District of Columbia
Douglas Emhoff, Billy Porter kick off Capital Pride festivities
‘We love you … and we’re fighting right beside you’
Douglas Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who has the title of Second Gentleman, was among the speakers at a press conference on Saturday, June 8, at the location of the start of D.C.’s Capital Pride Parade that was called by Capital Pride organizers.
Emhoff and nationally acclaimed singer Billy Porter, who performed the next day at the Capital Pride festival and concert, and who also spoke at the press conference, each emphasized the importance of the LGBTQ rights movement at a time when lawmakers in states across the country are pushing legislation to curtail LGBTQ rights.
“It’s great to be here again to enjoy the ambiance and to celebrate with the generations of LGBTQ+ Americans who have fought for their right to live openly and proudly and authentically,” Emhoff told those attending the press conference, which included Capital Pride officials and supporters.
“I love coming to Pride,” Emhoff said. “I was here with my wife, your vice president, in 2021, when she became the first sitting vice president ever to march in a Pride parade. We go to Pride parades all over – San Francisco, L.A., and love doing it,” he said.
Porter joined Emhoff at the press conference urging people to vote “blue” in the November election.
“I don’t care who you are. I don’t care where you come from,” he said. “It’s an election year and our democracy is at stake, period,” he continued. “There is one choice. That choice is for democracy. Vote blue down the ticket,” he said, referring to Democratic Party candidates.
“The one thing I will say as a 54-year-old Black queer man who came out in the ’80s at the beginning of the AIDS crisis, is that I’ve lived long enough to know that love always wins,” said Porter. “I’ve lived long enough to have seen the circle of life play out in our favor,” he said.
Others who spoke at the press conference included Kenya Hutton, deputy director of the Center for Black Equity, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual Black Pride events; Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes most of D.C.s Pride events; Ashley Smith, chair of the Capital Pride Alliance Board; and Bernie Delia, co-chair of the World Pride Steering Committee.
Bos and Smith provided details about the parade, festival, and concert during the 2024 Capital Pride weekend, while Delia provided details about World Pride 2025, the international Pride celebration that D.C. and Capital Pride Alliance were selected to host in June 2025.
Hutton said the Center for Black Equity is excited to be working with Capital Pride Alliance on plans for World Pride 2025, when the Black Pride events will be the kickoff events for World Pride. “We are especially proud of partnering with Capital Pride Alliance in organizing the World Pride Human Rights Conference,” he said.
Also speaking at the press conference were Theresa Belpulsi, Senior Vice President of Tourism, Sports, and Visitor Services for Destination D.C.; and Angie Gates, president and CEO for Events D.C. The two organizations promote tourism and business events such as conventions in D.C. and are playing a lead role in helping to promote World Pride 2025, the two said.
“Right now, our estimations are that we will see over two million visitors coming to Washington, D.C. for World Pride,” Belpulsi said at the press conference. “And that does not include our local families that are here,” she said. “What that actually means is and why this matters is the economic impact is over $787 million to Washington, D.C. over two weeks.”
Delia, who introduced D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation executive director June Crenshaw as his co-chair of the World Pride Steering Committee, said the committee has been “working diligently to guarantee the World Pride celebration showcases the best of the national capital region and the best of the United States.”
He said that in addition to the parade, festival, and concert, World Pride events will include the human rights conference mentioned by Hutton, a sports festival, a rally at the Lincoln Memorial, a march on Washington, a music festival, and an international choral festival managed by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.
In his remarks at the press conference, Emhoff told of his wife’s long record of support for the LGBTQ community in her past role as District Attorney in San Francisco, as California’s Attorney General, and as a U.S. senator from California.
“And now as vice president, she and Joe Biden are responsible for the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in history,” he said. “And all that goes away if Donald Trump wins in November. We can’t let that happen, right?” Many in the crowd of Capital Pride supporters and volunteers attending the press conference shouted, “That’s right.”
“So, make no mistake,” Emhoff replied. “The upcoming election is about your freedom and your rights,” he said, adding, “My message today is simple. You are not alone. We are here for you. …We love you for who you are and we’re fighting right beside you. And together we are going to win this election and we are going to protect our freedoms. Thank you.”
Covering the @CapitalPrideDC Capital Pride Parade for @washblade . Billy Porter speaking at a press conference before the parade. #Pride #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/pkYaenQ0n2
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) June 8, 2024
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
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