Baltimore
Carlton R. Smith: LGBTQ advocate, ‘mayor’ of Mount Vernon, passes away
‘The Duchess’ died on May 29 in his sleep
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | Carlton R. Smith was affectionately called “The Duchess” in a nod to royalty, because of his unofficial role of mayor of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood. He was a “walking billboard” for Calvin Klein, with a love for purple, Batman, cooking, house music, Prince, and Diana Ross.
“If you said Duchess, you knew who that was,” said his close friend of 25-years, Carrietta Hiers.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Baltimore
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
Leon’s closed in July after its owner’s death
By JULIE SCHARPER and WESLEY CASE | Soon after Jim Becker came out as gay in 1967, he ducked into a Mount Vernon bar called Leon’s.
In the dark, smoky bar, men used pseudonyms for fear of being outed, as homosexual acts were illegal in Maryland. Bartenders, wary of vice squad raids, would blow a whistle if couples leaned in for a kiss.
But to Becker, arriving at Leon’s was a kind of homecoming. He could explore his identity, connect with other gay men and build community in the anxious years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Baltimore
The government pressured USA Rugby to ban transgender women. A Baltimore team refused to comply.
Ferals is a women’s-plus team within the Flamingos
By KYLE GOON | It was midmorning, and the March winds lashed against the faces of the players on the Ferals rugby team as they suited up at a park in Frederick. The turf was frozen.
Harper Ockert, 24, wrapped her left knee with tape, stabilizing her joint for the jarring hits to come. She had struggled to sleep the night before, but her anxiety was not strictly about the game.
She and her teammates were preparing to defy newly enacted rules set by the sport’s governing body. A nervous energy thrummed in her chest as she considered what her defiance meant.
Ockert is a transgender woman who plays for the Ferals — the women’s-plus team within the Baltimore Flamingos rugby club. Three of her teammates are trans women, too. They had played games for the Ferals before, but this match at Walnut Ridge Park was the team’s first since USA Rugby had shifted its policy to allow only people assigned female at birth to play women’s rugby.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Baltimore
Popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s to temporarily close after owner’s death
Ron Singer passed away on July 7
By WESLEY CASE | Leon’s Backroom, Baltimore’s oldest gay bar, temporarily shut down after service on Wednesday night, according to a post on the business’s Instagram page.
The announcement comes a little more than a week after the death of the Mount Vernon bar’s owner, Ron Singer, who died at 66 on July 7.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Comings & Goings
LGBTQ Military Happy Hour set for Sept. 15
Calendar: September 11-17
Multi-billion-dollar 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to continue until 2090
Ind. prosecutor declines to press charges over false Buttigieg child welfare complaint
New book examines fashionista Audrey Smaltz’s fabulous life
Blade Foundation to host fundraiser in Rehoboth on Sept. 12
Actress takes on bisexual ‘Ma’ Rainey in new Round House production
Iceland implements gender-neutral blood donor rules
Everton Blair makes history as first openly gay congressman from Ga.
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Books4 days agoNew book examines fashionista Audrey Smaltz’s fabulous life
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Out & About4 days ago
Blade Foundation to host fundraiser in Rehoboth on Sept. 12
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Theater4 days ago
Actress takes on bisexual ‘Ma’ Rainey in new Round House production
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Iceland3 days ago
Iceland implements gender-neutral blood donor rules
