"If you don't have a history, you don't exist."

These words were stated by Mark as I sat with him in his home in Arlington, VA. They couldn't be more prophetic in regards to the purpose of rebooting the Best of Washington website. Preserving history. Informing generations of what has gone before, and what still exists today. Bridging the gap between different factions - gay and straight, black and white, young and old - to promote understanding, love and unity. This is what Mark does.

For well over a decade, Mark Meinke has been a steadfast advocate for the preservation of DC's black gay history. A historian at heart and by trade (he spent over seventeen years in the Middle East researching and writing on local history), Mark placed himself on a quest in 2000 to find services in the DC area that documented the history of the local gay community. He placed an ad in the Washington Blade for anyone interested in meeting to discuss ways of preserving the history, and eventually got what he was looking for. One person led to another. Stories were shared, oral histories retained, and slowly the picture began to take form, a picture consisting of numerous individuals who helped in shaping the DC gay community. A glaring curiosity, though, all the faces comprising the picture: all of the faces were white. Considering the makeup of DC at the time...surely, there must've been an oversight. An inadvertant omission. An error of some kind. Hmmmm...

Realizing the information acquired was not wholly representative of the DC gay population, Mark broadened his search, ultimately landing him in the company of black gay men and women. One couldn't say the venture was a smooth transition. Complexion didn't induce trust at first, but the cause did, as did the sincerity of its messenger, I'm sure. More people got into it, and soon the picture took shape again, this time with a few more...dimensions.

History is Mark's bag, and what lies in the bag are his contributions in ensuring the history of the DC black gay community was placed on the map, and remains there. "The real star is the black gay and lesbian community," he stated as I sat with him, referring to the egregious lack of black gay visibility in past publications. He was also referring to his slight reluctance in being interviewed for the website. "There are so many individuals that deserve to be highlighted other than me," to paraphrase one of his statements. He certainly didn't make the trip alone, but he was one of the number that made the journey. Through the Rainbow History Project, which Mark founded in 2000, and the Community Pioneers Awards that was started in 2005 to recognize figures in the DC gay community, Mark has shown his appreciation of the black gay community's contributions to DC's storied history. This is what Mark does, which is why we consider him THE BEST.

- TBR