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Blade wins journalism awards

Society of Professional Journalists honored Michael Key, Kathi Wolfe

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From left, writer and poet Kathy Wolfe and Blade Photo Editor Michael Key. (Washington Blade file photos by Michael Key)

The Washington Blade this week won several 2023 Dateline Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ D.C. chapter.

Photo Editor Michael Key won in the Weekly Newspaper Breaking News category for “Va. students stage mass walkout over anti-LGBTQ policies,” which covered the thousands of Virginia students who walked out of their classes last fall in response to proposed revisions to policies designed to protect trans and nonbinary students. Key also won in the Weekly Newspaper Photography Story category for his “Activists stage ‘smoke-in’ at Russian embassy to protest Griner incarceration” story.

Contributor Kathi Wolfe won in the Weekly Newspaper Features category for “Queer, Crip and Here,” a profile of Caitlin Hernandez, a queer writer and teacher who is blind. The profile is part of the Bladeā€™s “Queer, Crip and Hereā€ series.

Blade contributor Kaela Roeder won in the Weekly Newspaper Business category for “Paying it forward: How one bookstore coffee shop makes a difference in Adams Morgan,” which Street Sense Media published. Roeder was also a finalist in the Weekly Newspaper Investigative Journalism category for “DC receives funds to help homeless students. Why are so many schools missing out?” and a finalist in the Radio Investigative Journalism category for “D.C. gets federal funds to help homeless students. But many schools are shortchanged” for WAMU.

International News Editor Michael Lavers was a finalist in the Weekly Newspaper Features category for “Transgender journalist joins Ukrainian military,” a profile of Sarah Cirillo-Ashton, a transgender journalist who enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022. Lavers was also a finalist in the Weekly Newspaper Editorial/Opinion Writing category for “A reporter’s observations on the Brazilian, U.S. elections,” an op-ed he wrote after covering last year’s Brazilian presidential election and the U.S. mid-term elections. 

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Federal Government

House races could decide Department of Education’s future

Second Trump administration could target transgender students

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The Lyndon Baines Johnson Building, Washington D.C., headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education (Photo Credit: GSA/U.S. Dept. of Education)

The Associated Press reports that more than a dozen races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including 10 for congressional districts in California, remain too close to call as of Tuesday ā€” a full week after voters cast their ballots on Nov. 5.

Democrats hope that if they can flip the lower chamber, which is now governed by a narrow Republican majority, it might function as a bulwark against President-elect Donald Trump, his incoming administration, and the 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate that his party secured last week.

If, on the other hand, the GOP retains control of the House, the Republican victory would clear a major roadblock that could otherwise have stymied a major plank of Trump’s education agenda: Plans to permanently shutter the U.S. Department of Education.

Congress ultimately scuttled the former president’s effort to do so during his first administration ā€” though, technically, the proposal then was to merge the agency with the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Wall Street Journal notes that some Republicans, at the time and in the years since, have come out against plans to abolish the 44-year-old agency, in some cases even objecting to major funding cuts proposed by Trump that they understood were likely be unpopular.

However, if the second term plans for DOE as delineated in the Trump campaign’s Agenda47 and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 governing blueprint become a major policy priority once the incoming administration takes over in January, reluctant Republican lawmakers will face tremendous pressure to get out of Trump’s way.

Federal government will remain in schools to advance anti-trans, anti-woke agenda

Among other responsibilities, DOE disburses and manages student loans, enforces the civil rights laws in public schools, and provides funding for students with disabilities. The agency’s programs, such as Title I, offer assistance for low-achieving or high-poverty K-12 schools, while Pell Grants help undergraduates who otherwise would not be able to pay for college.

It is unclear whether or how those functions will continue if the DOE is disbanded.

Trump’s aim, at least in large part, is to give states ā€” rather than the federal government ā€” the ultimate say over how their schools are run. At the same time, perhaps paradoxically, the other cornerstone of his education policy agenda is to issue proscriptive rules governing the content, curricula, and classroom discussion that will be permitted in the country’s public schools.

Specifically, this means “critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political” topics or materials are forbidden. Reasonable people are likely to disagree about what is and is not “inappropriate,” and they may well have different, even disparate, definitions for terms like “gender ideology.”

When Florida and other states enacted similar anti-LGBTQ content and curricular restrictions in their public schools, critics warned the ambiguous language in the statute and the resulting confusion would lead to censorship, or perhaps self-censorship, especially for students and staff who, by virtue of their skin color or sexual orientation or gender identity, are more likely to be targeted with targeted or overzealous enforcement in the first place.

DOE plays major role investigating alleged civil rights violations in schools

According to the National Education Association, “federal civil rights laws prohibit school boards and other employers from discriminating against or harassing staff or students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” which “means, for example, that a school district may not prohibit only LGBTQ+ educators from answering studentsā€™ questions about their families, may not prohibit recognition and discussion in class only of LGBTQ+ families, and may not require that only LGBTQ+ students hide their sexual orientation or gender identity at school.”

However, the NEA warns, “some school districts, administrators, and the Florida Department of Education may nonetheless choose to do so until a court orders otherwise.”

If officials at a public high school allow heterosexual teachers to display family photos in their classrooms but warn the openly gay teacher that he must put his away or be terminated for violating restrictions on in-school discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, the manner in which the policy was enforced against him would presumably run afoul of the federal civil rights laws, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The teacher could assume the expense of hiring an attorney to pursue legal remedies, shouldering the burden and the risk that litigation that could drag on for months and conclude with a judgment in favor of his employer. Alternatively, until or unless Trump dissolves the agency, he could file a complaint with DOE’s Office of Civil Rights.

Alternatively, until or unless Trump dissolves the agency, the teacher could file a complaint with DOE. The agency’s Office of Civil Rights would evaluate the information he shared to determine whether there were sufficient grounds to open an investigation and, if so, would deploy “a variety of fact-finding techniques” that can include a review of documentary evidence submitted by both parties, interviews with key witnesses, and site visits.

After the investigation is complete, if a “preponderance of the evidence supports a conclusion that the recipient failed to comply with the law,” OCR will attempt to negotiate a resolution agreement. If the recipient refuses to resolve the matter in this manner, OCR can “suspend, terminate, or refuse to grant or continue federal financial assistance to the recipient, or may refer the case to the Department of Justice.”

According to the DOE’s website, the agency has 11,782 investigations that were open as of Tuesday, with complaints against institutions of all kinds operating in all 50 states, from rural elementary schools in the Deep South to prestigious medical schools, community colleges, and charter schools for students with developmental disabilities. Likewise, the six civil rights laws over which OCR has jurisdiction cover a wide range of conduct, from sexual harassment to discrimination, retaliation, and single-sex athletics scholarships.

Should Trump succeed in abolishing the department, it is not yet clear how those active investigations will be handled, nor how complaints about violations of civil rights law by educational institutions would be reported and investigated moving forward in the agency’s absence.

During his first administration, Trump passed proposed changes to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which retooled the process for reporting sexual assault on college campuses in ways that were widely seen as imbalanced in favor of the accused.

President Joe Biden in April issued new guidelines that featured “significant shifts in how institutions address sexual harassment, and assault allegations while expanding protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students,” the American Council on Education wrote. Specifically, the administration provided a “new definition of sexual harassment, extending jurisdiction to off-campus, and international incidents,” while “clarifying protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, and parenting status.”

The regulations sidestepped thornier questions, however, about how schools should approach issues at the intersection of gender identity and competitive sports, specifying only that they should avoid bans that would categorically prohibit transgender athletes from participating.

Shortly after the Biden administration’s guidelines were introduced, Trump vowed they would be “terminated” on his first day in office. He also pledged to enact anti-trans policies that appear to have been modeled after some of the most extreme of the roughly 1,600 anti-trans bills that conservative statehouses have proposed from 2021-2024.

Among other promises Trump made during the campaign were plans to enact a nationwide ban on trans student athletes competing in accordance with their gender identity, a federal law that would recognize only two genders, and the prosecution of health care providers who administer gender affirming care to patients younger than 18.

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District of Columbia

Two D.C. LGBTQ rights advocates stepping down from jobs

Crenshaw leaving Alston Foundation; Czapary departs mayorā€™s office

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June Crenshaw announced sheā€™s leaving the Wanda Alston Foundation. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate June Crenshaw announced she is stepping down from her position for the past nine years as executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, the local organization that provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth.

Around the same time, fellow LGBTQ rights advocate Salah Czapary announced he is stepping down from his position for the past two years as director of the D.C. Mayorā€™s Office of Nightlife and Culture.

Meanwhile, a third longtime local LGBTQ rights advocate, David Meadows, was unanimously confirmed on Nov. 1 by the D.C. Council for an appointment by Mayor Muriel Bowser as a member of the cityā€™s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which is responsible for administering, enforcing, and adjudicating the cityā€™s alcoholic beverage and medical marijuana laws.

Neither Crenshaw nor Czapary disclosed in announcing their departure from their jobs what their future career plans are, and the two didnā€™t immediately respond to a question from the Washington Blade asking about career plans going forward.

Crenshaw currently serves as co-chair of the committee organizing D.C. World Pride 2025, the international LGBTQ Pride celebration expected to draw a million or more visitors to the city for a wide range of World Pride events in late May and early June 2025.

ā€œAfter over nine years of unwavering dedication and visionary leadership, our beloved Executive Director, June Crenshaw, has decided to step into her next chapter,ā€ a statement released by the Wanda Alston Foundation board of directors says. ā€œWhile we will miss Juneā€™s daily presence, we are grateful that she will stay on through the transition to ensure a warm, seamless handover as we actively search for our next executive director,ā€ the statement says.

It adds, ā€œHer unwavering commitment to our mission, clients, and team has helped build a foundation of compassion, resilience, and excellence. This transition reflects her readiness to explore new paths and her belief in the bright future of the Wanda Alston Foundation.ā€

In his own statement, Czapary said he appreciated the opportunity his job gave him to serve the city and its residents and visitors.

ā€œOctober marked my last month in the Mayorā€™s Office and Iā€™m grateful to Mayor Bowser for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Districtā€™s Nightlife and Cultural Director, supporting our hospitality sector ā€“ the sector that makes the city a great place to live and visit,ā€ he said.

ā€œIā€™m proud of positioning the office as a responsive entry point for industry and residents to interact with government,ā€ he said in his statement. ā€œThe role deepened my understanding and love for D.C. in ways I couldnā€™t have imagined two years ago.ā€

Czapary added, ā€œAs for me, Iā€™m excited about whatā€™s next.ā€ But he gave no indication of his future career plans.

In the past 20 years or longer D.C. mayors have appointed an LGBTQ member of what used to be called the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or ABC Board before its role was expanded to include marijuana regulations. It currently still uses the name ABC Board to denote Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board.

LGBTQ rights advocates have called for at least one LGBTQ member of the board to provide representation for the important role that gay bars and other LGBTQĀ  establishments licensed to sell or serve liquor have historically played in the community.

The boardā€™s previous gay member, Edward Grandis, left the board earlier this year. In a statement released at the time of his confirmation by the Council, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the ABC Board on liquor and cannabis related regulations, issued a statement introducing Meadows as its new board member.

ā€œMr. Meadows is a long-time Ward 8 LGBTQIA+ community advocate with 30 years of extensive experience serving in leadership roles in District government and civic organizations,ā€ the statement says. ā€œMost recently, Mr. Meadows ran day-to-day operations in the Office of At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds as her Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser,ā€ the statement continues.

It says Meadows previously has served as executive director of the D.C. Democratic Party and notes he began his career in the hospitality industry, including serving as events manager for the D.C.-based National Democratic Club. His appointment on the ABC Board is for a four-year term.

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Maryland

VIDEO: Salisbury University students attack gay man

Suspects recorded homophobic assault; video posted to TikTok

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(Editorā€™s note: The accompanying video contains graphic violence and homophobic slurs. Viewer discretion is advised.)

The assault of a gay man by a group of Salisbury University students in Maryland has drawn national media attention since last week. 

So far, 12 men ages 18-21 have been arrested in the brutal attack. The students allegedly lured the man to an apartment because of his ā€œsexual preferences,ā€ according to local police. 

The victim, a male in his 40s, allegedly propositioned someone on Grindr who claimed to be 16 years old, an attorney for one of the suspects told the Baltimore Banner. The age of consent in Maryland is 16. 

Once the victim arrived at the apartment, a group of more than 12 suspects emerged from the bedrooms and attacked, punching, kicking, and spitting on the victim while using anti-gay slurs.

The Washington Blade obtained video of the attack apparently recorded by one of the suspects that was posted to TikTok and circulated among students at Salisbury University. In the video, the victim can be seen being struck from behind while seated in a chair, then repeatedly punched as he tries to flee. The Blade is not identifying the victim and not posting the full video in which the manā€™s face is clearly visible.

The suspects are charged with first-degree assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment, and hate crimes. The suspects are: Cameron Guy, 18, of Baltimore; Jacob Howard, 19, of Elkridge; Eric Sinclair, 21, of Mount Airy; Patrick Gutierrez, 19, of Salisbury; Dylan Pietuszka, 20, of Friendship; Zachary Leinemann, 18, of Crofton; Ryder Baker, 20, of Olney; Bennan Aird, 18, of Milton, Del.; Riley Brister, 20, of Davidsonville; Cruz Cespedes, 19, of Jarrettsville; Dylan Earp, 20, of Gambrills; and Elijah Johnson, 19, of Crofton.

The Banner reported that all 12 students have been suspended along with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, to which some of the suspects belonged.

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