Text of DC CER 250069 (2023)

1 _______________________________ ______________________________ 1 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 2 3 4 5 _______________________________ ______________________________ 6 Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Anita Bonds 7 8 9 10 ________________________________ ______________________________ 11 Councilmember Trayon White, Sr. Councilmember Vincent C. Gray 12 13 14 15 ________________________________ ______________________________ 16 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Brooke Pinto 17 18 19 20 ________________________________ ______________________________ 21 Councilmember Christina Henderson Councilmember Matthew Frumin 22 23 24 ______________________________ 25 Councilmember Zachery Parker 26 27 28 29 A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 30 31 __________ 32 33 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 34 35 ____________________ 36 37 To recognize the history and the importance of DC Black Pride, to celebrate the efforts of 38 the Center for Black Equity, and to welcome visitors from the greater Washington 39 region, across the country, and around the world to the festivities. 40 41 WHEREAS, DC Black Pride is an annual event to increase awareness of and 42 showcase pride in the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ populations in the African American 43 community, and to support organizations that focus on health disparities, education, 44 youth, and families; 45 46 2 WHEREAS, from 1975 until 1990, the Club House was a premiere community 47 gathering space for the African-American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 48 community of Washington, DC and was notable for its annual Memorial Day weekend 49 celebration, called the Children’s Hour; 50 51 WHEREAS, Wilmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins envisioned 52 creating an event that would continue the tradition of the Children’s Hour as well as raise 53 much-needed funds for the HIV/AIDS organizations that served the African American 54 community after the Club House closed its doors in 1990; 55 56 WHEREAS, with the Children’s Hour as inspiration, the inaugural DC Black 57 Pride was held on May 25, 1991 in cooperation with the DC Coalition of Black Lesbians 58 and Gay Men and the Inner-City AIDS Network on the grounds of Banneker Field; 59 60 WHEREAS, as DC Black Pride grew in popularity and in programmatic 61 offerings, organizers created a board of directors, created a 501(c)3 nonprofit 62 organization, and officially established the Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc.; 63 64 WHEREAS, since the birth of DC Black Pride, more than 50 other Black Pride 65 celebrations now take place throughout the world and on four continents, with many 66 using DC Black Pride as a model; 67 68 WHEREAS, during the 1998 festival, Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc., and 69 organizers of Black Prides from New York City, Detroit, Atlanta and several other cities 70 formed the International Federation of Black Prides; 71 72 WHEREAS, the International Federation of Black Prides later became the Center 73 for Black Equity, and today the organization has more that 50 members and serves as the 74 principal body through which organizers find support, raise funds, and share best 75 practices; 76 77 WHEREAS, May 26, 2023 through May 29, 2023, marks the 32nd annual DC 78 Black Pride celebration; 79 80 WHEREAS, the theme for this year’s celebration is “Know Your Past, Live Your 81 Present, Fight for Your Future”; 82 83 WHEREAS, for more than 30 years, DC Black Pride has been an opportunity for 84 the Black LGBTQIA+ community to gather and celebrate being both African American 85 and members of LGBTQIA+ communities; 86 87 WHEREAS, DC Black Pride is the oldest and one of the largest Black Pride 88 events in the world, drawing thousands of residents and visitors from around the globe; 89 and 90 91 3 WHEREAS, DC Black Pride brings more than 500,000 people to the nation's 92 capital from across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, South Africa, Great Britain, 93 France, Germany, and the Netherlands and will carry that tradition this year and into the 94 future to celebrate their shared community, raise awareness and funding for HIV/AIDS 95 prevention, and stand against homophobia inspired by violence and bigotry. 96 97 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, that 98 this resolution be cited as the “DC Black Pride Recognition Resolution of 2023”. 99 100 Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors the hard 101 work of everyone involved in organizing the 32nd annual DC Black Pride and the 102 opportunity to celebrate the Black LGBTQIA+ community. 103 104 Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of 105 publication in the District of Columbia Register. 106

ENROLLED ORIGINAL 1 A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 25-69 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA May 2, 2023 To recognize the history and the importance of DC Black Pride, to celebrate the efforts of the Center for Black Equity, and to welcome visitors from the greater Washington region, across the country, and around the world to the festivities. WHEREAS, DC Black Pride is an annual event to increase awareness of and showcase pride in the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ populations in the African American community, and to support organizations that focus on health disparities, education, youth, and families; WHEREAS, from 1975 until 1990, the Club House was a premiere community gathering space for the African-American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community of Washington, DC and was notable for its annual Memorial Day weekend celebration, called the Children’s Hour; WHEREAS, Wilmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins envisioned creating an event that would continue the tradition of the Children’s Hour as well as raise much-needed funds for the HIV/AIDS organizations that served the African American community after the Club House closed its doors in 1990; WHEREAS, with the Children’s Hour as inspiration, the inaugural DC Black Pride was held on May 25, 1991 in cooperation with the DC Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gay Men and the Inner-City AIDS Network on the grounds of Banneker Field; WHEREAS, as DC Black Pride grew in popularity and in programmatic offerings, organizers created a board of directors, created a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and officially established the Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc.; WHEREAS, since the birth of DC Black Pride, more than 50 other Black Pride celebrations now take place throughout the world and on 4 continents, with many using DC Black Pride as a model; WHEREAS, during the 1998 festival, Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc., and organizers of Black Prides from New York City, Detroit, Atlanta and several other cities formed the International Federation of Black Prides; ENROLLED ORIGINAL 2 WHEREAS, the International Federation of Black Prides later became the Center for Black Equity, and today the organization has more that 50 members and serves as the principal body through which organizers find support, raise funds, and share best practices; WHEREAS, May 26, 2023 through May 29, 2023, marks the 32nd annual DC Black Pride celebration; WHEREAS, the theme for this year’s celebration is “Know Your Past, Live Your Present, Fight for Your Future”; WHEREAS, for more than 30 years, DC Black Pride has been an opportunity for the Black LGBTQIA+ community to gather and celebrate being both African American and members of LGBTQIA+ communities; WHEREAS, DC Black Pride is the oldest and one of the largest Black Pride events in the world, drawing thousands of residents and visitors from around the globe; and WHEREAS, DC Black Pride brings more than 500,000 people to the nation's capital from across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, South Africa, Great Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands and will carry that tradition this year and into the future to celebrate their shared community, raise awareness and funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, and stand against homophobia inspired by violence and bigotry. RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution be cited as the “DC Black Pride Recognition Resolution of 2023”. Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors the hard work of everyone involved in organizing the 32nd annual DC Black Pride and the opportunity to celebrate the Black LGBTQIA+ community. Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.