Text of DC CER 250223 (2024)

1 _______________________________ ______________________________ 1 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie Councilmember Zachary Parker 2 3 4 5 _______________________________ ______________________________ 6 Councilmember Christina Henderson Councilmember Charles Allen 7 8 9 10 ________________________________ ______________________________ 11 Councilmember Vincent C. Gray Councilmember Brianne Nadeau 12 13 14 15 ________________________________ ______________________________ 16 Councilmember Trayon White, Sr. Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 17 18 19 20 ________________________________ ______________________________ 21 Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Matt Frumin 22 23 24 ______________________________ ______________________________ 25 Councilmember Brooke Pinto Councilmember Janeese Lewis George 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, the mission of DC Black Pride is to increase awareness of and pride in 47 the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the African diaspora as 48 well as support organizations that focus on health disparities, education, youth and families; 49 50 WHEREAS, from 1975 until 1990, the Club House was a premiere community 51 gathering space for the African-American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 52 community of Washington, DC and was notable for its annual Memorial Day weekend 53 celebration, called the Children’s Hour; 54 55 WHEREAS, Wilmore Cook, Theodore Kirkland, and Ernest Hopkins envisioned 56 creating an event that would continue the tradition of the Children’s Hour as well as raise 57 much-needed funds for the HIV/AIDS organizations that served the African American 58 community after the Club House closed its doors in 1990; 59 60 WHEREAS, with the Children’s Hour as inspiration, the inaugural DC Black 61 Pride was held on May 25, 1991 in cooperation with the DC Coalition of Black Lesbians 62 and Gay Men and the Inner-City AIDS Network on the grounds of Banneker Field; 63 64 WHEREA, as the very first Black Pride festival in the world, DC Black Pride 65 fostered the beginning of the Center for Black Equity (formerly known as the 66 International Federal of Black Prides, Inc. (IFBP)) and the “Black Pride Movement”; 67 68 WHEREAS, as DC Black Pride grew in popularity and in programmatic 69 offerings, organizers created a board of directors, created a 501(c)3 nonprofit 70 organization, and officially established the Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc.; 71 72 WHEREAS, since the birth of DC Black Pride, more than 50 other Black Pride 73 celebrations now take place throughout the world and on four continents, with many 74 using DC Black Pride as a model; 75 76 WHEREAS, during the 1998 festival, Black Lesbian & Gay Pride Day, Inc., and 77 organizers of Black Prides from New York City, Detroit, Atlanta and several other cities 78 formed the International Federation of Black Prides; 79 80 WHEREAS, the International Federation of Black Prides later became the Center 81 for Black Equity, and today the organization has more that 50 members and serves as the 82 principal body through which organizers find support, raise funds, and share best 83 practices; 84 85 WHEREAS, May 20, 2024 through May 27, 2024, marks the 33rd annual DC 86 Black Pride celebration; 87 88 WHEREAS, the theme for this year’s celebration is “BLACK PRIDE 89 FOREVER”; 90 91 WHEREAS, DC Black Pride 2024 will feature our Opening Reception, two dozen 92 educational workshops, Health & Wellness Pavilion, Rainbow Row, Mary Bowman Poetry 93 3 Slam, Writer’s Forum, Mini Ball, Faith Service, cultural and social offerings; Transgender, 94 Elders and Youth focused discussions and women’s programming; 95 96 WHEREAS, for more than 30 years, DC Black Pride has been an opportunity for 97 the Black LGBTQIA+ community to gather and celebrate being both African American 98 and members of LGBTQIA+ communities; 99 100 WHEREAS, DC Black Pride is the oldest and one of the largest Black Pride 101 events in the world, drawing thousands of residents and visitors from around the globe; 102 and 103 104 WHEREAS, DC Black Pride brings more than 500,000 people to the nation's 105 capital from across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, South Africa, Great Britain, 106 France, Germany, and the Netherlands and will carry that tradition this year and into the 107 future to celebrate their shared community, raise awareness and funding for HIV/AIDS 108 prevention, and stand against homophobia inspired by violence and bigotry. 109 110 IT IS HEARBY RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF 111 COLUMBIA, that this resolution be cited as the “DC Black Pride Recognition Resolution 112 of 2024”. 113 114 Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors the hard 115 work of everyone involved in organizing the 33rd annual DC Black Pride and the 116 opportunity to celebrate the Black LGBTQIA+ community. 117 118 Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of 119 publication in the District of Columbia Register. 120

ENROLLED ORIGINAL 1 A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION 25-223 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA May 7, 2024 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, the mission of DC Black Pride is to increase awareness of and pride in the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the African diaspora as well as 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; WHEREA, as the very first Black Pride festival in the world, DC Black Pride fostered the beginning of the Center for Black Equity (formerly known as the International Federal of Black Prides, Inc. (IFBP)) and the “Black Pride Movement”; 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.; ENROLLED ORIGINAL 2 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; 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 20, 2024 through May 27, 2024, marks the 33rd annual DC Black Pride celebration; WHEREAS, the theme for this year’s celebration is “BLACK PRIDE FOREVER”; WHEREAS, DC Black Pride 2024 will feature our Opening Reception, two dozen educational workshops, Health & Wellness Pavilion, Rainbow Row, Mary Bowman Poetry Slam, Writer’s Forum, Mini Ball, Faith Service, cultural and social offerings; Transgender, Elders and Youth focused discussions and women’s programming; 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 2024”. ENROLLED ORIGINAL 3 Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors the hard work of everyone involved in organizing the 33rd annual DC Black Pride and the opportunity to celebrate the Black LGBTQIA+ community. Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.