WORTH THE WAIT
Janet Jacksons acclaimed
new tour hits D.C. next week.
PAGE 29
NOVEMBER 10, 2017 VOLUME 48 ISSUE 45 AMERICAS LGBTQ NEWS SOURCE
A new chapter has begun
In big night for Democrats,
Danica Roem ousts Bigot Bob
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
LAKE RIDGE, Va. Danica Roem
on Tuesday soundly defeated Virginia
state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince
William County) in a race that garnered
national attention.
With 100 percent of precincts in the
13th District reporting, Roem defeated
Marshall by a 54-45 percent margin.
Roem, a former journalist, will become
the rst openly transgender person
seated in any state legislature in the
country once she is sworn into the
Virginia House of Delegates in January.
To every person whos ever been
singled out, whos ever been stigmatized,
whos ever been the mist, whos ever
been the kid in the corner, whos ever
DANICA ROEM easily defeated Del. Bob Marshall, who was dubbed Bigot Bob by needed someone to stand up for them
LGBT advocates for his long record of hostility to the community. when they didnt have a voice of their
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
10 years later, ENDA ght informs movement
Firestorm over trans exclusion
brought tension, reckoning
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Ten years ago, a restorm ignited in
the LGBT community over a vote in the
U.S. House that many transgender people
remember vividly because it excluded them
in favor of advancing employment non-
discrimination protections to lesbian, gay
and bisexual people.
The vote on the gay-only version of the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act on Nov.
7, 2007, rocked the LGBT movement and
prompted protests against the Human Rights
Campaign and gay former Rep. Barney Frank
Protesters target HRC in 2007 over the groups support for a gay-only (D-Mass.), who backed the bill, arguing it was
version of ENDA. the best that could be done at the time. The
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO HENRY LINSER
10th anniversary of the vote is Tuesday.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
own because theres no one else who was
with them, this ones for you, said Roem
as she spoke to hundreds of supporters
who were attending the Prince William
County Democratic Partys election night
party at Waters End Brewery in Lake
Ridge. This one is for, most importantly,
the people of Haymarket, Gainesville,
Manassas, Manassas Park.
Althea Garrison in 1992 became the
rst trans person elected to a state
legislature in the U.S. when she won
a seat in the Massachusetts House of
Representatives, but she did not publicly
discuss her gender identity during the
campaign. Stacie Laughton in 2012
became the rst openly trans person
elected to a state legislature when
she won a seat in the New Hampshire
House of Representatives, but she later
ended her bid to sit in the chamber after
convictions for credit card and identity
fraud became public.
Andrea Jenkins, who is a trans woman
of color, on Tuesday was elected to the
CONTINUES ON PAGE 15
But the omission galvanized transgender
rights advocates to such an extent that
for the next 10 years the LGBT movement
committed to moving forward only legislation
that included the full community both
at the state and federal level and today
advancement of a sexual-orientation only bill
is impossible to imagine.
Dana Beyer, a Chevy Chase, Md.-based
transgender activist whos running for state
Senate in Maryland, said the vote on the gay-
only version of ENDA was a landmark for trans
inclusion in the LGBT movement.
Whenever I discuss the progress that weve
made, which has been remarkable, I begin
there because that was basically the rst real
battle for the trans community on the national
stage and over the succeeding decade, weve
made incredible progress,Beyer said.
Beyer added from that time forward
CONTINUES ON PAGE 16
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0 4 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017
Wojahn wins re-election in College Park
College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn,
whos gay, won election to a second term
in oce on Tuesday, nishing ahead of
three challengers by a wide margin.
Final but unocial returns showed
that Wojahn received 1,495 votes.
Council member Mary Cook came in
second place with 572 votes followed by
candidates S.H. Tom Chen and Lalzarliani
Malsawma receiving 351 votes and 98
votes respectively.
Wojahn became College Parks rst out
gay mayor when he was rst elected to College Park Mayor PATRICK WOJAHN, whos
the mayoral post two years ago. gay, won election to a second term.
Im excited, honored and humbled to PHOTO COURTESY FACEBOOK
be given the opportunity to serve College
Park another two years as mayor, he said
in a statement Tuesday night. Im eager to continue the progress weve made over the
past two years on revitalizing our city and making our neighborhoods safe and our
communities strong, he said.
Also winning re-election on Tuesday was College Parks gay City Council member P.J.
Brennan, who nished ahead of four challengers.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Gay man les complaint against
Washington Teachers Union
Gay Maryland resident Barry Hobson earlier this year led a complaint with the D.C.
Oce of Human Rights charging the D.C.-based Washington Teachers Union with violating
the citys Human Rights Act by ring him based on his sexual orientation, gender and age.
Hobson released a copy of his complaint to the Washington Blade on Monday.
His complaint says he was subjected to what he believes was unfair and discriminatory
treatment and harassment by the unions chief of sta shortly after he was hired as a
receptionist/oce assistant on Jan. 15, 2017.
I began to experience harassment by respondents chief of sta (Ms. Egbufor) approximately
ten days after submitting my new-hire paperwork, which clearly indicated I am in a same-sex
relationship, he states in the complaint. Ms. Egbufor abruptly ended a phone call when I told
her the male listed on my paperwork is my nance, the complaint says.
It says Egbufor falsely accused him of failing to do his job and of repeatedly showing up late
for work among other alleged infractions that Hobson said were completely fabricated by
Egbufor, whom at least two fellow employees told him dislikes gay people, the complaint says.
It also says Washington Teachers Union President Elizabeth Davis persuaded the
unions board to re him on April 3 on grounds of attendance and punctuality while
allowing a female employee with a newborn child to start work later to avoid being
late for work so she could drop o her child at a daycare center. This constitutes sex
discrimination, Hobson says in his complaint.
His complaint says he learned that an older employee said to be 62 years old was
allowed to keep his job after allegedly making personal purchases with the unions
corporate credit card. When Hobson asked why this employee was allowed to keep his
job while Hobson was about to be red, Davis explained that the older employee needs
more guidance than [you] youngsters, Hobsons complaint says, prompting Hobson to
accuse the union of discriminating against him because of his age.
Larry Rubin, the Washington Teachers Unions communications director, told the Blade on
Tuesday he and union ocials consider Hobsons complaint baseless, ridiculous and laughable.
He referred the Blade to the unions attorney, Lee W. Jackson, for further information on why
the union feels the complaint has no merit. Jackson couldnt immediately be reached.
An Oct. 10 notice that Oce of Human Rights Director Monica Palacio sent to the
union, which Hobson released to the Blade, says the union was required to submit to
the OHR its ocial response to Hobsons complaint by Oct. 30. The notice also says
Hobson and a union ocial were required to attend a mandatory mediation session on
Nov. 2 to determine whether a settlement agreement could be reached.
Hobson said the mediation failed and OHR has begun a formal investigation into the
complaint. Under OHR procedures the investigation, which could take several months to
complete, would determine whether probable cause exists that discrimination occurred.
If that nding is reached, another mediation session would be held to determine
whether a settled could be reached. The case would go to a public evidentiary hearing
similar to a trial if a settlement could not be reached.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
LO CA L N E W S
Lesbian, gay man le papers
for D.C. Council race
Lesbian businesswoman Dionne Bussey-Reeder and Ward 1 gay civic activist
Jamie Sycamore have led papers with the D.C. Oce of Campaign Finance to
run for seats on the D.C. City Council next year.
Bussey-Reeder, an independent, is running for one of the two at-large Council
seats up for election next year that are currently held by Council members Anita
Bonds (D-At Large) and Elisa Silverman (I-At-Large).
Sycamore is running as a Democrat for the Ward 1 Council seat held by
incumbent Democrat Brianne Nadeau.
Gay Advisory Neighborhood Commission Chair Kent Boese announced his
candidacy for the Ward 1 Council seat in July. Hes also running as a Democrat.
Boese, Sycamore, and two other Democrats Lori Parker and Greg Boyd
will be challenging Nadeau in the June 2018 Democratic primary, assuming they
obtain the required number of petition signatures to get on the ballot.
There currently are no out LGBT members of the D.C. Council. In the coming
weeks the Blade will be reporting on the campaigns of Boese, Bussey-Reeder, and
Sycamore along with the candidates and incumbents they are running against.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Bowser announces 2018 LGBTQ grant awards
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Oct. 30 that the Mayors Oce
of LGBTQ Aairs has awarded a combined $75,000 in grant funding to six
community-based organizations for services to LGBT homeless youth and
families in the District.
The grants are intended to strengthen the organizational capacity, support
leadership development, and ensure sustainability among nonprots serving
LGBTQ youth and young adults in D.C., a statement released by the mayors
oce says. Grants were made in amounts between $10,000 and $15,000, the
statement says.
Three of the six organizations receiving grants are not LGBT organizations but
have provided services to LGBT people. They include the Anacostia Coordinating
Council for which longtime D.C. gay rights advocate Phil Pannell serves as executive
director; the Total Family Care Coalition; and the Young Playwrights Theater Inc.
The LGBT groups receiving the grants are the Metro D.C. Center for the LGBT
Community; the Wanda Alston Foundation; and Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc.
The LGBT community services center Casa Ruby, which currently provides
services for homeless LGBT youth, was not among the groups receiving a grant
from the Oce of LGBTQ Aairs for 2018. However, Casa Ruby was one of 63
community-based groups to receive a 2018 grant from the Mayors Oce of
Latino Aairs to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the
Districts Latino community.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Georgetown Univ.s straight marriage
group retains student funding
A student committee at Georgetown University voted last week to recommend
that student activity funds continue to be given to a controversial campus
organization that promotes the Catholic Church position that marriage should
be an institution exclusively between a man and a woman.
The action by the Student Activities Commission came after representatives of
the schools LGBT student group called on the Commission to recommend to the
university that funds should be discontinued for the Catholic student group Love
Saxa on grounds that it fosters hatred and intolerance toward LGBT people.
Two members of the LGBT group argued before the Commission that Love
Saxas denition of marriage excludes and dehumanizes individuals in the LGBT
community, according a report in the Washington Post.
The LGBT representatives said they will appeal the student commissions
decision to the universitys administration, which has the nal say over student
activity funding.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
L O CA L N E W S
Md. trans woman assaulted in mens jail: attorney
Montgomery County
prison policy under re
from activists
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
A case in which a guard at the
Montgomery County, Md., Correctional
Facility was arrested in September for
allegedly assaulting and engaging in
improper sex with a transgender female
prisoner has drawn attention to the
countys policy for housing transgender
inmates in its jails.
To the dismay of local transgender
activists, the policy requires transgender
women to be housed in the mens section
of the countys jails unless they have had
gender reassignment surgery.
For the safety, security and order
of the facility, the Montgomery
County Department of Correction and
Rehabilitation classies and houses male
and female oenders in separate housing
units, an eight-page written policy
statement says.
MCDOCR shall classify an arrestee/
inmate who has male genitalia as a male
and one who has female genitalia as
a female, the policy document states.
MCDOCR does not consider anatomical
changes brought about by hormone
therapy to be changes that constitute a
change of anatomical sex, it says.
An attorney representing a 28-year-old
transgender woman initially placed in the
mens jail at the county Correction Facility
told a Montgomery County Circuit Court
judge at an Oct. 19 court hearing that her
client, Portia Simms, has encountered
repeated problems at the jail resulting in
her being placed in a segregation unit.
The attorney, Theresa Chernosky, told
the Washington Blade after the hearing
that a male prison guard had been arrested
for assaulting and mistreating Simms.
Court records show that the guard,
Olukunle A. Oyekanmi, 41, was charged
with ve criminal oenses for his
interaction with Simms. They include sex
oense second degree, assault second
degree, fourth-degree sex oense-
sex contact, sexual contact between
a correctional ocer and inmate, and
malfeasance in oce.
According to court records, Oyekanmi
pleaded guilty on Sept. 21 to two of the
charges as party of a plea bargain oer
by prosecutors sexual conduct between
a correctional ocer and inmate and
malfeasance in oce. He is scheduled for
sentencing on Nov. 27, court records show.
Montgomery County Detention Services
Warden Suzy Malagari, who oversees
inmate placement policies, said her
group Gender Rights Maryland, and
OLUKUNLE A. OYEKANMI is charged with
assaulting a trans inmate.
PHOTO COURTESY MONTGOMERY COUNTY
CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
oce has a longstanding policy of not
commenting on cases involving specic
inmates, preventing her from discussing
the prison guards arrest in the Simms case.
But she said the correctional
department has a strict policy prohibiting
any improper or abusive treatment of
inmates by prison employees.
If there is ever any indication brought
to the forefront to us of any of our ocers
mistreating any of the individuals under
our care in custody with anything less
than that of respect, we take immediate
action, she said.
Malagari said the correction
departments transgender policy gives
jail ocials the discretion to decide on a
case-by-case basis whether transgender
inmates who have not had gender
reassignment surgery should be housed
in the section of the jail consistent with
their biological gender or in one of several
categories of segregation units.
She told the Washington Blade that
segregation units, which are available
to all inmates, consist of, among other
categories, a mental health unit, a
medical unit, a disciplinary unit, a crisis
intervention unit, and a unit for inmates
who are unable to adjust to being housed
with the general prison population.
She said all inmates, including transgender
inmates, are evaluated at the time they enter
the correctional system or at a later time to
determine a housing placement best suited
for their health and safety and the health
and safety of other inmates.
None of those are in any way solitary
connement or isolated from everyone
or everybody all the time, Malagari said.
They still get regular rounds, regular
interaction with the ocers who work in
those units. They still get their recreation
time based on a mandated pre-schedule,
she said.
Dana Beyer, executive director of
the statewide transgender advocacy
Kory Masen, an ocial with the National
Center for Transgender Equality,
reviewed the Montgomery Country trans
prison policy at the Blades request.
Both said the policy goes against
longstanding recommendations and
standards followed in other states and
municipalities that transgender inmates
should be housed in the section of a jail
consistent with their gender identity, not
their biological gender.
Its unacceptable and irresponsible
to determine housing or placement of a
transgender person based solely on their
genitalia, Masen told the Blade in a statement.
It also violates national standards
under the Prison Rape Elimination Act
(PREA), and opens agencies to lawsuits if
a prisoner who is inappropriately housed
gets assaulted, Masen said. Under the
standards, agencies must make a case-
by-case evaluation that heavily weighs the
prisoners identity and their own views
with respect to their safety, Masen said.
While MCDOCRs policy repeats the
words case by case, the substance of the
policy is anything but, he said.
Beyer, who recently announced her
candidacy for a seat in the Maryland
State Senate, said the policy appears to
go to great lengths to be considerate and
respectful to transgender inmates and
calls for protecting their rights and safety.
The only problem is they got the
basic foundational decision wrong, she
said, noting that under Marylands and
Montgomery Countys nondiscrimination
laws transgender people have the right
to use public accommodations such as
bathrooms that are consistent with their
gender identity, not their biological or
birth gender.
What theyre saying is if a trans woman
hasnt had surgery shes going in with the
guys, said Beyer. And shes going to
dress like the guys, groom like the guys,
and thats simply unacceptable.
Beyer called on county and state
ocials to determine whether the
Montgomery County trans prison policy
violates the county and the states human
rights laws, which, among other things,
ban discrimination on the basis of gender
identity and expression.
Raquel Coombs, a spokesperson for
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh,
whos in charge of enforcing the state
human rights law, said attorneys with
Froshs oce told her the state law
does not apply to county prisons and
correctional systems.
James Stowe, director of the Montgomery
County Oce of Human Rights, couldnt be
N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 0 5
reached this week to determine whether
the countys human rights measure applies
to the country prison system.
The federal PREA law referred to
by Mason at the National Center for
Transgender Equality addressed matters
pertaining to transgender prisoners
in greater detail under regulations
interpreting the law put in place under
the Obama administration. It couldnt
immediately be determined whether
the Trump administration has left those
regulations in place.
The PREA standards are based on
the fact that transgender prisoners are
victimized behind bars at rates higher
than any other demographic group ever
studied, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Justice Statistics, Mason said. Housing
a transgender woman automatically in
a mens prison too often makes her a
target, he said.
Simms has been held without bond in
the Montgomery County Detention Facility
since the time of her arrest in March on 16
counts of armed robbery related oenses
involving three separate incidents.
Charging documents led by police
and prosecutors accuse her of squirting
employees in the face with pepper spray
and mace at the luxury fashion retailers
Saks Jandel and Ilori Optical in Chevy Chase
and Specs New York Store in Bethesda in
three separate incidents between July
2015 and January 2017. Authorities say
the pepper straying and use of mace as
a weapon enabled her to steal more than
$15,000 in high-end merchandise from the
three stores, including Valentino handbags
and Chanel sunglasses.
Court records show Simms, who is
identied in court papers only by her
male birth name, pleaded guilty as part of
a plea bargain agreement in September
to three charges of armed robbery.
She was scheduled for sentencing on
Oct. 19, but at the request of defense
attorney Chernosky, Circuit Court Judge
Marielsa Bernard agreed to postpone
the sentencing indenitely while Simms
undergoes a psychiatric evaluation.
Montgomery County Assistant States
Attorney Christina Rodriguez, the lead
prosecutor in the case, called on Bernard
to sentence Simms to 18 years in prison
based on what Rodriquez said Simmss
long history of arrests for similar armed
robbery oenses in D.C. and Virginia as
well as Montgomery County.
The total value of property stolen from the
three jurisdictions was approximately $61,000,
with over $15,000 stolen from Montgomery
County alone in less than six months,
Rodriguez said in her sentencing memo.
Judge Bernard scheduled a status
hearing for Jan. 3 to follow up on when the
sentencing for Simms should take place.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

N A T I O NA L NEW S N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 0 9

Gay candidate loses race for mayor of Hoboken

Altered campaign
yer falsely linked
him to racial slur
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com

Gay City Council member Michael

DeFusco of Hoboken, N.J., lost his race for
mayor on Tuesday less than a week after
someone altered one of his campaign
yers to make it appear that he was
accusing his lead opponent of being a
potential terrorist.
The opponent, U.S.-born Indian
American fellow Council member Ravi
Bhalla, whos a member of the Sikh faith,
defeated DeFusco in the mayoral race
by a margin of 34 percent to 29 percent.
Four other candidates nished behind
Bhalla and DeFusco.
Hoboken police announced on Friday
that they were investigating the doctoring
of DeFuscos yer as a possible hate
crime because one or more unidentied
perpetrators responsible for the alteration
appeared to be linking Bhalla to terrorism
because of his race and religion.
The unidentied person or persons
added a message above a photo of Bhalla
appearing in the yer stating, Dont let
TERRORISM take over our Town.
Whoever made the change left in place
a message on the top left side of the
yer that states Paid for by DeFusco for
Hoboken, making it appear that DeFusco
was responsible for a message considered
by many to be hateful and racist.
Bhalla is wearing a turban in the photo
in the yer, which the DeFusco campaign
had produced a few weeks earlier.
The yer as originally produced raises
the issue that Bhalla could have a conict
of interest as mayor in considering city
contracts with a utility company that has
been a client of the law rm for which
Bhalla has worked as an attorney.
DeFusco told the Washington Blade on
Monday that he and his campaign workers
were horried when they discovered the
altered yer was being placed on car
windshields and at the doors of homes
last Friday night.
And much to his dismay, he says,
people began to post the altered version
of the yer on Facebook, Twitter, and
other social media without making it clear
that he and his campaign had nothing to
do with the terrorism message.
A disgusting, racist yer was found on
car windshields tonight that altered one of
my campaigns mailers and added a racial
epithet aimed at Ravi Bhalla, DeFusco
said in a press release. I condemn this
piece of racist garbage in the strongest
possible terms, he said.
Someone altered a campaign yer to falsely link candidate RAVI BHALLA to terrorism.
Hoboken is far better than this, and
whoever made this yer is not only
insulting one of my opponents in a
despicable way, they are also painting me
as a racist, which as the only openly gay
elected ocial in Hudson County and a
progressive Democrat simply could not
be further from the truth, he states in
the press release.
DeFusco said it was he who called the
police to report the distribution of the
altered yer as a possible hate crime.
Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante
said the act of altering the yer to link
someone to terrorism based on the
unstated but implied reference to Bhallas
race and religion potentially could be
prosecuted as a hate crime.
According to DeFusco, someone
apparently copied the yer that his
campaign sent out two weeks ago in
the mail by using Photoshop to change
the yer by adding the words, Dont let
TERRORISM Take over our Town! directly
above the photo of Bhalla.
Hoboken police on Monday
released photo images obtained from
video security cameras showing two
unidentied males as persons of
interest in their investigation of the
yer incident. Police urged anyone
recognizing the two individuals to
contact police with information that may
lead to their identication.
DeFusco, 35, has been a community
activist and marketing executive for
a Manhattan-based company, before
winning election to the Hoboken City
Council in November 2015. He said that
while the city government was generally
supportive of LGBT rights he played an
active role during his two years in oce in
pushing for strengthening that support,
resulting in the creation of an LGBT
liaison at the police department and the
mayors oce among other things.
He and Bhalla were among six
candidates running on Tuesdays ballot
for mayor. The incumbent mayor, Dawn
Zimmer, announced earlier this year she
would not seek re-election.
The local media have reported that
three of the candidates would set a
milestone if elected. DeFusco would
have become the citys and countys rst
out gay mayor. Bhalla would become
the states rst Sikh mayor. And Ronald
Bautista, a native of Ecuador, would have
become the citys rst Latino mayor.
Political observers have said polling
data have shown that DeFusco and Bhalla
were leading the pack and running a
neck-and-neck race.
But DeFusco told the Blade the
doctored campaign yer incident hurt
his campaign due, in part, to what he
says have been unfair media reports that
havent made it clear that the yer had
been altered by someone unrelated to
his campaign.
He said he was also dismayed that
New Jersey U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D),
the states Democratic gubernatorial
candidate, Phil Murphy, and others
tweeted copies of the altered yers
without pointing out that his campaign
wasnt responsible for the derogatory
changes linking Bhalla to terrorism.
It was unintentional, and I have
nothing but respect for them, he said
of Booker and Murphy. But they all re-
tweeted it and unintentionally spread
the errant notion that my campaign was
behind it.
As if that were not enough, DeFusco
said about one week prior to the
appearance of the altered yer attacking
Bhalla another anonymous yer placed
on cars attacked him for his status as an
Italian American, portraying him as the
head of a crime family.
A lot of people bought into it, he said
of the altered yer bearing the name
of his campaign. A lot of people dont
know me in this city and dont know
about the core progressive Democratic
values that I stand up for of inclusion, of
diversity, have told me they believe me
to be a racist. And that is heartbreaking.
That is terrifying.
His supporters say those who know
him consider him to be a dedicated
public ocial whos highly qualied
to serve as mayor, according to his
campaign literature.

1 0 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017
Senate Dems move to assist LGBT youth, elders
Lawmakers call for
reinstatement of
survey questions
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Senate Democrats took a series of
actions Tuesday seeking to assist the
LGBT community one for LGBT youth,
two others for LGBT elders both of
which are subgroups that have a history
of unique challenges.
In a pair of letters dated Nov.
7, U.S. Sens. Robert Casey (D-Pa.),
TammyBaldwin(D-Wis.) and Patty Murray
(D-Wash.) led 21 senators in calling on
the Trump administration to ensure
programs designed to combat youth
homelessness reach LGBT people and
include LGBT elders in health surveys.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet
(D-Colo.) along with Sen. Je Merkley
(D-Ore.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and
Al Franken (D-Minn.) introduced
the LGBT Elder Americans Act, which
seeks to improve services available to
LGBT elders.
The letters, sent to both the U.S. Justice
Department and the U.S. Department
of Health & Human Services, base a call
to action on President Trumps promise
during his 2016 campaign to be a friend
to LGBT people.
During the campaign, President Trump
said that he would do everything in [his]
power to protect LGBTQ citizens. We
write to you because the administration is
not living up to the presidents promise,
the senators wrote. We urge you to
reverse course on actions that will make
it more challenging for programs you
oversee to serve LGBTQ Americans.
Specically, the letter to the Justice
Department expresses concern two
federal grant programs that combat
homelessness DOJs Mentoring for
Child Victims of Commercial Sexual
Exploitation & Domestic Sex Tracking
Initiative and HHS Street Outreach
Program will no longer focus on
LGBT youth because this years funding
requirement removed that requirement
as well as all mentions of LGBTQ youth.
As LGBTQ youth are at a higher
risk for running away and becoming
homeless compared to their peers, and
therefore more likely to be victimized,
we are concerned about the eect these
administration decisions would have on
these vulnerable youth, the letter says.
Meanwhile, the letter to the
Department of Health & Human Services
calls for restoration of questions allowing
respondents to identify as transgender in
the National Survey of Older Americans
Act Participants as well as LGBT on the
Sen. TAMMYBALDWIN(D-Wis.) is calling
on the Trump administration to ensure
programs designed to combat youth
homelessness reach LGBT people and
include LGBT elders in health surveys.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Centers for Independent Living Annual
Program Performance Report. (HHS
has previously removed the sexual
orientation question from the NSOAPP,
but reinstated it under public pressure.)
In order to ensure that key programs
for older adults and people with
disabilities are meeting the needs of the
entire LGBTQ community, we once again
reiterate our call for HHS to restore the
gender-identity question to the NSOAPP
and to collect information on sexual
orientation and gender identity on the
CILPPR, the letter says.
Additionally, the letter expresses
concern about the withdrawal of a
proposed HHS rule that would have
claried same-sex spouses should be
aorded equal rights in nursing homes
that receive Medicare and Medicaid.
That rule was widely seen as redundant
after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling for
marriage equality nationwide.
Neither the Justice Department, nor the
Department of Health & Human Services,
responded to the Washington Blades
request for comment on the letter.
Meanwhile, the LGBT Elder
Americans Act, reintroduced by
Bennet, would build on the Older
Americans Actto include LGBT seniors
as a vulnerable population and
permanently establish the National
Resource Center on LGBT Aging.
Our laws and research are not current
in addressing the unique needs of the
aging generation of baby boomers,
Bennet said in a statement. This
legislation would provide LGBT seniors,
who often face signicant barriers to
accessing health care, with targeted
services and resources. By helping aging
service organizations assist older LGBT
adults and permanently establishing a
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
National Resource Center, we will better introduced companion legislation in
meet the needs of the LGBT community. the U.S. House known as the Ruthie &
Baldwin, whos running for re-election ConnieLGBTElder Americans Act, named
in the U.S. Senate next year and remains for two LGBT elders who continue to ght
the only out lesbian in Congress, also for LGBT equality.
emphasized the importance of theLGBT Michael Adams, CEO of the LGBT
Elder Americans Act in a statement. elder group SAGE USA, commended the
We should guarantee all of our seniors lawmakers for introducing the legislation
access to the care that truly meets their in a statement.
needs and so I am proud to advance this LGBT elders, whose courage in the
legislation that will improve services and face of danger and adversity paved the
support for LGBT older adults, Baldwin way for progress on LGBT equality in
said. Too many LGBT older adults carry recent years, deserve to be taken care
the harmful physical and emotional of as they age, no matter where in the
health eects of having lived through a United States they live, Adams said.
lifetime of discrimination. It is past time OurLGBTelder pioneers did not lead the
we do something about it and strengthen movement birthed at Stonewall by being
the Older Americans Act to better support silent. We at SAGE follow their example
our LGBT seniors. by raising our voices in support of the
Last week, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici Ruthie & Connie LGBT Elder Americans
(D-Ore.) along with Rep. Ted Deutch Act of 2017 and to demand justice for this
(D-Fla.) and Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) growing population.
Gunman kills 26 in Texas church
A man on Sunday killed 26 people when he opened re in a Texas church.
The San Antonio Express-News reported the gunman walked into the First
Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a town that is roughly 35 miles east of San
Antonio. Another 20 people were wounded.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Grin in a statement said his
organizations hearts go out to those impacted by this senseless tragedy today
in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Sundays mass shooting took place slightly more than a month after a gunman
killed 58 people and injured nearly 500 others during a country music festival in
Las Vegas.
A gunman killed 49 people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June
12, 2016. The massacre was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history
until last month.
Eight people died on Oct. 31 when a rental pickup truck plowed into a bicycle
path in lower Manhattan.
Reports indicate the man who was driving the truck shouted Allahu akbar
once he was outside of it. The so-called Islamic State later described the man
a native of Uzbekistan who was living in New Jersey as a soldier of the
caliphate.
Grin on Sunday reiterated his organizations support for gun control.
Whether in an LGBTQ club or a Texas church, gun violence is plaguing our
country, he said in his statement. Unless Congress acts, no community in
America can be safe.
Jason Lindsay, executive director of the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, a
political action committee that formed in response to the Pulse nightclub
massacre, echoed Grin.
Our hearts go out to the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas, who are
suering today from an unimagined horror, said Lindsay in a statement.
Todays massacre is another reminder that no one is safe when access to guns
is so easy. While the investigation continues and details continue to emerge, we
must face the reality that one more American town is just the latest in a growing
list of cities ravaged by senseless gun violence.
Members of Gays Against Guns, a group that formed after the Pulse nightclub
massacre, on Monday held a disruptive demonstration at the Hart Senate
Oce Building in which seven of its members were arrested. For more on that
story, including video of the arrests, visit washingtonblade.com.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 1 1

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 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 2 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017 NATIONAL NEWS

Durkan elected rst Griffin urges Tillerson to speak out

lesbian mayor of Seattle
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Grin last week urged Secretary of
Former U.S. attorney Jenny Durkan won State Rex Tillerson to speak out on anti-LGBT discrimination around the world.
a competitive race Tuesday to become Grin in a letter he wrote to Tillerson referenced a bill that Egyptian lawmakers
the next mayor of Seattle, making her the introduced last week that would criminalize their countrys LGBT community.
citys rst lesbian mayor and Seattles rst Grin also noted the onslaught of state-sponsored persecution of LGBTQ people
female mayor in nearly a century. in Chechnya, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Georgia, Tanzania, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan.
According to the Seattle Times, Durkan We urge you to personally speak out, wrote Grin. Doing so will save lives.
won the election by taking 60.6 percent When you are silent, the perpetrators of this violence see America not as a moral
of the vote compared to the 39.4 percent leader but as a government that will look the other way.
won by her opponent, Cary Moon. Tillerson in June in a Pride month statement said the State Department arms
Celebrating her victory with supporters its solidarity with the human rights defenders and civil society organizations
Tuesday night, Durkan said her campaign working around the world to uphold the fundamental freedoms of LGBTI
was never about any candidate. persons to live with dignity and freedom. He also said LGBTI persons continue
It wasnt about me, or anyone else, it to face the threat of violence and discrimination.
was about you, it was about Seattle and When all persons are protected on the basis of equality and with dignity,
the future of Seattle, Durkan said. Its global stability is strengthened, said Tillerson. We will continue to support
a campaign about what Seattle will be JENNY DURKAN, a lesbian, won a the human rights of LGBTI persons together with like-minded governments,
like for that next generation, and you competitive race Tuesday to become the businesses and civil society organizations globally.
next mayor of Seattle.
have committed to making it the best Tillerson himself has yet to publicly comment on the ongoing crackdown
Seattle ever. PHOTO BY JOE MABEL; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA against LGBT Chechens, but the State Department told the Blade in September
Prior to her campaign, Durkan was that he raised it in a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. A State
appointed by former President Obama to Department spokesperson last week declined to comment on HRCs Freedom
serve as U.S. attorney for Western Washington, making her the rst openly gay U.S. of Information Act request for all records relating to Tillersons letter to Lavrov.
attorney in the country. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert last month expressed
Its wasnt so long ago that Seattle had an openly gay mayor. Former Seattle mayor Ed concern over the anti-LGBT crackdowns in Egypt and Azerbaijan. She and U.S.
Murray served starting in 2014, but resigned this year on Sept. 13 amid allegations by Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley have also condemned the crackdown
men he sexually molested them. against LGBT Chechens that began earlier this year.
The last time Seattle had a woman as mayor was 1926, when Bertha Knight Landes President Trump has yet to publicly comment on Chechnya.
took oce and made Seattle the rst major U.S. city to elect a female mayor.She served White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the Blade on
a single two-year term. Oct. 27 during her daily press brieng that she would have to check into the
Durkan will be seated on Nov. 28 when the election results are certied. Currently, Egyptian criminalization bill. She has yet to provide a follow-up statement.
theres only one other openly gay person serving as mayor of a major U.S. city: Salt Lake The U.S. response to this wave of anti-LGBTQ violence has been far too
City Mayor Jackie Biskupski. weak, said Grin in his letter to Tillerson. While there have been important
CHRIS JOHNSON statements from Ambassador Haley, State Department spokesman Heather
Nauert and a few other U.S. ambassadors, and while State Department sta
continue to support civil society organizations and individuals under threat, it
Father accused of killing son, 14, for being gay has not been nearly enough to focus international attention and create pressure
to stop the surge in anti-LGBTQ violence.
A Nevada man is accused of allegedly A State Department spokesperson on Friday said the agency remains
killing his 14-year-old son for being gay. concerned by reports of detentions and arrests of LGBTI persons. The
Henderson, Nev. police report that spokesperson also referred the Blade to Tillersons Pride month statement.
53-year-old Wendell Melton shot and killed As Secretary Tillerson has stated, we arm our solidarity with civil society
his son, Giovanni Melton, on Thursday. organizations and human rights defenders working to uphold the fundamental
According to Las Vegas Now, Wendell freedoms of LGBTI persons, said the spokesperson. This holds true globally.
and Giovanni were arguing when Wendell We urge countries to uphold and respect their international human rights
pulled the trigger. Wendell called the obligations and commitments, added the spokesperson. The United States will
police and was booked at the scene. continue to engage on issues of universal human rights and democracy.
Court documents reveal that Wendell had The promotion of LGBT and intersex rights around the world was a cornerstone
a history of threatening his family with of U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration.
guns he possessed illegally. Tillerson indicated the special U.S. envoy for the human rights of LGBT and intersex
Sonja Jones, Giovannis former foster people will remain in place under a State Department overhaul. The U.S., France and
mother, told KSNV-TV that Wendell, a Brazil in recent weeks blocked Egyptian and Russian eorts to remove a reference to
United Airlines employee, could not GIOVANNI MELTON was shot and killed last discrimination that includes sexual orientation from an Olympics resolution at the U.N.
accept that his son was gay. She believes week, allegedly by his father. The U.S. on Sept. 29 voted against a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution
that Giovanni was murdered because of that includes a provision condemning the death penalty for those found guilty
his sexual orientation. of committing consensual same-sex sexual acts.
He hated the fact that his son was A U.S. ocial told the Blade after the vote the U.S. did support language in
gay, Jones says. Im sure that inside of his mind, he would rather have a dead son than the resolution against the discriminatory use of the death penalty based on an
a gay son. individuals sexual orientation or gender identity, while also requesting changes
Jones claims that Wendell allegedly pulled a gun on Giovanni at least one other time to make the larger resolution in accordance with U.S. law that says the death
when Wendell caught Giovanni with his boyfriend. penalty is legal. The ocial noted the resolutions main sponsors did not take
Giovanni was abused physically and mentally and spiritually for many, many years, those edits onboard, so we were unable to support the larger resolution, which
Jones continued. called for a global moratorium on the death penalty, in spite of the fact that it
Jones said she hopes they throw the book at him in court. included parts that we support.
I hope he never sees the light of day, Jones added. I hope every day when he looks MICHAEL K. LAVERS
in the mirror, he sees his sons face.
MARIAH COOPER
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM
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 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 4 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017 I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S

First trans Uruguay senator

honored to make history
The rst openly transgender
person elected to the Uruguay
Senate told the Washington
Blade she feels very honored to
EVAN WOLFSON, founder of Freedom to Marry, is among those who are participating in a
have made history in the South
same-sex marriage conference this week in Costa Rica. American country.
Michelle Surez who is a member
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
of the Uruguayan Communist Party
spoke with the Blade nearly two
weeks after she formally assumed

Costa Rica hosts

her seat on Oct. 10.
Surez, 34, is the rst trans
woman to graduate from a

marriage conference
Activists from across the Western Hemisphere are gathering in Costa Rica this week
for the rst-of-its-kind conference that will focus on marriage rights for same-sex
couples in Latin America.
The Civil Marriage Equality Congress was scheduled to ocially begin in San Jos,
the Costa Rican capital, on Wednesday afternoon with a forum at the University of
Costa Rica. A screening of The Freedom to Marry a documentary that features
Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry, and the lead-up to the 2015 U.S. Supreme
Court ruling in the Obergefell case that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples
throughout the U.S. was slated to take place at a local theater a few hours later.
The conference is taking place at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights on
Thursday and Friday. The Costa Rica Supreme Court will host conference attendees on
Friday afternoon. (Editors note: The Blades Michael K. Lavers is scheduled to speak at
the conference on Friday.)
Herman Duarte of Fundacin Igualitos, a Costa Rica-based group that advocates
for marriage rights for same-sex couples throughout Latin America, organized the
conference alongside his law rm, Hduarte-Lex that ghts discrimination based on
sexual orientation, and the Costa Rican advocacy groups Acceder and Asociacin
Costarricense de Derecho Internacional.
Costa Rican Vice President Ana Helena Chacn and Wolfson are among those who are
expected to take part in the conference. The U.S. and Canadian Embassies in Costa Rica,
the U.N., the Costa Rican government and LGBT advocacy groups from across Latin
America have co-sponsored it.
The main goal is to open the debate around equal access to the civil institution of
marriage, said Duarte in a press release.
The Financial Times on Oct. 25 announced Duarte, a lawyer who was born in El
Salvador, is among its top 50 future LGBT leaders. He is the rst person from Central
America to be included in the list.
Gays and lesbians can legally marry in the U.S., Canada, Mexico City and several
Mexican states, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique,
St. Barts, St. Martin, Saba, St. Eustatius, Bonaire, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay and
Argentina. The governments of Aruba, Curaao and Sint Maarten recognize same-sex
marriages that are performed in the Netherlands.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in August introduced a bill that would extend
marriage rights to same-sex couples in her country. The Panamanian Supreme Court
over the summer heard oral arguments in a case that would allow gays and lesbians to
legally marry.
Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto and Panamanian First Lady Lorena Castillo are
among the prominent Latin American politicians and ocials who support the issue.
Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Ral Castro who spearheads LGBT-specic
issues as director of her countrys National Center for Sexual Education, has also publicly
backed marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Cuban activists who work independently of Mariela Castro and her organization,
which is known by the acronym CENESEX, in recent years have sought to promote the
issue on the Communist island. Neither Mariela Castro nor CENESEX have publicly
commented on these eorts.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Uruguayan university. She is also
the rst and only trans lawyer in MICHELLE SUREZ is the rst openly
transgender person elected to the
the South American country that Uruguayan Senate. She assumed her seat on
borders Brazil and Argentina. Oct. 10.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARA LAURA VILA
Surez, who was a member of
Ovejas Negras, a Uruguayan LGBT
advocacy group, helped write
a same-sex marriage bill that became law in 2013. Surez was elected to the
countrys Senate two years later, but she was an alternative senator without full
voting privileges until she took her seat last month.
She described Uruguay to the Blade as a vanguard in Latin America in terms
of rights, noting same-sex couples can legally marry and adopt children. Surez
also pointed out Uruguay allows trans people to legally change their gender
without undergoing surgery.
Surez told the Associated Press after she took her seat that she would
introduce a bill that would allow trans people to legally change their identity
without a court order. The measure would also require Uruguay to set aside 1
percent of government jobs for trans people and create a pension to compensate
those who suered persecution during the countrys military dictatorship, which
was from 1973-1985, because of their gender identity.
These advances dont mean that Uruguay as a country has less discrimination,
Surez told the Blade.
In addition to advocating on behalf of LGBT Uruguayans, Surez has also
championed the rights of women and the poor. Surez is also a healthy body
image advocate.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
U.S. blocks removal of bias reference
from Olympics resolution
The U.S., France and Brazil last week blocked eorts to remove a reference to
discrimination that includes sexual orientation from an Olympics resolution at the U.N.
The U.N. General Assembly on Nov. 13 is expected to adopt an Olympic Truce
Resolution that calls for peace around the world during the 2018 Winter Olympics
in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The resolution also calls for global peace during the
week before and after the Olympics, which will take place from Feb. 9-25.
Egypt and Russia sought to remove a reference to Principle 6 the Olympic
Charters nondiscrimination clause from the resolution because it specically
includes sexual orientation along with religion, gender and other factors.
The version of resolution that is currently before the U.N. General Assembly
includes the gay-inclusive Principle 6 language.
The Olympics is an event that should focus on what brings us together
friendly competition by the worlds best athletes not what makes us dierent,
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told the Washington Blade on Tuesday
in a statement. No athlete should face discrimination of any kind when
representing their country in the games.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

N E WS
Roem defeats Marshall in Va. House of Delegates race
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
Minneapolis City Council.
Marshall, who has represented
Virginias 13th District since 1992, has
been one of the General Assemblys most
outspoken opponents of LGBT rights.
Marshall co-wrote Virginias
constitutional amendment dening
marriage as between a man and a
woman that voters approved in 2006. A
bill that he introduced in 2011 sought to
ban gays and lesbians from the Virginia
National Guard.
Marshall in 2016 introduced a bill that would
have prevented municipalities from enacting
measures against discrimination based
on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Members of the Republican-controlled
House General Laws Subcommittee earlier
this year killed Marshalls House Bill 1612,
which would have prohibited trans people
from using public bathrooms based on their
gender identity.
Marshall throughout the campaign
repeatedly attacked Roem and her
gender identity and used male pronouns
to identify her.
Voters in the 13th District earlier this
month received anti-trans robocalls
from the American Principles Project, an
organization that opposes marriage rights
for same-sex couples and champions
other conservative causes. American
Principles Project Chair Sean Fieler, who
lives in New Jersey, on Sept. 11 donated
$20,000 to Marshalls campaign.
Roem told the Washington Blade after
she spoke that Marshall had yet to call
her and formally concede.
Equality Virginias Political Action
Committee, the Human Rights Campaign,
the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the
Trans United Fund, the Pride Fund to
End Gun Violence, EMILYs List and the
Progressive Change Campaign Committee
are among the organizations that
endorsed Roem. Former Vice President
Biden and other prominent Democrats
backed her campaign in recent weeks.
The Blade on Tuesday afternoon saw
two HRC staers speaking with voters
outside Manassas Park City Hall before
they cast their ballots.
The Victory Fund and the Trans United
Fund also had staers and volunteers
canvassing in the 13th District in the days
leading up to the election.
Danicas more than qualied to be a
state representative, said Sarah Scanlon
of Trans United on Tuesday as she spoke
with the Blade at Roems campaign
headquarters near downtown Manassas.
Another barrier was broken
tonight, added state Sen. Adam Ebbin
(D-Alexandria) in a text message he sent
to the Blade early Wednesday. The
voters spoke and elected Danica Roem to
address the issues they care about. She
RYAN WILSON of HRC (left) works inside Danica Roems campaign oce in Manassas.
is waking Virginia up from history. A new
chapter has begun.
James Parrish, executive director
of Equality Virginia, a statewide LGBT
advocacy group, in a press release
described Roems victory as not only a
victory for transgender Virginians, but
for transgender Americans as well. State
Dels. David Toscano (D-Charlottesville)
and Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria)
echoed Parrish in a statement the
Democratic Party of Virginia issued.
As a journalist, Danica Roem has
covered the issues critical to Virginians and
listened to a wide range of perspectives,
said Toscano and Herring. During
her campaign, Danica expanded this
approach by listening to area residents
concerns and making them integral to
her own policy platform. Danica will bring
a reporters eye to Richmond, and we
eagerly anticipate her results-oriented
approach to deliver for her constituents
in the 13th.
Roem is among the Democrats across
Virginia who either unseated Republican
incumbents or defeated GOP challengers
for statewide oce.
Dawn Adams on Tuesday became the
rst open lesbian elected to the General
Assembly when she defeated state Del.
Manoli Loupassi (R-Richmond) by 326
votes. Chris Hurst, a former reporter
for WDBJ, a Roanoke television station,
defeated state Del. Joseph Yost (R-Giles
County) by a 54-46 percent margin.
Hursts girlfriend, WDBJ reporter Alison
Parker and her cameraman, Adam Ward,
were shot to death on Aug. 26, 2015, as
they were interviewing Smith Mountain
Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Vicki Gardner during a
live broadcast.
Hursts victory is proof that pro-LGBTQ
and pro-gun reform candidates can win,
even in rural Southwest Virginia, said
the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence in a
press release.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 1 5
Northam as lieutenant governor after he
defeated state Sen. Jill Vogel (R-Fauquier
County) by a 52-48 percent margin.
We live in a very diverse society,
Northam told his supporters who
gathered at George Mason University in
Fairfax to watch the election results come
in. It is that diverse society that makes
this country great, and as long as Im
governor, I will make sure were inclusive.
Northam, Fairfax and Herring support
LGBT rights.
Adams throughout the campaign
repeatedly attacked Herring over
his decision not to defend Virginias
constitutional amendment that denes
marriage as between a man and a
woman. Fairfax sought to label Vogel
as an extremist, even though she
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
publicly backs nuptials for gays and
lesbians and has voted for measures
Lieutenant Gov. Ralph Northam, in the General Assembly that sought
Attorney General Mark Herring and Justin to ban discrimination based on sexual
Fairfax won their respective races in orientation and gender identity.
Virginia on Tuesday. Tonight the people of Virginia led the
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, way and turned out to support candidates
Northam beat former Republican who represent the very best of who we
National Committee Chair Ed Gillespie in are, said Democratic Party of Virginia
the race to succeed Gov. Terry McAulie Chair Susan Swecker in a statement. It is
by a 54-45 percent margin. here in Virginia that we sent a powerful
Herring won re-election by beating message to the nation that bigotry,
Republican John Adams by a 53-47 racism and lies will never defeat love,
percent margin. Fairfax will succeed fairness and truth.
Minneapolis elects trans Council member
In a night of good news for transgender candidates, Andrea Jenkins
won election to a seat on the Minneapolis City Council, making her the rst
transgender candidate to win election to city council in a major U.S. city.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Jenkins won 73.1 percent of the
vote as rst choice in the ranked-choice contest to represent Ward 8 on the
City Council. She won a supermajority of the vote for rst vote with three other
candidates in the race.
An award-winning poet and writer, Jenkins most recently was awarded a Bush
Fellowship as well as a Fellowship in the Cultural Community Leadership Institute
at Intermedia Arts and was named a fellow in the Many Voices Fellowship at the
Playwrights Center, according to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.
Jenkins earned a masters degree in community economic development from
Southern New Hampshire University, in Manchester, N.H., and a masters in
Creative Writing from Hamline University.
No stranger to transgender advocacy, Jenkins rst full-length book of poetry
is called The T is NOT Silent: New and Selected Poems. Shes currently co-
curator of the Queer Voices Reading Series at Intermedia Arts.
During the Gay & Lesbian Victory Funds annual brunch in D.C. in May, Jenkins said
her potential victory would be a strong signal to transgender people everywhere.
Trans people across the nation are under attack from people who
misunderstand us, or worse, dont want to understand us, and I plan to be a
strong voice who can defend our community and advocate on its behalf,
Jenkins said.
Another transgender candidate running for Minneapolis City Council, Phillipe
Cunningham, came up short in his bid to represent Ward 8 on the body. Had
he succeeded, he would have been the rst transgender man to win election to
public oce anywhere in the United States.
CHRIS JOHNSON

1 6 N O VEMB ER 10, 2017
10 years later, restorm over gay-only ENDA still informs movement
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
after the creation of United ENDA an
unprecedented coalition of more than
400 organizations that emerged to ght
against trans exclusion there have
been with few exceptions no instances
of any gay activism or legislation that did
not include trans people.
Rebecca Juro, a New Jersey-based
transgender activist and radio show
host, said the reaction to the vote on the
sexual-orientation only version of ENDA
was a signicant turning point.
The reason why Barney Frank was
able to introduce and get the kind of
support he did in Congress was because
there was a feeling [of] who cares,
nobody knows about these people, Juro
said. What that did was it said, No, no,
no, youre wrong. and people are going
to call you out and its going to cost you
politically and people are going to show
up at the Human Rights Campaign galas
and make it dicult for you to solicit
money for your campaign.
In the year Democrats assumed control
of the U.S. House after more than a decade
of Republican majorities, then-House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) brought
the gay-only version of ENDA to the oor
after Frank determined an initial version
of the bill that included protections based
on gender identity wouldnt get a majority
vote in the chamber.
That version of ENDA would pass on the
House oor by a vote of 235-184. (Among
those voting in favor of the bill was Rep.
Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), although he also voted
in favor of a motion to recommit that
would have killed the legislation.)
Voting no on the legislation were 25
Democrats, many of whom such as
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), former Rep.
Anthony Weiner (N.Y.) and former Rep.
Michael Michaud (Maine) rejected
the measure on the basis it lacked
protections for transgender people.
Then-Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), now
a U.S. senator and still the only out lesbian
in Congress, proposed an amendment to
insert gender identity, but withdrew the
measure before it could come to a vote.
Joe Solmonese, president of the
Human Rights Campaign at the time
of the vote, backed ENDA and 10 years
later stood by his decision as a means to
develop the legislation, citing no hope
of passing any legislation into law with
George W. Bush as president.
It was a tactical decision to take a step in
the direction of getting what we ultimately
wanted, which was maybe a non-inclusive
bill in the House, and inclusive bill in
the Senate that would end up as a fully
inclusive bill or that would end up as a fully
inclusive bill by the time Obama became
president, Solmonese said.
Recalling a great deal of debate within
the community and the House about
whether sucient votes for transgender
inclusion were present, Solmonese said
lawmakers pledged to LGBT activists
support for a trans-inclusive bill before,
then told Pelosi not bring such a measure
to the oor.
They sort of wanted it both ways,
Solmonese said. They knew what they
were supposed to do, but they didnt
want to do it.
Frank said the vote on ENDA was very
important because it paved the way
for legislative victories on hate crimes
protections and Dont Ask, Dont Tell repeal.
One of the problems weve had
historically we dont have it anymore
is members being afraid to vote for
us because they thought they could be
defeated, that it would be a tough vote,
Frank said. So, here we had members
voting for a bill that was a broad
protections for LGB people and nobody
lost because of it. That was very helpful
in setting the foundation.
In his book A Life in Politics, Frank
recounts the deliberative process that went
into bringing the gay-only version of ENDA
to the House oor, maintaining Republicans
would have sought to amend the bill to
remove the transgender protections.
Baldwin disagreed with moving forward
without transgender inclusion, Frank
wrote, even though she ultimately voted
for the bill. (Baldwins oce didnt respond
to a request to comment for this article.)
As we approached the nal vote,
Tammy did her own informal whip count
and concluded we would have enough
Democratic votes, Frank wrote. Speaker
Pelosi, a strong supporter of the bill,
asked Tammy for her count, checked it
herself with the members, and decided
that Tammy had been too optimistic
a conclusion that [former Rep. George
Miller and I, based on our own work, fully
agreed with. We did not have the votes
for the inclusive-bill. It was sadly but
unmistakably clear to Pelosi, Miller and
me that we could pass ENDA only in its
earlier form, covering only lesbian, gay
and bisexual workers.
Backing that move was the Human
Rights Campaign, which continued to
support the gay-only measure as one of
ve co-signers in a letter to Congress dated
Nov. 6, 2007 organized by the Leadership
Conference on Civil & Human Rights.
With each signicant step toward
progress, the civil rights community has
also faced dicult and sometimes even
agonizing tradeos, the letter said. We
have always recognized, however, that
each legislative breakthrough has paved
the way for additional progress in the
future. With respect to ENDA, we take the
same view.
JOE SOLMONESE, president of HRC at the time of the 2007 ENDA vote, backed ENDA and 10
years later stands by his decision as a means of developing the legislation.
That vote sent a shockwave through the
transgender community, which quickly
marshaled opposition to the bill and
protested any further advancement without
their protections. Many angrily accused
the Human Rights Campaign and Frank of
abandoning the transgender community.
Mara Keisling, executive director of
the National Center for Transgender
Equality, said the vote was one of the
most important things that happened in
the movement in the last 20 years.
We wanted everything to be about
setting up for what the movement was
after this vote happened, after the bill
died for the year, Keisling said. What
were the lessons the movement was
going to learn, what was the lesson HRC
was going to learn, what was the lesson
Barney Frank was going to learn?
The night before the vote, Keisling said, she
received a call from Franks oce and was
informed it was over a for trans-inclusive
version of ENDA. Together with Dave Noble,
then policy director of the National LGBTQ
Task Force, Keisling said she planned to
write a letter to Baldwin in hopes she could
inuence the vote, but was told the gay-only
ENDA would move forward.
That night, Keisling and Noble reached
out to the National Center for Lesbian
Rights and other groups to form a coalition
against the trans omission. By morning
more than 60 organizations had joined
United ENDA, Keisling said, a coalition
that refused to support the gay-only bill
and pledged to work with lawmakers to
support a trans-inclusive measure.
Keisling said other groups were calling
up slightly annoyed that they hadnt been
asked to sign on and soon the coalition
grew to several hundred members.
It essentially was because Barney
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Frank and HRC had totally lost touch with
what the community was, Keisling said.
So they did not understand that this
would not be alright with the community
and we all found out very quickly in a
matter of hours that it really was not,
that the movement had really become an
LGBT movement and it wasnt going to
y to take trans people out. So not only
were we against the vote happening, we
were the leaders of being against the
vote happening.
The gay-only version of ENDA never
reached Bushs desk for his veto, nor did
any version of the bill trans-inclusive or
otherwise come up in the U.S. Senate
even though Democrats controlled both
chambers of Congress.
Had ENDA been brought to the oor
for a vote in the Senate, the sponsor
would likely have been the late Sen.
Edward Kennedy, who was one of the rare
champions of LGBT rights at the time.
Solmonese said he didnt immediately
remember why ENDA never came up in
the Senate and said it may have had to
do with timing, but said Kennedy would
only have moved forward with a trans-
inclusive bill, not a gay-only ENDA, as part
of the strategy for the House vote.
He understood and supported the
rationale of having an overarching
strategy, Solmonese said. George Bush
is the president. This things not going to
get passed into law. You do one version
in the House, an inclusive version in the
Senate, the leadership of both chambers
is such that the conference committee
would likely end up with something that
was fully inclusive, right?
Keisling, however, said there was no
Senate plan because the Democratic
CONTINUES ON PAGE 17
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NEWS
Trans activists see 2007 ENDA ght as landmark moment
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
majority in the chamber was seen as
too marginal to advance ENDA, nor did
Kennedy ever express an aversion to the
gay-only version of the bill.
The plan was that Barney Frank and
HRC thought that it was worth passing
the gay-only bill through the House, just
move the ball forward and get members
on the record as Barney said many times,
Keisling said. Everyone else believed
that since it would never become law that
year, we shouldnt exclude anyone.
Do the backers of the bill at that time have
any regrets? Solmonese acknowledged a
few even though he stood by his decision
to support ENDA in 2007.
I regret that I saw it one way, which was
a step in building towards what all of us
ultimately wanted and by no means a signal
that that was the legislation that anybody
would ultimately support, but the fact that
many people didnt see it that way and many
people simply saw the symbolism around the
act as one that was divisive to the community,
that was never the intention of HRC or my
intention, but I certainly regret that thats the
way that it unfolded, Solmonese said.
Frank said his regret was we didnt
have the votes when asked about his
approach and blustered at the suggestion
anything else could have been done.
I think to do nothing at all that was the
argument, if you cant include everybody,
you cant include anybody in the rst
place, thats not the history of the civil rights
movement, Frank said. I voted to help
protect African Americans and immigrants
and women. The civil rights movement...
you move as much as you can as soon as
you can and you build on that. So do I regret
not trying hard to get votes? No, I tried as
hard as I could to get the votes.
Over the course of 10 years since that
vote, its hard to imagine Congress
or any other legislative body passing
legislation that excluded transgender
people. Each successful version of
ENDA introduced and advanced in
Congress has been trans inclusive and its
supporters have defended that language
against any objection it. The Equality Act,
the successor to ENDA that would ban
anti-LGBT discrimination in employment
and in all aspects of civil rights law, has
consistently been trans inclusive.
Keisling said the commitment to
trans inclusion among LGBT groups is
almost total.
Most of the big LGBT organizations,
including the legal organizations, the lions
share of their work now is trans work
and, no, I dont think any of them would
intentionally do work to cut trans people
out. In fact, there are times that we have
to talk people into doing things because
theyre afraid trans people will think it
Former Rep. BARNEY FRANK was criticized
by trans advocates for supporting the gay-
only ENDA in 2007.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
means cutting them out when it doesnt.
So, yeah, the pendulum is all the way the
other way, and then probably some extra.
Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesperson,
pointed to enactment of the Matthew
Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes
Prevention Act and his boss support
for the Equality Act as evidence of her
support for trans inclusion.
Leader Pelosi was proud to lead the
Congress as speaker in passing a fully
inclusive hate crimes bill signed into law
by President Obama in October of 2009,
Hammill said. A top priority for the leader is
the Equality Act, comprehensive legislation
to amend the Civil Rights Act and protect
LGBT Americans from discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation, gender
identity and sex. The leader believes that
this legislation would pass the Congress
now should Speaker Ryan allow a vote.
Times have changed for the Human
Rights Campaign as well. In 2014, Chad
Grin, the current president of the
Human Rights Campaign, apologized on
behalf of his organization at the Southern
Comfort transgender conference for
having done wrong by the transgender
community in the past.
Transgender work has become a major
component of the LGBT groups work.
In recent years, the organization has
opposed a gay-only non-discrimination
bill in Michigan, worked to thwart the
anti-trans House Bill 2 in North Carolina
and successfully blocked an anti-trans
bathroom bill in Texas. The organization has
also opposed non-discrimination measures
in Pennsylvania and Charlotte, N.C., without
public accommodations protections, which
were seen as a backdoor way of leaving out
transgender people because of controversy
over bathroom use.
Sarah McBride, whos transgender
and press secretary for the Human
Rights Campaign, said in the past 10
years the organization is proudly and
unequivocally continuing to ght for
trans-inclusive protections and will only
back legislation that is fully inclusive.
From Michigan to North Carolina to
Birmingham, HRC has forcefully and
aggressively blocked laws and policies that
dont protect every LGBTQ person from
discrimination while ghting to extend
robust protections across the country,
McBride said. We are also working to
accelerate the pace of progress in other
ways, from raising the visibility of the
transgender community, to incentivizing
trans-inclusive healthcare through our
Corporate Equality Index, to shining
a spotlight on the epidemic of anti-
transgender violence which is taking the
lives of so many trans women of color.
But 2007 wasnt the last time there
would be ghting within the LGBT
community over ENDA. In 2013, major
LGBT groups (again with the exception
of the Human Rights Campaign) dropped
support from a version of ENDA over the
scope of its religious exemption, which
would have provided leeway for religious
institutions, like churches or religious
schools, to discriminate against LGBT
workers in non-ministerial positions
even if the bill were to become law. In a
reversal from 2007, the Senate passed
the legislation, but it didnt come up for a
vote in the Republican-controlled House.
Although ENDA has never become law,
a growing consensus has emerged in the
courts that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, which prohibits employment
discrimination on the basis of sex, also
applies to anti-trans discrimination. Four
federal appellate courts the First,
Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh circuit courts of
appeals have determined employment
discrimination against transgender people
is barred under Title VII, as has the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission.
Keisling cautioned against too much
reliance on laws against sex discrimination
because things are in ux, noting U.S.
Attorney General Je Sessions withdrawal
of support for transgender protections
under Title VII and President Trumps
appointment of anti-LGBT judges.
Were still convinced that the courts
are on our side, cases and decisions
have been building up to support us
and actually [the idea] trans people are
supported by sex discrimination is better
supported than that gay people are,
Keisling said. We just dont exactly know
how thats going to maintain. We do know
that theres a handful of both sexual
orientation and gender identity cases
moving up through the court system, so
N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 1 7
what I say now might not be true a month
from now and certainly will be changed
somewhat in a year.
Condence in the legal landscape for
trans protections under Title VII is at such
a point that a pending petition led by
Lambda Legal before the U.S. Supreme
Court seeking a nationwide ruling for gay
protections under the law, but not explicit
trans protections, hasnt registered as
trans exclusion. The petition was led
on behalf of lesbian plainti Jackie
Evans after the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled against her.
Beyer said shes not bothered by
the petition and it should only upset
transgender activists who dont bother
to parse the specics and recognize the
transgender victories in lower courts.
We could have easily won [trans
protections] nationwide rst, Beyer
said. In this case, sexual orientation
has been viewed dierently and most
courts havent wanted to touch it until
the Hively case in the 7th Circuit took
it, and now weve got Evans. Thats
beginning to change. Im certainly not at
all oended by that because this is the
way you go. You have a case and the case
cant equally be broadened to include
dierent classications simply because
the community would like it.
The social scene, in contrast to advocacy
groups and the legal landscape, may not
be as advanced in accepting transgender
inclusion despite the explosion over
ENDA 10 years ago. Transgender rights
advocates noted a distinction between
the LGBT community at large in accepting
transgender people and advocacy groups.
Beyer said she doesnt see transgender
inclusion at the social level anywhere near
as advanced as the current legal landscape.
Acceptance, armation in the general
culture is one thing, but the fact that, say,
35 percent of Americans do know a trans
person, doesnt mean that people are
that much more comfortable with trans
people, Beyer said. I think on balance
they are, but not overwhelmingly so.
Eorts to resist trans inclusion in the
movement on occasion still emerge,
although theyre rare and dont represent
mainstream LGBT views. In 2015, a
petition was posted on Change.org
titled Drop the T urging major LGBT
organizations to disassociate themselves
from the transgender movement and
return to representing their base support
of gay men and lesbians. The petition,
signed by 3,227 people, had no impact on
transgender advocacy at LGBT groups.
But transgender advocates also saw a
generational divide in the approach to trans
inclusion on the social scene that meets
what is now seen at the advocacy level.
 Keep your promise to protect each other. WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

18 N OV E M B E R 10, 201 7 H E A LT H N E W S

Research nds children fare well raised by gays

WASHINGTON New research based on data coming from 2013-2015 from
the U.S. National Health Interview Survey nds there was no increased emotional
or psychological diculties among children raised by gay or lesbian parents, but
those with bisexual parents have lightly poorer questionnaire scores, Science
Alert reports citing a study in Child Development.
The study involved 21,000 children aged 4-17 and was deemed more
sophisticated than previous studies as it took into account each adults sexual
orientation, information that was previously surmised based on parents gender.
A likely cause soon became clear. Once researchers took into account the parents
level of psychological distress, the dierences vanished, Science Alert reports.
In other words, any potential variation in the childrens mental wellbeing was
probably a result of the challenges the parents face in a society that stigmatizes
Wills & Trusts their sexual orientation and non-traditional relationships, and not as a direct

Powers of Attorney Living Wills consequence of their sexualities, Science Alert reports.

Partnership & Prenuptial Agreements L.A. gay men urged to get Hep A vaccine
(240) 778-2330 (703) 536-0220
www.PartnerPlanning.com LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public
Health) is reminding men who have sex with men (MSM) to get the hepatitis A
vaccine, Outbreak Today reports citing a department press release.
Serving the LGBT Community Public Health reports 12 cases among MSM so far in 2017, which is three more
cases than were reported in 2016. MSM are known to be at risk for Hepatitis
in DC/MD/VA since 1983 A (HAV) and have been recommended nationally to receive the vaccine. Public
Health is informing health care providers of the increase in cases this year,
reminding them to oer vaccine, and requesting their assistance in detecting

Lawrence S. Jacobs/McMillan Metro, PC and reporting any cases of hepatitis A.

Outbreaks of hepatitis A among MSM are occurring nationally and
internationally this year with outbreaks having been declared in New York City,
Colorado, Europe, Chile and Australia.
The increase of hepatitis A cases among MSM in Los Angeles County is consistent
with these other worldwide outbreaks and is occurring within the context of the
outbreak of hepatitis A among homeless persons and those who use illicit drugs.
Hepatitis A causes acute liver disease, which may be severe. It is transmitted
by contact with feces from a person who is infected, often through contact
with food or water or during sex or other close contact. Most adults with acute
hepatitis A will have symptoms that may include fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting,
abdominal pain, dark colored urine and jaundice. If you experience these
symptoms, contact your physician.

Trans women get more HIV tests than trans men

BUFFALO, N.Y. A new University of Bualo study has shown that HIV testing
among transgender adults was higher in those who identied as female, were
African-American or Hispanic, or had a history of incarceration.
The preliminary research, which sought to identify HIV-testing patterns in
urban, transgender individuals in Western New York, also found that among
participants, those with history as a sex worker, who only engaged in sex with
males or had access to stable housing were also more likely to seek HIV testing.
ADVERTISING TheP study R O Owas F published recently in Volume 2 of Transgender Health, the rst
ISSUE DATE: 10.26.12 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com) peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the health care of transgender individuals.
To better understand which segments of the transgender community are not
REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of

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proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of
the date of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts
receiving testing, the researchers examined survey data from the New York State
GN
omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is
responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users AIDS Institute Reporting System. The de-identied data, collected from 2007-13,
included HIV testing history, perceived HIV risks and related medical care.
can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or
EVISIONS any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any
/LOGO REVISIONS copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair

SIONS
competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation,
or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the ADVERTISER SIGNATURE They also interviewed 27 self-identied transgender men and women over
washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all
liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred the is notage ofplacement,
18 who consented to receiving an HIV test at a Western New York
By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the
washington blade newspaper. This includes but limited to
by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertisers breach of any of the foregoing representations payment and insertion schedule.
and warranties. community health care organization.
Of the participants, 23 were transgender females, 40 percent were Caucasian
and nearly 30 percent African-American, and more than half were current sex
workers or had been incarcerated. Nearly all of the respondents reported a
history of substance abuse and most were uninsured.
Participants reported receiving an average of three HIV tests and one STD test
before joining the study. The majority of them did not receive an STD test within
a year of the study.
The results found that transgender women received, on average, more than
three times as many HIV tests as transgender men.
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2 0 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017
To stop sexual harassment,
men must check other men
Challenging sexism and
misogyny throughout society
LATEEFAH WILLIAMS is a D.C.-based attorney
and community advocate. Reach her at
lateefah_williams@msn.com.
Half of the country seems to be having
an awakening, of sorts, regarding sexual
harassment, assault, and intimidation,
due to the Harvey Weinstein scandal. The
other half of the country (lets call this half
women) have experienced this behavior
our entire lives and many of us are kind of
astounded that most men are just becom-
ing aware of how pervasive sexual harass-
ment and intimidation are, not to mention
more serious forms of sexual assault.
I probably dont know a single woman
who has never been sexually harassed.
Harassment is so normal that its just par
for the course for most women. Wheth-
er its cat-calls when walking down the
street, improper comments in the work-
place, or actions that intentionally de-
mean, belittle, or intimidate, women have
to carefully weigh any reaction against
the potential consequences.
With sexual assault, the trauma is often
worse, and the fear or intimidation factor
increases as well. Thus, while the sexual
assault and harassment allegations in
Hollywood are horrifying, there is also a
sense of hope. For the rst time, society
seems to truly be listening to women and
punishing powerful men for engaging in
predatory behavior. If everyday society
follows Hollywoods lead and starts to
support women who come forward with
sexual assault or sexual harassment al-
legations, more women will feel comfort-
able reporting this behavior.
This issue also impacts the LGBT com-
munity, as actor Kevin Spacey is accused
of sexually assaulting and harassing sev-
eral young men throughout his career.
While we do not know the sexual orienta-
tion of the men that Spacey assaulted or
harassed, like many predators, he most
likely targeted those who he perceived to
be vulnerable, which often includes mem-
bers of the LGBT community.
Due to their high-prole nature, it is
possible to use the horric aforemen-
tioned situations as a catalyst for long-
lasting societal change. However, if we
are going to do that, everyone needs to
play a role, especially those who most
likely will never be victimized.
When it comes to making this a safer
world for women and youth, men need
to do their part. Men cannot continue
to silently witness other men mistreat
or abuse women and say nothing. The
idea that it is only the victims obligation
E DIT OR IA L C A R T OON
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
VIEWPOINT
to speak up is ridiculous and is a form
of victim shaming. Women often do not
speak up due to fear of retaliation, such
as not being believed, suering damage
to ones reputation and potentially risk-
ing ones career. Members of society who
nd themselves in a position of privilege
should feel a moral obligation to stand by
those who are more vulnerable in a par-
ticular situation. Men are the privileged
ones in most sexual harassment and
assault cases and can really move the
needle forward on this issue by check-
ing other men when they engage in these
behaviors. Men can also stand by victims,
support victims, and speak up for victims.
Lets all use this increased awareness
of sexual harassment and assault as an
opportunity to challenge sexism and mi-
sogyny throughout society. That means
if you see someone mistreating some-
one based on their gender, race, sexual
orientation, gender identity or any other
factor, say something or do something.
Dont be OK with being privileged enough
not to be on the receiving end of hostile
behavior because for those of us who
are part of marginalized groups, we dont
have that luxury.
Even factors such as being of a certain
age, obtaining advanced degrees, and
partaking in a well-regarded career eld
will not shield you from mistreatment
when you are part of multiple margin-
alized groups. Speaking from personal
experience, being a 41-year-old George-
town-educated attorney, who has been
licensed to practice law for 14 years, has
not stopped people from viewing me, a
52 Black woman, as someone beneath
them and someone who should be put in
her place.
I have been physically intimidated by
men a foot taller than I am and had my
character assassinated when I dared to
assert my opinion or challenge the opin-
ions of men or others perceived as more
powerful. In professional settings, I have
been referred to by demeaning so-called
terms of endearment, such as sweetie
or precious, as a way to dismiss me as a
little girl who should not be taken serious-
ly. While I knew that I was marginalized,
I never truly considered myself vulnerable
until I felt the full wrath of patriarchy, mi-
sogyny, sexism, racism, and heterosexism/
homophobia. While I have found my voice
again, its not enough for the survivors to
speak up. All people of conscience need to
speak up to make a dierence.
VOLUME 48 ISSUE 45
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
V I E W PO I N T
The rst steps toward eradicating sexual harassment
Speaking out is a good start
but much work remains
KATHI WOLFE, a writer and poet, is a regular
contributor to the Blade.
In college I loved my professors. Ex-
cept for one male professor who talked
graphically about sex when I asked about
course work during his oce hours.
One night in the mid-1980s in Manhattan,
I broke my nose. Rushing to catch a bus, I
barged into a bus stop. A kind cab driver
took me to the ER. But before the taxi came
along, a cop, seeing me, standing alone,
bleeding, taunted, Wheres your husband,
bitch? Too ugly to have a boyfriend?
Fast forward 30-some years. Two men
joke about rape when I step into an eleva-
tor in a New York oce building.
Thankfully, my run-ins with misogyny
O U R B USI NES S MATTERS
Proving the point: More housing equals lower rents
D.C. rental prices drop
as developers create
increased apartment supply
MARK LEE is a long-time entrepreneur
and community business advocate. Follow
on Twitter: @MarkLeeDC. Reach him at
OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.
Its not rocket science: The more hous-
ing there is, the more aordable housing
will be.
In cities with growing populations, the
degree to which the creation of new apart-
ment units track with the increased need for
additional rental housing is the dierence
between soaring prices and a stable market.
D.C. has begun to prove this simple re-
ality of supply and demand.
A report last month by real estate re-
search rm Delta Associates indicated
that D.C. rental prices dropped for the
second consecutive quarter, following a
rare drop in rents in the previous period.
have been far from what my friends, col-
leagues and millions of other women have
endured. Ive been thinking of these en-
counters during our ongoing avalanche
of revelations of sexual harassment. From
President Donald Trump to Harvey Wein-
stein to Kevin Spacey to Fox News to NPR
our culture is rife with victims, allegations,
apologies and outcries against misogyny,
sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Its tempting to think that our cultures
view of women has changed since the sec-
ond wave of feminism in the 1970s. We
Mad Men acionados binge the TV show
while believing that the inappropriate be-
havior and misogyny of that programs era
are, if not absent, greatly diminished in our
time. After all, now, there are three wom-
en justices on the U.S. Supreme Court!
Yet, sadly, after this progress over
20 years since we sat, riveted, to our TVs
watching the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas
hearings on sexual harassment sexual
misconduct is still widespread in this
country. More than half of American
women have experienced unwanted
and inappropriate sexual advances from
men, according to a recent ABC News-
Washington Post poll.
These drops were only the third decrease
in rents since 2010.
District market-rate rents citywide
were 1.3 percent lower on a year-to-year
basis for newer Class A apartment build-
ings, and declined slightly less than one
percent at Class B buildings. In the D.C.
market, Class A buildings are typically
larger apartment buildings constructed
after 1991, with extensive resident ame-
nities, while Class B buildings are gener-
ally older renovated buildings oering
more limited amenity packages.
This decline in average rents was the
result of a record number of new apart-
ments hitting the market in the past year,
totaling more than 11,000 units. Optimism
that prices will continue to drop is based
on an already-planned addition of nearly
14,000 new units in the next three years.
While apartment rental prices had been
predicted to decline by housing experts,
due to the major increase in new units, the
areas of the city most beneting by price
declines were opposite what was expected.
Rental prices were anticipated to pla-
teau in the areas with the largest supply
of new units, primarily the Riverfront area
in Southeast-and-Southwest D.C., as well
as NoMa and surrounding the H Street,
N.E., corridor. These areas are expected
In the workplace, three in 10 women
have experienced unwanted sexual ad-
vances from male co-workers, and 25
percent received the unwanted advances
from men who had power over them, the
poll found. Eight in 10 women said the
unwanted advances were sexual harass-
ment, and one-third said the inappropri-
ate conduct was sexual abuse, the poll
reported. Ninety-ve percent of women
who experienced unwanted sexual ad-
vances said male harassers were rarely
punished. Eighty-three percent of the
victims said theyre still angry, 64 percent
felt intimidated, 52 percent believed they
were humiliated and about three in 10
were ashamed, ABC News reported.
Power tends to corrupt, said Lord
Acton, a British historian of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, absolute power
corrupts absolutely.
Actons truism applies equally well to
today. Take the 3% Conference, a group
that advocates for women in advertising.
In 2008, more than 40 years after Mad
Men, the Conference found that at the
top ad agencies only 3 percent of creative
directors were women, the New York
Times reported. Things have gotten bet-
to continue to lead the city in rental hous-
ing growth over the next three years,
eventually exceeding the total number of
units in central D.C.
Instead, rents dropped in the more
established neighborhoods of northwest
D.C., including Foggy Bottom, Dupont
Circle, Logan Circle, Shaw, and the Mount
Vernon Triangle area. The Shaw-Colum-
bia Heights submarket experienced the
largest decrease at 4.1 percent while
average rents in Dupont-Logan-Mount
Vernon declined 2.4 percent all near-
downtown areas. The NoMa and H Street,
N.E., area saw a more modest 1.2 percent
drop, while absorbing the second-highest
number of new units.
In neighborhoods with the most new
rental construction, primarily the Capitol
Riverfront and Southwest areas, Class-A
rents grew by 3.2 percent, an unexpected
development. Excitement surrounding
The Wharf, with its destination array of dy-
namic entertainment and nightlife estab-
lishments, became a big part of the draw
luring renters to the Waterfront area.
Nearly all new rental housing in almost
all cities is typically, and historically, high-
er-priced housing. The availability of new
luxury apartments, however, serves to
reduce the pressure on existing housing,
N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 2 1
ter; but sexism still thrives.
Its not just women who are victims of
sexual harassment. Multiple men have al-
leged that Spacey, known for his starring
role on Netixs House of Cards, has
sexually harassed them. It began when
actor Anthony Rapp told BuzzFeed that
when he was 14 and at a party, Spacey,
then 26, made unwanted sexual advances
toward him. (After the allegations, Spacey
was axed from Cards.)
Rather than apologizing forthrightly,
Spacey, whos been closeted for years,
came out as gay. Through this faux coming
out, he failed to confront his pedophilia,
and reinforced homophobia. Coming-out
stories should not be used to deect from
allegations of sexual assault, said Sarah
Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD in
a statement. This is...a story of survivor-
ship by...all those who bravely speak out
against unwanted sexual advances.
It will be hard. Yet, all of us, men,
women, hetero and queer, need to take
responsibility. Harassers must apologize
and work to change their behavior. Ev-
eryone, whether or not theyre a victim,
must speak out. Only then can we begin
to eradicate sexual harassment.
including less expensive units. This benets
the mainstream market overall and allows
for a broader range of rental price points.
Over the past decade, D.C. has become
one of the most expensive cities in the
country for rental housing. The sky-high
cost of living, only partially oset by a
relatively high median income, aects the
economic demography of residents and
both the pace of new arrivals and who
they are.
In-migration to the city has begun to
taper o while remaining robust, and is
increasingly comprised of wealthier new
residents. D.C. has yet to see departures
by Millennials exceed arrivals, as is now
the case in the metropolitan area for the
rst time in many years, but their net in-
ux is noticeably slowing. Rental housing
aordability is a key factor in this shift.
If market-rate housing is to be margin-
ally aordable and price-stable, the es-
sential solution component is creating an
adequate supply.
D.C. public policies, zoning rules, and
regulatory procedures must encour-
age and incentivize new rental housing
construction. More important, neigh-
borhood NIMBY activists must end their
knee-jerk, and counter-intuitive, opposi-
tion to building it.
2 2 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
I N S I DE LGB T W A S HING TON
Big night for Democrats as voters reject Trump
Va., N.J. send message; Roem
ousts Bigot Bob Marshall
PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights
and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly
for the Blade.
The nations move toward rejection of
the policies of President Trump and his
advisers, including Steve Bannon, began
with the results of Tuesdays elections in
New Jersey and Virginia. The New Jersey
race was easier to predict and its an im-
portant Democratic pick-up of a gover-
norship. Congratulations to Phil Murphy,
the next governor of the Garden State.
Virginia appeared to be more of a cli-
hanger. Hillary Clinton won the state by ve
points last year and we knew if voters in
Richmond and Northern Virginia came out
Democrats would win. Polling in the last
month was all over the place. One showed
Gillespie up by one and another had
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Northam up by 13. In both primaries the
polls were way o. They had Northam in a
nailbiter and he won by 10, and Gillespie in
a rout and he eked out a win by one.
Thankfully, Virginians didnt buy Gillespies
negative commercials and understood if he
won it would add validation to the pig in
the White House. So congratulations to Dr.
Ralph Northam for his big win and thank
you to the voters of Virginia who made a
statement with their votes; Americans are
not going to accept the alt-right or any can-
didate who refuses to stand up for decency
and call out those who dont. A healthy ma-
jority proved we are better than that.
Congratulations also to Justin Fairfax
and Mark Herring for their wins as lieu-
tenant governor and attorney general.
Virginia continues its string of electing only
Democrats to statewide oces.
All you can say is wow to the tremendous
pickup of seats in Virginias General Assem-
bly. Maybe the greatest victory in Virginia
was seeing transgender candidate Danica
Roem soundly defeat Bob Marshall who
was called the poster boy for homophobia,
sexism and racism. The majority of voters in
Prince William County no longer share his
views or want to be known for them. With an
incredible pick-up of at least 14 seats it looks
like the House of Delegates is now 50/50.
Now the 2017 elections are over and
the 2018 ght for Congress begins. Demo-
crats have a real opportunity to take back
the House of Representatives. Virginians
need to do their share by defeating Bar-
bara Comstock (R-Va.). The Senate will be
more dicult but never say never. Demo-
crats must also focus on state houses in
the 36 states and three territories where
governors are up for election. We need to
win these and state legislatures before the
2020 Census and redistricting begins
There is also work to be done by Demo-
crats across the board; from school boards,
to town councils, to mayors. The Democratic
Party should be building a bench of candi-
dates who will be our future leaders.
What must stop is the ghting among some
of the Democratic Partys current elder states-
persons and one independent who caucuses
with Democrats. What must end is the contin-
ued talk as if they are the future, which they
are not. Some are still in oce like Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I), who joins the Democratic caucus
but declares over-and-over, I am not a Demo-
crat; and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
who continues to ght for consumers and
the middle class. By 2020, Warren will be over
70, Sanders nearly 80. Former Vice President
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Biden, who is raising money for his PAC, will be
nearly 80. They all need to follow Hillary Clin-
tons example and say they arent going to run
for higher oce. Clinton has said clearly her
future is to ght for women and children, sup-
port other candidates, and not be a candidate
herself. Those in and out of oce must help
prepare the next generation for leadership by
using their tremendous wealth of experience
and wisdom to boost others into prominence.
That is how to build a winning Demo-
cratic Party for the future a party that will
have many ready to lead and win elections
at every level. The Democratic Party must
continue to have a diverse leadership that
understands the needs of voters because
they have lived them and became leaders
in their communities. The party will remain
the party of progressives because of the
hard work of the leaders we have today.
The party of Jenny Durkan who becomes
the rst openly lesbian mayor of Seattle
and Andrea Jenkins from Minneapolis who
becomes the rst out trans person to win a
Council seat in a major U.S. city.
So on to 2018 and winning up and down
the ballot. Those wins will represent the
American peoples rejection of todays Re-
publican Party; the Tea Party of the alt-right,
Trump, Ryan, McConnell and Bannon.
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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM VOLUME 48 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 10, 2017 PAGE 29

JANET JACKSON returns to D.C. on her acclaimed State of the World Tour on Nov. 16.

PHOTO BY SHILLA PATEL

10 times Janet Jackson was

there for LGBT community
Icons acclaimed tour hits D.C. next week
From STAFF REPORTS

Its not often you have the opportunity
to see a bona de music icon and legend
perform live, so dont miss Janet Jacksons
acclaimed State of the World Tour
coming to D.C. (Nov. 16) and Baltimore
(Nov. 18).
In celebration of Janets arrival, weve
compiled a list of 10 ways she has
demonstrated her love and support for
the LGBT community. In no particular
order, they are:
1. The Velvet Rope project. In 1997,
Jackson released her critically acclaimed
sixth studio album The Velvet Rope,
an introspective and deeply personal
collection of songs that touched on her
depression, but also tackled LGBT issues.
On the track Free Xone, she spoke out
forcefully against anti-LGBT bias. She
also covered Rod Stewarts Tonights the
Night, without changing the pronouns
in the love song, prompting speculation
about her sexual orientation. But it was
her international No. 1 hit Together
Again that continues to resonate with
LGBT fans. An upbeat, joyful dance song,
It was conceived as a tribute to Jacksons
friends who died of AIDS.
2. GLAAD award. In 2008, Ellen
DeGeneres presented Jackson with
the Vanguard Award at the 19th
annual GLAAD Media Awards. GLAADs
president said, We are delighted to
honor Janet Jackson at the 19th annual
GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles as
such a visible, welcoming and inclusive
ally of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community. Ms. Jackson
has a tremendous following inside the
LGBT community and out, and having her
stand with us against the defamation that
LGBT people still face in our country is
extremely signicant.
3. Ebony magazine interview about
her sexuality. In 2001, Jackson gave an
interview to Ebony magazine in which she
was asked about her sexual orientation.
I dont mind people thinking that Im gay
or calling me gay, she said. People are
going to believe whatever they want. Yes,
I hang out at gay clubs I go where the
music is good. I love people regardless
of sexual preference, regardless of race.
No, I am not bisexual. I have been linked
CONTINUES ON PAGE 41
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 0 NO VE MB ER 1 0, 2017 QU E E R Y : 20 Q U E ST I O N S F O R E d F i g ue r o a / Bo m b a l i ci o us E k l a v e r

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
ED FIGUEROA/BOM BALICIOUS EK LAVER
Ed Figueroa, who performs as drag alter ego Bombalicious Eklaver, is
relatively new to performance drag having started about a year ago.
Ive been cross dressing for several years, the 38-year-old Manila,
Philippines native says. I started posting comedy videos online and one
became viral in the Philippines so that motivated me to continue. I have How long have you been out and who If science discovered a way to change
always been doing drag in dierent forms at various stages in my life but Im was the hardest person to tell? sexual orientation, what would you do?
doing it more now than ever before. I came out late in college and my I would protest.
His event Asian Explosion will be held Friday, Nov. 17 at 10 p.m. at the family has been supportive.
Baltimore Eagle (2022 N. Charles St.). Bombalicious will host. Performers include What do you believe in beyond the
Lady Geisha Stratton, Jasmine Tea, Sue Nami, Sirius Prism and Labella Maa. Whos your LGBT hero? physical world?
Theyre all Asian queens from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Florence Nightingale Nothing
more. RuPauls Drag Race alum Gia Gunn is the guest star. General admission
is $15; reserved seating tickets are $25. VIP meet-and-greet tickets with Gia are Whats Baltimores best nightspot, Whats your advice for LGBT
$45. Look for the event on Facebook or go to thebaltimoreeagle.com. past or present? movement leaders?
Asian Explosion is my baby from conceptualization to production, Figueroa Club Hippo & GAY, RIP Remain steadfast and strong,
says. Its a celebration of heritage, culture, drag and performance art. Were the ght is not over.
bringing together the best Asian drag performers in the DMV and beyond. Describe your dream wedding.
Figueroa works by day as a nurse. He came to the Baltimore area 11 years My actual wedding. What would you walk
ago to work at Mercy Medical Center. He and partner Ivn Manahan live in across hot coals for?
Hanover, Md., with their Pomeranians Bogart and Bertha. Figueroa enjoys What non-LGBT issue are you most Love
dining, traveling and wine in his free time. passionate about?
Racial discrimination What LGBT stereotype
annoys you most?
What historical outcome That were sexual predators.
would you change?
Trump getting elected. Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Die Beautiful
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime? Whats the most overrated
Miss Philippines winning Miss social custom?
Universe 2015. Asking How are you? without any
real concern.
On what do you insist?
Equality What trophy or prize
do you most covet?
What was your last Facebook Powerball or MegaMillions.
post or Tweet?
That was short and sweet. Im already What do you wish youd known at 18?
obsessed. #ShadeQueensofNYC It will all happen, just wait.

If your life were a book, what would Why Baltimore?
202.747.2077 the title be?
I Made It Happen
Because life is where you make it.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 3 1

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12 AT 7 P.M. This performance is also at the
featuring Mason Dance Company SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2 AT 8 P.M.
Hylton Performing Arts Center on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 AT 2 P.M.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18 AT 8 P.M.
Sun., Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. Information at
HyltonCenter.org

TICKETS 888-945-2468 OR CFA.GMU.EDU Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway
exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123.

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3 2 NO VE MB ER 1 0, 2017 A RT S & CU LT U RE

This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com

18. The Clarice. theclarice.umd.edu.
Mean Girls. Thru Dec 3. National
Theatre. thenationaldc.org.
The Second City Presents Nothing
to Lose (But Our Chains). Nov
11-Dec 31. Woolly Mammoth.
woollymammoth.net.
Vicua & The American Epilogue.
Thru Nov 26. The Real Americans.
Nov 10-Dec 22. Mosaic Theater
Company. Atlas. mosaictheater.org.
DANCE
The Book of Mormon XIII Fuego Flamenco Festival. Thru
Thru Nov 19. The Kennedy Center. Nov 12. GALA Hispanic Theatre.
kennedy-center.org. galatheatre.org.
The nine-time Tony-winning Best Musical follows the misadventures of a Dance Metro DC. Nov 11-Nov 12.
mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread Dance Place. danceplace.org.
the Good Word. Now with standing-room-only productions in London, on
Broadway, and across North America, The Book of Mormon has truly become
an international sensation.
MUSIC
Black Violin. Nov 10. Irma Thomas
NSO at The Anthem with members of Preservation Hall
Nov 15. National Symphony Orchestra at The Anthem. & Blind Boys of Alabama. Nov 12.
kennedy-center.org. Sonnambula. Nov 16. Strathmore.
The performance showcases a range of colorful orchestral works by Leonard strathmore.org.
Bernstein, Respighi, and Gershwin, and spotlights NSO Concertmaster Nurit Dave Kline Band & Veronneau.
Bar-Josef. The concert is free; reservations are recommended. Nov 11. The Cocuzzi Courtet. Nov
15. Stephen Wade. Nov 16. AMP.
Wonder Women! ampbystrathmore.com.
Thru Nov 17. National Museum of Women in the Arts. WNO: Alcina. Thru Nov 19. NSO:
nmwa.org. Beethovens Eroica Symphony & National Portrait Gallery. The Sweat
From the Guerrilla Girls righting the wrongs of the art world to painter Edna more. Thru Nov 11. NSO: Classics
Reindels tough WWII riveters, to vintage feminist comic booksits the by Respighi, Chausson, Gershwin Workers. Thru Sep 3. Celebrating Fifty
celebration of the Wonder Women! Explore images of the powerful woman, & Falla. Nov 16-Nov 19. Barbara
real and ctional, in a wide-ranging selection drawn from the special collections Hannigan & Reinbert de Leeuw. Nov
and artists archives of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center. 14. Mason Batess KC Jukebox. Nov
15. Kennedy Center.
Jacques Brel: Songs from His World kennedy-center.org.
Thru Nov 19. In Series at Source Theatre. Verona Quartet. Nov 10. The
inseries.org. Mariinsky Orchestra. Nov
A cabaret of songs by the Belgian master of modern chanson. Known for 12. Washington Performing
his devastatingly personal, heart-wrenching lyrics, but also for his scathingly Arts at Kennedy Center.
sarcastic depiction of society, Jacques Brel and his songs swept the pop music washingtonperformingarts.org.
world of the 50s and 60s. Lise De La Salle, Piano. Nov 12.
Bender JCC. benderjccgw.org.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE KENNEDY CENTER Clarice and Srgio Assad. Nov 12-Nov
13. Dumbarton Oaks. doaks.org.
Baron & Buchbinder. Nov 11.
Nomadica. Nov 12. Bina and
THE ATRE 11. Library of Congress. loc.gov.
Our Town. Thru Nov 12. Annie. Thru
Chamber Music. Nov 12. Washington
Jewish Music Festival. EDCJCC.
Antony and Cleopatra. Thru Nov 19. Dec 31. Olney Theatre. wjmf.org.
Folger Theatre. folger.edu. olneytheatre.org. Brazilian Jazz. Nov 12. JCCNV.
An Act of God. Thru Nov 26. Crazy For Stand-Up Studios Comedy jccnv.org.
You. Thru Dec 31. Signature Theatre. Showcase. Nov 11. Stand-Up Studios. Bach and Bachianas. Nov 11.
sigtheatre.org. standupstudios.com. National Philharmonic at Strathmore.
Aquila Theatre: Hamlet. Nov 12. GMU A Short Series of Disagreements nationalphilharmonic.org
Center for the Arts. cfa.gmu.edu. Presented Here in Chronological Jubilee Voices at Temple Shalom.
A Christmas Carol. Nov 16-Dec 31. Order. Thru Nov 25. Studio Theatre. Nov 12. Washington Revels. Temple
Fords Theatre. fords.org.
Top Girls. Thru Dec 2. Keegan Theatre.
studiotheatre.org.
Horton Footes A Con in Egypt.
Shalom. revelsdc.org.
Red Baraat. Nov 10. George Winston.
keegantheatre.com. Nov 15-Dec 16. Conor McPhersons Nov 11. Herb Alpert & Lani Hall. Nov
Shear Madness. Thru Nov 26. St Nicholas. Nov 16-Dec 17. Quotidian 13-Nov 14. Justin Townes Earle with
Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org. Theatre Company. The Writers Center. Joshua Hedley. Nov 15. California
An American Soldiers Journey Home: quotidiantheatre.org. Guitar Trio. Nov 16. Wolf Trap. The
The Diary of Irving Greenwald. Nov Love and Information. Nov 10-Nov Barns. wolftrap.org.
Rahim AlHaj, Oud. Nov 16. The Clarice
at MilkBoy ArtHouse.
theclarice.umd.edu.
MUSEUMS
Folger Shakespeare Library. Painting
Shakespeare. Thru Feb 11. folger.edu.
National Archives. Remembering
Vietnam. Nov 10-Jan 6.
archivesfoundation.org.
Dumbarton Oaks. Ancient Textiles.
Thru Mar 31. Women in Art. Thru Mar
31. Ancient Bronzes. Thru Mar 31.
doaks.org.
Hillwood. Spectacular Gems and
Jewelry. Thru Jan 7.
hillwoodmuseum.org.
Library of Congress. American
Experiences of World War I. Thru Jan 1.
loc.gov.
National Gallery of Art. Vermeer and
the Masters of Genre Painting. Thru
Jan 21. Edvard Munch. Thru Jan 28.
nga.gov.
National Geographic. Wild: Michael
Nichols. Thru Jan 12. Tomb of Christ.
Nov 15-Aug 15. nglive.org.
National Museum of Women in the
Arts. Inside the Dinner Party Studio.
Thru Jan 5. Magnetic Fields. Thru Jan
21. nmwa.org.
of Their Face: Portraying American
Years. Thru Jan 6. npg.si.edu.
GALLERIES
gallery Neptune & Brown.
David X Levine. Thru Nov 18.
galleryneptunebrown.com.
The Art League. IMPart Ceramics &
Bladesmithing Exhibit. Thru Dec 3.
theartleague.org.
Waverly Street Gallery. Tom Kenyon.
Thru Dec 2. waverlystreetgallery.com.
Zenith Gallery. Artists Femina. Thru
Nov 18. zenithgallery.com.
Bender JCC. Adi Shani. Thru Dec 17.
benderjccgw.org.
District Architecture Center. Vlad
Zabavskiy. Thru Nov 17. aiadac.com.
Hill Center. Michael Ford. Thru Dec
30. Joanathan Bessaci. Thru Dec 30.
hillcenterdc.org.
ISAAG. Anne-Lise Large & Alejandro
Gutierrez. Nov 14-Nov 29.
idbstaassociationartgallery.org.
JCCNV. Ronni Jolles. Thru Nov 28.
jccnv.org.
AND MORE...
National Archives. Six Years in the
Hanoi Hilton: An Extraordinary Story of
Courage and Survival in Vietnam. Nov 10.
Women Vietnam Veterans: Our Untold
Stories. Nov 10. archivesfoundation.org.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 3 3

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COMMUNICATION

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resources about sex and sexual
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3 4 N O VEMB ER 10, 2017
E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.
com two weeks prior to your event. Space is lim-
ited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.
TODAY
Reel Armations presents a hosts coee drop-in hours this morning
screening of Cold Breath as part of
its Countries and Closets series at
Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode
Island Ave., N.W.) tonight from 7-10 p.m.
The Iran/Persian lm tells the story of
Maryam, who was born a woman and
is now living as a man, while raising a
daughter. Rayceen Pendarvis hosts the
event. Countries and Closets features
lms set in countries where being LGBT
is illegal. General admission tickets are
$12. VIP tickets are $25 and include VIP
seating, one complimentary cocktail, beer
or wine and movie candy or popcorn. For
more information, visit thedccenter.org/
reelarmations.
U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation hosts
screenings of George Takeis Broadway
play Allegiance today at noon. There will
be additional screenings on Saturday and
Sunday. The screening will be in Japanese
and include behind-the-scenes footage
and interviews with the cast and creators.
For ticket information, search US-Japan
Bridging Foundation on Facebook.
Author Jean Freedman will sign copies
of her book Peggy Seeger: A Life of
Music, Love and Politics at the National
Press Club (529 14th St., N.W.) today from
5:30-8:30 p.m. The book signing is part
of the National Book Clubs 40th annual
Book Fair and Authors Night. For more
details, visit press.org/bookfair.
Gamma D.C., a support group for men
in mixed-orientation relationships, meets
at Luther Place Memorial Church (1226
Vermont Ave., N.W.) today from 7:30-
9:30 p.m. The group is for men who are
attracted to men but are currently, or were
at one point, in relationships with women.
Meeting locations are in private residences.
For more information about the group and
location, visit gammaindc.org.
SATURDAY, NOV. 11
Center Military hosts the annual
wreath laying for LGBT veterans at
Congressional Cemetery (1801 E St., S.E.)
today at noon. The ceremony will be held
in the LGBT section of the cemetery at the
grave of Sgt. Leonard Matlovich. For more
details, visit facebook.com/centermilitary.
Tegan and Sara perform at the Anthem
(901 Wharf St., S.W.) for the Con 10th
Anniversary Acoustic Tour tonight at 8
p.m. Tickets range from $50.50-76. Doors
open at 6:30 p.m. For more information,
visit theanthemdc.com.
Distrkt C hosts Jockstrap and Harness
at the D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.)
tonight from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. DJ Deanne
will spin tracks for an extended set.
TEGAN AND SARA play the Anthem this weekend.
Tickets are $25. For more details, visit
distrktc.com.
The Gay Mens Chorus of Washington
performs It Takes Two, a concert of
duets, at Atlas Performing Arts Center
(1333 H St., N.E.) today at 4 and 8 p.m.
Song selections will be from Into the
Woods, Smash, The Last Five Years, Installation at the Stuart Center (821
Rent and Dear Evan Hansen. The 4
p.m. performance will include an ASL
interpretation. Adult tickets are $39.
Senior tickets are $35. Young professional
tickets, for guests 25 and under, are $20.
For more information, visit gmcw.org.
SUNDAY, NOV. 12
Drag performer Shi-Queeta-Lee
hosts Decades of a Queen, a birthday
fundraiser, at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.)
tonight from 6-10 p.m. In honor of Shi-
Queeta-Lees 53rd birthday, donations
will be made to her charity of choice.
There will be food and a cash bar. The
PHOTO BY LINDSEY BYRNES)
color theme is orange. Tickets are $10.
For more details, visit facebook.com/
salutetodivas.
United Church of Christ, the Potomac
Association and Central Atlantic
Conference host a service of Reception
for the Inner Light Ministries and
from $37-352. Doors open at 7 p.m. For
Varnum St., N.E.) today at 2 p.m. Rev.
Rainey Cheeks will lead the service. There
will be light refreshments after service.
For more information, visit facebook.
com/ilmucc.
The D.C. Chamber Musicians perform
a free charity benet concert at the
St. Stephen and Incarnation Episcopal
Church (1525 Newton St., N.W.) today at 1
p.m. The program will include selections
from Mozart, Arensky and Beethoven.
Admission is free. Donations are
encouraged to benet Loaves and Fishes,
a charity that feeds the homeless. For
more details, visit facebook.com/thedcco.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
CA LE N D A R
MONDAY, NOV. 13
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave.,
N.W.) holds a support group for gay black
men to discuss topics that aect them,
share perspectives and have meaningful
conversations. For details, visit uhupil.org.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W..)
from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT
community. Older LGBT adults can
come and enjoy complimentary coee
and conversation with other community
members. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
TUESDAY, NOV. 14
LULAC Lambda hosts its monthly
meeting at Benitos Place (1431 11th St.,
N.W.) today at 6:30 p.m. New members
are welcome to join. The meeting
will discuss holiday events and 2018
community service projects. For more
details, visit facebook.com/lulaclambda.
Republic (6939 Laurel Ave., Takoma
Park, Md.) hosts Alegre Happy Hour, an
LGBT happy hour, this evening from 5-7
p.m. For details, visit republictakoma.com.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
hosts a transgender support group tonight
from 7-8:30 p.m. All are welcome. For
more information, visit thedccenter.org.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 15
Friends at Petworth Library hosts a
Golden Girls bingo night fundraiser at
Slash Run (201 Upshur St., N.W.) tonight
at 7:30 p.m. DJ Dianamatic will spin
tracks. Bring cash for donations. For more
information, visit facebook.com/slashrun.
Bookmen D.C., an informal gay mens
literature group, discusses A History of
Gay Male Literature by Gregory Woods
at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome.
For more information, visit bookmendc.
blogspot.com.
THURSDAY, NOV. 16
Janet Jackson brings her State of the
World Tour to Capital One Arena (601 F
St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range
more details, visit ticketmaster.com.
D.C. Gurly Show presents Chicago at
the Pinch (3548 14th St., N.W.) tonight at 8
p.m. The performance will feature songs
from the musical. Tickets are $9. For
more information, visit facebook.com/
dcgurlyshow.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
hosts its monthly poly discussion group
at 7 p.m. People of all dierent stages
are invited to discuss polyamory and
other consensual non-monogamous
relationships. This event is for new comers,
established polyamorous relationships
and open to all sexual orientations. For
details, visit thedccenter.org.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
M U SI C
Toris invasion
Fiery singer/songwriter
delights crowd with hits,
deep cuts
By CHRIS GERARD
In the elevator coming down from the
beautiful Theater at MGM National Harbor,
just after Tori Amos nished her set, I
overheard a conversation that probably
plays out numerous times after just about
every one of the acclaimed musicians
shows. Two young ladies were speaking,
one said incredulously, I cant believe she
didnt play Silent All These Years! Yeah,
her friend replied, How do you not play
Silent All These Years and Cornake Girl? few moments of thunderous applause, A girl
Because, as anybody who has been
fortunate enough to see Tori Amos perform
live understands, she doesnt just get up
there and do a run-through of her biggest
hits. Oh sure, Silent All These Years
appears from time to time (she played it the
next night in Philadelphia, in fact), but only
as often as many of her deep album tracks
or b-sides. The set lists change dramatically
from night to night and the one she put
together for the Washington area could not
have been more perfect. It was her debut
at the relatively new MGM National Harbor.
For about the last decade, her D.C. tour
stops have been at DAR Constitution Hall.
Her latest album, Native Invader,
grapples with dual fractures the political
upheaval that is broiling our nation and
the massive stroke that Tori Amos mother
suered earlier in the year, which has
impaired her ability to speak. The album
connects the universal and the personal.
Its somber and beautiful, restrained and
poetic and perhaps not as immediately
engaging as many of her albums. That
said, Amos was anything but restrained on
Friday night when she performed for her
ardent D.C.-area fans. She didnt lecture,
but the ssion and turmoil infusing our
world was a ery thread through the set
that was impossible to miss.
Amos opened with iieee, and its lines
couldnt be more appropriate: I know were
dying and theres no time for a parachute
/cant we get a little grace and some
elegance/no we scream in cathedrals/why
cant it be beautiful? Why does there gotta
be a sacrice? From that searing opening,
she rolled through 90 minutes spanning
her entire catalog, as ery and passionate
as ever as she enters her third decade in
the music business.
She opened her powerful allegory
Amber Waves, which portrays America
as a woman used and abused but not
without hope, with a chilling reimagining of
America the Beautiful, which became a
hymn of mourning for the current state of
the nation. Amos rampaged through a torrid
performance of the Under the Pink classic
Yes, Anastasia, slamming the piano lid for
N OV E M B E R 10, 2017 35
PHOTO BY REBECCA MESSER; USED WITH PERMISSION
TORI AMOS made her debut at the MGM
National Harbor last weekend.
emphasis at its conclusion and saying, after a
gotta bring it for her hometown show. The
suburban Maryland native brought it indeed.
During her Fake Muse Network section,
complete with a graphic on screen behind
her mocking Fox News, she delivered
stunning renditions of John Lennons
Imagine and Joni Mitchells wistful A Case
of You. As with most of the show, a pin
could have dropped and raised a clamor,
such was the level of rapt attention the
audience paid to her performance.
That led to a breaktaking performance
of Reindeer King, the majesty centerpiece
of her new album. The theme of the night
seemed to be the need to let our native
invaders rise, as she focused on songs
brimming with anger like the searing Blood
Roses and the solemn and heartbreaking I love wandering through
Marianne. She was in ne voice throughout Smithsonian museums, eating
and watching her shift back and forth from on H Street with friends, and going
organ to piano and sometimes play them to shows at Howard Theatre.
simultaneously is always fascinating. As
a songwriter, musician and performer,
Amos remains as compelling as when she
launched her career with the now-classic
Little Earthquakes in 1992.
Im a
The show featured tour debuts. Girl, transgender woman
on which she warned she might have to
start over if she screwed up and then, not
and Im part of DC.
surprisingly, she absolutely nailed it, and
an energetic take on her late 90s classic
Raspberry Swirl, which paired with her epic
Precious Things as a powerhouse nale Please treat me the way any
that left the audience wanting more. woman would want to be treated:
Yeah, her sets these days are a little bit with courtesy and respect.
shorter than on past tours, but Tori Amos Discrimination based on gender identity and
expression is illegal in the District of Columbia.
still gives her all on stage every night and
If you think youve been the target of
her delight at the fans response and their discrimination, visit www.ohr.dc.gov
obviously genuine love for her is moving to or call (202) 727-4559.
behold. There is nobody quite like Tori Amos
in popular music, and if youre one of those
lamenting the fact that she didnt play her OFFICE OF
GLBT
two most recognizable hits, then perhaps the AFFAIRS
solution is to dive deeper into her catalog.
Tori Amos isnt about hits; shes about
the power of music both as a catharsis
and an agent of healing. Shes played in
the D.C. area many times in her career Show your support! Spread word of the #TransRespect
and its always a special experience. campaign by photographing this ad and sharing on Twitter.
Her appearance last Friday at the MGM
National Harbor was no exception.
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

36 NOV E M B E R 10, 2017 O U T & A BO U T

FRANK
SOLIVAN
& DIRTY
KITCHEN
W/ TWO TON TWIG
FRIDAY NOV 10
By MARIAH COOPER

the
NEWMYER FLYER PRESENTS

LAST
Congressional Chorus plans
LGBT-themed concert
WALTZ Congressional Chorus will perform We
Will Rise!: the Search for Equality, Justice
& Freedom in Song, Poetry & Dance on
SATURDAY NOV 11 WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Sunday, Nov. 19 at 4:30 p.m. at Church of
the Epiphany (1317 G St., N.W.).
SUN, NOV 12 Trans Day of Remembrance is Nov. 20 The chorus will perform along with
DOYLE BRAMHALL II Joy of Motion dancers, the Alexandria
W/ ALTHEA GRACE Transgender Day of Remembrance will be honored at Metropolitan Harmonizers, Unique Sounds of Love,
Community Church (474 Ridge St., N.W.) on Monday, Nov. 20 from 5:30-8 p.m. Capitol Movement and Chris Urquiaga.
TUES, NOV 14 The observance will pay tribute to transgender people who have been The program is dedicated to LGBT
murdered due to anti-transgender violence. The rst Transgender Day of themes and will include You Are Here
HABIB KOIT & BAMADA Remembrance was held in 1999 following the 1998 murder of Rita Hester. For from I Am Harvey Milk by Andrew Lippa
W/ SAHEL those who cannot attend, the event will be live streamed at livestream.com/ and All of Us from Considering Matthew
mccdc/tdor. Shepard by Craig Hella Johnson.
FRI, NOV 17 For more information, visit facebook.com/empowertransdc. Tickets are $18-36. Details at
THE DUSTBOWL REVIVAL congressionalchorus.org.
W/ SAMMY MILLER & THE CONGREGATION

SAT, NOV 18
BIG SAMS FUNKY NATION
SUN, NOV 19
BETTYE LAVETTE
W/ JODY NARDONE

TUES, NOV 21
KRANIUM
FRI, NOV 24
AN EVENING WITH
SUPERFLYDISCO:
THE INAUGURAL BLACK FRIDAY
DISCO-FUNK THROWDOWN
PHOTO BY RAINER HOSCH;
SAT, NOV 25 COURTESY UNITED ENTERTAINMENT

ALL GOOD PRESENTS

SCYTHIAN
W/ FORLORN STRANGERS
Carson Kressley
SUN, NOV 26 3:00PM & 6:30PM PHOTO COURTESY LIVE NATION

A CHARLIE BROWN CHIRSTMAS WITH to host brunch

ERIC BYRD TRIO
Gaga visits D.C. for Joanne tour Carson Kressley hosts La Boum Brunch
TUES, NOV 28 at Saint Yves (1220 Connecticut Ave., N.W.)
SLATE PRESENTS Lady Gaga brings her Joanne World Tour to Capital One Arena (601 F St., on Sunday, Nov. 19 from noon-4 p.m.
THE GIST PODCAST LIVE: N.W.) on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The pop stars fth studio album Joanne debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard
The shades will be drawn for a party
brunch that includes a full brunch menu
PESCA ON THE POTOMAC Top 200. Joanne became her fourth consecutive number one album marking and a DJ spinning tracks all afternoon.
her as the rst female artist in the 2010s to make that achievement. Doors open There is one seating at noon. Food is
at 6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $137-887. not guaranteed after 1 p.m. This is a
For more details, visit ticketmaster.com. cellphone-free event. Tickets are $49.
Drinks are not included in ticket price.
For more information, visit
THEHAMILTONDC.COM laboumbrunch.com.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
T H E A TE R
Channeling Viola
Out actress says Twelfth
Night role is one she
couldnt pass up
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Since she was a girl growing up in
suburban Pugerville, Texas, actor
Antoinette Robinson has been drawn to
the classics.
As a kid I did prose and poetry
competitions in Austin. And every time
Id choose a poem, Id pick some heavy
Greek classic. There I was a little 8-year-
old reciting this, she recalls clearly
amused by the memory. And though
there arent many opportunities to do
classic Greek drama, Robinson says
shed one day love to play the title role in
Sophocles Antigone, the timely story of
one woman against the state.
Until then, Robinson who identies
as bisexual, happily busies herself with
Shakespeare. She currently is playing
Viola, the clever heroine in director Ethan
McSweenys production of the Bards
comedy Twelfth Night at Shakespeare
Theatre Company.
After having been shipwrecked on
the coast of Illyria, Viola assumes her
twin brother Sebastian is drowned.
Ever resourceful, she disguises herself
as Cesario, and is hired as a page boy
in Duke Orsinos court. Soon she nds
herself in the middle of a volatile love
triangle involving both Orsino (Bhavesh
Patel) and Olivia (Hannah Yelland), a
young countess in mourning who resides
at a neighboring estate.
Viola is one of those parts, says
Robinson, 30. Just like with Rosalind
(As You Like It), Lady M. (Macbeth), and
Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing)
when you get the opportunity to play the
part, you take it.
She rst learned the company was
looking for a Viola when she playing loyal
friend Flavius in Timon of Athens at Folger
Theatre earlier this year (director Robert
Richmond had switched the characters
gender and race). Robinson auditioned,
was called back and waited. Eventually she
got the call oering her Viola, a moment
Robinson compares to Christmas morning.
The crossdressing is so much fun.
The production is set in 2017 and
designer Jennifer Moellers costumes
are wonderful. She has real vision and
its exciting. Personally, I love when a
woman can wear a suit with a pair of
heels. The lens through which we see
womens fashion is bursting open and my
costumes as Cesario play into that.
Unsurprisingly, the moment Viola
N OV E M B E R 10, 2017 37
Spirit of the
Season2017
PHOTO COURTESY STC
ANTOINETTE ROBINSON says fashion heavily
informs her performance in Twelfth Night.
appears dressed as Cesario, everyone
is expected to believe shes a man. The
Duke admires Cesarios lips and small
voice all the while believing hes truly a
boy. And Olivia, charmed by Cesarios
more feminine characteristics, falls hard
for the young man.
A woman disguising herself as a man
didnt feel familiar to Robinson exactly,
but she instantly related to the world
theyre creating in Illyria where the
boundaries of femininity and masculinity
are blurred. The lines of what it means
to act or love as a man or woman are
crossed in this play. And thats something
I really enjoy.
Robinson is bisexual, but concedes its
new to her in many ways.
Im experiencing my rst relationship
with a woman. Only a year ago I didnt
identify, so every day I learn new things
and I catch myself breaking through and
breaking down on things weve taught
about who we are based on our sex.
After having worked o-Broadway
and regionally, Robinson rst came to
Washington to play Celia in Folger Theatres
As You Like It in the summer of 2016.
D.A.R. Constitution Hall
D.C. felt more like home than New
York City. I immediately fell in love.
1776 D St., N.W.
Politically, times are rough right now
but doing things like participating in the
Washington, D.C.
Womens March gives me a voice.
Thankfully busy, Robinson is currently a
company member at the REP in Delaware too.
Saturday, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
If I could maintain that relationship
but also work and live in D.C. then my life Sunday, Dec. 10 at 3 p.m.
would be made, she says.
ANTOINETTE ROBINSON for FREE tickets, visit:
Twelfth Night
Nov.14-Dec. 20
Shakespeare Theatre Company
www.usafband.eventbrite.com
Sidney Harman Hall
610 F Street NW
$44-108 (discounts available)
202-547-1122
Shakespearetheatre.org
w w w. us a f b a n d . a f . m i l

38 N OV E M B E R 10, 201 7
To hitch or not?
Wedlocked argues marriage
laws oer pros and cons
TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER has been reading
since she was 3 years old.She lives in Wisconsin
with two dogs and 12,000 books. Reach her at
bookwormsez@yahoo.com.
Youre not in any hurry.
The rings on your nger, the
engagement was just announced and
you both feel like youve got plenty of
time. Nows your chance to enjoy the
process of getting married. Heres your
opportunity to plan the future. But
Wedlocked: The Perils of Marriage
Equality by Katherine Franke asks the
question: why marry at all?
When President George Washington
died, his will stipulated that his slaves
be given their freedom when his wife,
Martha, who inherited them, would die.
This, says Katherine Franke, accidentally
put a price on Marthas head but
moreover, it was an acknowledgment
on Washingtons part that shows one
complexity of slavery: marriage between
the Washington slaves meant that freeing
his without freeing hers could break up
families. This issue, and others before
and after the Civil War, illustrates how
many of the experiences of African
Americans held out a message to the
same-sex marriage movement today.
Throughout American history, Franke
says, the rules of marriage for non-white
or gay individuals hid a double-edged
sword of enhanced rights and enforced
matrimonial laws complicated by pre-
Emancipation uidity of relationships and
looser denitions of marriage within
African-American communities then;
and by somewhat of a lack of awareness
in the LGBT community, complicated by
dierent state laws now.
The bottom line thats often not
emphasized: when a couple marries, the
state suddenly acquires a legal interest
in your relationship. Now, as then,
marriage may also be legally forced on
a couple: in the case of former slaves,
to gain benets in wartime; for LGBT
couples, in the continuation of health
benets. Even after all that, marriage,
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
BO O KS
PHOTO COURTESY NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS)
as Franke reminds readers, has never
oered a guarantee from discrimination.
Is it possible, Franke asks, that the inability
to marry creates a kind of freedom from the
bonds of marriage? At a time when the
rates of marriage in the black community
are low and LGBT parents are demanding
new legal denitions of family, will marriage
become antiquated? Or is the freedom to
marry just another way for society to meddle
in the lives of marginalized individuals?
Surely, few readers would consider
Wedlocked a fun weekend read. Its not
exactly what youd take to the beach with
you. Fun, no. Interesting, absolutely.
Its also quite thought-provoking. Author
Katherine Franke is, in part, director of
the Center for Gender and Sexuality
Law at Columbia University, and in this
book, she asks hard questions between
jaw-dropping history lessons and proof
that marriage is both burden and boon
to anyone whos not white and straight.
Thats not to say that the institution is
dead; instead, Franke wonders if, of all
rights denied former slaves and gay
individuals, marriage mayve been the
oddest choice for legal battles.
But which other right wouldve been
better? The answer to that seems to be
left open for discussion; indeed, readers
are given much to ponder from this heavy-
duty, scholarly book. Just beware that time
is the key to opening Wedlocked, now in
paperback. Enjoy and contemplate, but
dont be in any hurry.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
FI L M
JOSH OCONNOR (left) and ALEC SECAREANU in Gods Own Country.
Out in the Country
Gods Own depicts rural
Brit snapshot of gay life
By BRIAN T. CARNEY
When Gods Own Country, the excellent
new movie by the openly gay English
lmmaker Francis Lee, opens, Johnny Saxby
(the outstanding Josh OConnor) spends his
nights drinking and picking up strange men
at the local pub and spends his mornings
puking his guts out.
Its all too easy to understand why. He
spends his days working on the desolate
family farm in the harsh hills of Yorkshire.
His father Martin (Ian Hurt) has limited
mobility after a stroke, but still has the
time and energy to belittle his son and
boss him around. His grandmother
Deirdre (the stony Gemma Jones,
whose face is as weathered as the cruel
countryside) isnt much warmer.
Things start to change when Gheorghe
Ionescu (Alex Secareanu) enters the
scene. Hes a migrant worker from
Romania that the family has reluctantly
hired to help them out for a few months
during lambing season. When Johnny
and Gheorghe go to the high pastures
to tend the ock, they begin to develop
feelings for each other.
Their rst sexual encounter, like
Johnnys other pickups, is brief and
brutal, little more than a wrestling
match with orgasms at the end. But their
feelings begin to change and deepen as
they work together and develop a deep
mutual respect for each other. Gheorghe
awakens a tender passion in Johnny and
the two men begin to plan a life together.
The storyline and landscape may bring
to mind Ang Lees Brokeback Mountain,
but while the two lms may share some
cinematic DNA, Gods Own Country is
a very dierent movie. In Brokeback
Mountain, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar
can only dream of a life together. Facing
poverty, internalized homophobia and
extreme social prejudice, they both
marry women and can only be together
during shing trips.
In Gods Own Country, set in a very
dierent time and place, the challenges
faced by Johnny and Gheorghe have
more to do with Johnnys fear of intimacy
than with societal disapproval. In fact,
his old schoolmate Robyn (a delightfully
quirky Patsy Ferran) acknowledges his
sexuality when she oers to introduce
him to a gay friend from college.
Johnnys problem is that he has shut
down emotionally, a reasonable response
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N OV E M B E R 10 , 2 0 1 7 3 9
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to the harsh conditions of his life. When
Gheorghe nally breaks through Johnnys
reserve and coaxes a smile out of him,
the screen lights up.
As both writer and director, Frances
Lee creates complex characters and Awards USB
situations with impressive eciency.
Given the taciturn nature of the Drives
Tote &
characters, the dialogue is sparse, but
every word pays o. Sometimes the thick Duffle Clothing
accents can he hard to understand, but Bags
the intention is always clear. The script Water
is richly nuanced and deeply moving, Mugs Bottles
leavened with rare but joyous moments
of love and laughter. Pens Flash-
Even though Gods Own Country is
Lees rst feature-length lm, his directoral
lights....
work is masterful. The pacing is steady
and assured and the momentum never
falters. Each shot is beautifully composed, Robert Safro
but never draws attention to itself.
With an able assist from director of 301.986.0585
photography Joshua James Richard, Lee
achieves a minor miracle. As spring returns
logomotioninc.com
to the moors, and as Johnnys heart
begins to thaw, color and life return to the
And creative solutions for all your
unforgiving landscape. There can be great
design, marketing, and print needs
beauty in the countryside where Lee was
born, and his love of the land infuses every The Graphic Issue
frame. The work is still hard and lthy, but www.theGraphicIssue.com
life on the moors has its rewards.
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

4 0 NO VE MB ER 1 0, 2017 P H O T O S BY T O M H A U SMA N

The LGBTQ youth services organization Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL) held its 20th annual Fall Brunch at the Marriott Marquis on Sunday, Nov. 5.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A R T S & EN TE RTA I NMENT
Current tour, awards bolster Janets ally cred
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
with dancers in our group because we are
so close. I grew up in a big family. I love
being aectionate. I love intimacy and I
am not afraid to show it.
4. Video support for It Gets Better,
Trevor Project. In 2010, Jackson recorded
a video for the Trevor Project and later
appeared on CNNs Larry King Live to
promote awareness of youth suicide.
If youre LGBT youre probably thinking
youre all alone, but youre not, she said in
the video. I can relate because I was one
of those kids who internalized everything.
5. State of the World Tour. Jacksons
LGBT support continues in 2017.
Her current tours opening sequence
highlights a range of problems facing
the world, from famine and war to police
brutality and includes a call for justice
and for LGBT rights.
6. The Kids. Jackson has always
employed a diverse crew of professional
dancers for her videos and tours. Some
of her closest friends and collaborators
over the years have been prominent out
gay and lesbian choreographers, singers,
dancers, makeup artists and designers.
N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 4 1
She lovingly refers to her backup dancers
as the Kids.
7. NYC Pride performance. In 2004,
Jackson performed for a packed audience
at Pride Dance NYC at Pier 54.
8. Will & Grace cameo. In 2004,
Jackson made a memorable cameo
on Will & Grace, judging a dance-o
between Jack and another dancer.
9. HRC, AIDS Project Los Angeles
awards. In 2005, Jackson was honored
by both the Human Rights Campaign and
AIDS Project Los Angeles for her work
raising money for AIDS charities.
10. Janets Blade interview. In 2006,
Jackson granted an exclusive interview to
the Washington Blade. It was one of the
rare times she touched on the Super Bowl
controversy and her brother Michaels
acquittal on child molestation charges,
telling Blade Editor Kevin Na, I got all
of that out of my system, thats not what
Im feeling right now. I wrote about [those
controversies] but I didnt choose to put it
out there on the album. In the interview,
Jackson also reiterated her support for
marriage equality, said shed never had JANET JACKSON was an outspoken LGBT ally years before it was fashionable.
a sexual relationship with a woman and PHOTO BY SHILLA PATEL
revealed that shed never met Madonna.
4 2 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

ackermanbrown.com
W A SH I NGTO N B LAD E.C OM
REALESTATE
Moving from a condo to a house
What you need to know
before taking the leap
By ALLISON GOODHART DuSHUTTLE
Thinking about making the leap from
condo living to single-family homeowner-
ship? Read on. Weve helped many clients
when moving from a condo to a house so
we thought wed share the main benefits
of making this move (plus some down-
sides you should keep in mind).
The upside of moving from a condo to
a house:
Privacy. This is the big one! No more
having to make small talk with neighbors
in the elevator. No more shared walls or
hearing your neighbors music or arguing.
You get the idea.
More Space. No more one-level living.
In most cases, you will have separation
between bedrooms and living spaces.
Maybe you can finally stop sharing a bath-
room with your guests and have your of-
fice double as your guest room.
More Storage. Attics, basements,
sheds, perhaps a garage, more cabinets,
and closets. Enough said.
More Time. No more waiting for the
elevator, finding your car in the garage,
walking down the halls to your unit, or go-
ing to the basement to your storage unit.
Walk out your front door and GO.
No More Condo Fees. While homeown-
Attorneys that are OUTthinking |OUTspoken |OUTdoing
Thinking of moving from your smaller condo into a single-family home? Read on and find out
what to expect.
ership certainly has its own costs, youll
appreciate not seeing that hefty charge on
your bank statement every month.
No More Rules and Regulations. No
more odd restrictions you can now get
a dog that weighs more than 25 pounds
and play your music after 11 p.m.
Decorate As You Please. Go ahead
and paint your front door red or put up
that festive holiday light display.
A Yard! You can plant a garden or land-
scape however you wish. As an added bo-
BIGSTOCK PHOTO; COURTESY OF LIGONOGRAPHY
nus, you dont have to take your pup for a
walk if you dont want to.
Your Mail Comes to You. No more
trips to the mailroom. No more missed
invitations or bills because youve not got-
ten your mail in a week.
The downsides of moving from a condo
to a house:
Hefty Initial Expenses. Get your credit
card ready for a workout. You will want to
buy furniture, rugs, window treatments,
etc. for rooms you did not have before.
TUDOR HOUSE
TRANSLATION:
HAS FRONT AND
BACK DOOR.
VALERIE M. BLAKE, Associate Broker, GRI, Director of Education & Mentorship
Dupont Circle Ofce 202-518-8781 (o) 202.246.8602 (c)
Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com www.DCHomeQuest.com
N O V E MBE R 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 4 3
Additionally, youll have to buy items you
didnt need in a condo like a lawnmow-
er, shovels, hoses, etc.
Higher Maintenance Costs. The roof,
windows, and all exterior maintenance
are now your responsibility. When the ex-
terior of the house needs to be painted,
thats now on you.
Higher Utility Costs. More square
footage = higher heating and cooling bills.
You will now have a water bill and guess
what, it costs a lot to water your lawn. You
may also now have to pay new bills you
didnt have in your condo cable, trash,
a gym membership, etc.
More Maintenance. Youll have a lawn
to mow, snow to shovel, gutters to clean,
more rooms to dust. And theres no longer
anyone to call when theres a problem.
Remembering the Trash. No more
walking down the hall to the chute. Youll
have to remember to take the trashcans
to the curb on the correct day(s).
The Bottom Line. As with most things,
there are pros and cons when moving from
a condo to a house. You will know when the
time is right and youre ready for the addition-
al space and privacy (and responsibilities).
ALLISON GOODHART DUSHUTTLE is lead
agent for The Goodhart Group, Alexandrias
and McEnearney Associates top-produc-
ingreal estate team. In2015, shewas nationally
recognized byRealtor Magazine, being named
to its 30 Under 30 club. Reach her at703-362-
3221orallison@thegoodhartgroup.com.
To be used at the top of collateral:
To be used at the bottom of collateral:
4 4 N O VEMB ER 1 0, 2017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M
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Massage or Deep Tissue. Appts 202-
Call Lucas, 240-462-8669.
455-9924. DC, MD, VA, DE. 486-6183, Low Rates, 24/7, In-Calls. fromlucas@yahoo.com.
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AHF Healthcare Centers

D.C.
1647 Benning Rd NE Ste 303
20002
(202) 350-5000

2141 K St NW Ste 606

20037
(202) 293-8680

MARYLAND
4302 Saint Barnabas Rd Ste B
Temple Hills, 20748
(301) 423-1071

Dr. Mark Davis, Warren,

AHF Dental Director AHF Client