Local
Lead entertainers cancel appearances at Capital Pride, Black Pride
Various reasons cited
The lead entertainers scheduled to perform at D.C.’s Capital Pride and Black Pride festivals abruptly cancelled their appearances this week, prompting organizers to scramble to rearrange their programs.
D.C. born and nationally recognized rapper Wale informed Black Pride organizers by e-mail earlier this week that he backed out of his May 30 appearance at the D.C. Convention Center for the Black Pride annual festival because he was uncomfortable performing at a gay event.
Shortly thereafter, singer and actress Mya, who was scheduled to perform June 13 at the Capital Pride festival, disclosed that complications associated with recent foot surgery would prevent her from appearing at that event.
“While we are sad to learn that Mya will be unable to entertain at Capital Pride due to medical reasons, we wish her a speedy recovery,” said Dyana Mason, Capital Pride’s executive director.
“The 35th anniversary of Capital Pride has lots of fantastic entertainment planned for the main stage of the festival, including Inaya Day, Kirsten Price, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, the D.C. Cowboys and many more,” she said.
Earl Fowlkes, a board member and spokesperson for Black Pride, said organizers were able to book nationally known rhythm and blues singer J. Holiday as a replacement for Wale. Holiday, 25 and a D.C. native, is best known for his 2007 hit song “Bed,” which rose to the No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 ratings, according to Billboard Magazine.
Wale, 25, became a nationally recognized rapper in 2006, when his song “Dig Dug (Shake It)” caught the eye of a record company producer who arranged for a wider distribution of his music. Among other things, he has performed on MTV and appeared recently on the David Letterman Show.
Fowlkes said Black Pride organizers were startled this week when they received two e-mails from Wale’s agent, one saying the rapper had to cancel due to “family obligations,” and the second saying he didn’t know Black Pride was a gay-related event when he agreed to appear.
“We were clear about what kind of event this is,” Fowlkes told the Blade. “After doing this for 20 years, we certainly don’t want to put ourselves and the artist in an uncomfortable situation by not telling them what we are.
“We’re Black Gay Pride, and the people coming out there are members of our community,” he said. “We made that very clear.”
Fowlkes said Black Pride officials believe homophobia was the underlying reason that Wale cancelled his appearance. He said Wale’s agent has refunded an advance fee that Black Pride made to book the rapper, but noted the group is considering taking legal action for what Fowlkes described as a breach of contract.
“What was important to us on our 20th year is we really wanted to break some new ground,” Fowlkes said. “And one of the things we wanted was a male back artist. We always had female artists and we’ve never really had a male black heterosexual identified artist.”
He said organizers carefully vetted Wale, whose music is popular within the black LGBT community, for any signs of anti-gay themes in his lyrics and statements, and none were found.
Jeffrey Richardson, president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and one of the local black LGBT leaders scheduled to be honored at this year’s Black Pride events, called Wale’s cancellation a sign that the LGBT community still has a long way to go to overcome prejudice.
“This is pure homophobia on his part,” Richardson said. “This reflects the feelings of the broader community. For a lot of folks, the biggest fear is of being labeled as gay. It’s a stigma we still have a lot of work to do to overcome.”
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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