District of Columbia
D.C. Council poised for first out gay member since 2015
Parker favored to win in Ward 5; Bowser, Mendelson expected to prevail
In a city whose voters, including LGBTQ voters, are overwhelmingly Democratic, D.C. Democratic elected officials – including Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson – are considered the odds-on favorites to win reelection in the city’s Nov. 8 election.
Among the non-incumbent Democrats expected to win is gay Ward 5 D.C. Council candidate Zachary Parker, who most political observers say will become the first openly gay member of the D.C. Council since 2015, when then gay Council members David Catania (I-At-Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) left the Council.
Parker is an elected member of the nonpartisan D.C. State Board of Education. He won the Ward 5 Democratic primary on June 21 in a hotly contested, seven-candidate race, beating, among others, former Ward 5 Council member Vincent Orange. He is considered the strong favorite against his lesser-known Republican opponent, Clarence Lee, in the Nov. 8 general election.
Two other out gay candidates are also on the Nov. 8 D.C. election ballot, but they are considered far less likely to win than Parker. Both are running as Libertarian Party candidates. Bruce Majors is running for the D.C. congressional delegate seat held by longtime incumbent and LGBTQ rights supporter Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who is considered the strong favorite to win reelection. Also running for the congressional delegate seat is Statehood Green Party candidate Natalie Stracuzzi.
The other out gay Libertarian, Adrian Salsgiver, is running for the Ward 3 D.C. Council seat against Democratic nominee Matthew Frumin and Republican David Krucoff. The Ward 3 seat became open when incumbent Democrat Mary Cheh announced she would not run for reelection. Both Frumin and Krucoff have expressed support for LGBTQ rights.
Bowser, who has a long record of support on LGBTQ issues, is similarly considered the strong favorite to finish ahead of her general election challengers, who include Republican Stacia Hall, Independent Rodney Red Grant, and Libertarian Party candidate Dennis Sobin.
Council Chair Mendelson, also a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter, is considered the favorite to win against his challengers – Republican Nate Darenge and Statehood Green Party candidate Darryl Moch.
In a development that surprised some political observers, the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, endorsed D.C. Council member Robert White (D-At-Large) against Bowser and Democratic challenger Erin Palmer against Mendelson in the June 21 Democratic primary.
A short time after the primary, when Bowser and Mendelson emerged as the clear winners, Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsed Bowser, Mendelson, and the Democratic nominees in all of the other races.
Among the other races is the contest for two at-large D.C. Council seats, which has emerged as the only race in which the outcome is considered uncertain in the Nov. 8 D.C. general election. And some political observers believe the LGBTQ vote could be the decisive factor in determining the two winners in that race.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter approved by Congress in the early 1970s, two of the city’s four at-large Council members must belong to a non-majority political party or be an independent.
Longtime LGBTQ rights supporter Anita Bonds holds the Democratic seat up for election this year. The other seat is held by independent incumbent Elisa Silverman, who has also been a strong supporter on LGBTQ issues. Six others are competing for the two seats, with voters having the option of voting for two of the eight contenders.
They include Democrat-turned-independent Kenyan McDuffie, who currently holds the Ward 5 D.C. Council seat; Republican Giuseppe Niosi, who, along with his wife and child, rode in D.C.’s Capital Pride Parade in June; Statehood Green Party candidate David Schwartzman; and independent candidates Graham McLaughlin, Fred Hill, and Karim Marshall. McDuffie has a record of support for LGBTQ rights on the Council and the others have each expressed support for LGBTQ rights.
McLaughlin, a former corporate manager and small business advocate, has said he has worked with LGBTQ organizations, including the Trevor Project, in his role as an advocate for homeless youth.
The Capital Stonewall Democrats has endorsed Bonds for reelection but decided not to make an endorsement for the non-Democrat seat, saying to do so would be backing someone running against Democrat Bonds.
In addition to the Ward 3 and Ward 5 Council races, D.C. Council seats in Wards 1 and 6 are up for election on Nov. 8. In the Ward 1 race, incumbent Democrat Brianne Nadeau, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter, is considered the strong favorite over Statehood Green Party challenger Chris Otten.
Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsed Nadeau in both the Nov. 8 general election and in the June primary when out gay Democrat and former D.C. police officer Salah Czapary challenged her.
LGBTQ activists who supported Czapary said the LGBTQ voters who backed Nadeau over Czapary based their decision clearly on non-LGBTQ issues – just as most LGBTQ voters are expected to continue to do on Nov. 8 in a city where all candidates with any chance of winning support LGBT rights.
In the case of the Nadeau-Czapary rivalry, Nadeau is considered to be among the progressive-left faction of the Democratic Party, with Czapary falling into the moderate Democratic faction. With the Democratic Party dominating D.C. politics, the liberal left versus moderate factions appears to be the dividing line in D.C. Democratic primaries.
The remaining Council seat up for election this year is in Ward 6, where incumbent Democrat Charles Allen, yet another longtime LGBTQ rights supporter, is running unopposed on Nov. 8.
In the sometimes-overlooked race for the position of U.S. Representative to Congress, which is widely referred to as D.C.’s “shadow” U.S. House seat, incumbent Democrat Oye Owolewa is considered the favorite over Statehood Green Party challenger Joyce Robinson-Paul. Capital Stonewall Democrats has endorsed Owolewa, who has expressed support for LGBTQ rights.
The shadow House position, which has no congressional powers, was created in an amendment to the D.C. home rule charter as a position to lobby Congress for D.C. statehood and D.C. congressional voting rights.
In the race for D.C. Attorney General, Democrat Brian Schwalb, who won the Democratic primary in June, is running unopposed in the Nov. 8 general election. He, too, has expressed support for LGBTQ rights issues.
Longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist Earl Fowlkes, who serves as executive director of the D.C.-based national LGBTQ advocacy group Center for Black Equity, is among those who have said D.C.’s LGBTQ residents sometimes don’t appreciate the supportive political climate of the local D.C. government.
“One of the incredible things that’s happened in D.C. in the last 27 years I’ve been here is the fact that LGBTQ+ issues have been brought to the forefront and there is a universal agreement among almost anyone running for any position or office that they have to be strong in supporting LGBTQ+ issues,” Fowlkes told the Blade.
“This is one of the great places in the world to live in,” he said. “And thanks to our political system and the people who run for office who understand and have their finger on the pulse of the community, LGBTQ people are considered equal citizens in the District,” Fowlkes said. “And there’s a lot of places in this country not far from here who can’t say that.”
In races that traditionally have been nonpartisan, seats on the D.C. State Board of Education are up for election on Nov. 8 for Wards 1, 3, 5, and 6. The Capital Stonewall Democrats has not taken a position on Board of Education candidates.
And the D.C. Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), which rates candidates for mayor, D.C. Council, and Attorney General, does not issue ratings for school board candidates, nor does it rate candidates for congressional delegate or the shadow House seat.
Founded in 1971, GLAA is a nonpartisan, all volunteer LGBTQ advocacy group that bills itself as the nation’s oldest, continuously operating LGBTQ organization. It has been rating local D.C. candidates since the 1970s on a rating scale of -10 to +10, which is the highest possible rating score showing strong support for LGBTQ equality.
But in the past year it has received criticism from some local LGBTQ activists for basing its ratings on mostly non-LGBTQ specific issues that critics say represent a progressive left viewpoint.
Among the issues the group asks all candidates to take a position on in a required 10-question questionnaire it sends to candidates are decriminalization of sex work, reallocating funds from the police budget for violence prevention programs, support for affordable housing programs for low-income residents, and support for removing criminal penalties for illegal drug possession for personal use.
Other questions in the GLAA questionnaire ask candidates about whether LGBTQ people should have access to a housing voucher program, increasing funding for the Office of Human Rights, which enforces nondiscrimination laws pertaining to LGBTQ people, and whether the city’s tipped minimum wage law should be repealed.
The tipped wage law is the subject of an initiative on the Nov. 8 D.C. election ballot called Initiative 82, which calls for repealing the lower minimum wage for tipped workers and raising it to the full D.C. minimum wage.
GLAA President Tyrone Hanley has said important so-called non-LGBTQ issues such as affordable housing impact LGBTQ people just as they impact all others, and it’s important to ask candidates running for public office to take a stand on those issues.
The group in October released its numerical ratings along with the responses to its questionnaire for 14 candidates that returned the questionnaire, including Mayor Bowser, who the group assigned a +6 rating. For 10 candidates that did not return the questionnaire, GLAA assigned a “0” rating.
Below is a list of the candidates that GLAA has rated along with their ratings. Also below is a link to the group’s explanation for why it issued its specific rating scores and to the questionnaire responses from the 14 candidates that returned the GLAA questionnaire.
D.C. Mayor
Muriel Bowser (D) – +6
Rhonda Hamilton (I) Write-In candidate — +4
Stacia Hall (R) – 0
Dennis Sobin (Libertarian) – 0
Rodney Red Grant (I) — 0
D.C. Council Chair
Phil Mendelson (D) +6
Nate Derenge (R) – 0
Darry Moch (Statehood Green) – 0
D.C. Council At-Large
Elissa Silverman (I) — +7
Kenyan McDuffie (I) — +6.5
Anita Bonds (D) — +6
David Schwartzman (Statehood Green) +6
Graham McLaughlin (I) — +5
Karim Marshall (I) — +4
Giuseppe Niosi (R) – 0
Fred Hill (I) – 0
D.C. Council Ward 1
Brianne Nadeau (D) — +9.5
Chris Otten (Statehood Green) – 0
D.C. Council Ward 5
Zachary Parker (D) +6.5
Clarence Lee (R) – 0
D.C. Council Ward 6
Charles Allen (D) +8.5
D.C. Attorney General
Brian Schwalb (D) +6
Copies of the candidates’ GLAA questionnaire responses and GLAA’s explanation for why it issued specific ratings for the candidates can be accessed here.
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride 2025: Events, parties, and empowerment
Annual Black LGBTQ culture, community, and resilience celebration starts Wednesday
Beginning on Wednesday, Washington will host a weekend-long celebration of melanated LGBTQ talent, power, and resilience with the return of D.C. Black Pride. From glamorous balls and dance parties to drag performances and more, the weekend offers something for everyone looking to celebrate Black queer existence.
The Washington Blade sat down with Keyna Hutton, president and CEO of the Center for Black Equity and organizer of D.C. Black Pride, to discuss the event’s current significance and the programming they are most excited about.
While the weekend may appear to be all about parties and celebration, Hutton emphasized that the heart of D.C. Black Pride lies in the connections it fosters.
“I always try to remind people that Black Pride is a safe space for communities, for people that don’t have these kinds of safe spaces where they live,” Hutton said. “People that live in some rural parts of the country, some very conservative spaces, they don’t have a space to be Black and queer. Many don’t have a space that they are able to be their full authentic selves. So Black Pride is that space. D.C. Black Pride creates that space for folks to be able to come to and just be free and live at all your intersections, to be glorified and be appreciated for who you are, as diverse as you are.”
They continued, pointing to the importance of this year’s theme — freedom — especially amid a political climate that remains hostile toward marginalized groups, particularly the transgender community.
“The real root of D.C. Black Pride is about creating a safe space and supporting community,” Hutton said. “If you think about what’s going on right now politically, it is even more important for us to maintain these spaces.”
Despite the external pressures facing the Black LGBTQ community, Hutton made clear that the weekend is also about celebration, especially for those traveling from near and far to be part of it.
“I am very excited for the Mr. & Miss D.C. Black Pride Pageant,” she said. “We have Ts Madison, Monroe Alise, Kerri Colby, Ben Garson, Anthony Oakes, Heather Mahogany, Apple Brown Betty. We have so many Black queer folks and queer allied people that are going to be here taking up space with us, loving up on us, entertaining us, all for free!”
For the first time this year, a free shuttle will run between the Capitol Hilton and official D.C. Black Pride events all weekend long, making it easier than ever to join in the celebration.
D.C. Black Pride party roundup
Weekend-long parties
Supreme Fantasy Weekend Party
All weekend long, the D.C. Black Pride party Supreme Fantasy will be in full swing beginning on May 22. With 12 events across five days, there’s something for everyone! From drinking and dancing to drag and so much more, this five-day celebration will keep the D.C. Black Pride party pumping through May 26. Tickets and additional information for this 21+ event are available at xavierpartydc.com.
Bliss Party Lineup
Celebrate being a Black LGBTQ woman with the Bliss party lineup! From brunches to dance parties to panels, Bliss has something for everyone. For tickets and additional information for this 21+ party series, visit eventbee.com.
Wednesday, May 21
Cocktails & Conversations
Join hundreds of Black queer women as they kick off D.C. Black Pride with a cocktail reception. Grab a drink and settle in at one of Washington’s swankiest cocktail bars, ZOOZ (636 Maine Ave. S.W.), at 7 p.m., and mingle before the weekend gets going. This is a 21+ event. For tickets and more information, visit BlissPride.com.
Thursday, May 22
Welcome to D.C. Happy Hour
Celebrate the beginning of D.C. Black Pride with drinks in the heart of the Dupont gayborhood! From 5-10 p.m. on the rooftop of Decades (1219 Connecticut Ave. N.W.), take in the spring weather and mix with other Black queer folks. For tickets and more information about this 21+ event, visit BlissPride.com.
Mr. & Miss D.C. Black Pride Pageant
Get ready for the ultimate showcase of Black excellence and pride with the Mr. & Miss D.C. Black Pride Pageant! The competition begins at 6 p.m. at the Capital Hilton (1001 16th St. N.W.), celebrating the history, beauty, and diversity of the DMV’s Black drag and entertainment scene. For tickets, visit Eventbrite.
D.C. Black Pride Unity Free Ball
Join the Capitol Ballroom Council for their 9th annual Unity Free Ball at the Capital Hilton (1001 16th St. N.W.). From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., show off how you embody this year’s theme of “Freedom.” With over 50 categories, there’s something for everyone. Hosts Icon East Coast Father Duante’ Balenciaga, Legendary East Coast Mother Daijah West, Legendary Domo Alpha Omega, and Empress Angel Rose Garcon will ensure the night is unforgettable. For categories, prizes, and free tickets, visit dcblackpride.org.
The Pre-Pregame Act I
Pregame D.C. Black Pride with Daryl Wilson at The Ugly Mug (723 8th St. S.E.). Expect food, drinks, hookah, and more starting at 10 p.m. For tickets, visit dcblackpride.org.
Friday, May 23
Shoot Your Shot & Drink
Date. Dance. Collaborate! Join Lamont White and Tyrice Johnson for a special in-person LGBTQ+ dating experience at North Gate Grill (1001 16th St. N.W.). Tickets available at dcblackpride.org.
D.C. Black Pride Opening Reception
Kick off the 34th annual D.C. Black Pride with award-winning comedian Anthony Oakes as he hosts an evening of music, drag, and more. Queer icons including Ts Madison, Kerri Colby, and Monroe Alise will be in attendance. Festivities begin at 5 p.m. at the Capital Hilton (1001 16th St. N.W.). Free tickets are available at dcblackpride.org.
Host Hotel Welcome Reception
Start the weekend with a party hosted by Daryl Wilson Events at the Capital Hilton, the official host hotel. Beginning at 3 p.m., guests can pick up VIP passes, connect with other attendees, and get into the Pride spirit. More info at dcblackpride.org.
The Pastel Party
Celebrate Black queer womanhood at the Pastel Party at STRAND Nightclub (1400 I St. N.W.). Beginning at 10 p.m., this event offers a vibrant, affirming space. For tickets to this 21+ event, visit BlissPride.com.
Saturday, May 24
D.C. Black Pride Writers Forum
Join Black LGBTQ writers from across the country for a discussion on storytelling, publishing, and politics. Special guests, including Volo Akili (Dear Universe), will be featured. The event begins at 1 p.m. at the Capital Hilton. More info at dcblackpride.org.
Mary Bowman Poetry Slam
Celebrate Black queer voices at the Mary Bowman Poetry Slam at the Capital Hilton. Open mic registration starts at 5:30 p.m., with the show beginning at 6 p.m. Cash prizes will be awarded. More info at dcblackpride.org.
PURE BLISS – The Main Event
Dance the night away with other Black queer women at PURE BLISS, starting at 10 p.m. at Next Level (15 K St. N.E.). Enjoy music, drinks, and community. Tickets are $25 at BlissPride.com.
D.C. Black Pride White Party
Put on your best white outfit and party with the Black queer community at the iconic White Party. Rapper KHIA performs live at Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Road N.E.), starting at 10 p.m. Tickets available at dcblackpride.org.
Meatloaf Saturday
Join over 5,000 Black queer men across three dance floors with four DJs, go-go dancers, and live performances. Meatloaf Saturday kicks off at 10 p.m. at Public Nightclub (1214 18th St. N.W.). Tickets at dcblackpride.org.
Sunday, May 25
Euphoria: D.C. Black Pride 2025 Closeout – The Finale
Close out Pride weekend with one last rooftop party at Twelve After Twelve (1212 18th St. N.W.) from 4-10 p.m. Celebrate with drinks, dancing, and community in Dupont Circle. Tickets are $15 at dcblackpride.org.
Wet Dreamz Mega Day Party
Join hundreds of Black LGBTQ people at one of the biggest events of the weekend — Wet Dreamz Mega Day Party — at The Bullpen @ Nats Stadium (1201 Half St. N.E.), starting at 5 p.m. Hosted by Daryl Wilson Events. Tickets available at dcblackpride.org.
Sunday Night Super Party
Four floors. Multiple DJs. One unforgettable night. Daryl Wilson’s Sunday Super Party at The Park (920 14th St. N.W.) begins at 10 p.m. and keeps going late. This 21+ event is free to attend. Details at dcblackpride.org.
Tuesday, May 27
WorldPride Black Queer Film Festival
Celebrate the art and impact of Black queer filmmakers with D.C. Black Pride and WorldPride at the three-day Black Queer Film Festival, kicking off at 6 p.m. at Howard University’s Blackburn Digital Auditorium (2397 6th St. N.W.). Free tickets available at dcblackpride.org.
In addition to these events, Thurst Lounge (2214 14th St. N.W.) — D.C.’s only Black-owned LGBTQ lounge — will host nightly celebrations of Black queer excellence. The weeklong celebration, Thurstnik Reloaded, runs from Wednesday through Memorial Day Monday. No cover charge, but a 21+ ID is required.
District of Columbia
LGBT exhibition at D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum opens May 16
‘LGBT Jews in the Federal City’ arrives for WorldPride and beyond
The D.C. Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum is opening a special exhibition called “LGBT Jews in the Federal City” on Friday, May 16, that will remain at the museum at 575 3rd St., N.W. until Jan. 4, 2026.
Museum officials have said they are pleased that the LGBT exhibition will be open concurrently with WorldPride 2025 D.C., which takes place May 17-June 8. The exhibition also takes place during Jewish American Heritage Month in May and during LGBTQ Pride Month in June, the museum points out in a statement.
“This landmark exhibition explores a turbulent century of celebration, activism, and change in the nation’s capital led by D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community,” the museum statement says. “This is a local story with national resonance, turning the spotlight on Washington, D.C. to show the city’s vast impact on LGBTQ+ history and culture in the United States.”
LGBT Jews in the Federal City includes “more than 100 artifacts and photographs representing the DMV region’s Jewish LGBTQ+ celebrations, spaces, struggles, joys, and personal stories,” the stamen points out.
A pre-opening tour of the exhibition provided for the Washington Blade shows that among the displays are first-ever shown materials from Bet Mishpachah, D.C.’s LGBTQ supportive synagogue, which is the nation’s fourth-oldest LGBTQ friendly synagogue.
Also included is a prominent display about Barrett Brick, a longtime D.C. LGBT rights advocate and Jewish community leader who served as a board member and president of Bet Mishpachah in the 1980s and as executive director of the World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish organizations from 1987 to 1992. Brick passed away following a 10-year battle with cancer in 2013.
Another display in the museum’s several rooms accommodating the exhibition includes the ability to listen to audio clips of local LGBTQ community members sharing in their own voices their oral histories provided by D.C.’s Rainbow History Project.
Other displays include campaign posters and photos of prominent gay rights icon Frank Kameny, who led efforts to end discrimination against LGBTQ people from the federal government; and a panel from the AIDS Memorial Quilt that includes the name of a prominent Jewish Washingtonian who died during the AIDS epidemic.
“Through prompts, questions, and thoughtful design throughout the exhibition, visitors will be encouraged to ponder new ways to understand Jewish teachings and values as they relate to gender and sexuality,” the museum’s statement says.
“After leaving the exhibition, visitors can contribute to the Museum’s collecting and storytelling by sharing photographs, personal archives, or by recording stories,” it says.
The museum is open for visitors to see the LGBT exhibition and other museum exhibits 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission to LGBT Jews in the Federal City is $12.
District of Columbia
Rainbow History Project WorldPride exhibition to open May 18
‘Pickets, Protests and Parades’ to be on display at Freedom Plaza
D.C.’s Rainbow History Project is scheduled to open its WorldPride 2025 exhibition called “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington” on Sunday, May 18, in Freedom Plaza.
Located on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. between 13th and 14th streets less than three blocks from the White House, the exhibition will be open to the public free of charge for 24 hours through July 6.
The exhibition “will chronicle the local LGBTQ+ Pride movement and how the pickets and protests of the 1960s led to the vibrant celebrations of the 2020s,” a statement released by Rainbow History Project says.
The statement notes that the exhibition’s displays will include photos and information about a 1965 protest in front of the White House by 10 gay men and lesbians carrying picket signs in what is believed to be one of the city’s and possibly the nation’s first public demonstrations in support of the then homosexual community.
“The exhibition disrupts the popularly held belief that the LGBTQ+ rights movement began with the Stonewall Riots in 1969 in New York,” the statement points out. It says the 1965 gay protest outside the White House, which took place four years before Stonewall, represents “the start of D.C.’s rich queer history.”
“Covering 1965 to the present, the exhibition explores the history of Pride in D.C. in 10 distinct thematic eras,” according to the statement. “Large hero images around the perimeter will draw people into the exhibit to explore a timeline wall with historic quotes from Pride’s organizers. Each of the 10 eras are detailed in thematic cubes rich with history and visuals.”
The statement says Rainbow History Project is seeking community members to serve as Exhibit Monitors to assist in operating the display in four shifts each day and night to be compensated from between $80 and $100 per shift depending on the time of the shift.
Information about applying to become an exhibit monitor can be accessed at Rainbow History’s website.
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