Washington, D.C

Celebrating local pride heroes: Deacon Maccubbin — The Patriarch of DC Pride – WTOP News

Published

2 years ago

June 8, 2024

Celebrating local pride heroes: Deacon Maccubbin — The Patriarch of DC Pride – WTOP News

Deacon Maccubbin organized the first DC Gay Pride Party all the way back in 1975. Now, he’s thinking back on the role he played in the creating an event that would one day bring hundreds of thousands of people to D.C. to celebrate who they are.

Every week, WTOP is celebrating a Pride Hero who has made a difference in the LGBTQ+ community in the D.C. area as part of our Pride Month coverage. Check back all throughout June as we share these stories on air and online.

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Celebrating local pride heroes: Deacon Maccubbin

A year after L. Page “Deacon” Maccubbin opened the gay bookstore, Lambda Rising, in 1974, he was talking to friends about going to a Pride celebration in New York City.

“Somebody said, ‘Why don’t we do something in Washington,’” said Maccubbin. “I thought ‘that’s a wonderful idea, let’s do it.’”

Maccubbin went to work instantly. He decided to hold a Gay Pride block party right in front of Lambda Rising on 1724 20th Street NW in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood.

One of the first things Maccubbin was required to do by the city was to check with his neighbors.

“We had the support of more than 51% of the people in the neighborhood to sign a petition allowing us to close the block off,” Maccubbin told WTOP.

Knowing he needed help to organize such a big event, Maccubbin hired his friend Bob Carpenter. They got the word out by putting flyers in all of the gay bars in D.C.

Deacon with Pride Proclamation: Deacon Maccubbin holds a Pride Proclamation from the D.C. Council. With him (left to right) are Frank Kameny, gay rights activist, and John A. Wilson, a D.C. Council member — and later Chair — who coordinated the resolution.
(Courtesy Rainbow History Project, Inc. )

Courtesy Rainbow History Project, Inc.

Deacon Maccubbin (right) and his husband, Jim Bennett, on the steps of where his bookstore was once located, overlooking the location of D.C.’s first annual pride event.
(WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)

Deacon Maccubbin (left) and his husband, Jim Bennett, on the steps of where his bookstore was once located, overlooking the location of D.C.’s first annual pride event.
(WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)

For further information about RHP and its archives, visit www.rainbowhistory.org.

So, at 1 p.m., on June 22, 1975, the D.C. Gay Pride Party was set to begin. But, there was a problem.

“At 10 minutes to one, there was no one on the street,” Maccubbin said.

Carpenter was nervous and, according to Maccubbin, was ringing his hands, and said, “No one is going to show up.”

“I said ‘don’t worry Bob, they’ll be here. They are just on ‘gay time.” … Not long after, we had 2,000 people,” Maccubbin said.

Maccubbin shared these memories with WTOP from the steps of where his bookstore was once located, overlooking the location of D.C.’s first annual Pride event.

More Pride Month stories

“We had bands playing. Politicians stopping by to say hello. All the neighbors came out,” Maccubbin said. “It was an incredible experience.”

Also showing up that day was a local TV news crew.

Maccubbin made a deal with the reporters: They were only allowed to film on one side of the street. Everyone at the block party was told if they didn’t want to be on television, that they should stand on the other side of the street.

“There were some people that were concerned about their jobs or their family seeing them,” said Maccubbin.

Not everyone was pleased with the work Maccubbin was doing for the gay community. Not only did Maccubbin have to deal with a lot of harassment over the phone, the windows of his bookstore were broken and they received bomb threats.

Every time there was an incident, Maccubbin and his staff would head to the bookstore and keep going.

“We had to stand up and be counted. We weren’t going anywhere,” said Maccubbin’s husband, Jim Bennett. “More and more people stood up and said we’re not taking this crap anymore.”

The bad memories have now faded, and Maccubbin thinks more about the role he played in the creating an event that would one day bring hundreds of thousands of people to D.C. to celebrate who they are.

“There is rarely a week that goes by that I don’t hear from somebody that talks about coming out at Pride or coming out in our bookstore, Lambda Rising,” Maccubbin said. “Because it was the first place they felt welcome.”

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Washington, D.C

Storm Team4 Forecast: May ends with sunshine and clear skies

Published

2 hours ago

May 30, 2026

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Storm Team4 Forecast: May ends with sunshine and clear skies

4 things to know about the weather:

Abundant sunshine
Temps slightly cooler than average
No rain in sight — again
Mid-week warmup

May is drawing to a dry, comfortable close, in stunning contrast to the very soggy Memorial Day weather we saw last weekend.

That 10-day stretch of rain put a definite dent in our drought, according to the weekly national drought monitor, but it seems that was the end of the improvement for a while: There’s almost no clouds in sight for the DMV for several days.

Enjoy the many hours of sunshine on Saturday. The high pressure coming in from the Hudson Bay brings a stiff north wind, but the day will also be sunny and comfortable, with highs in the mid 70s.

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

The wind will die down after dark, and Sunday morning will be bordering on chilly. Expect widespread mid/upper 40s in most of the D.C. area, with urban centers and bayside communities staying just above 50°. Sunday afternoon will be just a bit warmer, in the mid 70s, but with far less of a breeze.

Highs will be back around 80° for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with overnight lows in the comfy 50s. It’ll be a perfect start to meteorological summer (June/July/August).

QuickCast

TODAY:
Sunshine Abounds, Breezy
Wind: North 10-15mph, Gust to 25 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 70° to 75°

TONIGHT:
Clear Skies
Winds Diminish
Wind: Northwest 10-15 mph
Chance Of Rain: 0%
LOWS: 46° to 54°

SUNDAY:
Mostly Sunny Skies
Pleasant Conditions
Light Breeze
Wind: NW 5 – 10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 70° to 76°

MONDAY:
Partly Cloudy
Seasonable
Light Breeze
Wind: West/Northwest 10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 76° to 82°

Sunrise: 5:45 Sunset: 8:26
Average High: 80° Average Low: 63°

Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.

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Washington, D.C

Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC

Published

12 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC

article

WASHINGTON – A man is in critical condition after falling into the Anacostia River in Southwestern Washington, D.C., Friday night.

What we know:

D.C. Fire and EMS reported the rescue effort shortly after 10 p.m. at James Creek Marina in Buzzard Point.

Crews believe a man fell from the dock into the water.

By 10:30 p.m., crews were able to pull the man out of the water.

Paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.

What we don’t know:

Officials did not identify the man who was rescued. No other information was immediately available.

The Source: Information in this story is from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.

Crime and Public Safety

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Washington, D.C

DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination

Published

24 hours ago

May 29, 2026

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DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination

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FIRST ON FOX — Washington, D.C.’s professional baseball franchise could come under Justice Department scrutiny after a viral video showed a team executive appearing to admit to his religious discrimination against a Christian player.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon to investigate alleged religious discrimination against players for the Washington Nationals, according to a letter sent Thursday to and first obtained by Fox News Digital.

The letter comes after Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe published a secretly recorded video of Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson saying the team does not include pitcher Trevor Williams in certain social media promotion.

He cited the player’s public criticism of another Major League Baseball franchise for hosting a drag group mocking Catholics.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging the Department of Justice to investigate alleged religious discrimination within the Washington Nationals organization and across Major League Baseball. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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“According to the reporting by James O’Keefe, it appears the Washington Nationals are engaged in unlawful religious discrimination,” Boebert told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “I urge the DOJ to take immediate and decisive action.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department said they received Boebert’s letter.

“The Department is reviewing the matter and will evaluate all appropriate next steps. As always, we remain committed to enforcing federal law and protecting civil rights,” they told Fox News Digital.

A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hudson, in the clandestine recording, pointed to Williams’ public objections to the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence — a drag group that dresses as nuns — during the team’s 2023 “Pride Night.

The event also drew condemnation from multiple Catholic bishops, who described it as “blasphemous.”

Trevor Williams of the Washington Nationals sits in the dugout before a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash., on May 28, 2025. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Williams said he found the group’s anti-Catholic demonstration featuring vulgar caricatures of the crucifixion and sacred rituals to be “deeply offensive,” in an interview with Bishop Robert Barron last year. The professional baseball player said he made the decision with his wife to speak out even though it would put “a target on our back.”

“Baseball stadiums should be a place where everyone feels welcomed, like 100%,” Williams said in the interview. “We should all feel welcomed there. But that was clearly against one certain religion. If you don’t draw the line in the sand, who’s gonna do it?”

According to Hudson, that public criticism of the drag group’s performance later affected Williams’ opportunities at the Nationals franchise.

“Because of that we don’t use him on social [media],” Hudson told an undercover journalist in the video. “When they’re like ‘is a hot dog a sandwich’ and the players come up, we don’t ask him.”

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Boebert said she is concerned that Hudson’s admission could mean the franchise violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion and other protected classes.

“Americans of faith should not face professional repercussions for objecting to the mockery of their sacred traditions,” the Colorado Republican said in the letter. “MLB’s privileged legal position should not become a license for exclusionary practices.”

“Sister Unity” and “Sister Dominia” of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were honored on Pride Night before the MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16, 2023. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

Hudson, in the video, described himself as “far-left leaning” and nonreligious. Meanwhile, he called Williams “super Catholic.”

The Washington Nationals executive also boasted about a Communist Party poster in his office and mused about pushing redistribution of wealth and other leftist agendas during baseball games at Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, D.C.

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“What a cool opportunity for us [Nationals] to also, be a little bit of like, the voice of reason,” Hudson said. “And a lot of people will tell you when I come to a baseball game, I don’t want to think about that s–t.”

“If you’re a sports fan and we piss you off, where else are you gonna go,” he went on. “I don’t give a sh–t.”

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