The Kansas City Rainbow Tour is a self-guided, app-narrated history of Kansas City’s rich LGBTQ+ past. The driving tour is the creation of Joel Barrett and is presented by Joel Speaks Out. A launch party was held on June 3rd at the Kansas City Museum. The Tour takes approximately one hour. It begins near the University of Missouri–Kansas City and ends at the Kansas City Museum. Along the way are more than 20 stops at places such as Womontown, Liberty Memorial, the Jazz District, and many more, including some well-remembered gay bars. The Tour received a Rocket Grant made possible by the Charlotte Street Foundation, the Spencer Museum of Art, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts. Thanks to generous donors, the Tour is free to users. Learn more at KCRainbowTour.com.
Joel Barrett, Joel Speaks Out
Lea Hopkins, the first Black Playboy Bunny in Kansas City – later, she was the organizer of the first Pride Parade in Our Town
Postcard of the Jewel Box Lounge (Courtesy of GLAMA)
First Pride Parade in Kansas City, 1979
Featured in the June 10, 2023 issue of The Independent.
