Local
Second D.C. march planned for AIDS conference
The Rev. Al Sharpton is among those expected to speak at an AIDS march later this month.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is among those expected to speak at an AIDS march later this month. (Photo by David Shankbone via Wikimedia)
Representatives of a broad coalition of AIDS and social justice groups announced on Monday that thousands of people were expected to participate in a protest march on Washington on July 24 to coincide with the 19th International AIDS Conference.
The AIDS Conference is scheduled to take place July 22-28 at the Washington Convention Center.
Officials with the coalition, We Can End AIDS, said “five distinct branches” of the march would assemble in different locations in or near downtown D.C., including the Convention Center, and converge at Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.
A press release issued July 2 says the marchers plan to engage in a “range of creative and powerful actions” that one organizer said may involve non-violent civil disobedience arrests. The release says participants from the “occupy” movement, which has staged protests in dozens of U.S. cities, including on Wall Street in New York, would be joining the march.
The July 24 march is scheduled to follow a separate AIDS March on Washington set for July 22. That event is being organized by the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, with an exclusive focus on AIDS.
The July 22 march is scheduled to kick off at the grounds of the Washington Monument, where a rally and concert will be held, and travel east along Constitution Avenue and end at 3rd Street where Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues converge.
Called the “Keep the Promise” March, the event seeks to “refocus public attention on the lack of access to HIV testing, treatment and prevention, wavering political commitment to funding the global AIDS response and excessive AIDS drug pricing by pharmaceutical companies,” according to a statement posted on march’s website.
Among those scheduled to speak at the rally are Andrew Young, the civil rights leader and former Atlanta mayor; Rev. Al Sharpton; political commentator and civil rights activist; Tavis Smiley, author and TV talk show host; and Cornel West, author, professor and civil rights advocate. Organizers say Archbishop Desmond Tutu is scheduled to address the crowd in a recorded video.
Organizers of both marches said they support each others’ events, with many participants expected to participate in both marches.
Maryland
Parents sue Anne Arundel schools, allege officials hid child’s gender transition
America First legal Foundation filed lawsuit on July 8
By CODY BOTELER | Two parents, backed by a conservative nonprofit group, are suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools over the school system’s policies related to transgender children.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, accuses staff at an unidentified county high school of lying to the parents, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, about their child, identified as Mary Doe.
The Does allege the school “socially transitioned” their child without notice or their consent by using a masculine name and masculine pronouns for Mary Doe.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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