Local
Activists rally in Baltimore to end mistreatment of Black trans inmates
Groups condemn abuses at Baltimore Central Booking
More than 30 people attended a rally held on Friday in front of Baltimore Central Booking to protest mistreatment of Black transgender people at the state-run institution.
The rally called “#REFORMNOW: Rally to End Trans Violence – TLGBQ+ Corrections Reform,” was co-organized by FreeState Justice, a legal advocacy organization that seeks to improve the lives of low-income LGBTQ Marylanders; BMORE BLXCK, a Baltimore-based Black, queer, youth-led grassroots and social justice organization; and Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization dedicated to providing opportunities for a higher quality of life for trans people living in Baltimore City in survival mode.
“The rally is in direct response to the violence against Amber Canter, who was maliciously dropped on her face causing injuries by correctional offers where she was housed,” Baltimore Safe Haven Director of Operations Ja’Nae Tyler told the Washington Blade. “We are also here supporting other trans siblings -like Kazzy and Kim Wartz, who died after being in holding for 72 hours and was declared an overdose death, which we firmly believe not to be true.
“We are fighting for and requesting equitable opportunities for our trans siblings, appropriate housing and adequate medical treatment for all TLGBIA persons,” Tyler added. “Additionally, we are calling for a reform of policies for trans identified persons, explicit bias and cultural humility training for all correctional staff and an LGBT community liaison within the city and state administration to ensure LGBT persons are treated with equality and equity across all governmental programs. We will continue to show up for injustices every time until the resolution is as loud as the injustices against our communities.”
“We stand in solidarity for our trans siblings who are living and deceased due to violence and neglect in Baltimore Central Booking,” Keyanna Voorhees, a FreeState Justice community organizer, told the Blade. “We must hold every officer and official who is sworn in office accountable for negligence and animal behavior. We are demanding reform. We are demanding equitable treatment and the revision of current policy to insure safety for our trans siblings who are incarcerated. Safety including proper housing, proper medical treatment, etc.”
Last month a similar protest was held in front of Baltimore City Hall. The groups rallied in response to trans detainees’ complaints about harassment and unsafe housing assignments in the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center.
Baltimore
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
Leon’s closed in July after its owner’s death
By JULIE SCHARPER and WESLEY CASE | Soon after Jim Becker came out as gay in 1967, he ducked into a Mount Vernon bar called Leon’s.
In the dark, smoky bar, men used pseudonyms for fear of being outed, as homosexual acts were illegal in Maryland. Bartenders, wary of vice squad raids, would blow a whistle if couples leaned in for a kiss.
But to Becker, arriving at Leon’s was a kind of homecoming. He could explore his identity, connect with other gay men and build community in the anxious years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Protest Pizza owners say community has expressed support
Gay activist Randy Downs said he and his business and life partner Ricky Bennett are grateful for the support they have received from the Dupont Circle community after they released a video showing a suspect breaking into their recently opened pizza shop and taking money from a cash register shortly before 3 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.
The surveillance video shows a man wearing black clothing with his face covered, smashing the glass front door of Protest Pizza, located at 1633 ½ P St., N.W. The video, which Downs and Bennett provided to D.C. police, also shows the suspect climbing over the bar to get to a cash register, which he opened to take out cash.
A D.C. police report obtained by the Washington Blade lists the incident as a Burglary in the Second Degree and says the owners reported “approximately $78 in cash” was taken from the cash register. The report says the incident is not listed as a suspected hate crime.
Downs told the Washington Blade that after he and Bennett reported the break-in and theft on social media, they received an overwhelming showing of support from neighbors and others, including business owners, from across the nation.
“The break-in was upsetting, but it is not what will define Protest Pizza,” Downs said. “What defines us is how quickly people showed up,” he told the Blade. “One person came looking for a cash register; our community saw a gathering place worth protecting. The response reminded us that Protest’s real value was never in the register.”
Downs said he and Bennett, who live around the corner on the section of 17th Street, N.W., near several other bars and restaurants, including the gay bar JRs are located, opened Protest Pizza in November 2025.
“Ricky and I built Protest Pizza as a positive, welcoming, queer owned neighborhood restaurant and bar — a space for protest and joy,” he said.
A D.C. police spokesperson said police offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of a suspect responsible for the type of burglary and theft that occurred at Protest Pizza. Police say anyone with information to help solve this type of crime should call the police tipline at 202-727-9099.
District of Columbia
Advocates honored at Engendered Spirit Awards
Annual ceremony held at conclusion of Trans Pride DC
The 2026 SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards ceremony took place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in D.C. on Saturday. The ceremony was held at the conclusion of the day-long Trans Pride DC: Encore.
Honorees included D.C. Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs Deputy Director Vida Rangel; the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Inc.; and Connor Keuntje, CLP, CLPC.
Trans Pride DC: Encore was held throughout Saturday with several workshop sessions and a virtual conversation with actress and advocate Dominique Jackson.
The annual Engendered Spirit Awards were renamed the “SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards” in honor of SaVanna Wanzer, founder of D.C. Trans Pride. Wanzer died on April 24 of this year.
Speakers at the ceremony included Japer Bowles, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and Bianca Sprague, executive director of D.C. Trans Pride.
“The intent behind this award and honoring members of our communities, organizations, and allies, is to really elevate all of the work that they’re doing to provide resources, tools, learning opportunities and connections: centering trans folks, gender non-conforming, and gender diverse individuals,” Sprague said.
Dolly Parton dies at 80
Monument to LGBTQ Canadians officially unveiled
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
When home becomes a journey: migration, memory, and the African diaspora
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Trump-Vance administration’s LGBTQ brain drain: what you need to know
Not all trans people are the same
UPDATE: Impulse Group’s ‘PrEP Pool Party’ cancelled
Calendar: August 21-27
