> “Hello_world!
I’d like to formally welcome you to the official newsletter for {B/qKC}: Kansas City’s newest Black queer community archive.
I hope this is a much welcome refresh from my grassroots email campaigns, and a new way I can share a more curated look into my work outside of social media. I am so gracious for how everyone has shown up for this work since its early days as a journalism project.
As the nature of archival work, this work is literally only possible because of your community contribution. Now that this archive is freshly divorced from The Defender community-owned, I’m excited to lean even further into you.
Onwards and upwards with pub_1 of the {B/qKC} newsletter!
TABLE_OF_CONTENTS
2024_WRAPPED!
taking_ovaaa_2025
snippet_from_the_ARCHIVE
how_to_support_this_work
My thoughts after this year? Maybe I need to #sitdown for a second.
Launching as an official community archive on March 1 of this year with three inaugural collections, {B/qKC} and I were able to do so much in a short span of time.
Let’s run through a quick list:
JANUARY – We feature in our first gallery exhibition: “Miss/They Camaraderie 2024” at Charlotte Street’s art gallery. Thank you, Yashira!
FEBRUARY – {B/qKC} partners with Oddities Prints to release two limited edition prints–a RISO print and bandana.
MARCH – At BlaqOut’s “The BlaqBox,” {B/qKC} holds its Archive Launch Party and Volume_2 exhibit preview.
APRIL – I hold a 5-location exhibit across Kansas City coffee shops and a bookstore telling the story of Soakie’s–a Black gay bar in Kansas City from 1993 – 2004.
MAY – I attend a retreat of memory workers and journalists at the historic Highlander Center in New Market, Tennessee.
JUNE – {B/qKC} features on the Kansas City Streetcar! In this display co-created with Zach Frazier, the inaugural collection holders of {B/qKC} are collaged with materials from the archive in a display titled “welcome_to_soakie’s.”
JULY – I am awarded a 2-year studio residency at Charlotte Street–where {B/qKC} is currently headquartered (email me if you’d like a studio visit)!
AUGUST – I am selected for The Opportunity Agenda’s 2024-2025 Culture + Narrative Fellowship–the largest financial opportunity I’ve received from my and {B/qKC}’s work so far.
SEPTEMBER – The Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) selects {B/qKC} for its community preservationist, train-the-trainers program–which allowed me to teach 5 folks across various KC organizations how to work with analog video!
OCTOBER – The weekly Syllabus publishes my guide to archiving, “bad tats, jesus christ, lemons: everything is archival.” Widely received–and even used in classroom lectures at John Hopkins University and the University of Kansas!
NOVEMBER – The Field accepts me into their Fiscal Sponsorship for Social Justice Practitioners Program–meaning {B/qKC} is officially fiscally-sponsored.
DECEMBER – {B/qKC} officially announces its separation from The Kansas City Defender and its first crowdfunding campaign (more below).
WHEW…what a year!! Super thankful for it all.
Let me know if you have any favorite memories from this year!
With the new year swiftly approaching, I have some specific horizons I’m going to reach to keep this work fresh and moving.
Here’s what you can expect from me and the archive in 2025:
The Digital Database: Now that {B/qKC} is solo-dolo, I’m excited to be working on {B/qKC}’s website and digital database–hopefully launching by this Summer.
Community Workshops: Based on community feedback, I’ll be creating a more intimate way to engage with {B/qKC} by hosting a series of workshops focused on teaching KC’s Black queer history, zine-making, at-home archiving and the importance of public art and third spaces.
Parkin’ Lot Pimpin’: A important piece of Soakie’s were the parties had in its parking lot; {B/qKC} will be diving deeper into this history in 2025.
Studio Space Activation: I’ll be improving my space at Charlotte Street so that I can open up more public appointments to visit the archive.
Ongoing Materials Collection: And, of course, I’m going to continue collecting and digitizing community materials.
Contact me to learn more about sponsoring these efforts >
from the gary_carrington_collection
As part of these newsletters, I’ll be sharing little gems for y’all from the archive.
This April 2004 clipping digitized from former LGBT periodical K.C. Exposures shares photos from drag queen Tisha Taylor’s birthday bash at Soakie’s. In my interviews with Taylor, she described her birthdays as over-the-top and fabulous (just like her, of course)–saying one year she had her birthday cake decorated with bridges and fountains.
What I love about this clipping is how many important tidbits/cameos are here. in the second column, top right is William Versace of the House of Versace—and previous of winner of gay pageant competition Mr. Black America (sic) (still need to scan some ephemera on this).
And in the first column, second photo is Tisha Taylor (middle) pictured alongside Jimmy (left) and Sue (right)—the nephew and niece-in-law of Rinaldo A. “Soakie” Salvatore and, dually, succeeding owners of Soakie’s.
You can learn more about Soakie’s in this research article >
As you can see, we’ve done a LOT this year, and this work can only continue with your help.
A few weeks ago, I kicked off {B/qKC}’s first crowdfunding campaign–and we’re already at more than 25% of our goal!
{B/qKC} is fiscally sponsored, which means all contributions are 100% tax-deductible and go directly to supporting the work I do as a Black queer artist and the sustainability of this project.
By supporting {B/qKC}, you’re investing in my work as an artist and memory worker and in the long-term preservation of Black queer Midwestern stories. Together, we can build a future where our histories are celebrated and never forgotten.
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