LGBT culture in Washington, D.C.

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. Washington, D.C. vice squad lieutenant Roy Blick asserted to the Senate without evidence that there were 5,000 homosexual government employees. In 1961, following the Lander 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.[4]

In 1970, activists from the civil rights movement, antiwar movement, and Black Panthers created the Gay Liberation Front-DC. The group staged public demonstrations and helped organize Washington's first gay pride in May 1972. The festival took place in Lafayette Park and at George Washington University and featured a dance, a drag show, and a religious celebration.

In 1971, Kameny ran unsuccessfully in the 1971 District of Columbia's at-large congressional district special election.

The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist collective whose members included Rita Mae Brown and Joan E. Biren, pressured the National Organization for Women to accept lesbians in the early 1970s.

A former member of the Gay Liberation Front-DC, Deacon Maccubbin, opened Lambda Rising in 1974. The now-defunct bookstore was one of the United States' largest gay bookstores and provided a space for other community groups. Maccubbin organized the first official DC gay pride in 1975.

In 1979, students at Howard University created the Lambda Student Alliance, the first organization for LGBT students created at a historically black college or university. In October the same year, the National Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference took place at an unknown hotel near the university, coinciding with the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

In 1982, James Tinney created Faith Temple to cater to LGBT Christians.[5][6]

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.[7]

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. The 1993 march was organized by Urvashi Vaid, the president of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. According to Joan E. Biren, this was the first time Jumbotrons were set up on the National Mall aside from government-organized events.[7]

The White House lit in the colors of the Rainbow Flag following the Supreme Court rulings legalizing same-sex marriage

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.[8]

The National Pride March took place on June 11, 2017 alongside Capital Pride. Marchers walked past the White House towards the U.S. Capitol.[9]

The Dupont Circle neighborhood is a historical hub of LGBT life in Washington D.C. The area hosts several LGBT events, including the 17th Street High Heel Race and the Capital Pride Parade. The neighborhood also has several gay bars, including JR's. A stretch of 17th Street NW is named in honor of Frank Kameny.[10] Before closing in 2010, the Lambda Rising bookstore was located on Connecticut Avenue NW.[6]

The neighborhood around 8th Street Southeast was the location of many LGBT establishments from the 1960s through the 1980s and became known as "The Gay Way." Following the 1968 Washington, D.C., riots, 8th Street became a hub for LGBT culture, including lesbian bars Phase 1, Jo-Anna's, and Club Madame. As the area gentrified in the 2000s, many LGBT establishments closed. [11]

Many gay bars are located throughout Washington, D.C., with notable locations including JR's, Number 9, Nellie's Sports Bar, and The Fireplace.[10][13]

Operating from 1971 to January 2016, Phase 1 had been the longest continuously running lesbian bar in the country.[11] The bar's second location, Phase 1 Dupont, was open from 2012 to 2014.[17]

Lambda Rising was one of the largest gay bookstores in the United States before closing in 2010.

The LGBT bookstore Lambda Rising operated from 1974 to 2010.[6]

Ray Melrose opened the Enik Alley Coffeehouse in 1982. The coffeehouse served as a meeting space for LGBT people of color, particularly black lesbians.

Delta Elite Social Club in the Brookland neighborhood catered to black LGBTQ people until it closed in 2014.[17]

Lace on the Avenue, a nightclub for LBTQ women of color was open from 2008 to 2014.[17]

The 2019 Capital Pride Parade

The first Capital Pride Parade was held in 1975, following a small event festival in May 1972.[7]

The 17th Street High Heel Race, drag queen sprint, takes place annually in Dupont Circle on the Tuesday before Halloween.[18]

D.C. Black Pride includes a week of events, and was noted as the first Black Pride event in the U.S.[13]