For the Masc Gent Bosses, Pride is not confined to a parade route, a rainbow flag or one week on the calendar.

The Dallas-based collective of Black queer professionals, entrepreneurs and creatives has built its identity around a different kind of visibility: creating spaces where queer people can connect, heal, build businesses, find mentorship and exist without having to shrink themselves.

That mission carries particular weight during Dallas’ September Pride season, which culminated Sunday, Sept. 20, with the Pride in Dallas parade along Cedar Springs Road. The 2026 celebration, themed “Pride Lives Here,” marked the fifth anniversary of the grassroots organization and included a full week of community programming leading into the parade.

For the Masc Gent Bosses (MGB), however, the work of Pride continues long after the crowds leave the festivities occurring on Cedar Springs.

“We’re shifting more into like advocacy,” MGB Founder and CEO “Coach” Dee Coleman said during a recent Dallas Weekly interview. “We’re still doing community events.”

The distinction reflects how the group sees its role in Dallas’ LGBTQ+ community. Founded by Coach D, the collective was inspired by a Christmas Eve 2024 dream to create a safe community for Black queer “bosses” who wanted substance, connection and legacy beyond the traditional party scene.

Building Community Beyond the Party

The Masc Gent Bosses bring different professional backgrounds and interests to the collective.

Shay, the group’s chief people officer, emphasized healing and authenticity. Marsha spoke about community and family. Courtney highlighted visibility and professional networking, while Kim Holloway contributes perspectives around health, fitness and entrepreneurship. King and Coach D have also emphasized safety, belonging and authentic representation.

The group is intentionally not a replacement for its members’ individual careers or businesses. Instead, it is a point of connection among people who may otherwise navigate their professional and personal lives separately.

“What I love about this is that we all have our own jobs and our own practices, our own businesses,” Kim Holloway, MGB Health and Fitness Coordinator said. “But this is something that we all need unite on, and the visibility is important.”

That visibility is especially significant for a group centered on Black queer identity. The Masc Gent Bosses describe their work as an effort to make space for people who want to see themselves represented not simply as LGBTQ+ people, but as professionals, entrepreneurs, creatives, friends, family members and community leaders.

Pride Is the Celebration, Not the Finish Line

For MGB member Courtney Hardin, Pride’s most visible traditions should serve as a reminder of the LGBTQ+ community’s intense advocacy work that goes uncelebrated throughout the rest of the year outside of Pride Month in June.

The group views parades as celebrations of organizing, mentorship, advocacy and community building that happen outside the spotlight. That philosophy aligns with the broader history of Pride in Dallas, where the annual parade has long been connected to political advocacy, community organizing and the fight for LGBTQ+ visibility. Dallas’ first Pride march took place downtown in 1972, while the city’s September tradition grew out of activism surrounding Texas’ former sodomy law and Judge Jerry Buchmeyer’s 1982 ruling in Baker v. Wade.

This year’s September Pride in Dallas celebration has continued that neighborhood-centered tradition on Cedar Springs Road. The parade is perhaps best described as a jubilant, concluding centerpiece of a week designed around community, resilience and unity.

For the Masc Gent Bosses, allyship also starts with something basic: listening.

The group stressed that supporting LGBTQ+ people does not always require grand gestures. Respecting people whose lived experiences differ from your own can be a meaningful starting point.

That principle has become particularly relevant in the group’s conversations about transgender inclusion.

The Transgender Conversation Needs Trans Voices

The Masc Gent Bosses recently discussed the ongoing debate over transgender athlete eligibility in the WNBA, with members expressing different views about how policies should balance competitive considerations with the dignity of transgender people.

Shay questioned why transgender people are so often discussed without being sufficiently represented in the conversation. Kim Holloway said that if transgender athletes compete, hormone levels should fall within established ranges for women. Courtney stressed that athletic policies can be debated without dehumanizing transgender people.

MGB Member Harrison King, who is transgender, expressed concern about creating an environment where queer people feel unwanted or pressured to conform to cisgender expectations.

The differences within the conversation are notable. The group did not present a single position on every aspect of transgender sports policy. Instead, the discussion reflected the complexity of navigating policy questions within a community whose members have different experiences and perspectives.

For the Masc Gent Bosses, the common ground is the need for people to remain part of the conversation rather than being reduced to a political talking point.

When Public Platforms Meet Personal Accountability

The group’s advocacy conversations also extended into local politics following a Sept. 12 appearance by U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Texas state Rep. Venton Jones at the Chris Brown and Usher concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Crockett presented a Congressional Record recognition connected to Brown and Usher’s musical careers, while Jones presented state-level recognition. The appearance generated public criticism because of Brown’s history of domestic violence and other legal controversies. Jones later apologized for his role in the recognition, saying the event was intended in part to reach voters ahead of the November election.

During their Dallas Weekly interview, Masc Gent Bosses members questioned whether the concert was the appropriate setting for that type of civic engagement.

Their criticism was not limited to the recognition itself. Members debated the responsibility elected officials have when using highly visible platforms and whether an effort to reach potential voters can become overshadowed by the person or setting involved.

One member summarized the group’s frustration simply: “Wrong place, wrong time.”

Another questioned the decision to issue the recognition in the first place, while others discussed the tension between using celebrity spaces to reach voters and maintaining accountability for the figures being publicly celebrated.

The conversation illustrated a broader theme within the Masc Gent Bosses’ approach to advocacy: representation matters, but so does what people do with the platforms they have.

From Pride Week to Legacy Work

As September’s Pride celebrations wind down, the Masc Gent Bosses are already looking ahead.

The group is preparing for upcoming community activities including Crown and Care After Dark, volunteer work with Jockey Mom Move the Farm and continued participation in Queer of the Runway. Members are also preparing for the third annual MGB Legacy Weekend in March 2027.

The group describes its evolution as a shift toward more advocacy while maintaining the social and community-centered events that helped establish its identity.

“Google us,” one member said when asked how Dallas Weekly readers can stay connected. “Google is number one.”

The answer is fitting for a collective that is still building its public identity. The Masc Gent Bosses are not positioning themselves solely as a Pride organization or a social club. They are building a network around the idea that queer visibility should exist in professional spaces, family spaces, wellness spaces, political conversations and everyday life.

Pride may bring people into the streets. The Masc Gent Bosses want to keep them connected once the streets clear.

And for a group focused on legacy, that may be the bigger celebration.