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Gay ‘gang’ members speak at LGBT youth forum

Group considers itself “extended family” for ostracized gay and bisexual men

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14 years ago

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More than 20 members of Check It, a group of local gay youth that D.C. police have listed as a gang, turned out Monday night for a town hall meeting on problems faced by the city’s LGBT youth.

Lesbian activist Treona Kelty, whose organization Beautiful U – Yes U organized the event, said two Check It members told more than 100 people who turned out for the town hall that they consider their organization an extended “family” of mostly gay and bisexual men who have been ostracized by their parents and schools and misunderstood by police.

The town hall was held at the Metropolitan Community Church on Ridge Street, N.W., which has a mostly LGBT congregation.

Two Check It members were joined on a panel by Jeffrey Richardson, director of the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs; Sharon Lettman-Hicks, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition; Amena Johnson of D.C.’s Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL); and Brian Watson of Transgender Health Empowerment.

Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy drew citywide attention to Check It when he wrote about the group and its founder, Tayron Bennet, 21, in a Sept. 27 column. Bennet, who attended the LGBT youth town hall Monday night, told Milloy he formed the group after being targeted for anti-gay bullying and harassment at Hine Junior High School, which is located less than a block from the SMYAL offices and drop-in center.

Police have said Check It members often congregate in Chinatown near the Gallery Place Metro station and allegedly have gotten into fights with rival youth gangs. Milloy quoted Bennet as saying some members of the group “started carrying mace, knives, brass knuckles and stun guns” as a means of fighting back when members of the group were attacked or harassed for being gay.

“We’re not a gang,” Kelty quoted a Check It member who identified himself only as Trey, as saying. “He said we have been ostracized by our families. We have been kicked out. So we consider ourselves just family,” Kelty quoted him as saying. “I’m so tired of people calling us a gang,” she quoted the youth as saying.

According to Kelty, Deputy D.C. Police Chief Diane Groomes, who attended the town hall gathering, asked Kelty and Beautiful U – Yes U to help police put together a mediation meeting in which police and Check It members can work together to resolve police-related issues. Kelty said Groomes told the gathering that she would arrange for the department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit to take the lead role in the mediation session.

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Virginia

Walkinshaw wins Democratic primary in Va. 11th Congressional District

Special election winner will succeed Gerry Connolly

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9 hours ago

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July 1, 2025

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James Walkinshaw(Photo public domain)

On Saturday, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw won the Democratic primary for the special election that will determine who will represent Virginia’s 11th Congressional District.

The special election is being held following the death of the late Congressman Gerry Connolly, who represented the district from 2008 until 2024, when he announced his retirement, and subsequently passed away from cancer in May.

Walkinshaw is not unknown to Virginia’s 11th District — he has served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2020 and had served as Connolly’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2019. Before he passed away, Connolly had endorsed Walkinshaw to take his place, claiming that choosing Walkinshaw to be his chief of staff was “one of the best decisions I ever made.”

The Democratic nominee has run his campaign on mitigating Trump’s “dangerous” agenda of dismantling the federal bureaucracy, which in the district is a major issue as many of the district’s residents are federal employees and contractors.

“I’m honored and humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for the district I’ve spent my career serving,” Walkinshaw said on X. “This victory was powered by neighbors, volunteers, and supporters who believe in protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms, and delivering for working families.”

In addition to protecting federal workers, Walkinshaw has a long list of progressive priorities — some of which include creating affordable housing, reducing gun violence, expanding immigrant protections, and “advancing equality for all” by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Fair Housing Act.

Various democratic PACs contributed more than $2 million to Walkinshaw’s ad campaigns, much of which touted his connection to Connolly.

Walkinshaw will face Republican Stewart Whitson in the special election in September, where he is the likely favorite to win.

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Maryland

LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline option is going away. Here’s where else to go in Md.

Changes will take effect July 17

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14 hours ago

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July 1, 2025

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(Bigstock photo by Mihailo K)

By ANNA RUBENSTEIN | The national suicide prevention hotline will no longer offer specialized support to LGBTQ people, starting July 17, the Trump administration announced last week.

Dialing the hotline at 988 will still be available for crisis support. But callers will no longer be able to reach specific LGBTQ services by pressing Option 3. The change worries advocates because their data shows the LGBTQ community has a disproportionally high suicide rate.

Even after the option ends, here’s how to receive tailored support if you’re in Maryland.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Maryland

Silver Spring holds annual Pride In The Plaza

‘Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience’

Published

2 days ago

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June 30, 2025

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A scene from Pride in the Plaza in Silver Spring, Md. on Sunday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Silver Spring’s annual Pride in the Plaza event took place on Sunday to celebrate the LGBTQ community and emphasize inclusion and resilience.

“Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience, love,” Robyn Woods, program and outreach director for Live In Your Truth, which organized the event, said. “I mean, just being surrounded by the community and so many great entrepreneurs, business owners, and just being a part of this whole rainbow coalition that we call the LGBTQIA to be about.”

With the event being her first time organizing for Live In Your Truth, Woods said she felt emotional to see the support and love at the event.

“Some people (are) bringing out their children, their babies, their grandparents,” Woods said. “It’s a lot more allies here than anything else. That type of support to me means so much more than just support from my community; just outside support, inside support, so much support around it, so much love. Everyone’s smiling outside, helping each other.” 

Attendees of the event were able to head over to the Family Fun Zone, an air-conditioned Pride Cool Down Lounge, or watch live drag performances in the main stage area. 

Along with entertainment and a shaved-ice stand, rows of information tables stood along the plaza, including FreeState Justice, the Washington Spirit, Trans Maryland, Moco Pride Center, and the Heartwood Program, an organization that offers support, therapy, education, and resources to the LGBTQ community. 

“I want people to know about our services, and I love what we have to offer,” Jessica Simon, psychotherapist for Heartwood Program’s Gender Wellness Clinic, said. “I (also) want to be part of a celebration with the community, and so it feels good to be here with other people who have something they want to give to the community.”

She added that within today’s political climate, to which she called an “antidote to shame,” it’s important to be celebrating Pride. 

“There’s a lot of demonization of LGBTQI people,” Siena Iacuvazzi, facilitator for Maryland Trans Unity, said. “(Pride) is part of the healing process.” 

Iacuvazzi said she was taught to be ashamed of who she was growing up, but being a part of a community helped her flourish in the future. 

“I was taught how to hate myself. I was taught that I was an abomination to God,” she said. “But being a community is like understanding that there are people who have experienced the same thing, and they’re flourishing. They’re flourishing because they’re willing to stand up for themselves as human beings and discover themselves and understand what’s true for themselves.”

She added that Pride allows for a mutual understanding to take place. 

“It’s more of a sense of belonging … and just taking that home and understanding you’re not alone,” Iacuvazzi said. “We’re each taking our own journey — we’re not putting that on each other. It’s just walking away with a sense of belonging and humanity.”

Similar to Iacuvazzi, Woods said she hopes attendees’ biggest takeaways would be family, fun, resilience, and pride. 

“Being proud of yourself, being happy for who you are, and representation and how much it matters,” she continued. “And I think all these young people that are walking around here get to see versions of themselves, but older. They get to see so many different lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual people that are successful, that are showing love, that care, and it’s not how we’re portrayed in the media. It’s lovely to see it out here. (It’s) like we’re one big old, happy family.”

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