District of Columbia
D.C. Go-Go Museum set to open in LGBTQ Check It building
Mayor, city officials participate in ribbon-cutting ceremony
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, two members of the D.C. Council, and D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton took part on Monday, Nov. 18, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the soon-to-open Go-Go Museum & Café in a building in the Anacostia neighborhood owned by the LGBTQ youth-run company and community services center Check It Enterprises.
The highly anticipated Go-Go Museum & Café will be in one of three adjoining small buildings on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., S.E., that Check It Enterprises purchased in 2020 with the support of a $2 million city grant approved through legislation passed by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Bowser.
Ron Moten, Check It’s managing member and cofounder who serves as adviser to its youth members, is also the co-founder with American University professor and author Natalie Hopkinson of the Go-Go Museum & Café. The museum and cafe are located in the middle building of the three buildings Check It purchased with Moten’s support at 1920 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., S.E.
D.C. Council member Robert White (D-At-Large), who introduced the legislation providing the funding for Check It Enterprises to buy the three buildings, was among the city officials who participated in the Nov. 18 ribbon cutting ceremony and who praised Check-It in his remarks at the ceremony. D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) also participated in the ceremony and also mentioned Check It in his remarks.
Moten has said the museum is scheduled to open to the public in February. He has said the 8,000-square-foot space in the building where the museum is located will highlight the history of Go-Go music and its related culture. According to Moten and information released by the museum, it will also include a recording studio and performance space for musicians.
Among those who spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was Wally Brown, the son of the late Chuck Brown, the highly acclaimed musician who is credited with being the “Godfather” of Go-Go. Music experts have described Go-Go as a blend of Rhythm & Blues, Afro-Latin rhythms, and hip-hop music that some believe got its start in D.C. The D.C. Council approved, and Mayor Bowser signed, legislation declaring Go-Go the official music of D.C.
“We have over 80 museums in Washington, D.C., but until today we had one missing,” Bowser said in her remarks at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “And now we can say when people come to visit our city, when young people are talking about our history and culture that we have a Go-Go Museum,” she said.
Moten and others familiar with Check It Enterprises point out it began in 2012 as a fledgling LGBTQ youth fashion clothing project started by members of what had been known as the Check It gang created by LGBTQ youth to protect themselves from bullying and violent attacks.
It has since evolved into a business that produces and sells clothing items such as T-shirts and hoodies as well as trains and mentors LGBTQ youth in entrepreneurial efforts and skills in sewing. It became the subject of a documentary film called “Check It” that was shown in 2017 as part of the annual Washington, D.C., International Film Festival.
Among those who spoke at the Go-Go Museum ribbon cutting ceremony were Star Bennett, the Check It Enterprises co-founder and CEO, and Erica Briscoe, another co-founder who serves as the Check It secretary.
“I am proud to say I’m an entrepreneur and an owner of a business,” Briscoe told the crowd of about 200 attending the event, “To the city, thank you for investing in me.”
District of Columbia
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
District of Columbia
D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony
Mayor, Council members join LGBTQ activists in 4th annual event
Members of the D.C. Council joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and a crowd of LGBTQ activists and supporters on June 1 for the city’s fourth annual LGBTQ Pride flag raising ceremony held outside the John A. Wilson Building, which serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Since its inception four years ago by Mayor Bowser, the event has served as the official kickoff of D.C. Pride month, which culminates this year with the annual Capital Pride Parade on June 20 and Pride festival on June 21, which takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
“As I like to say, we’re celebrating Pride month in the gayest city in the world,” Bowser told a crowd that included city officials and Council members joining her on the front steps of the Wilson Building.
“Fifty-one years of Pride in the future 51st state,” she said, adding, “And both movements are rooted in the same belief – every person deserves to be seen, heard, and fully represented.”
Among those who spoke at the event in addition to Bowser were Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb; and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large).
“This year is special,” Bowles told the gathering. “It’s special because we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs,” he said. “For two decades this office has helped make Washington, D.C. one of the most welcoming and affirming cities in the world.”
He added, “We have expanded LGBTQ services across agencies, invested millions of dollars into community organizations, championing culturally competent care and training, supporting LGBTQ supportive businesses and workers and celebrated our history.”
Schwalb said his Office of the D.C. Attorney General continues to safeguard the city’s laws protecting residents against discrimination but expressed concern about “high court” rulings that he said continue to roll back civil rights, voting rights, and human rights.
He said, “We’re seeing cases limiting medical care for transgender youth while at the same time green lighting so-called conversion therapy.” He pointed to cases or policies “excluding transgender girls from participating in sports and excluding story books with LGBTQ characters from our school libraries.”
He said his office is committed to protecting all residents, including LGBTQ residents, from all forms of discrimination. “And that includes the right to be our authentic selves, to freely express our identities and ourselves to be who we are and to love who we love.”
Mendelson, who also expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community and for the upcoming Pride events, said 10 of the Council’s 13 members were attending the Pride flag raising event, including gay Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5).
“I’m just here with gratitude,” Parker told the Washington Blade. “There’s a lot to be grateful for and a lot more to fight for,” he said. “And so, raising this flag is a reminder that our government is here to serve all of our residents regardless of how you identify or who you love.”
Shortly after Mendelson spoke, D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who is running for mayor in the city’s June 16 primary, arrived at the event, becoming the 11th Council member to turn out for the event.
Among those also attending the event were Ryan Bos and June Crenshaw, the two top officials of the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
Bowser, who is not running for re-election this year and will be stepping down as mayor in January 2027, thanked those attending the Pride flag raising event for playing a role in an all-inclusive city.
“We speak with one clear voice – that D.C. is a welcoming city,” she said in her remarks. “But also, we know that our work has been robust, but it is not done. We fly this flag in front of the John A. Wilson Building because it tells a story,” she said.
“It tells a story of a city that takes care of itself,” she added. “And we take care of each other. We are a city that is diverse and welcoming.”
Serving as the event’s master of ceremony and who introduced Bowles as the first speaker was longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot.
District of Columbia
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Mayor, council members to participate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is inviting the LGBTQ community and friends to attend the city’s annual Pride flag raising ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, June 1, outside the John Wilson Building that serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Like in prior years, members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs were expected to join Bowser in delivering remarks on the front entrance steps at the Wilson Building before raising the Pride flag atop one of the tall flagpoles next to the building’s entrance.
Gaby Vincent, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, said attendees of the flag raising ceremony will be invited to attend a reception immediately following the ceremony in the main lobby of the Wilson Building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, N.W.
She said the reception will feature a DJ, dancing, and refreshments provided by the D.C. LGBTQ bar and café Spark Social House.
Vincent said the flag raising event will also mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
In its official announcement of the flag raising event the LGBTQ Affairs Office also announced it is hosting the 7th annual District of Pride Showcase event to be held Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater.
The announcement says LGBTQ community members, families, and allies are also invited to walk with Bowser in the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday, June 20. It says the mayor’s parade contingent will assemble at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting location at 14th and U Streets, N.W.
“As we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we invite residents, community members, families and allies to join us throughout June for moments of pride, connection, visibility, and joy,” the announcement says.
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