The Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs are hosting a special event on Friday, Sept. 20, to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the repeal of the federal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that banned LGBTQ people from serving openly in the U.S. military. 

The event, called “Voices of Courage: Reclaiming the Legacy of LGBTQIA+ Inclusion In the Military,” will take place from 3-5 p.m. at D.C.’s LGBTQ Crush Dance Bar at 2007 14th St., N.W. 

An announcement from the mayor’s office says the keynote speaker at the event will be Under Secretary of Defense For Personnel And Readiness Shawn G. Skelly, who will discuss “her experiences of service and the future of the LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the military.”

Skelly, a military veteran, will be joined by another veteran who will also speak at the event, Pip Baitinger, who currently serves as LGBTQIA+ Veterans Outreach and Relation Specialist in the Executive Office of the D.C. Mayor. 

The announcement says the event will also include an official reading of a proclamation to be issued by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declaring Sept. 20, 2024, as LGBTQIA+ Veterans Day in Washington, D.C. 

“On this day, we honor and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ veterans who have served with honor and bravery, and we reaffirm our dedication to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment for all who have served our nation,” the mayor’s proclamation says. 

A statement from the mayor’s office says that since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law was repealed by Congress in 2011, with the repeal bill signed by then President Barack Obama, “LGBTQ+ service members have enjoyed greater opportunities to serve authentically.”

The statement adds, “However, many transgender, intersex, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming individuals still face boundaries to serve fully authentically in the armed services.” It says the event will allow attendees to “mix and mingle” and allow “veterans, service members, and military family members with lived experiences in navigating restrictive policies to discuss the work that still needs to be done today.”

Upwards of 1,000 people gathered in D.C. on Saturday for the first-ever Gender Liberation March, rallying for bodily autonomy and self-determination outside the U.S. Supreme Court and the Heritage Foundation headquarters. 

The march brought together advocates for transgender, LGBTQ, feminist, and reproductive rights, uniting the movements to protest attacks on healthcare access and individual freedoms.

The event kicked off just after noon at Columbus Circle, outside Union Station, where organizers had set up a stage. Throughout the day, speakers such as Elliot Page, Miss Major, and Julio Torres shared personal stories and highlighted the intersectional challenges of trans rights, abortion rights, and LGBTQ rights. Raquel Willis, a core organizer of the event, outlined the broad coalition of communities represented in the Gender Liberation March. 

“This march is for the queers, and the trans folks of any age. It’s for the childless cat ladies and babies and gentlemen and gentlethem. It’s for the migrants and our disabled family. It’s for intersex folks and those living and thriving with HIV. It’s for Muslims and folks of every faith. It’s for those who believe in a free Palestine. It’s for our sex workers. It’s for our incarcerated and detained. It’s for all of us who believe there is a better way to live and love than we are today,” she told the crowd. 

Nick Lloyd, an abortion storyteller from the organization We Testify, underlined the interconnectedness of the movements by sharing his experience as a trans man who had an abortion and discussing the support he received from trans women, emphasizing the significance of “radical solidarity.”

“When we fight for liberation, we need to make sure we are fighting for liberation for all of us,” he said in his speech. 

The Gender Liberation March is organized by a collective of gender justice-based groups, including organizers behind the Women’s Marches and the Brooklyn Liberation Marches. Rachel Carmona, the executive director of the Women’s March, also addressed the importance of solidarity across movements.

She acknowledged that some within the feminist movement have questioned the inclusion of trans issues but countered this view.

“The women’s movement necessarily includes trans people,” Carmona asserted.

The march organized buses from nine East Coast cities, and many attendees arrived in D.C. in the days prior. Chris Silva and Samy Nemir Olivares left New York early that morning to make sure they could participate.

“I actually heard [about the march] from my dear friend, Samy, two weeks ago, and I got energized by the idea, and we woke up really early today to take a 5 a.m. bus and make it here this morning,” Silva said. 

At 1 p.m. the crowd began marching toward the Supreme Court on a route that also passed by the Capitol. Marchers held signs and banners proclaiming “You can’t legislate us out of existence,” and “Our bodies, our futures.”

The Supreme Court has eroded individual liberties with recent decisions such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and is set to hear U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case with wide-reaching implications for trans healthcare, in October. Speaking through a speaker system in front of the Supreme Court, activist Aaryn Lang urged the crowd to remain vigilant.

“We do not have the luxury of treating very real threats like a difference of opinion. It’s not that type of time. They really want us dead,” Lang said.

Republican lawmakers in state legislatures are relentlessly attacking the rights of LGBTQ people, particularly trans individuals. This year alone, 70 anti-LGBTQ laws have been signed into law, most targeting trans rights, and at least 26 states have laws or policies banning gender-affirming care, according to the Human Rights Campaign. 

From the Supreme Court, the march proceeded to the Heritage Foundation headquarters. The far-right think tank created the Project 2025 initiative, a blueprint to overhaul the federal government and attack trans and abortion rights under a potential second Trump administration. 

Marchers chanted, “Abortion rights are trans rights,” as they approached the Heritage Foundation, where DJ Griffin Maxwell Brooks and booming music received them. The crowd quickly fell into an impromptu dance party and formed a circle where marchers took turns showcasing their vogueing. Trans queer performance artist Qween Amor noted that the march was attended by a group diverse in both identity and age.

“I think it’s very empowering to see not just my generation, but also seeing younger generations coming up and finding themselves in a moment where we can be liberated together and to see a mix of intersectional identities. I think, for me, [that] lets me know that, you know, I’m alive and that there’s hope,” she told the Washington Blade. 

The march then returned to Columbus Circle, where health organizations and political organizations had set up booths. Hundreds of banned books were distributed for free and all copies were claimed within two hours of the event’s start.

It was a particularly hot Saturday with temperatures reaching 87 degrees, but Columbus Circle continued to be filled with people late into the day. 

Page, known for his roles in films and series such as “Juno” and “The Umbrella Academy,” drew a large crowd when he took the stage to speak about his journey as a trans man. 

“When I was finally able to step back from the squirreling, foreboding, the self-battering, and torment, the messages to lie and hide grew faint. I was able to listen, at last, to embrace myself wholly. And goodness, do I want that feeling for everyone,” he said. “I love being trans. I love being alive, and I want everyone to have access to the care that has changed my life. So let’s fight for it.”

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Congratulations to Joe Kapp named Chair of the Advisory Council of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The Center is a research and educational unit of the Smithsonian that promotes greater understanding and sustainability of cultural heritage across the United States and around the world through research, education, and community engagement. It produces the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, exhibitions, symposia, publications, and educational materials. It also maintains the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections and manages cultural heritage initiatives around the world. 

Center Director Chris Murphy said, “Joe will be a great leader for the Center as we grow our resources and expand our engagement with cultural heritage communities and the public. His expertise has already been valuable to the direction of the council in recent years. I know he will do an exceptional job.” 

Upon being named to the position, Kapp said, “I am so grateful for this unique opportunity to continue fostering the preservation and celebration of diverse cultural expressions, ensuring that the rich traditions, vibrant arts and voices of all communities around the world are recognized and cherished for generations to come. I look forward to working with the incredible team at the Center to amplify the cultural vitality that defines our shared human experience.” 

Kapp is president and cofounder of the National Center for Resource Development, a national nonprofit that helps foundations, nonprofits, higher education, and other institutions achieve greater impact by developing resources to execute their missions more effectively. He has presented to communities around the world, including at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit. He has also taught entrepreneurship principles to organizations and institutions globally, with experience in Europe, Armenia, Colombia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and beyond. 

He is a co-founder of LGBT Tech, a nonprofit that develops programs and resources that support LGBTQ communities and educates organizations and policy makers on the unique needs LGBTQ individuals face when it comes to technology. He contributed a chapter to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s book called Investing in Rural Prosperity.