Update documentation and permalinks for consistency and clarity
- Changed references in markup.md to update "data.html" to "data/" for clarity. - Updated metadata.md to correct the link to the general documentation. - Modified navbar.md to ensure stub values match the new permalink structure. - Adjusted tables.md to reflect the new permalink for the table visualization page. - Updated about.md to change the permalink from "/about.html" to "/about/" and revised content for clarity and impact. - Changed browse.md permalink from "/browse.html" to "/browse/" for consistency. - Added copyright.md page with copyright information and terms of use. - Updated data.md to change permalink from "/data.html" to "/data/" and added introductory content. - Created donate.md page to facilitate donations and acknowledge supporters. - Updated locations.md permalink from "/locations.html" to "/locations/" for consistency. - Changed map.md permalink from "/map.html" to "/map/" for uniformity. - Added erasure.md page discussing the historical context of Black queer Kansas Citians. - Updated out-there.md to correct the link to Lea Hopkins' interview. - Changed subjects.md permalink from "/subjects.html" to "/subjects/" for consistency. - Updated timeline.md permalink from "/timeline.html" to "/timeline/" for uniformity.
This commit is contained in:
Nasir Anthony Montalvo
123
pages/about.md
123
pages/about.md
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
|
||||
---
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||||
title: About
|
||||
layout: about
|
||||
permalink: /about.html
|
||||
permalink: /about/
|
||||
# include CollectionBuilder info at bottom
|
||||
credits: true
|
||||
# featured-image value can be one objectid for a photo object in this collection, a relative path to an image in this project, or a full url to any image. If left blank, no featured image will appear at top of About page.
|
||||
about-featured-image: starlacoll007
|
||||
about-featured-image: garycoll019
|
||||
# set background-position for featured image, "center", "top", "bottom"
|
||||
position: center
|
||||
# major heading to display over featured image
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||||
@@ -18,22 +18,117 @@ padding: 6em
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||||
# Look in _includes/feature for options to easily add features to the page
|
||||
---
|
||||
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||||
## {B/qKC} is a decentralized, community archive of Black queer midwestern history.
|
||||
# **{B/qKC}** is a *decentralized* archival project challenging out-dated institutional practices within the frame and study of Black queer history.
|
||||
|
||||
This demo collection features items from the University of Idaho Library's [Digital Collections](https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/), and is build using [CollectionBuilder-CSV](https://github.com/CollectionBuilder/collectionbuilder-csv).
|
||||
Under a reinvigorated wave of white nationalism and fascism post-2016, our historical record continues to be warped, distorted, and/or erased; **we are actively being indoctrinated**.
|
||||
|
||||
CollectionBuilder-CSV is a "Stand Alone" template for creating digital collection and exhibit websites using Jekyll, given:
|
||||
Our treasured mementos, amassed by institutional libraries, archives and universities, and are effectively being <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/nx-s1-5321003/pentagon-images-flagged-removal-dei-purge-trump" target="blank">deleted by President Donald J. Trump and his Project 2025 agenda.</a>
|
||||
|
||||
- a CSV of collection metadata
|
||||
- a folder of images, PDFs, audio, or video files
|
||||
Thousands of miles away, the worst manifestations of fascist indoctrination occur in Palestine, <a href="https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/" target="blank">where israel has deliberately bombed and destroyed museums, archives, libraries and, as a result, thousands of irreplaceable historic materials to erase Palestinian existence from our memories</a>.
|
||||
|
||||
Driven by your collection metadata, the template generates engaging visualizations to browse and explore your objects.
|
||||
The resulting static site can be hosted on any basic web server.
|
||||
*The ways we decide to document and collect our histories can no longer be done passively or uncritically. Memory work must be an active, radical process.*
|
||||
|
||||
[CollectionBuilder](https://github.com/CollectionBuilder/) is an set of open source tools for creating digital collection and exhibit websites that are driven by metadata and powered by modern static web technology.
|
||||
See [CB Docs](https://collectionbuilder.github.io/cb-docs/) for detailed information.
|
||||
{B/qKC} was founded as a radical community archive on March 1st, 2024, operating on the principles accessible *storytelling*, *repair* of our historical record, and intergenerational *power building*–all within the frame and study of midwestern Black queer experience.
|
||||
|
||||
{% include feature/image.html objectid="demo_001" width="75" %}
|
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<figure style="display: inline-block; max-width: 100%;">
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<img src="/assets/img/bqkc-diagram.png"
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alt="a four circle stacked diagram. 'the archive' appears at the top, with three branching circles that say 'power-build,'storytell,' and 'repair.'"
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||||
style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
|
||||
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-center text-muted" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" margin-top="0.5rem">
|
||||
{B/qKC}’s 'the diagram,' conceptualized by Nasir Anthony Montalvo. A black-and-white flowchart illustration connection between “the archive,” and the phrases “repair,” “storytell,” and “power-build.” <a href="https://syllabusproject.org/bad-tats/" target="_blank">Learn more about this diagram in Montalvo's publication with Syllabus, "bad tats, jesus christ, lemons; everything is archival."</a>
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
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</figure>
|
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|
||||
<!-- IMPORTANT!!! DELETE this comment and the include below when you are finished editing this page for your collection. The include below introduces about page features. They will show up on your collection's about page until you delete it. -->
|
||||
{% include cb/about_the_about.md %}
|
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## Core Goals
|
||||
|
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Initially ideated as a series of research articles "liberating" Black queer materials from its local institutions and libraries, {B/qKC}'s mission has evolved into a full-fledged archive with **five core goals**.
|
||||
|
||||
<div class="float-img float-right">
|
||||
<blockquote class="quote-box">
|
||||
<p class="quote-text">"Plainly put, the far right is erasing Blackness from the fabrics of America, so historical collection can no longer be a passive process; it must be applied radically." </p>
|
||||
<p class="quote-attrib">Nasir Anthony Montalvo, <a href="https://mdw.art/atlas/thirdspace" target="_blank">"Third Space: Queering Blackness from the Archival Fabrics of Middle America"</a> (MdW Atlas, 2024)</p>
|
||||
</blockquote>
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
|
||||
##### 1. **INTERGENERATIONAL CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY BUILDING**
|
||||
We aim to develop a platform that bridges generational gaps: fostering stronger relationships between Black queer elders and younger generations, digitally and physically. Relationships will always come to us first before labor.
|
||||
|
||||
##### 2. **ACCESSIBLE, OPEN-ACCESS ARCHIVING**
|
||||
We aim to build and maintain an intuitive, open-access digital archive stewarded by the people–always ensuring the archive is an accessible tool and not a product for profiteering.
|
||||
|
||||
##### 3. **DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE**
|
||||
We aim to teach any and all communities about the significance of this archive's materials, and the overall importance of radical memory work.
|
||||
##### 4. **PRESERVATION OF AT-RISK MATERIALS**
|
||||
We aim to create digital snapshots of Black queer historical materials, ensuring a record of Black queer midwestern histories can be saved, maintained, and reproduced physically––ensuring long-term sustainability of our stories.
|
||||
##### 5. **PERMANENT AND DECENTRALIZED PRESENCE**
|
||||
We aim for Black queer stories to occupy public spaces physically and digitally to ensure permanence of our stories, while simultaneously increasing Black queer visibility.
|
||||
|
||||
## Who has helped with this archive?
|
||||
|
||||
<figure style="display: inline-block; max-width: 50%;">
|
||||
<img src="/assets/img/nasir-bqkc1.jpeg"
|
||||
alt=""
|
||||
style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
|
||||
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-center text-muted" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" margin-top="0.5rem">
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
|
||||
###### Nasir Anthony Montalvo, *Founder*
|
||||
|
||||
Nasir Anthony Montalvo (b. 1999) is an essayist and memory worker based in Kansas City, MO, and the Founder of {B/qKC}. Montalvo's work has been exhibited locally and nationally in coffee shops, book stores, community fairs and artist galleries. Their art and archival research has also been published in NPR, Syllabus, Sixty Inches From Center, The Advocate, Teen Vogue and KC Studio; along with being used in curricula at Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University and the North Kansas City School District.
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||||
|
||||
Montalvo holds a 2024-2026 studio residency at Charlotte Street; and has been awarded fellowships and artist grants with The Opportunity Agenda, Diaspora Solidarities Lab, Gray Area and ArtsKC. They earned their Bachelor of Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in 2021.
|
||||
|
||||
Montalvo is queer, Afro-Borincane, and from Kissimmee, Florida.
|
||||
|
||||
<figure style="display: inline-block; max-width: 50%;">
|
||||
<img src="/assets/img/anevay-martz-bqkc.jpg"
|
||||
alt=""
|
||||
style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
|
||||
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-center text-muted" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" margin-top="0.5rem">
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
###### Anevay Martz, *Digitization Intern, Spring/Summer 2025*
|
||||
|
||||
Anevay Martz is a junior Sociology major at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, with a double minor in Communications and Race, Ethnic and Gender Studies. As {B/qKC}'s first Intern in 2025. Digitization Intern, Martz helped develop the archive’s Digital Asset Register (DAR) that is being used to power this website, alongside getting Soakie's listed as a historical landmark on Clio.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
<figure style="display: inline-block; max-width: 50%;">
|
||||
<img src="/assets/img/eden-barnes-bqkc.jpg"
|
||||
alt=""
|
||||
style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
|
||||
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-center text-muted" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" margin-top="0.5rem">
|
||||
</figcaption>
|
||||
</figure>
|
||||
|
||||
###### Eden Barnes, *Community Engagement Intern, Fall 2025*
|
||||
|
||||
Eden is a graduate of the University of Missouri Kansas City, with a BA in Sociology with an emphasis in Cultural Anthropology, and a minor in Race, Ethnic, and Gender Studies. As Community Engagement Intern, Eden aided {B/qKC} with day-to-day tasks and the launch of {B/qKC}'s new site.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
## Our history
|
||||
|
||||
{B/qKC} was initially founded as a research project in 2022 by Nasir Anthony Montalvo shortly after moving to Kansas City. At the time of Montalvo's move, they found little-to-nothing existed digitally about Black queer people in KC, and most local archiving institutions were not "aware" of any significant histories pertaining to this community. Montalvo released a series of articles through a collaboration with the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America (GLAMA) at the University of Missouri-Kansas City that digitized their small collection of Black queer materials (which previously had no finding aids and no concrete plans on making them publicly accessible). Their research explored KC's first documented Black drag queens of Kansas City, an organization of gay men fighting racism in the community in the 90’s, and a gay and lesbian variety show called “Out There” that aired on public-access cable.
|
||||
|
||||
In early 2023, after researching Volume 1 of the project, Montalvo morphed these archival materials into a multi-location, self-service exhibit from February 27th – March 4th, 2023 hosted at different locations across Kansas City–with each location hosting different materials from the volume. This propelled the project to new heights, connecting Montalvo to Kansas City's underground ballroom community. The relationships Montalvo, themself, and their peers formed with these elders began a new era of the project–one that sought to rightfully honor and respect the contributions of KC's Black queer elders.
|
||||
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||||
Since 2022, {B/qKC} has launched at least two public exhibitions per year, and engaged in a variety of innovative, community collaborations per year meant to expose more Kansas Citians to the power of memory work alongside KC's Black queer histories.
|
||||
|
||||
{B/qKC} has been internationally recognized as a powerful example of community archives, and the ways archiving can be used to materially change our futures for the better.
|
||||
|
||||
<div style="text-align: center; margin: 2rem 0;">
|
||||
{% include feature/modal.html button="View the archive's public programs" text="[Public programs and events for the archive can be viewed on Nasir Anthony Montalvo's personal site.](https://1800nasi.net/category/bqkc/) This is to reduce bloating and keep {B/qKC}'s database static. Check out our 'Data' page for more info!" color="primary" %}
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
|
||||
<div style="text-align: center; margin: 2rem 0;">
|
||||
{% include feature/button.html
|
||||
text="Who supports this work?"
|
||||
link="/donate"
|
||||
color="success" %}
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
## Technical Credits
|
||||
{% include cb/credits.html %}
|
||||
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: Browse
|
||||
layout: browse
|
||||
permalink: /browse.html
|
||||
permalink: /browse/
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
40
pages/copyright.md
Normal file
40
pages/copyright.md
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@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: Copyright
|
||||
layout: about
|
||||
permalink: /copyright/
|
||||
# include CollectionBuilder info at bottom
|
||||
credits: false
|
||||
# featured-image value can be one objectid for a photo object in this collection, a relative path to an image in this project, or a full url to any image. If left blank, no featured image will appear at top of About page.
|
||||
about-featured-image: tishacoll001
|
||||
# set background-position for featured image, "center", "top", "bottom"
|
||||
position: center
|
||||
# major heading to display over featured image
|
||||
heading: "Copyright & Terms"
|
||||
# paragraph text below heading in featured image
|
||||
sub-heading:
|
||||
# additional padding added to the feature to increase size. Give value in em or px, e.g. "5em".
|
||||
padding: 6em
|
||||
# Edit the markdown on in this file to describe your collection
|
||||
# Look in _includes/feature for options to easily add features to the page
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Don't get hit with a lawsuit!
|
||||
|
||||
A majority of {B/qKC}'s materials are protected by third party rights or licensed under **CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International)**.
|
||||
|
||||
This means:
|
||||
|
||||
- You are allowed to **share** — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
|
||||
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
|
||||
|
||||
Under the following terms:
|
||||
|
||||
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
|
||||
- NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. *Noncommercial means not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.*
|
||||
- NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
*You are responsible for obtaining necessary permissions*. {B/qKC}'s collections contain a wide range of content. You are responsible for clearing the necessary rights in order to use the materials in question. For example, if you want to download a photo that is still protected by copyright for use in a research paper, you must determine whether your proposed use requires consent from the copyright holder, and, if so, you must secure the permission of the copyright holder. In some cases, you may also need to secure the consent of people who appear in photographs in our collections.
|
||||
|
||||
If you have any questions, please contact us!
|
||||
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: Data
|
||||
layout: data
|
||||
permalink: /data.html
|
||||
permalink: /data/
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Archival Metadata
|
||||
# What is decentralization?
|
||||
|
||||
## Archival Metadata
|
||||
The table below provides sorting and basic search of the archive's contents.
|
||||
Use the "CSV" button below to download the filtered metadata you see on the page.
|
||||
Alternatively, click the "Download" button at the top right to view the full archive's metadata in various formats.
|
||||
|
||||
116
pages/donate.md
Normal file
116
pages/donate.md
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: Donate to {B/qKC}
|
||||
layout: about
|
||||
permalink: /donate/
|
||||
# include CollectionBuilder info at bottom
|
||||
credits: true
|
||||
# featured-image value can be one objectid for a photo object in this collection, a relative path to an image in this project, or a full url to any image. If left blank, no featured image will appear at top of About page.
|
||||
position: center
|
||||
# major heading to display over featured image
|
||||
sub-heading:
|
||||
# additional padding added to the feature to increase size. Give value in em or px, e.g. "5em".
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Supporting this archive
|
||||
|
||||
{B/qKC} is a fiscally-sponsored artist project. {B/qKC} is kept open by people like *you* who choose to donate to this work. By limiting the people we accept donations, grants and sponsorships from, we remain accountable to the people who truly believe in our work.
|
||||
|
||||
We have had over 100+ donations in the two years before launching this website in early 2026. We would *love* to encourage folks to contribute monthly/regularly.
|
||||
|
||||
The options below are through {B/qKC}'s fiscal sponsor, The Field. Your donation through this organization will be registered as tax-deductible.
|
||||
|
||||
*Please contact us for more donation options.*
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
## Our donors
|
||||
|
||||
*Thank you to our long list of donors to-date. Every donation has allowed this project to bloom in new directions.*
|
||||
|
||||
<ul class="donor-list">
|
||||
{% for donor in site.data.donors %}
|
||||
{% assign date_parts = donor.donation_date | split: "/" %}
|
||||
{% assign year = date_parts[2] %}
|
||||
|
||||
<li>
|
||||
{{ donor.donor_first }} {{ donor.donor_last }}, {{ year }}
|
||||
{% if donor.message_to_artist %}
|
||||
<br><em>{{ donor.message_to_artist }}</em>
|
||||
{% endif %}
|
||||
</li>
|
||||
{% endfor %}
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
## Our grantors and sponsors
|
||||
|
||||
*Thank you to our granting and sponsoring organizations, who have believed in the power of this work.*
|
||||
|
||||
### Sustaining
|
||||
|
||||
$40,000 (total commitment) <br>
|
||||
**Rooted Power Fund** – Annual Sustainability Grant
|
||||
|
||||
### Major
|
||||
|
||||
$15,000 <br>
|
||||
**The Opportunity Agenda** – Culture & Narrative Fellowship
|
||||
|
||||
$8,500 + "DWeb For Creators" course ($2500) + consulting<br>
|
||||
**Gray Area, TechSoup, and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web** – Cultural Memory Lab
|
||||
|
||||
$9,000 <br>
|
||||
**The University of Kansas** – Stories For All Grant
|
||||
|
||||
### Supporting
|
||||
|
||||
$5,000 <br>
|
||||
**Diaspora Solidarities Lab** – Community Fellows Program
|
||||
|
||||
$4,000 + in-kind event space usage <br>
|
||||
**Blaqout** – *sponsorsed events for 2023/2024*
|
||||
|
||||
$3,500 <br>
|
||||
**ArtsKC** – Inspiration Grant
|
||||
|
||||
$1,000 <br>
|
||||
**Health Forward Foundation** – *sponsor of popular education series* <br>
|
||||
**Vivent Health** – *sponsored events for 2023/2024*
|
||||
|
||||
### Community
|
||||
|
||||
**Bay Area Video Coalition** <br>
|
||||
**Tintoretta Tattoo Studio** <br>
|
||||
**Charlotte Street** <br>
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
*Thank you to Astringent Press, Oddities Prints, Plot Twist Consulting, BLK + BRWN., PH Coffee, Waterbird Coffee, and Café Corazón who have offered in-kind support to this work!*
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
## Organizations looking to sponsor or donate
|
||||
Any organizations looking to support this work should contact us directly. Please us the button below to email us.
|
||||
<div style="text-align: center; margin: 2rem 0;">
|
||||
{% include feature/button.html
|
||||
text="Inquire"
|
||||
link="mailto:nasiranthonymontalvo@gmail.com"
|
||||
color="success" %}
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Donating my material to the archive
|
||||
We are currently able to digitize materials related to Soakie's!
|
||||
|
||||
Unfortunately, we are not readily available to digitize additional archival materials at this time, but hope to soon! This project has traditionally been pursued in volumes, and it is the current mission of {B/qKC} to permanently memorialize Soakie's in various shapes and forms.
|
||||
|
||||
For information on our digitization policy, please contact us.
|
||||
|
||||
<div style="text-align: center; margin: 2rem 0;">
|
||||
{% include feature/button.html
|
||||
text="Inquire"
|
||||
link="mailto:nasiranthonymontalvo@gmail.com"
|
||||
color="success" %}
|
||||
</div>
|
||||
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: Locations
|
||||
layout: cloud
|
||||
permalink: /locations.html
|
||||
permalink: /locations/
|
||||
# Default locations page is configured in "_data/theme.yml"
|
||||
# leave cloud-fields as "site.data.theme.locations-fields"
|
||||
cloud-fields: site.data.theme.locations-fields
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: Map
|
||||
layout: map
|
||||
permalink: /map.html
|
||||
permalink: /map/
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Mapping The Archive
|
||||
|
||||
120
pages/read/erasure.md
Normal file
120
pages/read/erasure.md
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
|
||||
---
|
||||
title: The Erasure and (Sexual) Subjugation of Black Queer Kansas Citians; A Brief Historical Look
|
||||
layout: about
|
||||
permalink: /read/erasure.html
|
||||
# include CollectionBuilder info at bottom
|
||||
credits: false
|
||||
# featured-image value can be one objectid for a photo object in this collection, a relative path to an image in this project, or a full url to any image. If left blank, no featured image will appear at top of About page.
|
||||
about-featured-image:
|
||||
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---
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# **The Erasure and (Sexual) Subjugation of Black Queer Kansas Citians; A Brief Historical Look**
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An unabridged version of an essay featured in the Urban League of Greater Kansas City’s 2023 State of Black Kansas City. Refurbished for {B/qKC}'s database.
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BY [NASIR MONTALVO](https://1800nasi.net) ● ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE KANSAS CITY DEFENDER ON NOVEMBER 07, 2023
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<figure style="display: inline-block; max-width: 100%;">
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<img src="https://kansascitydefender.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Bill-Todd-Art-Bratt-Collection-Current-News-Vol-10-Iss-10-B10F10-GLAMA-0001-1-1.png"
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style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
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<figcaption class="figure-caption text-left text-muted" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" margin-top="0.5rem">
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Figure 1. Pictured is a Black organizer holding two signs, one in each hand, in protest of an unknown year of Kansas City's Pride Festival and their entry fees. In their right hand, the sign reads "pride is FREE...why isn't this event?." In their left hand, the sign reads "$15 for what?". The caption for the image mocks the Black organizer's locs, reading "The Best Damn Day of Your Life, And With That Hair, Not A Problem." This issue of the paper, let alone this page, mentions nothing of the protest or entry fees. (Image printed in Current News. Volume 10, Issue 10 [June 7, 2000]: 3. Courtesy of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America.)
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<blockquote class="quote-box">
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<p class="quote-text">"Man is human only to the extent to which he tries to impose himself on another man in order to be recognized by him. As long as he has not been effectively recognized by the other, it is this other who remains the focus of his actions. His human worth and reality depend on this other and on his recognition by the other. It is in this other that the meaning of his life is condensed."</p>
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<p class="quote-attrib">Frantz Fanon, "Black Skin, White Masks"</p>
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</blockquote>
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The Dixie Belle Bar is lauded, perhaps, as one of the most nostalgic places for Kansas City's LGBT nightlife from 1983 to 2006[^1]–but it was also once one of Kansas City's most racist queer establishments. On July 27, 1993, Yul Stell, a Black organizer with [Men Of All Colors Together--Kansas City](https://kansascitydefender.com/lgbtqia2/men-of-all-colors-together/), penned an open letter to the Dixie Belle [^2]. In the letter, he condemned the bar for displaying a confederate flag and called out racial practices the bar upheld–requiring that Black folk show four to five pieces of identification for entry into the establishment and placing a quota on Black folk who could be in the bar at one-time[^3]. Since the bar closed in 2006, Dixie Belle has developed a cult-like following: former patrons have hosted throwback events and posted nostalgic photos, and the bar was most recently featured as a stop on the Kansas City Rainbow Tour [^4].
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- - -
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||||
The Dixie Belle Bar is but one example of an unspoken issue in Kansas City: that Black queer Kansas Citians have faced, not only erasure, but immense anguish for the sake of white LGBT progress–demonstrating a deeply seeded anti-Blackness that needs to be upended in order for true LGBT freedoms to exist. The following paper seeks to examine how infringement of Black queer space, Black joy and the subsequent sexual violence enacted on Black queer folk has created a long-reigning racial power-imbalance within Kansas City's queer community–ultimately leading to the subjugation of Black queer Kansas Citians.
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**The Racial Commodification of Kansas City's Pride**
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-----------------------------------------------------
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Kansas City's Pride is the prime event for local LGBT folk: a three-day event encompassing a parade, performances and queer vendors–but the event here has been plagued with accusations of racism, transphobia and classism. Kansas City's Pride was originally founded by Black lesbian [Lea Hopkins](https://kansascitydefender.com/lgbtqia2/kansas-citys-out-there-90s-gay-and-lesbian-variety-show/) in 1977, and served as a protest march–with a small group of 25-30 people advocating for representation and LGBT rights[^5]. In 2001, John Koop, more commonly known by their stage name, Flo, created [Show Me Pride, LLC](https://queerkc.wordpress.com/category/big-gay-scandals/)[^6] to run what we now know as today's Pride parade. With this change in management, Kansas City's Pride became a capitalist spectacle: charging vendors for table space, up-charging food and refreshments, and, most notably, charging an entry fee for attendees. According to John Koop, the fees were to combat financial mismanagement[^7]. However, in interviews with four Black queer Kansas Citians (who've requested anonymity), the fees were meant to bar low-income folks from attending the celebration (see fig. 1). By making it difficult for low-income folks to attend Pride, Show Me Pride, LLC prevented those most affected by poverty (particularly Black people) from attending an event that was originally founded as a protest and celebration of identity. The festival has also been marred by Rick Bumgardner–who bought out Show Me Pride in 2008–when he moved the parade to the Power & Light District (P&L) in 2012. The Power and Light District was already under fire for its funding by the Cordish Company, an organization (with no queer ties) that is responsible for the $850 million dollar development project that is P&L and, thus, dually responsible for third and fourth-wave gentrification that pushed out Black gay nightlife[^8]. Moving the parade to this location was met with protests[^9]and immense vitriol [^10].
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|
||||
**The Loss of Black queer Space(s); The Gentrification of Power & Light**
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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<figure style="display: inline-block; max-width: 100%;">
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<img src="https://kansascitydefender.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-06-at-5.05.50 PM-843x1024.png"
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alt=""
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style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
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<figcaption class="figure-caption text-left text-muted" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" margin-top="0.5rem">
|
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Figure 2. An Ad in Current News For Soakies, a former Black gay bar. The headline of the ad reads, "The ONLY Black Gay Bar in KC," followed by the titles of the bar, location, drink specials, and hours of operation. (Ad printed in *Current News.* Volume 3, Issue 11 [June 24, 1993]: 37. Courtesy of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America.)
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</figcaption>
|
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</figure>
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|
||||
In the early 2000's, Black queer Kansas City nightlife was more than an activity. Soakie's and Tootsie's were unofficial Black gay bars in Downtown Kansas City that were filled to the brim with local Black queer folk [^11]. So much so that the Soakies-adjacent parking lot became an extension of the club: hosting balls, performances and the signature 'parkin' lot pimpin' that Black queer eldership reminisces on today. The clubs, however, shut down as Downtown became more gentrified at the hands of government-sponsored beautification projects. Soakie's would shut down in 2004. And Tootsie's, a hang-out space for (Black) lesbians, would undergo a "remodel" and clientele shift where lesbians were ultimately pushed out [^12] to allot room for swingers. The club closed down completely in 2010.
|
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|
||||
Now, no Black gay bars exist in Kansas City. Instead, folks must rely on local organizations like Lyfestyle Entertainment or Queer Black KC to produce life-affirming events and make use of other spaces. These same organizations, however, rely on white (LGBT) entities for event space, funding, resources, and connections. This has created a cycle wherein Black queer Kansas Citians cannot attain their needs, or "move" towards freedom, without the actions of their white counterparts and white capital. The same centralizing of resources can be seen at Kansas City's Pride festivities held annually in June.
|
||||
|
||||
Kansas City's Pride Festival (now run by the Kansas City Community Pride Alliance for the past few years) has remained an event that folks need to pay to get into. In 2022, the entry fee was $10 and in 2023, $5. Despite the lowering of this entry fee, various aspects of Pride still revolve around obtaining capital: food vendors that price-gouge due to the fenced-in festival area, vendor fees upwards of $1,350 as of this year, and liquor partnerships and laws that force attendees to solely purchase alcohol from Boulevard Brewing's stand [^13]. Although the price-gouging at Pride started with white organizers, today's Pride is managed by mainly Black organizers [^14]. This maintenance of the status quo demonstrates how racism is meant to function: by permeating through systems, space and time as long as we can name things as Black and white, and preserving the social structures that reify white supremacy.
|
||||
|
||||
*In writing this section, I caution those in seeking solutions to "reclaim ownership"–because this implies that at one time, any of these spaces belonged to Black queer Kansas Citians; and dually implies that ownership liberates. Kansas City history–and American history, at large–tells us these places were never "owned" to begin with, and will never be owned. *
|
||||
|
||||
**(Sexual) Violence–The Fetishization of Black gay Kansas City Men**
|
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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<figure style="display: inline-block; max-width: 100%;">
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<img src="https://kansascitydefender.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image.png"
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alt=""
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style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;">
|
||||
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-left text-muted" style="font-size: 0.85rem;" margin-top="0.5rem">
|
||||
Figure 3. A Map of Gay Bars in Kansas City in 2000. All of these bars no longer exist aside from Missie B's and SideStreet Bar. 17 total bars are shown here–only 8 (officially) exist in Kansas City now. (Map printed in *KC Exposures. Volume* 1, issue. 31 [June 8, 2000]: 31, Courtesy of the Gay And Lesbian Archives of Mid-America.)
|
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</figcaption>
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||||
</figure>
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|
||||
|
||||
In conjunction with loss of spaces, we also must examine how sexual desire has served in the oppression of Black queer Kansas Citians.
|
||||
|
||||
The Black gay male community of Kansas City, particularly, suffers from this sexual exploitation----as can be seen in the case of the organization, Black-White Men Together-Kansas City (BWMT-KC). Founded by Michael J. Smith in 1980, the National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT) was expressely founded for white gay men to more easily find Black men to have sex with[^15](https://kansascitydefender.com/lgbtqia2/the-erasure-and-sexual-subjugation-of-black-queer-kansas-citians-a-brief-historical-look/#38315f38-0d39-4b4c-b736-a237630ff5dc)^. Smith was described by his peers to be an 'interracialist', believing that Black men were more well-endowed; he would face vitriol in the media for his comments and actions. Despite this, chapters of the organization opened across the nation, including in Kansas City. The local chapter was able to accomplish a great deal in pushing sex education and creating systems of support for gay men, at large----but part of the violence faced by Black queer men is sexual exploitation, which includes fetishization based on race.
|
||||
|
||||
Similarly to the loss of Black queer space, this sexual violence and the need to feel desired limits access to new futures. Desirability ultimately creates a cycle that seeks not to end white supremacy, but to further it by developing unattainable standards (e.g. sexual endowment) and unwritten codes (e.g. hyper-masculinity) that create power structures amidst Black queer men in competition of the white male gaze. To end white supremacy is to put an end to this sexual desire; and to eradicate the tools by which white men use to subjugate Black queer men to (sexual) dependence.
|
||||
|
||||
Simply put, the Chapter (no matter its goals) was ontologically violent; Black men in BWMT-KC sought safety in this group during a period where being sexually-open was more readily pathologized than today. But this illusory feeling of safety is undermined by what the group was meant to do–to create pathways for white men and Kansas Citians to sexually pursue Black gay men, as stated in a marketing brochure the group used in the 90's: "If you are having problems with friends not understanding or giving you a hard time because you date outside of your race; then MACT is for you"[^16]. In-line with Frantz Fanon's pedagogy, Black gay men based their safety off of feeling 'recognized' by white counterparts and, thus, built this organization in a condensed view of their freedom.
|
||||
|
||||
**From Redlining to ... Rainbow Crosswalks**
|
||||
------------------------------------------
|
||||
There exists a paradigm in Kansas City's queer community: wherein Black queer Kansas Citians are made reliant on white LGBT progress in order to progress themselves–yet, Black queer struggles for power (as specifically examined in this paper, space and sexual triumph) have proven that Western governing bodies are only meant to uphold whiteness. It is this paradigm that has led to a mass erasure of Black queer history, and led to LGBT progress being celebrated in Kansas City even if it has come at the expense of Black folks in that struggle. This paper is not meant to target non-Black queer Kansas Citians, and should not be mistaken by bigoted, cisgendered-heterosexual Black folk to be validation of their homophobic or transphobic desires. Instead, this paper should serve as what history should always be used to do: to inform the future. And that future is one where Black queer Kansas Citians must not create within the bounds of white power structures, but to destroy servility in order to build anew.
|
||||
|
||||
*I encourage folks looking to create new Black queer futures to read more pedagogy (Frantz Fanon, Da'Shaun L. Harrison, James Baldwin), join local movements for abolition (such as the Reale Justice Network and the Kansas City Defender), and protest rainbow capitalism by holding your own Pride protests and, both, in-and-out of June. If you're not, both, Black and queer, I implore you to seek out Black queer folk, listen to them, and fulfill their needs: donate to gender-affirming surgery funds, bail out Black queer folk in jail, organize against criminalization of queerness, and create true systemic change--rainbow crosswalks will not save you nor I.*
|
||||
|
||||
<blockquote class="quote-box">
|
||||
<p class="quote-text">An abridged version of this essay, titled "The Unseen Struggles: Erasure and Racial Inequities in Kansas City's Queer Community," was originally published in the Urban League of Greater Kansas City's 2023 State of Black Kansas City | FROM REDLINING TO CHALK LINES: THE COSTS OF ECONOMIC INJUSTICE. The report can be found on their <a href="https://www.ulkc.org/2023-state-of-black-kc" target="_blank">website</a>.</p>
|
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</blockquote>
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Ferruzza, Charles. "Oldest Gay Bar in Kansas City Has Closed." The Pitch, July 26, 2019. https://www.thepitchkc.com/oldest-gay-bar-in-kansas-city-has-closed/.
|
||||
[^2]: [Scrapbook clippings of BWMT/MACT-KC]. (ca. 1980-1999). Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America, LaBudde Special Collections, Miller Nichols Library, Kansas City, MO, United States.
|
||||
[^3]: Ibid.
|
||||
[^4]: Barrett, J. B. (2023, June 3). *KC Rainbow Tour: A Drive from UMKC to the Kansas City Museum*. VoiceMap. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://voicemap.me/tour/kansas-city/kc-rainbow-tour-a-drive-from-umkc-to-the-kansas-city-museum\
|
||||
[^5]: Jackson, D. W. (2016). *Changing Times: Almanac and Digest of Kansas City's LGBTQIA History* (50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition, pp. 115--116). The Orderly Pack Rat.
|
||||
[^6]: Anonymous. (2010, June 22). *Pride and its High Dollar Pony*. Queer Kansas City. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://queerkc.wordpress.com/category/big-gay-scandals/
|
||||
[^7]: Current News. "Gay Pride Edition," June 7, 2000, Volume 10 edition, sec. Issue 10.
|
||||
[^8]: Thompson, A. "GENTRIFICATION THROUGH THE EYES (AND LENSES) OF KANSAS CITY RESIDENTS." *University of Missouri*, December 2011.https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/14577/research.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y.
|
||||
[^9]: B, Steven. "Move Pride Back to Liberty Memorial or Riverside Park: Petition." Change.org, May 16, 2012. Accessed July 28, 2023.https://www.change.org/p/show-me-pride-llc-move-pride-back-to-liberty-memorial-or-riverside-park.\
|
||||
[^10]: Ferruzza, Charles. "KC's Pride Fest Isn't Such a Gay Time for Some." The Pitch, July 26, 2019. https://www.thepitchkc.com/kcs-pride-fest-isnt-such-a-gay-time-for-some/.
|
||||
[^11]: KC Exposures, "Nightlife City Map", *KC Exposures*, *Volume* 1, issue. 31 (June 8, 2000): 31, *Gay And Lesbian Archives of Mid-America*.
|
||||
[^12]: Anonymous. "Tootsie's." Lost Womyn's Space, May 4, 2011. Accessed July 27, 2023. http://lostwomynsspace.blogspot.com/2011/05/tootsies.html.
|
||||
[^13]: KC Pride Alliance. "2023 Vendor Info." *KC Pride Community Alliance*, May 3, 2023. https://kcpridealliance.org/vendors/.
|
||||
[^14]: Banks, J.M. "Black Pride: A New Generation of LGBTQ Organizers Lead the Parade in Kansas City." The Kansas City Star, June 1, 2022. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article261066887.html.
|
||||
[^15]: Burgin, Sarah Nicole. "The Workshop As the Work: White Anti-Racism Organising in 1960s, 70s, and 80s US Social Movements." *The University of Leeds, School of History*, September 2013.
|
||||
[^16]: [MACT-KC Brochure]. (ca. 1990-1995). Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America, LaBudde Special Collections, Miller Nichols Library, Kansas City, MO, United States.
|
||||
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ According to a July 11, 1994 article by AP News, however, [the Amendment Coaliti
|
||||
[Lea Hopkins](https://libweb.umkc.edu/GLAMA/oral-histories-moreinfo/38) has been an instrumental Black, Lesbian organizer in Kansas City for decades. Hopkins was behind the first Gay Pride Parade in Kansas City in 1979, and [43 years later was a Grand Marshall for Kansas City's Pride Alliance Parade earlier this year](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjsbDmpDkrV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link). Because of her work, she has undoubtedly pushed acceptance for Black Queer people to once unthinkable heights in the Midwest. Hopkins' role on Out There was to serve as a spokesperson for GLAAD, presumably because of her extensive involvement with the organization.
|
||||
|
||||
<blockquote class="quote-box">
|
||||
<p class="quote-text"><a href="https://www.ulkc.org/2023-state-of-black-kc" target="_blank">Listen to Lea Hopkins' interview with Austin R. Williams</a>, as part of GLAMA's Oral History project, as she discusses her early days, moving to New York and becoming involved with Christopher Street, and organizing the first Gay Pride Parade in Kansas City.</p>
|
||||
<p class="quote-text"><a href="https://libweb.umkc.edu/GLAMA/oral-histories-moreinfo/38" target="_blank">Listen to Lea Hopkins' interview with Austin R. Williams</a>, as part of GLAMA's Oral History project, as she discusses her early days, moving to New York and becoming involved with Christopher Street, and organizing the first Gay Pride Parade in Kansas City.</p>
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</blockquote>
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title: Subjects
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layout: cloud
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permalink: /subjects.html
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# Default subject page is configured in "_data/theme.yml"
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cloud-fields: site.data.theme.subjects-fields
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---
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title: Timeline
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layout: timeline
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permalink: /timeline.html
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permalink: /timeline/
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---
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## Collection Timeline
|
||||
|
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user