Capital Pride Recognizes Fairfax County School Board Member Karl Frisch with 2022 “Heroes Award”
WASHINGTON, DC — Capital Pride Alliance has announced the individuals, leaders, and activists it will recognize as part of Capital Pride Honors at Penn Social, on Friday, June 3, at 7:00pm. The event kicks off LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebrations in the National Capital Region.
Among the honorees is Fairfax County School Board member Karl Frisch (Providence District) who will receive a “Heroes Award,” which recognizes individuals who have furthered causes important to the LGBTQ+ community and brought about positive changes in the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the region. Frisch is the first openly LGBTQ+ local elected official in Fairfax County, and the only out school board member in Virginia.
“The progress our school board is making in the fight to protect and affirm LGBTQ+ students is long overdue. I am humbled by this recognition, but the real heroes are our LGBTQ+ students who show up at school each day with remarkable authenticity demanding respect for who they are, and our LGBTQ+ educators who serve as incredible role models at a time when their simple existence is under attack,” said Frisch.
Since joining the School Board in 2020, Frisch has led efforts to protect LGBTQ+ students and staff, successfully sponsoring Virginia’s strongest protections for transgender and other gender-expansive students. He has also spearheaded successful efforts to affirm LGBTQ+ students by making family life education more inclusive, providing updated transcripts and diplomas reflecting a student’s correct names, and prohibiting malicious outing, deadnaming, and misgendering. Additionally, Frisch is currently sponsoring a proposal to provide LGBTQ+ school system employees with the same family planning benefits enjoyed by their heterosexual coworkers.
Past “Heroes Award” recipients include luminaries such as LGBTQ+ movement pioneer Frank Kameny, and a host of activists, elected officials, artists, and community leaders from the National Capital Region.
Upcoming Regional Pride Events:
- June 3rd — Capital Pride Honors (Website): Friday, June 3 from 7–10pm, Penn Social, 801 E St NW, Washington, DC 20004
- June 4th — Reston Pride (Website): Saturday, June 4 from 12–6pm, Lake Anne Plaza, 1609 Washington Plaza N, Reston, VA 20190
- June 7th — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Pride Month Resolution (Website): Tuesday, June 7 at 9:30am, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax, VA 22035
- June 11th — Capital Pride Parade (Website): Saturday, June 11 from 3–7:30pm, Logan and Dupont Circle Neighborhoods, Washington, DC
- June 12th — Capital Pride Festival (Website): Sunday, June 12 from 12–10pm, America’s Mainstreet, Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
- June 16th — Fairfax County Public Schools Pride Month Resolution (Website): Thursday, June 16 at 7pm, Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Rd, Falls Church, VA 22042
- June 21st—Capital One Center’s The Perch in Tysons (Website): Tuesday, June 21 at 7pm, Drag Bingo Night at Starr Hill Biergarten at The Perch, 1805 Capital Center Drive, Tysons, VA 22102
- June 24th — Northern Virginia Pride Prom (Website): Friday, June 24 at 7pm, The St. James, 6805 Industrial Rd, Springfield, VA 22151
- June 25th — Mosaic Pride (Website): Saturday, June 25 at 1pm, Mosaic District, 2910 District Ave, Fairfax, VA 22031
- June 26th — Loudoun County Pride (Website): Sunday, June 26 from 1–8pm, Heritage Farm Museum, 21668 Heritage Farm Ln, Sterling, VA 20164
