‘Baby, we’re gonna prevail’: Kansas Citians celebrate queer community at Pride Parade
Hundreds of Kansas Citians — many dressed in colorful costumes — swarmed Westport Saturday morning setting up floats for the city’s 47th Pride Parade. Fanning themselves in the heat, they prepared to walk the route down to PrideFest at Theis Park to celebrate and support KC’s LGBTQ community.
Thousands of people attend the festival to check out the music and drag performances, and walk through booths of LGBTQ-friendly vendors, nonprofits and local businesses.
The energy was buzzing as Trish Ellis was working the volunteer tent. She’s lived in KC for years, and this is her third Pride Parade. Ellis said she’s seen the crowds grow bigger each year, with this one having the most businesses involved.
Robert Verdiman, sporting a magenta fringe top and rainbow skirt, was preparing his float for his first KC Pride Parade.
“My favorite thing about the KC (queer) community is that everybody is so welcoming. Like they’re so open and so honest and everybody is willing to take you under their wing if you need assistance,” he said. “Everybody is so true to themselves and they’re so brave, it’s really a community where you can be yourself, and that’s the most important thing.”
Zanny Ex Uchawi and Ki’Yanna Uchawi are regular drag performers at Missy B’s in Westport and performing at PrideFest this year. Zanny Ex Uchawi is originally from Mississippi and said they found a really supportive and loving community here in Kansas City, despite what some might perceive as a hostile political climate at the state level. They said seeing bills proposed and passed attempting to restrict their rights is frightening to them, but it also inspired them to become more politically educated.
“It is forcing a lot of people, including myself to know who I’m voting for... I didn’t know this in high school, so if it wasn’t for this moment, I would not be educated, and it has given me a lot of excitement to be involved in politics.”
This session, Missouri lawmakers filed the most bills out of any state that threaten the rights of LGBTQ people, according to the ACLU, which continues to track those 39 bills. The organization opposed one bill that passed in Kansas this session, and also opposed 15 anti-LGBTQ bills that were introduced in the Kansas Legislature this session but not passed into law.
Ki’Yanna Uchawi said they struggle with seeing lawmakers move to ban drag performances as well as with the sexualization of their profession.
“It is hard right now with just all the different laws, but like Zanny was saying, we are very resilient. We do fight back, we are intelligent, we know what we want and so it’ll be all worth it at the end.”
Vardiman, however, was more confident in the future of LGBTQ rights in Kansas City and beyond.
“I’ll never have concerns. Gays ain’t never going anywhere, (we’ve) been here since the beginning of time. They can make any laws they want, baby, we’re gonna prevail,” he said.
Being scared is part of being human, Vardiman said, but what’s part of being brave is realizing you are more than your fear.
“Love yourself, be yourself, and continue to show your pride honey.”
