I was homesick for Houston Splash when I first moved there and found it ironic that Louisville and nearby Lexington had this large Black TGLB population, but no local Black Pride event of its own.
There were Black Pride events that happened in cities surrounding Louisville such as Nashville, Indianapolis, Chicago, St Louis and Atlanta that peeps in Da Ville would drive to and happily deposit their money to enhance the economies of, but weren't thinking about the benefits of having one of those Black pride events in Louisville.
I also noted that when I first started bringing up the idea of having a Black Pride event there in 2003, some peeps in the community were enthusiastic about it, but when it came down to getting organized to do the work to make that idea a reality, those cheerleaders suddenly became MIA.
The Kentuckiana Gay Black Pride Association group finally got organized in 2009 and I'd heard about them. But after being involved with two groups that went nowhere on the issue, I took a wait and see attitude about it. I wanted to find out how serious they were before committing time and effort to it.My move back to Houston prevented me from doing so.
Since I'm not there to enjoy the results of the conversations I and others helped get started that made this day happen, thanks to Dawn I can help them get the word out about the new event.
I'm pleased to announce that Louisville will finally host its first annual Black Pride event on the weekend of August 4-7.
On August 5 there will be a meet and greet with reigning 2010-11 Miss Continental Mokha Montrese that runs from 6-8 PM followed by the first Mr. and Miss Kentuckiana Gay Black Pride Pageant from 9 PM-4 AM.
On August 6 the inaugural Kentuckiana Gay Black Pride Festival will be hosted at Cole's Place starting at 12 noon-8 PM, followed by an after party at the same location starting at 10 PM
The closing event on August 7 is hosted by the Leading Ladies Association and is an Inspirational Brunch running from 11-2PM at the Shively Community Building.
Here's hoping that peeps in Louisville support your inaugural hometown Black Pride event and you get the same love from the surrounding cities in the area that y'all gave to their events over the years.
Hope I'm able to discuss an even bigger and better one Kentuckiana Gay Black Pride in 2012.