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Comcast NBCUniversal Partners with News is Out and Word In Black to Launch Fellowship Program that Highlights Black and LGBTQ+ Issues 

Digital Equity Local Voices Lab Fellows to be Placed at 16 Local Publications to Receive Training and Create Content

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News is Out, a queer media collaborative of six of the nation’s legendary LGBTQ+ publications, and Word In Black, a collaborative of ten of the nation’s legendary Black publishers, are joining Comcast NBCUniversal for a groundbreaking initiative: The Digital Equity Local Voices Lab. Through Project UP, Comcast’s $1 billion commitment to advance digital equity and economic opportunities, the company is donating more than $1 million to launch this first-of-its-kind Lab that supports coverage of Black and LGBTQ+- topics in the media and supports emerging journalists with a passion for reporting on issues of importance to these communities. 

Together, the three organizations will work to shed light on issues within marginalized communities across 16 news publications with the training and resources needed to tell these stories through media and technology and celebrate the work being done by Black and LGBTQ+ leaders in their communities. 

“Word In Black is looking forward to working with our colleagues at News is Out and Comcast NBCUniversal on this groundbreaking fellowship program,” said Chris Bennett, publisher of the Seattle Medium and member of the Word In Black collaboration. “Uplifting the voices of journalists and publishers who are dedicated to covering Black and LGBTQ+ stories is vital to the future of inclusive media.”

Specifically, the Lab will elevate Black and LGBTQ+ perspectives through content creation and content sharing with NBCUniversal and NBCU Academy during a year-long fellowship program that places 16 fellows at the 16 participating news organizations. 

Fellows will be part of a cohort that receives best practices and learnings from journalists and media professionals at News is Out, Word In Black, and NBCUniversal. They will also report on stories of Black and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and creatives in their communities, share training and resources on using technology more in their daily lives, report on policy related to access to technology and connectivity, and share the work being done to advance digital equity.

“As a Black queer woman, I know the impact of empowering and elevating Black and LGBTQ+ voices,” said Eboné F. Bell, publisher of Tagg Magazine. “This project gives us an opportunity to instill a great amount of knowledge and experience in fellows who can help amplify the voice of these communities in the media industry.”

The Local Media Foundation (LMF) will manage the fellowship and Lab and facilitate content creation to reach diverse audiences between the 16 publishers and Comcast NBCUniversal. Word In Black and News is Out are collaboratives that were launched by LMF. 

“Comcast is proud to launch this important initiative with the Local Media Foundation, News is Out, and Word In Black to empower a new generation of journalists and media professionals ” said Anzio Williams, SVP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at NBCUniversal Local. “Ensuring that the stories and perspectives of underrepresentedcommunities are featured in the media by dedicated, trained and resourced journalists is at the heart of Project UP’s and NBCU Academy’s mission. We look forward to seeing these journalists grow in their career and influence.”

Applications are open to anyone with a passion for covering communities of color and/or LGBTQ+ issues. To learn more and apply, visit this link.

The 16 participating publications are:

  • AFRO News (Baltimore): Founded in 1892,AFRO provides readers with good news about the Black community not otherwise found. The AFRO and its talented team of journalists have won numerous awards, including NNPA newspaper of the year in 2022, and was named the Nation’s # 1 African American Newspaper by Essence-Nielsen Consumer Survey. 
  • The Atlanta Voice(Atlanta):The Atlanta Voice has been serving the metropolitan Atlanta community for more than 58 years. Birthed out of the Civil Rights movement as a trusted, authentic, fact and community driven media outlet for Black Atlanta. The publication’s motto is “A People Without A Voice Cannot be Heard”.
  • Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco): Launched in 1971, this weekly newspaper is one of the oldest and a pioneer in LGBTQ+ media.
  • Dallas Voice (Dallas): The premier media source for LGBTQ Texas, publishing every Friday since 1984.
  • Dallas Weekly (Dallas): Since 1954, Dallas Weekly has been at the epicenter of all things African American in north Texas, one of the country’s fastest-growing regions. 
  • Houston Defender (Houston): Since 1930, the Houston Defender Network has been “Raising Black Voices” as we Educate, Entertain and Empower the Greater Houston Black Community.
  • Michigan Chronicle (Detroit) The Michigan Chronicle is a news, information, and events company that covers the interests of the African American community. Leaders and readers in metropolitan Detroit look to the Michigan Chronicle to stay informed about issues that impact their lives.
  • New York Amsterdam News (New York City): Started more than a century ago, with a $10 investment, New York Amsterdam News has gone on to become one of the most important Black newspapers in the country and today remains one of the most influential Black-owned and -operated media businesses in the nation, if not the world.
  • Philadelphia Gay News (Philadelphia): The largest and oldest publication targeting the LGBTQ+ community, started in 1976.
  • The Sacramento Observer (Sacramento): Established in 1962, The Sacramento Observer has been one of the most decorated publications in the history of the Black Press.
  • Seattle Medium (Seattle): Founded on January 15, 1970, The Seattle Medium is the flagship publication of Tiloben Publishing Co., Inc. – the largest minority-owned and operated communications company in the Pacific Northwest, serving the Seattle, Tacoma and Portland Markets – and is the primary source of news that residents of Seattle read to stay informed regarding issues and events that affect and enhance the quality of life in African American community.
  • The St. Louis American (St. Louis):Since 1928, The St. Louis American newspaper remains Black-owned and has emergedas the leading, most trusted voice of the area’s African American community.
  • Tagg Magazine (National): This award-winning and Black queer, woman-owned publication, founded in 2012, is committed to uplifting the voices of all LGBTQ+ women across the country. Tagg was created to serve “everything lesbian, queer, and under the rainbow.”
  • Washington Blade (Washington, D.C.): This weekly publication is the oldest LGBTQ+ newspaper in the U.S. It was launched in 1969.
  • The Washington Informer (Washington, D.C.): Founded the paper in 1964, this weekly, women-owned media company serves as the link to the African American community in the D.C. metropolitan area.
  • Windy City Times (Chicago): Founded in 1985, this legacy LGBTQ+ newspaper and website covers Chicago and its suburbs.
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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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Sasha Colby performs at Pitchers in 2023. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.

In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.

Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.

According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.

The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.

Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.

At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.

It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.

Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.

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The Vatican

Executive director of LGBTQ Catholic group to travel to Rome for conclave

Marianne Duddy-Burke met Pope Francis in 2023

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DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke, middle, greets Pope Francis in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Marianne Duddy-Burke)

The executive director of a group that represents LGBTQ Catholics will travel to Rome next week for the papal conclave that starts on May 7.

DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke on Thursday told the Washington Blade she will arrive in Rome on May 6. Duddy-Burke said she plans to spend time in St. Peter’s Square “and have conversations with people.”

“I will wear Dignity insignia, have rainbow flags,” she said.

Pope Francis died on April 21. His funeral took place five days later.

The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.

Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial on April 26.

Duddy-Burke and two others from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics met with Francis in October 2023 during a meeting that focused on the Catholic Church’s future. Duddy-Burke noted Francis “invited” her and her colleagues as his “special guests for the audience and then had a conversation with him afterwards.”

“For me the sort of visibility that he (Francis) brought to our community and to our concerns feels irreversible,” said Duddy-Burke. “He empowered so many people and so many new ministries.”

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu — the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo who has described homosexuality as an “abomination” — is among the cardinals who are reportedly in the running to succeed Francis.

“I really don’t know,” said Duddy-Burke when the Blade asked her who the next pope will be. “Of course, I am hoping and praying hard that it will be someone who will continue to lead the church on responsiveness of human need and greater inclusivity.”

“What happens in that room is such a mystery,” she added.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

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