District of Columbia

D.C. Black Pride celebration set for May 26-29

Wide range of indoor, outdoor events over Memorial Day Weekend

Published

3 years ago

May 24, 2023

A scene from last year’s D.C. Black Pride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

As many as 60,000 people from outside the D.C. area along with a large number of local participants were expected to attend D.C.’s LGBTQ Black Pride celebration and related events scheduled for May 26-29.

Like past years, most of the official D.C. Black Pride events will be held indoors at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel, according to Kenya Hutton, one of Black Pride’s lead organizers.

Hutton serves as deputy director of the Center for Black Equity, the D.C.-based national group that has organized D.C. Black Pride for the past decade or longer along with the group’s founder and CEO Earl Fowlkes.

“D.C. Black Pride is open to all, to everybody, regardless of race, age, gender, or sexual orientation,” Hutton told the Washington Blade. “Everyone is welcome.”

The official D.C. Black Pride schedule posted online includes as many as 38 events over Memorial Day Weekend, with a few unofficial events hosted by organizations in partnership with Black Pride taking place on Thursday, May 25.

The outdoor events, which are sponsored by partner venues, include Pride By the River Super Sunday at Anacostia Park on May 29 from 12-8 p.m., and Pride In The Park, at Fort Dupont Park on Monday, May 29, from 12-7 p.m.

Among the official events are nine “enrichment workshops” led by experts in a wide range of topics of interest to the black LGBTQ community as well as the LGBTQ community as a whole. Sutton said the workshops would take place on Saturday, May 27, at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown, which serves as the Black Pride headquarters hotel.

Among them are an ONYX University workshop to explore “all things kink and BDSM,” a workshop called “Resources for LGBTQIA+ Veterans,” another called “Trans Town Hall,” and a “Faith In Blackness” panel discussion covering the topics of spirituality and theology.

Hutton said the workshops are free of charge and anyone is welcome to attend, although organizers would like those who are not registered in advance for Black Pride events to register at the welcome desk at the hotel where most Black Pride events will be held.

Also, like in recent past years, D.C. Black Pride is hosting what the schedule describes as its Rainbow Row of organization and vendor exhibitors. According to Hutton, the number of exhibitors hosting tables and booths at the host hotel will be greater than in previous years.

Also new this year, Hutton said, will be the presence of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters at all the workshops as well as some of the other events, including the official Opening Reception scheduled for Friday from 6-9 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel.

“Join us for the D.C. Black Pride Opening Reception Talent Showcase celebrating LGBTQ+ people of color and their artistic talents,” a write-up on the official schedule says. “Enjoy an evening of comedy, music and performances from talented members of our community,” it says. “This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with other LGBTQ+ people of color, celebrate diversity and support local artists.”

Hutton said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was scheduled to appear at the opening event to welcome those attending the 2023 D.C. Black Pride. Earlier this month, Bowser issued an official mayoral proclamation declaring May 22-29, 2023, as D.C. Black Pride Week.

As many as 60,000 people from outside the D.C. metro area were expected to attend this year’s D.C. Black Pride events based on pre-registration records, Hutton told the Blade. He said many have booked rooms at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel, and were expected to occupy most if not all of the hotel’s rooms during the weekend events associated with Black Pride.

This year’s D.C. Black Pride will mark the 32nd anniversary of the first D.C. Black Gay and Lesbian Pride event held May 25, 1991, on the grounds of Howard University’s Banneker Field.

That event was organized by veteran Black gay activists Welmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland and Ernest Hopkins, who modeled the event after a Memorial Day Weekend celebration and fundraiser for HIV/AIDS organizations providing services to the Black gay community held at the D.C. Black gay bar called The Clubhouse, which operated from 1975 to 1990.

The current D.C. Black Pride website says Cook, Kirkland, and Hopkins one year later, in 1991, organized the first D.C. Black Pride to continue the tradition started by the Clubhouse, which was known as the Children’s Hour celebration. The write-up says D.C. Black Pride expanded dramatically over the next decade and drew African-American and people of color participants from across the country and even from abroad.

“DC Black Pride was the catalyst for what is now regarded as the Black Pride movement,” the write-up says. “Since its birth, more than 50 other Black Pride celebrations now take place throughout the world, many using DC Black Pride as its model.”

One of the workshops at this year’s D.C. Black Pride called “An Homage to The Clubhouse” will celebrate the role that the iconic gay bar played in developing the “rich history and culture” that led to the founding of Black Pride celebrations in D.C. and worldwide, the Black Pride website write-up says. The workshop was scheduled to take place Saturday, May 21, from 3-6 p.m. at the Renaissance Washington hotel.

A full schedule of the weekend’s D.C. Black Pride events can be accessed at dcblackpride.org.

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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

Published

9 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Whitman-Walker Health’s Pro Bono Excellence award is named for Dale Edwin Sanders. (Photo courtesy of the family)

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 40^th 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.

Published

4 days ago

April 10, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

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.).

District of Columbia

D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group

Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award

Published

6 days ago

April 8, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Wanda Alston Foundation Director Cesar Toledo presents the Wanda Alston Legacy Award to DC Councilmember Doni Crawford at an April 7 award event at Crush Bar. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.

Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”

Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.

To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.

Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.

“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”

Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.

Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.

A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.

“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”

Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.

“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.

“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”

At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.

Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.