Local
Capital TransPride draws nearly 150 to Southwest
Panel discussed anti-trans violence and District police’s response
Panelists discuss anti-transgender violence and the Metropolitan Police Department’s response to it during Capital TransPride on Saturday (Washington Blade photo by Blake Bergen)
Nearly 150 people gathered at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Southwest on Saturday for the sixth annual Capital TransPride.
Author Everett Maroon delivered the keynote address; while Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive executive director Cyndee Clay, Rainbow History Fund founder Mark Meinke and TransPride founder SaVanna Wanzer were honored for their work on behalf of trans Washingtonians. Transgender Health Empowerment, the Latino History Project, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance and Equality Maryland were among the more than 20 organizations that co-sponsored the event.
“We reached a much larger audience than we did last year,” noted Capital TransPride Co-Chair Holly Goldmann, who is also a D.C. LGBT Community Center board member.
Former Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League member Terra Moore, Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence vice chair Hassan Naveed, Jason Terry of the D.C. Trans Coalition, trans activist Ruby Corado and Officer Juanita Foreman of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit discussed anti-trans violence in the District on a panel that former TransPride chair Danielle King moderated.
Corado, whose community center for LGBT Latinos in Columbia Heights is slated to open on June 6, said the situation for trans Washingtonians has improved over the last decade. Challenges, however, remain.
“These days we do have the ability that we can be ourselves and we can actually function during the day,” said Corado. “We come out in different neighborhoods in this city. There are people who are really willing to embrace us and have done so well. However, we still have other people that are not quite receptive of the idea of a trans person being themselves.”
MPD statistics show that there were 10 reported bias-related crimes based on gender identity and expression in the city in 2010, compared to five in 2009 and four in 2008.
A National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs report indicates that 70 percent of anti-LGBT murder victims in 2010 were people of color—and 44 percent of them were trans women. The NCAVP study further noted that trans people and people of color are twice as likely to experience violence or discrimination than non-trans white people. The report also indicates that trans people of color are more than twice as likely to experience discrimination than whites.
Lashay Mclean’s murder last July in Northeast and the subsequent spate of anti-trans violence that included an off-duty District police officer allegedly shooting three trans women and two male friends while they sat in a car underscores the problem. Prosecutors charged Gary Niles Montgomery with second-degree murder while armed in connection with the stabbing death of Deoni Jones at a Northeast Metro bus stop on Feb. 2.
“It’s time we look at ourselves and come together,” said Corado in response to King’s question about what trans women of color can do to curb violence directed against them. “You really need to take an active role because until we become part of the solution, you can’t expect someone else to do it for us.”
From left; Officer Juanita Foreman and transgender activist Ruby Corado discuss anti-trans violence in the District.
Corado and several other panelists were quick to applaud GLLU and the MPD’s efforts over the last year to combat anti-trans violence in the city. Terry described D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray as the most trans-friendly administration the city has ever seen, but he stressed that City Hall has not done enough to ensure trans Washingtonians’ safety.
“We have to get serious in addressing biased policing in this city,” Terry said.
Terry also cited Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s comments during a WTOP interview in February that trans people need to do more to keep themselves safe as another example of what he described as blaming the victim. “It’s not your fault if you’re victimized,” he stressed. “It’s not your fault.”
Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes stressed at the end of the panel that the department remains committed to combating bias-related crimes in the city. She added the MPD has a system in place to respond to officers who do “not do what they’re supposed to do.”
“If there is an issue, do let us know,” said Groomes.
Police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump further defended the MPD’s approach.
“One of the District’s most attractive qualities is that it is open and welcoming to people of all nations, races, sexual orientation and gender identity. Intolerance and hate crimes have no place in our vibrant city,” she told the Blade. “With 100 officers and almost all detectives trained to work with the LGBT community to address crimes of all types, we have more resources dedicated than ever before. This in turn helps us to make arrests, as we did in the recent IHOP shooting, and prevent the next crime and victimization.”
Jeffrey Richardson, director of the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs, echoed Crump.
“While our city as a whole, still has much work to do on these issues, the Gray administration has made major strides to open the lines of communication with community partners and leverage resources to address some core issues facing the community,” he said, noting that the District’s community engagement remains far more advanced than in other cities around the country. “There’s always going to be more we can do to respond to trends, shift culture and change behavior. It is our commitment to keep our lines of communication open and work in partnership to make the District a safer place for all residents.”
District of Columbia
Blade contributor, husband exchange vows in D.C.
Yariel Valdés and Kevin Vega held ceremony at Jefferson Memorial on March 23
Washington Blade contributor Yariel Valdés and his husband, Kevin Vega, exchanged vows at the Jefferson Memorial on March 23.
The couple married in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 24, 2025. The Jefferson Memorial ceremony — which Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Samy Nemir Olivares officiated — coincided with the third anniversary of Yariel and Kevin’s first date.
Yariel in 2019 asked for asylum in the U.S. because of the persecution he suffered as a journalist in his native Cuba. He spent nearly a year in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before his release on March 4, 2020.
Yariel wrote a series of articles about his time in ICE custody that the Blade published. The series was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2022.
Yariel and Kevin live in South Florida.
District of Columbia
‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar
Mayoral candidate cites record of longtime support for LGBTQ rights
More than 100 people filled the upstairs room of the D.C. gay bar Number 9 on Thursday night, March 26, to listen to D.C. mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie at an event promoted as an “Out for McDuffie” meet and greet session.
Several local LGBTQ activists who attended the event said they support McDuffie, a former D.C. Council member, in his run for mayor while others said they had not yet decided whom to vote for in the June 16 D.C. Democratic primary election.
As of March 27, eight other Democrats were competing against McDuffy in the June 16 primary, including D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), considered McDuffie’s lead opponent. Lewis George also has a record of strong support on LGBTQ issues.
Most political observers consider McDuffie and Lewis George the two lead candidates in the race, with the others having far less name recognition.
The two lead organizers of the Out for McDuffie event were LGBTQ rights advocates Courtney Snowden, a former D.C. deputy mayor in the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Cesar Toledo, a local LGBTQ youth housing services advocate.
“I’m a candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C. and I’m running for mayor because I love this city,” McDuffie told the gathering after being introduced by Snowden. “And now more than ever we need leadership to take us to the future,” he said, adding that he and his administration would “stand up and fight” against President Donald Trump’s efforts to intervene in local D.C. affairs.
“Our strength is in the 700,000 beautifully diverse residents of Washington, D.C.” he told the gathering. “And as Courtney said, I didn’t just show up and run for mayor and then start saying that I’m going to be an ally for the queer community, for the LGBTQ+ community,” he said, “I’ve lived my entire professional life fighting for justice and fighting for fairness.”
Following his speech, McDuffie told the Washington Blade, “We’re going to fight to protect our LGBTQ+ community every single day. That’s what I’ve spent my career doing, making sure we have a beautifully diverse and inclusive city.”
He remained at Number 9, located at 1435 P St., N.W., for nearly an hour after he spoke, chatting with attendees.
District of Columbia
‘No Kings’ protests set for D.C.
Anti-Trump demonstrations to take place across country on Saturday
As President Donald Trump and his administration escalate rhetoric targeting transgender youth and student athletes, push efforts to restrict voting access for millions of Americans, and pursue foreign policy decisions that critics say bypass congressional authority, organizers across the country are once again mobilizing in protest.
For many LGBTQ advocates, the moment feels especially urgent.
In recent months, activists have pointed to a surge in anti-trans legislation, attacks on gender-affirming care, and efforts to roll back nondiscrimination protections as direct threats to the safety and visibility of queer and trans communities. Organizers say the demonstrations are not just about policy, but about defending the right of LGBTQ people — particularly trans youth and people of color — to live openly and safely.
Thousands of “No Kings” protests are planned nationwide, with multiple demonstrations set to take place in D.C.
One of the primary events, “No Kings Washington,” will be held in Anacostia, an overwhelmingly Black area of D.C. that is often at the center of conversations around racial justice, policing, and access to resources in the nation’s capital.
The protest in Anacostia is focused on what organizers describe as the “power behind the throne,” specifically Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor. Miller has been closely associated with the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, including the family separation practice that resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents at the Southern border.
Activists have also linked immigration enforcement policies to broader concerns about LGBTQ migrants, including queer asylum seekers who often face heightened risks of violence and discrimination both in their home countries and within detention systems.
Anacostia protest details:
Participants are asked to gather starting at 1:30 p.m. on the southeast side of the Frederick Douglass Bridge. The closest Metro station is Anacostia on the Green Line, about an 8-minute walk from the starting point. Organizers strongly encourage attendees to use public transportation, as street parking is limited.
The march will proceed past Fort McNair and conclude near the Waterfront Metro station.
D.C. icon and LGBTQ activist Rayceen Pendarvis is set to speak at the protest around 2 p.m.
Kalorama protest details:
A separate protest will take place earlier in the day in Kalorama, a neighborhood long associated with political power and home to presidents, cabinet officials, and foreign ambassadors. Demonstrators are expected to gather at 10 a.m., with a march running until approximately noon near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Kalorama Road.
Arlington/National Mall protest details:
Another group is expected to assemble at Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery at 10 a.m. before crossing the Memorial Bridge into D.C., passing the Lincoln Memorial and continuing on to the Washington Monument. Organizers say the march is intended to defend “American democracy, the rule of law, and a healthy planet.”
Unlike last June — when organizers discouraged large-scale demonstrations in D.C. due Trump’s military/birthday parade — activists are now explicitly calling on people to show up in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas.
The protests also coincide with Transgender Day of Visibility weekend, which includes additional gatherings and celebrations on the National Mall. At the same time, peak bloom for the National Cherry Blossom Festival is expected to draw large crowds to the city. With multiple major events happening simultaneously, officials and organizers anticipate significant congestion, increased traffic, and crowded public transit throughout the weekend.
Organizers are urging participants to plan ahead and come prepared.
“Bring your signs, noisemakers, music, and creative ideas, and gather in joyful, nonviolent protest,” they said. “Children are very welcome.”
For more information, visit nokings.org.
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