District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride celebration set for May 26-29
Wide range of indoor, outdoor events over Memorial Day Weekend
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.
District of Columbia
Capital Pride chair resigns from board after just 10 months
Anna Jinkerson ‘taking step back to move forward’
Anna Jinkerson, who has served as chair of D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors for the past 10 months and has served on the board for the past four years, confirmed she is resigning from the board effective Sept. 30.
Capital Pride Alliance serves as the lead organizer of D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
“I am taking a step back to move forward and plan to stay engaged in the community,” Jinkerson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Serving as a volunteer leader during a period of transition following World Pride was both an honor and a challenge,” she said.
“Throughout my tenure, I focused on strengthening accountability, improving communications, supporting staff and volunteers, and helping position the organization for long-term success,” she told the Blade in her statement. “Meaningful organizational progress requires collaboration, dedication, and a shared commitment to serving the community, and I am proud of the work accomplished during this period.”
In February of this year, during Jinkerson’s tenure on the board, Capital Pride announced it had expanded the size of its board from 12 to 25 members.
Around that same time one of the existing board members, transgender activist Taylor Lianne Chandler, announced in a letter to fellow board members that the Blade obtained from an anonymous sender that she was resigning from the board. Among her reasons for resigning, she said in the letter, was the board’s failure to address “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization.
In the letter, which she confirmed for the Blade was authentic, Chandler said she and other board members raised “credible concerns” of alleged sexual misconduct within the Capital Pride organization and the board chose not to adequately respond to those concerns.
Chandler told the Blade a Capital Pride investigation identified an individual implicated in a “pattern” of sexual harassment related behavior, but said she was bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement that applied to all board members and she could not provide further details.
When the Blade contacted Capital Pride for comment on Chandler’s allegations, Jinkerson responded with a statement saying Capital Pride was addressing her concerns.
“When concerns are brought to CPA, we act quickly and appropriately to address them,” Jinkerson said. “As we continue to grow our organization, we’re proactively strengthening the policies and procedures that shape our systems, our infrastructure, and the support we provide to our team and partners,” she said.
In her statement to the Blade this week commenting on her planned resignation from the Capital Pride board, Jinkerson appeared to refer to the concern raised by Chandler.
“I am proud to have advocated for sexual harassment training, supported staff and volunteers when concerns were raised, engaged community leaders in important conversations, and helped advance practices that strengthen safety, transparency, and accountability,” she said.
“As I step away from board service, I do so with gratitude for the opportunity to serve and with confidence in the organization’s future,” she added. “I am taking a step back to move forward, and I look forward to remaining actively engaged in our community and continuing to support efforts that advance equality, belonging, and pride for all.”
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
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