Local
2nd group petitions bankruptcy court for NAPWA trademarks
$15,000 offer for six names owned by defunct group
![NAPWA, National Gay Men's AIDS Awareness Day, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2013/11/NAPWA_thumb_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
![NAPWA, National Gay Men's AIDS Awareness Day, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2013/11/NAPWA_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
NAPWA’s National Gay Men’s AIDS Awareness Day on Sept. 27, 2012 in Freedom Plaza. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The D.C.-based Community Education Group, which provides AIDS-related services aimed at minority communities, has offered to purchase the name of the National Association of People with AIDS and five additional names used by the association before it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last February.
In an Oct. 31 letter to the trustee in charge of NAPWAās case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Maryland, Community Education Group Executive Director A. Toni Young extended an offer of $15,000 for the trademark rights to each of the six names.
The names, in addition to NAPWAās, include National HIV Testing Day, National Gay Menās Awareness Day, National Gay Menās HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Healthy Living Summit, and AIDS Watch.
The offer by Community Education Group came about one month after the D.C.-based national group Health HIV offered to pay $3,000 for the trademark rights to just one of those names ā National Gay Menās HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Trustee Laura Margulies responded to the Health HIV offer by requesting and receiving permission from the bankruptcy judge to reopen NAPWAās bankruptcy case, which had been closed three months earlier, to allow consideration for the trademark sale.
Court records show that at Marguliesā request, Judge Paul Manes on Nov. 1 agreed to modify an earlier decision to reopen the case for one week by keeping it open at least until Dec. 23 to enable other parties to bid on the trademark rights.
Young told the Blade that her group learned of Health HIVās bid for one of the names from a Blade story about the proposed trademark sale published on Oct. 26. She said her group made its offer, in part, to slow down the process of the sale of NAPWAās names and to make the process more transparent.
āWe want to partner with other national AIDS groups to make sure the events associated with these names are not lost,ā said Young, who added that the various events that NAPWA established under the names played an important role in educating the public about HIV AIDS and its devastating impact on gay men and on other minorities.
āWe donāt want to lose these things,ā she said.
Brian Hujdich, executive director of Health HIV, did not respond to calls from the Blade for comment on his groupās plans for using the name it sought to purchase.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/20240629_Shi-Queeta_Lee_at_Arlington_Pride_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
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.
āYou 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,ā Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
āIt was a great year,ā 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.ā
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.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/07/20240629_Iya_Dammons_at_street_naming_ceremony_in_Baltimore_insert_courtesy_Iya_Dammons.jpg)
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 Baltimoreās 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 ānavigating survival modeā living.
āThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā the statement says. āOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottās 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.
āThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. āIya 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,ā it says. āThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā
Baltimore
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Prideās LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-29-at-18.01.33.png)
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This yearās Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people ā 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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