Baltimore
Baltimore Pride plans to ‘take action’ in annual Pride festival
‘None of us should be sitting back and waiting for someone to come and save us’
As Baltimore Pride celebrates 50 years of LGBTQ history in their “50 Shades of Pride” events from June 9-15, they’re focused on mobilizing and taking action.
“When we think back to the history of Baltimore Pride, it is one of the most central pride movements of LGBT and black liberation, and so this year will be very different,” FreeState Justice Advocacy, Policy, and Partnerships Director Ronnie Taylor said. “In a time where federally, we are under attack and dealing with so much, I think this will be a really amazing way for our federal, state, and local individuals to be able to come together and be amongst the community we serve.”
Taylor said she’s excited to be part of the events leading up to the Baltimore Pride Parade that showcase the LGBTQ community. She said celebrating 50 years of history is a way for her to pay homage to her “transcestors” and ancestors who fought hard in Baltimore and Maryland to ensure equality for all.
“For me, personally, acknowledging, and celebrating 50 Years of Baltimore pride is monumental,” Taylor said. “And knowing that we’ve only taken two years off based on COVID-19 mandates to be able to come together … is going to be really monumental.”
For Taylor, one of her personal goals for the “50 Shades of Pride” celebration in upcoming years is to have a summit or conference where Pride is not just acknowledged, but talked about regarding policies and safety agendas.
“We need to be able to have a space to talk about legislation, and we need to be able to have a space for all to feel like (the LGBTQ community) is included in their decision-making process on the federal, state, and city-wide level,” Taylor said. “And so this will be a way for our elected officials to be able to come together and hear from community members.”
Taylor added that mobilization and activation in the community are needed now more than ever.
“We see it on a federal level. We are not protected right now in what we have,” Taylor said. “All we have is each other. And you know, none of us should be sitting back and waiting for someone to come and save us, as we are the saviors of ourselves.”
Taylor said having a space to “break bread” and party in the streets to celebrate Pride is amazing, but Pride organizations’ initiatives go beyond that.
FreeState Justice and the Pride Center of Maryland have created a trans advocacy care initiative that will be released and marketed to engage with community members throughout Baltimore’s Pride festival, according to Taylor.
“We have to stop moving in cycles,” Taylor said. “(When) we’re talking about community work and mobilization and activation … we wouldn’t be here with it without it being for each other. Overall, collectively, let’s do the work and get it done.”
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read 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.
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