News
Aaron J. ‘AJ’ Williams, 26
A local gay man who had worked at Secrets, the Fireplace and most recently Remington’s died from injuries sustained in a car accident in Silver Spring, Md.
AJ Williams
A local gay man who had worked at Secrets, the Fireplace and most recently Remington’s died from injuries sustained in a car accident in Silver Spring, Md., at about 2:43 a.m. on June 6.
Aaron J. “AJ” Williams was 26 and lived in Langley Park, Md., according to friends including his boyfriend, Walter Somarriba. A memorial service was held Tuesday at First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Md.
Williams was born April 7, 1987.
Secrets bartender Russell Schuerch says he got to know Williams first as a customer and then more later when Williams came on staff as a bar back.
“After a while we got to be good friends,” Williams says. “You have your bar friends and then friends who become close enough that you’re friends outside the bar too and that’s how we were. He easily transitioned over to being a personal friend and I helped him get on at Secrets.”
Schuerch says Williams worked there about six or nine months for a stint about two years ago. He eventually left because the Fireplace offered him more hours, Schuerch said.
Somarriba, 21, says he and Williams had been dating nearly a year and met each other on a Metro train near Fort Totten. They lived together in Langley Park and moved in together after just a few dates.
“AJ accepted me for who I am and we just clicked,” Somarriba said. “He just believed in me and gave me my first job, my first phone. He pushed me a lot and had the greatest influence on my life. He helped me a lot.”
Williams was a native of the D.C. area. Somarriba says he had family in the area and had introduced Somarriba to his mother “just recently.”
“He was not really that close with his family but he did talk to them,” Somarriba said.
NBC 4 Washington reported that the car Williams was driving crashed into a brick wall at University Boulevard West and Dennis Avenue in Silver Spring. The gray 2009 Honda Civic was traveling eastbound when the driver lost control while attempting to go around a curve, NBC reported. The car struck a tree and a brick wall before stopping in the parking lot of 401 University Boulevard West. Williams was taken to MedStar along with a passenger. Williams died soon after and the passenger, identified as Jose Adolfo Alvarado Castillo, 31, sustained serious injuries, according to a WUSA Channel 9 report of the crash.
Somarriba said Williams was a good person.
“He was loved by all and touched a lot of hearts,” Somarriba said.
Friends are collecting money to cover his funeral expenses. Those interested in donating can search his name — Aaron Jerel Williams — at youcaring.com.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
Africa
Senegalese NGO claims new president discussed LGBTQ rights with top EU official
Jamra Ong Islamique demands government expedite anti-LGBTQ law
A Senegalese NGO has called on the government to expedite the process of enacting an anti-LGBTQ law after the country’s new president met with a top EU official.
Jamra Ong Islamique made the call during a press conference last Wednesday after newly elected Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye met with European Council President Charles Michel.
Mamae Makhtar Gueye of Jamra Ong Islamique claimed the meeting between the two dignitaries involved an acknowledgment of LGBTQ rights in Senegal. Gueye said Michel is an LGBTQ ally who wants to change Senegal’s cultural customs that do not condone LGBTQ rights.
“His ardent proselytism for the expansion of LGBT ideology could not leave Jamra indifferent,” said Gueye. “Countries including Gabon, Central African Republic, and Mauritius, amongst others, that underestimated the nuisance of these propagandists of homosexuality paid dearly for it because these global lobbyists ended up legalizing this abomination, so beware.”
Gueye, however, has received a lot of backlash and has been accused of not raising the same sentiments during the tenure of former President Macky Sall, who also met with Michel.
“Did he come as a defender of the LGBT cause or as a European official? Did he come to talk about LGBT rights or partnership agreement between the European Union and Senegal?,” asked Ahmadou Diaw, a Senegalese academic. “Mr. Gueye should know when to alert and when to shut up.”
Cheikh Maï Niang, a social commentator, described Jamra as a “useless organization” that is focused on restricting the freedom of the Senegalese people.
“They are absolutely good for nothing apart from eating the taxpayer’s money,” said Niang. “Where is the democracy we cry about everyday? Seems like they are here to restrict the freedom of the Senegalese people.”
“Not everyone is interested in religion,” added Niang. “We wasted too much time with these useless things. Let’s talk about developing the country. People should live their lives in the manner they want.”
Jamra has previously made proclamations against the LGBTQ community.
The organization in February — before Senegal’s presidential election that took place on March 24 — accused the EU Electoral Observation Mission to Senegal of wanting to indoctrinate Senegalese people with their pro-LGBTQ narrative.
Senegal does not have a law that specifically criminalizes those who identify as LGBTQ or advocate for them. Article 319 of the country’s penal code criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations with a fine and between one and five years in prison.
Some Senegalese lawmakers have sought to increase the prison sentence to 10 years for anyone convicted of engaging in homosexuality. These efforts thus far have not been successful.
Samm Jikko Yi (Together for the Safeguarding of Values), an Islamic lobby group that includes many organizations, in 2022 organized an anti-LGBTQ demonstration in Dakar, the country’s capital. Protesters called for harsher penalties for Senegalese who identify as LGBTQ and/or advocate for LGBTQ rights.
The Washington Blade in 2022 noted LGBTQ people have suffered physical and sexual abuse while in prison.
Senegal’s deep religious roots, which are largely Islamic, have contributed to the lack of tolerance of LGBTQ people in the country. This reality has prompted LGBTQ Senegalese to either flee the country or remain in the closet.
Media reports indicate there are fewer bars, clubs and other places where LGBTQ people can freely socialize.
Maryland
What Anne Arundel County school board candidates think about book bans
State lawmakers passed Freedom to Read Act in April
BY ROYALE BONDS | Parents’ efforts to restrict content available to students in school libraries has become a contentious issue in Maryland. Conservative parent groups, such as Moms for Liberty, have been working to get books they believe are inappropriate removed from libraries in Carroll and Howard counties, sparking protests, new policies, and even a state law.
The Freedom to Read Act, passed in April, sets standards that books cannot be removed from public and school libraries due to an author’s background. Library staff that uphold the standard are protected under this act. The law, however, does not prohibit removing books deemed “sexually explicit,” the stated reason local Moms for Liberty chapters challenged school library books.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner website.
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