Our Story
At the end of the summer of 2016, two friends were having drinks at a bar in Independence, KS. Brandon West and Todd Young were discussing all the LGBTQ+ people they knew that lived in the Montgomery County, Kansas area. They created a lengthy list of people they knew and began wondering why there wasn’t some type of community for the queer individuals who call Montgomery County, Kansas home. Both Todd and Brandon had lived in cities with thriving gay cultures, and missed that social connection of an LGBTQ+ community. They set out to create a social group that would meet twice a month at a local restaurant, and called it the “Montgomery County’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Social Group.” On September 1, 2016, “MG County, KS’ LGBTQ Social Group,” had their first Thursday social, at Uncle Jack’s Bar and Grill, in Independence, KS.
In the first few meetings, there were 2-4 people that would show up. As turnout was small, doubts began to set in, but the two friends decided to continue to persevere until the holidays. In November, attendance began to increase, and by January 2017 the MG County KS LGBTQ Social Group had over 20 people attending! By February they were planning the first-ever Southeast Kansas Pride celebrations. They set a date in April for Pride and were on cloud 9 telling anyone who would listen. The news was met with excitement, worry, and news of other community events taking place the same weekend. The very first SEK Pride would be competing with the local high school prom, a church event, and the William Inge Theatre Festival. Everyone knows that the two things you cannot compete with within rural communities are school and church events. They went back to the drawing boards and attempted to find a new date, as well as set up an organizational structure and change their name. The group wanted to be inclusive of our members, so June, which is Pride month, was not an option because many of the members were small business owners whose busiest time of the year is June. SEK Pride was scheduled to take place the first weekend after Labor Day.
Independence, KS celebrated the first-ever Southeast Kansas Pride, a historic three-day event that took place September 7, 8, 9. The Pre-Pride Social took place at Uncle Jack’s as part of Project’s First Thursday Social. On Friday evening there was a Family Movie Night at the Booth Hotel featuring the movie “Kinky Boots.” It was truly an amazing sight – a historic Crystal Ballroom with rows of chairs filled with all segments of rural Independence. Over 80 people showed up for the movie. Seeing families bring their LGBTQ+ child, and that child’s face lighting up was magical. Saturday was full of events including, ”Gays at the Gallery” which featured a drag show hosted by Lady Bearica Andrews from Brooklyn, NY, with performances by regional drag queens and burlesque performers. “Gays at the Gallery ” took place. in the middle of the afternoon, at Eclectix Art Gallery. The crowning event of SEK Pride was a Community Potluck Dinner with local, regional, and national speakers. Kassie Thornton, an actor, and comedian flew in from Los Angeles to give the keynote address. Pride was capped off with a Pub Crawl through downtown Independence, featuring a group of over 60 individuals waving Rainbow Flags and living their authentic lives.
With overwhelming community support, Project Q&A hosted over 300 people from all over the country who visited Independence, KS for the first-ever Southeast Kansas Pride celebration. SEK Pride 2017 had numerous local sponsors and two national sponsors, the It Gets Better Project, and the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative. Following the success of the first SEK Pride, Project Q&A began to work on building an organization. In 2018 and 2019 Project Q&A hosted guest speakers such as author C.J. Janovy, and hosted Pride celebrations that drew over 500 people each year.
In 2019, founder Brandon West spoke at Stonewall Inn’s Kick-Off for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and World Pride, in New York City. Project Q&A began realizing that what we were doing in Independence, KS, a town of less than 9,000 could be replicated in other rural communities. Brandon started working toward Project Q&A becoming an official nonprofit organization, launching nationally in 2020.
While 2020 was a year plagued by tragedy, there was some light in the mix. 2020 saw a record number for voter turnout, increased awareness of the social injustices happening throughout the country, and it gave Project Q&A a chance to breathe and plan for the future. Project Q&A Inc. became an official 501(c)3, developed a strategic plan, and hosted their first large-scale fundraising efforts, laying the groundwork to be able to launch 3 new initiatives in 2021.
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