Local
D.C. premiere of film ‘CURED’ set for Sept. 21
‘A change that transformed the social fabric of America’
The Washington, D.C. premiere of the award-winning documentary film “CURED,” which tells the story of how gay activists beginning in the early 1960s waged an historic but little-noticed campaign to have homosexuality removed from a psychiatric list of mental illnesses, will take place Sept. 21 at the Smithsonian Institution’s American Art Museum.
The feature length documentary provides a dramatic inside view through archival images and interviews of how a diverse group of 24 lesbian and gay activists, including pioneering D.C. gay activist Frank Kameny, carried out a successful campaign to persuade the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders known as the DSM.
The activists who are portrayed in the film became the first to challenge the scientific validity of the mental illness theory on grounds that it was based almost entirely on observations of patients under psychiatric treatment. The film shows how the activists, through protests at APA conferences and TV talk show interviews, told of how the DSM classification of homosexuality was responsible for the persecution, discrimination, and stigmatization of LGBTQ people since it was first published in 1952.
The film’s D.C. premiere is scheduled to take place just under three weeks before “CURED” will make its U.S. broadcast debut on the PBS series Independent Lens on Oct. 11, which is National Coming Out Day. The nationwide PBS broadcast is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. EST.
“CURED” was produced, directed, and written jointly by gay filmmakers Patrick Sammon of D.C. and Bennett Singer of Los Angeles. The American Historical Association has just named the film as a recipient of its John E. O’Connor Award for best historical documentary of 2021. It was selected last year as runner-up for the prestigious Library of Congress Levine/Ken Burns Prize for Film.
The Sept. 21 showing of the film at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum is being co-hosted by the Smithsonian Pride Alliance, an LGBTQ employee resource group whose members work at all the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, 21 libraries, nine research centers and the National Zoo.
Sammon told the Blade the film’s production team chose not to initially have a traditional theatrical run because of COVID and because they want to focus on the PBS broadcast. He said in the months ahead he expects there will be other in-person screenings in the D.C. area.
“While CURED is indisputably about science, medicine, and politics, at its core this is a film about activism and the process of social change,” according to a statement released by the CURED producers. “It features a diverse group of crusaders with stubborn dedication and big personalities who came together at a crossroads in LGBTQ history.”
“Their tenacity, resourcefulness, and ingenuity brought about a change that transformed not only LGBTQ people’s perceptions of themselves, but also the social fabric of America,” the statement says.
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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