District of Columbia
HRC partners with D.C. bar for Pride
Patrons can record messages in As You Are phone booth
Washingtonians until mid-July can visit As You Are bar in Southeast D.C. to record messages of hope and inspiration in a phone booth the Human Rights Campaign has funded.
The phone booth is one of HRC’s Pride activations, which help connect LGBTQ people with their identities through different installations at businesses and public spaces.
As You Are received an HRC grant last year to help expand and promote their business, and this year the bar installed a phone boothfor patrons to record different inspirational messages related to their LGBTQ identities and younger selves.
“There’s a need for us to have that positive messaging for folks and it’s also a very self-fulfilling thing to be able to communicate with your former self whether you were living in an unwelcoming environment, your closet, wherever that may be,” said HRC Deputy Director of Creator and Partnership Strategy Brandon Hooks. “So we looked at different businesses in the D.C. area that were LGBTQ+ owned and operated. We landed on As You Are because we had an existing relationship and we also just really appreciate their mission of really making an inclusive space for all.”
Partners Jo McDaniel and Rach Pike opened As You Are at 500 8th St., S.E., in 2021. The bar functions as a daytime cafe and a nighttime lounge on the first floor and an upstairs 18+ dance boutique.
“Being a block off the Eastern Market Metro stop makes us accessible to people who don’t drive or don’t have money to Uber,” McDaniel told Washington City Paper in 2021. “We wanted to stay out of the west side of town. It’s inundated and has some inaccessibility issues mostly to do with money. Being in Southeast has less of a pay wall.”
The Lesbian Bar Project, a documentary that captures the work LGBTQ people are putting into supporting and preserving the U.S.’s few remaining lesbian bars, featured the work to open As You Are. As of 2023, there are less than 30 lesbian bars in the country, with many having closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HRC in 2020 launched the Queer to Stay grant program, which has supported more than 50 LGBTQ businesses across the country. Businesses of all kinds are encouraged to apply for the program.
The 2023 grant application cycle will close on Aug. 31.
Hooks said that while the number of recipients and the grant amount changes from year to year, the program has been invaluable for the businesses that have been a part of it. For As You Are, the phone booth has been a great way for customers of all kinds to connect with their identities and gives way for similar “activations” at other D.C. businesses and events in the future, Hooks said.
“The goal is that this is really successful and that we can not only replicate it with other businesses in the D.C. area, but … is there a way that we can bring that to local D.C. events when we have our events on Capitol Hill?” Hooks said. “This is really kind of the inception of just a way for people to like speak with the community and kind of break through all the negativity that we’ve been seeing in the news lately.”
Messages recorded in the phone booth are expected to be published on the HRC’s social media profiles and website in late July, after the booth is moved from As You Are.
“We’re really just sitting in that theme of, ‘how do you stay resilient, but also celebratory during a time like Pride?’” Hooks said. “Because in 2023, we should be moving forward. So we really did this as kind of a way to energize people and like, keep that pride going, but at the same time, instill that need to keep being resilient.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
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