Local
Top 10 local news stories for 2023
Hate crimes continue, new queer bars open, and much more
It was another busy year in queer news. Here are the Blade staff picks for the top 10 local news stories of 2023.
#10: Florida prosecutor drops sex with minor charges against Brett Parson
A prosecutor with the Broward County, Fla., State Attorney’s Office on March 13 dropped two charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor filed against gay former D.C. police lieutenant Brett Parson by Boca Raton, Fla. police in February 2022. Parson’s arrest came shortly after he retired from the police force after 26 years of service, including his role as supervisor of the D.C. police LGBT Liaison Unit.
A memorandum released by the State Attorney’s Office disclosed that prosecutors decided to drop the charges after it became clear that the then 16-year-old boy, who told authorities that his sexual encounter with Parson was consensual, did not want to participate in the prosecution against Parson.
Court records show the youth met Parson after he posted a message on the gay hookup site Growlr and claimed he was 19 years old. The age of sexual consent in Florida is 18, although in several other states, including D.C., the age of consent is 16 and the sexual encounter between Parson and the youth would have been legal in those other states and D.C.
#9: Four new D.C. LGBTQ bars open in 2023
Four new LGBTQ bars opened in D.C. in 2023, bringing the total number of LGBTQ identified bars in the nation’s capital to 19. The first of the four new ones to open was Little Gay Pub at 1100 P St., N.W. near Logan Circle. Its owners and business partners, Dito Sevilla, Dusty Martinez, and Benjamin Gander, have years of experience working at other nearby bars and restaurants, with Martinez and Gander having worked at other gay bars.
The gay nightclub and dance bar Bunker opened a short time later in a large basement space at 2001 14th St., N.W., steps away from the bustling nightlife intersection at 14th and U streets, N.W. Co-owners Zach Renovates and Jesus Quispe for many years produced LGBTQ entertainment events through their company KINETIC Presents. Next to open was Shakers at 2014 9th St., N.W. in the busy 9th and U Street entertainment corridor, which bills itself as a “full spectrum bar, with everything from family nights to ANC meet-and-greets to drag shows.”
And in December Thurst Lounge opened at 2204 14th St., N.W. Owners Brandon Burke and Shaun Mykals describe it as a “space that represents and honors the unique and culturally rich Black gay experience.”
#8: D.C. gov’t holds ‘LGBTQIA Emergency Training’ event
About 25 representatives of local LGBTQ organizations turned out on April 5 for the first in what was expected to be a series of LGBTQIA+ Emergency Preparedness Training sessions offered by the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Japer Bowles, director of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, said the initial training session was for nonprofit LGBTQ organizations aimed at helping them take steps to minimize potential threats of violence and to recognize behaviors by individuals who may pose a threat. He said among those attending the April 5 training session were representatives of the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Community, one of the city’s largest local LGBTQ organizations that is about to move into a new, larger space in a building in the city’s Shaw neighborhood.
#7: Proud Boys target local drag queen story hour events
The far-right group Proud Boys targeted bookstores in Silver Spring, Md. and D.C. in February for protests against the reading of children’s stories by drag performers in an event known as Drag Queen Story Hour. But the group only showed up at the Loyalty Bookstore in Silver Spring. Silver Spring police dispersed the Proud Boys members and counter protesters who supported the drag event after the two groups shouted at each other and reports surfaced that a Proud Boy member assaulted one of the supporters.
One week later, after news surfaced that the Proud Boys planned to hold a protest targeting a Drag Story Hour event at the gay-owned Crazy Aunt Hellen’s restaurant in the Barracks Row section of Capitol Hill in D.C., dozens of supporters turned out in anticipation of the Proud Boys protest. D.C. police, who closed the one-block section of 8th Street, S.E. in anticipation of the protest, said the Proud Boys never showed up.
#6: D.C. mourns loss of two community leaders and a beloved bartender
Many in D.C.’s LGBTQ community in July mourned the unexpected deaths of two gay longtime supporters of LGBTQ causes, Jocko Fajardo and Tarik Pierce, and a beloved bartender, Brooks Davis. Fajardo, a skilled chief, florist, and event planner, and Pierce, an official with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, each died in their homes at the age of 45 in D.C. within one week of each other of undisclosed causes. About 300 people turned out in D.C. ‘s Logan Circle for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the two men.
Also mourned by a large circle of friends in July was gay bartender Brooks Davis, 29, who died on July 17. Family members asked that the cause of death remain private. Davis worked at the D.C. gay nightclub Bunker after having worked for the luxury retail outlet Louis Vuitton and later operated his own exotic plant business before beginning work as a bartender.
#5: Partner says police botched probe into death of Washington Wizards chef
The longtime domestic partner of Ernest Terrell Newkirk, 55, who worked as chef at D.C.’s Capital One Arena for the Washington Wizards basketball team, expressed strong concern that D.C. police failed to adequately investigate Newkirk’s initially unexplained death.
The partner, Roger Turpin, pointed out that Newkirk was found deceased on a residential street in the 1100 block of 46th Place, S.E., shortly after 3 a.m. on May 28, with his wallet, watch, jewelry, and his car all missing. There were no signs of injury on Newkirk’s body, and it took the D.C. medical examiner four months to complete toxicology tests to finally determine the cause of death, which was acute alcohol intoxication.
D.C. police have said they investigated the case. But Turpin says investigators appear to have declined to follow up on information Turpin provided them to track down someone who may have stolen Newkirk’s car, phone, and credit cards. Turpin says he gave police phone numbers that someone used on Newkirk’s stolen phone to make calls that Turpin obtained from the phone records.
#4: Two area trans lawmakers make history
Two transgender elected officials in the greater D.C. region made history in 2023. Virginia state Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) won a decisive victory for a seat in the Virginia state Senate in the state’s Nov. 7 election, becoming the second openly transgender person to win election to a state Senate in the country.
And earlier in the year, Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride, who became the first transgender person to win a seat in a state Senate in 2020, declared her candidacy for the single Delaware seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Recent polling data show McBride is far ahead of her closest rival in the 2024 Democratic primary. If she wins the primary, as expected, and wins in the November 2024 general election in the solidly Democratic state of Delaware, McBride would become the first transgender person in the U.S. Congress.
#3: Spate of assaults targets LGBT people for possible hate crimes
Two gay bar customers were stabbed in the neck with nonfatal wounds on Aug. 18 outside the Dupont Circle gay bar Fireplace by a woman who D.C. police arrested on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon and a judge ordered to undergo a mental health examination. That incident followed the arrest by D.C. police in January of three juveniles for four separate armed robberies in the Dupont Circle area near gay bars.
And in August, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. continued to decline to prosecute two male suspects identified by D.C. police who robbed and pistol whipped a D.C. gay couple in January 2022 after the couple appealed to prosecutors to move ahead with a prosecution. A spokesperson for the U.S. The Attorney’s office said there was insufficient evidence to charge the suspects. Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Vincent Slatt, who heads the ANC’s Rainbow Caucus, expressed concern that police were not disclosing sufficient information on whether the growing number of crimes in Dupont Circle and other city neighborhoods are LGBTQ related and whether the assaults against them may be hate crimes.
With this as a backdrop, D.C.’s new police chief, Pamela Smith, told the Blade in an interview she pledges “fair and equal treatment” for the LGBTQ community.
#2: Violence continues against D.C.-area trans women
At least three transgender women were murdered in the D.C. region and a fourth was found dead under suspicious circumstances in 2023, prompting transgender activists to continue their ongoing efforts to address what they consider a nationwide epidemic of anti-trans violence.
The first of the incidents took place Jan. 7 when Jasmine “Star” Mack, 36, was found stabbed to death on the 2000 block of Gallaudet St., N.E. D.C. police say they are actively investigating the case. On March 24, Tasiyah Woodland, 18, was shot to death outside the Paradise bar and grill in Lexington Park, Md. With the help of D.C. police, St. Mary’s County police charged D.C. resident Darryl Parks Jr., 29, with first-degree murder and additional gun related charges in connection with the murder. Police said the shooting followed a dispute between Parks and Mack, but Mack’s family members believe it was a hate crime.
On Oct. 2, 30-year-old trans woman Skylar Harrison Reeves’s partially naked body was found on a park bench in D.C.’s Marvin Gaye Park. Police say there were no obvious injuries found and they are waiting for the medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of death upon completion of toxicology tests. Reeves’s aunt says she believes foul play led to the death. And on Oct. 18, D.C. resident A’nee Roberson, 30, was fatally struck by a car on the 900 block of U Street, N.W., after witnesses say she was assaulted by one or more unidentified suspects and chased into the street in the path of an oncoming car. D.C. police have listed the incident as a homicide, saying the person or persons who assaulted her and forced her into the street committed second-degree murder.
#1: Gay College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn pleads guilty to child porn charges
A Prince George’s County Circuit Court judge on Nov. 20 sentenced gay former College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn to 30 years in jail just over three months after Wojahn pleaded guilty to 140 counts of possession or distribution of child pornography.
The sentencing followed news that surfaced in March, which shocked Wojahn’s friends and longtime political supporters, including LGBTQ activists, that he had been arrested after police raided his College Park house and confiscated multiple devices, including computers and cell phones, containing hundreds of images or videos of child pornography depicting pre-pubescent boys.
At the sentencing hearing over a dozen of Wojahn’s friends and family members, including his husband, urged the judge to consider Wojahn’s own statements saying mental health issues were at play in his actions and that he cooperated with the police investigation and deeply apologized for what he did. Under Maryland sentencing rules, Wojahn will be eligible to apply for release on parole after serving 12 and a half years of incarceration.
Honorable mention: Zachary Parker sworn in as new D.C. Council member
Former D.C. school board member Zachary Parker was sworn in on Jan. 2 as the first openly gay member of the D.C. Council since 2015 at an inaugural ceremony in which other elected officials, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and six other Council members were also sworn in.
Parker, a Democrat, won election in November 2022 to the Ward 5 Council seat by a wide margin after winning a hotly contested Democratic primary for the Ward 5 seat.
In his inaugural speech after being sworn in as a Council member, Parker said he ran on a vision that “all District residents deserve good and accountable government” and pledged to work to help serve the needs of the city’s diverse residents, including LGBTQ residents.
“With this honor comes the responsibility to address the ridiculously high rates of queer youth homelessness” and “ensure that we’re investing in the people and organizations that are fighting every day for our LGBTQIA plus neighbors,” he said in his speech.
Virginia
Miyares joins efforts to fight Title IX changes
Republican Va. AG part of multi-state effort
BY NATHANIEL CLINE | Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has joined a multi-state effort to stop new Title IX rules from going into effect.
The list of new rules designed to protect victims of campus sexual assaults and the rights of LGBTQ students has come under attack by Republican attorneys general in several states.
Miyares called the changes a “dangerous overhaul” of Title IX, and said the new rules would negatively impact students, families and schools in the commonwealth. The ruling also comes after Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration overhauled the commonwealth’s transgender student policies.
“The Biden administration’s unlawful rule would jeopardize half a century of landmark protections for women, forcing the administration’s social agenda onto the states by holding federal funding hostage,” Miyares said in a statement. “They are avoiding Congress and the constitutional process because they know it will not pass. We cannot roll back Title IX in the name of false equity.”
Attorney generals from Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia have also signed onto the suit, which was filed in Tennessee. Separate lawsuits have been filed in other states, including Louisiana and Texas.
Title IX, which has undergone several transformations based on the political party in office, was created to address women’s rights and prohibits any federally funded school or education program from discriminating against any student based on sex since it was established in 1972.
The Department of Education said some differences compared to the previous version developed under the Trump administration, include protections against all sex-based harassment and discrimination, prohibits schools from sharing personal information, and supports students and families.
Narissa Rahaman, executive director for Equality Virginia, said in a statement that the rule prevents opponents from weakening “crucial” civil rights protections including for LGBTQ students by ensuring that pregnant and parenting students have a right to equal education opportunities, protecting student survivors and guaranteeing the rights of LGBTQ students to come to school as themselves without fear of harassment or discrimination.
“Students across races, places, and genders prove every day that they can do great things, especially when there are strong Title IX protections in place, which is why the Biden administration’s updates to the Title IX rules are essential to ensure every student can thrive at school,” said Rahaman.
The new rule is slated to take effect on Aug. 1 and will apply to complaints of alleged conduct that occurs on or after that date, according to the Department of Education.
Protections
While the ruling protects students and employees from all sex-based harassment and discrimination, it will also impact LGBTQ students and employees, including providing complete protection from sex-based harassment, and prohibiting schools from sharing personal information.
Schools must act “promptly and effectively” to protect and treat all students and staff who make complaints “equitably.” Schools must also provide support measures to complainants and respondents, and act to end any sex discrimination in their programs and prevent any recurrence.
The rule further clarifies the definition of “sex-based harassment,” which means to treat someone unfairly because of their gender; and the scope of sex discrimination, including schools’ obligations not to discriminate based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
The federal agency said the changes will empower and support students and families by requiring schools to disclose their nondiscrimination policies and procedures to all students, employees, and other participants in their education programs so that students and families understand their rights.
The final rule also protects against retaliation for students, employees, and others who exercise their Title IX rights, and supports the rights of parents and guardians to act on behalf of their elementary school and secondary school children.
The rule also protects student privacy by prohibiting schools from disclosing personally identifiable information with limited exceptions, which is something the Youngkin administration has opposed.
Advocates say one of the rights students should have is the power to decide who finds out about their transgender status, to protect them from being bullied or harassed.
Virginia policies
In 2021, the first model policies for trans students were designed under former Gov. Ralph Northam to provide school officials guidance on the treatment of trans and nonbinary students and to protect the privacy and rights of these students.
However, some schools declined to adopt the model policies, and the state law that led to them lacked enforcement incentives or penalties.
The current policies adopted by the Youngkin administration were revised to require parental approval for any changes to students’ “names, nicknames, and/or pronouns,” direct schools to keep parents “informed about their children’s well-being” and require that student participation in activities and athletics and use of bathrooms be based on sex, “except to the extent that federal law otherwise requires.”
Virginia schools have also not fully adopted the newly revised policies, and state law has not changed since the policies were overhauled in 2023.
The Virginia Department of Education faces two lawsuits over the policies adopted by the Youngkin administration.
“All Virginia students, including our transgender and nonbinary students deserve to feel safe and welcomed at schools,” said Wyatt Rolla, a senior trans rights attorney with the ACLU of Virginia. “Accessing restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities that are necessary when you are at school learning is a key part of our schools being inclusive of those transgender [and] non binary students that are part of our community.”
Athletics not included
The provisions under the new Title IX rule did not mention anything about requiring schools to allow trans students to play on teams that align with their gender identity. Virginia has taken its own shot at banning trans athletes from competing in sports through legislation.
In February, the Youngkin administration attempted to challenge the Virginia High School League’s policy on transgender athletes, the Daily Progress reported.
The proposed policy would have matched with the administration’s current policies that students should be placed on teams based on their biological sex rather than their gender identity.
The Virginia High School League, which oversees interscholastic athletic competition for Virginia’s public high schools, allows for trans athletes to participate on teams that match their gender identity, but under certain conditions.
Simultaneously, lawmakers in the Virginia General Assembly controlled by Democrats killed bills, including Senate Bill 68, during the previous session that would have essentially banned transgender students from competing in sports.
State Sen. Tammy Brankley Mulchi (R-Mecklenburg), who carried Senate Bill 723, said students like her 6-year-old granddaughter should have a choice to play with their own gender during a Feb. 1 Senate Education subcommittee hearing.
Mulchi’s bill would have required schools and colleges to have separate sports for boys and girls based on their biological sex. Any dispute would require a note from a doctor.
“If she [my granddaughter] wants to play an all-girl sport, I want her to play against girls that were born girls and not play against someone that is much stronger than her or can hurt her and take away her chances of a scholarship,” Mulchi said.
However, state Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D-Fairfax) argued during the February hearing that whether students are competing with their respective biological sex or not “children of all ages, sexes have different builds and strengths and no children are alike on the same team.”
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Nathaniel is an award-winning journalist who’s been covering news across the country since 2007, including politics at the Loudoun Times-Mirror and the Northern Neck News in Virginia as well as sports for the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also hosted podcasts, worked as a television analyst for Spectrum Sports, and appeared as a panelist for conferences and educational programs. A graduate of Bowie State University, Nathaniel grew up in Hawaii and the United Kingdom as a military brat.
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The preceding article was previously published by the Virginia Mercury and is republished with permission.
Nonprofit. Nonpartisan. No paywalls. Fair and tough reporting on the policy and politics that affect all of us is more important than ever. The Mercury brings you coverage of the commonwealth’s biggest issues from a team of veteran Virginia journalists.
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The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Manny Cosme, owner of CFO Services Group, who was named Small Business Owner of the Year, for Washington, D.C., by the Small Business Administration.
SBA Administrator Isabel Castillas Guzman said, “Our 2024 National Small Business Week award winners exemplify excellence, innovation, and commitment, and the SBA is proud to showcase their incredible achievements and impact on their communities and our economy.” Upon being notified of the award Manny said, “I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive the Small Business Owner of the Year award from the Small Business Administration. This recognition serves as a testament to my team’s hard work, dedication, innovation, and impact in our local community. As a small business owner, I have always strived to embody excellence in my company’s services and commitment to my clients. My team and I are proud to represent the thriving small business communities across the country, and we remain committed to driving innovation, growth, and positive change in our industry.”
Cosme is the founder and current president and CEO of CFO Services Group. The firm is focused on providing bookkeeping, outsourced accounting departments, and fractional CFO advisory services, to growing small businesses and non-profit organizations. The company is headquartered in D.C., with team members and clientele throughout the United States. In addition to working with private business and non-profit clients, CFO Services Group partners with various economic development agencies, such as local governments, chambers of commerce organizations, CDFIs and SBDC centers, to provide free financial literacy and technical assistance to businesses in underserved communities.
Manny has served as the Vice President of Finance & Administration for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He recently served as the Finance Chair for the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Vice President of the Equality Chamber of Commerce. He is often sought after in keynote discussions on entrepreneurism and finance for fellow business owners.
Maryland
What Anne Arundel County school board candidates think about book bans
State lawmakers passed Freedom to Read Act in April
BY ROYALE BONDS | Parents’ efforts to restrict content available to students in school libraries has become a contentious issue in Maryland. Conservative parent groups, such as Moms for Liberty, have been working to get books they believe are inappropriate removed from libraries in Carroll and Howard counties, sparking protests, new policies, and even a state law.
The Freedom to Read Act, passed in April, sets standards that books cannot be removed from public and school libraries due to an author’s background. Library staff that uphold the standard are protected under this act. The law, however, does not prohibit removing books deemed “sexually explicit,” the stated reason local Moms for Liberty chapters challenged school library books.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner website.
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Comings & Goings
4th Circuit rules gender identity is a protected characteristic
Pride season has begun
New World Bank US executive director: LGBTQ rights are human rights
MISTR announces it’s now prescribing DoxyPE
