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4 FEBRUARY 18, 2016 METROWEEKLY.COM

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFRandy Shulman

ART DIRECTORTodd Franson

MANAGING EDITORRhuaridh Marr

SENIOR EDITORJohn Riley

CONTRIBUTING EDITORDoug Rule

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERSWard Morrison, Julian Vankim

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORSScott G. Brooks, Christopher Cunetto

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSGordon Ashenhurst, Sean Bugg, Connor J. Hogan,

Troy Petenbrink, Kate Wingfield

WEBMASTERDavid Uy

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTJulian Vankim

SALES & MARKETING

PUBLISHERRandy Shulman

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVERivendell Media Co.

212-242-6863

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Dennis Havrilla

PATRON SAINTSOscar Grant

Trayvon Martin

COVER PHOTOGRAPHYKristin Little

METRO WEEKLY1775 I St. NW, Suite 1150Washington, DC 20006

202-638-6830

MetroWeekly.com

All material appearing in Metro Weekly is protected by federal copyright law and may not be

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Metro Weekly is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claimsmade by advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for materials provided by advertisers or

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4

FEBRUARY 18, 2016Volume 22 / Issue 41

NEWS 6

“NOTHING CHANGES” by Rhuaridh Marr

COMMENTARY 9 SHOCK TO THE S YSTEM

by Sean Bugg

10 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

SCENE 13 2016 HER HRC

DJ BATTLE AT TOWN

photography by Ward Morrison

FEATURE 16 ALICIA GARZA

Interview by John Riley

OUT ON THE TOWN 22 MAD ABOUT PAUL

by Randy Shulman

24 LORDS AND MONSTERS

by Doug Rule

FILM 31 D EADPOOL

by Rhuaridh Marr

MUSIC 33 R IHANNA AND PANIC! AT THE DISCO

by Sean Maunier

GAMES 35 U NRAVEL

by Rhuaridh Marr

NIGHTLIFE 39 DISTRKTC AT THE DC EAGLE


SCENE 49 SUPER BOWL 50 AT NELLIE’S


SCENE 52 TRADE


54 LAST WORD


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“Nothing Changes” In the last week alone, the Republican Party continues to prove that

it has nothing to offer LGBT voters

Cruz, Trump and Rubio

TO THE CASUAL OBSERVER, THIS PAST WEEK

would seem to be definitive proof that the RepublicanParty has abandoned any pretense of appealing to

LGBT voters. As presidential candidates bicker overwho is the most homophobic, politicians attempt to outdo each

other with increasingly vitriolic comments, and polls reveal themistrust voters have in the GOP to even remotely care about

America’s gay citizens, it seems that LGBT people have been left

with one choice if they want to protect and advance their rights:vote Democrat.

A new poll released this week offers an insight into theextent of the Republican Party’s problem with the LGBT com-

munity. Community Marketing & Insights asked 563 registeredLGBT voters from 46 states a number of questions about the

G A G E S K I D M O R E

presidential candidates and their support for LGBT civil rights.

Unsurprisingly, Democrats fared well.Between Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton, it’s Sanders who draws the most love fromLGBT voters. Asked whom would be “the most supportive of

LGBT civil rights,” thirty-one percent sided with Sanders, while

only twenty-five percent preferred Clinton. Thirty-seven per-cent believed that both would be equally supportive. However,

Clinton — who has struggled to appeal to LGBT voters due toher late support of same-sex marriage and previous statements

against it — could find some hope in the poll’s other results.While voters may think Bernie is better positioned to sup-

port them, if the election had been held on the day they were

asked, those polled would have thrown their support behind

by Rhuaridh Marr

L G B TNews Now online at MetroWeekly.comKentucky clerk Kim Davis throws in the towelTom of Finland’s life to be made into biopic


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LGBTNews

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Clinton. Forty-eight percent favored her over Sanders, who

trailed with forty-one percent.Flip those same questions over to their Republican rivals,

and a very different picture is painted. Who among the GOP’sdwindling field would best support LGBT rights as president?

Seventy-three percent chose “none.” Ohio Gov. John Kasich

came second, with a meager six percent believing that he wouldsupport their rights — presumably after he enthusiastically told

a debate audience that he had attended a same-sex wedding,despite not supporting marriage equality.

“What is striking in this research is how little support the cur-rent group of Republican candidates have among the LGBT com-

munity in the 2016 presidential elections,” said David Paisley,

senior research director at Community Marketing & Insights.“Unless something changes, the party may largely forfeit about

five percent of adults in the United States to the Democrats,which can cause important swings in tight elections.”

He’s not wrong. Swing states are an important factor in presi-dential elections, and 2016 will be no different. Politico lists seven

swing states this election cycle: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada,New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia. In these states, every vote

counts — California is determinedly Democrat, Texas resolutely

Republican, so parties focus on fickle swing states to woo indepen-dent and unsure voters. By ignoring LGBT people, the Republican

Party is doing itself a disservice — and in the process, throwingaway over one million potential votes. Even if Republicans were

only trying to convert the forty-three percent of LGBT voters whoidentified as independents in 2012, that’s still half a million voters

— or, the entire LGBT population of Florida.

The point of all this is that the current march towards an evermore conservative ideology in the Republican Party isn’t going

to win them any favors from the increasingly liberal-leaningLGBT community. While Log Cabin Republicans are quick to

point out that gay GOP members aren’t single issue voters, andsupport the party for its economic and foreign policy stances, it’s

hard to argue with the actions of party members this past week.Starting with presidential hopefuls, Sen. Ted Cruz and

Donald Trump are currently locked in a battle over who will be

the more homophobic nominee. Trump has previously calledsame-sex marriage a “dead issue,” but recently told Fox News

that he would try to overturn it. “If I’m elected I would bevery strong in putting certain judges on the bench that maybe

could change things,” the reality star said. Confusing many, hethen told the lesbian host of New England Cable News that he

would move forward and “bring people together” over the issue

of marriage. However, after Cruz ran commercials stating thatTrump is in favor of same-sex marriage, the billionaire quickly

refuted the claims.“Lying Cruz put out a statement, ‘Trump & [Sen. Marco] Rubio

are [with] Obama on gay marriage,’” he wrote on Twitter. “Cruz isthe worst liar, crazy or very dishonest. Perhaps all three?”

Unfortunately for Trump, the notoriously anti-gay NationalOrganization for Marriage doesn’t believe him. Trump’s stance

isn’t anti-gay enough for them, and they’re urging voters in

South Carolina to “Dump Trump.”“When Donald Trump quit on the fight for marriage, he quit

on South Carolina and over 50 million voters across the nationwho cast ballots defining marriage as one man and one woman,”

the organization said last week in a statement to PinkNews.Meanwhile, Cruz has been boasting about his recent anti-gay

endorsement. He wrote on his campaign’s website last week

that he was “grateful” for the support of Mike Bickle, a pas-

tor from International House of Prayer. Bickle has a history of

homophobia, last year telling his followers that same-sex mar-riage was “a unique signal of the End Times.”

Senator Rubio, implicated in Cruz’s attacks as not hat-ing marriage equality enough, has been desperately trying to

prove that he is just as anti-gay as his fellow candidates. Priorto Saturday’s PBS Republican Debate, Rubio announced a new

advisory board which will specifically deal with overturning

marriage equality. Its ranks include a member of the anti-gay

Family Research Council and an advocate for “ex-gay” conver-sion therapy. Rubio said the board would work at “rebuilding avibrant culture of marriage and family.”

Eric Teetsel, Rubio’s director of faith outreach, added tothat, stating, “The Supreme Court’s decisions in Windsor and

Obergefell are only the most recent example of our failure as a

society to understand what marriage is and why it matters. Fordecades, we have taken for granted the unique and necessary

contributions of moms and dads in the lives of their children.”That GOP candidates — particularly those seen as the party’s

biggest stars — are more than happy to throw LGBT under thebus for those ever-important primary votes leaves little hope for

their attitudes should they ascend to the nation’s highest office.

What doesn’t help is that such attitudes are seemingly rampantthrough all levels of the party.

Again, in just the last week, Republicans have been gettingconfused or confrontational when faced with LGBT issues.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence drew fire from Freedom Indiana afterhe failed to give a simple answer to whether or not LGBT people

should be protected from discrimination in employment. At arecent event, Pence was asked: “Yes or no: do you believe gay

and transgender people should be able to be fired from their jobs

just for that reason only?”“It’s a great privilege to be your Governor,” Pence respond-

ed, after almost ten seconds of silence. “I don’t think anyoneshould be discriminated against because of who they are or who

they love, but my position as I expressed in the State of the Stateaddress is that we are a state with a constitution, and as you

know…that constitution has very strong safeguards for freedomof conscience and freedom of religion.

“I will not support legislation that diminishes religious free-

dom,” he added.“Indiana Governor Mike Pence has never been able to

answer the question of whether he believes LGBT Hoosiersshould be fired for who they are,” Freedom Indiana wrote.

“Time after time, he has dodged the question of why he doesnot support comprehensive non-discrimination protections for

LGBT people.”

Meanwhile, in West Virginia, Del. Tom Fast decided thatcomparing LGBT people to pedophiles was an acceptable way

to conduct a debate. Delegates were voting on an amendmentto a bill to allow Uber to operate in the state. The amendment

would also ban drivers from discriminating against LGBT peo-ple — something Uber’s own internal policies already prohibit.

That amendment failed on Friday after Fast rallied colleagueswith an impassioned speech.

“History and reason illustrates the insanity of according spe-

cial civil rights protection to a person’s sexual preference,” Fastsaid. “Once homosexual, bisexual and transgender behavior is

elevated to a protected status, there is nothing to stop bigamy,pedophilia or any other sexual practice from receiving the same

protection.”All of these statements are from within the last week or so, all

FEBRUARY 18, 2016 METROWEEKLY.COM


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from members of the Republican Party, all negatively balanced

against the LGBT community. If this primary season has shownvoters anything, it’s that LGBT rights are far from the minds of

the GOP. It’s possible that the party will change and adapt to anation where a majority of voters support marriage equality, but

it’s unlikely to happen this election cycle.

Consider this excerpt from the website of the Log CabinRepublicans: “Log Cabin Republicans have a proud history of

fighting to build a stronger, more inclusive Republican Party.Gay and lesbian Republicans have chosen to transform the GOP

from the inside, working to overcome the forces of exclusion

and intolerance.”

In a column for The Stranger last week, columnist DanSavage took the organization to task, called them “lying, delu-

sional, self-hating shitbags.”“Nothing changes. Their party never changes,” Savage wrote.

“All the GOP candidates for president take the same old bigotedpositions. It never gets any better. But no one who writes up

the efforts of Log Cabin Republicans to change their party ever

thinks to examine the results. There’s never an accountabil-

ity moment for the cocksucking wing of the ‘party of personalresponsibility.’” l

METROWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 18, 2016

COMMENTARY

Shock to the SystemOr, how I learned to stop being idealistic and accept our

failed political system

ONCE UPON A TIME, WHEN I WAS A YOUNGER MANwho was pissed off about a great many things in theworld, I still held onto a few idealistic beliefs about our

government. Namely, the basic, common things that are passedalong through our education and culture, such as believing that

our imperfect system is the best one for an imperfect world.I’m not saying I was naive. I did happen to live through the

age of Jesse Helms and Jerry Falwell, so I know full well thathorrible politicians have inflicted pain on those Americans

they deemed “less than” or “other” through the political sys-

tem. Anyone paying even a modicum of attention to Americanpolitics since the Civil Rights era — roughly the time when racist

southern Democrats bolted for the Republican Party — knows

that much of America has been slowly entrenching itself into anever-ending culture war.

Yet the government still worked. Not always the way I liked

and often in infuriating ways, but it worked. And politics being

an incremental beast, many of the things we’ve fought for overyears and decades came to fruition through that frustrating sys-

tem of compromise and debate.But that was then. Now that I’m an older man — still pissed

off about a great many things in the world — I am officiallydisabused of any notion or belief in the nobility of our political

system. It’s nowhere near the best, it’s simply broken.Rather obviously, the death of Supreme Court Justice

Antonin Scalia and the nearly instantaneous discovery by con-

gressional Republicans of an alternate constitution that limitspresidents to three active years, followed by a final year of golf

and tending roses, has been something of a final straw.And we need to be clear about this: this is a Republican

problem. There is a certain kind of Beltway political animal — Ronimous Fourniericus — who will declare the crisis an equal

failure of both parties. Mainstream journalists, who fear telling

simple truths will get them lumped in with partisans at Fox orMSNBC, impose a false equivalence by treating every wild claim

about precedent as a matter of political perspective rather thanobjective and verifiable fact or lie.

There’s really no better word for this than bullshit.An acquaintance recently accused me of having become a

boring mouthpiece for Obama talking points. I had once been

much more willing to criticize Democrats and some of their

received truths, but now focus almost entirely on the failingsof Republicans of the congressional persuasion. But there is a

reason I’ve focused my ire almost exclusively on one side: the

Republican party is literally breaking our constitutional politi-cal system.

The short, well-documented version: From the days justbefore Barack Obama took office in 2009, the official Republican

strategy on Capitol Hill (per Sen. Mitch McConnell, followed by

many others) has been to block anything and everything Obamamight attempt, then with the intention of denying him a secondterm and now with the intention of getting any Republican, no

matter how terrifying, into the White House.

This is the way the Republican political world works now.No compromise, no debate, just a playground code of taking

their ball and going home. And when anyone points to theiractual stated plan of “no compromise, no debate,” they turn

around and farcically claim that it’s Obama and the Democratswho refuse to compromise. By holding the gears of govern-

ment hostage, they’ve presented the executive branch with

two options. One, simply acquiesce to a four-year term ofdoing absolutely nothing and allow one branch of government

to effectively negate the other. Or, two, stretch the limits ofexecutive power in order to accomplish a bare minimum of the

agenda on which Obama was elected.To be clear, these are both terrible options. The whole

reason I supported Obama over Hillary Clinton in 2008 was Ibelieved he would better roll back the gross expansions of exec-

utive power under Bush/Cheney. I’m aware of the irony. But

the bigger problem isn’t which option Obama chose, but how aRepublican congress has attempted to nullify a valid presiden-

tial election through obstruction and obfuscation.Which brings us back to the death of Scalia and the new

Republican position that presidents cannot exercise their con-stitutional duties when they are in the fourth year of their term

and, more importantly, a Democrat. The bleating of McConnell,

Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, et al, that the voters should decide whopicks the next Supreme Court justice — despite the fact that the

current president was elected, twice, by a majority of Americanvoters — just proves the central thesis of today’s Republican

politics: elections only count when Republicans win them.This is, of course, madness. If I were still idealistic I would

believe that voters will eventually, even soon, put an end to this,but the gerrymandering of the House and the radically unrepre-

sentative nature of the Senate make that unlikely. Realistically,

congressional Republicans have unleashed a tactic that’s provenhorribly effective in the short term and it’s unlikely to be shoved

back into Pandora’s Box.The system is broken. And so is my belief that it can be fixed. l

by Sean Bugg


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WEEKLY EVENTS

ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURALHEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5p.m., and HIV services (by appoint-ment). 202-291-4707, andromeda-transculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) prac-tice session at Hains Point, 927 OhioDr. SW. 6:30-8 p.m. Visitswimdcac.org.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-WalkerHealth. At the Elizabeth TaylorMedical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max RobinsonCenter, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointment call202-745-7000. Visitwhitman-walker.org.

METROHEALTH CENTER offersfree, rapid HIV testing. Appointmentneeded. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700.

202-638-0750.

PROJECT STRIPES hosts LGBT-affirming social group for ages 11-24.4-6 p.m. 1419 Columbia Road NW.Contact Tamara, 202-319-0422,layc-dc.org.

SMYAL’S REC NIGHT providesa social atmosphere for GLBT andquestioning youth, featuring danceparties, vogue nights, movies andgames. More info, [email protected].

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-6p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for

youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155,[email protected].

SATURDAY, FEB. 20 All concerned LGBT people inMontgomery County can attend the

GERMANTOWN COMMUNITYFORUM FOR LGBTQ EQUITY ANDSAFETY. 2-5 p.m. For location andmore information, email [email protected].

METROHEALTH CENTER offersfree, rapid HIV testing. Appointmentneeded. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700.202-638-0750.

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger. 202-567-3155or [email protected].

US HELPING US hosts a Narcotics Anonymous Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m.,3636 Georgia Ave. NW. The group isindependent of UHU. 202-446-1100.

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIPINSTITUTE for young LBTQ women,13-21, interested in leadership devel-opment. 5-6:30 p.m. SMYAL YouthCenter, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3163,[email protected].

FRIDAY, FEB. 19

GAY DISTRICT, a group for GBTQQImen between the ages of 18-35, meetson the first and third Fridays of eachmonth. 8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit gaydistrict.org.

HIV-positive advocate Greg’ry Revenjtalks about life after being diagnosed

with HIV as part of his LIFE AFTERDIAGNOSIS speaking tour. Thetour is to raise awareness of HIVrates and risk among LGBTQ youth.Featuring HIV advocate and authorGuy Anthony. Doors open 6:45 p.m.7-9 p.m. Human Rights CampaignEquality Center, 1640 Rhode Island

Ave. NW. For more information, visithrc.org or thedccenter.org.

LGB PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP foradults in Montgomery County offersa safe space to explore coming outand issues of identity. 10-11:30 a.m.16220 S. Frederick Rd., Suite 512,Gaithersburg, Md. For more informa-tion, visit thedccenter.org.

THURSDAY, FEB. 18The DC Center hosts its POLYDISCUSSION GROUP for peopleinterested in exploring or talkingabout non-traditional, polyamorous,or non-monogamous relationships, in both the kink and non-kink scenes.

Open to all. 7-8 p.m. 2000 14th St.NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS

ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURALHEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5p.m., and HIV services (by appoint-ment). Call 202-291-4707, or visitandromedatransculturalhealth.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)practice session at Takoma AquaticCenter, 300 Van Buren St. NW. 7:30-9p.m. swimdcac.org.

DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay and lesbian square-dancing group featuresmainstream through advanced squaredancing at the National City ChristianChurch, 5 Thomas Circle NW, 7-9:30p.m. Casual dress. 301-257-0517,dclambdasquares.org.

The DULLES TRIANGLES Northern Virginia social group meets for happyhour at Sheraton in Reston, 11810Sunrise Valley Drive, second-floor bar, 7-9 p.m. All welcome. dullestri-angles.com.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-WalkerHealth. At the Elizabeth TaylorMedical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max RobinsonCenter, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointmentcall 202-745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.

IDENTITY offers free and confiden-tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg,414 East Diamond Ave., and inTakoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411. Walk-ins 2-6 p.m.For appointments other hours, callGaithersburg, 301-300-9978, or

Takoma Park, 301-422-2398.

Metro Weekly’s Community Calendar highlights important events in the D.C.-area

LGBT community, from alternative social events to volunteer opportunities.

Event information should be sent by email to [email protected].

Deadline for inclusion is noon of the Friday before Thursday’s publication.

Questions about the calendar may be directed to the

Metro Weekly office at 202-638-6830 or

the calendar email address.

LGBTCommunityCalendarBURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer organization, volunteerstoday for the Lost Dog & Cat RescueFoundation at Falls Church PetSmart.To participate, visit burgundycre-scent.org.

The DC Center hosts a meeting of

KHUSH DC, a support group forLGBTQ South Asians. 2-4 p.m. 2000

14th St. NW, Suite 105. For moreinformation, visit thedccenter.org.

The DC Center hosts a monthly LGBTASYLEES SUPPORT MEETINGAND DINNER for LGBT refugees andasylum seekers. 5-7 p.m. 2000 14th St.NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS

ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURALHEALTH offers free HIV testing, 9-5p.m., and HIV services (by appoint-ment). 202-291-4707 or andromeda-

transculturalhealth.org.

BET MISHPACHAH, founded bymembers of the LGBT community,holds Saturday morning Shabbat services, 10 a.m., followed by Kiddushluncheon. Services in DCJCCCommunity Room, 1529 16th St. NW. betmish.org.

BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, includingothers interested in Brazilian culture,meets. For location/time, email [email protected].

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) prac-tice session at Hains Point, 972 OhioDr., SW. 8:30-10 a.m. Visitswimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walk-ing/social club welcomes all levels forexercise in a fun and supportive envi-ronment, socializing afterward. Meet9:30 a.m., 23rd & P Streets NW, for awalk; or 10 a.m. for fun run.dcfrontrunners.org.

DC SENTINELS basketball teammeets at Turkey Thicket RecreationCenter, 1100 Michigan Ave. NE, 2-4p.m. For players of all levels, gay orstraight. teamdcbasketball.org.

DIGNITYUSA sponsors Mass forLGBT community, family and friends.6:30 p.m., Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For more info, visitdignitynova.org.

GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discussescritical languages and foreign lan-guages. 7 p.m. Nellie’s, 900 U St. NW.RVSP preferred. [email protected].


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IDENTITY offers free and confiden-tial HIV testing in Takoma Park,7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411.Walk-ins 12-3 p.m. For appointmentsother hours, call 301-422-2398.

SUNDAY, FEB. 21CHRYSALIS arts & culture group

visits the National Gallery of Art tosee popular exhibition on HellenisticGreek Bronzes. Free; lunch inCascades Café follows. Meet at11:30 a.m. in the 6th & Constitution Avenue NW. lobby of the Old (West)Building. Craig, 202-462-0535. [email protected].

WEEKLY EVENTS

LGBT-inclusive ALL SOULSMEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH celebrates Low Mass at 8:30 a.m.,High Mass at 11 a.m. 2300 Cathedral Ave. NW. 202-232-4244,allsoulsdc.org.

BETHEL CHURCH-DC progressiveand radically inclusive church holdsservices at 11:30 a.m. 2217 Minnesota Ave. SE. 202-248-1895, betheldc.org.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) prac-tice session at Hains Point, 972 OhioDr., SW. 9:30-11 a.m. Visitswimdcac.org.

DIGNITYUSA offers Roman CatholicMass for the LGBT community. 6p.m., St. Margaret’s Church, 1820Connecticut Ave. NW. All welcome.Sign interpreted. For more info, visitdignitynova.org.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITEDCHURCH OF CHRIST welcomes allto 10:30 a.m. service, 945 G St. NW.firstuccdc.org or 202-628-4317.

FRIENDS MEETING OFWASHINGTON meets for worship,10:30 a.m., 2111 Florida Ave. NW,Quaker House Living Room (next toMeeting House on Decatur Place),2nd floor. Special welcome to lesbiansand gays. Handicapped accessiblefrom Phelps Place gate. Hearingassistance. quakersdc.org.

HOPE UNITED CHURCH OFCHRIST welcomes GLBT commu-nity for worship. 10:30 a.m., 6130Old Telegraph Road, Alexandria.hopeucc.org.

HSV-2 SOCIAL AND SUPPORTGROUP for gay men living in the DCmetro area. This group will be meet-ing once a month. For information onlocation and time, visitH2gether.com.

INSTITUTE FOR SPIRITUALDEVELOPMENT, God-centered newage church & learning center. SundayServices and Workshops event. 5419Sherier Place NW. isd-dc.org.

Join LINCOLN CONGREGATIONALTEMPLE – UNITED CHURCH OFCHRIST for an inclusive, loving andprogressive faith community everySunday. 11 a.m. 1701 11th Street NW,

near R in Shaw/Logan neighborhood.lincolntemple.org.

LUTHERAN CHURCH OFREFORMATION invites all to Sundayworship at 8:30 or 11 a.m. Childcare isavailable at both services. WelcomingLGBT people for 25 years. 212 EastCapitol St. NE. reformationdc.org.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITYCHURCH OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA services at 11 a.m., led by Rev. OnettaBrooks. Children’s Sunday School, 11a.m. 10383 Democracy Lane, Fairfax.703-691-0930, mccnova.com.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITYCHURCH OF WASHINGTON, D.C. services at 9 a.m. (ASL interpreted)and 11 a.m. Children’s Sunday Schoolat 11 a.m. 474 Ridge St. NW. 202-638-7373, mccdc.com.

NATIONAL CITY CHRISTIANCHURCH, inclusive church withGLBT fellowship, offers gospel wor-ship, 8:30 a.m., and traditional wor-ship, 11 a.m. 5 Thomas Circle NW.202-232-0323, nationalcitycc.org.

RIVERSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH,a Christ-centered, interracial, wel-coming-and-affirming church, offersservice at 10 a.m. 680 I St. SW. 202-554-4330, riversidedc.org.

ST. STEPHEN AND THEINCARNATION, an “interracial,multi-ethnic Christian Community”offers services in English, 8 a.m. and10:30 a.m., and in Spanish at 5:15 p.m.1525 Newton St. NW. 202-232-0900,saintstephensdc.org.

UNITARIAN CHURCH OFARLINGTON, an LGBTQ welcoming-and-affirming congregation, offersservices at 10 a.m. Virginia Rainbow

UU Ministry. 4444 Arlington Blvd.uucava.org.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTCHURCH OF SILVER SPRING invites LGBTQ families and individu-als of all creeds and cultures to jointhe church. Services 9:15 and 11:15 a.m.10309 New Hampshire Ave. uucss.org.

UNIVERSALIST NATIONALMEMORIAL CHURCH, a welcom-ing and inclusive church. GLBTInterweave social/service groupmeets monthly. Services at 11 a.m.,Romanesque sanctuary. 1810 16th St.NW. 202-387-3411, universalist.org.


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MONDAY, FEB. 22The DC Center’s CENTERMILITARY WORKING GROUP,dedicated to raising awareness of andsupporting LGBT veterans, activeduty servicemembers, their fami-lies and allies, meets on the fourthMonday of each month at The DCCenter. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.

NW, Suite 105. Please RSVP to EricPerez, 202-6872-2245 or [email protected]

WEEKLY EVENTS

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) prac-tice session at Hains Point, 927 OhioDr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visitswimdcac.org.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holdspractice, 6:30-8:30 p.m. GarrisonElementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscan-dals.wordpress.com.

GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. atQuaker House, 2111 Florida Ave. [email protected].

HIV Testing at WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTH. At the ElizabethTaylor Medical Center, 1701 14thSt. NW, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the MaxRobinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave.SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appoint-ment call 202-745-7000. Visitwhitman-walker.org.

KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY(K.I.) SERVICES, 3333 Duke St., Alexandria, offers free “rapid” HIVtesting and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

703-823-4401.

METROHEALTH CENTER offersfree, rapid HIV testing. No appoint-ment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14thSt. NW, Suite 700. 202-638-0750.

NOVASALUD offers free HIV test-ing. 5-7 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite200, Arlington. Appointments:

703-789-4467.

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155 or test-

[email protected].

THE DC CENTER hosts Coffee Drop-In for the Senior LGBT Community.10 a.m.-noon. 2000 14th St. NW. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.

US HELPING US hosts a black gaymen’s evening affinity group. 3636

Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.

WASHINGTON WETSKINS WATERPOLO TEAM practices 7-9 p.m.Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 VanBuren St. NW. Newcomers with atleast basic swimming ability alwayswelcome. Tom, 703-299-0504, [email protected], wetskins.org.

WHITMAN-WALKER HEALTHHIV/AIDS Support Group for newlydiagnosed individuals, meets 7 p.m.

Registration required. 202-939-7671,[email protected].

TUESDAY, FEB. 23The DC Center’s GENDERQUEER DCsupport and discussion group for peo-ple who identify outside the gender binary meets on the fourth Tuesday ofevery month. 7-8:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

WEEKLY EVENTS


ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly din-ner in Dupont/Logan Circle area,6:30 p.m. [email protected],afwashington.net.

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC)practice session at Takoma AquaticCenter, 300 Van Buren St. NW. 7:30-9p.m. swimdcac.org.

DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walk-ing/social club serving greater D.C.’sLGBT community and allies hosts anevening run/walk. dcfrontrunners.org.

THE GAY MEN’S HEALTHCOLLABORATIVE offers free HIVtesting and STI screening and treat-ment every Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m.Rainbow Tuesday LGBT Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480King St. 703-746-4986 or text 571-214-9617. [email protected].

HIV TESTING at Whitman-WalkerHealth. At the Elizabeth TaylorMedical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,

9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max RobinsonCenter, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointmentcall 202-745-7000. Visitwhitman-walker.org.

THE HIV WORKING GROUP of THEDC CENTER hosts “Packing Party,”where volunteers assemble safe-sexkits of condoms and lube. 7 p.m.,Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW.thedccenter.org.


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13SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE

scene

scan this tag

with your

smartphone

for bonus scenepics online!

2016 Her HRCDJ Battle at Town

Sunday, February 14

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

WARD MORRISON


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14 SEE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW .METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE


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IDENTITY offers free and confiden-tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg,414 East Diamond Ave., and inTakoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite 411. Walk-ins 2-6 p.m.For appointments other hours, callGaithersburg at 301-300-9978 or

Takoma Park at 301-422-2398.

KARING WITH INDIVIDUALITY(K.I.) SERVICES, at 3333 Duke St., Alexandria, offers free “rapid” HIVtesting and counseling, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.703-823-4401.

METROHEALTH CENTER offersfree, rapid HIV testing. Appointmentneeded. 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700.202-638-0750.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS—LGBT focused meeting everyTuesday, 7 p.m. St. George’sEpiscopal Church, 915 Oakland Ave., Arlington, just steps from VirginiaSquare Metro. For more info. callDick, 703-521-1999. Handicappedaccessible. Newcomers [email protected].

SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5p.m., by appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger. Youth Center,410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, [email protected].

SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ YOUTH ages 13-21 meets at SMYAL,410 7th St. SE, 5-6:30 p.m. CathyChu, 202-567-3163, [email protected].

US HELPING US hosts a supportgroup for black gay men 40 and older.

7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-446-1100.

Whitman-Walker Health’s GAYMEN’S HEALTH AND WELLNESS/STD CLINIC opens at 6 p.m., 170114th St. NW. Patients are seen onwalk-in basis. No-cost screening forHIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chla-mydia. Hepatitis and herpes testingavailable for fee. whitman-walker.org.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24The DC Center hosts a monthly

meeting of its HIV PREVENTIONWORKING GROUP. 6-8 p.m. 200014th St. NW, Suite 105. For moreinformation, visit thedccenter.org.

THE LAMBDA BRIDGE CLUB meets for Duplicate Bridge. 7:30 p.m.Dignity Center, 721 8th St SE (acrossfrom Marine Barracks). No reserva-tions needed. All welcome. 202-841-0279 if you need a partner.

WEEKLY EVENTS

AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets about 6:30-6 p.m.,Steam, 17th and R NW. All welcome.For more information, call FaustoFernandez, 703-732-5174.


DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) prac-tice session at Hains Point, 927 OhioDr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visitswimdcac.org.

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holdspractice, 6:30-8:30 p.m. GarrisonElementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscan-dals.wordpress.com.

HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH offers Wednesday worship 7:15 a.m.and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N.

Washington St., Alexandria. 703-549-1450, historicchristchurch.org.

HIV TESTING at Whitman-WalkerHealth. At the Elizabeth TaylorMedical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,9 a.m.-5 p.m. At the Max RobinsonCenter, 2301 MLK Jr. Ave. SE,9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointmentcall 202-745-7000. Visitwhitman-walker.org.

IDENTITY offers free and confiden-tial HIV testing in Gaithersburg, 414East Diamond Ave. Walk-ins 2-7 p.m.For appointments other hours, callGaithersburg at 301-300-9978.

JOB CLUB, a weekly support pro-gram for job entrants and seekers,meets at The DC Center. 2000 14th St.NW, Suite 105. 6-7:30 p.m. For more

info, www.centercareers.org.

METROHEALTH CENTER offersfree, rapid HIV testing. No appoint-ment needed. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 1012 14thSt. NW, Suite 700. 202-638-0750.

NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing.11 a.m.-2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite200, Arlington. Appointments:703-789-4467.

PRIME TIMERS OF DC, socialclub for mature gay men, hostsweekly happy hour/dinner. 6:30 p.m.,Windows Bar above Dupont ItalianKitchen, 1637 17th St. NW. Carl,703-573-8316.l


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Y FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH INTERPER-SONAL RACISM WAS IN THE FIFTH GRADE,” says Alicia Garza. “A teacher commented that the palms of my

hands were so much lighter than the tops, and wondered whetherthe bottoms of my feet were the same.”

Garza, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter, was keenly aware ofrace growing up. The daughter of a white father and black mother,

as a young child in the San Francisco Bay area she took notice of

how differently society treated her parents based on their skincolor. It was a treatment — an institutionalized racism — that

Garza would eventually be subjected to.“I had taught myself to read at 3 years old,” she says. “And my

mom was trying to get me into preschool or early kindergarten.

She had a hard time getting me in as a little black girl, because there was disbelief that I could read and hold my own. That waspersistent throughout my school career. My mom pushed to try and get me into Advanced Placement classes, and even though I

had passed the test, there was a lot of hesitancy on the part of teachers and administrators. There was an assumption that, becauseI was black, I wouldn’t be able to achieve in those spaces.”

A social justice activist who cut her teeth working on issues related to housing and gentrification, Garza now organizes domes-tic workers. Her longtime advocacy on behalf of low-income communities of color has not only informed her political ideology

— which she characterizes as “a little left of progressive” and “radical” — but has contributed to a deeper understanding of theinterplay between race, power and privilege. Through her work and personal experience, Garza became increasingly frustrated by

the lack of progress on racial justice issues. That frustration boiled over in 2013.

After the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., Garza took toFacebook, penning a post titled, “A Love Note to Black People.” It called on African Americans to fight the societal biases and

various forms of structural and institutional racism that devalue their lives. She concluded with, “Our Lives Matter, Black LivesMatter,” a phrase that became the moniker for the movement she launched, along with Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, to help

black people change the unacceptable status quo.“I was really impacted with what happened with Trayvon Martin, not because it was the first time that I had ever heard about

or been involved in a movement around police brutality, but because I was tired — like, really exhausted — of all of these different

ways in which black folks are portrayed as being thugs and criminals and animals,” she says.“Living in Oakland, right before Trayvon was killed, Oscar Grant was killed just a few blocks from my house,” she continues. “A

young man was murdered on the new train system that they put through the largest remaining black community in San Francisco.He was murdered in cold blood, in the daytime, by police, and people saw it. He was running from the police, because he had been

approached by officers about proof of payment for the transit system. That fare is $2. He lost his life over two dollars.”Garza says all of these horrific instances “laid the foundation for me. It’s what motivated me to stay active in the movement,

and what motivated me to write that Facebook post that eventually became a real moniker for a broader movement around not justpolice brutality, but the sanctity of black lives.”

BlackLivesMa#Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza on pr ivilege,

accountability and using social media to inspire a movement

Interview by John Riley


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K

R I S T I N L I T T L E P H O T O G R A P H Y

ter

Alicia’s tattoo is the last six lines of

“Poem about My Rights” by June Jordan


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METRO WEEKLY: Let’s start with your childhood.

ALICIA GARZA: I was born and raised in the Bay Area, in California.

And I like to say I’m a little bit of a unicorn, because there’s not

many people now that live in the Bay Area who were born andraised there, due to market forces and all kinds of things. My

upbringing in a pretty progressive place definitely shaped mypolitical thinking and my political experiences. I went to local

middle schools and high schools in Marin County, and went tocollege at UC-San Diego. Then I moved back to the Bay Area to

live and work. I’ve been organizing locally for about 13 years.MW: How did you get into that?

GARZA: College was really when I got exposed to social justice

work. I became involved in student-led initiatives to increase

the number of students of color on campus, to raise awareness

around the experiences of women of color on campus, and so itwas a natural fit that, as I left, I would pursue something similar

to that.My first entrée into organizing was participating in a program

called the School of Unity and Liberation. They did a program

where they would take young people who wanted to learn howto organize in their communities, and put them through an

eight-week internship, where you would actually do organizingwork in a local community organization, and then twice a week

do seminars. You’d learn about social movement history, and youalso learned about the mechanics of organizing.

MW: And what issue did you work on?

GARZA: I was working at Just Cause Oakland, which was newly

formed at the time, and had just won a really badass tenant pro-tection measure that prevented no fault eviction. So we weredoing door-knocking in East and West Oakland, and organizing

Oakland residents — particularly low-income residents of color— around the impending issues that were involved in the gentri-

fication of the community.MW: What do you do for your job now?

GARZA: I work with the National Domestic Workers Alliance,

which is powered by more than 54 membership-based organi-zations. We organize domestic workers. So, women who clean

homes, who take care of other people’s children, who provideelder care, and who support people with disabilities. My specific

role is special projects director — I lead our work at the inter-sections of race, gender, and the economy, and our democracy. I

helped spearhead a new initiative called “We Dream in Black,”

a leadership development and capacity-building program forblack domestic workers from across the diaspora. So that

means black American women workers, Caribbean workers,and African immigrant workers. Together, we are strengthening

the organizations that they lead, and we are also starting newchapters in places where there are high concentrations of black

domestic workers, but very few organizations that are actuallyorganizing them.

MW: How do you identify within the LGBT spectrum?

GARZA: I identify as queer.MW: When did you first know that something was different about

you, that you weren’t heterosexual?

GARZA: [ Laughs. ] I became most comfortable expressing my ownself in my later years in college, as I started to become exposed to

more people, build a wide range of relationships, and also I think

just the process of getting older, starting to be more comfortablein your own skin, is also somewhat helpful.MW: When did you officially come out to your family?

GARZA: It was when I met my current partner. We’ve been

together for, let’s see, I think it’s 12 years this year. And I don’tknow, when we met, we were instantly tight. We were friends

for a while, and when that transitioned from a more platonicrelationship into a romantic one. My family was really, really

supportive. I feel grateful that they didn’t process with me all of

the things that they were probably going through, and instead, just made it very comfortable, and very positive. I

feel very lucky, because I know that that’s notalways the norm.MW: Talk a bit bit about the intersections ofrace and sexuality as they’ve played out in

your life.

GARZA: I think my experiences organizinginside of poor and low-income communities

in the Bay Area, which were largely black andLatino — and some Southeast Asian, actually — really

built the foundation for what eventually became Black LivesMatter. Patrisse and I both worked in community-based organi-

zations that had relationships to each other, and that’s actuallyhow we met. One of the ways we bonded was over being a part

of a social justice movement that is still, by and large, hetero

male-led.I also think the experience of organizing in poor and work-

ing-class black communities, seeing the ways in which ourcommunities are physically segregated — from resources, from

activities, from amenities — and also seeingthe ways that police interact in those

communities was very formational.

As somebody who grew up in Marin

County, I can tell you that the waypolice interact with communitiesthere, particularly white communi-

ties, is very, very different than the waythey interact with communities in West

Oakland, or East Oakland, where I live now. This is not stuffthat’s in people’s heads, and you’re not really protected from it,

no matter how much wealth you have access to.MW: When did you realize that Black Lives Matter could be a largermovement?

GARZA: We were just noticing that this thing that we put outwas gaining traction. And we started to think about what the

possibilities could be. We really felt like it wasn’t enough forthis thing to live online. Online things come and go, people are

bombarded with all kinds of information all the time. And social

media, in and of itself, is meant to be a way to connect people todo something.

We thought that we could experiment, as organizers, withwhat it meant to connect people online, so they could do stuff

together offline. In particular, we really wanted to create spacefor new narratives of black life, and what that meant. We

wanted to create space for people who are looking for a way toget involved and looking for other people to do that with, who

maybe weren’t part of formal organizations, or maybe even

never considered themselves to be political until this particularmoment. And we also wanted to create space to talk about what

a new black radical politic could look like in real time — recog-

“What p

deep, preach oth

“We live in a political context where racism has been watered down tobad interactions with other people.”


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nizing that a lot of our political framework has been shaped bygenerations of black radical tradition.

It’s not necessarily something new that we’re doing, but itis a new context. It’s not the 1970s, it’s not the 1980s, it’s noteven the 1990s. This is a really different political moment, when

we’re trying to understand what it means to build black power,in the era of the first black president, in an era when we have

more black elected officials, and CEOs, and corporate heads thanwe’ve ever had in our history as a nation.

MW: There’s a misperception or deliberate mislabeling of Black Lives Matter as a movement that is an inherently anti-police

movement. How do you respond to that?

GARZA: So here’s the thing: This narrative that BlackLives Matter is anti-police is actually ridiculous.

And there’s a lot of other ridiculous narratives outthere about Black Lives Matter, despite the fact

that we’ve written really extensively about whowe are and what we believe. And despite the fact

that we’ve said, many, many times, that this is not a

movement that is solely focused on police violence,nor is it a movement that is anti-police.

I think it’s ironic that we would be framed in thatway, when really what we’re talking about and fighting

against are police who are fundamentally being covered fortaking lives. We’re talking about a system of policing that has

developed a culture that is largely unaccountable, not transpar-ent, and corrupt. And it’s not a question of good cops or bad cops,

because the institution of police itself supports bad behavior. So

even good cops, in a bad context, become bad cops.This isn’t about people being good or bad — it’s about whether

or not the structure that we’ve created for safety, and for justice,is actually playing the functions that we wanted it to. And I think

what the movement issaying, and what our

network is saying,

is that it’s not. The

gap between keep-ing people safeand our current

system and struc-tures of policing is so

wide that we’re not clear that it’s able to be reformed. That’s notpersonal.

I think where the personalization of that narrative comes

from is a corrupt culture of policing. We know police unions,in particular, take a really large role in reshaping and reframing

conversations that have to do with transparency or account-ability, whether it’s about Black Lives Matter or not. Unions

have been corrupting the narrative around what it would meanto have accountable policing, way before we were even on the

scene. People who have been doing this work for a long time can

testify to that.The other piece is that the conservative right — which has

consolidated power in this country, by and large — gains its sup-port from how afraid people are of each other. When we look at

the presidential debates, for example, there’s so much rhetoricaround who’s a threat to you, who’s a threat to your well-being,

who’s a threat to your ability to survive, who’s a threat to theability of this country to be as powerful as it is. All of their lan-

guage is about threat and fear. Even on the Democratic side.

Let’s be clear: This isn’t limited to Republicans, but given ourpolitical context, certainly it is the result of a very successful

right-wing conservative movement that has been working to

consolidate power at the local level, at the state level, and at thefederal level for more than 30 years.

We believe that it’s important to engage in the battle of ideas,

because our people’s lives depend on it. But we don’t have timeto go tit-for-tat with a movement that wants to unravel every

gain that our ancestors fought for. Our focus is making surethat we bring more and more people into the fight — not just

black people, but people from all walks of life and all types ofbackgrounds — not just for the sanctity of black lives, but for the

reclamation of the ideals that this country was based on.

MW: In the current political climate, the one who’s stood outthe most on the Republican side has been Donald Trump, who’s

attacked Black Lives Matter verbally. People of color have evenbeen escorted from his rallies in a violent manner. What do you feel

when you hear people talk about the fear of the “other”?

GARZA: Honestly, I feel sorry for them. I feel compassion that, atsome point, something didn’t click. It’s really basic that this is

not a movement that’s about hate or fear or division or separa-tion. What powers and fuels this movement is a deep, profound

love, not just for each other, but for humanity. So when there’srhetoric that tries to reframe who we are and what we’re about

— and to me, specifically, since I wrote that letter talking about

how much I love black people — I don’t get mad.

I have a lot of compassion that we’re incredibly susceptible tonarratives that we may not understand what their motives are.This was the very reason that we try to do a lot of communicat-

ing about who we are and what we believe, and what we thinkpeople can do to change the world that we live in. We try to do

that with a lot of love, a lot of compassion, a lot of empathy, and alot of desire for connection. And the reality is that we know that

not everybody is going to be won over. But we’re going to keep

trying to build the broadest front possible that will help us win justice for all of us.MW: One of the things that’s so interesting is that when you talkabout privilege, there’s a tendency for people to get their guard up,

and say, “I’m not privileged, I grew up in a small hut in Appalachiaand I ran 10 miles in the snow to school, and —

GARZA: [ Laughs. ] — carrying 15 books, with no backpack —MW: — and I worked 50 hours a week, or had four jobs, and I’m not

privileged. And if people would just work harder and stop asking

the government to bail them out, this would all be better.” We hearthat a lot — people get their guard up when they’re called out on

privilege.

GARZA: I think our understanding of privilege, in this context, is

also really closely related to how we understand race and racism.And unfortunately, we live in a political context where racism

has come to not be seen as structures and policies and practices

that are both seen and unseen, but gets watered down to badinteractions with other people. So it’s essentially, “I’m not rac-

ist, because I’m not mean to people,” or “I’m not racist, because

this movement is a

d love, not just forut for humanity.”

“We’re talking about a systemof policing that has developed

a culture that is largelyunaccountable, not transparent,

and corrupt.”


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I don’t see color,” or “I don’t have privilege, because I don’tthink I’m better than anybody else.” These are very rudimentary

understandings of how society actually works. You can thinkabout it as an iceberg: There’s the thing you see above the water,

but the thing that’s the most dangerous is the thing that’s underthe water, because you don’t see it.

I think that whole misunderstanding of race, power and priv-

ilege has also been a very concerted effort by a very well-orga-nized right-wing movement. Their whole gusto is derived from

the Black Power Movement and the Civil Rights Movement,where, essentially, they’ve redefined race and privilege as being

“politically correct.” They’ve reframed race to say, “We no lon-ger have a race problem” — that people, if they don’t have, it’s a

function of their own individual failings, as opposed to societal

or systemic failings. Even some people of color have adoptedthose narratives, even though that’s not their actual experience.

So we can point to people like Stacey Dash, we can point topeople like Raven-Symoné, we can even point to people like Bill

Cosby, who perpetuate these narratives that black people areinherently deficient. And they will hold themselves up as excep-

tions to the rule, because that’s how it works. But, by and large,what the Right has been really good at is generating this fear of

the disappearance of whiteness, and has done a really good job

of masking where privilege lies.All white people have privilege, but it doesn’t mean that all

white people have the same amount of privilege, or the samedegree of privilege. And privilege is really just “access.” You

can get access based on your skin color, but be really poor andbe from Appalachia, but in a different context. Because you’re

white, you have access to opportunities and resources and assets

that a person who’s not visibly white doesn’t have. And there’sbeen millions and millions of studies that lay this out. You can be

a white person who’s part of another marginalized or disenfran-chised group, like you could be a white gay person, and still have

privilege, and also still experience oppression.

The point is not to segment us based on all these differentidentities, but to ask ourselves, “Well, who does this benefit?”

Because, ultimately, even though white people in this country— and really, around the damn world — have privilege at the

expense of people of color, and black people specifically, it alsodoesn’t benefit white people for that social norm to continue.

There’s lots of ways that poor white people are screwed bywhite supremacy, or are screwed by racism. And part of it is not

being able to find common causewith people who are being screwed

in the same way that you’re being

screwed. It allows us to mask thedynamic and the power dynam-

ics, in particular, of wealth beingconsolidated into the hands of very

few people. Increasingly, it takesaway what should be a natural

solidarity between people who are also strugglingto make a living, or who are also struggling to be

their full selves.MW: What causes that division?

GARZA: I attribute that to a very well-organized

machine that has permeated not only our poli-tics, but also our educational systems, our

media institutions, our faith-based institutions.They have been very deliberate and powerful in

consolidating power that helps to shape our opin-

ions, our thoughts, and our relationships.MW: If white people are genuine about wanting to stand

in solidarity with those suffering from oppression, how do wedemonstrate it?

GARZA: Well, I think the first way is by acknowledging that privi-lege exists. And doing that as a white person is actually pretty

powerful. Because part of what becomes so polarizing is whathappens when white folks deny the existence of something,

which is our lived experience. So there’s that. And then the other

piece, I think, is to have conversations with other white peopleabout white privilege and white supremacy — not just histori-

cally, but really investigating how it plays out today. That is alsoa very important task, because it’s not available to everybody.

I can talk to white people until I’m blue in the face, and I do. Ido that a lot. But the reality is we all share the same experience.

And what we may be talking about, it may be more comfortable

to ask questions, to make mistakes, to say the wrong thing, to

somebody who’s sharing a similar experience as you.So it’s really important for that organizing to take place inwhite communities. And there are

organizations and individualsthat are doing a real model job

of that. You’ve got the WorldOrganizing Project, which

has been doing a lot of very

powerful work in Oregon,especially, during this fed-

eral occupation, and organiz-ing white people around that.

You have groups like the CatalystProject, in San Francisco, that trains young white people to

be organizers in working-class white communities. You have

organizations like Resource Generation, which is working withpeople who have wealth to redistribute that wealth in a way

that’s equitable and pursues the path of social justice. You alsohave groups like Showing Up for Racial Justice, which is one of

the newer groups on the scene, that has been building chaptersaround the country of white, anti-racist folks who want to stand

in solidarity with the movement. But you don’t have to be part ofan organization to be part of the movement.

Another thing you can do is vote your values. We know that

when we turn on the TV and watch these debates, that there area certain group of candidates that are really appealing to white

voters who are scared of demographic change, who are afraid of

“We know that not everybody is going to bewon over. But we’re going to keep trying tobuild the broadest front possible that willhelp us win justice for all of us.”

“Th

m

“The way to stand in solidarity with themovement is to really vote your values,around justice and equality, and an endto oppression overall.”


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the movement that is building right now. And the way to standin solidarity with the movement is to vote around justice and

equality, and an end to oppression overall. There are some clear

choices on how to do that. It’s not just about people we’re elect-ing, but it’s also about initiatives.

The other thing you can do as a white person, or as a personof privilege, is talk to your family and talk to your friends. It’s

really important that these conversations are happening onmultiple levels, in multiple places, where real people — who

don’t have access to academies or whatever — can have a realconversation about the state of our country and the state of our

world, and really start to make commitments to each other aboutwhat kind of world we want to live in and how we’re going to

practice that.

Another thing you can do isshow up for this movement by

being a part of it. That couldmean giving resources, that

could mean showing up atprotests and demonstra-

tions, that could mean writ-

ing letters to the editor and

sending your opinion intonewspapers and into blogs,and where people can see it.

Because part of what we haveto do is show that this isn’t going to

happen on our watch, and we have to show, at some point, thatthis is an outdated way of being, and that we all want something

better. So any place where we have the opportunity and the

access to move that narrative, it’s really important and it’s reallyimpactful.MW: How do you translate Black Lives Matter’s various actionsinto a form where the movement can effect change politically?

GARZA: Well, first and foremost, among the network there is greatdiversity in terms of people’s preferred strategy to get where

we want to be. That’s not just characteristic of our network, but

of any social movement that has existed. If we were to look atthe Civil Rights Movement, not everybody thought that pursu-

ing legislation was the way to go. It was actually the interplaybetween the people who did not want to work in that arena, and

the people who did, who created the outcomes that we have.I think our task as a movement is to figure out how all of those

different strategies relate to each other. Because what we’veseen is, we know we have the power to create space for change

to happen. If it wasn’t for this movement, we wouldn’t have

presidential candidates talking about whether black lives matter.We wouldn’t talk about presidential candidates having platforms

on racial justice and criminal justice. We wouldn’t have 40 new

laws passed in 26 states in a period of one year around crimi-nal justice. We wouldn’t even have bipartisan criminal justice

reform happening at the federal government. We wouldn’t have

the Congressional Black Caucus taking on, as a priority, criminal justice reform.

You and I wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Wewouldn’t be having conversations around respectability politics,

we wouldn’t be be talking about white supremacy, even. A lothas changed. And what we’re looking at now is, how do

we take all of these different strategies that people areemploying to create change, and weave them into a

quilt that will cover all of us, but that doesn’t require

all of us to be doing the same thing. And that isreally our task and our charge for the next period.MW: When we talk about representation, a lot hasbeen made about the Oscars, and the invisibility of

people of color when it comes to being recognized for their work. How have you reacted to the idea of a

boycott of the Oscars?

GARZA: My take on it is that this isn’t new. But it isexactly this movement that has created space for this con-

versation to happen. You know, the Oscars has been really whitefor a very long time. I think it’s a really great example of how

systemic racism plays out. The utter lack of people of color, whoare being recognized for their work, in an industry that we shape

pretty profoundly, is a basic example of how racism works. Andwhat I feel inspired by are people like [independent filmmaker]

Ava DuVernay [ Selma ], who makes it her business — whethershe is acknowledged or not — to make sure she is casting talent-

ed black actors. To make sure she has black production teams,

and women on her team, and all of the people who are excludedregularly. She makes it a point to ensure that level of talent is

included in all of her productions.It’s important to call out what’s happening at the Oscars, but

it’s also important to create our own things. Ultimately, we don’tcontrol the Oscars, but there are millions and millions of dol-

lars being made off this industry, and some of the same people

who are complaining — and rightfully so — about how white theOscars are, also have leverage and resources to do things differ-

ently. I hold up Ava as an example, because imagine how power-ful it would be if Will Smith followed suit, if Jada Pinkett fol-

lowed suit, if Chris Rock followed suit. These are major heavy-hitters in the industry. If they were to create their own spaces,

or create environments that they wanted to see, it would actuallyhave a lot of traction, and would force the contradiction even

more. I hope that that’s the next step for this conversation. l

For more information about Black Lives Matter, or to learn about

upcoming actions, visit blacklivesmatter.com.

le misunderstanding of race, powerprivilege has been a very concertedffort by a well-organized right-wing

ment. They’ve reframed race to say,We no longer have a race problem.’”

“We can point to people like Stacey Dash,we can point to people like Raven-Symoné,we can even point to people like Bill Cosby,

who perpetuate these narratives that blackpeople are inherently deficient.”


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FEBRUARY 18 - 25, 2016Compiled by Doug Rule

P H O T

O C O U R T E S Y O F P E R S O N A L P U B L I C I T Y

accepting, nonplussed attitude his 15-year-old son had towarda fellow 10th grader.

“My son was talking about a kid who’s transitioning, and hesaid it matter-of-factly, to him it wasn’t an exciting story,” says

Reiser, clearly proud. “It made me think there will be a period

not too far where people will go, ‘Really, that was an issue?’ Icertainly hope so.” — Randy Shulman

WITH A LOT OF SITCOMS, THE THING WAS TOgo for the joke. We always tried to strike a balance.

It was for laughs, but the laughs were never aboutthe jokes.”

Paul Reiser is reminiscing over Mad About You with arabid fan posing as a reporter. The hit series, which chronicledthe life of a New York married couple, played to uncanny,

intimate perfection by Reiser and Helen Hunt, ran 7 seasonson NBC until 1999. It was one of those shows that, along with

Friends and Seinfeld , was the very definition of “Must See TV.”“People in sitcoms say things that are snippy and snappy

and funny,” Reiser goes on. “But in real life somebody wouldpunch you in the nose if you said that — or you’d at least hurt

somebody’s feelings. We never wanted to score jokes at the

expense of reality. I could talk about this all day.”Alas, there are other things to talk about. Such as Reiser’s

return to stand-up. (He’ll appear at the Howard Theater thisSaturday, Feb. 20.) Many know Reiser from Mad About You,

or from Aliens, or from his recent turn on the Amazon series Red Oaks, but stand-up comedy was his launching pad.

“I started as a comedian,” says the 58-year-old. “That’s all I

originally wanted to do, but it worked out that I got to do thesewonderful things. I find it surprising when people say, ‘I didn’t

know you do stand-up.’ In fairness, I had a 20-year absence.”Indeed, the grind of a weekly series and then the joys of

raising two sons and authoring three books ( Couplehood, Babyhood, Familyhood ) got in the way of stand-up, but three

years ago, Reiser decided to return to his roots. “I’m stilltalking about relationships, but it’s a different point of view.

Talking about marriage in your fifties is very different from

talking about it when you were newly married.” He’s quick to

add, in his trademark New York cadence, “A lot of my stuff isnot about relationships, so you know.”

Reiser is happy to opine about everything from the Oscar

controversy (“I don’t actually think Academy members are sit-ting there going, ‘Let’s keep this white,’ but when you see 20

white mugs, you can’t help think that it is a shockingly dispro-

portionate representation”) to Donald Trump (“Are peoplereally saying we want him to be our leader? I don’t know that

when push comes to shove if everybody will say that”) to the

Mad About PaulPaul Reiser, who became a household name on Mad About You, returns to his stand-up roots

Paul Reiser appears at The Howard Theater, 620 T St. NW, on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $35

(general seating) to $75 (booth, 4 ticket minimum). Call 202-803-2099 or visit thehowardtheatre.com.


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SPOTLIGHT

#THISISWHYIMSINGLEFlashpoint Gallery presents a post-Val-entine’s Day-themed show featuringartists using as source material theirown experiences with social media,dating apps and the quest for an emo-tional connection in the digital age.The show features Dafna Steinberg’s I’m Willing to Lie about How We Met,

exploring idealized desires of romance versus the reality of personal com-munications on social media; JenniferTowner’s Failed T-Shirt Designs forToday’s Modern Woman, playing withthe idea of fitting in with the standardsof socially accepted femininity; andJenny Walton’s Match/Enemy, exam-ining presentations of male persona inprofile pictures on dating sites. OpensSaturday, Feb. 20. Runs to March 19.Flashpoint Gallery, 916 G St. NW. Call202-315-1310 or visit flashpointdc.org.

ALESSIA CARA A month after snowzilla wiped outwhat was to be Alessia Cara’s sold-out

debut at the 9:30 Club, I.M.P. presentsa makeup date for the impressive popnewcomer at the Lincoln Theatre. A19-year-old Canadian who cites AmyWinehouse as one influence, Carahas drawn comparisons to Lorde andRihanna — whose musical path startedwith Def Jam Recordings a decadeago, just as Cara’s has now. Late lastsummer the storied hip-hop/R&Blabel released Cara’s tongue-in-cheektitled album Know-It-All, a savvy mixof pop/R&B with light jazz touchescomplementing Cara’s silky voice andsoulful style. The set is led by twothoroughly mainstream pop singleswith decidedly anti-mainstream, or

at least alt-pop, messages: The sharp,wordy anti-social/anti-club anthem“Here,” which reached No. 5 on theBillboard pop charts, and breezy newsingle “Wild Things,” which celebrates being rebellious to the point of appear-ing uncool. Saturday, Feb. 20. Doors at6:30 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St.NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-328-6000 or visit thelincolndc.com.

AUTOGRAFMikul Wing, Louis Kha and JakeCarpenter started working togetheras Autograf with the purpose of cre-ating sculptural art. These days theChicago trio is primarily making buzz-

worthy EDM music — specifically aDisclosure-esque strain of progres-sive/trop-house that is sometimesmoody, sometimes bouncy, but alwayssophisticated and intriguing. Nextweek Autograf stops by U Street MusicHall on a tour named after its besttrack to date, “Metaphysical” featuring vocalist Janelle Kroll — which soundsa lot like Sia’s first song “Breathe Me,”only less dramatic and more jaunty.Thursday, Feb. 25, at 10 p.m. U StreetMusic Hall, 1115A U St. NW. Ticketsare $15. Call 202-588-1880 or visitustreetmusichall.com.

K E I T H W A T E R S , K X P H O T O G R A P H Y

FEBRUARY 18, 2016 METROWEEKLY.COM

Lords and MonstersMatt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith’s new musical explores theinfluence of Lord Byron

LORD BYRON WAS THE MODEL FOR SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE COMMON-place in our pop culture today,” says Stephen Gregory Smith. Touted as the first

celebrity of the modern era, Byron was a 19th-century media sensation. Attractive andeccentric. Troubled and campy. Bisexual.

“He slept with a lot of people, women and men,” Smith says, adding with a laugh, “basically

anyone.” Though his same-sex dalliances were frowned upon at the time, it diminished neitherhis fame nor his influence. In fact, Byron is said to have inspired the titular character of Oscar

Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray as well as Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.Smith has taken inspiration from Byron for a new musical co-written with his husband,

composer Matt Conner. Monsters of the Villa Diodati centers on one summer, in 1816, whenLord Bryon helped spawn popular tales about the undead — simply as a result of challenging

the literary guests at his Swiss villa to create compelling new horror stories. Among thoseconceived there: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, considered the first work of science fiction

and John Polidori’s The Vampyre. Unlike the “never beautiful” monsters that epitomized

vampire folklore previously, Polidori opted to model his protagonist after Byron — “basi-cally,” as Smith puts it, “a beautiful man who seeks out other young beautiful people to suck

the life out of.”Understandably, there was little love lost between Polidori and Byron after that summer.

Or really between Byron and any of his other three guests, including Mary’s husband, thepoet Percy Shelley. “These are some of the wittiest people that ever walked the earth and all

they do is try to shoot each other down,” Smith says. “When they’re not trying to sleep witheach other, they’re trying to insult each other in very smart ways.”

Monsters of the Villa Diodati, which features a largely pop/rock score, is the duo’s second

show, after last year’s The Turn of the Screw at Creative Cauldron in Falls Church. Conner andSmith are set to create three more works, one per year, for the small theater company. That’s

in addition to Silver Bells, a big, new Christmas musical they’re developing for Signature.Factor in other projects, including acting roles on local stages, and it’s no wonder that any

time Conner and Smith are together becomes an opportunity to talk shop — whether at homeor at the gym. “A lot of our conversations are artistic,” Conner says. “It’s actually a good thing

we’re married. I’ve never spent so much time with another writer.” — Doug Rule

Monsters of the Villa Diodati runs to Feb. 21 at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave.

Tickets are $26. Call 703-436-9948 or visit creativecauldron.org.


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DC SHORTS WINS!DC Shorts offers two showcases ontwo nights this weekend featuringsome of the favorite and most suc-cessful films from the annual sum-mer festival, including those voted asaudience favorites. And two of the 14total films are nominees in the shortscategories at this year’s Oscars: theIrish drama Stutterer and the Kosovowar-set U.K. drama Shok. Anothernotable film screening is the American

Barrio Boy, in which a Latino barberdevelops a secret crush on a handsomeIrish stranger over the course of a hair-cut. The program’s two 90-minute-long showcases include different films,and will be screened one after theother. Friday, Feb. 19, and Saturday,Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.U.S. Navy Memorial’s Burke Theater,701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Ticketsare $15 per showcase, or $25 for aDouble Header of both. For a showcase breakdown and more information, visitwins.dcshorts.com.

MARIINSKY BALLETFor its 14th annual visit to the

Kennedy Center, St. Petersburg’s greatMariinsky Ballet presents what is tout-ed as the last “grand ballet” of the 19thCentury, Marius Petipa’s Raymonda.Set in medieval times, the focus is ona countess torn between the love ofa noble crusading knight and a hand-some warrior. The Kennedy CenterOpera House Orchestra accompa-nies the ballet under guest conductorGavriel Heine, performing AlexanderGlazunov’s score, filled with spiritedrhythms and lilting waltzes, whichGeorge Balanchine once called “someof the finest ballet music we have.”Performances begin Tuesday, Feb. 23,at 7 p.m. Runs to Feb. 28. KennedyCenter Opera House. Tickets are $49to $225. Call 202-467-4600 or visitkennedy-center.org.

RAHSAAN PATTERSONNamed after ’60s jazz saxophonistRahsaan Roland Kirk, the openly gayRahsaan Patterson may be still bestknown as “The Kid” from the popular’80s television show Kids Incorporated — starring alongside Fergie, MarioLopez and pop singer Martika, whogave Patterson his start as a backupsinger. But over the past two decadesPatterson has established himself asone of the sturdiest neo-soul singer-songwriters around, sometimes sound-ing like the original “Kid,” aka Prince,as on his most recent release, 2011’sstupendous Bleuophoria. Pattersonknows you probably haven’t heard thatset or much about his music in gen-eral — and has a hunch why. “I’ve seen[gays] become much more embraced inpopular culture over the years, whichis a great thing,” Patterson told MetroWeekly two years ago, “[but] in the black community, it hasn’t been asembraced. On the pop side I’ve seenit become embraced, but not as muchso in the R&B realm, commerciallyspeaking.” Friday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. and10 p.m. Bethesda Blues & Jazz SupperClub, 7719 Wisconsin Ave. Tickets are$50 to $65. Call 240-330-4500 or visit bethesdabluesjazz.com.

ROAD SHOWThirteen years after it debuted as partof the Kennedy Center’s SondheimCelebration — when it was called Bounce — Signature offers a newproduction of this Sondheim show,featuring a book by John Weidman( Assassins, Pacific Overtures ). Road Show is a musical travelogue focusedon the adventures of the real-lifeMizner brothers, an eccentric duofrom a century ago who sought fame

and fortune and the American dream.Gary Griffin directs. Now in previews.Runs to March 13. Signature Theatre,4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Call703-820-9771 or visit signature-the-atre.org.

FILM

JERUSALEM 3DBenedict Cumberbatch narrates afilm offering the first-ever large for-mat aerial footage of the Old City andthroughout the Holy Land — includingsites ranging from the Western Wallto the Dome of the Rock to the Sea of

Galilee. This 3D film also offers eye-opening personal stories and remark-able historical perspective. ShowtimesSaturdays and Sundays to March 31.National Geographic Museum, 114517th St. NW. Tickets are $7. Call 202-857-7588 or visit ngmuseum.org.

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTFILMS 2015: ANIMATED,LIVE ACTIONOnce again Landmark Theatres, inpartnership with ShortsHD, offerstwo feature-length programs of theshort films nominated at the upcoming Academy Awards: a program with theanimated shorts, featuring films fromChile, Russia, the U.K. and two fromthe U.S., including Pixar Animation’s Sanjay’s Super Team; and a program oflive action shorts, including films fromGermany, Ireland and the U.S., plustwo set in the West Bank and Kosovo.Now playing. Landmark’s E StreetCinema, 555 11th St. NW. Call 202-452-7672. Also Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235Woodmont Ave. Call 301-652-7273. Visit landmarktheatres.com.

OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTFILMS 2015: DOCSIn addition to the animated and actionprograms, Landmark Theatres this

year also presents a feature-lengthprogram of documentary shorts. Allfive Oscar-nominated films will screen,including the Liberian Body Team 12set in the height of the Ebola out- break, Chau, Beyond the Lines about an Agent Orange-disabled child and aspir-ing artist in Vietnam and The Price of Forgiveness, focused on a rare survivorof “honor killings” in Pakistan. Amongtwo American documentaries is Last Day of Freedom, about a war veter-an who faces criminal charges, rac-ism and ultimately the death penalty.Now playing. Landmark’s West EndCinema, 2301 M St. NW. Call 202-534-1907 or visit landmarktheatres.com.

RACERising Canadian-born actor StephanJames is Jesse Owens in StephenHopkins’s biopic about the African- American track and field star whowon four gold medals and set a worldrecord in the long jump at the 1936Berlin Olympics. That event was meantto be a showcase for Adolf Hitler’s Aryan heroes, and there had beenmuch talk internationally of boycottingthe games altogether. Jason Sudeikis

plays Owens’s coach as part of a castthat also includes Jeremy Irons andWilliam Hurt. Opens Friday, Feb. 19. Area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

WASHINGTON JEWISHFILM FESTIVALNow in its 26th year, the festival pres-ents over 150 different events — fromtraditional film screenings to relatedcultural and educational programs — ateight different theaters. Seven films atthis year’s festival are “Rated LGBTQ,”a programmatic focus exploring sexu-ality, gender and identity on screen— including two screenings in Marchof the 2014 documentary Compared

to What? The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank, followed by a discus-sion with Frank, husband Jim Readyand filmmakers Sheila Canavan andMichael Chandler. The festival kicksoff Wednesday, Feb. 24, with Baba Joon, Israel’s submission for BestForeign Language Film and runs toMarch 6. Tickets are $13 for regularscreenings and $30 for opening andclosing evenings, while a general fes-tival pass is $150. Call 888-718-4253 or visit wjff.org.

STAGE

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAMThe hearty Shakespeare comedy getstwisted considerably at Folger Theatrethrough the casting of women in tra-ditionally male roles. Holly Twyfordis Bottom and Erin Weaver is Puck aspart of a large cast directed by AaronPosner that also includes MeganGraves, Eric Hissom, Caroline StefanieClay, Adam Wesley Brown andDesmond Bing. Extended to March 13.Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE.Tickets are $35 to $75. Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.

ANTIGONE PROJECT:

A PLAY IN 5 PARTSJoseph W. Ritsch directs a Rep Stageproduction of this show reconsideringSophocles’s tragedy of sisterly devo-tion. Chiori Miyagawa and SabrinaPeck conceived of Antigone Project,which features five different takes on Antigone by five female playwrights,including Caridad Svich and LynnNottage. Now in previews. Runs toMarch 6. The Horowitz Center’sStudio Theatre at Howard CommunityCollege, 10901 Little PatuxentParkway, Columbia, Md. Tickets are$40. Call 443-518-1500 or visit www.repstage.org.

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY Yet another boisterous and unflinch-ingly dark comedy from Stephen AdlyGuirgis, whose play The Motherfuckerwith the Hat received much criticalpraise at Studio Theatre a few yearsago. Between Riverside and Crazy wasthe winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize forDrama and is focused on an ex-cop whois facing eviction, battling City Hall andstruggling over the recent death of hiswife. To Feb. 28. Studio Theatre, 14th

& P Streets NW. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.

CARMEN: AN AFRO-CUBANJAZZ MUSICALSome of Broadway’s best — writer/ director Moises Kaufman ( The Larami

metro weekly - 02-18-16 - alicia garza

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