Category Archives: Homepage Special Feature

Beacons of a new generation

Christopher Watson, Theara Coleman, D.C. Black Pride, gay news, Washington Blade

Christopher Watson and Theara Coleman are being honored at this weekend’s D.C. Black Pride festivities. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

When the 23rd annual D.C. Black Pride festivities begin Friday in the Thornton Room at the Hyatt Regency Washington Capitol Hill (400 New Jersey Ave.), it will be a night devoted to paying tribute to those who have done something special for the LGBT community.

Mayor Vincent Gray will be awarded the Eleanor Holmes Norton Award for his work fighting for LGBT rights. Dr. Imani Woody and Courtney Williams will be recipients of the Welmore Cook Award, each honored for their strong community involvement.

Two names that might not be as familiar — at least not yet — are Theara Coleman and Christopher Watson. For the first time, D.C. Black Pride will present a leadership award to black LGBT community leaders who are 30 years old or younger and these recent graduates are the inaugural honorees.

Hailing from the projects of Brooklyn, N.Y., Coleman is the daughter of a retired NYPD police officer and a stay-at-home mom who is active in social services. With support from her family, Coleman was able to thrive as an LGBT student and received a scholarship from Howard University, graduating earlier this month.

In college, Coleman was an English major and an African-American Studies minor and spent time away from the classroom concentrating on civic and social services, especially when it came to LGBT issues.

“All four years I was at Howard I was involved with working with Cascade, the LGBT organization on campus. I started out doing event planning to spread awareness, and I ended up being vice president and subsequently president for two years,” Coleman says. “A lot of our work was trying to create a better understanding on campus so the school can feel the presence of the LGBT community and see the importance of recognizing us as a community at Howard and our need for resources.”

Coleman says her efforts have helped pave the way for future LGBT Howard students to have an easier time with other students and the administration.

Outside of her work at Howard, the 22-year-old also interned with the ACLU, writing blogs about her experiences of being an LGBT student in high school and college and assisting on research and grant writing.

“That pushed me to get an internship with Stonewall Democrats and I learned about all the policy that has to do with LGBT rights because the majority of what we were doing was how officials running for office were addressing LGBT issues,” she says. “I also served for a short time with Obama for America as an LGBT outreach coordinator, reaching out to the community to get more LGBT voters out to put Obama back in office.”

Coleman also works as a mentor to students in transitional housing and volunteers at a variety of other organizations. Having just graduated, she is currently looking for a job that will help her utilize her skills and help others in the process.

She’s thinking about something in the non-profit field where she can help with grant writing. Her dream job is to help LGBT youth in high school and use her experiences to show them how to navigate the world once they get into college and enter the real world.

As for the award, Coleman says she is humbled that she was chosen and dedicates it to her mentor, Victoria Kirby, who has been her inspiration throughout her Howard years.

“It means a lot to me because of all the work I have been doing in undergrad and how much I have immersed myself in pushing for LGBT rights and I appreciate that all the leg work I have done is being recognized,” Coleman says. “It means I am heading in the right direction with what I want to accomplish in life.”

Also heading in the right direction is Watson, who works as the clinical research site director at George Washington University, while he works on a master’s of public health degree in epidemiology. He has a bachelor’s of science in biology from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

The country boy from North Carolina has been doing public health work for more than a decade.

“I started in North Carolina in response to the outbreak of HIV infections among college-aged men in 2003,” he says. “I moved in 2005 to study pharmaceutics at Howard but decided within a year that it was not for me and my goal  — thanks to a mom who said I couldn’t move back home so work it out in D.C. — was to make it in corporate America.”

That decision led Watson to a job at Bank of America. Soon after, GW approached him to join its public health team as its clinical research site director, working on HIV and other issues.

“It’s been one of the best decisions I ever made,” he says. “I love public health. I love helping people and I love making a difference in individual lives.”

Watson’s responsibilities include community mobilization and engagement in the local community. He’s become a strong advocate in the national scene for additional funding for black gay men.

“I would ultimately like to have an influence in policy development as it relates to African-American health and look at how we can build on the existing research and also begin to revise and develop new policies that are culturally congruent for the lives of African Americans,” he says.

Watson is looking forward to tonight’s awards and his proud mom will be on hand to watch him receive the award.

“It’s a surreal experience. It’s rewarding to know your sacrifices don’t go unnoticed but if no one knew my name, I would be happy,” he says. “I appreciate it. I’m grateful to have this moment, and I share this award with my colleagues, family and friends who give me the support structure to do the work at the level I’m able to do it.”

Queery: Lauren Morris

Lauren Morris, gay news, Washington Blade

Lauren Morris (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Lauren Morris came to D.C. in 2007 fresh out of high school to attend Howard University and found a home.

She majored in psychology, graduated in 2011 and is now a project leader at City Year, an educational non-profit where she works on beautification projects for D.C. public schools. Morris started volunteering for D.C. Black Pride in 2008 while still in college and last year joined the board. She helped plan entertainment for this year’s event as one of the organization’s eight board members (Black Pride details are at dcblackpride.org).

Morris says Black Pride is important “because it kind of celebrates two major communities that I’m part of whose struggles are very different.”

“Black Pride is the time of the year when we can come together and talk about those issues that are original to us as a black queer community,” she says. “It’s important to do that for all people from my age on up to 99 and it’s important to have that space, which sometimes is hard to find.”

Morris has been dating her girlfriend Kayla Rodriguez for about nine months. Morris enjoys food, yoga, singing, dancing, teaching Sunday school, working for Black Pride, playing the guitar and rock climbing in her spare time. She lives in Alexandria.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

I’ve been out since I was 18. The hardest people to tell were my parents. Though I knew they were open and affirming of other LGBTQ persons, I wasn’t so sure that they’d be as thrilled for their first-born daughter. Luckily, they were and have been very supportive ever since.


Who’s your LGBT hero?

Every LGBTQ youth and student who has to stay quiet about their orientation for survival.

What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?

I’m not big on nightspots, but you might catch me at MOVA or the Loft on a blue moon.

Describe your dream wedding.

My dream wedding, eh? To the woman I’ll be spending the rest of my life with, set for a date sometime during the end of August/beginning of September, small wedding ceremony (bridal party and immediate family members), huge reception (maybe a jazz band?), evening ceremony.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?

The educational system and its effects on people of color.

What historical outcome would you change?

None. The stories of my people are stories of survival, of roses growing from concrete, of people overcoming against all odds. That’s something to be proud of, not change.

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

Being on campus at Howard University when Barack Obama was elected president for the first time.

On what do you insist?

Children and their laughter are a gift and the most beautiful and healing part of life.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?

My last Tweet was “‘If someone hates me for my happiness, I ask God that he sends him happiness so that he forgets mine.’ — Arab Proverb”

If your life were a book, what would the title be?

“Fire”

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

Stay home.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world?

I believe in the universe and its powerful energies.

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?

This is hard. Be strong.

What would you walk across hot coals for?

The better question is who and that’s everyone I love.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

That LGBT persons cannot be or are hardly ever in domestic violence situations.


What’s your favorite LGBT movie?

“Pariah” and “Imagine Me & You”

What’s the most overrated social custom?

Women being forced to smile because it makes others uncomfortable if they don’t.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

My first-place, citywide spelling bee trophy. I was in third grade and my winning word was “lieutenant.” There’s a picture of me in my hometown newspaper with pigtails and a snaggletoothed smile, clutching my trophy. Adorable, really.

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

Exactly what I had known at that age. I didn’t need to know any more because I knew all of what I needed to know. I’m just grateful for the lessons I was taught.

Why Washington?

Washington is the perfect city for me. It’s far but not too far from home/Michigan and it’s not overwhelming like New York City but is big enough to have suburbs. It’s a cozy blend of suburbia and the city.

U.K. House of Commons approves marriage bill

Great Britain, England, British House of Parliament, House of Commons, House of Lords, Big Ben, gay news, Washington Blade

A same-sex marriage bill passed a final hurdle in the House of Commons by a vote of 366-161 on Tuesday, and now heads to the House of Lords for final approval. The law puts the United Kingdom on par with Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, and most recently France in extending marriage equally to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. (Photo public domain)

The British House of Commons on Tuesday gave its final approval to a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in England and Wales.

The 366-161 vote capped off two days of debate on the measure that the same chamber overwhelmingly approved in February.

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, Spain and Portugal are among the 11 countries in which same-sex couples can legally marry.

Gays and lesbians in neighboring France can begin to legally tie the knot next week after President François Hollande on May 18 signed his country’s same-sex marriage bill into law. Gay couples in Uruguay and New Zealand will also be able to walk down the aisle in August once their same-sex marriage laws take effect.

Brazil’s National Council of Justice on May 14 ruled registrars in the South American country cannot deny marriage licenses to gays and lesbians.

The British House of Lords is expected to consider the same-sex marriage bill next month.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson are among those who support the bill.

‘This evening’s vote shows MPs are on the public’s side, as poll after poll shows a clear majority of people in Britain support equal marriage,” Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the British LGBT advocacy group Stonewall said. “Now that the bill has cleared the Commons without any of the wrecking amendments tabled by opponents, we hope peers will show the same respect to public attitudes.”

Affleck mocks ‘ex-gay’ camps on SNL skit

(Screen capture courtesy NBC)

(Screen capture courtesy NBC)

Actor Ben Affleck appeared over the weekend in a hilarious “Saturday Night Live” sketch as an ‘ex-gay’ camp counselor.

Watch the clip here.

Remembering Rauhofer

Peter Rauhofer, DJ, Music, Obituary, Gay News, Washington Blade

Peter Rauhofer died last week in New York. Gay music lovers say he’ll be remembered for his unyielding work ethic and boundless creativity. (Photos courtesy Angelo Russo)

Angelo Russo knew something was wrong in March when several days went by without hearing back from his friend and client, legendary producer/DJ/remixer Peter Rauhofer.

“We sometimes talked five or six times a day so when I didn’t hear back from him, yeah, it sent up the red flags,” Russo says. “The only time I didn’t hear from him was if we were fighting and of course we fought. The closer you are, the more you fight with someone. But yeah, back in March, we were fine. I was speaking to him one day, then a couple days went by and eventually we had 911 break into his apartment.”

Russo says Rauhofer, whom he’d met at a music conference in 2000 and had managed since 2006, was “barely conscious” having suffered a seizure. Hospitalized at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, the prognosis was grim. Rauhofer, who was gay, had a malignant brain tumor that had gone undiagnosed long enough to have grown significantly. Russo (also gay) says doctors said its position on the brain made it inoperable. They tried a round of chemotherapy that was unsuccessful. On April 29, Rauhofer turned 48 in the hospital. He died May 7.

Russo says it may have been a bit of a blessing in disguise. Had the Grammy-winning music legend, who remixed hits for Cher (“Believe”), Madonna (“Nothing Fails,” “4 Minutes” et. al.), Janet Jackson (“Throb”), Britney Spears (“Toxic”) and scores of other artists, responded well to chemo, it may have left him with diminished mental faculties.

“There was a possibility at one point that if it had worked, he may only have had the mental capacity of a 5 year old,” Russo says. “He would have been so unhappy but how can you tell his mom not to try. So they tried but it didn’t work. … When they came back and said there was nothing more they could do, I was hoping he wouldn’t have to lay there and suffer too long. He was not about suffering. He was about being able to be happy and bring joy to people. That’s what his career was all about — parties and music. If he wasn’t able to do that, then I’m happy it didn’t go another route.”

Rauhofer’s mother Helga, who visited from their native Austria for her son’s final days, is executrix of his estate. He will be interred in Austria. A candlelight vigil was held last weekend in Miami. A public memorial is planned for New York Pride next month. Friends in New York are also planning a private memorial service there, where he’d lived since about 1996. Check Rauhofer’s Facebook page for details on public events.

The gay club/music world responded with shock and sadness at Rauhofer’s untimely death.

“I don’t use this term loosely, but he was a musical genius,” says gay DJ/remixer Joe Gauthreaux. “He never got stuck in one sound and stayed there, that’s why his mixes always resonated. He was always doing something different and trying to grow. He never did the same remix twice. He was always trying different sounds. There really was nobody like him.”

Gauthreax also says he “was a huge Peter fan, huge.”

“He was one of the remixers that, from a DJ standpoint, I would always be so excited about. It was usually his mix that was quote-unquote the one. So from that standpoint, this is very hard to take just knowing that there’s not going to ever be another Peter Rauhofer mix to come in and save the day.”

Tori Amos, who had a No. 1 Billboard dance hit in February with Rauhofer’s remix of her song “Flavor,” said in a statement that “he truly captured the spirit of the song” and that she’ll “always hold a very special place in my heart for Peter.”

Local gay nightclub impresario Ed Bailey, who hosted Rauhofer twice at Velvet Nation in the early ‘00s, says Rauhofer’s work epitomized the era.

“His music, his production and his remixes, were kind of not exclusively but almost like the overwhelming soundtrack of the big clubs and circuit parties for the whole decade from about 2000 to 2010,” Bailey says. “He’s widely revered as that amazing one of all the amazing people who helped shape an entire kind of era in club land that for most people, they feel it was one of the best eras ever. We were very proud to be able to have him at Nation and I remember just being mesmerized by his set.”

Gay DJ Hector Fonseca met Rauhofer in 1998, joined Star 69 in about 2001 and worked with Rauhofer for about eight years releasing about 20 remixes and three albums. Fonseca, traveling this week in Europe, says by e-mail he and Rauhofer developed a strong working relationship and friendship.

“Besides his strong work ethic and extreme attention to detail, what made him stand out was that he was always pushing the sound in the gay scene with elements from the European trance and electro scene,” Fonseca says. “Very few, if any, were doing that and still to this day, it’s quite unique.”

Fonseca says Rauhofer will be “remembered as a visionary from a great era in New York City.”

“We were really the epicenter of house,” he says. “Now most cutting edge stuff is coming from Amsterdam, but if you take a closer look into that music, you can hear the influence from DJs of that time here in New York and Peter was a big part of that. The Twilo and Roxy days when you really had to push the sound to stand out. He will be missed by many but remembered through his music.”

During a lengthy phone interview this week, Russo, who started as an intern at Rauhofer’s Star 69 label in 2001, shares several memories of their years working together.

Russo says Rauhofer:

  • had been in apparently good health prior to the March seizure. He says he doesn’t know of Rauhofer ignoring any warning signs earlier though he admits Rauhofer was usually “not one to go to the doctor.” “He hadn’t complained of headaches or anything,” Russo says. “This kind of blindsided me.”
  • was in and out of consciousness in his final days. He was able to squeeze hands of those by his bedside at times. “We don’t know how much he heard, but we gave him an earful.” And although sad, Russo says it was a joy to share with Rauhofer’s mother details of his life in New York, of which she’d previously known little.
  • was a workaholic who “would obsess over his mixes” and would often stay up working all night to finish them.
  • loved to collect toy metal robots and Gucci jewelry.
  • kept his Grammy for Cher’s “Believe” in his Star 69 office until it closed in the summer of 2010 after which he kept it on a shelf in the living room of his 42nd Street apartment in Manhattan.
  • dated at various times and had some semi-long term boyfriends, but made it clear work came first for him. “A lot of people just don’t have the patience for that,” Russo says. Rauhofer had not been dating in recent months, Russo says.
  • Had met many of the artists whose hits he remixed. Although most of the remixing work was done without the artist, Russo remembers Rauhofer meeting Madonna, for instance, on multiple occasions. He says Rauhofer wasn’t especially star struck in general though he had an obsession with Grace Jones and “always wanted to work with her but never got the chance.” “If she had walked in the room, he might have gasped,” Russo says.

Rumors that Rauhofer could be tough — Bailey says, “I don’t think it’s a secret in the industry that he had a reputation for being difficult to work with” — were mostly a matter of Rauhofer’s being, “never a diva, but a perfectionist,” as Russo puts it.

“There were tiny spats about things,” Russo says. “He hated it when some A&R (artist and repertoire) person would be bugging for a mix, say they just wanted to sample it to see where he was going with it, then they’d start promoting his unfinished mixes, he hated that. But most of the time, believe it or not, he was pretty easygoing. When you pushed him, yeah, he would let you have it. … He would scream when he felt like he’d been wronged, but he’d worked really hard for what he achieved and he expected to be respected for that.”

Bailey says although Rauhofer excelled at mixing, spinning and producing, it’s his DJ sets for which he’ll most be remembered among the general public.

“It’s inevitable that the mixes will sound dated over time but the memories people experienced of him spinning live will live on,” Bailey says. “They’ll never be tarnished because they’re not something you can listen to over and over.”

Russo says Rauhofer’s ability to transcend genres is an important part of understanding his legacy.

“His whole idea about music, whether it was one remix or a whole DJ set, was that it should be a journey,” he says. “Toward the end of the ‘90s, I think it started to be very segregated in a way. You had this mix for the straight crowd, and this mix for the circuit crowd but there was no style he couldn’t do. He could remix for any audience. I like to reference this latest thing he just did for Tori. There were three different mixes and another that wasn’t released and you could really listen to them all back to back because they were so different. He was able to do it all.”

Rehoboth ready for record crowds

Summer at Rehoboth Beach. (Blade file photo by Joey DiGuglielmo)

Summer at Rehoboth Beach. (Blade file photo by Joey DiGuglielmo)

7th annual Washington Blade
Summer Kick-Off Party
Friday, May 17, 5-7 p.m.
Blue Moon
35 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth

Virtually unscathed by the effects of Hurricane Sandy, all indications are this summer will be a busy one in Rehoboth Beach, Del. And with the arrival of marriage equality in the state, locals are also expecting a busy summer of beach weddings.


View Rehoboth Beach in a larger map

Beach replenishment and flood control projects should be concluded by Memorial Day. The Chamber of Commerce reports that summer rentals to date are running at least 30 percent above last year and businesses are preparing for an influx of new visitors headed farther south this year following the damage to some New York and New Jersey-area beaches.

John Glenstrup, an owner of the gay bar Rigby’s on Rehoboth Avenue, said that in addition to visitors coming here from the New Jersey and New York beaches, “people feel more secure about the economy as gas prices fall, employment is up, and the housing market is improving.”

With an increase in visitors and traffic, gay City Commissioner Patrick Gossett noted that the ParkMobile system, which was introduced last year, will be used again this year. Pre-register at parkmobile.com or by calling 877-727-5758.

Gossett also said that this year the city will experiment with providing 180 parking spaces for scooters at several locations around the city. Permits for scooter use and parking passes are available at the Parking Meter Division located behind the Convention Center.

The Blue Moon (35 Baltimore Ave.) begins its 32nd summer with a remodeled front bar and Pamala Stanley returns Memorial Day weekend through the summer, Sundays through Thursdays 6-8:30 p.m. Cloud Nine closed in 2012 and was set to be demolished, but the Cape Gazette reported that it has been spared the wrecking ball for now and has been rented for the summer. Aqua (57 Baltimore Ave.), with its scantily attired servers, returns for another season this weekend. The L Bar (622 Rehoboth Ave.), Rigby’s (404 Rehoboth Ave.) and Big Sissies (715 Rehoboth Ave.) are all thriving. The gay-owned Purple Parrot (134 Rehoboth Ave.) is celebrating its 15th anniversary and the outdoor Biergarten has reopened.

The Frogg Pond (First and Rehoboth Avenue) has been renamed The Pond. Lesbian-owned establishments include Lori’s Café (39 Baltimore Ave.), now in its 17th season, Rehoboth Ale House (15 Wilmington Ave.), Seafood Shack (42 ½ Baltimore Ave.), and Charcoal Grill, located in the Food Lion Shopping Center on Route 1. Gelato Gal has moved and now also serves barbeque. It is located on Route 1 at Bay Vista Road.

Just before Memorial Day last year, Modern Mixture (62A Rehoboth Ave.) was opened by Leo Cabrera, popular server formerly at Mariachi’s. Its food is a fusion of Mexican, Mediterranean and Asian selections and it just got its liquor license this year.

The owners of Aqua have opened a café, Maggio and Shields, on the second level of First Street Station located at the corner of Rehoboth Avenue and First Street, and the owners of the Pond have MIXX (26 Baltimore Ave.). The new Lingo’s Market is scheduled to open Saturday in the Village by the Sea Mall. Gay-owned Universal Gear (46 Baltimore Ave.) has already opened for the season. If you like Italian food, check out the new Frank & Louie’s Italian Specialties (58 Baltimore Ave.) and a new Touch of Italy is rumored to (finally) be opening on Route 1 near Nage by Memorial Day.

Rehoboth Beach, gay news, Washington Blade

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Of course, Rehoboth is not only about eating and drinking. There are lots of other activities and many businesses throughout the city that are LGBT owned or friendly to the community.

There will be numerous events throughout the area all summer, including a monthly Art Walk, shows at Clear Space Theatre on Baltimore Avenue and readings at Proud Bookstore (Baltimore Avenue at the Village by the Sea Mall).

As Rehoboth Beach has become a more popular place to live, play and shop, not all of the activities are restricted to downtown. You can find plenty of outlet shops, restaurants, the Midway movie theater and specialty stores along Route 1, also known as Coastal Highway.

Several events will be sponsored by CAMP Rehoboth, the local gay and lesbian community center. They now have a theater attached to the Center (37 Baltimore Ave.). The popular Rehoboth Foodie blogger now has an app — Rehoboth in my Pocket — for your iPhone or Android devices.

The main two beaches that attract an LGBT crowd are Carpenter’s Beach (better known as Poodle Beach) at the south end of the Boardwalk or Gordon’s Pond in Cape Henlopen State Park, north of the city.

Queery: Holly Goldmann

Holly Goodmann, Trans Pride, gay news, Washington Blade

Holly Goodmann (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Holly Goldmann says she can’t stay serious for more than a few minutes at a time. With a world-weary quip, she’s off in a million directions.

While she likes being a board member at The Center, she says the meetings can be tedious.

“After an hour, yeah, I’m like — OK, let’s wrap it up here,” she says with a laugh.

Her work with Capital TransPride over the past three years got her noticed by The Center, whose staff was looking for trans representation on its board. She’s happy to serve but says she’s “really bad” at being secretary where taking minutes is required.

“I had no idea until recently that I had any talent for activism of any kind but apparently I’m good at bringing communities together,” she says. “I’m white, passable, over-glamorous yet not a drag queen. People love me — I can’t help it, that’s the reality.”

Capital TransPride is Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.). Guest Codie Leone, a big-time New York stylist, will speak and many other events are planned. Visit capitalpride.org/transpride for a full schedule.

Goldmann, who freelances as an independent designer by day, says, “It’s really important for trans people to get under one roof and not really worry about pretense.”

“It’s not political and it really gives us a chance to talk about issues,” she says.

Goldmann, a native New Yorker who’s been in Washington “15 years, maybe more,” is vague on details. She admits only to being “between 30 and death” and says she transitioned “a really long time ago.”

She lives in Columbia Heights and enjoys fashion history, “golden age” Hollywood and high-end fashion collecting in her free time as well as dissecting the nuances of “Mommie Dearest.”

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

Since I was 18 but everyone knew.

Who’s your LGBT hero?

Holly Woodlawn

What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present? 

The old Ziegfelds/Secrets. I rarely go out any more.

Describe your dream wedding.

Never thought of it.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?

Preservation of society in general.

What historical outcome would you change?

WWII — but I may not have been born.

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

“AbFab” coming back a third time!

On what do you insist?

A concrete schedule and answers to questions in a reasonable time.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?

A picture of Little Edie and Big Edie for Mother’s Day.

If your life were a book, what would the title be? 

“How I Gave Up on My Dream to Marry a Millionaire”

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

Right away? Nothing. I’d have to wait and see how it’s used.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world? 

Heaven

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?

Honestly the LGB need to start being more T accepting and stop making decisions on our behalf.

What would you walk across hot coals for?

To get loved ones who have passed away back.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

Oh, there are far too many.

What’s your favorite LGBT movie?

“Some of My Best Friends Are”

What’s the most overrated social custom?

I still write thank you cards.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

The Tony

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

To put myself on the 20-year wait list for a rent controlled apartment in New York City.

Why Washington?

Was bored and came to visit a friend. Never went back.

Which witch is which?

Patti LuPone, theater, music, gay news, Washington Blade

Performer Patti LuPone (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

In a diva coup for the ages, Angela Bassett and Patti LuPone are joining the cast of “American Horror Story: Coven,” according to a report from TV Line, which cited gay co-creator Ryan Murphy’s Twitter announcement Sunday.

Read the full story here.

Back to School

Fay Jacobs, American University, gay news, Washington Blade

Fay Jacobs (AU, circa 1970) strumming in the dorm, at a very different time for gay students. (Photo courtesy of Jacobs)

Editor’s note: This is the third installment in our “Back To School” series assessing the LGBT climate on university campuses as told by alumni we’re pairing with current students to tell their stories. This week: Fay Jacobs and American University. Visit washingtonblade.com for previous installments. 

On May 4, 1970, when the tragedy at Kent State burst onto the screen, Neil Young wrote the unforgettable anti-war lyrics “Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming.” Fay Jacobs, a senior at American University was accustomed to participating in anti-war rallies on campus in front of the Mary Graydon Center. The news came only twice daily back then — broadcast on console TVs the size of today’s Mini Cooper. But the pot boiled over the next day on Cinco de Mayo with AU students protesting more vociferously than ever. Typically, the protests were handled by campus police, but this time, the D.C. police showed up with noxious tear gas.

Jacobs was in rehearsal for a French Operetta in the campus theater. When the tear gas missed the activists and landed on the steps of the theater, the actors, singers, musicians and men in tights all went running in different directions.

“I hid in the bushes with my pal Rob,” she recalls. “It was all very frightening.  Except for the guys in tights running amok. Come on, that’s funny.”

You’d expect nothing less from a renowned comedy writer who’s published two books: “As I Lay Frying” and “Fried and True” — a woman whose favorite movie was “Funny Girl” and whose father taught her that no experience should be considered bad if you can tell a good story about it later. And so we sit to talk about her experiences at AU ”back in the day” and the trek that brought her out of the closet and into the bright light of lesbianism.

It would be decades before Melissa Etheridge would walk across fire for another woman. So, like most of us in those days without visible gays, Jacobs focused on textbooks and the bard, lived isolated in the closet, conforming to hetero ideals and dated men.

Her focus was on politics and social justice. Long before RFK was a stadium named in memoriam, she campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy, the man. She vividly recalls the candlelight vigil the night Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. And the many war protests. She could wage a full-throated protest against the war but remain mute about the war within. It was just too risky. Her own struggle for authenticity would be deferred for a decade, until after she graduated and kicked down the closet door.

Salina Rivera, American University, gay news, Washington Blade

Salina Rivera (class of 2014) benefits from an LGBT student center on campus. (Photo by Josh Halprin)

AU senior Salina Rivera stands on the same steps of Mary Graydon Center 43 years later and points north.

“My girlfriend and I live about a five-minute walk that way,” she says. Ironically, it’s not far from where Jacobs’ closet was. Out since age 13, and so grateful for her loving parents, she’s only sorry that her father died before she could tell him.

“He was a corrections officer in that male-dominated environment, and yet he never made me feel odd for being the Tom Boy,” Rivera said. “We always played basketball together. I know he’d understand me.” After his untimely death, her mother carried the torch of accepting parent and is, today, Rivera’s straight hero. ”I have never met a stronger, more loving person.”

With such solid loving support, the Bronx native blossomed.  She was class president in high school and today she is proud to be one of seven founding sisters of AU’s chapter of the lesbian Gamma Rho Lambda sorority — one of five LGBTQ organizations on campus. Her queer peers can join other active organizations and have access to ”Safe Space 2.0″ and a course named “Trans 101.”  She and her girlfriend attend campus events together — usually rallies for social justice. Holding hands. Ho hum. ”It’s hard to believe students were ever in the closet here at AU,” Rivera said. “It’s so progressive and inclusive today, but I realize it’s a privilege not to be taken lightly.”

Erin Fuller, immediate past president of the AU Alumni Association, and a straight ally agreed.

“As a student in the 80′s, I watched in awe this year as the campus greeted the coming out of their immediate past president of student government as a transgender person with a collective, supportive shrug. I see the amazing work that the entire division of Student Life does to support everyone from first-generation college attendees to students celebrating their cultural, ethnic and sexual identities, and it makes me incredibly proud to be a part of something so wonderful and so important.”

In hindsight, Jacobs’ life blossomed quickly after she came out. She’s not at all bitter about the late start in life and that in her 31st year, it was time to write her own story.   Today she’s driving back to her home in Rehoboth Beach from Dover, Del., where she’s celebrating the movement toward marriage equality with her straight hero, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. She’s a local celebrity in Rehoboth. Her zany wife Bonnie is the love of her life and the subject of many of her regular columns in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. From their madcap adventures in the RV, to their frequent visits to the ER, Jacobs chronicles their hysterical antics.

It wasn’t always a bed of roses for Jacobs. Shortly after graduation she married Bob, a classmate, who made a living playing the accordion. It wasn’t long before they both knew something was amiss. I ask if they got together after the break up to watch Lawrence Welk, where accordions ruled.

“No, I moved on, man-free and accordion-less.”

Barbara Gittings, the lesbian activist who picketed the White House in 1967 and founded Daughters of Bilitis is her gay hero.

“She was relentless, brave, determined and most importantly, a heck of a lot of fun,” Jacobs said. Pre-Stonewall, Barbara was one of several brave souls that demonstrated each year on the Fourth of July in Philadelphia. Asked about her gay hero, Rivera thinks for a moment and then points to the office of the coordinator of the LGBTQ Center where we are chatting: ”It would be Matt Bruno. He’s unbelievable. Whether it’s help with a cover letter or a fight with my girlfriend, he’s always there for me.”

The Center of campus has an interesting story. Mary Graydon was a generous benefactor of AU until her death in 1926. She’s famous for focusing on the education of women, once saying, “I prefer to put money into brains rather than stone and mortar.”  And so after many years of supporting women’s academics, the university honored her with stone and mortar. Her famous building is considered the center of campus and houses our LGBTQ Center.

Salina is reading Jacobs’ current column about how tiring the marriage fight is when you’re 60 something.

“I think Fay needs to come here and put her feet up and let us do some of the heavy lifting now,” Rivera said. She is planning to host Jacobs for a reading of her short stories in the LGBTQ Center this fall. Time has moved on. Jacobs graduated and came out. Nixon’s long gone. ”Tin soldiers” include LGBT citizens. Nixon once lamented that “you can’t appreciate the view from the mountaintop until you’ve been in the darkest valley.” For entirely different reasons, Jacobs can relate.

So, hosted by Rivera and her queer peers, Jacobs can prop her feet up on Matt’s desk in a center that didn’t exist in her day. Holding her wife’s hand, she will read aloud her AU/GayU retrospective: ”The tear gas was scary. I hid in the bushes for the riot and in the closet by necessity. But there were these men in tights running hither and yon and somehow I knew this story would be funny one day.”

Jacobs’ dad would be proud of her finding a good story in this. Mary Graydon’s investment in the brain trust of AU’s women has paid off in both gray matter and stone and mortar. We will tell our own stories from an LGBTQ Center.

Other mothers

Ba'Naka, drag, drag queen, Town Danceboutique, gay news, LGBT Nightlife, Washington Blade, Shi-Queeta Lee, Lena Lett, High heel race, 17th street, Frank Kameny Way

Ba’Naka, Shi-Queeta Lee and Lena Lett (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Spend any real time in the gay world and you know there are many who take drag very seriously, from the elaborate routines to the familial ties.

Since this weekend is Mother’s Day, we asked a few local performers why drag families are important. It didn’t take long to realize it’s about a lot more than borrowing lipstick or getting input on a new gown.

“It truly is family,” says Muffy Blake-Stephyns. “Few people know me quite as well as my drag family. We complete each other’s sentences, we know just what to say or do to comfort one another. We have each other’s back.”

“We’re closer than your actual blood relatives,” says Alexandra B. Childs. “We sew, rhinestone, glue, paint, staple, smile and lip sync our hearts out for one another. Our drag family hangs out together in and out of the drag scene. Drag events are like a weekly family reunion for us with a lot more hairspray and sequins involved than most others.”

“Drag families are just an elaborate support system,” Ba’Naka says. “A sisterhood that is there for you when you need it.”

 

Shi-Queeta Lee, drag, drag queen, gay news, Washington Blade

Shi-Queeta Lee (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Drag name: Shi-Queeta-Lee

Boy name: Jerry VanHook

Drag mother’s name: Chyna Pendar’vis/Benjamin Smith

How did you meet? I met Chyna Pendar’vis (RIP) through a friend of mine, Don Pendar’vis (RIP). I was competing for the Miss Magic Pageant 1998, which I won singing live Whitney Houston “Your Love Is My Love.” The pageant is part of the Gay Softball league here in D.C. called Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League (CAPS). I painted myself for it and Don came over to help me and he said, “Girl you look a hot ghetto mess.” So he calls Chyna to come and do my makeup and clothes. I was always told the first drag queen that paints you and put you in drag is your drag mother. She taught me the ropes on drag life and the drama that comes with it.

What does she mean to you? She means the world to me. Taught me so much on life in the gay community. How to get booked for drag shows, how to host to get patrons excited to see drag queens perform. She was a pageant girl, so she guided me on how to compete as well. Chyna was a diva at her craft, also had a loving family that supported the art form. I had a loving family that supported me.

 

Drag name: Kuji Lee

Boy name: Kuji Mah Ajani

Drag mother’s name: Shi-Queeta-Lee aka Jerry VanHook

How did you meet? I met my drag mom at a nightclub called “The Edge” that used to be located in Southeast Washington near the Navy Yard Marine Base. Shi-Queeta-Lee wasn’t born yet (I don’t believe), so the first three years of our interaction was with Jerry. Later I ran into her again and she introduced me as her child, which I didn’t dispute. It was then that I began to carry the last name “Lee.” A few years later, the birth of Shi-Queeta-Lee arrived in D.C. and started hosting a drag show at the famous Bachelor’s Mill. I was infatuated with drag performances for many years that I began to secretly desire to hit the stage as a male entertainer one day and Shi-Queeta-Lee was the first to give me my start.

What does she mean to you? Shi-Queeta-Lee is and will always be the catalyst of our family. She is also a well-known public figure who has endured ridicule, harsh criticism, etc. within our gay community for believing that the drag-gay/bi/transgender community can reach higher ground if presented in a different framework that connects all genders, all races. She embodies diversities, complexity, independence, boldness, unconditional love, vulnerability, creativity and more. She never let anyone or anything halt her goals or dreams and she makes sure we as her family apply those same beliefs.

 

Drag name: Shelby Blake-Stephyns

Boy name: Jon Rybka-Wachhaus

Drag mother’s name: Veronica Blake (Rob Amos)

How did you meet: I had been doing drag for approximately two years and had become a member of The Academy of Washington, Inc. We had become close and when my previous mother and I had a falling out, she asked me if I would be her daughter because she saw so much in me that wasn’t being nurtured and needed to be. And the rest, as they say is history.

What does your drag mother mean to you? Veronica means the world to me. Many times I get so many ideas in my head that it’s great to have someone there to help you sort it all out to make you the best you can be. She can be tough as leather sometimes but she always has my best interest at heart.

 

Daniel Hays, Muffy Blake Stephyns, gay news, Washington Blade

Daniel Hays A.K.A. Muffy Blake Stephyns (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Drag name: Muffy Blake-Stephyns

Boy name: Daniel L. Hays

Drag mother’s name: Shelby Blake Stephyns/Jon Rybka-Wachhaus

How did you meet? I met Shelby at a benefit drag show at Freddie’s Beach Bar.  I had been doing drag for a number of years, but at that particular time I was going through some health challenges and was battling depression. She was just kind of the perfect prescription. She was incredibly caring, uplifting and made me want to continue performing. Over the next few weeks we talked pretty much every day. Before long it was official, I had changed “families” and Shelby became my mom. I think I can safely say that were it not for Shelby coming into my life, in all likelihood Muffy would have hung up her heels.

What does she mean to you? My drag mother truly means the world to me.  I know she loves me unconditionally and that is something that is felt in return. If I need something, I know without a doubt that if there is any way my drag mother can help she will be there, no questions asked. I am truly blessed to have Shelby Blake Stephyns as my mama.

 

Delila B. Lee, Howard Theater, drag, gay news, Washington Blade

Delila B. Lee (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Drag name: Delila B. Lee

Boy name: Delonte’ Ladson

Drag mother’s name: Shi-Queeta-Lee/Jerry Vanhook

How did you meet?  I met Shi-Queeta-Lee in 2009 at Town Danceboutique. And I was amazed of the illusion she gave as Tina Turner. She got me into drag by teaching me how confidence is the key. And completely being myself. I was very interested in becoming a drag queen. The desire to transform into a beautiful diva and lip sync on stage. I first performed in 2011.

What does she mean to you? A drag family is being together, supporting and loving one another. It should be treasured forever. Most of us don’t have supportive families because they don’t accept and tolerate our lifestyles. Having a drag family means knowing you’ll be loved unconditionally. I’m proud to call Mother Lee my drag mother.

 

Ba'Naka, drag, drag queen, Town Danceboutique, gay news, LGBT Nightlife, Washington Blade

Ba’Naka (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Drag name: Ba’Naka

Boy name: Dustin Michael Schaad

Drag mother’s name: When they say it takes a village they weren’t joking! I don’t have one singular drag mother. From Florida to D.C., I’ve collected a harem of Mommie Dearests but the most influential have been D.C. icons Lena Lett and Kristina Kelly (David Lett and Chris Smith).

How did you meet? I met Kristina Kelly at Apex when I first moved to D.C. She was the first queen to give me a chance in this city. I began regularly performing with her at various D.C. venues: Apex, Omega, Remington’s, Be-Bar. She taught me how to paint a face and take the stage. As for Lena, she has never been my official drag mother but I’ve learned more from her than any other. From her I learned how to host a show and command an audience (hosting is 10 times harder than performing). Lena over the years has given me some of the best advice (not that I always listen — I’m hard headed) that I have ever received.

What does she mean to you? My drag mothers have been a source of wisdom, experience and comfort over the years.

 

Drag name: Hope B. Childs

Boy name: Steven Ramsey

Drag mother’s name: Destiny B. Childs/Richard Legg

How did you meet? I met my drag mother years ago when I tried to commit suicide. She and her husband picked me up and let me live with them. She helped me become the true me. I started in the drag scene as her dresser and anywhere she went, I went. Rhinestoning her shoes and outfits and putting her outfits together. I first started doing drag without her really knowing (not a good idea to doing something behind your mother’s back). She helps me with whatever I need.

What does she mean to you? She is my best friend she means the world to me. She’s not my drag mom she is my mom.

 

Alexandra B. Childs, drag, drag queen, Town Danceboutique, LGBT Nightlife, gay news, Washington Blade, Miss Capital Pride 2012

Alexandra B. Childs (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Drag name: Alexandra B. Childs (Miss Capital Pride 2012)

Boy name: Chad Phillips

Drag mother’s name: Destiny B. Childs/Richard Legg

How did you meet? I met Destiny at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Crystal City, shortly after I moved to D.C. and came out. Theater was always something that I enjoyed and drag to me is an extension of that. I had toyed with the idea of trying drag and voiced it several times to some people. The first time I was put into drag was by Destiny’s drag mother, Ophelia Bottoms. After that it was something that I knew that I loved and the creativity is endless. Destiny took me in and gave me advice and sources for items and ideas to advance in the craft. And here I am, Miss Capital Pride 2012 about to step down and I owe it all to my mother and the family that we call the Childs clan!

What does she mean to you? Destiny/ Ric is more than a drag mother. We have a friendship that is more than just lashes and lipstick. Destiny is that person who knows my look from across the room, the one who is honest enough to say “Girl, not that hair,” the one who magically has the Mary Poppins “bag of stuff” if we forget something or need something. She is a person who in or out of drag consistently gives back to the community and those around her.