District of Columbia
Officials hold groundbreaking for new D.C. LGBT community center
Activists, community members tour unfinished space in sprawling Shaw building
The D.C. Center for the LGBT Community and the Capital Pride Alliance hosted a ceremonial “groundbreaking” on Wednesday to showcase the yet unfinished 6,671-square-foot space on the first floor of a five-story building in the city’s Shaw neighborhood where the center plans to move later this year.
Nearly 100 local LGBTQ activists and community supporters turned out for the event, and were given a tour of the sprawling space located in The Adora, a partially renovated warehouse building at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W. The building is located steps away from the Howard Theatre and a little over a block from the Shaw-Howard University Metro station.
The D.C. Center and Capital Pride Alliance, which organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced last December that they had signed a joint lease to move their operations into The Adora, with several other local LGBTQ organizations agreeing to occupy space in the building.
The new space is more than double the 2,400-square-foot offices the D.C. Center and Capital Pride currently occupy in the city’s Reeves Center municipal building at 2000 14th St., N.W.
“Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon as we mark this momentous occasion on our ceremonial groundbreaking,” said Andrew Zapfel, president of the D.C. Center’s Board of Directors. “As you know, groundbreaking ceremonies take place at the beginning of a project. And in this case the beginning of a new community center.”
Added Zapfel, “And talking about service delivery and giving back to our community, we are pleased to announce today that Wegmans, a longtime supporter of the D.C. Center, will fund the completion of our food pantry. Not only that, they are also going to be providing in-kind sustainable support.”
He was referring to Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., the national supermarket chain that center officials say will provide, among other things, food for the food pantry.
Others who spoke at the ceremony were Kimberley Bush, executive director of the D.C. Center; Rehana Mohammed, vice chair of the D.C. Center’s board; Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance; Ashley Smith, president of the Capital Pride board; and Japer Bowles, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Each of the D.C. Center and Capital Pride officials attending the event, including Bush and Smith, thanked D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Bowles for what they said was their effort to help provide city funds to support the new D.C. Center space. D.C. Center officials announced in December that the mayor’s office provided the Center with a $1 million city grant to help cover some of the costs for the build out renovation project for the new D.C. Center space.
“And speaking of build out, thank you very much to the entire architectural team for helping us design this space that will help us with all of our needs to help our community,” Bush told the gathering. “When community members come to this new space, they will see a broader range of life and human services offered and an enhanced experience will aid in increasing their health and wellness,” Bush said.
“The new D.C. Center will be a state-of-the-art space for the community to gather, connect, collaborate as well as seek and receive an array of services in furtherance of liberation,” an information sheet released at the ceremony says. Among other amenities, the information sheet says, the new center will include meeting and conference room space, cyber computer space, a food pantry, Americans With Disabilities Act accommodating shower and bathroom, and a clothing closet and lockers.
Center officials have said the expanded accommodations are aimed at assisting LGBTQ people who may be homeless or in need of mental health support. A second information sheet released at the ceremony says therapists, counselors, and case managers will be available at the new center along with HIV and STD testing and counseling services.
“On behalf of the Capital Pride Alliance, I want to say how excited we are to have been able to join the D.C. Center to support this opportunity and come together in a new and larger space with fuller community organizations and leaders,” Bos said at the ceremony.
“We have shared office space with the D.C. Center for over 12 years,” said D.C. Center president Smith. “And our thrill is creating this bigger space and to allow other organizations into this space to be partners, advocates, activists, and service providers,” Smith said.
Among the other LGBTQ organizations that have so far signed on to lease space in the new center include Rainbow Families, the Wanda Alston Foundation, Team DC, SMYAL, the Equality Chamber of Commerce, Mary’s House for older LGBTQ adults, and the LGBTQ supportive consulting firm GIII Associates.
At the time plans for the new D.C. Center were announced in December, D.C. Center officials said they expected the renovation and build out project to be completed in time for the new center to open in July or August of this year.
But center officials said this week that the renovation work, which has yet to take place, was expected to begin in July. Mohammed told the Washington Blade at the Wednesday ceremony that an increase in expenses for the build out construction has created a shortfall in funds that the center hopes to remedy through additional support from the mayor’s office and private sector supporters.
“We have some fantastic partners who have already signed on to support the project,” she said. “But we absolutely need more funding to complete it this year as planned,” she said, adding, “supplies have gotten more expensive due to supply chain issues and inflation, and we simply need more funds to close out this project.”
Asked when the new center will hold its grand opening, Mohammed said, “We don’t have a date for the grand opening ceremony yet. But we’re anticipating we’ll open our doors this year for the community. So, we’re very excited about that.”
Added Mohamed, “It really depends on how the construction progresses. We’re now waiting to get the go-ahead on our permit and start construction in the next few weeks.”
District of Columbia
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
Whitman-Walker joins nationwide recognition of efforts to develop vaccine
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, will join health care advocates from across the country to support efforts to develop an HIV vaccine on HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18.
“HIV Awareness Day, observed annually on May 18, was established to recognize and thank the volunteers, scientists, health professionals, and community members working toward a safe and effective prevention HIV vaccine,” Whitman-Walker said in a statement.
“Led by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the day is also an opportunity to educate communities about the critical importance of preventive HIV vaccine research,” the statement says.
It adds, “The reality is that any new vaccine discovery must be built community by community, institution by institution, and then it must reach everyone – especially the communities who have carried the heaviest burden of this epidemic.”
On its own website, the National Institutes of Health says HIV Vaccine Awareness Day also highlights its longstanding efforts, coordinated by its Office of AIDS Research, to support researchers’ efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.
“Researchers are making promising headway in efforts to develop a safe, effective HIV vaccine,” it says in a statement on its website.
A Whitman-Walker spokesperson said Whitman-Walker was not holding a specific event to observe HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, but it will recognize the day as a way of encouragement for its ongoing work to address the AIDS epidemic and support for vaccine research.
“Today, no one has to die from HIV,” said Whitman-Walker’s Health System division’s CEO, Dr. Heather Aaron in the Whitman-Walker statement. “We have the treatments, the technology, and the research to change outcomes, and yet people in our community are still dying from HIV//AIDS,” she said in the statement.
“That is unacceptable, and it is exactly why our work continues,” she added. “Here in D.C. with more focus on Southeast D.C., the Whitman-Walker Health System remains committed to making a difference through cutting-edge research, policy advocacy, and philanthropy, because fair access to life-saving treatment is not a privilege. It is a right.”
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats endorses Janeese Lewis George for D.C. mayor
Group also backed D.C. Council, Congressional delegate, AG candidates
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political organization, announced on May 14 that it has endorsed D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) for mayor in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George along with former D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) are considered by political observers to be the two leading candidates among the seven candidates competing in the Democratic primary election for mayor.
Both have strong, long-standing records of support on LGBTQ issues, indicating Capital Stonewall Democrats members, like LGBTQ voters across the city, are likely choosing a candidate based on non-LGBTQ related issues.
In a May 14 statement, the group announced its endorsements in seven other Democratic primary races, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who is running unopposed in the primary. Also endorsed is D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large), who is one of five Democratic candidates competing for the position of D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) is among the four candidates competing with White for that post, and who like White has a strong record of support on LGBTQ issues.
In the At-Large D.C. Council race for which incumbent Anita Bonds is not running for re-election, Capital Stonewall Democrats has endorsed community activist and LGBTQ ally Oye Owolewa in a nine candidate race.
For the Ward 1 D.C. Council election, in which five LGBTQ supportive candidates are competing, the group did not make an endorsement because none of the candidate received a required 60 percent of the endorsement vote cast by Capital Stonewall Democrats members, according to the group’s former president, Howard Garrett.
The statement announcing its endorsements shows that it decided to list its “Preferred Ranking” of each of the Ward 1 Democratic candidates as part of the city’s newly implemented ranked choice voting system. It lists gay candidate Miguel Trindade Deramo as first, bisexual candidate Aparna Raj second, Jackie Reyes Yanes third, Rashida Brown fourth, and Terry Lynch fifth.
In the remaining ward Council races, Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsed Councilmember Matt Fruman (D-Ward 3), who is running unopposed for re-election; Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member who is being challenged by two opponents; and Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who is running unopposed for re-election.
The group also chose not to make an endorsement in the special election for another At-Large D.C. Council seat that became vacant when then-Independent Councilmember McDuffie resigned to enable him to run for mayor as a Democrat. Under the city’s Home Rule Charter adopted by Congress, that at large sweat is restricted to a “non-majority party” candidate, meaning a non-Democrat.
The three candidates running for the seat, all Independents, include incumbent Doni Crawford, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year; former D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman; and Jacque Patterson. All three have expressed support on LGBTQ related issues.
“The organization’s endorsement process included candidate questionnaires, public forums, and direct voting by active CSD members,” the statement announcing its endorsements says. “Each endorsement reflects the collective voice of 173 LGBTQ+ Democrats who voted in the process and are committed to building lasting political power in the District,” according to the statement. “Candidates that reached 60 percent support received the endorsement.”
Garrett, the group’s former president, acknowledged that with nearly all candidates running in D.C. elections expressing strong support for the LGBTQ community, many if not most of the group’s members most likely chose a candidate based on issues other than LGBTQ related issues.
He said he believes Lewis George, who he is supporting and is viewed as a progressive candidate who self-identifies as a Democratic Socialist, compared to McDuffie, who is viewed as a moderate Democrat, captured the group’s endorsement based on the view that she is the best person to lead the city going forward.
“I believe that Capital Stonewall members voted for Janeese Lewis George because we’re tired of the status quo and we need a new, bold leader to not only move our city forward but also to stand up to Donald Trump and his administration,” Garrett told the Washington Blade.
McDuffie’s LGBTQ supporters, including former Capital Stonewall Democrats presidents David Meadows and Kurt Vorndran, have argued that McDuffie’s positions on a wide range of issues, including LGBTQ issues, show him to be the best candidates to lead the city at this time and In future years.
The group’s endorsement of Lewis George comes one week after GLAA DC, a nonpartisan LGBTQ advocacy group, awarded her its highest candidate rating of +10.
District of Columbia
Pride faith services in Washington, D.C.
Almost half of all LGBTQ adults in the U.S. are religious
Are you an LGBTQ person of faith or someone exploring spirituality? It is more common than people realize. According to a Williams Institute study published in October 2020, almost half of all LGBTQ adults in the United States are religious. This may seem counterintuitive as any LGBTQ people have complicated relationships with faith because of very real histories of abuse, trauma, and violence.
This violence still continues in the United States, especially following the Supreme Court’s March 2026 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, who ruled Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violates the First Amendment, but not everyone has encountered this violence, nor do people who have faced it, separate themselves completely from religion. Many people may seek out affirming faith traditions which are prevalent in the DMV area.
For individuals seeking out faith services during Pride 2026, please check out the list below, which will be updated as more events are publicized.
Memorial Service for SaVanna Wanzer
May 17th at 1 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church (400 I St SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Westminster Presbyterian will host a celebration of life for legendary DC trans rights activist and founder of DC Trans Pride and Black Trans Pride SaVanna Wanzer who was a long-time member of the church. Live music will begin at 12:15 pm before the start of the memorial service. The service will be livestreamed on the Westminster DC Facebook page. A meal will follow the Sunday service.
There will also be a celebratory vigil held on Saturday, May 16th from 6:30-8 pm for friends and family at the church led by LGBTQ organizer Rayceen Pendarvis.
May 23th at 11 am
Downtown Westin (999 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001)
This intimate conversation is hosted by Janeé Lee, founder of Queer Ministry, between Black trans and queer people who are surviving religious trauma and navigating their relationship with the church. The workshop, hosted as part of Trans Pride DC, is a chance for people to share their stories at the intersection of queerness and spirituality and to walk away with a spiritual healing guide with affirming scriptures and inclusive theology.
DC Black Pride Worship Service
May 24th at 10 am
Remnant Christian Center (120 West Hampton Avenue, Capitol Heights, MD)
Hosted by The Community Church of Washington DC-UCC, this service will feature speakers and sessions on Black queer faith and unity, including host and speaker Robert D. Wise Jr. for a powerful Pentecost Unity Service. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in and white.
June 5th at 7 pm
Sixth & I (600 I Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001)
Join Rabbi Jenna will be leading an inclusive, musical service celebrating the diversity of Jewish life in Washington, DC. Happy Hour, which is limited to people 21 and older, will start at 6 pm. The service will start at 7 pm, with dinner at 8:15 pm. The service is free but registration is required, and the kosher-style pescatarian meal does cost money. Register online here.
June 14th at 5 pm
Black Cat (1811 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009)
Muslim Pride is a community-led and funded grassroots performance series centering queer and trans Muslim artists through music, drag and dance. The series was originally founded in 2020 as a way to create affirming spaces where faith, culture, and queerness can coexist. This year’s series features Mercedes Iman Diamond. This year, Muslim Pride expands to Washington, DC, New York City, and Los Angeles. Buy tickets here.
Pride Celebrations and Sunday Worship Service
June 14th all day
Riverside Baptist Church (699 Maine Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Join Riverside Baptist Church for a day-long Pride celebration beginning with Pride Weekend/Musical Theater Sunday worship service at 10 am. Later that morning and early afternoon, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, the church will be hosting a Pride Pageant, a technicolor celebration featuring a runway showcase, line dancing, food, and refreshments.
June 22nd at 7 pm
St. Mark’s Episocpal Church (301 A Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003)
Join this interfaith service celebrating affirming faith traditions and intertradition dialogue hosted by queer and trans faith leaders. The interfaith service has been hosted annually for over 40 years, and first began back in the 1980s with faith leaders and queer people of faith coming together to mourn and pray at the site of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall. Learn more about the history of the interfaith service here.
June 23rd at 6 pm
Holy Trinity Catholic Church (3513 N St NW, Washington, DC 20007)
Holy Trinity will be hosting its 6th annual Pride Mass. After its debut this past summer, the Pride Mass choir will be singing at the Pride Mass in June, and following the Mass, there will be an annual reception with ice cream and other goodies. Learn more about attending the reception and Holy Trinity’s LGBTQ+ Ministry.
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