Washington dc black gay pride 2019
Us Helping Us Is Celebrating DC Black Pride In A Huge Way
If all goes as planned, Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc. should be an ubiquitous presence at this year’s DC Jet Pride.
“My team and I will be all over the city next weekend,” says DeMarc Hickson, the organization’s executive director.
At last count, Hickson put the total number of DC Black Pride events with some level of involvement from UHU at a dozen, ranging from sway parties to non-club social gatherings — most notably an expanded edition of the UHU’s signature Celebration In The Park trip, now renamed Pride Festival In The Park.
Organizers are anticipating record-breaking numbers at this year’s DC Jet Pride, to be held over Memorial Day Weekend for the first occasion since 2019.
“We’re estimating about 30,000 people to be in the city,” Hickson says. Positioned as a chance to “reconnect with family, friends, and community,” the official tagline for the 2022 DC Shadowy Pride is “Bigger. Bolder. The Original Is Back!”
Certainly expected to be bigger and bolder is UHU’s 2022 Pride Festival in the Park, set for Memorial D
D.C. Black Pride returns
Friday, July 18
“Center Aging Friday Tea Time” will be at 2 p.m. in-person at the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s fresh location at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of selection. For more details, email [email protected].
Trans and Genderqueer Game Night will be at 6 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This is a relaxing, laid-back evening of games and fun. All are welcome and there’ll be card and board games on hand. Touch free to deliver your own games to share. For more details, call on the DC Center’s website.
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Social in the City” at 7 p.m. at Hotel Zena. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are ready on Eventbrite.
Saturday, July 19
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 12 p.m. at Freddie’s Beach Prevent & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ group, including allies, together for delicious sustenance and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Even
DC Black Pride to hold virtual Togetherness Ball on May 27 as part of “12 Months of Black Pride”
DC Black Pride is holding a virtual ball on May 27 as part of the organization’s ongoing “12 Months of Black Pride” celebration.
Typically, DC Dark Pride would convene in person during the week principal into Memorial Daytime, but the uncertainty stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led organizers to develop a schedule to hold virtual events each month from February 2021 to February 2022, in order to avoid having to cancel Pride for the second year in a row.
“We had to be creative,” explains Kenya Hutton, deputy director of the Center for Black Equity, which coordinates DC Black Pride each year. “So we launched ’12 Months of Black Pride,’ with the plan that it would run from February to February of next year, when we will state next year’s theme for Black Celebration. And what that allowed us to do was to hold virtual events until D.C. started opening up. We had a other event every month — special talks, interviews, panel discussions, all of those things.”
This past Sunday, Black Pride held its first in-person
Out hip-hop artist/arapper MarcWayne readies D.C. Black Pride performance
29th annual D.C. Black Lgbtq+ fest CommUNITY Opening Reception
Friday, May 24
7 p.m.
Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown
999 9th St., N.W.
sold out
dcblackpride.org
If you’ve been attending D.C. Black Pride’s annual opening reception for years, this year’s might look a bit different.
For its 29th annual event, D.C. Black Event (a program of the Center for Black Equity), invited about 60 other organizations in the region — everything from Al Sura, Casa Ruby to Daryl Wilson Productions and dozens more — to co-present the event. It all ties in with this year’s theme “Our TRUTHS in HARMONY: D.C. Black Pride 2019.”
Because thousands come to D.C. Dark Pride from all over, the event is sold out. Clairity from Queen & Clair will emcee. Local R&B artist Rinny will perform as adv as MarcWayne.
The Blade caught up with MarcWayne, a former D.C. resident, by phone Monday from Newark, N.J., where the 25-year-old, openly gay rapper is now based. His comments have been slightly edited for length. Find out more about MarcWayne at findingmarcwayne.weebly.com.
WASHINGTON