MPD was strongly criticized when, during a 1987 raid of gay bar Cheers, they donned 'surgical masks and rubber gloves' for fear of contracting AIDS. LGBT community places provided safe spaces and support. Nob Hill, one of the country's oldest gay bars, hosted the first AIDS forum in the African-American community. Some religious groups, also active in 1970's civil rights and anti-war activism, gave their support.
The Quaker House established the HIV Coffeehouse, one of the first social refuges for those with AIDS. Margaret’s Episcopal Church provided a home for the Gay Men's Counseling Collective, which later combined with the Gay Men's VD Clinic, started at Georgetown Lutheran Church, to form the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the foremost provider of AIDS services in the region. #Gay bars washington dc logan circle free#.#Gay bars washington dc logan circle plus#.
