LGBTQ culture in Washington, D.C.
From 2015 to 2016, Gallup polling reported that 8.6% of District of Columbia residents identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), a higher percentage than any U.S.
[4] Starting in 1950, in parallel to McCarthyism, the "Lavender Scare" resulted in the firing of thousands of government employees and contractors who were believed to be gay or lesbian, on the grounds of a tenuous perceived connection between homosexuality and espionage.
In 1961, following the Lavender Scare, Frank Kameny and Jack Nichols founded the Washington chapter of the Mattachine Society, adapting tactics learned from the civil rights movement and organizing pickets at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department.
The festival took place in Lafayette Park and at George Washington University and featured a dance, a drag show, and a religious celebration.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, originally created by Cleve Jones in response to the assassination of Harvey Milk was displayed on the National Mall in 1987.
[8] The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in 1993 generated widespread attention and included a performance by Melissa Etheridge.
In 2015, following the U.S. Supreme Court rulings that states must recognize same-sex marriages, the White House was lit in with the colors of the Pride flag.
The parade was re-routed onto 16th Street NW and towards Rhode Island Avenue, while Police allowed the group to continue protesting with no arrests.
The area hosts several LGBT events, including the 17th Street High Heel Race and the Capital Pride Parade.
The U Street Corridor has also hosts a large number of gay bars in the 21st century, such as Kiki, Dirty Goose, Nellies, Licht Cafe, Shakers, and Bunker.
Adams Morgan has also become one of the hubs of LGBT culture in Washington, D.C., including one of the few Lesbian bars left in the United States, A League of Her Own.
[8] The 17th Street High Heel Race, drag queen sprint, takes place annually in Dupont Circle on the Tuesday before Halloween.
[21] Located in a former Tropical Oil Company warehouse within the industrial neighborhood of Buzzard Point, Pier 9 was a gay disco open from 1970 through the early 1980s.
