An energized global movement takes on Washington, D.C., with an urgent cause and a message of hope…
By Doug Wallace
The tour guide from DC Pride Walks is disclosing one of the more risqué chapters in the 2SLGBTQI+ history of Washington, D.C., when US President Donald Trump’s helicopter lands on the White House South Lawn – right before our eyes. This may explain the snipers on the roof. All in a day’s work, I guess.
I’m in town for WorldPride 2025, coinciding this year with the 50th anniversary of Washington’s Capital Pride. And while I’m not the biggest activist in the world, being part of this event to connect with and help empower the global community was beyond cool. When our place in society is being attacked as it is – with the far right weaponizing gay rights, escalating anti-2SLGBTQI+ sentiment and rising hate crimes all over the world – showing up just seems like the right thing to do. Throw in the WorldPride Human Rights Conference, a two-day music festival, a couple of massive street festivals, dozens of events and parties, and Jennifer Lopez, and I have no excuse to stay home, despite the warnings of a few worried friends. “Be safe,” I’m told a hundred times.
“To see people showing up, seeing their joy, acknowledging how important it is for us to remain visible and to be a part of the community – it has been exhilarating,” says Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance. “The energy that I’m able to get from people here is why I do this.”
The theme this year – Fabric of Freedom – underscored the strength of the community and the unshakable unity I witnessed first-hand, each voice a thread in the fabric.
“There were many weeks post-inauguration [of Trump as president] when all the executive orders were coming out, where many were wondering, ‘What is happening?’” Bos says. “Pride was born out of a movement, sparked at a time when we were in spaces in which we weren’t welcomed. So here in the United States of all places, to not feel welcomed now, it’s a feeling of incredulity. I’m surprised how many people in this country don’t even realize the harm that’s being done. People are living their lives in fear and uncertainty every day, so it’s time to stand up and tell the story of what that feels like.”
As for my tour, turns out Washington has considerable gay-history heft – our tour guide, historian and author Katherine Fisher, has numerous stories up her sleeve. Civil rights trailblazer Frank Kameny co-founded the first gay rights organization in the city and was instrumental in having homosexuality declassified as a mental illness, thanks to the work of pioneering psychologist Dr. Evelyn Hooker. Activist Barbara Gittings helped organize some of the first pickets for gay rights in front of the White House in the 1960s. Herman Lynn Womack published some of the early beefcake magazines in the city, getting arrested several times in the process, yet paving the way for the gay-publishing rights we enjoy today. And the list goes on: so many people navigated the hostile environment of mid-20th century America working the political machine in the US capital.
Washington beyond the neoclassical columns and big fences
On an artistic level, the city also houses some of the most incredible art in the world. The Hirshhorn Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution, brings this into focus over an engaging couple of hours. A stop into The Phillips Collection, noted as the first museum of modern art in the US, brings to light the work of Essex Hemphill, a celebrated poet and activist from the Washington arts scene at the peak of the HIV/AIDS crisis whose work centred on themes of race, gender and community. The tribute exhibit here presents works by artists who knew or had collaborated with the writer in his lifetime. It’s an interesting way to showcase a writer in an art gallery, one who influenced so many visual artists – and vice versa – including British installation artist Isaac Julien, artist and printmaker Joyce Wellman, and artist and photographer Lyle Ashton Harris.
Time to let loose
When it comes time to kick up our heels a bit, and since we haven’t been to Washington before, we make sure to scope out the sights and lights aside from Pride events. “One of our goals has also been to let people know that D.C. is more than the federal city, more than the White House and the monuments,” Bos says. “We have these culturally rich neighbourhoods and communities, with great food and entertainment.”
We commit wholeheartedly to this research, beginning at lesbian-owned Hank’s Oyster Bar near Dupont Circle. We dive into fresh oysters and martinis, so much so that we almost forget about the crab cakes and tuna tartare to come. After dinner, host Erin Lucas is kind enough to steer us in the direction of the 17th Street gay brouhaha, the core of queer nightlife, encouraging us to try more pail-sized drinks at the iconic Annie’s Paramount Steak House. We happily oblige.
We also manage to wander into the extremely tidy, British-inspired Little Gay Pub near Logan Circle, consistently voted one of the best gay bars in the city, to try its Unicorn Tears – a mix of gin, elderflower liqueur, Aperol and lemon, just as “glittery and delicious” as the menu says. The next day, a hangover brunch at Sixty Vines cures all, particularly thanks to something called Morning Bread, which is laced with citrus icing and coffee crumble. Americans really know how to pile on the indulgence food-wise, whether you have room for it or not. To-go box, please.
A trip out to the edge of town to spend the evening with both Paris Hilton and Jennifer Lopez – and several thousand other people enjoying the amusement-park vibe – is a pinch-me moment. These gay icons are swirling around a massive stage, sweeping their hair so wildly I think they might slip a disc. Hilton in particular looks as though she is posing for one big Instagram video in a shiny spacesuit. I spend quite a bit of the set straining to hear whether she is actually singing or not. Maybe a little bit. Lopez knocks it out of the park, her hyper-revealing costumes defying her 55+ years. This is a box-ticking superstar moment.
When Saturday comes, the Pride parade opens with a press conference in front of Destination D.C.’s big red bus, with various leaders sharing thoughts on the weight of the work ahead for the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Laverne Cox, one of the grand marshals, also takes the microphone for a moving few words, looking calm and cool under a hot sun. We then climb aboard the bus and take to the top deck for the length of the route, music blaring, flags waving – my tears flowing at one point, and I’m not really a crier. The response of the crowd is loud and proud.
Later, I see an outdoor poster that says: “Parades! Brought to you by the First Amendment.” A wry truth I will savour until my next visit.
DOUG WALLACE is an international travel and lifestyle writer, photographer and custom-content authority, principal of Wallace Media and editor-publisher of TravelRight.Today. He can be found beside buffet tables, on massage tables and table-hopping around the world.
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