District of Columbia
D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition urges city to boost funding for queer programs
Most requests not included in mayor’s proposed 2024 budget
The D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition, which consists of at least 10 prominent local LGBTQ organizations and another nine LGBTQ supportive allied groups, is calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council to include about a dozen specific programs in the city’s fiscal year 2024 budget that add up to about $13.5 million in funding.
According to information provided to the Washington Blade by one of the coalition officials, which the official said was subject to change, the mayor’s proposed budget does not include the requested funding for at least 10 of the coalition’s 12 specific requests coming to a total of about $13 million.
Coalition coordinator Heidi Ellis said that among the coalition’s proposals not included in the mayor’s budget is a request for $10.5 million to fund two harm reduction and services centers to address the opioid and fentanyl drug overdose crisis impacting communities, including the LGBTQ community, across the city.
The mayor’s budget calls for $9.5 million to fund a single “stabilization & sobering center” to address the overdose crisis. But Ellis said the coalition does not consider that proposal an acceptable alternative to the coalition’s proposal for two harm reduction centers.
With the mayor’s $9.5 million “stabilization and sobering center” proposal not included as part of the coalition’s budget requests, that means the coalition believes the mayor’s budget only includes about $500,000 out of the coalition’s $13.5 million overall request.
Ellis said that in addition to not including much of the funding the coalition is asking for, the mayor’s budget includes some cuts in funding for LGBTQ-related programs that were included in the existing 2023 budget and previous year budgets. Among the cuts, Ellis said, are for a workforce program that assists transgender and gender nonconforming residents in finding gainful employment and for programs assisting LGBTQ people experiencing intimate partner violence.
One of the the coalition’s proposals that Bowser’s proposed budget does include is a request to continue to allocate at least $500,000 in funds for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs for LGBTQ community development grants.
“We share detailed budget requests that provide crucial services to the LGBTQ+ community of Washington, D.C.,” the coalition states in a nine-page letter sent to the mayor and each of the 13 members of the D.C. Council in February that outlines its specific funding proposals.
“We are a mission-driven group working to advocate for dedicated funding to support LGBTQ+ residents with a focus on trans people of color and low-income residents,” the letter says. “The Coalition has worked tirelessly for several months with the Mayor’s office, the Council, various D.C. agencies, and most importantly, the community to identify these needs,” according to the letter.
“Our recommendations reflect that work in addition to our extensive research around these issues and the broader District landscape,” it says. “We ask that the Mayor and the Council adopt our recommendations as they specifically address some of the chronic and immediate issues facing the District.”
At the time she submitted her proposed $19.7 billion F.Y. 2024 budget to the Council last month, the mayor said the city faces a projected drop in revenue of more than $390 million due, among other things, to reduced tax revenue from commercial real estate along with the end of pandemic-era federal aid to D.C. and other cities.
The projected reduction in revenue will force her and the Council to make difficult decisions on funding reductions, including at least $373 million in proposed reductions in her budget, the mayor said. Among the reductions is the proposed elimination of 749 vacant D.C. government positions.
In response to a request by the Blade for comment on the coalition’s claim that the mayor’s budget does not include most of the requests by the LGBTQ Budget Coalition, Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, provided a written statement.
“We appreciate the community and advocacy groups identifying areas of improvement and putting forward their requests,” Bowles told the Blade in his statement. “We are proud to continue all formerly funded LGBTQIA+ programs, albeit at new levels, and our agencies are dedicated to continuing to work with our many LGBTQIA+ community-based organizations and our innovative programs to add resilience and capacity in the long term,” he said.
His statement did not specifically address the coalition’s claims that most of their requests were not included in the mayor’s budget other than to say, “our budget is still feeling the impacts of the pandemic,” a reference to Mayor Bowser’s assertion that the city faces a revenue shortfall and budget cuts would be needed in the fiscal year 2024 budget.
Bowles added that the Office of LGBTQ Affairs “will be providing more training funding for LGBTQIA+ cultural competency,” as requested by the coalition. He said the mayor’s office would also be sending the D.C. Council a letter identifying “corrections and amendments” to the proposed budget, but those changes will not bring about “significant adjustments to agencies budgets related to the [coalition’s] request at this time.”
Before his appointment by Bowser to become director of the LGBTQ Affairs Office, Bowles served as coordinator of the LGBTQ Budget Coalition after playing a role in creating the coalition as an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.
Among the LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive organizations that are members of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition are Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, Capital Stonewall Democrats, the Wanda Alston Foundation, the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL, the sex worker advocacy group HIPS, the Washington AIDS Partnership, Us Helping Us, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), the ANC Rainbow Caucus, Damien Ministries, and the Latin American Youth Center.
In its nine-page letter to the mayor and the Council, the coalition included these funding requests for the 2024 budget:
• An LGBTQ+ reentry ‘Housing for All’ Pilot Program at the city’s Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants for citizens returning from incarceration — $750,000.
• Additional housing vouchers for LGBTQ+ residents for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to help support those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness — $500,000.
• Harm Reduction Services & Centers — $10.5 million. To address the “alarming” and growing number of fentanyl and opioid related drug overdose deaths in the city, this calls for funding two Harm Reduction Centers on each side of the Anacostia River that will be open 24 hours each day to “aid in eliminating the stigma around substance usage, to avoid the burden on our criminal justice system, and to, most importantly, save lives.”
• Employment & Workforce Development Programs for the Department of Human Services — $500,000. A request for an “enhancement for the Transgender & Gender-nonconforming workforce program to ensure a long-term approach to closing the employment and wage gap for T/TNC residents in the District.”
• Employment Coordinator/Employment Case Management Advocate for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs — $75,000. This position would “help LGBTQ+ residents navigate these workforce programs by serving as point of contact for community members seeking employment and those trying to access the aforementioned workforce programs.”
• Health Initiatives — no specific funding request. A call for the city’s HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STI, and TB Administration (HAHSTA) to take steps to reverse a trend brought about by COVID in which the number of people seeking HIV testing across the city fell by 20 percent. The city should also address “the disparity of testing in marginalized communities, specifically Black and brown women, TGNC, etc.” communities.
• Safety & Inclusive Emergency Services — $860,000. Out of this total, $60,000 for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to improve and expand its cultural competency training for D.C. police and D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department first responders; a total of $600,000 for the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants to expand its services and outreach to the LGBTQ+ community for intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and hate crimes; and $200,000 to establish a Violence Prevention and Response Team (VPART) coordinator at the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to focus on anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.
• Improving Language Access & Immigration Services — $250,000 for the Department of Human Services and $100,000 for Office of LGBTQ Affairs. An increase in migrants sent to D.C. from other states, including LGBTQ+ immigrants, has created a need for more language interpretation services for those who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) or Non-English Proficient (NEP)
• Supporting the Newly Established DC LGBTQ+ Community Center — $200,000. The mayor’s office has already awarded a $1 million grant to help pay for the renovation of the section of a new building the LGBT Center will be moving into later this year. Those funds have been “exhausted,” the coalition says, for the building renovation. “The DC Center and Capital Pride Alliance, in partnership with the Coalition, are requesting $200,000 in recurring dollars to support the operating costs associated with the Center.”
In a separate letter to the D.C. Council, GLAA expressed concern that the mayor’s proposed budget calls for eliminating at least six staff positions at the D.C. Office of Human Rights (OHR). The OHR, among other things, enforces the D.C. Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination against LGBTQ people.
The GLAA letter, signed by GLAA President Tyrone Hanley, calls for the budget to fund one additional OHR staff person to support the enforcement of a city law protecting tenants from unfair evictions, another new OHR staff person to address OHR’s “outdated case management system,” and one or more additional staff to help enforce the D.C. Domestic Workers Act, which supports the rights of domestic workers.
Several D.C. Council committees that oversee various D.C. government agencies were scheduled to make final recommendations to the full Council this week in a process known as a “markup” for the budget. The Council is expected to vote on its final version of the D.C. budget in May.
Full details of the coalition’s budget requests and the names of the organizations that make up the coalition can be viewed at the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition website.
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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