know that D.C. will not be silenced.
Richard Grenell, a gay man who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany in his first term, was given the title of “interim executive director” of the Kennedy Center, tasked with realigning the arts center to better fit Trump’s agenda. The announcement initially caused confusion because before this announcement, there had never been an acting director, but a president elected by the board.
His agenda so far includes banning any performances in the famous performing arts center, including “Dancing Queens Drag Brunch,” “A Drag Salute to Divas,” and “Dixie’s Tupperware Party,” which were put on at the Kennedy Center and aimed at adults.
This protest was organized through a collaboration of six local left-leaning organizations. They include the DC Dyke March, Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, Occupation Free DC, Good Trouble Cooperative, and Claudia Jones School.
For more information on the trans gender-affirming care protest, visit https://actionnetwork.org/events/schwalb-trans-rally or https://mdcdsa.org/. For more information on the Kennedy Center dance party protest, visit any of the organizers’ Instagram pages.
District of Columbia
Bill to repeal D.C. home rule would jeopardize LGBTQ rights: activists
Measure introduced by homophobic lawmakers

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn) on Feb. 6 introduced legislation in the Senate and House calling for repealing the D.C. Home Rule Act, which would eliminate the city’s limited home rule government with a mayor and city council.
The two lawmakers named the bill the “Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident Act” or the “BOWSER Act,” saying in a statement that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was responsible, in part, for leaving “our nation’s Capital in crime-ridden shambles.”
Lee and Robles each received a “0” rating, the lowest possible rating, on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard, which assesses the record of members of Congress on LGBTQ related issues.
Most political observers point out that far-right Republican lawmakers have introduced similar bills in the past, including one in 2024, which have died in committee with little support.
Both Democratic and some Republican lawmakers expressing opposition to the previous bills noted that under the existing D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress retains full authority to reject any legislation passed by the D.C. Council and signed by the mayor. They note that Congress also retains authority to impose any law it wishes on D.C.
But some observers, including LGBTQ rights advocates, say the prospects of the current bill could go further with the current GOP-controlled Congress and at a time when President Donald Trump raised the issue of alleged “out of control” crime in D.C. during his presidential campaign. Trump has said he plans to issue one or more executive orders targeting D.C. home rule.
The bill introduced by Lee and Ogles does not address or propose who or what federal entity would operate D.C.’s local government after the Home Rule Act of 1973 is repealed. The two-page-long bill states, “Effective on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (Public Law 93-198) is repealed.”
Prior to the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1973, which Congress approved under the administration of then-President Richard Nixon, the city was governed by a commission whose members were appointed by the U.S. president and approved by Congress. A “commissioner-mayor” appointed by the president served as the head of the commission.
LGBTQ rights activists believe a similar type of governing body under the current Republican Congress and the Trump administration could pose a threat to the LGBTQ rights laws currently on the books in D.C., including the city’s Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Repeal of Home Rule at this time can only be a negative for the LGBTQ community, especially the transgender community, because of the virulent antagonism toward that community of the MAGA Republicans in control of Congress,” according to D.C. gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein.
Howard Garrett, president of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political organization, also expressed concern that repeal of D.C. home rule would pose a threat to the local LGBTQ community.
“Repealing D.C. home rule would be a direct attack on our city’s ability to govern itself and protect the rights of all residents, especially the LGBTQ+ community,” Garrett told the Washington Blade. “Washington, D.C. has been a leader in advancing LGBTQ+ rights, from nondiscrimination protections to access to affirming healthcare,” he said. “If Congress were to strip away our autonomy, it would leave us vulnerable to reactionary policies that do not reflect the values of our residents.”
Garrett added, “This latest attempt to revoke home rule is nothing more than political interference that undermines democracy.”
In a joint statement released on the day they introduced their D.C. home rule repeal bills, Lee and Ogles denounced what they called a “radically progressive regime” of Bowser and the City Council.
“Washington is now known for its homicides, rapes, drug overdoses, violence, theft, and homelessness,” Ogles said n the statement. “Bowser and her corrupt Washington City Council are incapable of managing the city,” he said.
Lee stated, “The corruption, crime, and incompetence of the D.C. government has been an embarrassment to our nation’s capital for decades. It is long past time that Congress restored the honor of George Washington to the beautiful city which bears his name.”
Daniel Solomon, co-founder of D.C. Vote, a local nonpartisan group that advocates for D.C. statehood, said in a statement that supporters of the home rule repeal bill were putting out misleading information about crime in D.C.
“Make no mistake: This bill is a thinly veiled attempt to punish D.C. for political differences under the guise of public safety,” he said. “We all agree that public safety is paramount, but dismantling home rule will do nothing to make our communities safer,” his statement continues.
“Instead, it will silence the voices of D.C. residents and threaten the progress we’ve made on criminal justice reform, economic growth, and local accountability,” he said.
Bowser, who has declined to comment specifically on the current bill to repeal D.C. home rule, has pointed out that violent crime in D.C. dropped by 35 percent from 2023 to 2024 and property related crime declined by 11 percent during that same period.
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