Local
Could 2014 Gay Games move to runner-up D.C.?
Organizers in ‘sensitive discussions’ over Cleveland
The international LGBT sports organization that chose Cleveland over D.C. to host the 2014 Gay Games says it’s engaging in “sensitive discussions” with a Cleveland-based foundation that reportedly has faltered in its role of coordinating the quadrennial event.
In a cautiously worded statement issued July 23, the Federation of Gay Games said it was “cooperating with its Cleveland partners” and would make “any further announcements” about the status of the 2014 games following meetings in Germany in August.
The statement said the FGG board and Membership Assembly “must now turn our full attention to supporting our colleagues in Germany as we all celebrate the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne,” which begin Saturday.
The statement follows reports that FGG took steps earlier this month to revoke the license it awarded last fall to the Cleveland Synergy Foundation, a non-profit group that submitted the winning bid for Cleveland and nearby Akron, Ohio to host the 2014 Gay Games.
Kelly Stevens, the FGG’s communications officer, told the Blade this week that the FGG would have no further comment on any aspect of its discussions with the Synergy Foundation until after its meetings in Cologne. He also declined to comment on whether the FGG would consider moving the 2014 Gay Games to D.C. if developments in Cleveland deteriorated to the point where it would be impractical to stage the event there.
The Synergy Foundation fueled speculation about a conflict with the FGG when it suggested in a July 19 statement that the FGG may not have followed proper procedures in beginning the process to terminate its license.
“As outlined in the mutually endorsed agreement, this process should begin with a meeting of the two groups’ steering committees,” says the statement. “If that meeting leaves questions unanswered, the groups’ boards of directors are then required to meet. Only if those first two meetings result in an impasse would mediation [be] an appropriate third step, according to the agreement.”
A letter sent to Synergy Foundation by the head of Cleveland’s Department of Economic Development, which has pledged to help finance the 2014 Gay Games, says the FGG has begun the license revocation process and scheduled a 14-day mediation period aimed at resolving “issues” between the two groups.
Stevens told the Blade he could not comment on the outcome of the mediation.
“There will be a general report explaining the status of the 2014 games when we complete our meetings in Cologne,” he said. “We can’t get into further details now.”
Officials with the Metropolitan Washington Gaymes, Inc., the non-profit coalition of LGBT sports groups that submitted a bid to hold the 2014 games in D.C., have said they were designated as the “runner up” venue to host the games should problems arise with Cleveland.
Gay People’s Chronicle, an LGBT newspaper in the Cleveland area, has reported that “financial irregularities and reporting issues” appear to be the reason the FGG has taken steps to revoke Synergy’s license to organize and run the 2014 Gay Games.
In the letter to Synergy, Traci Nichols, director of the Cleveland Department of Economic Development, said the office had suspended its approval of $38,000 to help finance a contingent of Synergy staffers to travel to Cologne to promote the 2014 Games in Cleveland.
As part of Synergy’s bid to operate the games, Cleveland’s mayor and City Council agreed to contribute at least $700,000 in city funds to help finance the games. LGBT sports observers have said the prospects of holding the games in Cleveland would be seriously jeopardized if the city withheld those funds.
Others familiar with the situation, including high-level city officials in Cleveland, have pledged to set up a new entity to organize and operate the games if the FGG revokes Synergy Foundation’s license.
In a statement released July 30, Synergy Foundation founder Jeff Axberg says his “organization licensed to produce the 2014 Gay Games” remains committed to ensuring that the games remain “an event created by the LGBT community.”
Axberg could not be immediately reached to determine whether he was suggesting that removing Synergy as the coordinator of the games in Cleveland would put the event in the hands of a non-gay entity, such as a city agency.
Axberg’s statement also noted that Synergy was sending its own representatives to Cologne, apparently at its own expense.
“In accordance with the rights and privileges afforded to the Cleveland Synergy Foundation through its licensing agreement with the Federation of Gay Games, we are very honored to send a delegation of four members of our Board of Directors to receive the Federation of Gay Games Flag during the Cologne Gay Games’ closing ceremony,” says the statement. “We very much look forward to helping make the 2014 Gay Games a tremendous success.”
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
“You know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,” Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
“It was a great year,” he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.”
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimore’s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women “navigating survival mode” living.
“Through compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,” the statement says. “Our programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,” it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
“This is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,” a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. “Iya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,” it says. “This honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.”
Baltimore
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Pride’s LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This year’s Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people — record attendance that far exceeded initial projections of 100,000.
But some see room for improvement and want organizers to address safety issues and make changes so the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ population is better run.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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