District of Columbia
Team DC announces 2023 student-athlete scholarship recipients
Affirming honorees as courageous and proud LGBTQ youth
The Association of LGBTQ sports clubs in Greater Washington, known as Team DC, announced last month that seven students will receive the 2023 Team DC College Scholarship. These awards go to openly LGBTQ student-athletes graduating high school with plans to play a collegiate sport.
The program will also award Tia (TC) Clemmons the 2023 Clark Ray Horizon Award to recognize school staff who support LGBTQ student-athletes.
The nonprofit’s annual college scholarships award $2,000 to each recipient. Since 2008, Team DC has awarded 97 scholarships totaling $142,000.
“Not only does this provide critical financial support, but it affirms them as courageous and proud LGBTQ athletes,” Team DC’s website states.
Team DC works to make sports a more inclusive and safe environment for LGBTQ participants through college scholarships and programs that educate community members about the importance of athletic participation in promoting strong mental and physical health.
The scholarship also fosters discussions with coaches, educators, and school administrators about the challenges facing LGBTQ athletes. Recipients will be honored during the Night of Champions Awards Dinner on April 15.
“This year’s seven recipients are truly outstanding and demonstrate a combination of strong performance in the classroom and on the athletic field,” Rene Tiongquico, co-chair of the Team DC College Scholarship Committee, said in Team DC’s press release. “This is also the most diverse group of students in memory and represent a cross section of sports throughout the DMV.”
The 2023 student recipients come from four high schools in D.C., two in Virginia, and one in Maryland. Clemmons, the staff recipient, is a track coach with D.C. public schools and currently works at Jackson-Reed High School in Northwest Washington.
“Clemmons has been a strong leader and role model for her students over many years,” said scholarship co-chair Charles Roth in the press release. “Coach TC understands the important role that sports plays in the development of young people to build confidence and self-worth. We are proud to support educators like her.”
The Clark Ray Horizon Award is named after the former executive director of the DC State Athletic Association who worked tirelessly in making sports a safe and welcoming place for LGBTQ competitors.
Donors or community members who want to attend the Night of Champions event to honor local LGBTQ sports leaders and scholarship recipients can purchase tickets on the organization’s website. Applications for the 2023 Scholarship Program will open on Sept. 15, 2023.
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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