In 2018, Las Vegas witnessed something it had never seen before: a Pride celebration created specifically for Black LGBTQ+ people. Not watered down. Not tacked on to someone else’s agenda. A space built from scratch. Bold, healing, centered and unapologetically ours. This wasn’t corporate, This wasn’t copied. This was community. At the heart of it all was Johanna P. Perez, a black queer woman, ballroom house member, and creative force who had no desire for clout, only healing. She envisioned a space that felt like home. A pride that echoed the love of her grandmother Dessie Lee Walker, who used to throw block parties where kids played basketball, elders cooked, and even when there was conflict, families restored their bonds in love by sundown. From the memory, the idea for the Vegas Pride Block Party was born. Johanna was working as a tattoo artist out of her godfather’s motorcycle club house when she began organizing and writing out her blueprint. Planning every detail with love, grit, and vision. The event changed lives. It brought together families, creatives, youth, ballroom legends, and everyday Black LGBTQ+ folks into spaces where we could dance, cry, connect, and finally be seen. It was powerful. It was historic. And most importantly it was ours.

But as years passed, that legacy was quietly rewritten. The name changed many times: Vegas Pride Block Party to Vegas Urban Pride to Black Pride Vegas to Vegas Black Pride® But the heart of it never changed, because we never left We were always the ones behind the vision. Johanna built this not just because she wanted a Pride. She built this because for over 20 years, she watched her friends take their own lives after being rejected by their families. She witnessed the silence, the shame, the homelessness, and the isolation that so many Black LGBTQ+ people faced in Las Vegas and San Bernardino County. She decided to do something about it. This was never about a stage or a spotlight. It was about survival. It was about legacy. It was about us. While others accepted proclamations and took credit during the years Johanna was grieving her mom’s lost, recovering from surgery, and caring for her foster child. She stayed silent. But now, the silence has ended.

* Vegas Black Pride® is a registered trademark.

* The founder has returned.

* The truth has a name and it’s Johanna P. Perez

The legacy was never lost, it was taken. And now, it’s home. This isn’t a rebrand. This isn’t revenge. This is restoration. Vegas Black Pride® is back. With truth,  trademark protection, nonprofit power, and the same mission it was born with: to honor, protect, and uplift Black LGBTQ+ lives and Allies.