A scene from the 2023 Capital Pride Honors reception with Admiral Dr. Rachel Levine, the first transgender Assistant Secretary of Health (second from left)
The Capital Pride Alliance will host its annual Capital Pride Honors on Friday, May 31, at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill Maryland.
A set of various awards, the Honors are bestowed on LGBTQ individuals, allies, or LGBTQ-owned/allied businesses that have advocated for issues important to the LGBTQ community, have donated their time and money to LGBTQ causes, or have made significant contributions benefitting the local LGBTQ community in the D.C. metropolitan area.
This year’s Honors will feature performances from Crystal Waters, DJ Honey, and the Black Leaves Dance Company. Lorenzo Hall, anchor for local CBS affiliate WUSA, will emcee. Because alcohol is served on premises, admission is limited to those aged 21 and over.
This year’s Capital Pride Hero Awards recipients are:
Hope Giselle, transgender activist and author who launched AllowMe, a nonprofit promoting the personal and professional growth of young LGBTQ people of color.
Jamison Henninger, the leader of the D.C. Area Transmasculine Society.
Kenya Hutton, deputy director and soon-to-be executive director of the Center for Black Equity.
Carol Jameson, the retired CEO of HealthWorks for Northern Virginia, who developed various programs aimed at addressing healthcare disparities.
Tula, a longtime local drag performer.
José Alberto Uclés, the former Ward 5 commissioner for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the director of the D.C. Capital Pride Festival from 1997 to 1999.
Iaya Dammons, founder of Baltimore Safe Haven and founder and interim executive director of DC Safe Haven, will be honored with the Breaking Barriers: Community Impact Award.
Receiving the Larry Stansbury award for “exemplary contributions” to Pride is Destination DC, a private, non-profit corporation with a membership of more than 1,000 businesses or organizations that support D.C.’s travel and tourism sector.
The Bill Miles Award, given for outstanding volunteer service to an individual who has made “exemplary contributions” to the Capital Pride Alliance and its various programs, initiatives, and sponsored activities, will be given to two individuals: Bryan Davis the current Volunteer Chair of the organization, who previously served as Capital Pride’s executive producer and chair for accessibility and its interpreter coordinator, and William Hawkins, the current chair of Health and Safety for the Capital Pride Alliance.
The 2024 Capitol Pride Honors will be held from 7:30 to 11 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at MGM National Harbor, 101 MGM National Ave., in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Tickets, which range from $49 to $98 per person, include access to hors d’ouevre tasting stations, an open bar for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and entertainment.
All proceeds benefit the Capital Pride Alliance and the 365 Pride Fund. To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit www.capitalpride.org/event/honors-2024.
The theme for this year's DC Black Pride celebration is "Black Pride is: Freedom."
The Center for Black Equity, which produces the annual Memorial Day Weekend event, said in a press release that the theme "represents an assurance that Black LGBTQ people will not be silenced, erased, or denied the right to live fully and freely.
As political forces attempt to roll back hard-fought progress, DC Black Pride 2025 will serve as a rallying point, uniting voices from across the country and the world in the ongoing fight for justice, equality, and the right to simply be."
The 2025 celebration of Black Pride comes at a time when there is an ongoing backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as well as rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the United States.
Booz Allen Hamilton, a longtime sponsor of Capital Pride and one of the sponsors of the upcoming WorldPride 2025 celebration, has dropped its sponsorship.
The decision comes after the prominent defense contractor scuttled its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in response to an executive order from Donald Trump that seeks to compel government contractors to drop pro-diversity initiatives and programs.
Those found in violation risk being rejected for opportunities to contract with the government on the grounds that, in the Trump administration's eyes, pro-diversity policies constitute a form of illegal discrimination incompatible with the country's civil rights laws.
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