Monet Dupree performs at Freddie’s Follies at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Gill on Jan. 13 at a time before the concept of ‘social distancing.’David Spivey is named ‘Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2020’ on Jan. 17.Members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington perform at the Brother, Help Thyself Foundation Grant Awards ceremony in the now-shuttered DC Eagle.Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam attends an Equality Virginia event on Feb. 4 in Richmond celebrating the impending passage of the Virginia Values Act in the Virginia General Assembly.The Washington Blade holds its annual Most Eligible LGBT Singles party at Duplex Diner on Feb. 14.Mayor Pete Buttigieg makes a presidential campaign stop in Northern Virginia on Feb. 23.Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) speaks at a congressional hearing on LGBT rights on Feb. 27.Gay Trump supporter Brandon Straka speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28.As life with COVID-19 became a new reality, someone erected a “HOPE” sign in Winchester, Va.The streets and restaurants of the gayborhood were empty by March 17 as new COVID-19 restrictions were put in place.Ruby Corado has her temperature checked before entering the Casa Ruby community center on May 8.Riots broke out in the streets of D.C. on May 31 following the murder of George Floyd.A peaceful Black Lives Matter protest was held at Black Lives Matter Plaza on June 6.The activist group No Justice No Pride organized a ‘Defund MPD’ march and protest on June 13.The No Justice No Pride ‘Defund MPD’ march ended in a protest in front of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s home.A makeshift memorial was created in front of the United States Supreme Court following the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Signs mourning the loss of trans women of color were among those on the White House fence on election day, Nov. 3.A ‘Make America Great Again’ pro-Trump mega rally was held on the streets of D.C. Protesters included Gays for Trump.A series of new coronavirus restrictions threaten the future of LGBT businesses.
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.
