Local
D.C. premiere of film ‘CURED’ set for Sept. 21
‘A change that transformed the social fabric of America’
The Washington, D.C. premiere of the award-winning documentary film “CURED,” which tells the story of how gay activists beginning in the early 1960s waged an historic but little-noticed campaign to have homosexuality removed from a psychiatric list of mental illnesses, will take place Sept. 21 at the Smithsonian Institution’s American Art Museum.
The feature length documentary provides a dramatic inside view through archival images and interviews of how a diverse group of 24 lesbian and gay activists, including pioneering D.C. gay activist Frank Kameny, carried out a successful campaign to persuade the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders known as the DSM.
The activists who are portrayed in the film became the first to challenge the scientific validity of the mental illness theory on grounds that it was based almost entirely on observations of patients under psychiatric treatment. The film shows how the activists, through protests at APA conferences and TV talk show interviews, told of how the DSM classification of homosexuality was responsible for the persecution, discrimination, and stigmatization of LGBTQ people since it was first published in 1952.
The film’s D.C. premiere is scheduled to take place just under three weeks before “CURED” will make its U.S. broadcast debut on the PBS series Independent Lens on Oct. 11, which is National Coming Out Day. The nationwide PBS broadcast is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EST.
“CURED” was produced, directed, and written jointly by gay filmmakers Patrick Sammon of D.C. and Bennett Singer of Los Angeles. The American Historical Association has just named the film as a recipient of its John E. O’Connor Award for best historical documentary of 2021. It was selected last year as runner-up for the prestigious Library of Congress Levine/Ken Burns Prize for Film.
The Sept. 21 showing of the film at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum is being co-hosted by the Smithsonian Pride Alliance, an LGBTQ employee resource group whose members work at all the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, 21 libraries, nine research centers and the National Zoo.
Sammon told the Blade the film’s production team chose not to initially have a traditional theatrical run because of COVID and because they want to focus on the PBS broadcast. He said in the months ahead he expects there will be other in-person screenings in the D.C. area.
“While CURED is indisputably about science, medicine, and politics, at its core this is a film about activism and the process of social change,” according to a statement released by the CURED producers. “It features a diverse group of crusaders with stubborn dedication and big personalities who came together at a crossroads in LGBTQ history.”
“Their tenacity, resourcefulness, and ingenuity brought about a change that transformed not only LGBTQ people’s perceptions of themselves, but also the social fabric of America,” the statement says.
Virginia
Black transgender woman murdered in Va.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray killed in Petersburg on March 13
A Black transgender woman was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate she was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray, 42, shot to death inside a home in Petersburg. These initial media reports also misgendered her.
“My heart is shattered and heavy with grief at the news of Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray’s murder — the first trans life stolen from us this year,” said Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs for the National Black Justice Coalition, in a statement.
Kirby York in her statement also criticized the media coverage of Sanchez-McCray’s murder.
“The early reports of Shyyell’s death stripped her of her identity by misgendering her, a deeply damaging and persistent failure by law enforcement and media that haunts these cases again and again,” she said. “Misgendering doesn’t just erase a person’s truth — it can derail justice entirely, or worse, bury a case in silence as investigators chase the wrong identity, the wrong face, the wrong name.”
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.”
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