Hello everyone! The D.C. Center has recently received new furniture, including six tables for both the conference room and the meeting room. This leaves the four previously used open for any person(s) or organization to stop by the center and pick them up.
Note: The tables are in used condition, and loading and transportation of the tables will be up to the party who claims them. You can take all four, or just one, whatever you prefer.
Please contact chris@thedccenter.org to take these tables off our hands.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will be closed during regular business hours from 11/23/17 until 11/26/17. We will hold a special holiday luncheon on Thursday 11/23/17 from 12:00pm-3:30pm. We will be open for regular business hours on Monday 11/27/17.
Job Club is cancelled on Wednesday 11/12/17.
Women in Their Twenties and Thirties will not be meeting on Friday 11/24/17.
The DC Center will be closed for office hours on 11/25/17. We will be hosting Small Business Saturday from 11am-5pm
2017 was an exciting year for arts and culture at the DC Center. For the first time ever, the DC Center appointed a Director of Arts and Cultural Programs. Kimberley Bush, who was previously the Director of our film festival, Reel Affirmations, stepped into this new role and worked with our dedicated and amazing chairpersons and volunteers to coordinate all of our arts programming including:
Reel Affirmations: Washington DC’s International LGBTQ Film Festival
Reel Affirmations XTRA: Washington DC’s International LGBTQ Monthly Film Series
OutWrite: Our LGBTQ Literary Book Festival
DC Queer Theatre Festival
Center Arts Gallery: Our LGBTQ Visual Arts Space
Ignition: The Spoken Word Series
2017 brought the 24th Annual Reel Affirmations Film Festival which was held for the 3rd year at the historic Gala Hispanic Theater. We screened over 40 films over the course of 4 days ( up from 3 days in 2016) to hundreds of LGBTQ individuals, our allys and supporters. Over the course of the 4 days, over 10 filmmakers participated in Filmmaker TalkBacks/Q&A with a catered meet and greet reception. Ticket sales was not as fruitful as originally expected mostly due to the myriad of events occurring on the same weekend including Howard University’s 150th Anniversary/Homecoming and the Marine Corps Marathon just to name a few.
RA also held its first ever collaboration screening with The Studio Theatre of the film “Kiki” in conjunction with The Studio Theatre production “WigOut” in June as well as a LGBTQ film showcase during their “Taste Of Studio” celebration in August.
RA XTRA experienced huge success with 13 screenings, typically one per month and on one occasion two in one month. RA also held, apres film screening, a quarterly, multicultural director/producer Talkback/Q&A with catered cocktail reception. This year, RA introduced its’ Countries and Closets Sub-Series, which explores films that depict the lives of individuals who live in countries where to be LGBTQ is illegal or banned. We also held our first Reel Trans Film Festival during Captial Trans Pride and 2017 will mark our 3rd annual World Aids Day Film Screening.
Outwrite was extraordinarily successful with over 300 attendees over the course of 3 days in August 2017 with over 40 well received presenters/speakers and 25+ literary vendors. Many of our readings/presentations were sold out/at capacity.
The 5th annual DC Queer Theatre Festival took place October 13th and 14th at the Anacostia Arts Center and featured six talented performers in solo plays. Our artists were Elizabeth McCain, Christopher Prince, DeLesslin George-Warren, XemiyuluManibusan, J. Scales, and Regie Cabico.
Center Arts Gallery opened in April 2017 featuring all genres of art created by LGBTQ Artisans. Our Grand Opening Reception of our first installation, in April, was free and open to the public. Our full-color exhibit showcased 14 pieces of visual art created by the group members The Art and Peer Support Group facilitated by Antonio Pineda. Mr. Pineda is a Treatment Navigator at the Infectious Disease Clinic at MedStar Health Research Institute at Washington Hospital Center, NW Washington D.C., where he specializes in helping clients who are living with HIV/AIDS.
Our next exhibit in Dec 2017, will feature the work of Jo Martinez. Jo’s art centers primarily on topics of sexuality, psychological and gender identity with recurring themes of power, vulnerability, domestic violence and the sway between them.
Finally this year’s Capturing Fire Poetry Slam took place June 9-11th. The DC Center is proud to have been the first home for the Capturing Fire slam, founded by Regie Cabico. We are equally excited that the slam will continue, now as an independent project, under Regie’s Leadership.
Our new spoken word initiative, Ignition, was developed in 2017 and will officially launch next year. The Spoken Series seeks to empower Trans & Queer people through spoken word art culture. The genres include performance art, poetry slam, story telling. Ignition seeks to fuse the spoken word with all genres of expression. Ignition The Spoken Series programs are open to all Trans & Queer Allies. Look for more information about this new initiative soon.
Center Arts received generous support this year from AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the Cherry Fund, the Mayor’s Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. We also received generous in-kind support from the Human Rights Campaign as well as Tito’s Vodka, Barefoot Wine and Lagunitas Beer.
And of course, none of this work would be possible without generous supporters like you.
Over the past year, the DC Center for the LGBT Community, has been able to provide vital mental health support services and outreach opportunities to individuals in the community that are both survivors and supporters of survivors of violence, crime, and trauma. This work is made possible with the support of the Office of Victim Services and the CenterLink-Johnson Family Foundation Mental Health Initiative.
We provided individual and group therapy, case management, and intake assessments to over 50 survivors of violence, crime, and trauma. Sam Goodwin, LGSW, and Dr. Zelaika Clarke provided over 470 individual therapy sessions and provided case management to a total of 42 individuals through warm handoff referrals to trauma-informed providers and organizations.
The DC Anti-Violence Project, a program of the DC Center, has also lso focused on engaging and educating community members through presentations and outreach events, such as our ‘Taking the Stage, Taking a Stand: LGBTQ Voices Against Violence’ event, which uplifted the voices of LGBTQ individuals affected by violence and trauma through various artistic mediums of expression, including dance, song, slam poetry, storytelling and rap. In addition to the 5 ‘Taking the Stage’ events held over the past year, The DC Anti-Violence Project launched several presentations to increase awareness and educate community members, specifically around issues in the LGBTQ community.
One of these community presentations occurred on September 6th, 2017, when The DC Anti-Violence Project provided a community presentation training to rape crisis hotline trainee staff at The DC Rape Crisis Center. This presentation provided an overview of LGBTQ issues and terminology, which included interactive and experiential activities for participants to learn about the needs of LGBTQ survivors of violence, crime, and trauma. Role plays, videos, and didactic learning material were provided to trainee staff, and participants were invited to look at the differences between a negative experience for LGBTQ individuals in contrast to an experience in which service providers practice cultural competency and cultural humility. The DC Anti-Violence Project received a great deal of positive feedback from both participants and DCRCC staff, and have been invited back to train hotline staff in the next year.
Additionally, monthly meetings for The DC Anti-Violence Project are held on the 4th Thursday of every month, from 7-8:30 PM at The DC Center. These meetings attract members of the community searching for ways to get involved with local action to eradicate targeted violence against LGBTQ individuals, and over the past year, have focus on the following efforts: organizing action around local violence and hate/bias crimes against transgender women of color; working with Council Member David Grosso to support legislation for both increasing bystander awareness/intervention and for legalizing sex work in DC; writing community impact statements for LGBTQ-centered cases currently in the DC court system; and planning future community events and outreach with local survivor-serving organizations, such as Safe Bars, Defend Yourself, End Rape on Campus, and Casa Ruby.
Over the past year, The DC Anti-Violence Project has doubled in size of membership, demonstrating the draw and sustainability of this work, propelled forward by the deep passion and commitment of our increasing member base.
This year, The DC Anti-Violence Project was successful in referring over 122 unique individual clients to vital resources and trauma-informed services such as the DC Victim Hotline through the LGBTQ Violence Response Hotline, psychiatrists, medical doctors, and free legal aid services (e.g. The DC Volunteer Lawyer’s Project), Crime Victim’s Compensation, vocational and employment resources and classes, and law enforcement services.
Support this Work
If you would like to support work like this at the DC Center for the LGBT Community, make a donation here.
It has been a tradition continued in some form or fashion every Veterans Day since 1989. LGBTQ Community members have gathered in the Congressional Cemetery at the grave of Sgt. Leonard Matlovich on Veterans Day to remember his service and sacrifice, and honor all our LGBT Veterans and Service Members.
Despite 12 years of exemplary service and receiving a Purple Heart, the Air Force demanded his discharge simply because he was gay. Sgt. Matlovich made history when he came out and was the first LGBT person on the cover of Time Magazine in 1975. This year’s service was organized by James Thonley, a USA and USMC Veteran who was himself investigated for “homosexual conduct” while serving our country.
The Congressional Cemetery is believed to the world’s only cemetery with a LGBT Section. In the 1980s and 1990s when the AIDS crisis gripped the LGBT Community, the Congressional Cemetery was one of the few cemeteries in the nation that would inter victims of the AIDS epidemic.
This year Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Ann Murdoch had the honor of laying the wreath. Previous individuals who have had this honor include Lt. Dan Choi and David Merrill.
See video from the service below. You can also see pictures from the event on the Center Military Facebook page at facebook.com/centermilitary.
Opening Remarks were provided by Luke Dier, Chairperson of Mayor Bowser’s Veterans Advisory Board. The invication was provided by Bishop Allyson Abrams. Readings were shared by Tiera Craig and David Mariner, Executive Director of the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Taps was performed by SGM (Ret.) Ginger Turner. Closing Remarks were provided by Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Eric Burns.
Thanks to everyone who made this year’s event possible.
