Marquez Beasley grew up in Kansas City and fell in love with the historic 18th and Vine area. Now, as a singer, host and entertainer, Beasley calls the Jazz District home for many of the events he hosts, including his popular monthly live show series Brunch With Quez.
So when Beasley, a black gay man, came up with the idea of organizing celebrations celebrating black queer culture, he wanted to make it happen in the area he loves most. Beasley had long noticed a lack of representation for people in the LGBTQ+ community in the historic 18th and Vine district, and he wanted to bring Pride to this mecca of Black KC culture.
Four years ago he joined forces with Tiara Dixon, the owner of Smaxx restaurant, to create Pride on the Vine.
“This all happened because you had a straight woman who wanted to create a space for us,” Beasley said. “Nothing like this had ever been done before, and there has never been a place at 18th and Vine for the LGBT community, so we created one.”
Kansas City’s main KC Pride celebrations take place this weekend. Beasley started partying a week earlier at 18th Street and Vine Street.
The first Pride on the Vine event drew nearly 100 people who gathered outside Smaxx at 1827 Vine St. Over time, Beasley said, the event grew into an annual gathering dedicated to creating a place of inclusion and safety.
This year’s Pride on the Vine event was Beasley’s fourth. It took place on June 1. Organizers estimate that more than 600 people showed up to support the Black queer creatives, artists, organizations and vendors in attendance.
Kansas City is celebrating Pride this weekend with a parade and Pridefest at Frank A. Theis Park. The celebrations have been an annual tradition in the city for decades. But Beasley noted that many in the black LGBTQ community felt disconnected from the events.
He explained that there is a feeling that most of the festivities and performers at KC Pride are aimed at the white gay man. This is why the black queer community has long held their own separate events.
Beasley, affectionately known around town as “Quez,” has dedicated herself to creating inclusive events and shows where everyone is welcome. Having showcased the best Black LGBTQ artists and performers at previous events, he wanted an annual gathering that would bring them together on one stage.
“We wanted to create something that we didn’t see at Pride in the historic 18th and Vine area and specifically highlight the talent of Black LGBTQ artists,” Beasley said. “We have black LGBTQ dancers, singers, DJs, designers and sometimes they don’t get the opportunity to be in the spotlight like that.”
As he took the stage at Pride on the Vine, wearing retro ’80s sunglasses, matching rainbow shirt and shorts, knee-high socks and a sheer cape, Beasley acknowledged that he hasn’t always felt comfortable expressing himself.
A graduate of Lee’s Summit North High School, Beasley knew from an early age that he belonged on stage. Unsure in the early years of his skills, it took him years to find the confidence to be his true self when he picked up a microphone. He said he didn’t have a support network at the time that he needed to help.
He embarked on a mission to create change and make Vine Street a safe place for LGBTQ art and expression.
“The biggest thing I learned from these experiences is that I wish I had these events and people around when I was younger,” said the 38-year-old KC resident. “When I was a kid, there weren’t people like us who could be the voice, stand up and be game changers against the odds.”
That’s why it’s so important to Beasley that Black culture is part of Pride celebrations every year.
The weekend started last Saturday with a special live edition of Brunch with Quez, followed by a drag show featuring Vine Street’s first fashion competition. Voguing is a stylized dance that took off within the LGBTQ community in the late 1980s. It emerged from the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s.
This year, Beasley wanted to pay tribute to voguing, one of the oldest and best-known examples of black queer dancing, which has been adopted by mainstream culture and popularized by music artists like Madonna.
The competition saw many skilled dancers compete with each other in a fierce display of talent that voguing is known for. Dancers impressed the judges with routines that included elegant sweeping arms, spinning drops to the ground and snapping kicks. They used their bodies to convey a story of confidence and intensity.
Selah Thompson won the first prize of $500. Thompson dances professionally, but admittedly had little experience with voguing other than a few past dance routines and was surprised to be selected by the judges.
“I think voguing is one of the defining characteristics of the black LGBTQ community and we’ve made it very popular, so it’s very important,” Thompson said. “I felt very lucky because some of the people I was competing against were established in the ballroom scene.”
It was Thompson’s first time attending Pride at the Vine, and he was happy to see black LGBTQ people gathering on Vine Street. He was there to participate in a performance as a backup dancer. He said he will be back next year and encourage others to come and experience the love.
“There aren’t many opportunities for black LGBT creatives to come together. I won’t say there aren’t any, but there aren’t many,” said the 28-year-old dancer. “It was magical. The whole time I was there there was a feeling of euphoria.”
The main event of the day was a concert featuring a lineup of mostly black LGBTQ performers. Beasley said it was one of the largest gatherings of black queer artists in the neighborhood.
Eljay Williams said he felt honored to be in the company of talented artists like Buddy Love and Lyfestyle Ent who represent Black Pride.
Although Williams says he is a proud gay man, he doesn’t like the idea of his music being categorized as “gay music” because it is about love in all forms.
“I don’t want to be pigeonholed,” says Williams, who performs under the name The Artist ElJay. “I am an artist who first and foremost loves music, dance and performing. And when you invite people into your world, being gay is exactly who I am as a person. I’m just myself.”
Williams describes his music style as a melodic, energetic, upbeat sound that people can enjoy dancing to. Last year he performed on the main stage at KC Pride and at Black Pride events in other cities. He says what he sees happening in Kansas City is different. It’s new and he’s excited to be a part of it.
“Pride on the Vine is a lot more intimate and offers more opportunities to connect with the audience,” says the singer. “This event showcases our growth and where we are as a community as it ensures we remember the people who paved the way for us and how far we have come.”
Co-host and master of ceremonies for this year’s Pride on the Vine is Beasley’s longtime collaborator, Shirley Jones, who performs under the name Skittles. Jones has known Beasley for more than 10 years and works with Beasley on his shows and events.
This was her second year as host. She has seen the impact and community that participants have fostered over the years.
“There was no space or platform for the LGBTQ community here,” Jones said. “After that first year, the support started pouring in because this has never been done before. And it was embraced as a whole and has become iconic.”
Jones, a lesbian, is proud to be a part of history by helping to create this annual celebration that focuses on acceptance and pride.
She expects Pride on the Vine to continue to grow every year.
“We say children are the future and for a young person the feeling of acceptance is important,” she said. “Knowing that there is a place where they can come, feel appreciated and see so many happy faces embracing their people really matters.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas attended the event and showed his solidarity with the black LGBTQ community.
“The welcoming spirit of Pride has been in Kansas City for over a month,” he wrote in a post on X that day. “It’s every day and our way of life. I had a fantastic time today celebrating Pride in the Black community at 18th and Vine.
For Beasley, this year was confirmation that Pride on the Vine is here to stay.
“Twenty years ago you never saw gays on Vine, and now our mayor kind of has a stamp of approval on what we’re doing here,” Beasley said. “I’m excited for this whole new generation of gay kids who will grow up knowing they have this time and space to go and be themselves.”
