[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING THE 22ND ANNUAL D.C. BLACK PRIDE CELEBRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to recognize the 22nd annual D.C. Black Pride 
celebration in Washington DC, which is taking place on Memorial Day 
weekend, May 24 28.
  D.C. Black Pride 2012 is a multi-day festival featuring: an opening 
reception; community and town hall meetings; a reception at Madame 
Tussauds; educational workshops; a poetry slam; a film festival; a 
church service; performances by musicians, dancers, and other artists. 
D.C. Black Pride culminates with a Health and Wellness Expo at the 
Francis-Stevens Educational Campus.
  D.C. Black Pride is widely considered to be one of the world's 
preeminent Black Pride celebrations, drawing more than 30,000 people to 
the Nation's Capital from across the United States as well as from 
Canada, the Caribbean, South Africa, Great Britain, France, Germany, 
and the Netherlands.
  As the very first-ever Black Pride festival, D.C. Black Pride 
fostered the beginning of the International Federation of Black Prides, 
Inc. and the ``Black Pride Movement,'' which now consists of 35 Black 
Prides on three continents. Black Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, Inc., the 
celebration's organizing body, chose ``It's A Family Affair'' as this 
year's theme. The theme reflects the connectedness of the Black 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and its 
commitment to fulfilling the mission of D.C. Black Pride, which is to 
increase awareness of and pride in the diversity of African American 
LGBT communities. Moreover, the theme expresses the resolve of the 
African-American LGBT community and its allies to come together to: 
fight for LGBT equality; celebrate their heritage and culture as 
members of both the Black and LGBT communities; and promote health and 
wellness for the community.
  D.C. Black Pride is led by a volunteer board of directors, which 
coordinates the annual event and smaller events throughout the year. 
The 2012 board consists of: George Birdsong; Max Cheatham, Derrick 
Dunning, Jimma Elliott-Stevens, Earl Fowlkes, Jr., Kenneth Hopson; 
Kenya Hutton, Danielle King, Marc Morgan, June Spence; and Andrea 
Woody-Macko.
  I ask the House of Representatives to join me in welcoming all 
attending the 22nd annual D.C. Black Pride celebration in Washington, 
DC, and I take this opportunity to remind the celebrants that the 
United States citizens who reside in Washington, DC are taxed without 
voting representation in Congress.

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