District of Columbia
LGBTQ groups to join 60th anniversary March on Washington
Organizers say Aug. 26 event marks continuation of MLK’s work
At least five national LGBTQ rights organizations will participate in the 60th anniversary March on Washington: A Continuation of Dr. King’s Work, which is scheduled to begin Saturday, Aug. 26, with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial.
The LGBTQ organizations participating in the event include the National LGBTQ Task Force, whose executive director, Kierra Johnson, is scheduled to speak at the pre-march rally.
Also participating is the LGBTQ group National Black Justice Coalition, whose Director of Public Policy and Programs, Victoria Kirby York, is also scheduled to speak at the Lincoln Memorial rally.
The other LGBTQ organizations scheduled to participate include the D.C.-based Center for Black Equity and the Human Rights Campaign and PFLAG.
The National LGBTQ Task Force and PFLAG this year are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their founding in 1973.
PFLAG, formerly known as Parents And Friends of Lesbians And Gays, currently uses just the PFLAG name and describes itself as the “largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and their families.”
Earl Fowlkes, executive director of Center for Black Equity, said representatives from his organization and from HRC and PFLAG participated in a conference call with organizers of the march, who welcomed the LGBTQ organizations’ participation.
Among the lead organizers of the 60th anniversary March on Washington are Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr.; his wife, Andrea Waters King; and longtime civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton.
“My dad’s speech at the March on Washington nearly 60 years ago was a profound moment in American history,” King III said in a statement. “Despite the significant progress we have made over these six decades, we need to rededicate ourselves to the mission my dad gave his life for,” he said.
“The March on Washington will not just be a commemoration but a continuation of what Dr. King and our predecessors started,” Sharpton said in the statement released by the event’s organizers. “We must remember why we are still marching: civil rights of Black, Brown, Asian, Jewish, LGBTQ Americans and women are under relentless attack,” Sharpton said.
“I am honored to stand with the King family as we bring together these groups for a historic, cross-cultural and cross-generational demonstration to show that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” Sharpton said. “Together, we will show the nation the strength in our unity and our resolve to realize Dr. King’s dream of a fair nation for all of us.”
The statement released by the event’s organizers says a pre-program for the rally and march was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. at the Lincoln Memorial, with the main program set to begin at 11 a.m. at the Lincoln Memorial site.
“Following the program, a march will begin through the streets of the nation’s capital,” the statement says, adding that additional details such as the route of the march would be released soon.
Longtime D.C. African-American and LGBTQ rights advocate Phil Pannell said this year’s inclusion of an LGBTQ speaker at the March on Washington rally represents a continuation of a welcoming of LGBTQ participation in the event over the past 20 or more years.
But Pannell said former D.C. Congressional Del. Walter Fauntroy, the lead organizer of the first of the resumed MLK Washington marches that took place in 1983, marking its 20th anniversary, strongly opposed allowing an LGBTQ person to speak at the event. Pannell points out that he and three other Black gay activists held a protest against Fauntroy’s position at his Capitol Hill office that resulted in their getting arrested. The Washington Blade reported their arrests in a news story.
Shortly after their arrests, “there was a conference call of all the major civil rights leaders and Audrey Lorde, a Black lesbian writer and poet, was put on the program” as a speaker, Pannell said in a text message to the Blade.
“There will be an LGBT speaker this Saturday,” Pannell added. “So, getting arrested 40 years ago was worth it.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Mayor, council members to participate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is inviting the LGBTQ community and friends to attend the city’s annual Pride flag raising ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, June 1, outside the John Wilson Building that serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Like in prior years, members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs were expected to join Bowser in delivering remarks on the front entrance steps at the Wilson Building before raising the Pride flag atop one of the tall flagpoles next to the building’s entrance.
Gaby Vincent, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, said attendees of the flag raising ceremony will be invited to attend a reception immediately following the ceremony in the main lobby of the Wilson Building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, N.W.
She said the reception will feature a DJ, dancing, and refreshments provided by the D.C. LGBTQ bar and café Spark Social House.
Vincent said the flag raising event will also mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
In its official announcement of the flag raising event the LGBTQ Affairs Office also announced it is hosting the 7th annual District of Pride Showcase event to be held Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater.
The announcement says LGBTQ community members, families, and allies are also invited to walk with Bowser in the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday, June 20. It says the mayor’s parade contingent will assemble at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting location at 14th and U Streets, N.W.
“As we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we invite residents, community members, families and allies to join us throughout June for moments of pride, connection, visibility, and joy,” the announcement says.
District of Columbia
‘Queer Love’ campaign launched to address domestic violence
D.C. event set for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced earlier this month that it has joined partner organizations to launch a Queer Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign aimed at addressing domestic violence within the LGBTQ community.
In a May 18 statement, the Alston Foundation said the campaign involves a public awareness initiative leading up to LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day scheduled for May 28.
“Domestic and family violence in LGBTQ+ communities is real and too often invisible,” Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director, said in the statement. “As a community, we do not talk about it enough, and that silence can leave survivors feeling isolated and alone,” he said. “We must break that silence.”
He added that culturally competent care for those impacted by domestic violence is available through a newly launched website, queerlove.org, “where people can safely access vital resources, educational toolkits, and support networks they need on their healing journey.”
The website announces one of the project’s first events, a Queer Love Community Social, was scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W.
“Join us this LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day for a community social dedicated to visibility and survivor resilience,” the website statement says. “Let’s gather to strengthen our bonds, honor the path to healing, and share free resources,” it says of the May 28 event.
The website also announces a June 1 workshop called Empowering Survivors of LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence, which it says will be presented by Jesse Wedell, an official with the D.C. LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. The website provides an online form to register for the workshop upon which its location would be disclosed.
It identifies the partner organizations working with the Alston Foundation on the Queer Love Public Awareness Campaign as the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, and Equality Chamber.
The resources and information provided by the project can be accessed at www.queerlove.org.
District of Columbia
Man accused of threatening to shoot D.C. bar employee after making anti-gay slurs
May 24 incident took place near Black Pride events on U Street
D.C. police on Sunday, May 24, at around 4:20 p.m. arrested a Maryland man for allegedly threatening to shoot an employee while using anti-gay slurs at Ben’s Next Door restaurant and bar at 1211 U St., N.W.
According to a statement released by police and a police incident report, the arrested man, identified as Delonte Fraley, 32, of Accokeek, Md., made the threats after the employee told a bartender not to serve the man alcohol.
“The suspect overheard the employee and threatened to shoot the employee and used homophobic slurs against the employee,” the police statement says. “When the employee left the restaurant for the day, the suspect was standing near the employee’s vehicle,” it says.
“The employee returned to the restaurant and called the police,” the statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers,” it says.
The police statement says the arresting officers charged Fraley with Felony Threats (Hate/Bias).
D.C. Superior Court records show prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. criminal cases, escalated the charge to Threatening to Injure or Kidnap a Person (Bias-Related Hate Crime).
The incident occurred during Memorial Day weekend when thousands of visitors and D.C. area LGBTQ advocates and supporters were attending D.C. Black Pride events held in locations across the city, including Black Pride parties hosted by LGBTQ bars in the U Street entertainment area near Ben’s Next Door.
Among the nearby LGBTQ bars hosting D.C. Black Pride events were Nellie’s Sports Bar and Thurst Lounge. Ben’s Next Door is located next to the popular longtime U Street eatery Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Court records show that Judge Robert R. Rigsby at a May 25 presentment hearing released Fraley on personal recognizance with a stay-away order — the details of which were not publicly disclosed pending a June 4 preliminary hearing.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed in court by D.C. police says Fraley allegedly confronted the employee at Ben’s Next Door with anti-gay slurs on the day prior to his arrest.
“The complainant told the defendant that because he used homophobic slurs towards himself previously on May 23, 2026, and his hostess, as well as making threats to the complainant and calling him a faggot, he was unable to stay in the establishment,” the affidavit states.
It adds, “The defendant became irate stating, ‘I know where your Tesla is at. See me outside faggot, I will slap your ass’ and ‘I will shoot your ass.’” The affidavit says the complainant confirmed to police the Tesla referred to by Fraley was his vehicle. It says as the victim walked toward his car after getting off work, he saw Fraley standing directly in front of the car.
“The complainant stated he felt unsafe while the defendant was standing in front of his vehicle because he felt the defendant was capable of carrying out those threats,” says the affidavit. It says the victim then decided to return to the restaurant and call police without the defendant having seen him.
“The defendant was placed under arrest for Felony Threats Hate/Bias and was transported to the Third District Station for processing,” the affidavit concludes.
It couldn’t immediately be determined whether the victim identifies as LGBTQ or whether any of the Ben’s Next Door patrons had been involved with D.C. Black Pride.
“Established in 2008, Ben’s Next Door is a family-owned and operated restaurant and bar on U Street, Northwest in Washington, D.C.,” a statement on its website says. “As a Black-owned establishment, it’s our goal to deliver a warm, welcoming, familiar, and communal vibe to all guests,” the statement says.
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Still marching: Rev. Troy Perry and the ongoing fight for liberation
Introducing Next-Generation Assisted Living & Memory Support.
Cedric Neal on his juicy narrator role in ‘Pippin’
Dual endorsement for Independent Council-at-large: Patterson or Crawford
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
PHOTOS: Black Pride Pageant and Unity Ball
PHOTOS: Black Pride Opening Reception
From Media Matters to massive queer ragers: the rise of Tara Dikhof
