Local
Controversial minister endorses gay D.C. Council candidate
Rev. Wilson called ‘lesbianism’ threat to youth, families
Gay D.C. City Council candidate Clark Ray drew mixed reactions from the LGBT community this week when he accepted the endorsement of a minister who preached in 2005 that ālesbianism is about to take over our community.ā
Ray, who is challenging LGBT-supportive Council member Phil Mendelson, noted that Rev. Willie Wilson, pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church in Anacostia, apologized for the remarks about lesbians and gay men in his widely reported 2005 sermon.
Ray said he and Wilson developed a friendship while meeting regularly over the past two years on a wide range of issues beginning when Ray served as director of the cityās Department of Parks & Recreation.
āWhat weāre trying to do today and I think what this is an example of is building a bridge,ā Ray said at Dennyās Restaurant in Southeast D.C., where Wilson announced the endorsement Wednesday and pledged to work hard for Rayās election in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary.
āWe donāt agree on everything, the reverend and I,ā Ray said at the announcement. āAnd I disagree on a number of topics that weāve talked about. But the deal is we can talk about it. And I can learn from him and he can learn from me. ā¦ So I welcome the endorsement.ā
Wilson told the gathering that as parks and recreation director, Ray showed a strong interest in the issues and concerns of residents in wards 7 and 8 and helped Wilson with several projects related to city recreation and senior citizen centers.
āWe developed a very close friendship,ā Wilson said. āI vigorously support his campaign for at-large member of the D.C. City Council. I will personally canvas my community to get out the vote in support of Clark Ray for at-large Council member.ā
Members of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance criticized Ray for accepting Wilsonās endorsement, triggering a debate on the groupās blog, GLAAforum.org.
Bob Summersgill, a former GLAA president, pointed to published reports and transcripts of Wilsonās 2005 sermon, saying Rayās acceptance of the endorsement appeared to be āpandering to one group while alienating others.ā
In his sermon July 3, 2005, Wilson asserted that black families were being harmed by a growing number of young women who were rejecting men and forming romantic relationships with other women.
āLesbianism is about to take over our community,ā he said. āIām talking about young girls.ā
In remarks that drew expressions of outrage by LGBT activists and womenās rights groups, Wilson recounted how his son had complained that he could not find a date for his high school prom.
āHe said, āDad, I aināt got nobody to take to the prom because all the girls in my class are gay. There aināt but two of them straight and both are ugly.āā
Wilson continued, āBut when you get down to this thing, woman falling down on another woman, strapping herself up with something. It aināt real. That thing aināt got no feeling in it. It aināt natural.ā
Turning to his concern about gay men, Wilson told his congregation, āAny time somebody got to slap some grease on your behind, and stick something in you, itās something wrong with that. Your butt aināt made for that.ā
Following a flurry of news reports about the sermon, which began when the Blade broke the story after obtaining an recorded copy of Wilsonās sermon, Wilson issued an apology that some in the LGBT community said wasnāt sincere.
āSome people in the community were offended by the language I used in my message, which I will admit was intemperate,ā Wilson told the Washington Post. āI apologize to anyone who was hurt by the language that I used.ā
The Post reported that Wilson added, āI do not apologize for raising a very serious issue concerning our young girls, some as young as 10 and 11 years of age, who are engaging in same-sex relations.ā
Three months later, in October 2005, Wilson angered gay activists on a separate matter when he reportedly blocked black gay activist and former Clinton administration official Keith Boykin from speaking at an African American civil rights rally on the National Mall known as the Millions More Movement March. Wilson served as national executive director of the march.
Boykin was scheduled to speak at the event following extensive negotiations between the National Black Justice Coalition, an LGBT group, and organizers of the Millions More Movement. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the eventās lead organizer, initially agreed to allow a gay speaker and didnāt object when activists decided Boykin would be a speaker representing the black LGBT community. Wilson objected late to Boykin taking the stage and his appearance was scrapped.
Ray said he believes Wilson has ācome a long wayā since his 2005 actions. Ray noted that while Wilson personally opposes same-sex marriage on religious grounds, he chose not to become involved with efforts by his fellow ministers to campaign against the cityās same-sex marriage law passed by the City Council in December.
In a statement released this week, Wilson said, āI have enjoyed getting to know and working with Clark. He knows that I support full civil equality for all residents of the District of Columbia ā including those who comprise the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning (GLBTQ) Community.ā
Ray supporter Joel Lawson, a gay activist and Dupont Circle civic leader, said Rayās acceptance of the Wilson endorsement was an important conciliatory gesture.
āI think Clark is showing leadership in building a bridge through and across some very uncomfortable territory,ā Lawson said. āWe have gay marriage now. Weāve won. The question now is do we expand our discussions with one another within this family of D.C. residents.
āThey have forged a very improbable connection,ā he said of Ray and Wilsonās relationship. āAnd I think that is progress.ā
But in the GLAA blog, Mitch Wood, the group’s president, expressed skepticism about how much Wilson may have changed in his views on LGBT rights.
āI am all for building bridges across cultures and demographics ā but anyone from the gay and lesbian community should be exceptionally wary about embracing a āman of Godā with such a tarnished and divisive record,ā he said.
Virginia
Man went on āhomophobic rantā inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a āhomophobic rantā inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
āLast night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,ā the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. āHe then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,ā the posting continues.
āOur manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,ā the message says. āWe want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,ā the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being ādrunk in publicā and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
āOn Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,ā a Vienna police statement says. āUpon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,ā according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldnāt immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
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.
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.
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
-
Canada2 days ago
Toronto Pride parade cancelled after pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt it
-
Baltimore4 days ago
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Prideās LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
-
Sports5 days ago
Haters troll official Olympics Instagram for celebrating gay athlete and boyfriend
-
U.S. Supreme Court1 day ago
Concern over marriage equality in US grows two decades after first Mass. same-sex weddings