GLAA Honors Clarke, Five Others
at 26th Anniversary Celebration

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC (GLAA) held its 26th anniversary reception on Thursday evening, April 24, 1997, in the Great Hall at the Charles Sumner School Museum at 17th and M Streets, NW. Champagne and hors d’oeuvres were served. The event was held as planned despite 17th Street being blocked off in response to a package that had been delivered to the B'nai B'rith headquarters building (immediately to the north of the Sumner School) with a note claiming that it contained the deadly anthrax bacteria. The anthrax scare turned out to be a false alarm. In the meantime, guests attending the GLAA reception entered Sumner School by a side entrance on M Street, and the evening proceeded without further incident.

A DC Council proclamation declaring April 24, 1997 "Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance Day," which was introduced by Councilmember Jack Evans, was presented by Councilmembers Carol Schwartz and Linda Cropp after Evans was called away from the reception suddenly. Other dignitaries attending the reception included Democratic National Committee member Barbara Lett Simmons, and Ward 6 DC Council candidates Howard Croft, Tom Hamilton, and Steve Michael.

GLAA presented an Outstanding Lifetime Service Award to the family of the late DC Council Chairman Dave Clarke, who died on March 27. Clarke's wife Carole and their son Jeffrey accepted the award in Clarke's memory. In two decades as a legislator, Clarke — a lifelong civil rights activist — was one of the strongest allies of the District’s lesbian and gay community, from introducing the DC Human Rights Law in 1977 to successfully defending, in the 1988 Clarke et al v. United States of America, the right of District Councilmembers not to have their votes dictated by the U.S. Congress.

GLAA also presented Distinguished Service Awards to:

• Black Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, Inc., which is the first and largest celebration of its kind in the nation, and which raises funds for Community Based Organizations providing HIV/AIDS services to the African American Community;
• The District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, whose longstanding policy of support and inclusiveness is exemplified by the recent move to the Center by DC’s gay congregation, Bet Mishpachah;
• The student staff of the WBNC Cable-TV program “Shades of Grey” (from Silver Spring’s Montgomery Blair High School), which produced a forum on the issue of gay marriage that was initially censored by the Montgomery County School Superintendent, and which the Montgomery County Board of Education finally released for broadcast on April 23, the night before the GLAA reception;
• Former GLAA President (and member of the 1996 Electoral College) Jeff Coudriet, for years of community service including his work on the regional Ryan White Planning Council and the national AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Working Group; and
• Michael Singerman, for his leadership in efforts on behalf of the District’s needle exchange program.

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance gratefully acknowledges the Benefactors, Patrons, and Sponsors of our 26th anniversary reception. Their generous support has helped make this celebration possible.

Benefactors

D.C. Allen
Barrett L. Brick
The Crew Club
Councilmember Jack Evans
Kenneth Flick
Gay and Lesbian Business Guild
Jim Graham, Whitman-Walker Clinic
Paul Kuntzler and Steve Miller

Patrons

Jeff Coudriet and Robert Richardson
Craig Howell
Richard Rausch
Rick Rosendall
Councilmember Carol Schwartz
Mickey J. Wheatley, Attorney at Law

Sponsors

Sharon Ambrose
Tom Bastow
Chris Bates
Donna Byers
Howard Croft
Councilmember Linda Cropp
Mindy A. Daniels
Mary Jane DeFrank, ACLU/NCA
Arrington Dixon
Gertrude Stein Democratic Club
Tom Hamilton
Robert H. Hodgson, Jr.
Council Chair Pro Tem Charlene Drew Jarvis
Joel Lawson, Window Corp.
Martin Rock
Kenneth I. Rothschild
Alan J. Savada
Carl Schmid
Peter Schott

GLAA also thanks Richard Hurlbut, Nancye Suggs, and the staff of the Charles Sumner School for their generous help in making this event a success.

Founded in 1971, GLAA is the nation’s oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization. GLAA played a key role in overturning the District’s anti-sodomy law in 1993, and built successful coalitions to support DC domestic partnership and condom availability programs. GLAA’s ongoing activities include defending the rights and interests of gay and lesbian families; demanding stronger enforcement of the DC Human Rights Law; pressing for full expenditure of District AIDS funds; lobbying for passage and funding of the Police Conduct Review Board Act; fighting regulatory abuses; rating District candidates on gay-related issues; and maintaining a comprehensive web site on its activities (http://www.glaa.org).