Pride is a great event no
matter where you are, how big your pride gets, or how many organizations are a
part of it. This was a particular
special Capital Pride for me. I was
honored as one of five Capital Pride Heroes Award Recipients. I was so surprised and happy, when I got that
call.
Also I’m being inducted into
the DC AIDS Heroes Exhibit at the International
AIDS Conference that is happening in Washington DC July 22nd-27th. I will definitely be there for about two days
at the conference because that is all I could afford. But there is the Gay Men’s Health Summit that I have already
registered for and that is separate from the International AIDS Conference, but
I will be attending that as well from July 20th-21st. These events for very informative and I
suggest everyone attend. HIV affects and
can infect us all.
Here are the bios written by Metro Weekly’s Will O’Bryan
of all the award recipients:
Barnett
That gala, the ''Heroes Gala &
Silent Auction,'' is Wednesday, May 30, marking the start of Capital Pride,
which ends Sunday, June 10, with the Capital Pride Festival. But the
celebration of these heroes has already begun.
Barnett, executive
director of metro D.C.'s Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), says he learned of the honor about two
weeks ago, adding that while the award may be in his name, he ''absolutely''
hopes that it will help with his organization's work.
''It's a huge honor,'' says Barnett.
''My hope it is it will raise awareness of SMYAL's mission.''
Being a hero means, however, that
Barnett may have to forgo marching with the SMYAL contingent in the June 9
Capital Pride Parade. Traditionally, a hero rides alone – in a convertible, of
course. He has no doubt the SMYAL parade showing, already on track for
something big, will be just fine.
''I'll definitely miss being a part
of the SMYAL contingent this year, but it's going to be a memorable contingent
even if I'm not part of it,'' Barnett promises.
Bell
Bell, whose BOI Marketing & Promotions gives D.C.
its annual Capital Queer
Prom, says she'll miss hitting the parade with her prom peers, but she
certainly won't have time to dwell on it. She'll be too busy helping with an
array of women's events during Capital Pride, performing at the festival, and
on and on. It's that sort of community involvement, though, that's raised her
to hero status.
''I'm completely honored to have
this award in that, one, I was nominated, and, two, the board selected me,''
Bell says. ''Every year, I'm completely in shock that people continue to notice
the work that I do. It's motivation for me to continue what I'm doing. That
other people recognize it is absolutely amazing, truly an honor.''
Platte, founder of the DC Cowboys, plans on running back to the
cowboys' rolling parade stage after making it through the route on hero duty,
saying the parade is enough fun to warrant two or three rides along the route.
Platte
With the DC Cowboys dance troupe
having entertained in the District and well beyond for nearly two decades,
Platte knows what he's talking about. He's enjoyed more than his fair share of
Capital Pride festivities. That makes it all the more appropriate that the
cowboys have scheduled their last
appearance for the Capital Pride Festival, adding even more weight to this
special honor.
''I'm truly honored to be recognized
for all the good work this organization's done,'' Platte says of his cowboys,
stressing that the title of Capital Pride Hero isn't really his alone. ''This
honor has to be shared with all the dancers, past and present, and the fans.''
Between being named Capital Pride
Hero and the DC Cowboys curtain call, Capital Pride will obviously be an
emotional time for Platte. ''It's exciting. It's nerve-wracking. It's sad. It's
all the emotions tied together,'' he shares.
There's also good reason for Benecke, co-founder of
the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN),
to experience an extra jolt of emotion as she rides the parade route,
remembering back nearly 20 years when participated with less jubilation, more
determination.
Benecke
''I will always remember marching in
the Capital Pride Parade in 1993 when DADT was being debated, just before C.
Dixon Osburn and I founded SLDN, seeing straight colleagues from law school in
the crowd applauding the military veterans group I was marching with,'' says
Benecke, an Army veteran, of walking with Gay, Lesbian
and Bisexual Veterans of America, emphasizing an appreciation of Capital
Pride being not just for the LGBT community but for allies as well.
Of course, the award itself is not
too shabby.
''The national capital area has been
my home for 20 years. D.C. has been a beacon for me,'' she says. ''To have
one's community recognize your life's work is deeply gratifying.''
Terry-Smith
Simply being in Benecke's company as
a fellow Capital Pride Hero is also gratifying, says Terry-Smith, just starting service with
the volunteer Maryland Defense Force, thrilled to be named with a co-founder of
SLDN.
The recognition as hero, however,
comes not for defending his state, but largely for helping individuals defend
themselves from HIV, or better cope with the virus if already infected. While
his service to the community has been recognized by The DC Center, DC Leather
Pride and others, Terry-Smith says this particular honor tells him his activism has greater impact
than he realized.
''When you receive an award, you
think, 'Who's giving it to me? How did my work impact that community?''' says
Terry-Smith. ''When you get an award like Capital Pride Hero, you realize
you're affecting every LGBTQ person in the D.C. area – transgender, leather,
bi, lesbian, twink – everybody. I'm really honored to even be considered. I'm
so excited about this.''
