We’re honored to once again partner with Pride St. Louis and #Boom to bring you this combined Official Pride Guide and summer issue of Out in STL.
On this monumental anniversary, we contemplate where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. Associate Editor Melissa Meinzer and Steven Louis Brawley of the St. Louis LGBT History Project take a fascinating look back on where our local community was 40 and 50 years ago.
The leather community has long been front and center at Pride celebrations, and Patrick Collins profiles the insightful Thom Glowski of Rudis Leather Society. The always colorful Joss Barton features sensational pop artist David Rantz, and with the popularity of Pose in mind, I sat down with three stars of our city’s renowned vogue ball scene: Meko Lee Burr, Mechee Harper and Spirit Ebony, pictured with me above on the storied Monocle stage.
Pride is a time to remember that we’re all in this together, and we always have been. The radicals — with trans individuals and drag queens front and center — who ignited our movement at Stonewall. The caregivers, which included many lesbians, who fed and bathed and comforted the countless sick and dying when nobody else would. The activists and politicos who insisted on full marriage equality when it seemed impossible, and the historians and journalists who tell our stories and keep them alive.
This is why “We Are Family” is such an anthem this time of year. I will celebrate with the understanding that this is our moment. And I’ll have all my sisters with me.
Chris Andoe
Editor in Chief
