Local

‘Lesbian Bar Project’ film shown at Library of Congress

Sen. Baldwin, Rep. Davids join LGBTQ activists for viewing

Published

4 years ago

October 29, 2021

Left to right: Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), filmmakers Erica Rose and Elina Street, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), both of whom are out lesbians, joined about 100 LGBTQ activists and supporters at the Library of Congress’s main auditorium on Thursday night, Oct. 28, for the premiere showing in the nation’s capital of the film “Lesbian Bar Project.”

The film is named after a project founded last year by New York-based lesbian filmmakers Erica Rose and Elina Street who are listed as the film’s directors. The two women told the Washington Blade earlier this year that they started the Lesbian Bar Project to help the nation’s 21 remaining lesbian bars that were struggling to survive during the COVID pandemic.

The project has raised more than $250,000 since its founding, which it has provided in the form of grants to lesbian bars in financial need during the pandemic. Among the bars receiving support from the project was D.C.’s only remaining lesbian bar, A League of Her Own, in the city’s Adams Morgan neighborhood.

“In the late 1980s, there were an estimated 200 lesbian bars across the country,” a statement posted on the Lesbian Bar Project website says. “These bars are disappearing at a staggering rate, and we cannot afford to lose more of these vital establishments to the fallout of COVID-19,” the statement says.

Street and Rose said they arranged for the production of the 20-minute documentary film, Lesbian Bar Project, with financial support from the Jagermeister liquor company’s Save the Night campaign, which the company launched to provide financial support for nightlife businesses such as bars and restaurants during the pandemic. A Jagermeister spokesperson said the company has also provided financial support for the Lesbian Bar Project’s website in an effort to promote the project’s awareness of the role lesbian bars play in the greater LGBTQ community.

In remarks before the film was shown at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium, Baldwin and Davids praised the work of the Lesbian Bar Project, calling the nation’s 21 remaining lesbian bars across the country safe spaces for lesbians to meet and socialize.

“While so much has changed for the LGBTQ community, Sharice Davids and I stand here before you as elected members of the House and Senate. We’re proof of that,” Baldwin told the audience. “But we also know that for too many people in too many places we still have a long, long way to go,” she said. “We still need places to feel safe that are supportive and a part of the community, places where we can be unequivocally and unreservedly ourselves.”

Baldwin became the nation’s first out lesbian member of the U.S. House of Representatives following her election to the House in 1998. She became the nation’s first out LGBTQ U.S. senator following her election to the Senate in 2012.

Davids became the nation’s first out LGBTQ Native American member of Congress in 2018, when she won election to her House seat.

Following the showing of the film, Rose, Street and owners or representatives of four of the lesbian bars that were portrayed in the film, including Ally Spaulding, general manager of D.C.’s A League of Her Own, appeared for a panel discussion on the stage in front of the screen where the film was shown.

Also appearing on the panel were D.C. lesbian activists Jo McDaniel and Rachel Pike, who appear in the film, and who talked about their plans to open an LGBTQ welcoming bar in D.C. called As You Are.

Other speakers included Lisa Meninchino, owner of the New York City lesbian bar Cubbyhole; Lisa Cannistraci, owner of the lesbian bar Henrietta Hudson, also located in New York City; and Rachel and Sheila Smallman, co-owners of the Mobile, Ala. lesbian bar Herz.

The event was sponsored by the LGBT Congressional Staff Association; Library of Congress GLOBE, which represents LGBTQ staff members at the Library of Congress; and the U.S. House Equality Caucus, which is co-chaired by the nine out LGBTQ House members.

Laura Munoz Lopez, an official with the House Democratic Caucus and the LGBT Congressional Staff Association, was the lead organizer of the event and served as moderator for the panel discussion.

Prior to the showing of the film, officials at the Library of Congress set up an exhibit for attendees to view that included some the library’s collections of lesbian-related artifacts, including lesbian publications going back to the early 1960s.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

Published

1 hour ago

May 2, 2025

Michael K. Lavers

(Screenshot courtesy of WorldPride's website)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

World Pride 2025

Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride

Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

Published

18 hours ago

May 1, 2025

Staff reports

Pabllo Vittar (Screen capture via Pabllo Vittar/YouTube)

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.

The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.

Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.

District of Columbia

$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC

Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

The long-suffering RFK Stadium will be razed to make way for a new domed facility that could one day host the Super Bowl. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.

With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.

Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.

The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.

“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”

In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.

“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”

He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.

Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.

“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.

At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.

In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.

“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement

Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development.

So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.

Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports.