District of Columbia
D.C. bar holds candlelight vigil in solidarity with Club Q
As You Are bar honors those killed in Colorado Springs, trans victims
At least 50 or more people turned out for a candlelight vigil Sunday night at the outdoor patio and on the sidewalk outside D.C.’s LGBTQ bar As You Are to honor and stand in solidarity with the shooting victims at the LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., and with trans victims of violence.
As You Are co-owners Jo McDaniel and Rachel Pike said they used social media to announce the event just hours before it took place after learning of the Colorado Springs shooting incident in which five patrons were shot to death and at least 25 were wounded by a lone gunman who was subdued by the club’s patrons minutes before police arrived on the scene.
“I have so much love to go out to Colorado Springs,” McDaniel told the gathering. “So much love to those people who are hurting tonight,” she said as the crowd stood in the near freezing temperatures holding lit candles.
“So, tonight we remember them,” McDaniel said. “We remember the 49 from Pulse. And we remember the five from Club Q. We remember the 47 trans siblings we’ve lost in 2021,” she continued.
“We are still here. We are strong. We will not stop. We will not stop resisting,” she said as many in the crowd nodded in agreement and raised their arms holding the lit candles. “We will not stop revolting. It starts with us.”
McDaniel and Pike said that while the Q Bar shooting incident prompted their desire to provide a safe space for members of the LGBTQ community to mourn the loss in Colorado Springs, they also wanted to commemorate the loss of the lives of transgender people due to violence that was commemorated at D.C.’s Trans Day of Remembrance.
That event took place on Sunday at D.C.’s Freedom Plaza a few hours earlier.
McDaniel invited people to speak at the vigil but only two others spoke briefly to express solidarity with their LGBTQ community members falling victim to senseless violence.
“A big reason we decided to hold the vigil and stand together was to remind Colorado Springs and Club Q that they are not alone, that we are, even far away, thinking about them and sending love and are ready to fight with and for them,” McDaniel said.
Pike said that in what they considered an act of resistance as well as solidarity, she and McDaniel decided to hold their regularly scheduled karaoke night singing feature on Sunday following the vigil as a gesture to show the world that attacks on LGBTQ bars and clubs will not silence those who patronize them.
“We think that filling the very spaces they try to attack us in is a form of revolution in itself,” Pike told the Blade. “We’re not going to stop showing up. We’re not going to stop being in the spaces that are ours,” she said. “They can’t take that from us. And our community is too together and too strong.”
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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