“Thanks to the efforts of several of our great elected officials, the exhibit has been removed from the Missouri State Museum! To God be the glory!” Stark posted.
Neither Kelley nor Seitz could be immediately reached for comment.
Connie Patterson, spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources — which oversees the museum — said state law requires the department to coordinate with the board of public buildings in regards to displays in the museum.
That process wasn’t followed, Patterson said, and the display was removed.
State law only requires the department coordinate its activities regarding the museum “as may be necessary for the display and exhibits of the museum and the memorial hall.”
Patterson also noted that Parson was unaware of the exhibit until “after receiving several complaints regarding the display.” But she didn’t respond to an email asking when the last time the board of public buildings discussed exhibits in the museum at one of its meetings.
Razer, the only openly gay member of the Missouri Senate, said the state owes the LGBTQ community answers “as to why they put this exhibit back in the closet.”
“There is nothing controversial about an exhibit that explains how members of the LGBT community fought to end persecution and demand rights as citizens,” Razer said. “This is nothing but ‘cancel culture’ coming from those who want the LGBT community to simply disappear into the shadows again.”
The exhibit, built by students in the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s public history program, explores the activism of gays and lesbians in the decades before Stonewall, including “Kansas City’s surprisingly pivotal role in helping to launch America’s gay rights movement. Focusing on ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things, the exhibit explores how history is made.”
