District of Columbia
Marker honoring gay former slave installed near Dupont Circle
Honor follows D.C. Council approval of Swann Street LGBTQ designation bill
In a little-noticed development, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation on Aug. 8 installed a ceremonial marker in a small park near Dupont Circle that honors William Dorsey Swann, a Black gay D.C. resident and former enslaved person who advocated for LGBTQ rights in the late 1800s.
The installation took place a little over two years after the D.C. Council approved and Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a bill in May 2023 re-designating Swann Street, N.W. near Dupont Circle in honor of William Dorsey Swann.
Historical records show that the street had originally been named for an 1800s-era Maryland governor named Thomas Swann, who was a slave holder.
D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), who introduced the William Dorsey Swann Street Designation Act in early 2023, released information at the time on William Dorsey Swann’s life and his historic role as an early pioneer in LGBTQ rights in the late 19th century. Pinto’s information was based on research on Swann conducted by Princeton University Professor Channing Joseph, who played a role in preparing the marker’s written text.
Joseph, who is considered a leading scholar on the life of Swann, has reported that beginning in the 1880s Swann led a group known as the House of Swann and organized drag balls, largely attended by gay, formerly enslaved men who would gather to dance and cross dress.
The marker honoring Swann installed on Aug. 8 was placed in a small triangular park known as T Street Park located at the intersection of Swann Street, New Hampshire Avenue, 17th Street, and T Street, N.W.
The three-foot-wide marker includes a detailed written text describing Swann’s life and legacy and includes a large newspaper style headline stating, “The Birth of Drag Culture: Honoring the Legacy of William Dorsey Swann, the ‘Queen’ of Queer D.C.”
The write-up on the marker states, “William Dorsey Swann, born in 1860, was a trailblazer in both Black and LGBTQ+ history.” It adds, “Known as the ‘Queen’ of D.C., Swann led one of the earliest Black queer organizations and is recognized as the first person to self-identify as a drag queen.”
According to the marker write-up, “Despite living in a time when same-sex love and cross-dressing were highly stigmatized, Swann’s courageous acts of organizing drag balls and defending his community made him a pivotal figure in the early LGBTQ+ rights movement. His legacy lives on as a symbol of resistance and pride.”
In a Feb. 17, 2020, article Joseph wrote about Swann published in The Nation magazine, Joseph reports that Swann was arrested one or more times after police raided his drag parties. The article says in 1886, after being convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail on the false charge of operating a “disorderly house,” Swann wrote to President Grover Cleveland requesting a pardon for holding a drag ball. Joseph reports in the article that Cleveland denied the request.
“This, too, was a historic act,” Joseph states in his article. “It made Swann the earliest recorded American to take specific legal and political steps to defend the queer community’s right to gather without the threat of criminalization, apprehension, or police violence,” Joseph wrote.
The Swann memorial marker includes a photo of a drag queen standing next to a man dressed in a tuxedo, but the write-up states, “No known photos of William Dorsey Swann have survived.” It says Swann’s name has been associated with the drag queen in the photos, who has been identified as Jack Brown, “a Black American dancer who performed on stage in France in the early 20the century.”
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
District of Columbia
SMYAL receives $25,000 award for ‘courageous acts’
D.C. group provides support services for LGBTQ youth
The D.C.-based organization SMYAL, which provides services for LGBTQ youth in the D.C. metro area, including housing for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced on June 30 that it received a $25,000 award for its “courageous acts” in support of the community it serves.
The award was a monetary grant from The Courage Project, which describes itself as a “national initiative investing in acts of courage and compassion that strengthens our communities and democracy.”
A statement on its website says it was launched in May 2025 and is funded and backed by leading national foundations in the U.S.
“At SMYAL, we are deeply grateful to receive support from The Courage Project and are inspired by their bold investment in LGBTQ+ youth at such a critical moment,” SMYAL CEO Erin Whelan said in a statement. “For queer and trans young people, simply showing up as themselves each day requires immense courage, and that courage is strengthened when organizations like The Courage Project stand behind them loudly, proudly, and without hesitation,” Whelan said.
In its statement announcing the award SMYAL says The Courage Project will recognize SMYAL and other awardees and their work on July 3 at the Washington National Cathedral as part of a special interfaith service marking the U.S. 250th anniversary.
“The Courage Project is a bold initiative honoring everyday acts of bravery – the quiet, often unseen acts of heroism that reflect the best of the American spirit and strengthen democracy at the community level,” the project states on its website.
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