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St. Thomas Pride Month Events Stress Importance of Inclusion

St. Thomas Pride Month Events Stress Importance of Inclusion

Mirroring Pride Month events nationwide, celebrations on St. Thomas this weekend took on a more serious tone as both speakers and participants stressed the importance of inclusion in the wake of Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which granted federal protections for abortion.

Members of the territory’s LBTQIA+ community and allies celebrated Pride Month with a walk down the Waterfront Saturday. (photo by Ananta Pancham)

“What is happening in the Supreme Court is nothing less than terrifying, and it reminds all of us that we must exercise our right to vote. We must exercise our vote in talking about what is wrong – we cannot take anything for granted,” Gov. Albert Bryan, Jr. said during Saturday’s Pride Walk rally in Emancipation Garden. “We have to take a minute and concentrate to make sure that the rights of individuals, of families, and all of our civil rights are protected.”

Representing Delegate Stacey Plaskett, LuAnne Hodge spoke about support in the U.S. House for the Equality Act – which ultimately failed to pass in the Senate – and the John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would prohibit federally-funded child welfare service providers from discriminating against children, families, and individuals because of their religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex traits), and marital status. While these efforts are a step in the right direction, the fight continues, Hodge said, especially in light “of the recent attacks on civil rights.”

Pride events each year are both a reminder of how far the nation – and world – has come in terms of advancing LGBTQIA+ rights and freedoms but also a reminder of where the fight started, added Pride Walk organizer Muria Nisbett. Marches across the nation each year commemorate protests that broke out after police raided a gay bar at the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 1969.

“Pride is a celebration, but its a time of remembrance for those in our community who have lost, whose lives have been taken, and who have taken their lives because of hate, violence, and not being accepted,” Nisbett said as she led the crowd at Emancipation Garden in a moment of silence.

The walk to Yacht Haven Grande started moments later, with Nisbett adding a few words of inspiration for the LGBTQIA+ participants who lined up with flags and signs.

“We want you to know that you are seen, you are loved, and you are not alone,” she said. “We want to let members of the LGBTQ community that we can walk in solidarity with other members of the community – we can coexist in peace, in love, and in harmony.”

Saturday’s Pride Walk was also sponsored by AARP Virgin Islands, while a Coming Out Brunch afterward was hosted at Barefoot Buddha, where St. Thomas Pride Committee organizers Michele Weichman and Chuniqua George shared their own journeys in life and love. For those struggling with their identities, it’s important to be able to reach out to someone who can not only empathize but offer a hand in support, they said.

“We throw these events because of representation,” George said. “If I had more representation when I was a child, it would have been something I could have discovered and embraced sooner.”

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Events DC Names Chief Operating Officer Samuel Thomas Interim President and CEO

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, today named Samuel Thomas as interim president and chief executive officer following a unanimous vote by the organization’s board of directors. Thomas, Events DC’s current chief operating officer, will replace longtime president and CEO Greg O’Dell, who announced his resignation last month.

Thomas has worked at Events DC for over 15 years and previously served as senior vice president and general manager of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center before his promotion to Chief Operating Officer. With more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, he managed some of the country’s most prestigious and celebrated events, from four presidential inaugural balls to an Alpha Kappa Alpha function that broke the Guinness World Record for largest sit-down dinner ever recorded.

“It was a natural choice to have Samuel to step into this role,” Max Brown, chairman, Events DC Board of Directors, said after the vote. “Samuel has been an asset to this organization’s growth and his experience is vital to our continued success. He is in a position to take the helm, ensuring a seamless transition in leadership.”

“I am honored for this opportunity and look forward to working with our dynamic team,” Thomas said. “I am proud of our accomplishments, especially over the past two challenging years, and am eager to continue our work in hosting world-class event experiences for residents and visitors.”

Thomas will assume his new role on May 1. A search committee has been formed and the Board of Directors hopes to have a new President and CEO named this fall.

ABOUT EVENTS DC
Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, delivers premier event services and flexible venues across the nation’s capital. Leveraging the power of a world-class destination and creating amazing attendee experiences, Events DC generates economic and community benefits through the attraction and promotion of business, athletic, entertainment and cultural activities. Events DC oversees the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, an anchor of the District’s hospitality and tourism economy that hosts more than 1.7 million visitors and generates more than $400 million annually in direct economic impact, and the historic Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square. Events DC manages the RFK Stadium-Armory Campus (RFK Campus), including Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Festival Grounds at RFK Campus, the non-military functions of the DC Armory, and the Skate Park at RFK Stadium. Stay current on the 190-acre RFK Campus Redevelopment Project at www.RFKFields.com. Events DC also built and serves as landlord for Nationals Park, the first LEED-certified major professional sports stadium in the United States. Events DC manages Gateway DC, R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center and Entertainment & Sports Arena all conveniently located in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.eventsdc.com and find us on social media – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Events DC), and Twitter (@TheEventsDC) — and on our new hub for live and on-demand event programming on GATHER by Events DC at www.gatherbyeventsdc.com.

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Penn’s Lia Thomas will swim in three National Championship events. Two teammates also qualify.

University of Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas at the Ivy League Championship in Boston in February.

Three University of Pennsylvania women’s swimmers will travel to Atlanta later this month to compete in the NCAA National Championship, including star athlete Lia Thomas, who enters the meet as the top-ranked athlete in two events.

Thomas, a transgender woman, will compete in the 100-, 200-, and 500-yard freestyle events, according to the pre-selection time sheets. She holds the nation’s best times in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle, giving her the top seed in those events. She is seeded tenth in the 100y free.

» READ MORE: Penn swimmer Lia Thomas’ success has prompted national debate about trans athletes. Here’s what to know.

Thomas’ teammates Catherine Buroker — who was twice named an Ivy League champion last month — and Anna Kalandadze both qualified for the 500y freestyle and 1,650y freestyle events.

Buroker, a junior, enters the 500y free seeded 28th, and Kalandadze 55th. In the 1,650-free, Kalandadze, junior, is seeded 18th, and Buroker 53rd.

At the national championship, which runs March 16-19 at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center, all eyes will be on Thomas, a 22-year-old senior who has been at the center of a heated national debate on trans athletes — especially trans women’s — rights to play sports.

Thomas’ detractors say that her male-at-birth assignment gives her an unfair biological advantage — like longer arms, endurance abilities, and strength — while supporters say that because Thomas has followed all eligibility protocols — including being on hormone therapy for about 34 months — she has a right to compete.

Her success even led the NCAA and national swimming governing board to change their eligibility policies for trans athletes. Her ability to compete in Atlanta was questioned after USA Swimming updated its eligibility standards for trans women, which would have disqualified Thomas.

The NCAA ultimately opted not to immediately adopt those standards, clearing the way for Thomas to swim.

Thomas was not listed to compete in the 1,650y free, a surprise to some given she excelled in distance swimming earlier in her career. As a member of the men’s team in 2019 — her sophomore year — Thomas was ranked 34th nationally in that race, just barely missing an invitation to the NCAA Championship.

It was also the 1,650y free that partially thrust Thomas into the national spotlight, when, at a December meet in Ohio, she won the mile race by nearly 38 seconds. A video of her finish went viral, with critics using it as “evidence” that she held a physical advantage.

Quick facts on Lia Thomas

For a more comprehensive dive, read this explainer. Here are a few key things to know:

  • Thomas’ swimming: Thomas swam on the men’s team for three years. Last season was canceled by the pandemic. This is her first year on the women’s team.
  • Hormone therapy: She started hormone replacement therapy in May 2019.
  • Eligibility: Thomas has fulfilled all the NCAA’s eligibility requirements to compete.
  • The science: Experts say a trans woman’s testosterone levels will fall to that of the average cis-woman’s between the first and second year on hormone therapy. Their strength levels will significantly drop, but will never fully equal an average cis-woman’s, they said.
  • What critics (including teammates) say: Her male-at-birth assignment gives her an unfair biological advantage, like height, increased lung capacity, and strength.
  • What supporters say: She’s successful because she’s a hardworking athlete, not because she’s trans. She’s earned her spot to compete, and isn’t stealing a place from other women.

Her best time in that race, though, only ranked her 11th in the NCAA, about 17 seconds behind the nation’s best miler from the University of Tennessee. And because short and long distance swimming require different training regimens, it’s not unusual that she opted for her stronger, shorter distance events, over the long distances one.

Quakers Buroker and Kalandadze competed again last weekend in a last-ditch effort to qualify for the NCAA’s — and it worked. Buroker crushed her personal best time in the 500y free, and Kalandadze shaved 21 seconds off her season best time, and 5 seconds off her lifetime best.

Yale’s Iszac Henig — who was also top contender at the Ivy League Championship last month — also qualified for three events in Atlanta, and will compete against Thomas in two.

Henig — a trans man who remains eligible to compete on the women’s team because he has not yet begun hormone therapy — enters the 50y freestyle seeded 19th; the 100y freestyle seeded 18th; and the 100y butterfly seeded 60th.

At the Ivy League Championship, Henig and Thomas faced off in the 100y free, with Thomas winning by just two-tenths of a second.

Both trans athletes emerged from the meet with multiple titles and newly-established records.

Thomas won three championships — the 200, 500, and 100y freestyles — and broke Harvard University Blodgett Pool records in all three and Ivy League meet records in two. She also won a title with her teammates in the 400y freestyle relay.