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Kansas City's very first Pride parade

June is synonymous with Pride, as cities and organizations recognize the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ rights through parades and rainbow regalia. Kansas City's own Pride celebration can trace its start back to one activist: Lea Hopkins. Plus: Meet a Kansas City singer who hasn't let her newfound fame take away her hometown roots.

Kansas City's first Pride parade was held in 1977 and was spearheaded by Lea Hopkins — a bold, Black, lesbian activist. Nearly a half century later, the 2023 pride parade is being held in a state that saw 48 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed and several new restrictions pass in the last legislative session. From the podcast A People's History of Kansas City, Suzanne Hogan introduces us to Hopkins and her ongoing fight.

Overland Park native Kate Cosentino made waves after she competed on the last season of "The Voice." Despite living in Nashville for the last seven years, she reps Kansas City any chance she gets. KCUR's Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga has her story.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
Trevor Grandin is a contributing producer for KCUR Studios.
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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