LGBTQ culture in Baltimore

By 1931, the drag ball culture was starting to emerge into the mainstream in major cities such as Baltimore, Chicago, and New York.

The Afro-American wrote that "The coming out of new debutantes into homosexual society was the outstanding feature of Baltimore's eighth annual frolic of the pansies when the art club was host to the neuter gender at the Elks' Hall.

Following the Pepper Hill raid, the head of Baltimore city's vice squad testified in court that he had warned the nightclub against allowing homosexuals to congregate.

When charges were dismissed against co-owners Victor Lance and Morton Cohen, cheers of "hurray" erupted in the court from their supporters.

The bar survived during Prohibition by operating as a speakeasy and after World War II it became known as a hang-out for artists and beatniks, both gay and straight.

[8] On June 13, 2016, a candlelight vigil was held at the Ynot lot in Station North to honor the 49 victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.

[11] In February 2019, a lesbian radical feminist from Baltimore named Julia Beck was removed from Mayor Catherine Pugh's LGBTQ Commission due to her belief that "People who call themselves transgender women are male."

[17] In 2016, long-running Mount Vernon gay nightclub "The Drinkery" experienced a liquor license battle amidst complaints of noise, crime, and excess trash.

Some patrons of the club believed the battle was due to racism and classism in the changing neighborhood that is undergoing rapid gentrification.

The Attic is a lounge and dining room in the upstairs of the Flavor bar in Mount Vernon and is open on weekends.

[19][20] Like many other major cities along the Northeastern United States, Baltimore has been home to a predominantly Black and Latino drag ball scene[21] In May 2019, a hate crime occurred at Same Gender Love, an LGBT-themed shop in Mount Vernon.

The Baltimore Police Department's criminal intelligence unit and LGBT liaison, along with Central District officers, are investigating the incident.

[22][23] In April 2019, the Baltimore City Council unanimously voted to pass a policy allowing transgender and transsexual students to use the names and pronouns of their choosing, as well as usage of restrooms in accordance with a person's gender identity.

[25] The Pride Center of Maryland is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of Baltimore and its metropolitan area.

BPT Charm City (Bi & Proud Together), a Baltimore-based organization that holds a monthly support group for people who identify as bisexual, pansexual, or fluid, was founded in June 2014.

In addition to the problem of location, LGBT Latinos face intersectional barriers to access and equality, including immigration status, language fluency, and cultural acceptance.

Mindy Dickler, an Orthodox Jewish mother, co-founded JQ Baltimore after her son came out as gay on during Rosh Hashanah.

"[34] Unlike major metropolitan areas such as New York City and San Francisco, Baltimore has fewer resources for Orthodox Jewish parents of LGBT children.

Participants at the Baltimore Pride parade, June 2013.
A 1926 Little Blue Books listing in the Baltimore Sun including William J. Fielding's "Homosexual Life".
Gay men at Baltimore Pride, June 2017.
Baltimore candlelight vigil for the Pulse massacre in Orlando, 2016.
LGBTQ Heritage Tour in Mount Vernon, 2015.
The gravesite of Harris Glenn Milstead (1945 – 1988), better known as the actor Divine at Prospect Hill Cemetery, Towson, Maryland.
John Waters , a film director, screenwriter, author, actor, stand-up comedian, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films.
Adrienne Rich , a poet, essayist and lesbian-feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century" and was credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse."