KC PrideFest 2019 has come and gone, but one voice in Kansas City’s startup community is advocating for a year-around symbol of LGBTQ+ support.
“I want something that’s going to be more permanent than a sticker on the streetcar,” said Brandon Love, referencing the recently unveiled KC streetcar that sports a wraparound rainbow design. “That’s the basis of ‘Rainbow Walk.’ It’s permanently saying, ‘The gay community is here to stay.’ We’re not just a bunch of partiers, we are people who have died and fought for rights.”
Love — founder of Crumble Co. and co-owner of Alchemy Bath Co., two Kansas City hygiene and aromatics companies — is the driving force behind Rainbow Walk: Love’s vision for a non-alcoholic, non-sexualized gathering point for area LGBTQ+ youth.
At the core of Rainbow Walk’s mission is advocacy for a rainbow-colored crosswalk, located in either the downtown or Crossroads areas, similar to projects seen in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and other large cities. In 2018, for example, San Antonio installed a six-color rainbow-themed walkway, according to Texas Public Radio, with $12,000 in funding from the city and $19,000 raised privately.
Love doesn’t want Rainbow Walk to be confused with just another pride movement; in fact, mainstream area pride gatherings are a source of frustration for the entrepreneur, Love said.
“Pride Month and the Rainbow Walk project … they are very unrelated, in my mind,” the 23-year-old entrepreneur said. “Pride Month has become very commercialized, and that’s fine. Capitalizing on something like gay rights is important for us to be normalized in the media — that matters. But outside of the sex, outside of the alcohol, outside of the parties, there still is a community of people who are coming of age and don’t need any of that in their life. They need love, they need communal activities, and that’s what I am trying to... Continue reading, click here. Article originally from Startland News.
