By Caroline Turner
Kansas City celebrated Pridefest during the first week of June, but LGBTQIA+ communities have been continuing the festivities and activism around the nation and around the world throughout the entire month.
In KC, the three day festival at Berkeley Riverfront Park featured headlining musicians Betty Who, Citizen Jane, Well Strung and more. The celebration also featured many local business and vendors, volleyball, workshops, food trucks, and a Ferris wheel.
While reflecting on Pride Month, I came across the article by BuzzFeed questioning, “Should Pride Be A Party Or A Protest?” The article points out both trials and tribulations that the LGBTQIA+ community are going through, focusing on how Pride events have shifted since its beginning in New York 1970, which marked the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The author points out tension between the rising shift in the Pride movement being, “less explicitly about rising up against oppression and more about joy, visibility, affirmation and celebration in face of that oppression.” For some who feel their battle is not yet won, this presents a conflict. Some want to march to demand their rights and some want a party to celebrate their rights.
Themes of minority and majority come out within the tension, as the movement is made up of many people and groups. In the article, senior director of Casa Ruby, a well-known bilingual multicultural LGBT Organization said, “(There are) lots of folds in the community who don’t feel particularly represented.”
Whether people are protesting or partying, the main consensus seemed to be that as long as people are showing up that’s what matters. Showing representation of the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole is powerful. Get out there and enjoy the rest of pride month everyone!