Local
Cobalt staffer suffers broken jaw in attack
Stolen phone used to leave insulting Facebook message
Gregory ‘Sean’ Morris, an employee of the gay bar Cobalt, suffered a broken jaw during a mugging last month. The attack is not being treated as a hate crime. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
One of two unidentified men who broke the jaw of an employee of the D.C. gay bar Cobalt during a mugging last month apparently left an insulting message on the victim’s Facebook page using his stolen cell phone.
Gregory “Sean” Morris, 32, said two men attacked and robbed him at 5 a.m. Sunday, July 25, at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Lamont Street, N.W., as he was on his way home from work.
Morris said one of the attackers appeared to have accessed his Facebook page a few days after the mugging through the use of his cell phone, which was stolen during the attack. According to Morris, the person published a message written as if it came from Morris.
“I wanted to bust a nut but I can’t because my jaw hurts so bad,” he quoted the message as saying.
Police have listed the attack as robbery by force and violence. There was no immediate evidence of a hate crime, Morris said, because the attackers did not say anything to him as they robbed and assaulted him.
Morris noted that he was wearing a Cobalt shirt when he was attacked, but didn’t know if the attackers recognized the name as that of a gay bar.
The incident took place near where Morris exited a Metro bus and was walking to catch a second bus to take him closer to his home in Northwest D.C.
He said he recalls being knocked unconscious and waking up as one of the attackers dragged him from the sidewalk down a stairwell leading to the basement entrance of a house or building. He noted that one of the attackers punched him in the jaw as the other removed a backpack from his back.
“I realized immediately that they had broken it,” Morris said of his jaw. “They didn’t say a word to me.”
The only words spoken were when one assailant instructed the other to “hit me” when they realized he had regained consciousness, Morris told the Blade in a phone interview. He eventually managed to flag down a police car and was quickly taken to Howard University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to repair his jaw, which is now wired shut and will remain that way for eight weeks.
Morris, who works at Cobalt as a light technician and an independent events promoter, does not have medical insurance. Cobalt employees and friends have contributed to a fund to help him pay his doctor and hospital bills. He has also applied for compensation from the city’s victim assistance program, which provides some financial aid to victims of crime.
After taking his backpack, wallet, watch, and a small amount of cash, the two men left him in the stairwell and began to walk away, Morris said. As he struggled out of the stairwell and reached for his phone to call for help, Morris noticed the two attackers were watching him.
“I reached to see if they had taken my phone out of my pocket and they hadn’t,” Morris said. “They realized they hadn’t and they turned around and they came back to rob me again. They took my phone out of my pocket.”
The man who assaulted him in the stairwell then “hit me again,” he said.
Morris is hoping police will be able to track the suspects through cell phone records and any use of his stolen credit cards.
Maryland
Md. Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs released updated student recommendations
LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, suicide
The Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs has released updated recommendations on how the state’s schools can support LGBTQ students.
The updated 16-page document outlines eight “actionable recommendations” for Maryland schools, supplemented with data and links to additional resources. The recommendations are:
- Developing and passing a uniform statewide and comprehensive policy aimed at protecting “transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive students” against discrimination. The recommendation lists minimum requirements for the policy to address: name, pronoun usage, and restroom access.
- Requiring all educators to receive training about the specific needs of LGBTQ students, by trained facilitators. The training’s “core competencies” include instruction on terminology, data, and support for students.
- Implementing LGBTQ-inclusive curricula and preventing book bans. The report highlights a “comprehensive sexual education curriculum” as specifically important in the overall education curriculum. It also states the curriculum will “provide all students with life-saving information about how to protect themselves and others in sexual and romantic situations.”
- Establishing Gender Sexuality Alliances “at all schools and in all grade levels.” This recommendation includes measures on how to adequately establish effective GSAs, such as campaign advertising, and official state resources that outline how to establish and maintain a GSA.
- Providing resources to students’ family members and supporters. This recommendation proposes partnering with local education agencies to provide “culturally responsive, LGBTQIA+ affirming family engagement initiatives.”
- Collecting statewide data on LGBTQ youth. The data on Maryland’s LGBTQ youth population is sparse and non-exhaustive, and this recommendation seeks to collect information to inform policy and programming across the state for LGBTQ youth.
- Hiring a full-time team at the Maryland Department of Education that focuses on LGBTQ student achievement. These employees would have specific duties that include “advising on local and state, and federal policy” as well as developing the LGBTQ curriculum, and organizing the data and family resources.
- Promoting and ensuring awareness of the 2024 guidelines to support LGBTQ students.
The commission has 21 members, with elections every year, and open volunteer positions. It was created in 2021 and amended in 2023 to add more members.
The Governor’s Office of Communication says the commission’s goal is “to serve LGBTQIA+ Marylanders by galvanizing community voices, researching and addressing challenges, and advocating for policies to advance equity and inclusion.”
The commission is tasked with coming up with yearly recommendations. This year’s aim “to ensure that every child can learn in a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment.”
The Human Rights Campaign’s most recent report on LGBTQ youth revealed that 46.1 percent of LGBTQ youth felt unsafe in some school settings. Those numbers are higher for transgender students, with 54.9 percent of them saying they feel unsafe in school.
Maryland’s High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey reveals a disparity in mental health issues and concerns among students who identify as LGBTQ, compared to those who are heterosexual. LGBTQ students report higher rates of bullying, feelings of hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. Nearly 36 percent of LGBTQ students report they have a suicide plan, and 26.7 percent of respondents say they have attempted to die by suicide.
The commission’s recommendations seek to combat the mental health crisis among the state’s LGBTQ students. They are also a call for local and state governments to work towards implementing them.
Virginia
Va. lawmakers consider partial restoration of Ryan White funds
State Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million from Part B program
The Virginia General Assembly is considering the partial restoration of HIV funding that the state’s Department of Health cut last year.
The Department of Health in 2025 cut $20 million — or 67 percent of total funding — from the Ryan White Part B program.
The funding cuts started with the Trump-Vance administration passing budget cuts to federal HIV screening and protection programs. Rebate issues between the Virginia Department of Health and the company that provides HIV medications began.
Advocates say the funding cuts have disproportionately impacted lower-income people.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, a federal program started in 1990, provides medical services, public education, and essential services. Part B offers 21 services, seven of which remained funded after the budget cuts.
Equality Virginia notes “in 2025, a 67 percent reduction severely destabilized HIV services across the commonwealth.”
Virginia lawmakers have approved two bills — House Bill 30 and Senate Bill 30 — that would partially restore the funding. The Ryan White cuts remain a concern among community members.
Both chambers of the General Assembly must review their proposed changes before lawmakers can adopt the bills.
“While these amendments aren’t a full restoration of what community-based organizations lost, this marks a critical step toward stabilizing care for thousands of Virginians living with HIV,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “Equality Virginia plans to continue their contact with lawmakers and delegates through the conference and up until the passing of the budget.”
“We appreciate lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who recognized the urgency of this moment and will work to ensure funding remains in the final version signed by the governor,” added Rahaman.
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
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