As more and more women become infected with H.I.V. in D.C., the city’s Health Department will begin handing out free female condoms wherever male condoms are handed out. According to reports, Washington D.C. has one of the highest H.I.V. infection rates in the U.S., with 3% of all adults and teenagers in the District infected with the virus.

While the female condom isn’t anything new, this version of it is, hopefully making its use more desirable by consumers. Proponents of the condom assert it is “softer, quieter and less expensive than the original.”

A half-million dollar grant from the M.A.C. Cosmetics company will fund the free distribution of Read the rest of this entry »

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The sun is shining, the weather’s warming up on the east coast, and gays are getting married in Washington, D.C. - now that’s a beautiful day. In case you haven’t been following, today marks the first day same-sex couples could get married in the nation’s capital since the passage of the marriage equality bill a few months ago.

D.C. Superior Court began accepting applications for marriage licenses last Wednesday (March 3), but due to the processing period, couples were unable to get married until today.

We reported last week an African-American lesbian couple, Sinjoyla Townsend & Angelisa Young, were the first to register for their marriage license.  Today, African-American gay couple Reginald Stanley and Rocky Galloway were among the first couples to get married.

Check out footage of their weddings after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

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Sinjoyla Townsend & Angelisa Young

Today is such an exciting day for proponents of same-sex marriage. Why? Today marks the first day same-sex couples could apply for a marriage license in the country’s capital. D.C. Superior Court began accepting applications bright and early as couples lined up outside the court from 6 a.m., hours before the court opened its doors. The first couple in line to file an application was Sinjoyla Townsend & Angelisa Young (pictured above), who’ve been together for 12 years.

All of this is made possible as a result of Read the rest of this entry »

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Media personality and former military person Rob Smith, you may remember him from Season 1 of VH1’s I Want to Work for Diddy, is on a crusade to fill the media coverage gap of the black community with regard to the discriminatory U.S. military policy, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. As you should know by now, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is the ban on gay and lesbian persons serving openly in the military.

Smith has launched a campaign called Ask and Tell Read the rest of this entry »

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When most think of Coretta Scott King, the image of her just being the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes to mind. However, as Dr. King tirelessly pushed for equality and eradication of segregation, it was his wife who would become one of the LGBT community’s most noted advocate and ally.

From meeting with numerous presidents, African dignitaries, prominent political figures, and overall, fighting to change the notion that civil rights is just a black or white issue but also an LGBT issue. Mrs. King’s activism occurred largely after the assassination of her husband and her prominence brought awareness and hope to the LGBT struggle for equality. Not only did Mrs. King speak out against homophobia, as she likened it to racism and bigotry, she also physically made efforts to unionize the LGBT community and the African American community, as she saw no difference in the plight of both groups. Read the rest of this entry »

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Charles Pugh, a TV reporter turned politician, made history in 2009 as the first openly gay elected official in the city of Detroit. In an overwhelming show of support, Pugh won a seat onto Detroit city council and replaced Cockrel as council president.

Born and raised in Detroit, Pugh rose up from what some might call insurmountable circumstances. Pugh’s mother was murdered when he was only 3 years old. Four years later, Pugh’s father committed suicide when he shot himself in the head just across the hall from Charles’ bedroom, leaving him to make a 911 call no child should ever have to make. Raised by his grandmother, Pugh went on to become an honor student in high school and eventually left Detroit to attend the University of Missouri on a journalism scholarship. He did a stint as a reporter in Virginia and Indiana before returning to his hometown to join the Detroit Fox 2 News team.

Pugh is known for being a very public and positive figure in the LGBT community. Unapologetically gay, Pugh Read the rest of this entry »

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Bayard Rustin.  You may not know his name but you should. He was a major figure behind the scenes during the civil rights movement of the 1960’s in the United States. He counseled Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on techniques of non-violence. In fact, Bayard Rustin was the organizer of Dr. King’s 1963 March on Washington, wherein Dr. King gave his ever so revered “I Have A Dream” speech. The organization of an event of that magnitude was no easy feat, yet, few members of the African-American community even know his name, furthermore credit him for the role he played. Bayard Rustin’s sexuality was hardly a secret. Yet, he often held a low-key presence as to not distract the message of the movement or give the “haters” of that time fodder for their subversive agenda.

His humanitarian work did Read the rest of this entry »

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Ome Productions has teamed up with several artists in the LGBTQ community to create a series of PSAs encouraging “citizens of the world” to lend a helping hand to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. On Sunday, February 7th, Ome Productions and Pier 59 Studios will host a food and clothing drive for Haiti.

Find more details and video of the PSA after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

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