Jun 12, 2009  |  By: Joe Rendeiro  | COMMENTS     

Lena Lett couldn’t figure out why an excited customer was congratulating her for being a hero.

“I thought to myself ‘What in the hell is he talking about?’ Maybe he meant I was his hero. So I just thanked him,” Lett says.

After the drag performance, Lett approached the man and asked what he meant.

“You’re a hero. You’ll be in the paper. You’re a Capital Pride Hero,” the man said. Then it clicked.

Lett along with five other local leaders, including Andrew Abell, Ellen Kahn, Margaret Murray, Donna Payne and Bob Witeck, are the 2009 Capital Pride Heroes. They are being honored for their activism and support for D.C.’s LGBT community. Frank Kameny and Lilli Vincenz, who helped get the modern gay rights movement rolling in the early 1960s through the D.C. Mattachine Society, have been named Capital Pride “superheroes.” Both were interviewed at length in last week’s edition for a story on how their work set the stage for Stonewall. 

“It’s a great honor and completely unexpected,” Lett says. “It feels nice to be recognized for giving back to the community.”

Lett, whose real name is David Lett, has been a drag queen for 14 years, hosting and entertaining at various D.C. functions and charity events and rallying support for the LGBT community.

“I would hope any recognition … just makes us want to do even more to bring equality,” Lett says.

Fellow drag queen and Pride Hero Andrew Abell, who has performed as Blair Michaels for 25 years, is not surprised Lett is being recognized.

“David has to be one of the most genuine, kind-hearted people you’ve ever met,” Michaels says. “He is the most selfless person. He’ll give you the shirt off his back.”

Michaels earned the honor of Pride hero for his own volunteer work with D.C.’s community organizations and charities such as Whitman-Walker Clinic, the D.C. Center and the Pediatric Aids Foundation.

“I know for a fact that [David and Andrew] have done so much for generating compassion and support for HIV/AIDS,” fellow Hero Witeck says.

A former Miss Capital Pride, Michaels is an actress with the Academy of Washington, Inc. and has worked with the Miss America Pageant. But he counts his 19-year relationship with partner Brad among his proudest achievements.

“Being a drag husband is not the easiest thing in the world and he has stood by my side every step of the way,” Michaels says.

Michaels says he’s very honored to be recognized.

“There’s only six picked and there are so many people in the city that deserve to be recognized for their work. It’s a very humbling thing,” Michaels says.

Hero Ellen Kahn agrees.

“It means that people in the community notice and pay attention to the contributions we make,” Kahn says. “It’s sort of humbling to know that it does get noticed.”

Kahn has worked as director of Lesbian Services at Whitman-Walker Clinic and has been with the Human Rights Campaign since 2005. She has led the fight against HIV/AIDS and worked to provide education for the transgender community. She has also advocated for LGBT families and worked with adoption and parenting programs.

“The work that I do with LGBT folks to help them on their path to parenthood … it just feels great when I see these folks with a child, knowing that they’ve completed their dream of having a family,” Kahn says.

Payne, HRC’s associate director of diversity, inspires praise from her co-Heroes.

“Donna has been doing outreach with people of color for a number of years,” Witeck says. “She is so respected and liked, so it’s wonderful to share this honor with her.”

Payne works within the black religious community to increase dialogue and acceptance of black LGBT people. A co-founder of National Black Justice Coalition, Payne has worked with various gay advocacy and civil rights groups at conferences such as the 2001 Conference Against Racism in South Africa.

“Connecting racial identity and sexual orientation … is very difficult for African-American LGBT people because they feel like they have to give up religion or give up being LGBT,” Payne says. “But you don’t have to. You can be an African-American spiritual person and be who you are all at the same time.”

Murray, another Hero, was happy to see a diverse group of people picked for the honor.

“It reflects how cool D.C. is. There’s so much room for everyone,” Murray says. “No one is marginalized. We’re all on equal footing no matter what we’re doing in the community.”

Murray is executive director of One in Ten, an organization that produces LGBT arts events ...