The 2014 Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather contest was held at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on Jan. 20. Joe Birdwell of Tampa, Fla. took home the title. (Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas)
The State of the Union Address was held at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 29. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Team D.C. held its ‘Fashion Show and Model Search’ at Town Danceboutique on March 8. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
Gay D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At-Large) filed papers at the Reeves Municipal Building on March 12 for his ultimately unsuccessful bid for mayor. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performed a gay spoof of ‘The Sound of Music’ called ‘Von Trapped’ at Lisner Auditorium on March 13. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade had a yearlong focus on poverty in the LGBT community. Cedric Burgess told the Blade he lives ‘check to check’ while relying on government assistance to pay bills. Despite his struggles, he works to give back to the LGBT community. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The British Embassy held a celebration for the arrival of marriage equality in England and Wales on March 28. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Emily Schall-Townley, daughter of Virginia same-sex marriage plaintiffs Carol Schall and Mary Townley, showed the Washington Blade around the woods near her home in Chesterfield, Va., with her friend. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Emily Schall-Townley outside her Chesterfield, Va., home on April 4. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Long-running gay bar Remingtons held its last happy hour on April 14 before shuttering. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
Supporters of marriage equality gathered in front of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. on May 13. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the Harvey Milk stamp at a ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on May 22. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Stonewall Kickball held a ‘DragBall’ match at Francis-Stevens Field on June 1. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
LGBT advocates Dennis and Judy Shepard attended a reception for Marriott International’s launch of its #LoveTravels campaign at the Mayflower Renaisannce on June 4. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The second annual Pride Run 5K was held at Congressional Cemetery on June 6. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The D.C. Front Runners performed a dance number following the Pride Run 5K. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Joint Armed Forces Color Guard for the first time marched at the head of the Capital Pride Parade on June 7. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Del. Heather Mizeur, center, with her wife Deborah Mizeur and running mate in the Maryland gubernatorial election Delman Coates marched in the 2014 Baltimore Pride Parade on June 14. Mizeur lost the Democratic Party primary to Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who in turn, lost to Republican candidate Larry Hogan in the general election. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Brent Minor of Team D.C. met with Washington Nationals players before the game at Night Out at the Nationals on June 17. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A reporter and photographer from the Blade were sent on assignment into the Deep South to document LGBT life. Rev. Brandiilyne Dear, founder of the Mississippi LGBT advocacy organization Dandelion Project, met with the Blade in Laurel, Miss. on July 9. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A Mississippi law that opponents argue allows business owners to deny services to LGBT people based on their religious beliefs took effect on July 1. In response, some local businesses began putting ‘We Don’t Discriminate’ stickers in storefront windows. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Belle Reve Executive Director Vicki Weeks on July 14 shows photos of the hurricane damage to her facility to the Washington Blade. Belle Reve is a transitional housing facility for the HIV-positive homeless population in New Orleans. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Cleveland’s iconic Tower Terminal was floodlit in rainbow colors for the International Gay Games on Aug. 9. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Team DC athletes medaled in 18 sports during the Gay Games held in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Gay Games were held in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio in August. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Activist Marco Quiroga spoke at an immigration reform rally in front of the White House on Sept. 9. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
About 50 supporters attended a prayer vigil on Sept. 27 in front of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for trans victims of violence. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The annual Phasefest Queer Music Festival was held at Phase 1 in late September. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
Transgender service members discussed their experiences in the military at an ACLU, Palm Center forum on Oct. 20. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade held its annual ‘Best of Gay D.C.’ awards party at Josephine on Oct. 23. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
Whitman-Walker Health’s ‘Walk to End HIV’ (formerly known as ‘AIDS Walk’) was held on Oct. 25. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Jennifer Hudson performed at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Oct. 25. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The annual ‘High Heel Race’ brought colorful costumes to 17th Street on Oct. 28. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Brigadier General Tammy S. Smith joined a group of LGBT veterans and supporters at a Veterans Day wreath laying ceremony in Congressional Cemetery. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Mayor Vincent Gray, fourth from left, was joined by Friends of Stead Park and other city officials for the ribbon-cutting ceremony reopening the field on Nov. 15. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
More than 250 people packed the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington on Nov. 20 for the city’s annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. (Washington Blade photo by Vladyslav Rekhovskyy)
Whitman-Walker Health held a vigil for World AIDS Day at the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center on Dec. 1. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performed ‘Rockin’ the Holidays’ at Lincoln Theatre in December. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Out NBA star Jason Collins, left, spoke with his former college roommate Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) on Dec. 11 during an event on Capitol Hill that commemorated International Human Rights Day. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Thousands joined the ‘March for Justice’ in D.C. on Dec. 13 to protest police brutality. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Stickers on the door to the offices of the Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
BERLIN — The Washington Blade was on assignment in Hungary, Poland, and Germany from April 2-16.
The Blade interviewed LGBTQ activists, government officials, and refugees from Ukraine who have resettled in Berlin and in Warsaw, the Polish capital. The Blade also visited Auschwitz in Oświęcim, Poland.
A billboard at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, on April 2, 2024, proclaims the country to be “family-friendly.” (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Part of the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a memorial to Hungarian Jewish people who the Arrow Cross Party, a fascist Hungarian militia, massacred during World War II. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Posters on the Dohány Street Synagogue’s fence in Budapest, Hungary, with pictures of Israelis who Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip took hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Carmel Gat’s sister-in-law, Yarden Roman-Gat, was among the hostages released last November. Roman-Gat’s brother, Gili Roman, is a gay man who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A falafel restaurant in Budapest, Hungary, with a decal on the window that notes it welcomes LGBTQ customers. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The drink menu at CoXx, a gay cruising bar in Budapest, Hungary. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)An anti-transgender book for sale in a bookstore in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on April 4, 2024. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government over the last decade has cracked down on LGBTQ rights in the country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A UNHCR-affiliated community center for refugees in Kraków, Poland, on April 5, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A picture of Polish-born Pope John Paul II inside St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in Kraków, Poland. The Roman Catholic Church remains a powerful institution in Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)An anti-Russian President Vladimir Putin sticker on a streetlight in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Posters at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Patrons at Lindo Bar, a gay bar in Kraków, Poland, on April 6, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Magda Dropek votes in Kraków, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Photo courtesy or Dropek’s X account)Auschwitz I camp in Oświęcim, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
A mural in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Warsaw House Foundation on April 8, 2024, hosted a clothes swap for transgender people at La Pose. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Drag queens entertain patrons of La Pose, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 8, 2024, during a broadcast of an episode of “Czas na Show” or “Drag Me Out,” a reality show that features male Polish celebrities performing in drag with drag queens. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)International News Editor Michael K. Lavers interviews gay Deputy Polish Justice Minister Krzysztof Śmiszek at his office in Warsaw, Poland, on April 9, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Patryk Janczewski)The Polish Sejm in Warsaw, Poland. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Mirosława Makuchowska of Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, a Polish LGBTQ rights group, at her organization’s offices in Warsaw, Poland, on April 10, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Pride flags fly from an apartment’s terrace in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Ukrainian and Pride flags in Warsaw House Foundation’s apartment in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Drag queens perform at Ramona Bar, a gay bar in Warsaw, Poland, on April 11, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A poster for a sex workers rally in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A memorial to Ukrainians who have died during Russia’s war against their country in Berlin on April 13, 2024. The memorial was across the street from the Russian Embassy. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Lunch in Berlin’s Tiergarten park on April 13, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A gender-neutral bathroom at SchwuZ, an LGBTQ club in Berlin. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Performers at SchwuZ on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)A pro-Palestinian sticker near Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin on April 14, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The Canadian Embassy in Berlin on April 15, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)Dmitry Shapoval, a gay Ukrainian man with HIV, in Berlin on April 15, 2024. He fled Ukraine in March 2022 after Russia launched its war against his country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)The menu at Felixx, a gay bar in Vienna (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)A picture of former President Donald Trump in a New York courtroom on the front page of Die Presse, an Austrian newspaper, on April 16, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
From left, Zander Childs Valentino, Sasha Adams Sanchez and Dylan B. Dickherson White are crowned the winners at a pageant at Penn Social on April 26. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Eight contestants vied for Mr., Miss and Mx. Capital Pride 2024 at a pageant at Penn Social on Saturday. Xander Childs Valentino was crowned Mr. Capital Pride, Dylan B. Dickherson White was crowned Mx. Capital Pride and Sasha Adams Sanchez was crowned Miss Capital Pride.
