RESOLUTION NO. 250507
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Sponsor: Councilmember Johnathan Duncan
RESOLUTION - Recognizing and honoring Nasir Anthony Montalvo for their contributions to KC Black queer history through their solo exhibition titled Soakie's Was Home.
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WHEREAS, Nasir curated Soakie's Was Home, an interactive solo exhibition that tells the story of Soakie's: a Black gay bar that operated in Downtown Kansas City from 1993 to 2004 before being forced to close due to the Power & Light Development; and
WHEREAS, twenty years since the bar's closing, this exhibition explores how the memory of Soakie's' can build Black queer futurity; and
WHEREAS, Soakie's Was Home is rooted in Montalvo's three years of research with {B/qKC}, a Black queer community archive. The exhibition is structured as a "timeline," inviting audiences to physically move through a narrative journey-from celebrating the vibrant community Soakie's once fostered, to reflecting on the absence of Black queer spaces in Kansas City today; and
WHEREAS, visitors encounter framed photographs and rare relics from Soakie's digitized and preserved through {B/qKC} from Black queer Kansas City elders Gary Carrington, Tisha Taylor/Craig Lovinggood, and Starla Carr-who frequented Soakie's; and
WHEREAS, the exhibit had its grand opening on May 3, 2025, and was on display until June 20, 2025, at The Waiting Room; and
WHEREAS, Nasir is using the history of Soakie's as a platform for a larger teaching series about the power of storytelling and the importance of history preservation; NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
That the Mayor and Council hereby recognize and honor Nasir Anthony Montalvo for their archival work culminating in Soakie's Was Home; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes of the Council in testimony thereof and that a copy hereof be presented to Nasir Anthony Montalvo with the gratitude of t...
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