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The Icon Awards are one of the longest-standing traditions to celebrate Black LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in Baltimore. 

 

The Carlton R. Smith Icon Awards Gala, renamed in 2024 to honor our late co-founder, is our annual community celebration of the brilliance, labor, creativity, and leadership of Black LGBTQIA+ individuals who are shaping Baltimore City’s present and future.

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We invite you to join us on October 10th, 2025, at 6 PM, for an evening of honoring our local Icons, dinner, drinks, music, silent auction, and performances!

BE MORE ICONIC:
BECOME A GALA OR CATEGORY SPONSOR

Selection Process & Nomination Ballot

Here’s everything you need to know about submitting nominations and how honorees are selected.

KEY DATES
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  • Nominations Close: August 20, 2025

  • Selection Notification: September 1, 2025

  • Virtual Winners Announced: October 1, 2025

  • ICON Awards Gala: October 10, 2025

HOW TO NOMINATE

You’ll be asked to provide:

  • The nominee’s full name and pronouns

  • Their email address or phone number 

  • A detailed reason why you're nominating them — tell us what makes them Iconic.
     

  • Missing nomination information will render the award submission invalid.

  • You can nominate yourself or someone else.

  • Nominees should self-identify as Black LGBTQIA+ individuals with a connection to Baltimore City.

SELECTION & PRESENTATION

Awards will be presented online or live at the Icon Awards Gala on October 10, 2025.

For gala awards: BLAQ Equity will select a winner from the top three nominations submitted in each category. All top nominees will be announced in September. The winner will be announced live at the Icon Awards Gala. 

For virtual awards: The winner will be selected solely based on the number of community nominations received. Recipients will be able to receive the physical awards at the Gala.

Overview of Categories

Gala Awards

​THE COMMUNITY KEEPER
For the ones who are always there, even when no one’s watching. This award honors everyday folks who aren’t in the spotlight or leadership positions, but who carry community on their backs: the auntie opening her home to youth, the neighbor always showing up with a ride, a meal, or a helping hand. Their impact isn’t in titles — it’s in trust, presence, and care.
 
A RISING STAR
For the next generation who are already leading. This award celebrates youth and young adults (age 24 and under) who are blazing trails, whether through organizing, art, entrepreneurship, or everyday acts of courage and care. They’re not waiting for permission; they’re already building what’s next.
 
THE PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE
For those on the frontlines of policy, protection, and justice. This award honors lawyers, social workers, elected officials, or systems navigators who fight for us in courtrooms, city halls, clinics, and community offices. They’re not just in the work — they’re with the people.
 
THE CHANGE MAKER
For those building power at the grassroots. This award recognizes activists and community organizers who move bodies and policies. These are the folks who rally, canvas, coordinate, strategize, and never stop pushing to shift culture and change lives.
 
COMMUNITY IMPACT
For an organization, collective, or small business that puts the people first. This award honors those who actively change lives, create jobs, offer resources, and build structures rooted in equity, joy, and justice. Their impact isn’t just measurable. It’s felt.
 
THE VIBE ARCHITECT
For DJs who do more than play music — they build atmosphere. This award goes to a selector who reads the room, sets the vibe, and keeps the community moving not just on the dance floor, but in spirit.
 
THE PLAYMAKER
For athletes whose strength extends beyond the field. This award celebrates sports figures, from players to coaches, who show up with excellence, visibility, and pride, challenging norms and breaking barriers for Black LGBTQ+ representation in sports.

THE TORCHBEARER
For those lighting the way through knowledge and mentorship. The educators, mentors, and teaching artists who don’t just inform — they empower. This award honors those who pass down wisdom, create liberatory classrooms, and see teaching as a revolutionary act. They make space for us to know ourselves.

THE CULTURAL CATALYST
For the gathering that shifted the energy. This award goes to the event of the year (since October 01, 2024), large or grassroots, that brought people together, sparked joy, stirred dialogue, and reflected our community’s boldness, brilliance, and care. The night you didn't forget.

THE CROWNED JEWEL
For a drag artist whose stage presence is undeniable. This award honors queens, kings, and genderbending performers who bring style, storytelling, and soul to every look, every lip sync, and every room they arrive in.

VIRTUAL Awards

THE SPOKEN FLAME
For a poet or spoken word artist whose words ignite something real. This award honors writers who turn language into liberation, survival into stanza, and who speak a truth that sticks with audiences.

THE CREATOR'S TOUCH
For painters, muralists, designers, and visual storytellers, capturing Black queer life in all its texture. This award honors an artist whose work gives us new ways to see ourselves, our struggles, and our joy.

STORYTELLER HONORS
For journalists, documentarians, and media creators who tell the stories that matter. This award honors someone who amplifies our voices, challenges narratives, and ensures we are documented, not erased.

VISION IN FOCUS
For a photographer who sees us clearly. This award honors the eyes behind the lens who capture joy, resistance, intimacy, and community with care and creativity.

THE SPOTLIGHT
For a performer (comedian, dancer, actor, vocalist, instrumentalist, or variety artist), who owns every stage they step on. This award honors those who entertain with presence, passion, and purpose.

THE GAME CHANGER
This award honors gamers, streamers, or dungeon masters who are advancing the impact of Black LGBTQIA+ culture in gaming spaces.

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